This is not going to be me explaining my conversion to Christianity, let me just get that disclaimer out of the way. I have THAT piece sitting in Wordpress, but I'm not ready for it to be in the world just yet. Also, I'm getting baptized later this month, and there's always the chance that God will say something to me, like This is my beloved daughter, Nicole, in whom I am well pleased.

"Hermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met," said Ron weakly, "and if I'm ever rude to you again --" He broke off suddenly. "This just says DO YOUR OWN GODDAMN WORK in fourteen languages."

JOHANNAH: So shall we get into it?

JOE: Cards on the table: this was my first time reading this book. I think I tried, several times, as a younger person, and never made it past the falconry bit.

FELIX: What have you got against falconry?

JOE: Only, in my youth, a dreadfully short attention span.

There are many things that can be said of Murphy the dog: He is Murphy. Yes, he is. He is a dog, a good one, a dog he is decidedly. Murphy is ten, and has some teeth.

We missed you so much! Welcome back. We have links.

The week in Toast!

EMMA'S DRESS. All of it, but chiefly: EMMA'S DRESS.

"DO AS I SAY, CHILD, or by heaven , I'll ask you again."

Toasties! It's pecan dessert season! Also, movie watching season.

The first time I ever spoke publicly about the games I make was at a social event in October 2013, hosted by a Toronto-based feminist non-profit called Dames Making Games (DMG). I had created a small, personal game about my experiences with disordered eating, and while I was proud of the game, I was also terrified of speaking about my experiences.

Oh man, this is well worth reading in its entirety. This is just incredibly solid, well-reported local journalism. Sam Levin covers online racial profiling in Oakland.

Some beautiful links for you today!

Other quizzes can be found here.

1. A Starry Night in Brazil
2. Before Sunrise
3. Night of a Thousand Stars

Was sir in awareness of the fact that beloved suspense novelist Daphne du Maurier once wrote a horror story about the evils of sex toys? That she did it in 1937, after which it was lost for over 70 years? That it is in all its availability for sir's earliest convenience, if he will slash my throatlet for being so bold?

In June of this year, writer Tamara Winfrey Harris released The Sisters Are Alright: Changing The Broken Narrative of Black Women in America. According to The Washington Post, Harris writes “specifically of black women, and taking care to avoid conflating the black male experience with the definition of the black experience, period.” In this pivotal cultural moment when black men’s lives are often the focal point of the Black Lives Matter movement, Harris’ work…