Congratulations!

This is just to say
I have let in
the duck
that was on the doorstep

and which
you were probably
hoping
would stay out

Forgive me
he was persuasive
so scary
and so loud.

But jfc, to get there is HARD. And worst part is, as I get older, I realize that what makes it so satisfying IS THAT IT IS HARD. The brain rot of the LLM mines makes it clear that it's not sheer product that's creatively satisfying. It's the process of getting there. It's what it does to your brain

Congratulations! Loved The Folded Sky (and the other White Space books)

Congratulations! Well deserved

The cover of Blackwater, by Michael McDowell

Does it still count if the monster settles down and starts a family?

That the ‘idea’ accounts for very little — it’s the expression that matters.

From the Point of View of a Cat This is my Man. I am not afraid of him. He is very strong, for he eats a great deal; he is an Eater of All Things. What are you eating? Give me some! He is not beautiful, for he has no fur. Not having enough saliva, he has to wash himself with water. He meows in a harsh voice and a great deal more than necessary. Sometimes in his sleep he purrs. Let me out! I don’t know how he has made himself Master; perhaps he has eaten something sublime. He keeps my rooms clean for me. In his paws he carries a sharp black claw and he scratches with it on white sheets of paper. That is the only game he plays. He sleeps at night instead of by day, he cannot see in the dark, he has no pleasures. He never thinks of blood, never dreams of hunting or fighting; he never sings songs of love. Often at night when I can hear mysterious and magic voices, when I can see that the darkness is all alive, he sits at the table with his head bent and goes on and on, scratching with his black claw on the white papers. Don’t imagine that I am at all interested in you. I am only listening to the soft whispering of your claw. Sometimes the whispering is silent, the poor dull head does not know how to go on playing, and then I am sorry for him and I meow softly in sweet and sharp discord. Then my Man picks me up and buries his hot face in my fur. At those times he divines for an instant a glimpse of a higher life, and he sighs with happiness and purrs something which can almost be understood. But don’t think that I am at all interested in you. You have warmed me, and now I will go out again and listen to the dark voices. Translated by Dora Round; revised by the editor. Originally published in Intimate Things, 1935.

A friend just sent me this perfect piece by Karel Čapek, trans. Dora Round, ‘From the Point of View of a Cat’.

Big purchase requires big Internet. This is simple math

"How does one hate a country, or love one?"

Ursula Le Guin always out there expressing my exact feelings in trying times.

Photo of a black pillow in a black chair. Two slightly angry looking cat eyes stare out from the pillow’s lower half

the vengeful pillow

by Edward Gorey

maybe the silliest art is in fact vital. maybe the thing you are making is keeping someone somewhere alive to assist. it’s important to see beyond your own things and to lend a future to a stranger

I had a long conversation with a twentysomething about how people coped before smartphones, and the only downside either of us could identify was it involving slightly more hassle to arrange meeting up with friends

A small black cat sleeping on a cushion atop a beanbag

Albert has, after some days of protest, accepted the new beanbag (that was not bought with him in mind)

Almost 10,000 authors have come together to publish an empty book protesting the theft of books by tech companies to train AI models.

Titled Don’t Steal This Book, it is empty of text except the names of the authors involved.. 🧵

there's so much bad in the world but there's also people who lift up and carry an elderly bat around every day so he can pretend he's flying again, and that's the part of the world I think is worth fighting for

Blyth ex-GP says long Covid patients are being forgotten The NHS in the North East and Cumbria is closing its last dedicated long Covid clinics this month.

BBC Article
Former GP with long Covid says people with the condition are being forgotten. MP Luke Akehurst described the closure of dedicated clinics as “shocking”, while long Covid expert Dr Rae Duncan warned: “Covid isn’t over.”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A chicken walking on the beach the caption is: If you are seeing this the curse is lifted have a good day

Congratulations everyone

Many happy returns!

A 2 panel sketch disgram of a 1 meter tall pod. in the second panel, an oval section pops off and a demonic little face with short tentacles flies out, crudely drawn.

My favorite artifact in the "you don't need AI to do art" discourse is, of course, screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's sketch of the facehugger to explain it to Giger.

Really enjoyed this one!

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck

Painting of Saint Brigid with a bowl of fire, a spindle, and a cow in St. Patrick's Chapel, Glastonbury.

IMBOLC (or Imbolg!)
Saint Brigid's Day is a Gaelic traditional festival.
1st February is the start of Spring.

Carmen et Error Submissions Open All February Poetry, 40 lines. Flash fiction up to 400 words. carmenerror.com

We're here for ur weird!

Subs open the whole month of Feb, read the subs guidelines on the website or I'll USE YOUR BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD ❤️

If you're considering using AI for 'art', you need to know this for your own safety:

You aren't the producer in this business model. You're the consumer.

6/

Hey sorry it feels weird asking but I just had to help pay for a funeral and it's wiped me out so if you like my art I would really appreciate if you bought me a kofi or commissioned me, thank you, I love you ko-fi.com/louceph

Headline: "Scientists discover emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite images"

Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.

I think we’ve got better and more culturally-varied street food than I could have imagined, cool jackets galore, and drugs that make us think we’re really fast and strong before they kill us.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 6:
Having a day job doesn’t mean you’re not a proper writer. Writing for children doesn’t mean you’re not a proper writer. Being unpublished doesn’t mean you’re not a proper writer.
Oh, and there’s no such thing as a proper writer. Only writers, and those who don’t.