E.J. Phipps

Willie Nelson didn't know his song would be playing when my mom died. In fact, writing and recording that song might have been a slog—something he slapped together to pay the bills. It doesn't *matter*. Good or bad, art is part of the structure of our lives. We need it. We *inhabit* it.

It's easy to feel like art doesn't matter. But I've been thinking about the songs we played for my mom while she was dying. The shows that got me through years of pandemic quarantine. The audiobooks and podcasts that are the only media my disabled wife can still enjoy. Somebody created those things.

Today in "leaving money on the table"

hey, this might sound a little freaky, maybe even a little radical, but I think the focus should be making sure writers/artists are properly compensated, supported, and have a secure way of living/creating instead of trying to replace us with robots, and/or having us train them.

The “eventually readers will not care.” bit at the end is what’s haunting me because so many readers and authors are using Ai. It’s so disheartening. The rest of Jen’s thread sums up my feelings pretty well.

most of all, fuck everybody who sees romance as a cash register rather than a genre worthy of respect. the booktok to AI slopfest pipeline has been the most grim, depressing downward spiral. it sucks.

I like that the same day a guy was like “this place will never be Twitter” this thread gave us the most 2015 Twitter experience (complimentary) imaginable.

"Will I get scolded if I say I love this album? I haven’t background checked this musican"
Like bitch you're not his babysitter, fucking relax. This approach to things is totally unreasonable

Dude carrying way too many things, labeled "writer/artist" with the stack of stuff labeled "side WIP, WIP from 3 months ago, passion project, imaginary project, WIP I keep open in the background so I don't feel guilty, the WIP I'm actually "working on""

The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.

I Broke Apart. I Came Back Better. - Kameron Hurley This update went out in my most recent newsletter. If you’d like to get updates like this, sign up for The Hurley Cut: Story & Power. Somewhere between 2011 and 2020, I lost my way. I’ve been trying t...

“I spent plenty of years doing other things. It turned out they were never as satisfying as writing.”
www.kameronhurley.com/i-broke-apar... via @kameronhurley.com

It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month.

It’s about oil and regime change.

And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from his sinking under Epstein and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

Congratulations!!!

Today’s advice from your Goth Auntie
-Stop slouching, drink some water, take your meds.
-Any progress, no matter how small, is still progress. Be proud of that.
-The Lurking Horror is no longer allowed to help with strings of holiday lights. So much untangling.
❤️ Auntie Jilli

Woke 2.0 is going to be beyond our imaginations, I want to leap over the limitations of sex, drugs, and rock & roll and go straight to squid polo, cupcake architecture, and alien reacharounds.

Yet.

I'm bookmarking this for the next time someone asks me exactly what does 'a structural edit' mean. This may be a screenplay not a novel, but it's an excellent example of the principles and process regardless.

I'm going to have to check them out! Thank you!

Ooh, that's awesome!

I would love to see Sweeney Todd again (and daydream about a proshot). I'm hoping that the Six and Hadestown proshots are released in the somewhat near future.

Using the belief that creators are the "petite bourgeoisie" to justify pirating books/stealing art is EXACTLY what makes it so hard for anyone who isn't rich to pursue their creative dreams

If you steal our art, you PERSONALLY are preventing us from building sustainable careers

It's been ages since I've seen a musical in an actual theater ( I've seen a bunch on streamkng opposed to on streaming).

-Sweeney Todd
-Wicked
-Mamma Mia
-Shrek
-Les Miserables

I guess this explains the AI boom a lot. Nobody wants to put time into making things because the audience refuses to actually pay any attention to it anyway. Nobody wants to make the things and nobody wants to watch it. What's the point? What are y'all doing here?

almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.

95% of authors are not making a living through book publishing. The public needs to understand this.

you can judge the extent of a legal fuckup by the volume of audible laughter coming from the lawyers of bluesky and in this case I think we're at jet engine levels

authors you have the chance to do the funniest thing right now

If you observe anything in Charlotte today

I do not want to “Do my own research.” I want to pay trained accredited experts to do the research, trained accredited experts to report on findings, and trained accredited experts to make policy based on them.

I am busy af with my own job, I don’t need to do eight zillion more.

r/boston u/migrational_coconut • 1d Spotted a baby alligator in the Charles Salamanders Yesterday on my run, I was flabbergasted to spot this tiny alligator hanging out in Turtle Pond (on the Charles River bike path. My assumption is that he is someone's pet who was either lost or dumped (but he still gave me QUITE a jump scare at 7AM). I called Animal Control and was sent to voicemail - hopefully someone can grab him before it gets too cold. From instagram, it looks like some other folks have spotted him along the river too.

Joe's Crazzy Critters • Follow 1d • Q ... Tonight NBC10 Boston contacted me for an interview regarding the small American alligator that was spotted in the Charles River near Back Bay. After the interview, more information was shared about the location the alligator was last seen. So, I grabbed a head lamp and flashlight and took a ride into Boston. With the cold temps, the alligator had very low chances of surviving. With some luck and a couple of bright flashlights after 15 minutes I found the Boston alligator. I was able to capture him safely and he will be warm and housed until we get more information and instructions on what's next for this little guy. We are hoping that he will be a new resident and ambassador here at Joe's Crazzy Critters

New England Wildlife Center & • Follow •.. 5h • Meet Charles, the baby alligator who made quite the splash in Boston this week! ? Thanks to the quick action (and above-and-beyond dedication) of Joe's Crazzy Critters, Charles was safely rescued from the cold water of the Charles River last night and brought to us for care. Our veterinarians Greg, Harry, and Tess examined him today and determined he has an upper respiratory infection. He's now getting antibiotics and a warm, safe place to recover. Alligators don't belong in New England, and it's likely Charles was released by someone who couldn't care for him anymore. If you ever find yourself in that position, please call us and we are happy to work with you find a humane solution. Never release a pet into the wild. The Odd Pet Vet is dedicated to giving every creature the expert care they deserve. If you your scaled, furred, or feathered family member needs a check-up, give us a call! Learn more: newildlife.org/odd-pet-vet

baby alligator in a bin marked "live animals" being held aloft in a man's hand

I have the most wonderful story for you all today: baby alligator spotted in Charles River, then immediately rescued by local reptile enthusiast

excuse me what