6yo: hahaha what about a pie-five
me: …
me: …
me: oh like a penis high-five
6yo: [chortling] YES
me: well nobody has five penises
6yo: [suddenly serious] except God
6yo: hahaha what about a pie-five
me: …
me: …
me: oh like a penis high-five
6yo: [chortling] YES
me: well nobody has five penises
6yo: [suddenly serious] except God
unfortunately I lost it at this extremely stupid New Yorker cartoon
the sex is great
for once I would like my wife, the global economy, to get a chance to rest and be herself
Same! Also I'm soooo squeamish and worry it'll be too violent :(
went to watch Best In Show (2000) instead, stunningly daft and exactly 90 minutes, ideal end to the working week
Wish I could somehow like this repeatedly
Oh whoops yes sorry - Lower Marsh market!
Ironically the fact that I'm yet to get piled on for this makes me think that this site doesn't actually have the juice, I'd have received so many death threats on Twitter by now
See I'm still a renter and I read a lot - I want to maximise shelf space so I only keep little books!
Also like ....I know I shouldn't say this as an author lol but I genuinely don't understand the point of hardbacks? I don't think I've ever bought a single one full-price!
(should add that readers in US/UK also to blame - if people here were ready to buy flimsy little paperbacks that look like they may crumble to dust if you stare at them for too long, we could have the sort of publishing breadth eg France still has!)
UGH
yes! or again, even just a vague sense of broadly what it may cost, I don't need to know exactly but let's not waste both our time here, just give me an estimation
not really sure but yeah, at least in the UK! in fiction or non-fiction, most mainstream publishers just won't take your book/book proposal if it's under 80k words, very stupid
say that in that case! or say "from X" or "between X and Y, get in touch to find out more"! like I don't need a single fixed fee for every single possible event but just a vague idea of whether eg this project would work there or not w/o me having to faff by emailing every single possible pub
pubs with event spaces loooooooooove having a big document with every single possible detail on the bookable room down to the type of amp or projector they have available, but crucially without giving even the slightest indication of what the fee/minimum spend situation might be
my view on this is that publishers should stop it with the 80k wordcount obsession, so many contemporary non-fic books are obviously 40-50k pieces of work stretched to the extent that they become very boring to read - just let people write cheaper, shorter books! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
title of a meticulously researched youtube video about the history of orthopedic casting: "Binding Magic: What the Pharaohs Knew"
new title after the original one bombed: "Where Do Casts Come From?"
final title change with 100k views: "My BONES got DOINKED??"
[rocking, whispering]: this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real
it's sooo lovely!
restaurants! bars! churches! galleries! islands! general advice! my 4000-word (!) fully updated guide to Venice is here, and free to read: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/somehow-a-...
Sure! My point is that if You're just going to be talking about your life then I do need it to be musically interesting
But there's usually some craft to it right? You wouldn't read a book from someone whose prose isn't good going "and then this happened to me, and then this happened to me"
I mean have you met them
hahahahahahaha
also like........metaphors are good! saying things in a convoluted way is good! not listing everything that happened in a matter of fact way is good!
there's no artistic merit to it!!!!!!!!!!
(do head to Instagram to find the pictures I'd like used in my obit, which I assume will have to be written in the next few hours)
right I'm getting confident with this now so - Lily Allen's latest album is the Father Ted "and now we move on to liars" speech but for adult women who call themselves "girlies"