#its-a-working-title
LightNews LightNews
wario64.bsky.social
Death Stranding Isolations [Working Title] animated series streaming exclusively on Disney+ in 2027 www.kojimaproductions.jp/deathstrandi...

Executive Producer: Hideo Kojima
Director: Takayuki Sano
Original Character Design: Ilya Kuvshinov
Animation Production: E&H production
STORY SYNOPSIS Once, there was an explosion... Lonesome souls of the dead manifest in the physical world, reaching in search of the living. However, the connection they create triggers a massive explosion that eradicates anything of this world—a phenomenon referred to as the Death Stranding. These events wipe out nations as well as civilization itself. People who remain are now isolated, withdrawn, and without connections. As humanity stands at the brink a legendary porter set out to transport both cargo and wishes of its senders, reconnecting people in the hope that they might still be saved. Based on the video game born out of the mind of legendary game creator, Hideo Kojima, comes a new animation series headed by Japan’s up-and-coming animation studio E&H production. Helmed by E&H’s Takayuki Sano, it follows in the footsteps of the original in spirit and ideas and depict the world of Death Stranding through a bold and yet subtle touch and top-class hand-drawn animation. Somewhere in North America, just as Sam Bridges walks through the continent in order to save America, the someones are also trying to deal with their isolation in their own way. An old man trying to realize salvation through ways outside of the connection advocated by Bridges. A female warrior who tries to kickstart a world of constant fighting. A boy with a grudge against Bridges. A girl who embraces loneliness. On the precipice of the end of humanity and the world, their fates and hopes converge, as another story of Death Stranding begins. And now, comes another explosion...
November 13, 2025 at 5:18 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 16/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 33 instances of 'run'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
"Am I right in thinking Lord Selton would be willing to vouch that your liquidity would run to a hundred and sixty?" It seemed like a considered slight, implying that her word alone was not good enough, but she had more than thirty years practice in deflecting the indignities the Five Principalities inflicted on the female moiety of its populace. "I have no doubt that he would. And speaking of his Lordship, I’m sure he would prefer to continue using your ship and your crew for future voyages. So let’s end this dance and settle on a hundred and fifty." He sighed theatrically, as if he were being fleeced, but held out his hand. Then he hesitated. "Perhaps, as a lady, you would prefer to seal the deal in another way?" "Why, Master Felgin, do you think I might catch something merely by shaking your hand?" She said it lightly, to make it a joke, though really she wasn’t sure quite how clean his hands were.
November 16, 2025 at 8:41 AM
profhilaryallen.bsky.social
I looked at the likely impacts of this psychotic break on our financial system (the working title was "End Times Finance")

www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/u...
True adherents of this movement have no interest in making nation-states work better, and they would surely see the chaos following a financial crisis as an opportunity to advance their vision. For example, the online community Praxis (with backers including Silicon Valley heavyweights Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, and Sam Altman) states on its website, “as local communities dissolve and Nation States stumble … we’ll watch the flippening of Digital Nations over Nation States in real time.” There is also an eschatological dimension to many Silicon Valley elites’ worldview. As the philosopher Émile Torres points out, Silicon Valley types increasingly subscribe to the belief that true AI will end the world as we know it. In this context, a global financial crisis would seem like a non-event. If you are convinced that our current way of life is ending, it makes sense that you would fixate instead on ensuring that our cyborg descendants can prosper in other galaxies.
November 14, 2025 at 10:07 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 12/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has five instances of 'shirt.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
There was nothing else to delay them on the way up the strath. One step into the entrance of the Defile, a moment in its chill exhalation, and they unanimously agreed, though it was still early, to take lunch a short way back, in the sun. They found the pool significantly lower than before, barely reaching mid-thigh on the taller ones, so they dared to retain their shirts and carry their rucksacks normally. Only Peri was at real risk of soaking her load, and when Tor looked back after following Aliénor through, she found Zenzeya and Alessu bearing it between them, while Peri was ahead, not wading but swimming. It made for a faster passage, but she paid for it when the water got too shallow and bare feet met the rough stones.
November 12, 2025 at 9:15 AM
gravewriter71.bsky.social
Would love to get more fans for horror comedy WENDIGOGO as I'm working on the sequel! If Cabin in the Woods is a fave comedy of yours, you dig social justice & gory fun, check it out: books2read.com/u/mv5BzX & graythornpub.com
#HorrorWritersChat
Cover of WENDIGOGO by KA Silva, illustration by Sally Jackson. Morty, an average white guy with brown hair wearing a sweatshirt & jeans, looks warily over his shoulder at the monster looming behind him. It has the skull of an elk with huge sharp antlers, glowing red eyesockets, & fangs dripping ichor. Its ribs show through patches in its ragged pelt. Its long arms end in wicked claws. A blizzard swirls in the night behind them. The E in the title is formed by a red claw-slash.
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 PM
elizmcmahill.bsky.social
I've just been poking around and it's interesting what game companies choose to include in their press kits.

The CD for MDK is notably dense and extremely well put together. It would be a little overwhelming but undeniably useful. The text files ("diaries" and image descriptions) are fascinating.
from one of the "diaries" by David Perry https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/a4941eb7-7d02-48d3-b656-b72f28aa2df4 From that day forward, the stress of making a video game, making it cool, making it on time and having to constantly explain to your chick that they matter more to you than video games is REALLY damn hard. So I would like to publicly apologize to the spouses of my team members to say SORRY on behalf of all the future MDK players. But the game must go on. Editor, please put in a picture of a bunch of flowers here while I get back to talking about ripping heads off alien scum. MDK takes gaming so much farther than you have EVER experienced before. Remember all that hype about the morgue eyes on the Resident Evil box?. Forget that nonsense, I ordered a whole bunch of "DEATH" tapes from the dark corners of the Internet, just to do research for MDK. These 'DEATH' tapes show people dying in every possible way (including being blown up) and then show you what they look like afterwards. Video nasty central, truly gruesome stuff. That's the wonderful power of the Internet kids. So for all those wimps that were planning to write distressed letters and complain about MDK. Don't bother wasting the trees, just Piss Off. This game is for adults, and we could care less if you object. Now, for the gamers that think that we have concentrated too much on violence and death, rest assured. We are having a lot of fun making this game, it is rich in gameplay. There are also a lot of gag's. Basically the magic happens whenever you play a serious game and then see something funny, it is like a sucker punch. It is so much more from one of the "diaries" - interviews with the programmers. Here it's Martin Brownlow. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/9a0a1fbe-000f-408c-8a2b-86b809eccf87 You're currently working on improving the frame rate in MDK. How do you go about that? The first task is to isolate exactly where the program is spending all of its time. Usually you would use a program called a profiler for this. After running the profiler, you basically get a list of how much time the program is spending in each part of the program. I would then go away and look at each of the sections of the program that it spends a significant amount of time in (there's no point in improving a section of code that the game only spends 1% of its time in, since even cutting execution time down to 0 will only get you 1% of the game's time back). The first thing to look at is whether or not the program section is written in the right way (there's more than one way to skin a cat and some will take significantly longer than others). Then you see if you are recalculating things that are constant (for instance if you are combing your hair, do you put the comb down after each stroke, look for it, pick it up and do another stroke? Or do you realize that the comb is still in your hand?). Finally, you go down to the machine code level and rearrange instructions to make the best use of Pentium processor instruction pipelining. from the first "diary" entry. A sort of introduction to the project written by professional freelance writer Tommy. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/bf6da5cf-98a4-41e7-b61b-eb089793aabe To start the project Shiny had to create a design video, this was made using an art package on the PC called 3D Studio. It clearly showed the way the game would look. (For fun, the guys put a really horrible looking platform game on the video first, just to see the reaction on the unsuspecting publishers face!). Making a video killed four birds with one stone.. (1) It saved typing a 200 page description of what the game would look like. (2) It made fun of the publisher (which is always fun). (3) It saved trees. (4) The graphics where finally just used in the game which gave a great push-start to the project. Exceprt from a text file describing photos in the directory. https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/0b8335a1-6947-493b-8b8f-5b68869e339d?sortField=title&sortDir=asc&showUncatalogedFiles=true FILE: gumball.jpg This is the Shiny gumball machine, lots of MDK is designed whilst munching on these yummy gumballs. This is were the guys would come when they forgot to eat dinner.
November 10, 2025 at 11:10 PM
freshwaterscience.bsky.social
The Society for Freshwater Science's non-profit society journal Freshwater Science is committed to supporting first-time authors in the publication process.

Check out these tips from our Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Anderson on publishing research.

What are your best publishing tips?
Title: Beginner's Guide to Publishing Research. Society for Freshwater Science emerging mayfly logo. 1) Read widely in different journals: Active reading will make you a better writer. Develop a structured reading practice. Reflect on options for structuring papers and elements that make a paper easy or difficult to understand. 2) Figure out your 'story': Draft your main messages and clearly identify your target audience. 3) Identify a list of target journals (3-5): Not all journals are the same. There are scientific society journals, non-profit and for-profit journals, more and less discipline-specific journals. Where have you seen similar research published? 4) Assemble your skeleton: Focus your initial writing on the most important paragraphs 1) the last paragraph of the introduction and 2) the first paragraph of the discussion. Create parallel structure for your manuscript. 5) Pay attention to journal's guidelines: Mind maximum word counts, figure and table numbers, etc. 6) Plan your time well: the publishing process can be a long and slow road, often > 1 year. 7) Develop your process for working with co-authors: learn to manage in multiple directions (up, down, horizontally) 8) Avoid taking reviewer's comments personally: respond systematically (consider formatting responses in a table) and thoroughly; consider declining irrelvant comments. 9) Consider writing and publishing as a social activity: Talk about your ideas, share drafts, participate in community writing blocks; find your most effective writing spaces and times. 10) Recognize that writing is iterative and requires practice: try to write daily. Even seasoned writers get better over time. The Society for Freshwater Science and its journal Freshwater Science are committed to supporting first time authors. For more information about the society or its journal, visit our website https://freshwater-science.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:49 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has just one instance of 'penultimate’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
"For which you deserve credit. But at Kendrigg you swore a Pledge, did you not?" "I did, Senior Tutor." "And I’m sure you recall the penultimate line…?" "I shall conduct myself at all times in accordance with the rules and practices of the Guild." "You see the contradiction, I’m sure. No Dawnsinger wears any form of jewellery. There is a measure of flexibility in the matter of clothing—its cut if not its colour—but other adornment, if I can call it that, is limited to trim at collar and cuffs—gold for Masters, and so on. Tell me, do you have any suggestions as to how we might resolve this?"
November 6, 2025 at 8:08 AM
coolg1319.bsky.social
Thanks for the art share! ✨Here's my recent OC art! Info about them are in alt text.
Crescent Moon was a human raised in a commune of the Silkweavers of the Night, a group dedicated to worshipping Polmas, Goddess of the Night and Moon. She was taught their ways and developed a deep faith in Polmas, which earned her a god-gift. When she was twelve, Crescent Moon witnessed the murder of Nilu, a woman she loved and saw as a sister. She tried to fight the killer off and even injured her, but got her chest slashed with a knife and eventually passed out from blood loss. Scarred by the event,—figuratively and literally—the girl drew into herself and sought solace in the darkness festering within, leading to a pattern of isolation. Six years later, after becoming of age, Moon left the commune she called home and embarked on a mission to find Nilu's murderer and make her pay for what she did. All Moon had was a pendant she had snagged off the killer all those years ago, and sought to find its origin, hoping it would lead her to her goal. At the beginning of her story, Until the Darkness Swallows Her Up, Crescent Moon gets attacked by a mysterious individual but fends him off and knocks him out. She notices that he has the same pendant she got from her sister's killer and takes him with her because he would know where to find the killer. Khathi is a seductive Agirisuqtoln (succubus of fire), a type of demon characterized by lust, who is greatly desired by those around her because of her alluring appearance. This, coupled with her sexual maturity, has earned her the title of Acosa (Queen), the second-highest a Suqtoln could receive. The rank earns her lavish privileges like a personal palace complete with maids and guards as well as the ability to travel to other Edesuqtolnach. Andrea Brianna Botha, affectionately known as "Andie" by her friends and "Drea" by her family, is a 19-year-old college freshman at Central Metropoli University, where she is diligently working toward a Bachelor's degree in Ethical Hacking and Software Engineering. Known for her self-assuredness, sharp wit, and razor-sharp sarcasm, Andrea stands out in any crowd. In her leisure time, she revels in the immersive world of video games, spends time with friends and family, and glides effortlessly through the city on her hoverboard. Hroan is a raven-folk and member of the Cult o' Nînturicu Aeopri,—one worshipping Nâdîntu - Goddess of Darkness & Control—which he was born into. Because of his heritage and god-gift, Hroan can communicate with ravens as well as use them as his "eyes", which gained him a lot of favour from the leader because ravens are a sacred animal of Nâdîntu's. This favour led to Hroan being chosen as one of those tasked with retrieving "a girl with hair as black as night, eyes as brown as the earth and bears the mark of Polmas," who their oracle repeatedly saw for seemingly no explanation. During the first part of Until the Darkness Swallows Her Up, he has an encounter with Moon that results in him getting bested. When he comes to, Hroan sees that he has been captured by the girl, who asks him to lead to where her sister's killer is located.
November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips
No more ‘spooky week’, which may make it easier for me.
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has four instances of 'nice’, which doesn’t feel like too many
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Fièdra held Tor's arm as they walked down to the lake, but nothing much was said until they had settled on a bench near the Western end. Across the water, a swan sitting on the humped mass of its nest gave them a look of lofty suspicion. "You heard from your parents…?" said Tor tentatively. "Yes. My sister's set a date for the wedding… in Fructander." "Ah… Well, I suppose that's a nicer reason for missing the trip than some." Fièdra shrugged. "We're not even close. She's six years older than me, and of course I've been here, term and summer-schools, for seven years now. But she wants me as a bridesmaid—or Mamma does, I don't know which."
November 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
massago.bsky.social
The Trump Administration's shutdown isn’t a game – it’s affecting the livelihoods of real people here in Massachusetts. People deserve better from their government.
A navy graphic with an image of a food pantry at the bottom, with title text that says "4 weeks into the government shutdown, here's how it's affecting Massachusetts" beneath the following bullets read, "- 1.1 million residents at risk of losing SNAP benefits by this weekend - UMass Memorial Health had to pause its Hospital at Home program which allows patients to receive adequate care at home - Over 25,000 federal employees in MA have either been furloughed or are working without pay - Hundreds of expected flight delays will occur at Logan International Airport during the busiest season - Historic sites, national parks and museums across the Commonwealth have been forced to close"
October 30, 2025 at 10:12 PM
direlog.bsky.social
finally got around to writing up my thoughts about the stunning new 4K restoration of StabStabber 2
utterly mindblowing. far and away the best film i've seen this year. shares nothing with its predecessor except a title, and somehow manages to be better than anyone could reasonably expect. i had to check several times that i was watching the correct film, because the original StabStabber was a ripoff of Chopping Mall, whereas this is like someone said "what if Meshes of the Afternoon were a giallo?" from the opening scenes where Nada is navigating the labyrinthine ruin of her father's apartment building, there's a real effort to make the Prague scenes surreal and fantastic, in contrast to the more-grounded fantasy world; the scene where she passes through the portal in her father's living room, and into the other world for the first time, and everything snaps into this grainy black and white is just breathtaking. the "baby's first Jeanne Dielman" scenes of her working as a scullery-maid made me roll my eyes at first, but the first time i clocked the woman in the background i nearly jumped out of my fucking skin and had to go back and watch the whole thing again. the tracking shot where she's serving food, weaving around the tables, and the woman is coming closer and closer is genuinely one of the most terrifying things i've ever seen. and then of course the woman - she's credited as Serpent Queen, but i don't think anyone says her name out loud - directs her to kill, but it's more like they're dancing the cutting back and forth between Prague and the fantasy world is a little confusing at first, but you get into the rhythm of things eventually - so when they start to bleed into one another you don't feel the need to ask which is 'real', or whether any of this is in Nada's head. the (infamous) bloodfucking scene is one of the most erotic things i've ever seen in mainstream cinema - the way she's this sliver of virginal white flesh shrinking into the corner of that crimson room, just watching this beautiful, evil woman crawl out of bloodsoaked sheets (that fucking shot of her HAND jesus christ), the way she gradually gets painted red, until the two of them have almost disappeared into the colour, the way the bed seems to swallow them up afterwards. i think in any other film it would be a heavy-handed visual metaphor, but here it just works the film makes up for the fact that there are basically no murders for the first hour or so by staging a series of increasingly elaborate and ritualistic set-pieces, each of which takes place in this muddled reality where elements of both worlds are juxtaposed in ways that keep you guessing about which 'direction' things are flowing in - did Nada 'summon' the queen, is the queen 'corrupting' Nada, is the queen an extension of Nada, etc. even the final shot, this slow zoom on Nada's face - empty, ecstatic, resting her head on the queen's thigh - doesn't give you any answers.
November 1, 2025 at 7:33 PM
genejean.bsky.social
Highlighting the fantastic work of Joe Saunders and his strong case for using title deeds for *everything*! If you’re working on a village history (like me, in the parish of #Rillington and its chapelry of Scampston), you’ll find this especially relevant. #OnePlaceWednesday
October 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
totalwar.bsky.social
Meet Ivan Kanev (but you can call him Jovanie 😉), the Development Director on Total War titles. In today’s Dev Roll Call he shares some interesting insights into creating A Total War Saga: TROY 👇
Image for 'Developer Roll Call' featuring Ivan Kanev, Development Director. The design includes two Total War: TROY characters, Memnon and Achilles, with gold-trimmed frames on a dark backdrop, and a gold anniversary logo in the top right corner. Image has a black background with white text and a gold anniversary logo in the top right corner. The text introduces Ivan Kanev, also known as Jovanie, who is the Development Director at CA Sofia. It highlights his previous role as Lead Development Manager for Troy, overseeing the game’s production from inception through release and post-launch. Image has a black background with white text and a gold anniversary logo in the top right corner. The white text highlights a proud achievement from Ivan, noting its release during the first year of the COVID pandemic while the team worked remotely. It also mentions that it was CA Sofia’s first standalone game and the first Total War title released on the Epic Games Store. A major milestone was reached when 7.7 million people claimed the game for free within 24 hours, temporarily crashing Epic’s servers. Image has a black background with white text and a gold anniversary logo in the top right corner. The image features two questions about Ivan Kanev's experience working on Total War: TROY. The first explains the team’s motivation to create a game based on Ancient Greece, inspired by their passion for the Iliad and Epic Cycle, despite the challenges of depicting the Bronze Age. The second reveals hidden easter eggs in the game, including a Futurama quote and a reference to an Iron Maiden song.
October 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
ampallanguk.bsky.social
Its not even a cultural difference (at least not with white working class/middle class English people, in England) because we call loads of people "auntie" and some of them don't even have a genetic relationship; just a female friend of ya parents is enough to earn the title.
October 28, 2025 at 9:59 PM
fullslack.bsky.social
Ryan Grim seems to be going extra hard in Platner’s defense. real “don’t insult my child, he’s a good boy!” energy. he even said Platner was “his bartender” at the Tune Inn in DC? did he have a hand in jumpstarting his campaign or something?? he’s posted about the Tune Inn going back to 2011
Ryan Grim @ryangrim X.com Few things on this: Maine (and some other New England states like Vermont) treat private school differently. In many towns you can go to private school free, paid for by the town, because the towns are too small to have public high schools. But yeah, it appears Platner was at least middle class, maybe upper middle class with a lawyer dad and architect grandad. Yet since high school his work experience is the military, bartending (he was actually my bartender at the Tune Inn), and oystering. To dismiss the latter because he "owns an oyster farming business" misses the fact that he is out on the water every day working it. When he launched his campaign, friends in Maine reached out and said holy shit the guy we buy oysters from is running for Senate. He kept oystering through this summer, they told me. They've been buying from him for years. This is not a hobby, it's his work. At minimum, if you don't want to grant him the At minimum, if you don't want to grant him the "working class" title, he has been working with working class people since graduating high school, which basically nobody in the Senate can say. (He never graduated college.) Either way, this hunt for hardscrabble factory workers to lead the revolution isn't real life anyway. Lenin's dad was a high-ranking education official. Fidel's dad was a wealthy businessman who sent his ornery son away to school. Engels was rich af. What made Stalin so unusual was that he was actually working class. Anyway. Keith Edwards @keithedwards • 11h I also think it's worrying that Platner calls himself working class, when his grandfather was a successful architect, his dad is a lawyer, he went to private school, and he isn't an "oyster farmer," he owns an oyster farming business.... Show more from:ryangrim tune inn Latest Ryan Grim @ryangrim • 5/17/13 I have investigated the Tune Inn controversy and sources say its bunk. Guy didn't hit her. Ryan Grim @ryangrim • 8/23/11 did @BryanWeaverDC mistake the Tune Inn for a collapsed building? Wouldn't be the first time. Ryan Grim & @ryangrim • 8/23/11 somebody please go check Tune Inn and report back its status Ryan Grim @ryangrim • 6/22/11 Replying to @MikeRiggs Why can't we have nice things? RT @MikeRiggs @mhoek Tune Inn is burnt out. Many many firetrucks on the scene cc @HuffPostHill Ryan Grim @ryangrim • 3/21/10 and now for the Tune Inn
October 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
ophastings.bsky.social
New working paper on family structure & parental investment in extracurriculars. Economic resources explain much of the spending gap between married & cohabiting families. What remains isn't explained by biological relatedness or relationship duration. Feedback welcome!
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Title: Explaining the Extracurricular Investment Gap for School-age Children between Married and Cohabiting Families. Abstract: Existing research finds that differences in economic resources explain a much larger share of the spending gap between married and single parents than between married and cohabiting parents. This study focuses on extracurricular spending and considers three non-economic explanations for why children in cohabiting families receive less than those in married households: the greater prevalence of non-biological parents in cohabiting households, the relatively shorter duration of cohabiting relationships, and potentially lower levels of relational commitment. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its 2014 and 2019 Child Development Supplement, I first reproduce established differences in parental spending by family structure. Accounting for biological parent status and relationship duration does little to further reduce the gap between married and cohabiting parents. These findings suggest that unmeasured aspects of commitment may shape family-structure differences in extracurricular investments, but they also highlight the need for continued research given the growing complexity of U.S. family living arrangements and the importance of parental financial investments for children’s development and long-term outcomes.
October 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has six instances of ‘charge’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Aliénor was silent a moment. Two Dawnsingers appeared, evidently Novices; younger than themselves, probably fourth- or fifth-year. Apparently not even seeing the two drably-attired Sojourners on the shady bench, they passed down the side of the pool, and were briefly mirrored in its still water before beginning to descend more steps beyond. Their reflections shortened until, for a moment, only two bald heads were seen. "Look at them," said Aliénor, in a tone Tor couldn’t quite fathom. "Don’t you think Dawnsingers are beautiful?" Torvyn had a sudden sense of things becoming clear. "You want to be a Dawnsinger." Aliénor gave her a long look but made no effort to deny the charge. Finally, shifting on the hard seat, she said, "Don’t you?"
October 22, 2025 at 6:07 AM
maetang.myatproto.social
#WIPSnips - second

Speaking of world building earlier, the origin of a place name, and the working title of my WIP, "Westmarch".

#WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity
A screenshot of text reads: “It used to be ‘Westmarsh’,” Hal told him, making his face and voice open. “But then the land was reclaimed, and the marsh reduced. And other ancestors did as my father did, and sent their second sons to the military. They retained the favour of the Crown that way, which might otherwise have had its nose put out of joint by the rising of those Lords up the ranks.” Hal did win a wry smile from Jon at this mention of politics. “And the name shifted and changed accordingly. So now we’re Westmarch.” “Now *you’re* Westmarch,” Jon said then. And Hal started slightly, remembering himself and his new role again.
October 22, 2025 at 1:39 AM
jonathanbogart.net
#TheTwen2ie5 Day 17

33. Chelsea Dinorath, “Fall”
(Angola, Dec 8 2023)
prod. Xixi Beats

youtu.be/7p8R-2T4pUc
Music video title card. A shot from above of a concrete patio, painted blue on the left but untreated and cracked on the right, with stone trim. Chairs and tables are set up on the extreme right, and a collection of dancers in black, with Chelsea Dinorath in the center in purple, are in the center of the frame looking up at the camera. Over top, in a pale transparent yellow, are the words: BANGER BOYZ APRESENTA Chelsea Dinorath Fall 33. Chelsea Dinorath, “Fall” (Angola, Dec 8 2023) prod. Xixi Beats Most of us, I think, probably have our special favorite second- or third-tier pop artists, ones who aren’t setting any charts ablaze but who consistently put out rewarding music even if no one else particularly notices it. Sometimes I feel like that’s all I have, indeed that most of my list is composed of those artists. But Chelsea Dinorath in particular is one of the most prominent, in part because I’ve been following her career from its inception in 2019, when she was 18 and sang my favorite kizomba of the year, possibly of the decade, “Retrato Perfeito,” sung in a combination of Angolan Portuguese and boarding-school English. A lot of the attraction of that song was in the pulsing, creative soundscape devised by producer Xixi Beats, who Chelsea has been working closely with ever since. Four years later, he produced this spacy, slow-burn amapiano as a showcase for her now much stronger, more soulful delivery. Primarily in English with bits in Nigerian Pidgin and Portuguese, it’s a quietly gorgeous portrait of the emptiness and dislocation that follow on the heels of a painful breakup; Chelsea’s voice, floating over the throbbing beat, is among the most beautiful in Angolan music, and I’m always excited to see what she’s doing next. YouTube: 807K views | Spotify: 476K streams | TikTok: 660 vids
October 18, 2025 at 2:03 AM
interrato.dev
One month ago, I earned my master's degree in cybersecurity. Working on my thesis was deeply rewarding, and I received a final grade that exceeded any expectations I had when I began this journey two years ago.

Thank you to all the great people who make cryptography open and welcoming to anyone.
A photo of me standing on a sunlit brick walkway, wearing a black suit and white shirt, smiling, and topped with a laurel graduation wreath. I am holding a bouquet (blue hydrangeas and red roses) and a red diploma folder. In the background are grass, trees, a streetlight, and parked cars. Hand holding a dark red hardbound master's thesis against a plain white wall, with gold-embossed logos and text on its cover. At the top, the cover shows Università degli Studi di Padova and Dipartimento di Matematica logos. In the middle, the title reads "Fuzzy Searchable Symmetric Encryption: Design and Implementation of a Novel Scheme Toward Real-World Applications." Below the title is written "Master Candidate: Simone Ragusa", "Supervisor: Prof. Nicola Laurenti", and "Academic Year 2024/2025".
October 17, 2025 at 11:07 AM
gravewriter71.bsky.social
Working on the sequel to horror comedy WENDIGOGO. When an ancient Northwoods curse turns nerdy bookseller Morty's tastes to long pork, he finds bigots are the other white meat! Bloody, snarky, & oh so tasty reading: books2read.com/u/mv5BzX or graythornpub.com #HorrorWritersChat
Image: cover for WENDIGOGO by KA Silva, illustration by Sally Jackson. Morty, an average white guy with brown hair, wearing a blue sweater and jeans, looks warily over his shoulder at the monster looming behind him. It has the skull of an elk with huge sharp antlers, glowing red eyesockets, and fangs dripping ichor. Its long arms end in wicked claws, and its ribs show through ragged holes in its pelt. A blizzard swirls in the night behind them. The E in the title is formed by a red slash of claws.
October 15, 2025 at 7:43 PM
ec.europa.eu
The unemployment rate in Europe remains near its record low.

According to our latest report, the EU labour market continues to show resilience, with progress in job quality and adequate wages.

Read more ↓
link.europa.eu/nvfGcd
A bar chart showing EU unemployment rates over time. The title is "EU LABOUR MARKET REMAINS RESILIENT." The bars show 6.1% for 2023, 5.9% for 2024, and 5.9% for August 2025. A text box over the bars says "Unemployment still near record low." On the right, a woman is seen handing a resume or document to someone off-camera. The bottom banner reads "Labour Market and Wage Developments in Europe 2025 – Key findings" with the EU Commission logo. An infographic with an upward-pointing orange arrow on a green background. On the right, an inset image shows two people, possibly pharmacists or lab workers, in white coats working in a clean, modern setting with products on shelves and a laptop visible. Text next to the arrow reads "+33% High-paying productivity jobs over the last decade." The bottom banner reads "Labour Market and Wage Developments in Europe 2025 – Key findings." An infographic showing four dark-green, silhouette figures and one orange silhouette figure, illustrating the fraction 1/5. Text next to the figures says "1/5 workers remains in low-paying jobs with limited productivity growth." On the right, a woman in a black apron and striped shirt is stocking shelves in a store. The bottom banner reads "Labour Market and Wage Developments in Europe 2025 – Key findings." An infographic showing an orange arrow pointing up, overlaying a circle of Euro banknotes and coins, including a 50-Euro note and 1-Euro coins. Text above the image states "In 2024, wages rose by" with "2.7%" in a large white box. Text below the image says "They are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in most EU countries by the end of 2025." The bottom banner reads "Labour Market and Wage Developments in Europe 2025 – Key findings."
October 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
bumblingbard42.bsky.social
@maddow.msnbc.com
A digital poster with a dark starry sky background defines the word **HAIZAIRID**. The title “HAIZAIRID” appears at the top in large red capital letters, with the pronunciation “(HAY-zay-rid)” in light blue italics underneath. Below, in bold white text, it says “noun / adjective.” The definitions are written in white sans-serif font: “1. Something that’s worth more when it’s taken apart than when it’s kept whole. 2. A person, system, or idea that’s stopped working and only helps when it’s broken down and its useful parts are shared.” At the bottom, an example sentence reads: “Example: Many Americans now see the political organization around Donald Trump as haizairid—it uses up more energy staying together than its pieces could give back if they were separated and put to better use.”
October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
bumblingbard42.bsky.social
A digital poster with a dark starry sky background defines the word **HAIZAIRID**. The title “HAIZAIRID” appears at the top in large red capital letters, with the pronunciation “(HAY-zay-rid)” in light blue italics underneath. Below, in bold white text, it says “noun / adjective.” The definitions are written in white sans-serif font: “1. Something that’s worth more when it’s taken apart than when it’s kept whole. 2. A person, system, or idea that’s stopped working and only helps when it’s broken down and its useful parts are shared.” At the bottom, an example sentence reads: “Example: Many Americans now see the political organization around Donald Trump as haizairid—it uses up more energy staying together than its pieces could give back if they were separated and put to better use.”
October 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM