More good news: I just had my Unsolicited letters in the 1800s book published in Amazon! Which means you can get your own ebook copy almost instantly, instead of having to wait for the print edition to be delivered to your home.

Since it’s got a lot of images, it weighs quite a lot for an ebook, at around 8 Megabytes (I checked the current Kindle bestsellers and they all were the equivalent of around 400 pages, but only had a size of around 700 Kb).

For the geeks: the way I produced the book was moderately simple: I modified the Python script I was currently using to build the print version, so that it would also…

• build a folder and place the book files using a certain structure,
• then compress the folder (which at this point was an ‘epub’ file already)
• and finally convert it to Amazon’s format .mobi with their own tool, kindlegen

I then took the output file and opened it with a Windows previewer/emulator they provide (using VirtualBox) so that I could make sure that everything appeared where it should. This is the only point in the process in which I used Windows.

But enough blabber! Here’s the book, just in case you don’t have it yet! :-)

• Buy it from Amazon UK
• Buy it from Amazon US
• Buy it from Amazon DE

A playful exercise containing a series of real 21st century spam e-mails received by the author and literally transcribed into paper while maintaining the ‘spam look’ aesthetics and, at the same time, embracing the ‘analog glitches’ such as ink stains or smearing that are the unavoidable consequence of using traditional media.

So what’s that, you’ll ask? Well, it’s my book! My spam-inspired book! Yay!

TL;DR

I’ll summarise it for you:

• I love/hate spam.
• What if spam was physical? Would people still click on it?
• Hand drawn. Ink + dip pen + “old” paper
• Assembled with Python, typeset with XeTeX :-P
• True Type fonts don’t work with Blurb. Use Open Type/Type 1 fonts.
• The book is awesome. Buy it!

Keep reading for more details :-)

Why?

As years pass by, I have developed a sort of strange love-hate relationship with spam. On one hand, it is extremely annoying. On the other hand, it provides for fascinating imagery and surreal verbal constructs. And I’m not even talking about the bizarre stories you can find in them: from rich Dutch widows living in Madrid and willing to donate their fortune to you via a wire transfer, to Ghana ambassadors who have a surplus from certain government works and of course want to give it to you. It’s a never-ending stream of craziness. And there’s also their aesthetics, and the glitches in the way to your mailbox. It’s all beautiful, in its own way, but not something that I would click or reply to.

And I wondered: why do people fall for these scams? Is it because they believe everything in a screen is true? Would they do the same if they got hand-written physical letters? If so, then how would spam look if it was handwritten? I also began collecting spam. I regularly visited my Junk folder and selected the best e-mails from there.

The drawing process

All the letters are traditionally hand drawn, using several dip pens and ink colours and papers. I first attempted to stain papers using coffee and tea, but the result wasn’t specially good. Diluted inks didn’t work either. I then found “Calligraphy paper” sheets which came in a pad with several sheet colours (white, cream, brownish), and despite it being sold as “calligraphy paper”, it bled and smeared like crazy. I had to be ULTRA careful with these and avoid loading the pen with too much ink. Despite this, some “accidents” happened, but I didn’t fix them, considering them equivalent to electronic glitches.

I also researched different calligraphy “hands”. I used them as the basis for the styles, but I obviously added some variation and “individualism”. That was quite funny, and quite an exercise, since I don’t write as much as I used to do when I was a student, and my handwriting nowadays is a bit… erratic :-)

Technical details

I started assembling the book using Scribus –an open source alternative to InDesign, the latter being pretty much the de-facto publishing standard. Scribus is quite easy to use and very able to generate PDF documents that comply with all the publishing requirements. But it had two big cons:

1. it’s GUI driven, which means I had to create image boxes and load every image manually, etc, and
2. the book is basically a series of high resolution images, and I managed to systematically crash the program when adding a certain amount of them

So I had to think of something else.

My first thought was LaTeX, but I wasn’t very convinced about it, mostly because the default fonts it uses immediately inspire me a master thesis dejà-vu; changing them seemed too hard last time I tried to do so, and I didn’t know how to alter the layout.

But turns out that someone had already attempted to make a photography book using LaTeX, and it had been a success. Even more, he had published a nice tutorial explaining how he did it–which was all I needed to get started. So many, many thanks to Eric Jeschke :-)

His template taught me so much about LaTeX. Well, actually about XeTeX, which is another typesetting engine that solved my fonts issue: XeTex can use TTF or OpenType fonts without having to prepare them first with a series of arcane commands (unlike with normal LaTeX).

The only thing that was left was finding out how to alter the page layout in the middle of the book. Why? Because I wanted to have part of it using a “normal” layout, with margins and all, and part of it with full bleed images, and no margin. The answer to this is the geometry package, but to use the \newgeometry command in Ubuntu I had to manually update that package.

With those questions answered, I wrote a simple python script that

• took a series of TIFF images,
• converted them to JPEG with embedded color profiles and etc (using the cvt script by Eric Jeschke)
• read a template .tex file with the foreword and some placeholders for the book content
• generated a series of \includegraphics and put them in the template
• and called xelatex and xdvipdfmx to generate a nice, publisher-compliant PDF for me

This really went well with my workflow, and allowed me to do changes and rebuild the PDF with just a couple of keystrokes, whereas with a GUI-driven program I would have had to click too much for my tastes :-)

I just had some disagreements with LaTeX when trying to align things the way I wanted. Which probably wasn’t the proper typographical way of doing so, or maybe I’m just too used to the CSS style of designing layouts. But we finally agreed on something that we both liked, and I got the PDF, ready for uploading it to Blurb and submitting it to the “preflight check”, as they call the verification process (in fact, I think that’s a publishing term).

I uploaded the book, and to my surprise, it passed all the checks! But when I looked at the preview, some things were missing–specifically, the texts that used a True Type font face. That was certainly strange–wasn’t XeTex supposed to work fine with True Type?

I installed Acrobat Reader in my computer, since the Scribus guide suggested using it because it’s more accurate than evince for printing purposes: If it looks OK in Acrobat Reader, it should print fine. But it did look OK in Reader too, and wrong in Blurb.

I wondered whether the PDF was using the system’s fonts, even if the proper subset had been embedded in the file, so I copied the file to another computer (without those TTF files installed), and opened it there. It looked perfect too. What else could I do?

Answer: pay close attention to the document properties dialog. All the fonts that worked were “Type 1″. The missing texts were using “True Type”. That was it, I thought. I just need to replace those True Type fonts with their Open Type equivalent. Fortunately, I could find alternatives for both of them (Linux Libertine and JSL Ancient), and I rebuilt the PDF once I removed the True Type versions and installed the Open Type ones. It again passed the preflight check, and this time… all the texts were there! Yes!

On the physical product

I ordered a copy to make sure everything was where it had to be, and somehow expected it to take an awful amount of time since it would have to be printed in the USA and travel all the way from there… but no! It seems they have printers worldwide, and the book has been printed in the Netherlands. From there to London it just took a couple of days, or in other words, I got the book in less than a week since I ordered it. Very impressive.

The packaging was compact and slightly reminds me to the sort of packaging that Amazon uses: a sturdy cardboard envelope, only in white instead of brown. Inside it was the book, wrapped in a transparent cellophane sheet. Very neat :-)

I’m quite impressed with the book quality as well. The colours are spot on, paper quality is great, the binding is perfect, and the pages are properly cut. All in all, good finish, very professional and way better than some books from “established publishers” that I’ve seen.

Except there are still companies like Sky who keep sending me their “magazine”, which is in fact an advertising leaflet trying to convince me of the amazing benefits of their services and get me to sign up. The worst is that it isn’t even addressed to me; it is just sent to “the present occupier”.

And I normally just pick it as it is pushed into our door by the post man, and drop it into the recycling bag without even opening it, because I don’t have the slightest interest in TV in general and Sky in particular (apart from the well known fact that we don’t own a TV set). But today I thought: hey maybe there is a way for me to tell them not to spam my mailbox with useless offers. So I opened it.

Oh how wrong I was. No, no and no. There is small print: on every footer on pretty much every page, but it is all dedicated to correcting what they offer with big bold capital letters on the remaining 85% of the pages. There’s no word about how to stop them sending you this abominable waste of resources.

I even went to their website, just in case, but again the same style: SIGN UP SIGN UP SIGN UP, and in very small letters, a myriad of restrictions.

So, how do I get them to stop sending me this rubbish and having me have to dispose of it every single time? Should we just send them an invoice accounting for all the time it takes us to get rid of the unsolicited physical letters they send to an unnamed addressee?

Advice is welcome!

(I haven’t looked into anything regarding the Data Protection Act because well… they are just sending letters to “whoever lives here”. It doesn’t quite fit with the idea of personal data being abused for commercial purposes.)

The interesting technical detail is that it seems they are using the site of a certain Bonnie Langford (Wikipedia says she’s an actress and entertainer) to propel their spam into the UK, as I see by looking at the headers:

Received: from htt.cn (mail.htt.cn [61.152.94.80])
	by my.domain (Postfix) with SMTP id 56FAC4C032
	for <myemail@address>; Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:06:45 +0000 (GMT)
Received: from User ([196.3.183.72])
	(envelope-sender <sales@htt.cn>)
	by 61.152.94.80 with ESMTP
	for <list@bonnielangford.co.uk>; Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:49:01 +0800

my.domain and myemail@address are obviously substitutes for the real thing ;)

From: FBI (sales@htt.cn)
Reply-To: robertfbgent11@live.com
ROBERT MUELLER III
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FBI
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.
FBI SEEKING TO WIRETAP INTERNET

ATTENTION:

We believe this notification meets you in a very good present state of mind and health. We the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI) Washington, DC in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation Agencies here in the United states of America have recently been informed through our Global intelligence monitoring network that you presently have a transaction going on with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) And also With the Fedral Ministry of Finance as regards to your over-due contract payment which was fully endorsed in your favor accordingly.It might interest you to know that we have taken out time in screening through this project as stipulated on our protocol of operation and have finally confirmed that your contract payment is 100% genuine and hitch free from all facet and of which you have the lawful right to claim your fund without any further delay.Having said all this, we will further advise that you go ahead in dealing with FEDEX SHIPPING HEAD MANAGER OF INTERNA
TIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT REV EM

In addendum, also be informed that we recently had a meeting with the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria And the State Finance Department, in the person of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and Mr. Aderemi Babalola on along with some of the top officials of the Ministry regarding your case and they made us to understand that your file has been held in abase depending on when you personally come for the claim. They also told us that the only problem they are facing right now is that some unscrupulous element are using this project as an avenue to scam innocent people off their hard earned money by impersonating the Executive Governor and the FEDEX SHIPPING COMPANY WHO ARE INCHARGE TO GET YOUR ATM CARD SHIPPED TO YOU.

We were also made to understand that a lady with name Mrs. Joan C. Bailey from OHIO Try to Cliam your fund Package from them and also told them you sent her to collect THE ATM CARD PACKAGE WHICH THE TOTAL IN IT IS $20 MILLION USD AND THIS INCLUDE INTEREST RATE UP TO DATE.

REV EMMANUEL JOHNSON did the wise thing by insisting on hearing from you personally before they go ahead on and sending the package which contain the ATM CARD AND ALL IT BACK UP DOCUMENT TO THE LADY so that was the main reason why they contacted us so as to assist them in making the investigations.

They further informed us that we should warn our dear citizens who must have been informed of the contract payment which was awarded to them from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to be very careful prior to this irregularities so that they don’t fall victim to this ugly circumstance. And should in case you are already dealing with anybody or office claiming to be from the Central Bankof Nigeria OR from Fedex Shipping company, you are further advised to STOP further contact with them in your best interest and then contact immediately the real office of the FEDEX SHIPPING COMAPNY IN CHARGE OF YOUR ATM CARD PACKAGE AND ALL IT BACK UP DOCUMENT SO IT CAN BE SHIPPED TO YOU ONCE THEY RECEIVE YOUR MESSAGE.

MY ADVICE TO YOU NOW IS TO CONTACT REV EMMANUEL JOHNSON VIA EMAIL HE IS THE MANAGER OF FEDEX INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT WITH THE INFORMATION BELOW AND HE WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO NEXT ON HOW TO GET YOUR ATM CARD PACKAGE SHIPPED TO YOUR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.

CONTACT REV EMMANUEL JOHNSON THROUGH EMAIL ( EMMAJOHNSIDE11@HOTMAIL.COM ) FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET YOUR ATM CARD PACKAGE WHICH CONTAIN $20 MILLION USD.

FEDEX BUILDING COMPANY
10 RIVERSIDE STREET.
LAGOS,NIGERIA
NAME: REV EMMANUEL JOHNSON
EMAIL: emmajohnside11@hotmail.com

NOTE:

In your best interest, any message that doesn’t come from the above official email address should not be replied to and should be disregarded accordingly for security reasons. Meanwhile, we will advise that you contact the FEDEX OFFICE AVOVE THROUGH EMAIL immediately with the above email address and request that they attend to your payment file as directed so as to enable you receive your contract fund accordingly.Ensure you follow all their procedure as may be required by them as that will further help hasten up the whole procedures as regards to the transfer of your fund to you as designated. Also have in mind that the FEDEX INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT equally have their own protocol of operation as stipulated on their banking terms, so delay could be very dangerous. Once again, we will advise that you contact them with the above email address and make sure you forward to them all the necessary informations which they may require from you prior to the release of your
fund to you accordingly.

All modalities has already been worked out even before you were contacted and note that we will be monitoring all your dealings with them as you proceed so you don’t have anything to worry about. All we require from you henceforth is an update so as to enable us be on track with you and the FEDEX INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT. Without wasting much time, will want you to contact them immediately with the above email address so as to enable them attend to your case accordingly without any further delay as time is already running out.Should in case you need any more informations in regards to this notification,feel free to get back to us so that we can brief you more as we are here to guide you during and after this project has been completely perfected and you have received your contract fund as stated.Thank you very much for your anticipated co-operation in advance as we earnestly await your urgent response to this matter.

Best Regards remember Once you contact him keep me update,

Robert S. Mueller III
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C.
20535-0001, USA

I guess it should go without saying, but this is a scam. If you receive an e-mail like this one, do not reply them in order to get access to an ATM card that contains 20 millions of dollars, because you [should already] know they do not belong to you :P

Not that I don’t trust the usual visitors of my blog, but you never know who’s going to show up here coming from Google and friends….

So it seems they didn’t have enough with parked domains with lots of AdSense ads on the front page, now they have devised some kind of ultraspeedy spider which might be crawling recent posts on certain topics and then stealing the content to feed their domains. Just look at the post id’s they are handling: 19574, 23288… it’s humanely impossible to write as many articles in domains that young, even if you are so damn verbose! (On second thought: maybe Scobleizer could do that…)

I guess they are using technorati or google blog search to perform a periodic, automated search, although I have seen what looked like robots with strange user agents accessing my domain sometimes and they might be the same kind of content thieves.

But you can’t do much when your stuff is online, other than hoping that people are clever enough to distinguish the good source from the bad one :D