Patrick Nielsen Hayden
@pnh.nielsenhayden.com
VP and editor-at-large at the Tor Publishing Group. Series editor, Tor Essentials. Winner of three Hugos and a World Fantasy Award for editorial work. Opinions mine, not Tor’s. Happily working out of Tucson, AZ.
He, his. Anti-trans dingbats, get lost.
He, his. Anti-trans dingbats, get lost.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
November 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
"This woke Me-Too bullshit has gone too far," said the former Harvard President and Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to the billionaire pedophile sex trafficker in a private email that the Justice Department under both parties kept secret for years
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 AM
"This woke Me-Too bullshit has gone too far," said the former Harvard President and Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to the billionaire pedophile sex trafficker in a private email that the Justice Department under both parties kept secret for years
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
All the Epstein emails are powerful elites saying shit like “Hello my friend the pedophile, i need your advice as a pedophile, what do you think about this other pedophile? Pedophilic Regards, your Friend ;)” and instead of swinging from a gibbet most of them are still writing op-eds against leftism
November 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
All the Epstein emails are powerful elites saying shit like “Hello my friend the pedophile, i need your advice as a pedophile, what do you think about this other pedophile? Pedophilic Regards, your Friend ;)” and instead of swinging from a gibbet most of them are still writing op-eds against leftism
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
David Hogg’s organization blew $150,000 on a model/influencer’s challenge to Adelita Grijalva in the primary for the open AZ seat when Grijalva was a shoo-in to win and had Bernie and AOC’s endorsements.
His pick lost by 40 points.
Hogg has some good qualities, good judgement is not one of them.
His pick lost by 40 points.
Hogg has some good qualities, good judgement is not one of them.
Remember when the Democratic Party party turned on David Hogg for suggesting we should primary the types of senators who would do shit like fold in half at the worst possible time, resulting in millions of Americans getting fucked over a barrel?
November 12, 2025 at 4:42 AM
David Hogg’s organization blew $150,000 on a model/influencer’s challenge to Adelita Grijalva in the primary for the open AZ seat when Grijalva was a shoo-in to win and had Bernie and AOC’s endorsements.
His pick lost by 40 points.
Hogg has some good qualities, good judgement is not one of them.
His pick lost by 40 points.
Hogg has some good qualities, good judgement is not one of them.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Still thinking about this story. Imagine how cooked your brain has to be on Fox News -- how terrified you have to be, every day in your isolated suburban castle -- to start *shooting* when you see brown people at your door, before the door is even open. We're such a nation of terrified cowards.
Cleaning worker who mistakenly went to wrong home fatally shot: Police
The shooting victim died from a gunshot wound to the head, the coroner's office said.
abcnews.go.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Still thinking about this story. Imagine how cooked your brain has to be on Fox News -- how terrified you have to be, every day in your isolated suburban castle -- to start *shooting* when you see brown people at your door, before the door is even open. We're such a nation of terrified cowards.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Musk wants to be a Renaissance man, but he's not even a paleolithic man.
Paleolithic people made art, cared for the sick, & got together to share resources & ideas.
Musk would have died alone, crying that no one saw the genius of his plan to monetize hitting yourself in the head with a big rock.
Paleolithic people made art, cared for the sick, & got together to share resources & ideas.
Musk would have died alone, crying that no one saw the genius of his plan to monetize hitting yourself in the head with a big rock.
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Musk wants to be a Renaissance man, but he's not even a paleolithic man.
Paleolithic people made art, cared for the sick, & got together to share resources & ideas.
Musk would have died alone, crying that no one saw the genius of his plan to monetize hitting yourself in the head with a big rock.
Paleolithic people made art, cared for the sick, & got together to share resources & ideas.
Musk would have died alone, crying that no one saw the genius of his plan to monetize hitting yourself in the head with a big rock.
What the everlasting fuck
In a rare case of Substack notes usefulness, I just learned that Sarah Kendzior (author of They Knew and a brilliant writer) got bounced from Bluesky. What the hell? new @sarahkendzior.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 AM
What the everlasting fuck
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Siegfried Sassoon
November 9, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Siegfried Sassoon
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
I don't think bsky has any idea how many of us 'normies' that are ready to bolt the second there's an option that excludes their moderation and censorship completely. I have zero faith in their judgment. It only takes ONE vindictive blocking to invalidate years of trust building.
November 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
I don't think bsky has any idea how many of us 'normies' that are ready to bolt the second there's an option that excludes their moderation and censorship completely. I have zero faith in their judgment. It only takes ONE vindictive blocking to invalidate years of trust building.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
There is something really wrong with people who need workers to be not just competent, but slavishly fake-happy. "Slavishly" used on purpose, bc that's where this grotesquerie comes from.
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
There is something really wrong with people who need workers to be not just competent, but slavishly fake-happy. "Slavishly" used on purpose, bc that's where this grotesquerie comes from.
(1) This is creepy as fuck and guarantees I will _never_ again set foot in a Target
(2) As @tnh.nielsenhayden.com points out, this sets up Target employees to be gamed up the wazoo by all kinds of bad actors
(2) As @tnh.nielsenhayden.com points out, this sets up Target employees to be gamed up the wazoo by all kinds of bad actors
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
(1) This is creepy as fuck and guarantees I will _never_ again set foot in a Target
(2) As @tnh.nielsenhayden.com points out, this sets up Target employees to be gamed up the wazoo by all kinds of bad actors
(2) As @tnh.nielsenhayden.com points out, this sets up Target employees to be gamed up the wazoo by all kinds of bad actors
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
There are 7.5 million non-Muslims in New York. For the city to become "completely Muslim" in four years, about 5,000 of us will have to flee or convert every day for 1461 days straight. Let's get started!
November 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
There are 7.5 million non-Muslims in New York. For the city to become "completely Muslim" in four years, about 5,000 of us will have to flee or convert every day for 1461 days straight. Let's get started!
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
New York City "will be completely Muslim in 3-4 years." About a million New Yorkers are now Muslim, with 7.5 million non-Muslims. I wonder if the non-Muslims will all flee or whether we'll be forced to convert in ceremonies on the free buses.
November 8, 2025 at 4:31 PM
New York City "will be completely Muslim in 3-4 years." About a million New Yorkers are now Muslim, with 7.5 million non-Muslims. I wonder if the non-Muslims will all flee or whether we'll be forced to convert in ceremonies on the free buses.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
"We lost NY." The US right is always desperately afraid of losing things. Remember when the US "lost China" in 1949 to the people who lived in China.
November 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
"We lost NY." The US right is always desperately afraid of losing things. Remember when the US "lost China" in 1949 to the people who lived in China.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
People who say "we need to have a conversation " just mean "shut up and listen to me" every fucking time
November 7, 2025 at 3:32 PM
People who say "we need to have a conversation " just mean "shut up and listen to me" every fucking time
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
“Álvaro López, the electoral coordinator for the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, believes “we need to get away from a ‘holding them accountable’ framework toward a ‘building power’ framework.” hammerandhope.org/article/mamd...
Zohran Got New Yorkers to Hope. What’s the Plan to Deliver?
Organizers who brought him to the verge of victory are looking ahead to the challenges of democratic governance.
hammerandhope.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:51 PM
“Álvaro López, the electoral coordinator for the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, believes “we need to get away from a ‘holding them accountable’ framework toward a ‘building power’ framework.” hammerandhope.org/article/mamd...
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
This is just about setting the defaults so that ‘high value’ / high profile users and corporations don’t see people yelling at them for being shit.
The reason Bluesky is doing the "rude" post labeling based on keywords or downvotes is that for them it's an easy-to-do performative thing.
"Hey, we're doing something!"
Meanwhile actual harmful accounts (e.g. transphobes) can post their tripe freely because Jay thinks those are valuable ideas.
"Hey, we're doing something!"
Meanwhile actual harmful accounts (e.g. transphobes) can post their tripe freely because Jay thinks those are valuable ideas.
November 7, 2025 at 1:28 PM
This is just about setting the defaults so that ‘high value’ / high profile users and corporations don’t see people yelling at them for being shit.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
I have been assured that capitalism is the most rational system of resource allocation humanity can possibly devise.
Musk gets his $1 trillion compensation package approved by Tesla shareholders.
Shareholders in the room chant "Elon, Elon, Elon!"
Shareholders in the room chant "Elon, Elon, Elon!"
November 6, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I have been assured that capitalism is the most rational system of resource allocation humanity can possibly devise.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
A reminder that the “rude” label is being used to shush people. The screenshot is a post from Stonekettle with the content hidden because it’s marked as “rude.”
Didn't take long for BS to end up exactly like every other platform.
November 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
A reminder that the “rude” label is being used to shush people. The screenshot is a post from Stonekettle with the content hidden because it’s marked as “rude.”
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
great day for the legal theory of "not guilty if it's funny enough"
November 6, 2025 at 7:55 PM
great day for the legal theory of "not guilty if it's funny enough"
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When you bring wine and bread to a picnic?
— The Wreck of the Edward FitzGerald
When you bring wine and bread to a picnic?
— The Wreck of the Edward FitzGerald
November 6, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When you bring wine and bread to a picnic?
— The Wreck of the Edward FitzGerald
When you bring wine and bread to a picnic?
— The Wreck of the Edward FitzGerald
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
supreme court poised to side with "No We Shouldn't" in landmark case "We Should Shoot The Economy In The Head For No Reason v. No We Shouldn't"
Gorsuch finally speaks, and oh yeah, he's against Trump. Alito also sounded skeptical, which is surprising to me. Regardless, there will plainly be a lopsided majority to strike down the tariffs.
The government better start working on its Plan B...
The government better start working on its Plan B...
November 5, 2025 at 5:22 PM
supreme court poised to side with "No We Shouldn't" in landmark case "We Should Shoot The Economy In The Head For No Reason v. No We Shouldn't"
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
the brutal ableism of Trumpism is an underrated part of its ideology by most pundits. Trump mocking a disabled journalist *invigorated* his voters rather than repelling them, because it made them feel that they were safely on the side of the bully, rather than the victim.
Again: what cruelty animates this action; even if it were legal, why would you do something this inhumane?
NEW: A federal judge said the decision by Trump WH to end sign language interpretation at briefings by Trump and Leavitt likely violated the Rehabilitation Act and harmed deaf people who communicate in ASL.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 5, 2025 at 4:48 PM
the brutal ableism of Trumpism is an underrated part of its ideology by most pundits. Trump mocking a disabled journalist *invigorated* his voters rather than repelling them, because it made them feel that they were safely on the side of the bully, rather than the victim.