Thao Votang

GOOD NEWS! A UNIVERSAL sarbecovirus vaccine candidate has OFFICIALLY started clinical trials. GBP511 is the FIRST vaccine to reach human testing that is intended to protect against MULTIPLE strains of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other related coronaviruses with the potential to spark dangerous outbreaks.

TIL Literary Contest Guidelines for 2025 [PDF version of guidelines] The latest slate of TIL literary contests is now open with prizes adding up to $25,750. In addition, the TIL will bestow a lifetime achievement award ($7,000) and the Jo...

I'm judging the Texas Institute of Letters Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction ~ check out the eligibility guidelines & postmark your book by Jan 9! ✨ texasinstituteofletters.org/til-2025-lit...

circlular painting hanging on a beige wall. the painting has a golden scalloped border and depicts a blushing ghost holding a stack of three books and their pink wallet. orange blossoms with a glittery gold edges on a green vine surround the ghost.

It's been entirely too long since I've added to our art collection, and I am over the moon to have this new work by @silverlinings.bsky.social on our walls. I smile every time I see it (& will walk by just to see it again) 💝

50% OFF Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine When twenty-seven-year-old Linh Ly's recently divorced mother begins dating a coworker, Linh is determined to make sure he is worthy of her mother. She's seen the kind of men her mother ends...

dear readers ~ we have a November promo for the audiobook of LINH LY 💟

Writing to let it be known that I am still editing and def rewrote 1/2 a manuscript (that's right, ~40k!!!! 🫠) and a newsletter will be out tomorrow (forgive me; it's short), so sign up! 🌻🌻🌻

Today is LINH LY's one year anniversary 💗 Give my book a read (or listen, with the super sale below!) ~~~ bookshop.org/p/books/linh...

✨ thanks for reading & writing! ✨💗💞☺️

💗

Organ clocks for post-menopausal women taking estrogen or not taking estrogen

New organ clock data support the anti-aging benefits of estrogen for postmenopausal women. Reviewed here in context with previous and other recent reports.
erictopol.substack.com/p/new-anti-a...

I just read my tenth #COVID19 research study in the past month or so that demonstrates COVID infections cause brain changes that may accelerate Alzheimer's disease, are associated with cognitive decline, and cause fatigue, memory impairment, and sleep disorders. (1/?)

Take Respite: Aisha Imdad’s Works Feel Like a Monsoon Rain, or Like Falling in Love Aisha Imdad’s exhibition of paintings, The Allegorical Gardens, is a stunning display of virtuosity and literary allusion.

It's been about two years since I've written anything art-related, and Aisha Imdad's beautiful exhibition coaxed me out of my hibernation ~~~ southwestcontemporary.com/aisha-imdad/

The beginning of the month will roll around again which means a newsletter will be out soon. Sign up — thao-votang.kit.com/91bfefdbb4

Beyond long COVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage | CBC Radio Scientific evidence is painting an unsettling picture: COVID infections, even if mild or asymptomatic, may be causing long-term cellular and organ damage, as well as increasing your risk of developing...

"There is no such thing as a COVID infection without consequence," says long COVID researcher, David Putrino, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

New by me ⬇️

glad y'all are ok 🖤

🥰

WINNERS OF 2025 LITERARY AWARDS Below you'll find the official press release announcing the twelve award-winners and twenty-six honor-winners for this year's literary award categories. Press-Release-2025-contest-winners-revisedD...

✨ LINH LY received the honor award for the Texas Institute of Letters Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction ✨ Very excited to dig into the books of fellow honorees & awardees! texasinstituteofletters.org/winners-of-2...

sign up for my newsletter, where I put book recs and the things I think about while trying not to sink under all the rest — thao-votang.kit.com/91bfefdbb4 💚

Book Review: Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine - DVAN The book explores the lonely yet crowded nature of one’s twenties in a way that leaves room for the reader’s own self-insertion and interpretation.

Lovely review by Adalyn Tâm An Ngô @diacritics-dvan.bsky.social of LINH LY 💗💚💙 dvan.org/2025/01/book...

Helped 20 other volunteers haul trash out of a nature preserve while listening to crows build a nest nearby 💚 the organizer said they had yet to see a squirrel in the area. Maybe this will be the year they can return.

thanks for reading & sharing, @kristenleigh.bsky.social ! 💚

The Five Remembrances The Five Remembrances help us to embrace the realities of life. We all will grow old, get sick, and die. There is no escape. When we contemplate them daily, we get a perspective on life that is ski…

Finding it helpful to start my days with the five remembrances. This version was written by Thích Nhất Hạnh — mountainsangha.org/the-five-rem...

An art book on grey thread sofa seat. The book is a catalog of Vincent Valdez's work titled "just a dream..." the text is in pink font over an exquisitely drawn dark brown illustration of a pig resting on one leg. Near it is spectacles, a crumpled paper, money, a pile of coins, and a cigarette.

Saw some beautiful things for a day, which was a nice change —

YouTube video by Science Channel Wandering Rocks of Death Valley

Reading about Ogallala Aquifer was not so feel-good BUT I somehow encountered "sailing stones" and that is joyful — youtu.be/fMm1E8CYSxk

What does Zebrowski miss about pre-pandemic times? “I miss the illusion that people are willing to care for each other,” she said. “How hard is it to put a mask on? It rattles your faith in humankind …

AMA Winter Response Fund By Austin Mutual Aid

Contribute before the next cold front: givebutter.com/weatherama

Thank you for reading @kristenleigh.bsky.social ! 💗💗💗