Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

it’s been a great day at the castro street fair.

you may or not be surprised to learn that my sparkle parasol has been a big hit

Me with Stephen at the Castro Street Fair

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

currently reading a gay novel called “The Spring Before Obergefell” by Ben Grossberg; it has a 50 year old gay man as a main character, and it feels raw and real and true to life. even though it is probably technically a “romance” it doesn’t feel like a romcom or a hallmark movie or a fairy tale […]

Original post on sfba.social

sfba.social

2 3

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 4d

one of my friends was talking about the castro street fair on sunday, and he mentioned that he was going to be picking up some flyers about the Khourys. I was completely silent and stared until he had to explain that they are the owners of the castro coffee shop […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

The Khoury brothers in the Castro Coffee Shop, which is in danger of being evicted by the Castro Theatre

Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in a photo from the 80s

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 4d

@repeattofade why do we need another actress who can’t read when lea michele

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 4d

beautiful gowns

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 7d

I used boxes from recent tech purchases to make a few gadgety props for halloween

Two white boxes, each with decorated colored paint pen designs on black paper, evocative of an old fashioned gadget with readouts and buttons

Two white boxes, each decorated with colored paint pen designs on black paper, evocative of an old fashioned gadget with readouts and buttons; behind them is a small wooden pen case with black paper cutouts

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 9d

this seems pretty brilliant to me

https://people.com/john-waters-to-narrate-screenplay-collection-exclusive-11820335

John Waters to Narrate ‘Audaciously Edgy’ Collection of His Screenplays, Including 'Hairspray' and 'Pink Flamingos' (Exclusive)

John Waters will narrate a series of his celebrated screenplays, compiled in 'The John Waters Screenplay Collection,' due out later this year from Macmillan Audio, PEOPLE can exclusively announce.

people.com

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 10d

stopped by the litquake small press book fair at Yerba Buena today.

I have my students do a check-in, and the last class of the week I always ask for them to share something they are looking forward to on the weekend. I also check in, and I mentioned that I was […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

A sign for Litquake: San Francisco’s Literary Festival is on the Yerba Buena lawn; behind are several white tents of books and booksellers

A booth for Litquake on the Yerba Buena lawn; several booths full of books and booksellers are behind

2

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 10d

last night we went to the 51st annual ducal court coronation; the ducals are an offshoot of the imperial court of San Francisco, established by Jose Sarria in 1966 and one of the oldest continuously existing queer philanthropic organizations in the world […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

Me and Tina and our friend Josefina outside the Chan National Queer Arts Center; we’re dressed up for a coronation

Tina gasping in shock; Miso and Landa are in Dia de los Muertos inspired drag outfits

the newly elected Grand Dux Menorah and Grand Duchess Josefina kneel on stage; behind them four former monarchs are preparing for the coronation ceremony

me holding the Canadian flag on stage; around me are other court members holding the flags of the US and Mexico, plus a variety of queer flags — bear, leather, rainbow, trans

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 11d

@repeattofade cut to bilbo saying fuck my drag right

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 11d

[project runway finale]

veejay vs the twins was one of the best season long drama storylines I’ve seen in ages, and I was here for every single second of it

there’s a line of plane jane to amanda tori meeting that we quote all the time — “sisterrr how does it feel to know the judges are […]

Original post on sfba.social

sfba.social

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 12d

I went to read my novel — In a Lonely Place, Dorothy B Hughes, highly recommend — and half of the cover showed up as a semitransparent overlay. (The curvy fingerprint lines are part of the cover.)

An ereader with the book cover for the Library of America collection Women Crime Writers: Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s edited by Sarah Weinman imposed over the text of one page of one of the novels

1 1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 13d

from lithub, how to be a good literary citizen in seven easy steps

I do some of these, but a few I don’t do enough.

https://lithub.com/how-to-be-a-good-literary-citizen-in-seven-easy-steps/

How to Be a Good Literary Citizen (in Seven Easy Steps)

Last Sunday I spent hours at the Brooklyn Book Festival, a too rare occasion for me to pull myself away from the internet for an entire afternoon. As I looked around at the crowd on their way to panels or checking out indie press booths, I was reminded that, even if it doesn’t always seem […]

lithub.com

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 13d

been thinking a lot about solidarity, and showing up for community, and being a good citizen, and how to be a good friend, and keeping going when everything is on fire. maybe also thinking about run-on sentences too, why not.

I’ve been struggling with what to use this space for. sometimes I […]

Original post on sfba.social

sfba.social

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 16d

That tremor was sudden and sharp enough to wake me up at 3 am. I tried to go back to sleep but here I am. Definitely one of the most noticeable tremors I’ve felt in ages. This old building has weathered plenty of quakes in its time, thankfully.

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 18d

Weather is great today, which is a good reason for me to get a haircut and then head over to the Castro. The org that I’m often involved with is having elections there for the next Grand Duchess and Grand Dux, so I want to go vote. Maybe lunch too?

A selfie of me with a fresh haircut; behind me is a brightly painted street utility box

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 20d

@germ I don’t know what to do with it anymore

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 21d

this song and video is so stupid in the best way. he really said “time to make a new scissors sisters song since they aren’t doing it”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=VMzyoo8uQGkflxGh&v=1mr_d_Avfsw&feature=youtu.be

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 25d

I think I need to listen to Elton John’s Radio Hour more often. I just looked over the guest list for the last couple of years, and there are so many artists that I’m just discovering lately that he interviewed ages ago.

anyway, I’m obsessed with all of the new songs by Cat Burns

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 25d

remembering back in 2013, when I waited in line at the Apple Store (the old one on Stockton) to get my pre-ordered iPhone 5s. it was the first time they made them in gold, which I ordered. those ran out quickly, so lots of people had to settle for silver or space […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

Three photos — a felt phone case with tiny sewn colored patches to look like the homescreen of a phone; an old iPhone with it’s homescreen set up to look like the same homescreen; and the back of the phone case and the back of the phone next to each other

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 28d

I have never seen a bad makeover episode of Drag Race Philippines; it’s a challenge that is a highlight of every franchise I’ve watched. The makeover episode of Slaysian Royale was sheer perfection.

1

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 28d

Instagram finally made an iPad app, which I’ve been waiting for, but they made one terrible change that is making it unusable for me. I know that’s a good thing, but I’ve shaped IG into something that I want to use, and now I can’t.

(The iPhone defaults when you open to a row of stories from […]

Original post on sfba.social

sfba.social

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 28d

not over it apparently

#handwrittenmastodon

A white card with a phrase written in purple; a purple pen is resting over the card. The text reads:

Still mad about the unsatisfying Raphael Saadiq concert.

Maybe someone put a curse on him.

Or on the audience.

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · Sep 9

Also, I kind of love this Grant Snider cartoon about book clubs

http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2025/09/scenes-from-book-club.html

Scenes from a Book Club

www.incidentalcomics.com

Bill (PlinyTheOlder) @plinytheolder.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · Sep 5

things I have recently learned:

I wasn’t very familiar with Roger Casement, a figure of Irish history who was a part of the Easter Uprising in the 1910s, smeared by the British government for being gay, and ultimately executed for both.

Turns out there’s a […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

A crowd at a bar patio; a large Irish flag is hanging ont he right. The crowd is facing one corner, where there are several murals of Irish performers and icons, including Roger Casement

A crowd in a bar patio facing a man speaking on the mic; behind him is a larger mural of Roger Casement as an icon; on the left is another large mural of Sinead O’Connor as an icon, and on the right is a large mural of Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries — all three murals are by the same artist

2 4