kengr

I normally do this at the end of the year, but I'm doing it early this year because I'll be out of town 'til the 27th, and I don't really expect much to change; all my publications for the year are publicated. See the tag for previous years' updates!

This year's cover grid:

3 full-length novels, 2 novellas, 1 collection. That's honestly much better than I was expecting; I spent most of the year clawing my way back from burnout, and the final two books were slammed out at the end of the year when suddenly my creative brain came back online.

( Checking in with last year's plan )

( Next year's plans )

chopwood_carrywater_feed

Posted by Jess Craven

https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-1211-249

Hi, all, and happy Thursday!

It’s been quite a week. Hope you’re holding up OK. I’ve got a sick husband now—this flu seems to be everywhere!—so never a dull moment in our house.

Speaking of sick, the Senate just voted on two different versions of a healthcare bill. Neither passed.

Democrats proposed their three-year extension of existing federal subsidies, but that measure failed 51 to 48. Four Republicans joined with them to vote yes: Susan Collins of Maine, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. It needed 13 Republicans to pass with a filibuster-proof majority.

Republicans proposed the Crapo-Cassidy bill, which would have provided qualifying Americans up to $1500 a year in an HSA account to pay for their healthcare. It’s a laughable, cruel plan. It failed. Good.

Now it’s up to House Republicans to try to propose something. Every Democrat, of course, has already signed on to a discharge petition that would bring an ACA extension bill to the floor, but not a single Republican has. Why don’t they add their votes? Because they’re cowards. Trump wants the ACA to die. They are still, inexplicably, in this thrall. So they won’t support it.

Instead, Mike Johnson is proposing some amalgam of the Senate Republicans’ bill and his own jumble of ideas. No one I’ve spoken to—and this includes Democratic Senators on the leadership team—has any idea what will ultimately be in it. Neither, for that matter, does Mike Johnson.

Meanwhile, new PEW research shows that most Americans (66%) now say the government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. As in, Americans support Universal Heathcare! It’s the only way, and more and more people can see that now. I will unabashedly call for it every time I speak to any lawmakers about healthcare, and I hope you will as well.

One more note on polling: only 31% of adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy. This is his lowest economic approval in an AP-NORC poll ever. That is BAD, folks. Once the “healthcare apocalypse” kicks in we’re going to see even worse numbers. Because there is absolutely no doubt who’s responsible for our current mess; Trump can blame Biden (wrongly) for today’s high prices, but the entire country just watched him shut the government down for 50 days to stop these subsidies from being renewed. Anyone who tries to blame the impending calamity on Democrats will get laughed out of the room.

Remember, the difference between Hitler and Trump is that Hitler brought some measure of economic prosperity to Germany—for those he didn’t want to subjugate, anyway. Trump is bringing economic catastrophe all around. It will make it much, much harder for his authoritarianism to succeed.

So take heart. It’s a bad day, as so many are right now, but we are winning the larger battle. Make no mistake, people will die because of Republicans’ vote today. But we will use the wreckage they’re creating of our healthcare system to build something new, just and effective in it’s place.

Dream about the long game, but act in the day.

That, my friends, is how we win.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

[If Democrat, Independent, or Collins, Murkowski, Hawley or Sullivan:]

I’m calling to thank the Senator for voting for the ACA premium tax credit extensions today. I am beyond disappointed that this bill didn’t pass, but I appreciate his/her being on the right side of it. If there is any chance to revisit this issue I urge the Senator to do so. We are going to face a healthcare apocalypse next year without these subsidies. Please ask the Senator to keep fighting to extend them and then start working towards Universal Healthcare. Thanks.

[If GOP other than the 4 above]

I’m calling to tell the Senator that I am furious s/he didn’t support the ACA premium tax credit extensions today. If there is any chance to revisit this vote I urge the Senator to do so. We are going to face a healthcare apocalypse next year without these subsidies. The ACA isn’t perfect, but until Republicans can suggest something better it is that or bankruptcy for millions of us. Please ask the Senator to do better next time. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

I’m incredibly disappointed that the ACA premium tax credit extension bill just got voted down in the Senate. I want the Congressmember to fight to pass a three-year extension of these subsidies so that that bill can be sent back to the Senate where they will hopefully reconsider and pass it. The ACA isn’t perfect—personally I support Medicare for All—but until Republicans can suggest something better it is the ACA or bankruptcy for millions of us. Please help us. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

just launched Resistance Wrapped—a fun low-lift digital mini-campaign to celebrate our movement’s accomplishments and build social proof to bring more people into the resistance!

Go to www.resistancewrapped.com to share this video lookback of the past year of resistance and take a buzzfeed-style quiz to find and share your personal resistance archetype. Then share the highlight reel and your personal resistance archetype on your socials! THIS IS SO FUN! I got “hardcore resister.”

Here’s my wrapped! 👇🏼👇🏼

Get Smart! 📚

This week on the Practivist Pod, Steve and I celebrate yet another night of Democratic victories. We also discuss Trump’s latest racist, xenophobic, and completely unhinged rant. Then Steve does an interview with Joel Rubin on the Trump Regime’s foreign policy. I think you’ll find it super helpful.

Here is a link to the episode.

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T ] [Text SIGN PADWKS to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)

I’m writing to urge you to support and advance the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act, legislation that would finally hold corporations accountable for the extreme and accelerating pay gaps between executives and the workers who actually keep those companies running.

The situation today is indefensible. In many of America’s largest corporations, CEOs earn 300 to 600 times what their median workers make. Meanwhile, frontline employees are pushed into poverty wages, unpredictable schedules, and jobs that barely cover basic living expenses. These disparities aren’t the product of “market forces” — they’re the result of corporate policies designed to extract value from workers and funnel it upward.

The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act creates a simple, fair mechanism: if a company chooses to maintain an extreme CEO-to-worker pay ratio, it will pay a higher corporate tax rate. If it raises workers’ wages or reins in excessive executive compensation, it pays nothing extra. This is a market-based incentive to reduce inequality without imposing wage mandates. It rewards companies that treat workers fairly and asks more from those that don’t.

The surtax is modest — only 0.5% to 5%, depending on the pay ratio — yet over 10 years it could raise an estimated $150 billion. That’s revenue that could strengthen Medicare, fund public education, support workforce development, or reduce the deficit. This is responsible budgeting and responsible capitalism.

Most importantly, this legislation addresses something Americans across the political spectrum agree on: the economy is rigged for the wealthy. When CEOs receive windfall stock awards after mass layoffs, when corporations spend billions on stock buybacks while workers rely on food assistance, something is deeply wrong. Congress can’t keep ignoring this.

I’m asking you to cosponsor, support, and publicly champion the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. Working families need a government willing to stand up for them and challenge a system that has become wildly imbalanced. Please help bring this bill forward for hearings and action. It’s time for Congress to take a stand against the extreme corporate greed that has hollowed out our middle class.

OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess

Leave a comment

https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-1211-249

cyberghostface posting in

scans_daily

( Scans under the cut... )

susandennis

Yep, that's Biggie's Latest Adventure. The vet did an ultra sound and you can see one big one. She was surprised that Biggie didn't have any symptoms. It should be painful but while he considered it an indignity and annoyance to go the vet, he's not showing any signs of pain. But taking him off the medicine and back on to Very Expensive Prescription Food turned out to be the best option. We go back in 4 weeks and do another ultra sound. Unless he shows distress or can't pee and then we go back immediately. And, even if all goes smoothly for 4 weeks, if the rock is still there, probably surgery. Again.

Both Biggie and Julio like the expensive food, very much. so there's that. Do not tell Biggie, tho. but Temptations are a thing of the past. As are lickables. I bagged up the food and treats. I'll take them to the cat food bank.

The vet gave me some food samples. And I stashed some cans away when I switched them last year. So I've got enough on hand til the Chewy order gets here. I hope. All I've got now is canned stuff. No kibble, no treats but, hopefully, the Chewy order will be here soon.

Why in the heck did I not remember to get some grated parmesan when I went to the store to get the grated cheddar??

Also today I have a pain in the leg. It's in the middle of the thigh of my left leg. The right leg is usually the one that hurts. And this is a very weird pain plus a fair amount of weakness. The chairs at the vets are all really low to the ground and I was not sure I'd ever be able to get out of them once I sat down. It feels like if someone were to massage my thigh really hard, it would fix it. Hopefully it will fix itself today. I can at least walk around the halls here safely as they all have nice railings.

I was downstairs yesterday before the festivities but they had already lined up all the chairs. It was a weird sight.

It looked very different and couple of hours later. It was really fun to watch the parade. The employees dressed up either in costume or in really nice non-work clothes and they merrily high 5'd the old people. And, according to accounts, had a marvelous time. Very fun.

The Timber Ridge dog park is like a dog pond today but the rain has kind of stopped a little. All around us there are massive floods. The interstate is closed just north of here due to a giant mudslide. We're breaking water records all around.

I need to get a load of laundry started.

icon_uk posting in

scans_daily

( And it looks to be what we expected )

julian

supergee, aka Arthur Hlavaty, who I was never close to but enjoyed, died a day or so ago. He wrote engagingly, both on Dreamwidth/LJ and other places, apparently knew like, everyone in SF fandom. His wife's post on it, and Kalimac's reminisce.

Peace to his wife and husband, aka

nellorat and

womzilla.

He was very much a fanzine fan, and had a life and a half in various ways. He was quietly who he was, and lived his life as that; witness his family, for example. As I said, I liked him, in a "ships passing in the night" sense, and I'm mostly posting about it because... Well, people matter. The people who make up community, who are in the same places.

(Also, writer John Varley has probably died, though I haven't seen a definitive post on that yet. I've enjoyed what I read of him, but he was never one of the ones I really *connected* to.)

sisterdivinium

[This text has been typed without looking at the screen. The reader will, I hope, forgive any and all typos.]

While anxiously awaiting the appointment that should help me get back to seeing properly again, I’ve been trying to preserve my eyes by staying away from screens, as previously mentioned.

The upside to being so rarely offline is that I have been able to dedicate more time to writing and reading — whatever discomfort I feel in front of the computer is much worse than the very light strain that dealing with paper entails, so I can sit back with a good book or with pen in hand rather snugly as long as I take a few breaks here and there.

So it is that I have:

1) finished the long Bibi/Urs fic (Under this roof) as per my last post; 2) rewritten and typed up (also without looking) a short gen fic about the Garvey sisters in twenty years from now (Windward); 3) written the first draft of an alternate/supplementary ending to the aforementioned Bibi/Urs fic; 4) prepared the first manuscript of another gen fic about the Garveys during the time it takes from the final moments of s2 to the actual release of the ashes in the last scene; and 5) started working on the full rewrite to the doctor superion teenagers AU, Anamnesis, which I initially wrote over a year ago.

My intention, as with last year, is to stop all fiction writing efforts during the festivities that separate 2025 from 2026 in order to recharge my creative batteries after so many stories. It’s why I’ll be chipping away at that rewrite only until the 20th of December. Then I’ll kickstart my fic vacation. What I can say, though, is that it’s been sweet to go back to Jillian and Suzanne after so many other stories for another fandom. My coming up with a brand new narrative about them is still unlikely at this point but some of that intense love is definitely back.

In other news, I’ve been missing meta writing terribly. It’s been forever since last I’ve done any essays on these shows and characters I so love… And picking up Wellek and Warren’s Theory of Literature again right after revisiting Y. Reuter’s Introduction à l’analyse du roman has given me that itch. Both are books I’ve read before, for obvious reasons of having graduated in the stuff, but I love rereading and it always inspires me somehow, whether it’s writing fic or analysing fiction in general. True, I had started to separate some useful snippets of Schopenhauer and Beauvoir and I meant to pick a few instances of Aristotle and maybe a few other authors a few months back to use on a little text about identity in Bad Sisters... As usual, however, I was run over by fic writing and that has been left temporarily incomplete. I’m hoping my end of year fic pause might give me the push I need to get back at that. We’ll see.

In the business of protecting my poor tired eyes, I’ve also been listening to the radio a lot more — NPO for my Dutch (en, mijn god, Nederlanders kunnen zo snel pratten!), RTÉ for a background ~Irishness that helps me hear the girls’ voices when I write for Bad Sisters, and, of course, the traditional France Culture podcasts. This series on Hildegard von Bingen has been amazing, regardless of the fact that I’m always interested in her and in nuns in general as a rule of thumb. I recommend it to those who understand French!

There are a couple of posts I’d like to make around here which I drafted back in August (!) and never released but I suspect my desire to get nice conversations going would only make me want to spend more time online, not less, and that’s the opposite of what I need right now. I’ll figure it out…

That’s it for now. I’m hoping the eyesight problems don’t make this the only thing I get to post this month! :)

Current Music: Strangelove - Depeche Mode

brickhousewench

I was afraid that I've been a little too spicy in our recent department Slack conversations about AI. But I just had a "coffee chat" with one of my coworkers, and he spontaneously commented that he was impressed with how diplomatic I've been in some of our conversations. So that's a huge relief. I was worried that I was being testy/grumpy/curmudgeonly. Well, I have been all those things, but apparently I'm also managing to be polite about it outside my own head. So that's a relief.

cyberghostface posting in

scans_daily

( Scans under the cut... )

runpunkrun posting in

fancake

Photograph of a grinning Shiba Inu dog wearing a pink party hat with a 15 on it. Text: Happy Birthday, Fancake. On this day in history, jerakeen made the very first post to this comm. Happy birthday to us!

To celebrate fancake's fifteen years of operation, we're taking a two-pronged approach, with thanks to full_metal_ox for suggesting the second prong:

post recs to the comm for fanworks published in 2010 for amnesty (if all else fails, theme: old fandoms should probably cover you, but consider also theme: favorite fanworks, theme: fandom classics, and theme: underloved fanworks)
comment on this post with what you were into when you were fifteen—or what you were into fifteen years ago—what you're into today, and how your tastes have changed—or not!—over the years, or share your thoughts in your own journal and leave us a link here in the comments
a secret third thing???

Happy birthday, Fancake! Thank you for making this comm a community. 🎂

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

1. Did you get an allowance as a kid, and if so, how much was it?

2. How old were you when you had your first job, and what was it?

3. Which do you do better: save money or spend money?

4. Are people more likely to borrow money from you, or are you more likely to borrow from them?

5. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

rebeccmeister

I feel like I have a lot of things to think over right now, as 2025 comes to a close and I start looking ahead to 2026. Many of them are connected and complicated.

-Do I want to prepare to go back to France yet again, for one more round of the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2027? If so, I'd better plan on some long bike rides in 2026. In the very least

annikusrex and I have plans to ride bikes from Albany to Montreal in June, hooray!

-There's a big conference happening this August in Germany, a meeting that only happens every 4 years, of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects. This is a pretty big deal to attend! Can I afford to go, both with regards to time and money? I should start planning for that now, to help keep costs down.

-Another conference opportunity just came up, for a section meeting of the Entomological Society of America, taking place in a neighboring city 45 minutes from here. This conference is a huge opportunity for my research students, but because of budgetary constraints I will likely have to pay out of pocket for it for myself. In the big picture, however, it's more important for me to go to this conference with my students than to do the full suite of annual rowing activities. So I need to prioritize around that. But seeing as I now own Petrichor, I really should just focus on doing my own thing more when it comes to rowing during the on-water season next year. A big step for that has been figuring out how to solo-launch Petrichor. I'm *almost* there.

-I also need to get an application together for partial funding to go to Arizona next July for some ant fieldwork, also bringing research students with me. The most tricky part of the trip is that it's unclear for how long my students will be able to join me in Arizona. But I should be realistic about how much time I need to spend there. At least a month, in and around Tucson this time. There is a lot we can get done this summer.

-But it can't come at the cost of getting other academic work finished and out the door.

Anyway, 2026 is looking really busy, in many good ways. There are also some family things that are going to require some time and attention, mostly related to S's family. Complicated. A lot on my mind.

james_davis_nicoll

Multiple sources report the death of SF author John Varley.

bbc_sci_nature_feed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8txp?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8txp#7

New evidence shows that early neanderthals made fire 350 thousand years before we thought.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8txp?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8txp#7

minoanmiss

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

Current Mood: awake

tyger

It came!!! :D :D :D

( Extremely geeky linux rambling here )

Anyway, the keyboard-computer bit is pure white, so I'm thinking it'll be called Reshiram, since I've been on a pokemon kick for a while. Though maybe Kyuurem since the screen is black? Not sure. Will think about it, since I'mma reinstall the OS it's not something I have to decide yet!

Other than all that, really not much today, hahaha. I did washing, and cleaned the catboxes, that's about it. Also fic reading and some Terraria. But mostly new! computer!!! And attendant geekery.

Current Mood: geeky
Current Location: Birthplace

bbc_sci_nature_feed

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/ceq1000742go?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/ceq1000742go#0

Researchers say the footage, captured near the North-West Pacific coast, is the first recorded evidence of the two working together.

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/ceq1000742go?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/ceq1000742go#0

cemetaries posting in

addme

Hey everyone! My name is Leslie but I'm usually called Lilith online. Either works. I used to be on LiveJournal for years then fell away once Facebook became a thing. I am venturing back to LJ and I will also be posting here as well. I remember having really great connections on LJ and I am hoping to find that again.

Name:

Leslie aka Lilith. Either is fine.

Age:

45. I've always been an old soul and now my body is catching up.

I mostly post about:

I don't know yet. I think it's going to be mostly a diary kind of thing where I talk about my life and thoughts and dreams and goals and the nice stuff and the bad stuff. A little bit of everything that makes me ... me.

My hobbies are:

theater, acting, directing, doing tech, art, singing, writing, photography, anything NASA (I go to the Space Center a lot), thrifting, true crime, documentaries

My fandoms are:

Anything Broadway, Marvel, Wicked, paranormal shows, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Taylor Swift, etc

I'm looking to meet people who:

Are chill. Some things should be serious about some things, but also a sense of humor is great. I am very "woke" though. Please be aware I am "woke". I am also disabled and will talk about my illness and disability issues. And I am mom of an nonverbal son who is autistic and those subjects will come up. I am adult too so I'll bring up adult issues as well, like sex.

My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc

My goal is to post at least weekly, maybe twice a week. My illness can throw me for a loop and suddenly I can't sit up some days. So, it depends on my spoons.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are:

If you are conservative. We just won't connect or agree on things, and I am at the point in my life that I want peace. It's better to just move along. I'm also not Christian but I do have Christian friends, but I am not into Christian Nationalism. If you are, we won't be a good fit. I identify as pagan/witch. I'm also LGBTQIA+ and have a trans son.

Before adding me, you should know: I am unapologetically myself. I can be a strong personality and I will always say if I disagree with someone, but I won't be rude about it unless I am needing to match energy being thrown at me.

glitteryv posting in

recthething

Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool fanart/podfics/fancrafts/fanvids/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here

minoanmiss posting in

agonyaunt

Content advisories: drunkenness, groping, unarmed violence, chaos, epic holiday partying.
( Read more... )

Profile

kengr

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November 2025

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Page generated Dec. 11th, 2025 09:45 pm

Network

Year in review and next year's plans

Chop Wood Carry Water 12/11

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Extra Credit ✅

Get Smart! 📚

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites of Spring #4

Bladder Rocks

NoScans: And we have our Supergirl teaser trailer

a sadness

Brief update -- (lots of) writing, radio

Well that's a relief

Amazing Spider-Man #17

Fancake is FIFTEEN

The Friday Five for 12 December 2025

Deliberations [status]

John Varley (1947 - 2025)

BBC Inside Science

Quich Fandom Community PSA Thing

New! Computer!!! :D

Cameras on killer whales record first evidence of joint hunt with dolphins

New to Dreamwidth

Community Recs Post!

AAM: "I will confront you by Wednesday of this Week"

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November 2025

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