Here's the text of my own public comment (and a link to @courtneygibbons.phd's scaffolding tool to write your own!) buttondown.com/yarntheory/a...

Good morning. Today is the LAST DAY to comment on the proposed OMB rule that will, honestly, destroy science in the US. And it will do FAR MORE THAN THAT. www.theverge.com/science/9576...

ASKE THE BEAR FROM *ANNIHILATION* "Hi Bear from *Annihilation,* I have some friends that always invite me over for dinner. I'm sad I can't reciprocate because my place is too small. What should I do?" Bear from *Annihilation*: HYAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH HAOAAOAOAAAHHHOOOOOOOOROOOOGH {exhale} MRRRRAAAOGH

For $7 an hour, virtual assistants in the Philippines are using AI to write LinkedIn posts and comments on behalf of Western executives, fueling a "thought leadership" content mill https://restofworld.org/2026/virtual-assistant-linkedin-engagement/?utm_campaign=row-social

I'm starting to see a lot of queries in my inbox that I suspect were edited with an AI "assistant" or "beta reader." It's incredibly depressing, because these are real books that now feel fake. But this is actually downstream of a larger craft problem I've been noticing for years.

With two hours left, my @romancingthevote.com annotation is sitting at $79.79 (neat to see an arithmetic fan in the lead!) If it gets a bit higher, I might be tempted to offer one to a runner-up...

Only a few hours left to bid!

Last count, @clairewillett.bsky.social & @courtneymilan.com have raised $25,000 for zooms talking about what absolute loser shitheads Alito & Vance are. Honestly folks sending desperate text messages asking me to rush them $20 are sleeping on this obvious solution.

Are you writing a historical novel? Are you just really curious about the Middle Ages? Do you want to learn about book history and see medieval manuscript leaves? Hop on zoom and spend an hour asking an expert all your questions about the European Middle Ages (500-1500 CE)!

Yes, this. My home states, by decreasing order of years lived there, are Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, California. Not even sure which to pick.

Really proud of the person who set their max bid to $77.77, not sure if this is pure order or pure chaos.

My friend @yarntheory.bsky.social is a brilliant poet, mathematician, and author. Oh, and like, medieval historian, too! You WANT her annotations on her brilliant space opera: www.32auctions.com/organization... Anyway I just got outbid and I'm not gonna make it higher, but someone out there will.

This piece and many others are on sale at my inprnt now!!! www.inprnt.com/gallery/acid...

Very short tall ships and Romancing the Vote! buttondown.com/yarntheory/a...

While you are spending your wrath bucks, may I direct you towards some lauded delayed gratification? If you use code SLOWFANCYANGRY you can have $5 off @seraph76.bsky.social's CALL AND RESPONSE to celebrate it's thus-far 5 award nods. Books will be mailed 7/20. www.neonhemlock.com/books/call-a...

what the *fuck*

There's an annotated copy of North Continent Ribbon in @romancingthevote.com! If you win, you can suggest topics for extra-nerdy attention! www.32auctions.com/organization...

Hello everyone! On the day before the auction, we're going to talk about WHY we do this, something that has particular salience on the day that final SCOTUS opinions are released and we once again have to try to remove the knives from our backs.

We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

Maple-black currant braid!

Truly bizarre story of how two papers from the 1940s by physics pioneer Max Planck have been "retracted" from Naturwissenschaften, potentially by an algorithm, for anachronistic "plagiarism" issues, leaving the current editor baffled (but it is Springer Nature so.... www.science.org/content/arti...

It's Pride! It's a rainbow stack! I've been posting one a week this month because I have so many wonderful queer books on my shelves to celebrate. Which of these have you read?

The @romancingthevote.com form is still open, and that means there miiight be an annotated copy of North Continent Ribbon in the works.

The human vs. computer aspects of "Secondary Filters"! Disco Elysium!

Book haul!

And here we are at the end of the exercise. The Queersar Not An Award for excellence in queer SFF and SFF with queers 2024! It's been fun, & I hope you find something new that's slipped between the cracks. The book I spotlight in this list is the most shamefully under-read of the whole exercise.

Buttondown and scientific research: both worth paying for. buttondown.com/yarntheory/a...

"Fifteenth Saint" in action.

Good morning let's talk about the extremely bad proposed changes to grant funding in the USA! 🧵

🧪 Keep pressuring every org, professional body, association, uni, etc. you are affiliated with to submit the strongest possible comment opposing this calamity (highest ROI move for most of us) 🧪

I have been working on societal impacts of language technology since late 2016, and my nightmare example since pretty early on has been using automatic transcription in emergency services systems. And today I learn it's happening *in my own city* www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... Short 🧵>>

Here's a starter pack to all the Neon Hemlock novella and short story collection authors who are currently on Bluesky. go.bsky.app/7tQm44B

"It’s like I was saying to my trusted advisor/horse the other day: The orgies stay on the orgy ships, and the beheadings and burnings stay in the gladiator arenas, or the prisons, or the slave quarters, or sometimes on the orgy ships. But I don’t spill blood at home."

A lesson I've learned about "saving the world" or "making the world a better place" is to figure out what I can do, with the skills I have, and do that, instead of thinking I need to do what other people are doing because I think it is somehow more legitimate or important, and then doing nothing.

This is fascinating.

I just love this: that's all. www.theguardian.com/books/booksb...

Do you work on applied or numerical analysis? Come work with us at Mathematical Reviews. www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/28...

Turns out nominating for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize gets you entered into the ballot for last year's shortlist and you might even win. Thanks especially to @mollytempleton.com for sorting sending them and everyone involved in the @ursulakleguin.com Prize for all the work they do over the year.

as an individual UAW, I support this decision

You could say I’m super biased because @yarntheory.bsky.social is my friend, but her collection of stories truly is amazing!

What are some small press SFFH publishers you like, and what are some books they published that you'd recommend?

HEY AUTHOR FRIENDS!!! Have you got a bunch of author copies sitting around? Would you like to get them OUT OF YOUR HOUSE? We are looking for authors with 5 - 10 copies of a book they'd like to sign and send to some lucky winner, and help raise money for voting rights!

📣 Public announcement: we are closing a multiplet! 🧪⚛️

ARB is now a paying venue for sff criticism. This is a dream come true thanks to the efforts of @casella.bsky.social and the many writers, editors, and interviewees who have made @ancillaryreviewofbooks.org and @mealofthorns.bsky.social one of the best places for contemporary sff criticism.

I'm so discombobulated I almost forgot we have a new Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast today. A fiction episode set in 19th century West Africa. "Salt for the Unmarried" by Khayelilhe Benghu alpennia.com/blog/lesbian...

@kateelliottsff.bsky.social and Suzan Palumbo discuss their works in a new bonus piece at Speculative Insight! www.speculativeinsight.com/extras Alexander the Great and The Count of Monte Cristo in spaaaaaace... and gender-flipped...

• Submit a comment opposing the destruction of 🇺🇸 science; • Pressure every org, professional body, association, uni, etc. you are affiliated with to submit the strongest possible comment opposing this calamity (highest ROI move for most of us) • Make sure your electeds see those comments 🧪

Gearing up to start promo for our next novella series! This will be another set of novellas alongside a short story collection, with an especial interest in queer speculative fiction. You can sign up here to get notified when we go live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/dav...

For years I have misremembered the War for the Oaks bad-relationship-commentary lyric "You always seem to love me best/ when I'm 100 slippery miles away" as rueful-but-genuine "I always seem to love you best..."