Matt Kelland

My minimalist library I used to be a book hoarder. Now I have fewer books, but I love them more than ever.

This'll upset some of you. Warning: contains scenes of bibliocide.

mattkelland.substack.com/p/my-minimal...

The reverse bucket list Make your life easier by deciding what you don't need to strive for

Unhack Your Brain has been paused for a while, but an article in Upworthy of all places got me thinking about things I don’t need to do.
unhackyourbrain.substack.com/p/the-revers...

I think mine was Emily from Bagpuss.

DEBUNKED: 7 Myths About Immigration - Builders Much of what we think we know about immigration is rooted in myths. But when we cut through the noise, the picture becomes less divisive.

I'm an immigrant. (Legal, naturalized.) A lot of what people say about immigrants simply isn't true.

buildersmovement.org/2025/10/01/d...

The Cop Story Story What my brain thinks about at 3am, and why I find writing so easy when I actually sit down to do it.

Take a look into my mind and see the process that turns an idea into a story.

mattkelland.substack.com/p/the-cop-st...

Spectacle, weirdness and novelty: what early cinema tells us about the appeal of ‘AI slop’ Just as the gimmicky first films evolved into a sophisticated medium, will we look back on today’s AI-generated video as the beginnings of a new art form?

Interesting take: a lot of early filmmakers like Melies and Edison were just playing around with the medium to see what it could do. It was many years later before we really figured out how to tell engaging stories with film.

theconversation.com/spectacle-we...

From the sciencememes community on Reddit: fuck around and find out Explore this post and more from the sciencememes community

There are two meanings to FAFO.
1. Do stupid stuff, the consequences are on your own head
2. Do crazy stuff, learn from new experiences

You don't FO if you don't FA. I've been doing a lot of FA this week, and have found out a lot. And it's been fun.

www.reddit.com/r/sciencemem...

Can't we just shut it down, unplug it, and put it in a box in the garage for the next three years?

The productivity paradox: why AI won’t speed up creative work AI tools were meant to automate the boring bits and free up time for meaningful work. Instead, creatives speak of endless iterations, escalating client demands and entirely new categories of digital d...

It's the same as the promise of so many other technologies: it'll reduce your workload. No, it'll just enable you to do more in the same time.

www.itsnicethat.com/features/the...

Linguist clearly demonstrates how 'thinking is walking' in English and it's just so cool You'll never see "by the way" and "of course" the same way again.

I do most of my best thinking while walking.
www.upworthy.com/linguist-exp...

Ahhh... The Flashing Blade was going through my head yesterday for no reason. The weird thing is that whenever I hear it, I think of Sailor Moon, because there's one identical phrase. This creates very weird images in my head.

As a general principle, I don't think anyone should make people feel bad or stupid for liking whatever they like. Books, music, movies, hobbies, food, whatever - go right ahead and enjoy whatever brings you pleasure, as long as you're not harming anyone!

I enjoy reading Dan Brown, and I'm not ashamed of it.

I enjoy Dan Brown. I don't even think of his books as guilty pleasures. It's no different to enjoying pulp SF or trashy thrillers.

And his Masterclass is excellent - totally focused on writing to entertain the reader, not writing from the author's perspective.

It's the best workout I get all year, even more than shoveling snow!

Workbench Edition 381 | The Luftwaffe’s ‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’

There's an Airfix podcast? Of course there is.

open.spotify.com/show/7tJK81q...

I wish.

I have several hundred trees around my house. Raking and mulching is no trivial job. But I'm damn glad for the rain: I was getting worried about our well. And the tomatoes are going to be happy too!

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

How Billy Joel (Briefly) Went Heavy Metal Billy Joel once made a heavy metal album and people are still talking about it.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that Billy Joel did a (bad) heavy metal album, and I can't decide whether or not I want to listen to it.

ultimateclassicrock.com/billy-joel-h...

A 17th-century mushroom cloud: The Wanggongchang explosion – The China Project On May 30, 1626, an imperial armory just west of the Forbidden City exploded with a force rivaling that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It remains one of the deadliest non-military explosions...

Started reading a novel where the premise is a vast explosion in Beijing in 1626. I assumed it was alt-history or sci-fi, but no...

thechinaproject.com/2022/06/01/a...

Enjoying the sound of rain. Unexpected, lovely, wet, rain.

It's barely rained since June: our veggies have barely survived, and I'm beginning to worry about our well.

“Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems.”
– BILL WATTERSON

Newsletter Magic Without Math | Writers In The Storm Overwhelmed by newsletter advice? Ditch the pressure and find the magic of real connection with readers. Less math, more joy.

You've been told you must write an author newsletter. Sigh, you'd rather write something worthwhile instead. Actually, your newsletter could be that. @deleyna.bsky.social writersinthestormblog.com/2025/09/news... #writinglife #writingcommunity #authorlife #publishing #skywriters

Jack London, The People of the Abyss

Then arises the third and inexorable question: If Civilisation has increased the producing power of the average man, why has it not bettered the lot of the average man? There can be one answer only—MISMANAGEMENT. (Jack London, The People of the Abyss)

Much like Orwell's Down & Out in Paris & London

Thank you for coming to my Teddy talk.

I did a newsletter thing. (And yes, it says Spring, not Autumn, cos I'm not very good at MailChimping this morning.)

mailchi.mp/be0d36fb4f2d...

SpamGPT unleashes a professional-grade spam empire with AI features that lower cybercrime barriers for phishing and ransomware attacks SpamGPT reduces the skill barrier for mass spam and ransomware campaigns

It was only a matter of time.

www.techradar.com/pro/security...