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Letter From The Founder
As you know by now, every week the omnibus offers up a selection of some of the best essays, short stories, fiction and podcasts around- all created by my fellow STSC members during the previous week.
But we have more than just writers and podcasters within our ranks. It seems that the STSC attracts creators of all stripes, in every medium.
And so I have had to expand the format here even further to make room for the great visual art that the likes of Samuel, Jeanne and Dominic are producing. Whether these artists will make their future works publicly available for sale remains to be seen, but for now lets simply enjoy their creations as part of this weeks issue. I have not added any commentary besides these pictures, as I truly believe they speak for themselves, beyond words.
So. We have art. We have essays- well over a dozen of them. We have a story and a poem. We have a film review and an article from Chekhov translated by Ivan. We have the latest episodes of Madspace and The Wednesday Audio, two of the funniest (and strangest) podcasts around.
What more can I say?
Pour yourself a drink, put the kettle on, get the coffee brewing- whatever your usual Omnibus routine is- and enjoy these weeks round-up.
Have a great weekend,
Until next time,
Live well,
Tom.
Essays
Revelation - Paul Publisher
You can’t have a weekend magazine without an astrology section and friend of the STSC just so happens to be the best astrologer around. This isn’t your standard one sentence horoscope. Even if you don’t ‘believe’ in astro Paul’s perspective is fascinating IMO.
"I don't know how you do it"- Lyle
Lyle’s writing is so consistently excellent, heartfelt and moving that I almost feel that it needs to elaboration or introduction at this point. So I’ll use this space to say that Lyle’s web3 Invisible College project has big things planned and you should check out what they are up to.
Joe Rogan is Burning- Luke Burgis
Here we have a Girardian examination of the Joe Rogan Spotify debacle. Now, I don’t follow the news because of its rushed, angry, hot-take nature. Which is what makes Luke’s delves into contemporary events so refreshing. Via mimetic theory he is able to offer a calm, compassionate, reasoned view that is like ice water in the desert. The world needs more of this, much more.
"The Usual"- Olli
If (or maybe that should be ‘when’) the STSC gets its own compound or speakeasy, Olli will be our head chef. Honestly it’s worth becoming a premium subscriber just to see some of the photos and recipes Olli drops in the #food-and-drink channel. And as well as that our man from Finland is an excellent writer and observer of the flaneuring, bon-vivant life, as his latest piece here shows. As the man himself says ‘to your health’
Incongruities II: The Zuckercurse- Charlie Sherritz
The subtitle says it all: kYou cannot enhance your world by denying unalterable reality upon which it is based. The Metaverse is a denial, not an enhancement, of the world.’ Hear, here. Read this piece and let Charlie break it down for you in this follow up to last weeks featured piece on the false virtue of political correctness. It’s well worth your time.
Travel is Pointless- Gavin
An ironic title, given that Gavin is our resident adventurer and travel writer. Some might say he is the STSC equivalent of Michael Palin- genial, learned, worldly- which is entirely appropriate given that the Pythons excellent 1989 travel show Around The World in 80 Days is the jumping off point for this essay on the use of travel and the idea of attempting to he a little foolish in a world that is all to prescribed and sensible.
Yes Sir, Feudalism Might Be Practical- TheoFuturist
It turns out our optimistic, future facing friend Mr TheoFuturist is also a great book reviewer and analyst. Another arrow in his quiver. And upon reading this incisive and entertaining discussion of Joel Kotkin's book The Coming of Neo-Feudalism it seems I have yet another volume to add to my ever growing wishlist. So thanks for that!
Bookmark #313- Deepansh
I know I say it every week but I love Deepansh’ daily ‘bookmark‘ pieces. Short, seemingly off-handed and off-the-cuff discussions that always catch you unawares with their depth and openness. As well as having a poetic, aesthetic quality, they often have real heart too and they show the skills of someone who has published over 300 of said musings. A remarkable project and this weeks piece is up their with his very best to date.
What is content?- Craig Burgess
There’s an aspect of the English working class mentality that means you always use irony and humour to avoid the risks that come from being sincere with a friend. So I’m going to do what I can to sidestep that and simply say that for me this is the best thing that Craig has ever written and it is a vital read if you want to figure out the online landscape as it stands today. Essential reading.
Fat City (1972)- Thomas J Bevan
Here I review the neglected John Huston boxing picture Fat City. A great film- tender and sad- which for my money is better than the far more successful Rocky that followed in its wake a few years later. This is up their with the best boxing pictures, as you would expect from that legendary filmmaker and champion of the underdogs Huston.
Rules For Aspiring Authors by Chekhov- Translated by Ivan
It’s a conflict. On the one hand I hate listicles. On the other hand I love Chekhov. So I was as surprised as anyone to learn that our man once wrote a list of rules for writers. But fortunately it is knowing and funny, as opposed to the poe-faced equivalents that a modern day ‘content creator’ might churn out. And all of this nuance and humour is captured by Ivan’s remarkable translation. It takes a great writer to truly translate a great writer, as this piece shows.
It’s Human To Pause- Vita
He’s an understated guy, so I’ll have to sing his praises for him. Vita has been on a real roll of late, which testifies to the fact that his ‘deprocrastination’ methods work. As always, this latest piece is both practical and useful as well as having real depth and insight into how the human mind operates. Plus the aesthetics on Vita’s site are absolute first rate, which seems to further prove his points here about holding yourself to a standard and following your own path rather than being reactive to others.
Field notes: 2.2022- Tony
‘I will offer you these field notes. This post will make no sense on the surface. In fact, it will likely not make sense at all, no matter which way you slice it. I suspect this is what the productivity hacks call journaling. Sitting at my desk and typing whatever comes to mind while I slack off at my real job. No real focus. No writing rituals. No clearing of the mind.’
Man, the freedom and verve that Tony writes with is exhilarating. I love it. That’s all I have to say.
More Than One Mistake- Charles Schifano
Charles considers some words that C S Lewis spoke on the verge of World War II. A simple enough idea, perhaps, but in Charles’ capable hands this becomes a touching snd urgent meditation on the fact that in this life there is no time to waste, not to merely be productive, but to get down to the actual true business of living.
Anarchy in the U.K.raine
If all the worlds a stage then our man Kieran is Puck, if you will allow me to awkwardly mash two Shakespeare references together. Because while the players act and vie for attention and carry on, Kieran is the knowing imp who stage-whispers to the audience ‘what fools these mortals be’. And honestly, I think this is one of the greatest public services one can do in such absurd and self-important times.
what is a real friend?- Yuelian Hong
A lovely musing on anonymity, friendship, the internet and the attempt to truly try and make connections online. A simple premise, excellent executed thanks to the honest and searching nature of its approach. I found this one really relatable, as I’m sure many of you will too.
Fiction
The Human Heart- Brady
Proving that he is not a one-trick-pony, Brady follows up his debut short story- the stoicism referencing horror ‘Maury’ with this utterly unique take on a love story. This is deceptively simple but there is real resonance and deep themes being explored beneath the hall-of-mirrors every day surface. I loved it, and am curious to see how the works of Brady the Storyteller develop.
My First Poem- G K Gaius
I was expecting the worst, I’ll be honest. A first attempt at poetry, called ‘My First Poem’. It doesn’t inspire confidence. But, and this is a big but, the actual work itself is very good. There is real promise here. I hope our young friend G K continues with the verse and that we get to see it blossom week after week in real time. Because the world truly needs more poets and more poetry.
Art
Poseidon- Samuel Capper
Madja Sunrise- Jeanne Thompson
Arches National Park (Pen and Ink sketch)- Dominic
Podcasts
Sun your Bialis- Madspace
Our man from Long Island is on a roll. The artiste has found his theme- which of course is food, the most Mediterranean of subject matter. You can almost see Matt kissing his fingers as he describes a proper bacon, egg and cheese. Now some people just eat to live. But the rest of us live to eat, and have opinions about food, and if you’re one of us then this is the show for you, my friends. Salut!
Let Me Clarify (WA #41)- Craig Burgess
There’s an early song by the post-punk band The Fall where the cantankerous (and sadly missed) singer Mark E Smith goes on and on about how he loves repetition. It’s called Repetition. It’s about repetition. Well so is the Wednesday Audio where ‘the joke will continue until the laughter improves’
If you’re in the Wednesday Audio cult you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you’re not in the Wednesday Audio cult, then Wednesday is just the middle of the week for you, and I pity you, frankly.
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 another episode of our ultra secret podcast tomorrow at 8pm 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!