BILL RYAN
@faceyouhate.bsky.social
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My Conscience Needed Airing
On "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas" by Machado de Assis, and "Bomber" by Len Deighton, but not "The IPCRESS File" by Len Deighton, as previously announced. Please allow me to explain.
billryan64.substack.com
At last, my new EXCLUSIVE TO PAID SUBSCRIBERS Reading Project post is up. In this one, I take a look at THE POSTHUMOUS MEMOIRS OF BAS CUBAS by Machado de Assis, and BOMBER by Len Deighton. I also go on about Derek Robinson and John D. MacDonald.
billryan64.substack.com/p/my-conscie...
billryan64.substack.com/p/my-conscie...
Reposted by BILL RYAN
It is an extremely long dissection of everything that the victims have ever said or did, while not actually letting anything the victims claim have any credibility
When the evidence is as compelling as “this lady is friends with Michael stipe of REM”, I have a sneaky suspicion it’s baseless
When the evidence is as compelling as “this lady is friends with Michael stipe of REM”, I have a sneaky suspicion it’s baseless
February 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
It is an extremely long dissection of everything that the victims have ever said or did, while not actually letting anything the victims claim have any credibility
When the evidence is as compelling as “this lady is friends with Michael stipe of REM”, I have a sneaky suspicion it’s baseless
When the evidence is as compelling as “this lady is friends with Michael stipe of REM”, I have a sneaky suspicion it’s baseless
Me and two of my brothers once found four beers hidden under a bush by the creek, so we shook up the cans and then beat them with sticks until they exploded.
Circa 1978, I once had to walk a half mile back to my house with a puncture wound in my foot because my brother and I were playing in a disposal area for construction materials and I stepped on a nail. Astonishing it didn't happen more often.
Absolute truth. We’d drop our books and disappear into the cornfield, or the pine forest, or the hardwood jungle in the creek bottom. Total HUCK FINN wild roaming savages.
It. Was. Wonderful.
It. Was. Wonderful.
February 10, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Me and two of my brothers once found four beers hidden under a bush by the creek, so we shook up the cans and then beat them with sticks until they exploded.
All the clips they play to prove how unfunny THE JERK is are really, really funny.
Now they're both snickering about THE BROOD. These are fun to rewatch, but there are grim patches.
February 10, 2026 at 6:27 PM
All the clips they play to prove how unfunny THE JERK is are really, really funny.
Reposted by BILL RYAN
Okay, folks, as promised...
My top 10 favorite short stories by this random guy named Harlan Ellison.
sublimeterror.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/m...
My top 10 favorite short stories by this random guy named Harlan Ellison.
sublimeterror.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/m...
My Top 10 Favorite Harlan Ellison Short Stories (So Far)
Exactly a year ago today, I started reading some guy by the name of Harlan Ellison and the rest is history.
sublimeterror.wordpress.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:54 AM
Okay, folks, as promised...
My top 10 favorite short stories by this random guy named Harlan Ellison.
sublimeterror.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/m...
My top 10 favorite short stories by this random guy named Harlan Ellison.
sublimeterror.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/m...
Siskel on Roger Moore: "He's stiff, he's boring. I don't like to see him."
All right first of all, dial it back a notch.
All right first of all, dial it back a notch.
Ebert: "IN PRAISE OF OLDER WOMEN should have been called IN FAINT PRAISE OF WOMEN IN THEIR MID-THIRTIES."
I'm watching old Siskels & Ebert. The movie clips they used to show in the early days were long as s hit.
February 10, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Siskel on Roger Moore: "He's stiff, he's boring. I don't like to see him."
All right first of all, dial it back a notch.
All right first of all, dial it back a notch.
Ebert: "IN PRAISE OF OLDER WOMEN should have been called IN FAINT PRAISE OF WOMEN IN THEIR MID-THIRTIES."
I'm watching old Siskels & Ebert. The movie clips they used to show in the early days were long as s hit.
February 10, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Ebert: "IN PRAISE OF OLDER WOMEN should have been called IN FAINT PRAISE OF WOMEN IN THEIR MID-THIRTIES."
Has anyone read that online post that "supposedly exonerates" Gaiman that he's been promoting? I dismiss it sight unseen, but I confess I'm morbidly curious.
Federal judges have dismissed three lawsuits accusing British author Neil Gaiman of sexually assaulting his children's nanny in New Zealand.
US judges dismiss lawsuits accusing fantasy author Neil Gaiman of sexual assault in New Zealand
Federal judges have dismissed three lawsuits accusing British author Neil Gaiman of sexually assaulting his children's nanny in New Zealand.
bit.ly
February 10, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Has anyone read that online post that "supposedly exonerates" Gaiman that he's been promoting? I dismiss it sight unseen, but I confess I'm morbidly curious.
Reposted by BILL RYAN
Laura Dern and David Lynch on the set of TWIN PEAKS
Dern was BOTD in 1967
Dern was BOTD in 1967
February 10, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Laura Dern and David Lynch on the set of TWIN PEAKS
Dern was BOTD in 1967
Dern was BOTD in 1967
I watched their review of ALIEN, and Ebert called it a "space opera." ALIEN?? I thought Ebert was a secret nerd.
I'm watching old Siskels & Ebert. The movie clips they used to show in the early days were long as s hit.
February 10, 2026 at 3:34 PM
I watched their review of ALIEN, and Ebert called it a "space opera." ALIEN?? I thought Ebert was a secret nerd.
I'm watching old Siskels & Ebert. The movie clips they used to show in the early days were long as s hit.
February 10, 2026 at 1:45 AM
I'm watching old Siskels & Ebert. The movie clips they used to show in the early days were long as s hit.
this is an odd description because anyone who's ever read THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY knows it comes pre-mixed with alcohol
February 9, 2026 at 4:03 PM
this is an odd description because anyone who's ever read THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY knows it comes pre-mixed with alcohol
"Myers joins the list of kickers who've made four field goals in the Super Bowl." Pulling out the red hot stats for this game.
February 9, 2026 at 1:58 AM
"Myers joins the list of kickers who've made four field goals in the Super Bowl." Pulling out the red hot stats for this game.
does kid rock's thing have this many butts in it
February 9, 2026 at 1:22 AM
does kid rock's thing have this many butts in it
1. Max Cherry
2. Jules
3. Shosanna
4. Archie Hickox
5. Cliff Booth/Budd
not really ranked tbh
2. Jules
3. Shosanna
4. Archie Hickox
5. Cliff Booth/Budd
not really ranked tbh
You could pick a list of five entirely different characters and it would still be defensible.
1. Max Cherry
2. Bill
3. Vincent Vega
4. Major Marquis Warren
5. Mr. Pink
1. Max Cherry
2. Bill
3. Vincent Vega
4. Major Marquis Warren
5. Mr. Pink
ok fine one more post about The Adventures of Cliff Booth. real quick top five Tarantino characters
1. The Bride
T-2. Shoshanna Dreyfus
T-2. Hans Landa
4. Cliff Booth
5. Jules Winnfield
1. The Bride
T-2. Shoshanna Dreyfus
T-2. Hans Landa
4. Cliff Booth
5. Jules Winnfield
February 9, 2026 at 12:41 AM
1. Max Cherry
2. Jules
3. Shosanna
4. Archie Hickox
5. Cliff Booth/Budd
not really ranked tbh
2. Jules
3. Shosanna
4. Archie Hickox
5. Cliff Booth/Budd
not really ranked tbh
Considering it's Fincher, I naturally assumed that movie would never get made.
February 9, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Considering it's Fincher, I naturally assumed that movie would never get made.
I'm not complaining, but apart from "aliens" and "conspiracy," I'm having a hard time getting a lock on what I might reasonably expect from DISCLOSURE DAY. It's giving off a wide variety of vibes.
February 8, 2026 at 11:41 PM
I'm not complaining, but apart from "aliens" and "conspiracy," I'm having a hard time getting a lock on what I might reasonably expect from DISCLOSURE DAY. It's giving off a wide variety of vibes.
this national anthem is going to last eight minutes isn't it
February 8, 2026 at 11:27 PM
this national anthem is going to last eight minutes isn't it
how much do you think it would cost to get them to just start the game now
February 8, 2026 at 10:39 PM
how much do you think it would cost to get them to just start the game now
Reposted by BILL RYAN
I'm reminded, with a certain bleak humour in the aptness, that the heroine of Tavernier's Death Watch made her living having her computer write romance novels.
February 8, 2026 at 5:05 PM
I'm reminded, with a certain bleak humour in the aptness, that the heroine of Tavernier's Death Watch made her living having her computer write romance novels.
Reposted by BILL RYAN
The look young Peggy gives him when she sees the $50 note (or maybe it’s a $100, icr), if that was me I’d be so ashamed I would go into the hills and stay there until god talked to me. And his awful Christmas outfit lol
I also love how Peggy, the character Anna Paquin played as an adult and Scorsese got yelled at for not giving more lines to, is so much the moral center of this film that even Russell Bufalino, one of the worst people in the movie, knows it. "It's okay, she said thank you once, that's enough."
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.
February 8, 2026 at 2:16 PM
The look young Peggy gives him when she sees the $50 note (or maybe it’s a $100, icr), if that was me I’d be so ashamed I would go into the hills and stay there until god talked to me. And his awful Christmas outfit lol
The little moments of guilt -- or more accurately, shame -- that come through in Pesci's performance...
I also love how Peggy, the character Anna Paquin played as an adult and Scorsese got yelled at for not giving more lines to, is so much the moral center of this film that even Russell Bufalino, one of the worst people in the movie, knows it. "It's okay, she said thank you once, that's enough."
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.
February 8, 2026 at 10:13 AM
The little moments of guilt -- or more accurately, shame -- that come through in Pesci's performance...
If the Oscar for casting existed in 2019 then Ellen Lewis should have won for these two alone.
February 8, 2026 at 10:05 AM
If the Oscar for casting existed in 2019 then Ellen Lewis should have won for these two alone.
I also love how Peggy, the character Anna Paquin played as an adult and Scorsese got yelled at for not giving more lines to, is so much the moral center of this film that even Russell Bufalino, one of the worst people in the movie, knows it. "It's okay, she said thank you once, that's enough."
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.
February 8, 2026 at 8:50 AM
I also love how Peggy, the character Anna Paquin played as an adult and Scorsese got yelled at for not giving more lines to, is so much the moral center of this film that even Russell Bufalino, one of the worst people in the movie, knows it. "It's okay, she said thank you once, that's enough."
"I feel like she doesn't like me, like I feel like she's scared of me."
"Oh, it ain't that, she's scared of *me* sometimes."
Like who could even imagine something so silly!
"Oh, it ain't that, she's scared of *me* sometimes."
Like who could even imagine something so silly!
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.
February 8, 2026 at 8:26 AM
"I feel like she doesn't like me, like I feel like she's scared of me."
"Oh, it ain't that, she's scared of *me* sometimes."
Like who could even imagine something so silly!
"Oh, it ain't that, she's scared of *me* sometimes."
Like who could even imagine something so silly!
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.
February 8, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Can't sleep, sour mood, might as well watch THE IRISHMAN again. I've had a hard time locking into movies, any movie, lately, but I fell right into this one again. The part of this that's about two old men on a long road trip to kill a guy is so good. The tone of it is beautifully judged.