iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Wild stuff. Anyone who wrote space opera in the last thirty years could argue Avatar ripped them off. Not because Cameron did, but because these are common tropes. My series has evil corporations, though not Earth based. Alien(s) have one of those, lol. www.reuters.com/legal/legali...

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Got my author copies of Wars in the Stars from Flame Tree Press. Pretty great lineup of classic and contemporary Space Opera about war. My story “The Wreck” is also pretty amazing. 10/10, would write again.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

“You can’t buy happiness.” Yeah, but Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron ships cost money, so that’s objectively wrong.

A pile of Jazzwares Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron ships.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Today’s Nintendo Direct announcements were wild.

A fake cover for Book of the New Sun on Switch 2

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Flame Tree Press’s Wars in the Stars anthology is coming out soon. My short story “The Wreck” is one of the new stories featured in it. I’m thinking of doing a breakdown of every story when it comes out if the Gods of Teaching are amenable.

WARS
IN THE
STARS SHORT STORIES
WARS IN THE STARS SHORT STORIES
Collecting the very best stories of war and escapades from across the galaxy, in which political allegiances are formed, other worlds discovered, aliens confronted and empires built and destroyed.
Often impacted by environmental factors, governments, technology, and heroic individuals, the stories in this anthology ask us to explore all perspectives, Celebrating the epic adventure of space travel while also asking hard-hitting questions about war, this is a gripping new collection of stories from contemporary and classic authors
FLAME TREE

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The Internet Archive is a treasure trove of old pulp magazines. My favorite discovery is the Captains Future series: a magazine focused around one character, each issue containing a novel by Edmond Hamilton (and later other authors). Hamilton was a master of pacing and action, but not of… subtlety.

An excerpt from a Captain Future magazine: "The secret that would give its finder unlimited power” — A look of fear distorted his studious face. His whisper was thick with apprehension.
"If somebody evil got the whole secret, it would be a night-mare!"

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Suitably ashamed for their behavior, Brother and his gang take down their segregation sign and replace it with “Girls Welcome!”

GIRLS WELCOME!
"Love to!" said Sister, and while the whole gang headed for Frog Pond, Brother ran ahead and quickly changed the clubhouse sign to say
"Bear Country Boys Club-GIRLS WELCOME"!
The berries were delicious.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Mama has Papa grill salmon and honeycomb to attract the boys (milkshakes would have worked but that reference wouldn’t exist for another twenty years), and then they are invited into the rad treehouse to share their bounty.

Brother Bear chowing down on honey and salmon in the girls’ clubhouse and saying, "How would you like to come back to our place for dessert?" said Brother. "Our berry crop is ripe for picking."

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Mama has another idea: for Sister to get all her girl friends together to form a cool club, with a tree house built by Papa, a master carpenter, as their base of operations. Sister wants to make a sign saying “No Boys Allowed” but Mama stops her.

With Papa Bear's help they built a very fine clubhouse high up in the old climbing tree.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Sister tells her parents about how Brother and his friends are absolute tossers. Papa, appropriately, threatens to destroy their clubhouse if they don’t let her in. Presumably with the National Guard escorting her into the clubhouse.

"You're absolutely right!" roared Papa.
"It isn't fair! Come, were going back there and make them take you into their silly club-and if they don't, I'm going to tear that clubhouse limb from limb!"

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The boys go missing for three days (she never thinks to ask brother where their gang has been hanging out). Then she discovers they built a clubhouse. To her annoyance, they post a sign saying “No Girls Allowed.”

The boys build a clubhouse and post a sign saying “No girls allowed” in red all caps, so you know they mean it.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

In the story, Sister Bear is the only girl in her brother’s friend group. It’s made clear she has female friends, but her and Brother got a bear gang going on, and Mama and Papa even point out the Smurfette issue. Sister ends up beating the boys in all their gang.

"I agree,
" said Mama. "But
think back-how would you have liked it when you were a cub if some little girl could outrun, outclimb, and outhit you?"
Brother and his friends didn't like losing either. And what made it worse was the way Sister celebrated every time she won.
Papa thought for a moment.
Her victory dance and cartwheels were annoying, but it was the war whoops that really got on everybodys nerves.
"I wouldn't have liked it," he said.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Perusing books for my daughter, my wife reread this banger from Stan and Jan Berenstain (not stein). At first expecting a sexist screed, the book is about something very relevant to today…

Cover of The Berenstain Bears’ “No Girls Allowed”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

As a professional body builder, I need your evaluation of this. Checks out.

A not at all homoerotic ad for Charles Atlas’s Dynamic Tension system from the early ‘40s. It has a picture of a shirtless Charles Atlas looking like a dad-bod, with a dialogue box saying, “Here’s the kind of MEN I build!”

“Will you let me PROVE I can make YOU a New Man?”

Cue Rocky Horror music.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Found it! Planet Magazine March 1943. Listerine when you wash your hair for some unhinged reason, possibly from all the lead poisoning.

Listerine ad from 1943 saying “EVERY WEEK WHEN YOU WASH YOUR HAIR; Listerine to guard against INFECTIOUS DANDRUFF!”

Publication info on Planet Stories Vol 2 No 2, March 1943

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I can’t stress enough the oddity of seeing these ads in an ostensibly young adult fiction magazine. Ex-lax, ulcer medication, and… wait… what is this Gillette ad saying? That the model needed to shave? That the artist needed to? No matter what, it’s horrifically offensive.

An ex-lax ad, be glad you cannot see it.

A Gillette razor blade ad with a painter painting a female model. The painter looks back at the viewer while winking. The text says “At last I’ve found a winning blade! That thin Gillette’s the finest made. Designed for close, clean, easy shaving. It’s also time and money saving.” 4 for 10 cents.

Typewriter ad from a pulp magazine followed by a stomach ulcer treatment ad.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Several ads are for career services. It appears Captain Future appealed to such a wide demographic that boys, lads, young unemployed men, and older men with hernias may all be reading. Also, what am I supposed to do about diesels???

Ad from Captain Future magazine advertising a career in accounting.

An ad from Captain Future magazine advertising a career in repairing radios.

An ad from Captain Future magazine asking “what are you doing about diesels” advertising I guess diesel mechanics careers.???

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

There are a lot of ads for “ruptures” and to buy this weird product in lieu of wearing your “truss.” Apparently proper lifting form wasn’t invented until the ‘70s, so everyone had hernias. Enough that some issues of Captain Future magazine had several ads for this.

Old ad for a product to treat “ruptures”

Old ad for a product to treat “ruptures” in addition to a photo enlargement ad.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

On a livestream tonight, I claimed I saw an ad from an old pulp magazine advertising Listerine for washing hair. I haven’t found it yet, since I spend too much time reading old pulps on archive.org than, you know, reading comps. Here are other discoveries. 🧵 @geekyjules.julessherred.com

An ad for listerine shaving cream from a Captain Future pulp magazine in 1941.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Went to the bad place to see Derek Smart’s profile. I got this message. Are you really a fan of SciFi games if Dr. Derek Smart hasn’t blocked you?

A Twitter message saying “@dsmart has blocked you” followed by “You can view public posts from @dsmart, but you are blocked from engaging with them. You also cannot follow or message @dsmart.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

I pirated The Boys, and I think there’s something wrong with my copy.

Image of the characters from the movie Mystery Men, not The Boys, but it’s kind of weird how close the aesthetic is. It’s actually a frame from the “All Star” Smash Mouth music video which is stranger. Also, I Googled what a “Herogasm” is and that knowledge is now the worst thing Jeff Bezos has done.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I may have modified this quote a touch.

Image of the character Dean Learner from Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. A caption says “An eagle eyed reader can see the tropes. A pedant can see the tropes. But if you’re looking at the tropes, you’re missing the story. If you read a SciFi story and point out the tropes, you’re a freak!”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Wife: Let’s keep the politics to a minimum, it’s Christmas. Me: sure. Also me five minutes into dinner:

Christopher Lee as Count Dooku saying “What if I told you that the Republican was now under the control of a dark lord of the Sith?”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

No “right to receive information”? Then what is the point? What is any of this? What are we doing here? “You can write Common Sense, Mr. Payne, but no one is allowed to read it.” What???????

A screenshot from a Texas Tribune article about the Supreme Court not hearing a book banning case from Texas. The highlighted text states, “The Monday move by the high court lets stand the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that says the First Amendment doesn’t acknowledge a right to receive information.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

If you’re not watching football and are tired of MST3K and need something to watch on Thanksgiving, check out this bizarre anthology show Chillers hosted by Anthony Perkins. It’s… full of choices…

Screenshot of two episode descriptions of the show Chillers on Amazon Prime. Episodes 10 and 11.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

I may start something here, and I don’t have much of a platform. I also don’t have bridges to burn. This seems… bad. Theft is one of many problems with AI. Others include: not paying an artist, destroying the environment, AI art being total ass (see the new Feast for Crows illustrated edition), etc

Tweet from Abyss & Apex Magazine saying the following: “Going forward all Abyss & Apex story illustrations will be done with either Adobe Firefly, which does not steal artists’ works, or without AI if the author so requests.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Amazing things are happening on Kickstarter’s fiction section, y’all. Uh… “why choose”? Do I want to know?

Kickstarter funding page for “Bound by Disgrace & Descent: A Why Choose Romantasy” that has $2,570 pledged of $600 from 40 backers with 13 days to go.

An image of the signed special edition of Bound by Disgrace and Descent Kickstarter for $80. 6 backers.

The funding page for “The Wolfverse: why choose wolf shifter paranormal romance” which has made I am not kidding $45,696 pledged from 262 backers of $656.

An image of the Wolfverse Hardback Trilogy pledge tier. 51 backers are paying $200 AUD for three hardcovers. The edges are sprayed.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Had to age verify because my state forced BlueSky to do it.

A blank text version of the meme/political cartoon where a boomer is tearing his calendar to discover it says “January 1984.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

This is how I feel whenever I get rejections on my internet horror inspired stories.

Marty McFly saying “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet, but your kids are gonna love it.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

My fellow Christians will worship a guy murdered by the state because of a moral panic and then say our religion supports oppressing minorities because they’re afraid of them. He didn’t rise for this crap.

Picture of Jesus leaning in from the left side of your screen with the caption “Fuck’s going on in here?”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Star Wars fandom dead? Ahem *taps sign*

An image with a tweet showing RFK jr wants to investigate the origins of autism alongside the release date of Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. These are above a chart showing the massive rise in autism cases since the mid 90s.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Had a conversation with a friend about Star Wars pre-Disney, and he said, “There’s probably a book series about the guy who forgot Chewie’s medal.” So I spent literally five whole minutes making this in Canva on my phone and told him, “They did!” #StarWars #SciFI #SF #booksky

Altered cover of The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton to change the title to “Where is that Third Medal?” The cover art is by Drew Struzan.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Hear me out: Let them rush the planes out too quickly. Put Musk in charge. Cut corners, remove redundant safety features, save money on every aspect possible, and don’t test anything before the first maiden voyage, preferably over an ocean. You know, to make America great again.

NYTimes headline: “A Frustrated Trump Wants His New Air Force One Planes Pronto”
Picture of a model of Air Force One. Credit Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Caption: “Boeing is at least three years behind schedule in delivering two new Air Force One jets, which President Trump wants to have a bolder red, white and blue design.”
Subheadline: “Among the ways being discussed to force faster delivery of two presidential planes are relaxing security clearances for Boeing workers and even purchasing a temporary luxury plane and retrofitting it.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

If I had to describe the vibe of one of the main characters in my novel, it’s this. Source: PhilosophyTube Reddit I think but for the life of me I can’t find the username.

Abigail Thorn standing in front of a wall covered in various pictures with Nietzsche in the center, the word “Woke?” underneath him and a trans flag underneath that. She is pointing at the photo of Nietzsche.
The caption at the top reads “me: I promise I won’t make it weird. I’ll keep small talk to innocuous topics. The weather, sports, etc.
Me after 3 drinks:”
The caption on the bottom reads: “I’m gonna make a Nietzschean argument for transness.”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Can I say something without everyone getting mad?

An image with a Tweet from “Leading Report” stating: “BREAKING: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to investigate the cause of autism, per Fox” above an image of a graph stating that “autism prevalence has increased 317% since 2000” and above that an image showing the release date of Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace: May 19, 1999.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

OMG, this guy did the thing, this thumbnail is unironically the “there’s two genders: male and political” and it’s a Star Wars is ruined by women video. It’s like watching someone trying to win Nazi bingo.

A thumbnail for a YouTube video by the channel Like Stories of Old titled “The Paradox that’s Killing the Jedi”: on the left is a shot of old man Luke from Episode 8 wrapped in his cloak with the word “(mythic)”, the word “vs” in the middle, and on the right is a shot from The Acolyte of Mae as the titular Acolyte in her cool looking purple cloak over her head with the word “(political)”. Because of course. Somehow this has 77k views in 11 days because it’s a man upset about women in Star Wars on YouTube.

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Me: *looking out the window and at the news watching a fascist take over of the United States* Parade Magazine:

Parade Magazine headline stating “Dunkin’ Fans Celebrate Long-Awaited New Spring Menu Addition: ‘It’s About Time’”

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Les Taylor @lestaylorwriter.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

A fascinating West German novel about how a terrible press can ruin a private citizen’s life. It’s about the length of Of Mice and Men but is dense with themes and social commentary. Heinrich Boll is a good writer for this moment in time.

The cover of the Penguin edition of The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Boll.

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