Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Karawynn Long

@karawynn.bsky.social

610 followers 580 following 360 posts

Award-winning author, copyeditor, reader of SFF. Queer autistic disabled progressive anticapitalist. I have a growing veg garden and a talking dog. Also: 🐘 https://wandering.shop/@karawynn and 📰 https://ninelives.karawynnlong.com

wandering.shop

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

It’s getting grim out there, folks. Here are the safety precautions people should take in advance of the No Kings protest on October 18.

How to Survive a Protest

Preparing for military violence against citizen resistance

ninelives.karawynnlong.com

1 1

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

It’s getting grim out there, folks. Here are the safety precautions people should take in advance of the No Kings protest on October 18.

How to Survive a Protest

Preparing for military violence against citizen resistance

ninelives.karawynnlong.com

1 1

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

oof. 🫠

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

My dog sharing a bone with his best friend. (Mine is the golden-ish mutt on the right.)

1 17

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

or a passport? do you have a passport?

1 1

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Christina Orlando @cxorlando.bsky.social · 2d

feed me your booooooooooks

Christina Orlando @cxorlando.bsky.social · Aug 1

I don't know how it got to be the end of summer but...

Hi! I'm the book content editor for Reactor Mag and I'm looking for 2026 sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and crossover speculative books! If you've got an adult or YA SFFH book publishing next year please share the link/info here!

3 33 48

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 2d

It’s getting grim out there, folks. Here are the safety precautions people should take in advance of the No Kings protest on October 18.

How to Survive a Protest

Preparing for military violence against citizen resistance

ninelives.karawynnlong.com

1 1

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Cheryl Lynn Eaton @cheryllynneaton.bsky.social · 4d

Trans rights are civil rights. If you aren't willing to die on the hill of trans rights, then you aren't willing to die on the hill of Black rights. Of Jewish rights. Of disabled rights. Of gay rights. Of anyone's rights. Human rights.

the tallest stone @talleststone.bsky.social · 4d

I hate to say it but the majority of the country is not going to die on the hill of trans rights. We can’t protect ANY groups if we can’t win a national election, so purity tests only serve to make specific groups feel triumphant. That’s not “erasing” them; it’s long-horizon strategy.

27 580 1.8K

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 4d

Scam alert: there's an IngramSpark impersonator at ingramsparkbookpublishers dot com. Part of a wave of publishing/ghostwriting scams from Pakistan that hijack authors looking to self-publish--they often "borrow" well-known publisher names but this one also "borrows" the real IngramSpark's logo

Screenshot of IngramSpark impersonator's contact form, with chat window where scammer sales rep "Travis Clark" claims that "We are Ingram Spark's hands-on services department. You will be able to find our information here: https://www.ingramsparkbookpublishers.com/

11 230 280

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 4d

ooh, this is a nice cheat sheet.

Dan Johnson @coil.bsky.social · 4d

Irregular reminder that alt text on images is a valuable accessibility tool, and also lets your images show in search results or respect mute lists. For instance, I found the below image by searching "capybara alt text".

A brief guide on writing good alt text for images, which suggests including
1. Who or what
2. Their expression or emotion
3. A description of the image
4. Notable colors
5. Interesting features

The included example image and description: "A capybara looking relaxed in a hot spa. Yellow yuzu fruits are floating in the water, and one is balanced on the top of the capybara's head."

Dan's addition: saving the "interesting thing" for last is a bit like writing a joke - end with the memorable punchline!

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Addy the Wailnut @adrianics.bsky.social · 4d

My in-laws are vegan and always operate on the logic of "convincing 7 people to do Meat Free Monday has the same impact of convincing 1 person to go fully vegetarian"

3 2 32

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 4d

twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross

photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)

200 2.9K 8.9K

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 4d

if you work for a publication that does this and have any idea how much $$$ your outlet makes from affiliate sale commissions on prime day, DM or signal me: jason.404

also interested if you are a journalist who is asked to do these deal roundups as part of your job

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 4d

twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross

13 260 880

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Raven Onthill @ravenonthill.bsky.social · 15d

I've been collecting articles on the negative productivity impacts of "AI" for a while, and Philipp Markolin finally got me to gather them up and write a post about them. This is mostly about the productivity claims for "AI;" the technology has other problems, but I'm not addressing them in the post

"AI" and Productivity

[I keep bringing these up on Bluesky, so I think it’s time to gather them up and make a post out of them.] This is a collection of articles...

shinycroak.blogspot.com

1 7 20

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 17d

i don’t know much about ellison but those other five are also my top five, so i believe you.

(i’d pick something harsher than “knocked down to $10 million” tho)

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 17d

I’m worried about Theo …

WeRateDogs @weratedogs.com · 17d

Here are my top 10 dog sneezes!

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Izzy Wasserstein @izzyxen.bsky.social · 18d

The world would be a much better place if people admitted that chance (or fate or whatever) shapes our lives. That doesn't mean hard work doesn't matter, it just means it's just one factor.

2 2 19

Reposted by Karawynn Long

John Wiswell @wiswell.bsky.social · 17d

I think a lot about how if I had tweeted about "Open House on Haunted Hill" one hour later, or if exactly the right people didn't see it and boost it in that moment, it never would have viraled.

Without that, the rest of my career probably wouldn't happen. It's that fragile.

Izzy Wasserstein @izzyxen.bsky.social · 18d

The world would be a much better place if people admitted that chance (or fate or whatever) shapes our lives. That doesn't mean hard work doesn't matter, it just means it's just one factor.

5 6 71

Reposted by Karawynn Long

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 17d

If you want me to stop calling you a Nazi, you are going to need to stop doing Nazi s***. Simple as.

acoup.blog/2024/10/25/new-acquisitions-1933-and-the-definition-of-fascism/

4 42 270

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 17d

I want to read this book.

Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 17d

1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).

But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that

2 1

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 18d

1000%. Social science suggests, in fact, that cultural change is most often made, not by changing people’s beliefs, but by changing people’s actions in just this way.

ninelives.karawynnlong.com/toward-a-spi...

2 10

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 18d

… what do you call those graphics, with the arrows and teaser info? i just realized i have no idea.

anyway, that’s a great one. i’m in, library hold placed.

1 1

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Natalia Jagielska @nataliajagielska.bsky.social · 19d

Science is dominated by male native-English-speakers with elevated affluence. It's a demographic that makes up less than 3% of the total global population. If someone wants to keep politics out of science, they are comfortable enforcing the status quo that benefits them (a small privileged group).

4 92 320

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 19d

it’s always a tie if both people play perfectly. but apparently this ai is programmed to make suboptimal moves.

Reposted by Karawynn Long

Rev. Angela Denker @angeladenker.bsky.social · 20d

Just over on @cnn.com leaning into #newspeak

But enlighten us. What exactly is a “chief loyalty enforcer?”

86 380 1.5K

Karawynn Long @karawynn.bsky.social · 20d

it’s tic tac toe, which is unwinnable unless your opponent makes a mistake, so idk how you’re supposed to get past that one …

2 1