fox

Welp. I've been posting about this under lock, but let's make a public one too. My younger brother and his wife were supposed to be visiting me this week (with them arriving today), but those plans were cancelled at the last minute due to a combination of several reasons.

I'd already asked off work for the rest of the week, and I'm not taking it back. I'm just going to take a five day weekend and call it a day. Which, you know, I could use the break from work, so it's not a bad thing. And, hey, this way I won't have to worry about a lack of spoons when I have to go back to work like I did when I was off for the Fourth of July and playing D&D all weekend.

Sadly, I don't have much in the way of extra money right now, so I can't do anything fun while I'm off work. I'm fairly stocked on groceries at least, so I won't have to worry about that. I'll take what I can get on that front.

Right now, my plans are to basically switch between playing video games, reading fanfiction, and writing fanfiction (specifically for Black Emporium and the Dragon Age Reverse Bang) for the next five days. We'll see if that changes, but that's what I'm aiming for right now at least.

i was so ... blank

drglam

My office-mate Victoria, who some of you met at my party, gave me a Sally Ride Barbie https://creations.mattel.com/products/sally-ride-barbie-inspiring-women-doll-fxd77. She didn't expect to be sent three of them when she ordered it, so I've now got two of them, and have the goal of uniting the extra one with the person who really needs it. If you're that person, or if you know that person, let me know!

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/19/parking-lot-kittens/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56903

A few days ago, I got a text from Bryant saying that he had kittens under his car, and that I simply must come see them immediately. So I booked it over and lo and behold there were two kittens underneath his car! There was a calico and a tuxedo, and both were very shy and very hungry. It was so hot outside, and Bryant’s car was one of the few spots of shade in the area, so I can see why they’d hide under there.

I had a sneaking suspicion that there were more around. Where there’s two kittens there’s five, or something like that, anyway. Sure enough, it wasn’t long after feeding the two skinny kitties that another came running, seemingly appearing out of thin air. This one was a diluted tortie, and she parked herself right next to her siblings underneath the car. I could hardly believe three kittens had spontaneously appeared, but I was so thankful that it happened to be under the car of one of the biggest animal lovers I know.

We weren’t really sure how best to handle this situation, and while we were thinking it over, the tuxedo ventured out from beneath the car and ran behind the apartment into the woods. We decided to follow him and see if we could catch him now that he was out from underneath the car.

While we followed him down the trails of the forest, getting eaten alive by bugs, wouldn’t you know it, a black kitten appeared:

Two kittens, one tuxedo and one black cat, standing close to each other on a forest trail.

Had the three from under the car originated from the forest? Or had the black one been under the car with the other three originally and ventured to the woods like the tuxedo ended up doing, too? Either way, I was shocked to see another one, and thought surely that this was the last one of the litter.

This new one was different from the other three. While the calico and diluted tortie were absolutely terrified and skittish as hell, and the tuxedo wasn’t much better, the black one was incredibly friendly in comparison. In no time at all, the black one was following us around like a shadow, and was even willing to be pet and purred the whole time. Shortly after, he was even okay with being picked up and petted like any normal household cat. It was like he wasn’t even a stray, really.

We had the food set out by the car still, and wanted the black one to come get food, so we had him follow us back around to the front side of the apartment, where he reunited with his siblings under the car.

In the couple days that they have been at the apartment, we’ve been working on figuring out a rescue plan. I called multiple rescues in the area and asked if they can send someone out to collect them, as we are not certified kitten wranglers and don’t want to hurt or scare them, but none of the rescues offered that type of service.

For now, they are being fed and watered consistently, and there have been pretty impressive strides with how close the kittens have started to get. Still, the only one that enjoys being pet and actively seeks out affection is the black one, but the calico and tuxedo are becoming much more acclimated to human presence, it seems. The diluted tortie is without a doubt the worst case, still extremely skittish and frightened.

Even though it would be super easy to catch the black one, and even the tuxedo, the other two still seem uncapturable for the time being, and we don’t want to separate them. We figure the best course of action is to keep trying to get them comfortable enough until all of them are snatch-able.

I had an idea to try and hand feed them with tubes of food, like I’d seen so many times in cat rescue videos on Tik Tok. I figured it would help them trust us, and make it so they’re within hands-reach to make for easier snatching. Other than the black one, they preferred to eat it only when we squeezed the contents out onto the ground for them to eat at a further away from us distance:

Three of the kittens, the black one, tuxedo, and diluted tortie, emerging from underneath the car to come eat.

Look how close the calico was! This was huge progress:

The calico kitten, very close to the camera, licking some food off the ground.

THEY’RE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM SO MUCH:

All four cats, out from underneath the car, eating the food on the ground.

We want to rescue these babies so badly, while still keeping them together. We just aren’t experts, but we’re doing our best and making sure they’re fed for now, at least.

I expect some questions about logistics and whatnot, so here’s some pre-answers:

The car that they’re under is Bryant’s car, but it hasn’t moved from that spot in three years. He drives a different car, so don’t worry about him having to like, move the kittens’ shelter. It ain’t going anywhere.

Bryant is the only tenant at his apartment, there’s no neighbors to inform of these kittens, only the landlord, which he did.

I’m not sure which of the many rescues in the area would be best to take them to when they’re eventually caught, so please let me know if you have recommendations for kitten shelters in the Dayton area!

Aren’t they so cute?

The black cat, eating out of a Tupperware. He sits on a stone wall in front of a wooden fence. He is very handsome!

Which would you love to take home with you (I want all of them)? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/19/parking-lot-kittens/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56903

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/19/the-big-idea-michelle-knudsen/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56899

Escapism through reading fantasy is something we’re all familiar with, but is it always the best idea to ignore the rest of the world and to some extent, yourself? Author Michelle Knudsen explores this idea in the Big Idea for her newest novel, Into the Wild Magic. Come along to see how Knudsen weaves a message of morals throughout the magic.

MICHELLE KNUDSEN:

I never really know what a novel is about when I start writing it. I usually begin with a scene, a couple of characters, and the vague knowledge that something magical or horrible or supernatural will happen. Sometimes I write the scene and it goes into the metaphorical trunk. Other times, I feel that tingle of yes that makes me want to keep going. In this case, I wrote a scene between two girls in a schoolyard. I didn’t know anything about them or what their story would be, but I knew I wanted to know more.

Those two girls turned out to be Bevvy and Cat. Bevvy is lonely and bullied and longs to escape into her fantasy books. New girl Cat, we soon discover, has the ability to open portals into another world. She avoids using her power, for Reasons, but is soon forced to open one of her portals, dragging Bevvy through with her. The story has all the exciting things I love to put in my novels: magic, monsters, adventures, battles, strange creatures, complicated people, dangerous situations. It’s about the girls, their various secrets and fears, and their attempts to get back home. But underneath all of that, it’s about connection: about what it means to have a friend, and to be a friend, and how to find connection when it seems forever out of reach.

Like (I assume) many speculative fiction writers, I lived in fantasy and science fiction as a kid to escape the realities of middle school and high school life. I wasn’t Bevvy; I was lucky to have some really good friends, but I definitely also had times where I felt very alone, like there was some reason I wasn’t able to connect with others, like there was maybe something wrong with me. It was fantasy and science fiction that got me through. Not just because of the fantastic or futuristic elements (although yes, those too!), but also because of the characters who existed in those incredible worlds and the larger-than-life struggles that brought out their truest (and often best) selves.

I still believe that a lot of what I learned about being a good person came from the books I read back then. They were fun and full of adventure and magic and robots and spaceships but also they were stories of people facing danger to help or save those they loved. They contained characters who showed up for each other in extraordinary ways, who loved each other despite none of them being anything close to perfect. They brought me hope that there were lots of ways to connect with other people in the world.

I write stories for all ages, and in my picture books as well as my novels, I find myself returning to themes of friendship and unconditional love and finding a place where you belong. Sometimes that place can be a person. Or a lion. Or a group of bunnies you thought you had nothing in common with but then you all bond at the monster truck show and you realize with unexpected joy that you now have a tiny, fuzzy friend-family for life.

Part of the secret is always finding those who get you, who see you for who you are. But the other part is being able to see yourself, to accept that you are worth the love and friendship of other people (or lions, or bunnies).

Bevvy starts this story wishing for a friend: just one. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to tell you that she finds one, but more than that, she learns to be friends with herself. The magical world she encounters is way scarier in person than in books, and she has to navigate her new relationship with dodgy, difficult Cat while running for her life, facing danger, and getting swept up in a magical war. Even more frightening, she must make some hard moral choices that could mean losing the friendship she so desperately wants.

Bevvy has to figure out who she really is and attempt to arrive at the place I hope all of us can eventually get to of deciding we are worthy of love and affection. And that we deserve to surround ourselves with others who feel the same way.

Into the Wild Magic invites middle-grade readers to escape into a fantasy-world adventure, but I hope it also helps some of them think about the kind of person—and friend—they really want to be. (And also that they love the dragons and the tree magic and the kitten and the dog and the giant moths and everything else!)

Author socials: Website|Instagram|Bluesky|Facebook|Newsletter

Read an excerpt.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/19/the-big-idea-michelle-knudsen/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56899

bethbethbeth

Helpful hint if you're becoming more disabled as you age or as a condition progresses (i.e., if you're new to seeking travel assistance): figure out what sorts of thing are challenges for you in your day to day life, and see how the airports you'll be using can help.

In my case: I have relatively bad arthritis (some weeks worse than others), use a cane, have balance issues and intermittent vertigo.

The two airports I used (O'Hare in Chicago and Sea-Tac in Seattle) are usually both on the lists of reasonably accessible airports (guides, braille elevator signs, etc), and both had free wheelchairs. This would have been great given the extremely long terminal hallways without moving sidewalks, but unfortunately, it was too late by the time I found out.

Knowing about the free wheelchairs would have been especially useful when I was heading home. The TSA lines were wildly long at Sea-Tac and even though I explained my difficulty with standing in lines to SeaTac staff, I was told I had to go to the regular line (note: a roving TSA agent ended up - unprompted (although I probably looked bedraggled :D) - moving me to a faster line, but once you invoke a disability, accommodations should be made as a matter of course.

My return trip from Sea-Tac (after 5 days of hobbling around WorldCon) was also problematic given the inclines between each gate in Terminal D. Why do you have to trudge uphill with teenagers sitting on the side ledges, hanging their legs over the banisters? I shall probably never know.

Plus, there was no seating accessible to me at SeaTac. All the chairs would have been perfectly comfortable for me to sit in, but my cartilage-light knees & my vertigo won't usually allow me to get up facing forward without something to touch for balance in front of me once I'm up. I usually need to turn sideways to get up from a chair (unless it's a relatively tall chair) and touch the back for balance (unless I'm sitting next to a wall), which isn't possible with rows of freestanding chairs that all have armrests and all face each other. In my case, I found a lovely guy at the gate next to my departure gate (my gate personnel weren't there yet) who basically stole a wheelchair (the basic airport wheelchairs are just hard chairs on wheels with movable armrests, i.e., my favorites) and brought me to my departure gate, leaving me to sit in the stolen - and oddly comfortable - chair next to something I could use for balance later for the next hour. This was great, but it took me 25 minutes finding somebody to help)

Note: when I was heading to Seattle, O'Hare's departure gate did have chairs without armrests which made it easy for me to stand up without tipping over onto my face. I don't know whether having some chairs without armrests are part of ADA compliance, but even the lobby for O'Hare's car rental and bus pickup facility had a few of those. Thank you, O'Hare.

On the plus side, there were gender free bathrooms at O'Hare (single user) and at SeaTac (including multi user). I only used the one at SeaTac and the stalls all had full-length doors, which - let's be real - all public restrooms should have. I did overhear a youngish girl - maybe 12? - expressing shock to her slightly older sister about that, but then her parents said "Go in and pee. Our flight's going to be boarding soon." Good work, parents,

evilhrlady_feed

Posted by Evil HR Lady

https://www.evilhrlady.org/2025/08/1-in-3-job-applicants-lie-on-their-resumes-but-hiring-companies-lie-more.html

https://www.evilhrlady.org/?p=7928

Your job candidates are lying on their resumes and in their job interviews.

Personally, I’m shocked that so many people would lie to survey takers.

The recruiting and job hunting process, in essence, creates a situation where a company and a candidate lie to each other in an attempt to persuade the other to take action.

While I’m willing to concede that perhaps only 33 percent of job candidates lie on their resumes, I’m going to say 95 percent fake enthusiasm about a company’s mission.

Your business just isn’t that special.

To keep reading, click here: 1 in 3 Job Applicants Lie on Their Resumes. But Hiring Companies Lie More

The post 1 in 3 Job Applicants Lie on Their Resumes. But Hiring Companies Lie More appeared first on Improve Your HR.

https://www.evilhrlady.org/2025/08/1-in-3-job-applicants-lie-on-their-resumes-but-hiring-companies-lie-more.html

https://www.evilhrlady.org/?p=7928

gimmighoulcoins in

fictional_fans

the banner has the image of a blank notebook and a pencil on a white background, with a bullet point list that reads: Pick a character. Pick a theme set. Write 50 one-sentence fic. The title of the community, 1character, is displayed under the list.

Description: Pick one character as your focus in this fic writing community in the style of

1sentence, choose from 1 of the 6 theme sets, and make your claim - then, write 50 one-sentence fic inspired by the prompts to share on the comm! This is an ongoing activity, open to writers for all fandoms, as well as original characters. Claims are good for three months, and you can get an extension of one month if needed.
Schedule: Ongoing
Links:
On Dreamwidth:

1character

musesfool

Just ordered some not really necessary stuff from Penzey's since they've got a 25% off everything (but gift cards) sale going until midnight. Also ordered some cute monstera-leaf-shaped earrings because sometimes I need cute new earrings. And a couple of new books and a dress with llamas on it for Baby Miss L.

I guess I needed a little retail therapy...

Here's a cool link: On Set for The Pitt Season Two: Noah Wyle and the Cast Finally Lift the Curtain (contains some spoilers for season 2).

And here is a cute video of a bunch of NY Mets being interviewed at the Little League classic. #LFGM

*

70% how you look, 20% how you sound ... Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3130/

I dropped my phone while trying to search, and I tried to unlock it from up here, so can you also search for screen repair places?

https://xkcd.com/3130/

rachelmanija

13-year-old Hannah, who lives on a tiny island off Seattle, is excited for her first babysitting job. Then a giant earthquake hits, cutting the island off from the mainland... and leaving Hannah alone in charge of two kids in a devastated landscape.

Hannah is not having a good day. She was recently diagnosed with asthma, forcing her to drop out of soccer and always carry an inhaler. Her best friend Neha, a soccer star, is now hanging out more with another soccer girl than with Hannah. Hannah forgets to bring her inhaler with her to school, and her mom doesn't turn around the car to get it as Hannah is desperate not to be late. When she arrives for her babysitting job after school, minus her inhaler (no doubt looming ominously on the mantelpiece at home, along with Chekhov's gun), she gets in a huge fight with Neha over text and the girls say they no longer want to be friends...

...just as a giant earthquake hits! Hannah gets her charges, Zoe and Oscar, to huddle under a table (along with their guinea pig) and no one is injured. But the windows break, the house is trashed, and the power, internet, and phones go out. The house is somewhat remote, an all-day walk from the next house. What to do?

Hannah is a pretty realistic 13-year-old. She's generally sensible, but makes some mistakes which are understandable under the circumstances, but have huge repercussions. She enlists the kids to help her search for her phone in the wreckage of the house, and Zoe immediately is severely cut on broken glass. The kids freak out because their mom (along with Hannah's) is on the mainland, and Hannah calms them down by lying that she got a text from their mom saying that she's fine and is coming soon. The next morning, she lets Oscar play on some home playground equipment. Hannah checks the surrounding area, but doesn't check the equipment itself. It's damaged and breaks, and Oscar breaks his leg. So by day one, Hannah is having asthma attacks without her inhaler, Zoe has one arm out of commission, Oscar is totally immobilized, and there's no adults within reach.

Well - this is a HUGE improvement on Trapped. It's well-written and gripping, the events all make sense, and the characterization is fine. It was clearly intended to teach kids what can happen during a big earthquake and how to stay as safe as possible, and the information presented on that is all good.

But - you knew there was a but - as an enjoyable work of children's disaster/survival literature, it falls short of the standards of the old classic Hatchet and the excellent newer series I Survived.

The basic problem with this book is that it has a very narrow emotional range. For the entire book, Hannah is miserable, guilty over her friend breakup and the kids getting hurt, worried about her parents, and desperately trying to keep it together. The kids get hurt so seriously so early on that they never have any fun. Even when Hannah tries to feed them S'Mores to cheer them up, nobody actually likes them because they're not melted!

The I Survived books have much more variety of emotional states and incidents, as typically the actual disaster doesn't happen until at least one-third of the way into the book. The kids have highs and lows, fun moments and despairing moments and terrifying moments. This book is all gloom all the time even before the disaster! Hannah eventually saves everyone, is hailed as a hero, and repairs her friendship, but we don't get that from her inner POV - it's in a transcript of a TV interview with her.

The information provided in the book is very solid, but I would have preferred that it didn't have BOTH kids get injured because of something Hannah does wrong. (That is not realistic! ONE, maybe.) It also would have been a lot more fun to read if the kids' injuries were either less serious or occurred later. The situation is desperate and miserable almost immediately, and just stays that way for the entire book.

Still, there's a lot about the book that's good and there should be an entertaining book that provides earthquake knowledge, so I'm keeping it. But I'm not getting her other book about two girls lost in the woods.

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/18/brief-worldcon-report-an-anniversary-note-of-sorts/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56873

A group of people at a convention area, some sitting on chairs while others stand and wave, with a person in a red shirt labeled 'ENFORCER' talking to them.

Portrait of a smiling man with a closely cropped beard, wearing a black t-shirt against a dark background.

To begin, Seattle 2025 was a lovely Worldcon! This year I was not up for anything at the Hugos, nor was too much expected from me otherwise — I had a couple of panels, a reading, a signing and a dance to DJ, which was all easily done over the course of five days — so most of my time was spent hanging out with friends, mostly at the Hyatt Regency bar or at restaurants. This was an optimal state of affairs. Krissy and I also got out into Seattle itself and did some of the usual touristy stuff, and that was delightful too.

Worldcon did what Worldcon does, which is to be the place where you get to see a bunch of people you only see once or twice a year, and catch up and renew those friendships until you see each other again, possibly at the next Worldcon. Plus I got to say hello to a bunch of fans of my work, and possibly make some new fans by being on panels and such. Also my dance went off very well, which makes me happy. I love this absurd thing where I have become a draw as a DJ. It is the most random of my side quests, I have to say.

A lively dance floor at a conference event, filled with attendees enjoying the music and dancing under colorful lights.

In short: A fabulous time. I will be there for the next one, next year, in Los Angeles (actually Anaheim, but never mind that now).

Also, congratulations to this year’s Hugo, Lodestar and Astounding winners! It was a good year all the way around.

Back at home this morning, as I was thinking about this Worldcon write-up, it occurred to me that this year was the 10th anniversary of the height of the “Sad/Rabid Puppy” nonsense, in which a bunch of ideologically and/or ambition-inspired persons brigaded a number of titles and people onto the Hugo finalist lists and were rewarded with literally nothing for their efforts. At the time it made a lot a noise and there was a lot of handwringing about it and what it meant, both at the Worldcon and outside of it. Ten years on, a round number anniversary and so one where it might conceivably be on the minds of people, there was… nothing. I heard no one speak about it at this year’s Worldcon, and as far as I could see there were no panels or other discussion about it. It wasn’t as if people feared to speak its name, mind you. It just literally never came up, in any context at all. I mean, I didn’t think about it the entire time I was at Worldcon. From a practical point of view, it was just not a thing.

If I were to hazard a guess about why this is, I would say it comes down to two things. One, the event was ultimately about publicity, not literature; leaving aside the few works by non-puppies that were dragged into the controversy by the organizers to be shields (or bullet sponges), very little on the Sad Puppy slates would ultimately be part of the conversation the genre has with itself. From a creative point of view, there was almost nothing anyone wanted to take out of those finalist lists. Two, as a publicity vehicle, it appears mostly to have backfired. Ten years on, among those who were at the time traditionally-published, the most commercially successful member of that cohort is the one who was already the most successful a decade ago; many of the rest appear to have chosen to explore the potential of independent publication. None of them appear to be notably better off, in terms of book sales or professional reputation, than they were a decade ago. Meanwhile, many of the writers they railed against appear to be doing quite well; this is correlative at best, rather than causative.

(There is also the fact the Hugo process was amended to disincentivize slating, and the general truism that an action plan that actively includes being raging shitheads means that you’re seen as raging shitheads whether you achieve your objective or not. But it’s mostly the two things above.)

I would note I don’t think there should have been any great discussion of the Puppies phenomenon at this year’s Worldcon; ten years on, the event and its principals had the attention and reputation among Worldcon participants that they rated. And I find it encouraging that a community confronted with bad actors who showed contempt for who that community was and what it valued were able to counteract those actors, move past them and then, essentially, leave them in the dustbin of their community history. One can hope those lessons might be applied at larger scale, sooner rather than later.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/18/brief-worldcon-report-an-anniversary-note-of-sorts/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56873

wondermark_feed

Posted by David Malki !

https://wondermark.com/a-sick-elephant-retrospective/

https://wondermark.com/?p=18349

Longtime readers will remember, seven years ago, when I posted several strips in a row that all seemed to be variations on the same joke.

What started as a way to explore how multiple punchlines could stem from the same premise became a sprawling, months-long adventure that referenced (whether you knew it or not) every single time I’d ever featured any elephant in Wondermark.

Because, as it turned out, most of those characters were played by the same few elephant actors! This is a recurring joke from my book collections: all the elephant strips are reviewed by a theater critic, evaluating the latest performance of the classically-trained Norbert.

In fact, when I pitch the books to folks, I say, “You can start reading with any volume. There’s no continuity, except for exactly one running gag.” The theater critic watches Norbert’s career rise and fall, as he acts in episode after episode.

Revisiting the storyline on GoComics

As you may know, I also run Wondermark comics regularly at GoComics. I’ve been working my way through the entire archive, slightly faster than real time, over there for almost a decade.

And now… The first “Check out my sick elephant” strip hit on August 4, and of course, the entire saga will now continue to unspool over the course of months.

I’m excited to watch the commenters discover what’s happening! They are a special breed of their own, on GoComics. Follow along over there if you like!

Remembering the origins

Recently, I returned from Gen Con in Indianapolis! It was an auspicious return to a show where almost exactly seven years ago that storyline began — at Gen Con itself.

That day in 2018, I arrived in Indy after a late flight from California. It was after midnight, but I still wanted to try and get a comic posted before the convention began.

On the hunt for a simple but funny concept, I batted ideas back and forth with my friend and boothmate Sam Logan, who had also arrived on a late flight from the West Coast (in his case, Vancouver) and was in a similarly punchy mood.

The phrase “sick elephant” somehow arose as something that could be interpreted in different ways, and the two of us went back and forth for a long while, trying to come up with ever-weirder punchlines to make each other laugh.

Eventually, so we wouldn’t forget the ideas we’d come up with, I pulled out my phone and recorded a voice memo.

This week, I was able to unearth that recording.

Enjoy, for the first time posted publicly… The very first conversation that birthed the entire Wondermark "sick elephant" saga. The first voice you hear is mine; the second, Sam's. @samandfuzzy.com

[image or embed]
— Wondermark Comics (@wondermark.com) August 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM

(My thanks to Sam for whipping up some cartoon heads of us both for this video!)

That summer of 2018, the storyline continued for months, and I put together a complete book collection that December.

Sick elephants were also the theme of that year’s Wondermark Calendar — which would become the last installment of the calendar series (at least so far). A few months into 2019, I was offered a job that radically changed my working availability, and my pace of making comics would slow for some time.

I’m as proud of that storyline as anything I’ve done with Wondermark. Now that that job has ended and I’m answerable only to myself again, I’m glad to look back on it as a reminder of how much fun all this can be creatively, given the right circumstances.

If you’re a newer reader or haven’t seen the whole saga — or simply want to revisit it with me! — start here. I’ve added links below each comic where there’s a reference to something that will add context.

https://wondermark.com/a-sick-elephant-retrospective/

https://wondermark.com/?p=18349

hannah

The Museum of the Moving Image's recent Tom Cruise retrospective ended this afternoon, with a grand total of twenty-two different movies being screened at least once, with some playing twice. I'd decided I'd see everything at least once - I didn't need to sit through the theatrical cuts of The Outsiders or Legend a second time - and managed it with very little trouble and fuss. Mostly just what's inherent in the subways, like lines being down for a weekend and not finding out until I'm in the station and had to find an alternate route that, thankfully, still took me to a station within six blocks of the museum.

It was like going to summer camp, honestly. A regular thing to keep me busy in the long, hot days. Something to look forward to. Shared experiences with voices that gradually grew more and more familiar and faces I came to recognize. And now that it's over, we've gone our separate ways. We might bump into each other again - as dense a city as it is, it's not huge, and the community of repertory movie screening enthusiasts is small enough it's more than likely to happen eventually. Even if we don't, it was fun while it lasted and I'll look back on it fondly.

None of the movies were a chore. All of them were a pleasure to see on the screen, some more than others - for example, Eyes Wide Shut is something I appreciate more than I enjoy. Plenty of them were overwhelming in the best ways, whether it was the immense, immersive sound or the rich colors of the film prints or simply letting myself get taken away for a little while in a really good story. It was just as much about having the experience of the big screen viewing as it was the movies themselves - not quite a compulsion, not exactly a fixation. Hearts that are true, as Dave Barry described them, and a line in the essay kept echoing throughout this summer: "If you ask her why, it shows you could never understand."

All right, that one and another: "And the hell with what people say." Tom Cruise is a good actor, a sharp producer, someone I can personally say has a lovely smile, and he doesn't need anyone defending him. At least, not in the context of internet snark, cheap jokes, flippant comments. He's not my friend. He's someone I'm glad to share the planet with for a little while because his art's good, and I find it inspiring and meaningful. I don't need more than that.

While I don't need more than that, sharing it for a little while made for a wonderful time.

Worth mentioning are:

This one guy who brought up Alan Moore's Superman work and wasn't prepared for me to bring up Top Ten and Tom Strong,

That same guy who argued that after a long week at work you'd want to unwind and see some light fair and as such might not go see a Tarkovsky or 8 1/2 and wasn't prepared for me to say I'd recently seen 8 1/2 and found it a buoyant and uplifting piece on the creative spirit,

This one guy who agreed Streets of Fire is a movie that needs to be seen at night,

This one couple who hung back a few minutes to talk about how Jerry Maguire picks up where other romcoms leave off and how these days there aren't enough movies in the "people trying to become better" and "good people trying not to be lonely" genres,

This one projectionist who answered a couple questions I had about who owns individual prints and lends them out for screenings,

The print of Magnolia that keeps playing around NYC that I've now seen six different times and can recognize the flickers because a print's an object that changes over time and seeing those flickers reminded me of the nature of film as something that's almost a living creature that breathes with you in the dark,

The projectionist who had to re-adjust Cocktail a bit to get it into focus which was a moment that added to the viewing experience in a good way,

The curtains that closed over the screen and pulled back to make sure we knew we were in for a good time,

The MOMI staff members who were always thoughtful and patient and were able to give me a couple extra copies of the various movie programs and got to know me on sight by the end of July,

The MOMI itself for putting it on,

Everyone who took their tickets home as mementos and souvenirs,

Everyone who crowed somewhere about seeing thirty-five and seventy millimeter prints because even bad movies look fabulous that way and good movies are an absolute joy to behold,

Everyone who'd seen the older works like Risky Business and Born on the Fourth of July and Top Gun when they'd first played in theaters decades ago and were happy to see on a big screen and be lifted up and pushed under again,

Everyone who brought kids to one or both of the Top Gun double features because I know those kids had a fantastic time,

Everyone who laughed,

Everyone who cried,

Everyone who sucked in a breath and held it and let it out as one because we were all feeling the exact same thing in that specific moment,

Everyone who clapped at the end credits,

Everyone who hollered at the director or the cinematographer or the title card whether that came early or late in the individual movie,

Everyone who had firm opinions about which movie theaters in the five boroughs are worth the time and energy it takes to visit them,

Everyone who hung around a while between movies or after the day's programming was over whether it was at the doors or in the courtyard or on the subway platform and let the conversation continue just a few minutes more,

Everyone who I already knew beforehand or recognized after a few screenings and looked forward to seeing because of the pleasure of seeing a movie in shared company,

Everyone who legged it out to Queens to see a beloved movie on the big screen for the first time or possibly the fortieth, traveling by car, train, bus, commercial airline, commuter light rail, crossing state lines and time zones, who brought their own food, who shared their popcorn, who was happy to exchange a few words in the theater or in line waiting for the bathroom as a way to make the waiting easier or just for the pleasure of exchanging a few words about the recently shared experience, everyone who wanted to have a good time at the movies, everyone who spent this last summer together with me like I haven't done since I was a kid and helped make it something worth remembering.

i was so ... thankful
70% how you look, 20% how you sound ... City Swan - Neko Case

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/17/the-shattering-peace-arrives-in-ohio/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56869

Krissy and I just got back from Worldcon and a box of these lovelies were waiting for us when we got home. In case you’re ever wondering if it gets old to get your author copies of a new book: No. No, it does not.

Soon you will have your own copies! In literally just under a month! There’s still time to pre-order from your favorite bookseller!

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/17/the-shattering-peace-arrives-in-ohio/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56869

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

musesfool

I finally saw the new Superman this afternoon and I enjoyed it a lot! The casting was exceptionally good - Nicholas Hoult was the best Lex Luthor since Rosenbaum, and I thought Fillion was just the right amount of bumptious asshole as Guy Gardner. (Do I wish we could get John Stewart in a live action movie? Yes. But I'm still so glad they didn't go with boring Hal Jordan.)

The writing for Clark was great and he and Lois had fantastic chemistry. Mr. Terrific was indeed terrific! Plus KRYPTO!!! ( spoilers )

*

i was so ... pleased
70% how you look, 20% how you sound ... 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Care and Feeding,

My mom lives several states away. We see her a couple times a year, but my children don’t know her well because of the distance. Meanwhile, my sister lives around the corner from her, so her kids have a completely different relationship with “Grandma” than mine do.

She recently visited us, and I needed her to pick my 8-year-old up from day camp. It would be just the two of them for a few hours before I got off work, something that hasn’t happened before—usually I’m around or my sister’s kids. Well, that day, my son did not have a good time at camp and apparently didn’t talk much after pickup. He was even quiet with me once we met up. My mom said that she had to spend all afternoon with my son, and he wouldn’t talk to her. We had planned to get ice cream together, but my mom asked me to drop her off at the house instead.

She later told me that my son needs to be taught how to respond to people. I have tried reading him books about interacting with people, I have role-played with him and read many articles on how to help him. I don’t know how to make my shy, sensitive child respond to people he is uncomfortable with. Do you have tips? How can I help my mom to have a better relationship with him?

—Grandma/Grandson Mediator

( Read more... )

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Prudence,

My husband got totally hammered at my sister’s wedding and somehow ended up falling into the wedding cake. I reimbursed them for the cost of it and made my husband write a letter of apology, but they are still furious, as are more than a few family members. What can we do to mend fences?

—Cake Catastrophe

( Read more... )

rachelmanija

Of the MANY bait-and-switch books I've been tricked into reading, this takes the prize for the biggest switch. The back cover says it's about a single mom carpenter who builds a tiny house for herself and her daughters to live in. The title is about tiny houses. There is a tiny house on the cover. I read the book because I thought it would be about building a tiny house.

The book is actually about the events leading up to her building the tiny house. She doesn't build the tiny house until the LAST CHAPTER. It takes up about four pages.

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

i was so ... awake

watersword

So it turns out that K.J. Parker and K.J. Charles are totally different people, albeit both writers. Who knew? NOT ME. I now have K.J. Parker's Sixteen ways to defend a walled city on hold at the library.

Managed to restrain myself at the farmer's market this morning, only getting three kinds of plums (I planned on two), some salad mix, a sourdough loaf ... and a chocolate croissant.

And then almost as soon as I came home, a friend called to say that she was downstairs, with her kid, and a stray cat they had found outside, was I home and did I have a carrier and treats to coax the cat into a carrier? The answer, of course, was yes, and we spent a little while trying to get a gorgeous little smokey-grey creature into my carrier, eventually wrestling her in after bribery with Churu did not work. She was mostly very well-mannered, clearly accustomed to humans, if unsure about these strangers (including the smallest one without volume modulation), and frankly the gherkin is more ruthless with her teeth and claws when I want her to be in the carrier and she wants to fuck me up. She has been taken to the ASPCA, where they confirmed she has a chip and they are trying to get in touch with her humans; in the meanwhile, she is staying with a friend who has a spare room.

cereta

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

wondermark_feed

Posted by David Malki !

https://wondermark.com/c/1572/

https://wondermark.com/?post_type=webcomic1&p=18342

[ Comment thread on Discord ]

https://wondermark.com/c/1572/

https://wondermark.com/?post_type=webcomic1&p=18342

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/16/the-shattering-peace-tour-dates-other-remaining-2025-appearances-now-live/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56857

I have a new book out in exactly one month(!!!), and as I usually do, I will celebrate the release by hurling myself around the country with a book tour for a couple of weeks (September 15-25), followed by a couple of months of appearances to book festival and conventions. The itinerary for the tour part of the traveling is here, with stops in Scottdale, AZ; Lake Forest Park, WA; Spokane, WA; Santa Cruz, CA; San Diego, CA; Boise, ID; Denver, CO; Kansas City, MO; Parma, OH; Shepardstown, WV; and Richmond, VA.

In addition! I’ll being doing conventions/festivals in between September and November in: Portland, OR; Winston-Salem, NC; New York City, NY; Iowa City, IA; San Francisco, CA; Burlington, VT; Austin, TX; and Jacksonville, FL.

That’s… a lot!

Many of these tour stops and events are ticketed, so please check each of those links for the details for that, as well for specific date and times. With the conventions/festivals, not all the details of my particular appearances are yet available, so keep checking with those sites for more details, and also, when I get more details I will post those updates on the site (and will also update this post).

During the tour, I’ll be reading from upcoming work, so if you want a sneak preview of what’s coming up from me in the future, the tour is the place to do that. With the conventions/festivals you’ll likely see me on panels and/or in conversation with other authors.

Either way, it’ll be fun. Come see me, please!

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/16/the-shattering-peace-tour-dates-other-remaining-2025-appearances-now-live/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56857

settiai

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

i was so ... tired

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look, we can't all do big arms.

Long Weekend

Barbie Inspiring Women Sally Ride doll

Parking Lot Kittens

The Big Idea: Michelle Knudsen

Even with ADA, you still have to work to make airports accessible for you

1 in 3 Job Applicants Lie on Their Resumes. But Hiring Companies Lie More

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The Disaster Days, by Rebecca Behrens

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The Shattering Peace Arrives in Ohio

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some people call me maurice

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Tiny House, Big Fix, by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

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Aliens and Lost Boys (and Girls)

#1572; In which a Joke is disowned

The Shattering Peace Tour Dates + Other Remaining 2025 Appearances Now Live

Pyra Cantha D&D: Summary for 8/15 Game

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