swifts  &  s l o w s · a quarterly of crisscrossings

set up in the early morning
Mark Young

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It tasted like bacon

The market is usually set up in the
early morning to support translation
of log-in messages into different
languages following the example set
by hawker-style food vendors all over
Asia. Years of reckless financial prac-
tices have caused the correctness of
performance data to implode; but if
the numbers might be wrong then why
am I bothering to pay attention to them.
There is something visceral, something
deeply emotional, about working with
a multidisciplinary platform in a foreign
syntax that has been exhumed from the
grave of an army of terracotta soldiers.

Breaking Noise

Noise is a potential animal when it
comes to environmental factors. I
learnt that at the Queer Property In-
formation Night — Breaking through
the noise. Nico is 187cm tall, wears
an L size, & has a Transmon Qubit in
a 3D Cavity. I learnt that also, along
with A Seamless Customer Experi-

ence is Key to Success. It’s a kind of
competitive dancing thing; but I’m
not really into dancing, so I don’t
play along. I simply refrain as much
as possible, following a protocol from
the theory of quantum error which
suggests inviting your dance-crazy
friends to a reading by your favorite

local author. Alexa adapts the pronunc-
iation to use the sounds available in
the original language. A game without
sound effects can be very disappointing
so the game will use sound effects when
different things happen. Such noise on
quantum states can be mitigated. It’s
quite tuneful, as dance albums go.

From the Pound Cantos: CENTO XXXX

In the Cretan’s phrase, moral considerations
seldom appear to have much weight in the
minds of statesmen. & he said, one day a week

later, that the practice of public speaking was
addressing crowds through their arse-holes,
that the shit used to be blacker & richer, that

unless connected with popular feelings they
never could get it to work. Three days after his
death, years later, in Naples, when the family

was preparing his body for burial, those same
statesmen who scarcely got so far as analysis,
would not admit the indulgence of a domestic

band of musicians at his funeral. Hoping, sans
music, the ill beat of memory would be stilled.

Paradoxadiddle

Spent the afternoon
getting the spell
right. Still no use.
Can do the words
perfectly by them-
selves. So too the
dance steps. & the
music. Plus there’s
a combined apothe-
cary & gourmet
kitchen sitting in
behind me, ready to
be taken up. But it’s
the poly nature of
things that’s fucking
me. Was never any
good at that one hand
doing one thing
whilst the other does
another. It’s why I never
became a drummer.

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Mark Young was born in Aotearoa / New Zealand but now lives in a small town in North Queensland in Australia. His most recent books are Songs to Come for the Salamander: Poems 2013-2021, selected & with an introduction by Thomas Fink (Meritage Press & Sandy Press); Your order is now equipped for shipping (Sandy Press); & The Advantages of Cable (Luna Bisonte Prods).

You can read a review on Mark Young’s latest books on Arteidolia →