On my #Patreon, the #MinorityReport series visits the Precogs' island, retconned into a larger community than in the movie, and delves into their past in a fairly effective episode. Subscribing for my reviews and original fiction will help me pay for car repairs! www.patreon.com/christopherl...

Get TANGENT KNIGHTS Book 1 for 60% off! Tangent Knights 1: Caprice of Fate Once again, Audiobooks.com is offering my original audio novel Tangent Knights 1: Caprice of Fate for a steep discount, 60% off the cover price, or only $8.00. 60% OFF Caprice of Fate : Tangent Knights 1 As a bonus, if you…

July 5, 2026

This will be a thread of tips for people suffering through their first god-awful heat wave with no or subpar AC. I'm a perpetually broke Southern Californian so my ideas run cheap.

Preparing for Shore Leave 46 We're a week away from the 46th Shore Leave Convention, once again being held at the Lancaster Wyndham Resort and Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Like last year, the con has a handy mobile schedule page now available: You can click on “People” and then on…

We hope you all enjoy a nice Independence Day weekend 🇺🇸 Pick up a new series for your road trip or relaxing time at home. Save 60% Off Series Sets in our store! Over 220 full cast audiobook series to choose from. Sale ends July 5. https://loom.ly/70A0SM4

On my #Patreon, the #MinorityReport TV series brings in Reed Diamond in a recurring role and sets two conspiracy arcs in motion, only one of which will pay off, due to the show's early cancellation. Subscribe for in-depth classic TV reviews & original #sciencefiction! www.patreon.com/christopherl...

I think wires are getting crossed about my recent critique of the DSM*, particularly my observation that it doesn't provide explanations for the autistic behavior it includes in the criteria, so I'd like to clarify by providing some examples...

June 26, 2026

Earn Quadruple Reward Points with every new order today only on June 25! https://loom.ly/Vl2LnD4

On my #Patreon, the #MinorityReport TV series attempts a romantic thriller, but it's full of logic holes and contrivances to make the plot work. My Patreon, meanwhile, is full of in-depth TV reviews and original #sciencefiction and helps support me financially. www.patreon.com/christopherl...

A group of children’s authors and illustrators have launched the “We Are Better Than This” campaign, described as a “creative uprising” against AI. 👇

Your reminder that fairy tales are full of stepmothers because women once routinely died in childbirth, from postpartum sepsis, or from other infectious diseases and left behind housefuls of motherless children. Stable nuclear families are made possible by vaccines, antibiotics, and safe abortions.

Ancient historian thoughts on Iran mess. One thing that always struck me about the Hellenistic kingdoms is how quickly they surrender. These are kings who build up their whole self-definition about being good at war, but they quit as soon as they lose a battle.

On my #Patreon, the #MinorityReport TV series settles into its formula and advances the season arc (with the movie's William Mapother in a different role), but the case-of-the-week has logic holes. Subscribe for in-depth reviews and original #sciencefiction! www.patreon.com/christopherl...

Covid vaccination cut risk of adverse heart events, large study finds www.statnews.com/2026/06/15/c... via @statnews.com "Vaccine may be cardioprotective..." Ignore the fearmongering lies. #VaccinesWork.

When you see the story about how the world now has its first trillionaire, and when you see the story about how laboratories in Congo have run out of supplies to test for Ebola, it is important to understand that in many ways these are the same story.

We've reached the point where you don't even need to "stop" it. You can go back to allowing solar and wind development that the market will favor because it's now substantially cheaper than any other form of energy. Reframe the problem as Republicans hampering renewables as a source of cheap energy.

The perfectly American thing is, we haven’t had as bad an oil shock as anticipated because our greatest geopolitical rival got smart and wildly accelerated its transition to renewables, cutting its demand, and our response is “well thank God that’s keeping prices down so *we don’t have to do that.*”

On #Patreon, episode 2 of the #MinorityReport TV series fumbles with a story that fails at futurism but has some decent followup on the personal impact of the pilot's events. Subscribe for in-depth TV reviews and original #sciencefiction! www.patreon.com/posts/rewatc...

Return of the blur A while back, I mentioned that I suspected my problems with variable astigmatism (my vision being blurrier some days than others) had something to do with my use of ibuprofen as well as dry eyes, and when I discontinued taking ibuprofen and used lubricating drops, my vision got…

it’s like this for everything. it feels absurd to say it but we live in an almost post-scarcity world yet we choose destruction over life. we could have well-funded healthcare, housing for everyone, good public transit, scientists working full time to cure disease and we throw it all away

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 9: Select foreign productions (spoilers) There have been many foreign Zorro movies and shows over the decades, only a handful of which are easy to find on streaming, and most of which are major departures from the traditional version of the character. So I’m going to limit…

Save 50% Off Everything at Graphic Audio now through June 30! https://loom.ly/1WsmYxQ Choose from over 2,000 dramatized audiobooks produced with a full cast, immersive sound effects and cinematic music. #fullcast #immersive #audiobooks

among the biggest problems with television today, the lack of economic or logistical pressure to actually make shows is among the greatest. (1/14)

Ted Chiang on AI: www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2...

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 8: The Banderas movies (spoilers) The most famous Zorro movies to modern audiences are probably the pair directed by Martin Campbell: The Mask of Zorro from 1998 (written by John Eskow, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio) and its 2005 sequel The Legend of Zorro (written by…

On #Patreon, I look at the pilot of the short-lived TV sequel to #MinorityReport, which works moderately well as a continuation of the movie's universe, but is very hard to find. Subscribing supports the author and gives access to more reviews and original fiction! www.patreon.com/posts/rewatc...

Hilarious and deeply insightful writing by @brianphillips.lol.

New Patreon novelette: “Invasion of the Dreamers” My latest entry on the Fiction tier is "Invasion of the Dreamers," a novelette-length tale of a turbulent first contact with beings so alien in body and mind that it's difficult to convince them the humans they endanger are even real. This is an…

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 7: The animated shows (spoilers) Earlier, I mentioned that the first of Henry Darrow’s three Zorro series was Filmation Associates’ 1981 animated series The New Adventures of Zorro. I’m going to repost and revise my discussion from my blog back in 2012: The New Adventures…

May 31, 2026

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 6: The 1990 series & Queen of Swords (spoilers) The 1990 Zorro series was produced by New World Television (and several international partners) and aired on what was then called The Family Channel (later Fox Family, then ABC Family, and now Freeform). (Somehow I’d…

I think we’re long past the “ai bad because of stealing” argument and fully in the “ai is also actively and tangibly destroying our planet why are you even trying to use it as an art tool at this point” stage

Part of being an AI user in creative works is convincing yourself that everyone ELSE uses it too, because otherwise you have to confront the reality that you're a faker and a fraud

“Aleyara’s Flight” is an AnLab award finalist! I'm a little late to announce this, but "Aleyara's Flight" has been voted by Analog Science Fiction and Fact readers as a finalist for Best Novella in the 2025 Analytical Laboratory awards! According to the Science Fiction Awards Database, "The…

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 5: The 1970s-80s comedies (spoilers) Since I’m going for a comprehensive overview of all American Zorro productions, I guess I have to cover the 1972 softcore sex comedy The Erotic Adventures of Zorro, which has its own entry on Wikipedia and astonishingly has recently…

I could not love @edzitron.com’s latest newsletter edition more. We should shout this from the rooftops. www.wheresyoured.at/the-revenge-...

About 7 years ago when I first realized one of my kids might be autistic, I remember googling "what is autism" and immediately being overwhelmed and confused by what I found. As I read and read... and read... I kept thinking, is there a checklist somewhere? I mean, what exactly IS autism?

May 26, 2026

On #Patreon, I examine Steven Spielberg's 2002 film MINORITY REPORT, as well as the Philip K. Dick novelette it adapted and an early, very different draft of the screenplay. Subscribe for my in-depth TV/movie reviews/analysis and original #sciencefiction! www.patreon.com/posts/rewatc...

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 4: The Disney TV series (spoilers) The 1957 Disney Zorro series draws a lot of inspiration from incarnations I covered in my previous posts. The first season consists of three loosely serialized 13-episode arcs in the spirit of the Republic serials, and the show’s composer,…

Yes. The period after the referendum radicalised one group, the suppression of Palestinian activism another, the attempt to eradicate trans existence a third. But to end the pattern we need group knowledge to become collective power. We must internalise that the thing that oppresses us is common.

Thoughts on ZORRO, Part 3: The Republic serials (spoilers) Last time, I discussed the first sound/color Zorro movie, The Bold Caballero from 1936. The next Zorro screen production was just a year later, Republic’s 1937 serial Zorro Rides Again—no relation to the 1931 Johnston McCulley novel of…

It's important to note that capital makes choices that are not necessarily wise, good or efficient choices, merely ones that best advantage those who control capital. The invention of the automobile did not *have* to lead to, say, the choice to destroy minority neighborhoods to build interstates.

Eeeeeeh. This is *a* path we're traveling. It's not evident is *the* path, or the *only* path. It could be this particular path leads to such an inefficient waste of capital and physical resources that a very possible global economic collapse makes "the cool stuff" further away than it might be.

"I'm really angry that this scifi writer whose work was stolen to train a probability machine that depletes water tables and raises electricity prices and is accelerating the transfer of wealth and capital toward men who actively hate other humans doesn't like 'AI," what a lack of vision they have"

On #Patreon, I wrap up my survey of the #RoboCop film and TV franchise with an overview and final thoughts. Please consider subscribing to my Patreon, my one regular source of income as a freelance writer, offering in-depth media reviews and original #sciencefiction. www.patreon.com/posts/roboco...

May 20, 2026