last repost: Regardless of your feelings on AI, highly suggest reading that Wired article because it’s an excellent counter argument to claims that AI models had to be trained on stolen work and there’s no way to be environmentally conscious.

Book 5/book 2 for @piratereadingclub.bsky.social: Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. I really loved this one—body horror but from the perspective of a sapphic monster, for whom body horror is survival. In turn, weaves in some compelling themes about disability and othering.

Today’s mail arrived with the best stack of books to stay inside with and read over the holiday weekend.

Book 4 and my first one that qualifies for @piratereadingclub.bsky.social!: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, read by Will Patton. This is one of those times when I read a book and think, I see why it’s collected awards/honors, but it’s not for me. Patton was an excellent narrator.

I’m seeing Joel Kim Booster’s recent thoughts on queer-centered stories getting passed around w/maybe 10% of the context. I encourage y’all to read the article. He has some important things to say about audience, affordability, race, & the intersection of all 3 through the lens of queerness. (1/2)

Every time I read a post about Nixon’s recent popularity

I love this show.

Lots of really cool rewards left in addition to backing an awesome sf/f magazine! I snagged the last knitted rocketship tier because my Behold! the adorable from 2020’s drive needs a friend.

Book 3: We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian. Read these out of order, though they stand on their own. Had a good chuckle at seeing Mark Bailey through Nick’s eyes as essentially the Phantom Book Reviewer of the Newspaper.

Book 2: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian. I just love how she thinks about characters and relationship dynamics of all types: found family, platonic, romantic, etc. Aside from the two main characters, I adored Ardolino and Price’s friendship and how everyone quietly looks after each other.

The precise moment I thought, “yes, this book is exactly the sort of silliness I need right now, must tell my girlfriend about it ASAP”

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers is a delightfully weird read, and I’m having a great time. I started it yesterday, and I’m currently at 81%.

Years ago, my then-bf was watching the docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time with me. When they hand William Hartnell (played by David Bradley) this headshot of Patrick Troughton, my then-bf scoffed and said, “that doesn’t even look like him!” Reader, I assured my then-bf, “that *is* him.”

Can’t wait to wear my new t-shirt and find all the Millennials and Gen-X’ers who grew up in Chicagoland.

I (happily) will never get used to how beautiful Pissarro roses are.

Don’t worry, both bird parents have been very attentive. (Sound up for cranky parent grumbling and FEED ME peeps)

They proceeded to fly into and bounce off of my parked car at least three times. Then would stare up at it as if this were the only barrier between them and flight.

It’s nesting season so you know what that means: BIRD DRAMA Early this afternoon I noticed this little fella had taken up a perch on some plant shelves I had been cleaning in my backyard.

A hilariously eerie moment in which I’m listening to Naomi Novik’s LEAGUE OF DRAGONS and deciding on an unknowingly fitting snack of tinned fish.

Always buy the ALDI rose bushes.

A very chill Frenchie.

I love this fact! One of my favorites: for the Sherlock Holmes score, Hans Zimmer initially had his piano detuned so it would sound more like something you’d hear in a pub. It didn’t work, so they found another piano and beat it up in 20th Century Fox’s underground car park.

🫂💚 Saw this on Threads. Big time Izzy vibes.

Also, Murderbot’s Dr. Leonard H. McCoy moment in Exit Strategy forever delights me.

Happy April to everyone turning the page in their @yearofbelonging.bsky.social calendar! I picked April because it’s my birth month and only later realized how fitting that on April 1st, everyone would be greeted by my shitpost sampler.

Second printing. This number string will tell you with the last number in the line:

A graphic novel: Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young. Beautifully illustrated, queer in several different ways, and a nuanced, poignant engagement with mental health, grief, and trauma. I really loved this one.

My first bingo for @piratereadingclub.bsky.social! From the top left to bottom right: ✔️One-word title: Troublemaker by Joseph Hansen ✔️Rec’d by a friend: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss ✔️Free space (1/2)

A book translated into a language I can read: A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell. A variety of horrors & hauntings—especially interesting after hearing Enriquez talk about creating a literary horror tradition that is rooted in Argentina.

Sent all this documentation to Affirm, who took two weeks to investigate. (For reference, a previous payment dispute through a credit card took almost 3 months.) They said I was missing information. When I asked what information was missing, this is what I received in reply: