JD Byrne

Chapter 1 of Moby Dick, page 1 The phrase ‘Call me Ishmael’, the first sentence of the book, is highlighted in blue, with careful highlighting on the very big C at the start. Above this, written in ballpoint pen ‘His name’

Love the glimpse into the beautiful mind that notated this used copy of Moby Dick I got

The cover of "Tales from Topographic Oceans" by Yes (released a hundred years later).

Oh, wait, y'all meant 1970s!

Post something from the 70s.

Screenshot of the first sentence of the first draft of my new book, third in the "Paranormal Appalachia" series.

And away we go . . .

#amwriting

PSA: I tested more legal AI! It still doesn’t work.

I do not understand all of these articles about firms hiring fewer associates because they are leveraging AI for simpler work. The tech is not there. I would like it to be there. But it is not there. It has other uses, but none are “legal work.”

A win? Against Philly? I'm a bit light headed!

Judge Goodwin: "An anonymous government is no government at all. It cannot be held accountable. A masked agent freely uses force without justifying his actions, and the public cannot name him to challenge his conduct. A regime of secret policing has no place in our society."

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 19, 2026 | GoComics Read Pearls Before Swine—a comic strip by creator Stephan Pastis—for today, February 19, 2026, and check out other great comics, too!

Rinse, repeat.

www.gocomics.com/pearlsbefore...

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Beaker

I can’t believe you lefty Luddites hate tech so much that you embrace mRNA vaccines, heat pumps, electric bikes, hybrid work, renewable power (and awesome advancements in storage), space telescopes, and hot/cold running water but reject the planet destroying plagiarism enrich the worst people bots!

Tyggers

There's so much malice out there, I sometimes get to be surprised when a deeply suspicious activity turns out to be incompetence again.

This article is incredible. It says everything us actual authors have been saying for years, but with a smile on its face.

“If you hide that there’s A.I., it sells just fine,” she said.

Uh huh? Tell me more. Like how you published 19 novels to sell 20,000 copies. An average of 1000 copies a title.

An instructional guide. This is a lectern. It’s is not a podium

Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.

Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.

😍 THESE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!!

The horse (?) is keeping his eyes on the fox, though.

Elon Musk claims Christopher Nolan has lost ‘integrity’ over The Odyssey casting Lupita Nyong’o is reportedly set to play Helen of Troy in Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of Homer’s epic poem

The woke scolds are trying to make this about racism. But Musk is right. It's about historical and scientific integrity. When the God of Thunder disguises himself as a swan to seduce and fuck a queen and the resulting baby hatches from an egg, *of course* the baby will be white. It's just science.

Oh my, the categorical approach is about to break contain. Is this one of the seals in Revelation?

Just a reminder, the greatest living American historian filmmaker, Ken Burns, released a 720 min exploration of every facet of the American revolution using zero generative AI and paying for all of its assets instead of cobbling it from stolen data, then he gave it away for free on PBS this year.

2025 – My Year In TV It’s January once again, which means it’s time for me to take a quick look back at my favorite things from the year before. A reminder that these posts include both truly new stuff and stuff that w…

And, finally, even though I remembered to post this one so long ago, TV . . .

jdbyrne.net/2026/01/07/2...

2025 – My Year In Sound Back with the second installment of my review of 2025 in media. This time, it’s all about sounds, in various forms . . . Music Unlike TV, my year in new music in 2025 was pretty limited. That’s pro…

And sound . . .

jdbyrne.net/2026/01/14/2...

2025 – My Year In Movies Having covered the small screen from 2025, let’s talk about the big one . . . I had a pretty good 2025 when it came to movies. My wife and I made some effort to get out to the theater to see things…

Preceded by my year in movies . . .

jdbyrne.net/2026/01/21/2...

2025 – My Year In Books I’m always a little surprised when I go back through Goodreads and Library Thing at the end of the year and see which books I’d read really jump back out at me. This year, those were mostly non-fic…

I've been really derelict in posting new blog posts, so here's today's, the last of my "2025 in media" posts.

jdbyrne.net/2026/01/28/2...

Last week I asked BOP officials if they had sent tactical teams to Minneapolis. They denied it (left).

Multiple agency sources told me otherwise, and photos from
reporters on the ground soon confirmed BOP folks were there.

Now BOP is finally admitting it (right):

Well done!

One of my favorites from that book.

Every attorney after reading that one line.

Here’s a comment for the people who are upset that MN hasn’t charged Jonathan Ross already:

If you just Leeeroy Jenkins this shit you will lose and you will empower fascism and murder.

It is indescribably hard to prosecute cops for murder. It is even hard when the murder is ON VIDEO.

/1

2025 – My Year In TV It’s January once again, which means it’s time for me to take a quick look back at my favorite things from the year before. A reminder that these posts include both truly new stuff and stuff that w…

Forgot to post this yesterday - back to blogging! This month is all about my past year in media. First up - TV.

jdbyrne.net/2026/01/07/2...