Sign in

Oliver Arditi

@paracyclops.bsky.social
362 followers 551 following 165 posts

Writer, librarian, worldbuilder, conlanger, lapsed musician. I like fantasy, science-fiction and horror, books, records, comics, games, cats, food, and holding inexplicable opinions.

PostsRepliesMedia
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
SUGO West End in Glasgow beats the increasingly fine margins available in hospitality to serve really excellent pasta really fast, and achieve an incredible quality-to-price ratio. oliverarditi.com/2026/10/06/g... #food #restaurants #dining #pasta #italianfood #glasgow #foodsky
oliverarditi.com
Gleeful, delicious precision
Food can be fast, and food can be good. Some food is both. Only particular types of food lend themselves to fast preparation and service, however. We’re used to seeing burgers, pizza, fish and chip…
030
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The home and the human life preserved at Glasgow’s ‘Tenement House’ is just the most extraordinary window into an increasingly distant era of social history. Wonderfully preserved, interpreted and displayed. oliverarditi.com/2026/10/04/a... #museums #history #socialhistory #glasgow
oliverarditi.com
A life preserved
From the Latin verb teneō, ‘to hold’, we get the word ‘tenement’, which originally meant a land holding. How and when it came exclusively to refer to purpose-built apartment blocks is less clear (o…
1137
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A quick visit to the Mackintosh Tearooms is hardly enough to absorb its spectacular visual impact, which also made it hard to concentrate on the excellent tea and scone! oliverarditi.com/2026/10/03/i... #food #tea #architecture #gesamtkunstwerk
oliverarditi.com
Improbably radical
The Mackintosh Tearooms, previously ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’, and originally ‘The Willow Tearooms’ is a Glasgow landmark designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903, and restored to his origina…
061
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Reading Tolkien’s mind as he writes: ‘Now, should Aragorn have a bicycle or… bugger, my pipe’s gone out… I wish I’d called them ‘Nabbits’… no that would be stupid… or would it? Remember to buy some aniseed balls… isn’t my study door a curious shape? I’m not sure it’s quite square…’
030
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Cartoonishly complex, full of crunchy riffs exciting melodies and preternatural virtuosity, Planet X’s ‘Universe’ is instrumental prog metal at its uncompromising best. oliverarditi.com/2026/09/30/f... #metal #rock #progmetal #progressivemetal #jazzfusion #instrumentalmetal #music #musicsky
oliverarditi.com
Full stretch on every beat
Derek Sherinian k; Tony MacAlpine g; Tom Kennedy eb; Virgil Donati d. Planet X, a short-lived band of progressive metal extremists led by keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Virgil Donati, rele…
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Serendipity brought me ‘Travel Light’ by Naomi Mitchison, a wise and beautiful fable from 1952, and a clear influence on my hero Ursula K. Le Guin. oliverarditi.com/2026/09/29/r... #fantasy #fable #fiction #fantasyfiction #norsemythology #books #booksky
oliverarditi.com
Ringing true
Serendipity can bring you some wonderful writing, if you let it. This book was returned at the library where I work, and I took note of a cover blurb from Ursula K. Le Guin, saying ‘read it now’. A…
061
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I found Susanna Clarke’s ‘The Wood At Midwinter’, a short, illustrated fable in its own beautiful volume, both unsettling and reassuring… oliverarditi.com/2026/09/28/a... #fantasy #fantasyfiction #fable #illustration #books #booksky
oliverarditi.com
An unsettling fable
Winter’s a poem, like all the seasons. It speaks itself into us in a language of sensation and anticipated nostalgia. Returning so reliably as it does each year, it reminds us that its repetitions …
040
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I missed ‘Albion’ when it came out in 2005-6, but this omnibus reprint is one of the most rambunctiously entertaining (and artistically brilliant) bits of superhero revisionism I’ve read in a long time. oliverarditi.com/2026/09/27/e... #comics #britishcomics #books #booksky #comicsky
oliverarditi.com
Empire and anarchy
Alan Moore – plot; Leah Moore, John Reppion – script; Shane Oakley – pencils; George Freeman – inks; Wildstorm FX – colours; Dave Gibbons – covers; Todd Klein &#…
040
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’ve been moved and enchanted by Natalia Lafourcade’s beautiful album ‘Cancionera’. Her considerable talent is filtered through a quarter century of experience to atmospheric and emotionally authentic effect. oliverarditi.com/2026/09/25/e... #music #latinmusic #musicamexicana #musicsky
oliverarditi.com
Experienced songscapes
Natalia Lafourcade started her career as a pop singer in a Mexican girl group, but somewhere on her way to a solo career she turned left into folk music, which is where I found her, and became one …
020
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It took me 30 years living nearby to get around to visiting Munnings Art Museum. It was worth the wait—Alfred Munnings didn’t break new ground, but he was an incredibly skilled painter and made everything look easy. oliverarditi.com/2026/09/25/p... #art #painting #portraiture #equestrian #artsky
oliverarditi.com
Pragmatism in paint
I live in a part of the country associated with painters. I’m sure that most parts of England are associated with painters, but I’m lucky to have a couple of famous ones closely linked to the area …
020
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
‘House of Open Wounds’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky was a tremendously entertaining read, that explored some interesting ideas in the middle of a Venn diagram between speculative fiction, military bureaucracy and religious stricture. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/cb7f... #books #fantasy #booksky
A white male hand holding a dimly-lit copy of Adrian Tchaikovsky's 'House of Open Wounds' in a domestic interior.
040
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Hey @crackmagazine.bsky.social have you stopped making Spotify playlists? I understand if you’ve abandoned the platform for ethical reasons—I just use it to find music which I then buy direct from the artist if possible. But your playlists are very helpful for that
000
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Nerdy, soulful, vulnerable, and intimidatingly accomplished! Thundercat’s ‘Distracted’ continues his habit of ignoring received wisdom and going wherever his imagination takes him. www.discogs.com/master/41841... #music #rnb #musicsky
discogs.com
Thundercat - Distracted
Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Distracted by Thundercat. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Or by the ‘City Heads’ as in Alan Moore’s ‘Long London’ books!
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Quite right! It belongs to Bohemian weirdos like us, not Westminster Council.
210
Reposted by Oliver Arditi
Alex Winter @alexwinter.com · 08/09/2026
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.
2415741126
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Lovely pear (sp.?)
000
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
We went to the Garden Museum, next to Lambeth Palace, to see their exhibition about Benton End near Hadleigh, Suffolk. A beautiful insight into a lost oasis of rural Bohemia. www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi... #museums #gardens #exhibitions #gardensky #museumsky
tripadvisor.com
The long summer of Suffolk's Bohemia - Review of Garden Museum, London, England - Tripadvisor
Garden Museum: The long summer of Suffolk's Bohemia - See 379 traveler reviews, 209 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor.
120
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
We went to Tapas Brindisa at London Bridge for some really tasty Spanish food, if quite expensive (no real fault of their own). Especially loved the stuffed courgette flower with caramelised peaches and alcoholic gazpacho. www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi... #food #tapas #restaurants #foodsky
tripadvisor.com
Just like Spain - Review of Tapas Brindisa London Bridge, London, England - Tripadvisor
Tapas Brindisa London Bridge: Just like Spain - See 1,731 traveler reviews, 415 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor.
020
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Book 2 of Alan Moore’s ‘Long London’, ‘I Hear A New World’ is a thrilling, brilliant, lurid, febrile, comical psychogeographic fantasia of London, its underbelly, its symbols and its histories. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a398... #fantasy #occult #fiction #alanmoore #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'I Hear A New World' by Alan Moore in a messy domestic interior, while a small, black and white cat looks on from the right, unimpressed.
060
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I’ve spent some quality time with ‘Polytropos/Of Many Turns’ by Steve Coleman and Five Elements. It’s a wonderfully absorbing essay in additive, layered improvisation, that keeps on giving however long you listen. www.discogs.com/release/3210... #music #jazz #improvisation #mbase #musicsky
discogs.com
Steve Coleman And Five Elements - PolyTropos / Of Many Turns
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2024 CD release of "PolyTropos / Of Many Turns" on Discogs.
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
‘Tish’ (dir. Paul Sng) is a fascinating look at the life of the truly remarkable Tish Murtha, a brilliant documentary photographer and committed social activist. flickfocus.com/movies/tish-... #film #cinema #documentary #photography #filmsky
The movie poster for 'Tish', dir. Paul Sng.
040
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
‘In Camera’, Naqqash Khalid’s directorial debut, is an extraordinary cinematic poem, a perceptive and ambiguous meditation on acting and self-hood, audaciously conceived and brilliantly executed. flickfocus.com/movies/in-ca... #film #cinema #filmsky
The movie poster for 'In Camera' dir. Naqqash Khalid.
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I found beautiful, heartbreaking, immersive worldbuilding in Ursula Le Guin’s short work of mainstream fiction, ‘Searoad’. Still finding unsuspected gems every time I visit her back catalogue. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3ad7... #books #shortstories #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'Searoad' by Ursula Le Guin in front of a window in a domestic interior.
0161
Reposted by Oliver Arditi
Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
A brief note for Nadhim Zahawi.
33687332865
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I’m afraid the TV tie-in books in the kids’ library haven’t provided an answer…
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I'm honestly blown away by Raye's 'This Music May Contain Hope': erudite, sincere, technically and creatively accomplished, swimming in pain and joy. A brilliant essay in the modern redeployment of the old school. www.discogs.com/master/41767... #music #soul #musicsky
discogs.com
Raye - This Music May Contain Hope.
Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for This Music May Contain Hope. by Raye. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I’ve been utterly moved and transported by Tran Anh Hung’s film ‘The Taste of Things’—I still feel as though I don’t quite know what just happened. An extended poetic meditation on food and love, a truly transformative work of art. flickfocus.com/movies/the-t... #films #movies #filmsky #moviesky
The movie poster for the film 'The Taste of Things' dir. Tran Anh Hung.
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I’ve just this minute ordered it from the library!
110
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
More straightforwardly written than much of what I read, ‘The Last Blade Priest’ by W.P. Wiles is a tightly plotted fantasy thriller set in an original and colourful world, and I loved it. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e31e... #fantasy #books #booksky @willwiles.bsky.social
A white male hand holding a copy of 'The Last Blade Priest' by W.P. Wiles in front of a fireplace lintel-beam festooned with colourful decorations.
3122
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
My first time with this record. 'Spears', the debut from Tribal Tech (1985) is flat-out virtuosic improvised jazz fusion, always bluesy, funky and accessible. Rarely has any group played as intensely or cohesively as this. www.discogs.com/master/41623... #tribaltech #jazz #music #musicsky #jazzsky
discogs.com
Scott Henderson And Tribal Tech - Spears
Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Spears by Scott Henderson And Tribal Tech. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
000
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
If I was young, and I hadn’t read a huge amount, I think I’d have loved it too. I didn’t find many flaws, except that he used exponentially too many words to tell you what happens…
100
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I enjoyed 'To Green Angel Tower: Storm' by Tad Williams, it was… fine. I'm not sure 'fine' justifies the extreme length of this epic fantasy monument, though. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e63b... #fantasy #epicfantasy #memorysorrowandthorn #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'Green Angel Tower: Storm' by Tad Williams, in front of some domestic clutter.
151
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My thoughts exactly, Andy. Events kind of forced them to be more political, and have fewer comedy songs about crap, would-be ketamine dealers 🤣
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I had a lot of fun listening to Kneecap's latest, 'Fenian'. A bit darker than their debut, and probably a lot more successful, thanks to the massive publicity boost they got from the UK government! www.discogs.com/master/42107... #music #rap #musicsky #rapsky
discogs.com
Kneecap - Fenian
Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Fenian by Kneecap. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
131
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Simon Roy's 'Habitat' is an absolute gem of a generation-ship comic, a brief but visually rich tale of tribal warfare in the ruins of a collapsed technological society. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/bb60... #sf #sciencefiction #comics #books #booksky #comicsky @simonroy.bsky.social
A white male hand holding a copy of Simon Roy's 'Habitat' in front of a leaded window.
1327
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Im pretty sure this doesn’t actually count as famous, but I’d love to write in the universe of the Traveller TTRPG—I spent so much time there in my imagination as a kid. Other than that I can’t envisage having 10% as much fun as in my own worlds…
020
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
'Conversations of Hope' by Jasper Høiby's 3 Elements is a beautiful, generous, challenging record. Probing bass, articulate drumming and expansive piano, in service of nuanced, deeply felt emotion. www.discogs.com/master/42190... #music #jazz #pianotrio #jazzsky
discogs.com
Jasper Høiby's 3 Elements - Conversations Of Hope
Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Conversations Of Hope by Jasper Høiby's 3 Elements. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
000
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
I’m in Manningtree Library watching Henry Patten from Manningtree playing in the Wimbledon men’s doubles final. Go Henry!!! #tennis #wimbledon #henrypatten #manningtree #localhero
010
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I loved following the thematic complexities of Claire North's 'Slow Gods', a space opera that uses a big, epic plot to explore a very personal experience of difference. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e580... #sf #sciencefiction #spaceopera #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of Claire North's 'Slow Gods' in front of some summer greenery.
0110
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
I’m not a prolific online shopper, but all this exciting stuff arrived together this morning!
030
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Read Winter 2024 Fantasy & Science Fiction. Fav story 'Do Not Haste To Bid Me Adieu' by Will McMahon (US New Deal, Spanish Civil War, interstellar empires); fav poem 'Vanishing Act' by Avra Margariti (stellar dynamics/body horror). #sf #sciencefiction #fantasy #shortstories #poetry #books #booksky
A white male hand holding the Winter 2024 edition of Fantasy & Science Fiction in a domestic interior.
0110
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
'Gloriana' is the apotheosis of Michael Moorcock's first 25 years of fantasy writing, a gloriously complex and perverse allegory, full of vivid characters and striking imagery. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/68eb... #fantasy #michaelmoorcock #gloriana #books #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'Gloriana, or, the unfulfill'd queen' by Michael Moorcock, in a cluttered domestic interior.
120
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I mean, that’s what I was getting at with ‘presumably you never went outdoors’. It’s just funny that you moved to the cool, damp place and now you’re too hot because it has gas lighting and no AC 🤣
020
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
You should explain to him that cats are usually *smaller* than suitcases…
120
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I can’t believe you grew up in Vegas! Presumably you never went outdoors…
100
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Absolutely not, isn’t the whole point that nothing ever happens at Gormenghast? 😆
000
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I really enjoyed 'The Skills' by Monica Galetti, which makes a lot of scary kitchen techniques accessible. I have to admit I've not put it into practice yet, though! app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/2284... #food #cooking #monicagaletti #books #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'The Skills' by Monica Galetti in a messy cottage kitchen.
090
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
I found Italo Calvino's 'Cosmicomics' a riot of invention, poetry, humour and profundity. Short, philosophical storiettes a la Borges. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ded7... #speculativefiction #shortstories #sff #italocalvino #cosmicomics #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of the Penguin 'Complete Cosmicomics' by Italo Calvino in an overgrown garden.
090
Oliver Arditi @paracyclops.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
'Do Aliens Speak Physics?' is a fascinating look at the limited perspectives of science by physicist Daniel Whiteson and cartoonist Andy Warner. Wonderful ideas delivered humorously. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/29fd... #science #aliens #books @danielwhiteson.bsky.social #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'Do Aliens Speak Physics' by Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner.
180