John Semley
@johnsemley3000.bsky.social
writer and researcher, covering books, films, and psychoactivity, in no particular order. a pocket full of spare change and anger unlimited.
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January 7, 2026 at 8:19 PM
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I have a feeling we haven't heard the last from ol' Ella. You know ELSE went through three-days of indignity to redeem all humanity? I rest my case.
January 7, 2026 at 5:40 PM
I have a feeling we haven't heard the last from ol' Ella. You know ELSE went through three-days of indignity to redeem all humanity? I rest my case.
Reposted by John Semley
NEW: @carolinehaskins.bsky.social obtained records documenting the aftermath of RFK Jr. dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park (to "be fun," he's said), including photos. Our paywall is down on this story per our policy on stories based on public records requests.
New Records Reveal the Mess RFK Jr. Left When He Dumped a Dead Bear in Central Park
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he left a bear cub's corpse in Central Park in 2014 to "be fun." Records newly obtained by WIRED show what he left New York civil servants to clean up.
www.wired.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:29 PM
NEW: @carolinehaskins.bsky.social obtained records documenting the aftermath of RFK Jr. dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park (to "be fun," he's said), including photos. Our paywall is down on this story per our policy on stories based on public records requests.
damning with faint praise. I like the Lynch film best, too, but it peaks in about the first 12 minutes.
January 7, 2026 at 2:38 PM
damning with faint praise. I like the Lynch film best, too, but it peaks in about the first 12 minutes.
Trump dying—heaven forfend!!—would be, I imagine, like Charlie Kirk’s death: a total free-for-all that sees the MAGA movement tear itself apart.
January 7, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Trump dying—heaven forfend!!—would be, I imagine, like Charlie Kirk’s death: a total free-for-all that sees the MAGA movement tear itself apart.
Have a piece in today’s @thestar.com about Trump’s gangster turn—and the present need for real, certifiable Strong Men (or Women!) www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
John Semley: Trump and his cronies are only playing at being strongmen
There is a difference between real power and the simple desire for it.
www.thestar.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Have a piece in today’s @thestar.com about Trump’s gangster turn—and the present need for real, certifiable Strong Men (or Women!) www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Weird Jan. 6-related memory that just occurred to me. I interviewed the Q Anon Shaman’s lawyer, reporting this piece for @thenation.com. He compared Trump to Jerry Garcia and Jan 6ers to Deadheads! www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Could One of Your Facebook Friends Be the Next QAnon Shaman?
www.thenation.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Weird Jan. 6-related memory that just occurred to me. I interviewed the Q Anon Shaman’s lawyer, reporting this piece for @thenation.com. He compared Trump to Jerry Garcia and Jan 6ers to Deadheads! www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Marchand has plenty to recommend him: he’s tough, he’s old, he’s weirdly small, and he hates the Leafs.
Brad Marchand revealed he thought he’d sign with the Maple Leafs. Then he continued to troll them
Brad Marchand revealed he thought he’d sign with the Maple Leafs. Then he continued to troll them
Marchand is a master troller when it comes to his media interviews. The Panthers forward was on his A Game in Toronto on Tuesday.
www.thestar.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Marchand has plenty to recommend him: he’s tough, he’s old, he’s weirdly small, and he hates the Leafs.
The BlueSky experience in a nutshell, maybe.
January 6, 2026 at 10:07 PM
The BlueSky experience in a nutshell, maybe.
Good tip! I'm only there for a few days so want to be in the action*, or at least action-adjacent.
*Where "action" = clubs called like Dark Night Death Bar
*Where "action" = clubs called like Dark Night Death Bar
January 6, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Good tip! I'm only there for a few days so want to be in the action*, or at least action-adjacent.
*Where "action" = clubs called like Dark Night Death Bar
*Where "action" = clubs called like Dark Night Death Bar
My options also seem limited due to me arriving (unbeknownst to me) during a Catalan festival that includes a "parade of giants" and the "raffle of the pig."
January 6, 2026 at 9:30 PM
My options also seem limited due to me arriving (unbeknownst to me) during a Catalan festival that includes a "parade of giants" and the "raffle of the pig."
Good tip, thanks. Yes, I'm learning that affordability comes at a premium. Even my trusted Ibis brand is letting me down!
January 6, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Good tip, thanks. Yes, I'm learning that affordability comes at a premium. Even my trusted Ibis brand is letting me down!
Can anyone recommend a Cheap and Cheerful(™Rick Steves) hotel in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter?
January 6, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Can anyone recommend a Cheap and Cheerful(™Rick Steves) hotel in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter?
I solved this vexing problem months ago. Get with the program! www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
January 6, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I solved this vexing problem months ago. Get with the program! www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Some thoughts on the late Béla Tarr’s profound, absurd epic: boxd.it/1EzhAD
A review of Satantango (1994)
I wish that I had been able--or inclined--to watch this in a single sitting. I imagine the effect largely depends on such an experience, i.e. on being fully immersed (trapped, even) in the town, teemi...
boxd.it
January 6, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Some thoughts on the late Béla Tarr’s profound, absurd epic: boxd.it/1EzhAD
(That said, I do return to certain "historiographic" guys a lot. "What Is History?" by EH Carr, and whatnot.)
January 6, 2026 at 1:21 PM
(That said, I do return to certain "historiographic" guys a lot. "What Is History?" by EH Carr, and whatnot.)
I double-majored in History and Cultural Studies/Critical Theory, and I think about Adorno, Benjamin, Freud and even ol’ Marx much more than I do “the Crimean War.”
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 1:10 PM
I double-majored in History and Cultural Studies/Critical Theory, and I think about Adorno, Benjamin, Freud and even ol’ Marx much more than I do “the Crimean War.”
I think I made this point on the ep, but I like how, in DOMINO, the terrorists seem to be taking their cues from stylish DePalma oners.
January 5, 2026 at 10:37 PM
I think I made this point on the ep, but I like how, in DOMINO, the terrorists seem to be taking their cues from stylish DePalma oners.
Rubio stinks, but should a person be considered a hypocrite based on the actions of their…brother-in-law? Seems like a stretch. “Ah, he professes to hate drugs. And yet records show his barber’s neighbor’s kid once dabbled in them!”
As punishment for alleged drug dealing, Venezuela will be ruled by a Viceroy whose brother-in-law was a drug dealer who paid for the Viceroy's parents' house with money he made from selling cocaine. Hypocrites make the very best scolds.
January 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Rubio stinks, but should a person be considered a hypocrite based on the actions of their…brother-in-law? Seems like a stretch. “Ah, he professes to hate drugs. And yet records show his barber’s neighbor’s kid once dabbled in them!”
Insanity. But congrats to John Harbaugh on his new job as viceroy of Venezuela!
January 5, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Insanity. But congrats to John Harbaugh on his new job as viceroy of Venezuela!
Whether or not they call themselves that, it’s what everyone else thinks about it.
A CBS News staffer told me this after Tony Dokoupil kicked off his CBS Evening News tenure tonight with a lengthy Pete Hegseth interview:
"If this is what Bari and Tony’s CBS Evening News is going to look like, then the we may as well just call ourselves Trump Administration State TV. Pathetic."
"If this is what Bari and Tony’s CBS Evening News is going to look like, then the we may as well just call ourselves Trump Administration State TV. Pathetic."
January 4, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Whether or not they call themselves that, it’s what everyone else thinks about it.
Not to talk politics, but I worry all this Venezuela business will distract the American public from the Buffalo Sabres 10-game winning streak.
January 3, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Not to talk politics, but I worry all this Venezuela business will distract the American public from the Buffalo Sabres 10-game winning streak.
Weird day. Yesterday felt like Sunday and yet today it’s Friday. And also somehow there’s NFL football tomorrow. Off. Maybe I’ll go to a movie.
January 2, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Weird day. Yesterday felt like Sunday and yet today it’s Friday. And also somehow there’s NFL football tomorrow. Off. Maybe I’ll go to a movie.