#motel of the mysteries

[shitacademicswrite]

Say your bedroom / apartment / house / workplace were suddenly perfectly preserved for future generations, a la Pompeii, King Tut's Tomb, or the Motel of the Mysteries. What would future archaeologists (from a different culture) draw from this discovery? (Wrong answers not required, but very welcome.)

#archaeology #history #what if #motel of the mysteries

[farchanter]

David Macaulay: Motel of the Mysteries

Although it was capable of communication with a large number of gods, the altar seems to have been intended primarily for communion with the gods MOVIEA and MOVIEB.

From 1976 to 1979, artifacts from the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun were exhibited across the United States, touching off a new wave of Egyptophilia throughout the nation. One person to view both the artifacts and the subsequent fervor was illustrator David Macaulay. In the grand tradition of storytellers, he began to envision what would become Motel of the Mysteries.

It is the year 4022. The countries of North America have been long since destroyed in a great cataclysm, and knowledge of their civilization has been largely lost, although they remain a subject of great interest. Archaeological efforts to rediscover the lost societies of North America have been largely fruitless, until one scientist stumbles upon the find of a lifetime. He discovers what academics are certain is an elaborate ancient North American tomb— but what we, as readers, immediately recognize as an ordinary motel room. Motel of the Mysteries is written in-universe as both a history of the discovery of the "tomb", as well as a catalogue of the items found within.

This is a short book, you can probably burn through the whole thing in about an hour. It's quite clever, though, and I enjoyed myself. Macaulay both mocks the Egyptophiles who clad themselves in a culture they didn't really understand (in the in-fiction Motel of the Mysteries gift shop, one can buy a gold belt buckle of the sealing magic runes found on the tomb door: a "Do Not Disturb" sign) and poses the all-too-important science fiction speculative question: how will we be remembered? If our cultures were to end tomorrow, what would future scientists think of us? Motel of the Mysteries is a comedy first and foremost, but it's also thoughtful.

This kind of writing works best played totally deadpan, letting the dramatic irony do the heavy lifting of the comedy. Motel of the Mysteries largely does this, but Macaulay occasionally deviates to... less cerebral humor. This, to me, shows a lack of confidence in the story, which is a shame, because there's a lot to like here.

#books #completion list #completed #todo #review #david mcaulay #motel of the mysteries #science fiction #sci-fi #comedy

[thebeautyofspn]

3x11 Mystery Spot

#3x11 #mystery spot #thebeautyofspn #supernatural #spn #supernatural aesthetic #spn aesthetic #sam winchester #hotels & motels #season 3

[akiraofthefour]

I've read this novel three times. The story has, of course, remained the same since 1959, but the persons with my name who read it in 1968 and 1998, at eighteen and forty-eight, are not the same as the one who came to the novel most recently at the age of fifty-five. All three of us have been altered by it, according to our gifts at the time.

Mary Doria Russell, introduction to the 2006 edition of A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

#Mary Doria Russell #a canticle for leibowitz #Walter M. Miller Jr #okay you may think this book is overblown because everybody says you've got to read it if you like sci-fi #but holy shit #it is a fantastic book that makes a lot of 'sweeping epics' of the kind look toothless #honestly the remains of the fallout shelter even kind of make Jenny look pathetic #I feel like... like it's not outwardly hilarious or anything... but I feel like Futurama fans would appreciate it #I feel like anybody could but I feel like a LOT of at least the OG staff on that show read this book #idk #it also reminded me of a book I had as a kid #where centuries in the future people dig up a motel and they think it's a sacred burial chamber #and it goes through the excavation and research process to the commodification #that's Motel of the Mysteries btw #also recommend

[fiction-quotes]

“You'd be amazed how many people do that – disappear as if into thin air. They leave doors open behind them, food on the counter, their shoes by the door. It doesn't seem possible, but it is.”

  —  The Sun Down Motel (Simone St. James)

#book quotes #horror fiction #thriller fiction #mystery fiction #simone st. james #the sun down motel #mysteries #leaving #disappearing #hiding #crime #murder

[thelostboys87]

these fuckass twins will experience a trauma triggering loss and be like oh okay well i need to smoke substances now

#OKAY I WASNT SURE IF I WANTED THEIR DAD TO DIE AT A MOTEL #BUT I WANTED HIM TO DIE IN VEGAS BC HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS IS LIKE THE THEME SONG #AND ALSO WHY TF WAS HE IN VEGAS??? FUN MYSTERIES AND MORE!!! #ANYWAY IM SHOUTING BC GETTING THIS AS A FIRST LINE HAD ME LIKE OMFGGGGGGG

[doccywhomst]

pokémon go summer in america is a real historical event. centuries from now, when future scholars are talking about the late american wars and plagues, they'll have to spend twenty minutes explaining the concept of an archaic video game and how, just for the briefest and brightest of moments, it truly united us. and then disease ravaged the earth and the purge started

#i want to write a detailed book about archaeology in a potential future earth. like motel of the mysteries but the journal of a historian #doccy thinks #doccy has a fever

[agentsketchbookart]

Something something about how the power of love and music guides you towards your goal

#motel mystery #David #fikes #doodles #what if god was one of us

[gracefireheart]

Hoooly moly my motivation for the pokemon trainer au drawing w/ love letters is swinging all over the place. So uh-- might try drawing something else tomorrow to give myself a lil' break from it.

Maybe I'll do one or two song inspired drawings with Scanlan. Loosen up a bit and whatnot.

#my thoughts #one of the songs I've been wanting to make a Scanlan drawing out of is “A Good Song Never Dies” by Saint Motel #if I were to do a second song inspired Scanlan drawing. I'm unsure which to choose from my playlist #Got songs like “Ghost” by Mystery Skulls #and “I Hear a Symphony” by Cody Fry #and “Levitating” by Dua Lipa #and ofc. “Lone Digger” by Caravan Palace #I'll see once I start drawing tomorrow 🚶

[whitneydaniell]

by: Simone St. James Published: Feb 18, 2020 Genre: Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Thriller 327 Pages, E-Book

★★★

GoodReads Synopsis:

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

My Review:

Viv goes missing in 1982 from a small town in upstate New York. Presumed dead for 35 years, her niece Carly travels to Fell, NY to get answers about her disappearance.

The story centers. around a run-down motel where Viv worked while in Fell -- she was in search of New York City. Viv worked the overnight shift and when she vanished, it was like life in the town just kept going and no one batted an eye at trying to find the missing woman. Not just Viv but the other missing women in town didn't get a fair shake either!

The motel holds its own secrets and is the center of all the hoopla in town but, there is also a serial killer on the loose. Girls are found dead all over town and not a single cop is putting forth any good cop work to find the killer. Viv did more cop work than actually, paid cops.

Supernatural. Ghosts. Spirits. All-around strange people. I could have done without the supernatural aspect of this story, it was sloppy and unnecessary. I get it, Viv couldn't have been a victim of the serial killer because that is obvious but everything else was poorly written and fleshed out.

Heather. Callum. All of them, are unnecessary. Not really true-crime, not really a thriller, more like a sci-fi mystery.

One-Word Summary: Interesting

#simone st. james #sun down motel #sci fi books #books i read #books i recommend #2023 tbr #book shelf #books #3 stars #thriller #mystery #true crime

[fiction-quotes]

I glanced at Heather. She was perked up, her face tight and serious. There are so many of them, she'd said when I first met her, and when I asked her what she meant, she said, Dead girls.

  —  The Sun Down Motel (Simone St. James)

#book quotes #horror fiction #thriller fiction #mystery fiction #simone st. james #the sun down motel #crime #murder #misogyny #femicide

[cupofteajones]

Quote of the Day - October 12, 2022

Quote of the Day – October 12, 2022

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#Books #Fall #Halloween #Halloween Quotes #Halloween Season #Mysteries #Mystery & Thriller #Quote of the Day #Quotes #Quotes from Books #Simone St. James #Spooky Quotes #Spooky Reads #The Sun Down Motel

[taniushka12]

20 and 21 👀

@thefuturewithoutus grouping you two together bc they're the same questions and im historically bad at both moodboards and playlists :')

20) Share 3 images that would fit to a mood board for this chapter/fic.

(second image's credit) (third image's credit) this is the same fic im talking about here btw

21) Share 3 songs that would belong on a playlist for this chapter/fic. 

Firestorm - Siamés (?)

Dance while the sky crashes down - Jason Webley (cheating, this was already on my apocalypse blues playlist lmfao)

thats all i can do, sorry, i Cannot do improv playlists :')

[wip ask game]

#this fic is a night in katz motel (courage the cowardly dog ep) but backwards. #what if you were a humble lobby boy and two mysterious figures stayed the week and things started to get weird and also spiders are there? #the lobby boy has a great time btw its his asshole boss that gets eaten off screen lmfao #tani's personal shit #anyway THANKS you two ♥

[desdasiwrites]

– Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

#book quote of the day #simone st. james #the sun down motel #this book is so quotable #horror #thriller #mystery #book recommendations #booklr

[flourmelon]

“I think it’s instructive to be awake in the middle of the night every once in a while. To really see what you’re missing while you’re usually sleeping.”

The Sun Down Motel

By Simone St. James

Read: 7.27.2022

👻📒😕🌅🌃

#the sun down motel #simone st. james #horror #mystery #thriller #books #reading #flouread #meh #not scary at all #my favorite characters ended up dead or showed up for 2 sentences

[confier-boyfriend]

FUCK I FORGOT A BOOK I NEEDED TO BUY. SCREAMING. Also chest pain is still here :)

#zenith thinks #been needing to buy Motel of Mysteries for forever but nooooooo