Mark Russell

Seoul sunset

The Trump administration and the Venezuelan government have struck a deal to exploit Venezuela’s oil—but their partnership is good for the rich and no one else, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports. theatln.tc/PANSlDZN

Somehow I missed this, another installment in Watts' "Sunflower" cycle about a jumpgate building spaceship with a human payload that spends most of its time in cryosleep, emerging only at flashpoints where the ship AI throws its (proverbial) hands up in confusion. www.rifters.com/Eriophora-Ro...

Someone really needs to put together a website dedicated to judging these takes later, after a year or two or whatever, tallying up who tends to get it right and who’s totally wrong. Accountability!

Murano Parsnips: The Unexpected Literary History of the Dildo www.theparisreview.org/blog/2026/10...

“I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy.... Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.” — Dr. Gustave Gilbert, U.S. Military Chief Psychologist in the Nuremberg Trials, Nuremberg Diary

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s FLESH IMPACT explores what Marilyn Monroe would be like as a 100y/o actress working in the 21st century. Already garnering Oscar buzz, the short made its Asian debut at the Busan International Film Festival, where I got all the details.

The color palette of SLOW HORSES season 6 is so odd, all Paynee grey and washed out. Not a bad season though.

Surprised how much VISIONQUEST is MCU-y. But the non-action parts are quite intriguing. It looks excellent. And James Spader is so much dastardly fun. Definitely lots of potential for the series.

Love this old guide to watercolours from the 17th century www.openculture.com/2026/10/a-90...

Damn…

THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW was always my favorite of the Narnia books. This trailer looks like Greta Gerwig really nailed it. m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDJ-...

Oh FFS…. (Yet again)

Two hours after President Trump claimed on social media that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an "energy ceasefire," Russia fired a missile at a CHP-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv and reportedly other infrastructure in Ukraine. kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-...

Huawei on Trial #1, opening a new series on my Substack by Jonathan Landreth: michaelkovrig.substack.com/p/huawei-on-... 3/3

Despite living in Korea and going to a range of supermarkets regularly, I can’t recall the last time I saw bananas packaged like this (or if I ever did).

There’s a lot I really like about Rick Besto … but he’s really becoming “old man yells at cloud” these days. Or maybe “No, it’s the kids who are out of touch.” m.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6T...

Yeah, fuck off, Elon. Not enough to be an idiot and a troll, now he wants to be a traitor too. www.ctvnews.ca/regina/artic...

Good for Korea’s Culture Minister, Chae Hwi-young, sticking up for freedom of speech. Korea does have a history of letting politics and public sentiment affect these decisions sometimes … but good to see him take a stand. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...

Love this conversation with Max Richter. m.youtube.com/watch?v=5eRu...

A glowing stellar nursery 👶⭐ Webb’s infrared sensitivity has revealed the protostars & stars of NGC 7129, a stellar nursery that lies 3,300 light-years from Earth. In the centre, lies the massive star LkH(alpha) 234, which has carved into its cloudy surroundings 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪

Just watched the excellent HERETIC. Hard to think of an actor who’s had a more interesting career arc than Hugh Grant. Funny that the FOUR WEDDINGS guy has become such an excellent villain/scumbag.

Well, this is frightening.

Breaking News: Emart now has Mars bars! Repeat, Emart now has Mars bars! What a glorious time ~

The Fact Sheet is out, and the Alaska LNG project looks less concrete than the White House remarks suggested earlier today. Commerce Secretary Lutnick spoke of “just over $50 billion invested in Alaska for the Alaska LNG project," but that figure does not appear in the document.

Visitors to the US are on track to drop by almost two million year-on-year. “We’re the only major country in the world losing visitation,” the head of the US Travel Association said. “It’s mind-boggling.” www.semafor.com/article/09/2...

A new trailer for Alex Gibney's documentary about Elon Musk was just released. gizmodo.com/elon-musk-do...

Facebook really doesn't want you to see the new documentary exposing Elon Musk Neither do TikTok or Google or the eX social media site. Since they won't accept paid advertising, let's do some free advertising. Go see Musk in theaters October 9 www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

An umbrella review of more than 3 million participants finds the apparent risk shrinks toward zero as study quality rises.

Ah, one of my favorite times of year in Korea — when the news dutifully reports on travel times during the Chuseok holidays, despite the holidays not having especially bad traffic for years.

It’s funny because it’s probably true …