The look on my face in this photo is the look I make when I'm jumping in the air at just the right time to catch the auto shot after 2 seconds while trying to remember to have the best form I can in midair so the archers don't get mad and also not dry fire the bow. And don't forget the knee!

Heated Rivalry let's go!

Introduce yourself with five musicals you've seen: Waitress (with Sara Bareilles!) Matilda Legally Blonde Chicago The Sound of Music One I'd love to see: Hadestown

The only thing actually keeping poor people from making art is that those who do make art are continuously exploited and stolen from. So they have to work overtime in timesuck jobs to make ends meet and don't get the opportunity to do the art they are capable of. It's so backwards.

I'm not the only author I know who has a huge surfeit of ideas for books that we would love to write and send out into the world if only we had the time to write them.

The problem is not that we hate doing the work or want to do it faster. The problem is that authors aren't just idea factories hooked up to a set of typing fingers: those things are part of a larger body that needs to be fed and clothed and sheltered and loved the same as everyone else.

I remember the excitement when the Gardasil vaccine was first released. My Mum booked me an appointment straight away - before it was even covered by public health. With everything going on, it's great to be able to celebrate this kind of milestone!

Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s. This is the power of vaccines. The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer. Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!

Finally (for now), the unaccountable "move fast and break things" business model of the companies pushing this trash is morally and ethically bankrupt and enriches billionaires at the expense of everyday people. "Break things" means "break people," and I don't think that's acceptable.

Another huge problem is that the massive companies pushing "A.i." cannot be trusted on a moral and ethical level. They are run by billionaires who can manipulate the products to push disinfo or outright bigotry. Put their "A.i." in everything, and everything can become their megaphone for garbage.

If you're interested, this tribute to Alice Wong was written by one of the people who knew her best www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Unfortunate hill I would die on: The correct shower temperature is scalding. If my skin's not red and blotchy afterwards, my body doesn't get the signal that it's time to relax and wind-down for bed. (I have obviously tried all the other temperatures: they are cleansing but not satisfying)

One of the the first things I do when I land in Australia to see my family is visit the local library. What do you mean there are all these books waiting to savoured and all for free?! I pick up books I know nothing about because I like their vibe, and I almost always find something delightful

"I wanted you to be so free that you would live your life for other people." The mother to her youngest daughter in Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin (translated by Chi-Young Kim) This novel is going to stay with me

THREAD. 3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead. We decided to call him Jim. This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.

"I don’t use AI for anything in my academic or personal life. I value almost nothing more than my ability to think and to freely express myself. Even when I make mistakes, at least they are my mistakes." I wasn't taught how to fail as a kid; it's one of the best lessons I've learned as an adult

Remember your favorite creator possibly might be struggling with imposter syndrome and doubt and this timeline sucks.. so if you find yourself thinking “wow I really relate to this persons work” or that persons work gives you joy, you should probably tell them. It’s a hard time to be a creative.

My speaker notes & slides from today's panel on 'Resisting GenAI & Big Tech in Higher Education', co-organised with the Climate Justice Universities Union (CJUU). The full recording, slides and resources will be available soon via the CJUU site. danmcquillan.org/resisting_ge...

“AI isn't inevitable, but there's no going back because the past was already built on injustice; what we need to work towards are livable futures worth fighting for.”

I guess I now have to do a thread on shoes in ancient Mesopotamia in response to this (which happens to be from one of my favourite accounts). I’m not an archaeologist, nor do I really know anything about shoes, but let’s go on this journey together.

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.

Making the most of the early fall sunshine with some urban sketching in the Albaicín, Granada

Celebrated getting my covid and flu shots by watching the SEVENTEEN Tiny Desk concert - 30 minutes of pure joy. So nice to be able to appreciate their band - I loved the stripped-back version of Hot. Vernon was having the best time, Dino stepped up as a vocalist, and we got to see the crowd jump!

You're told it'll sabotage your career if you're a vocally politically opinionated, queer, woman. But things sabotaging my career are systemic xenophobia, sexism, and horrible job market. Which are a direct consequences of people not being vocally opinionated in the first place.

I remember going to a Gaugin exhibition in London a few years ago knowing nothing about him and feeling the horror creep in as I started to learn. This flash fiction will stay with you:

I think it’s pretty clear at this point that one of the main impacts of LLMs is to disrupt thinking: to make it so that far too many people never properly learn how to do it, and then to control the output so there are thoughts that people never learn how to think.

Interested in sketching outside but worried people might talk to you? It's a pretty common fear, but the good news is that these conversations can create lovely moments of connection with strangers. I hope this recent experience I had sketching in Granada's busiest square helps reassure you:

Franz Wright

I don't want botox; I want an injection that means I can luxuriate in the feeling of the sun on my skin without getting burnt or melanoma. I'm grateful that sunscreen exists and at the same time it's one of the worst sensory experiences, especially when you're at the beach

Interested in sketching outside but worried people might talk to you? It's a pretty common fear, but the good news is that these conversations can create lovely moments of connection with strangers. I hope this recent experience I had sketching in Granada's busiest square helps reassure you:

Every now and then when I'm putting on makeup, a grey hair will catch the light and sparkle. It's so pretty and gives me a little thrill every time. Baffled why we decided grey hair was ugly or ages you - it's like natural glitter

You all MUST READ this piece by Kaitlyn Greenidge about the power of art to “exist outside of a tech lord’s algorithm.” www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-...

Skyline cleanse.. his name is Emmanuel Savary…🔥🔥🔥

“THE NON-ARTIST FIXATION ON HYPERREALISM AS THE PINNACLE OF ART IS CLEARLY PART OF THE REASON SO MANY ADULTS THINK THEY CANNOT DRAW OR CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE FAILURES, KAWAII, FOLK ART, DOODLES, OR OTHER EASIER ENTRY POINTS ARE CONSIDERED CHILDISH, WHICH IS WHY JAPANESE DRAWING BOOKS ARE BETTER…”

Well put by @drrachelbarr.bsky.social

I don’t know what to say anymore other than to remind those in power that refugees are human beings with equal rights who, along with their children, deserve a safe, stable & integrated life in their communities and that what they’re breaking now with this performative cruelty can’t be fixed later.

Did you read my post from last week about how contract woes caused me to withdraw an accepted story from F&SF, ending my 54-year quest to be published in that magazine? But wait (as the saying goes) — there's more! Scroll down at the link for an update. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Kelly Hayes’ writing and her Movement Memos Podcast episodes about AI have been immensely useful to me and I recommend them. In this clip from our recent conversation, Kelly talks about how AI is emerging in a context of alienation and dehumanization.

Extract from my new book in the Guardian today! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

DYK, that sepia ink was originally made from squid ink? DYK, that it is possible to recover the remains of ink from fossil Belemnites? DYK, that Mary Anning discovered this? DYK, that you can reconstitute that fossil squid ink and use it to draw? DYK, this was en vogue in the 19th century?

A real loss. Rest in power, Alice Wong.

And we knew this. This wasn't speculation. We studied it, we had the talking points. We trained volunteers to explain this to people. It's not a surprise. Rich people don't flee places with good quality of life when we increase the quality of life. They might try to cheat us, but they don't leave.

Note that every piece of anti-migrant propaganda I take personally. No, I’m not playing good immigrant, bad immigrant. This hate agenda is bad for ALL of us.

The European Commission uses ChatGPT outputs in public documents. @iccl.bsky.social has filed a complaint to the European Ombudsman as this use likely violates Commission's own guidelines and its obligation under EU treaties www.iccl.ie/news/europea...

It was the Holy Shit of times, it was the Big Yikes of times, it was the age of WTF, it was the age of LMFAO, it was the epoch of Fuck Around, it was the epoch of Find Out

The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.

a quick thread of some of the references to Australia in the newly released Epstein documents that I found

Lucrecia fue la primera víctima de crimen de odio reconocida en España, y su asesinato por un grupo neonazi supuso un antes y un después en la concienciación frente a las agresiones racistas. Ahora, el PP de Almeida se une a Vox y bloquea una declaración institucional de homenaje a la asesinada.

This really struck me. If Uber were legally acknowledged as an employer, then it would be the biggest employer in the world, with over 9,000,000 employees globally. Think about how many taxes, wages, and protections are being lost b/c of their intransigence.

Had the fortune of doing a guided tour of the Alhambra with an art historian, including some bits you can’t normally visit. This is the Peinador de la Reina, ir Queen’s Dressing Room. 1/