bijan
banner
bijan.bsky.social
bijan
@bijan.bsky.social
haunted

writer @compulsiongames.bsky.social, music critic @thenation.com, playing characters on @funcityventures.bsky.social

bijanstephen.blog/about
one of the most horrifying things i've ever read
November 11, 2025 at 9:32 PM
really excellent piece from amanda on ulta, which is fascinating
For the cover of Businessweek’s December issue, I wrote about the reigning queen of America’s strip malls: Ulta Beauty, the country’s biggest beauty retailer (yes, bigger than Sephora) and quietly one of the more fascinating retailers in the country. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
How Beauty Behemoth Ulta Conquered the American Strip Mall
The retailer built an $11 billion business by acting more like Home Depot than like Sephora.
www.bloomberg.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:08 PM
excellent piece on tolkien, the changing faces of d&d, and the history of ~fantasy racism~. good shit in here
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
ah but it was always a dream. you see bond was the fading dream of an empire that had just realized it too could die
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”

Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:

“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."

radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM
happening RIGHT NOW! tune in, if ya dare
The Starfriends Kickstarter ends in 48 hours! We're closing it out with a mini-tournament stream feat. various legends facing off for honor, glory, and a custom Starfriend drawn live during a special Buchla synth set by Nick Sylvester. Join our discord now to save the date: starfriends.online/stream
November 11, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by bijan
A fine day to remember Jim Harbaugh's unique relationship with "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" and the remarkable interpretive work that his and other football brains have done on this important text. (This is a gift link; I believe this news must be shared widely.) defector.com/the-edmund-f...
The Edmund Fitzgerald Is Inspiring Jim Harbaugh And Michigan Football To Achieve "Lake Mindset" | Defector
The popular culture of the 1970s is almost impossible to parse in retrospect. The people making the movies and music and television of the era were horny and ambitious and earnest, they were ingesting...
defector.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by bijan
I’m streaming tomorrow with pals!
@robdubbin.bsky.social @bijan.bsky.social @garrett.bsky.social @teddydief.com
Join the discord now to save the date: starfriends.online/stream
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 AM
beer yearns for the koozie.
November 10, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Reposted by bijan
The Starfriends Kickstarter ends in 48 hours! We're closing it out with a mini-tournament stream feat. various legends facing off for honor, glory, and a custom Starfriend drawn live during a special Buchla synth set by Nick Sylvester. Join our discord now to save the date: starfriends.online/stream
November 9, 2025 at 2:06 AM
if u see an instagram story like from me just keep it pushing. ive drinks
November 9, 2025 at 6:53 AM
i don't know anything about magic but god damn what a piece of writing
November 7, 2025 at 4:12 PM
lads i think we have a big fucking problem on our hands www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/bias...
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
learned a guy i know is a jeweler and he showed us a custom bracelet that looked somewhat like chrome hearts. on the other hand it also looked a lot like space invaders.

unrelated: now i need a 14k gold bracelet with 5 karats of diamonds that threatens the earth
November 7, 2025 at 12:51 AM
this guy should never have to pay for a sandwich in that town ever again
🚨🚨🚨 The jury has reached a verdict. Sean Dunn, aka the DC Sandwich Guy, has been found NOT GUILTY of assault.
November 6, 2025 at 8:15 PM
if you're interested in learning more about mark flitman and the video game history foundation, i wrote a piece for @newyorker.com a few years back where i got to watch the vghf at work -- at mark flitman's house! www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-...
November 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
a lot of what i see being called "libbing out" is just people starting to believe that good things are in fact possible
November 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by bijan
Folks who make video games! @officialgdc.bsky.social is running the annual State of the Industry survey again. You should take the chance to weigh in!

The survey's gone through a major overhaul this year and your voice will matter even more: gdconf.typeform.com/SOTI26
2026 State of the Game Industry
The gaming industry's most comprehensive annual survey is back, and we're casting a wider net than ever before. Whether you're a developer, executive, investor, marketer, educator, or any other profes...
gdconf.typeform.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by bijan
Thoughts on Zohran's victory.
www.unpopularfront.news/p/thoughts-o...
Thoughts on a Victory
From Gaza to New York
www.unpopularfront.news
November 5, 2025 at 12:06 PM
in retrospect i should have known mamdani was gonna win a couple weeks ago when a barista made a covfefe joke to me while i was ordering a coffee
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
that’s my mayor bro
November 5, 2025 at 4:44 AM
shorter mamdani: the soul still burns (SOUL CALIBER 2, Namco, 2002)
November 5, 2025 at 4:34 AM
nyc got the cutie patootie mayor and the bars are going crazy brother
November 5, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Reposted by bijan
dudes be like "i needed this" and it's just the disgraced governor's crestfallen visage
November 5, 2025 at 3:55 AM
just heard from my friend that he got a dude to vote for zohran while canvassing by ripping 2 shots of baiju while telling him about how bad cuomo is. that’s meeting people where they are. that’s good politics
November 5, 2025 at 3:07 AM