Upgrade to 'paid' for a very valuable prize
A Major Award awaits! Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity!
For a short time, I am offering a copy of In Formation magazine, issue #3 to all paying subscribers to Sundman figures it out! You really, really do not want to miss this opportunity.
NOTE: if you’re a paying subscriber to Sundman figures it out! and you’ve already sent me your physical mailing address, you don’t need to do anything. More info at the bottom of this post.
In Formation #3: an extremely valuable prize
In Formation magazine is the creation of my friend David Temkin and a changing cast of characters. It’s what you might call a ‘coffee table paperback,’ thick, large format, loaded with stories, essays, comics, graphic art and more.
Its tagline is ‘Every day computers are making people easier to use,’ and its subject is digital technology, the people and corporations that create it, and their effect on society.
The inaugural issue appeared in the summer of 1998 and the ‘Special Apocalypse Edition” came out in 2000. Their vibe is sort of a mashup of Wired, ARTnews, and Mad Magazine.
Now, (25 years later!) In Formation, issue #3, nearly two years in gestation, has made its way, at long last, to the birth canal. The proof has been approved and the order has been placed with the printer. It is to be printed on July 1, 2025.
Plans for distributing In Formation #3 through bookstores and places where fancy magazines are sold are coming together now.
I’m proud to tell you that I’ve been a part of of this project since its inception. I can’t wait to hold a copy of In Formation #3 in my hands. I have seen a video of the proof copy as its pages are being turned. It is frickin’ awesome. I promise you. It. Is. Awesome.
I should point out, I suppose, that this is a labor of love. None of the contributors are being paid. David Temkin is putting up the $$ to print the first run. I hope that it will make a little money back for him or even turn a profit. Actually I hope that the first run will sell out within days, that In Formation #3 will become an instant classic, and the clamor for more will launch In Formation as a going concern. But who the heck knows with these things, y’know?
Thud Factor
Back when dinosaurs walked the earth and I was a manager of information architecture at Sun Microsystems (which was at that time the darling of all Silicon Valley), I had a boss who used the term ‘thud factor’: When you dropped a proposal on his desk, it should land with a thud. He was talking about metaphorical thud, but In Formation #3 lands with an actual, audible thud:
• 163 pages; color throughout, high quality cover and paper. It’s 9” x 12” – oversize. Design and layout by professional graphic designers with decades of experience.
• 29 articles (including one by me), 10 fake ads and advertorial inserts, a complete (virtual) comic book, a poem, and a photo essay.
• BONUS: It will also include a flexi-record bound into the magazine, with two songs written and performed by The Layoffs for In Formation.
• Everything will also (eventually) be available on the web (including the two songs).
The cover price is ~ $20.
Here’s a draft of the cover. The final design is different, but this illustration should give you an idea of what kind of magazine (or ‘book,’ as we say in the trade) to expect.
On the lower left of the cover you may note “The Varieties of Silicon Valley Religious Experience”. This is to be, I believe, the longest article in the magazine. I wrote it.
(The title is an allusion to William James’s seminal tome The Varieties of Religious Experience. )
Here’s the deal
While supplies last, all paying subscribers to Sundman figures it out! are entitled to one copy of In Formation #3, to be mailed by me from my home in Massachusetts sometime in July, 2025.
If you’re in the USA; there is no additional cost to you.
If you reside outside the USA, I will contribute an amount equal to the cost of ‘shipping and handling’ in the US — about $7 — to the cost of mailing a copy to you. We can figure out ways for you to get the balance of shipping costs to me offline.
This offer extends to everyone who has or has had a paying subscription to Sundman figures it out! Founding, yearly or monthly, whether you’re currently a paying subscriber or not.
If you sign up today, send me an email with your physical mailing address as soon as your subscription is confirmed.
Again, this deal is only going to be open while supplies last. I am not at liberty to say how many copies have been made available to me for this giveaway. But I will say that I expect them to be gone pretty soon.
Status of Mountain of Devils and the other long-promised premiums
I’m working on them, I promise. Given my abysmal track record, I’m not going to give an ETA. I’ll just say that I’m working on them, for real. Thanks for your patience.
If you’ve already claimed your copy of In Formation
A few months ago I told paying subscribers that In Formation would be going to the printer in April. But things happened and we didn’t meet that deadline.
Also, the original plan was for your copies to be mailed directly from the printer, but that plan has changed also.
If you’re a paying subscriber and you’ve already sent me your (physical) mailing address, I will be putting your copy of the magazine in the mail sometime in early to mid July.
If you’re a current or former paying subscriber to Sundman figures it out! and you have not yet claimed your copy, please send me your address.
A note on costs
I estimate that it’s going to cost at least $5 in postage for each copy mailed in the US, plus about $1 for the mailer. Plus my time, of course. If you would like to make a contribution to help defray some of those costs, I would welcome that.
Passing the collection plate
I’m just a poor writer who’s trying, and not always succeeding, to make enough dough to pay his mortgage & car payments on time. If you enjoy my kind of writing and would like to help out, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. If you’d just like to make a one time-contribution, here’s a link to buy me a coffee (any amount welcome — pay no attention to the exorbitant suggestions).
Cheerio!
Congratulations!