Pyrephox

Walking through the snow in Tokyo during Coming-of-Age Day (Seijin no Hi).

I made delicious chili. I had it for lunch. I had a lovely salad for dinner. But I crave pizza. I have craved pizza for almost a full week, now. But every time I try to acquire pizza, something goes wrong. Deliveries got cancelled twice. I went to the store for pizza...and forgot. Pizza hates me.

apple carvings by tomoko sato

I’m not a political journalist, so was gladly surprised at the community I found here last night. To Americans anxious about the upcoming elections, a key thing we learned in Brazil that might help you: DO NOT engage with the far-right online. Don’t share rage bait. Amplify your people. Ignore them.

To celebrate National Roller Skating Month, here's a segment of an All-American News reel featuring the roller skating craze of the 1940s. 🛼 These newsreels were the first produced specifically for a Black audience. See more of them here. ⬇️ go.loc.gov/XPj851018FT

This kinsha silk girl's kimono has a rich purple ground, serving as a dramatic backdrop for an abundance of seasonal imagery including chrysanthemums, maple leaves, flowing water patterns (seigaiha). Early Showa period (1926-1940), Japan

Congrats, Serbia. Congrats, Brazil. May we soon join you in nations overcoming fascists.

Kansas Dem Sen. nominee Adam Hamilton on trans rights: “I don’t think we should take a small group of people and bully them, pick on them, and hurt them. I understand one thing really clearly when it comes to transgender people, and that is Jesus told me I was to love my neighbor as I love myself”

We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps: -It’s ‘sleight of hand’ -It’s ‘bated breath’ -It’s ‘lo and behold’ -It's 'buck naked' -It’s ‘brass tacks’ -It’s ‘free rein’ -It’s ‘toe the line'

NEW OPPORTUNITY: Short fiction writer? Love the world of Heaven's Vault? ... then come play in the waters. We're looking to commission 20 short stories set in the Nebula for a new anthology. Paid, obvs. Full details and a link to the form on the blog: www.inklestudios.com/2026/10/24/t...

Currently, Hasbro’s guidelines keep us from having total ownership over the work we make in our free time. Our union aims to change that and ensure we own what we make in our free time. actionnetwork.org/forms/uwotcp...

I have successfully generated the smallest possible unit of democracy: one vote.

Here are some nice mushrooms

Writers, I have updated by comp-finder databases for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror novels, so the old links won't work anymore. I've compiled them all into ONE shiny spreadsheet, and 2026 titles have been added as well! Find it here: www.aealexander.com/resources #Writing #Querying

In just five days, Uganda vaccinated 8.3 million children against measles and rubella. The nationwide drive, which ended on 5 October, covered every child aged nine months to five years, whatever their vaccine history. The Cooperator buff.ly/7VnZOYR #ShareGoodNewsToo

Two young foxes in Hokkaido, Japan. Photography by Yasuhiko Yoshihiro

Astronomers have detected weather - clouds coming and going - on a free-floating rogue planet very near us in space! badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/watching-t... 🔭 🧪

I know it's a meme but, I'll admit, this one got me. 😔

Technically, a dictionary is a book of spells.

Ramaswamy has produced an attack ad weaponizing the rape of his opponent, Amy Acton, when she was 12 years old. It features Acton’s mother, who abandoned Acton after she was raped by her step-father, fleeing the state with her husband. Here is the corporate money helping fund that ad.

Today is my birthday and I'd love if people would share my artwork 🥰🖤

North Mist Studios is a collection of former BioWare video game developers, including senior narrative team members behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. Now, we're working on a brand new title: The Concierge, a story of Canadian Assassins in a Spy-Thriller Office Drama.

A Shinto priest walking through the famous Senbon Torii (thousand torii gates) tunnel at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, Japan

Okay. At no point is it advisable to leave off my chapter writing until 11PM of the day before it's scheduled to go out. On the other hand, the sensation of writing 3300 words I like in two hours with a glorious sensation of flow is very addictive.

A ballot can pass through a lot of hardworking hands. Today’s thanks go to poll workers, election officials, and postal workers helping us vote. Take a minute to appreciate them. Take another to check early voting options. Then pick your day. #ElectionHeroesVoteEarly social.demcast.com/s/5E1hI7LY

Yajiri (yanone): Japanese samurai arrowheads

Tonight's dinner: White-wine poached salmon filet, with a lemon-butter cream sauce, and mushroom and pea risotto on the side.

Socks and sandals are nothing new! These well-preserved woollen socks from Egypt feature a split-toe design allowing them to be worn with thonged sandals to keep toes cosy in chilly weather some 1,500 years ago! 🩴🧦 V&A Museum 📷 by me #Archaeology

Mizutani Chaya Nara Park, Japan Photography by Koborin@KoborinX2

The motif of holding or admiring the full moon is deeply rooted in classical Japanese culture, most notably tied to Tsukimi (moon-viewing traditions) that date back to the Heian period (794–1185). Unidentified photographer

It's a new week, Bluesky. Trust no poll. Trust no pundit. Vote early if you can. Vote in person if you can.

The is a really big deal, the number of green stars in the Universe will be very small! www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/1...

Traditional rural mountain village in the Japanese winter.

Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple, Ome, Japan

What have we been working on in the UT insect collection? A large-data tool that does automated conservation assessments for every invertebrate species in Texas: txinverts.tacc.utexas.edu/map?taxon=7B...

As a PhD student designing my first survey, I added what I thought was a throwaway question at the end. To my surprise, thousands of academics answered it! The paper is out today: doi.org/10.1093/pnas...

Alright, here we go.. Voidlight is available in print! A little over a year ago, I was out of a job and had some time off, and I got inspired to create a dark sci-fi universe. What started as almost a game on a napkin grew to 16 pages, then 90+.

It is spooky season! Might you be looking for a free horror read? If damaged psychics, serial killers, cult damage, and no healthy people appeal to you, try No Hiding Place: www.royalroad.com/fiction/1376...

Crafted with extraordinary botanical realism by Fukuoka-based resin artist Sakae, this hair ornament (kanzashi) depicts a flowering plum branch (ume) in early spring bloom

this hair ornament (kanzashi) created by modern resin artist Sakae depicts an iridescent, translucent flower reminiscent of a night-blooming cereus (gekka-bijin) or a stylized spider chrysanthemum, hand-crafted from delicate wire and liquid resin.

Torii in calm waters. Photography by Yasuhiko Yoshihiro