THIS IS COLORED PENCIL, FOR GOD'S SAKE I think this may be my favorite Aivazovsky. Maybe not. But it might be.

C’est dimanche c’est jour de Vertu, qu’avez-vous pensé de l’épisode 22 sur ONO? (Ou du 20 en Wait&read?)

ICYMI, a space opera about ideas

Triple-star System Passes near Milky Way's Central Black Hole - From Goddard Space Flight Center - https://flic.kr/p/8kyJZv

Digital wallet fraud: how your bank card can be stolen without it leaving your wallet

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh. Outstandingly good so far - I'm about half way. Summarising it as 'wizard school from the teacher's point of view,' needs to add 'an established SFF subgenre long before, and after Hogwarts, offering far more complex and wide-ranging stories in other writers' work'.

A sad announcement.

Great survey of world reaction. China, Brazil and South Africa are the most pointed and principled. Russia is firmer than the snippet I saw earlier suggested. France is unsurprisingly the strongest European reaction. Starmer and Von der Leyen competing for title of best-behaved lapdog.

An old article but a book of mine that a lot of people don’t know, and that I’m enormously fond of.

THIS. Medical professionals shaming ANYONE, even anonymously, for seeking medical care for a thing society already treats as a punchline further stigmatizes and disincentivizes people seeking medical care! I know of an instance of a responsible, safe toy designer HIMSELF, who KNOWS the rules --

If you have kids I believe it's something Iike 15 years for a woman

I have to say, though, that the high school is on point. Including the bullying that the teachers turn a complete blind eye to or comment on as "oh, but he likes you, that's why he bothers you" (as K1'd say, the scariest place here is the one with the people, not the one with the creepy monsters)

Watching Stranger Things S4, and I have to say my biggest suspension of disbelief issue is that half the main actors look way too old to be in their first year of high school. Mike definitely definitely looks like an end of high school kid. (yes, I know, it gets worse in S5).

K1 and I bought Eigengrau in the switch sale and it's a fun little co op shooting game (we also tried Radiant Silvergun but we keep dying, lol).

Over the holidays, I’ve been reading the Dominion of the Fallen trilogy by @aliettedebodard.com Whenever Asmodeus appears, I hear his dialogue in the voice of Alan Rickman.

I've literally had this chat with people older than me. And with k1. (Who, having been briefed on online relationships, decided he would keep it to people who had been vouched for or that he'd met. But I'm lucky here).

Great segment on NPR recently where they interviewed teens about meme culture; turned into story about how we've pressed young people into having social relationships almost entirely virtually. Pointed out how we're overprotecting kids IRL (world has never been safer) but *under protect* them online

Got something on Etsy as a gift and the seller thoughtfully double checked if I wanted to add a note, which was lovely.

If you're in the US, today is your last chance to preorder the gorgeous trade paperback edition of Enchanting the Fae Queen for 25% off at @barnesandnoble.com (with the code PREORDER25): www.barnesandnoble.com/w/enchanting... #romancelandia

Aren't these the cutest? theteamates.com

Our first issue of the year features stories by Samantha Murray, M. L. Clark, Nika Murphy, James Patrick Kelly, Ju Chu, A. W. Prihandita, and Seth Chambers. clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_232 Subscribe at: clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/

Okay, I will preface this with the GIGANTIC disclaimer that I promise I know how this looks, and I *swear* this is not personally motivated: If you have an old #LiveJournal account, and it has things you still care about in it, download it or import it to Dreamwidth SOON. Details:

OMG I ALSO DID MY ACCOUNTS!!!!! NEW YEAR ACHIEVED

SCHEDULED A WHOLE NEWSLETTER ARG BACK TO HIBERNATION

I've just posted a big 2025 wrap-up with personal writing news and also links to free stories (and free anthologies!), sales, and more. Check it out: www.stephanieburgis.com/2026/01/2025...

Via @aeriefaerie.bsky.social: Giddy Yarns has yarn subscriptions of full skeins themed on Sherlock Holmes, and minis on 20,000 Leagues under the Sea!!!! www.giddyyarns.com

A very dear friend of mine is releasing a book for carers of elderly parents based on her personal experience. If you want to preorder, it's out in January: www.amazon.com/Love-Practic... (Sorry for the zon link but I think it's the only place I found it)

A way to support Vida is by donating via Gogetfunding. It's a bit more daunting than gofundme, but it works similarly. Let's keep Vida's voice among those we hear (okay, read, but you all know what I mean).

I choose to take this as a positive omen. (As named and drawn by Paul Kidby, illustrator of Discworld.)

Making reading plans for 2026? The @barnesandnoble.com Pre-Order Sale is on until January 1st and is the perfect opportunity to snag THE LAST CONTRACT OF ISAKO for 25% off with PREORDER25 so that it's in your hands on release day

Did anyone wanna crochet a wolf from the Intermarché ad? www.etsy.com/listing/4429...

💜

Here's my last SFF book review column of 2025. This time around, I focus on three science fiction books that blew me away: Sunward by @willalex.bsky.social Slow Gods by Claire North There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm DARN GOOD READS FOR UR EYEBALLS www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...

I should specify the recipe was British, as I just learnt chorizo shouldn't go in paella Anyway it's more arroz con cosas

Paella ! (well sort of, had to use sausage and not chorizo because I didn't find any)

Namely Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Germany and Italy are seriously missing here (we also wonder why did Spain not sign).

THIS. Did you know sickle cell is curable, now? FULLY curable. If you're feeling down or despairing about what FEELS like technology/advancement/science "standing still" or being fully malicious, I have great news: You're not paying attention to actual science. Just tech industry marketing.

An update: there IS an opt-out email, you should check if your site/merch is in this "feature" and use it. If it's not there now, you should likely set a reminder to check back, since it's new. bsky.app/profile/monk...

As if artists don't have enough to deal with, Amazon has a "Buy For Me" program in beta which is scraping indie shops for their items and putting them up on Amazon (often incorrectly), for their "AI agent" to buy from the other site. It is NOT opt in, and there is no opt out.

Just finished reading Karin Tidbeck’s The Memory Theater. Gorgeous and magical. I am so glad this book is in the world. Here’s a link to the book. www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/605247...

Dear universe: please stop making medical emergencies happen for my friends. If you have it to spare: Lane is one of the best and fiercest defense attorneys I know, and his commitment to pro- and low-bono work means a long medical recovery could be really rough for him financially.

Open up this picture fully. Then look at the surface of Mars. Then look up to the top right. Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky. Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos. That's Earth.

Did I manade to lose my 2026 planner before I could use it? Yes I did 😭

Fountain pen nerds assemble (I like scratchy pens so I can't help much)

I er Saw Terry Pratchett at that con in the dealers or the exhibits room, ran up to him and said "excuseMeJustWantedToSayHowMuchYourBooksMeantToMe" and then ran away before he recovered (Yeah. I was young *rueful laugh* I really hope I wasn't too much of a bother)

Note you can go inside a post office and require a stamp (I realise it's not the most convenient but it is a solution for deadlines)

The next Murderbot book, Platform Decay, is also available in the Barnes & Noble preorder sale: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/platform-d... #booksky

If we lived in a just media landscape, this would now be a trilogy.