Today I introduced my niece to GWAR. (the music, not the actual people in the band) Nerd uncle duty, fulfilled.

I have got to imagine Putin is just hotboxing in a bunker somewhere Ukrainian drones can't reach, giggling and saying things like "No, no, tell Donny to start calling Greenland 'the Precious'. Five rubles says he does it on camera!"

The difference between a prog concert and a Jason Isbell concert is this: At a prog concert, there will be a long line of bearded middle-aged men in concert t-shirts waiting for the men's room and I will be one of the skinnier dudes in that line.

Interesting. Every time I try a Google search on a topic relating to AI and add the -ai flag to the query, I get either no response or random responses about waterproof fabrics and the like.

You have been warned. And also invited.

The folks with the seats in the middle of the row are always the last ones to arrive, the first ones to leave, and the ones who need at least two beers and/or potty breaks during the show.

Thursday night, 6 PM, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. Get your spooky on. flyleafbooks.com/event/nchwa-...

Always nice to send a story you're not sure about in to an editor and get an immediate email back that starts with the words "Oh HELL yes"

We have hit the "It's 1:30 in the morning, I just pulled in, I have grabbed the bags I absolutely need to bring into the house, and I am praying I left nothing perishable out there because I am no longer parked in Satan's freezer such that I can rely on it to cover for me" phase of today's journey.

Holy crap I’m eating dinner at an actual standalone Roy Rogers! What Jurassic Park technology brought this place back?

Was at dinner and one of the TVs in the restaurant was showing professional indoor team golf, which struck me as the dumbest thing possible except for the Administration claiming the Epstein Files were totally about this other guy named Donald Trump.

A corollary to my list of stated directions for the year is this: I am not going to engage with poorly constructed bad faith arguments in my social media spaces. Depending on how I am feeling, this may include telling people they make crap arguments or have no reading comprehension skills.

Coffeeshops should provide signs that say “Yes, I am a single person taking up a multi-seat table but it was because there was no where else to sit and you are welcome to join me if you need a seat and you’re not a jerk.” OK, maybe that’s a little complicated, but you get the idea.

Just bought a giant pile of gently used kids’ books from the Durham Library to donate to local children’s charity Book Harvest. I feel like that’s a double win.

Just read an article on horror movie endings that claimed modern audiences neither want nor need everything spelled out for them and I have some questions about which audiences the writer has been interacting with.

Back in November, I gave a talk at a conference in Baltimore about The Video Game Writer's Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You. It's a little freeform and unstructured, but that was kind of the point, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Here you go! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCrf...

I don't much follow college football, but I do sincerely hope that Indiana's stomping of Alabama yesterday caused severe mental anguish and trauma for Paul Finebaum.

We know all is quiet on New Year’s Day, Bono. It’s because we all stayed up way too late and we’re hung over, so keep it the fuck down, would you?

I, too, would cheerfully give up my salary if I got $110M+ in paid golfing vacations every year, and I don't even like golf.

Two scam attempts this week. Kudos for the work ethic and not slowing down for the holidays, but these people can still fuck off into the sun.

Tonight I learned about a cryptid called “the jungle walrus” and I am torn between joy that people came up with this thing and sorrow that I had not learned of it sooner.

Looking at my car after a week in upstate NY in winter and it’s covered in so much salt it looks like a pretzel from a Philly street vendor.

Some quick thoughts at the end of the year, as opposed to a giant hyper-detailed list of everything that went down. www.patreon.com/posts/145684...

I just came up with the phrase “pyroclastic shitshow” and my writer brain is inordinately pleased with itself.

Whoever designed I-87 in upstate New York did so with a single-minded focus on ensuring the maximum number of cars could hydroplane at any given time.

I may have said the words "Not everything in my life has to be Bigfoot" yesterday, and I no longer know who I am or what I am doing.

Winter wonderland and all that good stuff.

I have no idea what this stuff falling out of the sky is, but it makes me want to go home and buy the ingredients for French Toast.

The aggressive naivete of people who insist that the express train to hell is going to let them off at a stop of their choosing along the way is both breathtaking and depressing.

Old Man Yells At Cloud Department: I do dearly miss the pre-pandemic days when, if a car was actively involved in backing out of a space in a parking lot, pedestrians did not feel it was fine to just keep walking across the path of said moving vehicle, certain that the universe would stop for them.

For your Boxing Day amusement, I offer you me, yammering about writing with a delightful gentleman from Greece! youtu.be/TJVzebUhdu4?...

I am with my sweetie. We watched a movie today. We are having Chinese Food gor dinner. Truly, I am a man who knows how to keep Christmas well.

Some holiday thoughts on the Star Wars Holiday Special. www.patreon.com/posts/star-w...

At first I hoped Santa would being Trump a lump of coal. Then I realized he’d just burn it to power an AI data center, or possibly a Bitcoin mining setup.

If, by some miracle, I manage to win the $1.7B Powerball jackpot, I am going to arrange for the delivery of a new couch to the Vice President’s residence every day.

For your holiday amusement, my story “Spec Ops In the War On Christmas” is now free over at my Patreon. Happy holidays, and enjoy! www.patreon.com/posts/143805...

I am driving around north of Albany today and there are all these small bodies of water that are now entirely covered in solid ice and I AM NO LONGER OK WITH DEALING WITH THIS STUFF OKAY???

Monday morning music nonsense as I freeze my underdressed tucchis off in upstate New York: www.patreon.com/posts/144948...

Drove past a billboard for “VANCE FURNITURE” today and the jokes are just writing themselves.

The bar where we’re reading tonight was playing Rush when I walked in. I will take that as a good omen.

Happening tonight....

Currently considering deviceicide after having been awakened at 6:30 by the incessant beeping of a "smart" smoke detector that appears to be anything but.

And today I channeled my inner Grinch at a modern holiday classic, with a side of metal... (Code BB2E8 for 25% off one month of any tier) www.patreon.com/posts/why-la...

Ignore previous now-deleted post: Use the code BB2E8 to get 25% off one month of any tier at my Patreon. It was supposed to be a different code, it was supposed to be a longer discount, but I'm terrible at this stuff. www.patreon.com/c/RichardDan...

Confession: I have never had much use for any game awards show. They all seem to focus on trying to sell what's coming next instead of celebrating what has been done, and largely ignore the people who have done it.

...that moment when you think "I haven't played this one album by this artist I like in ages" and you try to put it on and your phone refuses to play it and you realize it's actually trying to protect you....

Come join us when we share the holiday ghost story tradition at Moon Dog Meadery in Durham on Saturday night!

Finished the edits on the novel manuscript last night. Now, to cover art and layout and all that good stuff! (and in the meantime, my brain is mush)

Still looking for a last minute gift for the horror fan in your life? I may have a few options at my online store! Plus, in honor of the holiday season (and because it's all books), use the code YULECAT25 at checkout for 10% off everything! richard-dansky-books.square.site

There are a /lot/ of stories in this book. One of them is mine. Despite that, you should definitely check it out. www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2FM82LC/