“There’s something else worth knowing about beef tallow that isn’t making it into the wellness content: It contains ruminant trans fats. They’re naturally occurring, present in all beef fat, and according to cardiologists, present in tallow at levels far above what’s considered safe.”

MAY 22 (!) deadline to register for NarraScope! Albany, June 12-14, hyper-focused on digital storytelling, including interactive fiction, narrative games, game writing, visual novels, interactive comics, and so much more and in between all of that. #NarraScope @iftechfoundation.org

Applications for the 2026 - 2027 NYU Game Center Incubator are open NOW! Since 2014, the NYU Game Center Incubator has helped transform small independent game projects into polished, launched games. More info here: gamecenter.nyu.edu/apply-for-th... Apply here: forms.gle/4cKs8bcdRzCK...

MAY 22 (!) deadline to register for NarraScope! Albany, June 12-14, hyper-focused on digital storytelling, including interactive fiction, narrative games, game writing, visual novels, interactive comics, and so much more and in between all of that. #NarraScope @iftechfoundation.org

The Canadian Game Awards are live! So cool seeing both Commander Shepards hosting. #CGA2026

He "has a degree in the humanities from Yale and worked extensively with the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel before joining the Trump admin." AKA a sockpuppet? Gift link for non-subscribers: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/s... #science #nsf #stem

Broadview Six was a case against protesters at an immigration detention center in Chicago. Grand jurors had rejected the "tainted" case earlier. A full transcript (below) reveals why "tainted." Chicago Sun Times: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/... #immigration

Game writers, narrative designers, storytellers who use tech, techies who tell stories! Ready to lead? Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation seeks applicants to its board. IFTF is a nonprofit that encompasses Twine, IFComp, the annual NarraScope conf. #ifcomp #twine #narrascope

Magic the Gathering fans, the new online Library of Leng houses 170,000 articles about the game. Some articles are "fair use" snippets, awaiting copyright permissions. If you're an author, you can use a link to reach out to the site owners. #tabletop #mtg #magicthegathering #CCG

These brave men, on the right side of history and of law and order, are still fighting the good fight. I hope they win.

There's an acronym in every Mexican meal from TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) to TEQUILA JELLO SHOTS (Trump Escalations Questionable Under Int'; Law and Jail Evidently Looks Like Only Solution; Hague or Tribunal Somewhere?) Well-played, @shadesofgreaves.bsky.social #humor #satire #taco

Colbert

TWO DAYS LEFT to jump on board the IRL Friday showcase, weekend talks, "The Experience, and Write Club! Join us in Albany? Ticket sales close May 22: narrascope.org #narrascope #gamewriting #writing #storytelling #ifcomp

TWO DAYS LEFT to jump on board the IRL Friday showcase, weekend talks, "The Experience, and Write Club! Join us in Albany? Ticket sales close May 22: narrascope.org #narrascope #gamewriting #writing #storytelling #ifcomp

Only a few days left to apply to exhibit your story-driven game (or a related tool or project), or speak about a relevant topic in a talk/panel, at #AdvX26! Submit by end of day on 21 May GMT+1 through the forms linked at adventurexpo.org #AdvX

There's an acronym in every Mexican meal from TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) to TEQUILA JELLO SHOTS (Trump Escalations Questionable Under Int'; Law and Jail Evidently Looks Like Only Solution; Hague or Tribunal Somewhere?) Well-played, @shadesofgreaves.bsky.social #humor #satire #taco

These brave men, on the right side of history and of law and order, are still fighting the good fight. I hope they win.

What can I, you... WE THE PEOPLE do about the illegal theft of our taxpayer money? Scroll to the bottom of this lenghty list of legal breaches for action points.

Full details on the NYU Incubator program, which runs Sept 2026 to August 2027 (fall months in-person in NYC, then remote):

Writer friends, the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and Society of Authors offer a ❇️ FREE guide to protecting yourself against scams ❇️ Such as AI deep fakes that impersonate agents/publishers (or you!), royalty thieves, phishing, spoofing, and more. PDF: writersguild.org.uk/wp-content/u...

June 5 deadline: Apply to the @nyugamecenter.bsky.social Fall Game Incubator $15K funding Executive Producer Mentor Workshops Coworking Spcae Advisors Shortlisted applicants pitch by video (remotely) for final slots. Apply: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #NYMakesGames

Writer friends, the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and Society of Authors offer a ❇️ FREE guide to protecting yourself against scams ❇️ Such as AI deep fakes that impersonate agents/publishers (or you!), royalty thieves, phishing, spoofing, and more. PDF: writersguild.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Who could have doubted Trump would continue sanctions relief for Russia's oil? I helped the US Treasury Sec with a few changes to his statement. #AlternatievTruths

Your periodic reminder that Earth exists in a perpetual shooting gallery: TODAY at 6 pm ET, an Apollo asteroid from the Asteroid Belt, about the size of a bus, will skim by Earth—above the satellites, at 24% the distance to the moon. The scary part: this is not unusual. #neos #asteroids

Wife of wrongfully detained DACA recipient: We’re raising three children in Texas. He was driving to the hospital to deliver my breast milk for our baby in the NICU when a car full of ICE agents took him. Delays in renewal processing have now caused his status to lapse.

@narrascope.org registrations close May 22nd ‼️ Grab your tickets soon — digital and limited budget options are also available www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticket...

MAY 22 deadline to register for in-person NarraScope conference! I'll be there. Join us? Game Showcase and awards, "The Experience," two days of talks (with lunch!), The Write Club hosted by IGDA Game Writing Sig Full Schedule: narrascope.org/schedgrid/ #narrascope

Global Radiance! Captured in a composite satellite image. From @nautil.us magazine #earth #planetearth nautil.us/new-nasa-gra...

Puzzle design friends! A master! This talk is in NYC, primarily, but I am hoping IGDA NYC can manage a livestream. Hello @puzzmo.com pals :) Meanwhile, there's a link to an earlier GDC talk (free) on an adjacent topic. #NYMakesGames #nyc #events #gamedesign #puzzledesign

The passion for retro gaming is very real, very niche, but it is generational. Kids who grew up playing video games in the 80s are in their 40s, so the long play has to be in the next gen—the kids of those kids. Otherwise, this is the $$$ hobby of a 41-year-old nepo-baby. (gift article ⬇️)

My interview with @jon.inkle.co co-founder of Inkle Studios responsible for 80 Days, TR-49, Heaven's Vault, Sorcery, Overboard. A discussion on how essential good writing is in video games. I loved this discussion! We go DEEP... www.theexaminedgame.com/the-mathemat... #gaming #podcast

Immigrant here. JD is lying. Most government assistance is tied to an SSN. If you don’t have one, you receive nothing. If you do have one, you’re looking for work & paying bills. That’s the reality for many immigrants; we came here not for handouts, but for opportunity. #DemVoice1 #ProudBlue #Pinks

Great at Wordle? The NY Times is casting contestants for a new game show produced by Jimmy Fallon's Electric Hot Dog and hosted by Savannah Guthrie. Teams of 3 (age 21+) apply by May 29 and be ready to travel to Europe for a summer trial. #wordle #gameshows

✅ Legally authorized to work in US ✅ ER trauma doc (!) ✅ Nabbed with her young daughter while obeying immigration order to appear for asylum case CASE after CASE of disrupting the lives, families, employers of law-abiding, hard-working people for NO PURPOSE. #abolishice #immigration

I'll be there! Join us? For game writers, narrative designers, electronic literature fans and makers, interactive fiction fans and makers, visual novelists, storytellers who use tech, game makers who tell stories.... It's a small but focused conference on all of the above. #narrascope

Awesome idea! Exploring the nooks and crannies of NYC is my favorite thing to do when in town and now I can make a little passport souvenir out of it. (My NYC stay: June 15-July 23.)

An ICE removal flight operated by Journey Aviation just landed in Myanmar--the second time this year. Migrants onboard will have been shackled for 19+ hours. Previous Burmese deportees were immediately sent to a nearby torture prison, per @jamesstout.bsky.social. gillianbrockell.com/three-craven...

One of fave projects ever was an idle clicker game about the coevolution of bees and flowers. Fun fact: The majority of bees are solitary! The hive collective allows for a better defense of the nest and efficiency of labor, but it's not the bee-all, end-all strategy for most.

Great at Wordle? The NY Times is casting contestants for a new game show produced by Jimmy Fallon's Electric Hot Dog and hosted by Savannah Guthrie. Teams of 3 (age 21+) apply by May 29 and be ready to travel to Europe for a summer trial. #wordle #gameshows

Science writer Bob Hirshon does the math: cutting USAid saved each American 18 cents per day. And it has cost more than half a million lives (so far), tracked and documented. What kind of nation are we now? open.substack.com/pub/bobhirsh...

Authors, academics, journalists, writers: Are AI co's scraping your work to train their models. @theatlantic.com set up a site to search and monitor. #ai #writers #authors #books #copyright

The Hantavirus outbreak is worth keeping tabs on, as human-to human contact is possible, but not great widespread risk (yet). We need a proactive, science-based health dept to keep us all safe. Do we still have that? 😳 Big pic: In the evolutionary arms race, it's us v. micro killers, forever.

NarraScope is proud to be sponsored in 2026 by Choicebeat, the visual novel and interactive fiction zine 🥳

A great conference to attend if you’re interested in narrative in games

I moved to the country from New York City for peace and quiet. I craved a place, a space to create, think, and nestle. Over the decades, the most jarring intrusion has been familiar sounds of gunfire. Pop. Pop. Pop. Just heard. Not seasonal hunting (early fall). Target practice? Other?

May 13: NYC Indie Games Social invites are OPEN! Spots fill up fast, so jump on this if you are planning to go. luma.com/2vwvat9l #NYMakesGames #nyc #gamedev #videogames

Very highly recommend A Gorilla Story (Netflix). Attenborough revisits and updates his most life-changing nature show ever—a close ecounter 50 years ago to Rwanda with mountain gorillas. Little orphaned Pablo grew up to be a silverback and his descendants are at a flex point. #documentary #nature

The King of Bankruptcy, with his oily fingers in the taxpayer cookie jar, is showing his true stripes here. We're at the mercy of the party of "don't tax and spend, spend, spend!" Also, the party of "take, take take" in unprecedented grift, abuse of office, and naked incompetence. (gift link)

Congress: "no national standards" and a cruel-by-design agency acting with impunity means it's time to act, now.