ML Brennan
@brennanml.bsky.social
Author
Tor Books: Generation V, Iron Night, Tainted Blood, Dark Ascension (GENERATION V series). Vampires, kitsune, werebears, nerdy jokes, New England references. MUST I learn a new platform?
What I'm saying is that I was wearing a graduation robe that I could literally have hidden an army of possums beneath with no one knowing.
Don't worry about what you wear. Be the witch with the candy house.
At the conclusion of the ceremony he asked me out, which was awkward because I was married, and I also had to kind of reassess the previous very pleasant hour. But he was a very lovely guy, and somewhere there is a geologist whose graduation was capped off with searing embarrassment.
During my master's graduation I realized that the sleeves of my robe were perfect for stashing snacks and a full bottle of water. I made friends with the graduate to my left when I offered him some of my M&Ms, and we spent the commencement chatting because we had strong objections to the speaker.
Cinda pissed those Old Gods off. Pissed 'em off good and proper.
Yup, that's my future.
Also, while much is said about the lead couples of every season (though if anyone ever out-heaves Kate, I will be shocked), but this series is absolutely buttressed by the female actors in the older roles. Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, Lady Featherington (KILLING it), and Lady Bridgerton.
Also, am I the only one watching season three of Bridgerton and absolutely SCREAMING at Penelope to marry the other guy? Like, seriously, Colin who? MARRY THE ADORABLE BLONDE VEGETARIAN TITLED NATURALIST AND BE HAPPY FOREVER, PENELOPE. THIS ISN'T A HARD CHOICE. COLIN ABSOLUTELY HAS THE CLAP.
The real fantasy element of Bridgerton is that all the heroes are doing an incredible amount of indiscriminate fucking, yet never get venereal disease.
Not sure why the picture didn't post, so here's another picture -- this time one of Shackleton sniffing it while I was taking the pictures for the listing.
New mobile -- When Pigs Fly.
www.etsy.com/listing/1719...
@eldritchgirl.bsky.social I saw this and immediately thought of you: www.etsy.com/listing/1731...
Oh, dear.
I mean.... "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride" is an aphorism for a reason.
Really and honestly --- that was the career path for the department head of my MFA program, and he would make sure that the college hosted multiple other writer dudes every year who were his personal buddies and who also had the same career trajectory.
I bet that Nest Dude then went out and complained to all his friends that women are too picky.
Is the negative attitude that part where you desire access to reliable food and shelter? :)
There is no quit in that woman. Look how many viable solutions she was able to come up with to accommodate this nest situation!
For the record -- there should be more quit in this woman. Maybe Nest Dude was a lovely person, but he should at least compromise on Wash Your Nesting Material.
I did not go out with the guy again after that (I wish it was because of the sheets, but no, there were other factors as well), so I don't have an exact date, but my recollection was that those sheets had been unwashed for at least two years.
Haha! So my oldest nephew is 18, so for Christmas he asked for the year ski pass and my brother was all, oh, it's his last year at home, okay, and my dad helped him buy it, and my nephew USED IT TWICE. In the whole winter. It's still too fresh for my brother to even speak of it -- my dad told me.
Also -- that dude's towels were literally stiff from never being washed.
I went home with a guy once and the state of his bed was such that I asked how often he washed his sheets, and it turned out that he hadn't done anything to them since the day his mom put them on the bed of his new apartment, so I truly feel that more than one Nest Dude walks among us.
Dating in your early twenties is a wild, wild time. Sometimes I look back on those days and honestly wonder how it is that I wasn't murdered.
I think my favorite thing about the global pandemic is a close tie between grocery pick-ups and the fact that I was just able to order a copy of my birth certificate online, to be sent to my house, without having to hoof it back to my town of birth to fill out a form in person.
I had ski lessons too! I can't even imagine how much that would cost now, so maybe it's kind of the silver lining of the fact that the entire ski industry in my state is going belly up due to global warming.
Right?? My parents are always on me for why I don't take my kids for a ski vacation like they used to do for me, and it's like, we just had that conversation about movie tickets, Dad. Think about it. Reeeeeally think about it.
Which is kind of funny because my parents truly never tire of complaining about how much cheaper it was to go to the movies when they were my age. Yet when it comes to how far a salary goes these days, suddenly they can't understand why I don't have a vacation home yet, like they did. Sigh.
Everyone actually needs to remember that if Frank Herbert wasn't truncating large storylines and skipping over massive scenes with just a reference line (oh yeah so Irulan is now in prison but whatevs moving forward) the main DUNE books would be easily twice their current length.
Everyone knows the real cicada pope is the one in Avignon -- I reject your imposter cicada pope.
What level of performative farm ownership are you at when you pull up in your cybertruck to take some Potemkin hauling shots?
All of the actual farmworkers were just hanging out with the real trucks while the photoshoot happened.
Those are the beautiful moments of teaching, when they start connecting those dots and you want to stand on a desk like you're Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.
There was no nice way to say that someone had an ugly baby.
UNTIL NOW.
With a swan and cygnet mobile you're saying -- hey, that baby might be ugly now, but I bet they'll grow up hot.
Baby shower = nailed it.
www.etsy.com/listing/1714...
Swan and Cygnets Mobile, Swan, Bird Mobile, Felt Baby Mobile, Baby Shower Gift, Neutral Mobile, Nursery Decor - Etsy
This Wall Hangings item is sold by ChampagneStoat. Ships from Willington, CT. Listed on May 10, 2024
www.etsy.com
That moment when you realize that the student never actually believed that you would give them an F, despite every increasingly clear warning.
That moment of revelation is a real kick to the ass for some of them.
They definitely do not.
Lately I've started feeling that I write these emails solely to have a grim record to show to administrators during grade challenges or student disputes.
THIS F SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE TO YOU, SINCE I WARNED YOU ABOUT ITS LIKELIHOOD REPEATEDLY, BOTH VERBALLY AND IN EMAILS, by Professor Brennan.
That awkward moment when you open an email and learn that a student truly did not understand that they failed the class, despite all the very clear THIS IS YOUR GRADE AND IF YOU DON'T DO X Y AND Z YOU WILL FAIL emails you kept sending.
Also a very useful way of talking about history.
Battle of the Somme? Definitely pre-Madonna.
We all laugh, but this reminds me so vividly of when I was teaching about ten years ago and a student used the term prima donna.
Except they wrote "pre-Madonna."
And they explained that it referred to any singer or band that was older than Madonna.
