Seeing all sorts of references to Weird Girl Lit these days, so now’s my chance to beg everyone to take an hour to read Christina Rossetti’s 1962 poem, “Goblin Market.” You are simply not prepared for how crazy it goes.
Amazon Syren
@amazonsyren.bsky.social
Unusually Tall. Queer, leather femme. Poet, pagan, glamazon, and kitchen witch. Not-so-secretly a sea monster. (She/Her) https://allisonlarmstrong.wixsite.com/writer
I have some thoughts to share on why passion isn't a thing you need in the workplace. Check it out! #freelancerlife #editing #writing #translation www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-reas...
3 Reasons Why Passion Is Overrated
Recently, a friend of mine was discussing a job posting they came across that listed “passion for copy editing” in the application criteria. We had a good chuckle about it.
linkedin.com
I liked that reading game so much I made a writing one to share around. 1 like = 1 answer. Please feel free to share this around, I made it myself and I would be happy to see it spread.
I really appreciate the number of PDX bumper stickers that endorse crying.
You will find no standing temple, no ancient walls and almost nothing to suggest that this quiet field on the southern side of the modern road towards Uley was once an important spiritual centre. 📷 TimPrevett More: http://www.megalithi...
Uley Shrine
Ancient Temple in Gloucestershire, England
megalithic.co.uk
Reblogging this one to the Leather/Polyam blog because it fits there too.
Reblog: True Power Builds Community
Initially wrote this for my Paganism blog, but thought it was appropriate to put here, too.
syrens.wordpress.com
Talking about Lughnassadh. (I'll talk about GLAMmas later). #Witchsky #Pagansky #Druidry #OttawaPride #LeatherQueers
Lughnassadh 2026 – True Power Builds Community
Once upon a time, there was a low-budget, volunteer-run leather dyke weekend in Ottawa (and then in Toronto, and then in Ottawa again) called Unholy Harvest. This event was foundational for me. It introduced me to the idea of "leather queer" as someone who, yes, is a kinky freak, but also is someone who takes care of their people, proactively helps out where needed, and follows through on what they say they'll do.
birchtreemaiden.wordpress.com
More weird, more surreal, more cryptic, more funny, more obscene. More of your personal obsessions and quirks. They're throwing everything we write in a blender? Write something so chunky and spiky it breaks the blades.
I wrote about language, lying & world-building for the NYTBR as expressed in 3 extraordinary & very different books: THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm, THE MISHEARD WORLD by Aliya Whiteley, & THE LANGUAGE OF LIARS by SL Huang.
New Science Fiction About Truth and Lies in an Age of War (Gift Article)
Three recent novels explore the use of deception by both invaders and the invaded.
nytimes.com
I do think that the Era of Hot Takes has done some damage in that people really seem to be trying to crowdsource an ethical framework and you can't actually ask strangers to do your morality homework. you need to come to those decisions through hard personal thought so you believe in them.
I RTd this months ago and it's still fucken amazing 🔥
Kym Deyn@kymdeyn.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis is a sheer indulgence on my part, but it turns out I never actually shared the poem here, so: 🍃
I guess I am comfortable saying that in cases where people you formerly respected, or presumed you did, are now actively choosing to sunset their own minds & surrender them to machines invented by incels and billionaires, then yes there should be a stigma for that. This is what society is for
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 6d ago“There is also a moral and political judgment that is coming along with AI usage…Especially in creative industries where the stigma is the strongest.”
This interview is an intriguing read, and I'm confident the book will be as well. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
‘We’ve always been wary of working together’: Val McDermid and Jo Sharp on writing a novel as a couple
The bestselling crime writer and Scotland’s first female Geographer Royal had long kept their work separate, until a chance discovery about a doomed 17th-century expedition forced them to collaborate
theguardian.com
"AI isn’t primarily a zoning issue, but treating it as a zoning issue is one of the few ways to voice productive, collective dissent."
The data center backlash Is working. That's why the New York Times is so concerned.
I have a
davekarpf.beehiiv.com
David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · last wk.Remarkable word cloud from a focus group showing what voters think most about Will Lawrence in MI-07. Sometimes candidate win because they have good campaigns that know how to define themselves for the electorate.
Asked: What do I need? Answer: Ten of Cups. Asked: Yes, I would like that. How the heck do I get there?? Answer: The Magician The High Priestess ...Huh.
Full moon post talking - very, very losely - about the Barbault's Basket and touching on the tiny, earstwhile bit of magic I'm doing for it, plus a tiny bit about my impending Lughnassadh ritual. #Witchsky #PaganSky #Druidry #Magic
Full Moon – Berry Moon / Vine Moon Crests
I should totally be talking about Barbault's Basket, given that it's happening right now, but I don't know enough about astrology to know how best to put it to use, so I'm just going to point you towards Ivo Dominguez Jr's post and you can learn what you can from someone who knows what he's doing. The short version, as it relates to me personally, is that the full moon is doing something in relation to Pluto, in Aquarius (which is my ninth house of publishing, education, and religion, and the location of my Midheaven) while, at the same time, Jupiter and the Sun are having a little tête-à-tête in Leo (my third house of communication and everday life, and the location of my Mars) and...
birchtreemaiden.wordpress.com
Thanks to y'all's amazing generosity and support, we are less than $1,600 away from hitting our big goal for our fundraiser. Reaching it means keeping the lights on at TNN. It means more hard-hitting trans journalism from our worker-run newsroom. Every share and (tax deductible) donation helps:
Trans News Network's First Anniversary Fundraiser
Since our founding nearly a year ago, Trans News Network has exposed how The New York Times ' bigotry is directed from the very top , revealed Epstein's extensive network of anti-trans cronies...
transnewsnetwork.networkforgood.com
this was a nice watch because it actually gets how quebec is not wildly different from anglophone canada or older US cities but has normalized or institutionalized its unique features (low-rise mid density, tenant's rights, funding the social economy, cycling) that increase quality of life
How Quebec became North America’s urban outlier
YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!
youtube.com
One of the rabbits I share my yard with has taken to napping with thier legs stretched out, under the birch tree. TBH, I was afraid they had died or something, I'm so not used to this body langauge. But apparently this just means "in a state of relaxation"? Glad you're comfy, buddy.
My friends at the Rebecca Swift Foundation do tremendous work in, as they put it, putting women poets on the map. They need your help to get some breathing space so they work out their strategy for the next few years. If you can, please do: justgiving.com/campaign/wom...
Putting Women Poets on the Map
Help keep a national home for women poets open
justgiving.com
Hey up! I ❤️love❤️ my publishers and they're too small to pay me. I hesitate to ask but honestly I'm so strapped! I'd love to sell you some books. Signed copies of Becoming Altar and of Mapless. I have 5 of each available. (Those who've bought Mapless, yours come first!) DM for info! kylahoubolt.us
I have a municipal election coming up and I kind of had a dream about it. #PaganSky #WitchSky #Ottawa #Druidry
A Dream and an Action to Take
So I had a dream last night. I dreamt that – for reasons that are probably work-related – I was being the emergency “back-up singer” for a UU children’s pick-up choir, because the visiting musical guest knew the kids wouldn’t likely pick up the song fast enough to be able to do a good performance. Which tells you a lot about the role of perfectionism in my unconscious mind, I’m sure.
birchtreemaiden.wordpress.com
Can a cancer become a new species of parasite? Here's my story on the discovery of a transmissible cancer lurking in Vermont catfish. Gift link: nyti.ms/4whfi6v
Deep in This Lake, a Contagious Cancer Is Spreading (Gift Article)
Transmissible tumors have been reported in a handful of animal species, but never before among fish. Is it possible in humans?
nyti.ms
@gianttourtiere.bsky.social *clears throat*
Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 2w ago2,500-year-old gold torque stolen in daylight museum raid! Thieves raided a museum in Châtillon-sur-Seine in broad daylight Friday, making off with a 2,500-year-old gold torque of the 'Lady of Vix'. 👉 www.lefigaro.fr/culture/patr...
Ok folks... it's that time again. It's... *drum roll* #AskAnArchaeologist day. 🎉🎉 That day when you get to ask whatever you want about #archaeology and we will endeavour to find you an answer!! #FestivalofArchaeology
