Just picked up Mortlake, a new novel by Adrian Lavelle — about the Renaissance occultist John Dee (who invented a language just to talk to angels?) The first chapter title made me laugh: "The Exorcism of Ann Frank". Should be good! www.amazon.com/dp/B0GT44S11N #booksky #historysky #books

Mortlake

Mortlake

amazon.com

Wealth inequality in this state is working exactly how it was designed to—for those at the very top. The question isn't whether our leaders are concerned. The question is whether they have the lived experience to understand the urgency needed.

Katie Porter@katieporterca.bsky.social · 7mo ago

In 2016, Donald Trump’s pitch was "I'm so rich, you can trust me to drain the swamp.” We’ve seen how that turned out.

"Mia Farrow is a monster. xoxo Peg"-- Email to Jeffrey Epstein from his PR hack Peggy Siegal. Today the monster (who unlike her former boyfriend is not mentioned in Epstein files approximately 7,000 times) turns 81! Photo: @miafarrow.bsky.social with her mom, the divine actress Maureen O'Sullivan

Fans of TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA (1985), MANUNTER (1986), or FEAR (1996) should enjoy this -- Craig MacNeil speaks with William Petersen. #letterboxd #filmsky #moviesky #michaelmann #friedkin #manhunter

William Petersen (Part 1) | Craig & Friends!

Get more from Craig & Friends! on Patreon

patreon.com

Went to the Castro Theatre reopening last night to see a movie, and was very surprised to find myself thinking: "Could it be that all my worries were unfounded? What's happening here?!"

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Castro Theatre Again | KQED

At the reopened theater's first movie screening, the pessimism I've carried for four years melted away.

kqed.org

More movie fans should be in Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary's Patreon- they often drop in to talk about movies*. Great stuff! *(Many of the titles covered by @gcdb.bsky.social, @speederaserhead.bsky.social, @larrythek.bsky.social, @churchofqtpod.bsky.social, @pmbryant.com, @swdb.bsky.social etc)

The Video Archives Podcast | Patreon

Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary revisit the video store

patreon.com

Mark Zuckerberg's G650 Landed in Santa Rosa, California, United States. Apx. flt. time 21 min.

Supervisor Chris Coursey says Sonoma County should end all communication with ICE. It’s a political shift putting him at odds his fellow board members. www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/01/21/s...

Supervisor Chris Coursey says Sonoma County should end all communication with ICE

Supervisor Chris Coursey says he no longer supports the sheriff’s policy of sharing some jail release information, in limited cases, with federal immigration officials. Local advocates welcom…

pressdemocrat.com

Jack Smith: "Trump was charged bc the evidence established he willfully broke the law -- the very laws he took an oath to uphold... After leaving office, Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago social club... highly sensitive natl security info was held in a ballroom & bathroom."

Gov. Newsom rocks. His Davos quote, “Trump is a T-rex. You mate with him or he devours you," is one for the ages.

The great Nancy Allen on the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast this week. www.patreon.com/posts/148105... #letterboxd #moviesky #filmsky

S10E1: Resetting with Nancy Allen | The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast

Get more from The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast on Patreon

patreon.com

In case you missed it, understandably distracted by the ensuing chaos, here be my review of Patti Smith's latest memoir. newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

James Wolcott, The Pattiverse — Sidecar

On ‘Bread of Angels’.

newleftreview.org

The heroes we lack, Trump’s bubble wrap danger, and the Dems grow some oratorical balls. It’s all in today’s Fresh Hell on Substack. bit.ly/3LJHRYb

Trump's Dangerous Bubble

The exploding world of 2026 has spotlit heroes who are ineffably thrilling.

bit.ly

🕊️ U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represented California’s 1st Congressional District and served Northern California for more than a decade, has died at age 65. mendovoice.com/2026/01/rep-... #mendocinocounty #chico #politics #california #ukiah

Yes, he's dying, but he's not dying fast enough. Pick up the pace. Signed, the Crypt-Keeper

Those expensive collagen powders being peddled by all the health influencers? It’s just gelatin. The same stuff they put in jello. So if you want to look young AND save money… eat jello!

There is a trivially easy solution to the exodus issue, which is to pass wealth taxes everywhere. That probably explains why Ackerman, a NY resident, is taking an interest in CA politics.

Forbes@forbes.com · 9mo ago

“California is on a path to self-destruction,” wrote Bill Ackman, joining opposition to a tax proposal alongside Google’s cofounder and more.

Top Putin general linked to Salisbury poisoning 'blown up in Ukraine drone strike on Russian tanker' www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Putin general linked to Salisbury poisoning 'blown up in drone strike'

Averyanov is linked to some of Russia's most notorious covert operations abroad, including the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhinin 2023.

dailymail.co.uk

Ferguson always manages to sound magisterial and tower-dwelling even when he's predictably, horrendously wrong. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/your-occas...

Your Occasional Reminder that Niall Ferguson is Very, Very Wrong

It's time to revisit Ferguson's assertion that Trump does not have a fascist bone in his body.

danieldrezner.substack.com

How bad are Sonoma County roads? Some residents mailed us a piece of their street. As far as reader mail goes, this ranks pretty high #localnews

Who knew that my late husband Harry’s oddball friend would be the subject of the major Oscar-tipped movie Marty Supreme? Plus, a few of my fave personal snaps of 2025 in my Substack Fresh Hell. tinabrown.substack.com/p/how-the-re...

How the Real Marty Supreme Haunted My Basement, plus my Fav Snaps from 2025

It was only when I first saw the trailer for the Oscar-tipped Timothée Chalamet table tennis blockbuster that I realized it’s loosely based on the life of the eccentric ping-pong champion Marty “The N...

tinabrown.substack.com

It’s that time of year again. Apologies if this is a tardy — this year has been a little busy — but here are my 'TOP 50 SONGS OF 2025'; a mix of artists I’ve loved forever and completely new discoveries. Play it loud, listen in order, and ENJOY. linktr.ee/edgarwright

Someone very cleverly converted the Epstein files into photos you can scroll through in a Google Photos Drive: photos.app.goo.gl/62ip97x7yWzX...

Justice-Epstein_dataset_converted · Feb 19, 2002 – Dec 19, 2025 📸

Shared album · Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

A 2026 calendar, each month with a different Kent Porter car-driving-into-storefront photo: would pay good money for this

I contacted dozens of people in media last year to alert them to this guy grooming kids on X. Got NO RESPONSE (not even @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social ) so I gave up FINALLY someone with clout did something: PHIL WILLIAMS @philinvestigates.com an investigative reporter for the local news in Nashville!

GREAT original investigative work by @philinvestigates.com on online Nazis targeting KIDS! (fyi @karaswisher.bsky.social, @jacobware.bsky.social, @dancollen.bsky.social, @davidgilbert.bsky.social, @kieraevebutler.bsky.social, @danielharper.bsky.social, @kathleenbelew.bsky.social, @tristanl.ee)

Phil Williams@philinvestigates.com · 10mo ago

My investigation continues…

Maureen Dowd flitted through my mind because Thanksgiving is coming up, so I'm told, & that's when she annually turns the Times column over to her MAGA brother, whose turkey stuffing is between his ears. Will MoDo be slumming it again this Thanksgiving or will an editor finally say Enough already?

‘People have had enough’: Santa Rosa lawyer mounts long-shot congressional bid. @austinmurphy3.bsky.social has the story on the latest candidate to enter the race for the redrawn 1st District #californiapolitics www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/11/14/p...

‘People have had enough’: Santa Rosa lawyer mounts long-shot congressional bid

Kyle Wilson, a 33-year-old Santa Rosa labor lawyer, is launching a long-shot congressional bid driven by his belief that the American Dream has eroded for young people.

pressdemocrat.com

Today at the White House -- a visit from Erika Kirk, future Vice President or First Lady (Peter Thiel hasn't decided yet.)