BeLinda Mathie

These rules, plus “all weapons are loaded, even weapons you unloaded yourself,” were drilled into me as a kid in a gun-loving rural area! That DHS officers are pointing loaded guns at unarmed civilians with reckless abandon is not getting the attention it deserves.

Tête Charcuterie in Chicago. It was on the west end of Randolph in Chicago’s West Loop, just a little bit ahead of its time. House-made charcuterie and a brilliant duck breast entree, with an excellent cocktail program. Firmly believe it would be open today if it had opened 5 years later.

I grew up in a rural area. One of my brothers still lives there with his family. I live in a city now. I’m entirely familiar with rural lifestyles; I’ve just chosen something else for myself.

They want to take us back to the ‘50s. The 1850s.

Christian Nationalism, white supremacy, and violent misogyny are no way to run a country.

Evil but sometimes sadly necessary. (Just finishing a taper myself.) Hope you feel better soon.

My sister in law got one of these a few months ago in NJ. Fortunately, she figured out it was a scam before things got too far. Scammers are in overdrive lately.

Or the regime-controlled Interstellar Network News.

I maintain that the Cubs winning the World Series broke reality. Prince and Bowie saw it coming.

AI “BoLinda” feels like a personal attack.

I am so, so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this remembrance.

Same for my family. I often take the bus to work downtown. It’s 15-25 min, the stops are close to our house/my office, & I don’t have to look/pay for parking. My husband works in a suburb & at odd hours. His drive is 40-70 min. Transit would be 90+ min & still leave him 5 miles from work.

Political violence is really hard to put back in the bottle once it gets out. Good reason to keep it corked up, period.

Well-deserved! Congratulations!

The wedding-industrial complex has not improved since I got married (mumble) years ago, I see. Wishing you and your fiancé the best of luck creating an event meaningful to you without breaking the bank.

Black-letter law says I *can’t* report to work unless excepted? Staying home wasn’t my idea!

How am I supposed to “negotiate” my pre-existing condition?

My knees can’t take standing on a concrete floor for 3 hours anymore. Even in my comfiest shoes. Seats are where it’s at.

That is truly a wretched hat.

The Speaker’s abdication of responsibility is appalling. That he’s apparently doing it to protect pedophiles is mind-boggling.

Havel was the answer to a Jeopardy! question today. Definitely still relevant.

Went out for a nice dinner in college. Ordered the cheese course. Server gave an explanation about each cheese, then did a quick summary I’ll never forget: “cow, cow, sheep, cow, sheep.”

I only knew this because Khalid was on my flight and some young passengers were very excited/saying his name. He didn’t look anything like DJ Khaled. A quick search revealed that they are different people.

I didn’t know this (not on Instagram). Wow. Thank you for sharing.

“Liking” this post feels off, but it is important to acknowledge. Ruby Bridges is 71. Just 71. The past isn’t even past.

I don’t need computers to write books and then read them for me, or to fake vacation pics so I can work more. I need computers/robots to fold my laundry and empty my dishwasher so I can read more books while on vacation!

The proponents of white supremacy are often self-refuting.

We do one bowl of fun size chocolate and a separate bowl of Dum-Dum lollipops. Tell the kids they can take two of one or one of each. The Dum-Dums are *way* more popular than I would have guessed.

Welcome to Boat! You’ve been on my list of suggested guests since I read This Is How You Lose the Time War, so this is very exciting!

Glad to see my “We have Scalzi on Boat” comment to my husband at Gen Con (when we couldn’t squeeze in your appearance) proven true!