iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Thao Votang

Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Not everybody knows this, and everybody should. On Sept. 26, 1983, a Soviet nuclear warning system alerted Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov that the U.S. had launched a missile attack. He did not retaliate, preventing WWIII. This is a post about AI. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisl...

en.wikipedia.org

Stanislav Petrov - Wikipedia

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

These books — with so many stunning and hilarious moments. 📚 💙

Three library books sit on a white cotton blanket. The cover of Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter depicts a close up of the inside of a pomegranate. The cover of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is blue with a pink countertop that juts upward. On the countertop is a white plate with a rice ball made to looks like a woman's head with seaweed for the hair. The cover of Big Swiss by Jen Beagin has a woman upside down with her mouth open and tongue out. She is wearing a low cut white dress.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

my monthly letter to readers is out ~ thao-votang.kit.com/posts/heat-s... (subscribe if you want it directly in your inbox!)

thao-votang.kit.com

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

all of these look & sound so good!

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 28/08/2026

Texas has suspended over 1.2 million voter registrations. Many valid voters in Texas have found their voter registrations were somehow canceled when they checked. Check your registration here and fix it immediately - Texas doesn't always honor provisional ballots cast on election day.

goelect.txelections.civixapps.com

IvisMvpUi

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Finally Friday & I think I need to play on repeat this song which has been helping me through the past years 🩵

youtu.be

Brittany Howard - 13th Century Metal (Official Audio)

YouTube video by BrittanyHowardVEVO

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

So, I'm a bit of a cynical person, but things are shitty enough, SO I'm going to try to notice one pleasant thing a day. Repeats are allowed (tbh, my life is very routine and bit, ah, boring for lack of a better term). Here goes!

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Finished my manuscript (for the fourth or fifth time)!!! 😶‍🌫️ Now to let it rest before sending it to my agent...and looking into the abyss of what do I do now...

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I deeply dislike taking my phone out around other people (dislike my phone as a rule) and am warming to the idea of my photo roll being filled with photos like this, of when I'm alone, usually waiting, looking at other absences.

The side of a building clad with planks that are made to looks like wood. A white pipe protrudes but connects to nothing. There are white marks on the brown that look unpainted and as though something was next to the building but no longer there. The picture was taken through a car window so there is a glare in the bottom left corner and the faint reflection of the dashboard.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

This article has me all excited to read more of this category. I've read a couple of the titles mentioned, but maybe I'll go for them all! www.woman-of-letters.com/p/the-weird-...

woman-of-letters.com

The 'weird girl' novel

Murata — Harpman — Moshfegh — Beagin — Broder — Etter — Folk — How is it possible for good books to gain viral traction online?

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

...and 17(?) years later my brain still feeds me stress dreams about being a barista 🫠

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Reposted by Thao Votang

katjr @katjyr.myatproto.social · 14/08/2026

I read somewhere once that we live in a world where we are all so loved by proxy, through history and time. So many inventions were not only out of necessity, but love. The seat belt. Pasteurization. Vaccines. Some time in history, someone wanted us to live more comfortably, to be safe, to thrive.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

My fourth pair of knitted socks, and I think I'm getting the hang of it!

Two knitted socks made with yarn that is pink, light purple, green, yellow, and orange swirled, on sock block hangers on a white woven blanket.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

The two adolescent hawks around our house seem to have left, which I was told by three or so crows yesterday while I did yard work. Then reminded of by them at 6:27 AM. We'll see if they can't push their visit back three mins. (The peanuts will still be delivered, they don't need to worry.) 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Another fabulous book that tempts me to buy to save (as if my personal library will be the one that survives).

The book The Last Sweet Bite by Michael Shaikh on a speckled white and gray granite countertop. The book is red orange with a broken plate where each piece is decorated differently to represent various cultures.

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Scummy Water Tower @scummywatertower.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Austin, Texas band @theblackdrumset.bsky.social via a Singles Spotlight feature. Musician Brian Willey was gracious enough to share a personal essay with us centered around his father, who recently passed. scummywatertower.com/artist-essay... #Musicsky

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Absolutely love when I feel the urgent need to buy a copy of a book I checked out from the library. I want to reread this one over and over.

The book entitled The Island by Antigone Kefaka sits on top of a white cotton blanket with dramatic shadows. The green cover has a shard of blue with hot pink, black, and grey mountains. Another trapezoid that breaks up the green like torn pieces of paper has beige, brown and grey shapes that make it look like desert rock.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Had my fill of peaches from Chilton County, Alabama and brought some back home to extend the experience just a little bit more. So freaking luscious 😊

Five big ripe peaches that barely fit on a cream plate on a gray and black speckled countertop with a white tile backsplash.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Two years ago, my first book came out! 🎉 It feels like another lifetime, but I'm trying to remember it and not let it become an accomplishment that fades in importance due to time. Happy pub day LLIDJF! 💗

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Fyi~ perfect tote for current knitting project & lovely long straight needles 🥰 There's a zippered pocket and two open pockets inside as well!

A tote bag from the Menil museum is filled with knitting supplies and yarn. A green and white project still on needles sticks out of the top. The bag is sitting on a leather armchair. There is an aloe vera plant in a terra cotta pot next to it

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Betelhem Makonnen was the type of person who exuded a kindness & calmness that made me feel stronger simply by proximity. I'll always think of her conjugating time now that she has become timeless. Take a look at her work; may it carry her memory endlessly — betelhemmakonnen.com/Parsley-Spac...

betelhemmakonnen.com

Parsley Space Rosemary Time — Betelhem Makonnen

Cargo

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Check out new music from @theblackdrumset.bsky.social !!! 🎉🎉🎉 (The best album of the year!!! 🥰 )

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Violet Blue® @violetblue.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Ten months ago the US ended 28 years of cyclosporiasis testing; this week the largest cyclo outbreak in US history passed 5,000 cases. DRC's Ebola outbreak is now officially the fastest-growing outbreak in history. H5N1 killed another 1.2M hens in Utah. New Roundup: www.patreon.com/violetblue/p...

patreon.com

Pandemic Roundup: July 16, 2026 | Threat Model

This newsletter is an inclusive, curated selection of new findings and fresh perspectives on Covid-19, dedicated to finding the highest qual

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 14/07/2026

This is brutal and you should read it.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I told myself one book. Then two.... 💙📚 I can't linger long at my local bookshop (Alienated Majesty)! 💗

Three books on a wood shelf including The Maias by Eça de Queirós, Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif, and Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

✨new✨song✨new✨song!!!!!🎉

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

This is giving me laughs & fun facts but also a profound sense of ...dread? Maybe the last third will be uplifting (hahhah) 😅

Paperback copy of "The Untold Story of Books" with its green cover bent from use and library sticker showing on top of a yellow floral pillowcase.

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Xun-ling Au 歐迅灵 🏴 @xunlingau.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This is one of those wonderful really random things that occasionally crosses the timeline.

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Mix It All Up @mixitallup.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The Black Drumset returns with new song ‘From A Different Place’. A hypnotic, rhythm-led psych-rock/krautrock crossover.

mixitallup.com

The Black Drumset returns with new song ‘From A Different Place’.

A hypnotic, rhythm-led psych-rock/krautrock crossover.

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Reposted by Thao Votang

DFW Support Committee @dfwsupportcommitt.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

please read this statement written by Benjamin "Champagne" Song and share as far and wide as you can: prairielanddefendants.com/defendant…

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Reposted by Thao Votang

Equator @equatormag.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Maria Stepanova was forced to leave Russia after speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine. In an ambitious new essay, she reflects on how exile and displacement are transforming national identity – and literature – in the 21st century.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

& the next print edit starts...

Seventy something printed pages sit on the tray of a Brother printer. Faint lines of text can be seen on the other side of the white paper.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Can't wait to receive my copy of "The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation" by Amy Edelman and Chris Begley (out June 23). Also rec Begley's "The Next Apocalypse."

organizingmythoughts.org

No Abandonment, No Bunkers: Preparing for Disaster Together

“Preparedness isn’t just about having stuff,” says Kelly Hayes.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I successfully added length to a thumb-sized front jeans pocket making it actually usable!!! 🥳 Everyone deserves functional pockets!!! 💚💗💚💗💚

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Learned to knit in March (previously knew how to crochet) and finished my first pair of socks! 🥳 They're a little roomy, so will adjust for my second pair and then hopefully I will knit all sorts of fabulous socks 💗

Two feet clad in knit socks made with Malabrigo's anniversario sock yarn that is a mix of mostly pinks with a bit of blue on a gray couch.

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Reposted by Thao Votang

The Black Drumset @theblackdrumset.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

New single is out on all the regular sites (except Spotify). Link to single and video premiere in bio. Full album out July 17th ❤️❤️❤️

Image of a hand holding a candle in a warm dark space.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Huge congrats to @theblackdrumset.bsky.social 's newest single out today!!! 🎉 The full album will be out on 7/17! ✨ I've had the pleasure of napping through (yup, that's right, drums do not keep me up 🙃) many a studio session of this in the making, and I'm so happy you'll be able to hear it! 🔉

rockandrollglobe.com

WATCH: The Black Drumset Returns - Rock and Roll Globe

The Black Drumset, the Austin, Texas-based music project of multi-instrumentalist Brian Willey, has been creating an electrical storm inside his

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Needed some diversions and these two books were hilarious, unbelievable, and awesome. Excellent reads for those who like a heisty time.

Two library books on a woven white blanket. "The Art Thief" by Michael Finkle had a painting of a bat over a painting of a young man sleeping with his mouth open. He wears a red jacket over a white shirt and holds a clarinet. The second book is Michael Crichton's "The Great Train Robbery" and the cover is a gradient with blue at the top moving to orange at the bottom.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Well, well, well, I am /still/ editing, but I'm slipping on here to say that writing fiction has those hard days for suuuure, and I am *with* you, and we will finish it one day! 😶‍🌫️

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

I'm judging the Texas Institute of Letters Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction ~ check out the eligibility guidelines & postmark your book by Jan 9! ✨ texasinstituteofletters.org/til-2025-lit...

texasinstituteofletters.org

TIL Literary Contest Guidelines for 2025

[PDF version of guidelines] The latest slate of TIL literary contests is now open with prizes adding up to $25,750. In addition, the TIL will bestow a lifetime achievement award ($7,000) and the Jo...

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

It's been entirely too long since I've added to our art collection, and I am over the moon to have this new work by @silverlinings.bsky.social on our walls. I smile every time I see it (& will walk by just to see it again) 💝

circlular painting hanging on a beige wall. the painting has a golden scalloped border and depicts a blushing ghost holding a stack of three books and their pink wallet. orange blossoms with a glittery gold edges on a green vine surround the ghost.

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Writing to let it be known that I am still editing and def rewrote 1/2 a manuscript (that's right, ~40k!!!! 🫠) and a newsletter will be out tomorrow (forgive me; it's short), so sign up! 🌻🌻🌻

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Today is LINH LY's one year anniversary 💗 Give my book a read (or listen, with the super sale below!) ~~~ bookshop.org/p/books/linh...

bookshop.org

Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine: A Novel

A Novel

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Thao Votang @votang.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

✨ thanks for reading & writing! ✨💗💞☺️

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