I'd really love to get this to ⅓ funded by the end of the month. I'm so grateful to everyone who's already donated to help & I know things are difficult for so many of us. I'm doing everything I can to get past needing help, but I'm not there yet & could really use your help. gofund.me/d01a817c3

Brb, crafting a post that starts with “listen up, Fuckos” and ends with “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”

"You couldn't make The Birth of a Nation nowadays," laments D. W. Griffith, "because it's three hours long, very racist, and I am dead."

The load-bearing "can actually feel" in this statement is buckling under the weight of this load of bullshit.

The debate around what is or isn’t “cancel culture” really just obscures a simple truth that it’s BAD to be massively racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic and it’s GOOD to speak out against injustice. Some things are good and some things are bad and it’s okay to say which you think are which.

“Once you use ChatGPT, you don’t want to think for yourself anymore” that, in a nutshell, is why I avoid these things because no matter how convinced you are that it isn’t happening to you, it is happening to you these machines will suck your creativity dry and you’ll thank them for it

Hyygestank

I love this series.

The federal govt wants to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would open 45 million acres of public land for private interests - disrupting wildlife habitat, destroying carbon sinks, and imperiling outdoor recreation in the places we love TODAY is the last day for public comment - file yours now!!

Looking for a weekend read? A MURDEROUS BUSINESS is out now! Grab a copy at your local bookstore! Instantly have the ebook or audio book (read by the amazing Quinn Riley!) added to your favorite device! bit.ly/AMurderousBu... 😁 #Historical #Cozy #Crime #Queer #SapphicSeptember #NewRelease #Booksky

Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly. sbgi.net/tv-stations/

As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read. They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.

This administration, placing damaging economic tariffs and making fifty-first state jokes: wait what you don’t like me??????

Yet another demonstration that AI is not a labor-saving device; it merely displaces the cleanup and mitigation (in realms where care, caution, accuracy, etc., actually matter) onto other people

"Students have told us that they value copying and pasting instead of analyzing and writing so we should give them what they want and call it 'education.'"

And then you end up deleting the sentence in revisions.

If you're an author, bookstore, publisher, or other publishing or bookish entity interested in sponsorship, you can find information here: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

I recently lost my day job & have had to cancel several tools that I use for Bookstore Romance Day events & promotion. I have virtual events being planned for Oct., Nov., & Dec., but I need your help to make them happen. gofund.me/a139d54bd

“You used to be able to say anything” comedians never been more quiet in their lives

A propos of nothing, there are plugins for web browsers that will remove the AI "overview" from Google searches. This is the one I use in Chrome: chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bye-b...

Is it just me or is MAGA doing the thing where they're trying to trigger people because they themselves are triggered and are getting even angrier because people are either ignoring them or laughing at them?

This year's DWTS tells me that I am officially old.* *All of the oldest stars are Gen-X.

And, probably more importantly, they're trying to keep the more vulnerable protesters around you safe. But you're saying "FUCK THAT, DOOMERS" and either missing the point or making it for the people who want to target those vulnerable populations.

The thing that gets me about all this brigading about the signing up for protests convo is that folks saying not to sign are *trying to protect you* they are *worried about your safety and your rights and your freedom* and they *want to keep you safe* and you are telling them to go fuck themselves.

While I got my knuckles rapped by corporate America for being rude and tasteless about a guy who dreamed of the stoning of me and everyone I love, Fox's Brian Kilmeade advocated explicitly for the state murder of all homeless people -- on live TV, no less -- to virtually no response.

bro i can't believe i have to defend jimmy kimmel

Coates just doesn't miss. He doesn't. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/c...

I don't want to be arguing with ppl all day or anything, but I do think there is a pretty clear line between, "maybe don't collect info for a protest when it's not needed" and "you're saying people can never leave the house."

The thing about organizations wanting people to RSVP for protests because contact lists are useful to them is absolutely true and it also has absolutely nothing to do with whether it's in your best interest to RSVP for a protest (it is not in your best interest).

Oh my god. 😆

I interviewed a woman once who had run a college newspaper during WWII. Many of her classmates had gone off to fight and she sometimes felt silly writing about campus to-dos when the world was on fire around her. Until she got a letter from one of those classmates.

Related: I'm so happy I have the opportunity to spend time with a native Norwegian speaker (who's also a trained language instructor) every week and stumble through conversational Norwegian in addition to getting cultural context. It's an absolute privilege.

📚

Ta-Nehisi Coates: “What of the writers, the thinkers, and the pundits who cannot separate the great crime of Kirk’s death from the malignancy of his public life? Can they truly be so ignorant to the words of a man they have so rushed to memorialize? I don’t know.”

I want our young people to know that there is a path forward, that a better world is possible. I don't want them to give up, to become cynical. They deserve to be young and full of optimism. They are owed a world that supports and sustains optimism.

I've been dedicating all of my online book shopping to Loyalty Books vis bookshop.org. It's very easy to do, and ensures that a portion of your purchase will go to the bookstore.

Norwegian class this evening included the cultural note that Norwegians are very punctual, to the point of showing up 5 minutes early to a party not being rude. I'm more Norwegian than I thought.* *I would not arrive early to a party in the US. I know better.

Here are four ways anyone can support and help their local library: • Get a library card ⭐️ • Use your library card 🌟 •Visit the library 💫 •Tell everyone to get a library card and support their local library ✨

Everything they say sounds like the most abusive relationship you have ever had . “I’m lying because you’d leave me if I told the truth and I don’t care what that does to you. And I still want to use you ”

you don’t understand bro, if we didn’t lie, no one would buy our product 😩

If you're not yet a member, start a new membership and use code BRD at checkout to get TWO audiobook credits your first month. libro.fm/referral?rf_...

Writing is a solitary act. No one swoops in, in the night, and finishes a poem, short story, or novel *for* you. (Lazy elves, ugh.) Being a writer is about community and friends and venting to each other. (Long live the group chat!) Being a writer in this age is about connections/connecting. 1/2

Blocked

Use this form to comment. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

While I'm not working, I thought I'd put some of the things I've learned from 25+ years working in indie bookstores into a newsletter. I hope to do these once every couple of weeks or so and you can find the first one here: buttondown.com/billiebook/a...

The free speech activist who built a list of professors he worked to get fired for their speech must be celebrated for his support of free speech, and anyone who quotes his speech accurately in context will be fired and/or face state punishment by the champions of free speech, do I have that right?

This gets to something that as a former stand-up I recognized but couldn’t name. A 31 year old professional content creator baiting 19 year old amateurs into the format of his choice isn’t debate, it’s crowd work. It’s debate-shaped crowd work farmed for content.

I am advocating for you to be killed but I am using my inside voice you must debate me this is called democracy

I shouldn't be shocked, but I'm still always brought up short to realize how many people think "civility" means "white people speaking in relatively calm voices" no matter what vile shit they say.

The whole 'strike me down' thing doesn't hit the same when espoused by the Empire