Oscar Villalon
@ovillalon.bsky.social
Editor, ZYZZYVA (zyzzyva.org); contributing editor, Lit Hub; publications: Freeman's, The Believer, VQR, Lit Hub, Stranger's Guide, Alta, and other places. San Francisco is my home.
By pure coincidence, I’m finishing reading Geoff’s book today. (Playing the Pogues version of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” earlier today was, however, not a coincidence.)
November 11, 2025 at 11:11 PM
By pure coincidence, I’m finishing reading Geoff’s book today. (Playing the Pogues version of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” earlier today was, however, not a coincidence.)
The temperature in downtown San Francisco, past sunset, in November. As pleasant as it is to experience desert night-weather so close to the water, it still feels off.
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
The temperature in downtown San Francisco, past sunset, in November. As pleasant as it is to experience desert night-weather so close to the water, it still feels off.
Boulevard in San Francisco is tricked out (pardon the pun) for Halloween, and, frankly, not sure anybody would mind if the restaurant stayed like this for a while.
October 30, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Boulevard in San Francisco is tricked out (pardon the pun) for Halloween, and, frankly, not sure anybody would mind if the restaurant stayed like this for a while.
Come join our @litquake.org Lit Crawl event tomorrow at 5 p.m.! I'll be hosting, and Jesse Nathan & Cate Lycurgus will be reading. Kick off your Lit Crawl San Francisco with @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social!
litcrawlsf2025.sched.com/event/2AjSc?...
litcrawlsf2025.sched.com/event/2AjSc?...
October 24, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Come join our @litquake.org Lit Crawl event tomorrow at 5 p.m.! I'll be hosting, and Jesse Nathan & Cate Lycurgus will be reading. Kick off your Lit Crawl San Francisco with @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social!
litcrawlsf2025.sched.com/event/2AjSc?...
litcrawlsf2025.sched.com/event/2AjSc?...
The only must-have advent calendar out there.
October 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The only must-have advent calendar out there.
I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah, where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda.
S-O-D-A, soda.
S-O-D-A, soda.
April 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah, where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda.
S-O-D-A, soda.
S-O-D-A, soda.
2. Michigan beating Ohio State at the Horseshoe, because, really, HOW?
1. The Man Without Qualities, Vol. 1: the past relating to us our present and the very near future
1. The Man Without Qualities, Vol. 1: the past relating to us our present and the very near future
December 2, 2024 at 8:11 PM
2. Michigan beating Ohio State at the Horseshoe, because, really, HOW?
1. The Man Without Qualities, Vol. 1: the past relating to us our present and the very near future
1. The Man Without Qualities, Vol. 1: the past relating to us our present and the very near future
7. The ginkgo tree and the hypnotic state of being present in Laszlo Kransznahorkai’s “A Mountain to the North …”
6. Jayden Daniels’s Hail Mary touchdown pass
5. The merry chaos of Rosemary Tonks’s “The Bloater”
4. Saquon Barkley leveling up to Superman
3. “Verde que te quiero verde”—never gets old
6. Jayden Daniels’s Hail Mary touchdown pass
5. The merry chaos of Rosemary Tonks’s “The Bloater”
4. Saquon Barkley leveling up to Superman
3. “Verde que te quiero verde”—never gets old
December 2, 2024 at 8:11 PM
7. The ginkgo tree and the hypnotic state of being present in Laszlo Kransznahorkai’s “A Mountain to the North …”
6. Jayden Daniels’s Hail Mary touchdown pass
5. The merry chaos of Rosemary Tonks’s “The Bloater”
4. Saquon Barkley leveling up to Superman
3. “Verde que te quiero verde”—never gets old
6. Jayden Daniels’s Hail Mary touchdown pass
5. The merry chaos of Rosemary Tonks’s “The Bloater”
4. Saquon Barkley leveling up to Superman
3. “Verde que te quiero verde”—never gets old
My Top 10 Moments in Catching up on Reading and Watching Football in 2024:
10. SC beating LSU in Vegas: they would both disappoint later, but still.
9. Anytime Ashton Jeanty touched the ball for Boise State
8. The narrator detailing her work with horses in Kathryn Scanlan’s “Kick the Latch”
10. SC beating LSU in Vegas: they would both disappoint later, but still.
9. Anytime Ashton Jeanty touched the ball for Boise State
8. The narrator detailing her work with horses in Kathryn Scanlan’s “Kick the Latch”
December 2, 2024 at 8:11 PM
My Top 10 Moments in Catching up on Reading and Watching Football in 2024:
10. SC beating LSU in Vegas: they would both disappoint later, but still.
9. Anytime Ashton Jeanty touched the ball for Boise State
8. The narrator detailing her work with horses in Kathryn Scanlan’s “Kick the Latch”
10. SC beating LSU in Vegas: they would both disappoint later, but still.
9. Anytime Ashton Jeanty touched the ball for Boise State
8. The narrator detailing her work with horses in Kathryn Scanlan’s “Kick the Latch”
Salesforce Park is gussied up for the holidays but I don’t know. Is it festive or half-hearted? It probably looks a lot better at night.
November 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM
Salesforce Park is gussied up for the holidays but I don’t know. Is it festive or half-hearted? It probably looks a lot better at night.
… and that’s walking down it.
November 11, 2024 at 11:17 PM
… and that’s walking down it.
There’s only one pleasant way of using the Sand Ladder at Baker Beach …
November 11, 2024 at 11:17 PM
There’s only one pleasant way of using the Sand Ladder at Baker Beach …
The quitting hour. Time to go home … and work some more.
September 24, 2024 at 2:24 AM
The quitting hour. Time to go home … and work some more.
The good stuff, courtesy of @transitbooks.bsky.social and their wonderful subscription offering, the Transit Book Club.
September 21, 2024 at 2:41 AM
The good stuff, courtesy of @transitbooks.bsky.social and their wonderful subscription offering, the Transit Book Club.
Greetings from sunny downtown San Francisco!
Wish you were here!
O.
Wish you were here!
O.
August 26, 2024 at 7:28 PM
Greetings from sunny downtown San Francisco!
Wish you were here!
O.
Wish you were here!
O.
We’re never going to find a place to lay out.
May 26, 2024 at 8:56 PM
We’re never going to find a place to lay out.
This here is how you do Memorial Day weekend.
May 26, 2024 at 7:27 PM
This here is how you do Memorial Day weekend.
This is going to be good. I can feel it in my bones.
March 29, 2024 at 9:23 PM
This is going to be good. I can feel it in my bones.
Turn out the lights
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
February 12, 2024 at 6:30 AM
Turn out the lights
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
If you could somehow combine these two books into an eight-episode teleseries, you would have the makings of the best “True Detective” ever.
January 28, 2024 at 12:22 AM
If you could somehow combine these two books into an eight-episode teleseries, you would have the makings of the best “True Detective” ever.