Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
@vertvoltapress.bsky.social
Imprints: Extra:Solar, Hinton Publishing.
Run by Vlad Verano, Designer/Publisher; part-time bookseller. Moonlights as artist/illustrator/astromech. Latest book; THREE ALARM FIRE (Hinton) https://vertvolta-design-press.square.site/product/Three_Alarm_Fire/3
Run by Vlad Verano, Designer/Publisher; part-time bookseller. Moonlights as artist/illustrator/astromech. Latest book; THREE ALARM FIRE (Hinton) https://vertvolta-design-press.square.site/product/Three_Alarm_Fire/3
Pinned
Hello to all the new followers! It's been a while since I talked about Vertvolta, & an introductory thread is in order.
Vertvolta Press is a publishing house (some would say 'hybrid'). We publish books, contemporary & reprints, & offer consulting & design services to self-published authors (1/5)
Vertvolta Press is a publishing house (some would say 'hybrid'). We publish books, contemporary & reprints, & offer consulting & design services to self-published authors (1/5)
Our US Ambassador league is just whiny-baby fascism-enablers.
The cream of the crop
The cream of the crop
News from Poland. Apparently the Americans have started circulating form letters nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize - all the nation in question has to do is sign it. The Speaker of the Sejm told them to fuck off and the US Ambassador has had a meltdown.
February 6, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Our US Ambassador league is just whiny-baby fascism-enablers.
The cream of the crop
The cream of the crop
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
If you live in Washington state please take 20 seconds to sign in PRO for our millionaire tax bill currently going through state legislature.
Sign on PRO for WA's millionaire tax
app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie...
app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie...
CSI
app.leg.wa.gov
February 6, 2026 at 6:46 AM
If you live in Washington state please take 20 seconds to sign in PRO for our millionaire tax bill currently going through state legislature.
It’s heinous but also anyone who says “be sneakier” about this is a massive red flag about that person.
Nothing about the Epstein revelations is hypothetical; a video game to speed-run better.
Real people abused by real evil fucks.
Nothing about the Epstein revelations is hypothetical; a video game to speed-run better.
Real people abused by real evil fucks.
February 6, 2026 at 8:22 AM
It’s heinous but also anyone who says “be sneakier” about this is a massive red flag about that person.
Nothing about the Epstein revelations is hypothetical; a video game to speed-run better.
Real people abused by real evil fucks.
Nothing about the Epstein revelations is hypothetical; a video game to speed-run better.
Real people abused by real evil fucks.
This is less the band & more a song:
Flagpole-sitta
Flagpole-sitta
Was this very mid-2000s emo person press-ganged into ICE servitude?
February 6, 2026 at 7:53 AM
This is less the band & more a song:
Flagpole-sitta
Flagpole-sitta
Seattle is now a few dollars above that; has been for a few years.
We are not a ball of flaming Mad max desperation; the people who actually make this city run can (barely still) afford to live in the city.
The million/billion-aires in the city still get away with meager taxes *melt-face*
We are not a ball of flaming Mad max desperation; the people who actually make this city run can (barely still) afford to live in the city.
The million/billion-aires in the city still get away with meager taxes *melt-face*
Democratic senator Ruben Gallego has introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2029.
www.huffpost.com/entry/ruben-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/ruben-...
Democratic Senator Pushes For Really High Minimum Wage
The Arizona Democrat and possible Democratic presidential candidate has staked out an aggressive position on a paycheck issue.
www.huffpost.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Seattle is now a few dollars above that; has been for a few years.
We are not a ball of flaming Mad max desperation; the people who actually make this city run can (barely still) afford to live in the city.
The million/billion-aires in the city still get away with meager taxes *melt-face*
We are not a ball of flaming Mad max desperation; the people who actually make this city run can (barely still) afford to live in the city.
The million/billion-aires in the city still get away with meager taxes *melt-face*
This is me during the war for the one ring, tbh
[but when the kitty is asleep i sneak out & murder orcs in the night]
[but when the kitty is asleep i sneak out & murder orcs in the night]
The wizard puts a very gentle heat spell on a pillow for the little cat to sit on.
February 6, 2026 at 7:40 AM
This is me during the war for the one ring, tbh
[but when the kitty is asleep i sneak out & murder orcs in the night]
[but when the kitty is asleep i sneak out & murder orcs in the night]
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
we’re gonna need a bigger hague
February 6, 2026 at 12:23 AM
we’re gonna need a bigger hague
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
god DAMN. I was a reader of @skepchick.org when all this shit was happening (and a contributor to a now-defunct feminist blog, where I moved my writing about "women's issues" because the Stranger wouldn't moderate comments attacking and harassing me) and it's vindicating to see how it played out
Epstein Files Reveal How Pathetic Richard Dawkins & Other Men Are
Transcript: Well, it happened again. I’m mentioned in the Epstein files. Again. You probably saw my first video on this topic and you came away thinking that I’ve spent the past decade being as awe…
skepchick.org
February 6, 2026 at 5:49 AM
god DAMN. I was a reader of @skepchick.org when all this shit was happening (and a contributor to a now-defunct feminist blog, where I moved my writing about "women's issues" because the Stranger wouldn't moderate comments attacking and harassing me) and it's vindicating to see how it played out
What facet of America will these ghouls radicalize next? The normies, the wine moms, the 2A gun-owners, the retired boomers (with plenty of free time on their hands), & now, dog-lovers (i mean, this *is* Noem’s gestapo so obviously this was part of the training)
While eight U.S. Marshals were arresting Jaquize Henderson on a warrant stemming from drug possession, his harmless little dog Yoshi comes outside to see what’s happening, and this violent psychopath kicks him across the yard, breaking his ribs.
No comment from Marshals.
tinyurl.com/5c9nju23
No comment from Marshals.
tinyurl.com/5c9nju23
February 6, 2026 at 7:06 AM
What facet of America will these ghouls radicalize next? The normies, the wine moms, the 2A gun-owners, the retired boomers (with plenty of free time on their hands), & now, dog-lovers (i mean, this *is* Noem’s gestapo so obviously this was part of the training)
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
Guided by Nazis
Was this very mid-2000s emo person press-ganged into ICE servitude?
February 6, 2026 at 5:58 AM
Guided by Nazis
Vampire Weakened
Was this very mid-2000s emo person press-ganged into ICE servitude?
February 6, 2026 at 6:59 AM
Vampire Weakened
I think Mamdani takes it seriously that he’s a servant of the people; & yes people are amazing (& complicated & strange & funny &…)
It's also freeing to just enjoy people. Mamdani doesn't have to sell liking the regular folks because he seems like the sort of person who'd find a way to have a job where he met a couple hundred people a day regardless. He's fun because he seems to just be celebrating other people and their stuff.
It's true that Mamdani is a skilled improviser but that's counterintuitively a result of his superior preparation — spending time and energy to hone your speaking style, memorize talking points etc frees up cognitive load to notice and react to what's around you instead of thinking about what to say
February 6, 2026 at 6:58 AM
I think Mamdani takes it seriously that he’s a servant of the people; & yes people are amazing (& complicated & strange & funny &…)
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
Asimov's actions, and the tolerance-up-to-celebration of it, absolutely drove women out of field and out of fandom, and made it easier for others in the field, writers, editors and fans, to follow his lead for decades. Asimov pinching asses was not about his work. It kept women and their work out.
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Asimov's actions, and the tolerance-up-to-celebration of it, absolutely drove women out of field and out of fandom, and made it easier for others in the field, writers, editors and fans, to follow his lead for decades. Asimov pinching asses was not about his work. It kept women and their work out.
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
There's exactly one normal man left on planet Earth.
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
February 6, 2026 at 5:12 AM
There's exactly one normal man left on planet Earth.
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
So, a quick note on Oakland Review of Books, or ORB: a handful of us are working to will it into existence, and--aside from a big boost to get started from our friends at @ebbooksellers.bsky.social--it's a self-funded operation whose goal is to exist and enable writing like this.
You might enjoy my little essay on Greatness in Art in the age of AI, AKA, "Sinners is Great, actually, but greatness doesn't exist, also." www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/sinners-one-...
Talking Greatness to Death
Sinners is WAY too much movie, a level of movie one might even say filmmakers are proscribed from producing. Period drama about race AND vampire slasher? A genre movie with Ideas? In this economy?
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:58 PM
So, a quick note on Oakland Review of Books, or ORB: a handful of us are working to will it into existence, and--aside from a big boost to get started from our friends at @ebbooksellers.bsky.social--it's a self-funded operation whose goal is to exist and enable writing like this.
*picks up pieces of brain off the floor*
Ow. My brain hurts now. Too much truth got put in it.
Over the past two weeks I've begun to realize that rich people only started funding chatbots once they could no longer email Jeffrey Epstein
February 6, 2026 at 6:44 AM
*picks up pieces of brain off the floor*
Agree with this.
*start* with contemporary (late 90s 2000 & up) writers inspired by the classics; like instead of Asimov, try Ada Palmer, Arkady Martine… etc.
Readers will find their way to classics from the contemporary writers if they want.
*start* with contemporary (late 90s 2000 & up) writers inspired by the classics; like instead of Asimov, try Ada Palmer, Arkady Martine… etc.
Readers will find their way to classics from the contemporary writers if they want.
I'm 45 years old and the Golden Age stuff made me so fucking annoyed in 1995. Like man just THINK about what you're telling teenage girls to read because I promise that you probably shouldn't be doing it. 😑
Yup. This is also why I get annoyed when people start suggesting "golden age" science fiction titles to people who are new the genre and are asking for suggestions. You want to turn a modern 15-year-old off science fiction forever, recommend stories that were old when her grandparents were her age.
February 6, 2026 at 6:42 AM
Agree with this.
*start* with contemporary (late 90s 2000 & up) writers inspired by the classics; like instead of Asimov, try Ada Palmer, Arkady Martine… etc.
Readers will find their way to classics from the contemporary writers if they want.
*start* with contemporary (late 90s 2000 & up) writers inspired by the classics; like instead of Asimov, try Ada Palmer, Arkady Martine… etc.
Readers will find their way to classics from the contemporary writers if they want.
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
We have now shipped 432,367 whistles all across the country. 135,000 in February alone.
And we could not have done it without y'all.
The Pancake Priestess made you a thank you note. 💓
Get whistles > linktr.ee/3Dwhistles
And we could not have done it without y'all.
The Pancake Priestess made you a thank you note. 💓
Get whistles > linktr.ee/3Dwhistles
February 5, 2026 at 10:52 PM
We have now shipped 432,367 whistles all across the country. 135,000 in February alone.
And we could not have done it without y'all.
The Pancake Priestess made you a thank you note. 💓
Get whistles > linktr.ee/3Dwhistles
And we could not have done it without y'all.
The Pancake Priestess made you a thank you note. 💓
Get whistles > linktr.ee/3Dwhistles
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
I've read through the GOP's new 'SAVE America Act' which will be voted on next week in the House.
It requires both proof of citizenship to register to vote - AND - proof of citizenship to vote.
Nerdy thread 1/
It requires both proof of citizenship to register to vote - AND - proof of citizenship to vote.
Nerdy thread 1/
February 6, 2026 at 1:42 AM
I've read through the GOP's new 'SAVE America Act' which will be voted on next week in the House.
It requires both proof of citizenship to register to vote - AND - proof of citizenship to vote.
Nerdy thread 1/
It requires both proof of citizenship to register to vote - AND - proof of citizenship to vote.
Nerdy thread 1/
🧵🪡👇🏽
While I have a lot of people's attention:
As some of y'all know, I volunteer at a women's shelter in Brooklyn. Over the time I've been there, a lot of women have approached me about starting a knitting/crocheting group.
The Big Barrier to this is that there is no money for supplies. (cont'd)
As some of y'all know, I volunteer at a women's shelter in Brooklyn. Over the time I've been there, a lot of women have approached me about starting a knitting/crocheting group.
The Big Barrier to this is that there is no money for supplies. (cont'd)
February 6, 2026 at 5:49 AM
🧵🪡👇🏽
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
Swear to god, ICE could just announce they're leaving a city but not leave and the media will just stop covering that city completely even though ICE never left.
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
February 6, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Swear to god, ICE could just announce they're leaving a city but not leave and the media will just stop covering that city completely even though ICE never left.
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
I hate to say it but Liam’s family might need to do a community version of witness protection.
These ghouls won’t let up
These ghouls won’t let up
February 6, 2026 at 5:47 AM
I hate to say it but Liam’s family might need to do a community version of witness protection.
These ghouls won’t let up
These ghouls won’t let up
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
these conditions are horrifying. this is an amazing story of community organizing strategy and commitment, as well as another example of the criminalization of mutual aid @lataco.bsky.social
Exclusive: Detention Center Captives Are Throwing Lotion Bottles Wrapped With Notes to Organizers Outside Otay Mesa Facility ~ L.A. TACO
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa captive communicated through handwritten note. "We are all in one big room with no doors...
lataco.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:11 AM
these conditions are horrifying. this is an amazing story of community organizing strategy and commitment, as well as another example of the criminalization of mutual aid @lataco.bsky.social
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
This is a remarkable @nytimes.com split screen:
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
February 5, 2026 at 7:13 PM
This is a remarkable @nytimes.com split screen:
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
Reposted by Vlad @ Vertvolta Press
One must imagine Sisyphus rolling the boulder down into Plato's cave and everyone running Indiana Jones style
February 6, 2026 at 3:22 AM
One must imagine Sisyphus rolling the boulder down into Plato's cave and everyone running Indiana Jones style