This Omnibus is brought to you by The Soaring Twenties Social Club. Everything you want to know about our community and why you should join is contained within this post ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Letter From The Founder
I’m particularly proud of this one, I have to say. Because even though plenty of energy has been focused on our upcoming Symposium Issue #3 which will be out tomorrow, our members have still been able to collectively produce a ton of great work for this concurrent weekly venture. The depth of talent and breadth of work here is unsurpassed.
So I hope you will sit back and enjoy this Omnibus Issue just as I hope you will enjoy tomorrows Symposium.
We spoil you, really. But I guess that’s what happens when you assemble a great group of creators in several different mediums and given them free rein to produce what they feel compelled to produce.
Until next week,
Live well,
Tom.
Essays
The problem with Roe, Casey, and Dobbs is that we all keep pretending the Constitution matters by ?!
‘I am not so old, but I am not so young. A few decades ago political disagreements might have caused a row at our dinner table every now and then, but they didn’t seem to cause such lasting enmity. Our differences in opinion have become differences in reality. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.’
WhatBang is on rare form in this one. White hot essay writing here.
Thought Bananas 11 - we got to do everything we wanted except go to Dollywood by Charlie Becker
Quotes, updates, recommendations, reviews and an outstanding line in sepia toned headwear. Charlies latest Thought Bananas newsletter has a little bit of everything.
The dumb idea of dumbing down by Craig
This piece by Craig is fantastic- and dives deep into what you might call the Burgessian trope of why creators should aim higher and raise their standards. And as a real-time example of this I can say that the vast comment section below the piece is also fantastic and well worth diving into for additional insight. Craig is walking the walk here.
bookmark #469 by Deepansh
‘there is little respite in life, and all rest you get follows a reckoning, and that is the very nature of things, and rarely has anyone stood against it all.’
A great and insightful meditation from Deepansh and after 469 editions can we really expect any less. Fantastic stuff.
Flesh Obsession by Trilety
When it comes to Trilety’s work here I am often tempted to dispense with all praise and contextualising and simply grab the potential reader by the lapels and shout ‘read this! Read this right now!’ And so that’s just what I’m gonna do. What are you waiting for.
Contentless Worlds by Luke Burgis
Of Keynotes and conferences as (mere?) mimetic rituals. Luke has a unique and courageous ability to speak of the truths that are often right in front of us but so often go unacknowledged. I can’t wait to sit down and have a real in-depth chat with him about all of this stuff.
Monetizing Early by D.B.
Now on the face of it this is not an essay but simply an announcement that D.B. is giving readers/viewers the chance to support his work. Fantastic news (and I myself am happy to support his work in this way). However I include this piece here because I think the reasoning that D.B. includes is compelling and should be read by all creators. Empowering and clear sighted actions that should be emulated more,min my opinion.
Isaac by G.K. Gaius
Poetry and prose in praise and recognition of the authors young son. Beautiful stuff.
The Incalculable Value of Curiosity by Mark
New member Mark impresses with this in-depth and exercise laden piece on the lessons we can draw from the life and methods of Da Vinci.
You Don’t Need A Second Brain by Felix Futzbucker
It’s getting weird. ‘Felix Futzbucker’ is a made up character invented in the STSC Discord. But then he really turned up one day. No one one knows where he came from or who is behind this. And now he has a Substack. Perhaps read this piece to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. Are these man made horrors beyond your comprehension?
Golden Eye by Paul Publisher
Since becoming a regular reader or Paul’s I find myself keeping an eye on the night sky more. And when I saw that it was a new moon the other day I knew that this would lead to an absolute banger of an essay from Paul. And so this has proven to be true. Remarkable work here.
Impermanence by Charles Schifano
Charles gets into the topic of the Nobel Prize for Literature in his inimitable style. Of course it is immaculate and informative as always, but that goes without saying, doesn’t it?
Reflection #7 by Clint
Clint gets into dynamite and mortality in this one and like a stick of dynamite it proves to be both short and explosive. Excellent stuff.
Clarity by AJ
Dickens, Bill Murray, Klay Thompson playing hoops with a young cancer patient, the Buddha- this essay has a little of everything. And of course it has AJ’s simple, direct and (as a result) powerful prose style.
Addictions, Actions, Focus by Felix Kammerlander
Unlike his namesake above this Felix definitely is a real person. And you can tell because he talks about real issues that effect real humans, in this case those sources or cheap dopamine in our current environment and the effects they have on us. This is extremely informative and covers a lot in a short space. Fascinating.
I want to be mildly annoyed again by Lyle
Funny how much of a blessing mild annoyances are when you have major things going on in your life. Lyle, as always, helps us to keep things in perspective.
Fiction/Poetry
Fluffy Armorer by Richard
Richard has been extremely prolific of late, writing all manner of micro-fictions using online prompts. This is the pick of the bunch for this week.
Growth by David
[This is the full poem but you should still click the link above and subscribe to David’s substack as it is excellent]
Growth
Nowadays it’s business as unusual
At least it should be
Maybe it already is
Maybe it’s grown that way
Gradually
Until the last few years
Hyperrealities are seeded
(With fears of seed oils)
And sprout slowly
(Like day-old Twitter accounts)
But bloom at blinding speed
(Like a thread gone viral)
And converge like the leaves in the trees
(Like commenters in their herds)
Germination is addictive
(Like circle-jerking)
And a perfect opioid for the brain
(Likes and retweets)
You’ll think you’re growing too
(Fans and followers)
When you’re really growing weeds
(Rabid abstractions of who you want to be)
In that lonely abyssal garden
(Dopaminergic center of all)
There can be still trees of life
(Creativity peeking through the gaps)
But you might have to slash through the forest
(Thickets of thin desire)
Before you cross the meadow
(The Beauty in your heart)
Podcasts
The Seed (Oil) of Destruction (Tragedies of Modernity #12) by Thomas J Bevan & Craig Burgess
I go out of my way to avoid twitter and all social media but still it finds me. Listen on in horror as a single thread on Seed Oil Exemption Cards has me ranting for nearly a full hour while the long suffering Craig adds fuel to the fire.
Audible Apostrophes (Wedneaday Audio #63) by Craig Burgess
The Man of a Thousand Soundboards Craig Burgess adds a new funk tune to his arsenal of Wednesday Audio Muzak. He’s on a great run of form as of late. If you like this sort of things. And he has five (five!) premium subscribers now. What a world we live in.
TJB Film Recommendation
Rio Bravo (1959)
D. Howard Hawks
W. Jules Furthman, Leigh Brackett
S. John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
We haven’t covered westerns much here (if at all) and we haven’t covered the cinematic oeuvre of Dean Martin at all. So let’s redress both of these wrongs with one swoop.
See here’s the thing: old Dino, the famed crooner/ tv host/ comedy straight man/ drunk could act. Really act. He worked with and was respected by Brando and Montgomery Clift and had the same easy naturalism that he brought to everything.
But he’s not the only thing that is great in Rio Bravo, a perfect movie as far as I can see. This is pretty much the definitive Western here. A legitimate five star picture, everything is exactly as it should be. This always makes me smile and I never tire of it. Pure cinema.
Thanks as always for reading/listening and thanks in advance for pressing all of those various buttons at the bottom which help the Omnibus spread further.
Also I can again confirm that Craig and I will be recording a new episode of the Tragedies of Modernity podcast tonight at 8pm GMT. We’ll host it and record it live from the STSC community and then post it via this Substack tomorrow.
If you want to join us live and listen in and post questions/comments/heckles in the podcast channel chat you are more than welcome. You simply have to sign up to the community first.
I look forward to seeing you over at the Social Club.
Cheers!
I have been informed that the link for Felix Futzbuckers 'You Don't Need A Second Brain' is broken.
You can find a link to it below. It's a doozy.
https://felixfutzbucker.substack.com/p/you-dont-need-a-second-brain
Happy to be included! Great collection!