Just a random reminder that over 50 members of Congress collectively own millions of dollars in defense contractor stocks. They stand to personally profit from wars that enrich these contractors. Make no mistake, this is legalized corruption. Watch how they vote this week.

The only thing wrong with Peace Is that you can’t make no money from it -- Gil Scott-Heron

Here's the @ruadanbooks.bsky.social table at @lihorrorcon.bsky.social! Come see us for great books including 120 Murders! I also have BillionsvsBillionaires zines and a couple copies of Perfect Crime Party and Wonder & Glory Forever!

John Shirley's writing life. Don't try this at home, folks. boingboing.net/2026/02/25/j...

I note in the "trending" section here, "Horror Representation" immediately follows "State of the Union". No comment.

A 5-minute walk with the dog and I feel like Scott of the Antarctic.

Anyone else remember the Tubes? www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-fQ...

Sun Ra. Bloody amazing.

Genius. Thelonious Monk, the American equivalent of Erik Satie. www.google.com/search?q=the...

Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker, gets gardening time, sports, therapy dogs, and spa products in prison. Migrant children in custody are sleeping on concrete floors without enough food or clean water. Our priorities are so fucked.

Very much enjoyed "Nuremberg", thought-provoking, entertaining and unsettling, all at once -- tho Richard E Grant stole the show with a very short scene near the end. You know the one I mean.

Listen to this. Not a penny more for this. Abolish and prosecute anyone who had anything to do with it.

"Villain" (1971) is an enjoyable British gangster movie with a great cast, and (like the early Carry Ons) offers a glimpse into a long-gone world. (Those ruffled nylon shirts...)

You can even hear his accent. "Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness." Werner Herzog

If the Clintons' testimony isn't live, in public, it'll end up so redacted it'll look like last week's crossword.

Anyone need frightening? brooliganpress.blogspot.com/2018/05/fran...

I’d love Americans to be asked if they had to have their taxes finance one thing over the other, would they prefer it to be a healthcare system that doesn’t bankrupt them, or ICE. I’m guessing the numbers might surprise the news media…

Finally got round to watching Die Another Day. Like Skyfall, it's an art film masquerading as an action movie, and Craig is excellent, well able to imbue Bond with emotions not necessarily in the script. Plus a superb impersonation of a man who's just been blown up with a bomb.

This is the kind of stuff I wish someone had told me, during many, many low times in my life. So that's what I'm telling all of you. Good luck, you got this.👍 (7/7)

Hackman was fascinating & perceptive about acting when he was prepared to open up about it. www.filmcomment.com/article/inte...

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre is a strange but surprisingly enjoyable film, with echoes of Fellini, Bunuel, giallo, and a plot that might have come from Freud (or one of his patients). Not for everyone, perhaps, but I really liked it.

I seem to be available at Walmart. My life is complete. www.walmart.com/ip/The-Other...

You don't change history by erasing it from the public record.

I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.

Where did you get those shoes? www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7EJ...

I am receiving ads for a very luxurious-looking hotel called the Broadmoor. However, to an Englishman and former psychiatric worker, "Broadmoor" carries connotations that are, shall we say, less than inviting...

Some great authors here. Also, me, talking about magic, Manchester -- and murder. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6tU...

John Atkinson Grimshaw, Figure in the Moonlight, 1861

Here's something about the US, and people in general. On the one hand, there's the thug who murdered Renee Good. On the other, there's the 2 folk I met yesterday, who'd found an old man collapsed in the street, & looked after him until an ambulance came. I know whose side I'm on.

When they show you what they are, believe them.

Eno diary, year's end 1995. Thanks, Brian: it's been fun looking back 30 years with you.

What happens in a psychiatric hospital? A review of "The Other Country". www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/202...

Looking for the ultimate Christmas present? Then you've found it with the best dark urban fantasy anthology from @ruadanbooks.bsky.social @rossbaxter.bsky.social, @diebooth.bsky.social, and @xanwriter.bsky.social

Billy Wilder's "The Apartment" (a Christmas movie, believe it or not) is one of the most perfect films ever made, and probably more relevant now than it has ever been.

Silver Birches at Arne. Peace & Joy etc. X

Here's a helpful video from Flatbush cats on how to build a winter shelter for community cats www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij8O...

What happens in a psychiatric hospital? A review of "The Other Country". www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/202...

There is no such thing as a "pure" culture. All cultures -- "white", "Western", or otherwise -- are amalgams. The English language itself is a mix of Germanic and Romance languages, with loan words from Arabic, Yiddish, French, and a host of other sources.

This is the time of year when Chicago becomes unmoored and drifts off to the Arctic. The dog is demanding we build him an indoor toilet.

The secret life of Oliver Sacks, in its own way as curious as anything he wrote about. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

British zen: if you meet the Buddha on the road, make him a nice cup of tea.

Ideas are 10 a penny. The real trick is how you develop them. That's the tough part, and the part I suspect AI will never get right.

The ability to evaluate the source of information is going to be one of the most important skills in the 21st century, and something children should be taught from a young age.