@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Hello again people…received a lovely note back from our friend Micheal in Edmonton… It appears we are not forgotten and still well received…😊

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Hello gang of 4, I’ve put my order in for H & 0 offering. 12 days out to Christmas Day is Sunday December 14. Unless they slip in the bonus so that would be a Saturday 13 December. Presuming we are agreed on start date? 🤩

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Oh good lord…it’s a 12 pack this year people… I love the original 24 (25!) so still mulling this over…🧐

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Tis coming up to that time of the year people…🧐 Stand by…

…went by John Oliver school were the nightmare at the weekend happened.. Vancouver is pretty numb today.

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social ….was giddy having seen Kylie Minogue this weekend. She even shouted ‘nice suit’ mid performance. 😎

@ttbrader.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Hey ho…. I’ve been inspired to watercolours after supporting one of my students in Grade 8 Art… Clouds are hard…☺️

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social No Coachella but we are venturing south again to Cruel World as now more than ever we need to see visual events celebrating inclusion and mutual respect. We’re all suffering on both sides of the borders. CW rocks! ❤️🇺🇸🇨🇦🙏😎

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social ….desert magic

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Hello world! I’m alive and kicking! 😂 No, I’m not at Coachella but we were near there over spring break. We spent a week in Palm Desert… …as you can see.

@mrmuleman.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social Hey friends! 😎 Are we still talking to each other? 😂 Wierd times we live in! Just finished Adam Sternbergh The Eden Test first appeared in SSAC 2010 as ‘Happy Anniversary’ As I said then ‘What happened next!’ Good read!

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Happy New Year! Polar Bear Swim ahoy! It was actually quite pleasant this year…a warm 7c 😎 #polarbearswim #vancouver #englishbay

@mrmuleman.bsky.social Has to be said Jason but if you peruse the Higston & Olsen X page it’s basically you and me who highlight every #ssac2024 story! We should be their executive reviewers! ☺️

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social It’s over….for now. 😎 Thank you my fellow Canuck Barbara and the two nicest Americans you’ll ever meet: Teresa and Jason. 🤩 You guys make this experience so worthwhile! I hope we can keep the chats going! ❤️ + hugs Des x

Day 25 The Leaf Sweeper Muriel Spark #ssac2024 Johnny is so obsessed with the Society for the Abolition of Christmas, he is committed to an asylum. Years later, he meets his ghost with opposing views. Talk to yourself more. The world would be a better place for all.

Day 24 The Thieves Who Couldn’t Help Sneezing Thomas Hardy #ssac2024 A boy gets his revenge when his horse his stolen yet chances upon a family gathered for a Christmas feast at a mansion in the deepest countryside… Never estimate the cunning ingenuity of a young English boy!

Day 23 Anaheim Jennifer Croft #ssac2024 Tired of his life as a Translator, Alex checks out after winning a big award. Reliving his childhood he goes to Disneyland and befriends a boy in distress. But when COVID hits, it opens a surprising new door. Tragedy doesn’t have to decide your future.

Day 22 The One with the Multiverse Josh Riedel Mark meets Kyle, who believes he goes to other dimensions, having been to near a ‘Dimension Skip’ machine. But when Mark discovers Kai, the son Kyle doesn’t have, he doubts himself… Sometimes our need for connections affects memories. #ssac2024

@hingstonolsen #ssac2024 Day 21 Wars & Winters Hannah Pittard ‘Tell me you’ll miss me’ He was the dominant one. ‘tall, fierce, stubborn’. She was younger. Enthralled. But realizes he wasn’t coming back. Ever. A decade on, she knew he didn’t have it all. All the power. Power & love are grey.

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social The Good: Todays festive Yuletide attire for your consideration:

Day 20 The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself Carman Maria Machado A man goes to such obsessive lengths to quell his insatiable hunger… He eats himself. #ssac2024

Day 19 Chris Cornell Damian Tarnoplosky A young man is attracted to Francesca - the wife of his boss - through her love of Russian short stories. A moment arrives but doesn’t go as expected. Youth blinds us to more ‘mature’ relationships. #ssac2024

Day 18 The Exhibition Alexandra Wuest #ssac2024 When an art piece crashes to the ground, Artist Assistant Sarah questions her life knowing the sculpture is ‘her work that was not her work’ made for her boss the ‘great female artist’ Great art hides the many for the gloried one…

@ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social ….i seemed to have fallen down a long rabbit hole here, which I’ve discovered as being ‘ambient trap’….quite excellent and soothing to read to and interact on #ssac2024. open.spotify.com/track/00daW8...

Day 17 You Again Seth Fried #ssac2024 ‘Are you the tap dancer Arnold hired?’ When Felix died he finds himself right back when he first met Anna. A second chance to say what he really wanted to say. The chance to do it all over again might be different but just as wonderful..

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social Today’s suit: 😎

Day 16 Conversations Over the Holidays Jessica Westhead Two couples at Christmas. The same conversations: Kids Parents That Crab Dip recipe What to say. What not to say. Getting old. ‘Was it ever going to stop?’ No. It doesn’t. Party on people! #ssac2024

Day 15 Down Burned Road Jacqueline Baker #ssac2024 ‘She knew if she stayed there long enough, he would find her’ Her friends are amazed, yet Carrie & Yurig live in a remote cabin. But the long nights stretch far… Isolation can make real life very stark for two people alone with their emotions..

Day 14 The Lottery #ssac2024 Adam O’ Fallon Price ‘Listen, Paul. I don’t like you’ Newly weds Paul & Laura have won the lotto. After the stark reality sets in, it also reveals the hidden strains in their marriage… An outstanding opportunity provides a chance to good not to take.

Day 13 The Crown Derby Plate Marjorie Bowen #ssac2024 Martha buys a plate set missing one plate. She returns to the desolate ‘Hartley’s’ house to retrieve it. But the women at the door is rather peculiar.. Be careful what you wish for. You may regret it later.

Day 12 Shopping Cart Christopher Boucher #ssac2024 A man befriends a shopping cart as he’s alienated from his wife and family. Like mental health, one can only live with a shopping cart for so long before one needs to set it free.

Day 11 #ssac2024 Children of a Careless God Elizabeth Gonzalez James ‘The women’ dies in her small apartment leaving four cats trapped. Cat’s true nature is survival, with or without the projection of human emotions. For really, what price comfort over responsibility and for whom?

Day 10 Tardy Suit Thomas Pierce #ssac2024 ‘In Tardy suit you can go anywhere. Fire, floods..like a superhero. Job to save things’ Permanently hooked to his suit, he breaks company rules rescuing a child. Doing so, he laments his past life. A cautious tale of corporate overreach versus freedom.

Day 9 What to Call You Casey Plett #ssac2024 ‘…realizing you can spend time around them, that there’s kinship and it’s real…what I want is that kindredness..’ A trans sex worker awaits a job call in a hotel room, post break up with her partner.. The essence of human existence is being seen.

Day 8 Ham John Jodzio #ssac2024 ‘Just a ham…only a ham’ Being Head of Security at a meat plant is hard when the boss is your friend, two eagles keep ham - bombing the joint and everyone knows you as the guy who probably cased your home. But in a small town, someone’s always got your back.

Day 7 The Renovation Kenan Orhan #ssac2024 Escaping the turmoil of Turkey, she remodels her bathroom but discovers a prison cell. As her Father suffers dementia she retreats back to her homeland to cope. Our own experience can be our saviour but also limit us.

Day 6 For John Kim Fu #ssac2024 ‘We’re here for you’ John is drawn to an erotic painting whilst on a first date with Erin which she hates. But he buys and hides it away. Years later he tells her but she had forgotten about it. All marriages have secrets as we never truly know our partners.

Day 5 My Small Journal Katya Apekina #ssac2024 A pregnant women uses a ‘Smell - O - Matic’ box to capture smells for an art project. As her marriage crumbles she ponders the why of life. Are artists really that different? They can get evicted just like anyone.

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social So this year tradition has been bumped up to 4 calendars on the go right now. 7am the daily read for #ssac2024 with todays David’s tea 8pm McSweeneys daily read accompanied with a new sud from 49th Parallel. 😎

Day 4 Vandring J. Robert Lennon #ssac2024 ‘Don’t be an idiot’ Whilst online fantasy gaming helped his grief of losing his wife, he realized that help may be nearer to home after being stranded on a lake and his MAGA neighbour rescues him. Maybe someone next door is more than you think.

Day 3 Eat Pray Click Ed Park #ssac2024 ‘..every book was his, from the Bible to Invisible Man…a story with free will’ Rolph breaks convention and hacks the Kindle to turn static stories into an organic experience. ‘Ethical hacker’ - an oxymoron for those who subvert art into their own image.

@ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social Hey gang. I really like December as I reconnect with you guys over #ssac2024. But I seriously felt you were all in my car driving home when listening to this podcast as I know you’d have views on this very important issue….1

Day 2 The Hookup Katherine Heiny #ssac2024 Teen Bodi lives with his Hungarian Grandma and Father while in lust with uber girl Rebecca. But he fears when the FBI call about a family heirloom… Illicit objects are only ghosts to those we loved and lost.

@ttbrader.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social It’s good to be back…even with these new digs…☺️ Weird that H & O are not here….anyone else following #ssac2024? Not much traffic yet on X either 🧐

Day 1 In the Stacks Robin Sloan #ssac2024 ‘I told you…I wasn’t waiting. I was learning’ Maisie creates a tune harking back from another age, delighting a producer decades younger. Technology morphs forward yet art is timeless, just waiting to be discovered together. A sweet tale of nostalgia ❤️

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social ‘…fumes of an old hope’ Oh the Twitter v Bluesky debate…apparently 1.5 million shifted camp as we did.. Some food for thought via my fav podcast duo at 16.46 Can we do it all over again? podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

@barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social @ttbrader.bsky.social Are you ready? 🧐

@ttbrader.bsky.social @barbaramcveigh.bsky.social @mrmuleman.bsky.social @alisonborealis.bsky.social Who knew greater events would find us all in these new digs… I’ll just leave this here to remind us all why….