iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mysti @mystiberry.com · 29/09/2026

Don't be this guy. Don't date this guy. I'm begging you. For those who revel in grievousness--please listen: helping each other is not a zero sum game. For those who don't know Ms. Neely's story: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara... Also, this is why I haven't been on Facebook since 2018.

A screenshot without the name of the person who issued this sad-assed racist trope disguised as a question about the Barbara Neely scholarships.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 29/09/2026

In which timeline do I get to vote for Buttigieg & Ocasio-Cortez in 2028?

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson, similarly trapped in a timeline he never asked for. (Head to forehead, sad eyes, weight of world on his shoulders in the velveteen chair with the plaid blanket on the back).

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 13/09/2026

I was today years old before I learned that this is the silly way we spell "idiosyncrasies." But also, I learned the word "melisma" the lovely thing Arnold McCuller does to words in Lovett's "Church," such a lovely and unique voice!

Arnold McCuller with Lyle Lovett standing for a picture. Not sure who took the snap.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 07/09/2026

I loved Coyote vs. Acme. The people who made it also clearly loved the original. It felt good to see the movie in a crowded theatre. We clapped at the end. I haven’t heard that in a long time. #coyotevsacme Also, my theatre in SF was full of all different ages, races, and backgrounds. happy.

Screenshot from 1949’s Fast and Furry-ous cartton, roadrunner running with the label ROAD RUNNER (Accelleratii Incredibus).

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 05/09/2026

Today's realization: if my dialog sucks in a scene, it's likely because I made my protagonist do some people-pleasing shit instead of stirring up shit like she's supposed to. #writing #crimeFiction

Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson in BBC Sherlock, eyes closed in annoyance, making a face that says "oh my god, not this again," much as my face does every time I discover a new thing that I need to fix in my writing.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 05/09/2026

This singer, Bryan Andrews, reminds me of the absolute best of Bakersfield.

Clip from a Bryan Andres video, where a robust man in a billy cap holds a sing that reads "First, they came for the immigrant and I spoke up, becaue I know the rest of the god damn poem."

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 03/09/2026

THAT FEELING WHEN YOUR STORY TAKES A SUDDEN LEFT TURN INTO RICH-ASS TERRITORY. AS YOU TYPE IT YOU WONDER WHO THE HELL IS WRITING THIS? #crimeFiction #leftTurn #trustTheProcess

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in BBC Sherlock. He's terrified of the hound, I'm not sure what all these words are, or which part of my crack'd soul they're coming from...

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 02/09/2026

And now it’s well begun!

Photo of plumber’s flatbed full of busted up concrete and a big ole hole where the new pipes will go.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/09/2026

Ancient hieroglyphics? No! We gettin our pipes replaced. By we I mean this sweet 80 year old redwood box of a house. She deserves all the TLC we can give her.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/09/2026

Nonsense. I mean, I believe you that this is what they said. But that space could easily have been adapted. Maybe not all devices, but more than zero.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/09/2026

I know my husband has thoughts on the matter, but what would happen if they put *me* in charge of bollockings? #utterlyUnmotivatedBroadchurchReference

David Tennant as Alec Hardy in Broadchurch, doubting things.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 29/08/2026

Him: You are a Sherlock fangirl. Me: I am not! Just because I studied the scripts, the editing, the lighting, the sound, the writers and directors, the acting, and...oh. shit.

Still from BBC Sherlock of character Molly Hooper played by Louise Brealey (https://ew.com/article/2014/01/19/sherlock-louise-brealey-benedict-cumberbatch/) considering her life choices, as I should.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 29/08/2026

OMG it finally feels a book again. For the longest time this draft has been all ragged tatters and stinky smells. Now I am writing more than I am deleting and things are knitting together again. Never give up on a good story! #crimeFiction #writing #hellOfAWeek

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson from BBC Sherlock, sending me encouraging vibes with his excellent "you can do it" expression from 15 years ago. I'll take any encouragement I can get! Although in the actual scene I think he's trying to get someone to realize they might be the slightest bit delusional. I'll still take it.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 27/08/2026

He did what to Lake Ontario?

Martin Freeman as John Watson in BBC Sherlock expressing the annoyed frustration we are all feeling at this moment.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 26/08/2026

@karlthefog.bsky.social joins me on my workday. The cat and the husband sleep, but not Karl and I.

Karl the Fog embracing SanFrancisco’s southwest corner.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 25/08/2026

Bouchercon Calgary is still two months away, but I already have my panels picked out! So excited! And not just because there are whisky bars! Looking forward to buying Canadian--all the things!!!!! #Bouchercon2026 #Bouchercon #whisky #calgary #books #crimeFiction

This is a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch from episode 3 (?) season 1 of BBC Sherlock in the playful spirit of crime fiction. It is definitely NOT Mysti Berry after a shopping spree or a visit to the whisky bar.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 21/08/2026

To be not weird or elliptical at all for a minute, I have the best husband. The best. He doesn't let me get away with much, unless I really, really need him to.

Cumberbatch as BBC Sherlock, looking skeptically at Irene Adler, played by Lara Pulver, from Scandal in Belgravia episode.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 21/08/2026

That feeling when you suddenly remember you had two Siamese cats that you loved when you were six, but somehow they weren't there when you were eight...

Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson from the BBC Sherlock series, terrified of a creature who is not there.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 21/08/2026

Oh, Great Gaseous Plain of People's Opinions, release me!

Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series, dying of a gunshot wound, in his mind trapped in a padded cell with Moriarty who is not really giving the best advice. Kind of like how we all want to share but so often get it wrong...

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 21/08/2026

30 years from now, will the young 'uns know what "I'll see you...on the Malibu Beach!" really meant? #subtext #barbie #weareinourfeelings #imgreatatdoingstuff

best rochambo game ever--Ken and Ken from Bambi

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 19/08/2026

I’m already half-packed for the trek north, #Bouchercon2026! Drop by on Friday, October 23, 9:00 AM in Glen 208: Panel: Submitting to Anthologies and Short Story Publishers, with moderator Pamela Donison, and fellow panelists Avram Lavinsky, E. A. Aymar, and Puja Guha. See you there!

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 18/08/2026

Having a very “This is not a pipe” day at the content factory.

Magritte’s famous painting of a pipe that says in French underneath it ‘this is not a pipe.’

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 18/08/2026

What if we understood regret as wishes in the rear-view mirror? Would they sting less?

Image of Daniel Craig as James Bond, staring at a sky full of regret.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 16/08/2026

What's your heaven look like? Mine has: honky tonk piano, Cumberbatch consonants, and that food they fed us in the Tour Eiffel that one time... And, of course, Mom. She'll be glad that I made it out of the shitstorm her death left behind. No thanks to Aunt Krazypants. #atheistDaydreams

My mom, smiling for the camera at Christmas.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 16/08/2026

Gives me hope for the restoration of American democracy:

Blistering paragraph about Leavitt: "that Botoxed corpse in a body-con dress, that bloated monument to moral rot, that government-issued fucking gargoyle" gives me hope.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 15/08/2026

Me: I'm gonna write a poem. Me+2 hours: Did I just write erotic fanfic about consonants? #writing

Drawing of a lady at the seaside with a big hat, a long cigarette holder, and billowy black-and-white striped pants. She is on the satisfied-to-post-coital spectrum judging by face and relaxed, reclining position on the rocks by the sea. I don't know who the artist is.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 13/08/2026

I have a genuine failure of imagination. I cannot fathom how a person gets that far up their own ass.

Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) wondering the same thing I am, perhaps, from The Thick of It.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 09/08/2026

So I'm suggesting that we can forestall some of the harm inherent in the tool by using it with our brains in drive, not neutral. Maybe everybody else already understands this--but last night, I was high on learning for the first time in so long... /end

Screenshot of a character from the movie Wall-E, cruising and consuming instead of challenging himself to learn.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 09/08/2026

For my day job, I use an AI tool to discover info from within our walled garden. My experience with AI is just the opposite--ask a question, get an answer, get back to work, no contextualizing or asking a followup, usually. My brain isn't stimulated by this process of 1 question and 1 answer. 2/

Screenshot of Cumberbatch as Sherlock, looking...skeptical or puzzled.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 09/08/2026

I am curious about music. Been asking targeted questions that lead to answers full of more questions. Regardless of which tools I use (AI or not), noticed that the *process* of asking my own questions, and then doing my own contextualizing of the answers stimulated the dickens out of brain. 1/

Screenshot of Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson, peering sideways through a London mail slot. One eye, nose, and mouth screaming "what the effing, Sherlock?"

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 09/08/2026

math is simple. music is hard.

screenshot: "Heavy Jazz and Swing Influences" followed by a complex explanation about diatonic scale, modes and other stuff I don't even begin to understand. I just want to sing better, so my cat doesn't run away anymore.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 08/08/2026

Well, my website is now easy to navigate, but evokes the 1990s. Sigh. Still working on it, but in honor of its current state, I blogged. www.mystiberry.com/2026/08/08/a...

Screenshot of a 1990s Apple website landing page, in all its hard-to-read glory, pointless screen texturizing and godawful colors.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 05/08/2026

Going in to fix just one more thing in my website. It's currently as generic as Susan Collins' concern, but it's gotta be ready soon. Pray for me.

Benedict Cumberbatch from BBC's Sherlock in the Hounds episode looking as distressed as Mysti feels diving into mother effing Wordpress.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 02/08/2026

Maybe Ebon Moss-Bachrach?

photo of Ebon Moss-Bachrach staring at the camera with equal parts menace and curiosity, the high-left key light and his head tilt focusing our gaze on his layered expression.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 02/08/2026

It's a complicated issue, my friend's shrink informed her, because of the overlapping of symptoms between childhood trauma/PTSD responses and ADHD, especially for women.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/08/2026

I have fallen in love with the choices that artists make. The Cumberbatch Consonant The Tennant Twitch The Swinton Silence The McDormand Manacle (she captures you with a single glance--so does Brigitte Lin) The Curry Carouse ("Upstage lads!") What's your favorite choice that an artist made/makes?

Brigitte Lin's "death stare" from Bride with White Hair

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/08/2026

It isn't even 8am on a Saturday morning and Take Me To the River (Live) is cranked up to 12. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME TODAY?

Andrew Scott as Hamlet, pop-eyed and trippin bro.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/08/2026

A key paragraph which makes me ask, why would an experienced lawyer use a legal term incorrectly in front of Congress?

“Inherent credibility” is a defined legal concept about impossibility. Using it to mean “a story involving famous people sounds far-fetched to me” gets the law backwards and gets the science of trauma backwards at the same time. Doing it from a chair you earned as a federal prosecutor gives the gut reaction a borrowed authority it hasn’t earned.”

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 01/08/2026

That feeling when you realize you lived through some Shakespearian shit when you were younger…and then one of the characters reaches out to you...

A photo of David Tennant as Hamlet expressing my feelings about that person.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 29/07/2026

The internet says my five year old jar of instant espresso has lost none of its caffeine. I am so excited. Probably the caffeine.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 25/07/2026

My husband bragging about me at Comic Con: “I needed my book formatted and my wife said, ‘I’m a tech writer. Here, hold my beer.” He’s so cute.

Dale Berry telling a room full of crime writers about his (kriss?) knife.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 24/07/2026

More details on August 5!

I'm a panelist this year at Bouchercon in Calgary! this decorative graphic announces that and the dates: October 21-25.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 21/07/2026

Must sleep now. Will try to dream of soft oceans and kind people.

View of the Pacific Ocean from a low floor of the Moana Surfrider hotel.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 19/07/2026

Also I just found out the back story to American Gothic and omg, could we stop telling people to not be what they are and let them get on with their art?

Spring Turning by Grant Wood (from https://reynoldahouse.emuseum.com/objects/12/spring-turning)

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 19/07/2026

Hey Cigna, you gotta fix your data hygiene.

Envelope addressed to The Duplicate Family

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 12/07/2026

I have this cool app (subscription required) that shows various sea traffic around the world. Here’s a shot of the (green) cargo and (red) tankers clustered around the strait.

image from marinetraffic app that shows clusters of tankers around the Strait of Hormuz vs the steady stream of tanker and cargo ships between Asia and Africa, Africa and the Americas, etc.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 09/06/2026

Hey Cigna, you feeling okay? Also, UC Health provides the best healthcare in America. Stop trying to negotiate them down. Signed, The Original Family

Letter from Cigna addressed to The Duplicate Family.

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 07/06/2026

Meidas Touch just clarified the whole UFC thing as an alleged three-legged stool of corruption. I didn’t know it was pay-per-view only on Paramount+

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Mysti @mystiberry.com · 07/06/2026

In Hollywood, I learned that no answer is an answer. Sigh.

DuckDuckGo browser showing search “how many people in wheelchairs sail the Atlantic crossing on QM2 each year?” and the answer, “Sorry, no relevant info was found."

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