A Post Christmas Hangover Cure
Time for a roundup of recent stories
Let’s deal with that Christmas hangover with the inevitable special…
So far, I’ve celebrated this Christmas season by losing a couple of paid subscribers. One of them on Christmas! Ouch. Which is okay, because it’s silly to pay for my work if you don’t like it. Or if your wallet takes a hit. You should see my medical bills. Trust me, I understand that all too well.
The good news is that I also got a couple of new “Founder” subscribers. Thank you! You know who you are!
Fun fact (MacKenzie Scott! Take notes here!): Did you know you can enter your own number in the “Founder” portion of the Subscriber page?
“Founder” is Substack’s term. My term is “Endowment.” It’s more appropriate in my case, because Endowment subscriptions help me take time to finish a couple of novels I’d like to complete before the year is half over.
This means I’ll be doing a little less Substack writing this coming year. I think that’s okay, right? There are plenty of “OMG, look at what Trump did this time!” posts flooding Substack every day. I’ll still weigh in, but I’m going to try to limit those posts to unique takes or info I don’t think is getting out there sufficiently. One exception: the attacks on immigrants. I see that as an existential threat, and will keep banging away at that.
To those of you who have become paid subscribers over the last few weeks, many thanks for supporting this Substack. Another great way you can help sustain Ruminato is restacking and sharing something you like. Restacking is easy, just click/tap an icon:
This is a lot like a Twitter repost, but it doesn’t happen on the Twitter hate machine, it happens here on Substack (aka, the Love Machine).
A Roundup of my most recent posts
Here’s a round-up of recent posts.
An excerpt from an alternative history novel about the end of slavery in 1778
This excerpt describes the Christmas battle for Trenton in the Revolutionary War.
Minor spoiler alert: The colonials do not win the war. Relax, it’s fiction!
There’s a large movement of Leftist Christians you probably know nothing about
The Grifter in Chief is trying to bribe Dutch wind power company Orsted over Greenland
Next year, Trump’s henchmen and women will own all the movie studios
A satiric look at movies we might see during Christmas 2026
An experiment at a weekly digest of news. I had some fun writing it, and people seemed to like its salty flavor, but I don’t think it will be a regular feature.
I have another idea on how he can gift us, but I’d be arrested for saying it
Jade Mourning meets an ICE crew in Chicago: A Psalm of Vampires short story
This included one of my favorite comments of the year (who doesn’t enjoy a wee bit of praise?):
Brilliant satire here. The idea of vampires weaponizing their purple skin to mock ICE’s racial profiling turns the absurdity of enforcement tactics into something visceral and darkly funny.
My tribute to Rob Reiner
All hands on deck; the entire nation, including conservatives, must focus on his immediate removal from office
The money wranglers are perfectly happy turning the world into an axis of authoritarian powers
Is Satire your thing? Here’s some: Trump opens an online griftbookstore
Wherein Screwtape’s protégé reports on Trump’s latest activities
There’s a lot more here on Ruminato you might not know about. The best place to explore is going to the website at Ruminato.com on a laptop, tablet, or desktop and browse the menus.
Thanks for your support this year. I appreciate it so much. Truly.
Obligatory Subscribe button (but see above for the special)
Patrons of the arts allow creativity to flourish. Historically, the Medici family in Renaissance Italy sustained the work of Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci - and the world is better for it.
Instead of buying yet another yacht, billionaires could be supporting the arts. Wouldn't that be better for all of us?
Your posts are a great example of why writers AND readers still matter. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a peaceful new year. (And if you’ve yet to get to the DeKalb Farmers Market, do go!!! Although doing it before Christmas is great, even with the crowds. )