Blog Posts – Page 94 – The Skiffy and Fanty Show

Month of Joy: Furry Fandom Conquers with Love by Kyell Gold

Skiffy Fanty / January 15, 2018

There were a lot of things that brought me joy in 2017. N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy’s conclusion, Bojack Horseman, the movie Baby Driver, and WorldCon in Helsinki (with a side trip to Stockholm) were all wonderful parts of last year. In addition, my writing community and my furry community remained strong, positive parts of my life last year. I went to two writing retreats and taught at one workshop, and all of those were overwhelmingly joyful experiences. And, of course, my two partners and our dog brought me unending amounts of joy, as I’ve become accustomed to. I’d be happy to tell everyone about them, but I think I want to highlight a more unexpected source of joy (if not quite as much as my family): Furry Fandom vs. the Nazis.

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Month of Joy: Making Food and Feeding People by Cat Rambo

Skiffy Fanty / January 14, 2018

One thing that brings me joy is making food and feeding people. December is my favorite month accordingly: I bake cookies and make candy to send off in packages and plan a grand open house with all the care and deliberation (and spreadsheets) with which I would undertake a military campaign. My cookbooks, many of which have been companions of decades now, have plenty of notes to say which dish and accompaniments I served when, and to whom, jottings about what worked and what didn’t, and substitutions and tweaks. The binder which holds all my handwritten recipes, including ones from my mother, grandmother, and grandmother-in-law, also has a sheet of food likes: no eggs for Nona, Mom hates garlic, Sandra likes the lentil soup, Wayne hates pineapple and olives but loves squash.

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Month of Joy: I Could Never Pick Just One by Becca Evans

Becca Evans / January 13, 2018

My joy is a cycle. I run through a thing until I’m sick of it, then I circle back to it after a little bit of time has passed and forget that I was ever sick of it at all. I never really let go of anything, which means that you might find me sticking around longer than you’d thought — whether that applies to a TV show or a well-loved book or even a podcast like this one. I find that there is never one thing that is giving me more joy than others, so I couldn’t pick just one thing. I did manage to narrow it down to four, but there were some tough choices (and a few dice rolls) involved.

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Month of Joy: A Story by Sandra Odell

Skiffy Fanty / January 12, 2018

Skiffy and Fanty came from stage right, banging drums and spangling spangles. “Help us celebrate our Month of Joy! Tell us what makes your heart sing!” I glared at them from the cold prison of the center spotlight. “Go away. Life is 2017, and darkness, and despair, and a sucking miasma of hate and lousy chocolate.” “Are you so sure about that?” said a voice just off-stage. I squinted into the shadows. “Who said that?” Happiness entered stage left; a quiet, joyful presence come from the wings. “Hello, old friend.”

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Month of Joy: A Few of my Joyful Things by Kay Kenyon

Skiffy Fanty / January 12, 2018

1. That feeling when I’ve done a good day’s work and I’m going to bed early with a good book that I have already started reading and so I know it’s a good book, unlike brand new reads that may disappoint me and then I have to find a new one and my evening routine is ruined. Oh, this was going to be about JOY and not crushing disappointment, so I soldier on: 2. When the snow all around the neighborhood turns blue for about ten minutes at sunset.

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Month of Joy: The Love of My Life by J.A. Pitts

Skiffy Fanty / January 11, 2018

My friends over at the Skiffy and Fanty show are celebrating a new web site and a new year with a month of joy. To do this, they are publishing an essay almost every day in January. I love the show and think this is a wonderful experiment. I’m honored that they asked me to participate, so I thought I’d share the greatest joy in my life. On the one hand, I’m relieved to see 2017 in my rear-view mirror. Politics have infused every corner of my world with anxiety and chaos, adding so much stress that it’s impacted my writing. On the other hand, I’ve got a good job, a fantastic wife, and happy, successful, and healthy adult children. We have an empty nest for the first time and are enjoying the next stage in our lives.