today i listened to leonard nimoy reading ray bradbury’s “there will come soft rains,” which takes place today. it’s so lovely. i think maybe this year i will finally read something wicked this way comes.
archive.org
Emily Munro💜💀🩶🖤
@thatemilymunro.bsky.social
Author blending scifi and fantasy with reckless abandon. Lurks in Brooklyn. Episode 952 on PodCastle! TTRPGs, Tea, and Fountain Pens. also at @writingabtwriting.bsky.social Blogs at writingaboutwritingaboutwriting.com she/her. Opinions my own.
That HWA pro-AI lady has an AI-powered "writing coach" app she just launched and lol btw I will be your writing coach for free with no AI! Here: Turn off Bsky, you creep closer to death every day so WORK ON YOUR BOOK NOW--the discourse will still be here in the morning. You're welcome! 🥰
The breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces of perfectly browned toast, eight eggs sunny side up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two cool glasses of milk. "Today is August 4, 2026," said a voice… www.libraryofshortstories.com/onlinereader...
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
“Today is Mr. Featherstone’s birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita’s marriage. Insurance is payable, as are the water, gas, and light bills.”
libraryofshortstories.com
Big "I don't use the other side of the park restroom so why are my taxes paying for it" energy...
Ken Tremendous@kentremendous.bsky.social · 2d agoThat's what taxes are, man. That's the definition of taxes. "You are subsidizing things you might never use" man shut the fuck up. My taxes currently subsidize like oil company exec private jets, you think I'm upset at low-income people eating inexpensive bananas?
Furries are an indicator species. If they start disappearing, your online ecosystem is not healthy.
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
Happy "Owl Day"!🦉🙌 the horned owl's opinion- every day is long 木兎は不断日永と思ふ哉 -Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶), 1807. Trans. David Lanoue. #OwlAwarenessDay #InternationalOwlAwarenessDay #owls #フクロウ #Japan #ukiyoe #浮世絵
Fae: “Tell us your true name.” Me: “…Just my name? No birthdate, no SSN, no fingerprint scan, no address, no mother’s maiden name? Are you sure you’ve even got the right Olivia Waite? There’s like six.” Fae: “What the hell kind of bargains have you been making?” Me: “They call it health insurance.”
The Hugos are unique in that they're voted on by FANS, not by writers, or critics, or academics. Fans. YOU. Yes, I have an MFA and I think it's really cool to spot an Ezra Pound homage or a well-done obscure Welsh form, but that's just me. You don't need to know anything more than if you liked it.
I called WNET in NY to ask them to remove this video. I told them it was damaging to kids. You can call them, too! Call 212-560-1313 and press 2 to leave a message (the phone prompt seems to indicate 1, but that message directs you to 2). ny.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ruf...
AI Poetry Lesson | RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS | Grades 3-5 Engineering & Technology Teaching and Lesson Resources
Ruff wants to create a new poem for his fans, but he has writer's block. He ends up using artificial intelligence to help write the poem in this animated video about media literacy from RUFF RUFFMAN: ...
ny.pbslearningmedia.org
Hey y’all my birthday is the same day as the deadline for submitting your Hugo Ballot! For my birthday, could you take the time to read the Best Poem works? Even if you’re not sure about poetry—even if you’re not a Hugo voter—just read the Best Poem finalists 🩵
Making something, anything, is an act of defiance. Today we offer you "Ragescarf: A Knitting Pattern for a World Unraveling" by Amanda Saville Try it out. When things are coming apart, knitting things together can feel so satisfying...
Ragescarf: A Knitting Pattern for a World Unraveling - Small Wonders
Yarn: 500 yards of your own wool. This is the hardest part of the whole pattern. It’s been building up inside you, day by relentless day.
smallwondersmag.com
Clarkesworld has recently discovered that their August issue successfully breached containment and gained access to the Internet, where it is presently hacking reader's minds. "Oh no, what will we do? Who knew that stories could be so powerful?" said Neil Clarke, when approached for comment.
Clarkesworld@clarkesworldmagazine.com · 4d agoThe August issue of Clarkesworld is now online and features stories by Ravn J. Silver, Eilis O’Neal, Jordan Alexander, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, E.N. Auslender, Y.M. Pang, and H.H. Pak. clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_239 Subscribe today at: clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Struggling with this so hard in revisions right now.
Helioscope@helioscopepdx.bsky.social · 3d agoHelpful discussion from the archives
Today's tea has a new friend! Drinking Moonwaffles and plotting terrible things for my DND players tonight. 🍵 🫖
If you are in any way making an effort to fight back against the heightened lack of kindness and empathy we are experiencing, no matter how small, I love you and you are my hero. Kindness fills chasms.
Insomnia: Hey, quick question— Me: No. shut up. I haven’t even gone to bed yet. Insomnia: Yeah, but…”squirrel.” One syllable or two? Me. five hours later: …burl, girl, pearl, swirl, whorl…
I know this isn't going to come across, like, at all, because it's writers I'm talking to, but for Mithras' sake, don't catastrophize! Don't spend all your time worrying about whether or not someone is going to like your work, whether editors are likely to buy it, whether it "sounds like AI"
Hey! Do you want to hear "Laser Eyes Ain't Everything", which is nominated for a Hugo, read by an actual professional reader? Here you go, it's on the awesome Cast of Wonders podcast!
Cast of Wonders@castofwonders.org · 5d agoCast of Wonders 692: Laser Eyes Ain't Everything by @effies.bsky.social narrated by Jairus Durnett produced by Andrew Jack CW: ableism www.castofwonders.org/2026/07/cast...
A long time bucket list! I have a story on Pseudopod! 😭I hope you all like it! I’d love to hear what you thought
PseudoPod 🎙️@pseudopod.org · 5d agoPseudoPod 1040: Flash on the Borderlands LXXIX (79): Ubi amor, ibi dolor • A Table Set and Waiting, by Jordan Shiveley • Third Date, by Divya Kernan • You’re Still Here, by Thea Liu • 9 Steps to Dissecting a Ghost, by Jeanna Cammarano Multiple content warnings: see website for details
Because the 1st is a Saturday, “How is it August already?!” will be observed today, Friday, July 31, 2026. Please panic accordingly.
If you need a target for rage, target the government, target people with power, understand how power structures and built and supported and maintained Most of all: understand how they have always used your righteous rage against you and done it for their own selfish and evil purposes
Did the laundry. Did the dishes. Now I'm too tired to make the dinner I was planning but I'm starving... Ugh.
Only a few days left until Flash Fiction Online’s AFTERMATHS special theme comes to a close!! A few vibes I would be very interested in: - intimate stakes - reflecting on childhood as an adult/how life choices change us - mutual aid and conflict resolution - the journey to becoming healed
Ode to the fountain pen that I wholeheartedly support. I have several Lamy pens (with different nib sizes). I have a capless Pilot, which is wonderful. Paper is Leichturm or Midori. Basically everything decent with ink writing is German or Japanese.
Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain - Here's how to do it
Because I am known to write using a fountain pen on paper, a number of people have pointed me to this post and its underlying research. I won’t rehash what is said in those sources, but the gist of it...
nealstephenson.substack.com
Horned Lark Press is doing a Summer Reading Sale; you can get several paperbacks (including of COYOTE RUN) for $10USD apiece (plus shipping) until 7/31. It's a great deal!
Summer Reading Special! – Horned Lark Press
Get any four Horned Lark Press books in paperback for only $40! Regular cover price when sold separately would be north of $52 depending on what you choose, so you’re saving at least twelve bucks for tacos! Choose from: The Purloined Poodle, The Squirrel on the Train, Death & Honey, Canines & Cocktails, Oberon’s Bathtime Stories, The Great Big Bear, and Coyote Run. All books by Kevin Hearne will be signed, plus you’ll get a spiffy boomark and a couple of stickers.
hornedlarkpress.com