Learned a great French verb today: s'ambiancer. (the s' makes it reflexive). It's like a verb form of ambiance, and I guess you'd have to translate it as something like "get in the mood of things" or maybe just "vibe" because as far as I know, no form of English allows you to ambiance as a verb.

DON'T LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN 🏳️‍⚧️ #art #tdov #transart

having a Tough Time with my creative projects so i'm going back to an old fanfic and ya boi has still got it.

The world could be such a nice place if we allowed it. It's all so goddamn unnecessary. There's no need for any of it. It's so beautiful here. It should be so cool to be alive

Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social

please remember that no matter how many “ICE is losing in MN” articles you read today, there is still a very real, urgent, ongoing crisis in Minnesota. people need food and they need rent money. that has not changed.

Anyone looking to support Minnesotan families from out of state, here's a worthy place for your dollars. Many families can't work due to the ongoing federal occupation, this is to help them make rent.

via: www.startribune.com/chris-madel-... (reminder to not share unsourced screenshots!)

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."

Well worth a watch. Another case of normie radicalization. This guy is the former president of a local HOA, a web developer for real estate companies and a self proclaimed "member of the square community" and he's out in the streets.

Once again, immigration is not even a problem. Immigrants are not more criminal, they don't cost jobs, they don't harm the economy. There is no reason for any of this. It is hurting ourselves to hurt them.

The true secret to my long career: As a midlist writer hanging on to my career one book at a time, I can only control the work I do, not outcomes. So I work: Drafting Novel W while waiting for edit notes on Novel F. When edits & draft are done, I'll return to the half finished & overdue Novel L.

🇺🇸 MINNEAPOLIS VETERAN: "They are terrorizing the population, in Afghanistan we never wore masks.” (From @statuscoupnews.bsky.social )

Gonna be even more earnest than usual on main, but I wanted to share. Because I have a bunch of pain stuff I was in my thoughts about it, and I said to myself, “I have to show love to my body. My body is doing the best it can.” so if anybody needs this, it made me feel good to say that

I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.

Went to a old childhood park. A golf course that had been there is now a nature preserve, which was pretty cool. The bridge I used to cross to get to my GF'S house in high school has been torn down. Also, I found this neat thing. Places age along with people, it turns out.

lol she got his ass and he knows it

I feel like I say this every year but I really need people to hear it. Halloween is the best American holiday. Just kids outside welcomed into their world, marching around together, showing off their costumes to the elderly, parents meeting parents, neighbors catching up with neighbors.

this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either

Deskilling is real. This is the world generative AI peddlers long for, one where people are incompetent without their service. Don't outsource your brain to this shit. You'll regret it.

Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

I think that if you're a writer and you don't invent a word every now and then you're missing out on a solid chunk of the fun.

I've decided to implement a new policy in my life: noticing moments of Stupid Little Joy. The world is bad! Everyone won't shut up about it (rightfully)! And to preserve my mental health, I try to embrace a positive, hopeful mindset, but ya'll know that can be hard. But this is the genius of the SLJ

This sounds like a bit but I’m being serious: kids using chat gpt for their homework are denying themselves the invaluable experience of learning how to bullshit their way through a problem. You drink some caffeine the night before and figure it the fuck out. That’s a skill. You need it in life.

I am surrounded by people who are outsourcing their own thinking to ChatGPT and they are quickly and obviously becoming dependent on it for even the most banal tasks. Once again, the "figuring it out" is the important part. Yes, you can use a crane to lift weights but you will not get stronger

This kid is 15, and so has a moral clarity and uprightness that no adult elected official would or could ever have. There aren't really and never have been two sides of this issue, but if it has to be argued as a binary thing I don't see how anything less than this could seem like the side to be on.

at the core of andor is a very simple thing that i think about a lot the older i get and the more loss i naturally accrue: we are made up of all the people we've ever loved or respected, crown to heels

It’s weird to live in a time when basic principles like cruelty is wrong, cheating is empty & the idea that curiosity, generosity, originality, the satisfaction of earned accomplishments & loving intimacy are the center of a good life feel like countercultural concepts

That is some moral clarity. “This is violence disguised as law.”

Words to live by.

how to www.noncanon.com/comics/2025-...

I can't speak for anyone else, But a thing that I am finding is really helping me to get through all this nonsense is helping others. It can be something small- sharing a job ad with a fired colleague, looking over a resume- or something larger. But helping others helps me.

Ursula le Guin, on the accusation that fantasy is an escape from reality

NYC bar owner explaining why bar has an analog jukebox: "We will never have a digital one. We’re just so sick of the internet." nygroove.nyc/nyc-physical... by @rickpaulas.bsky.social via @bourgwick.bsky.social

Incredibly good advice for all workers

Writers, you might be struggling rn. Math might help. No, seriously. If you write 300 (around a page) words a day, you will have an 80k book in 267 days. Less than a year. If it's 200 words, it will take a little more than a year. Doing it slowly is still doing it. 💪

This is basically what C-3PO did in the original Star Wars movies and everyone was constantly telling him to shut the fuck up

once again thinking about this passage from David Lynch's book Catching the Big Fish

one thing i’m stuck on is this idea that “masculine” energy means license to act like a chud in public, as opposed to more traditional notions of public masculinity, such as those that put a premium on the performance of integrity, honesty, honor and generosity.

The Premise is that everyone wants to get richer at every opportunity, no matter the stakes. Rejecting The Premise is very powerful

Rude of me to post so belatedly, but I had an absolutely lovely weekend at the @hamlinemfac.bsky.social alumni weekend. Good people with kind hearts getting together in the service of craft, of bettering themselves and others. Nothing better on this entire planet.

Been toying with the concept of fame for awhile (seems bad! For all parties!) but the concept of "idolatry" and "fealty" speaks to something that resonates in politics as well: everyone's looking for a hero, someone to champion their ideals, and confirm their story about the world.

Nice people are struggling over the revelations on Gaiman, and something I keep hearing is, 'His work had a big influence on how I shaped my own identity.' So here's something to remember: You did that. He didn't do it for you. 1/

Incredible piece of writing. Very insightful.

Someone shared this with me, and I think it's beautiful. That's what I wish for everyone I love and appreciate in this New Year 2025, that your life is filled with an abundance of real luxuries. ❤️

I hold the following fruit facts to be true: 1. Sliced apples are a different fruit from hand apples. 2. Pears are apples with graduate degrees. 3. Bananas are the funniest fruit. (They are phallic, they have a funny name, it’s funny that monkeys like them etc.)

Name a non-LOTR character who could resist The One Ring.