Mishell Baker thankfully
@mishellbaker.bsky.social
Author of the Arcadia Project trilogy etc. Terminal cancer, incurable optimist. Currently 39% Novelist 23% Vidyagamer 2% Polyglot 36% Dungeon Master
Enjoy life. Be someone you would love. Make things better.
Enjoy life. Be someone you would love. Make things better.
Pinned
"Thoughts on Gaming, Parenting, and Writing Stuff, spiced with Infrequent Life Wisdom Nuggs from a Not-Dead-Yet Gamer"
There you go, there's the blurb for my Bluesky account.
I have adjusted the percentages in my bio to reflect my current priorities. 😂
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
I have adjusted the percentages in my bio to reflect my current priorities. 😂
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
Come work here at Illinois! We have two Diversity Residency Visiting positions open. I'm chairing one of the two searches:
www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs
www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs
Library Diversity Residency Program – General Information – U of I Library
www.library.illinois.edu
November 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Come work here at Illinois! We have two Diversity Residency Visiting positions open. I'm chairing one of the two searches:
www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs
www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
![Comic. Someone is claiming to predict the exact date of a future earthquake. Should you listen? [flowchart: start] → NO (There are big earthquakes constantly, so if anyone ever *does* figure this out, it will be immediately obvious that their method works and then the world’s seismologists will not shut up about it. You won’t need this flowchart.)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreic7wdqg4w6qfevbqzzq4esd6237pojsnpwsrbb7gaxsxobqaiwazm@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Speakers, don’t assume the knowledge level of your audience. If you have a new person there and you say “I assume everyone here is familiar with this” they don’t learn anything and they probably feel bad about themselves. Better to just explain the thing. The people who are familiar with it can deal
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Inaction is not always the same thing as denial. Sometimes there is literally no action to take on a thing, and so your choices are 1) flail around in anguish doing nothing, or... 2) do something unrelated.
If you see someone skipping 1 and going straight to 2, it doesn't mean they don't care.
If you see someone skipping 1 and going straight to 2, it doesn't mean they don't care.
November 10, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Inaction is not always the same thing as denial. Sometimes there is literally no action to take on a thing, and so your choices are 1) flail around in anguish doing nothing, or... 2) do something unrelated.
If you see someone skipping 1 and going straight to 2, it doesn't mean they don't care.
If you see someone skipping 1 and going straight to 2, it doesn't mean they don't care.
It is possible to acknowledge that a thing is horrific and inexcusable without making your whole day about it.
If you have the ability to improve the thing, you should definitely make some days about it. Otherwise, what harm in making your day about something you can improve, instead?
If you have the ability to improve the thing, you should definitely make some days about it. Otherwise, what harm in making your day about something you can improve, instead?
November 10, 2025 at 7:44 PM
It is possible to acknowledge that a thing is horrific and inexcusable without making your whole day about it.
If you have the ability to improve the thing, you should definitely make some days about it. Otherwise, what harm in making your day about something you can improve, instead?
If you have the ability to improve the thing, you should definitely make some days about it. Otherwise, what harm in making your day about something you can improve, instead?
If you accuse someone of "shaming" you, you're admitting that you've granted them control over your feelings.
November 10, 2025 at 7:36 PM
If you accuse someone of "shaming" you, you're admitting that you've granted them control over your feelings.
The Eye Situation I finally went to the doctor and got an ointment for (a visibly clogged eyelid gland that wasn't bothering me much for the entire month it continued but I figured I'd proactively try to prevent it from getting worse) is now ITCHING LIKE MAD.
Healing is fun!
Healing is fun!
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
The Eye Situation I finally went to the doctor and got an ointment for (a visibly clogged eyelid gland that wasn't bothering me much for the entire month it continued but I figured I'd proactively try to prevent it from getting worse) is now ITCHING LIKE MAD.
Healing is fun!
Healing is fun!
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
Went shopping this afternoon. Taking a shortcut on foot through a small local park, I encountered a fluffy white cat with very blue eyes walking its owner on a leash. It owned the footpath and *absolutely* wanted me to respect its right of way.
(Next time I shall take a photo.)
(Next time I shall take a photo.)
November 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Went shopping this afternoon. Taking a shortcut on foot through a small local park, I encountered a fluffy white cat with very blue eyes walking its owner on a leash. It owned the footpath and *absolutely* wanted me to respect its right of way.
(Next time I shall take a photo.)
(Next time I shall take a photo.)
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
Me: All right, time to focus. Lots of work to do this afternoon on the book and other brain-intensive activities.
My Brain: Hey, remember that really ignorant thing you said twenty-five years ago? How about we run that on a loop for a while, instead?
My Brain: Hey, remember that really ignorant thing you said twenty-five years ago? How about we run that on a loop for a while, instead?
November 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Me: All right, time to focus. Lots of work to do this afternoon on the book and other brain-intensive activities.
My Brain: Hey, remember that really ignorant thing you said twenty-five years ago? How about we run that on a loop for a while, instead?
My Brain: Hey, remember that really ignorant thing you said twenty-five years ago? How about we run that on a loop for a while, instead?
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
Who is being shamed in a post about my gravestone? There is nothing shaming here and I really find the weaponization of shame frustrating. Use punctuation correctly or don't. It's fine! But let my gravestone read as I so choose.
I don’t like grammar/spelling shame. I worked 27 yrs with inefficient readers/spellers & brain research shows that some are “wired” for language skills, some are not. Why is society so demanding of one set of human talents? We don’t expect all to be Michelangelos.
November 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Who is being shamed in a post about my gravestone? There is nothing shaming here and I really find the weaponization of shame frustrating. Use punctuation correctly or don't. It's fine! But let my gravestone read as I so choose.
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
This holiday season, give Jeff Bezos and Amazon the gift of zero dollars. 🥰
November 10, 2025 at 6:47 PM
This holiday season, give Jeff Bezos and Amazon the gift of zero dollars. 🥰
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
girl who's training for a job on a spaceship: hey why's there a "self-destruct sequence" why do we have that? when is that ever going to be something we want to do? I think I quit, actually
November 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
girl who's training for a job on a spaceship: hey why's there a "self-destruct sequence" why do we have that? when is that ever going to be something we want to do? I think I quit, actually
I loved this game SO much and still dream of all the additions that could be made to it. This reminds me... I should replay it sometime soon!
Nine years ago, Tyranny invited players to rule a world conquered by evil. Today we celebrate its 9th anniversary and every Fatebinder who brought justice (or ruin) to the Tiers. ⚖️
Fatebinder, when was the last time you visited the world of Terratus? store.steampowered.com/app/362960/Tyranny/
Fatebinder, when was the last time you visited the world of Terratus? store.steampowered.com/app/362960/Tyranny/
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM
I loved this game SO much and still dream of all the additions that could be made to it. This reminds me... I should replay it sometime soon!
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
November 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Lark was SO mean to Niles, y'all... you HAD to vote for the mean one... 😭
I will probably be sharing her tale on my "Shell Games" Discord, so if you want to see it and haven't joined yet lmk and I'll hook you up.
I will probably be sharing her tale on my "Shell Games" Discord, so if you want to see it and haven't joined yet lmk and I'll hook you up.
Lark Moreno was the most famous cat burglar never heard of, until she tried a complex heist and annoyed her teammates so badly that they left her behind to get caught. But the Earth Directorate has need of her skills now, and she took their deal, determined never to see the inside of a cell again.
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Lark was SO mean to Niles, y'all... you HAD to vote for the mean one... 😭
I will probably be sharing her tale on my "Shell Games" Discord, so if you want to see it and haven't joined yet lmk and I'll hook you up.
I will probably be sharing her tale on my "Shell Games" Discord, so if you want to see it and haven't joined yet lmk and I'll hook you up.
The thing about trying to frame LGBTQ discrimination as "religious freedom" is that we have never granted any religion the freedom to harm or control others. That is where freedom stops. You can *believe* all you want that a woman marrying her girlfriend is evil, but belief is for you, not others.
November 10, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The thing about trying to frame LGBTQ discrimination as "religious freedom" is that we have never granted any religion the freedom to harm or control others. That is where freedom stops. You can *believe* all you want that a woman marrying her girlfriend is evil, but belief is for you, not others.
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
If you thought Frankenstein's Tower in the Guillermo del Toro movie looked cool, check out the real-world inspiration behind it...
November 10, 2025 at 12:27 PM
If you thought Frankenstein's Tower in the Guillermo del Toro movie looked cool, check out the real-world inspiration behind it...
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
BREAKING: Supreme Court rejects homophobe again 🏳️🌈
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Supreme Court won't revisit landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide
Kim Davis asked the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges appealing damages she owed a gay couple after she denied them a marriage license.
www.usatoday.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
BREAKING: Supreme Court rejects homophobe again 🏳️🌈
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
"Performative" has gotten to be such a silly concept because now it seems to apply to literally anything a person can be seen doing, and if you can't see them doing it uhhh you don't know about it. So in your mind everyone everywhere is just doing everything "for clout."
Enjoy your mind, I guess.
Enjoy your mind, I guess.
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"Performative" has gotten to be such a silly concept because now it seems to apply to literally anything a person can be seen doing, and if you can't see them doing it uhhh you don't know about it. So in your mind everyone everywhere is just doing everything "for clout."
Enjoy your mind, I guess.
Enjoy your mind, I guess.
Good thread, and I've got thoughts on this too. "Live in the moment" advice is meant as a correction for those who are stuck obsessing over the unchangeable past or unknowable future. It is not meant as a replacement obsession, or a rejection of context. 1/?
I know we often get told to 'live in the moment', & there's wisdom in that, but I hear less about the merits of finding something in the future to look forward to. Even if the future is 'this evening' & the something is 'the last of the bread pudding in the fridge', it's great medicine.
November 10, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Good thread, and I've got thoughts on this too. "Live in the moment" advice is meant as a correction for those who are stuck obsessing over the unchangeable past or unknowable future. It is not meant as a replacement obsession, or a rejection of context. 1/?
Reposted by Mishell Baker thankfully
THERE'S STILL TIME TO STOP THE CAVE IN. They need a final vote to make this agreement real and these Dems MAY change their yes votes to no IF THEY HEAR FROM THEIR CONTITUENTS:
Durbin, Rosen, Cortez Masto, King, Kaine, Fetterman, Shaheen, Hasson. CALL THEM PLEASE
youtube.com/shorts/Kp1IC...
Durbin, Rosen, Cortez Masto, King, Kaine, Fetterman, Shaheen, Hasson. CALL THEM PLEASE
youtube.com/shorts/Kp1IC...
WE HAVE A CHANCE TO FIX IT! . Booker Houston for in Capital updates
YouTube video by Under The Desk News
youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 AM
THERE'S STILL TIME TO STOP THE CAVE IN. They need a final vote to make this agreement real and these Dems MAY change their yes votes to no IF THEY HEAR FROM THEIR CONTITUENTS:
Durbin, Rosen, Cortez Masto, King, Kaine, Fetterman, Shaheen, Hasson. CALL THEM PLEASE
youtube.com/shorts/Kp1IC...
Durbin, Rosen, Cortez Masto, King, Kaine, Fetterman, Shaheen, Hasson. CALL THEM PLEASE
youtube.com/shorts/Kp1IC...
Heading to bed now. This week I intend to do a LOT of work on the novel, whatever's going on in the background. I wasn't sure, three years ago when I got out of my first cancer related surgery, if I'd ever be able to finish another book. That I have a shot at doing so fills me with gratitude.
November 10, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Heading to bed now. This week I intend to do a LOT of work on the novel, whatever's going on in the background. I wasn't sure, three years ago when I got out of my first cancer related surgery, if I'd ever be able to finish another book. That I have a shot at doing so fills me with gratitude.