Laine Bell
@lainebell.bsky.social
Writer, baker, chicken tender. Also love animals, nature, grilling, roller skating. Viable Paradise 2018 grad (VP22).
She/her.
Blog at lainebell.wordpress.com
She/her.
Blog at lainebell.wordpress.com
Reposted by Laine Bell
Unless I am getting on an airplane, I absolutely will not be carrying my passport anywhere in the United States.
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
January 16, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Unless I am getting on an airplane, I absolutely will not be carrying my passport anywhere in the United States.
Reposted by Laine Bell
Dude if getting your tits blown off is not a good enough reason for the TBQ guy to not respond to 2000+ submissions personally and by hand, which no legacy pub does at all, then what is???
(Congrats)
(Congrats)
No but for real I had no idea I was going to have top surgery in October when we put out the call in April. I'm coming for you and your lettuce shreds of hope I swear.
January 13, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Dude if getting your tits blown off is not a good enough reason for the TBQ guy to not respond to 2000+ submissions personally and by hand, which no legacy pub does at all, then what is???
(Congrats)
(Congrats)
Reposted by Laine Bell
Me getting under the covers to go to bed.
This bobtail squid burrowing into the sand is already adorable, but please watch till the very end!
It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍
It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍
January 12, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Me getting under the covers to go to bed.
Reposted by Laine Bell
Strange Horizons fiction submissions open next Monday!
The window will be open for 48 hours from 3 p.m. UTC on January 19th 2026 to 3 p.m. UTC on January 21st 2026.
There will be no cap.
More information on submitting, including the link to our Moksha portal ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
The window will be open for 48 hours from 3 p.m. UTC on January 19th 2026 to 3 p.m. UTC on January 21st 2026.
There will be no cap.
More information on submitting, including the link to our Moksha portal ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
January 12, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Strange Horizons fiction submissions open next Monday!
The window will be open for 48 hours from 3 p.m. UTC on January 19th 2026 to 3 p.m. UTC on January 21st 2026.
There will be no cap.
More information on submitting, including the link to our Moksha portal ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
The window will be open for 48 hours from 3 p.m. UTC on January 19th 2026 to 3 p.m. UTC on January 21st 2026.
There will be no cap.
More information on submitting, including the link to our Moksha portal ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
Reposted by Laine Bell
OK, show of hands: how many other #monthofdick readers heard that one sentence in chapter 41 in Patrick Stewart’s voice? 🐋
Picard's White Whale
YouTube video by Greg Steggles
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM
OK, show of hands: how many other #monthofdick readers heard that one sentence in chapter 41 in Patrick Stewart’s voice? 🐋
“Fuck this chair in particular.”
Jeremy is the best.
Jeremy is the best.
Oh, gosh. I meant to share this hours ago. Anyway, g'night.
January 12, 2026 at 3:37 AM
“Fuck this chair in particular.”
Jeremy is the best.
Jeremy is the best.
Raz is softly snoozing on my leg while I try to figure out how to read today’s Moby Dick chapters without disturbing her. 🐋
(The copy I have is massive, about 8”x10”x2” BUT it was only $7 at a used bookshop and even better, it’s like 14pt font! So easy to read for my crappy eyesight!!)
(The copy I have is massive, about 8”x10”x2” BUT it was only $7 at a used bookshop and even better, it’s like 14pt font! So easy to read for my crappy eyesight!!)
January 12, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Raz is softly snoozing on my leg while I try to figure out how to read today’s Moby Dick chapters without disturbing her. 🐋
(The copy I have is massive, about 8”x10”x2” BUT it was only $7 at a used bookshop and even better, it’s like 14pt font! So easy to read for my crappy eyesight!!)
(The copy I have is massive, about 8”x10”x2” BUT it was only $7 at a used bookshop and even better, it’s like 14pt font! So easy to read for my crappy eyesight!!)
Reposted by Laine Bell
Forget where I heard this but in some other languages you don't say "I'm depressed." Or "I'm anxious." You say "the depression is upon me." "The anxiety is on me." That reframe was weirdly liberating. It goes from an identity "I AM this" to merely another external force. I use it all the time now.
A core feature of Narrative Therapy is that we build our identities from the stories we tell and are told around/about us. If the story is "Spike's a clumsy bastard" then when I drop a glass taking it out of the dishwasher it's MY Fault, not that the glass is slippery.
Watching doc about resilience that reaffirms many changes I made last few years to my mental outlook (I read a LOT of brain books). Brains are hallucination engines. If the story is the world is shit, everything is fucked, brain reframes every interaction this way. It impacts behavior; shuts us down
January 11, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Forget where I heard this but in some other languages you don't say "I'm depressed." Or "I'm anxious." You say "the depression is upon me." "The anxiety is on me." That reframe was weirdly liberating. It goes from an identity "I AM this" to merely another external force. I use it all the time now.
Reposted by Laine Bell
When you report this fundraiser, be sure to cite GoFundMe TOS section 8.10.
GFM campaigns cannot be used for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors;”
GFM campaigns cannot be used for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors;”
There’s a GoFundMe for Jonathan Ross’s legal expenses for murdering Renee Good.
This violates GoFundMe’s Terms of Service. Everyone must report it.
A thread on how to do that 🧵
This violates GoFundMe’s Terms of Service. Everyone must report it.
A thread on how to do that 🧵
January 11, 2026 at 5:57 PM
When you report this fundraiser, be sure to cite GoFundMe TOS section 8.10.
GFM campaigns cannot be used for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors;”
GFM campaigns cannot be used for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors;”
Slightly diminish a game:
County of Warcraft
County of Warcraft
slightly diminish a gams
Quest for Things and Stuff*
Quest for Things and Stuff*
Slightly diminish a game.
Horizon: -0.5 Dawn
Horizon: -0.5 Dawn
January 11, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Slightly diminish a game:
County of Warcraft
County of Warcraft
Reposted by Laine Bell
Halloween People! Every HWA member has one week to recommend favorite 2025-published horror to the Bram Stoker Award Recommended Reading List. Your rec could be the lucky #8 to put a fantastic work on the ballot! Please share, but please don't ask/beg/trade for recs you worked on.
January 8, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Halloween People! Every HWA member has one week to recommend favorite 2025-published horror to the Bram Stoker Award Recommended Reading List. Your rec could be the lucky #8 to put a fantastic work on the ballot! Please share, but please don't ask/beg/trade for recs you worked on.
Reposted by Laine Bell
last call for the night! I usually focus on sending out huge batches to organizers, but if you're in the twin cities and want a smaller package of brightly colored whistles, reply and I'll get one sent up to you 💓
okay I'm like 89% sure those are mine 😭
Whistles at the Renee Good Memorial in Minneapolis. The whistle has really become a sound of day to day life on the south side.
The whistles along with car horns are used to warn others of ICE or federal agents in the area.
The whistles along with car horns are used to warn others of ICE or federal agents in the area.
January 10, 2026 at 11:27 PM
last call for the night! I usually focus on sending out huge batches to organizers, but if you're in the twin cities and want a smaller package of brightly colored whistles, reply and I'll get one sent up to you 💓
Sharing because this is cool, Amy Grant’s music was a foundational part of my childhood, and I’m happy she is meeting the moment. (Reminder to myself to listen to this later when I have my headphones.)
A banger of a post from @slacktivistfred.bsky.social about a new song from Amy Grant, of all people: www.patheos.com/blogs/slackt...
'Is It Right On Red Or Left On MLK?'
It is 2026 and I am 57 years old and I am listening to a new song by Amy Grant and it is a good song.
www.patheos.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Sharing because this is cool, Amy Grant’s music was a foundational part of my childhood, and I’m happy she is meeting the moment. (Reminder to myself to listen to this later when I have my headphones.)
Reposted by Laine Bell
This is a lesson I learned as a preteen, listening to Soviet refuseniks talk about how they survived until they were allowed to leave the country. You make art, you make joy, and you fight. Because those three things are the same thing.
If you let them, the horrors will devour you whole. Making space to live and smile is an act of resistance. So is helping others to do the same. If you’re an artist in this time, remember that what you’re doing is part of the emotional support infrastructure. They want you silent. 1/2
January 10, 2026 at 8:27 PM
This is a lesson I learned as a preteen, listening to Soviet refuseniks talk about how they survived until they were allowed to leave the country. You make art, you make joy, and you fight. Because those three things are the same thing.
Snuggly but bad cat Barbossa brought the Christmas tree down on Thursday, so now I am doing some ornament repair before packing it all away.
January 10, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Snuggly but bad cat Barbossa brought the Christmas tree down on Thursday, so now I am doing some ornament repair before packing it all away.
Anyway enough reposting bad shit, I’m just trapped under a cat right now who is still learning to be a lap cat so I don’t want to move him…but my feet are getting cold and starting to cramp up…but CAT…
Also I got new shoes! which are nice but apparently not very warm. 😬
Also I got new shoes! which are nice but apparently not very warm. 😬
January 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Anyway enough reposting bad shit, I’m just trapped under a cat right now who is still learning to be a lap cat so I don’t want to move him…but my feet are getting cold and starting to cramp up…but CAT…
Also I got new shoes! which are nice but apparently not very warm. 😬
Also I got new shoes! which are nice but apparently not very warm. 😬
They’re all weak. Blustering TV show hosts playing politician. Men hiding behind masks and guns.
If you lead with force it’s because you haven’t got anything else. Bullies always bully bc they are hiding their weaknesses.
I hope they are all stressed and miserable in their petty little lives.
If you lead with force it’s because you haven’t got anything else. Bullies always bully bc they are hiding their weaknesses.
I hope they are all stressed and miserable in their petty little lives.
Shapiro: J.D. Vance is profoundly and pathetically a weak human being, and he does whatever he thinks his boss wants him to do.
What we need right now is not idiotic gaslighting from the sitting VP
He should be ashamed of himself—and he’s not. I think that speaks to the weakness of his character.
What we need right now is not idiotic gaslighting from the sitting VP
He should be ashamed of himself—and he’s not. I think that speaks to the weakness of his character.
January 10, 2026 at 1:21 AM
They’re all weak. Blustering TV show hosts playing politician. Men hiding behind masks and guns.
If you lead with force it’s because you haven’t got anything else. Bullies always bully bc they are hiding their weaknesses.
I hope they are all stressed and miserable in their petty little lives.
If you lead with force it’s because you haven’t got anything else. Bullies always bully bc they are hiding their weaknesses.
I hope they are all stressed and miserable in their petty little lives.
Trying the old Stuff On My Cat trick and I have to say Barbossa does not give a flying fuck. 😂
January 9, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Trying the old Stuff On My Cat trick and I have to say Barbossa does not give a flying fuck. 😂
The general public wants laws enforced. Really!
If the “law enforcement” people were actually enforcing the law instead of breaking it, they would not be meeting with organized community resistance!
ICE is harming and kidnapping innocent people, not criminals. THAT is the problem.
If the “law enforcement” people were actually enforcing the law instead of breaking it, they would not be meeting with organized community resistance!
ICE is harming and kidnapping innocent people, not criminals. THAT is the problem.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons: "No group should be going around following law enforcement, trying to give their location away, let them know what they're doing."
January 9, 2026 at 9:35 PM
The general public wants laws enforced. Really!
If the “law enforcement” people were actually enforcing the law instead of breaking it, they would not be meeting with organized community resistance!
ICE is harming and kidnapping innocent people, not criminals. THAT is the problem.
If the “law enforcement” people were actually enforcing the law instead of breaking it, they would not be meeting with organized community resistance!
ICE is harming and kidnapping innocent people, not criminals. THAT is the problem.
Reposted by Laine Bell
They’re back…..
January 9, 2026 at 5:55 PM
They’re back…..
Reposted by Laine Bell
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
TINY PETTING ZOO IS MY CHICKEN RUN TODAY. (Cookiedough, Wednesday, Miss Frizzle, Warbeak, Princess Peach, and Marie Curiosity.)
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January 8, 2026 at 2:38 PM
TINY PETTING ZOO IS MY CHICKEN RUN TODAY. (Cookiedough, Wednesday, Miss Frizzle, Warbeak, Princess Peach, and Marie Curiosity.)
One week in and our gov’t continues to dismantle our democracy by ignoring the constitution, murdering its citizens, and alienating our international allies.
I don’t know how to help, but I’m working on it. In the meantime, sharing some small joys. Here’s Warbeak investigating the chicken cam.
I don’t know how to help, but I’m working on it. In the meantime, sharing some small joys. Here’s Warbeak investigating the chicken cam.
January 8, 2026 at 1:56 PM
One week in and our gov’t continues to dismantle our democracy by ignoring the constitution, murdering its citizens, and alienating our international allies.
I don’t know how to help, but I’m working on it. In the meantime, sharing some small joys. Here’s Warbeak investigating the chicken cam.
I don’t know how to help, but I’m working on it. In the meantime, sharing some small joys. Here’s Warbeak investigating the chicken cam.
Reposted by Laine Bell
important message to all bluesky users
January 7, 2026 at 7:53 PM
important message to all bluesky users
Reposted by Laine Bell
"Remember her"
"Keep her in your thoughts"
"Don't forget her"
"Honor her memory"
These are all things you can say about a deceased white woman who you want to honor and respect. You don't have to use "Say Her Name", which was specifically coined to stop the erasure of Black women.
"Keep her in your thoughts"
"Don't forget her"
"Honor her memory"
These are all things you can say about a deceased white woman who you want to honor and respect. You don't have to use "Say Her Name", which was specifically coined to stop the erasure of Black women.
Say Her Name is not for white women.
January 8, 2026 at 7:18 AM
"Remember her"
"Keep her in your thoughts"
"Don't forget her"
"Honor her memory"
These are all things you can say about a deceased white woman who you want to honor and respect. You don't have to use "Say Her Name", which was specifically coined to stop the erasure of Black women.
"Keep her in your thoughts"
"Don't forget her"
"Honor her memory"
These are all things you can say about a deceased white woman who you want to honor and respect. You don't have to use "Say Her Name", which was specifically coined to stop the erasure of Black women.