Tomorrow Aug. 4th 2026 is "There Will Come Soft Rains" day from The Martian Chronicles. The best way to honor it is probably to live it like it's your last.

@patrickwyman.bsky.social knows his collapses (see his Fall of Rome podcast), and this is a good tight discussion of the links between Nolan's Odyssey, the late Bronze Age, and our current moment.

Patrick Wyman@patrickwyman.bsky.social · 4d ago

Wrote about Nolan's Odyssey and what it tells about both the Bronze Age Collapse and our own age of wreckers and destroyers. Christopher Nolan's Collapsing Worlds: www.patreon.com/PastLivesMed...

TL;DR: The Odyssey is a great engaging film. See it on the biggest screen you can. More details: Probably does the best job with the big emotional hits of the story of any adaptation I've seen (and maybe of any Nolan that I've seen). Other details later

RIP Glen Hansard. "Falling Slowly" may be my favorite Oscar moment of all time--the performance, the audience energy, the win, Jon Stewart's response to the thank you cutoff.

Any other writers receiving phishing spam from Cirencester Radio / Penny's Picks? It's almost certainly another scam, but they're being unusually persistent for scammers.

The Raven Scholar is an amazing work of ever-changing perceptions of its characters. Starting with red herring tropes that make the reader think they know who's who, the author continually expands the narrative and gracefully flips and flips again our views of most everyone in the tale.

Jean Marie Ward interviews R.F. Kuang, award-winning, bestselling author of fantasy and literary fiction. Recorded at Balticon 2019, the interview is published here for the first time in cooperation with Buzzy Multimedia LLC. youtu.be/o0fXhIwCPXY #babel #thepoppywar #RFKuang

You can read my latest story online for free at wawbj.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijo...

Bullet Points

A Home for Military SFF

wawbj.clicks.mlsend.com

Hey @matociquala.bsky.social, just reached the part in Carnival in which Vincent is discussing his people's Gnosticism--as you already know but others may not, that's an excellent choice, as that's what flourishes when an imperium seems inescapable in the physical realm.

#BastilleDay is a good occasion to remember that the French people have had a handful of republics, and each time they lost one they persisted until they got a new one. That's the sort of resilience we need.

This arrived today with my new story, “The Dark Wood”—enjoy!

Now listening to The Best of All Possible Planets--the latest SF humor from @alexshvartsman.bsky.social!

He played a far more charismatic antichrist in a bad film than the penny ante versions that seem to be springing up everywhere IRL these days. RIP. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/m...

Sam Neill, New Zealand Actor Known for ‘Jurassic Park,’ Dies at 78

He appeared in more than 150 productions over a five-decade career but was perhaps best known for his star turn in the “Jurassic Park” series.

nytimes.com

Senator Claghorn rises to respond. "I say, that's no joke son! That's not a funny!"

Widow's Bay DSA@gonebabygone.bsky.social · 3w ago

Benoit Blanc (incredulous): Is this nominally august chamber even fully cognizant of how many of its number have slipped the veil?

Big thank you to everyone working on @readercon.bsky.social this past weekend--an awesome con again this year!

Today I'll be giving my Summers in Oz presentation at @readercon.bsky.social at noon!

Off shortly to my next Readercon panel at 3pm on Karel Capek with fellow panelists John Kessel, Kit Sedia, and Brent Cox.

My third panel yesterday at @Readercon yesterday was Classical Reception in Contemporary SFF with fellow panelists Alexander Jablokov, Sonja Ryst, and Sonya Taaffe--all with very wide and deep knowledge of ancient Greece and Roman and their many roles in SF/F.

My reading yesterday at @readercon.bsky.social was my story "The Dark Wood"--which after 14 years will be coming out in Bullet Points #14 this week!

My 2nd panel of the day on Friday at @readercon.bsky.social was Alternate Apollo: The Space Race Goes On with fellow panelists @matthewkressel.net, @rwwgreene.bsky.social, and @romiesays.bsky.social--folks with a lot of collective knowledge of space culture.

Wohoo! @tomdoyle.bsky.social second book in the American Craftsman trilogy is on kindle sale for $2.99 Since 1 & 3 were on sale in June, can complete owning the trilogy. #booksky #amreading

First panel of the day at @readercon.bsky.social at 11am: discussing the works of GoH @pdjeliclark.bsky.social, with other panelists @brklyndragon.bsky.social (Rob Cameron), @andreahairston.bsky.social, and @victoriajanssen.bsky.social.

Today will be my busiest day at @readercon.bsky.social! Some great panels, and I'll be reading from one of my stories at 2:30.

At @readercon.bsky.social, had a great panel on "Spy-Fi" this evening with @matociquala.bsky.social (Elizabeth Bear), @kenschneyer.bsky.social, Lawrence Raphael Brothers, and Marianna Martin.

One other schedule item that I missed in my previous @readercon.bsky.social post: I'll be at the Meet the Pros(e) Party on Friday, 10:15pm. It's a really well-organized way to meet other con-goers of all sorts.

For those looking today for a book that has a lot of the good, the bad, and the ugly of American history and literature as its backdrop, my American Craftsmen might amuse. www.amazon.com/American-Cra...

American Craftsmen: A Novel (American Craft Series)

American Craftsmen: A Novel (American Craft Series) [Doyle, Tom] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. American Craftsmen: A Novel (American Craft Series)

amazon.com

My schedule for Readercon next weekend!

#HeadsUp: As noted by @larisa-labrant.bsky.social, American Craftsmen (American Craft Book 1), by @tomdoyle.bsky.social, is on US ebook sale for $2; I got a copy for myself, and some for random giveaway.

Larisa LaBrant@larisa-labrant.bsky.social · last mo.

This is still on sale & book one American Craftsman is $1.99. @kithrup.bsky.social this is one of my fav American Magic trilogies, very much worthy of one of your generous giveaways. What if the Puritan families had magic, along w/indigenous peoples, & other cultures? And the grudges betwixt them.

I've been reading Walter Hunt's 1637: The French Correction--a fun sequel to his 1636: The Cardinal Virtues in the 1632 alternate history universe. In the latest, the characters are amusingly aware not just how future history has treated them, but also how Dumas will treat them.

Another Bloomsday passes--it's always different every year with Joyce's Ulysses. Today I'm thinking how, like Dante's Comedy, its setting is in the writer's past prior to exile, which is also prior to the traumatic European & Irish conflicts occurring during the time of its writing...