Angelo Varlotta @varl42@writing.exchange

Why I like #BeckyChambers

#SciFi #books #sciencefiction

The Cathedral of Palermo

North Celestial Tree

Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220728.html #APOD

I'm "on vacation" for a couple of days but I've been doing a terrible job staying off the computer (too much work to do for this giant telescope plan!!) So... here's my geek-out on the JWST images because HOLY WOW they're amazing

My night view from Kennedy Space Center's Banana Creek viewing site half an hour before the Crew-4 launch.

At the horizon, the lit area at left is the 39A pad with the Falcon 9 rocket. The iconic VAB is at right. The bleachers are mostly empty because many crew guests had left over the previous days, as their travel arrangements didn't accommodate the multiple launch delays.

#space

"Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance." – Kurt Vonnegut.

I think about this a lot.

After trying it out in 2018 or 2019, almost 3 months ago I re-joined Mastodon. It was a big deal for me, since I distrust every social network out there.

Despite the apparent similarity to other sites, Mastodon – and the Fediverse in general – is not even in the same league.

In less than 3 months I've found interesting and helpful people, thoughtful debates, sincere posts and general openness. A complete departure from "before".

I'm in my 50s and this is the web I remember from the 1.0 days.

One of the things I miss about the Google plus interface was how easy it was to search for/find & create small communities of interest.

I wish there was a way to do that more simply in the fediverse.

Would love to find more #writers, especially #specfic (#sciencefiction & #fantasy) writers.

There are some hashtags that can help us find one another - #amwriting & #amwritingscifi for example, but I don't thing many folks use them.

So, where are my spec fic writers at???

(Boosts welcome!)

Should use my Motorola StarTAC again?

If I showed up to any tech-related meetup with this baby, I'd garner instant street cred.

i read a thing recently that blew my mind a little.
went something like:

people can imagine time travel to the past and one little act making massive differences in the timeline

but in their present they think even the greatest effort they can put in will not make any difference to the future

What blows my mind about Mastodon is not so much its design or tech.

It's that people there read content that interests them and click links. I'm so used to the complete passivity, even apathy, of Twitter users, that what people do on Mastodon never ceases to amaze me.

#mastodon #fediverse

Lunar Eclipse yesterday

Here's the most recent piece I've written on comic books: it's about what it's like to be crazy in Gotham City and, equally, what it's like to read Batman stories as someone with a mental illness.

#comics #batman #mentalillness

https://neotextreview.com/culture/residents-of-a-serious-house-a-reflection-on-the-fine-line-between-illness-and-madness-in-gotham/

Current mood.

This could be us but the internet doesn’t let me just vibe next to you