For those interested in such things, there is a fascinating report out of the Royal United Services Institute (a well-known defense think tank) about the weaknesses the Iran War is showing in US/Western military procurement and military strategies. www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Continuing work on the #Cy_Borg supplement. Unlike my work on #Vaesen, this requires far less research. but, I really am stretching my artistic skills. It'll look cool... if a bit primitive. I'm sure my cave-painting ancestor would be proud... but that's about it :-P #TTRPG

Been a few weeks since my last #TTRPG design update. Decided to switch gears from my next #Vaesen project and work on my first #Cy_borg module. It will be pretty short - a few pages - and deal with a new character type. More deets as I get closer to publishing.

Just watched "We Bury The Dead." Interesting take on the zombie genre, using it as a way to look at grief. Some borderline coincidences - particularly the ending - but worth checking out. Good performance by Daisy Ridley and some beautiful cinematography. #filmsky

We hear a lot about how older generations were tougher, stronger, didn't coddle people, etc. To some degree this might be true, due to more poverty, less choices, cultures of silence and oppression, etc. But, one thing I love about research; you find that things are not as simple as you might think.

Watching 28 Years Later:Bone Temple. Much better than the last film. Great acting, good pacing, gruesome and kinda touching. Check it out.

Why are humans like this? Why do we let a handful of rich and powerful men use as like toys in their megalomaniacal games? Why do we let fanatical fantasists convince us to wait until after death for a good life? Our social evolution seems designed to make the vast majority of people miserable.

Not planning to watch the Nuremberg rally - I mean, State of the Union. I do not need to subject myself to that exercise in brain rot and dementia. Probably check out a classic SF film (been wanting to rewatch Creature from the Black Lagoon for a while) and call it a night. #StateOfTheUnion

Happy to announce I have piece in the new horror anthology, Stories to Take to Your Grave: High Seas (Volume 3). My story is Suiko, a disturbing tale of World War Two. a.co/d/06dsUBSY

The SCOTUS ruled Trump's tariffs as unconstitutional. Now, Trump is saying the Justices who ruled against him are "unpatriotic" and "disloyal." How long until he sends a mob of slack-jawed GOPers to assault the Supreme Court? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Great analysis of the attempted murder of Marimar Martinez by the Border Patrol in Chicago. Liz Dye (@lizdye.bsky.social) always provides thoughtful, concise analysis of legal issues. Check out the video. youtu.be/ZRZoGc3Wdpo?...

The Trumpist mania for coal - fueled by bribes and fanaticism - scored a win, as the TVA announced new coal-friendly policies. This is only delaying the inevitable - the end of the coal industry - but immense damage will be done in the meantime. #cleanenergy www.bpr.org/climate-envi...

Been silent for a few days. Work and such. Then saw this about the latest Trumpist scheme: undermine the dollar and replace it with a Trump family stablecoin. Sigh. Well, some writing and creative updates coming. Much better than the Trump/GOP destruction of the US. www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/t...

One of the best narrative montages in film history - the opening to Soylent Green (1973). This is how you world build with nothing but images, music and deft editing. If you haven't seen it, check it out. Or, just go watch the movie. #filmsky archive.org/details/soyl...

If we use the population density of Manhattan as a baseline, we could fit the entire population of the planet into a city the size of Arizona. Start building arcologies and we could get that figure down even more. Then we just leave the rest of the planet alone.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration made its most sweeping climate policy rollback to date by revoking a scientific finding that underpins U.S. climate regulations.

The GOP pretends to like the free market. The free market moved away from coal. But, Trump is paid off by coal companies. So, now we get this spectacle of tax-payer dollars going to support a dying industry. Where are the free marketeers in the GOP decrying this? www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/t...

Rep. Delia Ramirez to DHS officials: "I have as much respect for you as I do for the last white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color. I have no respect for the inheritors of the Klanhood and the slave patrol. Those activities were criminal and so are yours."

With the increasing levels of historical censorship in the US, it is important to have as many bits of hardcopy preserving the truth as possible. One of the best publishers of high quality books preserving the American journey is the Library of America.

BREAKING: New reaction from Leader Jeffries to the racist Trump video: "This disgusting video posted by the so-called president was done intentionally. Fuck Donald Trump and his vile, racist, and malignant behavior. This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder."

Finneas is better at political messaging than 99% of the Democratic consultants in DC.

I do not care about the Olympics... but I am all in on the crowd booing JD Vance. www.mediaite.com/media/news/t...

While we are currently focused on ICE executing Americans in the streets of Minneapolis, never forget that there is a constant stream of bodies coming out of ICE detention centers, such as that of Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian man. #AbolishICE www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...

States like Canada have long known the current system of international rules-based order is a “fiction,” Carney said.

Trump is now confusing Greenland and Iceland: "They're not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you. Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money."

My next #Vaesen module is going to be pretty hefty (both in size and the amount of effort). I've begun work on Kingdom of Dust (working title), about hobos and railroads in 19th century America. It will have history (both real world and Mythic 19c), character types, info on hobo culture...

My latest module for #Vaesen is now available. Tommyknockers provides the history and statistics for a mine-dwelling creature of North America. This is part of my United States Vaesen line. Check it out. #TTRPG #DTRPG www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...

Bakery finds way to make eating an entire bag of cookies a moral imperative. Nice.

Not on my 2026 bingo card: a European task force being sent to Greenland to defend it from the US... sorry, conduct defense exercises. Right. Going to war with the EU, while something the Trumpists may want, is not a great idea. Collectively, Europe has a huge population, a massive economy and...

Someone inside DHS leaked the names of 4,500 ICE and CBP officers to a nonprofit that tracks ICE. About 80 percent of those name are active. www.rawstory.com/ice-agents-d...

Just watched Der Tiger, currently on Amazon. Pretty good war film, told from the POV of a German tank crew. Story is a mashup of Apocalypse Now (for about the first 90%, only with a tank instead of PBR and the Eastern Front instead of the Do Lung river) and... spoilers in the next comment 1/4

Breaking News: Gov. Kathy Hochul, partnering with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, will unveil a plan to expand free or affordable child care for New Yorkers across the state.

Due to an upcoming move, I'm getting rid of some books through a mix of library donations and #LFL. I have found (like many people who own a lot of books) that I have stuff I have not read that i wasn't even aware of. 1/2

Here’s hoping that there is some light in 2026, after the darkness of this year.

I find myself saying this a lot, but TODAY is the day for finishing my next #Vaesen module. Seriously. I mean, this is the third final day for this module...but I mean it this time. Writing for publication often turns into a exercise in scolding myself over missed - albeit self-imposed - deadlines.

Been playing the heck out of #Cyberpunk2077 the last few weeks. Love the game, enjoy the story, find it very immersive and LOVE all the little details (see below). I've also been using a lot of mods. In the new year, as I start to ramp up my YouTube channel, I'll have to share a list fo my go-tos.

Welcome to Derry - 7 good episodes, marred by a clumsy, poorly conceived and poorly written ending. Overall, not terrible, but lacking the courage to have the story play out in a manner that sticks with the grim, horrific tone the series starts with. I mean, it ends with frickin' sky beams. 3/5

Check out my latest work in the Curia Chronicles series, The Curia Chronicles Anthology, Volume One. Set in the 1960s, the ten stories follow the exploits of characters on both sides of the war between demons and the hunters of the Curia. a.co/d/g77YmJi #booksky #horror #contemporaryfantasy

Dinner movie - Orca. Never have 92 minutes seemed like 8 hours. Dessert movie - Die Hard. Need I say more… Yippee Kai-yay motherfucker. #filmsky

Taking a break for showers, a little constitutional and to think about starting dinner. Background… a delightful compilation of 50s/60s horror trailers. #filmsky

The movie fest continues with some Van Dam-age in the form of Timecop. I would have watched Hard Target, but I just saw that a few weeks ago. So, instead, we get daffy time travel, murky plotting and JCVD doing the splits (which my SO appreciates…she is a creature of specific tastes). #filmsky

After a nap, back to the movies. Next up, the Japanese mockumentary Noroi. Seen it once before and enjoyed it. Supernatural horrors and subtitles… perfect for Xmas morning. #filmsky

The movie fest continues with the 1901 silent Blue Beard (Georges Melies) and then the 1941 The Wolf Man with the great Lon Chaney Jr.

Watched Blue Harvest for the first time in years. Remember it being funnier than I found it this time around. Moving on to Kitten with a Whip, a highly entertaining Ann-Margret JD flick from the 60s. It was the subject of one of the better MST3K eps, but is fun in its own right. #filmsky

Heading into the realm of animation with Batman v Dracula. I love DC animation, but have yet to see this movie. Hope it’s fun. #filmsky

Next up - The Relic. Kinda dumb and some janky 90s CG, but still an entertaining monster movie. Oh, and had one of the most deceptive trailers ever, promising a possible apocalypse be delivering a brain-hungry lizard, bug, angry puppy hybrid. #filmsky

Movie one - The Towering Inferno. My second favorite Seventies disaster film - Earthquake is still my fave. But, this does have Steve McQueen and some great fire stunts. #filmsky

Since my SO is heading out for a last minute provision run, I’m doing another tv show… In Search Of: Bigfoot. I love the series…. Such a through back to when conspiracy series and pseudo science were still fun… #filmsky

And so, the annual non-Xmas movie movie fest begins. 24 hours of movies, tv shows, PSAs, trailers… whatever I decide to subject my guests to, starting with an episode of Johnny Sako’s Flying Robot. #filmsky