Gutting story of the US bombing of the Iranian school, told through the eyes of the parents Even after identifying their own children's tiny, mangled bodies, many went back to the site to dig for other people's children www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Thinking of my beloved tiger queen Alice Wong today, and what better a way to celebrate than with her work; Alice was so many things, and among them was an incredibly sharp, talented writer with a luminous love for words.

I miss Alice Wong. I miss seeing her online. I’m sad I’ll never get another postcard from her. There was a beautiful celebration of her life today. Thank you to everyone who organized it and spoke.

41 years old, evacuated here legally, asylum case pending, kidnapped while driving his six children (one a US citizen) to school. Dead within 24 hours. Betrayed and murdered by the United States government. 42nd confirmed and reported death in ICE custody under Trump.

Super long line (the longest line I’ve ever seen in NYC) for this math-themed late night event at @bklynlibrary.bsky.social. Line goes past the museum toward the botanical gardens. I love how much we love the library www.bklynlibrary.org/night-library

I miss the heyday of alt weeklies. They were often bolder and more enterprising than the dailies.

Attending Tin House Workshop, now @mccormackwc.bsky.social, was hugely important to my development as a writer. Love to see this interview by @alexismwright.bsky.social with director @djcampdaddy.bsky.social about the center’s next chapter.

In San Francisco, nonprofits are trying to make the city more affordable for artists through community land trusts. "What if they could curb gentrification by subverting the traditional rhythms of the real estate industry?” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/a...

So nice to see this interview with editor & writer @saribotton.bsky.social, who found success starting her own thing in @oldstermag.bsky.social. "It did not occur to me ever that I would be starting the best phase of my career at 60.”

Mailbox snow index report from Brooklyn

"This neurological condition is the second most prevalent cause of disability in the world. Yet, despite its common occurrence and debilitating effects, migraine still remains largely a mystery.”

"This neurological condition is the second most prevalent cause of disability in the world. Yet, despite its common occurrence and debilitating effects, migraine still remains largely a mystery.”

What is it like for Minnesotans in this moment? If you have some time, check out the essays in @literaryhub.bsky.social's Letter From Minnesota series: lithub.com/tag/letter-f...

omg everybody go draw a horse this is what the internet was made for gradient.horse

I went to this writing workshop last summer because sometimes I need someone to force me to write every day, and they delivered. Recommend. (Also, there’s a beautiful Olympic-sized pool on campus)

With alt text. Applications for the Oregon Summer Workshop at McCormack Writing Center (formerly Tin House Summer Workshop) are due soon on Feb 9. I had such a great experience when I went a few years back. The way the workshop is run, you can tell the people behind it are thoughtful & intentional.

With alt text. Applications for the Oregon Summer Workshop at McCormack Writing Center (formerly Tin House Summer Workshop) are due soon on Feb 9. I had such a great experience when I went a few years back. The way the workshop is run, you can tell the people behind it are thoughtful & intentional.

Today’s feels-like-negative-10-degrees-with-the-wind-so-I’m-not-going-outside activity

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

Freelance rates are also abysmal and haven't changed much in 20+ years, which means they're even worse today. Not only are you not being paid enough, but you don't have the support of an organization behind you. In-depth reporting is much harder as a freelancer.

“If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it “neighborism”—a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from. The contrast with the philosophy guiding the Trump administration couldn’t be more extreme.”

I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com

I was so stressed reading this story, worrying about whether the whistleblower made it out. He did and he is incredibly brave. (Yes this is behind a paywall but Wired has been doing important reporting. Support if you can.)

Done. No one will pick up today, but you can leave a message.

Recycling bin snow index. This was in Brooklyn at about 1:30 pm today.

Yes. Yesterday I bought socks, attended an emergency rally, and saw a Broadway show. Tomorrow I will call my feckless senators yet again. You can live your life and also incorporate actions into it.

ASL information re: observing and warning neighbors about ICE operations using S.A.L.U.T.E. / A.C.T.U.A.R. Please share widely--we know disabled folks are particularly susceptible to state violence and many d/hh folks regardless of immigration status have a first language that is not English.

“Diana, 7, had a nosebleed that just wouldn’t stop and her parents, immigrants from Venezuela with a pending asylum petition, were increasingly worried about her health. They never got to see a doctor. Three unmarked cars with immigration agents surrounded their car in the ER parking lot”

I made this ASL video about the SALUTE/ACTUAR acronyms re: observing ICE, but @bsky.app won't let me post here because, best I can tell, hands are moving too much? Anyway, if you have a moment to share, many d/hh folks have 1st lang that's not English. www.instagram.com/reel/DT5OPk0...

Hey, NYC. The family of another father abducted by ICE in Sunset Park could use some help. www.gofundme.com/f/help-osval...

If you're looking to help people in Minnesota, this is a good list of on-the-ground orgs. www.standwithminnesota.com (Put together by @ziibiing.com)

If you're looking to help people in Minnesota, this is a good list of on-the-ground orgs. www.standwithminnesota.com (Put together by @ziibiing.com)

In good news the sun set after 5 pm today

Pharmacy just called to let me know that my migraine drugs are going to cost $1,697, I just laughed and laughed

Another disabled person grabbed by ICE and denied accommodations. Duglof has Epidermolysis Bullosa, or EB. His skin is fragile, causing it to tear easily. He came to the US for specialized treatment and followed the process. He is not a criminal. It was never about crime.

::blows whistle:: ICE is here and they are following journalists only, so far. You can block them but be ready to report them when they post their hateful propaganda that violates Bluesky terms.

“I can’t reconcile … the distance between myself and some of my fellow American citizens, who believe that the actions of ICE—from the racial profiling, imprisonment, and detainment of people on American soil, to the killing of Good and Porter—are acceptable. I have felt sick all week.” - Bao Phi

Toni Morrison wrote this essay in 2015, but it speaks to our current moment today. "We sometimes forget that colonialism was and is war, a war to control and own another country’s resources—meaning money."

From a good friend in Minneapolis: "Target is allowing ICE to stage in their parking lots, use their restrooms, and abduct people from inside their stores - so if you weren’t boycotting already, now is the time." They were staging in Chicago as well.

Yes, please! Stressing about where to go is part of NYC living but doesn't have to be.

"I'm not in Minnesota -- what can I do to help?" A list of ideas!

Yes, please! Stressing about where to go is part of NYC living but doesn't have to be.

Since Noem became head of DHS and ICE further reduced standards for joining the agency while White House officials such as Stephen Miller demanded enforcement quotas, there has been a huge uptick in horrendous violence from ICE. This was predictable, yet it remains shocking and unacceptable.

The first literary rejection of the year has arrived in my inbox. (Rude. I haven’t even set up my rejection stamp card for 2026 yet.) But this was followed by a pep talk on rejection by @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social in the Memoir Land newsletter.

ICYMI over holidays: 3,800 children, including infants, were held in immigrant detention in 2025. Families report children are so distressed they are hitting themselves in the face and soiling themselves, despite being potty-trained. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

Writers, are we still doing recaps like we did in the other place? I like to do one, if only for myself. This will be brief since I only published a handful of things. In 2025, I had 12 rejections from literary journals, residencies, etc, and 3 acceptances.

Ending 2025 with a rejection for my #RejectionStampCard. (Will share some writing stats later but I had 12 literary rejections this year)