E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
@emwhite.sadbutbuildingworlds.blog
Pen name. Writes dark and challenging fiction; would write more if life weren't so dark and challenging.
Also a magpie for fine stories and essays, particular about coffee and tea, and a year-round summer camp counselor for two cats.
Also a magpie for fine stories and essays, particular about coffee and tea, and a year-round summer camp counselor for two cats.
Pinned
Writing Premodern Mindsets: A Rant and Resources
Contents Introduction: The Problem and Some Parameters Resources: a somewhat condensed list My original touchstones Premodern ontologies and the concreteness of the spiritual Misguided modern views of...
sadbutbuildingworlds.blog
If you're ever bothered when characters in fantasy and hist-fic think and act like modern cosplayers in plate armor, hey, me too.
My latest, long-overdue blog post is a medium-sized compilation of resources for those of us who'd like to do a better job writing about premodernity.
My latest, long-overdue blog post is a medium-sized compilation of resources for those of us who'd like to do a better job writing about premodernity.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
November 29, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
Today seems timely for a reminder that Bookshop directs 80+% of their profit margin to indie bookstores, and you can also choose which bookstore you prefer to support through them.
Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
November 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Today seems timely for a reminder that Bookshop directs 80+% of their profit margin to indie bookstores, and you can also choose which bookstore you prefer to support through them.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
remember when HAD submitters donated $3.6k to assorted noble causes the other day? this excellent one from Leon Hedstrom is the first from that batch! https://www.havehashad.com/padic
November 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
remember when HAD submitters donated $3.6k to assorted noble causes the other day? this excellent one from Leon Hedstrom is the first from that batch! https://www.havehashad.com/padic
"Oceans are now battlefields."
- writers when they realize they'll have to return to the research mines for some maritime world-building
- writers when they realize they'll have to return to the research mines for some maritime world-building
There comes a time in every fantasy writer’s life when they are obliged to learn about ships.
November 29, 2025 at 5:38 PM
"Oceans are now battlefields."
- writers when they realize they'll have to return to the research mines for some maritime world-building
- writers when they realize they'll have to return to the research mines for some maritime world-building
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
November 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
In this week’s @strangehorizons.bsky.social, one of my favourite pieces I’ve edited this year — on orientalism from Star Trek to Game of Thrones.
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence
Dragon fire on white bodies is sad. Dragon fire on not-Muslim bodies is cheered on the screen. We ache when the scimitar prows of not-Muslim ships cleave through a white human captain’s ship. But b…
strangehorizons.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:24 AM
In this week’s @strangehorizons.bsky.social, one of my favourite pieces I’ve edited this year — on orientalism from Star Trek to Game of Thrones.
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
Photon Torpedoes Break the Space Muqarnas: SFF Audiovisuals and Anti-Muslim Violence,” by Tanvir Ahmed —
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
In an alternate universe, the actress doing the stabbing (playing the part of a Roman senator, because we know gender has never been an object in theatre) stabbed a little too hard.
Up next, she plays Lady Macbeth, too realistically washing her hands of the memory of the blood that stained them.
Up next, she plays Lady Macbeth, too realistically washing her hands of the memory of the blood that stained them.
incredible quote lol
November 28, 2025 at 10:49 PM
In an alternate universe, the actress doing the stabbing (playing the part of a Roman senator, because we know gender has never been an object in theatre) stabbed a little too hard.
Up next, she plays Lady Macbeth, too realistically washing her hands of the memory of the blood that stained them.
Up next, she plays Lady Macbeth, too realistically washing her hands of the memory of the blood that stained them.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
incredible quote lol
November 28, 2025 at 8:21 PM
incredible quote lol
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
fully seconding EXHUMA, the coolest episode of Korean X-Files you'll ever see
Noroi (2005)
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
November 6, 2025 at 5:05 PM
fully seconding EXHUMA, the coolest episode of Korean X-Files you'll ever see
Hmm, it seems I have another grueling conference flight coming up. Any recommendations for in-flight movies? Especially horror, something artsy, or preferably both.
So, harrowing as the gauntlet of airport gates and security was, the Air Canada flight from Vancouver to California was, shockingly, terrific.
i.e., I had a whole row to myself, and the flight was just the right length to watch Exhuma.
i.e., I had a whole row to myself, and the flight was just the right length to watch Exhuma.
November 28, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Hmm, it seems I have another grueling conference flight coming up. Any recommendations for in-flight movies? Especially horror, something artsy, or preferably both.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Noroi (2005)
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
November 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Noroi (2005)
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
The Priests (2015)
The Wailing (2016)
It Comes (2018)
Sleep (2023)
Exhuma (2024)
All the best exorcism movies of this century are either j- or k-horrors, sorry Hollywood
On "the machinery of empire" (per Yoon Ha Lee) and "the role of the individual within that machine."
I'm just getting started and this is already a splendid read.
I'm just getting started and this is already a splendid read.
I am SO EXCITED to share this Fifth Saturday extra: @annleckie.com and @byzantienne.bsky.social in conversation about questions of empire and imperialism in their respective novels.
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine: in conversation — Speculative Insight
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine have both written novels that focus on empires, imperialism, and colonialism, and how people react to and work within those structures. I asked them to chat with me, a...
www.speculativeinsight.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On "the machinery of empire" (per Yoon Ha Lee) and "the role of the individual within that machine."
I'm just getting started and this is already a splendid read.
I'm just getting started and this is already a splendid read.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
I am SO EXCITED to share this Fifth Saturday extra: @annleckie.com and @byzantienne.bsky.social in conversation about questions of empire and imperialism in their respective novels.
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine: in conversation — Speculative Insight
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine have both written novels that focus on empires, imperialism, and colonialism, and how people react to and work within those structures. I asked them to chat with me, a...
www.speculativeinsight.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I am SO EXCITED to share this Fifth Saturday extra: @annleckie.com and @byzantienne.bsky.social in conversation about questions of empire and imperialism in their respective novels.
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Lámh Laichtín • The Shrine of St Lachtin's Arm
This remarkable shrine in the shape of a forearm dates to around c.1120.
A hollow in the shrine is believed to have held the arm bone of St. Lachtin, a saint of the 6th century.
(some additional detail in the Alt-Text)
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
This remarkable shrine in the shape of a forearm dates to around c.1120.
A hollow in the shrine is believed to have held the arm bone of St. Lachtin, a saint of the 6th century.
(some additional detail in the Alt-Text)
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
November 28, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Lámh Laichtín • The Shrine of St Lachtin's Arm
This remarkable shrine in the shape of a forearm dates to around c.1120.
A hollow in the shrine is believed to have held the arm bone of St. Lachtin, a saint of the 6th century.
(some additional detail in the Alt-Text)
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
This remarkable shrine in the shape of a forearm dates to around c.1120.
A hollow in the shrine is believed to have held the arm bone of St. Lachtin, a saint of the 6th century.
(some additional detail in the Alt-Text)
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Nora has been one of our most consistent supporters!
This is a great opportunity to get a lovely holiday gift, support a queer artist, and help the trans community. 🥰
This is a great opportunity to get a lovely holiday gift, support a queer artist, and help the trans community. 🥰
HELLO IT'S BLACK FRIDAY
Instead of a sale this year I'm giving 10% of Black Friday weekend sales to @distributeaid.org for their harm reduction toolkits that provide safe injection supplies to trans people taking hormones.
nora.jewelry
#bsnm
Instead of a sale this year I'm giving 10% of Black Friday weekend sales to @distributeaid.org for their harm reduction toolkits that provide safe injection supplies to trans people taking hormones.
nora.jewelry
#bsnm
November 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Nora has been one of our most consistent supporters!
This is a great opportunity to get a lovely holiday gift, support a queer artist, and help the trans community. 🥰
This is a great opportunity to get a lovely holiday gift, support a queer artist, and help the trans community. 🥰
From a workplace talk on AI™ and assessment design, I remember the substantive content less than the filler images of "university students." No extra fingers or hair bleeding into clothes, but they sat in classrooms while also wearing grad caps and gowns, totally normal human behavior. 1/2
It's also just distracting because usually the image has some weirdness to it, and it doesn't tend to add explanatory value. So if you're just adding them for ambience or to represent a generic concept, just use a regular picture.
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
November 28, 2025 at 4:56 PM
From a workplace talk on AI™ and assessment design, I remember the substantive content less than the filler images of "university students." No extra fingers or hair bleeding into clothes, but they sat in classrooms while also wearing grad caps and gowns, totally normal human behavior. 1/2
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
In my lowest moments, I have been saved by books, music, and films that have shown me the lives of other people, people who gave me hope that better things can still exist. A computer can't provide that.
November 28, 2025 at 2:34 PM
In my lowest moments, I have been saved by books, music, and films that have shown me the lives of other people, people who gave me hope that better things can still exist. A computer can't provide that.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Fittingly, this James Baldwin quote always makes me feel the very thing it’s describing - connected in that very connection
November 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Fittingly, this James Baldwin quote always makes me feel the very thing it’s describing - connected in that very connection
internecine
I mean, I prefer not to have any occasion to use it outside discussions of fiction and distant history. But it's a word I'm thankful for
I mean, I prefer not to have any occasion to use it outside discussions of fiction and distant history. But it's a word I'm thankful for
Let’s all go around the table and say one word we’re thankful for.
November 28, 2025 at 3:43 AM
internecine
I mean, I prefer not to have any occasion to use it outside discussions of fiction and distant history. But it's a word I'm thankful for
I mean, I prefer not to have any occasion to use it outside discussions of fiction and distant history. But it's a word I'm thankful for
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Hey @support.bsky.team I was never told why I was put in time-out and as a result no lessons have been learned
November 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Hey @support.bsky.team I was never told why I was put in time-out and as a result no lessons have been learned
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Some of you may know that I curate a huge reading list if Palestinian fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It is not up to date… Please comment if you identify as Palestinian, or if you know of something that should be in the list! Please share for visibility. soniasulaiman.com/readpalestin...
Read Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List
The following is a growing reading list for the #ReadPalestinianSpecFic challenge. This is a work in progress to create a list of all available Palestinian speculative fiction. Novels: Novels by Na…
soniasulaiman.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Some of you may know that I curate a huge reading list if Palestinian fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It is not up to date… Please comment if you identify as Palestinian, or if you know of something that should be in the list! Please share for visibility. soniasulaiman.com/readpalestin...
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
Reinstate Goran NOW. Literally the only thing he's ever used his platform for is posting cool art and fundraising for people trying to survive a genocide.
Bluesky suspended Goran Gligovic, the guy that makes nice art. Jesus fucking Christ Bluesky
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reinstate Goran NOW. Literally the only thing he's ever used his platform for is posting cool art and fundraising for people trying to survive a genocide.
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
IMPERIAL BOOMERANG BABY
Imagine explaining you got a purple heart for doing a military occupation of your own capital
November 26, 2025 at 9:27 PM
IMPERIAL BOOMERANG BABY
Reposted by E.M. White, load-bearing grad student
How to Improve Your Attention Span: Daniel Pink’s Strategies for the Digital Age
How to Improve Your Attention Span: Daniel Pink’s Strategies for the Digital Age
In his new video above, the writer Daniel Pink proposes the following exercise: 'Grab a book and time yourself. How long can you read without getting up or checking your phone? Really try to push your...
www.openculture.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:41 PM
How to Improve Your Attention Span: Daniel Pink’s Strategies for the Digital Age