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Arne Knudson

Arne Knudson

@aknudson.bsky.social

16 followers 18 following 29 posts

Dad, husband, mentor, friend. Now a writer. Yes, I took these pictures, with my telescope, from my back porch! The Tale of Twoshirts is a planned 5-book series, currently querying agents. See more writing & astrophotography at arneknudson.com!

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Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 15h

Boggle, as drawn by my eldest kid (they/them). A surly-looking hunched-back goldfish, about eight inches tall, with stumpy arms and legs, tiny angel wings, and a backpack. He rarely expresses an emotion other than dour piscine confusion.

#TheTaleofTwoshirts #hopepit #hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F

"Describing him was difficult; the best Twoshirts could manage was if you took a surly-looking hunched-back goldfish, about eight or so inches tall, gave it stumpy arms and legs plus a pair of tiny angel wings, you might get close to describing Boggle completely insufficiently. Boggle didn’t like to talk or make noises, and given his fish-shaped face, he rarely expressed an emotion other than dour piscine confusion."

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 1d

Books that inspired me over the years:
Any of the Wee Free Men books by Pratchett
How to Train Your Dragon by Cowell
The Princess Bride by Goldman
The MUTTS comics by McDonnell
#hopepit #hopepunk #TheTaleofTwoshirts

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

#TheTaleofTwoshirts
Twoshirts (goblin boy)
Boggle (genie, invisible dour goldfish)
Buds: Puffer, Any, Angie, Zig, & Zug
Bads: Münch & the woman in black
Prob: They got Boggle
Fix: Your magic, my plans, and a one-armed guard? This is gonna be awesome.
Humorous cozy fantasy
#Questpit #Q #YA #NA #F

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

The Tale of Twoshirts is a humorous cozy fantasy about a goblin boy who befriended a genie and wished he could grant wishes. Shenanigans ensue when a new friend makes an accidental wish, and mysterious woman in black captures the genie.
#Questpit #Q #YA #NA #F #TheTaleofTwoshirts

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

[4/4] What brings me hope are my wife & kids, writing, and people making a difference. It’s not easy to have hope in today’s world. But I hope for justice, tolerance, and joy, and I’d like to do something that makes the world a better place.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

[3/4] I wrote the book because I like humorous stories about friends solving problems together. And even though it’s cozy fantasy, I wanted to push the reader to examine prejudice, fairness, and personal joy, and why we should hope for the best.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

[2/4] My first book, The Tale of Twoshirts, is about a goblin boy that befriended a genie and wished he could grant wishes like his friend. As a member of one of the “low races,” he’s witness to, and the subject of, systemic & overt racism.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 2d

[1/4] I'm Arne! I'm a humorous fantasy and scifi author for kids & kids-at-heart. I favor rich, diverse characters and deep worldbuilding, creating a space for everyone to fairly ask tough questions like how to be happy, or how we can be our better selves.
#hopepit #hopepunk #TheTaleofTwoshirts #Q

Reposted by Arne Knudson

Congressman Don Beyer @beyer.house.gov · 8d

"If we had a contingency fund."

You mean like this contingency fund the Trump Administration just deleted off their website? The one they are legally required to use to keep SNAP funded?
www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Reposted by Arne Knudson

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 8d

Over on Whatever, I offer some thoughts on the new "Grokipedia," through the lens of the article it has up about... me.

(Spoiler, it's not great, for the reasons you probably suspect)

whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/30/a...

A Review of Grokipedia, Using Myself as Test Subject

What? You didn’t know that Grokipedia exists? Well, it does, and it’s Elon Musk’s attempt to run Wikipedia out of town on a rail: An “AI”-generated compendium of infor…

whatever.scalzi.com

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 8d

Someone once described my style as "Mr. Rogers goes to Mordor."
The Tale of Twoshirts is about a goblin boy who befriended a genie and wished he could grant wishes. The fun happens when a new friend makes an accidental wish, and an annoying lordling captures the genie.
#Ghostpit #YA #NA #Q

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 13d

@legaleagle.tv I'm hoping you or Liz will have a piece about how, this past Friday, the 9th circuit stayed its previous stay regarding deployment of federal troops because ... (checks notes) ... the DoJ lied to the court. lawandcrime.com/high-profile...

9th Circuit reverses victory for Trump admin in National Guard case after feds get caught lying

By Friday, the full 9th Circuit administratively stayed the panel's own stay – "[w]ithout objection from the panel."

lawandcrime.com

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 15d

So once the Orange Cheat-o announced he was tearing down the East Wing, what's your guess as to how many foreign intelligence agencies started infiltrating construction, electrical, and HVAC companies? www.nytimes.com/1964/05/20/a...

In Moscow, Walls Have Ears(40); U.S. Embassy Finds Microphones After Demolishing Room (Published 1964)

www.nytimes.com

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 16d

Check out this photo and my other telescope pictures at arneknudson.com!

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 16d

Got out the telescope last night and got an few excellent photos of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon).

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from a Unistellar eVscope 2. The coma is bright white with hints of blue-green. There are two tails: a diffuse orange tail, and a narrow tail in the middle of the larger tail. The narrow tail is brighter and longer. Both start at the coma and stretch up and to the right. Photo taken October 21 2025, with a 2 minute exposure.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 22d

The Tale of Twoshirts, book two, full first draft, done. Not sure on the title yet, and probably won't publicize it, since it's a bit of a spoiler for the end of book one. Still working on finding an agent and eventually a publisher, but it feels great! Time for bed.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · 23d

Brown (ever true!) finally stood up to Trump. Academic freedom, independence, and diversity are critical to resisting fascist agendas. The rejected compact limits enrollment by international students and forces strict definitions of gender. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
#brownriseup #nokings

Brown University Rejects White House Deal for Special Treatment

www.nytimes.com

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · Oct 7

Achievement unlocked: this past weekend I submitted query letters to my first batch of potential agents for book 1. Now we wait... (and finish writing book 2 of #TheTaleOfTwoshirts!)

Reposted by Arne Knudson

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Sep 29

SCOOP / UPDATE — Disney saw more than 1.7 million total paid streaming cancelations during the period 9/17-9/23, a Disney source confirms to me. The total includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Sep 23

NEW — I wrote about my confirmed scoop from last night that Disney hastened Kimmel's return because of a planned Disney+ streaming price increase announcement coming on Tuesday:

Kimmel reinstatement preempted Disney+ price increase

The Handbasket reported first Monday evening on Bluesky

www.thehandbasket.co

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · Sep 24

Twoshirts (goblin boy): Think you can still hit it?
Puffer (teenage ogre):

Angie (human girl): Nice throw.
Puffer: Thanks.

#TheTaleOfTwoshirts, aka Mr. Rogers goes to Mordor.
#unhingedpit #F #MG #YA #Q #cozyfantasy

Gru whiteboard meme: Be an annoying little lordling / Capture the Genie / His friend, the little goblin boy, grants the wishes / His friend, the little goblin boy, grants the wishes

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · Sep 22

Another activity (popping up on multiple municipal subreddits) is identifying the companies that are advertising on the Sinclair- and Nexstar-owned stations, specifically during Kimmel's preempted slot, and boycotting them until they pull their ads.

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · Sep 19

Yep, cancelled my Disney+ / Hulu account today. #BoycottDisney #BoycottABCNetwork -- anyone know how we can boycott or otherwise hose Nexstar and Tegna?

Reposted by Arne Knudson

Adam Bonin @adambonin.bsky.social · Sep 18

My mom called me last night about the Kimmel firing, saying "This is how Hitler got started!" I quickly responded, "By firing the late night tv hosts?"

Turns out, mom was right.

Goebbels Ends Careers of Five 'Aryan' Actors Who Made Witticisms About the Nazi Regime

Feb. 4, 1939

February 4, 1939, Page 1

BERLIN, Feb. 3.—Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels today ended the professional careers of five "Aryan" actors and cabaret announcers by expelling them from the Reich's Chamber of Culture on the grounds that “in their public appearances they displayed a lack of any positive attitude toward National Socialism and therewith caused grave annoyance in public and especially to party comrades.” The five include perhaps the best known German stage comedians who survived previous Chamber of Culture purges and still dared to indulge in political witticisms—namely, Werner Finck, Peter Sachse and “The Three Rulands,” represented by Helmuth Buth, Wilhelm Meissner and Manfred Dlugi. Their expulsion means that they are henceforth forbidden to appear before the public in Germany.

Besides motivating this action in an official communiqué, Dr. Goebbels also publishes a long article in the Voelkischer Beobachter in which he denounces them as “brazen, impertinent, arrogant and tactless" and generally imitators and successors to Jews. Simultaneously he denounces the "society rabble that followed them with thundering applause—parasitic scum, inhabiting our luxury streets, that seems to have only the task of proving with how little brains people can get along and even acquire money and prominence."

As regards the details of the "crimes" of which the five are accused, Dr. Goebbels mentions that they made political witticisms about the colonial problem, the Four-Year Plan and Chancellor Hitler's monumental building program and one of them even raised the question of whether there was any humor left in Germany today.

What amused the public most, however, and presumably roiled the National Socialist authorities most—although Dr. Goebbels does not mention it—is that they deftly, but unmistakably, caricatured some gestures, poses and physical characteristics of Nat…

Arne Knudson @aknudson.bsky.social · Sep 17

Dat's me! I'm in that photo! Woohoo! Great talk, ton of laughs, and highly recommended. Plus the follow-up on the Shadow War of the Night Dragons, that was super cool.

Reposted by Arne Knudson

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Sep 17

Tonight's event is well attended, I guess

The crowd at my event tonight. They seem happy to be here!