David Millington
@vintagedave.bsky.social
Current project: Cathedral City, cli-fi adventure/horror in the post-sea-rise dystopia of flooded Estonia.
https://daveon.design
Personal account only.
https://daveon.design
Personal account only.
I love this. Says so eloquently what it is hard to explain.
There’s a horror in subversion, in seeing something meant for one message used for its opposite.
There’s a horror in subversion, in seeing something meant for one message used for its opposite.
This is quite the essay on MAGA Christianity, an insider lament about things I’ve observed from the outside, and things I didn’t know about.
I’m not Christian, but I find some things admirable about Christianity, and think it’s a shame how the dominant form of US Christianity has inverted them.
I’m not Christian, but I find some things admirable about Christianity, and think it’s a shame how the dominant form of US Christianity has inverted them.
Rightwing MAGA Christianity has about as much relation to the gospels as MAGA politics does to the Constitution.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
November 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
I love this. Says so eloquently what it is hard to explain.
There’s a horror in subversion, in seeing something meant for one message used for its opposite.
There’s a horror in subversion, in seeing something meant for one message used for its opposite.
Today I learned about Rebecca Heinemann. What a shame to learn of someone only when they pass.
Read this: an amazing interview, and she was truly impressive, both in abilities and strength through personal life. corecursive.com/doomed-to-fa...
Read this: an amazing interview, and she was truly impressive, both in abilities and strength through personal life. corecursive.com/doomed-to-fa...
DOOMed to Fail: A Horror Story - CoRecursive Podcast
Today Rebecca Burger Becky Heineman shares the tale of porting Doom to the 3DO console under extreme conditions. There is an engine to tweak, deadlines to hit, hardware acceleration to get working, an...
corecursive.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Today I learned about Rebecca Heinemann. What a shame to learn of someone only when they pass.
Read this: an amazing interview, and she was truly impressive, both in abilities and strength through personal life. corecursive.com/doomed-to-fa...
Read this: an amazing interview, and she was truly impressive, both in abilities and strength through personal life. corecursive.com/doomed-to-fa...
Google Antigravity: when I saw the headline I genuinely thought, for just a hopeful moment, that a research lab in an admittedly evil corporation had made a world-changing breakthrough.
But no. It’s another AI-focused VSCode clone.
But no. It’s another AI-focused VSCode clone.
November 19, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Google Antigravity: when I saw the headline I genuinely thought, for just a hopeful moment, that a research lab in an admittedly evil corporation had made a world-changing breakthrough.
But no. It’s another AI-focused VSCode clone.
But no. It’s another AI-focused VSCode clone.
Reposted by David Millington
On August 12, 1971, 16-year-old me mailed the first story I ever wrote off on its first submission to my dream market, F&SF. My tale was quickly rejected. On July 17th, 2025, I finally sold a story to that magazine. Here's why I felt I had to withdraw that story. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...
November 12, 2025 at 9:27 PM
On August 12, 1971, 16-year-old me mailed the first story I ever wrote off on its first submission to my dream market, F&SF. My tale was quickly rejected. On July 17th, 2025, I finally sold a story to that magazine. Here's why I felt I had to withdraw that story. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...
I’ve seen agents advertising here on 🦋 who don’t seem to have sold a lot of books and I worry about their effort.
Finding an agent is hard. I’ve been selective; doesn’t make it easier. No acceptance yet (in a whole month :))
Finding an agent is hard. I’ve been selective; doesn’t make it easier. No acceptance yet (in a whole month :))
Wrote a thing about agents. If you’re a new writer or are actively querying, hope this helps keep you safe!
gabinoiglesias.substack.com/p/too-many-s...
gabinoiglesias.substack.com/p/too-many-s...
Too Many Sharks: A Warning About "Agents"
No, seriously
gabinoiglesias.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:27 AM
I’ve seen agents advertising here on 🦋 who don’t seem to have sold a lot of books and I worry about their effort.
Finding an agent is hard. I’ve been selective; doesn’t make it easier. No acceptance yet (in a whole month :))
Finding an agent is hard. I’ve been selective; doesn’t make it easier. No acceptance yet (in a whole month :))
Conflicted here — the lyrics are her own. She’s using AI to sing them. So half of it (the most original half, the singing voice sounds generic) is human.
I read one comment that she should be a songwriter… but writers don’t get public credit the way a singer does. I understand trying to be direct.
I read one comment that she should be a songwriter… but writers don’t get public credit the way a singer does. I understand trying to be direct.
“Jones created the persona while teaching herself AI just four months ago. The 31-year-old Mississippi native admits she's not a singer, but says the ‘lyrics are 100% me,’ and that they come from poems she wrote based on real life experiences.”
Meet the woman behind chart-topping AI artist Xania Monet: "I look at her as a real person"
Artist Xania Monet's voice has been heard by millions around the world, but some are surprised to learn she's a product of artificial intelligence.
www.cbsnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Conflicted here — the lyrics are her own. She’s using AI to sing them. So half of it (the most original half, the singing voice sounds generic) is human.
I read one comment that she should be a songwriter… but writers don’t get public credit the way a singer does. I understand trying to be direct.
I read one comment that she should be a songwriter… but writers don’t get public credit the way a singer does. I understand trying to be direct.
This reads like a litany of poor leadership in companies in general. I could feel my heartrate speed up as I read it.
November 5, 2025 at 6:35 PM
This reads like a litany of poor leadership in companies in general. I could feel my heartrate speed up as I read it.
Reposted by David Millington
A good post on the growing menace of AI-generated PR scam solicitations (I wrote about this type of scam a couple of weeks ago). Included are helpful practical tips on identifying these scams and protecting yourself todnewman.com?p=1656
When AI Becomes a Weapon: The Rise of Sophisticated Book Marketing Scams - todnewman.com
scams against writers using AI
todnewman.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A good post on the growing menace of AI-generated PR scam solicitations (I wrote about this type of scam a couple of weeks ago). Included are helpful practical tips on identifying these scams and protecting yourself todnewman.com?p=1656
Right NOW as I write this an entire church is being moved several hundred meters, in Sweden. Livestream here: www.youtube.com/live/mTuVp4o...
Live: Historic Kiruna Church Moves Across Arctic Road
YouTube video by DRM News
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Right NOW as I write this an entire church is being moved several hundred meters, in Sweden. Livestream here: www.youtube.com/live/mTuVp4o...
Reposted by David Millington
A really thoughtful essay on Murderbot: ‘Even If They Are My Favourite Human’: Murderbot Just Explained Boundaries
countercurrents.org/2025/07/even...
countercurrents.org/2025/07/even...
‘Even If They Are My Favourite Human’: Murderbot Just Explained Boundaries | Countercurrents
Murderbot might seem like another sci-fi show about robots and space missions. But it turned out to be one of the most emotionally resonant shows in recent memory. The Apple TV+ series is based on All...
countercurrents.org
July 13, 2025 at 2:33 PM
A really thoughtful essay on Murderbot: ‘Even If They Are My Favourite Human’: Murderbot Just Explained Boundaries
countercurrents.org/2025/07/even...
countercurrents.org/2025/07/even...
Reposted by David Millington
I cannot recommend enough replacing a lot of your normal news consumption with Fix The News, a newsletter focused on serious, deep good news from across a broad swathe of human achievement.
We can’t and shouldn’t ignore bad news, but this really helps give me perspective.
We can’t and shouldn’t ignore bad news, but this really helps give me perspective.
Fix The News
We report stories of progress
fixthenews.com
February 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I cannot recommend enough replacing a lot of your normal news consumption with Fix The News, a newsletter focused on serious, deep good news from across a broad swathe of human achievement.
We can’t and shouldn’t ignore bad news, but this really helps give me perspective.
We can’t and shouldn’t ignore bad news, but this really helps give me perspective.
Fascinating and terrifying look into a probable goal: corporate-style (CEO as king) or actual corporate governance. Think cyberpunk dystopias.
If Roger Burrows is correct then the loss of democracy is a big strategic goal.
www.platformspace.net/home/nrx-a-b...
www.platformspace.net/home/nrx-a-b...
PLATFORM: NRx: A Brief Guide for the Perplexed
The rise of J.D. Vance to the Vice Presidency of the United States marks a significant, unsettling turn in American politics, reflecting the mainstreaming of neoreactionary (NRx) ideologies that seek ...
www.platformspace.net
February 2, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Fascinating and terrifying look into a probable goal: corporate-style (CEO as king) or actual corporate governance. Think cyberpunk dystopias.
Reposted by David Millington
This is what the government did with 120K+ Japanese Americans in 1942.
I know. I was there in those camps.
I know. I was there in those camps.
January 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM
This is what the government did with 120K+ Japanese Americans in 1942.
I know. I was there in those camps.
I know. I was there in those camps.
Malevolence.
It’s a cli-fi story where the rising sea has drowned a lot of the city. Sea creatures are mysterious and horror-like, rarely seen, lurking under the water. Sailing is dangerous and buildings are sealed overnight. There’s an underlying sense the sea itself is a creature/aware. #sffchat
It’s a cli-fi story where the rising sea has drowned a lot of the city. Sea creatures are mysterious and horror-like, rarely seen, lurking under the water. Sailing is dangerous and buildings are sealed overnight. There’s an underlying sense the sea itself is a creature/aware. #sffchat
#SFFChat Question 2: What role do non-human animals play in your work? OR Share something about an animal in your world, etc. Basically, share something writing related that involves animals. 🤣
OR What role does the ecosystem play in your work?
OR What role does the ecosystem play in your work?
January 16, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Malevolence.
It’s a cli-fi story where the rising sea has drowned a lot of the city. Sea creatures are mysterious and horror-like, rarely seen, lurking under the water. Sailing is dangerous and buildings are sealed overnight. There’s an underlying sense the sea itself is a creature/aware. #sffchat
It’s a cli-fi story where the rising sea has drowned a lot of the city. Sea creatures are mysterious and horror-like, rarely seen, lurking under the water. Sailing is dangerous and buildings are sealed overnight. There’s an underlying sense the sea itself is a creature/aware. #sffchat
Writers of #bluesky, is it normal for publishing houses to ask for unagented manuscripts?
I thought an agent was a filter for low quality (ie they’d be inviting a huge pile of rubbish to their desk) plus a safety net for authors re financial aspects (ie no publisher ‘should’ sign unagented)?
I thought an agent was a filter for low quality (ie they’d be inviting a huge pile of rubbish to their desk) plus a safety net for authors re financial aspects (ie no publisher ‘should’ sign unagented)?
January 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Writers of #bluesky, is it normal for publishing houses to ask for unagented manuscripts?
I thought an agent was a filter for low quality (ie they’d be inviting a huge pile of rubbish to their desk) plus a safety net for authors re financial aspects (ie no publisher ‘should’ sign unagented)?
I thought an agent was a filter for low quality (ie they’d be inviting a huge pile of rubbish to their desk) plus a safety net for authors re financial aspects (ie no publisher ‘should’ sign unagented)?
Reposted by David Millington
The struggle is real.
December 24, 2024 at 4:24 PM
The struggle is real.
This is probably the saddest news about an app that I will ever share. Delicious Library was a thing of beauty, joy, playfulness, when it only needed to be utility.
mastodon.social/@wjs/1135393...
mastodon.social/@wjs/1135393...
December 2, 2024 at 11:42 AM
This is probably the saddest news about an app that I will ever share. Delicious Library was a thing of beauty, joy, playfulness, when it only needed to be utility.
mastodon.social/@wjs/1135393...
mastodon.social/@wjs/1135393...
Post-apocalyptic flooded city novel now has 3000 words on what money actually is. By way of fish and octopus.
This was not intentional. I feel I went a bit Neal Stephenson.
This was not intentional. I feel I went a bit Neal Stephenson.
November 30, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Post-apocalyptic flooded city novel now has 3000 words on what money actually is. By way of fish and octopus.
This was not intentional. I feel I went a bit Neal Stephenson.
This was not intentional. I feel I went a bit Neal Stephenson.
Reposted by David Millington
November 27, 2024 at 10:07 PM
If you see this, post a photo of a beach from your camera roll.
November 26, 2024 at 3:40 PM
If you see this, post a photo of a beach from your camera roll.
Reposted by David Millington
New blogpost:
deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-...
deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-...
Why I have resigned from the Royal Society
The Royal Society is a venerable institution founded in 1660, whose original members included such eminent men as Christopher Wren, Robert H...
deevybee.blogspot.com
November 25, 2024 at 7:49 AM
New blogpost:
deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-...
deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-...
Reposted by David Millington
Hi friends!
I just wanted to give a quick update on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars, which we can’t wait to relaunch as the dumbest website on the internet.
The long and short of it: We won the auction and — you're not going to believe this — the previous InfoWars folks aren't taking it well.
I just wanted to give a quick update on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars, which we can’t wait to relaunch as the dumbest website on the internet.
The long and short of it: We won the auction and — you're not going to believe this — the previous InfoWars folks aren't taking it well.
November 16, 2024 at 5:51 PM
Hi friends!
I just wanted to give a quick update on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars, which we can’t wait to relaunch as the dumbest website on the internet.
The long and short of it: We won the auction and — you're not going to believe this — the previous InfoWars folks aren't taking it well.
I just wanted to give a quick update on The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars, which we can’t wait to relaunch as the dumbest website on the internet.
The long and short of it: We won the auction and — you're not going to believe this — the previous InfoWars folks aren't taking it well.
Reposted by David Millington
This is it. AI as assistant, AI as creating a new sentient lifeform: incredibly exciting. But AI as replacing art and writing, the best of human endeavours: _awful_.
If tech creates tools they should be new washing machines: remove the grind. Not tools that displace creativity and humanity.
If tech creates tools they should be new washing machines: remove the grind. Not tools that displace creativity and humanity.
"...the asymmetry of power between individual human creators, who are often producing art to make a living, and the commercial actors behind generative AI models — entities which have pulled in vast sums of venture capital... with the aim of building machines to automate human creativity."
November 14, 2024 at 7:15 AM
This is it. AI as assistant, AI as creating a new sentient lifeform: incredibly exciting. But AI as replacing art and writing, the best of human endeavours: _awful_.
If tech creates tools they should be new washing machines: remove the grind. Not tools that displace creativity and humanity.
If tech creates tools they should be new washing machines: remove the grind. Not tools that displace creativity and humanity.