I just walked a mile to a drugstore to buy one thing, only to return home empty-handed because nobody ever showed up to unlock the plexiglas case.
Seriously wondering if Amazon has paid Walgreens and other chains to make their items hard to buy.
I just walked a mile to a drugstore to buy one thing, only to return home empty-handed because nobody ever showed up to unlock the plexiglas case.
Seriously wondering if Amazon has paid Walgreens and other chains to make their items hard to buy.
The notion that opposing generative A.I. is "ableist" or "classist" is fucking ludicrous — poor people are exploited to make these LLMs work, and the environmental impacts of them will hurt so many poor people.
And working artists are hurt most by the plagiarism machine.
Someone on my flight into Scotland was watching a Toy Story film and how is it that I never before realized that the toys in these movies are basically Weeping Angels???? They can only move when a human isn't observing them
Really good breakdown on how KOSA *will* make the internet worse. Please call your Senators!!!!
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/07/26/the-kids-online-safety-act-and-the-tyranny-of-laziness/
It's happening again!!! They're trying to put the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) up for a vote:
As I've written in the past, KOSA is a censorship nightmare that'll drive LGBTQIA+ folks out of social media spaces and suppress any content that Republicans think is harmful to kids.
Please call your reps NOW, especially your Senators. If you have a Republican senator, tell them you're worried this bill will impose an unfair burden on small businesses.
The phrase "I am entertaining doubts" is so weird.
For one thing, doubts are so hard to entertain these days — they have no attention span.
Doubts will just blatantly whip out their phones and check their email while you're trying to amuse them. Doubts have seen everything twice.
I blame TikTok.
Whoever said you can't have both guns and butter was a fool.
Obviously you just make a gun out of butter — make molds for all the gun parts and freeze some butter inside them. Afterward, you can eat the murder weapon.
Why must I be the one to think of everything?
MY CAT: Catching this toy is too hard, I'm bored, make it easy to catch.
ME: (Makes it super easy for cat to catch toy)
MY CAT: Behold my great triumph! I have vanquished the greatest opponent that ever cat faced. The struggle was mighty but I was mightier! Witness my glory!
Pop songs used to be divided into part 1 and part 2.
At the end of part 1 of each song, the singer would be placed in exaggerated jeopardy, like they were tied to a log heading into a sawmill, surrounded by chompy pterodactyls.
What's your favorite pop song cliffhanger?
Hey did you know I have a newsletter? I DO! It comes out once a week, it's free, and it's my most provocative thoughts on pop culture, SFF, queer stuff, or my own life experience. Topics have included #DoctorWho, writing, internalized transphobia, and the truth about "cancel culture". I would consider it a personal kindness if you would subscribe!
An essay about my late father and his journey toward accepting my transition:
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/the-story-i-like-to-tell-about-my-father/
"The story I like to tell about my father doesn’t end with his death."
Here are a few of the past newsletters that you probably missed (which I'm still super proud of!)
A celebration of the special education teacher who saved me from slipping thru the cracks when I had a severe learning disability:
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/the-teacher-who-saved-my-life-and-made-me-a-writer/
Seven wrong lessons that everybody learned from the success of Game of Thrones:
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/7-wrong-lessons-that-creators-learned-from-game/
"If you actually go back and watch the first episode of Game of Thrones, you’ll be startled by how friendly and cheerful a lot of it is. People smile and show affection."
To survive COVID, indie bookstores had to reimagine what it means to be a bookstore:
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/to-survive-a-year-of-covid-indie-booksellers-had/
A heavily reported piece about all the creative strategies indie booksellers figured out to get through a uniquely challenging time. Support local bookstores! <3
Here's a tribute to John Ostrander, one of the all-time great comics writers who co-created Suicide Squad and Grimjack, and did amazing work with Batman and Star Wars:
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/if-you-like-the-suicide-squad-you-ought-to-love/
"The best word I can come up with for Ostrander’s writing is 'humane.'"
All The Steps That REO Speedwagon Took In Their Unsucccessful Attempt To Fight This Feeling
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/all-the-steps-that-reo-speedwagon-took-in-their/
"They attempted to form a multilateral commission to explore forming a united front against this feeling."
Three Factors That Make a Community Fall Apart in the Face of Disaster
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/three-factors-that-make-a-community-fall-apart-in/
"People are capable of so much generosity after some disasters — but when it comes to covid and climate change, we're hopelessly divided and plagued with denial."
A Few Ways of Thinking About "Cancel Culture"
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/a-few-ways-of-thinking-about-cancel-culture/
"I increasingly think it's not helpful to say of someone, 'They have been canceled.' Passive voice lets people avoid accountability for their actions. The phrasing I prefer is, 'They have disgraced themself.'"
J.K. Rowling and "Separating the Art from the Artist"
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/jk-rowling-and-separating-the-art-from-the-artist/
"This hypothetical separation of the person from the thing they created always rankles me a little bit — because I don't think marginalized creators, including trans creators, ever quite get that luxury."
I have not one, not two, but ELEVEN hot takes about #DoctorWho. Feel the scorching heat of my bite-sized opinions about the greatest TV show of all time!
https://buttondown.email/charliejane/archive/doctor-who-has-wasted-so-many-story-seeds-from/
Author of Victories Greater Than Death and sequels, All the Birds in the Sky, City in the Middle of the Night.Writing New Mutants: Lethal Legion for Marvel. SFF book critic for the Washington Post. Co-host of Our Opinions Are Correct!
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