Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 5h

Heck, try to get the original art!

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 1d

Closing out my Kiss tabs and sharing this. RIP, Ace. (Go up slightly in this thread if you'd like a gift link to my NYT obituary for the man.)

An image of four Star Wars stormtrooper helmets, decorated as if they were wearing the face paint of the original members of Kiss.

1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 1d

Well, this is clearly the bargain of the year. I just thrust my money in Binc's direction — if you haven't read The Wicked + The Divine, you are in for a treat.

Humble @humblebundle.com · 3d

Enter the fantastic worlds of Kieron Gillen with this comics bundle featuring:

- The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1 - 9
- DIE Vol. 1 - 4
- Phonogram Vol. 1 - 3
- and more! Supports Binc Foundation | https://bit.ly/3KR25P1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 2d

The one time I met Ace Frehley, he was in full Spaceman stage makeup and costume. Which, really, is how I'd want to remember him anyway. (It was backstage at MSG in 1996.) I wrote his obituary for the NY Times. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/a...

Ace Frehley, a Founding Member of Kiss, Is Dead at 74

www.nytimes.com

3 4 29

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 21d

I hope he was gracious about being copyedited!

I vaguely recall that he was a publishing vet who, as an editor, acquired the book that turned into the Great Brain series.

1 1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · 24d

"I'm turned on like Edison!"
(said no teenager ever)

1 5

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 16

You might enjoy the Elvis Costello classic "American without Tea."

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 14

Hello friends and family in the UK! There's a big sale happening on the audiobook version of this bestseller I wrote with @da7e.com and @jowrotethis.bsky.social -- but please don't be alarmed if the narrator has an American accent.

Da7e Gonzales @da7e.com · Sep 2

From SEPTEMBER 10th to SEPTEMBER 19th, Audible in the UK is selling the MCU: THE REIGN OF MARVEL STUDIOS audiobook for a low £3.99. (don't worry, I'll remind you)

1 1 7

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 14

The very one! Enjoy! (I never participated in a PBM game, but I had a D&D friend circa 1982 who did for a little while and showed me some of the letters he got as a result; apparently it made more of an impression that I thought at the time.)

1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 14

Depending on the intensity of your interest, you might want to read the John Darnielle novel WOLF IN WHITE VAN, which is about a fictional PBM game but gets across how they worked quite well. (Also, it's a very good book.)

1 1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 13

What I love about this story is that he's taking on a role that was previously held by his mother. (No, not Fran Drescher — Patty Duke, who was president of SAG from 1985 to 1988.)

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Sep 13

Makes sense, Hollywood is Mordor and he's been there and back again

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

'Lord of the Rings' star Sean Astin elected SAG-AFTRA president

Astin, who was also in 'Rudy' and 'The Goonies,' will succeed Fran Drescher, who decided not to run for reelection.

www.latimes.com

4

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 9

What does "hand-designed" mean here? Is that just the USPS declaring that it didn't use AI?

1

Reposted by Gavin Edwards

Mary Robinette Kowal @maryrobinettekowal.com · Sep 6

So here are my suggestions if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to pronounce names in an official capacity.

1. Read them ahead of time.
2. Ask for help
3. Forvo.com is a great resource
4. Slow down, and use falling tones to give extra gravitas.
5. Apologize and own mistakes

Forvo.com

11 52 270

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 1

The Others (2001, with Nicole Kidman)
Hamlet

2

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Sep 1

Do the ghosts need to be scary/horrifying, or are Casper and his friendly ilk in play?

1 2

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 30

But I guess the pizza was good.

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 30

Listening party at an LA pizzeria for Prince's Lotusflower triple album: they spent so much time touting his website that they ran out of time on the venue rental and had to end the party before finishing the album. I was reviewing album, had to go to somebody's office the next day to finish.

2

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 27

I wrote an entire book (LAST NIGHT AT THE VIPER ROOM) by hand. Which gave it a particular mental texture and came with the satisfaction of a growing stack of pages. But it was a bear when it came time to type it up.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Aug 27

i'm actually a big believer in drafting by hand. i think it helps you think in a different way then typing on a screen

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Aug 26

So far, the main businesses that have been financially benefited from AI have been the producers of blue books
www.wsj.com/business/cha...

1 2

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 26

No, that was fascinating. Thanks, Kurt.

3

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 25

Happy birthday Greg! I'm glad you got to have a joyful day.

1

Reposted by Gavin Edwards

PJ Holden @pauljholden.com · Nov 8

A comic about making comics (the alt text took longer to write than the comic did to draw * I drew this a few years ago)

A 14 panel comic, a top tier of five panels shows a drawing of me, and in each of the subsequent panels the drawing of me gets simpler and simpler, with a cartoony drawing, a crude cartoon, then a stick man, then a smily face then a simple blob. Each time I'm saying "Hi"
Tier two, panel one, the smiley face is sad and saying "PJ! I can't draw!" "How can I make comics"
Panel 2, me as a simple cartoon "Oh that's ok, comics work..."
panel 3, me as a very crudely drawn figiure my head tilted at a funny angle and Im saying "No matter your skill level"
Panel 4 more simplistic drawing of me holding a ruler "As long as you can (sorta) draw a straight line " "(I use a ruler)"
Panel 5 even more simple drawing "And a bubble"
next (final) tier
Panel 1
A simple circle with two dots for eyes and a small line for a mouth and a balloon coming from his mouth saying "People can be quite forgiving about the artwork"
Panel 2 the round simple face meets a spikey simple face, spikey says "I'm not - I like GOOD artwork" me - "Oh"
Panel 3 me (still a smiley face, but straight line mouth ) I have two stick arms raised up with little stick fingers and I'm saying "...Sorry..."
Spike says "Bah"
Panel 4 (last panel) Me, slightly better drawn (but only just) "OK - not everyone is quite forgiving about art" "BUT I AM" "Good luck!"

29 960 2.7K

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 9

theonion.com/woman-doomed...

Woman Doomed To Years Of Hippo-Themed Gifts

JACKSONVILLE, FL–Remarking, "Oh, I love hippos!" upon receiving a birthday gift of a porcelain hippopotamus, area resident Karen Voldstead doomed herself to a lifetime of hippo-themed gifts Monday. "I...

theonion.com

1 3

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 7

The furthest I’ve been:

North: Stockholm, Sweden, 59.33° N
East: Wellington, New Zealand, 174.77° E
South: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 42.88° S
West: Kauai, Hawaii, USA: 159.46° W

(Stockholm is just a hair further north than Oslo; Hobart is just a hair further south than Wellington.)

Sexy Henry Kissinger Costume @mightygodking.com · Aug 7

we've done this before but not with latitudes and longitudes so:

Farthest I've been:

N: Reykjavik, Iceland (64.08°N)
E: Rotorua, New Zealand (176.15°E)
S: Nugget Point, New Zealand (46.26°S)
W: Vancouver, Canada (123.06°W)

Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · Aug 7

Okay, let’s play.

Farthest I’ve been:
N: Anchorage, Alaska (61°N)
E: Wellington, New Zealand (174°E)
S: Port Lockroy, Antarctica (65°S)
W: Oahu, Hawaii (158°W)

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 6

I had assumed that art was commissioned for the US stamp that featured it, so today I learned something.

1 1

Gavin Edwards @mrgavinedwards.bsky.social · Aug 1

41! (Many of them on somebody else's nickel.)

1