Robert (he/him)

Reminder: Every time you shop at an independent bookstore, Jeff Bezos loses a little bit of power.

Smiles are nice, but being actively anti-hate is nicer.

Apparently Target is mandating that store workers smile and wave at customers to make them feel more welcome in hopes of bringing in more customers.

You know what would get me to come back? Reinstating DEI-forward policies, supporting LGBTQIA+ organizations, and not funding the current regime.

(The darker one is more “naked eye” the brighter ones are camera-enhanced.)

Haven’t posted on Bluesky for a bit, but with this celestial lightshow it seems appropriate!

Graphic with the text: 10 TRUMP ATTACKS ON KIDS 1. Made the largest SNAP (food stamps) cuts in history. 2. Limits school lunch for kids by imposing new red tape. 3. Reduces after-school and summer programs for poor kids by requiring extra paperwork. 4. Slashes the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for half of all kids. 5. Rips health care away by making it harder for parents to cover their kids through the Affordable Care Act. 6. Takes money away from public schools, meaning larger class sizes and fewer teachers per student. 7. Guts Head Start, which provides early childhood education, health, nutrition, and other services to low-income children. 8. Undermines public health and vaccines. 9. Freezes funds used to train teachers. 10. Shuts down parts of the Office of Civil Rights, which helps kids who get discriminated against in school.

The party of “family values” is attacking our kids.

Reminder: Write that thing. Pluck it outta your soul with rusty pliers. Hit the keyboard like it owes you money. Write whenever, wherever you can. Tell your story. Make the words dance. Whatever you want—a novel, a short story, an agent, a movie—it all starts with the writing.

😢 I never thought that news of a corporation shutting down would make me so emotional.

Started my morning unable to open my laptop. Realized I was trying to open the hinge side.

How’s your day?

#EditorLife

Diabolus Ex Machina This Is Not An Essay

Just when you think AI is getting figured out and becoming less... insane... you come across something like this. (It's long, but... wow...)

TL;dr - Do yourself a favor and hire an actual human to read/edit/coach you on your work.

amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...

#EditorThreads

☁ NEW EPISODE☁
Cloudfall Episode 71: Badger of Honor is now available on all platforms - link in bio!
#dndactualplay #ttrpg #dnd #dndpodcast #pbop #actualplay

Frankly, though it's not quite the night I would try to revisit if this were my personal version of "Our Town," it's awfully close. 🧡

3/3

- My husband in his office doing something on his computer while listening to opera.

- The dog wandering back and forth between us to make sure we're both where we're supposed to be, then taking short naps.

2/3

Scenes from a fairly common weeknight at home (after dinner together):

- Me in the kitchen baking cookies (about 50% of the time that's done for stress relief - can't imagine why that might come up these days) while listening to a Broadway playlist on one of the streaming services.

#GayLife

1/3

Your friendly language typo tip o' the day:

Phrenology is not the same as phenology.

Phrenology = pseudo-science studying head shape and head "bumps" to determine intelligence

Phenology = real science study of climate and cyclical happenings

#Editing

My hope is that, though I may not be thrill-seeking today, my life never gets to the point where I think *that* is a showstopper.
3/3

Related (I promise) - The photo is of something referred to as “kind of a showstopper” by someone in a meeting. (To be fair-ish, it’s one of a pair on either side of a gate.) (Does that make it better or worse?)
2/3

There’s nothing like an unexpected day off (called off due to the chilly rainy June weather) to make you realize you’re no longer really good at figuring out what to do when you suddenly have a day off.

(It's the introductory sentence from Harris Center for Conservation Education's page about the so-named pools.)

I realize most of my grammar quotes are for weird/bad things I find. But today I came across one of the best sentences I've read in ages:
"Vernal pools are ephemeral woodland ponds..."

I mean... doesn't that create the best image?

#editorlife

The unintentional cruelty of technology: my phone just sent me a query suggesting I turn off my “Workday” alarm because tomorrow is Memorial Day - but I’m working a retail job with regular hours tomorrow, so the alarm has to stay on.
#EditorLife

Luftballoons, obviously.

In case you were wondering what day in May would be least busy at a Minnesota garden center, I might recommend a cold, damp, possibly-going-to-rain Monday with a 35-degree windchill. #MinnesotaSpring

Reminder: If someone has stabbed you with three knives, but then pulls out two of them and says "Look what I did! I made it so much better for you!" (as the one knife remains and the blood begins to gush from the two other locations), that person is NOT a hero.

#tariffs

*I suspect that all of that bad news had really been getting bottled up and just needed an outlet.

Random Bad Quote du Jour (sorry, I know it's been a while since a posted a "found in the wild" quote):

"I wanted to say something nice, after all of the news we've been hearing has been so vial."

1/2

#Editing

If you're not sure why I keep talking about "Cloudfall" from the @pboppodcast.bsky.social - take 20 minutes and watch this scene from earlier in the campaign. I think you might get hooked!

#dnd #podcast

screenshot of a Reddit post that says: What is Superman's "Kryptonite". In literature, mythology, and comic books heroes often have a "kryptonite" or "Achilles's heel", basically a weakness that makes them vulnerable. I'm curious what fans here would consider to be Superman's "Kryptonite"?

People are dunking on this, but what a great sign that a word has truly established itself in the lexicon.

For anyone in MN looking at the three-day forecast and wondering why we’re predicted to have a 50-degree temp drop on Saturday, I blame the over-enthusiastic woman at Costco, yesterday, who looked at my scarf and said: “It’s about time to put that away!”

#minnesotaweather

(And, yes, I realize the Ides are in a different play, but it still feels right.)