Scott Edelman

A COVID-19 test with a negative result photographed against the orange, white, and black box in which it came.

Heading off shortly for a holiday gathering and did my usual due diligence of making sure I won't be the Patient Zero of the party. And all, once again, seems well.

Photo of a round four-layer chocolate cake on a purple plate on a multi-colored table. The cake is filled with four layers of flavored and colored whipped creams. Starting at the bottom, it's a layer of chocolate cake, topped by a layer of green whipped cream with chopped pistachio and vanilla extract, topped by another layer of chocolate cake, topped by a layer of yellow whipped cream with almond flavoring, topped by another layer of chocolate cake, topped by a layer of pink whipped cream with crushed peppermints, topped by another layer of chocolate cake, topped at last by a layer of brown chocolate and cinnamon-flavored whipped cream. Whipped cream oozes out the sides.

It's been a few years since I baked @tomsietsema.bsky.social's mother Dorothy's World's Fair Cake, but the crowd I'll be hanging with tomorrow seemed worthy of its complex preparation. Four layers of chocolate cake separated by four different flavors and colors of whipped cream! And it is divine.

You're not the only one who's told me that!

A rainbow-striped tray on which have been placed rows of cookies, glazed and sprinkled with lemon zest. Written with black magic marker on a pink sign are the words: Lemon Cookies From Bryan Voltaggio's "Home" Cookie: Flour, Cornstarch, Sea Salt, Unsalted Butter, Sugar, Vanilla, Lemon Zest Glaze: Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Powdered Sugar, Lemon Zest

Step one of my holiday baking is done for tomorrow's gathering of the writing group I helped found after bumping into another local writer on the way home from the 1989 Worldcon — a batch of lemon cookies . Step two now begins — Tom Sietsema's Mom Dorothy's World's Fair Cake! wapo.st/4oDkeOg

Erik Bulatov, Russian Painter Who Undermined Soviet Propaganda, Dies at 92

It was impossible to read Russian painter Erik Bulatov's obituary without thinking of Donald Trump and his minions: “One thing was said, and something completely different was meant. They talked about valor, honesty, courage, but what was meant was simple toadyism." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...

YouTube video by Queen Official Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Official Video)

Last night's earworm which blasted through my brain each time I woke was "Radio Ga Ga." youtu.be/azdwsXLmrHE

Added 146 more words tonight to a new story barely begun. I look forward to learning what it's about.

Family says critically ill man was pressured into deportation order after 'Charlotte's Web' sweep Relatives of a 27-year-old Honduran man say he was denied dialysis and pressured into signing a voluntary deportation order after being detained during "Operation Charlotte's Web." ICE denies the alle...

Today in Donald Trump's state-sponsored terrorism. www.wfae.org/race-equity/...

Because Adam-Troy Castro did the thought experiment of listing what he considered his personal Top 10 stories, then winnowing it to his Top 5, I thought I'd do the same, only — I'm having trouble deciding which story should be kicked from my Top 11 — and which two deserve to be added to my Top 3.

YouTube video by Moggy's HiFi Antics Mad Magazine 1966 It's a Gas

MAD magazine took care of that for me during the mid-'60s! youtu.be/LZkYv2rmvBY

Finished Episode 9 of James Joyce's Ulysses, so only one more to read to be ready for Monday's fourth meeting of the nine-session Zoom study group. And all I can think is — Joyce doesn't seem to want readers, but codebreakers. It's as if he wanted only literary Alan Turings to appreciate the book.

Looking at that photo, I feel we should be recording right now.

Nuremberg and Vietnam - Wikipedia

I have not. Thanks for the tip. BTW — my first exposure to the Nuremberg Trials as far as I can recall was when I was 15 and read Telford Taylor's book Nuremberg and Vietnam: An American Tragedy. It taught me a valuable lesson about how I wanted to life my life. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurembe...

Hi there, I just checked out Eating the Fantastic and saw it had close to 264 episodes. With that many episodes, your podcast should be a highly polished, easy to find content machine that consistently shows up in search. Here's the issue: Every episode hits a new angle, but YouTube has nothing to show who should see them. So when someone searches for exactly what you talked about? You never appear in results. The fix only takes a minute per episode. Think a brief conversation would be worthwhile? Your next 1,000 viewers are already searching for your content. They just aren't seeing your videos.

If you ever hear me say I want Eating the Fantastic to be "a highly polished, easy to find content machine," you'll know I've lost it, and have my advance permission to put me out of my misery.

YouTube video by Scott Edelman Scott Edelman reads "101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded"

For a taste of my new PS Publishing collection 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded, check out my reading of the title story's opening scenes which I recorded at a con a while back. If you like what you hear, I hope you'll consider picking up a copy to experience the rest. youtu.be/JdEE9RRquUo

Video of Boat Strike Shows Survivors Waving Before Fatal Follow-Up Attack

Pete Hegseth is a murderer — as are all who choose to follow his illegal orders. I learned the lessons of the Nuremberg Trials back when I was in high school. Why didn't they? "I was only following orders" is no excuse for crimes against humanity. Prosecute them all! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/u...

An open cookbook, with a full-page photo on the right of a plate of lemon cookies, glazed and sprinkled with lemon zest. The recipe on the left is obscured by a metal bowl filled with a light yellow dough.

What's on the left will be transformed into what's on the right — but not until tomorrow, because the dough for the lemon cookies from Bryan Voltaggio's cookbook Home requires an overnight stay in my refrigerator before I can bake them for Sunday's holiday get-together.

YouTube video by TUNE - Musical Moments Everything's Alright | Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) | TUNE

Last night's earworm which popped up to soothe me each time I woke was the opening to "Everything's Alright" from Jesus Christ Superstar. youtu.be/qV9C6Am8xzk

Tonight's treadmill TV time took me through Barry Season 4, Episodes 4 and 5. I did NOT expect THAT! Only three more episodes left until the end, which I wish I could binge tonight, but I don't have any more stepping in me, and you know my rules.

Oh, no! I'm so sorry. I hope the cloud hovering over your head passes soon.

YouTube video by Scott Edelman Scott Edelman signs the limited edition of 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded

Watch as I scribble my name on the inserts for PS Publishing's signed limited edition jacketed hardcover of my new science fiction collection 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded, telling tales of Dennis Etchison, Karl Edward Wagner, Joyce Carol Oates, and others as I do. youtu.be/oMora9thEHo

‘Creating fear and chaos’: ICE officials target Somali neighborhoods, scoop up U.S. citizens in sweep Local activists reported a series of arrests across the Twin Cities, including outside Somali housing areas, malls and at a Latino day labor spot, after a contingent of ICE agents descended on the Twi...

Today in Donald Trump's cruel campaign of state-sponsored terrorism. sahanjournal.com/immigration/...

A screen grab of the sound waves of our voices in GarageBand, showing the many snips and a time stamp of 10.01.022.

Ended tonight editing the first 10 minutes of raw audio from my chat during the recent Ditko Con with comics writer/editor Jack C. Harris to make your listening experience more pleasing. I hope you'll subscribe to hear us wax nostalgic on the next episode of Eating the Fantastic! pod.link/1083737796

Today's treadmill TV stepped me through the first three episodes of Barry Season 4. Only five more to go until it's all over, and from what you've been telling me, the series sticks the landing. I sure hope so.

That poster art seems to have flipped Whitey Schafer's 1940 photograph "Thou Shalt Not," which commented on the Hays Code.

Carol across the table from me wearing a blue blouse, smiling at the camera, and holding up one of the Carbonara Arancini on her spoon.

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to @anuncivilphd.bsky.social! Celebrate by joining us on an episode of Eating the Fantastic and learn about the unsettling inconsistencies she discovered while going through 200 boxes of Fredric Wertham’s papers — plus much more. www.scottedelman.com/2022/10/05/c...

A close-up of the lower spine of my copy showing the word VINTAGE as well as a yellow sun in a circle. Nearly an inch of the front cover has peeled away.

I bought a new copy of Ulysses directly from Random House a month ago to follow along during the nine-session Zoom reading group being run by the Elevator Repair Service prior to its upcoming adaptation at The Public Theater, and the lightly read book is already falling apart. Quite disappointing.

ICE Arrested and Separated Chinese Father From 6-Year-Old Son, Advocates Say The father and son were detained at an ICE check-in on Nov. 26, advocates say. The son’s location is currently unknown, while the father is being held at an upstate ICE facility.

Today in Donald Trump's state-sponsored terrorism. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/02/i...

Comic book panel of a space-suited figure on top of a promontory, facing away from us. The figure and the stones on which it stands are colored a pinkish red, the background is orange, and there are some purple shards in the foreground. WORD BALLOON #1: "But I'm glad we're together." WORD BALLOON #2: "You know, here at the end." [from the story "Hope Endures," published in Cruel Universe #5, December 2025, words by Ryan Haddock, art by Kano.]

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

COVID-19 test with a negative result photographed against a detail of a purple image of a futuristic city.

Now that it's been 2+ days since Sunday's trip to Baltimore which involved pizza and a party (but not a pizza party), I took the usual first step of my post-event due diligence and checked to make sure I'm not wandering about asymptomatically. And thankfully, for now at least, all seems copacetic.