There‘s been a lot of good crime fiction reflecting the tragedy of 9/11, with ABSENT FRIENDS by SJ Rozan and SMALL TOWN by Lawrence Block being my favorite novel, but by far my favorite 9/11 crime fiction story is CLOSURE by @davewhite.bsky.social thrillingdetective.com/2023/04/01/c...

“Closure”

A Jackson Donne Story by David White Autumn 2002 “Where were you?” Omar said, his voice like a needle in my ear. We were sitting on the New Jersey Turnpike, heading north. Traffic was s…

thrillingdetective.com

It‘s been a while since I’ve posted some Ed and Zorro content and I apologize profusely and hope you will forgive me this epic transgression.

I am genuinely baffled when I see authors online using AI-generated pictures to promote their work. That shit is crammed down our throat enough by industries we loath the last thing we need is to have it coming from industries and creators we love.

I needed a new murder show too watch between new episodes of REACHER and nothing clicked with me until I started FURIOUS on Hulu. Holy shit is this show fantastic. It’s somehow manages a perfect balance of dark and emotional and funny and terrifying. the cast is phenomenal from top to bottom.

Read Amanda’s column, which is great like everything she does, and then read ENSHITTIFICATION by @doctorow.pluralistic.net which delves even deeper into this. They’re both very informative and not as depressing as you would think.

Amanda Mull@amandamull.bsky.social · 4w ago

I got into this a bit in my column last week but I think social platforms' extreme push toward sales, slop and outrage has done a lot to degrade people's attitudes toward tech, even if they're still using them and still buying. People feeling compelled to do things that feel bad breeds resentment!

What’s the most 90s thing about you? I watched the OJ trial in government class.

Dave White@davewhite.bsky.social · 4w ago

What’s the most 90s thing about you? I wrote my college application essay about Rent

Taking the @lauralippman.bsky.social strategy and spent the afternoon watching baseball. I found a cheap last minute ticket to the game and this is a pretty great way to spend a Sunday.

A billion dollars is the socio-economic equivalent of a loose nuke, and we should work with the same urgency and ruthlessness to prevent the acquisition of the former as we do the latter.

GOLIKEHELLMACHINE@golikehellmachine.com · last mo.

this is a thing that i don’t think can or maybe ever could resonate with the median voter, but the stratospheric wealth enjoyed by — mostly but not exclusively — american tech plutocrats is destabilizing to american society and our government should treat it as a national security threat

I love talking to Adam Frost, though it doesn’t happen nearly enough, and I’ve been looking forward to this book since I first heard about it. I got an early copy, and it’s everything I hoped it would be- funny, deep, heartbreaking, and so well written. Get your pre-orders in now! bit.ly/4xDmhqF

I'm very cautiously optimistic that it seems like all of those Tarot card readings about my epically shitty run of bad luck and trauma turning into success eventually might finally be coming to fruition. Now I just wait and try not to piss of the universe anymore until I have concrete proof.

This is all part of a broader trend where society is trying to eliminate any source of friction in our life, not realizing most of what makes life special and unique and worth living is the friction. Otherwise we’re just the floating chair blobs from WALL-E

Amanda Mull@amandamull.bsky.social · last mo.

This is the same old "you can't solve weightlifting with a forklift" thing that happens again and again with current consumer uses of AI: the point of reading a book is not to finish the book easily, it's to READ the book, especially if the book asks you to do something that feels difficult

1995 book sales were $25.4 billion and music sales were $39.6 billion. 2025 music sales were $31.7 billion and book sales were $32.5 billion. But nobody says the music industry is dying or that no one listens to music anymore. And authors’ shares of sales are much higher than musicians’ shares.

Maris Kreizman@maris.bsky.social · last mo.

But our industry is "dying" www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Young Flo. Before she was your friendly neighborhood insurance spokesperson, she had a childhood and eventually a blue apron.

Just Another Film Nerd@anotherfilmnerd.bsky.social · last mo.

Pitch your most pointless, dull prequel idea that could potentially be greenlit in this idea-starved world. DIRTY: In which we learn how Harry Callahan earned his nickname.

There is nothing you can do as a writer more important to your creativity and giving your work a soul than seeing art in person. Paintings, sculptures, wood prints, abstract installation, symphonies, weird theater, see all of it. Even if you aren’t a writer, seeing art will make you a better person.

SACosby@blacktopkid.bsky.social · last mo.

In April I went to the MOMA to see STARRY NIGHT painted by Vincent Van Gogh I did not expect that I would have such a visceral reaction. It was like seeing Jimi Hendrix's white Stratocaster in Seattle at the Museum of Pop Culture. Seeing genuine genius in a coporeal form. It ...moved me

I don’t think that’s quite true. It’s not true in the propaganda mind altering way people think but good professors open students’ eyes and show them a world beyond their tiny segment. and once exposed to empathy and wider POVs they naturally become more liberal by just being more human.

Dan Silverman@dmsilverman.bsky.social · last mo.

New study shows that — contra widely accepted narratives — there is NO EVIDENCE that professors change their students’ politics and make them more liberal through their teaching

Kitten Socializing Update: While Ed remains Maurice’s chief tormentor, he’s also become his best cuddle buddy. Zorro has been bonding more with our pug. Also: someone taught them martial arts. Yesterday Ed did a flip in the air and came down in a perfect kick to Zorro’s head. Brutal and hilarious.

Also: Abdul El-Sayed isn’t an official Democratic Socialist of America candidate, but he represents a lot of what they stand for and it shouldn’t be a shock that they are the first political party I’ve thought about volunteering for in a very long time.

Bryon Quertermous@bryonquertermous.com · last mo.

I don’t get excited about much in politics these days, but I love this guy. I’ve been following him since he first ran for governor. He’s smart and savvy and has a lot of what made Zohran Mamdani successful. I hope he blows the doors off Mike Rogers and stuffy Democrats www.bbc.com/news/article...

I don’t get excited about much in politics these days, but I love this guy. I’ve been following him since he first ran for governor. He’s smart and savvy and has a lot of what made Zohran Mamdani successful. I hope he blows the doors off Mike Rogers and stuffy Democrats www.bbc.com/news/article...

Abdul El-Sayed's victory sends tremors through Democratic Party

His win in Michigan sets up a high-stakes contest in November, testing a left-wing candidate's popularity in a swing state.

bbc.com

I thought of @lauralippman.bsky.social when I was reading DON’T CALL IT ART by @austinkleon.bsky.social and he talks about Curious Elders - people who learn from and appreciate younger generations. I know Laura would be excited that Kleon’s original Curious Elder is John Waters.

I am really gonna miss giving my husband little recaps of what happened on this week’s episode of Cape Fear. Bring back prestige camp.

Ed has decided I’m not leaving bed today. Oh well.

Has there ever been a technology that was supposed to be this amazing and revolutionary that had to be shoved down people’s throats like this?

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 8mo ago

AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

I think I've decided that my favorite song is also my favorite short story and that is scenes from an Italian restaurant by Billy Joel. It's just almost perfect as both.

I‘d gotten away from word games on my phone for a while and started back up again, including Spelling Bee. It’s been harder for me then it used to be because I’m out of practice, but this felt good.

It's good to see young people getting in to crime, sometimes one worries that there's just no way to break into established industries anymore. torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...

The Phone Scammers Next Door: An ambitious young couple, a multimillion-dollar swindle and the sting that brought them down - Toronto Life

An ambitious young couple, a Rosedale address, a multimillion-dollar swindle and the sting that brought them down

torontolife.com

The socializing of Ed and Zorro among our other pets continues and seems to be going well. Leo loves his little chaos buddies and Maurice has taken a cranky, but tolerating, elder vibe around them. The kids have also introduced the laser pointer into the chaos.

One of the million ideas I’d love to write if I had endless time is about an internal affairs detective who quits and becomes a PI only handling police brutality and misconduct cases.

John Rogers@johnrogers.bsky.social · 2mo ago

An antagonistic relationship with power in general, despite the occasional frenemy cop for contacts/story advancement, is pretty key, but American mainstream TV can't help but lay in that the PI as an adjunct to legitimate power.

I’m big fan of Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, and her new mystery novel is great. It’s a celebration and skewering of authors, publishing, mystery novels and STC-style writing books. It’s a great mystery with a veey satisfying and surprising ending. Highly recommended.

Leo would like to remind everyone there are pets in this house other than the kittens. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

My latest newsletter is out including a new BQ&A interview w/ @maris.bsky.social where we talk about writing, diabetes, the Internet, and Daria. Check it out and share with your friends! bryonquertermous.substack.com/p/bq-and-a-i...

BQ&A Interview with Maris Kreizman + Catching Up

The fact that my last newsletter was almost six months ago and was about the surprise death of my cat and my aunt should tell you everything you need to know about why it’s been so long since I last w...

bryonquertermous.substack.com