I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.
yesssss let's gooo!!! huge congrats and what a cool looking medal!
here lies Alex Yuschik, deceased by applying to Too Many Grants
that cover!!!
I can't stress this enough. Being a great writer requires you being an enthusiastic reader. Read in your genre and out of it. (Yeah, even those kinds of books you swear aren't for you occassionally. You might be surprised.) Devour as much as you can.
the only literary race I’m running is trying to get all these damn books outta my head before the icy hand of Death takes me to that big kayaking spot in the sky
All of this. I am the first of my target audience.
Part of this is, if you aren't creating for someone, it's like creating for everyone, which is creating for no one.
And as a writer, that someone should be me since I HAVE to reread my work over and over and over 🫠 that's publishing, bay-bee
dude, that heron is so baller! love how you did the wings
Error: entity released
...horrifying message without context, thank you
I believe the whole point of making art is to be delighted by making it. Or perhaps more precisely to be gratified by making it--some art, for instance, comes from anger, and while anger is not delightful it is important to express, explain, convey, etc. That expression is gratifying.
many happy returns!
Dr Kareem Carr man: i wish to publish @kareem_carr Jan 21 reviewer 2: your paper is no good man: i'll do anything to improve reviewer 2: it's simple. you must read the work of the great scientist Pagliarini man: *bursts into tears* but i am Pagliarini Andre Pagliarini @apagliar Jan 21 a first: in rejecting an article I submitted to a journal, reviewer 2 noted I failed to engage the work of one Andre Pagliarini Jan 21, 2026 • 3:47 PM UTC
I just thought everyone should see this
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
Screenshot from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Fern confronted by Ehre, flying in the sky. Ehre: "You don't use ChatGPT or Gemini to help you conduct a literature review?"
Screenshot from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Close-up of Fern, addressing Ehre. Fern: "I was taught to only use libraries and databases for my literature review"
Screenshot from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Close-up of Ehre, addressing Fern. Ehre: "That is your graduate supervisor's philosophy, then?"
Screenshot from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Close-up of Fern, addressing Ehre. Fern: "Yes. She said that it's enough to defeat academics of this era"
Whenever I find out a colleague is using LLM to do literature searches and to "summarise" papers
instead of lame duck administrative territory i see we are in untitled goose administration territory
well I think that's Enough Internet for today
losing my mind at the "she should have followed directions" people
really? really? you're cool with "if you don't follow directions, they get to kill you"? that seems like a good state of affairs to you? that seems like how law enforcement ought to work: instant obeisance or death?
realizing many of my elite tier korean snacks are just Interesting Things Happening to Almonds
If you're a game dev who's never been to an opera - consider it! You'll be blown away by what they do with sets and set transitions and conveying big stories with very little on stage. And it's probably way cheaper than you think to go. And you absolutely don't have to speak the language of the work
hey remember when a bunch of middle-aged drunk korean lawmakers climbed the locked gates to the national assembly to hold an emergency session after the president gave illegal orders to the military, all of which ended with said president being sentenced to prison
Random fiction writing thought:
“Raising the stakes“ is rarely “increasing the scope of the threat“ and is almost* always “deepening the character’s emotions.”
*Maybe not almost. Maybe just always.
everything builds. make the art, make the art, make the art
The truth is that for many of us, it's not end destination that's the point, it's the dreaming about it. But I'm someone who likes to make dreams tangible. It's why I write books. It's the coolest thing in the world to take something from your head and make it real in other people's heads. Magic!
elated!! best news to close out the year!
D1) again, this is difficult to pull off at longer lengths. But you don't get good at a thing by not doing it.
E) YOU DON'T GET GOOD AT A THING BY NOT DOING IT done is better than perfect. Don't worry so much about "practicing right" just practice. You can adjust as you need as you go on.
gravity sounds like glitchy synths, do not ask me to explain
I don't know how many times it needs to be said that you absolutely should not let fucking "AI" anywhere near your legal contracts, either in creating them or evaluating them, but apparently it needs to be said at least one more time, so allow me to say it again, here, right now
I'm always surprised when I tell stories of rejection as an artist, people often say "well that's never happened to me" or "that would kill me" and so on. Rejection happens! Whether you view art as just a job or a part of your being, you HAVE to learn how to accept your work not being liked
the wolves are having trouble getting along today
two wolves live inside you: the scholar's need to have everything fully researched and well-founded before you begin in earnest and the zealot's overwhelming, immolating desire to actually WRITE what you've been dreaming about
