Kyle Aisteach

Today from Hell Itself, Nicholas De Marino brings us a weird science fiction tale about a luchadora, a ghost child, and the patriarchy. Where else would you find such a story?

hellitself.com/on-the-ropes/

Louvre Thieves Given Immunity After Confirming Jewels Stolen For Purpose Of Training AI Software FRENCH POLICE have immediately ended all efforts to recover priceless Napoleon-era jewellery from the Louvre taken in a daring heist after it emerged the jewels were merely stolen for the purposes of ...

😂 waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/10/20/l...

I don't know that I ever finished anything until I was in high school. The first I clearly remember was a story set in a future where they think they've eliminated suicide but a doctor is coming across cases that look like self-harm, but I'm sure that wasn't actually the first.

Up here we're having a huge issue because Caltrans decided to shut down a huge swatch of the 14 and just casually re-routed all freeway traffic onto a road that wasn't built for it, and now the asphalt is so torn up it's like driving on gravel...

Today from Hell Itself: "Matt's Baby" by Toshiya Kamei, a weird horror story of tables getting turned.

hellitself.com/matts-baby/

Thank you! And, yes, I hadn't really thought about it until the guy at the body shop commented that cars are doing much more damage than they used to. And I was like, "Damn, I should mention that to everyone else in the world..."

Thank you! I'm glad, too, obviously! :)

Thank you. Me, too, obviously. :)

P.S. I'm fine, where "fine" is defined as not debilitated by my injuries. I'm inconvenienced and unlikely to see a settlement that covers the actual costs I'm going to incur, of course. I'm still jumping at shadows while driving. Could have been far, far worse, though.

I'm certainly not saying "Don't drive a heavy car" or "Heavy cars are dangerous," but they require a different skillset than the VW Rabbit I learned to drive in (curb weight about 1,800 lbs.)

Driving is a skill. Keep working on it your whole life.

The car in front of me got hit by the combined mass of both my car and the Silverado. That's in the ballpark of 9,000 lbs. What would have been a tap in the tinfoil cars of my youth absolutely destroyed my front end, and I'm sure did a couple thousand dollars of damage to them.

If you're driving around in a heavy vehicle, you're going to do more damage in an accident. And that means you need more liability insurance.

I was hit by a Chevy Silverado 1500, curb weight about 5,000 lbs. Watching that thing barrel down at me in the rear view mirror was terrifying. It hit us so hard it bent the *roof* of my car. F=ma. The more mass you got, the more of a wallop you carry when you hit something.

Now, I'm including myself in this. I was in a Chevy Bolt EUV. Curb weight 3,680 lbs. Plus 500 more pounds of humans inside it. That's a lot of mass compared to my previous car's curb weight of 2,341 lbs. I had to re-learn what stopping distance looks like when I got it.

I was in a car accident last week. I don't normally talk a lot about my personal life publicly, but I feel like I have to say this:

People, cars are getting heavier. That means they don't stop on a dime any more. Get to know your vehicle and how it handles.

The problem with eugenics is that everyone who espouses it feels like they're more qualified than Darwin to decide what "good" traits are.

Let me tell you, in a crisis, Darwin will make short work of the eugenicists.

I know, right?

True A.I. is going to be a gamechanger.

But we ain't there yet, folks.

Please keep using your brains.

And the thing is, sooner or later there will be enough of us mocking the algorithm for trying to sell us what we just bought that the techbros will reprogram it. But it won't *think* at all. There's no ability to see connections, just patterns. It will keep on making mistakes.

When I was a kid, if someone came into the store who had bought a Thermos a few days before, the salesguy would be like, "So, is your coffeemaker up to the task?" That's the guy who got the sale. Not the one who was like, "Do you need another Thermos?"

It has begun.

I bought a Thermos mug online the other day.

Now every ad I'm getting is for insulated mugs.

Human marketers understand "I've already got one" intuitively. A.I. has a long way to go.

Worth the read.

Very sorry to be losing you. Thank you for all you've done.

Ping @crboltz.bsky.social

We're pleased to announce that you can now download each month's stories in a handy .pdf digest, available on our website at the beginning of the following month. September's is out now, featuring stories by @rachiea.bsky.social @crboltz.bsky.social @deborahldavitt.com and @ktwagner.bsky.social

Witches and werewolves and vampires, oh my!

Some Queer Short SFF - August 2025 | Charles Payseur Get more from Charles Payseur on Patreon

🏳️‍🌈SOME QUEER SHORT SFF - AUGUST 2025🏳️‍🌈
I round up 25 stories by @rukman.bsky.social @nicowritesbooks.bsky.social @rfdwrites.bsky.social @gothgreenwitch.bsky.social @nassos.bsky.social @sylvie-althoff.bsky.social @mererain.bsky.social @whatsmacksaid.bsky.social & MORE!!!
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Today from Hell Itself, the very last of James Ipse's Colm Ramirez mysteries!

hellitself.com/the-case-of-...

Watch for our next story on October 3!

Oh, hi. Got caught up in dayjob drama. What'd I miss?

Well, it looks like I have not been taken up in the rap—