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Ben McKenzie

@benmckenzie.com.au

He/him performer, writer, educator, game designer and ginger on Wurundjeri Country (aka Melbourne, Australia). I make the book club podcast Pratchat, time travel radio comedy Night Terrace, games and more. The doco about cryptocurrency was the other guy.

541 Posts905 Follower668 Folgt
Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · last wk.

Teaching a summer class on fixing everything that's wrong....in your first five pages. I know. I wish I could teach you how to fix everything that's wrong in the damn universe. But I can definitely help your manuscript kick some serious ass. www.theshipmanagency.com/classes/firs...

Craft Seminar: The First Five Pages: Making A Beginning That Sells Your Book with Maria Dahvana Headley — The Shipman Agency

4 Sessions: Thursdays, August 6, 13, 20, 27 6:00-8:00pm ET Maria Dahvana Headley Maria Dahvana Headley is the New York Times -bestselling, Hugo , and World Fantasy Award-winning author...

theshipmanagency.com

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last wk.

GNU Bill Oddie. In the liner notes for a Goodies anthology, he (jokingly) wrote: “I would like to thank the other two Goodies, but I really can’t: it would have been so much easier without them.” It’s a little harder without you, Bill. But what a life, and now you return to the nature you loved.

Dr. Emily Friedman@friede.bsky.social · 3w ago

Games Not (Only) By Cis-Dudes 🧵 (list in progress I keep on my phone & pasting here) * Apocalypse World * For the queen * The quiet year * Yazeba’s bed and breakfast * Seven part pact * Kagematsu & A single man * Tales of the Fisherman’s Wife * Steal Away Jordan * A Mending * Field guide to memory

Julia Kartes-Jagolkowska@juliakartes.bsky.social · 3w ago

This year I wanna play more RPGs written or created by women or mostly women teams, indies and self-promo extremely welcome. Please drop your recs below, I need help to find hidden gems 🙏 Also looking for one-shot games 👀

Patrick Lenton@patricklenton.bsky.social · 3w ago

i accidentally let a bookmarking program I subscribe to lapse, meaning I lost a bunch of links I bookmarked for research, which is annoying. Can anyone remember a recent article or piece of research that looked at anti-queer bias in mainstream media?

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas@horrornonna.com · 3w ago

This is pretty well known, but the Australian flag Sam Neill wore on his uniform in Event Horizon was designed at his request to show the Union Jack replaced with the Aboriginal flag, because he hoped in the future this is how it would actually look. A proper fucken ally in every way, this bloke.

Sam Neill on profile in EVENT HORIZON, with a patch on his jacket that shows the Australian flag but with the Union Jack replaced with the Aboriginal flag, because fuck colonialism and Sam knew that this always was, always will be, Aboriginal land
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas@horrornonna.com · 3w ago

I call for a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand as we mourn one of the very best human beings of the past century, who also happend to be quite a dab hand at acting. Mine is one of so many broken hearts the world over - what a fucking mensch.

Sam Neill in Zulawski's Possession, his back turned to the camera with his hand on a window, looking outside. It feels final as fuck.
Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last mo.

Do I know anyone using the “slow social media” app Roost? It sends messages via virtual “pigeons” (various unlockable birds and other creatures) which take variable amounts of time to arrive, based on a speed stat and users’ actual distance. It sounds cute. But I’ve no-one to send messages to.

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last mo.

I’ve been trying to learn the current state of Bandcamp, but there’s very little reporting since the union-busting of 2023. All I can find from the last year are one subscriber-only Substack post, and one AI-written guide to using it from a generic “advice for musicians” website. Anyone know more?

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last mo.

I don’t even know if we have Intersection at PAXAus (I’ve not been able to go since pre-Pandemic) but “welcome home” has to apply to everyone if it’s to mean anything. That means proper support, especially now, especially in the US. I hope the PAX folks see that.

Cassie aka Lamia@intersectionscch.blacksky.app · last mo.

With the nightmares for QTBIPOC in the United States right now, it is so so telling that @officialpax.bsky.social has decided that 2026 is the year to cut support and funding for The PAX Intersection & its PTI programs that made a PAX safer & life changing event for devs & attendees of color alike.

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last mo.

“Dressing up as a sci-fi wizard won’t relieve tough pain when it hits. Just stop at [famous pharmacy chain] for [famous analgesic brand].” An actual ad I just heard on an actual podcast. No further context. The podcast was not about “sci-fi wizards”. Not even an LLM would write that, surely?

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · last mo.

I suspect I already know the answer to this, but is it a known, common neurodivergent behaviour to only get admin stuff done while walking or otherwise semi-occupied with something else?

Michael Bazaco@mcbazacophd.bsky.social · last mo.

Am I being over-sensitive here or does the term “side effects” have an inherent negative connotation and therefore this headline is sci-comm malpractice? The “side effects” are reduced risk of serious cardiac complications and reduced risk of all-cause cardiac events. Benefits. That’s the word.

COVID Vaccine Linked to New Side Effect, Especially in Older Adults

The COVID vaccine was linked to a new side effect for older adults.

ca.style.yahoo.com

Tim Baxter@timinclimate.naruresearch.com.au · last mo.

🚨On Monday July 27 at 2pm AEST, every phone in Australia will get very loud. 🚨 If you are vulnerable, with a phone as part of your escape plan, please make sure that you take steps to protect yourself. If you aren't vulnerable, please help get the word out to protect those who are.

ausalert.gov.au

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · 2mo ago

God of War: Laufey has me all excited so I’ve fired up Ragnarok to finally try the Valhalla expansion, and maybe knock off the last two side quests I had left. Unfortunately they’re the two hardest fights in the game and I am soooooo rusty. Need a training mode! Which I guess Valhalla sort of is?

Ben McKenzie@benmckenzie.com.au · 2mo ago

Some solid picks here from Ed Power, but it’s telling that if you asked ten other #TerryPratchett fans (including me) you’d likely get ten quite different lists. There’s much more agreement about the bottom ten, I reckon! And this isn’t even including his non-Discworld work.

I've read all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels - these are the 10 best

The 41 books set in the weird and sometimes wacky fantasy world are some of his best loved. Here's where new readers should start

inews.co.uk