@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-12-24 20:26:29
Cowboys-Commanders injury report: Overshown decision as 5 ruled out https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/12/24/cowboys-commanders-injury-report-overshown-decision-as-5-rul…
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-12-24 20:26:29
@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2025-10-20 11:16:23
Day 26: Emily Short
If you know who Short is, you know exactly why she's on this list. If you don't, you're probably in the majority. She's an absolutely legendary author within the interactive fiction (IF) community, which gets somewhat pigeonholed by stuff like Zork when there's actually a huge range of stuff in the medium some of which isn't even puzzle-focused, and Short has been writing & coding on the bleeding edge of things for decades.
I was lucky enough to be introduced to Short's work in graduate school, where we played "Galatea" as part of an interactive fiction class. Short uses a lot of clever parser tricks to make your conversation with a statue feel very fluid and conversational, giving to contemporary audiences a great example of how vibrant interaction with a well-designed agent can be in contrast to an LLM, if you're willing to put in some work on bespoke parsing & responses (although the user does need to know basic IF conventions). While I didn't explore the full range of Galatea's many possible outcomes, it left a strong impression on me as a vision for what IF could be besides dorky puzzles, and I think that "visionary" is a great term to describe Short.
If you'd like you get a feel for her (very early) work, you can play Galatea here: #30AuthorsNoMen
@BBC3MusicBot@mastodonapp.uk2025-12-24 21:45:46
🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:
#TheEssay
- Winterreisen
Ellie is trying to break up with her boyfriend. But it's Christmas. A new short story by Mark Haddon about a winter journey, inspired by Schubert's song cycle. Read by Lydia Wilson
Relisten now 👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ngcq
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-11-21 13:19:33
How Baker Mayfield's 'spark' came back after five games with the Rams https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47025778/baker-mayfield-spark-came-back-career-five-games-los-angeles-rams-sean-mcvay
@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2025-09-25 09:51:34
In any case, day 2: Ursula K Le Guin.
As I've said elsewhere, part of her science fiction thesis is that "human" can encompass much more than what we mere Terrans think of it as, and that moral standing extends broadly throughout the universe. This is the antithesis of Tokens fantasy, wherein "race" is real and determines moral standing. For Le Guin, it's barely okay to intervene in complex alien politics unless you carefully ensure you're not causing systemic harms; for Tolkien, it's okay to ambush and murder orc children, because they are by nature evil.
Add to her excellent politics Le Guin's masterful worldbuilding and unparalleled range of plots, and you have the one author I loved as a decidedly liberal and naïve teen and love even more now that I'm an adult. She's an absolute legend and deserves a very high place on any list of women authors (or list of authors, period.).
For a short story, try "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" which you can read here: https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf
For fantasy "A Wizard of Earthsea" (also has a nice graphic novel adaptation), or for science fiction, "The Left Hand of Darkness" or if you want a more anarchist flavor, "The Dispossessed."
I'll close this with an amazing quote from her:
"""
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
"""
@Mediagazer@mstdn.social2025-11-13 15:35:59
Spotify starts rolling out Recaps, a new AI feature for audiobooks that summarizes what users have listened to so far, in beta on iOS (Elissa Welle/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/news/819476/spotify-audiobook-ai-recaps-short-summary
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-19 21:34:26
Commanders DE Armstrong suffers knee injury https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46651562/commanders-de-dorance-armstrong-suffers-knee-injury-vs-cowboys
@simon_lucy@mastodon.social2025-12-16 10:24:04
A short story of Windows 11, Powershell 7, Workspaces and DevOps Workflow.
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/44172
@me@mastodon.peterjanes.ca2025-11-18 23:26:36
As a now-long-former subscriber to F&SF—because of my own limited time, nothing to do with what's documented—this is still disappointing to read (including today's update). https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/2025/11/12/a-dream-denied/
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-12-19 01:01:22
Aggression among 3 things Cowboys must improve before facing Chargers https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/12/18/aggression-among-3-things-cowboys-must-improve-before-f…
@UP8@mastodon.social2025-11-08 02:50:17
🦫 California learns from its beaver reintroductions
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/california-learns-from-its-beaver-reintroductions/
@salrandolph@zirk.us2025-10-30 14:21:13
A tale for these days when we enjoy being spooked by what haunts us.
#fiction #flashfiction
https://salrandolph.substack.com/p/gho
@kurtsh@mastodon.social2025-12-15 01:36:38
How long before Disney files a copyright strike on this amazing & dramatic Star Wars short story?
▶️ Star Wars: Anakin Skywalker Right After Revenge of The SITH - #StarWars Tales Untold
https://youtu…
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-12-15 00:49:17
Rivers nearly helps Colts win in stunning return https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47308972/philip-rivers-leads-colts-late-fg-colts-fall-short
@davidaugust@mastodon.online2025-12-09 17:56:52
I wrote a short story, a sort of parable, and you can read it first if you subscribe (for free) to my ghost. I'll release it to subscribers later today. I am titling it "To Sea."
Subscribe here: https://stuff.davidaugust.com/
@qurlyjoe@mstdn.social2025-10-29 02:00:18
Content warning: Muddled maunderings of a doddering fool.
#muddledMaunderings caveat emptor.
Details within.
@harrysentonbury@social.linux.pizza2025-10-05 16:25:52
The Animator's Tale
A short story about the effect of the news from Gaza on a British animator.
#story
@Dragofix@veganism.social2025-10-29 15:46:02
Bangladesh to reintroduce captive elephants to the wild https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/10/bangladesh-to-reintroduce-captive-elephants-to-the-wild/
@karlauerbach@sfba.social2025-11-08 21:39:02
As one who studied the development and growth of cities, the passage of this measure has caused me to wonder how short sighted are some programs to increase housing stocks.
Like rent control, which over decades can erase rental property availability, this measure will slowly nudge builders to locate new single family home construction outside of our city limits. (The average single family home price in our area is among the highest in the US.)
I am less clear about the impact on…
@cellfourteen@social.petertoushkov.eu2025-11-03 17:05:53
I was looking through my most recent short stories, hoping I would find something good to record on audio. Everything seemed dull, badly written, affected, no-good, terrible, why-does-it-end-so-abruptly. Thеn I started reading a short story I've written around 2014, and it's actually good, damn it 👊 I like that guy, he has the right ideas.
@deprogrammaticaipsum@mas.to2025-11-02 18:11:52
"Did Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (1915-1990) read “An Experiment in Time”? Could it be that he had a series of dreams between 1960 and 1968, and that he quickly wrote them down in his diary before breakfast? We can only speculate. But we do know for a fact that those dreams begat a nothing short of extraordinary sequence of writings."
@holger_moller@bildung.social2025-12-11 07:57:11
Für heute hatte ich ursprünglich mal eine lange Bahnreise geplant und im DB Navigator gespeichert. Jetzt schickt der mir zuverlässig die Verspätungsmeldungen.
Long Story short: Schon auf den ersten 60 km wäre meine Planung vollkommen zusammengebrochen.
#Kollaps lässt grüßen.
@azonenberg@ioc.exchange2025-11-01 05:50:30
New short SF story, "Terminal Pacifism". I think it'll be a hit with the fedi crowd, let me know what you think :)
https://serd.es/2025/10/31/Terminal-Pacifism.html
@cjhearn@mastodonapp.uk2025-10-10 15:21:16
I'm getting myself so annoyed by something that really shouldn't get to me. Lost story short: a neighbour passed away a few months ago - a really lovely guy.
Whenever we spoke, he didn't really talk about his family, although we knew he was divorced and had children, one of which very occasionally visited. He talked about his hobbies, his previous work, and his dog, who had also passed a few months before him.
So, what's grating me? His children are now sorting out his house and possessions and they've parked their massive 4x4s on the front lawn he took so much pride in. Like, not just clipping it at the edge with their wheels, but properly parked over the grass. He didn't have much of a garden, but it was always taken care of. I've also noticed how his Mercedes was the first thing that got the most attention. It just feels so disrespectful it's kinda upsetting.
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-11-17 12:29:26
'I'm probably going to cry': Inside DeMarvion Overshown's long journey back from knee surgery https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46974338/nfl-dallas-cowboys-demarvion-overshown-knee-surgery
@pre@boing.world2025-10-07 11:07:31
This month's digest/newsletter is being sent from my server to all the respectful one-time protestors who asked for it.
The rest of you disrespectful unbritish repeat protestors ought to be arrested but you can read it here:
https://dalliance.net/blog/sep25/
Featuring descriptions of the start of the building of a bedroom, a fediverse rant or two, and Greens Vs Gary plus a Greg Egan's latest short story in the links section.
@salrandolph@zirk.us2025-10-09 13:17:43
@cdarwin@c.im2025-11-30 03:26:44
USAID’s dismantling is estimated to have already killed 600,000 people,
⇔ of them children.
Officials simply deny any harm,
while halting data monitoring and firing inspectors general who’d have documented it
https://www.newyork…
@threeofus@mstdn.social2025-11-02 18:30:28
Really loved this short story about love, betrayal and healing.
#samhain
@servelan@newsie.social2025-09-26 20:15:31
'Could've been an email': Hegseth mocked as details emerge on 'short speech' to top brass - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth-2674045596/
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-11-09 19:34:28
Rico Dowdle, Aaron Jones both stop short of Hingle McCringleberry celebration https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46906738/rico-dowdle-pump-carolina-panthers-aaron-jones-minnesota-vikings-hingle-mccringle…
@compfu@mograph.social2025-09-30 18:42:05
This awesome t-shirt caused me to rewatch the #DaftPunk anime saga. I thought there were only 4 music videos but there are in fact many more (not for any hit singles though). Another tiny easter egg is the short drummer's back story: He's supposed to be from my home town Munich! So of course he likes beer :)
@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2025-10-15 12:08:42
Day 22: Yuki Urushibara
I've got a few more mangaka left on my short list, and might very well get to at least one more, but Urushibara is the author of Mushishi and anyone who knows either the manga or anime understands immediately why she appears here.
Mushishi is a "seinen" anime, which means it's written for adults, not children or teenagers (although it's very accessible for all ages). It deals with a vast array of life's circumstances through the lens of a traveling mushi expert and the various whimsical supernatural creatures he is called on to deal with. He's not an exorcist though, instead understanding that humans must live in harmony with the mushi, and working like an ecologist to sort things out. As is probably obvious, Urushibara is an incredible world-builder; she's also a top-notch artist and above all, her stories are overflowing with kindness, humanity, and respect for the natural world.
Besides Mushishi, I've read "Suiiki", and it's one of the few manga I stumbled through in the original Japanese, which says a lot given my limited reading vocabulary (and the fact that it doesn't include rubi). It weaves the supernatural into a story of childhood innocence and curiosity in a lovely way.
Much like Shirahama who I mentioned earlier, Urushibara's stories are full of gentle wisdom for all ages, but Urushibara's work is quieter and less dramatic, with an adult main character confident in his expertise instead of a young-and-learning protagonist.
#30AuthorsNoMen
@gwire@mastodon.social2025-09-30 07:45:16
One aspect of the "Bitcoin Queen" story is what happens to the seized crypto assets. Attempting to convert coins valued at £5 billion in a short amount of time might depress the market.
It's why there was so much lobbying of Trump by the crypto industry. The "U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" is essentially a promise not to sell seized bitcoin.
(I can't see the UK government making the same call.)
@Treppenwitz@sfba.social2025-11-07 04:25:41
Never forget what the world's richest person did to the world's poorest people. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/the-shutdown-of-usaid-has-already-killed-hundreds-of-thousands…
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-12-05 21:06:42
Flipped Script: Cowboys missed two 1st rounders, 5 Pro Bowls while injured Lions played https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/12/05/lions-cowboys-injury-concerns/87626713007/
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-09-29 02:54:32
Raiders' Smith says he's falling short after 3 INTs https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46416997/geno-smith-says-falling-short-expectations-3-ints
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-10 22:14:40
Seahawks likely down 3 DBs on Sunday vs. Jags https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46555152/seahawks-devon-witherspoon-riq-woolen-julian-love-likely-vs-jags
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-09-28 05:14:24
Oklahoma State football falls short vs Baylor to open post-Mike Gundy era https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/cowboys/2025/09/27/oklahoma-state-football-score-baylor-week-5-osu-cowboys-mik…
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-08 12:29:21
He could go all the ... what?!? 7 times an NFL player dropped the ball short of the end zone https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46523401/nfl-drop-ball-td-emari-demercado-adonai-mitchell-jonathan-taylor
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-27 06:44:47
Rodgers, Steelers fall short in QB's Packers reunion https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46741987/aaron-rodgers-steelers-fall-short-qb-reunion-packers
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-10-26 11:21:12
3 keys to victory in Week 8: Cowboys’ balance, defending short game and more https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/10/26/3-keys-victory-week-8-cowboys-balance-defending-2025-bron…
@volephd@fediscience.org2025-11-13 20:20:55
I recently met somebody actually working for #MDPI and before figuring that out, I was tricked by their partner into insult #MDPIgarbage.
Long story short, I consoled them that at least they weren't working for #Elsevier.
But they seemed really nice and extremely unhappy to be stuck with a terrible employer due to economic circumstances.
#AcademicChatter #PhDLife #PostDocLife
@primonatura@mstdn.social2025-10-30 17:00:15
"California learns from its beaver reintroductions"
#US #USA #America #California
@tiotasram@kolektiva.social2025-11-28 23:49:06
Content warning: Discussion of rape in Le Guin's fiction
Just finished "Orsinian Tales" by Ursula K Le Guin. It's... good, but not nearly as anarchist as a lot of her other work. These are short fiction stories weaving mostly through a fictional Eastern European country during the cold war, although some stretch farther back into history.
As typical for Le Guin a bunch of male protagonists, and a few parts that might seem to excuse sexual assault, which I've always found an odd thing in Le Guin's work (the rape in "The Dispossessed" bothered me too; the lack of strong female characters in "A Wizard of Earthsea" also sticks out to me). On the other hand, I've read from an interview that she wrote "Earthsea" absolutely knowing her audience (teenage boys) and intentionally writing something that would sell, which speaks to true mastery of her craft (I think the opening of "The Word for World is Forest" demonstrates what an expert can do wielding an intimate understanding of pulp science fiction tropes with intent, for example).
In any case, she writes sublime similes and sparse characters who nevertheless seem to embody deep wisdom about the human condition. I feel that often enough just a few words or sentences in a story bear forth hefty wisdom while around them Le Guin constructs something like an austere painting in muted tones, full of rich details that one can easily miss.
#AmReading #ReadingNow
@cowboys@darktundra.xyz2025-11-27 04:51:19
3 things Cowboys must fix to beat Chiefs includes strong defensive start https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/11/26/what-must-dallas-improve-on-before-the-game-against-the-chi…
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-12-04 12:54:50
From 0-3 to playoff contention: Why finishing games has been difference for Texans https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47189783/houston-texans-finishing-games-cj-stroud-anderson-jr
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-02 01:09:13
Emari Demercado among group of Cardinals RBs needed to fill void created by injuries https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46454955/nfl-arizona-cardinals-trey-benson-emari-demercado-michael-carter-bam-knight
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-11-30 23:24:05
Proud Panthers getting used to 'winning football' https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47156902/carolina-panthers-top-los-angeles-rams-roll-bye-7-6