I'm old enough to remember when they started playing commercials before trailers in theaters. People older than me were offended by it, I didn't think it was a big deal, but I should have listened. We should have held the line. I should have listened.

I don’t endorse violence, but seeing billionaires fail at everything as they yell at everyone else and actually enable policies that get hundreds of thousands killed… Just wondering where the line is.

The year is 2040. Conservatives have won the culture war. All the gays are back in the closet. John Wayne movies play 24 hours on all channels. Women “like” being forced to stay home with the kids. A single transgender soul resists.

It's been four weeks since GOD'S JUNK DRAWER appeared in the world, and my thanks to all of you who've had kind things to say about it. May I also use this moment to nudge you into perhaps saying said things on your favorite online review depository? It really helps immensely and is appreciated.

Congrats to the winners of the prestigious NHL Chemistry Prize and International Cricket’s acclaimed Acheivements in Architecture Award.

After careful consideration I have elected to give myself the first ever A. Lee Martinez Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. Better luck to everyone next year.

Listen, we dont have to eat ALL OF THEM. There are about 6 or 7 billionaires that cause most of our problems. If we ate like... 3 of them, Im pretty positive the rest would fall in line.

Cover design is its own science. People who think they should control everything in their production and think they have the skills to do so are greatly overestimating their talents.

Passed by an ad for the McDonalds dollar menu that said every item was “under $4” That’s some Children of Men dystopian worldbuilding right there. The only person who should walk by a sign that says the dollar menu is now the $4 menu is Clive Owen in a movie. Maybe he should have a robot arm too

Whether traditional or independent, the number one problem every writer faces is this: how to get people excited for your work? Everyone has an answer, but I’ve come to believe it’s almost all sharpshooter fallacy.

I was thinking about how hard it is to treat addiction because the addicts need for more and more of the drug to get the same high. Wonder if that's true for someone addicted to the adrenaline they get from using power against perceived enemies. Every day.

I remembered another Monster girl book I loved that y'all might enjoy: Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by @aleemartinez.bsky.social She's a Minotaur, 7 ft tall, furry, cow head. And he does fall for her. bookshop.org/p/books/hele...

On the topic of Small Gods, have I recommended @aleemartinez.bsky.social ‘s Divine Misfortune to you before? A couple decide to try to change their luck by officially worshipping a small god. I find it hilarious.

Giving this a little bump because apparently a lot of folks missed it and some other folks are *really determined* to find someone to blame for it. Despite me explaining it's just crap luck and there's no one to blame.

A podcast I guested on where we talk about Rim of the World, kids saving the world from alien invasion. www.mmftg.com/episodes/

I’m beginning to suspect that men with a history of sexual predation, who have openly talked about their own sexual predation, who have taken great pains to hide evidence of their own sexual predation…might be sexual predators. But let’s not jump to conclusions.

Neoliberalism is a political philosophy of eternal, premature surrender.

so where are the op-eds about republican overreach today? where’s the commentary about donald trumps war against american citizens or his terror campaign targeting brown people? where’s the pearl clutching over the conservative social media bubble reliant on nazi propagandists?

Monthly reminder: Many people have a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination and Insecurity Mountain, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, and use it to cut your chest open and yank that book out.

To be fair, they believe these things (starving people, more money for billionaires, widespread anti-immigrant rhetoric) are good things. They believe everyone else believes it too. Their surprise is genuine.

This attempt at authoritarianism is dangerous, without a doubt, but also, incredibly stupid. I guess the two go together.

It’s simple. Poor people should all walk around with fingerless gloves, eating gruel, and dreaming of a better life as expressed in jaunty musical numbers. Then, once in a while, one gets adopted by a rich person, and everything works out for that one. It’s just basic economics.

I don't resent poor people who use food stamps to buy another soft drink. I resent rich people who take away the funds for food stamps to buy another yacht.

So we’re basically living through the dumbest intersection “Let them eat cake” and The Great Gatsby.

Saw a YouTube video asking “How much money did it cost to beat the original Dragon’s Lair arcade game?” My answer: 50 cents, if you were good enough.

One thing is evident: authoritarian states are doomed to collapse. Certainly, they can harm their citizens and the rest of the world, but they can never sustain themselves simply because the leader’s ego can never be sated. They will burn a nation to the ground in their endless hunger.

There are approximately 1 million covers of Maniac. And I will listen to any and all of them at any time.

Are we really still having the “gurls don’t like X” hot takes? Are we still wasting our time with this nonsense? I refuse to engage with such idiocy. This is the last you’ll hear me even incidentally give it oxygen.

Americans want to watch charismatic people solve moderately difficult problems on a weekly basis. That’s it. And a group of fomo execs and techbros who don’t watch TV drove one of the most profitable industries in the US off a cliff rather than accept that.

Authoritarianism is the Cybertruck of political philosophy. It’s ugly. It doesn’t work. No one outside of the in-group respects it. But if you get someone to buy in, then they’ll say it’s amazing and the best until they die.

hey disney, now that you’ve put tron back in the hard drive for fifteen more years, here’s a little something i have been meaning to say to you for a while - and i do speak for my entire generation when i say this. GIVE US CONDORMAN YOU COWARDS.

trying to explain how THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS is an interesting exploration of class, racism and inequality to my wife. “so it’s not about cannibals?” “oh no, to be clear there ARE cannibals in this film”

Watching Vicious Fun on Tubi. It’s from 2020 and its premise is basically the newest season of Dexter. Not exactly the same but pretty close. About 49 mins in and enjoying the film so far.

Metaphor & symbolism are powerful tools in storytelling. But having a President post a video of himself shitting on U.S. citizens while demolishing the White House to build a gaudy ballroom as the economy flounders is so on the nose that it’d be out of place anywhere but reality.

“If I had money, I’d be Batman.” -person who isn’t even a very good version of themselves

Rachel Harrison always gets me reading. Horror with a strong female lead for all her books. I love them all and really enjoyed her recent Play Nice. Gil’s All Fright Diner is delightful, humourous horror.

They don’t just want to oppress. They want to be lauded for oppressing, praised for saving us from ourselves, be worshipped as gods for lacking the imagination for a better future. In their dreams, they walk backwards and everyone sings in gratitude. They’re popular, beloved, culturally relevant.

Rhetoric is harmless when it endorses white supremacy, dangerous when it challenges white supremacy. This is how it’s always been. They’re “just kids” when espousing Naziism. They’re “dangerous agitators” when quoting MLK.

You’re going to want GOD’S JUNK DRAWER I’m just saying. First book in a long time where I had no idea what was coming next.

I didn’t want to say anything but after calling the president, Machado called me and said, “You should totally have this, too. It’s a shame and scar on the committee that they didn’t give you this award for your amazing writing, which will influence generations!” I didn’t want to mention it before.

Good Boy: A frustrating experience that I hesitate to criticize. So many great scenes and a great premise, only to drop the ball at the 5 yard line. And yet, a labor of love, well done in almost every regard. An original film with a great deal to recommend. A bunch of mixed emotions on this one

I too am outraged that the NFL halftime show is being performed by a musician I’ve barely heard of! It must be because the NFL is out of touch, and certainly not because I’m uncool! Definitely an indication of societal collapse that they aren’t catering to my very specific tastes from 25 years ago!

Every book I’ve written has been made better by editorial input.

Need help understanding—or explaining—how Trump is destroying the US soybean market through tariffs and they using tariff funds to helping to bailout the MAGAlike Argentine president who's selling to China instead of US? Here you go: youtube.com/shorts/8Gm60...

Heard it said that conservatism is a philosophy of subtraction. It endorses removing things for improvement, which leads to the opposite of growth. The world cannot be truly improved. It can only be returned to a less imperfect state. When that doesn’t work, the solution is more subtraction.

“Everyone with a badge thinks they’re hard.” -Vyper, Deadlock

They’ve betrayed everyone they’ve ever worked with, rejected every belief they’ve ever professed, scapegoated every failure… But I’m sure that won’t happen to me when I sign up with them.

Sad to hear about the passing of the Michelangelo of Movie posters, RENATO CASARO. The Man painted so many iconic posters, specially in the 70s/80s: CONAN, TERMINATOR, DUNE, TOTAL RECALL, DANCE WITH THE WOLVES, BLOW OUT, FLASH GORDON, RAMBO, NEVER-ENDING STORY, and the list goes on and on. 1/2

It’s like the opening of Patton, except sort of the community theater version performed by people who skimmed a summary of the movie on Wikipedia and like to call each bro a lot. Also, the community theater troop isn’t very good. Is evil always this awful and goofy simultaneously?