So you don't think I was the only one out there in the center of Berkeley Springs, WV this afternoon, which the angle of my earlier photo might have led you to you believe — here are two more I found on social media showing me on one of the intersection's four corners. I'm told there were 425 of us.

Home from this afternoon's No Kings rally in Berkeley Springs — where the winds were so high my sign was nearly ripped from my hands, and a third of the trifold even split off. Luckily, multiple people ran to get tape, so I was quickly repaired and back in business condemning that wannabe dictator.

Arriving way early in Berkeley Springs for today’s No Kings gathering, I had time to wander the Ice House Art gallery, where I came upon a piece which seemed appropriate to this day. Now on to the march!

I was given no trouble when I'd sit through the Pledge of Allegiance back during the Vietnam War, save for one teacher who'd require me to stand in the hall as the rest of the class recited it so I wouldn't ... what? Encourage other kids to do the same? Incite a riot? I can't quite remember.

Good morning to all my friends who'll be hitting the streets with me today to show our disgust at the wannabe dictator committing daily crimes against humanity, and who in a just world would be awaiting judgment at The Hague rather than sundowning in the White House! Be safe and joyful out there!

Last night's earworm which snuck into my cerebrum each time I woke was "So Long Farewell" — Riki Lindhome's defense of the Baroness Schraeder from The Sound of Music. youtu.be/ELSx0Kq8xZs

ICYMI — a new episode of Eating the Fantastic went live this morning with guest @shsilver.bsky.social. Eavesdrop and discover how a cancelled contest caused his first short fiction sale, what he learned publishing a novel during a global pandemic — and much more. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Happy 77th birthday to comics writer Mike Friedrich, who in 1976 warned me I'd better treat Irene Vartanoff right after we were married or else he'd punch me. (That's him on the far left long before we first met — with my sister-in-law Ellen Vartanoff on the far right — at the 1967 NYC Academy Con.)

Today's revision session — and I've lost track of how many passes I've made — may have taken the new story as far as it's possible for my skills to take it. I'll let it rest a day or two and see whether I still feel the same way after a break. As they say, stories are never finished, only abandoned.

Today's Clues by Sam was rated Hard, but didn't seem quite as difficult as those usually are. cluesbysam.com

The Hugo Awards nominating period closes tomorrow, and as you complete your ballot, I hope you'll consider Eating the Fantastic in the category of Best Fancast. To refresh your memory, here's where you can sample all 28 of the podcast's 2025 episodes. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

To prep for tomorrow's No Kings gathering — which for me will be small and local, where I might have more of an impact, rather than joining the throng in D.C. — I turned off my iPhone's facial recognition feature. You should consider doing the same. (It will remain off through my Eastercon trip.)

I've published several stories about the current career criminal in the White House, with another arriving soon, but none comes close in artistry to the great Michael Blumlein's "Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report," inspired by a different disastrous president. It awes me still.

Episode 278 of Eating the Fantastic is now LIVE! Join Steven H Silver for lunch and learn what it was like to be in a writing workshop taught by Gene Wolfe, the reason he found The Silmarillion more interesting than The Lord of the Rings — and much more. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Starting the day uploading a new episode of Eating the Fantastic, during which you'll get to eavesdrop on my lunch with Steven H Silver. No direct link yet, but once live, it'll appear up top here, pushing my conversation with Salinee Goldenberg down a slot. Please join us! eatingthefantastic.com

Sam Kieth has been remembered with a full obituary at the New York Times, which is as it should be. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/a...

Printed out a fourth set of notes for episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast I'll record next week at Eastercon. Only one more to squeeze in before I fly off to Birmingham. If you'd care to eavesdrop on the chats I'll bring home — assuming I'm allowed back home — subscribe! pod.link/1083737796

Indeed!

Donald Trump murdered this man.

My rage over this insult to America burns with the white-hot passion of a thousand burning suns. Good thing I live an almost entirely cashless life, because the only thing I'd be willing to use paper currency for once that career criminal's name has desecrated it would be toilet paper.

Happy 78th birthday to artist José Luis García-López, so well regarded he created the official character reference art for the DC Comics Style Guide — and who (far more important to me) drew my 1978 House of Secrets story "The Knight in a Gilded Cage," making my words look better than they deserved.

Coming tomorrow morning — a new episode of my Eating the Fantastic podcast, during which you'll be able to take a seat at the table for my Uyghur lunch with the multifaceted Steven H Silver. Subscribe now to be among the first to join us at the table! pod.link/1083737796

Last night's eerie earworm which serenaded me each time I woke was Chip Taylor's "Fuck All the Perfect People" — eerie because I had no idea until this morning he'd died Monday. I guess that makes it a haunting, eh? youtu.be/amIMdUYEIJU

Get ICE out of our airports. Get ICE out of America. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/u...

Printed out a third set of notes — of a potential five — for episodes of Eating the Fantastic I plan to record during Eastercon, where I'll begin heading a week from tonight. (Yikes!) To be sure of getting your seat at the table for the chats which will follow, why not subscribe? pod.link/1083737796

I know these spam emails wouldn't keep showing up in my inbox unless they fooled some of the people some of the time, but it's so generically impersonal as to be an obvious scam, so ... who's falling for it? Please don't let it be you!

Heading to Eastercon next week? Here's where to find me on programing!

Flying high after another fruitful afternoon revision session. I once again read the story out loud as I mulled over every word. Good thing I was doing it at home and not at a coffee shop! Talking to myself there might have gotten me in trouble. Anyway ... the story's shaping up, and I feel good.

Last night's earworm which exploded through my brain each time I woke was the theme from The Wire, thanks to the rewatch I've begun which planted it there. youtu.be/pz9D1SybuVE

A new song from Jesse Welles is a fine way to end the day. youtu.be/xOp4PO0Ek9A

Tonight's treadmill TV continued my rewatch of The Wire, taking me to the middle of Season 1, Episode 10, and reminding me the one character I rooted for more than any other was Bubs. Much thanks to actor Andre Royo for tugging at my heart.

Another fruitful afternoon of revisions to the new story. All of today's tweaks took place while I read the story aloud. That allowed me to spot several sentences which sank instead of sang. I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, and I don't think it's a train heading my way.

Looks like there'll be *two* genre conventions going on at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole next week. Not only the UK national SF convention @easterconuk.bsky.social, which I'll be attending, but also @haruhiconuk.bsky.social, devoted to anime and Japanese fandom culture. Let's all have fun!

I don't know whether I'll have time during Eastercon to record one of Eating the Fantastic's lightning-round donut episodes, but I've printed out a sign just in case. Here's how to find the five previous such episodes — most recently the Capclave Donut Carnival! www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Happy birthday to the incomparable critic Gary K. Wolfe! Celebrate his latest spin around the sun by joining us for a Kansas City BBQ lunch (along with his frequent coconspirator Jonathan Strahan) on an episode of my Eating the Fantastic podcast! www.scottedelman.com/2024/01/26/w...

Today in Donald Trump's state-sponsored terrorism. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

This morning's Clues by Sam was rated Medium ... and it was. cluesbysam.com

Printed out my notes for the second of four — perhaps even five — episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast I intend to record during next month's Eastercon. If you'd care to eavesdrop on the conversations which result, you know what to do — subscribe! pod.link/1083737796

Today's treadmill TV took me through more of The Wire Season 1, including an episode featuring a trip to Chap's Pit Beef, which I haven't visited since last year's Balticon ... and now I'm hungry for some. But I won't get any until the next Balticon, alas. chapspitbeef.com

Today in Donald Trump's state-sponsored terrorism. ICE doesn't belong in our airports — or in America either. missionlocal.org/2026/03/arre...

Local followers take note — the ACLU of WV pulled together a list of Saturday's No Kings gatherings. And as tempted as I am to hit D.C. to feel hugged by a crowd, I'll probably attend one of these, because it will have more of an impact to be the 500th person somewhere small than the 50,000th there.

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

Woke in the night with yet another story idea having popped into my head since beginning the piece in progress. I've added it to my list of 100 or so other story nuggets, most of which will never be anything more than that, because for each I do get around to, multiple more rise to take their place.

It probably wouldn't be a good idea to carry this sign through security when I hit the airport on my way to Eastercon next week, right?

Another fruitful revision session today as the new story knits itself into shape. And it looks like there might be a happier ending to this one than I thought when I began. As a panster, I'm never focused on the destination, only the journey, so I don't know where I'm going until I get there.

The first original art I ever bought was this Johnny Thunder page by Gil Kane, picked up at my first comic book convention. I was only 15, and the asking price was $2.00. Oh, if I could only go back there again!

It was worse than we thought. gizmodo.com/updated-deat...

"It became necessary to destroy the town to save it."

On April 11th, I'll be one of the quintet of creators reading from their works at the next Charm City Spec. If you're anywhere near Baltimore that day, I hope you'll drop by and join the party!