Gift article from my Washington Post account: “…a lot of science fiction novels are exploring a scary post-climate-change future. Meanwhile, the best recent fantasy books have abandoned George R.R. Martin-style darkness, embracing a gentle sweetness instead. This month’s books provide some outstanding examples of each trend.”
Over on Bluesky, #HorrorWriter Mark Allan Gunnells posted:
Reading books with diverse characters as a child didn't make me queer. However, those books did teach me there is nothing shameful about being who I am. And therein lies the problem a lot of conservatives have. They want their queer children to grow up feeling ashamed.
@DZGrizzle NPR is weak, to not offend comfortable listeners.
An easy explanation for Christians not liking what Christ taught is that most people are dumb, and there are lots of reasons to join a church other than a desire to follow Christ, and there are also many reasons for Churches to want to keep the pews full.
So teaching folks to follow Christ might be a balancing act.
(Speaking as a former Christian.)
I can tell that Guy the #Cat misses his brother Lenny. Guy usually sleeps on the sofa, but last night he stayed in bed, cuddled up beside me. This morning, when I put down his breakfast bowl, he looked over at the place where Lenny‘s bowl should be. Then he looked up at me and gave a very long and plaintive #meow. I got down on the kitchen floor and told him how much I love him.
This morning at the #Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Atlanta, the Communion Hymn was the #GratefulDead song “Ripple,” sung by two very talented young women on guitar. I remember hearing “Ripple” as #Communion#Hymn before, when I was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal in Atlanta. A fitting hymn, both musically and lyrically.
“Mommy, why is that man crying?”
“That man is a #Deadhead. You can tell by the sandals. Try not to stare.”
I fell into a delightfully artsy rabbit hole this morning when a friend posted this painting by Jack Butler Yeats, brother of the poet and mystic W. B. Yeats (who famously kicked Aleister Crowley down a flight of stairs once). The name of the painting is “About to Write a Letter” (1935).