David Vienna's Blog, page 14

I bet Pete Hegseth is rethinking that 7th screwdriver he had with breakfast that morning.

I bet Pete Hegseth is rethinking that 7th screwdriver he had with breakfast that morning.

I’m really getting tired of pointing out what dip-shits these people are.

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

I’m really getting tired of pointing out what dip-shits these people are.

Remember when Trump said he would only hire the best people? Well, Pete Hegseth, the raging alcoholic Fox News personality he installed as the goddamn Secretary of Defense accidentally texted U.S. military strike plans in Yemen to Jeffrey Goldberg, the fucking editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

These were “highly sensitive and classified details about the Pentagon’s plan to carry out military air strikes against the Houthis, who have been launching attacks on Western commercial vessels in the Red Sea for more than a year.” If that publication had decided to cite details from the texts, our service members could have been targeted and killed.

Oh, and before you MAGA boot-lickers come at me about this being “fAkE nEwS” or whatever you call facts that don’t fit your weak-ass narrative: The White House admitted the mistake.

Hi, I was wondering which is better: Self-publishing or going through an actual publishing company like penguin house, etc. For some context, I’ve been set on self-publishing on kdp, mostly because I don’t want a company to turn down my manuscript that I w

Well, I can't really answer which is "better" because that depends entirely on your ultimate goal. So, let me break down the advantages and disadvantages of both self-publishing and traditional publishing and you can see which sings to you.

Self-publishing is a good way to go if you want complete control over the process — editing, cover design, marketing. This works well if your ultimate goal is simply to have a printed book (or e-book) untouched by anyone but you.

It is not a good way to go, however, if you hope to make any money or have a new career. While all of us can point to the handful of authors who've made tons of money self-publishing (Andy Weir, for example), they are the exception, not the rule, and they all spent years building an audience online before they had their success story.

Also, as a self-published author, you are your own communications team, marketing team, PR team, etc. You basically have to take on multiple extra full-time jobs for no pay. [In that way, I guess you do get a new career(s).]

Traditional publishing comes with communications, marketing, design and, most important, editing baked in. And it comes with an advance, so out of the gate there's money. (Note: You do have to pay back the advance, but it comes out of your sales, not your pocket.) Plus, they have their own distribution channels set up. All you really have to do is write, do some self-promotion on social media, and get on the phone for the occasional press interview.

The obvious downside with traditional publishing is breaking in. It is a long process of putting yourself out there for a series of rejections and there's no guarantee you'll ever actually break in. To do so takes a magic blend of talent, persistence, timing, and luck.

If you want to avoid getting turned down by a company, it sounds like your choice is already made. However, I would strongly urge you to send your book out to publishers and agents anyway. If you get rejected, ask why. If you disagree with their reason, fine, move onto the next one. If you can see their point, however, consider it a note that can improve your book.

I love that self-publishing exists and it is a fantastic way for authors to get their work out into the world. But, personally, I prefer trad publishing. It allows me to focus almost solely on the writing. And I wholeheartedly believe that a good editor makes a writer's work better.

My wife and I had lunch at one of our favorite spots. Our district is purple, but the restaurant is…

My wife and I had lunch at one of our favorite spots. Our district is purple, but the restaurant is frequented by working class conservatives. We overheard multiple regulars talk about how the economy sucks and how they’re now struggling.

The change: None of them blamed Biden. They know it’s Trump.

What a bunch of dip-shits.

What a bunch of dip-shits.

The Atlantic found Meta used LibGen to train its AI tool. And LibGen is a database of millions of…

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

The Atlantic found Meta used LibGen to train its AI tool. And LibGen is a database of millions of pirated books.

Among those millions of stolen books is my most recent release Pretty Sure You’re Fine. I guess Meta wanted its AI to be able to offer moderately helpful sarcasm.

Of course, I’m outraged. But, part of me’s kinda…

on-the-precipice:on-the-precipice:Guys. This is what a...

on-the-precipice:

on-the-precipice:

Guys. This is what a national chain store trolling Trump looks like. A bunch of dystopian novels with a sign (I presume) meant for the travel section.

Support your local disgruntled bookstore manager with a dark sense of humor.

People rediscovered my post from 2016 that went viral.

I used to work in the music department at the largest Barnes & Noble west of the Mississippi (not surprisingly, it was in Seattle). We were once tasked by management to incorporate books into our music displays. Of course, we all grumbled about this, because we were 20-something GenXers who grumbled about everything.

So, we made the task into a challenge: Have the customer guess the display’s theme. But, our themes were always really weird or dark. I’ll explain with an example of one of my best.

On a huge wall display, I put a book on skiing for beginners next to a Sonny Bono album, a book on great swimming holes next to a Jeff Buckley album, a book on guns next to a Nirvana album, etc.

Only a couple of customers guessed correctly.

Honestly in regards to the trump bots on tumblr just block them when they pop up. Even if you were to think it was worth engaging with chances are they aren’t even human. I’d wager only 3/10 trumpers on tumblr are even people if that Keep on keeping on

Not only do I try to identify bots so as not to engage, but I usually avoid engaging with trolls in general because that engagement is what they want. By not replying, you deprive them of air. And that's what really hurts them. Because nothing is more frustrating to a brainwashed, incel, MAGA cult, fascist dip-shit than firing off some cliché cut-and-paste rage-bait only to be left untouched by anyone, just like their shriveled little dick.

I haven’t been caught up on the news for a weeks or two. It’s a genuine question, how is the military on our side from that anon’s post? I’ve seen that they were ordered to help deport people then were ordered to stop because of expenses. Not a magat, I sw

It all seemed to start during his last campaign when Trump insulted POW Sen. John McCain for "getting captured" during the Vietnam War, but that was just the opening salvo in his ceaseless dishonoring of active military members and veterans.

Trump is currently cutting the staff at Veterans Affairs, which will make it much harder (if not impossible) for veterans to receive assistance of any kind — especially those needing health care or the suicide hotline.

Trump also fired top military leaders who'd served both Democrat and Republican administrations for three decades so he can install sycophants who'll carry out his orders, even if those orders are unconstitutional.

And though Trump's initial attempt to do so has been blocked by a judge, he also plans to ban transgender people from serving in the military despite there being no evidence that the military wants them banned. On the contrary, most active service members don't give a shit whether or not their fellow service members are transgender.

And in probably the pettiest move, his administration (acting on his anti-DEI orders) is systematically removing any mention or acknowledgement of non-white military heroes from websites and other public records. When this was discovered, they said it was a "mistake," yet still defended their stance.

Oh, and this happened during his previous term when he was scheduled to visit Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris (from The Atlantic): "In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, 'Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.' In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as 'suckers' for getting killed."

Anyway, because of all this and more, a huge swath of active military and veterans who voted for him are having major buyer's remorse. (See: Leopards Eating Faces Party.)

Because they're all learning he has absolutely no respect for the military, but don't take it too personally. He has no respect for anyone. Cowards never do.

I think a lot of them are bots and psyops, regarding the hate you’re getting. Like there has been a HUGE influx in the laziest, ugliest, and nastiests MAGA propaganda ever on this site starting around last year’s election. I think it’s to make them seem mo

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Also, I just want to stress an important thing this mystery person said: "protests and boycotts are having an impact."

It's true. Proof? One of the most conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court just called Trump out for his dangerous overreach regarding the Judicial Branch. And Elon is fucking terrified, which is why he keeps tweeting about how unfair the Telsa Takedown movement is. We're hitting him where it hurts... no, not his shriveled balls, but his wealth.

So, keep fucking with this tin-pot dictator and his boot-licking sycophants.