If you can't polish a turd then can you polish a saveloy? Here at North V South we give it a bloody good attempt.

This week in the podcast that is, but isn't, recorded very often we discuss (among other things): Black Library novels; applying immediacy filters and other unwanted tips; a new boardgame magazine Senet ; War of the Worlds; The creator of Minifigs; Darth Maul and Fighting Fantasy, Ellie Sampson paper art, notable bookcover designs of 2019, and, to cap it off, pies. Although pies with lids are just stews with hats on.

Links:

• Stories of Your Life and Others — Rob's been reading:Ted Chiang's astonishing book of sci-fi short stories. Including the one that inspired the film Arrival.
• Netflix - Altered Carbon — Rob's been watching this.
• Our Universe - An Astronomers Guide — Rob's been reading this.A great primer on the current state of thinking about all things astronomical/cosmological.
• Antarctica — Rob's been reading:A great overview of the continent - its history, geology, flora and fauna, and the people who live and work there.
• Erebus - by Michael Palin — Rob and Jon have both been reading and enjoying this history of the Royal Navy ship Erebus.
• swissmiss | The “Immediacy Filter”
• Neural Network used to upscale a Lumiere brothers film — Quite astonishing. Watch the before and the after.
• Machine learning restores old photographs — More neural network / machine learning stuff.
• Notable Book Covers of 2019 | The Casual Optimist — Some wonderful book covers here, thoughtfully curated by the lovely people at The Casual Optimist.
• Dan Abnett's Warhammer 40K books — Jon's been reading and enjoying some of these.
• Jon's new family member - Boo — Jon has welcomed a new puppy to his household. A Lancashire Heeler called Boudica.
• Jens Nygaard Knudsen has sadly died. — Jens Nygaard Knudsen was the creator of the Lego Minifigure.
• Vaughan Oliver dies aged 62 — Vaughan Oliver, graphic designer of record covers for 4AD has passed away.
• Zanbar / Maul
• Ellie Sampson - paper designer — Jon and Rob both marvel at the incredible work of Ellie Sampson.
• Monotype acquires Fontsmith | Printweek
• Foundation Type Capsule Fonts | Fonts by Hoefler&Co. — Great idea from Hoefler & Co. Type capsules are sets of five coordinating font styles.
• A Little Film About… Helen Musselwhite on Vimeo — Lovely stuff from the lovely illustration agency Handsome Frank.