Ashley Strosnider
@ashleystro.bsky.social
writer, thinker, coffee drinker.
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
Is this why TV is so bad rn
More than 90% of streaming shows created by white people, study shows
Annual UCLA study finds declines in cultural diversity behind and in front of the camera since last year
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Is this why TV is so bad rn
"The machine, in its quest to sound authoritative, ended up sounding like a KCPE graduate who scored an 'A' in English Composition. It accidentally replicated the linguistic ghost of the British Empire." Really loved this essay.
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:50 PM
"The machine, in its quest to sound authoritative, ended up sounding like a KCPE graduate who scored an 'A' in English Composition. It accidentally replicated the linguistic ghost of the British Empire." Really loved this essay.
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
At my niece’s wedding, where I learned she and her husband’s moms were waitresses together at several restaurants near Hudson, WI, pregnant at the same time, and they used to joke about what if their kids got married someday. They met working at the same bar.
December 13, 2025 at 1:23 AM
At my niece’s wedding, where I learned she and her husband’s moms were waitresses together at several restaurants near Hudson, WI, pregnant at the same time, and they used to joke about what if their kids got married someday. They met working at the same bar.
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
profoundly damning of american discourse that these epstein photos are causing people to say “omg he had sex toys and shibari equipment ew” and not “the systemic abuse of women and girls is a banal fact of elite american life”
December 12, 2025 at 10:42 PM
profoundly damning of american discourse that these epstein photos are causing people to say “omg he had sex toys and shibari equipment ew” and not “the systemic abuse of women and girls is a banal fact of elite american life”
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
A billboard in Richmond, Kentucky.
December 11, 2025 at 1:56 AM
A billboard in Richmond, Kentucky.
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
December 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
some clients in the UK were relieved when I mentioned we’d be out of the office tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday, all “So THAT’S why so much American food in the shops this week!” A great mystery has been solved, folks
November 27, 2025 at 12:17 AM
some clients in the UK were relieved when I mentioned we’d be out of the office tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday, all “So THAT’S why so much American food in the shops this week!” A great mystery has been solved, folks
the disreality (and migraine) vibes are so strong lately I’m struggling to make coherent thoughts beyond “dang, rice is so good, I’m so glad people figured out we can eat this,” but that’s one I’ll absolutely stand by
November 22, 2025 at 2:39 AM
the disreality (and migraine) vibes are so strong lately I’m struggling to make coherent thoughts beyond “dang, rice is so good, I’m so glad people figured out we can eat this,” but that’s one I’ll absolutely stand by
look, I know everything is political, but I do miss the days when The Discourse was Just Some Random Shit
November 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
look, I know everything is political, but I do miss the days when The Discourse was Just Some Random Shit
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
I'm not a real doctor
But I am a real worm
I am an actual worm
I live like a worm
But I am a real worm
I am an actual worm
I live like a worm
November 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I'm not a real doctor
But I am a real worm
I am an actual worm
I live like a worm
But I am a real worm
I am an actual worm
I live like a worm
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
editors, now more than ever!
November 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
editors, now more than ever!
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
What these sweeps do to people’s lives is absolutely devastating. I found it difficult to absorb in the space of a single read.
Here's a piece on what sweeps do: projects.propublica.org/homeless-enc...
Swept Away: What Cities Really Take When They Sweep Homeless Encampments
People say having their possessions — from birth certificates to loved ones’ ashes — taken in “sweeps” traumatizes them, exacerbates health issues and undermines efforts to find housing and get or kee...
projects.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:41 PM
What these sweeps do to people’s lives is absolutely devastating. I found it difficult to absorb in the space of a single read.
When I worked at summer camp, it was hot, so kids never wore three-piece suits, but my favorite teens were no-contest the "that guy" ones, in whatever form that took during early aughts Kentucky summers. I love this dude & wish him well
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:10 PM
When I worked at summer camp, it was hot, so kids never wore three-piece suits, but my favorite teens were no-contest the "that guy" ones, in whatever form that took during early aughts Kentucky summers. I love this dude & wish him well
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
As many have pointed out, Mamdani didn't stand apart from our trans brothers and sisters. He didn't play the "Gee, gosh, it sure is complicated," milquetoast moderate card. And he crushed.
The way forward is together, not over the bodies of our own.
The way forward is together, not over the bodies of our own.
November 5, 2025 at 2:52 AM
As many have pointed out, Mamdani didn't stand apart from our trans brothers and sisters. He didn't play the "Gee, gosh, it sure is complicated," milquetoast moderate card. And he crushed.
The way forward is together, not over the bodies of our own.
The way forward is together, not over the bodies of our own.
good god did I ever need something good to happen. good job, everybody!
November 5, 2025 at 3:07 AM
good god did I ever need something good to happen. good job, everybody!
I don’t have any tattoos, but did this man not have any friends?? That’s what I can’t stop wondering, among other obvious questions others have posed
October 22, 2025 at 2:37 AM
I don’t have any tattoos, but did this man not have any friends?? That’s what I can’t stop wondering, among other obvious questions others have posed
thirty to fifty
October 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
thirty to fifty
The neighbor who has chickens in their side yard in my city block is doing such a service. It’s the ultimate third-space. One neighbor stopped to warn me not to feed them (I wasn’t! I wouldn’t! I was just fascinated by their molting!), and another stopped to ask me if this was my farm. I wish!
October 19, 2025 at 7:31 PM
The neighbor who has chickens in their side yard in my city block is doing such a service. It’s the ultimate third-space. One neighbor stopped to warn me not to feed them (I wasn’t! I wouldn’t! I was just fascinated by their molting!), and another stopped to ask me if this was my farm. I wish!
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
your analysis of this political moment is going to fail if you keep using reductionist labels like "wine mom". first of all, there are dozens of factions just within that one term, from whiskey women to chardonnay chicas, and understanding their unique informal coalitions can take decades of study
October 19, 2025 at 12:48 AM
your analysis of this political moment is going to fail if you keep using reductionist labels like "wine mom". first of all, there are dozens of factions just within that one term, from whiskey women to chardonnay chicas, and understanding their unique informal coalitions can take decades of study
I saw a frog and a unicorn and listened to so many fired-up New Jerseyans yell into mics that my own accent was so out of whack my Jersey husband told me, “quick, say Pikeville. OK, now you’re back to baseline.” Much respect for the pissed off NY/NJ energy, though, which is clearly contagious.
October 18, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I saw a frog and a unicorn and listened to so many fired-up New Jerseyans yell into mics that my own accent was so out of whack my Jersey husband told me, “quick, say Pikeville. OK, now you’re back to baseline.” Much respect for the pissed off NY/NJ energy, though, which is clearly contagious.
Reposted by Ashley Strosnider
Take note of all these people turning out for protests in small towns in red states.
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
October 18, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Take note of all these people turning out for protests in small towns in red states.
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
Remember them the next time you’re inclined to write an area off because “they voted for this.”
one thing I've been having myself stop and think about a lot lately: if my child self could've known how many Real Live Book Authors she'd consider friends when she grew up, she'd have been SO excited about just that fact alone. Which is to say, we're both proud to know y'all
October 16, 2025 at 2:35 PM
one thing I've been having myself stop and think about a lot lately: if my child self could've known how many Real Live Book Authors she'd consider friends when she grew up, she'd have been SO excited about just that fact alone. Which is to say, we're both proud to know y'all
A random lady we sold my grandmother's sewing machine to in 2022 just (clearly accidentally) texted me a link to a reel about the LEGO factory. I hadn't saved her number. I've long regretted selling the sewing machine (though we had to at the time). Can I...reply and ask if she'll sell it back?
October 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
A random lady we sold my grandmother's sewing machine to in 2022 just (clearly accidentally) texted me a link to a reel about the LEGO factory. I hadn't saved her number. I've long regretted selling the sewing machine (though we had to at the time). Can I...reply and ask if she'll sell it back?
I loved this! Matt's newsletter is my favorite, I love Amber's work, and as a kitchen-sink writer myself who thinks all novels should be as big + weird as we can make them, I super loved this very tactical take on how, exactly, one might wrangle all the tidbits into something legible and lovely
Thank you to Matt for letting me answer my most-asked craft question in his craft newsletter! (If you don’t subscribe to No Failure, Only Practice, you should probably remedy that btw.)
Happy pub day to @ambersparks.bsky.social and her excellent novel HAPPY PEOPLE DON'T LIVE HERE! Thanks to Amber for guest-posting at No Failure, Only Practice with a craft essay on "How to Write a Novel with the Kitchen Sink Thrown In," a fun look at what to do with your many/too-many obsessions.
October 14, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I loved this! Matt's newsletter is my favorite, I love Amber's work, and as a kitchen-sink writer myself who thinks all novels should be as big + weird as we can make them, I super loved this very tactical take on how, exactly, one might wrangle all the tidbits into something legible and lovely
The best argument against ledes or headlines in the form of a question, imho, is that lots of people are going to just say "no," and you've lost them immediately. I think it goes without saying, but no, I absolutely do NOT want to see Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones. Why would I? Why would anyone?
Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies
Want to See Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones? AI Could Make It Soon
Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies
www.scientificamerican.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The best argument against ledes or headlines in the form of a question, imho, is that lots of people are going to just say "no," and you've lost them immediately. I think it goes without saying, but no, I absolutely do NOT want to see Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones. Why would I? Why would anyone?