Today's pitch for Greater Boston podcast:

Have you ever wondered how a line of a subway system could be turned into a city? Have you ever thought about how housing, politics, or business might work in a city comprised of train cars?

Would you like a character to posthumously win your heart through the medium of Google Calendar entries?

Have you ever wanted a reason to google weird details about Boston and be surprised at what's actually based in truth?

Are you interested in ghosts, pneumatic tubes, or cheese robots? What about guinea pigs, squeezy stress balls, or mysterious plane hijacker D. B. Cooper?

Would you like to learn how a character's complex emotional journey can be represented through the careers of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon?

Does the idea of narrator shenanigans appeal to you?

Would you like to feel genuine complicated emotions about a man whose first name is Dipshit?

Do you want to learn about obscure and sometimes gross forms of divination?

Have you ever thought that more kidnapping scenes ought to contain a debate about the plural of hippopotamus?

Do you want to find out why I have learned the numbers 1 through 12 in alphabetical order?

Would you like to listen to a show in which so many wild things happen that the discovery of Atlantis is a relatively minor plot point?

Do you want to be proved wrong every time you think that the show has reached its limit in the number of characters it can make you care deeply about?

Would you like to cry whilst listening to a profound long-awaited conversation that takes place on a cheese rollercoaster?

Would you like to experience all of this in a show that also manages to sensitively explore political corruption, economic and racial injustice, mental health, and the importance of community?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you should listen to Greater Boston.

i took elvish in school and i fucking hated it. the teacher was like 700 years old and he'd like take us on field trips to sit on the banks of babbling brooks and watch the fall of sunlight through the leaves. my friends in spanish class were like conjugating verbs and shit and meanwhile i was in an old-growth forest being overcome with awe at the sight of a majestic stag. like uhh yeah mr autumnheart when are we gonna learn like any grammar "listen to the murmur of the wind in the treetops, and you shall find the grammar you seek" like fuck dude your pedagogy leaves much to be desired

Say what you want about the 2023 Shakespeare in The Park production of Hamlet, but the choices made in that play WORKED. Having Hamlet wear a black hoodie and camo pants and him dramatically putting his hood up when he was pissed off was inspired. Having Horatio video tape Claudius on an iPhone camera from the side of the stage during the play within the play was hilarious. Having the play within the play be a hip hop dance number that represented the murder!?! Fantastic. Having Ophelia be a singer before she went mad and having a beautiful voice that everyone loved to listen to and then seeing her singing get worse and worse as she got nearer to death?!?! Hamlet pulling out his iphone after killing Polonius to show his mom a picture of his dad compared to a picture of Claudius and angrily swiping back and forth between the two as he said “What judgement would step from this… to this?” The crowd fucking lost it every time. Horatio singing to Hamlet as he died made me fully sob every time. The way they did the ghost on stage was so chilling and I can’t even accurately describe it, you just had to be there. Hamlet being deeply exasperated the entire time was just perfect. Hamlet and Horatio had a secret handshake. Laertes inexplicably carried an acoustic guitar case for much of the play which was very funny but also hit you with the heartbreaking implication that he had used to play while Ophelia sang and he stopped carrying it after she died. It was peak teenage-angst-hamlet and it was so dear to me. PLEASE if anyone has a recording, send it to me.

This is what Rasputin would've wanted.

Oh, I love this

You were the caretaker for the mythical beasts of the royal family. Yesterday they decided to replace you with some incompetent noble, before kicking you out of the castle. You then spent the night in a nearby forest. However today you were awakened by the beasts who chose to follow you.

Normal work emergencies: “They need me to come in and fix a system that broke down.”

Dropout work emergencies: “They need me to come in and throw pasta at comedians.”

now this is what magic the gathering is all about

Found the next Willy Wonka scam event

Saw this ad on Facebook and there's no way this isn't a fucking scam

I was sitting on the couch being very sad about how bullshit it is applying to jobs and my husband came out and made me do the wenis

"you can't be sad when you're doing the wenis!"

and dammit he was right

NOVEL MANUSCRIPT IS FINISHED

Last summer, I started tossing around ideas for what I at first thought was a game, then realized was a cozy queer fantasy romance novel. I messed around with it for a bit but didn't start seriously writing until September - and managed to finish the 75K word first draft just before Christmas. I started the second draft in January, which was followed by feedback from beta readers, developmental editing by Kit, and even more rewriting after that. But I'm happy to say that as of twenty minutes ago, the manuscript is FINISHED at a final count of 86,264 words.

I have an opportunity for a shortcut introduction that may or may not pan out WRT getting it published (I'm DONE with the hassle of self-publishing, frankly). If it doesn't, I've made a list of likely-looking agents to submit to. (Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though? Gosh that would be nice.)

I've loved the process of writing this book, and it's hard to say goodbye to these characters - even if I'm so very ready to call this first book done. Which is probably why I'm 53,000 words into the first draft of the sequel already! So. You know. Hopefully I can find someone willing to take on #1 before I finish #2.

random dash inspectionnnnn 🎩🔎 ....clean as a whistle

i watched one (1) video on how to draw hands that changed my life forever. like. i can suddenly draw hands again

these were all drawn without reference btw. i can just. Understand Hands now (for the most part, im sure theres definitely inaccuracies). im a little baffled

I really don't know how to explain to people that supporting gender liberation (liberation for trans people, liberation for gnc people, liberation from all oppressive gender roles) means you have to be able to see someone you think is cis "crossdressing" and be cool about it. You have to be able to see someone presenting in a way that doesn't make sense to you and not interrogate them about their identity. You have to be able to hear someone express a gender identity you don't understand and go "Huh! Neat," and go about your business. If you truly want gender liberation for all then you have to stop trying to exert control over other people's genders, period.

New Crow Time - When you drink from silly fountain you get cartoon powers.

If you love Crow Time, consider supporting our comics on Patreon! You can support all our comics for $5, or just Crow Time for $2! What a steal!

“I don’t care about dumb weed jokes,” I said naively, before I saw this

Asexual cosign

Guys with eyeliner are sexy, but not as sexy as a really good gel pen

I suspect that it may be a common Asexual experience but when I imagine something as "sexy", I imagine something that makes your heart beat fast, that gives you goosebumps, that captures all your focus and puts a hitch in your breath and an odd tingle on the back of your neck, that is exciting and enjoyable to think about.

By extension, things that I believe are "sexy" include:

Office supply outlets

Hardware stores

Antique sewing machines in working order

Really good gel pens

People in eyeliner

Baroque art

Textile warehouses

Administrative filing systems