The Wordsmith's Forge

p_m_cryan has posted a longer, more detailed description of her plan to revitalize her bookstore with crowdfunding.  Funds will go to paying staff (JOB CREATOR! JOB CREATOR!) and buying inventory, specializing in speculative fiction.  I will continue to keep an eye on this project and hope it thrives.

 I really support this.  I further observe that without this, a society is likely to fall apart, much as a society devoid of other key rights is likely to do.

Read about the MV-1, a vehicle designed for  wheelchair users, not modified.  It looks much sturdier and safer than modvans.  I think that's terrific.

So I looked at this thing and I thought, "What that really needs is a picture of the MV-1 with a couple of hot handicapped babes in bikinis lounging on the hood."  Because cars and stuff are so frequently sold by making them sexy (to the assumed male shoppers) by draping them in women.  Then I thought, "Wait, that's sexist and maybe otherwise objectifying."  But then on the third hoof, desexualization and invisibility of people with handicaps is a major problem too, so sexy visibility should be subversive.  We could always put a hot handicapped guy up there in a speedo.  That would sort of imply that the two of them are going to drive their MV-1 down to the ocean and have sex on the beach like everyone else is implied to do in the usual ads.  Because a lot of what vehicle ads sell is ... mobility, mobility as power, that you are attractive because you have this big awesome gadget that will take you and your friends where you want to go.  So that comes full circle, because that is exactly what wheelchair riders will see when they look at the MV-1: mobility as power.  That's pretty hot.

I checked, and gods bless them, it comes not only in black, white, silver, and blue but also a fuck-me shade of cherry red.

I wonder if I could get someone to draw that this weekend.

One of my writer-friends, Diane Duane, found out that someone got into her bank account and removed all the money. The bank will ... eventually, supposedly ... restore funds lost due to fraud. But right now the household is without funds to pay bills or buy necessities.  She is the author of the Young Wizards series and many other books that I adore.

You can help by:
1) going over to the Ebooks Direct store and buying something. If you use the discount code DDGOTSKIMMED, that will give you 20% off whatever you buy.
2) boosting the signal.

As the weather becomes more extreme, storms increase in frequency and severity.  Wind, ice, torrential rain, etc. can make it hard to grow trees.  So, these are some trees with tough roots and branches that resist damage better than average. Try to avoid brittle species that break easily.

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