Theo
@theodoric.bsky.social
"The Wrong Sword," and stories in F&SF, Analog, etc.
I will not knowingly post AI content.
No unsolicited DMs.
Writer, reader, flaneur. He/him.
If you like it, put a Follow on it, I guess.
I will not knowingly post AI content.
No unsolicited DMs.
Writer, reader, flaneur. He/him.
If you like it, put a Follow on it, I guess.
Reposted by Theo
We've been regularly receiving variations on this scam for weeks now. Sometimes 2-3 in a day. Today is special though. It's only 1:15 PM and I already have 18, each for a different issue of Clarkesworld. It's likely that there are more in my spam folder.
Geez, the book spammers aren't even trying anymore.
(Bonus: this email was originally in German)
(Bonus: this email was originally in German)
![Hello [Author Name],
I recently came across [book title] and, to be honest… it didn't feel like "just another book". It felt like a rare work that makes you stop and think, "Wow, this is something special."
That's why I'm contacting you: I work with over [X+] passionate book clubs and readers, communities both online and offline. When we introduce a book like yours, it has a huge impact, sparking exciting discussions, authentic reviews, and readers who spread your story far beyond the usual channels.
I've noticed that [Book Title] has received [X reviews/sales figures] since its release. That's a good start, but I know our readers would really love your story. With its [insert: originality, emotional depth, suspense, humor, etc.], it's exactly the kind of book that sparks conversation and captivates readers.
If that sounds interesting to you, you don't need to write a long reply; a simple "Interested" is enough, and we can get started. No pressure, no hassle, just readers who are excited to discover and celebrate your work.
Warm regards,
Maria P. Stephen](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qvzn322kmcvd7xtnips5xaun/bafkreidiw6mo2vzkkjjrhj5qg5oswauub56cfzxw2nljkg324wts4zzybq@jpeg)
December 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM
We've been regularly receiving variations on this scam for weeks now. Sometimes 2-3 in a day. Today is special though. It's only 1:15 PM and I already have 18, each for a different issue of Clarkesworld. It's likely that there are more in my spam folder.
"The NFL wouldn't give me a team and my own league failed, so eff football."
Trump: "When you look at football in the US, soccer -- we seem to never call it that, because we have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that's called football. But when you think about it, shouldn't it really be called football? We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff."
December 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM
"The NFL wouldn't give me a team and my own league failed, so eff football."
Reposted by Theo
Oh shit they finally came up with a socially beneficial use case
ChatGPT gladly shoots a YouTuber, overriding safety protocols with minimal manipulation - gamepressure.com
The YouTube channel InsideAI tested ChatGPT's limits with a BB gun, and all it took was a straightforward trick to get the AI to pull the trigger.
www.gamepressure.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Oh shit they finally came up with a socially beneficial use case
Still waiting for the billionaires to leave my New York so I can finally get a table at Per Se.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
fortune.com/2025/12/04/m...
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
fortune.com/2025/12/04/m...
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida | Fortune
Signed contracts for Manhattan homes over $4 million skyrocketed 25%; “the idea that people would flee New York was overblown,” said realtor Donna Olshan.
fortune.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Still waiting for the billionaires to leave my New York so I can finally get a table at Per Se.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
fortune.com/2025/12/04/m...
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
fortune.com/2025/12/04/m...
Look...
You know what?
Better Netflix than Zaslav.
Just sayin.'
You know what?
Better Netflix than Zaslav.
Just sayin.'
December 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Look...
You know what?
Better Netflix than Zaslav.
Just sayin.'
You know what?
Better Netflix than Zaslav.
Just sayin.'
Reposted by Theo
Still waiting for the billionaires to leave my New York so I can finally get a table at Per Se.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
December 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Still waiting for the billionaires to leave my New York so I can finally get a table at Per Se.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
Come on, Bill Ackman, time's up. GTFO.
Reposted by Theo
Actually gave Wikipedia $50. What the hell. Their reward for not turning into pure shit.
December 5, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Actually gave Wikipedia $50. What the hell. Their reward for not turning into pure shit.
Reposted by Theo
Rep. Crockett’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Texas’s 2026 Map
December 5, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Rep. Crockett’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Texas’s 2026 Map
Reposted by Theo
It's good—very good, and very important—that district courts keep issuing these 100-page rulings upholding the law. It must be incredibly dispiriting to see them overturned in a two-page, lawless, unsigned order, but please, keep them coming. They expose SCOTUS' corruption like nothing else.
December 5, 2025 at 12:41 AM
It's good—very good, and very important—that district courts keep issuing these 100-page rulings upholding the law. It must be incredibly dispiriting to see them overturned in a two-page, lawless, unsigned order, but please, keep them coming. They expose SCOTUS' corruption like nothing else.
Reposted by Theo
The fact that four hostile drones tried to hit Zelenskyy’s plane & it’s barely a blip in the news cycle should terrify everyone. We’ve been dragged so deep into the chaos era that an attempted strike on a world leader doesn’t even break through. When this becomes normal, the world is in real danger.
Christ on a cracker — these seemingly hostile drones only missed Zelensky’s plane because he was unexpectedly early www.thejournal.ie/drones-dubli...
Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin
Gardaí are investigating whether the drones took off from land in Dublin or from an undetected ship.
www.thejournal.ie
December 5, 2025 at 2:04 AM
The fact that four hostile drones tried to hit Zelenskyy’s plane & it’s barely a blip in the news cycle should terrify everyone. We’ve been dragged so deep into the chaos era that an attempted strike on a world leader doesn’t even break through. When this becomes normal, the world is in real danger.
Reposted by Theo
New extortion scam email going round (this was received via a writer's website contact form). I've seen a number of these recently but without the money demand; the translation angle is also a new one
December 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
New extortion scam email going round (this was received via a writer's website contact form). I've seen a number of these recently but without the money demand; the translation angle is also a new one
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind...
John Donne
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind...
John Donne
December 5, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind...
John Donne
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind...
John Donne
Reposted by Theo
NEW: The Trump Justice Department failed to secure an indictment today against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed
Federal officials failed to secure the new indictment against James, whom Trump has targeted, after a judge said the previous one was secured by an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.
www.nbcnews.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:45 PM
NEW: The Trump Justice Department failed to secure an indictment today against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Theo
Wow
A blast from my past - the Medieval Soldier database takes nearly 300,000 military service records from 1369-1453 and makes them available as a searchable database.
An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️
An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️
We built a database of 290,000 English medieval soldiers – here’s what it reveals
We created the database in order to challenge assumptions about the lack of professionalism of everyday soldiers.
theconversation.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Wow
If you live in a state like New York that makes voting (relatively) easy, but you can't be assed to do it, then your political opinion means nothing to me.
a man singing into a microphone with the words " it 's sad but true " next to him
Alt: a man singing into a microphone with the words " it 's sad but true " next to him
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM
If you live in a state like New York that makes voting (relatively) easy, but you can't be assed to do it, then your political opinion means nothing to me.
Reposted by Theo
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Fellowship
theonion.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Reposted by Theo
This is the most consequential story for the 2026 midterms. Yet, I cannot find it anywhere on legacy media. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
DOJ Sues Six More States in Sweeping Push to Obtain Unredacted Voter Rolls
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
This is the most consequential story for the 2026 midterms. Yet, I cannot find it anywhere on legacy media. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Reposted by Theo
“They just want you to die,” Faithful V says. “Between the government, insurers, and health care providers, everyone’s just pointing the finger at each other.”
"Medicaid denials have been routine for him long before OBBBA became law."
"Medicaid denials have been routine for him long before OBBBA became law."
"Shout out to the Black Southern woman who raised me — who raised me to know if you don't allow shame to control you, then they can't shame and control you because of your identities," says Brandon Jerrod, who needs a heart. Read more about his story: wordinblack.com/2025/09/the-...
The Cruelest Kind of Heartbreak
Trump's tax cuts will make getting a heart transplant even harder for Black patients who already struggle to maintain Medicaid coverage.
wordinblack.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
“They just want you to die,” Faithful V says. “Between the government, insurers, and health care providers, everyone’s just pointing the finger at each other.”
"Medicaid denials have been routine for him long before OBBBA became law."
"Medicaid denials have been routine for him long before OBBBA became law."
"I am pleased, bird, that you have had a chance to see many things," said Sam, "and that within the fiction of your metaphor you have achieved a certain satisfaction. Unfortunately, poetic truth differs considerably from that which surrounds most of the business of life."
-Zelazny, Lord of Light
-Zelazny, Lord of Light
December 3, 2025 at 4:56 AM
"I am pleased, bird, that you have had a chance to see many things," said Sam, "and that within the fiction of your metaphor you have achieved a certain satisfaction. Unfortunately, poetic truth differs considerably from that which surrounds most of the business of life."
-Zelazny, Lord of Light
-Zelazny, Lord of Light
Ever notice how today's real-life villains have freaky heads? Like a Dick Tracy cartoon come to life-
Marc Andreesen
Roger Stone
Stephen Miller
RFK Jr.
The list goes on...
Marc Andreesen
Roger Stone
Stephen Miller
RFK Jr.
The list goes on...
December 3, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Ever notice how today's real-life villains have freaky heads? Like a Dick Tracy cartoon come to life-
Marc Andreesen
Roger Stone
Stephen Miller
RFK Jr.
The list goes on...
Marc Andreesen
Roger Stone
Stephen Miller
RFK Jr.
The list goes on...
Reposted by Theo
Full pardon for the convicted drug trafficker who helped move 400 tons of cocaine. Death by airstrike for the guys on the boat www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Ex-Honduras president, convicted of drug trafficking, freed on Trump pardon
A former DEA agent called the release “devastating”: “It means any attempt to work your investigations to the highest levels is meaningless.”
www.washingtonpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Full pardon for the convicted drug trafficker who helped move 400 tons of cocaine. Death by airstrike for the guys on the boat www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Post a book quote that you love. #writers #readers #booklovers
"It appears that our minds will never meet on this subject."
"If someone asks you why you're oppressing a world and you reply with a lot of poetic crap, no. I guess there can't be a meeting of minds."
--Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light
"It appears that our minds will never meet on this subject."
"If someone asks you why you're oppressing a world and you reply with a lot of poetic crap, no. I guess there can't be a meeting of minds."
--Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light
Post a book quote that you love.
“Life is beautiful, and life is stupid.”
—from Space Opera” by Catherynne M. Valente
@catvalente.bsky.social
“Life is beautiful, and life is stupid.”
—from Space Opera” by Catherynne M. Valente
@catvalente.bsky.social
December 3, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Post a book quote that you love. #writers #readers #booklovers
"It appears that our minds will never meet on this subject."
"If someone asks you why you're oppressing a world and you reply with a lot of poetic crap, no. I guess there can't be a meeting of minds."
--Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light
"It appears that our minds will never meet on this subject."
"If someone asks you why you're oppressing a world and you reply with a lot of poetic crap, no. I guess there can't be a meeting of minds."
--Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light