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
It’s the Omnibus before Christmas and unsurprisingly it is very essay heavy as all of the fiction is being saved for the very special Fiction Symposium that will be going out on Friday. It’s going to be very special indeed.
So between that and the January 1st best of 2022 Omnibus this is the last time we will (metaphorically) speak for a little while.
So all that needs to be said is Merry Christmas and we hope that our collective work has helped to brighten up your year throughout 2022. Next year promises to be better than ever for the STSC and we hope that you will continue to join us as readers, supporters, and perhaps even fellow creators and contributors.
Thank you for your support and we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Live well,
Tom.
Essays
It's the Ordinary That Makes Life Extraordinary by John P Weiss
I found myself nodding along throughout this. I could not agree more with the sentiment expressed here. This is one to read and read again.
The platinum rule by Andy Coughlan
I’d never heard of the platinum rule before reading this, and having now done so I’m sure that it is something that I will not forget in a hurry. An excellent reminder of a life-changing rule.
Remaining Positive with a Chronic Illness by Yardena
The more essays I read each week the more I realise the value of simply sharing your human experience with honesty and simplicity rather than making pronouncements and theorising. This great piece shows the power and wisdom of this approach.
The Future is for the Weird by Pr0ph3t
I will quote in its entirety the tweet embedded in this fantastic essay:
If you’re a knowledge worker, a liberal arts thinker, or an artist and you’re genuinely and truly concerned about AI replacing your work… Be more human. Be more weird.
Genuinely consoling and impactful stuff from the ever-dependable Pr0ph3t.
The Sacred Tree by Adam
This is so dense and concentrated with so many pearl and one-liners embedded within. Some writers reward you for close reading and paying attention, and some like Adam absolutely demand it. Brilliant.
Creator Spotlight - Tony Zentelis by Mark Dykeman
Mark continues to make the rounds of interviewing the STSC mainstays and this week lands upon the irrepressible Tony. They get into gambling, Substacks future, the craft of writing, self-improvement burnout and more.
A Trip to Garbage City by Samantha Childress
Of Garbage City and the Zabaleen. A fascinating slice of travel reportage from Samantha who finishes the year in extremely strong fashion with this one.
Travel Diaries #40 - Hanoi to Saigon [part 2] by Gavin Brennan
Gavin continues to tell us of his trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City by motorbike. Fantastic prose as always from a writer who can really make you feel as if you are right there besides him as he embarks on another adventure.
Shadowboxer in the dark by Oleg
I’m not a huge fan of people who weaponise their eccentricity and turn it into a way of elevating themselves above the NPCs, the normies, the human plankton. But the guy shadowboxing in the dark is a reminder that you can just do your thing and the world won’t fall apart.
This was a beauty. And even though Oleg never disappoints I found this one to be a real stand out of his.
Curious Realizer - shooting the potatoes and other failures of efficiency by Mark Dykeman
Just another run of the mill essay that touches on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and potato guns. You’ve probably read dozens like it already.
(Of course what I mean is that Mark is a unique mind with a delightfully daft way of making serious points fun and accessible).
The First Step Is Mocking by A.K. O’Brien
Always fascinating to read about an artist actually laying out the nuts and bolts of the art. I’m a big fan of reading about practitioners discussing their process and this is a fine snapshot of that.
C[u]r[e]ation by Adam Kozak
What I do is hard. There’s no doubt about it. Oh, I have my critics. But what do critics know about creation? About creating art? About creating something that resonates with people, that people enjoy and from which they derive meaning?
Nothing.
But my audience knows.
It leads you one way and then the other this. Masterfully done, and timely too.
Bookmark #610 by Deepansh Khurana
Once again I am going to use this space here to implore Deepansh to collect at least some of these Bookmarks into some kind of physical book. I NEED it.
ok but can this ChatGPT robot write better than *me*?? by Alex Dobrenko
As a Writer who Writes Important and Thought Provoking Work That’s Also Ideally Funny Without Trying Too Hard To Be So, I’ve got one question: can this piece of shit Iron Giant robot write better than me?
This was genuinely hilarious. There is hope for humanity yet.
On Synchronicity by Yuelian Hong
This whole thing was a journey. Had me captivated from beginning to end. Yuelian continues to wield and hone that deceptively simple prose style to great effect here.
The Decision Dilemma - Chapter 5 by Victor Casler
On the use of stories and crafting a personal vision in the heart. Another brick in the great work that Victor is steadily building here. Excellent stuff.
The Wit's Guide to Murder by Benjamin Errett
I swear this newsletter of Benjamin’s feels like it has been custom designed for my specific enjoyment. I love every issue and am due to take a deep dive into the (vast) archives. Another outstanding addition here.
Musings on AI at a Turning Point by Stephanie Losi
Important questions answered with nuance and clarity- which is what regular readers have by now come to expect from the consistently insightful Stephanie.
Moments of Intimacy Embedded in Scenes from Christmas Movies (413 words over 500) by Trilety Wade
The rest of the short scene is relationship argument perfection; over-talking, interrupting, cadence increasing. Her voice goes scorpion as he continues to be insouciant to her words. This is one of those many moments among humans when one person is unbuttoned and the other, refusing to open their own rib cage, grabs the whip from the wall and implodes the moment so their partner will know their pain without them having to ever speak.
I was obviously going to rewatch Die Hard over Christmas anyway, but this piece has just sealed the deal. Phenomenal prose on display as always from Trilety.
My life in cafes by Terry
This might be my favourite Terry piece to date. Excellent storytelling and eye for detail plus a real good but of illustration from the man himself too.
All the books I read this year by a. natasha joukovsky
A timely, if unintentional reminder- for me at least- that I have not read as many actual real books as I wanted to/should have done this year and that I need to get my act together in this regard. Fortunately this essay has also pointed me towards some fascinating sounding novels which can help me fix this deficiency.
Some Thoughts about a Cardinal by Charles Schifano
To look elsewhere, or to smile at a small pleasure, this mindset believes, is to dismiss reality, but that is a relentlessness that must be resisted. Look to the cardinal—his eyes now locked on something curious in the distance—and remain unperturbed.
Beautiful, as always. Poetic, as always. A delight to read, as always. Charles never ceases to impress me with his weekly offerings.
Nativity Play by Timothy
I’m a big fan of this ‘fortnight in the life of’ series. As with everything Timothy does it is thoughtful, real, genuinely insightful, and from my vantage point criminally underrated.
On Essays by Thomas J Bevan
My 100th essay, which meant it was high time I tackled the subject of essay writing itself. Thanks to everyone who has read, commented and supported my work over the years.
That Post Which Tells You Why I've Been Away by Edward
While I do have a queue of fresh exciting pieces for you, I put them on hold to finish what I started, by accident of circumstance over 18 months ago. 175,000 words.
Edward is that rare talent who has both great flair and ability and is an absolute workhorse to boot. I suspect 2023 is going to be a big year for him.
Fiction/Poetry
Desert Snow by Sajan
We have a number of excellent poets here in the STSC and Sajan is certainly among them. The title poem here particularly stands out.
GREW TOO TALL by gkgaius
Simple, but no less impactful for it. G K with another winner.
O live. A joy-joy in the spring of sprig by James Maynard
The crown of sonnets continues and continues to impress with both its technical mastery and lyrical power.
Podcasts
Goblin Mode for an Audience of None (Tragedies of Modernity Episode #28) by Thomas J Bevan and Craig Burgess
Potato based rapport, wristwatch photography and goblin mode apologists. Business as usual for myself and the man behind the boards Craig.
Follow the Dove by Madspace
To quote the man himself: ‘It could be a portal into hell. Or amusement. You decide.’ So glad Matt is back at it, even though that means that he is going through a nightmare commute and coping via recording.
The Podcast Ombudsman No. 3 Returns (WA #82) by Craig Burgess
Always the podcast innovator Craig has now made it so you have to pay extra to get the adberts. If you’re a cheapskate you can stick with the regularly scheduled madness above for free. If that’s your cup of tea.
TJB Film Recommendation
The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)
D. Brian Henson
W. Charles Dickens, Jerry Juhl
S. Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire
You might groan at the obviousness of this choice (assuming anyone still reads these soon to be discontinued-to-free-up-space film recommendations). But I don’t care.
I’ve already mentioned the lovely Robert Mitchum Christmas film Holiday Affair (1949) before and I’m sure you can infer that I like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and the Alastair Sim version of Scrooge (1951). And I’m not going to go down the road of recommending Die Hard (1988) or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) or any of those other set-at-Christmas action films that have now become a part of the holiday canon.
And so that leaves us with The Muppets Christmas Carol, the best Muppets film, the best adaptation of Dickens’ source material and quite possibly Michael Caine’s best ever performance. Bold claims but I stand by them.
And I simply implore you- if you weren’t already- to watch this classic before Christmas. In fact, I’m even hearing that it is being re-released to theatres.
God bless us, everyone!
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 provisionally confirm that Craig and I may record a new episode of the Tragedies of Modernity podcast tonight at 8pm GMT, (even though our live listenership last week was abysmal) . 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!
The STSC Omnibus #47
I love these posts - yet again I've added to the lengthening list of Stacks I subscribe to!
Looking forward to reading another great collection, Thomas. Thanks for kind words about my piece, and the drawing!