Jay Swan
@sanjuanswan.bsky.social
mountains, books, bikes, intelligence history. Formerly, threat intel @ GitHub.
This doe hangs out in my yard often. There must be some music fans out there who will understand why I call her Meg.
April 26, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This doe hangs out in my yard often. There must be some music fans out there who will understand why I call her Meg.
Book stuff: Rose/House by @byzantienne.bsky.social was superb.
March 24, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Book stuff: Rose/House by @byzantienne.bsky.social was superb.
Book stuff: finished Enemies: a History of the FBI by @tim-weiner.bsky.social. Very interesting coverage of the natsec and intel history of the org.
March 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Book stuff: finished Enemies: a History of the FBI by @tim-weiner.bsky.social. Very interesting coverage of the natsec and intel history of the org.
Book stuff: Little Mysteries by Sara Gran was great. Short stories, mostly in Gran’s Claire DeWitt universe.
March 3, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Book stuff: Little Mysteries by Sara Gran was great. Short stories, mostly in Gran’s Claire DeWitt universe.
Book stuff: continuing the renewal of my literary education, I read Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936), described in the intro as a modernist classic more heard about than read. As one of the strangest and densest novels I've read, I can see why. 🧵
February 26, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Book stuff: continuing the renewal of my literary education, I read Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936), described in the intro as a modernist classic more heard about than read. As one of the strangest and densest novels I've read, I can see why. 🧵
You might like this then. It was too abstract for me on the first try and so remains on the shelf as illustrative of the principle above.
January 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
You might like this then. It was too abstract for me on the first try and so remains on the shelf as illustrative of the principle above.
My first intentional rare book purchase. Not particularly valuable or great condition, but something I’ve wanted for a long time. Following @rebeccaromney.com convinced me that’s a good enough reason.
January 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
My first intentional rare book purchase. Not particularly valuable or great condition, but something I’ve wanted for a long time. Following @rebeccaromney.com convinced me that’s a good enough reason.
Finished The CIA: An Imperial History by Hugh Wilford. It’s OK. It focuses mostly on pre-1980 topics, with two short chapters covering the GWOT era. Like most similar books it emphasizes covert action, with the exception of a good chapter on Sherman Kent.
January 22, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Finished The CIA: An Imperial History by Hugh Wilford. It’s OK. It focuses mostly on pre-1980 topics, with two short chapters covering the GWOT era. Like most similar books it emphasizes covert action, with the exception of a good chapter on Sherman Kent.
Mountain lion tracks in the snow on my morning trail run.
December 28, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Mountain lion tracks in the snow on my morning trail run.
Two of my main interests are intelligence history and modernist writing. For decades I've been fascinated by Norman Holmes Pearson: OSS CI chief in WW2, Yale English prof, a key founder of American Studies, and advocate for avant-garde writers like H.D., Moore, Stevens, etc. This new bio is great.
November 15, 2024 at 12:23 AM
Two of my main interests are intelligence history and modernist writing. For decades I've been fascinated by Norman Holmes Pearson: OSS CI chief in WW2, Yale English prof, a key founder of American Studies, and advocate for avant-garde writers like H.D., Moore, Stevens, etc. This new bio is great.
Finally finished the very long and detailed Cloak & Gown, a history of Yale men in the OSS and early CIA. Particularly interesting to me was the long section about Norman Holmes Pearson, a critical figure in the history of modernist poetry and an early mentor of James Angleton.
July 16, 2024 at 11:19 PM
Finally finished the very long and detailed Cloak & Gown, a history of Yale men in the OSS and early CIA. Particularly interesting to me was the long section about Norman Holmes Pearson, a critical figure in the history of modernist poetry and an early mentor of James Angleton.
Bought a cheap bookshelf (mistake), and the instructions helpfully tell you not to assemble it with a Mini-Uzi. I’m not sure I would have done any worse with one.
June 6, 2024 at 11:56 PM
Bought a cheap bookshelf (mistake), and the instructions helpfully tell you not to assemble it with a Mini-Uzi. I’m not sure I would have done any worse with one.
Our Man in Havana was as good as everyone says. More Greene in my future. Southeast Utah in the background.
June 5, 2024 at 12:26 AM
Our Man in Havana was as good as everyone says. More Greene in my future. Southeast Utah in the background.
I’ve been reading some fiction lately after a bit of a break from it. Almost finished with the superb A Memory Called Empire by @byzantienne.bsky.social. The cat is neutral.
June 5, 2024 at 12:25 AM
I’ve been reading some fiction lately after a bit of a break from it. Almost finished with the superb A Memory Called Empire by @byzantienne.bsky.social. The cat is neutral.
Found the alien megalith from The Expanse in Utah.
April 12, 2024 at 12:09 AM
Found the alien megalith from The Expanse in Utah.
Post a PERFECT album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana or Pearl Jam or Soundgarden or Alice in Chains
Hell Among the Yearlings, Gillian Welch
Hell Among the Yearlings, Gillian Welch
April 6, 2024 at 3:39 PM
Post a PERFECT album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana or Pearl Jam or Soundgarden or Alice in Chains
Hell Among the Yearlings, Gillian Welch
Hell Among the Yearlings, Gillian Welch
Raise your hand if you’ve never killed a mouse, stashed it under your favorite piece of tissue paper, sat on it, and left it for your in-laws to find hours later.
February 20, 2024 at 3:39 PM
Raise your hand if you’ve never killed a mouse, stashed it under your favorite piece of tissue paper, sat on it, and left it for your in-laws to find hours later.
German modernist Max Beckmann's "Birds Hell": upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
February 17, 2024 at 3:00 PM
German modernist Max Beckmann's "Birds Hell": upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
Weird, mine too! Everyone OK.
February 4, 2024 at 5:52 PM
Weird, mine too! Everyone OK.
Found another random shipwreck in the high desert.
September 24, 2023 at 11:32 PM
Found another random shipwreck in the high desert.
Drop down a thousand or so and it’s totally different.
July 2, 2023 at 2:07 PM
Drop down a thousand or so and it’s totally different.
Still lots of snow in the shady spots above 12000 ft in the San Juans.
July 2, 2023 at 2:05 PM
Still lots of snow in the shady spots above 12000 ft in the San Juans.