Laura Anne Gilman's Blog, page 5
January 5, 2017
The State of the ACA in the USA (aka "Make American Sick Again")
To the surprise of nobody who has been paying attention, the GOP is going ahead with their plan to repeal the ACA, or strip it down to uselessness. And, as of this moment, they still haven't offered up a replacement plan. So, if they succeed:
if you have a pre-existing condition (anything from arthritis to cancer, and including pregnancy!), you're screwed.
if you are low-income, and were depending on subsidized insurance to make sure you and your kids were covered? You're screwed.
if you're on Medicaid? You're screwed.
if you're 26 or under, and were counting on being able to stay on your folks' insurance while you get your career going? You're screwed.
if you were counting on insurance companies to continue carrying you/not jack up your rates five-fold after you make a claim? You're screwed.
if you have chronic illnesses and the undoing of caps on lifetime coverage will bankrupt you? You're screwed.
You might want to call your congresscritters, especially if they're Red, and let them know that, until they put forward a plan that addresses these issues, repealing the ACA is NOT what you want.
January 4, 2017
BoookQW: "New"
For those of you not on Twitter, this week's word is #new.
.And that gets you a bit from Gabriel's POV, from THE COLD EYE (coming in 6 days!)
January 3, 2017
Memeing
(via Tamora Pierce/Keith deCandido)
42 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked:
1. First thing you wash in the shower/tub? Hands (mainly, testing the water temperature)
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? Grey.
3. Do you plan outfits? Plan, as in "this works with that?" All the time.
4. How are you feeling right now? Stressed, although not all that much more than usual.
5. What's the closest thing to you that's red? A folder
6. Tell me about the last dream you had? I don't remember the details of last night's dream, but it was deeply disturbing.
7. Did you meet anybody new today? Not physically, no. On-line, yes.
8. What are you craving right now? Warmer socks.
9. What comes to mind when you think of Cabbage? Cole slaw.
10. Have you ever counted to 1,000? No.
11. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Yes
12. Do you like your hair? Yep.
13. Do you like yourself? About 94% of the time, which I'm calling a win.
14. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Probably not, although I could be civil if needed.
15. What are you listening to right now? Silence
16. Are/Were your parents strict? I'm the youngest of 3, they were well-trained by the time I came around.
17. Would you go sky diving? Perfectly damn good plane, you want me to jump out of it?
18. Do you like cottage cheese? Small curd, please.
19. Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes
20. Do you rent movies often? Not unless you count Netflix as a rental.
21. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? We Do Not Sparkle Here.
22. Have you made a prank phone call? Not since I was 11.
23. Ever been on a train? On several different continents, in fact.
24. Brown or white eggs? Blue-speckled, if you have 'em, please.
25. Do you use chap stick? Yes
26. Can you use chop sticks? Yes
27. Are you too forgiving? No.
28. Ever been in love? Multiple times, often at once.
29. Last time you cried? Last week.
30. What was the last question you were asked? This is a trick question, isn't it?
31. Favorite time of the year? Winter
32. Do you have any tattoos? Yes.
33. Are you sarcastic? Nah, not even a little bit ./sarcasm
34. Ever walked into a wall? No.
35. Favorite color? Don't have one - depends on mood and shade.
36. Have you ever slapped someone? Slapped, no. Punched, yes.
37. Is your hair curly? Nope.
38. Do looks matter? Yes. A good side-eye or incredulous look is...oh. THOSE kind of looks. Yeah, they do, too, sadly.
39. Do you like your life right now? Very much.
40. Do you sleep with the TV on? I can sleep through anything except actual people talking near me (live, not canned)
41. Can you handle the truth? Occasionally with fireproof tongs, but yes.
42. Do you have good vision? Only when wearing my glasses.
January 2, 2017
Oh hi January it's not like we weren't expecting you and yet still you're a surprise...
For the writers: The submissions window for THE DEATH OF ALL THINGS has closed. We got over 400 (yes, FOUR HUNDRED) submissions, not including the anchor authors (who have until mid-month-ish to get their stories in), so we're going to be busy little editors for the next few weeks...
For the readers, the Kindle edition of DARKLY HUMAN is now available on Amazon. Hopefully, the Nook and Kobo versions will follow later today.
And now I am taking myself and my coffee offline to get some of that reading (and some of the writing) done. Later!
December 31, 2016
2016
That's not to say it didn't have good moments.
I've written a lot. For various reasons, little of that has seen publication (yet) but I can feel my skills readying to level up, and that's always a positive. Scary, but a positive.
I started working at two new wineries, and have learned a huge amount about wine-making, winery-running, and yes, about beer, too. And I've done it in company of interesting people with utterly different backgrounds from my own.
I started dating again, after a self-imposed 'figure my shit out' moritorium. That's been...interesting.
And life here in the Pacific Northwest continues to feel like home, in a way I'd hoped-for, but not entirely trusted, when I took the leap and moved out here two years ago. I'm not going to say this is where I'll be henceforth and forever, but I can't see myself budging any time soon.
So I guess I'm ending 2016 a little sadder, a little wiser, and a more than a little more tired. But I'm also surrounded by good people, faced with interesting challenges, and supported by a community both physical and virtual who are ready to march with me into the battles of 2017.
In the past, on this last day leading into First Night I have made a wish for us all, that the very best of this year past be the worst that we face in the new. This year, I leave you with a different wish: that in 2017 we find that we are better than we feared, stronger than we'd hoped, and more compassionate than we'd ever dreamed.
*raises glass* To our health and our well-being, physical, mental, emotional and financial, from this house to yours.
And now I am off to see out the old with new friends, and tomorrow I will have old(er) friends to my home to see in the new. It seems apt...
December 24, 2016
*shuddery sigh and smile*
A PAUSE HERE to honor the memory of dear friends lost in 2016: For us, Janet’s husband, Aaron, a man with a twinkle in the eye who could be relied upon to give an incisive view of the world — and fun to be with. His courage living life despite a years-long illness was a huge lesson in courage.
I've said before, mostly in jest, that 2016 was a shit-take of a year, where my dad's death only hit the 2nd or 3rd shittiest thing that happened. But oh, how we miss him.
December 23, 2016
Nothing to See Here, Move Along...
via NPR and the New York Times:
"President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has asked the State Department to list its workers who focus on gender equality and ending violence against women, in what's being seen as an echo of an earlier request for the Energy Department to list employees who work on climate change.
In a brief email that was sent Wednesday morning, the Trump team asked the State Department's bureaus and offices to list any programs or activities that "promote gender equality, such as ending gender-based violence, promoting women's participation in economic and political spheres, entrepreneurship, etc."
(emphasis mine)
December 21, 2016
Feline Updatery: Cat of Size
Some of you following along on FB/Twitter/Patreon already know that Cat of Size had a hypoglycemic event yesterday morning (around 3:30 am, because of course he did), and ended up getting an emergency check on his numbers.
I just got off the phone with the vet. CoS's numbers came back, and they're awesomely good. I mean, better than we've seen since he was diagnosed three years ago (almost exactly three years ago, in fact).
So, in light of the fact that he's had two hypoglycemic events in the past 6 months, we're taking his insulin dosage down a smidge, and will retest him again in 6-8 weeks to see how that's working.
Fingers crossed: we may finally have gotten his diabetes under control.
(that is not to say "cured," but under control. Which is huge.)
*throws confetti, slumps in relief*
December 19, 2016
In these dark times...
Alien landscapes. Run-down pool halls. Modern kitchens. Ghost-ridden memorials. There are shadows everywhere, housing the dark things that make us human.
Love. Hate. Fear. Hope.
18 Stories of Who We Are.
