King's "1000 words a day on a work in progress" rule should be taken more as a suggestion, I think, but it's super useful when you want to feel like you've accomplished something even when the writing isn't as good as you wished it would be.

latest Babylon 5 review is live for my patrons--we're talking about "Revelations," in which a lot of big things happen, and also Sheridan is sad:

to be honest, i'm kind of glad It Didn't Happen on the 4th. i don't want anymore symbolism, i don't want people explaining metaphors a ten year-old would dismiss for being too trite. i just want [redacted] and then to go about the business of making sure it never happens again.

i've got Wilson's translation of The Iliad on my shelf, i need to get around to it at some point; just haven't had the brain power to focus on something that takes a little effort for that long.

PSA for everyone reading The Odyssey right now from an English major: please, I implore you to read the Emily Wilson translation. It is the superior version for me. The most direct, literal, and accurate to the source material. I rec the audiobook too that helps you hear the rhythms of the language.

The rarest of geniuses—did what he wanted, called his shots, stood up for what he cared about, and then got out. Did becoming famous make him crazy? If it did, he had the good sense to do it quietly.

this was, indeed, very cool! the ending feels abrupt, but the mix of extremely violent action scenes and conversations about techno-philosophy really should've stuck in my memory better.

I…legitimately don’t know! Probably in my teens? It scared me, but it was a kind of horror I could deal with even then, because I could just tell myself “don’t go in the ocean” and the problem solved itself.

Put on the original GHOST IN THE SHELL, which I saw ages ago and remember… nothing about? pretty cool shit

Dreamcatcher, Song of Susannah, Insomnia (no particular order)

Misery It 'Salem's Lot Pet Semetary The Shining (Tommyknockers The Stand On Writing Drawing of the Three Needful Things)

these days whenever i hear someone refer to "method acting" (usually in the form of "I'm not one of those _method_ assholes"), it is so difficulty for me not to immediately try and correct them. thanks, @isaacbutler.bsky.social, for making community theater even more difficult to navigate.

one of the shittier things about acting, even at the non-professional level, is how much it comes down who’s friends with whom. I am not good at building relationships, and I keep thinking “talent will get me there” and it doesn’t always. I’m good enough to get in the door, but not to keep it open.

Cannot believe I just found out about this today. But on the upside, I get to catch up on a whole chunk at once. 🥰

finished the main storyline of Spider-man 2 (recent video game); it's very well done, but it's frustrating to me how quickly the series wants to hand the reigns over to Miles. i suppose it's greedy to want more Parker Spidey, but 1 game and a half isn't enough for me.

i wish I was the kind of person who could be with friends and feel like a part of a group and just have that be a natural thing. or if not. I wish that I could accept that I’m never going to be.

ah love. soft as an easy chair.

depends--i have friends who see me in shows (family never), but when it comes to writing, there are only a few who are into it. that used to bug me, but it's silly, really; i do this for myself.

Spending the 3rd nesting next to my window A/C, hissing at the sun like Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire

Yeah, cannot stress this enough, I am -not- making fun of Rothrock, she rules.

more people should know about Cynthia Rothrock. she starred in an erotic thriller called SWORN TO JUSTICE that is... weirdly endearing for an erotic thriller? like, she's a badass, but super stiff when acting; watching her seduce a guy gives "aw, you got this!" energy.

well i was excited to go up to thirty hours next week to qualify for health care but apparently no one bothered to mention that it will be _at least a year_ before that health care kicks in. anyway, fuck this country.

god bless Weird Al, the one celebrity self-aware enough to not be an asshole. (i'm sure he's also a sweet guy for real, but this just makes sense; high-paying or no, signing on for AI would pretty much torch the nerdy, low-key goodwill he's based his career on)

In addition being another unintended monument to the chasm in the president's soul and brain, the Freedom250 celebrations are a perfect expression of the Trump/GOP's vision of the promise of America: There is none. This is what you get.

for folks curious to watch THE PRISONER on the Criterion Channel--episode order is fun to debate, but don't stress about it too much. the show is only mildly serialized, and as long as you don't watch the last two episodes first, you'll be fine. (good show, btw. nice to see it getting some eyeballs)

I wrote about the sad Trump Country Fair thing and the very specific and hilariously shitty vision of America that it expresses. The war on metaphor continues apace. defector.com/dead-country...

extremely curious how they're making HELLRAISER into a video game.

is it autistic to be regularly worried that you're not reacting appropriately to a situation? like, even internally--right now, i'm hoping/worried that a novel i've submitted will find a publisher, and i'm _also_ worried that i have the wrong mindset about it. that i'm getting waiting "wrong"

high of 93 today (and tomorrow), and i've got a fucking call-back with dancing this afternoon. pray for mojo.

goddammit climate change, now i can't even complain about how miserably hot it is because it's hot fucking everywhere.

ok I’ve now beaten Ascension 10 with every character but the Regent in Slay the Spire 2. (it’s currently my “play a round or two each day” game)

Links throughout the piece are a good reminder that @zhandlen.bsky.social recapped the whole series for @avclub.com in the long ago days of 2009. I'm going to make some time in the next couple of days to brush the multiple-CMS-migration dust off of them.

the other climber has the chance to do the funniest thing.

America celebrating its 250th with strong “we broke up but I guess we already have the prom tickets” energy.

After years of struggle, I am back to full strength and doing some of the best work of my life. Please: consider supporting my Patreon

Fuck I really need to see TO SLEEP WITH ANGER.

man remember when you were supposed to have an opinion about Jonathan Franzen

Pffft we weren’t fancy enough for that shit.

Before the Internet was around, these were the closest I got to porn.

The Supreme Court today addressed one of the most pressing threats to the nation today: banning this high school sophomore from playing school sports with her friends 🫡🫠🙃

i mean, i stand by what i said regardless, but ok.

may his remaining years be filled with spit-laced food, dog shit doorsteps, bricks through windows, and may he either die on the toilet or live long enough to see every single thing he accomplished in his miserable career over-turned and broken.

well, it's going to be in the 90s here for the next couple of days, maybe the planet will just melt before things get worse.

well thank god we did all that court reform during Biden's term, can you imagine if we'd let the same six whiny bigots hold the country hostage for another ten years?

keep getting a "Cannot be played on this device" error message whenever I try to listen to a sub-only episode of a podcast that i have subscribed to. the fuck?

Elon Musk asked for a name of a person he has killed. He got a list.