J Durkin

Great political news. Spanberger /Hashmi won in VA. Mamdani in NYC. Sherrill in NJ. Have not seen Prop 50 returns (CA) but this was a great off-year. #2025Election

How to tell me you don't know what communism is without saying that? Tell me Zohran Mamdani is a communist... unless I missed the part of Das Kapital where Marx talked about subsidized bus fare... you know, the heart of every revolutionary movement.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing him win in NYC.

On the writing front, working on a couple of short pieces and plan to release an anthology of completed work set in the Curia Chronicles universe to Amazon by Christmas. More details to follow.

#Writing

Updates - and publication announcement - will follow, OC.

#TTRPGDesign #GameDesign #TTRPG

On the game design front. Salem is going slowly. It's ballooned from 10 pages to 20 and will probably be longer once I'm done with the text and add in the art, maps, etc. So... my Halloween goal... was a bit optimistic. I should have this done in a week or two.

#Vaesen

YouTube video by LegalEagle The Bullsh*t Case Against Kat Abu

Great piece about the eroding of free speech from the incomparable Liz Dye. Check it out. #1stAmendment #FreeSpeech www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5T-...

I love waking up with a good idea for a new story. I'd like to thank my weird subconscious.

#Writing

#TTRPG #TTRPGDesign #RPG #gamedev

The system is uses a single table, with dice using stacked advantages/disadvantages. Character creation right now takes about 10 minutes. I want to keep this rules-lite... but need to balance that with having some level of completeness... I don't want to leave players/GMs hanging.

So, after I finish my next #Vaesen module (Salem), I'm going to shift gears to playtesting my first original game, Liminal Mall. The PCs are researchers in a mall in China that seems to go on forever. Think Stargate meets David Cronenberg and JG Ballard... but inside an infinite mall.

Decent Western. Some good bits about gun control and the tension between a respect for law and the needs of the community vs the greed of those at the top of the socio-economic food chain. Also, it's a light lift at only 81 minutes.

3/5

Last night's movie: Witchita (1955). A western about Wyatt Earp (Joel McCrea) bringing law and order to the titular cattle town. I knew it was a Western... but had no idea it was Wyatt Earp movie. Any other stealthy Earp films out there? I have a new meaningless quest! yay!
#Filmsky

YouTube video by Hysteria Jerry Falwell: Everything You Didn't Know About His Sh*tty Past

A great episode of Hysteria's This F*cking Guy, in which they look at the wretched life of Jerry Falwell... a person who helped lay the foundation for the dumpster fire we all live in now.

#Hysteria

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZKG...

Washington furious over Trump's East Wing demo The agency that has to sign off on the president's ballroom plans is closed for the shutdown.

The Trumplicans are demolishing the nation - they might as well include the White House in the pile of rubble they are creating.

www.axios.com/local/washin...

YouTube video by The Daily Show "No Kings" Protests Defy GOP Expectations & Jon Gives Trump a Royal Inspection | The Daily Show

Start off the Bluesky week with Stewart's Daily Show monologue. Great stuff, per usual.

#DailyShow

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggIB...

DHS issued a call to ‘remigrate.’ Here’s the history of the term often associated with far-right groups | CNN A nine-letter social media post was all it took for the Department of Homeland Security to spark a torrent of backlash online this week, drawing the ire of politicians and prompting comparisons to Eur...

Words matter.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/u...

Been watching The Red King on AMC. This British police procedural takes a lot of cues from The Wicker Man (1973), but is engaging and original enough not to be a straight copy. If you like police shows mixed with cultish horror (and who doesn’t) check it out. #theredking #tvsky

Top US Army General Says He's Letting ChatGPT Make Military Decisions The lead US military commander in South Korea told reporters he's becoming really close with ChatGPT lately.

The CO of Us Army forces in South Korea uses ChatGPT to make command decisions. This is insane. We all know the pitfalls of using AI…hallucinations, sycophantic engagement frameworks, users anthropomorphizing pattern matching software… but this is next level concerning.

futurism.com/future-socie...

Just paid 350 to be told I DO NOT need a root canal. As a bonus, I got even more x-ray exposure to my face. Seriously, as someone who has a lot of dental issues, learning I do not need another procedure is great news.

#filmsky #tvsky (is this a thing?) #alienearth

Overall, there were 6 writers involved... and it felt like all of them just submitted first drafts that were accepted by the lead writer/creator Hawley, particularly for the last half of the season. Also... I did not like the open-ended finale. This needed a clear ending, season two or not.

2.5/5

Finished up Alien:Earth... meh. A lot of potential, great visuals and, overall, solid performances, marred by mediocre writing, muddled motivations, a reliance on "characters are dumber than rocks" to move the plot forward, and massive plotholes.

Senora de la Noche (1960) 

It's been a while since I mentioned my podcast, The Curia Chronicles Anthology. Set in the world of my novel - The Curia Chronicles - it is a ten episode series of stories set in the 1960s, following demons and the men and women who hunt them. Check it out. #podcast
open.spotify.com/show/6HWEuuW...

It will also include information on the town in the mid-1890s and how the tendrils of the Coven stretch as far as the the White House. This should be about 15-20 pages and will sell for $5.

While you're waiting, check out my other games on DTRPG.

legacy.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?a...

#TTRPG

Been a few days... which in 2025 feels like a decade in "normal era" time. I've been researching Salem for my upcoming #Vaesen module and am on track for an end of October release. It will include some history, an AH timeline, stats for the main witches and two new Vaesen.

Aim for the fence.

#booksky #writing

Prep for my next novel, Coven (working title) is almost done. Had to rethink a major plotline and redo some of the outline, but that's almost complete. Hoping to get the first draft done by the end of the year and starting pitching to agents by the Spring. Maybe a bit too ambitious... but why not?

Good month 4 #TTRPG releases - produced two aerial-related modules for #Vaesen, Watch the Skies! (monsters) and Up, Up, And Away! (balloon rules). Next up is a sourcebook for Salem, MA, which will feature an alternate history of the town, starting with very different witch trials. Halloween release.

Up, Up, And Away! - Free League Publishing | Free League Work Shop | DriveThruRPG Up, Up, And Away! brings balloons into Vaesen. This module consists of a brief histroy of ballooning in the 19th century, rules for balloon operation, equipment options, rules for altitude, falling, f...

Had to update my new #Vaesen module. Realized that I had not mentioned what happens if your basket/gondola detaches from the balloon... hint: nothing good. Thankfully, it was a quick fix and #DTRPG makes it supper easy to load updated files. #TTRPG
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...

Up, Up, And Away! - Free League Publishing | Free League Work Shop | DriveThruRPG Up, Up, And Away! brings balloons into Vaesen. This module consists of a brief histroy of ballooning in the 19th century, rules for balloon operation, equipment options, rules for altitude, falling, f...

A new #Vaesen module is out. Up, Up, And Away! provides rules for balloons. The 8 page module includes history, new rules for flying (and falling), and a few balloons from the 19th century. Check it out... and take to the skies :-)

#TTRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...