Writer | Arabfuturist | SFF | Cat dad 🐈‍⬛️ | THE REPUBLIC OF MEMORY out now with Gollancz & Saga Press. Rep: @jjbker.bsky.social linktr.ee/mahmudelsayedhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu7lubcfq22jHappy Skynet Day folks!29 Aug 2026 09:47 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu7lubcfq22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu7hcjtd722jDowngrade a movie: None Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Aug 2026 08:25 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu7hcjtd722jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu5xpwnsus22Well, I was not expecting that cameo in the latest episode of Silo. Climbing up on Silo Hill I couldn't see the city lights Wind was blowing, time stood still Peter Gabriel flew out of the night28 Aug 2026 18:14 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5xpwnsus22https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu52teear227If we are changing the names of lakes, then surely it's gotta be: Lakey McLakeface28 Aug 2026 09:37 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu52teear227https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu4lfghof22mThe Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood Other titles considered: The Uprising: Oh shit, Americans won't have heard of Wat Tyler so let's just throw Robin Hood in there even if he died two hundred years earlier The Uprising: Time Bandits The Uprising: Oo-de-lally28 Aug 2026 05:01 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu4lfghof22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mu2nbv36622jLiterary Tropes No. 5 A little bit of MacGuffin in my life A little bit of Enemies-to-Lovers by my side A little bit of Redemption Arc's all I need A little bit of Tortured Hero's what I see A little bit of Slow-Burn Romance in the sun A little bit of Mary Sue all night long27 Aug 2026 10:29 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2nbv36622jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtz5gnrjyc2xCrypto currency are just digital Pogs. Fight me!26 Aug 2026 20:13 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtz5gnrjyc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtxxwjbhzk2bAnarchy copy edits! Copy editing is great but it does require a very close concentrated reading of the text and you end up second guessing everything you wrote. "Do you drop a spoon on a plate or onto a plate? Or should that be 'on to' not 'onto?'"26 Aug 2026 09:02 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtxxwjbhzk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtx7t2cuo226Ali G is blackface with extra steps. Borat is straight brownface. The Dictator was anti-Arab racism. In the year of our lord 2026, let's move away from this kind of divisive crass comedy, not bring it back.26 Aug 2026 01:50 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtx7t2cuo226https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtwcfjwsns25My favourite story about mistranslation (courtesy of a Turkish journalist friend who was working in Iran at the time). Turkish for he's at home: O evin'de Turkish for he's at the (notorious) Evin prison: O Evin'de. Phone call: Did you hear that O Evin'de. My friend: He's at home? So what?25 Aug 2026 17:04 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtwcfjwsns25https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mttp5kiqq22yJust heard the term "wartime election" in a BBC news report on Ukraine. We need to be careful not to set the precedent that war is an excuse to postpone democracy. If we do, we'll all see more wars and less democracy.24 Aug 2026 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttp5kiqq22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtrsdf3v5s2qHaaland out here looking like an 80s high school bully. "Have you done my homework, McFly?"23 Aug 2026 22:05 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrsdf3v5s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtrqormeic2fCan someone please please PLEASE give King Charles a copy of this book? [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Aug 2026 21:36 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrqormeic2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtrlrz6lc22cName your favourite Disney Princess (wrong answers only). [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Aug 2026 20:08 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrlrz6lc22chttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mto5tieo6k23Optimist: the cup is half full Pessimist: the cup is half empty Translator: Hmm is that a cup actually or is it a glass? A mug? Definitely not a chalice. A drinking vessel? No, too general. Yes, a cup. A cup is fine. [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Aug 2026 11:21 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mto5tieo6k23https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtnzejnjlc23The number of the beast22 Aug 2026 10:01 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtnzejnjlc23https://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtnk2jbv722iI really enjoyed this interview. Olav asked me some interesting questioning and I'm never happier than when talking about languages! Thanks again to the UHBCB for all the support! [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Aug 2026 05:27 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtnk2jbv722ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtmgtd3t6c2mThe irony of a plot line in Silo being "we're going to bribe the rebellious journalist with a New York Times job." Mate, the rebellious journalist would despise the NYT.21 Aug 2026 18:56 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtmgtd3t6c2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtlxxoerls2oOdysseus: Don't you understand? We broke Excel's Law! We are the Spreadsheet People.21 Aug 2026 14:30 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlxxoerls2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtjaqgjla22tI'm really looking forward to this. I promise not to bum everyone out with talk of AI dystopias. Get your tickets here! [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Aug 2026 12:29 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjaqgjla22thttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtj4jssjr22cBBC News: (breathlessly reporting) "Prince Harry and Meghan moving back to UK." Pundit: What we have to remember is they are private citizens now and the media will have to treat them as such... 🙄20 Aug 2026 11:14 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtj4jssjr22chttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mthnx5ursk2cThese NHS blood donation adverts are really getting out of control [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Aug 2026 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthnx5ursk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtgr5hp4p22rOn Sunday, a bunch of UK mosques held Salat al-Istisqa (prayer for rain) and then last night it rained in London for the first time in two months and now I'm hearing thunderstorm warnings and threat of floods. Be careful what you pray for, is what Im saying...19 Aug 2026 12:45 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtgr5hp4p22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mtglvxecek2jTyrion: ...and who has a better story than Bran the Broken?" Me: (from the back of the room) Listen. Strange lords making decisions in backrooms is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical narratological peroration.19 Aug 2026 11:11 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtglvxecek2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mt7uhocuu22cMore Station Eleven thoughts: Station Eleven (the comic) serves as kind of the ur-text for the Prophet and Kirsten. They both love the same text. They both memorise and internalise the same story but take it in completely different ways. Perfect analogy for religion 🤌16 Aug 2026 18:56 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7uhocuu22chttps://bsky.app/profile/mahmudelsayed.bsky.social/post/3mt7gzeao322hWhen you say 'speculative' instead of 'science' fiction.16 Aug 2026 14:55 +0000at://did:plc:fkltyevb2d6v4hvaokasb3fe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7gzeao322h