One down save a title, one to go, and two more taking shape. I need to hit the lottery so I actually have time for all this.

A little tired after getting my flu and covid shots yesterday, so today is mostly puttering and low-key chores. I'm getting some editing done, and maybe I'll find the attention span to do some reading. Smudge, on the other hand, has none of my problems.

Got some pumpkins, did some writing, made some plans. Onward. #Resist

Mood. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwEM...

Calling it early, tonight. Tuckered out from everything. Still have a few warm days ahead, so the pumpkins will have to share the porch with the asparagus fern until the cool weather comes for real. That's when the baking begins again in earnest, too. But until then, some birbs.

She was brilliant. I loved her in everything I ever saw her in. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Trump said: “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible...cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs...we can do things medically, and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out.” open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

This week has been...a week. But it's almost done, and I hope to find the wherewithal to do some real wording this weekend.

Republicans could end the filibuster for the CR to fund the government & pass it with a simple majority. But they want Democratic votes, evidently to make sure Republicans alone don't take the blame for their deeply unpopular July reconciliation bill heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-1-...

If you see this, QRT with a gif of your first anime.

Mood. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P09...

Learning of Dr. Goodall’s documented evidence that humans were not the only creatures capable of making and using tools, Louis Leakey, the paleoanthropologist & Goodall’s mentor, remarked, “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

On a happier note, my story "Anodyne" will appear in the upcoming AI issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly.

Can you tell they're sisters?

Smells like treason. Trump followed Hegseth’s call to embrace the virtues of lethality as a doctrine with a suggestion...that the gathering of officers & senior enlisted advisers should consider targeting US cities and civilian populations as a training exercise. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

My short film AFTER THE FALL (based upon a story by Jeffrey Thomas) will be playing Scream Diego in Cali, and the Northern Lights Fantastic Film Festival in Iceland soon. I'm grateful for the attention to this project--a horror/sci-fi film which is not necessarily that interested in scaring you ...

The man behind the US’ summary execution of civilians off the coast of Venezuela is Stephen Miller.

Call. Your. Reps. 5calls.org

Yesterday's adventures.

I Am The Night, hunting sparrows.

It’s fitting that Hegseth, whose tenure has been marked by incompetence, would defend awarding those Medals of Honor. They were awarded to cover up the incompetence that led to the deaths of at least 230 peaceful Lakotas & 25 soldiers caught in their own crossfire. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

My cohort of Broadway Chorus veterans could give a lecture on “warrior ethos” hoo baby.

Time to get back to this story, now that some other things are out of the way.

Rewatching BBC's Gormenghast series after 25 years because, why not? www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Just finished another batch of get-out-the-vote postcards. As they say in Galaxy Quest: Never give up. Never surrender. #Resist

Overall, I'll be happy to watch more seasons of Alien: Earth. But I found the last two episodes uneven, with the finale resolving into a few smug tropes. This can all be redeemed with lots more Timothy Olyphant and Jonathan Ajayi.

Coverage losses are expected to occur disproportionately in Republican-governed states like Florida and Texas. But so far, Republican leaders have said they will not include the measure in the government spending bill, as Democrats have demanded. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/h...

Okay, just one more. www.youtube.com/watch?v=epEB...

The first Moody Blues tune I ever heard. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiPz...

NJ PBS is expected to cease operations in July 2026 following WNET’s decision not to renew its agreement after the federal government cancelled funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which funded WNET, the parent company of THIRTEEN, PBS's NY affiliate. newjerseyglobe.com/media/new-je...

Hope the storm breaks soon. The atmospheric pressure wreaks havoc with my head and I need all my faculties to finish Alien: Earth.

Yard bun has no f*s left.

Down the rabbit hole with Justin Hayward, now. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM8K...

Apparently Miller used two separate lines from Goebbels in the Kirk memorial.

Last year’s report found that 18 million U.S. households experienced food insecurity during 2023...The budget reconciliation law Republicans passed in July cuts funding to SNAP by about 20%, or $186 billion through 2034, the largest cuts to SNAP in its history. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

Watched Alien and Meatballs this weekend. Didn't intend to return to 1979, but these things happen sometimes.

A spokeswoman for Illinois’s DHS said the provision was “intentionally designed as another craven mechanism to deny states funding and feed fewer people in need.” The Oregon official argued that the methodology used to calculate error rates sets states up to fail. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigns after Trump threatened his removal for refusing to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James on trumped-up mortgage fraud charges

This has been rather a week, hasn't it? Going to try to disconnect for the weekend, if I can avoid the siren call of the socials.

Inside, 11 elected officials were detained after demanding to see the conditions inside the Ice intake facility on the 10th floor of the building, which has recently prompted reports of allegedly poor treatment. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly. sbgi.net/tv-stations/

Got a story done and subbed. Got the fall decorations up. Got plans for an early bedtime.

Dove, grackle, blue jay, and sparrows. So. Many. Sparrows.

In 1789 the new Congress passed 10 amendments to the Constitution and the states ratified them the same year. The first of those amendments prohibits the government from infringing on the right of individuals to speak freely, without fear of government retaliation. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

For those who dont know here is what Jimmy Kimmel said. And I dont see anything wrong with it that warranted his firing.

One more meeting to go, and then I can call it a night. #Resist

"Militant, nationalistic, white supremacist violent extremism has increased in the United States... A recent threat assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concluded that domestic violent extremists are an acute threat." web.archive.org/web/20250911...

Feeling about as discombobulated as these two, today. Did get the curtains washed and wrote a good chunk of a story, so there's that.

Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum