Maureen McDole

Title: How to focus on writing your book There follow eleven tiny images telling a story. The captions read: Turn your devices off (a writer with a phone and laptop. The screens are dark). Put them in a drawer. Lock the drawer. Throw away the key. Leave the house. Do not look back. Keep to backroads and hedgerows. Feel your old life slip away. (the writer has shed his clothes) Sleep by day. Forage in the evening. Write by the light of the moon When you have a passable first draft, commit a minor crime and use your phone call to contact your agent. (the naked writer is in a prison holding a phone while an unamused police officer looks on).

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com Books

Moments from the field with Justin Robinson…

This tune is “Ryestraw” from our new album “What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow.”

Listen now: giddensrobinson.lnk.to/BlackbirdCrow

Hurricane season starts June 1 and if you live in a Gulf state, you need to watch this. It’s worse than you might think.

The few employees still left at FEMA admit: they are not prepared. Not enough staff. Not enough supplies. Not enough leadership. Plan accordingly.

Photo of a brown willow sculpture of a female archer holding a bow as if about to release an arrow, with hair tied back and in a long flowing skirt, the sculpture is on a path in a green woodland setting

UK contemporary sculptor known as Anna & the Willow creates nature-inspired sculptures made from rods of willow #womensart

List of 20 websites where you can download unlimited books for free:

1. Planet eBook
2. Free-eBooks. net
3. ManyBooks
4. Librivox
5. Internet Archive
6. BookBub
7. Open Library
8. BookBoon
9. Feedbooks
10. Smashwords

How is protesting Tesla domestic terrorism but attacking the Capitol building is not? 🤔

He was always a used car salesman at heart.

Picture of police guarding a Tesla dealership.

Too bad Uvalde Elementary didn’t sell Teslas.

In order to defeat CHAOTIC EVIL…

…you’re gonna need CHAOTIC GOOD.

Am I right?

Level 5 Dungeon Masters, please check in.

It’s borderline criminal.

National Parks Had a Record Year. Trump Officials Appear to Want It Kept Quiet. As the administration fires rangers and other workers, an internal memo is directing the National Park Service not to publicize visitors numbers.

National parks had a record number of visits last year. Now, an internal memo is directing the National Park Service not to publicize visitors numbers amid the Trump administration’s mass firings of rangers and other employees.

I will not be helping Trump over the next 4 years.

Not my most eloquent letter, but utterly sincere....

Every $1 spent to reduce emissions from mobile sources under the Clean Air Act results in $9 of benefits to public health, the environment, productivity, and consumer savings

As the White House mulls further cuts to clean energy spending, it feels relevant to revisit the 2013 report from the federal Office of Management and Budget which found that every dollar spent on emissions reductions leads to $9 in benefits — a ratio that is almost certainly higher 12 years later 🧪

A new US Department of Energy website at enddei.ed.gov reads, "Schools should be focused on learning. The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation."

This is seriously disturbing: an official US Dept of Education website at enddei.ed.gov is now requesting citizens report on teachers who are educating students on diversity & equity, implying such efforts are illegal and promising to use this info "to identify potential areas for investigation."

A man wearing a black "TECH SUPPORT" T-shirt and a hat with "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" stands in front of seated individuals in an indoor setting. The background includes a doorway and decadent elements. The people seated appear to be listening attentively.

I don't care that the media didn't ask why he wasn't wearing a suit at the Whitehouse; I care that they didn't ask WTF he was doing at a cabinet meeting.

“Paradise” Is Manna for the Moment The clanking didacticism of Dan Fogelman’s new Hulu series, which involves climate disaster, nuclear war, and the insurgency of the billionaire class in politics, is deeply satisfying.

The new show “Paradise” involves climate disaster, nuclear war, and perhaps most acutely, the insurgency of the billionaire class in politics. “The rapacity of Elon Musk . . . is a clear inspiration for the drama,” Doreen St. Félix writes.

Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦 ✊

I'm so embarrassed to be American right now. Anyone who has ever been in an abusive relationship could see the way Trump talked down to President Zelensky. Unacceptable. Shameful. Embarrassing.

We apologize to our Ukrainian supporters. We are embarrassed by how our president and vice president have behaved. We are fighting to redeem the soul of America. 🇺🇸

Why don’t you wear a suit?

Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.

He nails it.

What the actual fuck?! America, it’s time to rise. When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty!

Don’t think that this can’t happen, because it happened in the Department of Defense in the late 80s/early 90s. Imagine how much money that is if they do this once a month. We have to stay vigilant and hold them accountable to how our money is being spent or taken. #powertothepeople #notmypresident

Imagine if Donald Trump and Elon Musk each took $.10 out of every United States citizens’ account and put it into their private bank accounts. Would we even notice?

Jesuit Priest 👇🏽