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Letter From The Founder
I hope that for many of you this omnibus is starting to become a fixture of your Saturday.
We are drowning in information and the torrent of new scandal, disgraces and controversies in the world is such that it can be impossible to get your breathe. The Omnibus is compiled to specifically be a reprieve from all of this. An antidote.
Each of the contributors from the Soaring Twenties Social Club are building projects and bodies or work for the long term. This is not about riding trends and the outrage of the day to capture a bit of attention. Such works don’t last. They date snd grow stale like milk. We are all aiming to create works that will last for years, decades, and that will outlast the current moment.
Such work takes time.
It also relies on an intelligent readership who have their attention span intact. Which is why this is a slow and gradual operation, that doesn’t have to resort to yelling and gimmicks.
This is a long term game.
We hope you will be with us here for the long term and that relaxing each Saturday to read a curated collection of the best long form work around will become a part of your weekend ritual.
Until next week,
Live well.
Tom.
Essays
I’m a Disability Dad by Lyle
‘I ask her if she wants to listen to her music or play a game on the iPad, even though I know she can’t answer me back.’
Another powerful piece as always from Lyle. I consider his honest, heartfelt cataloguing of the experience of being a parent to a child with CP to be vitally important work.
Guilt Flows by Zach C
‘Though I haven't been many places in the world yet, I've been known to take myself on many guilt trips.’
Zach presents us with a relatable short meditation on guilt and the concept of trying to get yourself to do things without having to resort to coercion.
On La Boétie and Voluntary Servitude 🔒
My latest- and I would argue- greatest long form essay to date. Certainly the longest at any rate. It is paywalled as I continue to experiment with finding the perfect balance between serving the free readership and the loyal Social Club members who allow me to do this full time.
French Dispatch (Think I’m Done With Wes Anderson, for now) by Kieran Majury
Mr Majury gives a balanced and fair explanation of why he found Wes Andersons latest a dull experience. I gather this may well be a controversial take. You can read this and decide for yourself.
What Comes Next? By Theofurutism
The shape of things to come over at the consistently wonderful Theofuturism Substack. First of all his philosophical essays are now called Manifesto. As far as I am concerned this bodes extremely well. I love this project. It’s much needed.
The Fourth Wall by Luke Burgis
There must he something in the air. STSC founder member and Bestselling Author™️ Luke has also boldly announced a new direction for his writing. From a Girardian starting point Luke will now be expanding his scope to look at the ‘Fourth Wall’. As with ‘Mimesis’ expect this phrase to be all over Silicon Valley in the next year or two.
Political Correctness is a False Virtue by Charlie Sherritz
‘Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
Albert Einstein’
Charlie goes off on this one and brings the energy of a simmering moral anger without letting it boil over into insensate rage. It’s a shame the phrase ‘stunning and brave’ has been poisoned and inverted because this piece actually demonstrates both of those attributes.
Things I think about when I'll have a baby in a few days by Simon
As much as I here about tue birth rate in the West being at below replacement levels there is a veritable baby boom over at the STSC. Lots of new dad’s cracking out the humidor. Here Simon lays out his thoughts on fatherhood.
Bookmark #295 by Deepansh
Deepansh posts these bookmarks on a daily basis. They have now become a part of my daily post-writing routine to dip into. I thoroughly enjoy this project and, being spoiled for choice, I let the man himself choose his favourite piece each week. This is the selection for this week enjoy.
Cheesy Song Lyrics, Summer Flings, and Fleeting Moments By Tony
Tony aka Tony Truly aka Z Manifesto aka The Pride of Ohio blesses us with another stream of consciousness ramble, this time about sappy romantic stuff as Valentine’s Day approaches. With his meteoric rise on social media I don’t know how he finds the time. Yet he does.
Starch Wars by Kieran Moran
Our man from the Central Belt has his mind melted as he contemplates the new fangled abomination that is potato milk. He also pronounces everything correctly, as far as I am concerned. And is very funny too.
The Second Moon by AJ
The planet of Nibiru, a mathematician called Isaac, footnotes. This is an utterly unique little piece from AJ which should probably go in the fiction section but I have decided to put it here because I’m the guy who makes the rules around here. Just read this, is the point.
On walking a 100 km in a day By Vita
‘Last summer, a friend asked me if I wanted to do a 100km walk in Germany in September. I said yes. I'd meet a bunch of Internet friends in real life, and it'd be challenging. At that point, I had no idea just how much.’
If that doesn’t intrigue you to read on, I don’t know what’s the matter with you. Enjoy.
My Best Friend Fear by GK
The debut omnibus feature from the mysterious GK. A short, poetic meditation of fear. I’m curious to see how our new friend here develops. A very promising start.
The Results of Chance by Charles Schifano
‘It is in the delicate interplay between the extremes of control and chance where we discover that always-elusive cocktail of artistry.’
Man, everything Charles puts out is tremendous. Form and content both. A phenomenal stylist with sharp insights. What more can you ask for?
Fiction
February by Zachary George
A tiny moment in time, poetically captured. I love this kind of meditative, commonplace work in miniature. It’s deceptively difficult to pull of something so seemingly simple.
Phantomic Rabbits by Ivan
Exactly what us Ivan fans have come to expect i.e. completely unexpected, unique, surreal. I’m not even going to summarise or describe this. It must simple be experienced.
Two Arrows by Thomas J Bevan
Seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day on Monday I thought I should republish this short story that I originally posted on my old blog this time last year. Enjoy.
Podcasts
Unhinged Counterfeit Cinnamon by Madspace
‘I rant about seasonal depression, Counterfeit Cinnamon, veganism and the other great travesties of our time.’
This is Matt’s best episode yet, no question. Funny, touching, and I’m now awake to Big Spice’s fake cinnamon shenanigans, so it was also educational too.
C*ntent Repurposing by Craig Burgess
The in-joke rabbit hole has now gotten so deep that it has become a wormhole where time and space loop into an infinite regression of repurposed c*ntent. Confused? You will be. Just accept it and listen to the man with the largest soundboard (boing) in all of South Yorkshire.
Thank you for reading/listening. Feel free to share this email and the individual authors work and also feel free to leave comments either here or on the authors own sites.
Finally, Craig and I will be recording the official debut episode of the Podcast That Must Not Be Named tomorrow at 6pm GMT. We’ll host it and record it live from the Discord and then post it onto this Substack on Monday.
All exclusive for STSC premium subscribers.
So if you want to hear that either live or via recording (and if you want to join our ranks and contribute your work) then click the button below and choose either monthly, annual or founder member.
I look forward to seeing you over at the Social Club Discord.
Cheers!