New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.

Watch Trump's reaction to this.

What will keep this lighthearted is being paralyzed by having way, WAY too many choices to choose between…

Have you tried looking in Mayfair…?

I thought it was funny; don’t judge me for it…

A few quick notes before I head to an academic Beatles conference this weekend... jamesryanfiction.substack.com/p/going-on-t...

One about the size of Mount Everest from all the things he doesn’t know…

I do think yesterday’s results reinforced the dynamic that while much of the American leadership class is chickenshit, most of the electorate is not

Perhaps the NYT should run some articles about how the Republicans need to listen to the concerns of ordinary Democratic voters.

It’s ok to be inspired—even, or especially, when shit’s this crazy out there. Let me be clear: I’m not obsessed with optimism, nor do I think it always works out. But we should be wary of those who tell us to rid ourselves of hope. The opposite of hope for the enslaved is enslavement, after all.

If you support horror fiction or indie bookstores, this may be worth considering: www.gofundme.com/f/support-th...

Brilliant!

Don't expect it to be streamed or on VOD, either... www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwSR...

Talk about cutting your Bill [of Rights] by more than half…

“Shame dies by atrophy.” I have never heard it better put than this way. Great piece that’s worth the read:

Crazy how much some media has normalized the idea that voters are taking a risk if they elect governors/mayors who will defy Trump. That he’ll threaten their funding, etc. Try to imagine, say. Greg Abbott being asked if he’s worried that Biden will punish Texas over his lawsuits.

In light of the cut to SNAP this coming month, I'd like to share that Aldi grocery stores have a "Feast for 10" deal for $40 until 12/24. It includes everything for making turkey, sides, and dessert. www.aldi.us/products/tha...

Disturbing:

C'est là où nous en sommes maintenant…

The most spectacular costume of 2025? That honor belongs to…

Give. Me. Strength…

Hey, someone pointing out how they misread the book without citing either THE HANDMAID’S TALE or 1984….

This week, in addition to the news, there's a brand new piece written for the holiday, available here! jamesryanfiction.substack.com/p/going-on-t...

I got a solid one here, but you can't have it. For it be declared, never the ween shall meet...

It's October 31st, when we traditionally watch something scary and unsettling. I might go with Fox News in prime time...

Everyone knows about the Mercury Theater's WAR OF THE WORLDS play in 1938. Apparently, WKBW-AM in Buffalo did their *own* version of it in 1968. Love to hear other people's thoughts about this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zzE...

Thoughts...?

A good map to refer to if you: a) Need to find a food bank near you, and b) Need to find who you have to scream at to keep SNAP going: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8db9...

Remember how just a few years ago during the worst of the pandemic when we saw how the govt can actually do big things and saw that our collective health & well-being are intertwined, and then corporations got mad that they lost a modicum of power and helped fund a backlash of amnesia and fascism?

That first WIP sounds interesting; hoping to see it some time.

#HorrorWritersChat No book yet, but I'll brag about my WIPs. Gothic vampire/cowboy lesbian romance sits at 35 pages. Ghost story is currently sitting at 81 pages. And I'm fending off the urge to start a new WIP, a dark modern fantasy about a group of punk teens who run into an eldritch horror.

Considering what we're seeing as the average mean temp rises, who's to say that nature isn't already retaliating...?

#horrorwriterschat I think we should have a healthy fear of public shame for being cruel and cowardly and hateful. That seems to have gone away.

#HorrorWritersChat Question 4: How about fear of peasant revolts? Not nearly enough of that around anymore.

#HorrorWritersChat I'd love to see the Furies punish those leading the U. S. into chaos and ruin. I'd also welcome the Yule Cat and Gryla, especially this time of year. Lots of naughty people who need a talking-to. Or worse. :)

Is your shoe under the bed? Leave it. Cuz there’s a doorway that leads to hell under it and they are waiting to drag you under once its dark. What happens when there isn’t enough to go around? Are your neighbors still your friends? Or, do you become their dinner? #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat I would love to bring back the original tale of the W*ndigo (it did NOT have horns) as a reminder of the horror associated with hunger

Honestly, our society is a bit too backwards looking right now. The last thing we need is for people to be worried about, say, werewolves again. #HorrorWritersChat

We really should bring back the vengeful spirits of Australian megafauna - it would be the best episode of Bluey ever. Also, probably the last. (Moral: "The wraiths will not spare the placental usurpers. Not even the children. ESPECIALLY the children.") #HorrorWritersChat

I mean, I don't want this to happen to anyone, but what on earth happened to Spontaneous Human Combustion and fae abductions? Also we surely need to have the modern equivalent to the Marie-Celeste. #HorrirWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat My story, "Ivy, Lichens, and Wallflowers" is in the collection TOIL AND TROUBLE, out now: books2read.com/b/bOYyEN

#HorrorWritersChat That's a tough one, and maybe impossible; what destroys a fear is knowledge, and once you know about something, the fear dissipates. It was studying spiders closely that helped curb my arachnophobia; I still have it, but its a LOT less potent than it had been.

#HorrorWritersChat Not receiving any item of clothing during Christmas which stems from our Yule Cat folklore. The gigantic cat would eat all the children who didn't get new clothes. It doesn't exactly invoke fear in me now but I still keep up with the tradition by giving clothes

The kid who spent most of his first 18 years in Catholic school still lives on inside me and has some residual fears of both God and the Devil, while not really believing in either. #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat I actually thought about this in one of my books, and I found it went 2 ways: Inward - where we fear each other and the more minor differences between us. Outward - where we fear the complete emptiness and futility of the universe... or if it isn't empty at all.

#HorrorWritersChat They both have the same elements equally: There is something we have no control over out there, and that for all we think we've accomplished, we're still vulnerable. The big dif btwn horror and other genres is, whatever it is, it DOES want to hurt us; the others, maybe...?

Probably that things coming out of the dark are probably best left alone, even if they aren't malevolent. And that a priest is always useful, as the spirit probably believes in them even if you don't. Source: Vestigial Catholicism and a PhD on medieval (religious) folklore #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat My name is Rosé Black. I write horror and horror comedy. Plenty scared me as a child, but if I had to pick a main fear. I was always particularly frightened by her. Of course, being older, I understand her story is more tragic than one of malevolence.