Hopping back on here to say my new book is finally out! Tell your university librarian to buy a copy, please!
Michael Riches
@michaelriches.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of English, Appalachian State University | writing on California, African American literature, frontiers, crime fiction | straddling uncomfortably the intersection between Bartleby the Scrivener and Gonzo the Great
Academic friends: favorite books in C20/21 American lit, lit theory, race and lit, or related areas, published in the past few years? I have some use-or-lose startup funds that need spending by the end of the month
Making a rare and cynical excursion to the barren plains of Bluesky to ask academic friends to ask their librarians to consider pre-ordering my (excellent, imo) new book, out in June! cambridge.org/ag/universitypress/subjects/literature/american-literature/los-angeles-literary-history
Los Angeles | Cambridge University Press & Assessment
cambridge.org
For months on end I forget this place exists. I'm guessing it doesn't feel like Twitter From Five to Eight Years Ago yet?
Everything about the music business in the late sixties sounds completely fake
No disrespect to Ira Gershwin but rhyming brunch with lunch is hack. You can't just go rhyming a portmanteau with one of the two words it's derived from.
“You know, these plans are quite similar to the ones they have at the Reform conference”
One of the things I find hardest about severe episodes of mental ill-health is the number of people you have to lie to about why you’re canceling on them/late in doing something/forgetting to reply to messages/not doing your best work Exhausting!
In Sonic 3 (2024), End of the Line by the Traveling Wilburys (1988) is used as diegetic music in a flashback to 50 years before the present-day events of the movie. All the more galling given that a period-appropriate pop song (The Beach Boys’ Wouldn’t It Be Nice) is used elsewhere in the movie.
I don’t even know why I still had an account on that exploitative and largely useless platform but as of today I don’t anymore.
Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · 11mo agoAcademia dot edu licensing agreement says it can use your likeness and voice and publications in any manner they want, world wide.
True admiration for Bruce Springsteen, the most “claims to be 5‘10” on Hinge but is 5’7” IRL“ guy in rock, making a tactical decision decades ago to flank himself with actual hobbits Steve van Zandt and Nils Lofgren
Arthur Miller died less than 7 weeks after the release of Meet the Fockers and we can't rule out the possibility that the two events were linked
Jonn Elledge@jonnelledge.bsky.social · 11mo agoa thing I have just discovered that feels utterly wrong is that Arthur Miller only died in 2005. he could have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. he could have seen Donnie Darko!
In a month’s time we get a new Pynchon novel and I just think that’s neat
A wonderful former student of mine is struggling with medical bills. While access to healthcare without fear of financial hardship shouldn’t be contingent on being a good or talented person, Matthew is both. If you can spare anything, I know it will be deeply appreciated. gofund.me/46c876c0
Donate to Matthew Washington's Medical Bill, organized by Matthew Washington
Hey there everyone. My name is Matthew Washington. I am a recent graduate of … Matthew Washington needs your support for Matthew Washington's Medical Bill
gofund.me
Academic request: do I know anyone, or do you know anyone, who has access to the journal African Identities?
I don’t speak to my father any more but alas I can never disown his description of TNG as “social workers in space” (he was a social worker)
Brandon Bird@brandonbird.bsky.social · 12mo agoTNG did not take off in the zeitgeist until it ditched the overt futurism and became a "hang out with your pals" show.
PSA: due to [reasons] I'm exploring changing my surname to my mother's maiden name, and I'm choosing Bluesky as a consequence-free place to test out how it feels. Given my career choice, this is the only way I'm ever going to obtain Riches.
[Youth Pastor turning to the Book of Genesis] “let me tell you about the original content creator”
Menswear ads on instagram are either for $49 suits from a sketchy dropshipping operation called either Spvrluocyj or Bloodlust and Hinterland Supply Co., or they’re for high-waist trousers that cost five million dollars
They should just make one cleanser and one moisturizer and one sunscreen that are good.
ill-advisedly ambiguous marketing copy from Spirit, here
An obvious point, made many times before, but surely concert ticket prices for established/legacy acts are unsustainable? I love live music, I have a decent salary, but I am simply not paying $140+ (for a crap seat), plus travel and accommodation for Elvis Costello or David Byrne.
Didn't expect to feel such joy and relief that, after 20 years of dross, pointless covers, and screeds about how Klaus Schwab, George Soros, and Bill Gates are trying to stop him touring, Van Morrison has made a mostly good album and returned to songs about remembering place names in Belfast.
The year is 1955 and I am profoundly misunderstanding Bill Haley and His Comets
JFK is a scam to make you so flustered, frustrated and despairing after the three hours of waiting in lines, the missed flight, the bag recheck, the patdown, the being demeaned by 8-10 different staff members, that you’ll gratefully spend $53 on a burrito and a beer to make yourself feel better
[Henry II joins the Beastie Boys] His strong BELIEFS My cause of GRIEF Rid me of this turbulent PRIEST
Faced with a dilemma whenever I place an order in an American cafe and the person asks "what's a good name?" I don't really think Michael's a good name. Fine, serviceable, but nothing striking. Marmaduke is a good name, so is Alphonse, so is Caractacus, so is Cthulhu. They're not *my* name, but...
Terrified by the 14-legged beasts apparently working at the NYT
