Nirali
@firewordsparkler.bsky.social
associate publicist at graywolf press. giver of gay awards. media monday quarterly. youtuber. phandom/swiffer/etc. firewordsparkler.com (she/her/any)
Pinned
Nirali
@firewordsparkler.bsky.social
· May 21
How my record store day went | RSD 2025 Vlog Haul and Thoughts
YouTube video by firewordsparkler
youtu.be
New video! I finally got around to talking about how my Record Store Day went. I had a lot of thoughts on bringing kids, resellers, and how my local shop handled things.
youtu.be/psmyBDCs4SY
youtu.be/psmyBDCs4SY
Reposted by Nirali
St Paul pushing them back
November 25, 2025 at 6:33 PM
St Paul pushing them back
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Christmas is coming, and the Black Friday sales signal we’re in peak gift-buying season.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
A tech critic’s guide to holiday gift-giving
Maybe your grandma doesn’t need that Alexa smart speaker
disconnect.blog
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Christmas is coming, and the Black Friday sales signal we’re in peak gift-buying season.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
Reposted by Nirali
I talk about her in my Black abolitionists of NYC walking tour and usually no one has heard of her but she was Rosa Parks on the bus 100 years before that incident.
In 1855 Elizabeth Jennings Graham brought a suit that initiated the desegregation of NYC transit. Raised by politically active parents (her was mother formerly enslaved, her entrepreneur father was awarded a patent in 1821) Ms. Graham was a teacher, organist, & kindergarten founder.
November 25, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I talk about her in my Black abolitionists of NYC walking tour and usually no one has heard of her but she was Rosa Parks on the bus 100 years before that incident.
Reposted by Nirali
Yes, HID headlights are very bright but the bigger problem is the proliferation of gargantuan vehicles with 5’+ hood heights so that if you’re driving a normal sized car their headlights are at your eye level rather than seat level like they’re supposed to be.
November 25, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Yes, HID headlights are very bright but the bigger problem is the proliferation of gargantuan vehicles with 5’+ hood heights so that if you’re driving a normal sized car their headlights are at your eye level rather than seat level like they’re supposed to be.
Reposted by Nirali
Reposted by Nirali
Not satisfied with just destroying their own brand goodwill, OS companies are now using AI to try to destroy the good names of the apps users install. (Scrivener taking out adds to explain how it has no AI but Apple adds some anyway.)
November 19, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Not satisfied with just destroying their own brand goodwill, OS companies are now using AI to try to destroy the good names of the apps users install. (Scrivener taking out adds to explain how it has no AI but Apple adds some anyway.)
Reposted by Nirali
‘The High Heaven’ is a beautifully grounded debut novel: defector.com/the-high-hea...
‘The High Heaven’ Is A Beautifully Grounded Debut Novel | Defector
We first meet Izzy Gently, the protagonist of Joshua Wheeler’s captivating debut novel, The High Heaven, as a child. She is alone, wounded, and wandering. The year is 1967, and disaster has befallen…
defector.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
‘The High Heaven’ is a beautifully grounded debut novel: defector.com/the-high-hea...
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$1! The deal of a lifetime! If you've been on the fence, it's time to climb down and read some blogs
We're having a sale! Get your first month of Aftermath for just $1.
aftermath.site/aftermath-vide...
aftermath.site/aftermath-vide...
November 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
$1! The deal of a lifetime! If you've been on the fence, it's time to climb down and read some blogs
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Today on Volts: for years, I've wanted to do a podcast on indoor air quality, and I finally found the perfect guest! Dr. Lagoudas & I discuss indoor air pollutants, the policies and technologies that can control them, and the growing need to frame indoor air quality as a basic human right.
What's the deal with indoor air quality?
From CO2 monitors to better building codes, Dr. Georgia Lagoudas outlines how to clean up the spaces where we spend 90% of our lives.
www.volts.wtf
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Today on Volts: for years, I've wanted to do a podcast on indoor air quality, and I finally found the perfect guest! Dr. Lagoudas & I discuss indoor air pollutants, the policies and technologies that can control them, and the growing need to frame indoor air quality as a basic human right.
Reposted by Nirali
⭕ UN expert: Security Council’s Gaza resolution violates Palestinian self-determination
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Resolution 2803 “runs counter to the Palestinian right to self-determination” and risks legitimizing “ongoing mass violence.” She said the Council failed...
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Resolution 2803 “runs counter to the Palestinian right to self-determination” and risks legitimizing “ongoing mass violence.” She said the Council failed...
November 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
⭕ UN expert: Security Council’s Gaza resolution violates Palestinian self-determination
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Resolution 2803 “runs counter to the Palestinian right to self-determination” and risks legitimizing “ongoing mass violence.” She said the Council failed...
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Resolution 2803 “runs counter to the Palestinian right to self-determination” and risks legitimizing “ongoing mass violence.” She said the Council failed...
Reposted by Nirali
🚨 U.S. high school seniors, don’t miss your chance to apply for a $10,000 scholarship through Penguin Random House’s annual Creative Writing Awards!
📝 bit.ly/CWA2026
📝 bit.ly/CWA2026
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
🚨 U.S. high school seniors, don’t miss your chance to apply for a $10,000 scholarship through Penguin Random House’s annual Creative Writing Awards!
📝 bit.ly/CWA2026
📝 bit.ly/CWA2026
Reposted by Nirali
"Alice supported and took many people with Long COVID under her wing — I was honored to call her a colleague and friend."
@mileswgriffis.bsky.social in @thesicktimes.org's obituary for the great Alice Wong: thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...
@mileswgriffis.bsky.social in @thesicktimes.org's obituary for the great Alice Wong: thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...
Alice Wong, disability activist and luminary, dies at 51 - The Sick Times
Alice Wong platformed and uplifted people with Long COVID in her final chapter as a lifelong disability advocate and storyteller.
thesicktimes.org
November 16, 2025 at 12:09 AM
"Alice supported and took many people with Long COVID under her wing — I was honored to call her a colleague and friend."
@mileswgriffis.bsky.social in @thesicktimes.org's obituary for the great Alice Wong: thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...
@mileswgriffis.bsky.social in @thesicktimes.org's obituary for the great Alice Wong: thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...
Reposted by Nirali
For the Disability community, losing Alice Wong is like losing Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler. She was a powerhouse, a pioneer, and a mentor to many. She taught me so much. And always reminded me what we were fighting towards, as well as against. I miss her clarity, bravery, and joy.
Alice Wong
Alice Wong had an outsized impact on Disability justice. As a community organiser, activist, mentor, and co-conspirator, as writer, editor, and friend, she is irreplaceable.
nicolagriffith.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
For the Disability community, losing Alice Wong is like losing Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler. She was a powerhouse, a pioneer, and a mentor to many. She taught me so much. And always reminded me what we were fighting towards, as well as against. I miss her clarity, bravery, and joy.
Reposted by Nirali
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
being a phan for over 10 years of my life and getting PHED for it
November 16, 2025 at 9:23 PM
being a phan for over 10 years of my life and getting PHED for it
patreon broken because of dan and phil?
November 16, 2025 at 8:02 PM
patreon broken because of dan and phil?
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RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
November 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
Reposted by Nirali
now give us the breakdown of how you planned 'it's nice to have a friend x dorothea' you coward
November 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM
now give us the breakdown of how you planned 'it's nice to have a friend x dorothea' you coward
Reposted by Nirali
happy 50th to a queen
The children’s picture book, “Strega Nona, An OldTale,” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Author and illustrator Tomie dePaola penned the book about the Italian “grandmother witch.” (via @mprnews.org)
Strega Nona turns 50 — and her art lives in Minneapolis
The University of Minnesota’s Kerlan Collection is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tomie dePaola’s beloved picture book “Strega Nona,” showcasing the original illustrations and highlighting Minnesota’s unique role in preserving the warmth, artistry and enduring cultural impact of this classic story.
n.pr
November 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
happy 50th to a queen
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If you're an author of queer lit with copies burning a hole in your pocket (or tumbling off your shelves) and you want to contribute a few to the Bookish Holiday Drive, please email me at [email protected] to let me know!
LGBTQReads Bookish Holiday Drive
The holidays are right around the corner, and we here in the LGBTQReads community know things are particularly tight this season. And so, if you're struggling to afford gifts for a loved one who happens to be a queer lit fan, or you yourself just need a moment of…
The holidays are right around the corner, and we here in the LGBTQReads community know things are particularly tight this season. And so, if you're struggling to afford gifts for a loved one who happens to be a queer lit fan, or you yourself just need a moment of…
LGBTQReads Bookish Holiday Drive
The holidays are right around the corner, and we here in the LGBTQReads community know things are particularly tight this season. And so, if you're struggling to afford gifts for a loved one who happens to be a queer lit fan, or you yourself just need a moment of bookish respite, you can fill out this form to be matched with a bookish donation from one of many contributing authors and agents!
lgbtqreads.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
If you're an author of queer lit with copies burning a hole in your pocket (or tumbling off your shelves) and you want to contribute a few to the Bookish Holiday Drive, please email me at [email protected] to let me know!
Reposted by Nirali
Friendly reminder that dishwashers made after 1995 or so are so water and energy efficient that even if you ran them twice fully loaded it would still use less water than handwashing the same load.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
November 12, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Friendly reminder that dishwashers made after 1995 or so are so water and energy efficient that even if you ran them twice fully loaded it would still use less water than handwashing the same load.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
Reposted by Nirali
my first story @theintercept.com: organizers with @adalahjustice.bsky.social and @genderlib.com announced today that the Human Rights Campaign has ended its relationships with weapons manufacturers Northrop Grumman and Raytheon following years of protests and accusations of "pinkwashing"
Human Rights Campaign Rejects Weapons Company Sponsorships After Pressure Around Israel Genocide
LGBTQ+ group Human Rights Campaign ended sponsorships from arms firms Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, who profit off of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
theintercept.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM
my first story @theintercept.com: organizers with @adalahjustice.bsky.social and @genderlib.com announced today that the Human Rights Campaign has ended its relationships with weapons manufacturers Northrop Grumman and Raytheon following years of protests and accusations of "pinkwashing"
Reposted by Nirali
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:18 PM
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
Reposted by Nirali
Saw a clip of Chris Cuomo calling Zohran petty for referencing Mario Cuomo in his speech and it’s pretty interesting about where we are as a country that they had super pacs linking Zohran to 9/11 but still feel totally free to call someone else classless.
November 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Saw a clip of Chris Cuomo calling Zohran petty for referencing Mario Cuomo in his speech and it’s pretty interesting about where we are as a country that they had super pacs linking Zohran to 9/11 but still feel totally free to call someone else classless.