For those who are on the hunt for OLED TV deals, you cant go wrong with the Samsung S90D. All sizes of this TV are on sale right now if you buy it from Samsung directly, ranging from $1,100 instead of $1,400 for the 42-inch model to $3,800 instead of $5,400 for the 83-inch model. You better choose the size that you want and complete your purchase as soon as possible though, as were not sure how much time is remaining before you miss out on the savings.The Samsung S90D is featured in our list of the best OLED TVs as its an excellent option for its price, especially with the discounts that Samsung is offering. Its powered by Samsungs NQ4 AI Gen2 processor, which uses artificial intelligence to further improve picture quality, while OLED TV technology enables pure blacks and bright whites for vibrant details while you watch your favorite shows and movies. Samsungs Tizen operating system grants access to all of the popular streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, but youll also enjoy free content from thousands of channels through Samsung TV Plus.Samsung is among the best TV brands partly because of its work on QLED TV technology. However, with the Samsung S90D OLED TV, youll enjoy the benefits of OLED TVs versus QLED TVs, specifically the ability to create perfect black levels, superior response time, wider viewing angles, less power consumption, and better eye comfort. If you like these advantages, you will love having the Samsung S90D OLED TV in your living room.RelatedIf youre willing to spend some cash on Samsung TV deals, you should set your sights on the fantastic Samsung S90D. All six sizes of the OLED TV are available with a discount from Samsung, with the smallest 42-inch model down to $1,100 for savings of $300, and the largest 83-inch model down to $3,800 for savings of $1,600. You definitely wont regret going for the Samsung S90D OLED TV as an upgrade for your home theater setup, but if you want to enjoy the discount, we highly recommend pushing forward with your transaction immediately.Editors Recommendations

Temporary rules Coal likely to go away even without EPAs power plant regulations Set to be killed by Trump, the rules mostly lock in existing trends. John Timmer Jan 9, 2025 6:24 pm | 14 Credit: Ron and Patty Thomas Credit: Ron and Patty Thomas Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIn April last year, the Environmental Protection Agency released its latest attempt to regulate the carbon emissions of power plants under the Clean Air Act. It's something the EPA has been required to do since a 2007 Supreme Court decision that settled a case that started during the Clinton administration. The latest effort seemed like the most aggressive yet, forcing coal plants to retire or install carbon capture equipment and making it difficult for some natural gas plants to operate without capturing carbon or burning green hydrogen.Yet, according to a new analysis published in Thursday's edition of Science, they wouldn't likely have a dramatic effect on the US's future emissions even if they were to survive a court challenge. Instead, the analysis suggests the rules serve more like a backstop to prevent other policy changes and increased demand from countering the progress that would otherwise be made. This is just as well, given that the rules are inevitably going to be eliminated by the incoming Trump administration.A long time comingThe net result of a number of Supreme Court decisions is that greenhouse gasses are pollutants under the Clean Air Act, and the EPA needed to determine whether they posed a threat to people. George W. Bush's EPA dutifully performed that analysis but sat on the results until its second term ended, leaving it to the Obama administration to reach the same conclusion. The EPA went on to formulate rules for limiting carbon emissions on a state-by-state basis, but these were rapidly made irrelevant because renewable power and natural gas began displacing coal even without the EPA's encouragement.Nevertheless, the Trump administration replaced those rules with ones designed to accomplish even less, which were thrown out by a court just before Biden's inauguration. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court stepped in to rule on the now-even-more-irrelevant Obama rules, determining that the EPA could only regulate carbon emissions at the level of individual power plants rather than at the level of the grid.All of that set the stage for the latest EPA rules, which were formulated by the Biden administration's EPA. Forced by the court to regulate individual power plants, the EPA allowed coal plants that were set to retire within the decade to continue to operate as they have. Anything that would remain operational longer would need to either switch fuels or install carbon capture equipment. Similarly, natural gas plants were regulated based on how frequently they were operational; those that ran less than 40 percent of the time could face significant new regulations. More than that, and they'd have to capture carbon or burn a fuel mixture that is primarily hydrogen produced without carbon emissions.While the Biden EPA's rules are currently making their way through the courts, they're sure to be pulled in short order by the incoming Trump administration, making the court case moot. Nevertheless, people had started to analyze their potential impact before it was clear there would be an incoming Trump administration. And the analysis is valuable in the sense that it will highlight what will be lost when the rules are eliminated.By some measures, the answer is not all that much. But the answer is also very dependent upon whether the Trump administration engages in an all-out assault on renewable energy.Regulatory impactThe work relies on the fact that various researchers and organizations have developed models to explore how the US electric grid can economically meet demand under different conditions, including different regulatory environments. The researchers obtained nine of them and ran them with and without the EPA's proposed rules to determine their impact.On its own, eliminating the rules has a relatively minor impact. Without the rules, the US grid's 2040 carbon dioxide emissions would end up between 60 and 85 percent lower than they were in 2005. With the rules, the range shifts to between 75 and 85 percentin essence, the rules reduce the uncertainty about the outcomes that involve the least change.That's primarily because of how they're structured. Mostly, they target coal plants, as these account for nearly half of the US grid's emissions despite supplying only about 15 percent of its power. They've already been closing at a rapid clip, and would likely continue to do so even without the EPA's encouragement.Natural gas plants, the other major source of carbon emissions, would primarily respond to the new rules by operating less than 40 percent of the time, thus avoiding stringent regulation while still allowing them to handle periods where renewable power underproduces. And we now have a sufficiently large fleet of natural gas plants that demand can be met without a major increase in construction, even with most plants operating at just 40 percent of their rated capacity. The continued growth of renewables and storage also contributes to making this possible.One irony of the response seen in the models is that it suggests that two key pieces of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are largely irrelevant. The IRA provides benefits for the deployment of carbon capture and the production of green hydrogen (meaning hydrogen produced without carbon emissions). But it's likely that, even with these credits, the economics wouldn't favor the use of these technologies when alternatives like renewables plus storage are available. The IRA also provides tax credits for deploying renewables and storage, pushing the economics even further in their favor.Since not a lot changes, the rules don't really affect the cost of electricity significantly. Their presence boosts costs by an estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent in 2050 compared to a scenario where the rules aren't implemented. As a result, the wholesale price of electricity changes by only two percent.A backstopThat said, the team behind the analysis argues that, depending on other factors, the rules could play a significant role. Trump has suggested he will target all of Biden's energy policies, and that would include the IRA itself. Its repeal could significantly slow the growth of renewable energy in the US, as could continued problems with expanding the grid to incorporate new renewable capacity.In addition, the US is seeing demand for electricity rise at a faster pace in 2023 than in the decade leading up to it. While it's still unclear whether that's a result of new demand or simply weather conditions boosting the use of electricity in heating and cooling, there are several factors that could easily boost the use of electricity in coming years: the electrification of transport, rising data center use, and the electrification of appliances and home heating.Should these raise demand sufficiently, then it could make continued coal use economical in the absence of the EPA rules. "The rules ... can be viewed as backstops against higher emissions outcomes under futures with improved coal plant economics," the paper suggests, "which could occur with higher demand, slower renewables deployment from interconnection and permitting delays, or higher natural gas prices."And it may be the only backstop we have. The report also notes that a number of states have already set aggressive emissions reduction targets, including some for net zero by 2050. But these don't serve as a substitute for federal climate policy, given that the states that are taking these steps use very little coal in the first place.Science, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/science.adt5665 (About DOIs).John TimmerSenior Science EditorJohn TimmerSenior Science Editor John is Ars Technica's science editor. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. When physically separated from his keyboard, he tends to seek out a bicycle, or a scenic location for communing with his hiking boots. 14 Comments

Finders keepers? US selling 69K seized bitcoins could mess with Trump plans for crypto reserve US could get about $6.4 billion from the sale at bitcoin's current price. Ashley Belanger Jan 9, 2025 5:44 pm | 33 Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAt the end of 2024, a US court authorized the Department of Justice to sell 69,370 bitcoins from "the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history."At bitcoin's current price, just under $92,000, these bitcoins are worth nearly $6.4 billion, and crypto outlets are reporting that DOJ officials have said they're planning to proceed with selling off the assets consistent with the court's order. The DOJ had reportedly argued that bitcoin's price volatility was a pressing reason to push for permission for the sale.Ars has reached out to the DOJ for comment and will update the story with any new information regarding next steps.A hacker initially stole these bitcoins from Silk Roadan illegal online marketplace where goods could only be bought and sold with bitcoinsin 2012, shortly before the US government shut down the marketplace. The US later discovered the stolen bitcoins in 2020 while conducting further investigations of Silk Road, eventually securing a consent agreement that year from the hacker, who signed the bitcoins over to the government.Whether the government's seizure of those bitcoins was proper has been disputed by Battle Born Investments, a company that purchased the assets of bankruptcy estate from an individual who they believed to be either the hacker whose bitcoins were seized or someone "associated with him."After a court battle failed to return the bitcoins, Battle Born attempted to unmask the hacker through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which sparked a new court fight. But ultimately, in late December, the court agreed with the US government that the hacker had a right to privacy as someone who was the subject of a criminal investigation and shouldn't be unmasked. That ended Battle Born's claim to the bitcoins and cleared the way for the government's sale.Soon after the news dropped, bitcoin's price fell, which some outlets linked to speculation about the DOJ's sale and others to announced shifts in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy strategy and new Treasury Department data sparking inflation concerns.If the sale is set in motion, it could affect the price of bitcoin. But perhaps more importantly, it could mess with Donald Trump's plans to establish a US bitcoin reserve.In December, while the DOJ pushed for permission to sell the bitcoins, Trump confirmed a bitcoin reserve was needed, urging, "We're gonna do something great with crypto because we dont want China, or anybody else but others are embracing it, and we want to be ahead," Forbes reported.Starting in July, Trump campaigned on being a "pro-crypto president," promising to loosen regulations and suggesting that cryptocurrency could be used to wipe out the US national debt.Axios noted that Trump plans to build the US bitcoin reserve from cryptocurrencies seized in criminal investigations, so it wouldn't make sense to sell off the largest haul ever if he intends to take the US in that direction.Analysts told Forbes that there's an estimated 60 percent chance that Trump will implement a bitcoin treasury reserve this year. And if that happens, bitcoin's price could jump significantlyperhaps as high as "$225,000 per coin by the end of 2025," they estimated. That forecast likely makes a sale even less appealing to pro-crypto regulators, who may see more value in stockpiling than selling.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 33 Comments

La Nia increases the risk of drought in certain regions, as occurred in California in 2022David McNew / Getty ImagesA weak La Nia climate pattern has emerged in the Pacific Ocean, months later than was initially forecast. This will raise the risk of drought and heavy rain in parts of the world, even as it lowers global average temperatures.The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean shifts from hot to cold and back in a temperature cycle known as the El Nio Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and La Nia is the cool phase of the cycle. It normally occurs about every three to five years when trade winds strengthen, which pushes colder water upwelling off the coast of South America to the west. AdvertisementSea surface temperatures in that part of the Pacific have been cooler than average for months, but they didnt fall below the threshold needed to declare a La Nia event until now, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Wind patterns also now reflect La Nia conditions.The agency forecasts the La Nia will continue through April 2025 before temperatures return to neutral conditions.Even though it is a weak event, the cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures are expected to have their characteristic influence on global weather patterns, increasing the risks of drought in parts of North and South America and intense rainfall in Australia and South-East Asia. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterLa Nia also tends to lower global average temperatures, although this cooling effect is proportional to the strength of the event, says Pedro DiNezio at the University of Colorado Boulder. Temperatures have cooled as the warm El Nio gave way to neutral and now La Nia conditions, but remain above average in much of the world, says DiNezio.Thats also true of the oceans. The shift to La Nia means temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are colder than average. But global sea surface temperatures remain more than 0.5C above average.The oceans in particular were slow to cool from the record warmth that developed in mid to late 2023, said Karin Gleason at NOAA during a press call in December before La Nia had officially emerged.It is not unusual for La Nia to emerge so late, even following a strong El Nio event. But the shift comes months later than forecasters predicted. It remains unclear exactly why forecasts were so far off, and whether human-caused climate change played a role in the delay.Topics:

These bubble-wrap cartilage cells have been dyed green to make them easily visiblePlikus lab/University of California/IrvineA long-overlooked skeletal tissue found in the nose and ears turns out to resemble bubble wrap and harnessing it could make facial surgery, like nose reshaping, easier.Maksim Plikus at the University of California, Irvine, and his colleagues first spotted the unusual tissue a few years ago while they were studying fat cells collected from mouse ears. It was just a scientific accident, he says. AdvertisementThe nose and ears of both mice and humans contain a firm but flexible tissue called cartilage, which is also found in our joints. Conventional wisdom says that cartilage is structured similarly, no matter where it is in the body. The cells in it dont contain much fat and are surrounded by a thick, protein-rich matrix that provides strength.But when the researchers examined mouse nose and ear samples under a microscope, they found a structure consisting of cells packed full of fats, also known as lipids, connected only by a thin mesh of protein prompting the team to name it lipocartilage. It looks like bubble wrap, says Plikus.This unusual cartilage had been noticed before, the team found, but only in a brief account of its discovery from the 1850s and a few short reports since then. To investigate further, the researchers stretched and squeezed samples of lipocartilage from the mouse ears, and did the same for standard cartilage from the knees and ribs of mice. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday.Sign up to newsletterThey found that lipocartilage is softer and more stretchy, probably due to its high fat content, says Plikus. This suggests lipocartilage has unique roles in the body compared with standard cartilage, though identifying these requires further study, he says.The team also found lipocartilage in human ear and nose samples collected from medically aborted fetuses,leading them to wonder whether the tissue could be grown in the lab for use in reconstructive or cosmetic surgery. Nose alterations, for example, sometimes involve taking a piece of cartilage from a persons rib.Growing it from stem cells instead could avoid this, but attempts to do so for standard cartilage have been hampered by the difficulty of screening out any remaining stem cells, says Plikus, which, if implanted, could develop into tumours. The researchers found that they could successfully grow lipocartilage from human stem cells derived from embryos, and that it was much easier to spot leftover stem cells using a dye that attaches to the fat in the tissue.It is too early to tell how well this will work in practice until the findings are replicated and the approach is tested in animals and humans, says Mark Grimes at the University of Montana, who wasnt involved in the study.Plikuss team is already carrying out facial implant tests with stem-cell derived lipocartilage in mice and hopes to trial it in humans soon. If were optimistic, within a span of five years, he says.Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.ads9960Topics:stem cells

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The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Trump's request to block his NY hush-money sentencing.The decision means Trump must attend sentencing Friday morning, though he can do so by video.Prosecutors said Thursday that they will not seek jail, fines, or probation at sentencing.The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump's last-ditch effort to block his New York hush-money sentencing, which now remains set for 9:30 a.m. on Friday.The high court's decision means Trump must attend or face a potential bench warrant for his arrest just 10 days before Inauguration Day.Four conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Brett M. Kavanaugh had sided with Trump. Two conservatives on the panel Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett broke ranks and supported Manhattan prosecutors.In their one-page order, the five-judge majority gave two reasons for rejecting Trump's stay request."First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump's state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal," meaning post-sentencing, they wrote."Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect's responsibilities is relatively insubstantial," they wrote, given that Trump faces a no-punishment sentence and can attend the hearing virtually.Trump's lawyers last week asked that he be allowed to attend by video, a request approved by his trial judge, state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not oppose Trump attending virtually and said Thursday that his office will not seek jail, fines, or probation at what will likely be a very brief hearing.Trump had fought hard to avoid sentencing despite facing little inconvenience or penalty, outside some potential issues with his New Jersey liquor licenses.Over the past week, his lawyers had argued in four courthouses in Manhattan, Albany, and Washington, DC that any invocation of presidential immunity automatically entitles Trump to a stay pending appeal, even before he is sworn in.In their opposition filings, Manhattan prosecutors scoffed at the idea that "president-elect immunity" is even a thing. The US Supreme Court's landmark July 1 opinion granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution, but made no mention of immunity prior to swearing in, lawyers for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said."Defendant's novel invocation of President-elect immunity does not warrant his Court's premature intervention" in an ongoing state criminal case, Bragg told the high court in papers filed Thursday morning.Defense lawyers have promised to file a post-sentencing appeal of the conviction, with SCOTUS if necessary, given what they say were violations of Trump's constitutional rights prior to and during the trial.In their primary example, they say grand jurors and trial jurors in the hush-money case improperly heard evidence that includes acts Trump took in his official role as president, which prosecutors are now barred from using.That official-act evidence, all from 2018, includes tweets Trump sent, a federal form he signed, and a conversation he had in the Oval Office with Hope Hicks, his communications director.Prosecutors and the trial judge, Merchan have argued that even if this was official-act evidence, it was a "harmless error" to share it with jurors, given the other overwhelming proof of guilt.This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

io9 is proud to present fiction from Lightspeed Magazine. Once a month, we feature a story from Lightspeeds current issue. This months selection is Teach Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness by B. Pladek. Enjoy! Teach Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness by B. Pladek USER: this is a message for Milwaukee Elementarys curator Jude Towers, I hope this is the right address. anyway thanks for the story you had RIGHTR generate for my 10th graders Empathy Week. it was really great! can you tell me more about it?CURATOR: I am happy to have fulfilled the assignment.USER: this isnt a trap, I promise! you curators are so scared of getting sued for using real writers. I KNOW youd never do that. but Ive liked all the stuff youve curated so far. my kids loved the ones who dont stay. I loved it too. what a concept, the perfect city upheld by a single childs misery! we had a better discussion about it than anything weve read so far. howd you get RIGHTR to do that? CURATOR: Im glad the story was useful. I enjoyed it too. USER: come on dont be that way. I swear I just want to talk. look my names Booker. heres my Instructor ID: 5-778. why do you enjoy it?CURATOR: Because its an indictment of our failure to imagine a world without suffering Because its so much more than a swipe at utilitarianism Because if I didnt send something real I was going to throw myself in the lakeDid your students learn empathy? USER: yeah! more than that though. we talked about how hard it is to believe in a world where everyones happy. and how it seems like the story gives you a choice: would you leave or let the child suffer? but then jokes on us, because we already live in that world. people suffer, we let it happen. we made our choice.CURATOR: . . . USER: anyway Im sorry for bothering you. I guess I just wanted to talk with someone. youd think this job would have more of that, talking about stories. real talk I mean. 10th graders are great but they only get you so far. thank you (and the AI) so much. I wont bug you again. CURATOR: WaitDo you have a messenger address? **** Dear Val, Glad to hear you and Sula are settling in well, and that Pacificas wildfires arent too bad. You can stop apologizing. You arent abandoning me. Im a big boy of 43. Sometimes your chosen family moves away, just like your bio one. The way you talk its as if you airdropped me into a New Dixie lynch mob! Lakes United isnt great, but its fine. Ive lived in it my whole life, ever since it was little old Wisconsin. Ill be fine.And lets be honest, I was lonely before. Thats not your fault! Its me. Classic Aquarius, shy and judgy. Now maybe that you two have left Ill kick my own ass to do something about it. Theres this queer book club that meets every Wednesday. No AI, just real books. Can you imagine? Obviously, Im bitter about the new job. Its fine, I can do it, but I swear its making me stupider. I guess it still hurts that Im babysitting the same fucking AI that stole my career. I wouldve been an acquiring editor in two years! And now I just curate endless milquetoast RIGHTR fables for high schoolers, making them stupider too.In 10 years theyll sue me for child abuse. At least one of the teachers seems nice. He texted me to let me know he liked Omelas. Small victories. And dont worry, I scrub the titles so no one can tell. Its not like the school admin checks anyway. They dont give a shit. Also, none of them have read a book in their life.Sorry for the whining. Please send more pics of little Gabbi, she is a perfect being of light and the one good thing in this terrible world. Funny, you never realize you want kids until someone else has them. Haha. Now you and Su know you wont die alone, which I also definitely WONT DO!! fuck, I shouldnt write emails when Im drinking. anyway, Im stupid, dont listen to me. love you both so much. xoxo Jude****To: Jude A. Towers, Curator, Milwaukee High, Lakes United District #4 From: Principal WalkerDear Jude, This week the kids are learning about SELF-LOVE: 35 English classes, 1 story each, for 5 days. Remember each RIGHTR story needs to be 100% unique so they cant use bots to write their essays for them. As mandated by Lakes United Federal Law (c.2047), please heed the following guidelines: Religious, racial, gender, class, and ability variants must EXACTLY match those of the Lakes United population: 67% white, 58% female, etc. (I know youre a Transgender but dont let that tempt you to put in more than 1 every 100 stories. Recall you people are less than 1% of the population!) All slurse.g., queer, fascist, slaveownerare strictly prohibited. No politics: all stories must be strictly non-partisan. (Remember especially not to insult our neighbors to the south. New Dixie has their system and we have ours. We must not teach our children to hate. For the list of prohibited political concepts, e.g., lynching, please see the Appendix). And remember RIGHTRs Three Rs:1. Relatability: EVERY child should be able to see himself in EVERY story! 2. Readability: Nothing that will harm students self-esteem by being too difficult! 3. Rectitude: Only stories that promote GOOD morals to create GOOD people!A final noteI know youre new to this job, so I just wanted to flag that in one of your RIGHTR stories for English 501, it wasnt super clear who the bad guy was. Youll want to tweak the algorithm a bit for next time. Thanks, Principal Walker**** Booker: so why did you become a curator? Jude: Because I LOVE AI that makes a joke of authorship Because I hate myself. . . Booker: was it because you love stories so much? Jude: . . . Yes.Booker: me too! thats why I became a teacher. I remember when I was 11 and the first chatbots came out. I spent hours on them, telling myself stories. I really liked dragons. I generated endless fantasies about me flying away with them. it was such a comfort. Jude: Comfort? Booker: right, you wouldnt know. my family were New Dixie refugees. we got out just in time. well, most of us. I liked to pretend sometimes that the ones who didnt, they escaped on dragons. It helped a little. Jude: . . . Oh my god Booker: haha whoops that got dark, sorry! big emotions to be dumping in the chat, my bad. Jude: No, its ok. I dont mind. How did you escape? Are you ok now? Can I help? You said its why you became a teacher? Booker: yeah. I wont get into it, but when we first got here I was pretty messed up, you know? Id internalized it all. you tell a 5-year-old theyre subhuman, what they gonna do, fight back? so my mom scraped a chatbot off the net, put me in front of it and told it to tell me a story about me, what a good kid I was. how I wasnt a coward for leaving my friends behind when we ran north. Jude: You thought you were a coward? Booker: well, not everyone we knew got out. Jude: . . . how did Booker: but thats why that story you sent hit me, you know? sometimes you do just have to leave. Jude: But in that interpretation, your family is the child, not the city dwellers. You were the ones suffering. Booker: sure. but theres not just one kid, in real life. and if youre them, sometimes youre the one who has to walk away. Jude: . . . I guess I never thought about it that way. Booker: what prompt did you put into RIGHTR to get it? Id love to string it in myself to make more. I dont have the full version, cant afford it, but I still have the free RIGHTR-mini my mom scraped. I still do dragon stories sometimes, haha. Jude: its REAL, the writers name is I forget. But I can pull up something else for your class if you like? Booker: thank you. and maybe . . . we can talk about it? Jude: Id like that. Booker: me too. hey, would you want to meet in person? **** English 501: possible re-titles list The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (Le Guin) > The Ones Who Dont Stay (Empathy Week) Girl (Kincaid)Like A Lady (Self-Love Week) The Lottery (Jackson)Come the Good Harvest (Patriot Week) The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman)John Tells Me (Family Values Week) Sonnys Blues (Baldwin)The Brothers?? (Colorblind Week)or Going to Meet the Man? too violent? (violates no-lynching protocol? though theyd never know, the word lynching never appears)Walker?? (note: when do I tell Booker? hell have to guess eventually. or maybe he just thinks RIGHTR can pull off a Shirley Jackson? according to him hes never read a REAL book. fuck, and it doesnt even bug him. dont be an asshole, Jude, he never learnedhow could he in New Dixie? and hes only 22. you can teach him) (note 2: give some context notes for the older stories, Booker said his kids barely know anything about the US before it split. I think he means he doesnt) (note 3: remember, you are too fucked up to be a father figure. DO NOT TRY.) **** Dear organizers, Im writing because Id like to be sent the geolocale of the next queer book club Dear Queer Book Clubbers, My name is Jude and Id love to join! I used to work for Harper Collins and I really miss talking with other readers Hi fellow queers, Im awkward and lonely too! can we talk books? Dear **** readdit.com/r_trans_lit_club Iscariot_J: subject: old essays on Jamaica Kincaids Girl I dont know if this belongs here, so mods please delete if it doesnt. Im a RIGHTR curator for a high school in eastern Lakes United. Used to edit for Harper Collins before they moved to bots. The other day I got curious about what teaching high school English used to be like. So I looked up one of those old sites where students posted essays to plagiarize. I read a bunch on Jamaica Kincaids story Girl, which was first published in the 1970s in The New Yorker (link here). If you havent read it, its 700 words, a single sentence of a mom telling her daughter this long, gendered list of duties, also berating her and calling her a slut. You only hear the poor kids voice twice. So the essays. I thought theyd all be stupid analyses of point-of-view or whatever. But so many of them were about how the students related to the story: how they saw themselves in it, even if they werent little girls in twentieth-century Antigua. I mean, they werent good essays. But so many of them said, this story is what its like to be in my head all the time. Other people telling me how Ive failed. I went and re-read the story. And I suddenly realized that I related to it, too. That its been my inner commentary, my whole life. I dont mean in a gendered sense (though clearly thats part of it). Or in a race sense, Im white. But all the voices in my head, and all the ones outside it toono matter what theyre actually saying, I can only ever hear the ways Ive failed. My list would be different than the girls obviously (like: I didnt freeze my eggs before hysto! after the war I chickenshitted out of adopting! I never learned to make bathtub hrt so no one wants me as their tranpa!). But the story ends with the mom asking, you really going to be the kind of woman who the baker wont let near the bread? And I swear to god, when I read that line I heard my brain telling me every day: you really going to be the kind of man who no one wants to be near? And I thought, wow, those kids with their shitty plagiarized essays, they might have really been onto something. Can anyone relate? Replies: 0 **** Jude: So how did Self-Love week go? Booker: phew! almost bad, but then really good! your RIGHTRs really amazing. didnt know it could work backwards like that. Jude: Backwards? Booker: the girl in Like a Lady! she wasnt being taught to love herself, she was being taught the opposite. I thought you were fucking with me for a second, this story about a girl being given all these orders and called a slut, then I realized that was the point. you cant love yourself if other people dont love you. Jude: Yes, exactly! Did the students get it? Booker: I had to help them, but yeah. it was so sophisticated! makes me grateful were using AI for teaching now, it was like this story was put together to make that point. haha, think about those poor suckers in the past who had to teach stuff humans wrote, trying to suck the moral out of some random text. like wading into a giant swamp full of snakes. Jude: . . . Booker: or worse, think of reading that stuff! why would you ever read something that wasnt fit exactly to you? like wearing someone elses clothes. I just think about how I wouldve been without my dragons. Jude: You dont think a real writer could have helped you more than a chatbot? Booker: of course not! Im me, not some random writer. haha! Jude: . . . **** Hi Jude, I want to preface this by saying we love you, and we know how hard its been for you lately. I hope youre talking to someone besides us, someone actually IN Milwaukee? I know you cant afford therapy, but there are the sharing-circles. Low-pay or no pay. Sula used to go to one, it kept up even during the war. There are even some specifically for older queers who dont have anyone else. Im not saying YOU dont have anyone else! But you write as if youre not talking to people, and were worried. Anyway, Im saying this because Im not sure youre approaching this new friendship in the right spirit. I think its cool you want to look out for Booker. And I think its noble to want to give him some of the education he missed, antebellum US history, literature, all that. Never a bad thing directing people to James Baldwin! Your hearts in the right place. But the reports youve been giving me of your conversations . . . you just come across as a little elitist. I know you dont mean to be. I get it. I even used to think the way you do. But do you know that Gabbi LOVES the chatbots? Theyve gotten her reading, when she only watched vids before. Theyre the only thing she readsand trust me weve TRIED. So maybe dont shit on them so hard? Theyre not the end of the world. Reading tastes change. Like I said, I think your hearts in the right place, and its great that you have a new friend. But I dont think you need to try to culture Booker so hard. Its kind of patronizing of you. Also, and Sula agrees with me on this, kind of white. Bookers from New Dixie, he knows more about racism than you ever will. You giving him Sonnys Blues isnt going to change that. We mean this with love! I know you are trying your best. Why dont we have a call soon? Gabbi misses her favorite uncle. Xoxo, Val Jude: but he likes it! hes becoming a better reader because of me! Val: holy shit I just pressed send! maybe you should step back, Jude? Jude: its not patronizing, its WORKING Val: do you want to have a call now? Are you free? Jude: no Im busy Val: clearly not. look youre talking like youre not his friend but his teacher Jude: no Im not!! Val: or his dad Jude: . . . Val: Jude? Jude: . . . fuck you val Val: Jude, are you drunk? **** (note 3: DO NOT TRY) **** Booker: good walk today, thanks! cool how well you know the crater. guess youve been walking it for awhile, huh? Jude: Since it used to be a lakefront, yeah! Booker: shut up, the lake came all the way up here? Jude: you mean you didnt Yeah, Milwaukee was lakefront. It sold a bunch of its water rights to Pacifica back in 2043. One of the first things Lakes United did as a country. Ironic, huh? Booker: haha, yeah! you should tell me about what it was like to grow up here, some time. when it was still the central west. did it suck? Jude: Midwest. And it was fine. Being trans was tough, but not nearly as bad as you grew up with. Booker: yeah, no one actively trying to kill you I guess. Jude: . . . Booker:??? wait did someone try? Jude: never actively Nah, it was just hard. Felt like a scapegoat during a lot of the war. Protect our children, eradicate the gender menace. Booker: scapegoat! thats the word you gave me for the Patriot Week story, about the village that stones a person every year. I taught it to my kids. they use it now: sometimes communities hold themselves together by targeting scapegoats. Jude: Its a useful word. Booker: but you were one? during the war? why do you never tell me these things when were actually talking, haha?? Jude: Its a lot to remember. I dont like to think about it much. Same as your family, they were scapegoats too. Booker: yeah. hey can I ask you something serious? Jude: . . . how serious? Booker: do you remember anything about what New Dixie was like, before? Like how bad it was, before ND seceded. way back in the 20th century. Ive always wanted to know . . . how people could hate like that. Jude: . . . Booker: my mom wont tell me, says it hurts too much. I always figured if I still had a dad, he wouldve told me. Jude: . . . . . . Booker: haha ok, I get it. maybe its better I dont know, I guess. Jude: . . . wait Booker: hey, maybe you could ask RIGHTR for a story about it? maybe for next weeks theme? (uuugh). itd be on topic (uuuuuugggh). Jude: . . . Booker: hey, you ok? **** To: Jude A. Towers, Curator, Milwaukee High, Lakes United District #4 From: Principal WalkerDear Jude, This week the kids are learning to be COLOR-BLIND: 35 English classes, 1 story each, for 5 days. To answer your question, no, the statistical percentages dont change just because this week is about race. The whole point is to show kids race doesnt matter! Remember the first RIGHTR R is Relatabilityevery student should be able to see himself in every story. Also, and I hate having to remind you of this, but one of our 8th-grade instructors complained about your stories for Family Values Week. One teacher was confused about why the mother crawled into the wallpaper instead of nursing her child. Another one wondered why the mother argued with her husband, who only wanted the best for her. That teacher mentioned wallpaper too. Remember the stories need to be UNIQUE, with CLEAR GOOD GUYS and BAD GUYS! Please take more care next time. I dont want to have to tell you again. Regards, Principal Walker **** Val: Jude? Im sorry I got mad. you want to call? Val: I really am worried about you Val: please answer **** Outside, in the world, he walks. September in Milwaukee breathes a high damp heat, its smell bodily, like the oilstain on an old pillow. Far off over the dry lakebed, quicksilver slicks the horizon. If he were to walk toward it, hed die of thirst. The difference between real and mirage can kill. Its something he would have taught a child, if hed ever had one, if hed ever been brave or lucky or good enough. But maybe its better this way. Here he is, old fart, seething about the Kids These Days who only read RIGHTR fables. He thinks the stories arent real, but who is he to say? The kids cant tell the difference. Maybe Vals right and hes just being elitist. If mirages bring comfort, their champions arent worse or stupider readers than the people he grew up with, who loved literary complexity and killed the world anyway. But. High above, cloud shadows slither along skyscrapers windows like mailed wings. What can he possibly give Booker? How can he know the younger man hasnt felt it, that breaching moment when a word written by a person youve never met turns your heart like a lock and opens youin pain, in delight, in joy that is both of these and beyond them? Surely thats just what the kids mean when they say, relatable. Surely thats how Booker feels about his dragons. But.And besides, its not his place to give Booker, say, some story by Walker or Baldwin or Morrison about the old south. Hes not his son. Even though he asked you, hes not your son. When people find their found families, they never find you. But, but, but. **** readdit.com/r_trans_lit_club Iscariot_J: Subject: Baldwins Going to Meet the Man This story is a brilliant, damning portrait of the mid-20 th century south, written from the POV of a racist sheriff who literally gets off on violence, in a Freudian way. Theres a lynching, though no one calls it that. Harrowing, but really captures something about hatred. Has anyone read it? Replies: 0 **** Val: Jude? **** To: Jude A. Towers, Curator, Milwaukee High, Lakes United District #4 From: Principal Walker Dear Jude, Call my office, now. Walker **** Booker: jude what the FUCK Jude: . . . Im . . . Booker: no answer me, what the FUCK was thatJude: . . . Its what you asked for, a story about how it was. Booker: a fucking racist sheriff getting off on rape and murder, n-word all OVER the place, and a LYNCHING??? Jude: . . . Im sorry, I thought Booker: my kids were CRYING. I had to send some of them home!! most racist story theyve ever read Im getting calls from their PARENTS and the PRINCIPAL I might LOSE MY JOB what the HELL were you thinking Jude: I thought you wanted to know why people were like that. To know the history Booker: history?? my kids didnt learn any fucking history today. they just HURT Jude: . . . Jude: But the whole point of the story is to show how systemic racism distorts the psyche!! He wrote it in the 1960s during the civil rights push!! He was making a point!! Booker: he? Jude: yes, James Baldwin! Booker: . . . so it was real fuck of course it was. RIGHTR would never have traumatized my 10th-graders Jude: ALL of them have been real!! all of them! The ones you loved too! Booker: . . . so you lied to me youve BEEN lying to me Jude: . . . I did it for you I did it for you I did it for you Booker: oh my god Jude: I didnt think it would go like this Booker: yeah no shit god my friends were right about you delete my number, I never want to hear from you again. Jude: Im sorry look Ill call the school, Ill explain, it was my fault not yours Booker: youll do that anyway if youre not a complete zero of a person Jude: Dont go, please, I really enjoyed talking to you Booker: yeah as some real author said, apparently, sometimes you have to walk away bye Jude: WAIT Booker? Booker? **** readdit.com/r_trans_lit_club Iscariot_J: old essays on Jamaica Kincaids Girl Replies: 1 lakecrawlr: I just read this story and its crazy, I feel the exact same way!! Like my inner monologue, all the ways Ive fucked up.Though for me the really interesting thing is imagining what the girl will be like when she grows up. Will she turn into her mom? Did her mom used to be just like her? And now shes just passing the hurt down, even though she knows better, even though she hates herself for it, because she doesnt know anything else? About the Author B. Pladek is a writer and literature scholar based in Wisconsin. His fiction has appeared inStrange Horizons,Slate Future Tense Fiction,PodCastle, and elsewhere. His debut novelDry Land appeared in fall 2023 and was shortlisted for the Crawford Award. You can find him at bpladek.net or on all socials @bpladek. Adamant Press Please visit Lightspeed Magazine to read more great science fiction and fantasy. This story first appeared in the December 2024 issue, which also features short fiction by Melissa A Watkins, Lincon Michel, Pat Murphy, Cressida Blake Roe, Adam-Troy Castro, David Anaxagoras, Gene Doucette, and more. You can wait for this months contents to be serialized online, or you can buy the whole issue right now in convenient ebook format for just $4.99, or subscribe to the ebook edition here. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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