Cassandra, The Iron Witch, and The Crooner: A Discworld Framework for surviving Hollywood's Glamour
Iron in the Age of Moving Pictures We live in an age where stories not only entertain us, they can arrange us. Algorithmically curated platforms and feeds act on us intentionally, shaping our unconscious desires and our identities through the screen. Terry Pratchett understood this long before the digital era made it literal. His Discworld novels treat narrative as a force with gravity and appetite; something that bends the world around it. This essay uses Pratchett's metapho
4 days ago16 min read
The Man Who Stayed for Dinner: Dean Martin and the Price of the Bet
"If people want to think I get drunk and stay out all night, let 'em. That's how I got here, you know." Dean Martin said this with neither apology, nor irony, and apparently without regret. It may be the most honest thing he ever said in public about the mechanics of his fame. It is not only a confession; it might be thought of as a template for his management of the machine. The truth it implies, which his wife Jeanne would confirm without hesitation, is that he was home eve
Mar 66 min read
Holy Wood Is Real: Iron in the Age of Moving Pictures
Part I: The Cassandra of Holy Wood — Gaspode's Uncomprehending Clarity In the gleaming, dream-fuelled insanity of Holy Wood, reality itself is often the first casualty. In his book “Moving Pictures” Sir Terry Pratchett presents us with a world where the nascent art of cinema is not merely a passive medium but a predatory one. A belief-engine that consumes creators and audience alike. The "clicks" as they become known are the sound of the world's rules being overwritten by the
Mar 19 min read
Corporate Identity
It is most likely written in stone somewhere that at a given point in any adult’s life, he or she will complain bitterly about “big business”, the faceless corporations and the way that said corporations control their life and abuse their service. Now I for one am not about to buck that trend. I read a book quite some time ago now, “Unequal Protection” written by Thom Hartman. The reason I mention this is that I read an article tonight which reminded me of it and it raised so
Feb 254 min read
The memorial Harold never saw
Many years ago, while living in the US, I wrote for a local newspaper in Northern Ireland. I had little editorial oversight, which allowed me to speak plainly. What follows is one of those articles, written around 2004. I knew its subject, Harold Lieb, he was my wife's grandfather, my son's great-grandfather. His story, and the system it reveals, is a signpost we continue to fail to heed. “They were the greatest generation.”. This phrase is so very often used here in the Unit
Jan 164 min read
Citadel
A speculative short story exploring consciousness, connection, and the things worth remembering. The basement was exactly what the name suggested: a space defined by what was above it, tucked away from the world. Outside, the rain drilled rhythmically against the glass, and the weight of a deep, listless winter had quieted the streets. Joe McGregor sat in the glow of a dull monitor, tapping away at a spreadsheet. It was repetitive, soul-crushing work, and he was using a nasce
Jan 154 min read
