There is no such thing as technology that is inevitable. Whenever someone says "AI is here to stay" it's all I can do to not point and laugh. Please. My friends. Don't repeat this nonsense. ANY technology can be discarded or replaced. 1/4

Not as extreme in my case, but yes to all this, with the addition of rural car-dependency. (Bikes are great, but miles add up fast.)

So here we go, England vs. Argentina, and I am rooting for my people (England, not-quite-so-favored-by-FIFA, somehow the less racist team) over Argentina (with Liverpool's MacAllister, sorry dude; FIFA's favorite child).

Re:LT, the free zine I made building on many's photos+ of the Philly Washington slavery exhibit is CC Zero, which means remix it! You are *encouraged* to build on it, eg could make a version that compares each old exhibit panel to government statements or new panels zinebakery.com/bakeshop/cen...

The sky above the lake was the color of orange cream, peeled free of chocolate.

My sympathy to Canadians. Just peeking out the (northern New York) window makes it very obvious that Canada is on fire.

Me: If I'm actually going to release a book in September, I should probably start promoting it in some fashion. Also me: (posts almost exclusively and rather excessively about the World Cup and Count Binface)

I may need to catch up on Phantom Lawyer (kiddo's new favorite), but by its nature it is not a show one needs to catch up on (he's a lawyer, he sees phantoms; hilarity ensues). (No shade to Phantom Lawyer and its execution of the concept, I'm just debating what I'm in the mood to watch.)

Need to pick a Sam Neill movie to watch tonight.

You can get cover art made by real artists. You can buy premade covers from real artists. You can use stock images / art for your covers without involving AI-gen images. Writers and publishers have been getting covers made forEVER w/o AI-gen art and we don't have to use the tools of the enemy now.

I am on a website with a rotating sponsor image (fine) but they are not of a consistent size (not necessarily a dealbreaker) so the text in the sidebar under it keeps bumping down and up (un-fine). Jakob Nielsen would yell at them.

You're looking at a 200 year-old wisteria vine at Byakugou-ji Temple in Tamba, Hyogo, Japan. The delicate pink/purple blossoms create an otherworldly place where magic can happen. But here's an interesting fact: wisteria are in the legume family (Fabaceae). This is a magic beanstalk.

I'm not even rooting against Argentina at this point I am rooting against FIFA

Count Binface for FIFA president.

Oh, wow, awesome @jordankurella.com and so well deserved! (This post is about the Shirley Jackson Award, not the World Cup.)

Goddamn it. I just turned on the game for background noise, vaguely hoping that Switzerland would avenge Cabo Verde and Egypt, and what happens? Fuckin' Argentina goal. But MacAllister's a Liverpool guy, so I am torn.

I will write up something in more detail later, but FYI: Submission Grinder listings are in no way administered by SFWA. SFWA is a separate organization. Sometimes Submission Grinder has collaborated with SFWA such as the erstwhile SFWA Market Report, but that is freelance work.

AWESOME! (Yes, I am rooting for the team with the anti-racist Viking, against my people and the team favored by the refs.)

Oh, that Norwegian rowing thing is adorable!

Did I miss something with the call or did they give England the kick after England stepped on Norway's foot?

Not pleased that an accomplished author is selling a book here on making audiobooks with AI tools. From the back: "You want your books to be audiobooks but can't justify the money," which apparently means you CAN justify theft and environmental destruction. A better idea: save up and hire a human.

I AM THE HOUSE. (Which really just means that I have to make the house style document and then argue with myself.)

TFW you hate naming things and then have an exchange where you find a name for a thing you didn't need a name for yet. (Related note: hire @addi.social to do your book covers.)

where have all the captions gone?

I really wish the Count Binface vs The Establishment music video did not use AI, because it is a bop.

Writer Beware is currently receiving an incredible volume of reports of impersonation scams: publishers, editors, literary agents, production companies, conferences, & more. I started keeping a list in 2024; in recent months it has more than doubled. writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/t...

Purrberus

I love the liveskeeted Pride and Prejudice.

So I’ve started Pride and Prejudice, and already I feel bad for Mrs Bennet.

If furry books are your jam, check out this book bundle: itch.io/b/3769/furry...

First: fuck AI and cheating. Second, wearing my mom hat: I'm really proud of you, S22. I love to see it when you put in effort to study and learn the material. (And to the various A students who were clearly Done by the end of the semester and opted to coast: I see you. I was you. Emulate S22.)

Re: authors proving their authorship. Provenance of born-digital works is a Thing (e.g. in archives) but not a particularly easy Thing (every file is a migration/preservation problem). 1/10

The history of the United States is best imagined as three real estate scams in a trenchcoat.

Periodic reminder that if you don't like writing, you don't have to do it. By which I mean find another hobby, not outsource the writing you claim to be doing.

Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking across a microscope slide. 🫧🐻🧪

Unboxing my new Fantasy novel the only way I know how: WITH A SWORD.

I experienced very sharp despair when a jury alternate and I (unneeded in the end) talked with the judge at a rape trial, and my fellow alternate expressed shock that testimony alone was adequate to go to trial, much less get a conviction.

I would never be on a World Cup team but if I was, I would probably manage to mess up my wrist tripping over some random thing when I wasn't playing.

A man (comic gendered generalization) will do anything to avoid going to therapy. A woman (me, I'm the woman) will do anything to avoid writing back cover copy.

They should do officiating the same way they score figure skating, so we'd automatically know to morally disregard the call from the $COUNTRY judge.

The Final Chronicle of Yeneh is out today! A genre-bender full of sentient alien plants & portal fantasy adventure. A duke’s granddaughter rushes to discover the truth about her planet’s native life before her family's terraforming wipes it out. www.jomiles.com/yeneh #booksky #newrelease

it's not actually an honor to end up on the cover of Viziers Monthly. it shows your machinations aren't subtle enough

Missed Egypt's goal, but caught a couple really nice saves of nearly beautiful goals.

this is why i am on this site

Respect to Belgium for continuing to put in more effort than they need to.

The US is getting outplayed but they did have a legitimately pretty run there.

Oh, that was pretty much an own goal, wasn't it?

Points to the Pippi Longstocking Viking Belgium fan for...something.

I'm glad that the guy who got a red card that shouldn't have been a red card is getting to kick the ball around. I'm sorry the officiating has included some questionable calls and that FIFA and the administration have demonstrated corruption and general scumminess yet again.

InkFoundry and The Submission Grinder have joined forces! Magazines can now bulk-upload their story data from their Grinder account and display them on InkFoundry-- joining the InkFoundry catalogues of tags to reach an enthusiastic audience! Check it out! www.diabolicalplots.com/new-feature-...