Lee Mandelo

'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports A meta-analysis of 52 studies that included over 5,000 transgender people suggests that transgender women's physical fitness after hormone therapy is comparable to that of cisgender women.

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www.livescience.com/health/there...

It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.

Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”

On a similar note, as Mamdani continues to notch W after W you’re going to start seeing opinion pieces about how this could never work in any city other than New York, etc., etc. Do not engage! It’s just entrenched power bullshit and that’s all! Don’t let them make that a conversation!

I'm going to say this again in case you haven't heard this one: I was a talented writer and it did *nothing whatsoever* because I hadn't put in the work, and I put in the work for ten years (subtracting the bit where I had to quit for my mental health) to write Witchmark

talent alone could *never*

I don't know what to tell you. You can't sit at a piano for the first time ever and play a sonata. You can't pick up a tennis racket for the first time and serve a 110MPH Ace.

You have to fuck up.

You have to be able to handle failing.

You have to love it enough to not get it right and keep on.

Sorry to inflict this on you as well

I just saw a post saying happy 21st birthday to I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning by Bright Eyes and said aloud “now that can’t be right”

Unfortunately 2005 was in fact 21 years ago. What the hell man

Writing this story made me happy in a dark time.

I talked to half a dozen people who started queer bookstores in their communities, and what I heard gave me hope.

These aren't just bookstores — they're a lifeline for people who have no place else to go.

"I HAVE to use AI to make art because I'm not good at making art! it's HARD!" that, my stupid friend, is the entire point of the struggle

This might sound like hyperbole.

It is not.

They took a decision they were warned would cause trans kids to die. Trans kids died. They covered that up and attacked those trying to expose their cover up.

They deserve to go to prison and nobody will ever be held accountable.

It is the UK way.

An update! The recently-released ‘Old Gods of Appalachia: Dig Your Own Grave’ ttrpg book from @montecookgames.com features a bitesized short story from yours truly, titled “Crossing Through.”

I fought and won a small war on Wikipedia to get the language calling Walter Breen's child sexual abuse "relationships" changed on the MZB page, before the daughter alleged she had also sexually abused her. People did not want the facts, but comfortable, exonerative euphemisms for raping teens.

in all seriousness it is just an unfortunate truth that if you rise up and find success in the arts there will be peers who let their jealousy overwhelm them. in my other creative life i remember the exact MOMENT when i opened a magazine to see a bud i trotted up with suddenly trash talking.

‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’

centuries pass and still it sings. what a gift it is, how time flattens under the weight of a practiced voice. how irreplaceable

I think often of the women in the Louis CK story—how they all left comedy and never went back, but he’s still going. It’s everywhere and it’s such a loss for them and for us—for things they’ll never make that we’ll never see.

We're still stuck at 1 percent of Hailey's goal.

Can we get it to 10 percent today? 🏳️‍⚧️💖

here's how trad publishing works a far as I can tell me: hell yeah I wrote a really good comic book. do you want it publishing: YES! THIS IS THE BEST THING WE'VE EVER BEEN PITCHED! can we have it for [comically small amount of money] my agent: haha. no publishing: okay fine (4 yrs later) publishing: your book is doing SUPERBLY congratulations!! me: cool can I do another one publishing: well let's not be too hasty

publishing: the thing is we've fired our entire staff me: ...why publishing: nothing you need to worry about haha me: oh. well, I'm a little worried since it's my job and stuff publishing: wow you do this for a living? truly?? damn haha maybe we should be paying you more my agent: yes publishing: haha! but yeah. no

a breakdown of how my job feels like recently

journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact

please watch:

Hmm, anybody got anything?

OK folks, let's get this started. Think back to pandemic year 2020. Think of SFF books from that year which "include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues." A broad citation!

Here's my initial longlist from racking my brain. What've I missed?

Two things that I'm in made the list: The Outspoken and the Incendiary, Terry Bisson @pmpress.bsky.social and Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, edited by @leemandelo.bsky.social from @erewhonbooks.bsky.social. Proud to be in such excellent company!

Thanks so much for including ‘Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity’ on the Recommended Reading List, @locusmag.bsky.social! And thanks to the contributors and @erewhonbooks.bsky.social as always 🖤

Hell yeah

Oh let’s goooo

Steven Pinker wrote a legal analysis of a *child sex crimes law* as a favor to Epstein and then had the gall to say he had no idea what the guy was accused of.

All of the “hey what’s the big deal here” pageantry is insulting

ICE is assaulting and at war with americans. we are all their enemy. no other way to look at it at this point

Have a very sweaty, flushed selfie from our trip to Chiang Rai yesterday ✨

it's been very clear Epstein was a white supremacist, yet our (very white) media largely ignored to the public's detriment