The right editor is out there looking for a pitch for an essay about the state of late night TV, and the upcoming anniversary of the dumpster episode of the Chris Gethard Show, and all they need to do is let me know

Real question: the fuck do you guys think the word meant before

selling coffee is gatekeeping being alive

terrible. 20 years ago, the internet was full of hobbyist blogs and forums. over time, these have been replaced by paywalled substacks and private discord channels, each a walled garden. google's decision to prioritize AI just makes it less likely people will create free, public info

> be apple > give up on in-house AI ambitions immediately > win

CALL YOUR REPS NOW! SPREAD THE WORD! HR 2616 was snuck onto the calendar for a vote TOMORROW. This is a pro book banning bill which seeks to ban ALL books by or about trans individuals.

It would be so funny if they just brought Ask Jeeves back, exactly the same as it was in 2002

I think all of us who managed to write a book without using AI should get to kill one robot

they did it, they finally invented a toilet that dunks itself in itself

You can read my full written testimony here: pianofighter.substack.com/p/my-full-co...

everyone go buy @mikehuguenor.bsky.social new book! such a perfect love letter to a label, a scene, and the people who build it.

GRACE JONES — happy 78th birthday ❤️

Excited to share the latest Hell World Top 5 Songs series on the late great Chris Cornell. www.welcometohellworld.com/say-hello-to...

Grogu to the polls

I promise you none of the people who manage your local bookstores would say the same. www.nbcnews.com/business/ceo...

continue to be frustrated at the insistence of AI as a tool (working on my "academics need to learn what a tool actually is" pitch), and not for nothing but if you need AI to tell you what song your characters might dance to you're not actually doing the core work of creation.

The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman (Niko Stratis, 2025)

[me getting kicked out of polite society] “so what I’m saying is Down On The Upside is Soundgarden’s Pet Sounds…”

I’m just saying that we stopped trying out new ice cream cones with waffles, and I think that every flat breakfast item is owed its day in the sun.

got to see touche amore celebrate ten years of their landmark album stage four at the palladium this weekend and thought a lot about death and grief danozzi.substack.com/p/stage-four...

NEW EPISODE! The Safe Harbor (S3E11) The OC's answer to Donna Martin Graduates! @nikostratis.com and I discuss Hickory Sticks, Coffee Crisp and Nanaimo bars. I sing the praises of Flowers (2016) and The Emperor's New Groove. Sandy says "junky" a lot. Taylor throws a Boxing Day Party?

I touch on this a little in the book but it's Dwight Yoakam

"mmMm cis pEoPLe getting SURGERY or HORMONES is just gender affirming care!" feels spiritually the same to me as "did YOU KNOW transmisogyny affects cis women too???" empty gotcha that still forefronts cis experience, a glib workaround for just talking about how we deserve control over our own lives

Nancy as a hardcore girlie is fucking spot on

Just got a lovely email where someone told me they discovered the Mountain Goats through my book and I think I have finally ascended to becoming the burnout working the counter at a record store who convinces you to buy Tallahassee of my dreams

chiptune At The Drive In cover band:

Grogu without skin

There's enough stuff to be genuinely scared about for good reason. No sense in adding to it. This happens offline and on with lots of everyday trans people...but the Content Creators who don't take care to be measured about it, that really sticks in my craw.

Springtime in Toronto is nearly getting hit while crossing the street by a car playing Ginuwine at room temperature volume

At some point there's gotta be a conversation about the detrimental effects of the trans fear mongering content creators on the wider mental health of a lot of trans folks. Some of the stuff people are putting out there as Hard Facts is willfully misrepresented, if not straight up dangerous

happy birthday pet sounds, two more years until you can collect social security! here’s some words about how much i love you www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-be...

wow i can't believe The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman by Niko Stratis is on here twice.

I sat in literal awe of @catfitzpatrick.net last night, so witty and quick and devastatingly smart. If you see her name on a marquee near you, you get there quick as you can. Thanks to everyone who came out!

2 RONTO 2 NITE

I was absolutely delighted to talk to my friend Charlie Jane about new session for this extremely thoughtful newsletter on ephemeral art :)

I wrote about a phenomenon in literary adaptations that I refer to as hot-washing. lithub.com/hollywood-ne...

May is Mental Heath Awareness Month. I've lived half of my life with PTSD from gun violence. If you would like to be more aware of what that's like in our world of hyperviolent entertainment, the first three chapters of my memoir are available as a preview: biblioshare.org/BNCservices/...

Slain Trans UW Student Identified as Juniper Blessing: “The Most Amazing Human Being”

Six genders: a real hit on Jesus (penguin random house, 2027)

Trans people are facing a decades-long, escalating, international effort to drive them out of society supported by some of the richest, most powerful people AND governments in the world and you are right that a few of them being snippy with you on social media is, essentially, the same thing.

good morning! the may issue of IHTOV is here! we've got ebonee rice with a heartfelt, deep essay on jason molina. we've got @historicalmarker.bsky.social on zero boys, and tj foley is back with his 6th essay, this one about pink floyd's richard wright ihavethatonvinyl.com

America threatens to annex Canada, and we respond in kind by releasing three Drake records all at once.

Widow's Bay is great, I can't believe the mayor from Jaws gets his own prequel

Var Lawrence, who wrote this piece below for Hell World about being locked down in a nursing home in NYC during the peak of Covid has passed away. Chip in a few bucks for his funeral if you can. Thank you. www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-v...

Toronto! Tomorrow night, I'll be joining @catfitzpatrick.net for an unforgettable evening at @anotherstoryto.bsky.social ! Come down, it's gonna be a hell of a time.

I've just started exploring around in @subvert.fm, but something I really appreciate is the transparency in regards to funding, in particular listing with direct links to the various bodies that helped provide the platforms intitial funds. www.subvert.fm/docs/faq

sorry, i work at a university in a red state, and it’s illegal for the women & gender studies faculty to spend research money to attend their conferences. what in the fuck are they talking about

The relevant portion of the Jason Collins discussion

1984 (hospitalized for approaching perfection)