Treated ourselves to a Dalton Bond double bill this weekend and were reminded just how underrated the movies are. Dark without being over serious. Also, Dalton channels fantastic “I don’t need this job” energy. He’s the only Bond that comes across as credibly grumpy Should have made more.

He'll always be Mr Gentley Benevolent to me. Clear skies sir. shorturl.at/83dBA

Currently playing a game that feels like an escapee from the Noughties. - Illusion of freedom but largely on rails? Check. - Weird story gaps where scenes were cut for budget? Check. - Grinding to a halt for forced “click all the points of interest?” Check. There’s a game here somewhere.

Everyone in Southampton who has had their property damaged by the coked up twats should report Farage for incitement and claim damages directly from him. He's got at least £5m to spare.

1. Another piece on 'We should be reasonable about this, look at the things AI could do for us' by a writer who's basing their assumptions on the hype, not on what it *can* actually do. 2. They focus on opera, where I'm sure careers are very secure. 3. The Guardian has a rights deal with OpenAI.

On the one hand, the stance taken in the article is incredibly disappointing. On the other, no one ever accused Opera of being able to read a room. Either way, I’m like Suzan. I don’t need AI. I either learn to do a thing or pay someone else who already does it. Ain’t complicated.

Wow I was not expecting the CEO of Patreon to go to bat for a creator like this, love to see it.

Weird card. Tony is countering a spell by… displaying the original “superhero landing” pose? Where’s my card of Yelena tutting “Such a poser?” (Which would be a better counterspell, naturally.)

It’s been another couple of “I am not Spock/I am Spock” couple of days. If you know, you know.

I’ve occasionally had this come up during video game casting, and I will always maintain that a great, dedicated VO professional will engage far more players than a “marketing name”. Sometimes you get both in the same body, of course, but I’ll always lean towards the former.

I’ve worked in TV animation for the past 16 years and “stunt casting” voiceover work has the worst ROI across the board and executives never get tired of doing it.

Wrong to the point of malpractice

Really have to tip my hat to Supergiant. Not only is Hades’ gameplay fast and addictive, I absolutely love the writing and the voice work. One of those I wish I’d been working on, but sadly they have no need of me at all. I love every denizen of the Underworld and Olympus. (But Scylla the most.)

Our entire economy is being artificially propped up by astrology for men: AI, crypto, sports betting, and prediction markets. It's an economy shaped entirely by male insecurity and lack of impulse control, and we'll all pay the price.

Definite “Caprica After the Fall” lighting out here today.

I have yet to have single interaction with AI-as-art proponents that doesn’t boil down to jealousy. There’s a misapprehension that creatives are anointed, rather than honed through hard work. The pretzel logic to avoid the conclusion of “you can just learn to do this too” is never not staggering.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who paused for a moment to contemplate the potential heights of profane eloquence in any likely response from Harlan Ellison to the wholesale theft of his copyright intellectual property.

Well. Tron: Ares sure is 120 minutes long.

And I preemptively laugh before the gigantic fountain of blood from the pit. The masterclass of anticipation created with shots of the crowd, the quiet, and then a ridiculous cartoon level of red gore. Is it realistic? No. Is it horror? Ish. Is it pitch perfect for the whole film? Yes.

I forgot to mention it, but you can find Strixhaven prints on my inprnt!

Seriously, though… I love almost everything about this movie: the Harryhausen-esque stop motion; the cast playing everything completely straight (with the occasional exception of Bruce); the pitch perfect soundtrack…

Did it! Just meant buying a German copy (of course) on eBay (of course). It is glorious (of course).

One substantial step closer to getting the THING out into the world. Progress is being made. Vagueness will increase until the appropriate moment.

Me: the term romantasy is bad enough, we don't need more--- Publishing: HORROMANCE! SCIMANCE! ME: No, please,wai--- Publishing: COSIMANTACY! FORROR! HOSY! COSICOSIRPGEESEE! YOUCANTSTOPMESY! Me: *crawls into hole to die* Publishing: HORROBBIT!

Remember when everyone was saying AI would replace/displace script writers and prose authors, and it was all over the news...then suddenly nobody was talking about it and it never happened? Here's part one of why...and why that was deliberate. jmichaelstraczynski.substack.com/p/silence-wh...

The tidiest the #MagictheGathering cupboard has been all year…

We all know fear. We all know what it feels like when there is nowhere to hide. Check out this short excerpt of actor Rebecca Hanssen reading a chilling dark fantasy story by Warhammer 40k legend @thetowerofstars.bsky.social . youtube.com/shorts/hNtR_...

Good grief. Finding a Region B Army of Darkness Director's Cut Blu-Ray is a long, fraught journey isn't it? Might give up and look for the Necronomicon instead. Probably easier.

Revisited this story the other night & I'm super pleased with how it turned out. (Not least because I've something longer in the works set in the same world. Also because Rebecca is awesome.) If you haven't had a listen yet you're missing out. It's not even the price of a coffee. It's free 😜

The fitful patter of the island's perpetual rain ... Cold Comforts is a chilling dark fantasy story written by @thetowerofstars.bsky.social and narrated by Rebecca Hanssen, inspired by the beautiful and--at times--utterly harrowing Scottish landscape. youtube.com/shorts/MWfDD...

Not for the first time, this morning I find myself writing a line that I wish I could have heard #MiraFurlan deliver.

The Mischief of the Feathered Lord ... or the simple madness of an old man living too long ... Actor Rebecca Hanssen adds extra layers of life to the bitterly cold and rueful dark fantasy story by @thetowerofstars.bsky.social , Cold Comforts.

It’s always advisable to listen to Rebecca (don’t let the smile fool you, she’s terrifying) but particularly in this case. Go listen to COLD COMFORTS over at Grimdark’s YouTube. (I mean, if you’d like.)

Rebecca Hanssen's reading of Cold Comforts by Matthew Ward is a sombre affair of failure and revenge. The actor herself though, is not! Meet Rebecca, the latest screen actor to join our short story readings project on YouTube.

As someone who has many times been subject to the tyranny of reasonable voices, this resonates. It’s also a timely reminder… and I suspect not just for me.

Actor Rebecca Hanssen (The Witcher, Baldur’s Gate III) and author Matthew Ward (Legacy Trilogy, The Soulfire Saga) team them up to create our next YouTube dark fantasy short story reading.

*sigh* If your Kickstarter video/image is AI, I won't back it. If your book has an AI cover, I won't read it. If you're a public supporter of AI use for creative work, I will unfollow you. I cannot stress enough how offensive I find AI use in the arts. It is outright theft, it is lazy, it is gross.

Sad to hear that Paul Seed has passed away. Not only is his version of House of Cards the definitive one, his performance as the Graf Vynda-K in The Ribos Operation is unforgettable. The Graf, at least, will live on as a particular Necron.

I keep seeing "all authors use AI, the real issue is they're being forced to be sneaky about it" headlines. Full stop No. This is a lie peddled for normalization. It's schoolyard-level pressure tactics "C'mon, all the cool kids are already doing it. We won't tell. It's fine. We're on your side."

Sometimes, too, a reader just doesn't like you. You don't like who they voted for, or a book they read, a movie they saw, or you love something they don't, and nothing you write is going to please them.

They: Hi! Through our unhallowed ransacking of the world's knowledge, your computer can now talk to the dead. Me: Can it talk to my printer yet? They: haha no

We’ve started a belated (due to me being away with work a lot) watch of #DoctorWho Season 21 via the new collection. It’s a special one for me, as it’s the first season I have vivid memories of watching on original broadcast. Boy, do I have scars.

(Caveat up front: I have managed to get my seat.) I HATE the weaselly convention on the UK railway that if the train isn’t displaying reservations, there ARE magically no reservations. My ticket says otherwise, s***heel. If it’s good enough to book passage, it’s proof of reservation too.

London St Pancras tonight.

Not for the first time, Patch is wise. Listen to Patch. (This advice applies to pretty much all creative undertakings. Life is too short to forever be someone else’s pair of hands.)

Just. Stop. It.

Guys and gals… If you (like me) are still waiting on a pre-populated form for your Anthropic copyright claim, it’s probably NOT coming, despite what you have been told. The deadline is March 30th. Self submit while you still can!

You know how we're getting helpful suggestions now on how to save energy- work from home, fly less, select which of your children to continue feeding, that sort of thing. Was just wondering if anyone had suggested to our tech overlords they power down the AI junk generators for a couple of weeks?

A telling list here: WeDon’tTalkAboutAndrew RememberWhenDemocracywasEvenMoreBroken AShameAbouttheNHS WeLikeTheOldDays WeDon’tFightPointlessWarsAnyMore (under review)