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Bee Speaker by Adrian Tchaikovsky A great conclusion to the Dogs of War series from @aptshadow.bsky.social. Irae (a snarky bioengineered lizard assassin) might be my favorite character of the whole series. Can't say enough good things. I really enjoyed this world and the time spent in it. #booksky

Cover image for the book Bee Speaker by Adrian Tchaikovsky featuring a bee and a robotic wasp fighting

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 04/10/2026

This doesn't really answer the question, but it sounds like he came to them and wanted it. So there was probably some studio shenanigans to make it happen. I'm also really curious about his "own history with the character."

Text from an Empire story about the Masters of the Universe movie:

TRAVIS KNIGHT: "Skeletor was a really interesting villain. He looked cool. He was scary. He was funny. He was insecure. And then of course he had this distinctive voice. I wanted someone to craft their own version of that. "Jared approached us, because he loves Skeletor and has his own history with the character. He wanted to swing for the fences. And ultimately we landed on something that I’m really happy with. Skeletor’s kind of the embodiment of toxic masculinity.”

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 04/10/2026

He thinking about the midterms

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 03/10/2026

And clearly there was an order from the top

Post from David Ellison on X:

S
David Ellison • @ellisonskyd.... 2h
What once was the peak, is now just the beginning.
X
Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first ho Show more

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 02/10/2026

What are you #reading this weekend #booksky? 📚💙 I'm finishing (hopefully) Bee Speaker by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a solid third book in the Dogs of War series.

Cover image for "Bee Speaker" by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 01/10/2026

The future of the military and warfare is in the hands of these two guys. Cool. Great. No notes.

Photo of Elon Musk jumping and looking terribly awkward

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 28/09/2026

HBO's The Franchise didn't get enough credit for capturing the absurdity of filmmaking in the superhero era

An image from HBO's "The Franchise" (now canceled)

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 28/09/2026

I found this in a book I had on the shelf and my wife and I had a dark laugh as we struggled to recall WHICH of the many incidents outside of our house in DC this was from.

A business card from a DC homicide detective

Metropolitan Police Department
Detective Bryan Adelmeyer
Homicide Branch
bryan.adelmeyer@dc.gov
101 M Street SW | 202-645-6364 (Desk)
Washington, DC 20024|
202-430-8924 (Cell)

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 27/09/2026

Pastoralia by George Saunders Every George Saunders story is a fun little game of "What the fuck is going on?" Though these stories veer a little more toward "man with wandering and intrusive thoughts." A quick read that'll make you want to read more Saunders. 📚💙 #booksky

Cover image for the paperback edition of Pastoralia by George Saunders, featuring a fake stag standing against a mountain landscape

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 26/09/2026

The Uncool by Cameron Crowe (audio) Whether you're more interested in the journalism, the bands or his movies, this is a nice little memoir from the writer/director. It made me nostalgic for magazine journalism before the internet. Crowe's audio narration is a little shaky, but fine. 📚💙 #booksky

Cover image for "The Uncool" by Cameron Crowe

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 26/09/2026

just another oopsie doodle www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/t...

With the Education Department, OpenAI’s technology tried to hack the website to gather data from the department’s civil rights office but failed, researchers from the A.I. research firm Transluce said. The A.I. also pulled data from the Census Bureau website, which is housed at the Commerce Department, using login credentials it found online. Separately, OpenAI’s agents shared public data from the S.E.C. website on an online forum.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 25/09/2026

Lordy. Not sure if there is a less important thing the NYT could ask Zuckerberg about right now.

NYT image of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Text:

"I think if I started wearing suits to work, people would freak out."
In an exclusive interview with The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, talked for the first time about his style evolution.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 24/09/2026

Wall Street just hanging out, playing cards today

A screen shot of the major stock indexes at nearly 3 pm ET showing almost no movement in the market at all

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 24/09/2026

One of my D&D players left these at my house. The flavor is both precise and nauseating. Like a jelly belly in hell.

A photo of a can of “Italian Meatball” Pringles

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 22/09/2026

Got a visit from some friendly bandits this morning. No Jimothy, who lives one neighborhood over.

A photo of three raccoons peaking over a fence

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 22/09/2026

Kinda convinced that Bret Stephens is just an LLM trained to write the dumbest columns

First two graphs of a Bret Stephens column on NYT Opinion:

Last week, the longlists for the National Book Awards were announced. Among the 20 authors in the fiction and nonfiction categories, nearly all are straight white males. Most are also on the political right, some even on the far right. Remarkably, mainstream media outlets haven’t reported this, perhaps because they don’t think it’s noteworthy. It’s as if we were living in 1956 rather than 2026.

If you’re scratching your head at this “news,” well, it’s because I made it up. Or rather, I inverted the particulars about the authors’ identities and their political views to make a point: If today, as a reader, you recoil at the thought of a time in which minorities were systematically marginalized when it came to the literary world’s public honors (and so much else), shouldn’t you also recoil now that the tables have been almost completely turned? And if you object to the right’s efforts to politicize the arts, won’t you also object when the efforts come from the left?

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 22/09/2026

It's that time of year, again

2012 Onion headline: Mr. Autumn Man Walking Down Street With Cup Of Coffee, Wearing Sweater Over Plaid Collared Shirt

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 21/09/2026

Last day of summer. Take a break from all the mess and get outside today if you can.

A brindle female pitbull sitting in the sun on the last day of summer

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 21/09/2026

And a lot of people are going to lose jobs, no doubt.

Text from story:

Still, the combined company is set to emerge with nearly $80 billion in debt—a substantial burden already expected to weigh on its investments in the business.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 21/09/2026

Outline by Rachel Cusk A plotless piece of literary fiction that stole most of my weekend and had me starting and finishing it in less than 48 hours. I honestly didn't expect it to be this engaging. Not for everyone, but it kept me strangely locked in. 📚💙 #booksky

Outline by Rachel Cusk featuring a seashell on a beach

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 20/09/2026

Spotted a writing prompt on a walk today. What happened here? The bar of soap was particularly curious.

A photo of a bunch of paper figures strewn about on the sidewalk. Also seen: A yellow tag with “004” on it and a full bar of soap; possibly Ivory or Dove.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 18/09/2026

Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky/ @aptshadow.bsky.social A worthy sequel to Dogs of War that moves the narrative (and timeline) forward in fascinating ways. Honey, the titular bear in the head, is a great character. And so is Jimmy, who'd be played by Jake Johnson. Bee Speaker next. 📚💙 #booksky

Cover image for Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 18/09/2026

There is WAY too much anonymity in that story. I say …

Herm Edwards saying “Put your name on it!”

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 16/09/2026

**scrolling through that story** WTF?!

Story preview box:

Read Next

Ed Sheeran Would Like to Host a Gang Bang for Ginger People

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 15/09/2026

Would have killed if Katie Dippold would have accepted her #Emmy like this

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 14/09/2026

These are going to be in a museum one day www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/u...

Images released in a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general’s office show small metal enclosures that were referred to as “calming areas.” (Credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General)

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 13/09/2026

Someone in /r/HighQualityGifs dropped this gem today

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 12/09/2026

Tart by Slutty Cheff (audio) I'm certainly not the audience for this, but it was a fun listen. Dirty and candid. I'm sure it's a little embellished at times, but what memoir isn't? 📚💙 #booksky

Tart: Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef by Slutty Cheff

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 12/09/2026

Watched the first episode of "A Killer Story" on HBO and hear me out. 6-episode limited series These two played by Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst Written and directed by Noah Hawley OK, ok ... so it is basically a season of Fargo. In Topeka.

Eileen and Keen Umbehr in A Killer Story | Image via WarnerMedia

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 12/09/2026

Thought I had the pangram on the first try, but the NYT are a bunch of prudes

A screenshot of today's NYT Spelling Bee puzzle showing the letters: D, I, C, K, H, E, A, D

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 11/09/2026

The fact that the President of the United States is not in NYC on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 participating in the somber remembrances with the mayor, forming living presidents and the city, should be a damning story. Instead ...

25 Years After 9/11, Trump Personifies a Nation Moving On
The president has de-emphasized and shifted the war on terrorism at a time when fear of foreign attack has receded into the background of American life.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 11/09/2026

Dogs of War by @aptshadow.bsky.social I don't know how to describe how much this book grabbed onto me. I read it in a few days. I was reading it on my exercise bike. Tchaikovsky is a master of yanking you into his world, tech and characters. I'm reading the other books immediately. 📚💙 #booksky

Cover image for Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 10/09/2026

haha, fuuuuuuu. this is bad, man.

Screenshot of oil prices from OilPrice.com

WTI Crude • 103.9 +7.87 +8.19%
Brent Crude • 109.0 +7.74 +7.65%

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 10/09/2026

Is the "incredible wealth" in the room with us right now? Also ... via: bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/ta...

A graphic from the Bipartisan Policy Center showing Net Tariff Revenue Was 80%-90% of Revenue from FY2017-2024, but Has Shrunk Below 60% As of July 2026 Due to Refunds

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 09/09/2026

Session 100 of our ongoing D&D campaign tonight. Probably one of my most basic, ad hoc setups, but was a blast because I forced my players to move all over the map, chased by swampy monsters.

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 09/09/2026

This alone makes Luca Guadagnino's "Artificial" worth seeing. I bet Ike is going full madman in this.

IMDB listing showing Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino's "Artificial"

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 07/09/2026

This guy just did a hell of a job at the national anthem at the @reignfc.com game.

Photo of King Youngblood playing guitar and singing at Lumen Field

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Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 06/09/2026

"They Called Her Rebel" by Jacob Dallas-Main This was ... fine. Basically a TTRPG campaign set in a socialist vs. capitalist fantasy setting turned into a LitRPG story. It has all those beats, including clunky exposition, awkward romance and so-so writing. Not bad, just meh. 📚💙 #booksky

Cover image for "They Called Her Rebel" by Jacob Dallas-Main

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