Welcome back!
This time, we’re doing Wednesday Links in the morning! If you’re in the Northeast, you’ve probably experience some semblance of false spring and had to reckon with that grief. One day, it’s in the 50s and then it snows.
It’s also Girl Scout cookie season. Did any of you acquire your stashes yet? I’m really enjoying the new cookie flavor, which is a chocolate sandwich cookie with an almond marshmallow cream.
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The Lit for Queer Liberation auction is set to launch March 8th and run through the 14th. Lots of amazing authors have signed up to participate in the virtual auction. You can get a peek at what’s up for auction now.
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This link was sent in by EC Spurlock. Web browser Opera is celebrating its 30th anniversary with some mid-90s web nostalgia.
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A TV series based on Navessa Allen’s Into Darkness series is in development. I’ve read the first book and enjoyed it. Very curious to see if it’ll actually get made and how they’ll handle the darker content.
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In more anniversary news, Stardew Valley turned 10! Honestly, the game feels like I’ve been playing it for much longer.
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Not fun, but John Scalzi has pulled back from digital bookclubs because of AI spam. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/03/03/indefinite-book-club-hiatus/
His quote at the bottom of his post sums it ip:
“If you’re a scammer who uses “AI” to try to defraud actual humans, please die in a fucking fire, thanks. For everyone else, sorry a flood of spam has ruined book clubs. It’s awful for every one of us.”
I’m curious about how the game is going to handle the Clint romance arc since he’s arguably the least popular npc in Stardew. Sandy is also interesting since she doesn’t really have any cut scenes currently so a whole storyline will need to be added. They’re both shop owners so I wonder if they’ll add a replacement character if you merry either of them.
@Rebecca F: I’ve seen people mostly dunking on the Clint romance options, which brings me all sorts of joy.
We just wrapped our Cookie Season, I am a troop leader and I have two girls in two troops (so two cookie inventories and two digital cookie accounts!)(It was a lot!)
Both of my girls (Daisy and Brownie) hit their goals and I am very proud of both of them!
@Katie: Congrats on a successful cookie season! My mom was my troop leader and cookie season was no joke in our house. I very much remember columns and columns of cookie inventory in our laundry room.
All the Girl Scouts I knew have grown up and moved on. I’ll have to settle for the Keebler equivalents for thin mints.
Is there anyone selling Girl Scout cookies here at SBTB? Do I recall this correctly from a year I didn’t live in US and was envious?
@LML: Many troops offer online sales!
I’ve purchased online from many scouts that are just shy of their goals, or scouts from marginalized communities in States passing bigoted, restrictive legislation. I posted a link to a list of those last year. That may be what you were thinking of.
Not sure what their shipping policy is outside the US though.
https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/how-to-buy-cookies.html
Cookie sales have ended in some areas, but others are still active. You can use this cookie finder to look for troops still selling. Unfortunately, they don’t do international shipping 🙁
Thank you for supporting the Girl Scouts!
Also for the Stardew Valley 10th anniversary: they released a recording of the Symphony of Seasons concert which is free on Youtube through May 26th
https://youtu.be/knx-_GIkH8M?si=u9BbShli1yvaGleA
@Amanda, I’m glad my memory is working!
@Katie, Thank you! for the link. It’s not too late for my area: there is a local troop selling nearby on Saturday. I’ve missed Girl Scout thin mints.
I will just say, people like to donate Girl Scout cookies to service members. When my sister served in Afghanistan, the Girl Scout cookie supply closet at Kandahar was huge and extremely popular.
(Also, thin mints and samoas for life.)
A local brewery once had a beer and GS cookie pairing event with samples of four different beers with cookie flavors for each selected by the brewer. The troop also sang a song at the end and then sold full boxes. It was such a fun event. The troop made a fortune.
Late to this week’s party, but I find myself constantly amazed at how much HEATED RIVALRY has infiltrated pop culture. To wit, Bon Appétit jumps on the bandwagon—
https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/heated-rivalry-recipes?rdt_cid=5409183391495277874&source=Paid_Soc_RD_CM_0_BAU_GTM_0_BA_US_Prospecting_C&utm_brand=ba&utm_campaign=paid-BAU_GTM&utm_medium=Paid_Soc_RD_CM&utm_source=reddit
@FashionablyEvil We work with a local Army Chaplain who coordinates donations for troops overseas, I think our brownie troop “sold” over 200 boxes to be sent overseas.
@Katie, thank you. There are places nearby where the GS will be this weekend and throughout the month.