we live in the ruins of a greater civilization

Yikes.

"I want a story, but not enough to get myself killed." Oklahoma's small-town editors speak candidly about local journalism's risks and rewards. https://ow.ly/8wKt50YC54H

Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking around a microscopic volvox algae colony. 🫧🐻🧪

“But after tens of billions of dollars of school spending…studies have found that digital tools have generally not improved students’ academic results or graduation rates. Some researchers &organizations like UNESCO even warn that overreliance on technology can distract students and impede learning”

Weird, wonderful 9th Street is brimming with magic, and yesterday’s Future of Sound Fest was no exception. Thank you to @factoryobscura.bsky.social for showcasing local music and art. And thank you, dear readers, for an incredible day. be kind. support local, human made music & art. read books.

Nothing but love for the trans people in my family, in my life, and out there in the world. The future will look back on this era in horror, but unfortunately we don’t live in the future. I encourage every cis person I know to speak up, say “not in my name”, to fight for the lives of our loved ones

After the Super Bowl ad backlash, Ring quietly ended its partnership with license plate reader company Flock Safety. Andrew Guthrie Ferguson spoke with @suzannesmalley.bsky.social about what that moment revealed, and what it didn't, about how far police surveillance already goes.

NEW — OK Contemporary has partnered with London's Tate Modern to bring the unique "solid light" artworks of Anthony McCall to OKC in a breathtaking new exhibit. | Brett Fieldcamp reports:

NEW — If you're looking for something decidedly different from OKC music lately, jump into these new releases with chaotic electro, junkyard blues, and computerized hymns. | Brett Fieldcamp reports:

This is utterly jaw-dropping. A school that bans Atwood, Zadie Smith, Terry effing Pratchett and *literal George Orwell* is actively harming its pupils. www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...

A reminder to support your Librarians! www.advocate.com/politics/sta...

Join us in supporting the @locusmag.bsky.social annual fundraiser! We snagged some amazing signed editions, but there’s still incredible stuff left, AND you can support one of the absolutely vital parts of the speculative fiction ecosystem!

Excited to participate in @smallpressday.bsky.social in the USA again this year!

Left this in a comment on @comicbookyeti.com’s thread, but it bears its own post. Others have addressed this, but the dissonance between “never fully remove the human from the workflow” & AI being ok for “coloring assistance, idea exploration, background generation, effects, animation” is HUGE. 1/3

Excellent thread about the new owners of GlobalComix, venture capital firm Point72.

Support the USPS

Well this is certainly concerning.

Tonight, Wednesday, March 18, at 6pm we will discuss the incredible Lindsey Drager book The Avian Hourglass in our book club for busy people (all books under 200 pages), A Deep Dive in the Shallow End. And don’t forget to pick up John Burnside’s The Dumb House, which we will discuss April 15.

Indie venues across the OKC metro will see a slew of one-day mini-festivals over the next few weeks to get us all in the spirit of the music festival season | Music by True Sky Credit Union with Brett Fieldcamp:

If there is a point to being human, it probably is something stupid like writing poems and songs. So go write your book. Do your part.

Attn: Hollywood time for a biopic

I was asked to give my thoughts on generative AI usage in games - here they are!

We really shouldn't have to bloody do this but INDIE AUTHORS, opt out of Ingram selling your books to AI companies: www.ingramcontent.com/page/ai-opt-... #IndieAuthors #IndieBooks #WritingCommunity #BookSky #SelfPublishing #IngramSpark #Ingram

If we made the green energy transition this war would be unthinkable and these authoritarians wouldn’t be in power — not in the US, not in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia, not in Russia. Hydrocarbons are killing our freedom and just plain killing us.

Things I used to look forward to on spring break: Travel, movies, shows, gaming Things I look forward to on spring break now: Getting caught up on the dishes, maybe getting some laundry folded and put away

Our March newsletter is here! thefloatingbookshop.substack.com/p/happy-marc...

don’t forget to destroy your clocks tonight, walk away from your mortgage, just start driving, you’re free

They're stealing the voice of Sinead O'Connor, who risked her own career in 1992 by speaking up about child sexual abuse in the Catholic church, so let's make this theft an occasion to keep talking about Trump in the Epstein files.

The NYT style guide

Yay EMBARK! Yay BRT! Yay accessible OKC!

It's that time in my Making comics intro course when I talk image-text relations, which gives me an excuse to share 2 favorite comics that do bewildering things that can only be done in comics! Ibn Al-Rabin's seminal Le Verbe Prophétique alongside the always brilliant @tomgauld.bsky.social. So good!

He had grown up in a country run by politicians who sent the pilots to man the bombers to kill the babies to make the world safe for children to grow up in.

If you’re in OKC and need a copy of the Origins Award nominated Winter Rabbit, we’ve got you covered.

Today is the paperback release of THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS, woo hoo! Tell your friends, family, and foes about it. And also I offer some thoughts on the book and its time out in the wild so far at Ye Olde Bloggery Hut:

Recent arrivals from our never-ending quest to bring you the best in indie comics from around the world and down the block include gems from Anders Nilsen, @bensears.bsky.social, and @luckypocketpress.bsky.social! be kind stay weird read indie comics

Once again.

It's time! Nominations are now open for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, which will be given to a work of imaginative fiction, published in 2025, that reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own work.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

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This duet cover of Radiohead's "Creep", between a son and his Shastriya Sangeet classically trained mother, is the mash-up I didn't know how much I needed in my life. Totally spontaneous sobbing may have taken place. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZoH...

🤔Maybe it’s time to stop buying things from them 🤔

Get to know the candidates for Oklahoma’s Congressional seat! For District 5!

Love that AI, a thing we hate and don’t want, steals everything, ruins everything, shittifies everything. Drinks our water, plagiarizes our art, pisses all over our information fidelity, drives kids to suicide, serves the right-wing, and fucks up our devices and services. Good job, techbros!

DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g. Film: 1873 Colfax massacre Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"

We love how much y’all love helping our community stay safe! We have restocked safety whistles thanks to the 3D Printed Whistle project. Come get one and help keep our friends & neighbors safe! be kind. stay weird. we keep us safe.

One of our favorite books by one of our favorite writers is available for $1.99 at bookshop dot org right now! Here’s our direct link if you’d like to buy it and help out The Floating Bookshop: bookshop.org/a/96084/9780...

Missing out on the mayhem? Now available wherever podcasts are found.

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Will wonders never cease? It's an actual newsletter from TFB! Welcome/Welcome Back to Buoyant News!