Reading

Current Music: Silence is golden.

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Weekly media report - week ending 2025 08 13

Books
The Undercutting of Adam and Rosie, by Megan Bannen. Third and last in this trilogy of romantic fantasies. They're not romantasies, they're romance x fantasy crossovers: both parts weigh in equally. This one is about gods, demigods, and immortality, and brings the changing world to its logical conclusion. I've enjoyed these stories and I'm going to miss this extended clan now that they're over.
The Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict. The "Queens of Crime" aka five famous vintage mystery writers, solve a real-life crime in 1930 England (and Bolougne). I liked the twists at the end and the parallels between things that had happened to the narrator and the victim.

Music
Brass Queens, Hot Tub Sessions Volume 1. Short 30-minute album by a group of women brass players recommended to me by the algorithm. Fun stuff; I need to find out if they're touring.
Jess Murph, Sex Hysteria. Another "recommended by the algorithm" try but this one wasn't as successful. Autotune and rap, featuring Gucci Mane. Not awful or anything, just nothing that made me want to listen to it again.
Rose Betts, There Is No Ship. Still another algorithm recommendation but this one is right up my alley. Folk inflected piano and a great voice! I see more of her music in my future.

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we didn’t plan to go to worldcon

like, at all

even though it was fucken here, right downtown

because until a few months ago it was going to be utterly impossible, economically (we’ve only really dug out of a two-year financial crisis just now, just the last month or so)

and also because of the pandemic and how that’s never fully ended (check out how people who study long-term covid do conferences and tell me again it’s over)

and also because I have some ambivalence about it anyway, despite all the work I’ve done on cons including a couple of worldcon bids, a NASFiC, a couple of v-cons, and arguably way, way too many norwescons (because of the way the latter fell out when i was finally done there)

and also because, well, look the fuck around you, fascism everywhere and month to month reanalysis of whether we have to leave the fucking country (and the depression which inevitably falls out from that)

and so on

but it starts today, and we didn’t plan to go because we literally couldn’t

and yeah

i’m pretty sad about that.

i have work today, anna has work today, tomorrow, and friday. sunday’s the last day and probably a half day like they usually are. i guess that leaves saturday for… something? anything? i don’t even know. i was gonna do the tesla takedown protest, like usual. maybe i still will. but after that…

anybody gonna be around?

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

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We ate at: a bunch of places in OKC on vacation

(more about other activities later)

HunnyBunny Biscuit Co.. A little chain of biscuit brunch foods shops that includes Oklahoma City. We liked it so much we ate there twice. They have biscuit benedicts that are delicious and also a fantastic biscuit cinnamon roll. I hope they open up in Dallas because they'd make a mint.

Fogo de Chao. Spouse was into carnapalooza. It was nice and the service was overall pretty good. I wish I'd come in completely starved because I always feel like I didn't get enough to eat. What we did get was really well done meat and sides. I always wince at the money we spend on these things but it's less than we spend on omokase or a Tasting Collective meal. I also tried a Brazilian soda that was really nice but the amount of sugar in it was scary.

Musashi's. Japanese hibachi place that we like. We went there last year and since we still don't have a regular place in Dallas, we decided it was a good vacation meal. They have some of the nice Wagyu and American Wagyu on the menu. I had the American Wagyu and it was expensive but delicious. The chef was very experienced and put on a good show. I feel like one-off places are much better than Benihana is nowadays and this was no exception.

The Jones Assembly. Warehouse restaurant and concert space in an old auto plant. Slightly upscale gastropub menu and vibe. If this place were in Dallas, we'd be all over it.

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no better satire could be written

Holy hell. The Tesla Truck is such a complete fucking sales disaster that he’s getting a corrupt deal with the military to buy them as targets.

I repeat:

THE TESLA TRUCK IS SUCH A COMPLETE FAILURE THAT THEY’RE SELLING THEM TO THE MILITARY AS TARGETS FOR TARGET PRACTICE.

Only a couple at first. Still, no doubt it’ll be at full price or some shit. Gotta claw those losses back somehow, right? Try this, see who complains.

Regardless, “OFFICIAL US MILITARY TARGET” stickers for Teslas, y/y?

Also, I may need to make yet another new sign for the Tesla Takedown protests because holy shit xD

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

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links

Interesting things - 2025 08 10

Jenna Ortega and the Fashion of Fear. An analysis of her promotional fashion in light of her position as the face of female Gen Z horror.
Pa. State Museum closes Native American exhibit, returns 1000s of artifacts under federal law. Good.
The Disney+ Curse: How the Streaming Service Hurt Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar Brands. I sent this to two friends because it's relevant to ongoing conversations about how these entertainment brands are just less interesting now than they used to be.
‘Cat-sized’ rat found in Teesside town puts focus on pest control cuts. Yikes. That's near where I went to school when we lived in England.
How to Kill a God. An analysis from the fansite for the Craft Sequence, a series that seriously changed how I think about magic.
Premium Quality Entertainment: The Joys of Murderbot and Sanctuary Moon. An analysis of the Murderbot show and some of the book details using the cheesy TV show Murderbot loves.
David Geffen’s Divorce Gives New Meaning to an Old Term. It's "hypergamy" or marrying up, or having a sugar daddy. Apparently this particular term has also been coopted by incels.
The Hidden Case of Sir Ewan Forbes, the Transgender Baronet. He was born in 1912, but lived as a boy from early on, and people accepted him for the most part. Sometimes I really think that enforced mid-century conformity was the worst thing for marginalized people in the Anglosphere.
Springsteen Isn’t Who I Thought He Was. A thoughtful critical appreciation of his poetry from someone who wasn't a fan. This is a discussion related to the ones spouse and I have had about Springsteen in comparison to other artists.
The original game of thrones — Mary and Elizabeth’s dance duel. There's a new ballet opening this summer at Edinburgh about Mary and Elizabeth and the Virgin Queen is played by a GNC man!

Current Music: Silence is golden.

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Gig list - August 2025

We didn't see any shows in July and we don't have any on the schedule for August, which is good because we're busy AF right now and feeling overwhelmed between scheduling for games we're doing in September and preparing for the con we're going to in November.

( Under the cut to protect your flist )

There's a lot of stuff that has recently come up that we're considering that will either be on the list next month or not. The only thing on the current list that is a major maybe is the PMJ in December, and that may depend on my eye surgery.

Current Music: Washing machine

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Weekly media report - week ending 2025 08 06

A short report this week because I was busy with other things and I'm slowly reading medical stuff.

Books
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. A very cute cozy novella about robots opening a noodle joint in future San Francisco. It also deals with things like bigotry against robots and military trauma.

Music
Sierra Hull: Tiny Desk Concert. I put this on because she played the mandolin but I found I really enjoyed the bluegrass vibes, especially the song about her grandmother (Spitfire).

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Maps Release: Greater Northshore Bike Connector, MEGAMAP 2.0.1

Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map 2.0 – 4 August 2025 – is now available on github, as is MEGAMAP 2.0.1.

Mostly small updates this time, but one in particular is very important, and another is pretty important if you’re in Shoreline:

ADDED: Alaskan Way Connector linking Elliot Bay Trail to Waterfront Trail with fully separated bikeways. Decades in the making, finally here (MEGAMAP only)
ADDED: Painted bike lanes on Meridian Ave N in Shoreline between 155th and 175th streets (both maps)
ADDED: “Commonly used” markers on Meridian Ave N throughout Shoreline (both maps) – this is somewhat aspirational, as there has been use of this road as a secondary to tertiary bike arterial but not quite enough to justify marking it as such until now. I am fairly certain that the new bike lanes in the middle of the route will increase its utility enough to justify it (both maps)
ADDED: “Commonly used” makers on a section of Fremont Ave in Shoreline, because that section is used a little more than parts of Meridian which now carry that marking, and one should be consistent (both maps)
ADDED: A weird little section of bike path I found in Lynnwood north of 196th at Wilcox Park. As 196th loses its sidewalks in that area, even this standalone oddness serves a useful purpose if you’re having to sidewalk-bike on 196th, say, to get to Gregg’s Cycles (MEGAMAP only)
ADDED: A few more street names in City of Seattle, along with a couple of small adjustments on difficult streets (both maps)
CORRECTION: REI Lynnwood’s icon was placed very slightly left of its actual location, and has been adjusted (MEGAMAP only)

Screen resolution preview of MEGAMAP 2.0.1 - 4 August 2025

All permalinks continue to work.

If you enjoy these maps and feel like throwing some change at the tip jar, here’s my patreon. Patreon supports get things like pre-sliced printables of the Greater Northshore, and also the completely-uncompressed MEGAMAP, not that the .jpg has much compression in it because honestly it doesn’t.

Enjoy biking!

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

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links

Interesting things - 2025 08 03

First the artists come, then the Wall Street guys, then you shut it down. Spouse and I felt like this short video was a very Austin story even though the poster is in NYC.
I Didn’t Expect Dr. Gurathin To Be My Favorite Part of Murderbot. The writer of this piece got Murderbot the way I did. I really need to sit down and read the books.
College Admissions Is a Hard Problem. The author is a professor at Union College and has a rising senior child. (I'm e-quainted with him and his wife but I read him because he's interesting, interesting enough to write pop sci books). He's got several approaches you could take to the problem but ultimately he's right: there are too many candidates for too many prestige seats at the top colleges.
The Killer 1911 Heat Wave That Drove People Insane. There's a lot of discussion about how we should do without AC for the sake of the planet. Yes, we should go to better/less polluting power production, but when we don't have AC, humans die of heat: the elderly, the young, and other vulnerable folks.
Self Censorship Is Actually Good. It's nice not to be an asshole in public; it's also not nice to have to censor yourself around MAGA folks who live in an alternate universe.
Why everyone should support WNBA players’ bid to get more money. All I have to say to columnist Mac Engels' piece is "get it, girls!".
The Interview: Robert Reich Thinks the Baby Boomers Blew It. I'd heard the story about the student he admired being killed by the KKK during the Civil Rights era, but some of the other stories were new to me. Reich is a really interesting guy and I always find his posts and threads worth reading.
Is your brand making the same mistake that killed Neiman Marcus?. One of the Neiman family made this short video about what he thinks killed Neiman Marcus. I don't think this was 100% of the problem but I imagine it was a big factor, though.
The Greatest Albums of 1984. Brought to you by a dive into the meme of "which perfect album came out when you were 16?".
Newsletter #185 - Faith No More's "Midlife Crisis" and the Observers Paradox. The observer's paradox piece of this hit me hard.
Our Flag Means Death Creator David Jenkins Is Writing the Pilot for a Booster Gold Series. Spouse and I will be all over this.
Cheese May Actually Fuel Nightmares, Surprising Study Confirms. I'll eat the cheese and risk the nightmares, thanks.
Lab-grown cheese is coming. But would you eat it? I'd try it.
This elephant learned to use a hose as a shower. Then her rival sought revenge. Those are two smart heffalumps. Also I didn't know elephants could be left-trunked!

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Unorganized

The Boston Film Festival has a terrible interface. You select which movie you want info on from a pulldown menu, which is bad; the movie pages don’t have information on which dates the movies are playing, which is lame; and the pages for each individual date don’t have links to the movie description pages. Buh. The film list helps a little but not enough.

Anyhow, it all starts tonight, and I would be remiss if I did not point out a few movies.

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[Crossposted from Population: One; go here for the original post.]

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Looking backwards

I just unloaded a bunch of FanTasia pictures from the camera in preparation for GenCon; my blog is the beneficiary of this wealth. It wasn’t a heavy picture-taking trip for me but I got a few good shots. Please keep in mind that Montreal is much prettier and funkier than one might think from my photography.

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[Crossposted from Population: One; go here for the original post.]