Internationally acclaimed author of these humorous books on Art, Language, Science and Technology that use imagery, puns and wordplay to explain difficult concepts in simple terms allowing all to immerse themselves in the love of knowledge (and have a bit of fun too).
Embedded Files
Latest Releases
Latest Releases
Need Enlightenment ?
Need Enlightenment ?
Need Enlightenment ?
Need Enlightenment ?
A satirical picture book of Puns and Wordplay - Volume 4
Welcome to the fourth instalment of the Arc Fortnight Trilogy, where laughter meets innovation in a delightful fusion of intelligent puns and whimsical wordplay, all beautifully illustrated through the lens of artificial intelligence. As we journey through these pages, you'll encounter a treasure trove of clever jokes that tickle the mind and inspire joy, paired with vibrant pixel art that brings each pun to life.
In this book, we celebrate the limitless creativity that arises when humour meets technology. The puns range from the delightfully recognizable to the ingeniously obscure, ensuring that there’s something for everyone—whether you're a seasoned pun enthusiast or a newcomer eager to discover the playful aspects of language. Each page invites you to explore the nuances of words, prompting you to see not just the meanings but also the delightful connections between them.
Join us as we dive into a world where every twist of phrase and pixelated decoration reflects the magic of wit. Prepare for a pun-derful adventure that will leave you chuckling and marvelling at the incredible interplay of language and art, proving once again that the best humour knows no bounds.
Happy reading, and may your sense of wit be as expansive as the pixels on a screen!
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DM4S579Q
Fauna Collation
Fauna Collation
Fauna Collation
Fauna Collation
A satirical picture book of Antipodean Animals
Ever wondered what happens when Mother Nature has one too many cold ones and starts naming animals?
Well, grab your swag and slip another shrimp on the barbie, because Down Under is home to some of the most hilariously named creatures you'll ever encounter!
Picture this: You're wandering through the Australian bush, and someone yells, "Watch out for that Spangled Drongo !" Your first instinct might be to ask, "Who are you calling a drongo, mate?" But surprise, surprise – it's actually a bird!
From creatures that sound like they were plucked straight from a drunk Shakespeare play to others that seem like they were named by a toddler having a giggle fit, Australia's wildlife nomenclature is a gold mine of entertainment. And trust me, by the time you finish reading this, you'll either be questioning everything you know about animal naming conventions or booking the next flight to Australia to see these *ridiculously* named beauties for yourself.
So, let's dive into this marsupial madness and discover why Australia's animal naming committee deserves either a standing ovation or a serious intervention! 🦘
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DLH4MSPZ
Rock Parrots
Pictorial Piscatorials
Pictorial Piscatorials
Pictorial Piscatorials
Pictorial Piscatorials
A satirical picture book of Unlikely Sea Creatures
A satirical picture book of Unlikely Sea Creatures
Welcome to a realm where the boundaries of reality blur and the wonders of imagination take form—welcome to "Pictorial Piscatorials – An Illustrated Guide to Unlikely Sea Creatures." In these pages, we’ll dive deep into the shimmering depths of both the known and the unknown, exploring a vibrant tapestry of aquatic beings that may or may not exist in our world.
From the luminescent, ethereal Lightfish that dances through moonlit waters to the formidable Leviathan of legends, each chapter unveils the tales of extraordinary fish that captivate our dreams and stir our curiosity. These creatures, inspired by folklore, mythology, and pure imagination, challenge our understanding of nature and invite us to ponder what lies beneath the surface of our oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Whether you’re a devoted ichthyologist, a fantasy enthusiast, or simply a curious reader, this book offers a whimsical escape into the world of fantastical fish. You’ll encounter species that swim in harmony with satire, embody ancient wisdom, or guard secrets of the deep. So, prepare to set sail on a voyage of discovery, where every page turns like the tides, revealing creatures that, though they may not swim in our waters, certainly swim in our imaginations.
Join us as we explore the uncharted territories of fantasy fish—where the impossible becomes possible, and the ocean is not just a habitat but a canvas for our wildest dreams.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DK1T456F
Nerdplay/Wordplay
Nerdplay/Wordplay
Nerdplay/Wordplay
Nerdplay/Wordplay
A satirical picture book of Arcane Terms used by IT Nerds
A satirical picture book of Arcane Terms used by IT Nerds
All professions have their own special language. For centuries, learned folk in the professions of Law and Medicine (mostly men) used Latin in their professional jargon. The generally accepted reason this happened was that Latin was a common language across countries.
As knowledge expanded during the Renaissance across many countries in Europe, using a common language like Latin allowed scholars and scientists to communicate without the barriers of local languages.
Over time, legal terms especially became tested in courts of law and their meanings were proven and commonly accepted across a wide variety of countries and governments.
The language of the Information Technology (IT) industry holds no such romantic heritage.
Information Technology was an entirely new technology. Prior to the 1950’s, computers as we know them now, didn’t exist. Electronics was a new technology that enabled new machines with new capabilities to be created.
Consequently, new skills were required to use these new machines and hence a new profession was born.
As information technology accelerated through the decades since the 1950’s, so has the creation of new words to describe these novel applications of technology. Information Technology is now a huge global business, it has become very serious.
Just like the lawyers and doctors of history, IT nerds needed to develop a foreign language known only to them to communicate across the globe to fellow practitioners.
It’s time the seriousness of IT nerds is examined and a sense of fun brought to what is seen as a totally foreign language to the remainder of non-nerd society.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DBHKB525
Thumb Drive
Compendium of Astronomical Devices
Compendium of Astronomical Devices
A satirical picture book of amazing and unlikely devices - your entry to Steampunk Astronomy (especially for non-astronomers)
A satirical picture book of amazing and unlikely devices - your entry to Steampunk Astronomy (especially for non-astronomers)
Astronomy is a device based pursuit. As with any other equipment based activity, there is always a long list of manufacturers offering an amazing array of devices promising spectacular results at often astronomical prices. Think $5000 golf clubs that promise to turn you into Tiger Woods.
Arc Fortnights Compendium of Astronomical Devices is an illustrated satire of such manufacturers and the gullibility of their customers. Using the Steampunk style to illustrate the high technology devices provides a visual contrast that adds another layer to the absurd nature of these devices.
The book is presented in 2 sections, the Compendium of Devices and Great Moments in Science History. The second section also uses steampunk illustrations to highlight notable events of dubious notoriety.
Events such as “The Beagle has landed”, a recounting of the real lunar landing in 1869 by Jules Verne and Charles Darwin in their riveted brass and copper spaceship.
To keep the wider (non-astronomer) readers in on the jokes, most devices are linked to a glossary of terms where the intricate detail of the device or process is explained in plain non-technical English, hopefully making this book educational as well as fun.
Cubic Kilometre Array
Title Wave - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 1
Title Wave - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 1
Title Wave - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay (A to L)
Title Wave - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay (A to L)
English is a language well suited to puns. The language contains many homophones, words that sound the same but have different meanings, that allow the creation of sentences with ambiguous (and often quite humorous) meanings.
Puns and wordplay have been a source of delight for centuries; however this fun has been restricted to a mainly textual canvas.
The introduction of clever and witty imagery to clever and witty text adds an entirely new dimension to the fun of puns and wordplay. This book takes the rich heritage of homophones, malapropisms and ambiguity and propels the fun into an entirely new experience, both mentally and visually using stunning AI generated imagery.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D4L57R1D
College Furball - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 2
College Furball - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 2
College Furball - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay (M to Z)
College Furball - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay (M to Z)
English is a language well suited to puns. The language contains many homophones, words that sound the same but have different meanings, that allow the creation of sentences with ambiguous (and often quite humorous) meanings.
Puns and wordplay have been a source of delight for centuries; however this fun has been restricted to a mainly textual canvas.
The introduction of clever and witty imagery to clever and witty text adds an entirely new dimension to the fun of puns and wordplay. This book takes the rich heritage of homophones, malapropisms and ambiguity and propels the fun into an entirely new experience, both mentally and visually using stunning AI generated imagery.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D4M9SR7M
Mozartarella
Fridge Magnet - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 3
Fridge Magnet - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 3
Fridge Magnet - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 3
Fridge Magnet - An Illustrated Guide to Puns and Wordplay - Volume 3
English is a language well suited to puns. The language contains many homophones, words that sound the same but have different meanings, that allow the creation of sentences with ambiguous (and often quite humorous) meanings.
Puns and wordplay have been a source of delight for centuries; however this fun has been restricted to a mainly textual canvas.
The introduction of clever and witty imagery to clever and witty text adds an entirely new dimension to the fun of puns and wordplay. This book takes the rich heritage of homophones, malapropisms and ambiguity and propels the fun into an entirely new experience, both mentally and visually using stunning AI generated imagery in this third volume. .
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D8GZ4NSM
Anything Goghs - Van Gogh meets the Future - the style remains, the topics change
Anything Goghs - Van Gogh meets the Future - the style remains, the topics change
Van Gogh Meets the Future
Van Gogh Meets the Future
The art of Vincent Van Gogh is immediately recognizable. His style is unique, and his works sell for 9 figure sums. Visually, he stands alone among artists of the 19th century, however it is when we combine Van Gogh’s art with the art of wordplay that things get interesting.
We can only wonder what images Van Gogh would have created had he been painting today. We can take a step beyond just wondering by utilizing the technology of Artificial Intelligence to generate images in Van Gogh’s signature style with more modern themes.
In this book, we combine the iconic artistic style of Vincent Van Gogh with the clever wordplay of puns to create a visual and comedic masterpiece. Each pun is paired with a unique AI-generated illustration inspired by Van Gogh's signature brushstrokes and use of color.
So grab your sunflowers and get ready to experience some 'starry night' giggles as we explore the 'art' of humor through the eyes of one of history's greatest artists.
Let's dive into a world where Van Gogh's masterpieces meet hilarious wordplay, creating a 'Vin-sational' fusion of art and laughter.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D47MYT23
Gogh Dutch
200 Cliches to Avoid like the Plague
200 Cliches to Avoid like the Plague
An illustrated guide to 200 Cliches to Avoid Like the Plague
An illustrated guide to 200 Cliches to Avoid Like the Plague
Clichés are widely regarded as a lazy person’s literary crutch. Clichés are terms that are overused and usually betray a lack of original thought, to the point where they are regarded as irritating.
They can also lose their original meaning through time. The sound consumer advice of inspecting an item prior to purchase is relevant today, but to advise someone to “Never buy a pig in a poke” means little unless you knew that a 14th century term for a sack is a poke.
Clichés usually have an inbuilt linguistic efficiency; they can create an image in the reader’s mind with the use of very few words. It was this brevity that led to them becoming part of the language.
However, this efficiency came with a downside.
As an analogy, freeways are a modern way of efficiently handling traffic. They are multi-lane, they have no traffic lights and any cross traffic is handled by over and underpasses. In theory, they are a delight to drive on.
However, it is the freeway’s very efficiency that leads to the downfall.
Freeways are very popular with drivers, so popular in fact that the reality of freeway driving is so far from the design intent that freeways have become irritating. A very burdensome means of travelling.
Clichés have become the literary freeway drivers at rush-hour.
The same freeway at 3 in the morning offers a different prospect altogether. Travelling is easy, allowing you to appreciate the design of the bridges, flyovers, and access ramps. So too with clichés. Their overused banality often hides a depth in their meaning.
This book is intended to explore some of the hidden depths of clichés using images, puns and wordplay. Hopefully injecting some life into what have become very tiring phrases.
The image for “Killing with Kindness” shows a depth of emotion often lost with this cliché. The cliché, “Let Them Eat Cake” originally referred to social stratification and elitism, whereas the associated image refers to a more modern issue of the Obesity Epidemic.
Rather than being an academic treatise, the clichés are brought out of a self-imposed coma via the AI generated illustrations and will hopefully add some depth and levity to these well used phrases.
Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to read and smile…
Bun in the Oven
Pand'art - An Illustrated Guide to the World of Panda Art
Pand'art - An Illustrated Guide to the World of Panda Art
The World of Panda Art
The World of Panda Art
Pandas are seen as totally cute, furry fluffballs that roll around in the snow doing adorable things to the delight of human observers. Their antics have been written off as just playful amusement for the entertainment of us more evolved beings.
We underestimate Pandas at our peril.
Pandas are a super-evolved species, possessing skills and talents far beyond the rolling and tumbling we normally see. Such is their level of evolvement that they have kept evidence of their abilities secret for thousands of years. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the world of art.
The story of Panda art is as long as the story of human art. While the arc of human progress can be tracked via the artistic output of the various generations, so too can the development of Pandas.
While we, as humans, take pride in the development from cave paintings to the Renaissance, through to contemporary art, Pandas have been there every step of the way. However, being a modest species, these art treasures have been downplayed, if not concealed, from the rest of the world.
Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) speech processing have opened the possibility of communication with these amazing animals. Using the DoLittle.AI speech processing framework, researchers at the Arc Fortnight Institute of Advanced Studies have perfected the English/Panda Translator, and the results have been amazing.
The previous books in this series, Panda Monium and the Encyclopandia of Movies have shed light on the more prosaic aspects of Panda life. This book outlines the more evolved aspects of Panda life by exploring the realms of high art. It turns out that the arc of Panda art follows a very similar trajectory to that of human art.
So come along on our journey to explore the secret world of Panda Art.
A Pandalogue Raisonné, if you will.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D5X2N49N
Surrealism - The Listening Room
Encyclopandia of Movies - An Illustrated Guide to the Top 100 Panda Movies of the 20th Century
Encyclopandia of Movies - An Illustrated Guide to the Top 100 Panda Movies of the 20th Century
An illustrated guide to the Top 100 Panda Movies of the 20th Century
Pandas are seen as totally cute, furry fluffballs that roll around in the snow doing adorable things to the delight of human observers. Modern media has picked up on large eyes as a cue to cuteness. From ET to Garfield to Bugs Bunny, we have seen that large eyes, tiny chins and short noses are popular. It is no surprise that this is what we see in newborn babies.
Pandas are the ideal fit, right from the start.
However, the world of movies has not been so kind to our furry friends. Many animals have been represented in the various movie sub-genres. Movies like Moby Dick and Free Willy gave cetaceans some well deserved exposure, just as Happy Feet, Madagascar and Mr Popper’s Penguins showed off the cute antics of penguins.
Even birds get some recognition in Hitchcock’s The Birds, The Road Runner and even One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
It is high time that the secret world of panda cinema be exposed to the world. This book contains 130 panda based cinema classics that the world has forgotten. Unforgettable movie milestones such as Smokey and the Pandit, The Fast and the Panderous and Steve McQueen is Panditt never really gained the traction they deserved.
So come along on our journey to explore the secret world of Panda Cinema.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D12TMHT8
Good Pandas
Panda Monium - An Illustrated Guide to the Secret World of Pandas
Panda Monium - An Illustrated Guide to the Secret World of Pandas
An illustrated guide to the secret world of Pandas
Pandas are seen as totally cute, furry fluffballs that roll around in the snow doing adorable things to the delight of human observers. Modern media has picked up on large eyes as a cue to cuteness. From ET to Garfield to Bugs Bunny, we have seen that large eyes, tiny chins and short noses are popular. It is no surprise that this is what we see in newborn babies.
Pandas are the ideal fit, right from the start.
Cute animals doing cute things is a sure-fire popular hit. Just count the number of cat videos that hit your inbox, or fluffy ducklings or puppies, (or fluffy ducklings asleep with puppies).
However, when you get cute creatures doing things they are not normally associated with, then things can get interesting. If we expand the Panda’s repertoire from eating and tumbling, we can discover just how capable and under-rated these amazing creatures are.
Using the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated imagery, we can now place Pandas in the most unlikely of situations and watch them thrive in their new environment. Being an endangered species, it would be foolhardy and irresponsible to put Pandas into a Pandzer Tank or have them smoke Giant Pandatella cigars, however the virtual environment offered via AI imagery allows us and the Pandas to experience a totally new world full of exciting possibilities.
Pandas are also clever linguists. Their mother tongue, Mandarin Chinese, is a rich and complex language, relying on not just words, but tones, to create a broad linguistic canvas. Their devilishly cheeky sense of humor allows Pandas to engage in fun wordplay and monumentally groan-worthy puns.
So come along on our journey to explore the fun world of Pandas (or as they call themselves, Pundas)
Panda Coladas
A Farnarkle of Collective Nouns
A Farnarkle of Collective Nouns
An illustrated guide to over 100 Collective Nouns for groups of animals
An illustrated guide to over 100 Collective Nouns for groups of animals
The year was 1486 and “The Boke of St. Albans” was published, containing amongst many observations of the day, a list of “Companys of beestys and fowlys” which included items such as a Covey of Partridges, a Flight of Swallows and a Litter of Whelps.
Fast forward over 500 years, and we see the emergence of AI Image Generation, whereby text prompts can be entered into specially trained algorithms to create images.
Now combine the ancient lists of “beestys” with the AI image generation capabilities of today and you end up with this book.
The English language is always evolving and so too is technology, so this book is the happy confluence of 2 ever evolving streams.
Just as the reach of The Bible increased dramatically when combined with the 1440’s technology of Gutenberg’s moveable type printing press, so too will the knowledge of collective animal nouns blossom as a result of this book.
Discussions on the origins of these collective nouns are hot topics amongst various fora frequented by word detectives, so there was some trepidation in enquiring “what is the collective noun for a group of collective nouns ?”
Given the very serious nature of these discussions amongst word-loving logophiles, such a question could release a torrent of opinions and potentially not arrive at a commonly agreed conclusion.
This book started as a fun experiment to test the bounds of AI image generation technology. I was playing around with the various AI models, in Australian slang, I was ‘farnarkeling around’ with the technology. It was surprising how little time it took to accumulate over 100 such collective animal nouns, so I have converted the verb Farnarkeling into the noun Farnarkle to encompass these images of collective nouns.
I hope you have as much fun farnakeling through this book as I did creating it.
Murder of Crows
Colour or Wavelength - Art or Science
Colour or Wavelength - Art or Science
A book on how the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope images are created - and how you can create images like these yourself
A book on how the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope images are created - and how you can create images like these yourself
The general public are familiar to some extent with the amazing images produced by the Hubble and James Webb Space telescopes. Such images are presented as “pretty pictures” in more general publications and any more detailed analysis of the images quickly becomes very scientific.
This book proposes to go beyond the pretty picture and explore these wonders of the universe in plain English, using non-scientific language, while maintaining a balance of Science and Art. Aspects of each object such as colour are addressed via a discussion of wavelengths of light, the gases that emit specific wavelengths of light and how these are combined to create the image we see.
The book highlights 50 of the most popular images from these telescopes along with images from terrestrial telescopes in Chile, Spain, The Canary Islands and Australia.
Each image is described in plain English and discusses aspects such as where in the sky is the object, how far is it away, what causes the colours, what processes have formed the structure and what new knowledge has been gained from this observation.
A section outlining how these colour images are produced by combining several monochrome images sheds some of the mystery behind the creation of these images.
The final section includes guidelines on how to access the raw image data from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope archives and how citizen scientist readers can create their own images based on their interpretation of science and art.
Page updated
Report abuse