Hello random people of bluesky! @valorievandieman.bsky.social and I are getting married on Saturday! That’s all.

Oakworm moth! Genus Anisota. Very pretty. Very nearly stepped on by several hyper dogs, this afternoon.

The dog in my profile picture is John. He’s an absolute sweetheart with a big head and a big appetite and three legs and a love of walks and treats and all the cuddles. This man does not want to live in a kennel. He wants a couch and a kitchen and someone to hug him. He is the best.

Absolutely cool af.

Assigned Media is excited to announce our Founding Editor Evan Urquhart has been awarded the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year by the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists @nlgjaofficial.bsky.social Our little newsroom is making waves, baby!

One of the best people I’ll ever know @evanurquhart.bsky.social won the The Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year for his ever impressive work. If you don’t know @assignedmedia.org you should check it out. www.nlgja.org/blog/2026/06...

this is a catastrophe and he will do harm, and only harm, to those living with disabilities

Absolute gutter level misogyny and racism.

My current profile pic dog is Mama. She’s not yet available bc she had scabies when 1st picked up with her puppies & she’s still healing. She’s the sweetest dog. I need her to not be stuck so I’m promoting her mildly, now. The paw stretch is bc I stopped petting her to take the pic. She’s a LOVE.

Just a picture of our dog, Hedy, because she has the cutest ears.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer report deaths of detainees who have recently been released from its custody, in a change that could obscure the full human cost of the Trump administration’s mass detention policies.

The dog in my current profile picture is Leah. She LOVES kids and is one of the sweetest and most mellow dogs I’ve ever met. She checks in, regularly. She loves affection and rolling in the grass.

I got emails today saying I had one poem shortlisted and one ACCEPTED to two different magazines. Both are magazines I’ve been following for a while so I’m really excited.

The dog in my current profile picture is Buddy. He’s the absolute sweetest and he’s available for adoption. He loves treats and attention and he seems like he’d pull you over, but as soon as he’s got a leash on he’s just checking on you constantly. He is the best. If I could take him home, I would.

It's Pride Month, so once again here's Sappho's Reply, one of the most powerful queer poems ever. Written by Rita Mae Brown at the height of the post-Stonewall struggles, it's the origin of "an army of lovers shall not fail/cannot lose." Y'all, we are going to win.

Marjane Satrapi’s books and movies had a HUGE impact on me. I still reread and rewatch all the time. And I genuinely believe that she showed the Western world insight into Iran that they’d never had before. This is a tremendous loss.

i wrote this in 2018, after John Kelly defended Rob Porter, a Trump aide, even after everyone saw photo evidence of him beating the women he was married to. I hate how relevant this piece still is.

::stares in Hegseth tattoos:: But the point is that nobody serving in government should have Nazi tattoos? And maybe none should be repeating Nazi rhetoric? Or excusing the atrocities of the Holocaust? Or rephrasing Nazi goals? Actually, full out rejecting Nazis should be everyone’s goal…

Happy Pride Moth Everyone 🌈🦋

Secondary traumatic stress rolls up FAST when you stack trauma on previously unmanaged trauma. So...a bad thing happens and you struggle. The bad thing goes away. You feel better. The bad thing or something like the bad thing comes back and whew the stress comes pouring in.

Putting this in my window for my neighbors Moreover, ICE must be destroyed

Beautiful

Record breaking eruptive episode 48 started about two hours ago at Kilauea in Hawaii. This is the most eruption events in an eruptive series recorded at this volcano. Lava fountains are at 650 ft (200 m) and tephra is falling in places. A friend is on-site and she sent me a photo from a cool angle.

With midterms approaching, the right seems dead set on running back their playbook of hammering anti-trans rhetoric, even at the expense of focusing on any other issue. @valorievandieman.bsky.social looks at a handful of these stories in this week's Leading Off.

Every so often I’m reminded to practice my handwriting a bit. Val reading the grocery list I made: “beans, tuna, cheese, english muffins… o- orto? dorito?” Me: what? no… Val: oh, wait… pasta!?!? Me: *checking* um… yeah. Val: you can see where I got dorito, right? Me: unfortunately, yes I can.

Apparently I missed a meteor and I am a little jealous.

Did you see this??? An entire 50 PERCENT of Democratic voters under 30 want the party to MOVE TO THE LEFT on transgender issues. Comparing with other issues polled, it's second only to healthcare as an issue younger voters want to see the party move left on.

On our way to the gay party.

The New York Post published a story rife with misinformation about a January settlement in a detransitioner's lawsuit. I investigate and look at the facts of that settlement and trace the origins of the falsehoods here at @assignedmedia.org

Aedes eggs along the water buckets! The water in these is changed daily, btw. Just a friendly reminder to dump standing water if you want to minimize mosquito time.

Our dog makes the absolute best faces

22. Yeah I’m not forgiving people because “no foul play” is gonna be the tagline when we all know the rising transphobia was the cause

The Supreme Court will decide whether to give Trump's latest deportation push its blessing in a case that could cause utter chaos for families.

I love when my dog gets condescending. Hedy: *wants to go out but we just came in and it’s raining* Me: Not now H: *stares at door* *goes to door and looks from me to door several times* Me: No H: *brings leash to door* *picks up my shoe and drops it pointedly in front of me* Me: I understand

Idk actually tell your trans friends how incredible they are how much you care about them we almost never hear it and it might keep someone here Moreover, ICE must be destroyed

Life with @valorievandieman.bsky.social V *weed joke* Me: weed is an element in this game. V: an element? Me: Oh no V: water, earth, fire, weed … V: long ago the four nations lived in harmony Me: okay an aspect V: I bet when the weed nation and the fire nation battled it was a real fuckin party

Val is away for a night and Toast is the saddest cat.

Roe V. Wade

I met my kid when my kid was 17 and we have a great relationship. No more details, just don’t be scared of teens. Know that you’re not always right and be okay with that. Also, it’s good to know at least one or two useful things about car care and plumbing and try not to be scared to handle spiders.

The dog gave her toy to the cat.

I love R. I’m sorry to all the sasheads and sigmaplot lovers of the world, but R is amazing.

That was amazing. Reminded me of a longer, more creatively toned version of something I did with a grad student group a few times last summer. So much fun and productive. Definitely going to try again next year.

Trying out the 24 hour writing sprint! I love stuff like this. community.londonwriterssalon.com/c/sprint/

The Southern Poverty Law Center says it's the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups. www.mississippifreepress.org/southern-pov...

Window buddies

poetry by @mosquitochaser.bsky.social "Lacking friends, I didn’t care, I solaced in the knowing that insects would be everywhere, all while I was growing. My mother then, she called me queer (the strange one, not the dyke)..." existotherwise.com/autobiograph...