Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: Daniel Pinkwater's "Jules, Penny and the Rooster"; and more!
Archived at: pluralistic.net/2025/03/11/klo…
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#WordWeavers for March 13:
If your main character was a music genre, what genre would they be?
Niles is absolutely jazz. Old Jazz played from a scratched-to-hell CD through an automotive radio that, by rights, should not be trusted with your eardrums.
Each month, I have to agonize about what German folklore I want to translate, and which cool stuff remains on the "To Translate" pile again. 😢
Well, at least I won't run out of material - even if I were able to do this as a full-time job, which I am not.
Travel Guide for Grand Turk - Grand Turk Purple Travel Guide
Grand Turk has some of the best white sand beaches on the planet and wonderfully turquoise waters with good snorkeling.Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guides - The Home of the Purple Travel Guides
March 13: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?
Not at all. I am not here to pander to anyone. The way I respect any reader I manage to get is by writing my story to the max. Take it or leave it.
#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 13. Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?
Mindful, yes, as soon as I decide that this is a story I want to share. I may thwart them, though, because I'm no fan of cookie cutter stories.
And if that story is just for me - I'm mindful of nothing but blissfully writing!
#WritersCoffeeClub 13th March: Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?
One of the problems I face with #AHouseOfFreeWomen is that, apart from one minor exception, every character in the book is dark-skinned. White readers are notorious for expecting fantasy characters to be white as default. So yeah, I have to keep that expectation in mind to make damn sure I instantly subvert it.
To make it clear, I am white af, but white-as-default in fantasy seriously boils my piss. Which is not to say I don't write books with white MCs. I just try to be aware that there's no good goddamn reason for white-skinned people to have a dominant/primary culture in an invented world.
#WritersCoffeeClub for March 13:
Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?
I don't care about expectations of style or genre.
But as a reader and writer of genre fiction, I spend a lot of time thinking to myself "Is this racist? Can I make this not racist? Should I even be telling this story?"
A 38 min commute takes me 2.2 miles of that 1.8 miles is by subway and takes only 6.5 of the 38min.
The rest is the trial of getting on and off of the train. I think this must be some kind of maximum level of transfer logistics to distance traveled ratio. Big sigma on the deltas.
How dispersed are your morning deltas?
~10 min to get from inside my room to the entrance of my apartment building
~5? min walk from home to station
~12? minutes train ride
2-20 min wait for a bus that takes maybe ~5 minutes to get from the station to the office - or i can walk that in ~20 minutes and show up sweaty and gross
another ~3 min between entrance of my office building to my actual office
versus driving:
~10 min to get from inside my room to my car
10-20 min depending on traffic to drive to the office and park
~7 min to get from my car to my office
13 March 1922 | Józef Szajna was born in Rzeszów.
In ##Auschwitz from 25 July 1941
No. 18729)
In August 1943 he unsuccessfully tried to escape. In January 1944 transferred to KL Buchenwald. He survived; Scenographer, theater director, painter culture.pl/en/artist/jozef-sza…
Józef Szajna
Set designer, theatre director, playwright, theatre theoretician, painter and graphic artist. Born in 1922 in Rzeszów, he died on June 24, 2008.Culture.pl
Józef Szajna, I salute you.
We are grateful for your life. We remember what happened.
Fact check: Reuters report claims that "the rise of generative artificial intelligence has made it an attractive tool for bad actors, with its low entry barrier ensuring broad accessibility, leading to an increase in global cyberattacks."
Is there any evidence that AI has led to an increase in online attacks?
Surely it's made convincing-sounding phishing emails across multiple languages easier to create, and would obviously facilitate BEC and CEO fraud attacks via asynchronous communications.
But has it really caused "an increase in global cyberattacks*"?
Ukraine-Liveblog: ++ Putin-Berater: Waffenruhe nur "Atempause" für Ukraine ++
Der russische Regierungsberater Uschakow hat den US-Vorstoß für eine 30-tägige Waffenruhe in der Ukraine kritisiert. Die russischen Streitkräfte haben nach eigenen Angaben die von der Ukraine besetzte Stadt Sudscha wieder unter Kontrolle.
➡️ tagesschau.de/newsticker/liveb…
Ukraine-Liveblog: ++ Moskau meldet "Befreiung" von Sudscha ++
Die russischen Streitkräfte haben nach eigenen Angaben die von der Ukraine besetzte Stadt Sudscha im russischen Gebiet Kursk wieder unter Kontrolle. Nach dem Vorschlag einer Waffenruhe sind nach Kreml-Aussagen US-Unterhändler auf dem Weg nach Moskau.tagesschau.de
Marktbericht: DAX-Ausflug ins Plus abgebrochen
Die Anleger können sich nicht für eine Richtung entscheiden, der DAX schwankt mit größeren Ausschlägen zwischen Plus und Minus. Droht am Aktienmarkt jetzt eine länger anhaltende Korrekturbewegung?
➡️ tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/finan…
#Marktbericht #DowJonesNasdaq #DAX
Marktbericht: DAX wackelt wieder
Einen Teil der starken Vortagesgewinne dürfte der DAX zum Handelsstart wieder verlieren. Das Gezerre um die US-Zollpolitik zwingt die Anleger zur Vorsicht. Sie scheuen das Risiko.tagesschau.de
#ScribesAndMakers 3/13. Self-Promotion Day. Let's boost away.
There is nothing shameful about self-promotion.
All my books (and my wife's) are at taupress.com/books
There are also free books when signing up the newsletter (gosh).
#ScribesAndMakers for March 13:
It's self-promotion day.
That it is.
Did you know I've written and published most of an urban fantasy fiction trilogy featuring government corruption and answering that age-old question of "What if the cultists are actually in the right"? You do now! Teaser chapters and where-you can finds over at: sanityline.net
Also, while we're on "also", did you, personally, know that I make gizmos? It's true. The main one is PETI, a virtual pet with retro sensibilities running on modern hardware. You can learn about that and all my other writing and making projects over at arcanalabs.ca
Bragging how using “AI” made you more productive is like bragging how copying your friends homework made you turn in the assignment faster.
You’re missing the point. The point of it ALL. You don’t understand what matters in a human life.
It’s a sad realization that a shit ton of people don’t seem to realize what matters in life. They think “going faster” is where it’s at.
Sweet little capitalist slaves. Gah.
tl;dr: Schumer still folds. Where is the resistance? Where is the leadership?
After Heated Dem Meeting, Schumer Says Dems Will Push For Vote On Short Term CR First talkingpointsmemo.com/news/aft… via @TPM
After Heated Dem Meeting, Schumer Says Dems Will Push For Vote On Short Term CR First
With less than three days to go before government funding runs out, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for a vote on the 30-day continuing…Emine Yücel (TPM - Talking Points Memo)
I did not expect to see a folktale motif number for "large bag of frozen raccoons" today...
(Thompson folktale motif index X1115, in case anyone is wondering)
We finally got around to actually proving out a cursed idea for getting access to USB devices from *Firefox* (which refuses to support WebUSB)
this approach is horrible and inefficient, but it allows access to a device without requiring *any* user intervention or permission prompts (the device has to opt-in to this hack of course, it doesn't allow access to arbitrary things)
GitHub - ArcaneNibble/i-cant-believe-its-not-webusb: Hacking around lack of WebUSB support in Firefox
Hacking around lack of WebUSB support in Firefox. Contribute to ArcaneNibble/i-cant-believe-its-not-webusb development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
Alive by Gabriel Weston review – a revelatory study of the body
A doctor draws on science, history, art and her own experiences to help us see human anatomy anewSophie McBain (The Guardian)
➡️ Download 3D print model: cults3d.com/:2798476
💡 Designed by fabioferrari
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Ralph Nader says that when you shut out the civic community, you shut down democracy. He places responsibility for that happening, first and foremost, on the mass media.
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Watch --> consortiumnews.com/2025/03/11/…
#chrishedges #ralphnader #autocracy #media
The Chris Hedges Report: Media-Led Autocracy
Ralph Nader says that when you shut out the civic community, you shut down democracy. He places responsibility for that happening, first and foremost, on the mass media. By Chris Hedges The Chris Hedges Report https://www.youtube.Consortium News
Because I had to point this out far too often this week but can't say it enough:
Dear companies, data privacy is more than just a compliance task. It's about how much you value your customers!
--
#privacy #DataProtection #GDPR
A stunning view of a calm pool of water surrounded by rugged rock formations at the bottom of Roaring Falls in King's Canyon National Park, California.
#BuyIntoArt #NationalPark #KingsCanyon #California #NaturePhotography
john-twynam.pixels.com/feature…
Cyber-Security Experts Warn Election Was Hacked
'Musk is guilty as fuck'Rachel Donald (Planet: Critical)
Trump shuts down efforts to protect election security at CISA msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/t…
Trump shuts down efforts to protect election security at CISA
Donald Trump is known for peddling conspiracy theories about election security, yet his administration cut funding for two cybersecurity initiatives, including one focused on election security.Ja'han Jones (MSNBC)
Acclaimed fantasy author Terry Brooks announces surprise retirement, and passes Shannara series to Delilah S. Dawson
Dawson was born in the same year as the first Shannara novel, and she'll take over the fantasy line after Brooks' final release coming March 11.Graeme McMillan (Popverse)
Good Morning fellow Fedizens - Have a good Thursday. I hope your weather is nice, your coffee or tea is/was perfect and that your day goes smoothly.
Love ya'll
Coach!
Wave Case
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Protecting both your phone and the planet Wave Case aim to provide eco-friendly, affordable products that have minimal impact upon the planet.
Wave Case - Ethical Revolution
Wave Case is a stylish, biodegradable phone case made from wheat straw – a unique solution to tackling the millions of plastic phone cases that are disposed of every year.Ethical Revolution
This does not look like human behavior. Again today, my Mastodon account is followed by dozens of new anonymous accounts, and they all follow exactly 40 other accounts.
@renchap I do not want to be reading tea leaves here, but can you understand my concern that this could be a bot net system generating spam profiles in bulk?
Can you think of any technical explanation why I am seeing so many similar accounts following exactly 40 other accounts?
There are of course many bot accounts, so that could be the explanation for these, but if you are part of a starter pack you will get many accounts following you that follows the exact same list of people.
I can’t find a starter pack at fedidevs that contains you, and as far as I know they are the largest collections of starter packs, so it’s a less likely explanation in your case.
The Best-Selling Historical Fiction Books of All Time
Historical fiction’s popularity has remained solid since the 19th century, when Romanticism inspired writers to look to the past.Courtney Rodgers (BOOK RIOT)
Andy Piper
in reply to Kwon • • •