TrishEM

@pematson.bsky.social

1658 Followers 461 Following

Award-winning journalism editor and writer, speculative fiction reviewer and podcaster, lover of games, music, audiodramas, wordplay and more. (She/her) https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciamatson

A very short fence at the top of a culvert dropping down to a muddy stream, in a park with grass, trees, and a paved path, bears a metal tag proclaiming "Long Fence" despite its lack of length.
The green Duo owl flies over a yellow star. Text: Duolingo Spanish Score 130, with a Spanish flag.
Cover of GURPS: For Love of Mother-Not: Solo Adventure in Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth. A redheaded youth (Pip) with a colorful winged serpent (Flinx) coiled around his neck and shoulders rides a giant, flightless, red-crested brown bird with powerful legs and talons, tacked with saddle, harness, and bridle, through a wilderness with large trees and rocky terrain. In the left foreground, a striped cat-dog predator is jumping away, with claws extended.
Wind and rain are making my then-short hair look bad, but the hillside view with two brown cows is pretty sweet. The sky is overcast. You can just see a fence, with orange lichen, at the bottom right corner, between the cows and me.
On July 28, 1932, U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the veterans removed from all government property. Washington police met with resistance and shot at the protestors; two veterans were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.
A brunette resembling Melania Trump, but with fangs, bat wings, and no legs, wearing a red camisole, flies above the New York City skyline, with clawed hands outstretched.
Graphic: Duolingo 2025 year in review. Picture of an, wings upraised, with stars and swirls, over a globe or crystal ball that says 2025. "I'm a top 1% Spanish learner on Duolingo! 110 Spanish score, 1303 longest streak, 196,064 total XP, 14914 minutes spent.
Same as above, except the red is really vivid here!
A broad band of crimson stretches down from the sky toward the trees on the horizon on the lower left, surrounded by greens that fade into the black night.
Boxed salad at the Terrace, an outside garden space at the convention center. Lots of empty tables and chairs here at 1 15!
Cover of Changer's Moon, by Jo Clayton, featuring a green-skinned woman's head with flowers in her hair, floating in the sky, with a coyote's face in the moon (or a mirror), above a standard-bearer riding a multi-legged horse thing, advancing on a walled city.
Me, a woman, with my hair pulled back, in glasses, wearing a collared blouse with colorful geometric patterns.
Picture of a hand making the "I Love You" symbol.
Duolingo exercise: Lin is saying "Mientras cenábamos, la sombra me llamó." (While we were eating dinner, the shadow called me.)
A brain with wide eyes and an open beak rises from Duo the Duolingo owl's head, with its eyes closed, beak agape, and either a shadow or scorch marks on top of its head (under the brain). Mind blown, I guess. Text: "Voice of a generation "You did 3 speaking challenges. Iconic work."
Duo the Duolingo owl's face, topped by a pink horn and a rainbow, is the "head" of a green horse with a pink tail. Duo text: "Flawless. 0 mistakes. You're like a pristine, freshwater pearl."
Survivorship bias - image of a WWII warplane where shots appear to be concentrated on the wings and tail, possibly indicating that's where armor would be most needed -- but in fact, shots to the nose and engines were the lethal ones that stopped planes from coming back at all.
Orange Duo owl, wearing sunglasses, outlined in yellow flames like a phoenix. "I'm on a 1000 day learning streak!"
Duolingo 2024 year in review: (Picture of green Duo owl on top of "2024") Top 1% rank, 940 longest streak, 96493 total XP, 10928 minutes spent.
Picture of a doe, a deer, a female deer, in a yard of scrub grass, behind a playset with a swing, in front of bamboo. Some red brick buildings are visible through the foliage.
Duolingo 2024 Year in Review: I'm in the top 1% of all Duolingo learners! (Image: muscular-looking Duo owl, wearing a "1" medallion, asking "Is your last name "Winner"?"
Duo the owl and Junior the kid character are dancing in celebration. Below, the Duolingo app says, "Perfect lesson!" Below that, in smaller text, it says, "You made 0 mistakes. Unlike in real life." I circled "Unlike in real life." Below that, I wrote, "Judgy!"
Orange background, orange owl, glowing yellow like a flaming phoenix. Text: I'm on a 900 day learning streak!
Here I'm wearing a striped shirt and a kerchief-necktie, like Evelyn at the beginning of The Mummy 1999.
Tiny, rocky peninsula on Lake Superior, with pine trees or some kind of evergreen.
Cropped picture of a phone screen with Duolingo app icon-owl suffering from some kind of illness, sweating, pink rings around the pupils, snot dripping down from its beak.
Nerds of a Feather crew members accept the Best Fanzine award at the 2024 Hugo Awards ceremony in Glasgow. PrinceJvstin is the one in back, holding a camera.
Picture of a computer display of the Glasgow 2024 Programme Guide, with "Online" selected from what was the "Environment" drop-down button. Below, it says "Listing 100 of 301 items"
"I'm on a (sic) 800 day learning streak!” "duolingo" Orange background, white letters. Duo owl, orange instead of green, surrounded by flames like a phoenix, wearing sunglasses.
"...NASA is well aware of the need to protect against radiation, especially the higher-energy galactic cosmic rays, on any crewed interplanetary mission, and is investigating potential solutions. One way to shield against cosmic rays is through sheer protective mass: a bulkier spacecraft. This chungus-craft, however, would be prohibitively heavy and expensive to launch..." (Last sentence highlighted by me, in reference to a yeast-starter "pet" named Chungus, featured on Alasdair's and Marguerite's Escape Artists Twitch streams.)
Clockwise from top left: Book Festival guide, The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson (1931), It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis (2005 edition of the 1935 novel about the rise of fascism in America), Yankees and Samurai, by Foster Rhea Dulles (1965, covers 1791-1900), and The Mountains of California, by John Muir (1988 edition of 1894 book). Napkin with embroidered IDIC symbol is a gift from years ago.
Respond in Spanish: ¿Te pareces más a Eddy, a Laura o a Bea? ¿Por qué? "Me parezco más a Bea porque ella es una buena amiga. Su consejo está siendo violento. 15 (10-60 words) Inteligente: smart Nicely said! You're expressing your thoughts in Spanish! Continue (I typed inteligente and Duolingo replaced it with siendo violento.)
"I'm on a 700 day learning streak!" Con el Duo búho de color naranja en vez de verde, rodeado de fuego Amarillo, como un fénix.
Screenshot of Duolingo has Duo the owl flying behind Óscar (Duolingo 's mustached, brown-skinned cartoon character) riding a moped in the dark with the headlight on. Text says "Section 5: Adventurer. 0/50 units. B1 * See Details."
Picture of a skinny, stick like, red, skeleton shrimp. "Make no bones about it, you're a skeleton shrimp! Understated, cool, and smart -- you're a practical problem-solver and rather smart. While you may be on the quieter side, your calm, collected demeanor allows you to hone your skills and showcase your talents..."
A view of glass-clad skyscrapers in Chicago reflecting the sky, clouds and other buildings, from a boat tour in 2022.
Two birds stand in the shallows at Wrightsville Beach at sunrise, with reflections of the birds and sun. Unedited, by me.
Selfie: woman in a black cloche hat, narrow glasses, burgundy blouse, plum jacket.
Duolingo 2023 Year in Review: I'm a top 1% Spanish learner on Duolingo! 71,886 total XP (Top 1%) 12,603 minutes spent 576 longest streak [about a year and two-thirds of exercises every day] 3,838 words learned