Good morning, creatives! May you find something to laugh about today. Happy writing.
You've heard of the fox in the henhouse, right? Well, here's the cat in the birdhouse.
#5amwritersclub #writingcommunity
A black-and-white photograph of Rachel Carson (1907–1964), the pioneering American marine biologist, author, and conservationist whose landmark book Silent Spring (1962) launched the modern environmental movement. Carson stands in a wooded outdoor setting, leaning gently against a tree trunk with binoculars slung around her neck, wearing a practical light-colored collared shirt and jacket. Her curly hair frames her face as she turns toward the camera with a quiet, resolute expression conveying deep thought and determination. To the right appears the iconic green dust jacket of Silent Spring featuring bold yellow and white lettering. The side-by-side composition pairs her portrait with her most influential work. The mood is one of quiet strength, scientific curiosity, and reverence for nature. This image powerfully symbolizes Carson’s enduring legacy as a woman who combined rigorous evidence with eloquent prose to expose the dangers of synthetic pesticides, leading directly to the U.S. ban on DDT and the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Marine biologist & author Rachel Carson died #OTD in 1964.
Her groundbreaking book 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 (1962) launched the modern environmental movement, forever changed how we think about pesticides & human impact on nature, and led to the nationwide ban on DDT & creation of the US EPA.
#WomenInSTEM
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae): This is a large species of Kingfisher reaching up to 42cm (17in). They are an iconic bird in their native Australia. Photo by Kelvin Leong taken at Blackbutt Reserve, Newcastle, Australia #kookaburra #australia #bsky #nature #wildlife #wildlifephotography
It’s wonderful to have ideas for writing, chapters in your head, the burn of internal creation.
The sad thing about this creative process is that it only becomes useful and real when it’s written down.
#writing
Writing a good book is damn hard. Writing a not so good book is equally hard. All writers are on a spectrum of quality. Typically as they write more, their quality improves. If you support human writers then support them. If you don't like what a writer writes, write your own book. #booksky
Mark Ruffalo, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller, Jane Fonda, John Cusack, Kristen Stewart, JJ Abrams, Katie Phang, John Leguizamo, and over a thousand actors, writers, directors, journalists, producers, composers, and Hollywood executives have signed a letter against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger:
🧵
Kookaburra. One of my favourite birds.💚
www.amazon.in/Tackling-Con...
I just discovered that #Amazon is charging for a Kindle copy of my e-book, which the publishers and I published CC-licensed and free of cost. We didn't list it on Amazon, only on Archive .org, the publisher's site, and Google Play.
"Australia won’t necessarily see all the economic benefits promised by data centres," writes Ed Husic. "For every $100 invested in a hyperscale data centre facility in this country, $80 leaves our shores simply to purchase the equipment it will house." satpa.pe/R7szZ23
I actually wrote for the first time in months yesterday. Just a spontaneous burst of 1,200 words on the novel in progress. A scene that I started telling myself in my head when I thought, “Wait, I could just write this down.” And then there my characters were, just as alive and present as ever.
FBI agent Denise played by David Duchovny and Dale Cooper, played by Kyle Maclachlan, Twin Peaks 1990
David Duchovny played a transgender woman, Denise, on Twin Peaks in 1990 and when greeting Cooper, the show's protagonist, she says, "I prefer Denise, if you don't mind" and Cooper responds with "OK" and her identity is settled within a couple seconds and was a non-issue, 36 years ago.
A colorized, head-and-shoulders portrait of Florence Price, the pioneering Black composer. She is shown from the chest up, angled slightly to the right while looking directly at the camera with a calm, poised expression. She has short, elegantly styled wavy grey hair and wears a single pearl earring. She is dressed in a dark, reddish-brown or burgundy professional garment. The background is a soft, warm gradient of pale yellow and light blue.
Composer & pianist Florence Price (b. #OTD in 1887) made history as the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major US orchestra.
Her Symphony No. 1 was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933. #musicsky
Much of her music was forgotten after she died in 1953 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 👇 1/2
I told the waiter that the Hollandaise tasted funny. He said that was because it was ‘Lol’landaise. Which was a sauce of amusement.
A McDonald’s where the sign has been reduced to McDo.
There is no McTry.
image from inside Artemis II text: i need more men to understand that two men crying and hugging in space after one of them announced they were naming a moon crater after the other one's late wife is actually what peak masculinity looks like.
Sigh, another editor I worked with has been let go.
I was expecting it to be a rough year (years?) but it’s still hard, and emotional.
I feel sad for all the book folks just being chucked aside, and it’s hard to not feel angry at well… everything.
Photo: A seagull perches on a round sign with a bird and a diagonal red stripe through it. Source: internet.
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ManMadePerch.
And every day, of course, is a good day to #resist.
Saw someone griping about the fall of science fiction as a viable category of fiction and blaming "wokeness," and also, me specifically, for it. In the real world, in 2025, science fiction sales were up 22%. I published two novels last year. YOU'RE WELCOME.
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Blueskis, I had a great time talking with Chuck Todd about the frontier myth, who benefits from it, and whether the reboot of “Little House on the Prairie” will be a delight or a total nightmare.
Take a listen!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Authors are being “strongly urged” to be vigilant amid a rise in scam emails impersonating editors at publishing houses 👇 #BookSky
"...perhaps the longing for safety was itself just another kind of violence—a violence of cowardice, silence, submission. What was safety, anyway, but the sound of a bomb falling on someone else's home?" —Omar El Akkad, American War
"I grew up across the street from a public library, and it was the only place my mom would let me go on my own. It was my second home, and I read everything that I could get."
~ Tracy Chapman
Chapman by Nicholas Albrecht
#Booksky
"Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow." ~ William Blake
A good option to consider if you’re in an area with good cycling infrastructure. It’s not for everyone but cycling as a commute carries lots of benefits.
The fuel crisis is never going to go away.
#cycling
#mobility
michaelwest.com.au/high-fuel-pr...
I learned about bitrot the other day, digital storage devices losing or gaining charge. It corrupts data and destroys files. It’s the disadvantage of digital media.
The best affordable archival device. Yep, it’s paper.
I pity historians of the future studying the early 21st century.
Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom in attempt to reverse declines in reading, math, and science.
arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Author Michael S Jackson has launched a new publishing imprint Peelhouse Press, alongside Black Crow Books and the Broken Binding Press.
Read more 👇
My dog, Monte, a black dog with white on his chest, toes, and muzzle, and one floppy ear.
My 14 pound chihuahua mix genuinely believes that I went to the shelter and picked him out because I was looking to hire a full time bodyguard for personal security.
Good morning, creatives! May your day go well, and your imagination soar. Let's write!
#5amwritersclub #writingcommunity
Earth and Moon from DSCOVR NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured this unique view of the Moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month. This view shows the fully illuminated “dark side” of the moon that is never visible from Earth. Ian Regan processed this version of the image to account for the Moon's motion. NASA / NOAA / Ian Regan
I hadn't seen this before. This is pretty remarkable.
Earth and Moon in one NASA photo.
ht @astrokatie.com