Wishing the happiest of birthdays to one of my favorite people! It's been more than two decades of knowing @wiswell.bsky.social and it's an honor to call such a kind, empathetic, creative, funny, talented person my friend. You deserve the world, buddy! Congratulations on another trip around the sun.
I think "cordially" and "bourgeois" both deserve a seat in the handbasket to heck.
"Pat, why do you carry that ridiculous 600mm lens on long hikes?" Buddy, I can see mountains reflected in the eyes of a trailside pika.
"Every villain is the hero of their own story" meets "An explanation for behavior is not an excuse for it." Snow's trauma, fears, and priorities are made understandable- but no less horrific. Every time I caught myself sympathizing with him it felt like missing a step in the dark.
Nearly finished with Suzanne Collins' "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." I enjoy novels with unlikeable protagonists because when done well, it shines a light on how thin their excuses and justifications are. This book does it well. Boggled at how people come out of this with sympathy for Snow.
Therapist: "So this week, I want you to stay curious about when you feel hypervigilant." Me: "Absolutely, I'll keep a super sharp eye out, pay really close attention to signs-" Therapist: "...no."
You're OFFICIALLY John Wiswell! So exciting!!
Set "Everything is Tuberculosis" down because Life Happened and I couldn't get the brain cells together, but now that my brain is cooperative it's time for more tuberculosis facts! I am going to be an insufferable "Did you know?!" unsettling fact dispenser by the end of this, I can already tell.
Finished Rivers Solomon's "An Unkindness Of Ghosts" last night and I'm still sitting with the ending. Gruelingly optimistic- the kind of book that reminds me that hope has blood on its knuckles. Going to carry Aster's story with me for a long time, absolutely beautiful from start to finish.
Me muttering to myself as I do the thing: "This is bullshit, thing isn't going to do anything or make me feel better, why am I doing this, stupid idiot therapist, I'm doing the thing to PROVE it won't help and then I'll tell them-" The thing: Helps. Me: "...son of a bitch."
Me when I use the tools my therapist suggests might make me feel better, and they work to make me feel better.
I am 1000% here for any threads you do on this topic!
Show me your quick getaway vehicle.
Getting really tired of "hopeful" political stories that are like "The bar was on the floor! But look! THIS representative dug a trench to lower the bar, then carefully shuffled over it and only caught ONE FOOT on it before falling flat on their face!"
Oh my god I need well meaning people to stop telling me I'm brave for wearing a mask and that they're seriously thinking about starting masking again, and to just fucking PUT A MASK ON.
Started Rivers Solomon's "An Unkindness of Ghosts" this week- it's been on the top of my TBR pile for ages, and now that I'm reading it I'm cursing past me for letting it linger in the stack so long. My favorite kind of sci-fi- packed to the brim with world building and complex characters.
More manicure whimsy! (Also, taking nail photos one handed with hypermobile fingers is...tricky.)
Visa employees clearly told to deescalate ASAP MasterCard employees more than familiar with the issue Stripe feeling the pressure ACLU put out a statement CBC covered all this What you are doing is WORKING You are getting RESULTS KEEP CALLING KEEP WRITING WE ARE GOING TO WIN!!
Hi everyone, As part of my dissertation, I am researching audiobook narration. If you have listened to an audiobook within the last two years, or have previously been a frequent audiobook user, I would really appreciate your thoughts! You can find the survey here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
I'm not a cozy mystery reader by nature, but darn if the pun titles aren't charming. Every time I catalog one, it makes me smile.
Manicure for weekly whimsy! I got complimented in the Dairy Queen drive-thru for them, which made my day. Also, thanks to some googling I now know this character's name is "Penguin?" and that delights me.
If we're doing groceries and take-out discourse, here's my take: Man-made famines are crimes against humanity. If you can help the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, please do. Donate dollars. Call your reps. Share their story in your communities to invite help.
I loved this! Such a wonderful read, brightened up my morning coffee. If I quoted every single line I loved, I'd be worried about reposting the full story in my threads one sentence at a time. Check out the link!
Goes without saying, I highly, HIGHLY recommend Project Hail Mary. Feel pretty confident saying any time Andy Weir puts a Science Guy (gender neutral) in a Space Situation, there's going to a fun time waiting. Artemis is going on the wishlist.
Real life asserted itself and I wasn't able to read much last week, BUT I stayed up until 1:30am last night to marathon race for the finish. I am so grateful to everyone in my life who didn't spoil anything for me so each of the book's surprises was astonishing and delightful. So many twists!
Handing this out to those shirt designers. 😅
The Gaza Soup Kitchen run by Hani Almadhoun and family is currently feeding 3000 people a day under the monstrous conditions of the engineered famine happening before our eyes. You can help feed at least a few people. Please donate: gofund.me/e37b4bae
after a very frustrating call with Visa (US+CAN), I was told that Visa would like inquiries relating to using their bargaining power to destroy adult media to be sent, via email, to askvisa@visa.com they asked. to be sent. emails. you know what to do.
I haven't even seen KPop Demon Hunters yet, but the chokehold "Soda Pop" has on my spotify today is undeniable.
This week's whimsy achieved.
I've found my favorite photos of both my cats. I need these in a double frame on my desk.
www.facebook.com/ATN54/videos... If you want to hear him play.
Highest praise I can give Sinners: Got slammed with a wave of grief at the ending, because my late dad was a blues musician who played harmonica to the last days of his battle with COPD. I know in my bones how much he would have loved this movie and its soundtrack.
As someone who's often nonspeaking, I desperately need more hopeful science media like Project Hail Mary and Arrival with a focus on learning to communicate and sharing understanding. Please share your recs! I've read and loved Binti, Contact, The Three Body Problem, and A Close and Common Orbit.
Page 179. As of this chapter, I would die for Dimitri.
6 chapters in 1 day. I'm devouring this like someone's going to take it away if I don't finish it fast enough.
Dang but Andy Weir writes good sci-fi for people who loved the line "I don't care about what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do" in Apollo 13. I love watching his protagonists figure things out and find improbable solutions to impossible problems.
Hey you? Yes, you. I'm glad you're here.
Jewish orgs Keshet and the Hebrew Free Loan Association are giving out interest-free loans to LGBTQ+ folks who need to re-locate but can’t afford it. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE JEWISH. “The idea that people were having to pick up and flee their homes was something that resonated Jewishly.”
Whimsy as resistance.
It has already gotten many a snort laugh out of me!
Three chapters in I completely get why they went with Ryan Gosling, love the tone and pacing so far!
Started Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary today on audiobook on a whim instead of continuing with my TBR pile. It's been a long June, and there are much worse reasons to pick up a book than "The Martian was hilarious" and "Ryan Gosling will be playing the main character in the movie adaptation".
Never have I been so devastated to see a kindle progress bar and realize I'm almost done with getting to experience a book for the first time. Not ready for it to end. (If you've been trying to decide whether or not to read @wiswell.bsky.social's Wearing the Lion? Read it. It's so great.)
Every time Heracles encounters a monster in @wiswell.bsky.social's Wearing the Lion:
Post a song from the year you turned 12: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPfm...
All my ebooks are 50% off at Smashwords for the entire month of July, both Fantasy www.smashwords.com/profile/view... and Sci Fi! www.smashwords.com/books/byseri... #SWSale2025 #BookSky #QueerBooks #SciFiBooks #FantasyBooks #DiverseBooks It's July 4th, get yourself some fun and sexy queer books!🧵
The world is hard and bleak right now so I am about to manufacture the fuck out of some sparkle and whimsy. Friendship bracelets and glitter may be unconventional tools but if they're good enough for Mabel Pines they're good enough for me.
Wearing The Lion is what I needed tonight. 7 chapters of feeling like sharing a beloved inside joke and remembering why it was so good the first time, capped with a powerful, tide turning emotional hit. @wiswell.bsky.social knows his craft and knows it well.
Tow truck guy says the serpentine belt fell off. Well, that's $300 I get to figure out this week. Anyone want pictures of my feet? (Joking, just exhausted.)
On top of Everything™️, my car broke down while driving with my mom. 2 and a half hours later, off we go in the tow truck.
This is exactly what I think happens and everyone should stop it. Vote for the best candidate before you every time by your own values; don't cede your vote to the whims of some shitty median voter who you made up in your head.
I'm from before the Internet.
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or Marvel.
Literally begging you to post about Just Some Stuff. We will see the news I absolutely promise. Twenty people will repost the same exact thing about the news. Only you can post about a turtle you saw
This is a vital message: one of the larger reasons BlueSky is refreshingly free of alt-right shitlords is because in the early days we made a gentleperson’s agreement to starve these fuckos out and it worked. No likes, no quotes, no engagement. They got bored and left. Please keep the Old Ways.
Drop someone glamorous.
...this timeline feels like a parody of itself at this point.
Trying to take tiny crumbs of joy where I can find them. Took my home mixed luminous nail polish for a spin today, it is *bright* under black light.
I just found a new game on steam called BongoCat. It's a little cat that taps along as you type and you get points for typing! The entire internet probably already knows about this, but I just found out about it and think it's absolutely delightful. store.steampowered.com/app/3419430/...
ea nasir is back baby awooo
I couldn't NOT do this.
You know, I'm not even sure I have autism, my daily life is smooth and comfortable out here in my coastal town of 6000 people with two lane roads and no billboards. I haven't had a meltdown or panic attack in weeks. [gets within 5 miles of the greater Portland metro area] oh no
Happy Pride to the ungovernable flashlight-wielders of Jacksonville. bsky.app/profile/erin...
Wha?? Audible has the preorder for the audiobook of WEARING THE LION for just $7.70!! I had to confirm it's real, but it is! The sale ends in just a couple of days. www.audible.com/pd/Wearing-t...
Starting John Green's "Everything is Tuberculosis" today. I like my new habit of pairing a new nonfiction book with a comforting fiction re-read, so tuberculosis facts are going to be balanced out by my umpteenth re-read of Naomi Novik's "Uprooted".
Binge watched the entirety of Kaos on Netflix in two sittings. A really fun, smart watch- Jeff Goldblum as Zeus feels uncomfortably accurate. Definitely recommend.
also you guys the library??? We all gotta be using it more. An incredible public good. Walk in, get anything that interests you, check out for a total of zero dollars, walk out. anyone against it is my nemesis
It's finished! (Video Audio: "Hope everyone's having a great pride month! Shout out to... ✨ the gays.✨")
Today's matchy mask: It's ALMOST June! (Weirdly, my conservative mother in law bought me this shirt...). I want to see other folks mask fits if you've got them! Anyone else rock the printed ones?
You may have heard that there are some who have taken to referring to the new Covid variant as “nimbus,” so please remember: a cumulus cloud is white and fluffy, a cirrus cloud is thin and wispy, a stratus cloud is low and flat, and a nimbus cloud is dark and threatening.
More plaid today for the mask fit!
I'm two thirds of the way through the audiobook for Alas, Babylon and I'm so impressed with the narrator's performance of it. Will Patton does such a good job showcasing Randy Bragg's character growth throughout the arc of the novel, glad I decided to revisit this one on audio.
Today's matchy mask: plaid!
"Nobody died on the widely publicized tour for minors at the mysterious candy factory. Christ, there were cameras absolutely everywhere. Can you imagine the circus they’d have made of our deaths?" By @megelison.bsky.social in @lightspeedmagazine.com www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/wher...
Had a lot of big feelings today. Made some art with them.
What are you wearing to the bsky prom?
My next novel is about a curmudgeonly dragon who pretends to be tame so he can eat for free at a local dragon riding academy. I'm giddy about it. To support trans rights, I'm auctioning off something special. The winner of this auction will be tuckerized as a dragon rider in this book.
As always, if you want to make one donation that helps multiple people on the ground in Gaza, I recommend the Sameer Project, a mutual aid groups that's doing incredible work despite the horrific conditions: linktr.ee/thesameerpro...
Evergreen.
Practice guilt-free reading. Read whenever you want, whatever you want, and in whichever format you prefer. #BookSky
Matching my masks to my work outfits is one of my new favorite things. (My other favorite thing is when someone compliments my mask, and then I get to say "Oh thank you! Would you like one?" and give them a mask that matches their outfit.)
Call your Senators. This bill points a gun at the disabled, trans, and poor. Flooding their phones is the only way anything shifts here.
I have a walking pad and a standing desk at work now, so I'm fulfilling a long ago childhood dream of mine (sparked by @jamesgurneyart.bsky.social's scroll reading treadmills from Dinotopia.)
Just had someone quote one of my favorite lines I wrote in a comment and added "Douglas Adams vibes!" So I'll be having the best day ever.
It's delightful! I forgot just how fun it is to zoom around the world just sightseeing. (And vacuuming up slimes to yeet them!) The design is really beautiful!
Share the last four games you've played and expose your gaming habits.
Making pistachio pineapple delight (after getting two reactions of "it's called WHAT?!" I've stopped referring to it as Watergate salad) for the staff potluck tomorrow. This is delicious, but so foreign to me as someone raised in such heavy diet culture I thought sugared jello was decadent.
This art is so lovely and captures two of my favorite characters so beautifully - you did a gorgeous job!!
Name a show you're positive no one remembers but you.
Celebrate Mother’s Day by letting people choose whether or not to be mothers.
I had random people say how can saving the libraries help with fighting the government.. well local libraries host other events outside of books.. you build community and get people to be involved with things that happens in the community by meeting them at free events
Finished Megan Wade's "Wall Street Jerk" today. Fluffy, spicy romance with a plus size lead, the perfect vacation indulgence. So many authors write plus size women terribly, but Wade deftly avoids the worst tropes with ease. Rebecca is smart, sexy, funny and charming- and so is Wade's writing.
✨🍓🍓🍓✨
Finished Season 13 of Call the Midwife. Man, this show is my comfort show for a reason. The mental equivalent of a bread bowl full of chicken noodle soup. Nuns! Babies! Bicycles! Delightful.
My next novel is about a grumpy dragon who pretends to be tame so he can eat for free at the local dragon riding academy. So here is my auction item: I'll tuckerize the winning bidder as a dragon rider in the book. I love my trans siblings. www.32auctions.com/organization...
Cannot overstate the sense of power and personal accomplishment making a dozen bagels just gave me.
