Here Are the Finalists for the 2026 Hugo Awards - Reactor Congratulations to all!

The finalists for the 2026 Hugo Awards have been announced. Congratulations to everyone!

Also, shout-out to POSITIVE OBSESSION, the biography of Octavia E Butler by Susana M. Morris, which is nominated for “best related work.” It’s a wonderful book.

Rarely do I manage to read something before it gets nom’d for the best novel Hugo Award, but this year there are two! #booksky

DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor

THE EVERLASTING by Alix E. Harrow

Review by moderntuba - How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future In this memoir and call-to-action, seasoned journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Re...

HOW TO STAND UP TO A DICTATOR: THE FIGHT FOR OUR FUTURE by Maria Ressa- 4.75⭐️
Fin. 4/16/26 #booksky

A memoir & call-to-action from the seasoned journalist, chronicling her life & the rise of a weaponized social media used by authoritarian governments to chilling effect.

Click for the review!

A very questionable wall plug that looks like blackface in a highly visible place in a Hyatt Regency hotel room.

Hotels are well known for having made questionable design choices and we largely have to just endure them, but hear me out:

maybe this particular Hyatt Regency should re-consider some of their aesthetic.

All Marlins Walk-Up Songs Royalty-Free

All Marlins Walk-Up Songs Royalty-Free

"Son, I am able," she said, "though you scare me."

"Watch," said I, "beloved,"
I said, "Watch me scare you though.”

Said she, "Able am I, son."

- Apollo 18:2
(@tmbg.bsky.social translation)

Shit, just seeing this now.

Review by moderntuba - The Daughter Who Remains The finale in a trio of novellas from Okorafor's WHO FEARS DEATH Africanfuturist/Africanjujuis...

THE DAUGHTER WHO REMAINS
by Nnedi Okorafor - 4⭐️
Fin. 3/28/26 #booksky

Concludes Okorafor’s SHE WHO KNOWS Africanjujuist trilogy in another fresh, original, & exciting re-invention of the hero journey by an author who continues to defy and subvert expectations …

Read the review here!

“Death is devastating, and we have dealt with so much loss. But we find a way to move on. And the more horrific things have become, the more we turn to love.

That sustains us against overwhelming odds.”

-Maria Ressa

When you are targeting a marginalized community as a marginalized person... look at who is laughing with you...

Because the ones laughing WITH you will be the ones laughing AT you

The Capitol dome in Sacramento, lit up at night with some trees in front.

It’s Caregiving Advocacy Day, and we’re here in Sacramento to meet with some Assemblymembers and Senators and/or their teams. Caregivers, we see you!

This HoF is utter shit. No Alfred Yankovic AGAIN.

Someone recently said, “Some people will tell you I'm the nicest person in the world, & others will say I am a bitch. Both are correct. They got the version they deserved.”

I guess we all got the Zelu we deserved.

I heard Rusted Root’s “Send Me On My Way” while out the other day, and I bemoaned that I never fully understood the lyrics.

Then I realized I live in the future and can access all lyrics at all times, so I finally looked them up.

Turns out the singer is using literal nonsense words he made up. 🤷

- The senator is a swing vote. This is where it’s particularly counterproductive for you to make out of district/state phone calls. If a Senator is on the fence on an issue, it means they are going to weight the views of their constituents even more heavily than they usually would. But to do that, they have to be able to hear from their own constituents. They can’t do that if out-of-state callers are jamming phone lines or making staff think that opposition is coming strictly from out-of-state and not in-state. - The MoC is on a specific committee of jurisdiction over an issue. Committee assignments matter, and members of committees of jurisdiction sometimes have more influence than members off-committee. But that makes it all the more important that constituents of that MoC make phone calls to them—not that everyone makes phone calls to them.

Cont.

No. There are no exceptions. Not even if: - The issue is of national importance. Many issues are, and votes taken by Senators certainly affect all Americans, not just constituents from their state. But calling from out of district/state is still counterproductive for all of the reasons above, no matter how much national significance an issue carries. - The MoC is in House or Senate leadership. Yes, majority and minority leaders and other members of leadership are in charge of their entire caucuses, and they hold more influence and power than anyone else in their party. But that still doesn’t mean they care what people who aren’t their constituents think—they don’t. You should only call Nancy Pelosi if you live in California’s 12th Congressional district. You should only call Mitch McConnell if you live in Kentucky. And you should only call Chuck Schumer if you live in New York, for all of the same reasons above.

But wait, aren’t there exceptions?

Why You Should Not Call Members Who Aren’t Yours | Indivisible

I cannot emphasize this strongly enough: do NOT call someone who doesn’t represent you. It’s counter-productive, and this is too critical a moment.

Here’s why, from Indivisible.

indivisible.org/resource/why...

“Speaking up [is] an act of creation.”
- Maria Ressa

“You can’t go wrong if you make the choice to learn.”
- Maria Ressa

No, tv. D’oh!

Review by moderntuba - The Everlasting I fell hard for this novel almost immediately, swept up by the awkwardness of its main charact...

THE EVERLASTING by Alix E. Harrow - 4.25⭐️
Fin. 3/28/26 #booksky

I fell hard for this novel almost immediately, swept up by the delightful main character, wry humor, its examination of storytelling, & clever plot. A delightful read, even when dragged down by its romantasy elements.

My review here!

Apropos of nothing, the new Raye record is stunning. Creative, musical storytelling with incredible hooks, arrangements, and vocal performances, elevating Pop music beyond its stagnant gates into new territory.

It’s a Pizzaburgers. Per Cory Doctorow, re: centrist politics: This school of politics — “Everyone is angry at me, therefore I am doing something right” — has a name, courtesy of Anat Shenker-Osorio: “Pizzaburger politics.” Say half your family wants burgers for dinner and the other half wants pizza: make a pizzaburger and disappoint all of them, and declare yourself to be a politics genius.

Tomorrow the company cafe has a special “April Fools Day Twisted Menu” featuring hamburger pizza and chicken lo mein burritos, which has me thinking of this article about the flawed nature of centrist politics, by @doctorow.pluralistic.net.

pluralistic.net/2023/06/17/p...

More in the alt-text.

If you’re still in the business of funding Trans Hate by empowering JKR, by watching her show, by visiting her theme parks, by buying her merch etc., then I have to assume you’re either a monstrous bigot too or too stupid and weak-willed to have integrity.

Either way, I will judge you for it.

Today is National Trans Day of Visibility.

I don’t know many trans people, but I know many who do: some with trans colleagues, some with trans friends in their immediate circles, and some with trans children.

Punching down on trans folks is despicable. If I see or hear you do it, I’m speaking up.

Thinking a lot today about Cory Doctorow’s statement:

“We did this with A.i.” has become a synonym for “We don’t care if this is done well.”

I’ve watched this four times and will not be stopping anytime soon

Review by moderntuba - Some Desperate Glory This was a frustrating sci-fi read: a mashup of really great ideas with middling execution; a ...

SOME DESPERATE GLORY
by Emily Tesh - 3.5⭐️
Fin. 3/6/26 #booksky

Frustrating mashup of great sci-fi ideas w/middling execution; a compelling examination of fascism & de-radicalization overshadowed by trite character studies; a plot w/good twists that couldn't figure out its ending.

My review’s here!