Melissa Ruhl

This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥

The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for… Former private investigator and New York Times notable …

Just finished @davidcorbett.bsky.social's masterpiece, The Art of Character. I may not have a more underlined / dogeared book in my library. I took my time, reading about 10 min a day taking time to digest, absorb, and be inspired. Highly recommend this book. www.goodreads.com/book/show/15...

Devastating news

YouTube video by Lawyer Oyer Five-alarm fire inside the DOJ

We have a five-alarm fire inside the Department of Justice. I've been telling you about the dominoes falling over the last few months. Now it's all coming to a head. We must stay alert, informed, and outspoken. youtube.com/shorts/ZwC8B...

Really such strange legislation when we need new retail all across San Francisco. Excellent read.

😔

In the clip @scottwiener.bsky.social says, "I have had older gay men who are long-term HIV survivors say that if I lose my apartment, I have a choice of either moving back to Tennessee and having bad HIV care or having good HIV care in San Francisco and being homeless."

These are the stakes.

The viral moment where Padilla bragged about suffocating housing in her district was indeed shocking.

Right after that, Senator Wiener refocused the conversation on what matters: robust housing as a fundamental need for healthy communities (start here: youtu.be/KyUp-rgpSJg?...).

I'm really struggling with this.

I go to sites like DemocracyNow!, but they're a small operation and there's only so much they can cover.

Hard not to be disillusioned.

Texas in 2025.

We need more & better transit. Transit makes cities better & more vibrant. It makes life more affordable. It reduces traffic & makes streets safer. And it helps us fight climate change. We’re working hard to improve investment in transit, make it work better & prevent devastating service cuts.

When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.

Horrifying.

😔

Visited Vancouver w/ @lentinic.bsky.social and loved the unique skyline.

Sure enough, they've had a policy on the books for ~30 years that high rises "establish a significant and recognizable new benchmark for architectural creativity and excellence" ❤️

guidelines.vancouver.ca/policy-highe...

Very welcome reforms from our kickass mayor

Intermezzo An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and fami…

Even though it took me a bit to get into, Intermezzo was well worth the read. A deep study of grief, siblinghood, and love, I definitely plan to read Intermezzo again.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...

I've been learning ASL for a couple of years now and I had a lot of fun playing around with this new AI tool

Agreed. (And let's hope it is a maximum 4 years. We've got to do what we can to ensure it is.)

This is nice, at least: "The razed coastal bluffs, left to their own timetable, have quietly become a sanctuary for butterflies and rare owls who now roam DeMille’s old street unfettered."

Life finds a way.

Beautiful Ruins "The best novel of the year." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's…

I just finished Beautiful Ruins by @jesswalter.bsky.social. I was deeply invested in each of the characters and didn't want to put it down. Highly recommend this and all of his books. www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

It is deeply disturbing. I hope KCBS, KQED, and other outlets continue to have courage.

We ended the night with a Waymo trip to the Metreon where we saw Love Hurts, a fun action flick that made us laugh. I'm so lucky to live in this wonderful city.

The food was as good as expected with spring rolls, pasta, corn bread, and a West African peanut stew. By the time we got to dessert, we were so stuffed but (easily) we found room for a chocolate cherry bread pudding.

We were very ready to eat by the time we arrived at Greens, a well-known vegetarian restaurant that I've been meaning to visit for years

Our walk continued, featuring @waymo.bsky.social, cable cars, and parks with famous views

Then, the peaceful beauty of Coit Tower, an escape from a different time

Enjoyed a lovely walk in San Francisco, from Soma to Coit Tower and then to Greens Restaurant via Aquatic Park. Idyllic.

With @lentinic.bsky.social

First, the steep, many-staired walk up to Coit Tower with San Francisco's famous noisy parrots keeping us company

ELON IS ALLOWED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. NOT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OR STUDENTS & PARENTS. I WILL BE BACK.

Today I joined several Members of Congress at the Department of Education to stand up for public education. Outrageously, they barred us from entering the building. We won’t let this stop our work to demand answers about how and why Trump and Musk are trying to defund and privatize public education.