“The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor” Was released yesterday! Yay! Drawn by me, written by Shaenon Garrity, and pubbed by Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books, so is available at any bookstore online or brick-n’-mortar!
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Hoverbiking across the desert, Rodrigo, binoculars to his eyes, said, “What’s that in the distance?” Thoos looked and said, “What’s what? I don’t see anything.” Rodrigo said, “But it’s huge… oh, right. Binoculars.” Thoos said, “I see it now, that’s the Markeron art museum. Very second-rate.” Intrigued, Rodrigo said, “I insist we go.” Surprised, Thoos said, “Really? Even my parents have a better collection than they have. Although it’s an investment, so my parents keep it safely locked away.” Rodrigo said, “Art is like cheese. It needs to breathe or it dies.” Annoyed, Picknar said, “It’s bad enough that earth cheese comes from animals who might be sentient, but now I’m wondering if the cheese itself is sentient.” Rodrigo said, “I often think that about a good roquefort.”
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Cheddar can be sharp.
And goes well with Markerons.
In my fridge, sometimes Cheddar is fuzzy…..And most decidedly not dead….
Americans think cheese is dead. It’s obvious in the airtight wrappers and sterile plastic boxes they store it in. The French know that cheese is alive, needing to breathe and better as it ages to maturity. Though I think even they might not acquiesce to cheese being sentient. Still, I defy anyone who’s encountered a Wrekin Blue in person not to ascribe it as having at least a pungent personality.
I sense a disturbance in The Force, like there is a ‘cutting the cheese’ joke forthcoming…..
Horace has entered the chat
Cheese isn’t sentient; cows, goats, ewes, and other animals whose milk is used to make cheese are definitely sentient and even have some degree of sapience.
Sentience is defined as the ability to experience feelings and sensations. Any lifeform capable of responding to stimuli in a way that is not purely mechanical/physical can be considered to be sentient.
Sapience is defined as the ability to possess wisdom. In other words, the ability to acquire knowledge, experience, and use those for decision-making. Any lifeform capable of learning and then changing its behavior based on what it has learned can be considered to be sapient.
Is this why the term “sophont” is gaining currency among those who like to finely parse meanings?
Got my copy yesterday, have read it twice, and enjoyed flipping pages on the second go-round to see who is which pictures to find out where they were during the action. It’s a fun read, and you had some really nice action sequences in there where you make it easy to follow what’s going on. Kudos!