Dec. 29-Jan. 4 at THE FIVE-TWO #Crime #Poetry weekly, "to my 5-year-old self..." by Robert Plath Text: poemsoncrime.blogspot.com/2025/12/robe... YouTube reading: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9RT... Submit your work: poemsoncrime.blogspot.com/p/guidelines...

Apparently I'm doing this -- my open letter to that open latter about AI in writing and publishing. I emerged from Hibernation Week to write it, so god only knows how much sense it makes. But at least a human wrote it, so that's nice. Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.

Wah, won't someone think of the poor widdle white men?

Thread:

My anti-GenAI prose poem, "The Ghosts of me are in your machine," is up at @strangehorizons.bsky.social Thanks to @cafenowhere.bsky.social for editing, and @bogiperson.bsky.social for being the first reader for this. strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...

Why is it that tech and AI boosters keep saying "you can't put the genie back in the bottle" when making arguments about AI's supposed inevitable dominance? Did they not read the story? The genie does, indeed, go back in the bottle. Maybe we should start there.

Can anybody who collects Mythic Legions tell me how to get the bloody shoulder pauldrons into the Sir Andrew figure? I've heated up the figure, heated up the pegs of the pauldrons, pushed them through the holes in the cape and they just won't go in. Is there any trick I'm missing? #MythicLegions

Inside Autobahn Church Exter, I saw this Christmas tree and a golden angel. #Church #Exter #AutobahnChurch

The village church of Exter was built in 1666. In the 1950s, when Autobahn A2 was built, it was converted into an Autobahn church, a roadside church catering to travellers. #Church #Exter #AutobahnChurch

I've seen this going around today and it's beautiful, so here's a gift link.

Did this sorry excuse for an American politician really post pictures of himself kicking and punching Santa Claus? What's next? Eating babies on camera? Roasting puppies on a spit?

In my family, the traditional dinner from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve, or whenever the salad runs out, is red herring salad made according to my grandmother's recipe. It's special occasion meal, because it's very time consuming to make. #FoodSky #HolidayCooking

Schade, dass Merz im Sauerland kein Internet und Telefon hat.... Hat halt noch nichts mitbekommen

BEHOLD, MASSES AS FORETOLD BY THE PROPHECY, YOUR NEW QUEEN

Review: Figura Obscura Mouse King Action Figure from Four Horsemen Studios file770.com/review-figur...

Another Christmas tree close-up, featuring Taz, Grogu, because there is room for more than one very special child at Christmas, a sparkling dinosaur, a Wedgewood ornament and some Erzgebirge ornaments. #Christmas2025

Pop culture ornaments are still uncommon in Germany, but I have a few. Of course, I had to get He-Man and Skeletor. The Tasmanian Devil was a souvenir from a trip to the US. The three Disney ornaments are handmade and were given to me by a lady called Jenny from Florida. #Christmas2025

And here is a closer look at the Christmas tree. Many of the ornaments are from my parents and sixty years old. #Christmas2025

The Mouse King is in his element. #Christmas2025 #FiguraObscura #FourHorsemenStudios #ToyPhotography

Have a very merry Hordemas. The Mighty Motherboard is so big that she only fits on the living room table, so I left her there when I decorated for Christmas and added a few fellow Horde members. #Christmas2025 #MastersOfTheUniverse #PrincessOfPower

And here is another look at my Christmas tree, this time with no flash. #Christmas2025

Behold my Christmas tree, featuring decorations from six decades. Decorating it was a lot of work, but well worth it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. #Christmas2025

Christmas Eve lunch: Farfalle with apple cranberry sauce. Normally, there would also be venison and red cabbage, but that's way too much for one person. And since the sauce is the best bit, I ditched the rest. #FoodSky

Day 24 of my advent calendar of random photos from my archive: The nativity at Vechta Christmas Market. Every Christmas Market has a nativity somewhere, but Vechta has the biggest in the entire region. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. #CorasAdventCalendar2025

SFWA is doing a survey on LLM use in the industry. You don't need to be a member to submit. Writers/artists/humans need all the advocates we can get, and I hope we can encourage SFWA to take a strong stance. www.sfwa.org/sfwa-survey-...

Playmates and Viacom will not be renewing their licensing agreement for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their partnership will end on December 31st, 2026 - bit.ly/4axAYDu

As my good friend @planesailinggames.com remarked, the whole thread is worth reading.

So…the first article on Playmates Investor Relations page says they’ve lost TMNT after 2026. ir.playmatestoys.com/en/announcem...

Just filled out (at length!) this excellent survey about how SFWA should handle LLM/GenAI use in award eligibility. It’s open to readers as well as writers so if you have serious & considered opinions plz fill it out, especially if you have edge cases to share that others may not have thought of.

Okay, we've seen a Supergirl trailer, a trailer for The Odyssey and a teaser for Avengers: Doomsday, so can we maybe get a Masters of the Universe trailer for Christmas, too?

Thread:

Today's lunch: Shrimp and crawfish creole. This is not a dish I would normally make this shortly before Christmas, but I got crawfish at the grocery store, so this it was. #FoodSky

Day 23 of my advent calendar of random photos from my archive: This statue of the Bremen town musicians was designed by Gerhard Marcks and set up in 1953. In the background, you can see the Bremen Christmas Market. #CorasAdventCalendar2025

A slightly better less-error-filled holiday poem for your reading pleasure.

Chris Rea (1951-2025) RIP 🖤 *his raspy voice, fluid, bluesy, and melodic guitar playing, and a few hits in a languid style, like this one: "On The Beach"

I love this story.

What is this obsession with ridiculously inflated child trafficking numbers with right-wing people in the US? Just got into an argument with some American who claimed that children couldn't walk to the store alone in Germany because of trafficking gangs supposedly snatching them off the street.

If you want to be able to nominate works for Hugo Awards in 2026, you will need to be an WSFS member by January 31. The WSFS membership costs $50, and can be upgraded to a full membership (or virtual membership) at a later date.

Day 22 of my advent calendar of random photos from my archive: This mulled wine stall at the Christmas Market in the town of Vechta is topped by a Christmas pyramid. #CorasAdventCalendar2025

Give us your reprints featuring resistance of all kinds, from the hugely impactful to the tiny sparks. Give us your hope and rebellion and courage. Show us we all got this, even when it's brutal.

🧵 But I want to highlight this one because, along with just causing needless ridiculous expenses for companies, it's also (often) a safety hazard to prioritise VERY minor short-term profit the way skimping on paying a translator can do. Just pay a damn human to do your translations.

Whole thread is worth reading

I really, really hope it won't come to this... But will the spell of ai be broken for major companies when damages DO happen because of AI and the attrition is no longer worth putting up with it.

The fourth candle is lit. Happy fourth advent Sunday, everyone. #Advent

Great thread on why machine translation as "good enough" is an issue, and why translation is always co-endeavour

Thread: As a translator myself, I echo everything Aliette says. I have also noticed longterm customers suddenly no longer calling, because somewhere there is a machine translation system that is cheaper, even if its output is worse.

“The last-minute christmas rush at the bookshop.” - my latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books

Day 21 of my advent calendar of random photos from my archive: Mistletoe for sale at the Bremen Christmas Market. #CorasAdventCalendar2025

Today's lunch: Japanese curry with rice. #FoodSky

Day 20 of my advent calendar of random photos from my archive: The Lightbringer a.k.a. St. George sculpture by Bernhard Hoetger above the entrance to the Böttcherstrasse art street in Bremen. Installed in 1936. #CorasAdventCalendar2025