Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 15hAnd the more people play into that, the more they normalize the narrative of “red states are real America and you *have* to empathize with their struggles, blue states are full of spoiled rich freaks who get what they deserve” and that’s one step closer to “let them take out Los Angeles” 0120
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 15hWhen someone complains about “coastal elites” we all know they don’t mean Florida, they don’t mean Texas, they don’t mean Maine, they don’t mean Virginia or Connecticut. They mean New York, and the west coast. 1130
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 16hLook… this is exactly why I’ve started pushing back whenever someone uses the term “coastal elite” around me. I’ve been a PNW resident my entire life and I do not remember a time when the region I call home has ever been considered representative of “real America.” 1164
Reposted by Margaret OwenArden Powell @ardenpowell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026If you think an artist's style looks like AI but you can scroll back through their portfolio and see them doing the same work before 2020, congrats, you're not looking at an AI grifter. You're looking at one of the original victims whose entire style AI stole. 2668392575
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This most recently happened just yesterday afternoon, when I passed a raily fella, and when I stopped for the crosswalk he abruptly appeared from behind, stumbling almost into a gas station sign, seemingly from his own momentum of trying to stay on my heels 🥲 040
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I am curious if any other heavy folks have experienced this: I'll typically move at a brisk amble, but periodically, when I'm in a hurry and power walking, I'll pass someone skinnier... who then picks up their own pace, as if they cannot handle that I'm moving faster than them. Anyone else? 360
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 30/09/2026We've seen plenty of people claim AI could do [insert task] and only make it clear that they personally do not have the skills or subject understanding to do the task themselves. I don't think JCO's take on romance/AI is any different. 0200
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 29/09/2026All to say, I think the Meta algorithms in particular are deliberately steering people toward conflict because it keeps them engaged, and social justice communities on these platforms are not exempt. Something to keep in mind as we get fed more and more infighting pre-election. 0140
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 29/09/2026And specifically, it did that after two accounts I followed had happily posted about the sequel to TLH. No, I don't think it was just similar subject matter; Insta has been pretty vocal about analyzing any scrap of data it can, so I doubt it skipped the audio, the caption, etc. 170
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 29/09/2026... a couple posts down the feed, it injects a video of a podcast negatively reviewing the recent film adaptation. The caption was negative. The subtitles were negative. The audio was negative. And I wasn't following that account. Instagram's algorithm decided to show it to me. 180
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 29/09/2026We all know high-controversy content gets the highest engagement, but also, if it feels like you're being pushed into conflict, I can't say that's wrong. E.g. not five minutes ago, Instagram showed me two different posts from accounts I follow, announcing a sequel to The Love Hypothesis. And then... 181
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 29/09/2026So this is anecdotal, but I was talking last night with a friend about how it feels like we see increasingly more infighting on the left, and my take was: There is absolutely clout to be chased by policing other people's activism, but we also can't underestimate how it's being algorithmically pushed 2231
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 28/09/2026a million things on my plate, and yet my mind whispers: "do a full set of matching dust covers for your books" 1180
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I do not feel very benevolent towards USC today, but I am glad we smoked them like a ham! 041
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I only peek in on my alma mater’s football season when we play UW or make it to a bowl, so last night was a bad one to see how my Ducks are playing 151
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 24/09/2026In what world is knowing your own zip code “fine intellectual dexterity” 1222
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I jest and yet. Eggers' NORTHMAN was based on the source legend for Hamlet, so maybe they're going to try to do the same thing with Romeo & Juliet? But Shakespeare's version was derived from a fractal of adaptations of an Italian story, so...??? 280
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 23/09/2026you've all seen the "modern" r&j retellings, now we're going in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION 2201
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Someone is going to skim this and go “so you want authors to be paid out of library budgets” and I’m going to encourage you to reread the article and note the variety in how different countries have implemented it before committing to that conclusion. 0131
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 20/09/2026For those unaware: despite claims I’ve seen to the contrary, in the US, authors are *not* paid every time you check out their book from a library. Other countries have implemented variations on a Public Lending Right program to change that: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_...en.wikipedia.orgPublic lending right - Wikipedia 1100
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Every time this rears its head I am reminded that if entities *actually* cared about what they say they care about here, they’d be lobbying for a PLR program in the US 2142
Reposted by Margaret OwenMatt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 16/09/2026The very first entry in my commonplace book. 36516
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 16/09/2026so "this is going to ruin the tour" was not a complaint, but a prophecy 1376
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 14/09/2026it even comes with a fun bonus of ruining other books once you realize the worldbuilding is made out of grocery bags and chewing gum! 010
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 11/09/2026I've had her since September 2021! Most of the time she gets called Princess or Fancypants, entirely against her will, but she perseveres 😒 110
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Lady Catherine de Purrgh, on the day she came home, took possession of the residence immediately 3200
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Not a gentleman but in fact a goblin prince I fear 😩 020
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Perfect Dickensian Orphan energy for about 30 seconds, and then he tried to suplex everything in the house 120
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 11/09/2026But also, critically: Boo the day Poe came home 1180
Reposted by Margaret Owendaryl "rupert pumpkin" b 🏳️⚧️ @hypercubexl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026GDT's reddit AMA spitting fire www.reddit.com/r/movies/com... 2845491916
Reposted by Margaret OwenMeg @meganroseruiz.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I tried designing a character on a three hour flight, let’s see how I did 24692139
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Wendy this is the funniest possible turn of events 1140
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 08/09/2026And it sure isn’t for the benefit of kids!! 150
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Also a situation complicated by publishers that play coy with the actual age category because they want the perceived benefits of YA without forfeiting the perceived prestige of adult books 1251
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 08/09/2026However my hot take is that the BOTW/TOTK style would have better achieved what they're aiming for here. The existing clash seems to be between highly-rendered semi-realistic detail, and the desire to preserve the campy 90's low-poly feel regardless. 040
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Caught the game trailer end of the Nintendo Live and.... I mean, whatever is happening there, I'm still gonna play the hell out of it on day 1 130
Reposted by Margaret Owencaroline cash @cashbrowns.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️ 70149203715
Reposted by Margaret OwenDimension 20 @dimension20.dropout.tv · 07/09/2026every job deserves comfort, dignity and safety! 🫡 3867702316
Reposted by Margaret OwenKatherine Locke @katherinelocke.bsky.social · 04/09/2026One day, this publisher's name will be a distant memory that no longer brings me intense frustration. That day is not today. If you're an Albert Whitman author who has a book in the Anthropic case, you should go check your email in case they're trying to claim 100% of the $$ for your books too. 612979
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 03/09/2026My first order of business today as a newly-minted 40-year-old is going to be, very maturely, buying a Switch 2 3260
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 03/09/2026It's the cat's expression that absolutely makes this 0619
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Poe loves to demolish cardboard by any means necessary, and doubly so if it involves packing tape!! 020
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/09/2026In a way I'm grateful it's going to a safer place than my apartment, for my terrible cats would have surely struck it down from envy!! 030
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/09/2026... and I’d like to chat methodology with my contacts among youth librarians and booksellers. Would it be alright if I organized my thoughts and emailed you sometime next week? (3/3) 120
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/09/2026and why it’s so finicky to tinker with. And many of these challenges are very familiar, with publishers intentionally obfuscating age categories, and voters who don't always read the directions :) I think I can help tackle this, but I don’t want to bog down your inbox *right* after Worldcon (2/3) 110
Margaret Owen @what-eats-owls.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Sorry for the delay—I sat down with my coffee to do my reading, and then discovered aphids had invaded my houseplants while I was in Anaheim, and that was all hands on deck! But I’ve gone through these links and threads now, and gotten a better a sense of the work that’s gone into the Lodestar (1/3) 110