one of my recent preoccupations is the visceral hostility the MAGA right has for the histories and traditions of the United States. these are people who spit on the Declaration and salute third-rate European despots!

Apropos of things that lit up the SF/F/H community yesterday: I am, unfortunately (or fortunately), very grumpy about and tired of people sidestepping the moral problems at the core of this blasted technology. shaunduke.net/2025/1...

I want you all to know that I'm on a local-ish trip to (try and) relax at the coast, and when I let the car radio scan, the hits station is: Clammy 99.7, "All the music you dig"

This is delightful #runescape youtube.com/shorts/Oy3BD...

Happy #Runescape: Shadows of Amascut Day (US Observed)! Please enjoy this tale of cultures in the throes of upheaval, many shades of grief, a very spooky desert that's a bit Fantasy Ancient Egypt and a bit haunted house, and dog things *you should not pet!*

Happy #Runescape: Shadows of Amascut Day (US Observed)! Please enjoy this tale of cultures in the throes of upheaval, many shades of grief, a very spooky desert that's a bit Fantasy Ancient Egypt and a bit haunted house, and dog things *you should not pet!*

This past weekend we had dinner with our friend who is a Sbux union leader. She clued me into 3 things. Starbucks has not signed a contract with the workers for 4 years. Starbucks has more union violations than any other company in the US. Shareholders are demanding they settle. Keep boycotting.

Government services aren't businesses. Delivering mail to citizens is something we pay for. But if these are businesses, you won't believe how much money the military loses.

Exactly right. People want to make this about language and forbidden words, but it's really about prosocial and antisocial behavior. To encourage the return of the R slur, as far too many on the left have embraced, is to promote antisocial behavior that makes society worse for everyone.

You start to get cynical & bitter & then you find out one of your state's snow plows this year is named Clearopathra & you remember there is no limit to human brilliance

The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality. And trans lives are grounded in reality. We see y'all. No matter what. www.popsci.com/science/tran...

Sometimes the fantasy we play out with our #ttrpg characters is as simple as wanting a full nights sleep.

Going into 2026, a reminder for everyone who's fallen off the creative wagon, game dev, writing, art, music, whatever, no matter how long:

As of this morning 4,500 Starbucks workers are on strike. Don’t cross their picket line. No Starbucks. NO Starbucks gift cards!

Trans rights are human rights and it's not negotiable, you fucks

28 Democrats voted yes on a bill that motherfucking TED CRUZ voted no on. It could not have passed without those 28 so check the list and if one of your senators is on it don't forget to write or call to tell them they're a bigot and a quisling and worse. Than. TED. FUCKING. CRUZ.

It’s the week before Christmas break! Everyone is tired! Please send your child to school in a different festive costume every day! This year, our themes are:

Folks on Washington state community Facebook groups are arguing about whether images of local flood damage are real or not. Generative AI is making it so much harder for people to get the reliable information they need to make decisions during disasters.

This column on Vox is the biggest pile of steaming AI crap I've seen this year. Human's aren't running out of ideas. Instead, those with power and money don't want to listen to ideas that threaten their power and money. Ideas are plentiful. Putting those ideas into action is the hard part.

Six hours to go for the Demon Spirit Deluxe Illustrated Edition kickstarter. Gorgeous book - don't miss out (and f you missed the KS for the first book in the series, check out RASalvaStore.com for it and other holiday specials. www.kickstarter.com/projects/wra...

Dear publishing: The terminally online are a small percentage of people who actually buy books. Let this be yet another lesson you refuse to learn about how chasing online clout does not translate to sales.

Thrilled to share this (freeee!) story with everyone at last! I hope you enjoy our protagonist—a grump-with-a-heart-of-gold forest ranger—and that you ooh and ahh over the beautiful cover by my dear friend Xenia, linked in the front matter + on my site, as she takes commissions! Happy reading ☕️📚🍃

SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going— SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti— SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE

If your daughter doesnt know how to wield a sword by age 7 you are a failure as a parent.

Nothing’s “that deep” when you can’t read for context, and have no cultural grounding in literature.

even pantone's like "we see the future and it says income disparity"

Today marks a year since my Burnished City trilogy concluded. Still so proud of my desperate disaster trio and their story of defying the rules--in magic, in politics, and in love! Never too late to join the fun. Start with the "wickedly entertaining" NOTORIOUS SORCERER. viscerate.com?page_id=243

there’s almost no genre of thread I love more than “I am reading Dracula for the first time and I did not expect any of what is happening here”

"Kill your darlings" is possibly the most wildly interpreted writing advice. But it doesn't mean "get rid of the things you like", what would be the point of that? I've always read it as: "Sometimes your favorite line might have to go *for the sake of the story as a whole*."

Okay let's reset--pomodoro sprints time! #amwriting

Morning work derailed by surprise bad news (minor bad news, didn't get a thing I wanted and thought was in the bag, for once). I'm hoping Concentration Check helps me get back on track.

Opposite Cyber Monday sale for commissions today. All commissions are twice as much. (check with me tomorrow for regular prices) - but now would be a great time to get a holiday portrait done to send out to loved ones. #commissions

*not shopping at Target intensifies*

Shareholders

The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste

if you start reading ONE OF THE BOYS right about now at audiobook pace you will finish the book at the same day/time it ends (1AM EST thanksgiving night) for maximum verisimilitude

Tonight our Abomination Vaults cast is taking a break for the holiday, so we'll be showing a rerun chosen by our Discord! It's FEARFUL SYMMETRY, Episode 5: The Mortality of Cats! We'll be making pies and watching along at 6 pm PT on twitch.tv/dungeonscrawlers

Fearful Symmetry is one of those projects I forget about sometimes and then I remember and am filled with pride and delight.

Everyone give thanks: It's a brand new #IdleChampions Havilar skin! Ballgown Havilar launches as a Play Reward for the Tales of the Champions, Part 4 update coming out on Wednesday, November 26.

I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.

School dropoff traffic destroying my faith in humanity.

Fifteen minutes...

Men are In Trouble, Maybe Getting a Plant Would Help Men are In Trouble, Maybe Learning a Dead Language Would Help Men are In Trouble, Maybe Finding Trouble on a Map Would Help Men are In Trouble, Maybe Memeing a Bad Headline Would Help

Since this releases tomorrow (in the UK, US will be 12/30), I’m going to use the long break during Concentration Check to do a reading, why not? Join us at 1:30 pm PT if you want to get done work done (and 3:30 if you just want to hear a creepy #Runescape story) Twitch.tv/dungeonscrawlers

Look, I am very small potatoes as an author. I make too little in royalties to live off them. But I can tell you the reason I got to write my 2nd book was bc the sales of the 1st were very good. That's what else you're eating into by pirating, our ability to keep writing what you claim to love.

i have never wanted to make a YouTube video before, but now i want to make one that's basically: Books Are Not Free Content For You, Stop Stealing From Authors, You Scabs. we are not the enemy. every dollar folks think they're taking from Amazon, they're taking from authors more.

"Death of the artist" means when Amy Tan says "I did not intentionally put numerological symbolism in Joy Luck Club" you can go "ok but unconscious-you is very clever and it's in there anyhow." It does not mean "it doesn't matter if JKR is a terrible person."

If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features." There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.

post a female character you love Farideh from the Brimstone Angels series by @erinmevans.bsky.social