Olivia
Online
Stephen Saperstein Frug (stephenfrug.bsky.social)
@StephenFrug
I write essays ( and a mosaic story ( & wrote a graphic novel, Happenstance. Follow =/= endorsement
Ithaca, NY
Joined November 2012
989 Following
449 Followers
31.5K Posts
The latest installment of my history of Retcons (inspired, of course, by my own story-cycle of the same title) is now up. It describes the single greatest retcon of all time—and it's less well-known but still significant sequel. Check it out! (Link in next tweet)
Trump said he demanded unconditional surrender, we just didn’t know he meant America’s.
“I have totally defeated you and also transferred $300 billion dollars into your bank account”
Is it me, or is there a hint—not a lot, mind you, just a hint, the faintest whiff—of the spirit of R. A. Lafferty in this story?
Teacher: “Why were you absent yesterday?”
Student: “I was at my own funeral.”
Teacher: “Try again.”
Student: “I was at my own funeral.”
Teacher: “You’re sitting right here.”
Student: “That’s what confused everyone.”
Teacher: “I’m already regretting asking.”
Student: “Understandable.”
Teacher: “Explain.”
Student: “Someone posted online that I had died.”
Teacher: “And people believed it?”
Student: “Apparently.”
Teacher: “Without checking?”
Student: “You’d be surprised.”
Teacher: “So where does the funeral come in?”
Student: “My relatives organized a memorial.”
Teacher: “In one day?”
Student: “My family is very efficient.”
Teacher: “And nobody called you?”
Student: “My phone was dead.”
Teacher: “Of course it was.”
Student: “When I arrived, there were flowers.”
Teacher: “You’re joking.”
Student: “I wish.”
Teacher: “What did you do?”
Student: “I walked in.”
Teacher: “And?”
Student: “My aunt fainted.”
Teacher: “Reasonable.”
Student: “My cousin screamed.”
Teacher: “Also reasonable.”
Student: “My grandfather asked if ghosts could eat cake.”
Teacher: “What?”
Student: “There was memorial cake.”
Teacher: “There was cake?”
Student: “A surprisingly good one.”
Teacher: “Please stay focused.”
Student: “Sorry.”
Teacher: “How did the rumor start?”
Student: “That’s the best part.”
Teacher: “I’m afraid to ask.”
Student: “The post wasn’t even about me.”
Teacher: “Then why did everyone think it was?”
Student: “We have the same name.”
Teacher: “Someone else died?”
Student: “Yes.”
Teacher: “That’s horrible.”
Student: “It gets worse.”
Teacher: “How?”
Student: “The other guy was alive too.”
Teacher: “…”
Student: “He showed up halfway through.”
Teacher: “There were two dead people at the same funeral?”
Student: “Three, actually.”
Teacher: “Three?”
Principal: “Can someone explain why half the town attended my funeral yesterday?”
Teacher: “I’m going home.”
Who to follow
ABRAMS Books
@ABRAMSbooks
The Art of Books. Also visit us at @abramskids, @piquebeyond, @abramscomicarts, and @kanamanga_us.
Eric Umansky
@ericuman
**Now at @ericumansky.bsky.social.**
Editor-at-Large @ProPublica. Co-founder @DocumentCloud. Editor of Trump, Inc. podcast. (RIP) Hangs with @sarapekow.
David Allen
@DavidBelvedereA
Author, Artist, Photographer, Poet --- Written: “Past, Present, and Further More” and “Belvedere.”
“Where is Vader today?”
“He’s paying the Rebel Alliance $300 billion dollars after defeating them completely, every day for the last four months, sir.”
@CathyYoung63 I would have said "Whitman" myself.
Want
Julius Caesar knife block.
RIP, Duane Michals.
Here's a gift link to his NYT obituary: https://t.co/ICxYh1Q1vl
The great photographer Duane Michals (1932-2026) has died.
Michals was known for many things but he was most famous for his short little photo-stories—comics, under Scott McCloud's definition. My very favorite, I think, is his 1973 series of nine images, "Things are Queer".
So when I was doing a photocomic of my own, I felt I had to tip my hat to him—since (as Umberto Eco said in explaining why his blind librarian from The Name of the Rose was named Jorge of Borges), "debts must be paid". So I put an homage to "Things are Queer" in my book.
Classic novels simply aren't relatable. Even contemporary literature is often about things I have never personally experienced. My preferred genre is autobiographical fiction that I have written myself
@undefeatablaika @tamingtigerfilm @dimitripilled There is that, but I've also just heard a few people say, in a sort of look-at-me-I'm-brave way, that they don't like him, or think much of him, without giving many details.
@CathyYoung63 @RaminNasibov …work for you. But in so many ways it is utterly superb. Give it a try. (The first volume is TOO LIKE THE LIGHTENING). If the voice doesn't grab you, it may not be the book for you; if it does, though, I bet you'll love it.
@CathyYoung63 @RaminNasibov I think you saw this, but: Ada Palmer's TERRA IGNOTA. 4-volume SF novel. One of the best books I've ever read. Probably for a specialized taste—it's written (for very good plot/theme reasons) in an 18th century style, and if you don't like the narrative voice the book won't…
@CathyYoung63 @RaminNasibov In general, I tend to recommend Pale Fire rather than Lolita to newbies because it avoids all the drama. I think Lolita is superb (and morally unproblematic), but it's a fight and who needs it; Pale Fire is just as good. Once someone loves that THEN hand them Lolita
@CathyYoung63 @RaminNasibov Pale Fire was the first thing that came to mind, but I went with a somewhat more obscure (and much more recent) book that I am trying to get everyone to read.
Not at all. Adventures are "nasty, disturbing things—make you late for dinner." Stories are about unhappy people (there's a reason "they all lived happily ever after" is an ENDING). They are better read than lived.
the worst thing about being a fantasy reader is knowing that you’ll never experience that same sense of adventure in real life, you can only yearn for it within the page of a book.
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