Critical Nostalgia
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highway62.bsky.social
Critical Nostalgia
@highway62.bsky.social
Feral writer. Intergenre. Opstmodern. Hedorahgroove. Smogwave. The Hazeland books. Horror fantasy crime on the streets of 80s LA.

No rep. Bad reputation.

California · highway62press.com
"I am a reporter on the far right and most of my work consists of taking screenshots from X and posting them to Bluesky."

Oh ugh block.
February 12, 2026 at 9:56 PM
"The Democrats should do this thing that they're never going to do."

This shit is getting old.
February 12, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Me looking at Kickstarter telling me that I need to make a video when my last two campaigns went 300 and 400 percent of the modest ask.
I just don’t want “film a video and hope it goes viral” to be a “reasonable” expectation of authors!! I hate being on video! I am too awkward for video!
February 12, 2026 at 9:43 PM
That last repost? It applies even to outlets that loudly proclaim they love to boost new writers, much less publishers.
February 12, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
one of my least favorite new publishing "truths" is that books only deserve consistent marketing & publicity if they are already doing well, it's the new "needs experience to get experience" 🤡
November 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
"Elevated romance" & "elevated sff" etc etc, I'm sorry but my entire life as a reader, critic & TV fan, all too often that's code for, "I don't know this genre, I've been taught to look down on it, my bosses hate it, but it sells idk?? People I guess like this stuff? So I guess we'll try it SIGH" ok
January 28, 2026 at 6:51 PM
"Trump is destroying the far-right brand!"

[citation needed]

He's digging into the Republican brand. But that'll wash right back.
February 12, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
It's weird, gross, and fascinating how both AI and the people boosting AI are obviously just empty puppets for capital. They're bags into which money flows so that money can make more money. There's no thought or intent there, no arguments to respond to. It's all just money going slosh-slosh.
February 12, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
Nazis loved shallow escapism far more than direct propaganda (the vast majority of films made under the nazis were fluffy “mountain films” and subtextually propagandistic historical epics), which makes the popularity of generic “hopepunk” a lot less punk and more like manufactured consent
February 12, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
For my real record ppl
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Pattern Recognition (2003, Gibson)
February 12, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
My million dollar idea: get all the coolest women from the Hellraiser series, put them in a van, and send them cross-country in a gritty Josie and the Pussycats reboot. Call me, Hollywood.
February 12, 2026 at 4:37 PM
"IP Coach"

Really?
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Here's a great picture of the Rialto theater marquee on Broadway in DTLA. No longer a theater, but an Urban Outfitters store (or was at the time of this photo, 2016).

Not going into the photoset that'll be a premium for KS backers of the new Hazeland book. Bummer.

cc @electronvalve.co
February 12, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Apparently Nicole Brown Simpson is the most famous person from my high school. Okay, then.
February 12, 2026 at 5:04 PM
This makes sense if you look at the IOC as grantor of legitimacy to governments and indeed actions of those governments, instead of say, being interested in the purity of sport or even fairness.
"Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics for “refusing to adhere” to the IOC's athlete expression guidelines regarding his insistence on wearing a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during the war in Ukraine in competition."
Ukrainian skeleton slider disqualified from Olympics after breaking IOC rules on helmet honoring dead compatriots | CNN
Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics for “refusing to adhere” to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) athlete expression guidelines reg...
www.cnn.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
I think one common failing in modern litfic is, authors are careful to avoid melodrama or forced epiphany or purple prose, and the risk is that at some point you just end up with "Here's some things that happened."
My primary problem with a lot of more serious literary fiction isn’t that it isn’t well written or compelling it’s just that a lot of it is about “I’m articulate and depressed” and I kind of want like, something to happen, I guess. I suppose I’m something of a philistine in that way.
February 12, 2026 at 4:09 PM
RETVRN
trantor: the last stormtrooper, screenshot, msx (1987) www.mobygames.com/game/14668/t...
February 12, 2026 at 4:04 PM
"In dialogue with this work."

But... the work can't talk back. It already happened.

I dislike this metaphor so very much.
February 12, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
February 12, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Critical Nostalgia
I can't wait to share a link to the first Design Reviewed Crowdfunder soon! Which items from the archive would you like to be featured in the book? designreviewed.com/archive/the-...
February 12, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Stop reposting Fuentes. We know he's a piece of shit.
February 12, 2026 at 3:43 PM
"This horror book is about inherited trauma!"

I'm gonna pass so hard on that it'd make diamond disintegrate.
February 12, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Going to turn my UpScrolled account into critique of the three ring circus that is selling books online. I expect to make new friends.
February 12, 2026 at 4:57 AM
I can hear the music from this screen. Or is that the Forgotten Worlds shop screen music?
February 12, 2026 at 4:11 AM