The 2025 Whatever Holiday Gift Guide Starts Monday!
Nov. 28th, 2025 10:34 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
scalziwhatever_feed
Every year as the holiday season begins we’ve run a gift guide for the holidays, and over the years it’s been quite successful: Lots of people have found out about excellent books and crafts and charities and what have you, making for excellent gift-giving opportunities during the holiday season. We’ve decided to do it again this year.
So: Starting Monday, December 1, the Whatever Holiday Gift Guide returns! If you’re a writer or other creator, this will be an excellent time to promote your work on a site which gets tens of thousands of viewers daily, almost all of whom will be interested in stuff for the holidays. If you’re someone looking to give gifts, you’ll see lots of excellent ideas. And you’ll also have a day to suggest stuff from other folks too. Everybody wins!
To give you all time to prepare, here’s the schedule of what will be promoted on which days:
Monday, December 1: Traditionally Published Authors — If your work is being published by a publisher a) who is not you and b) gets your books into actual, physical bookstores on a returnable basis, this is your day to tell people about your books. This includes comics/graphic novels and audiobooks.
Tuesday, December 2: Non-Traditionally Published Authors — Self-published? Electronically published? Or other? This is your day. This also includes comics/graphic novels and audiobooks.
Wednesday, December 3: Other Creators — Artists, knitters, jewelers, musicians, and anyone who has cool stuff to sell this holiday season, this will be the day to show off your creations.
Thursday, December 4: Fan Favorite Day — Not an author/artist/musician/other creator but know about some really cool stuff you think people will want to know about for the holidays? Share! Share with the crowd!
Friday, December 5: Charities — If you are involved in a charity, or have a favorite charity you’d like to let people know about, this is the day to do it.
If you have questions about how all of this will work, go ahead and ask them in the comment thread (Don’t start promoting your stuff today — it’s not time yet), although I will note that specific instructions for each day will appear on that day. Don’t worry, it’ll be pretty easy. Thanks and feel free to share this post with creative folks who will have things to sell this holiday season.
— JS
Poor Little Rich People
Nov. 28th, 2025 07:52 pmscalziwhatever_feedThe YouTube video above fascinates me, because it details how people making $500,000 a year — economically fortunate by any sane measure — are still frequently living paycheck to paycheck. One signal reason for this is the issue of lifestyle comparison, and the fact that income disparity in the 1% is vastly wider than the income disparity within other segments of American life.
Huh? Well, as an example, let’s look at the third quintile of income in the US. In 2023 that third quintile had incomes roughly between $61,000 and $98,000, according to the US Census. Everyone within that quintile was within $37,000 dollars of each other in yearly income, more or less. That disparity is not nothing, obviously, but it’s all within economic hailing distance. In the one percent, the income range was between about $560,000 and, well, more than a billion dollars (this is reported income, not unrealized, illiquid wealth in things like stocks and real estate). Someone on the lowest rung of the 1% is vastly economically closer to someone in abject poverty than they are to that billionaire.
Thing is, if you are in the 1%, you’re not comparing your lifestyle to someone living in a tarpaper shack, you’re comparing your lifestyle to other people in the 1%. This often means comparing yourself to people who have ten or a hundred times more income than you do, with similar inequalities in overall wealth. Your lifestyle costs more, and because it costs more, the temptation of the “lower rung rich” to financially overextend themselves to keep up appearances is real — and also, in the world of the upper classes, things just cost more, because companies catering to rich people know their customers don’t want to be seen counting their coins. The person in the market for a BMW 7 series is a fundamentally different economic entity than the person in the market for a Honda Accord. This person is shopping at Erewhon, not Aldi. In the 1%, apparently, you are who you appear to be, or at least, who you appear to be to your neighbors and co-workers.
(Mind you, shit’s getting more expensive for everyone everywhere, it’s not just the 1% feeling the inflationary pinch. But as the video points out, businesses and economists are aware that most people in lower four quintiles are as squeezed as they’re going to get; any new growth in sales/revenues are going to come from the top end, which makes them ripe for price increases on goods and services directed to them specifically.)
“Well, Scalzi, you’re bougie as fuck and yet you don’t seem to be living paycheck to paycheck,” I hear you say. And it’s true! There are reasons for that. One, I’m a writer, and my “paychecks” — advances, royalties, the occasional film/TV option — arrive so sporadically that if we tried to budget around their arrival we would be screwed. Early on, when I was still a freelancer (and, to be clear, with the help of Krissy having a more regular income) we built up a “buffer account” to make sure our paying of bills was not dependent on waiting for any one particular check of mine to arrive. That buffer account still exists, just a little more padded out.
Two, we’ve largely avoided the comparison trap. We live in rural Ohio, a location not exactly swimming with people whose income we directly index our own against, and not a place where shops cater to the higher end of incomes. I’m a writer, which means the professional community I am part of does not generally have the same incomes as, say, neurosurgeons or finance dudes. The highly sporadic nature of writer income also means I am aware the income is not reliable, and watching the careers of other writers through the years means I know one can’t just assume everything will be golden forever. Also, you know. Krissy and I both grew up with periods of our lives where we experienced, shall we say, a deficit of money. This has made each of us relatively conservative with what we do with our money, both individually and together. We’re not going to spend money to impress other people. We’re sure as hell not going to pile up debt to do it.
Three, we have other advantages and strategies. Where we live means we are able to acquire property at a discount to other areas (this means we’re unlikely to sell it later at ridiculously inflated prices, as we might if we lived in a city stuffed with high-income earners, but that’s fine). We don’t have any debt, which means we don’t have to pay out of our income to service it. I am financially literate and numerate (my very first book was on finance) and I don’t like to gamble, so our overall investment strategy is very much predicated on the idea that compound interest is our friend. Whenever I feel like trying to get rich quick, I buy a lottery ticket. It has roughly the same odds as me or any other non-professional without access to advanced financial market tools successfully day trading or timing the market.
Finally, for both Krissy and me, there’s a point where the use of money has diminishing returns, and we don’t tend to spend after that bend of the curve. Last year Krissy bought a Honda CR-V hybrid. Could we have afforded something more upscale? Sure. But inasmuch as the CR-V had everything Krissy wanted and needed in a car, and going upscale from there would have meant a lot more money for only marginal improvement in utility, was it worth it to her? No. Likewise, my 2011 MINI Countryman lacks some modern technological amenities that I would like in a car, but not so many or so much that I’m going to spend for a whole new car when my own car still runs perfectly well and, frankly, sticking my phone into an eye-level holder and using an adapter to plug the thing into my car speakers will handle 90% of what I want.
(This doesn’t mean I have never done silly things with money, as my frankly over-endowed guitar collection will indicate. But I don’t get out over my skis on stuff like that. I always check in with Krissy, who is our day-day-money manager, before I make any such purchases. If she tells me “no” then it doesn’t happen.)
Krissy and I have been smart, and also we have been lucky, which should not be discounted either. There are lots of points in our lives where we could have been one bad break away from real financial problems. Beyond this, I don’t pretend I haven’t been incredibly fortunate in my own career, sometimes for reasons that have very little to do with me directly. It also doesn’t hurt that my own skills were portable, which allowed us to live somewhere housing and living costs were not ridiculously high.
At the end of the day, however, we’ve avoided so many problems by simply not worrying about how we stacked up against other people financially, and by being able to be content when things are good enough. We didn’t need to keep up with the Joneses, or the Bezoses. We’re doing well enough to be happy. And that’s the thing.
— JS
The Turkey Aftermath
Nov. 28th, 2025 02:00 pmcakewrecks_feedAhhh, turkey cake wrecks. The bane-yet-blessing of my bloggy existence.
::pause::
Wanna see some more?
If there were a Vegas review starring hot dogs and/or Twinkies...uh...dangit, now I kind of wish that actually existed. Somebody get on that, will you?
The irony, it runs deep.
(For extra lolz, just imagine the little feet wiggling.)
I'm sure you've seen ads for those turkey ice cream cakes. You know, these ones?
Well, expectation, meet reality:
(Once you start seeing this as a greased pig stuck in a rabbit hole, it's pretty much all you CAN see.)
And finally, I've seen my share of disturbing turkey cakes, believe me. (BELIEVE ME.) And yet, I think this really could be the MOST disturbing turkey cake I have ever seen.
[blinking]
Turkey cake is people!
TURKEY CAKE IS PEOPLE!!
Thanks to wreckporters Beth J., Nicki B., Rebecca W., & Courtney for "working" on a holiday. Extra leftovers for you, guys!
*****
Here's a new game - at least to me - that's getting rave reviews for family game time:
Beat That! The Bonkers Battle Of Wacky Challenges
Beat That comes with a huge assortment of physical game challenges, from bouncing balls into cups to picking up dice with a pair of chopsticks, and you bet with tokens on which challenges you think you can beat inside the time limit. Looks like fast-paced, silly fun. I'm thinking of bringing it to Thanksgiving this year, to break up the post-turkey sleepy time, heh.
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula
Nov. 28th, 2025 06:26 amapod_feed
NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a
Portrait of NGC 1055
Nov. 28th, 2025 06:26 amapod_feed
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of
Hey, Look, I Baked Something For Thanksgiving
Nov. 28th, 2025 03:10 amscalziwhatever_feed
Unlike other members of my family, it has been literally years since I’ve baked anything, and even longer since I baked anything more complicated than a frozen pizza. But for this Thanksgiving, I will feeling a little ambitious, and I saw a recipe on the Dessert Person YouTube channel that looked good, so I thought I would give it a shot.
And what do you know, I pulled it off! Please see above my 7-layer holiday bars (pre-bar form), most prominently featuring cranberries and coconut. It turned out pretty well, and my family did not have to pretend to like it just to humor me. We have learned that I can follow directions, at least in the form of a recipe. This is good news. I’ll include the video I got the recipe off of so you can try it for yourself.
If you’re a person in the US, I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one if you chose to celebrate it, and for everyone else, I hope you had a pretty good Thursday.
— JS
If there's a God up in heaven, he has a Silver Thunderbird
Nov. 27th, 2025 07:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniSo, Thanksgiving.
Went to work early and wrote, eh, 700ish words on the story that woke me up yesterday. Closed that and wrote another 800ish words on the WIP.
Made a fancy dinner -- two chicken breasts, stuffing, gravy, asparagus, San Pellegrino Limonata with a splash of Pinot Grigio. I had dessert on hand, but I went back to write some more, at which point, there was a BOOM! that shook the whole house and the windows in their frames. The cats leapt up. I leapt up. Honestly, I thought a tree had hit the house, and ran outside -- but all was well. Did a quick tour of the house, including the basement -- all was as it should be.
Turned out that a propane tank had exploded in Oakland (Maine) about 5 miles from my house. People on the neighborhood list on Facebook were saying they heard the BOOM! in Winslow, across the river -- call it 8 miles away. The house was reduced to flinders and flame, one guy was lifeflighted to Portland. A dog was found in the area, badly burned; people passing by took him to the emergency vet. Fire departments from at least five towns were called in. It's a right mess, and I'm glad I was no closer than five miles, because it was plenty scary right here.
Tomorrow morning, Sarah's due to clean. After, I intend to devote myself to My Art for the rest of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
I do still have one burning question to resolve today, which is!
Do I want to have a chicken sandwich for dinner?
Hope everybody had a good day, whether or not it was a holiday.
Today's blog post title brought to you by Marc Cohn, "Silver Thunderbird"
12 Thanksgiving Cakes To Make You EXTRA Thankful
Nov. 27th, 2025 02:00 pmcakewrecks_feedJohn and I actually had our Thanksgiving dinner with family on Monday, and we had ham instead of turkey, but it was still totally Thanksgiving dinner because we used cloth napkins and the phrases "What's that supposed to mean?" and "No, YOU'RE wrong!" were used. YAY HOLIDAYS.
If that doesn't already make you feel more thankful, then here are twelve wrecks to remind you just how blessed you are to have a phone with Internet access so you can look at goofy cake pictures while your family argues politics. (Yeah, I know you're out there. Welcome!)
"Bad news, sir: the tiny phalluses have us surrounded.
"Also, you're on fire."
It's the original Thanksgiving streaker!
(But what in the name of Stovetop is that "stuffing" made of?)
This bird is here to PUMP... *clap!* ...YOU UP!
"HURRRG! Watch me flex, ya!"
And this:
...is an EX-turkey.
(I can't help it; those stiff little legs crack me up every. single. time. And then I start pining for the fjords...)
Aw, don't cry, little fella! I'm sure all turkey cakes have visible bowels.
Or at least the ones around here, anyway.
This cake doesn't need commentary; it needs a sound effect.
Something like, "BLTTHHHHPPPPPPPPPP. THPP."
As a proud geek girl, I usually use the word "shiny" as a compliment.
Not this time.
Also, that "cake" is butted up against real raw potatoes. You know how I know they're real potatoes? Because they're the only thing on that platter that looks like the thing they're supposed to be.
A lot of people have complained about Christmas decorations creeping in alongside all the Thanksgiving ones this year, but I didn't think it was so bad 'til I saw this:
YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE, GINGERBREAD MAN.
Now for a quick etiquette lesson:
This is why you should always chew with your mouth closed.
And also why you should never confuse your TP with TNT. (Ouch.)
Which reminds me: anyone else think this turkey is mooning us?
Or is that too much of a stretch?
(HEYO!)
So in conclusion, allow me and the Ghost of Turkeys Past here to wish you a very Happy...
..."Itanksgiving."
Or, as most of us know it:
"Gooble Gooble Day."
Thanks to Kimberly H., Craig, Katrina O., Sam K., David G., Michael H., Sara G., Ardin A., Susan F., Deborah B., Travis S., & Carolyn H. for the Thanksgiving thankfulness.
******
P.S. Remember, it's never too early for Christmas decorations... in your beard:
BEARDAMENTS Beard Lights & Baubles
Even if you don't have a beard - or know someone with a beard you could convince to wear these - I highly recommend checking out the customer photo gallery, haha. "RH" in the red shirt has an especially majestic display. :D
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
A Nice Instrumental Cover of Adele For You
Nov. 27th, 2025 02:31 amscalziwhatever_feedNormally when I do a cover I sing on it, but it turns out it’s hard for me to sing Adele songs! At least without some considerable reconfiguration. So, I’ll keep working on that, but in the meantime the instrumental track I made for “Someone Like You” is nice and calm and soothing, and I thought y’all might like it. Enjoy.
— JS
Smol update
Nov. 26th, 2025 07:01 pmrolanniI played around with my glass for an hour or so, straightened up the house, and weighed the livestock, to wit!
Rook weighs 13 lbs
Tali weighs 12.6 lbs
Firefly weight 12 lbs
The coon cats have just had Happy Hour and after I finish this smol update, I will pour a glass of wine and open the mail.
Everybody have a good evening.
"Takes Direction Well"
Nov. 26th, 2025 02:00 pmcakewrecks_feedEver feel like you've lost your direction in life?
Do you find yourself wandering aimlessly through bakery aisles and back alley icing parlors*?
* I don't actually know if back alley icing parlors exist, but a girl can dream.
Are you stuck in the hangar bay of life, waiting for the pod bay doors of opportunity to open up and spit you out into the sucking black void of PURPOSE?
If the answer is yes, maybe, or "huh?", then have I got the job for you!
That's right, my friends, the time has never been riper to be a Wreckerator! Or a person who likes to mix metaphors badly, like a withered, overripe tree in space.
But let's focus on the wrecking thing for now, shall we?
We're looking for a few good pairs of hands (preferably attached to still-functioning torsos) that can follow directions TO THE LETTER.
And by "we" I mean "me."
And if you see something grammatically wrong with that statement, then I'm afraid you're already disqualified. Kindly collect your complimentary "Prefessional Baker" buttons at the door and show yourselves out.
Now, for the rest of you, just LOOK at all the exciting things your future could have in store!
The glamor! The excitement! The satisfaction of giving a customer EXACTLY what they ask for!
But the REAL cherry on top? Someday you, too, could write, "cherry on top" on one of your orders!
Consider this something to work toward.
Now, who here failed Biology?
Ah, excellent!
Because next up: baby shower cakes.
Thanks to Inge D., Stephanie S., Emily S., Stephanie H., & Sargam M. for being the wind beneath my leaves. Except there's no wind...IN SPACE.
*****
P.S. I found a book right up our wrecky alley:
A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking
I don't even need a synopsis. I'm sold.
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2025 06:13 amapod_feed
What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best?
Anh Gets Something
Nov. 25th, 2025 08:28 pmquestionable_content_feed
she's a smart* cookie
*not actually smart
Survivalism PSA and writing report
Nov. 25th, 2025 04:33 pmrolanniPSA RE: (1) Survivialism/Survivalist (2) Cancer Survivorship Program
. . . on account of I'm tired of answering the question "What is a Survivalist?"
Those who have been with me for a little while know that back in 2020, I was diagnosed with cancer and had my left breast removed. Just about a month ago, after about 5.5 years, my surgeon declared me "cancer free," and cut me loose from her care.
This makes me a Cancer Survivor (also, apparently, "a warrior"; make of that what you will).
At the Lafayette Cancer Center in Brewer, Maine, when one has achieved 5 years cancer-free, one is given over to the Survivorship Program, which files under Oncology.
The head of the Survivorship program has been called in my hearing the "Survivalist." At the Lafayette Cancer Center, this person is a Certified Nurse Practitioner; there is also a Nurse Navigator attached to the program, and of course the backing of the entire Oncology Department.
The mission of the Survivorship Program is to provide education and support to help cancer survivors maximize their health and quality of life after having had cancer and treatment for cancer. The program is individualized, and covers such things as a yearly examination -- physical, mental, and emotional -- referrals to other specialists sometimes needed by surviving warriors, such as psychiatrists or nutritionists; connections to social services, and support groups. Advice about diet, exercise, and all those other tiresome things is available.
The Survivorship Program also keeps track of my mammograms and orders the next one for me; and is just another cord in what is, in Central and Northern Maine, at least, a Very Thin social health network.
You now know everything I know about Survivalists, Survivorship, and Survivalism.
Here ends your PSA. We now return you to your irregularly scheduled flights of fancy.
#
Managed to trim +/- 2,000 words from a section of the WIP which probably needs to lose some more words. There's an "obvious" bit that I can rip out that will lose me another 500 words, but I'm ... reluctant to do that. It's more than I just like the bit (though I do, and "kill your darlings" is not Eternal Wisdom, so nobody go there, 'k?), so the bit gets to stay.
For Now.
Did a little bit of house straightening this afternoon and will shortly be heading out in the Stygian Darkness of 4:30 pm to go to needlework.
Tomorrow will be writing in the morning, some more straightening of the house, and a bit of playing with glass.
I'll say goodnight for now, and see y'all tomorrow.
Stay safe.
Here, have a picture of Rookie overseeing my shoddy impersonation of a working writer:
scalziwhatever_feed
Well, this is lovely: When the Moon Hits Your Eye made it into the final round of this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards, in the category of science fiction, along with the other works you see here. This is a very nice peer group to have, I have to say.
If you feel like voting for Moon, or, indeed any other book in this finalist group, here is the link for you to do so. If you vote for Moon, hey, thanks! If you choose something else, that’s cool too.
I’m actually very happy with Moon making the final cut here. It’s an unusual sort of book, both structurally and in subject matter, and it wasn’t 100% clear to me that readers would take to it. Getting to this round is encouraging. Let’s see where it goes from here.
In any event: Go vote!
— JS
Pan-Demonium
Nov. 25th, 2025 02:00 pmcakewrecks_feedToday's post is a little different, and doesn't quite fit my standard definition of a wreck - but it's just too darn funny not to share.
Today's post is also probably NSFW, and unless you want some really uncomfortable discussions with your children, NSFK, either.
So, assuming you're at home and have no kids around, YOU MAY PROCEED.
*****
In the spirit of Pan-Tastic, we here at CW want you to get the most mileage out of your shaped cake pans. To that end, allow us to present....er, this:
IT'S A LIGHTHOUSE.
Juuuuust a lighthouse.
("Be a beacon?!")
(If you get that reference, I will personally award you one million geek points.)
And also this:
Old Macdonald had a farm.
Which was clearly compensating for something.
Of course, your pan may be a slightly different model, so there's also this option:
Those pesky UFOs - always taking off to the right.
Or this:
I'm coocoo for COCONUTS!
(Coconuts. Seriously. THESE JOKES WRITE THEMSELVES.)
By now I'm sure you're wondering where all these brilliant designs came from. Well, would you believe there was a whole website dedicated to finding alternative uses for that most distinctive of shaped cake pans? 'Cuz there was, and I think you'll agree that blogger/baker Holly was a veritable WIZARD at making me bust a gut laughing:
You'll never hear a reference to Mr. Wizard the same way again.
And here's one final option, spotted at an actual baby shower:
There's something ironic about using this particular pan for a baby shower cake. Or is it appropriate? Ironically appropriate? Whatever. IT'S FUNNY.
My thanks to Thomas S., whoever it was that originally sent me the link to Holly's site, and the rest of you for not yelling at me in the comments about how these aren't professional or at ALL appropriate. I KNOW.
But to be fair, neither am I. ;)
*****
P.S. It is possible our obsession with gnomes has gone too far?
Gnome Refrigerator Handle Covers, Set of 8
... or not far enough?
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
