Everything I'd like to say about #TheOdyssey, but said much better. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...
The Odyssey we deserve
Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart
newhumanist.org.uk
Tim Lees
@timlees.bsky.social
Novelist, short story writer. Brit in Chicago. Door-opener and treat-supplier to a small dog. Married to a wonderful woman. https://timlees.wordpress.com/
Follow the money: Musk keeps calling Hitler a "socialist" in an effort to discredit socialist (or social democrat policies) because he doesn't want to pay more tax. It's very simple.
I have now seen The Odyssey. It's not Homer's Odyssey, it's Nolan's, and continues some of his themes from Dunkirk. It's wonderfully, unsettlingly brilliant, a chronicle of regret and fear, and in places deeply moving. Don't expect your standard sword-n-sandal epic.
This is so good! I mean, I knew it would be, but it definitely is. Highly recommended.
Tim Lees@timlees.bsky.social · 3w ago
Somebody should really make a (good) biopic of Gregory Corso's life. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory...
Gregory Corso - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Finally a toilet for people who just want a quiet place to pet their duck.
I'd trust Fauci a million times before I'd trust RFK Jr, on healthcare or -- well, anything, in fact.
Not sure I get the jazz thing where you don't play the tune, change all the chords, but give the original composer a credit anyway. Maybe it's just a case of being generous.
It's streaming time, y'all! Tonight, we're talking to Beth Cato about A House Between Sea and Sky! Join us for an evening of book and writing chat! We're having fun! twitch.tv/alphabetst...
Either substantial portions of this country secede and form a new nation or we outlaw the Republican Party as an organization because its existence is incompatible with a functioning, democratic republic. A political party must abide by the rules in order to be protected by them.
tony romm@tonyromm.bsky.social · 4w agoNEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
I have no personal insight into whether the allegations against Neil Gaiman are true or not, but here is some serious journalism on the subject. Warning: there is material quoted in the 2nd installment which will make you despair of humanity. technopathology.substack.com/p/neil-gaima...
Neil Gaiman Is Innocent: Introduction
How this all began.
technopathology.substack.com
Everybody I know that has retired has died, and I don’t want to go yet. That’s why I keep working. It keeps my mind going, keeps me creating, keeps me alive. - Herbie Hancock
A curious thing about the Odyssey - poem, not film. The fantastic elements - the Cyclops, Circe, etc - aren't part of the objective, 3rd person narrative, but recounted by Odysseus himself, a boastful trickster - so, is he lying? Is he literature's first unreliable narrator?
Anthony Burgess -- hardly a "radical leftie" -- on the grim reign of Margaret Thatcher. anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/a-woman-wh...
A Woman Who Chills the Heart
Anthony Burgess on Margaret Thatcher and the legacy of Thatcherism
anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com
Wish I had better news to share. But beware, use air filters in your house, protect yourself as you can, because this summer is going to be really bad in this regard.
Wildfire smoke kills tens of thousands of people a year. Here's how it attacks the body
Wildfire smoke, which is increasing in the Northern Hemisphere as the climate warms, attacks nearly every system in the body.
apnews.com
Interesting observations on Sam Neill's role in horror: gnofhorror.com/sam-neill-ob...
Sam Neill: The Quiet Master Of Horror We Never Quite Gave His Due (1947–2026) - The Ginger Nuts Of Horror: Horror Book Reviews & Horror Movie Reviews
Sam Neill has died aged 78. We remember the Event Horizon and In the Mouth of Madness star as one of horror's most underrated leading men.
gnofhorror.com
Air quality like someone blowing smoke from 2,000 really cheap cigars right in your face. Out come the masks again...
Apparently, back in the '60s, Fellini was a big fan of Marvel comics, and now I'm wondering what he would have done with the MCU...
Anyone who's spent any time in the world of work knows that hard work and income bear very little relation to each other. Some of the hardest working people earn very little, while others are well-rewarded for doing... well, I'm not sure what.
I'm no longer a Christian, but the outpouring of online hate from people pretending to be Christians gives me a renewed appreciation of the gospels. Problematic books, perhaps, but their overall message of kindness, hospitality, forgiveness, and kicking rich folk in the arse has a timeless appeal.
I just walked back from Evanston and I want someone to remind me not to leave the house again for at least three months. #heat
I read a couple of Castenadas' books. The first was pretty clearly an academic thesis, though with a good sense of narrative and character (don Juan, the Yaqui shaman). The next (I think the 5th in order) was obviously a novel, if a rather unusual one. crimereads.com/ru-marshall-...
Ru Marshall on the Curious Lives and Legends of Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda began his rise to fame in 1968, while he was still a graduate student at UCLA, with the publication, by the University of California Press, of his first book The Teaching of Don Ju…
crimereads.com
A new Harrison! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
M John Harrison: ‘If we met a real alien we’d have no clue what they thought’
At 80, SF author M John Harrison is producing some of his best work. He talks about finding his voice, alien intelligence and the advice from Iain Banks that still spurs him on
theguardian.com
Nick Cave. Probably not suitable for family viewing (depending on your family). www.youtube.com/watch?v=uINi...
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Stagger Lee (HD)
YouTube video by Meowmeowmeowelephant
youtube.com