Roger Luckhurst
@theprofrog.bsky.social
academic/freelance writer, on Gothic, Horror film, Science Fiction. Latest: Graveyards: A History of Living with the Dead (2025). Now writing a taxonomy of the undead.
Also sat throughThe Sacrifice after Nostalgia last week. High/low culture conversion: 2 x Tarkofsky = 7 x Tremors sequels or 5 x Sharknado sequels
Book club scams have moved on to plausibly impersonating real commissioning editors (be warned), but this is my favourite so far — a note of appreciation from 89 year old Thomas Pynchon
Man with no particular opinion about The Odyssey found
The sec of state who has seen at least 15000 academics lose their jobs just said this. Out loud. Mercy me. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘It hurts to lose a job you love’: Starmer loyalist Bridget Phillipson fights on despite cabinet demotion
Exclusive: The former education secretary on her new role as Labour chair and continuing as the minister for women and equalities
theguardian.com
I've just realised that the strange creaking sound I've been hearing this last week or so is the noise of the brows of the majority of political commentators being forced to frown over actual difficult policy issues rather than obsess about Westminster gossip. A reverse silly season: refreshing,
Oldies, I am here to tell you to never, EVER watch an advert for orthopedic pillows the whole way through. It's like solving the Lament Configuration: eternal hell opens up before you.
Here in Clerkenwell that means all the kids will be learning how to be a barista, how to carry off post-ironic tattoos
Burnham to tell schools in England to adapt teaching to local business needs
PM wants curriculums for students aged 14 and above to be more responsive to local jobs market
theguardian.com
Got a hot take on Odysseus? Good: apply for this, put it in your cover letter and, otherwise, for the love of the gods, give it a rest on social media
Grew up in 70s with older brother into comedy LPs -- so very weirdly, I knew the Rutles much better than the Beatles and also thought The Goodies were a proper rock band, with a TV show as an add on. The Almost Live at The Cricklewood Rainbow album etched into my mind. RIP Bill Oddie.
This will be coming out in 2027. 79 contributors, it’s a monster!
Gotta say the Thai film A Useful Ghost has one of the sexiest haunted vacuum cleaners I’ve seen in quite a while
If you get through Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia on a Friday night, you get so many Proper High Art points you can then watch as many Spiderman movies as you like for the next 7 days and come out even
Well it's three days in and I still see no sign of the revolutionary overthrow of the international capitalist system. Time for Burnham to go.
Enjoying the cooler day today, but have only just discovered (from the Met Office feed) that at least some of the cloud cover over the UK today is smoke from North American wild fires. We really are totally fucked.
Head of School job in Creative Arts at Birkbeck now advertised:
Head of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, Birkbeck - Minerva
minervasearch.com
Keegan my childhood hero and the whole reason why, improbably and with total inauthenticity, a kid from the badlands of Essex supported Liverpool all through the 70s. RIP
Quite hopeful about the ending homelessness pledge, as that means solving public housing, fixing social care, huge investment into mental health services, fundamentally changing drug policies, properly funding addiction services and supporting massive investment into local government services.
Sad to hear of the death of Edward Stourton, always the least grandstanding of the R4 Today presenters.
Owing to a mix up with official cars, Andy Burnham presents his resignation to the King and Sir Keir Starmer appointed Prime Minister
Odysseus, a weak king in my opinion, horribly weak on Troy, ten years siege when I would have taken it on day one, no problem. His son is also a horrible person, weak and corrupt. I’d back Antinous over him any day, he’s a personal friend of mine actually. Good riddance, Odysseus!
