Which one isn't a stuffed animal? The answer may surprise you
Holly Wade Matter
@weemallard.bsky.social
Writer. White-knuckle knitter. Bunny mom. Superannuated Pre-Raphaelite stunner. Punk- and Goth-adjacent. My novel, Damned Pretty Things, and my related novella, The Circus, the Garden (and Mario Lanza), are out from Aqueduct Press. I like perfume.
"...in the next world, thank God, there is no drinking of coffee and consequently no waiting for it.” -Emmanuel Kant "Same, except substitute popping corn on the stovetop." -Me
One of John Heartfield's 1929-34 covers for the Worker's Illustrated Magazine. I said something like "Well, *that's* certainly timely." The young couple near me said "Right?"
Join us on Thursday, August 27, at 10 am PST for our new Zoom class, Rabbit Health 101, hosted by exotics veterinarian and HRS alum Dr. Leonne Chung, DMV, of VCA Bay Area. Register now at houserabbit.org/classes!
Do I want to know why Peter Potatotown, @gsnorgathon.bsky.social's name for him, is trending?
i don't like to police genre, but it's not dark academia unless somebody gets squished in one of these bad boys
While I'm still going on about the trip, we are so blessed that we live near a light rail station. We took the light rail to Chinatown and walked two blocks to King Street Station. So in essence, we walked six blocks to Chicago.
More Montana photos from the train (which had lamentably dirty windows.)
Next year I'd like to travel to the Twin Cities, Chicago, Pittsburgh, NYC, and upstate NY, again to visit multiple scattered family members, plus friends in the Twin Cities. This trip, we got to see members of my family who I hadn't seen since my father's funeral seven years ago.
We had about a six-hour layover in Chicago on our way back home, so we went to the Field Museum to look at dinosaur fossils (including Sue!) We spent a lot of time in the Ancient Americas exhibit but barely made it halfway through.
Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas - Field Museum
fieldmuseum.org
To Pittsburgh to visit @gsnorgathon.bsky.social's sister. Ate strawberry hotcakes at Pamela's in Millvale (our happy place for years). Tromped around the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. More tromping through Frick Park. The Troy Hill Art Houses were insanely cool.
TROY HILL ART HOUSES
troyhillarthouses.com
Our niece was in RENT at the Barn Theater in Michigan. I'd never seen this play before. Good production, but man! Every character in this play is a humongous jerk. But I still cried when Angel died, remembering the men I'd known who died from AIDS in the '80s and '90s.
Fun Amtrak fact: the City of New Orleans still exists.
We spent a full day at the Art Institute and barely scratched the surface. Our high points were John Heartfield's 1929-34 covers for the Worker's Illustrated Magazine, the Thorne Miniature Rooms, and Raqib Shaw's magnificent mural-in-progress, Paradise Lost:
Raqib Shaw: Paradise Lost | The Art Institute of Chicago
The more-than 100-feet-wide, 21-panel painting Paradise Lost (2009–25) takes viewers on a spellbinding journey from the nocturnal solitude of the artist’s childhood in Kashmir to the frenzied daylight...
artic.edu
From Seattle to Chicago we had a full room, which deluxe, highly recommend. Coach from Chicago to Battle Creek & back. Roomette from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and roomettes again from Pittsburgh to Seattle. I had a krazillion points on my Amtrak MasterCard, so only forked out for Pittsburgh to Seattle.
The 2025 Emerge Anthology is out! It is full of amazing pieces from the 2025 fellows. Many thanks to noam keim (@noamkeim.bsky.social), chloe feffer, Holly Zhou, Ali El-Chaer (cover!) and Nisi Shawl (@nisishawl.bsky.social). SPECS 4EVER! lambdaliterary.org/product/2025...
Including my story "Like It's Golden" in there too!
Julie C. Day is communing with tiny dinosaurs@thisjulieday.bsky.social · yesterdayWhat an amazing lineup! I can't believe Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology is one of the finalists in the Best Anthology category! locusmag.com/2026/08/2026...
Train Bunny is on the job. Used to be you could squeeze Train Bunny's paw and she would cluck like a chicken. Alas, her battery has run out. We have taken Train Bunny with us on every train trip.
The brand-new Hello Kitty Cafe in Chicago. We made a specific pilgrimage. We waited in line for an hour. It was totally worth it. p.s. the Trump Tower was across the street. Hello Kitty, a Power of Good, battles it valiantly and will ultimately win.
Chicago. How could I not take a photo of a skyscraper with a beehive at the top?
Montana: once you enter it, it will feel like forever until you exit it.
