Final newsletter of the year done, 18.5k words - free, of course - the longest thing I've written (yet?). It'll be out Monday or Tuesday next week. It's called "The Enshittifinancial Crisis," covering the enshittification of the shareholder, the collapse of VC, and the future data center disasters.

Just a heads up: the "I run a book club/reader org and we can promote your book" scam seems to have leveled up again. I've gotten a few lately where the scammer represents themself as being part of a longstanding community/org that actually *does* exist and *is* legit. They just aren't part of it.

For everyone who celebrates the soul of Christmas. youtu.be/ifCWN5pJGIE?...

Periodically I punch the area where I used to live into Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and search for a miracle. See, when I was sixteen, my mother lost our family storage unit for non-payment. And that included my original Pony collection.

Still a favorite. youtu.be/riG85oA6Wy4?...

Tonight is Christmas Eve, when we in Iceland open presents. All the Yule Lads have already come down from the mountains, but tonight the Yule Cat arrives and he will eat all the children who weren't gifted any new clothes for Christmas. My daughters both got woollen socks so they are safe 🙏

Wanted to mention, @skippythekangaroo.bsky.social noticed that HOGFATHER the novel is on sale. We know it's at the Zon US, and at Kobo. So might be worth checking your usual location, if you've wanted a copy? $1.99 USD www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/...

My heart... 🥹 Inclusion matters ❤️❤️❤️ (For those wondering, Santa is signing in BSL - British Sign Language - and asks the sweet angel girl about her list, and different things she might like. Then he tells her that if she's a good girl, Santa will bring her a present✨） 🔊 christmas love

Because the sun should rise on Hogswatch. youtu.be/vPS5Yw_YsHA?...

Have a Christmas Cat.

Well darn, I am still in transit and don't have either my Hogfather DVD or book with me. But, HO-HO-HO to you all. May the coming year be a good one. We must hang onto hope.

A reminder if you or a friend needs it-- The 988 Crisis hotline is always available. If you need to call, please call.

Goodnight from Mary Judd, taking the bees a ritual slice of cake as she keeps her manners and tells them all her news. Goodnight from Evie Hobbs, desperately trying to stay awake till the hour on Christmas Eve when animals are said to be gifted the power of speech. Goodnight from Hookland.

A new AI tool on Twitter that ruins photographers work in a new and more insidious way. (free post on Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/i-slop...

Important 🧵. I've friends writing in every branch of fiction. Pay attention when a sales silo is hit. Books are under attack on multiple fronts. Care when it erupts in another area--because this is another mirror/shadow of "real life." Certain groups are coming for all of us eventually.

Say, "There's food for the table, and fuel for the fire, And good will for all, from the serf to the squire. Remember the Hogfather, welcome him in, And we promise the summer will come back again." Happy Hogswatch, everybody.

🧵 -- Is a tiny store like Payhip for you?

The train may stop. But the line goes on. Vale, Mike, the Ford of insight, the playful tumbrel between deeper currents.

I bought several alpaca items from this heritage farm in Maryland this year. And let me tell you--they were glowing when I bought them and had cataracts. They now practically glow in the dark sans my cataracts. Just mind-blowing ombre colors. And so warm! marylandalpacafarm.com

Wash, wash, wash your hands...! www.sfchronicle.com/health/artic...

HEADS UP TRAVELERS: While our area will be warm enough for just rain, that overrunning of the warm air will cause freezing rain/ice to form north of here. If you or friends/family are traveling from our area to Mid-Michigan on FRIDAY (that's the day after Christmas), allow for extra time.

I've written a quick newsletter about this drone ban - which will make us less safe. bsky.app/profile/fain...

Tiny 🧵 from a professional researcher/professor who knows a financial scam when she sees one.

#FiftyWords — A Speculative Fiction Challenge Years ago, I entered a 50-word horror contest. I didn’t win. I did write ten stories I’m still proud of. Fifty words is merciless. No padding. No mercy. Only story. Join me. If you dare. #Writing #MicroSFF

*In a world where magic and reason clash, love is the most unpredictable force of all.* If you can't resist that idea, you should go read a sample of @patriceauthor.bsky.social's MAGICAL MALCOLMS omnibus, the first six books about her Malcolm clan! #BookViewCafe bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...

Tonight's sunset clouds. Holy mackerel.

🧵 If your life has been too crazy--or too budget argh--to think about the folks who keep things in your life well-oiled--like your mail carrier, a cleaning person, the person who cuts your hair, your LMT? They appreciate a card telling them how important they are in your life. Gift cards, too!

YOU CAN TURN OFF TRANSPARENCY ON INDIVIDUAL WALLPAPERS. I had to go into Wallpapers to do it for an SE 2nd Gen, but once I put SOLID on text/fonts for the time, it CHANGED when the wallpaper cover reappeared! (Thanks to eye surgery I have been ARGH with iOS 26. THIS HELPED!)

🧵This is golden. @danmajdali.bsky.social @gailsimone.bsky.social

A blessed solstice to all who celebrate. youtu.be/3T0i4akX5a8?...

An interesting observation! #CHEESE abcnews.go.com/Health/high-...

Happy birthday to @nalohop.bsky.social! Celebrate her latest spin around the run by eavesdropping on our lunch on an episode of Eating the Fantastic, during which she shares why Samuel R. Delany’s The Motion of Light in Water is "a lifesaving book" — and more. www.scottedelman.com/2016/12/23/b...

There's hardly a parish boneyard in England without gossip of phantoms. Hauntings refuse to politely stop at porch thresholds, are not deterred by solid stone walls. The Holy Ghost is not the only spectre resident in English churches. They are spirit crowded. – #CJosiffe #Ghosts

A lovely selection if I say so myself.

Continuing. . . .

The Daily Salem Dispatch learned FAFO today. She literally fell off the shelf while I was on a video call.

16F here. Will be 50s and maybe 60s by Xmas. I'm calling this "The Year the Oligarchs Broke Everything" for my disaster flick title.

Still not operative on the eyes. So Mozilla claims they will have totally manageable Aeye, as in "It can be turned off." Can it currently be turned off? (No, I am not trying to look. I am about to ask the local Apple store how long people with variable vision will be tortured by the update.)

Not right now, babe, I’m catastrophizing after googling my lab results

"Oh look. A delete key."

Public Safety Information - if you are stringing your march of pylon ornaments tonight, please ensure they are not aligned to the electric ley of the land as you don’t want a resonant Hum in your living room.

Status of first look at news daily: youtu.be/tFxzohbXLSo?...

Current status--

Look what arrived: my author copies of (the US edition of) Enchanting the Fae Queen! Aren't they beautiful? You can preorder your own copy now: stephanieburgis.com/books/enchanting-the-fae-queen And I'll give away an early copy in my next newsletter! stephanieburgis.com/newsletter #romancelandia

This is the sort of contract that if you were entertaining signing it, your friends should smash through a window, do roll on the floor, leap up in a feral pounce and slap it out of your hands

Sunrise over an ice formation and Lake Superior from near Grand Marais. I thought this was a fun find!

My responses to the CDC's issuing a horrifying grant that isn't needed--because we know the answer to the question. alaskapublic.org/news/health/...

Right before she started trying to eat the tree. #cats