Randal (he/him)

Bluesky silenced trans voices over J.K. Rowling, here’s why Outcry grows after multiple trans users were targeted for mild criticisms of the anti-trans billionaire.

Outcry grows after multiple trans users were targeted for mild criticisms of the anti-trans billionaire.

I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler Robots, Get Off My Lawn!

Robots and AI are seemingly everywhere near me. How did this happen exactly? Read my latest Substack post for more on how a robot almost ran me over.
open.substack.com/pub/exquisit...

What Queer Americans Can Learn From Hungary www.autostraddle.com/what-queer-a...

Ugh, Sullivan

Queer Coded: How Gay Are AIs? Should LGBTQIAs Embrace LGBTQ-AIs?

Are AIs are queering the digital landscape from within? Could some of them be secret members of the alphabet mafia, or are they simply too binary?

Don't listen to the people bleating on social media that "no one is doing anything." What they are actually saying is that THEY aren't doing anything. The reality is that folks are working in every corner of the world, doing so much to keep themselves and others alive, while building the future.

I've seen folks talk about how "in four years" they'll be able to get back to their planned projects and I really don't think that's going to work out. People & projects losing funding now will not be able to hit pause and come back once funding is restored. Hard-won progress & capacity will be lost

A hazy speckle of gold light.

"isn’t being queer saving ourselves from dying? my father says"

We're walking through the archives and rereading Janelle Tan's beautiful poem GOETHE's LAST WORDS WERE "MORE LIGHT". Come join us: buff.ly/5sjaeJC

To Live and Thrive in LA What 3 years in the City of Angels taught this East Coast skeptic

What are the best and worst things about life in Los Angeles? After three years in the City of Angels, this former East Coaster has some thoughts. Read my latest Substack for more.

Earth Day Poetry: Words for Our World Five Poems to Rekindle Your Resolve

For #EarthDay, I've gathered five poems that refuse both naive optimism AND paralyzing despair.

The verses that truly matter don't just describe nature's beauty, they demand our response.

open.substack.com/pub/exquisit...

Getting My Head Checked at the Head Spa Was It Good for My Wellness? Well…

"There I was, torso undulating like a fish, my limbs immobilized, as generic spa music piped into the room. Just as I began questioning the wisdom of this endeavor, the technician started a series of the sudsiest, most luxurious hair washes I've ever experienced."

My latest Substack on headspas.

I Want to Be Where the Bears Are - Bear World Magazine Writer Randal Mason shares his experience of discovering the bear community and examines what it is that keeps him here.

🌴☀️ Craving the Company of Bears? Here's Why I'm All In 🐻🎶

Sometimes things bloom in their own time.

It's been nearly three years since I moved to California. My striped Barbados lily made the cross-country road trip with me, resilient but dormant.

And now, for the first time, it's finally in bloom.

Beauty, it turns out, is always worth the wait.

I Want to Be Where the Bears Are - Bear World Magazine Writer Randal Mason shares his experience of discovering the bear community and examines what it is that keeps him here.

🌴☀️ I Want to Be Where the Bears Are… and Here’s Why 🐻🎶

An infographic saying: Need a hit of poetry? Call a poetry hotline! Dial-A-Poem Archive (randomized): 641-793-8122 Dial-A-Poem by Giorno Poetry Systems (randomized): 917-994-8949 Dial-A-Poem USA (randomized): 718-957-2379 Healing Verse Poetry Line (new poem each Monday): 855-763-6792 Poetry Hotline (updated semi-monthly): 310-571-8284 SPACE Poetry Hotline (new poem every few weeks): 207-828-5607 The Poetry Hotline (new poem monthly): 661-527-3301

Happy National Poetry Month! Here's an infographic I created with every active poetry hotline I could find in the U.S. Give 'em a try when you're in the mood for a poem.

On Poetry and Persistence Words for When the World Overwhelms

The world is heavy. But poetry helps me carry the weight of it. For #NationalPoetryMonth, a few poems that remind me to keep going—be stubborn, scrappy, and soft where it matters. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Image of a 50-something white man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard. He's wearing glasses and looking upwards. Behind and above him is an orange cat on a bookshelf looking down at the man with an expression of curiosity.

Mozzi the cat watches over me.

Yes, community takes an investment of time and energy to get it started or to integrate into existing structures. Then it requires maintenance to keep it vibrant.

Maryland confirms measles case, and travelers at Dulles Airport may have been exposed The virus is highly contagious

RFK Jr. is Public Health threat #1.

www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/m...

"Putting your heart into anything—your work, your politics, your activism, your art, your writing, your life—makes you vulnerable to the smug assholes in the back row who’ve never risked a goddamn thing."

Doctors Are Prescribing Gardening For Anxiety & Depression The NHS is recommending gardening to tackle anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Find out how this activity could benefit you.

Wow. Thanks. I just looked into this:

www.carelink24.org/doctors-pres...

Leaves of Grace On Being Blue with a Green Thumb

Sometimes survival looks like keeping a houseplant alive while everything else feels like it's falling apart. My latest essay explores the connection between #mentalhealth and gardening during challenging times.

open.substack.com/pub/exquisit...

Community Building for Beginners "The only way to survive is by taking care of one another." --Grace Lee Boggs

Our current political climate has everyone talking about building #community. But how do you get started if you've never done this before? My latest piece offers a practical roadmap on Community Building for Beginners.

One reviewer called Companion "Terminator for the girls, gays, and theys." Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bonus: Harvey Guillén is absolutely adorable in it.

It may not be cool or hip in some circles, but we legitimately do need a massive amount of people to run for office.

Flood the school boards, councils, county seats, state legislatures, Congress, etc.

Big changes at the top happen when the ground shifts at the bottom. And that can start now.

Ways Philanthropic Foundations Can Respond To Costly Attacks On DEI Foundations fund research and initiatives that help reduce racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequities. Attacks on DEI threaten the results of those investments.

Philanthropic foundations must defend DEI from politicized attacks by funding advocacy, uniting grantees, countering misinformation, adapting rapid funding, and collaborating to protect past investments.

www.forbes.com/sites/shaunh...

Medicaid is not for sale.
NASA is not for sale.
The Post Office is not for sale.
America is not for sale.

We have an obligation to resist kings. We outnumber them. And they can be overwhelmed.

The Joy of Collective Listening Notes from an Analog Evening

Nine people. One vinyl record. No phones. Some call it old-fashioned, but gathering to simply listen to music together feels almost radical these days. My latest piece explores an evening of collective listening and why analog gatherings feel so vital right now. open.substack.com/pub/exquisit...

Isn't this the plot of "Companion"?

I kid! I kid! I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, especially the War on Loneliness program, which seems all too possible.

Complimenting people on their pagan/pagan-adjacent tattoos and jewlery.

Having books like the Spiral Dance, Gay Witchcraft, etc. on my bookshelves that people can clock when they come over.

Networking. Once you've met one witch, there are very few degrees of separation from others!