“Being determines consciousness.” — Marx The upper petit-bourgeois is a strange character indeed, his consciousness made up of a thousand pieces that are all at war with one another, producing a marvelous opportunity for study. All of modern society, one might say, is collected in this species, in various proportions, and various strengths, with different … Continue reading The Anatomy of Mr. Middle

The question of competition versus cooperation among humans has come up on my Twitter timeline again. It emerges every now and then, when someone desperate to find a defense for capitalism falls back on, “You socialists want to eliminate competition, but competition is a part of nature, so eliminating it is impossible.” Okay, let’s talk … Continue reading Competition and Cooperation

One thing ive found myself doing lately now that im sorta 'well fuck that twitter shit' is i am rambling on a LOT more when i type stuff. This can be viewed as a good or bad thing. Maybe for me it's not a bad thing. It's a bit like working in a 4 panel comic format. You can do a lot with a four panel setup, almost the first entire chapter of MT is all 4 panel. It has its own kinda pacing, setup, delivery, variables, etc. But there are things i can...

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Chapter 13: "Redemption" comic 1613
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7:51: Right wingers are already saying that Biden 1) already knows all the questions and 2) is taking drugs. There are, to my knowledge, no performance enhancing drugs for mental awareness, and *I* know what the questions will be. 7:52: I’m still convinced that Trump will ignore the social distancing rule and immediately come over

Continue Reading "Live Blogging the first Presidential debate" →

8;18: Currently watching “Supernatural.” Feeling very relaxed. That’s gonna change. 8:59; Please don’t let Biden screw up. 9:03: So I wonder how long it will be before Trump tries shouting over Biden’s mic. 9:05: Oh yeah. I’m sure Trump will let Biden speak. 9:05: And literally the first sentence out of his mouth is a

Continue Reading "Final Presidential debate" →

This has been my go-to summer steak for the last several years and I have some audacity to have gatekept it for so long. Mostly, we’ve been too busy eating it for me to grab the camera and shoot it and then sit down and write the recipe, which is hilarious as that’s, like, my whole job. But my brain softens in the summer, especially when my kids are away at sleepaway camp, as they are now, and we quickly lose whatever tethers we had to things like to-do lists, responsibilities, and adulting. And while I do not expect a skirt steak with a cherry tomato and sweet corn salad to shake the cooking internet off its axis, there are a bunch of tips tucked into this recipe that make it a reliable favorite, and I hope become part of your repertoire too.

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It’s humbling that way every September, without fail, knocks me on my rump. One week, you’re breezy and unscheduled, reading books on a beach and tearing lobster apart with your bare hands (indeed, we were in Maine) and the next you’re realizing a certain fetid backpack was never emptied on the last day of school in June, scrambling for after-school care, and despite the fact that I work every week of the year, somehow there’s a lot more to do. If dinner can’t be made in one pan in which everything cooks at once, I haven’t been making it. And yet I’ve made this chicken dish four times in the last month; it’s clearly time to shout about it across the internet.

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October is Pizza Month, minions, so this is a great time to go over a few reminders.

 Ahem hem hem.

Bakers, repeat after me.

"Pizza crust is not shiny."


Bakers repeating en masse: "Pizza crust is not shiny."

"Pizza crust is not held aloft by piles of poop."

"Pizza crust is not held aloft by piles of poop."

"If people can't tell my cakes are supposed to be pizzas, then I should stop making pizza cakes."

"If people can't..."

Bakers' Spokesperson, interrupting: "But what if we printed the pizza on the cake?"

::brief silence::

"No."

"What if we make the cake a slice of pizza?"

"NO."

"What if we made the cake brownies instead of cake?"

"HOW IS THAT BETTER"

"Ok, ok, fine. We won't make pizza cake."

"Excellent! Wait. Why am I suddenly nervous?"

"BOOYAH!!!!"

::sigh::

"I'm out."

Thanks to Anony M.,  Robyn, Heidi L., Carole D., Anony M., & Bartley I., for giving us a hand. Also are those pickles? Because I would totally eat pickles on pizza. Just me? 

*****
Here's an extra toasty way to celebrate Pizza Month:

Double-Sided Pizza Throw Blanket

It's hard to put a price on a blanket that makes you believe you ARE a pizza, but apparently the going rate is about $27. :p

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Barb E. asked for Navy icing:

She got it.

 

Cindy M. just wanted the initial "G" for her 14-year-old daughter - but I guess that was TOO simple?

 

Jen and Pete asked the bakery to include paper plates and plastic silverware.

 

Pauline ordered a cake that said, "I hate you for leaving!"

...but sure, that's close enough.

 

Holli T. wanted the number 10 written as a number: "you know, with double digits."

Part of me hopes Alexis gets a great nickname outta this.

 

Charli C. made the mistake of telling her bakery who the cake was for:

THANKS, GUYS.

 

And finally, Jared C. asked for rainbow sprinkles.

How do you mess up rainbow sprinkles?

Oh, like this:

Thanks to Barb E., Cindy M., Jen & Pete, Pauline R., Holli T., Charli C., & Jared C. for the head bangers.

*****

Let's keep the Failure celebration going! The Bloggess called this book "freaking hilarious," so that's enough for me:

Confessions of a Domestic Failure: A Book About A Not-So-Perfect Mom

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Confession Time: as much as I love all the Sweets I feature, it's the kids' cakes that thrill me the most.

From classic childhood characters:

(By Alana Lily Chocolates & Cakes)

 

...to more modern favorites:

(By Sugar Top Cakes)

 

...to squee-inducing cuteness I just want to snuggle:

(By Bake-A-Boo)

MUST. RESIST. SNUGGLE URGE!

 

Then there are colorful, guitar-rockin' monsters:

(By Phoenix Cake Company)

 

Dapper little owls:

(By Eunice Cake Designs)

 

...and the sweetest bees you ever did see:

(By Frosted Indulgence)

Just looking at this makes me happy. :)

 

When I was very young my parents let me buy a Little Twin Stars stationary set from Epcot, and even though I had no idea who they were, I've loved the pastel pair ever since.

And this is the best Little Twin Stars cake I've ever seen:

(By The Bunny Baker)

Kids' cakes, schmids' cakes. I'll take this one for my next birthday, thx.

 

Or how about this drop dead gorgeous Tangled tower?

(By Sabz Cakes)

 

Oooh! Or this little yellow submarine?

(By Über Angel Cakes)

Complete with a cutie-patootie pink seahorse!

 

And finally, since you all know I have a soft spot for adorable robots:

(By Isabella's Sweet Tooth)

D'awwww.

Yep, this grown-up just wants kids' cakes from now on, guys. And I bet I'm not the only one, right?

 

Happy Sunday!

*****

And now that I’ve got Gonzo on the brain, OH MY GOSH LOOK HOW COOL!!!

The Great Gonzo Christmas Ornament

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

And now, as a service to our readers' dieting endeavors:

7 MORE Things That Should Never Be On Cake

7. Anything that looks like a spleen

Also, why is the spleen the go-to organ for icky descriptions? You never hear someone say, "Hey, that organesque thing sure looks like a gallbladder!" Which begs the questions: is "organesque" a word? 'Cuz if not, it totally should be.

6. Shrimp

Because shrimp.

5. Nipples

Hey, don't get me wrong; nipples are great. Heck, I even have one myself. But cake should not have nipples. It just shouldn't. And the fact that I had to bring that sentence into the world makes me seriously question the direction this country is going.

4. Ants

Because anything I spend time and money trying to kill should not be something I have to pick off my cake.

3. Actual Feathers Plucked From Actual Birds

Let me get this straight: you jammed real feathers into the icing you expect me to eat?

So how about I fetch a beaver pelt and throw that sucker on there, too? Because if there's one thing we've learned about cake decorating, it's that animal outsides are both appetizing and completely sanitary!

2. Mold

BAKERS WHY DO I EVEN HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE.

1. Back hair

Actually, this is kind of hilarious.

Assuming those are chocolate shavings, of course.

***

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME THOSE ARE CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS.

Thanks to wreckporters Kathryn B., Kerrigan W., Ashlee, Kelly G., Rocky J., Tami F., & Anony M. for the inspiration to just have a salad today.

In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the glorious  ads and features for the October/November 1988 issue of RT Magazine. Thank you to Amy M. for this issue! You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind.  If you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all … Continue reading Romantic Times Rewind: October 1988 Ads & Features →

It’s time for the Ads & Features of the October 1988 (!!) issue of Romantic Times Magazine. Y’all. We’ve got: Vintage gossip! Blind items that are very easy to guess! Danielle Steel’s two blue Mercedes! Fuchsia covers with giant flowers and startled animals! Riverboat gambler romance heroes! And a truly paltry obituary for an extraordinary author. It’s 1988. Fuchsia. So much fuchsia. Blanket content warning for romances written in the late 80s. Be ready for … Continue reading 637. RT Rewind October 1988 Ads & Features →

Welcome to Book Beat! Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.

OverDrive is the company that provides a lot of digital content to libraries. If you’ve borrowed an ebook or an audiobook in Libby,  or read a magazine in Kanopy, that’s OverDrive. It seems there is some AI weirdness with audiobook narration on OverDrive, and the narrator is only part of the story. On Monday, October 14, librarian Robin Bradford posted on Bluesky that she’d purchased an AI audiobook for her library system and she was … Continue reading AI Audiobook Narrators in OverDrive and the Issue of Library AI Circulation Policy →

Death at Morning House is a YA that’s part historical mystery, part haunted house story. I enjoyed it, but I kept getting pulled out of the story because it seemed wildly implausible to me that the kids in the book were as unsupervised as they were. In the present day, Marlowe Wexler is struggling with teenage awkwardness and realizing her own queer identity. When the book opens, she’s house-sitting for a friend of the family … Continue reading Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson →

It’s time! Smart Bitches After Dark is open to everyone for registration! You can register now! Come on in, the mayhem is delightful! You might have seen our first After Dark posts go up the past two Sundays, with a link to register, but this is the Official Announcement. Mostly because I used Capital Letters. We already have over 100 members of the community registered, and it’s going to be a LOT of fun. You can … Continue reading Smart Bitches After Dark is Open for Registration! →

Happy Saturday and welcome back to Whatcha Reading! Here’s how we’re wrapping up October: Lara: To quote my psychiatrist, ‘pregnancy is a potent and unique stressor’ so I’ve temporarily abandoned my ARCs and I’ve started a reread of Murderbot. Ten out of ten! Shana: There’s no better comfort than a Murderbot reread. I just finished a m/m Beauty and the Beast retelling, Briarley by Aster Glenn Gray, where the father who finds the cursed castle … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? October 2024, Part Two →

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Lady Whiskerdown’s Letters from the Cat Cafe →

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Some of the Latest Cover Re-Designs →

Welcome back to Cover Awe! Cover illustration by Syd Mills From Cleo: Just look at it! It’s gorgeous. And it fits the book perfectly – a moody, sexy Sapphic UF romance between an ex-demon hunter with angelic blood and the demon sent to seduce and destroy her. Sarah: jaw hanging open. Amanda: It gives me renaissance painting vibes. Cover art and design by Katie Anderson Sarah: Hits a LOT of the trends Amanda and I … Continue reading Cover Awe: Immaculate Vibes →

Hey y’all. Here’s a relaxing image! I need that hammock plus some pillows, a blanket, and noise cancelling everything. Today feels like being up to my neck in icy maple syrup: unpleasant and I can’t move very quickly. And in a moment of complete hilarity, I scheduled my annual physical for today. Wonder what my blood pressure will be like? (I think I can hear my blood pressure medication doing pushups in the other room, … Continue reading Deep Breaths. Fuzzy Things. →

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Sign Up for Quarterly Book Recommendations! →

I believe that reading books and collecting books are two separate yet equally worthy hobbies, just like buying yarn and knitting. Due to social media, and people’s desire to share their love of books (read or unread) there have been several subscription services lately that offer beautiful editions of popular books. I subscribe to Illumicrate, and I really enjoy it. There is a UK and  US version of Illumicrate, and also two subscription options. The … Continue reading Illumicrate Book Subscription →

Welcome back to Whatcha Reading! This is where we talk about what we’ve been reading, if you couldn’t have guessed. Lara: Still Murderbot and I could not be more happy about it! May it last forever! Sarah: I mentioned this in the post for Election Day but I saved three Richard Osman books and didn’t know what I was saving them for. Now I know! I think I’m starting with the new one We Solve … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? November 2024, Part One →

Clinton is helping

Hi Moray

lurking…

the Joyce special

Rajesh is a good dude

(it was TS Eliot)

Hi Yay

turns out I don't have Pintsize's usual dialog font on my ipad so he gets to have the same voice as the human characters while I'm traveling

I'm gonna be at Gencon this August! I'll have some books and stuff and will be doing sketches and complimenting your pet photos. SEE YOU THERE???

I'm gonna be at Gencon at booth 1237 this August! I'll have some books and stuff and will be doing sketches and complimenting your pet photos. SEE YOU THERE???

the neighbors are noisy though

house centipedes are our friends. our creepy, disturbing little friends.

And the elbows

NO MORE CLUBBING

go to bed Moray

remember when Steve bought a boat?

Hannelore doesn't have much experience when it comes to hand-holding

who even invited her

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