hey @joshuajfriedman.com if there's one thing I might beg you to communicate internally - the (a?) core of bluesky users want opt-in instead of opt-out, because we don't trust social media corporations to ever do good thngs. It's a learned distrust, and it might not be fair, but it's there.

Forty years ago, in 1986, NYC suffered over 1,600 homicides. Homicides would peak at over 2,200 a few years later. There were 305 in 2025.

Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 13h ago

Food, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.

dudes pouring out the woodwork asking if I can manage without AI as though I haven't been cocking up things for myself my whole life without help

Where is the lie.

Regime Accountant, CPA ☠️🎢@regimecpa.bsky.social · 2h ago

Missouri elections be like: Hitler (R) 79% - Christ (D) 21% And then the ballot initiative: Amend the Missouri constitution to require the state to own the means of production and work towards full communism? Yes 92% - No 8%

"Emily Wilson doesn't understand this very basic thing," says the elite university professor, sure he's the one who is correct and is immune from the tides of sexism washing across both this specific discourse and the broader era of history in which we live.

On the medical technology front -- one example that comes to mind is continuous glucose monitors for diabetics. It is literally a game-changer. In the 80s, was someone's blood sugar going high? Low? Within range? Who knows! World's least fun guessing game with potentially fatal consequences.

Sweet bleeding Mithras, almost everything is SO MUCH BETTER than it was 40 years ago. Air travel I grant you (with the exception of SMOKING ON PLANES). But medical technology? The availability of so many foods? Air pollution? It's just so much better now.

Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 13h ago

Food, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.

Some authores trye to wryte lengthye frame-tale narratyves thei get called assholes That nevir happenid to Giovanni Boccaccio

Conservatives scaremonger to their base about the sexual threat posed by outsiders (migrants, liberals, queer folk) solely because the hypothetical victims here "belong to" conservative men. But they reserve the right for those same men to treat their own property however they wish.

Hahahahahaha I wanted to type something here but I'm laughing too hard "could you still get through an entire workday" what the fuck, man, you just sharpied "I am incompetent" on your forehead.

Charlie Stross@cstross.bsky.social · 6h ago

My answer is LOL ROFL (dickbrain) The terminally AI-pilled can't even *imagine* some people have *never* asked stochastic parrots to cheat at their job for them.

Huge if true

Ben Rosen@benrosen.bsky.social · 13h ago

i know votes are still being counted but the more i look at this michigan senate map the more it becomes clear that it kind of looks like a mitten

My mom died of colon cancer. For pete's sake, (as she would have said) get your fucking regular colonoscopy. If you're lucky and your mom didn't die of colon cancer it's only once every ten years. It could save your life.

Jessica Luther@jessicawluther.com · 15h ago

Well, I am of colonoscopy age now and I got my first-ever one yesterday. The prep wasn't fun but not as awful as I'd imagined. My appt was at 6am on Monday, I was home just after 7am. There's no recovery except catching up on the sleep you missed. So, if you need a nudge to get yours, this is it!

Medical advances. All of them. I was told in 2006 when I went into a t1 diabetic coma that if I'd showed up to ER in state I was in 20 years before, I'd be dead. We got a COVID vaccine in a YEAR. Spouse has a friend w/a major brain aneurysm who SURVIVED. And no one smokes inside anymore!!!!!!!!!

Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 13h ago

Food, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.

sometimes there is absolutely nothing more fun than understanding works of art through people's varied professional perspectives

Deidre Lynch@drbibliomane.bsky.social · 19h ago

You can/should read Emily Wilson's latest take on the Odyssey, but I'm logging on to convey my hairdresser's reaction. She was AGHAST that Nolan, with his million $ budget, gave Matt Damon ONLY 6 hair extensions. As a result, his hair did not blow around properly, & that ruined the film for her.

For any Missourian friends here, please do what you can to vote, and vote NO on Amendments 4 and 5. If 5 goes through, expect a possible 20+% sales tax on things from gas to groceries to healthcare, and probably even commissions from MO artists like me. All for another tax break for the wealthy.

Sandstone@quartzen.bsky.social · 2d ago

Missouri friends: tomorrow is Election Day and I'm sure you already know to vote NO on amendments 4 and 5 to preserve our citizen-led ballot measure process and prevent a huge statewide sales tax hike, but please also vote YES on 1 to preserve an existing tax for parks and conservation too!

Reminding my American friends to check to make sure they're registered to vote way before November. Even if you think you are - doublecheck just to make sure you don't fall pray to shennanigans.

I would like to propose the Taco Bell Principle When a person/institution Did A Problem, & IMMEDIATELY fesses up & takes proactive steps to solve it That's exactly what we want them to do? So how bout we let them live ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sarah Taber@sarahtaber.bsky.social · 3w ago

A quick word on Taco Bell: That's where we found the suspected lettuce, and it's not bc Taco Bell is gross. It's bc Taco Bell is REALLY GOOD at tracing product! Keeping track of exactly where they got their ingredients, & exactly what restaurants each shipment of ingredients went to!

"Much of science as we conceptualize it now was built on top of the framings of Verne’s era. Revisiting the exuberance, obliviousness, chauvinism, and optimism of Verne’s science-related worldview offers a useful reminder of where some of our own narratives come from." @mitpress.bsky.social

Jules Verne’s Empty Dream of Spaceflight

In “From the Earth to the Moon,” scientific advancement is treated as destiny — but no one quite asks why.

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

There is no version of yourself you could become that would satisfy the people who hate you. So you might as well be who you are.

Done and done, voted early. If you're a MO voter and you haven't voted yet, VOTE TODAY

Sandstone@quartzen.bsky.social · 2d ago

Missouri friends: tomorrow is Election Day and I'm sure you already know to vote NO on amendments 4 and 5 to preserve our citizen-led ballot measure process and prevent a huge statewide sales tax hike, but please also vote YES on 1 to preserve an existing tax for parks and conservation too!

AHAHAHAHAHA who has ever met an author who would SHUT UP about writing That said I am guessing the complainers are not seeking "How do I write" -- of which there are REAMS of advice -- but "How do I get published" And are not satisfied with the answers received

Antony Johnston@antonyjohnston.bsky.social · 2d ago

Seeing complaints online that authors 'gatekeep' information…! Absolute nonsense. There is no industry or craft in the world which is so comprehensively written about, studied, and discussed as fiction writing, and every author I know welcomes new writers who are serious about giving it a go.

Oh, hey! Got an email from Terry Gross, who apparently does NPR business from a gmail account. She wants to interview me about Radiant Star! At this point if you want me to visit your book club or do an interview, you need to contact my agent or publisher cause I'm deleting requests in my inbox.

"Why can't you just appreciate how revolutionary the job-taking, environment-degrading, information-shredding, technology-hoarding, economy-swamping machine is?" My brother in Christ, there may indeed be a revolution in part because of "AI," but it might not be the one you wanted.

Every now and then someone takes a run at me along the lines of "I don't understand why you, a scifi writer, don't appreciate 'AI'," and I'm all, motherfucker, it's *because* I'm a science fiction writer I have the positions I have, how many times do we have to fucking yell "torment nexus," my dude

If this was true I wouldn't have a career. Every step of the way other authors offered guidance and advice, with generosity and kindness. But I would add a caveat. If you spend a lot of time being a dick to other people, the amount of guidance and advice you get will be....less.

Antony Johnston@antonyjohnston.bsky.social · 2d ago

Seeing complaints online that authors 'gatekeep' information…! Absolute nonsense. There is no industry or craft in the world which is so comprehensively written about, studied, and discussed as fiction writing, and every author I know welcomes new writers who are serious about giving it a go.

yes, the Tiresome Literature Boy could be exhausting at parties when he tried book mogging you while looking down his nose at you over his bottle of Vermont craft beer but you could feel reasonably confident he wasn’t going to unhinge his jaw and attempt to devour you in the name of proteinmaxxing

The only *guaranteed* piece of craft advice I can give -- I mean the advice that is universally applicable -- is that if you kill many other writers and eat their scribere gland (roughly the size of a black-eyed pea, so be careful not to damage it) then your prose will improve immensely

I consider the folks in the industry I meet and interact with as colleagues, and think of these relationships as being exactly like relationships with my day job coworkers. I will like some folks more than others. Some may annoy the shit out of me. Very few are "file a complaint with HR" worthy.

Micaiah Johnson@micaiahjohnson.bsky.social · 2d ago

I was beaten to it by the amazingly generous @mollytempleton.com but yes! The blog I was nervous about yesterday is a reality today. She’s free. She’s long. She contains multiple cat photos. www.patreon.com/MicaiahJohns...

If you would like to vote for the Dragon Awards this year, follow the link above and you can get yourself set up. Anyone can vote, and voting is without cost. Vote for whichever finalist (in any/every category) you think deserves it!

Hey! The Shattering Peace is a Dragon Award finalist this year in Science Fiction Novel, along with work from @mattdinniman.bsky.social, @annleckie.com, @peterclines.com, James SA Corey (@abraham.bsky.social is one half) and Claire North. What great company! awards.dragoncon.org/2026-ballot/