Laura Blegen

One of my fundamental beliefs is that very few human beings are evil. Which doesn't mean we're not all (yes, all) capable of evil, but most of us have to be driven by tremendous fear or desperation before we will deliberately hurt people. Unfortunately, fear is easy to manufacture.

There's someone running for mayor in my hometown, who's using the slogan, "Less excuses. More efficiency,” on their campaign signs. I don't know anything about them otherwise, but it's just so painful...

Ooof. I had a lovely and VERY full weekend at RMFW in Denver, and now I'm just staring at my monitor until the caffeine kicks in. #iamrmfw

Where's Veronica Mars when you need her?

Oh gosh, y'all. Get your flu shots this year. I came home from traveling and was done for the count for... three days... still not feeling myself, but so much better. (And, if you can afford it - the covid/flu/rsv test was a big reassurance to help me know WHICH terrible thing was doing this)

I just think, for the tech bros of the world, it should come as a major warning anytime Andrew Garfield has been cast as you in a movie.

I'm sure this is a personal thing, but I've realized I don't mind at all when an exercise instructor uses the first person plural, but it bothers me a lot when restaurant servers ask if "we" need anything else today. I will now spend an hour overthinking what that says about me.

Looking at the meta agreement about guardrails for children on instagram and facebook... I think I might need to lie about my age. I would benefit from these guardrails.

I was just blessed with an amazing mental image (afternoon daydream) of Tim Curry singing Nine To Five with Dolly Parton at the afterlife's karaoke night.

I know this summer has been full of terrible distractions. (the heat and the wildfire smoke have been enough to derail me for weeks, and there have been oh-so-many others) But did you know we have 86 days until the midterm elections? Do you have a plan to vote? (if you're eligible).

I spent part of my summer vacation in a world full of gender-essentialist assumptions. For various reasons, I was not the right person to be challenging those assumptions, but this thread really encapsulates why they made my skin crawl:

SO excited for this great instructor lineup. The event is already 30% sold out, so I invite you to see if it's right for you. There's also a scholarship available for an author with financial need. www.tickettailor.com/events/sandi...

In case you haven't seen this today.

Long, fascinating thread. This comes near the end. The line, "Now their independence day matches my independence day" truly hits.

I filled out my primary ballot over the weekend. There were a couple of local races that were really fun to consider, because the people involved will (hopefully) all go on to do cool stuff, and I find myself wanting to watch their careers like a devoted auntie.

It came! It came! (This is when I admit that I'm a tiny bit careful about managing these. I keep the email notification in my inbox until the ballot arrives, so that if it *doesn't*, I know what to do about it without having to look it up.)

I've been distracted lately, and I *knew* we had a primary coming up, but I wasn't really thinking about it. Fortunately, the Colorado BallotTrax system emailed me to let me know it was on its way, and now I'll know to keep an eye out. Because that's how secure mail-in voting can be.

Thank you to the folks who make @rattlepoetry.bsky.social for giving this one a little extra flight. Head over to the site (first link) if you want me to read it to you.

Today's poem was perfect for a Friday at the end of a long week. Someone else put my desires into words.

I think I've been doing Sun Salutations wrong... #caturday

This seems like a good time to say that the last two books I finished were The Raven Scholar and Nonesuch, and they both knocked my socks off, for different reasons. Taste and reading experience are curious things.

I'm having a real love-hate relationship with the book I'm reading right now. I can admire how well written it is. And I really want to know what's going to happen next. But I'm not enjoying the reading. At all. It's such a weird experience.

Like most gen-xers, one of my internet pet peeves is a video that could have been a bullet list. That's not new, and I will not apologize. But honestly - worse than that is a video of nothing, where all the "content" is in the description. At that point, you are in entirely the wrong medium.

I posted this yesterday because it brought me a lot of joy. I'm posting it today because I needed the reminder. (already)

Honestly, I don't know why any actor would WANT the job of playing "the most beautiful woman in the world" because that's just such a ridiculous appellation. But Lupita Nyong'o is certainly both beautiful and graceful enough to handle it - not just the role, but the stupid pressure.

Had a series of errands today that turned into a series of positive encounters restoring my faith in humanity. Turns out that people are pretty neat, when you give them an opportunity to be.

This is a cat checkpoint: show the most recent cat photo on your phone.

I don't go to Starbucks often, but sometimes in a strange neighborhood it is the best option, and if I don't need caffeine, I order a mint tea which is the easiest way to pay for a table without a hassle. And EVERY TIME, the barista 'helpfully' corrects me that I'm ordering a mint majesty tea.

Imagine getting a new cell phone number, only to find it was previously used by some sort of spammer. And you are pre-blocked on all of your friends' phones. (This hypothetical doesn't stop me from blocking annoying numbers)

Slightly diminish a book Extended Hospital Stay of the Author

It came! It came! Can't wait to start reading Flightless, by @marieparks.bsky.social

Oh, yes. This.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm pretty excited about Practical Magic 2. I don't even care what that says about me.

I've been thinking about cultivating a bit more awareness of joy and beauty in my daily life, both as a counter to the existential dread, AND to give myself fuel for the hard fights.

There are enough major threats to our world right now, please beware the slow decline into dystopia that comes from accepting phrases in the news like, "... sweet gesture from students to thank their principal who was injured by a shooter while trying to help them."

My normal Tuesday night conflicts keep me from doing this, but that doesn't mean YOU can't do it! Party Favors! A cool-sounding new book!! And one of the sweetest people in publishing!!! You can't go wrong.

It’s a rough day to release a book, but release days are picked well in advance and unless I’m mistaken it’s not the book’s fault it was released on a day like today… which means for any followers so inclined, here’s a little release that could probably use a boost

My will is weak, and my cat is strong.

Reposting this on NOT the first, because I really wasn't kidding... I am AMAZED at the number of newsletters that don't have a "did someone forward this to you? Please subscribe!" link at the bottom...