starbreaker.org

rock operatic speculative fiction (and more) by Matthew Graybosch

a stylized image of a pale, blue-eyed man with long brown hair outdoors in the summer

I’m Matthew Graybosch, originally from New York in the United States. When I can, I typically use the alias “starbreaker”. I’m a writer and musician by choice, a programmer by necessity, and a metalhead by the grace of the witch. You can reach me at contact@starbreaker.org.

I’m not a polymath; I’m just a working-class college dropout with delusions of erudition.

starbreaker.org is my personal website and digital garden, and I often syndicate blog posts to the Fediverse and to a mailing list. It is mostly readable in ancient browsers. If you’re here it’s probably for one of the following reasons:

contents

caveat lector

Any opinions I post are mine unless attributed, and should not be mistaken for my employers' views or those of their clients or partners. Nothing I post here should be considered factual unless independently verified. Read at your own risk.

work in progress

Spiral Architect is a new Starbreaker novel in progress, with drafts available online.

When attempts by a biotech startup to claim artificial humanoids as corporate property draw the Phoenix Society’s attention, they put Morgan Cooper on the case even though he’s supposed to be on vacation. That alone would make it personal, but Morgan himself is a potential target. When the law is no shield, only the sword remains.

If you want, you can always download the current drafts with the following links:

thaumaturgy

I find it amusing to refer to my personal computing projects as dark magic. Sometimes it also amuses me to explain my tricks. These pages are generally works in progress.

recent posts

datetitlesummary
Adam Winfield Needs a MirrorThis little shit doesn’t realize that he’s one of the “small-souled bugmen” he claims to detest.
Cathedrals on QuicksandSome thoughts on a recent Minutes to Midnight blog post from the opposite perspective.
Web Environment Integrity: Expectations, Reality, and EntitlementGoogle's latest attempt to respectively exploit and protect its dominance in the browser and advertising markets puts the company's effrontery on full display and cries out for the sort of antitrust enforcement not seen since Uncle Sam brought the hammer down on AT&T.
Silence Implies ConsentMy efforts to thwart commercial use of my website may come to nothing, but I will make them anyway for my own sake.
They Abandoned Their Children to FortniteIf children are obsessed with video games to the point of throwing tantrums when they can’t play, I blame the parents. They failed their children, and these children will spend their lives paying the price of their parents’ negligence.
From The Archivesa list of restored posts that might prove of interest to somebody looking for a quick read
Spiral Architect: Patient PrivilegeI should be writing this chapter, but I'm not quite ready yet.
No Bottling the Genie AgainAs much as I sometimes want to become anonymous again online, I suspect that it's too late for me. Learn from my mistakes.
This is Not My Side HustleI got an email from a guy who doesn't understand why I'd run a website without trying to monetize it. My response became a manifesto. Oops.
Stormageddon, Fluffgoddess of the Next Apocalypsea bit of flash fiction featuring Claire Ashecroft and an AI “on the fritz”.
datetitlesummary
This is Not My Side HustleI got an email from a guy who doesn't understand why I'd run a website without trying to monetize it. My response became a manifesto. Oops.
Creating YouTube Thumbnails with a Shell ScriptIt's almost as good as an embed, but without Google's spyware.
Party Like It's 1989a Web Zero Manifesto
Personal Websites as Self-PortraitureThe personal website is both medium and message, a self-publishing technology and a new visual arts medium, and every website is its operator's self-portrait.
Questions for Your Casta brief guide to character creation without prior worldbuilding
Unpleasant Truths About Culture FitIf somebody wants to discriminate against you when hiring without getting sued, this is the excuse they'll use.
Cobra Kai at Worka defense of wildcat strikes, legality be damned
The Cop in My HeadAll cops are bastards, especially the one in your head.
Making Meaninginspired by a Gemini post by Case Duckworth
Choose Life?the problem with video games is that reality sucks
A Decade in Reviewa summary of what my life has been like this past decade
Real Sex EducationCompared to what I got in the 1990s, PornHub was an improvement.
Containment, Social Media, and the Dangers of ImitationDeplatforming wasn't a major issue before social media, and it still isn't even though social media more often creates cacophony than community.
I Want My BSD!my autobiography as a Unix fan, with apologies to Dire Straits...
Harry Frankfurt: On BullshitI've some to suspect that understanding and containing the spread of bullshit is the defining issue of our time.
Turning Fortylooking back from the top of the hill before I go over it
The Definitive Count of Monte Cristoopinions on Robin Buss' translation for Penguin Classics
Finding the Sweet Spot: Purple Prose and Fire Emblem FatesWhat if purple prose, used in moderation, wasn't the aesthetic atrocity that style fascists and writers even more pretentious than I am make it out to be?
C.L. Moore: Queen of the Pulps one of the great 20th century originals and a worthy heir to Mary Shelley
I Know I'm Fat. Did You Know You're An Asshole?I don't want or need your acceptance. You can think whatever you want; just don't make your prejudice my problem.
Programmer Passion Considered HarmfulI might have been drunk when I posted this on Medium, but I meant it and I stand by it today.
Review: The Winter BoyI had gotten a free copy in my World Fantasy Convention 2014 book bag and had the pleasure of meeting Sally Wiener Grotta and attending a reading.
Derelict by L. J. Cohen: a YA Worthy of Heinleina review resurrected and expanded from the archives; I had bought the book and gotten my money's worth
Post-IPO Facebook: Echoing the Dot-Com BoomFrom my archive, a prophecy that went unheard but not unfulfill’d: I saw Facebook's enshittification coming, but didn't think it would be this bad.

posts in progress

datetitlesummary
John Daker has seen some shita commentary on the Eternal Champion novels by Michael Moorcock
Spiral Architect: Synopsisa summary of where I intend to go with my next novel
Persona 4 GOLDENI played the original on the PlayStation 2, and I'm feeling nostalgic.
Living for Pleasure - an Epicurean Guide to Lifenotes on Emily A. Austin's book about the Greek philosopher Epicurus and his teachings

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