Merry Alternative Christmas, everyone!

From the Editorial Board: The American Booksellers Association reported that more than 420 new bookstores opened this year, part of a rebirth of bookshops after the initial Amazon/big-box shock that caused so many to go under.

Vampires and ICE? It's feeding time in America!

The seat was also one of the final two races left on my guides of elections to watch in December. (The final one is on December 30, somehow!) More here: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the... But here's more from @the-downballot.com on the GOP nominee today:

:-)

They overturned Roe They ended a program that provided birth control to low income women Trump is calling female reporters piggy & ugly The Head Start program can’t use the word woman or female They want to prevent us from getting loans without a man They want to control us.

That's right - it does NOT have to be this way! We CAN do something. We can pass sensible gun legislation in the House. We can only do that if we elect more Democrats in November. Let's DO this! Help @fieldteam6.org #RegisterDemocrats FieldTeam6.org #Voterizer

It was the sweetest moment I’ve witnessed during the war.

Which is it man because you can’t say ‘be more normal’ back-to-back with ‘be less judgmental’ without a hint of irony because that’s just positioning yourself as cultural authority & then demanding the type of grace that by virtue of your immediately preceding statement you refuse to extend to us

Me, My Film, and My Massive Brain Tumor

Discover Ruminato Fiction

I'm glad so many folks are excited about the Tennessee Special Election results. As an old fart, I am not so impressed. Here's why...

Satire. Sad that I have to say this, but them's the times we live in...

If you live in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District you know what to do...

🔥 AL GORE: “We already have way too many subservient cowards in Congress, the last thing we need is to send another one (Van Epps 🤖) — you can make tomorrow the turning point for our country by getting out and voting for Rep. @aftynbehn.bsky.social .” #TN7 Full: www.threads.com/@thetnholler...

Tomorrow is a big day for democracy. Tennessee were looking at you. @aftynbehn4tn act.link/gi-DCrTNi youtu.be/woa2_5vjeMk

Meet the man who created KegsBreath’s and CaligulaTrumpus’ Snuff Film.

The Trump Administration protects child sex traffickers. Where are all those outraged #QAnon #Pizzagate #Evangelicals?

i know WHY this is but that just makes it even more of a kick in the pants lmao

It’s useful to think about things like this in numbers of tenure track professors. $53M is 575 assistant professors. Or more than thirty percent of the total number of full-time faculty at LSU.

Fuck Donald Trump for putting National Guard troops in harm's way domestically for no reason.

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving, SP! 💙 @john4eagles.bsky.social @flocktoblue.bsky.social @karleesyr.bsky.social @bluedebz.bsky.social @coqueenbee.bsky.social @everrouge.bsky.social @paula2168.bsky.social @lxxxvi-xlvii-now.bsky.social @bluestormcomin1.bsky.social @raykwong.bsky.social Same vibe

As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store. Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.

There are two methods for cranberry harvest- wet method and dry method. Pictured is the ‘wet harvest’ method where the cranberry bog is flooded and the plants are shaken to dislodge the submerged berries, which float. (Fun fact: in a flooded bog the workers become high ground for the spiders.)

Trump Has HAD IT With Kash Patel 💩 Maybe hiring a podcaster for FBI director was a bad idea Adam Mockler's column @alansmitheedga.bsky.social @gigialexander123.bsky.social @amsickofpollies.bsky.social @charlesbastille.bsky.social @katarinakriz.bsky.social @alpbeck.com substack.com/home/post/p-...

Discover Ruminato Fiction A MagicLand short story...

#HorrorCommunity ✒️ 💀 The Art of Writing Horror Poetry A Guide to Crafting Verse That Haunts @hwany.org @sfpoetry.bsky.social @swsworlds.bsky.social @hdwp.com @charlesbastille.bsky.social @joshuasiegal.bsky.social @pixieb.bsky.social @alpbeck.com greenwichvillagepoet.substack.com/p/the-art-of...

Discover Ruminato Fiction This short story is a result of a writing prompt on the Kraken Lore.

Evaluating each point of Steve Witkoff's AI-generated Ukraine capitulation plan...

JFK's Famous Inaugural Address Passage (Jan. 1961). "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." @alansmitheedga.bsky.social @dmcwriter.bsky.social @charlesbastille.bsky.social @theothermike.bsky.social youtu.be/mxa4HDgfWFs?...

❣️ Remembering President Kennedy on Nov. 22nd. ❣️ John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the USA. @alansmitheedga.bsky.social @dmcwriter.bsky.social @charlesbastille.bsky.social greenwichvillagepoet.substack.com/p/rememberin...

Huge shout-out to Cliff Cash and the whole Removal Coalition! Definitely bigger than Trump’s inauguration.

Discover Ruminato Fiction A man faces a bizarre heatwave and a catatonic wife

While the nation is spiraling out of control in the hands of mad men, here’s a little good look for everyone who sees it:

Follow the rules, dammit!

#HorrorCommunity 🐺 🌝 #WerewolfWednesday 🐺 🖊️ 📖 Explore how werewolves have evolved in folklore, literature, and pop culture throughout history, and where these stories originated. @hwany.org @swsworlds.bsky.social @dmcwriter.bsky.social @charlesbastille.bsky.social youtu.be/VP0fd2be71s?...

Discover Ruminato Fiction Last days for this excerpt from Restive Souls. It disappears into the cyber-ether sometime within the next 48 hours. Maybe sooner if I get its replacement ready before then.

Discover Ruminato Fiction A MagicLand short story. Written before the election but still relevant...

Discover Ruminato Fiction...

Ever since I read C.S. Lewis' Perelandra trilogy as a kid, I've been fascinated with the idea of what a Messiah might look like among other sentient species. Yesterday I featured a story about a messiah for dolphins. This story is about a Messiah in a solar system quite different than ours.