Don’t know about art, but if you like carousel animals, there’s Sharon Lee’s Archer’s Beach series beginning with Carousel Tides. Magic in the contemporary world in an amusement park in coastal Maine. Carousel animals that are not what they seem.
Longtime SFF reader. Retired Higher Ed data cruncher. Barbershop singer. Married, parent to one adult launched & one with intellectual disabilities semi-launched. Catholic. In favor of wonder and kindness. She/her. Avatar thanks to cavyherd@wandering.shop
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Don’t know about art, but if you like carousel animals, there’s Sharon Lee’s Archer’s Beach series beginning with Carousel Tides. Magic in the contemporary world in an amusement park in coastal Maine. Carousel animals that are not what they seem.
113. Time to be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography, P D James. She kept a mdiary for a year from her 77 birthday in 1997. Daily activities including trips to make speeches or present literary awards, plus earlier events as the date recalled them. Thoughts on writing. A few names I recognized.
Happy Labor Day! This holiday was established in 1894 to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the contributions of working people. Celebrate with us with some thematic reading, pictured below.
I thought it might have been but wasn’t sure. She provided it later too, perhaps on twitter.
😭
Years ago, maybe on Making Light, @tkingfisher.com created a certificate for someone’s kid. As I remember, she identified herself as a professional award-winning artist and gave the recipient permission to make bad art, as much bad art as they needed to.
112. Hemlock & Silver, T Kingfisher. A substantially reworked retelling of Snow White. Fantasy with creepy elements but not out-and-out horror. Low key romance subplot. But mostly a competent and sensible heroine trying to figure out how and why a princess is being poisoned. Very good, as always.
102-111. Binging more Comfortable Courtesan rereads by LA Hall, books 3-12 of the original series, A Change of Station through Felicities Maximized.
101. Connexions: Widening Circles. New release in Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle. Enjoyable, as always.
I do see the difference, and I agree with your original point that it’s not real in the sense they mean it, and not something we should be concerned about.
This. Nobody could actually prefer those things, so they must be faking it. Bleah.
I may have misunderstood it. I have tended to read people writing about the use of it, not using it. I interpreted it as meaning “saying something you think makes you look virtuous, whether or not you believe it or act on it.”
I should reread that. My husband and I quote it at each other. “Get the aliens off the moon” is our family shorthand for being careful not to make things worse.
I do think virtue signaling exists but I would mostly call it hypocrisy. And it is not at all the same thing as advocating for virtue, which there should be more of.
And Bone Dog!
The main point is not the “don’t be mean” part, it’s the “doesn’t work” part.
Today is one of my favorite days! 12 years ago Bernalillo County was going to issue marriage licenses to Queer couples. The night before, we bought out Trader Joe's Calla Lillys. First thing that morning. Java Joes, grabbed 3 handles of coffee + all the fixing and headed to the court house.
Re-upping this for the afternoon:
I hear you. I can’t begin to take 25 minutes at a time. I have a few sources I trust to tell me the truth without, as much as possible, spiking my blood pressure or having me screaming at the car radio. If I need more I go to *their* sources.
I was missing a tooth - maybe same as yours? - on both sides on top. One had nothing under the baby tooth, the other a wad of enamel. They pulled the corresponding teeth on the bottom and I had braces for a few years. Plus side was, no trouble with wisdom teeth because they had room to grow in.
I am America. People’s rights and value do not depend on their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, marital status, or bank account. I want our country to have the strength that comes from democracy, truth, justice, diversity, and seeking the common good.
If you want to believe it, check it twice ::clap clap:: If you want to believe it, check it twice ::clap clap:: Doesn’t matter if it’s awful Doesn’t matter if it’s nice If it confirms your bias, check it twice! ::clap clap::
Trust me, y'all need to watch this video
100. The Feather Detective, Chris Sweeney. Bio of Roxie Laybourne who worked on identifying birds by micro features of feathers. Mainly aviation safety for bird strikes, also supported Smithsonian, FBI, Fish & Wildlife, whooping cranes & more. Early woman scientist. Fascinating, highly recommended.
99. Hidden Nature, Nora Roberts. Contemporary romantic suspense. Injured natural resources police officer in rural Maryland becomes involved with a handyman and with tracking two killers. I really liked both the MCs but disliked the amount of time spent in the pov of the warped killers.
81-98. Fell down on tracking. I binged the Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle books by L A Hall with the younger generation. Not going to list them. Multiracial ensemble cast in British Victorian era. Many on my “characters you’d like to have dinner with’ list. Start series with The Comfortable Courtesan.
Sigh. I live in the DC suburbs. Since I retired, I don’t spend much time in DC, but sometimes drop in for cultural things. Looking for a restaurant for a celebration dinner and NGL, am not afraid of standard crime in DC but armed military supposedly protecting me scares the heck out of me.
I am one of the 14 authors who chose to leave the Polari Prize, and I find myself frustrated and saddened at the way this entire story has been represented. 1/
The moment he named his platform “Truth Social” we were headed this way.
Glad I saw this before I wrote the rest of my cards. Correct one, do the others right from the beginning, drop them in the mail tomorrow.
Yup, evergreen
“Help!” cried Toad. “My list is blowing away. What will I do without my list?”
No cheating. Your last saved celebrity photo is your therapist. Who is it? I… don’t save celebrity photos. The last one before this is a photoshopped meme.
… from device. Parent said, absolutely not, but school was welcome to apply any form of discipline they would to a typical student who said that to the teacher.
My adult daughter uses AAC. When she was younger a parent of another AAC user had a story about her daughter getting help putting on her device an audio clip from the Little Mermaid of Ursula saying “You pitiful, insignificant fool!” She wanted to say it to teacher. Teacher wanted it removed …
For live updates on the massive earthquake (mag 8.8) near Russia and the tsunami sweeping the Pacific Ocean, follow this @washingtonpost link: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Reading this thread, I want to put in a plug for the not-for-profit VoteRiders. They tell people what ID they need to vote in their state, and help them get it if help is needed (ride to DMV, cost of replacement docs, etc.) Emphasis is on voting but current ID helps with other access as well.
When my daughter took her written DL test in Maryland she got enough questions right to pass, but one of the few she missed was a drinking and driving question. It was mult choice about the blood alcohol percent that made you legally DUI in Maryland. She thought knowing the exact % wasn’t useful.
Fair. Every time I click an unsubscribe button and it asks me to enter my email address, I wonder if I am entering it straight into another spam list.
I had that same issue and didn’t like it either. I went ahead and downloaded the app, and there is an obvious button for “Delete Account” if you want to skip it later.
Everything is awful but guide dogs are being trained using toy squirrels stuck to remote control cars. And you need to see it
Hey #BookSky 💙📚, I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for this!
Yeah … somewhat like their view of freedom of religion, which means that they have the freedom to practice their religion and you also have the freedom to practice their religion.
I remember the Tripods too, though a bit later. I also liked the Lucky Starr books.
I am having trouble answering the original question, but I can pinpoint my gateway drugs, almost 60 years ago. At age 9, I discovered THE TIME TRADERS by Andre Norton in my school library, and when I finished the books we were supposed to read in language arts class, my teacher loaned me THE HOBBIT.
80. Harriet the Invincible, Ursula Vernon. Reread. Harriet Hamsterbone was cursed by an evil fairy that on her 12th birthday she would prick her finger on a hamster wheel and fall into a deep sleep. So nothing can happen to her before that! Then the magic goes awry and Harriet is the only one awake.
Grew up in Houston, was coke there, especially for a cola. Root beer or Big Red would get called specifically. I trained myself out of it later. I also trained myself out of y’all after moving to MD when I was in high school. But I substituted “you guys,” which later was identified as sexist. Sigh.
79. Freedom and Necessity, Steven Brust & Emma Bull. Reread, though there was a lot I didn’t remember. It came up in a discussion of epistolary novels. I find it really engaging the way the plot is revealed through letters between the main characters and the occasional other letter or news article.
Great inclusive view.
The conversation looks like a setup for a Big Misunderstanding or avoiding admitting to Feelings, but the character straightforwardly asks the question or admits the feeling.
Pretty much ditto, except I had my 47th wedding anniversary last month. Adding: I have a PhD and my post-college jobs were white collar office jobs. I value people who work in service, retail, and blue collar, who are homemakers or caregivers for family, who are artists, who are unemployed.
Yes. I can visualize the curve of ease/value of search, rising as it became able to manage upper/lower case, spacing, minor misspelling, disambiguation. And it has peaked. The downward slope began with prioritization of paid results and has accelerated with so-called AI.
1. We interrupt this programming for some LEGITIMATELY GOOD NEWS Violent crime in Baltimore has PLUMMETED to historic lows How did the city do it? Baltimore adopted a comprehensive set of "woke" policies, treating violence as a public health issue
78. Deeds of Wisdom, Elizabeth Moon. New collection of short stories in Paksworld. Most of them are in the far past or other parts of the world but a couple have familiar locations and characters. The Paladin’s Legacy series is one of my favorites and I enjoy reading things around the edges.
75, 76, 77. Off on a partial Penric & Desdemona reread. Knot of Shadows (pretty dark), Demon Daughter, Penric and the Bandit.
74. The Adventure of the Demonic Ox, Lois McMaster Bujold. New Penric & Desdemona. Enjoyable mainly for the continuing view of Penric and his family, long enough on from our last view that his children are thinking of apprenticeships. What’s an overprotective sorcerer papa to do?
I came here to give a Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Penric & Desdemona announcement and then thought I would see if anyone else had. I just saw it on Facebook. Murderbot, too! I looked when I first heard about that one and it hadn’t been released yet, and I haven’t gone back.
Age verification? I am about to be eaten by a grue.
Our ambitions weren’t that large. :) In my childhood, it was “Are you trying to air condition all of Spring Branch?” (The Houston suburb where I grew up)
Others I haven’t seen yet: The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. M The Guildmaster Saga by CE Murphy. Magic! sailing ships! A trio of plucky kids!
Suggesting different works by authors who have already been mentioned: Bujold, I love the Vorkosigan saga and think it would make great TV, but also Penric and Desdemona, or The Sharing Knife. Malka Older, the Mossa and Pleiti books. Would love to see the rail stations in the Jovian atmosphere.
Yes to all of this. Long enough ago that I guess nothing came of it, I’m pretty sure someone took an option on Castle Hangnail. That would be great, but so would Minor Mage.
73. Hedesa, Rachel Neumeier. Tuyo series #10. Tano is the main character. Ugaro, Lau, and Tarashana travel to the starlit lands to learn about potential enemies. Tano continues to develop his skills and confidence. This is early release for Patreon members; general release on Amazon early August.
72. Cast in Shadow, Michelle Sagara. Reread. First in Chronicles of Elantra series. Rereading the beginning of Severn’s backstory made me want to reread our first meeting with him, and with Kaylin.
At this time of day on July 2, I’m drawn to think of the several thousand US troops spread out in an ever thinning line along Culp’s Hill, on the US right. All afternoon, units have been pulled from this position to bolster the left flank - Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, and Cemetery Ridge
Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier. 1st of a series. A young warrior of the winter country is taken captive by a warleader of the summer country. Oaths, honor, cultural differences, good people trying to do the right thing and end the war between their peoples. Plus a mutual enemy, a sorcerer
71. The Emperor’s Wolves, Michelle Sagara. Reread. First of the spinoff of the Chronicles of Elantra with the backstory of Severn Handred.
ANNOYED at the ~news~ so will post this #SciArt again!
70. Tapestry of Fortunes, Elizabeth Berg. I haven’t read much women’s fiction recently. This is about when it’s time to let go of an old life and step into changes, but not didactic about it. Cece is finding her way after the death of her best friend and one step leads to another leads to another.
69. Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz. I am not much of a horror reader but this was good. Odd can talk to ghosts but is a very down-to-earth person otherwise.
In the 1980s that discussion was in Tulsa, OK, where we lived for a few years, and in Arkansas where I traveled for work. Private clubs could sell drinks but not restaurants. Many restaurants had a “club” you joined by eating there and paying a minor fee. This was called liquor-by-the-wink.
I don’t remember hearing it, but the coiled shape was clear when I met one at Enchanted Rock in Texas. It was on cool rock in the shade and probably lethargic. Like your sagebrush-clearing leap, I levitated a couple of feet to the right and a foot up with no conscious thought at all.
V8 juice. I have problems with leg cramps in the middle of the night, not heat related, and I keep a 6 oz can by the bed to drink as needed. When I was a kid my dad liked salt sprinkled on his cantaloupe or watermelon. Probably replenishing electrolytes after golfing on the Texas Gulf Coast.
I got them from Sharon Lee’s post about what she was reading. Somehow I had missed them altogether.
About 15 years ago, when my daughter spent a year in Canada, I learned a little Celsius temperature interpretation mnemonic: 30’s hot 20’s nice 10 is chilly Zero’s ice It does not have a line for 40, and I can’t make “human crawfish boil” scan.
68. Cast in Wisdom, Michelle Sagara. Reread. 15 in the Chronicles of Elantra, where the Academia, thought long destroyed, is rediscovered in the border zone between the fiefs. I have been reading other things but I am tending to put them down and wander away. Haven’t finished anything else.
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on. slate.com/technology/2...
Bonus Discworld QOTD, from The Wee Free Men “Nac Mac Feegle! The Wee Free Men! Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna' be fooled again!”
My favorite signs today: This is Not Normal No Faux-King Way I’m Old, I’m Mad, and I Vote Dump Trump and the dog wearing a sandwich board saying Good Dogs for No Kings (sorry I didn’t get a photo of that one)
I am not an artist, nor am I usually an in-the-streets protestor. Not physically able to stand or walk much. But I feel a need to show up, and am headed to a site where I can sit in a folding chair and confrontation seems highly unlikely. Not much, but mine.
No Kings!
House Democrats need to bring articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem, while Senate Democrats need to bring that chamber to a fucking halt.
This sort of "here is how we know" article, in which the evidence is thoroughly summarized and clearly explained and common counter-arguments are calmly debunked with evidence, is probably something we should be doing a lot more of. Some people are not persuadable. Many are. #SciComm 🧪
I think she’s writing to support the family. So not meeting the abandonment criterion.
The sigil was drawn in salt and ash, the candles lit at the pentagram points, the incantation declaimed. There was a shimmer - a demon appeared. "Curious. What ritual is this?" "I got it from ChatGPT. I included all protections in my prompt!" "I see," the demon said and stepped out of the sigil.
Something lighthearted for your timeline
This reminded me of a fragment of a poem, which I had to go look up. Duck’s Ditty, by Kenneth Grahame. “All along the backwater, through the rushes tall, ducks are a-dabbling, up tails all …”
I know better than to do this with negative discussion, but I have wondered about the ethics/etiquette of tagging the author on a positive mention. Is it better to just leave reader discussion to the readers?
This was on my mind Memorial Day weekend. One of my childhood neighbors was one of the men killed, and I was refreshing my memory, which was a 9-year-old’s understanding.
We still have on our refrigerator a cartoon by Robert Glasbergen. Applicant sitting across desk from a manager. Caption reads: We’re looking for someone with the wisdom of a 50-year old, the experience of a 40-year old, the drive of a 30-year old, and the payscale of a 20-year old.
67. Shards of Glass, Michelle Sagara. First of the Academia Chronicles. Reading the new one made me want to go back to this. I will probably go further back still to the Chronicles of Elantra book where the Academia is first introduced and a long term character becomes its chancellor.
Happy birthday, and wishing you luck in the job hunt. My husband had a couple of similar stretches (he’s now in his late sixties and retired) and, looking back, he really values the time it let him spend with the kids. Though as with art, financial insecurity hinders the enjoyment at the time.
You’ve got until 7p today to vote for Gina Ortiz Jones for San Antonio’s next Mayor. The more mud that her opponent & his puppet master Greg Abbott sling at her, the more support she gets. Get out there & vote today, Bexar County. And if you can’t vote today, make a plan for Election Day Saturday.
THE POTENCY OF UNGOVERNABLE IMPULSES (Mossa & Pleiti #3) comes out a week from tomorrow!! Pre-order now and get a lovely, snarky, linguistically rich mystery-romance set on Jupiter and steeped in petty academia on June 10!
Have you seen this @tkingfisher.com
The first of them is Shards of glass. There’s another spinoff that is the backstory of Severn that begins with The Emperor’s Wolves. I still enjoy the Chronicles of Elantra but some more than others.
66. Heir of Light, Michelle Sagara. Second in the Academia Chronicles, a spinoff of the Chronicles of Elantra. Robin is a student of the Academia, reestablished after a long time in a magical hiatus. Before that he was an orphan. It turns out he has family and responsibilities but neither are safe.