Chinese Evergreen

Tie Xi Qu was filmed over the course of two years between 1999 and 2001^[1] and details the slow decline of Shenyang's industrial Tiexi district in the midst of unemployment crisis known as "Xiagang" (meaning to step down from the post). This area was once a vibrant example of China's socialist economy. With the rise of the free market and the move towards other industries, however, the factories of Tiexi have all begun to be closed down, with them much of the district's worker-based infrastructure and social constructs. WIKI

Here’s a great list of 30 games that “flopped” upon release that are actually pretty good. There are some in there that are all-time favorites (Sleeping Dogs), and some that I have in my library but have yet to play (Alan Wake 2, Dishonored 2). Also plenty to check out.

Los Sara Fontan popped up on social media recently. It’s drums & synths. Strange noises and grooves. I love the genre of music where the drums go grahhht tstststssttssss pop and there’s cellos or some shit. Then a bass transformer (the robots, in this example) sound comes in like bwarrrggghhhhhh. I listened to this while doing the dishes & laundry this fine Saturday.

Binge watched most of this. I’m nearly to the end. It’s on Netflix. Taking place in 1601 Joseon-era Korea, the story goes like this: an evil magistrate wants the throne for himself, so he gets his daughter to marry the King, and then the King dies. Well, if the King dies, then the Prince becomes King. UNLESS the evil magistrate’s queen daughter gives birth to a son first. The evil magistrate injects the king with a resurrection plant that brings him back to life as a zombie. Through a series of unfortunate events, the plague breaks out, and we follow the noble Prince as he attempts to save the Kingdom from the plague and kill the evil guy in the process.

It’s two seasons of court intrigue and survival horror! The zombie genre is evergreen because you can escalate tension so easily. You put a guy in a tight spot and make the spot tighter. He’s got a plan? Not anymore, he doesn’t!

This has one of the most well-executed season-ending twists I’ve ever seen. A twist can’t just be surprising, it has to feel earned, and it has to make sense. This one does it well.

Good zombie gore, too.

I’m starting to make good progress on the new book. Three books a year is the goal…for next year moving forward.

It is so difficult to remember that ideas are infinite and that I’m free to use as many as I want in a single book. I keep thinking what I want this book to be rather than allowing it to become what it wants to be.

The phrase getting out of your own way is apt, here.

Meanwhie, The Snake Handler had a mini-mini hype revival over on the other site. Writing this with Cody was very fun. I’d like to do more collaborations in the future.

J David Osborne@jdowrites

THE SNAKE HANDLER (2017) is psychedelic trashy pulp novel about Reverend Clyde Hilburn, who runs a snake-handling church in the small town of Palestine, West Virginia. He also runs the local drug trade behind it. When he suffers a lethal bite from a rattlesnake someone placed in

1:54 AM · Aug 6, 2026 · 2.45K Views

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Get your copy here.

Books are evergreen. They don’t disappear after their release window. It’s important to perform well if your job depends on it, but for the indie author, the back catalogue is something that accumulates, waiting to go off like a bomb.

I remember in a recent Carlton Mellick book, he talks about how he put a down payment on a house on the Washington coast with the money he made from The Haunted Vagina going viral during covid. That’s the second time it went viral. The book came out what? 15 years ago?

Just build the catalogue. I’ve been reminded to think less this week, and I’m doing my best.

-JDO