J.D. Popham

In a cynical and cutting world, to be kind and sincere is to be subversive.

I feel rather sad for the fate of the casserole in @emmanewman.bsky.social's "After Atlas".

The Neo-Platonists strike back. Hypatia of Alexandria would smile.

I find some of these useful. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/w...

Happy Edison Day to those who celebrate.

If Putin stops fighting, the war ends. If Zelensky stops fighting then his country will be occupied, leaders murdered, language banned, businesses stolen, children kidnapped. That's what happens in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

As if I ever left.

Lo! Paella season is anon!

Two new characters showed up. Solid characters. Loved 'em. Sadly, neither brought a story along with them so I sent them back to do their homework. Cheeky buggers, characters.

I feel guilty about waffles, as if I ought to love them but am somehow letting them down.

Contemporary lit: "The rogue AI agents took over the orbital server farm" Science fiction: "Everyone has free healthcare"

"AI writing breaks the expectations of a literate culture." #writing www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

I would subscribe twice but as a man of modest means I must ask one if you lot to step up. They're stories worthy of your support. #sciencefiction

And another character joins the cast of one of my WIPs.

OK. Long day. Sleepy now. G'night Blue.

Tomorrow (19th September) is #TalkLikeAPirateDay and your annual reminder that when we talk the way we talk when we're talking like a pirate, it's because of a film that was based on a book, inspired by an earlier book, inspired by a real life pirate from #Orkney! ARRR! 🏴‍☠️👇

Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children. He praises Stalin on social media www.propublica.org/article/dona...

If Ukraine would just surrender we could get on with making business deals

Drinking tea and looking out the window. #WritersAtWork #writing

I've got a perfectly good enamled Dutch oven, but I could find a place for the space shuttle casserole. www.nbcnews.com/select/shopp...

Apropos a recent discussion of Tchaikovsky's ouvre. jdpopham.substack.com/p/book-revie...

Write in cursive on paper using a fountain pen. Not only do these leave no digital exhaust and baffle the machines, they make one happy.

I read my WIP aloud when editing. It really brings prose hiccups and revision oversights to the surface.

Massive storm cell, inches of rain bucketing down amidst heavy winds, salvos of close lightning strikes,and attendant thunder laps. Slept through all of it. [nuts]

pen.org/report/out-o...

That scans.

This

It's all fun and games until the next subway series.

Should have nudges @clarkesworldmagazine.com .🙄

Congratulations to Neil Clarke for Best Editor, Short Form. reactormag.com/2026-hugo-aw...

Congratulations to Neil Clarke for Best Editor, Short Form. reactormag.com/2026-hugo-aw...

It is known.

While I'm an attending member at #worldcon I am not in attendance this year. My apologies to those who were looking forward to my peculiar sense of whimsy. Next year at @montrealworldcon27.bsky.social .

Emerging truth: coffee is a wonder drug that is good for your body, good for your brain, and pairs wonderfully with cinnamon rolls.

Of course if (as seems likely) the tooth was ripped from the mouth of a helpless victim and worn as a trophy by his/her thuggish assailant, the attendant craftsmanship might seem a tad less exciting.

Optimist: The glass is half full. Pessimist: The glass is half empty. Me: There's something wrong with the glass.

This is where I post from.

I confess, I saw a lot of oldest pubs claims (usually with a narrow qualifier) when last in London. Quite confusing .

And then there were none. The lanternflies have quit the field, vanished from the vineyard. Three days now without a sighting. We remain watchful, lest this be but a lull in their onslaught, or harbinger of some new devilry.

Do you happen to know of any good books on interdimentional physics, @astrokatie.com?

www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/o... Thoughtful piece.

I've been trying to keep my WIP to short story length but if I cut much closer to the bone it'll lose coherence/flow. I may be looking at my first novelette. [grumbles]

The birds were ruining the tomatoes before they could ripen. Countermeasures deployed.