Ben O'Connell
@benjaminoc.bsky.social
Dad, husband, promiscuous reader, former music geek, wannabe movie nerd, Montanan, NE DC Canine Knucklehead Ward co-founder, C-SPAN director of editorial operations
Every few months i think about how JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS and ZOOLANDER are nearly the same movie. JOSIE, the better of the two, came out five months earlier, tanked, and was pretty much forgotten.
December 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months i think about how JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS and ZOOLANDER are nearly the same movie. JOSIE, the better of the two, came out five months earlier, tanked, and was pretty much forgotten.
As of 22 minutes ago, C-SPAN is available on YouTubeTV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMU...
C-SPAN Launches on YouTubeTV
YouTube video by C-SPAN
www.youtube.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
As of 22 minutes ago, C-SPAN is available on YouTubeTV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMU...
Long shot but anyone out there with access to John Mack Faragher’s Daniel Boone biography who can check the index for “Banta” for me?
November 30, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Long shot but anyone out there with access to John Mack Faragher’s Daniel Boone biography who can check the index for “Banta” for me?
Eric Brown’s Helix gets by on wonder and awe if you can set aside its shortcomings with respect to emotions in more ordinary registers.
November 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Eric Brown’s Helix gets by on wonder and awe if you can set aside its shortcomings with respect to emotions in more ordinary registers.
They were “a peaceful, flourishing culture” for centuries. And then the orgy of violence began. www.science.org/content/arti...
Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished
Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture
www.science.org
November 29, 2025 at 2:59 AM
They were “a peaceful, flourishing culture” for centuries. And then the orgy of violence began. www.science.org/content/arti...
Pretty sure this is a 4x-great-grandfather. Just in case you want to know where I got *it*.
November 25, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Pretty sure this is a 4x-great-grandfather. Just in case you want to know where I got *it*.
I listened to Darryl Hall’s brilliant collaboration with Robert Fripp, SACRED SONGS, for the first time in years today. What starts as an interesting pop album swerves into unknown territory halfway through “Babs and Babs” and only rarely returns to known space.
November 22, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I listened to Darryl Hall’s brilliant collaboration with Robert Fripp, SACRED SONGS, for the first time in years today. What starts as an interesting pop album swerves into unknown territory halfway through “Babs and Babs” and only rarely returns to known space.
Reposted by Ben O'Connell
Montana is too big, folks. No one should have that much Big Sky
The distance between the northwestern and southeastern corners of Montana is roughly equal to the distance between Chicago and Washington, DC.
November 21, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Montana is too big, folks. No one should have that much Big Sky
I spent most of today with either peanut butter or soup on the top of my nose. My colleagues, all maddeningly polite, didn’t say a word.
November 18, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I spent most of today with either peanut butter or soup on the top of my nose. My colleagues, all maddeningly polite, didn’t say a word.
I am happy to report that my team won at bar trivia, thanks, impart, to William Faulkner, Emiliano Zapata, Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Alien.
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 AM
I am happy to report that my team won at bar trivia, thanks, impart, to William Faulkner, Emiliano Zapata, Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Alien.
My Top 5 movie genres:
- An ancient evil will fuck you up, sometimes hilariously
- Very paranoid, lots of talking, and brief bursts of violence
- This place is very spooky
- This almost looks like the real world but not quite, and these almost seem like real people but not quite
- Mel Brooks
- An ancient evil will fuck you up, sometimes hilariously
- Very paranoid, lots of talking, and brief bursts of violence
- This place is very spooky
- This almost looks like the real world but not quite, and these almost seem like real people but not quite
- Mel Brooks
Top 5 movie genres:
- Does this robot / monster have a soul? (Yes it does)
- Sassy New York newspaper gal does not need love but finds it anyway
- I travelled in time or space. It was a mistake.
- You’re supposed to be the victim of my crime but I love you
- Being a detective is miserable but hot
- Does this robot / monster have a soul? (Yes it does)
- Sassy New York newspaper gal does not need love but finds it anyway
- I travelled in time or space. It was a mistake.
- You’re supposed to be the victim of my crime but I love you
- Being a detective is miserable but hot
What are your top 5 movie genres? Mine are:
- mystery on a train
- I've committed the perfect murder, "oh for fucks sake"
- European road movie
- ennui in Hong Kong
- I've tried nothing to improve my life and crime is the only thing left
- mystery on a train
- I've committed the perfect murder, "oh for fucks sake"
- European road movie
- ennui in Hong Kong
- I've tried nothing to improve my life and crime is the only thing left
November 16, 2025 at 8:11 PM
My Top 5 movie genres:
- An ancient evil will fuck you up, sometimes hilariously
- Very paranoid, lots of talking, and brief bursts of violence
- This place is very spooky
- This almost looks like the real world but not quite, and these almost seem like real people but not quite
- Mel Brooks
- An ancient evil will fuck you up, sometimes hilariously
- Very paranoid, lots of talking, and brief bursts of violence
- This place is very spooky
- This almost looks like the real world but not quite, and these almost seem like real people but not quite
- Mel Brooks
Beautiful sunset in Fredericksburg, Virginia, tonight
November 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Beautiful sunset in Fredericksburg, Virginia, tonight
Michael Malone intended HANDLING SIN to be a Southern DON QUIXOTE, but Cervantes’s novel was so much more than a madcap picaresque. There’s a brilliant 250-page comic novel in here, but it’s a slog at 620 pages.
November 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Michael Malone intended HANDLING SIN to be a Southern DON QUIXOTE, but Cervantes’s novel was so much more than a madcap picaresque. There’s a brilliant 250-page comic novel in here, but it’s a slog at 620 pages.
Reposted by Ben O'Connell
Honored to have an excerpt from @johnlingan.bsky.social's exceptional new book in this month's @phillymag.com. I learned a lot about Questlove in this story, and I suspect you will too:
How Questlove Became the Defining Drummer of His Generation
John Lingan's new book Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers, traces the Roots drummer’s journey from Philly prodigy to genre-shaping innovator.
www.phillymag.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Honored to have an excerpt from @johnlingan.bsky.social's exceptional new book in this month's @phillymag.com. I learned a lot about Questlove in this story, and I suspect you will too:
I hear good things…
November 14, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I hear good things…
Welp, I have another Barry Malzberg novel to track down. THE LAST TRANSACTION seems to bear some semblance to Georges Simenon’s THE PREMIER, one of the finest political novels I’ve read.
ICYMI: I wrote about an unsettling Barry N. Malzberg novel from the 1970s about a troubled ex-president for Zona Motel. zonamotel.substack.com/p/review-by-...
REVIEW: By Night In America?
Barry N. Malzberg’s "The Last Transaction" is terrifying reading in 2025
zonamotel.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Welp, I have another Barry Malzberg novel to track down. THE LAST TRANSACTION seems to bear some semblance to Georges Simenon’s THE PREMIER, one of the finest political novels I’ve read.
Deborah Cohen’s LAST CALL AT THE IMPERIAL HOTEL is an outstanding group biography of the foreign correspondents who explained the interwar world to increasingly isolationist Americans, laid groundwork for U.S. intervention in WWII, recorded the advent of the Cold War, and screwed each other silly.
November 12, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Deborah Cohen’s LAST CALL AT THE IMPERIAL HOTEL is an outstanding group biography of the foreign correspondents who explained the interwar world to increasingly isolationist Americans, laid groundwork for U.S. intervention in WWII, recorded the advent of the Cold War, and screwed each other silly.
I had a good time at John’s book launch tonight. Can’t wait to read the book and hear things I’ve never noticed before when listening to The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Bad Brains, Slayer, and more.
Excerpt ↓In his new book 'Backbeats,' John Lingan explores what made drummers like Watts so extraordinary.
Excerpt ↓
Excerpt ↓
'He Marches Right Through the Song': Steve Albini on How Charlie Watts's Snare Defined The Rolling Stones
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 2:42 AM
I had a good time at John’s book launch tonight. Can’t wait to read the book and hear things I’ve never noticed before when listening to The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Bad Brains, Slayer, and more.
Ben's novella is an outstanding work of dark fantasy with a richly imagined setting and vivid, complex characters. Great book.
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
From The Red Labyrinth
From The Red Labyrinth
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Ben's novella is an outstanding work of dark fantasy with a richly imagined setting and vivid, complex characters. Great book.
I enjoyed del Toro’s Frankenstein, but, dear lord, the CGI was distracting.
November 11, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I enjoyed del Toro’s Frankenstein, but, dear lord, the CGI was distracting.
Green’s book is a fascinating look at the early ‘80s NYC art scene. And he captures an array of cultural currents—the rising awareness of police violence, the heyday of tabloid journalism, and soon-to-be celebrities like Keith Haring, Basquiat, and Madonna—without the book feeling overstuffed.
If you've been on the fence about buying THE MAN NOBODY KILLED because it wasn't $5, well, I have good news. (It's $5.)
www.amazon.com/dp/125089822...
www.amazon.com/dp/125089822...
The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York
The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York [Green, Elon] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York
www.amazon.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Green’s book is a fascinating look at the early ‘80s NYC art scene. And he captures an array of cultural currents—the rising awareness of police violence, the heyday of tabloid journalism, and soon-to-be celebrities like Keith Haring, Basquiat, and Madonna—without the book feeling overstuffed.
I spent the weekend driving to South Carolina and back, listening to the entire discographies of Nada Surf and Wussy. Both of their 2024 albums are excellent—maybe the strongest in over a decade by each band..
November 9, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I spent the weekend driving to South Carolina and back, listening to the entire discographies of Nada Surf and Wussy. Both of their 2024 albums are excellent—maybe the strongest in over a decade by each band..
My office for the afternoon
November 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My office for the afternoon
My early thoughts on books to nominate for Cousin Book Club:
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig
The Premier by Georges Simenon
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig
The Premier by Georges Simenon
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
November 4, 2025 at 12:08 AM
My early thoughts on books to nominate for Cousin Book Club:
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig
The Premier by Georges Simenon
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig
The Premier by Georges Simenon
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford