J G Ballard bot
@ballardbot.bsky.social
a thought from JG Ballard every day
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by: @mbonsall.bsky.social
using: https://bluebotsdonequick.com
more: https://fentonville.co.uk/digital-ballard/
Camouflage: The camouflaged battleship or bunker must never efface itself completely, but confuse our recognition systems by one moment being itself, and the next not itself.
January 3, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Camouflage: The camouflaged battleship or bunker must never efface itself completely, but confuse our recognition systems by one moment being itself, and the next not itself.
Three bikers in metallized boots and Mad Max leathers sat at the outdoor tables.
January 2, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Three bikers in metallized boots and Mad Max leathers sat at the outdoor tables.
They're in flight from the real.
January 2, 2026 at 10:07 AM
They're in flight from the real.
It's interesting that Spielberg should have turned towards him.
January 2, 2026 at 2:05 AM
It's interesting that Spielberg should have turned towards him.
Manhattan's under hundred-foot waves, most of the big skyscrapers and office blocks are down.
January 1, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Manhattan's under hundred-foot waves, most of the big skyscrapers and office blocks are down.
Ultimately, I think this idealism is a refusal to look evil in the face and admit that apparently normal people are capable of appalling acts of cruelty which psychoanalysis cannot shed any light on.
January 1, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Ultimately, I think this idealism is a refusal to look evil in the face and admit that apparently normal people are capable of appalling acts of cruelty which psychoanalysis cannot shed any light on.
Only a truly innocent man can know the meaning of guilt.
January 1, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Only a truly innocent man can know the meaning of guilt.
I remember seeing Mad Max 2 in the cinema.
December 31, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I remember seeing Mad Max 2 in the cinema.
Once you begin to itemize too much you are effectively doing an autopsy on the corpse of the imagination.
December 31, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Once you begin to itemize too much you are effectively doing an autopsy on the corpse of the imagination.
American writers, painters and filmmakers set off for Los Angeles 50 years ago, abandoning Chicago and New York, because they guessed that Southern California's amorphous sprawl contained the key to America's future.
December 31, 2025 at 2:05 AM
American writers, painters and filmmakers set off for Los Angeles 50 years ago, abandoning Chicago and New York, because they guessed that Southern California's amorphous sprawl contained the key to America's future.
I'm fascinated by the immediate past -- the treasures of the Triassic compare pretty unfavourably with those of the closing years of the Second Millennium.
December 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I'm fascinated by the immediate past -- the treasures of the Triassic compare pretty unfavourably with those of the closing years of the Second Millennium.
I never said we should shy away from or retreat from technology.
December 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I never said we should shy away from or retreat from technology.
In fact . . . I haven't written much Science Fiction since something like 1966.
December 30, 2025 at 2:05 AM
In fact . . . I haven't written much Science Fiction since something like 1966.
Perhaps only gratuitous madness can define who we are.
December 29, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Perhaps only gratuitous madness can define who we are.
A Raphaelesque reproduction of the Savior's undernourished face and uplifted eyes -- the image of a tubercular sexual fanatic that must have appealed to the girls who lay around gossiping and smoking their cigarettes.
December 29, 2025 at 10:07 AM
A Raphaelesque reproduction of the Savior's undernourished face and uplifted eyes -- the image of a tubercular sexual fanatic that must have appealed to the girls who lay around gossiping and smoking their cigarettes.
The sight of the Renault burning in the night had excited me.
December 29, 2025 at 2:05 AM
The sight of the Renault burning in the night had excited me.
John Gray's Straw Dogs: thoughts on humans and other animals, is a clear-eyed assessment of human nature and our almost unlimited gift for self-delusion.
December 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
John Gray's Straw Dogs: thoughts on humans and other animals, is a clear-eyed assessment of human nature and our almost unlimited gift for self-delusion.
Jazz Music's jettisoned short-term memory, and no less poignant for that.
December 28, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Jazz Music's jettisoned short-term memory, and no less poignant for that.
Because most of the people who lived in Shanghai had come from places like Shepperton and built houses just like the one they'd left behind in England.
December 28, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Because most of the people who lived in Shanghai had come from places like Shepperton and built houses just like the one they'd left behind in England.
I go to Juan Les Pins with my lady friend for the sun.
December 27, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I go to Juan Les Pins with my lady friend for the sun.
The actors, even Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, are little more than glorified extras.
December 27, 2025 at 10:07 AM
The actors, even Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, are little more than glorified extras.
I don't mean that human beings aren't capable of responding on a sort of human and emotional level -- they are; there is no question about that.
December 27, 2025 at 2:05 AM
I don't mean that human beings aren't capable of responding on a sort of human and emotional level -- they are; there is no question about that.
I think there will be a kind of inward collapse.
December 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I think there will be a kind of inward collapse.
When she passed me I noticed a crescent-shaped bruise that ran from her left cheekbone to the bridge of her strong nose, and the apparently swollen gums of her upper jaw.
December 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
When she passed me I noticed a crescent-shaped bruise that ran from her left cheekbone to the bridge of her strong nose, and the apparently swollen gums of her upper jaw.
Midmorning I make a coffee to get my brain in gear -- I used to have a large scotch, and that worked even better.
December 26, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Midmorning I make a coffee to get my brain in gear -- I used to have a large scotch, and that worked even better.