🐙Scott Maybell🐙
@cartesiandream.bsky.social
Grad student studying Science & Religion in Oxford, researching the political demonology of octopuses and other cephalopods.
Trained mediator, happy to facilitate conciliation processes as a form of mutual aid. Just ask!
Trained mediator, happy to facilitate conciliation processes as a form of mutual aid. Just ask!
Pinned
If you ever see a depiction of Satan, the Devil, or a demon as an octopus or other cephalopod, please send it my way. The attached screenshot is from a Latter-day Saint magazine and depicts Satan's temptations like an octopus's "tentacles" (octopuses actually do not have tentacles).
CFP due this Friday for a special panel on reality shifting and manifestation in Gen Z religiosity.
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Call for Papers: Special Panel on Reality Shifting in Gen-Z
Putting out a CFP from my friends and colleagues at SWPACA, due this week on the 14th. Details at: CFP: Special Panel on Reality Shifting in Gen-Z : Area for Esotericism, Occultism, and Magic at So…
haliphron.ink
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 AM
CFP due this Friday for a special panel on reality shifting and manifestation in Gen Z religiosity.
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
In preparation for our reading group on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing (if you're in Oxford, HMU), we've read Neonomicon. Here's an interview where Moore endorses Graham Harman's book on Lovecraft. It's fun hearing about him learning to appreciate academic philosophy. thequietus.com/culture/book...
All About Alienation: Alan Moore On Lovecraft And Providence | The Quietus
Towards the end of a recent interview with Alan Moore on his relationship with the writer Iain Sinclair our conversation drifted towards another topic: Moore’s upcoming Lovecraftian work Providence. A...
thequietus.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:58 PM
In preparation for our reading group on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing (if you're in Oxford, HMU), we've read Neonomicon. Here's an interview where Moore endorses Graham Harman's book on Lovecraft. It's fun hearing about him learning to appreciate academic philosophy. thequietus.com/culture/book...
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
had an idea (wallpapers are below!)
November 5, 2025 at 6:11 PM
had an idea (wallpapers are below!)
The Chainsaw Man film was wonderful, but it shared the weakness of the Reze arc in the manga: the fight sequence is too long and one note. I wrote up some of my thoughts on how the sequence could have been altered with dynamic stakes and more Reze characterization.
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
Chainsaw Man Reze Arc: Lean Into the Diabology!
Chainsaw Man is perhaps my favorite anime and manga, so I was anticipating last month’s release of the Reze Arc film. Technically, Reze’s arc in the manga is a relative low-point, and t…
haliphron.ink
November 5, 2025 at 10:21 PM
The Chainsaw Man film was wonderful, but it shared the weakness of the Reze arc in the manga: the fight sequence is too long and one note. I wrote up some of my thoughts on how the sequence could have been altered with dynamic stakes and more Reze characterization.
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
Found an interesting chapter which details an anti-colonial Sri Lankan folk tale which describes Jesus as an avatar of Mara ("the Buddhist devil" in oversimplifying terms), sent to trick the world to trap people in samsara (citation in alt-text).
September 16, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Found an interesting chapter which details an anti-colonial Sri Lankan folk tale which describes Jesus as an avatar of Mara ("the Buddhist devil" in oversimplifying terms), sent to trick the world to trap people in samsara (citation in alt-text).
"Not caring about the things I care about" is not nihilism. With few exceptions, authoritarians and techno-capitalists are immersed in a world of meaning, moralism, and narratives. Islamophobes don't believe in *nothing*, they believe they are *at war with the Devil* or *defenders of The Occident*.
the complete embrace of nihilism and the rejection of being genuine is the greatest danger to humanity right now
August 27, 2025 at 10:53 PM
"Not caring about the things I care about" is not nihilism. With few exceptions, authoritarians and techno-capitalists are immersed in a world of meaning, moralism, and narratives. Islamophobes don't believe in *nothing*, they believe they are *at war with the Devil* or *defenders of The Occident*.
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
Contrary to what you might think, we've actually 𝑛𝑜𝑡 been sleeping and / or dead since launching Dread Delusion...
...we've been making a dying earth JRPG called
🍄 ⚔️ 💀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 💀 ⚔️ 🍄
& you can wishlist it on Steam rn!
store.steampowered.com/app/3940340/...
...we've been making a dying earth JRPG called
🍄 ⚔️ 💀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 💀 ⚔️ 🍄
& you can wishlist it on Steam rn!
store.steampowered.com/app/3940340/...
August 27, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Contrary to what you might think, we've actually 𝑛𝑜𝑡 been sleeping and / or dead since launching Dread Delusion...
...we've been making a dying earth JRPG called
🍄 ⚔️ 💀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 💀 ⚔️ 🍄
& you can wishlist it on Steam rn!
store.steampowered.com/app/3940340/...
...we've been making a dying earth JRPG called
🍄 ⚔️ 💀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 💀 ⚔️ 🍄
& you can wishlist it on Steam rn!
store.steampowered.com/app/3940340/...
!!!
Today, Streumon Studio (E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy) announced Daimon Blades, a co-op first-person slasher about slicing through hellspawn. www.endlessmode.com/video-games/...
First-Person Slasher Daimon Blades Announced, Out In Early Access This September
Today, Streumon Studio (E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy) announced Daimon Blades, a co-op first-person slasher about slicing through hellspawn.
www.endlessmode.com
August 20, 2025 at 6:23 PM
!!!
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
Wes Craven's Red Eye was released in theaters on this day 20 years ago 🛩
August 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Wes Craven's Red Eye was released in theaters on this day 20 years ago 🛩
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
July 29, 2025 at 7:18 PM
1. First #TTRPG played: Fiasco
2. First ever ran: Call of Cthulhu
3. Played most: Kingdom
4. Run most: Godbound
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark
6. Most recently played: Dungeon World
7. Most recently run: Monsterhearts 2
2. First ever ran: Call of Cthulhu
3. Played most: Kingdom
4. Run most: Godbound
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark
6. Most recently played: Dungeon World
7. Most recently run: Monsterhearts 2
1. First #TTRPG played: D&D 3.5
2. First ever ran: D&D 3.5
3. Played most: Apocalypse World
4. Run most: The Quiet Year
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark, Dog Eat Dog, Dialect, Apocalypse World, Star Crossed
6. Most recently played: Going For Broke
7. Most recently run: Red Carnations on a Black Grave
2. First ever ran: D&D 3.5
3. Played most: Apocalypse World
4. Run most: The Quiet Year
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark, Dog Eat Dog, Dialect, Apocalypse World, Star Crossed
6. Most recently played: Going For Broke
7. Most recently run: Red Carnations on a Black Grave
1. First #TTRPG played: D&D red box basic
2. First ever ran: WEG Star Wars 2e
3. Played most: D&D 3.x
4. Run most: WEG SWRPG 2e, #ShadowlightAndPersonaeRPG
5. Favorite: 3-way-tie between Adventure!, Fate Core & Dungeon World
6. Most recently played: Omega Horizon
7. Most recently run: Daggerheart
2. First ever ran: WEG Star Wars 2e
3. Played most: D&D 3.x
4. Run most: WEG SWRPG 2e, #ShadowlightAndPersonaeRPG
5. Favorite: 3-way-tie between Adventure!, Fate Core & Dungeon World
6. Most recently played: Omega Horizon
7. Most recently run: Daggerheart
July 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
1. First #TTRPG played: Fiasco
2. First ever ran: Call of Cthulhu
3. Played most: Kingdom
4. Run most: Godbound
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark
6. Most recently played: Dungeon World
7. Most recently run: Monsterhearts 2
2. First ever ran: Call of Cthulhu
3. Played most: Kingdom
4. Run most: Godbound
5. Favorite: Blades in the Dark
6. Most recently played: Dungeon World
7. Most recently run: Monsterhearts 2
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
The earliest known depiction of a crop circle is in The Mowing-Devil (1678), a 5-page pamphlet which recounts a labor dispute ending with an unwitting deal with the devil, and a field mown in way “that no Mortal Man was able to do the like”: publicdomainreview.org/collection/t... #cropcircles
July 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The earliest known depiction of a crop circle is in The Mowing-Devil (1678), a 5-page pamphlet which recounts a labor dispute ending with an unwitting deal with the devil, and a field mown in way “that no Mortal Man was able to do the like”: publicdomainreview.org/collection/t... #cropcircles
This statement does nothing for people deeply concerned about the removal of Rebel Scum from this platform. I will not purchase another product from DriveThru until they publicly admit fault re: this incident and make changes to their policies to prevent this from occuring again.
July 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This statement does nothing for people deeply concerned about the removal of Rebel Scum from this platform. I will not purchase another product from DriveThru until they publicly admit fault re: this incident and make changes to their policies to prevent this from occuring again.
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
The art of arranging marine algae into designs, bouquets, and even sometimes intricate little scenes, was surprisingly popular in the 19th century. See an album of such pictures by a woman named Eliza A. Jordson here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/album-of-seaweed-pictures-1848
July 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The art of arranging marine algae into designs, bouquets, and even sometimes intricate little scenes, was surprisingly popular in the 19th century. See an album of such pictures by a woman named Eliza A. Jordson here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/album-of-seaweed-pictures-1848
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
Descartes gave us all the tools we need to survive in an era of misinformation. Simply begin with the understanding that you are real but everything else is fairly likely to be the cruel games of a demon sent to torment you specifically.
June 30, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Descartes gave us all the tools we need to survive in an era of misinformation. Simply begin with the understanding that you are real but everything else is fairly likely to be the cruel games of a demon sent to torment you specifically.
I made a sigil in opposition to Dem Islamophobia today, so expect Gillibrand to resign soon. We call this interfaith solidarity.
June 29, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I made a sigil in opposition to Dem Islamophobia today, so expect Gillibrand to resign soon. We call this interfaith solidarity.
Our greatest living philosopher <3
June 28, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Our greatest living philosopher <3
It has come to the point in my dissertation where I must discuss Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh making right-wing reaction video slop. This article was really interesting/helpful in theorizing the genre.
Schankweiler, Kerstin. "Reaction Images and Metawitnessing." Parallax 26, no. 3 (2020): 254-70.
Schankweiler, Kerstin. "Reaction Images and Metawitnessing." Parallax 26, no. 3 (2020): 254-70.
June 24, 2025 at 2:03 AM
It has come to the point in my dissertation where I must discuss Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh making right-wing reaction video slop. This article was really interesting/helpful in theorizing the genre.
Schankweiler, Kerstin. "Reaction Images and Metawitnessing." Parallax 26, no. 3 (2020): 254-70.
Schankweiler, Kerstin. "Reaction Images and Metawitnessing." Parallax 26, no. 3 (2020): 254-70.
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
yes I’m worried about x-risk, why do you ask?
June 23, 2025 at 11:02 PM
yes I’m worried about x-risk, why do you ask?
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
Roll20, which owns DriveThruRPG, told Rebel Scum's designer (@9thlevelgames.bsky.social) that allowing their "hateful content" and political speech on its platform constituted a "slippery slope."
DriveThruRPG delisted a tabletop game about revolutions over “hateful” politics
Rebel Scum's censorship reveals the limits of Roll20's apolitical guidelines.
www.rascal.news
June 23, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Roll20, which owns DriveThruRPG, told Rebel Scum's designer (@9thlevelgames.bsky.social) that allowing their "hateful content" and political speech on its platform constituted a "slippery slope."
If anyone in Oxford wants to do a Michaelmas reading group on this Brandom/Hlobil text, let me know!
If you don't think you'll have time to read the new Brandom and Hlobil book (or perhaps aren't inclined), this is great: www.youtube.com/watch?v=20BM...
Robert Brandom Articulating the Structure of Reasons
YouTube video by Bob Brandom
www.youtube.com
June 23, 2025 at 8:23 AM
If anyone in Oxford wants to do a Michaelmas reading group on this Brandom/Hlobil text, let me know!
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
Sad news that Helen De Cruz passed away. We are grateful that they agreed to be part of our editorial board as they embodied the ideal philosopher: brilliant, kind, creative, endlessly curious, passionate about public philosophy, and striving for meaningful change dailynous.com/2025/06/20/h...
Helen De Cruz (1978-2025) - Daily Nous
Helen De Cruz, professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, has died. Professor De Cruz specialized in philosophy of religion and cognitive science. They were the author of Wonderstruck: How Won...
dailynous.com
June 20, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Sad news that Helen De Cruz passed away. We are grateful that they agreed to be part of our editorial board as they embodied the ideal philosopher: brilliant, kind, creative, endlessly curious, passionate about public philosophy, and striving for meaningful change dailynous.com/2025/06/20/h...
Reposted by 🐙Scott Maybell🐙
pope leo speaks on the risks children face from using ai, saying he’s concerned about “the possible consequences of the use of ai on their intellectual and neurological development.”
“access to data, however extensive, must not be confused with intelligence” he said.
“access to data, however extensive, must not be confused with intelligence” he said.
June 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
pope leo speaks on the risks children face from using ai, saying he’s concerned about “the possible consequences of the use of ai on their intellectual and neurological development.”
“access to data, however extensive, must not be confused with intelligence” he said.
“access to data, however extensive, must not be confused with intelligence” he said.
Many Satanists have shown up to anti-Trump protests, fought the rise of Christian nationalism in the courts, and reject the violent language found all across the New Testament. DBH's rhetoric here is utterly bankrupt and *repeats* the exact logic MAGA people use to demonize their enemies.
June 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Many Satanists have shown up to anti-Trump protests, fought the rise of Christian nationalism in the courts, and reject the violent language found all across the New Testament. DBH's rhetoric here is utterly bankrupt and *repeats* the exact logic MAGA people use to demonize their enemies.