Electrical work completed a few hours ago. Spiffy new breaker panel on the outside of the house. Scorch-marked outlet in the garage/library replaced. And the office-in-progress now has three working outlets instead of one.

Grief is not something to fix but to be felt. I have not written a word since my Dad entered the hospital or after he died. Finally, this morning the words came. A free post on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/begininw...

Had our home services company out to check our breaker panel and some non-working/half-working outlets. Found some significant safety issues (an outlet with scorch marks in a room filled with books is probably not a good idea), so getting the panel, etc., upgraded. Big $$$, but I can cover it.

Sorting (really) old papers last night. College scholarship application from 1969 included my dad's 1968 income as a skilled machinist: $10,500. For same purchasing power today, you'd need nearly $98,000. But...average skilled machinist income today: $60,000-$65,000. Damn....

"I saw a commercial on late night TV, it said, 'Forget everything you know about seat covers.' So I did; and it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me seat covers, and I didn't know what the hell they were."

The annual Pride bundles at Storybundle always contain a number of interesting works and authors that don't get enough attention in the general biblioverse. Quoting myself, "Diversity is a public good."

🟠 This week's Quellassik Tom the Dancing Bug - THE INFINITE UNIVERSES OF BOB (1998) - www.gocomics.com/tomthedancin...

After it happens, so many people will piss on his grave it will pollute the aquafier.

The backyard's bird feeder continues to provide hours of entertainment and frustration for the cats. (There's another cat just offscreen, atop the record player.) We even had a hummingbird check out the feeder this morning, but he was all "NO NECTAR? NO NECTAR, YOU ASSHOLES?" and flew off angrily.

For World Bicycle Day: Bicycle advertisements were prolific in the 19th and early 20th century, just as automobile ads are today. Here are a few beautiful ones from the Library of Congress collection.

"Great, great, great career and filmography, Mr. Eastwood. But, yeah, 96 is a good time to retire and relax for your remaining years. Oh, look, someone left an empty chair here for you."

Another terrible disappointment.

Maybe not the first time ever, but certainly the first time my eyes and brain have tried to process such an image. It's a Cybertruck being used like a real working truck, hitched to a faded old beat-up trailer loaded with landscaping debris. Man, that looks weird.

Fifty years ago today, a bomb detonated under Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles' car as he left a Phoenix parking lot. It remains one of the most infamous murders of a reporter in the United states. 1/2 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bol...

This flavor combination... did not work for me. [checks ingredients list] Oh, goddamn, they used ghost peppers for the "hot". Way too much heat. A "Maple Barbeque" flavor would probably be a lot more enjoyable.

Using AI to do stuff at your business is like hiring someone you would fire in the first week because they screw up all the time. And they’re more expensive and they ruin the environment and sometimes they tell people to kill themselves.

Update on the courtyard kittens (who've been shuttling between courtyard and backyard recently). Temp in central Arizona got up to 100+ today, and summer's barely begun.

JOY TO THE WORLD: THE FANTASY CHRISTMAS CARD ART OF GEORGE BARR arrived today. Whimsy and charm in spades. I wish Hilde had lived to see it; George was one of our favorite artists, and on the few occasions we met him in person, one of the nicest.

Sure, everyone knows about the Tooth Fairy, but how many of you have heard of the Chicken Fairy? When children are sent to bed without supper, the Chicken Fairy slips in and puts fried chicken under their pillows.

The idea that art is everywhere grounds an exhibition opening this week at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art called 'Keith Haring in 3D.' Our writer Kate Mothes shares her experience previewing the show. www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/06/keit...

It's a living. #grickledoodle #horror #mouse #cats #writing #cartoon #art #drawing #funny #humor

BECKONING SHADOWS Rackham's folkloric fairy trees (1914) are unsettling and windblown calling forth the shadows to celebrate impending darkness - irresistibly gothic!

Entry # umpty-ump in "Why can't we have nice things in the US?"

Uh guys. Uhhhh. Uhhh oh my god. Holy shit

Mr. M*******, seventh grade. Assigned class to outline the Social Studies textbook. Hours and hours, and pages and pages, on trying to include the book's facts. Students turned in thick stacks of paper. But his own teaching outline was two pages long. So he set up a scale on his desk... 1/4

With the new MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE film coming out, so are pics of He-Man's green tiger companion, Cringer/Battle Cat. But the green tiger I prefer is this carousel-sized mascot of Green Tiger Press that Hilde and I saw at a number of American Booksellers Association trade shows in the 1980's.

I generally try to keep this account politics-lite, but I'm just gonna say it: Diversity is a public good. Equity is a public good. Inclusion is a public good.

The Ears of the Hare, Fables of La Fontaine, Percy J. Billinghurst, 1899.

Finished my Pride and Prejudice blackwork piece! It still needs washed, ironed, and framed, but I was too excited to finally have a finish to care. 🥰 #embroidery #blackwork #fiberart #prideandprejudice #crossstitch

Tabbi set out some grains and seeds in the backyard for the local pigeons and doves. The cats appreciate the widescreen Cat TV. #Caturday

Post your swear jar.

Now is a really great time to subscribe to my Patreon 'cause for $5 a month I'll be posting about my new comic once a week. I'm trying to manage $300 a month for meds and groceries. patreon.com/treelet

maybe it's women using AI less because we're already good to go on the experience of rich men stealing our ideas, taking the credit, not paying us for them, and selling us the results at rapidly increasing prices

Not being able to donate blood right now, the thought occurred "Hey, I could finally get a tattoo." Then, "Wait, better check." Not a good idea while on blood-thinners. Excessive bleeding, slow healing/infection risk, might degrade the tattoo's quality. But if not, might have gone with this guy:

JOURNEY BEHIND THE WIND (1986) Acrylic - 16” x 24” Occasionally, I'll use a model in the course of painting an illustration. In this case I decided to use a photographer who worked about an hour’s drive from my studio. 1/5 #bookssky #art 🪐📚

Baked a large batch of molasses cookies last night, today took most of them to the blood donation center I've been donating at for a long time, to let staff there know I won't be able to donate again until if and when I can get off the new meds following my recent stent procedure.

Today might be rough, so take this assistive device-wielding dino.

My fridge is empty! Private commissions are open. Email me for more info: [email protected] or use the contact form on my website. No DMs. Thank you!

Latest in Eddie Clark's series choosing excellent Queer SF/F from recent years.

When I heard about an interesting post-WW1 writer named Thomas Boyd (THROUGH THE WHEAT, a novel, was regarded as among the best about serving in the Great War), InterLibrary Loan was how I was able to borrow and read POINTS OF HONOUR, a 1925 collection of his short stories (since republished). 1/2

#ResistanceRoots Dashiell Hammett was born on this day in 1894 in St. Mary’s County, Md. He pioneered hard-boiled detective fiction by drawing from his real-life experiences as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency. Those same experiences ultimately drove his radical, left-wing politics. /1

My voice has been growing increasingly hoarse since my stent procedure 12 days ago. Some research shows this can sometimes happen post-stent; might resolve in a few weeks or months. Or not. But for the moment, I can do a pretty good imitation of Patty and Selma from THE SIMPSONS.

Good morning! #grickledoodle #king #card #surreal #horror #cartoon #art #drawing #funny #humor

Being a recent Bed Potato in hospital, but okay enough to have full meals, added pounds to my weight. I think a lot of it must have been fluids, tho', because it's draining off fast. And watching the diet has brought some actual weight loss as well. Was about 210 before hospital, 205 this morning.

Bridgette Schnider reflects on her second year, creating and gilding boxes inspired by Bahá'í writings, and exploring the expressive possibilities of gilding. Work by all of our graduates will be on view at this year's Degree Show.  https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/degree-shows/degree-show-2026/

Can I note that Adam Driver isn't classically or conventionally handsome, but, wow, do a lot of women (and men) find him hot as hell. That face! Those angles! He could have an average physique and still be hot. (Plus, hey, he can act!) He looks like he was drawn by @abigaillarson.com .

Some interior magazine art for Jack Vance's stories (all by Ed Emshwiller):

Dread and circuses.

For readers who might not know, I have a collection of short fiction available. Some are reprints that were published elsewhere. Some can not be found anywhere but here. Included: a twenty palaces novelette called "The Home Made Mask." harryjconnolly.com/my-first-sho...

Dorothea Lange was born on this day in 1895. "Migrant Mother," widely considered one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century, is the most recognizable shot of a series taken by Lange in March 1936 of the same family of "destitute pea pickers" in Nipomo, California. 🧵