Austin R. Pick
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fudomouth.bsky.social
Austin R. Pick
@fudomouth.bsky.social
Writer, traveler, psychonaut. Reader of tea leaves and chocolate shavings. Music lover and aisle dancer. Devotee of dissent. Dharma bum and National Parks nerd. 🔗 fudomouth.net
"Small-press publishers are the spirit that animates our literature. ... They are vital for the literary ecosystem in that they take risks on books that larger publishers would not..."

#booksky #literature #reading #AI #smallpress via @thebookseller.com @lucymercer.bsky.social
Don’t invest in AI, invest in the future of the book
Why the publishing industry must back small presses, rather than LLMs.
www.thebookseller.com
December 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
"All this em-dash shaming has been upsetting. Because I, a professional writer, love—love—love—an em dash."

#booksky #literature #reading #writing #artificialintelligence #AI via @wsj.com
Don’t Let AI Ruin the Em Dash
In defense of the newly controversial punctuation mark, which has become a target for those determined to root out AI writing.
www.wsj.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM
"The idea that we’re low on male novelists (and indeed, that women writers are cruelly sucking the oxygen from the few male novelists we do have) started floating around at the start of the decade."

#booksky #literature #reading #writing thx @literaryhub.bsky.social
It’s Time To Put The “Where Are All The Male Novelists?” Debate To Bed
“Male writers still continue to dominate literary awards,” writes novelist Eliza Clark. “They make up a large portion of our bestsellers, all the while continuing to be viewed as more worthy and deser...
www.vogue.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 5:26 AM
"I think AI in general and police AI in specific really thrives in the shadows, and is most successful when people don't know that it's being used," says Matthew Guariglia of @eff.org

#artificialintelligence #AI via @npr.org
Want to opt out of AI? State labeling laws might help
Some states are passing new laws requiring artificial intelligence to be clearly labeled, especially in regulated industries or on high-stakes documents such as police reports. The labels are crucial ...
www.npr.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Austin R. Pick
There’s something for everyone in here, from installing Signal to filing a privacy request from a data broker. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Opt Out October: Daily Tips to Protect Your Privacy and Security
Trying to take control of your online privacy can feel like a full-time job. But if you break it up into small tasks and take on one project at a time it makes the process of protecting your privacy
www.eff.org
November 16, 2025 at 6:01 PM
“Turn me out and I'll wander baby
Stumblin' in the neon groves…”

Mnemonic postcards ~
4 from rainy LA

#losangeles #hipstamatic #retinaflex
November 16, 2025 at 3:52 AM
"What matters to tech companies financially is not that you want to be reading what you’re reading, or that you love what you listen to or what you’re looking at, only that you are unwilling or unable to pull yourself away."

#artificialintelligence #AI #technology #cognition via @theguardian.com
Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?
From brain-rotting videos to AI creep, every technological advance seems to make it harder to work, remember, think and function independently …
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:05 PM
"With scammy rewrites and digitally fabricated authors entering the market, [AI] has made searching for human-made content more difficult, causing independent authors to combat what some are calling an AI-generated 'witch hunt.'"

#booksky #writing #artificialintelligence #AI via @wired.com
Authors Are Posting TikToks to Protest AI Use in Writing—and to Prove They Aren’t Doing It
Traditional and indie authors are flooding #WritersTok with videos of them editing their manuscripts to refute accusations of generative AI use—and bring readers into their very human process.
www.wired.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:54 PM
"He’s written things down that seemed unsayable, impossible, and in taking this freedom for himself, intentionally or not, passed the freedom down.”
--Zadie Smith

#booksky #literature #reading via @literaryhub.bsky.social
The Psychology of Portnoy: On the Making of Philip Roth’s Groundbreaking Novel
“The suburban Jewish past of the characters in the fiction of Philip Roth is also a Jewish past, only as meager as the span of a generation or two and infinitely more distasteful…” * Already …
lithub.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM
"The brothers’ persistent appeal for almost a century comes from their bewitching blend of rectitude and glamour."

Long live the #HardyBoys

#booksky #literature #reading via @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
How the Hardy Boys Book Series Cracked the Case of Getting Kids Hooked on Reading
One author has been credited with creating the virtuous teenagers’ thrilling adventures for almost a century. But there’s a story behind that, too
www.smithsonianmag.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM
“It will be a Mindfulness City, encompassing conscious and sustainable businesses, inspired by Buddhist spiritual heritage, and distinguished by the uniqueness of the Bhutanese identity." --King Khesar

#buddhism #dharma #bhutan via @thediplomat.com
Gelephu: The World’s First Mindfulness City Is in Bhutan
The city is envisioned as Bhutan’s new economic hub – an opportunity to capitalize on the economic corridor linking South Asia to Southeast Asia.
thediplomat.com
October 26, 2025 at 11:35 PM
"...it appears that the real consensus coalescing around these machines is that they’ll end up reinforcing the feedback loop between an impotent civic culture and a tech-enhanced authoritarianism..."

#artificialintelligence #AI and #democracy #authoritarianism via @thebaffler.com
E Pluribus Uh Oh | Leo Kim
“Pro-democracy” initiatives coming out of Silicon Valley are a sleight of hand. Platform authoritarianism is the end goal.
thebaffler.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:39 PM
"If we don’t want A.I. to become our unelected supreme leader, we must recognize that we have options and refuse to passively allow Big Tech to grow gargantuan and shape society without guardrails or consequences."

Bravo @andibartz.bsky.social via @nytimes.com

#booksky #artificialintelligence #AI
Opinion | I Sued Anthropic, and the Unthinkable Happened
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
AUTECHRE
2025-10-01 @ Ogden Theater

As is customary, Autechre performed in darkness. This shot is from evening’s end, when the lights came up. An incredible, mind-melting show.

#livemusic #Denver #musicthatmoves #musicsky #retinaflex
October 7, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Austin R. Pick
Fight surveillance capitalism in style—and support EFF while you're at it. shop.eff.org/products/sc...
October 7, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Austin R. Pick
It really does not get more explicit than Trump telling top active-duty military generals that they will need to participate in occupations of large cities run by his political opponents as part of his "war from within"
Trump: "The ones that are run by radical left Democrats -- what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. They're very unsafe places & we're gonna straighten them out one by one. This is gonna be a major part for some people in this room. That's a war too. It's war from within"
September 30, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
2025-09-28 @ Summit Music Hall

I fell in love with the sweet sensation
I gave my heart to a simple chord
I gave my soul to a new religion
Whatever happened to our rock and roll?

#livemusic #Denver #musicthatmoves #musicsky #retinaflex
September 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Excellent episode from the esteemed @ttbook.bsky.social #podcast on #datatracking #privacy #digitalsurveillance featuring @lowrypressly.bsky.social and others

"...privacy is more than just about protecting the personal information you generate; it’s also choosing what to generate at all."
The Sum of Our Data
Every click on your computer, every swipe on your smartphone, leaves a data trail. Do you care? Would owning your data, or having more digital privacy, make life better? And what happens to all that d...
www.ttbook.org
September 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I really dug the 1st season of Slow Learners, a #podcast about big books from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social & Asher Dark, which is devoted to Pynchon's inimitable Gravity's Rainbow.

Looks like they're back with a new season. Wait, did y'all ever do Proust?

#booksky #Pynchon #literature #books
Slow Learners
Books Podcast · Updated Weekly · A podcast about big books. Season One is devoted to a reading an analysis of Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel
podcasts.apple.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Phish @phish.com

2025-09-21 @ Hampton Coliseum

Conjurers of thunder

#Phish #Hampton #RetinaFlex #musicsky #Hipstamatic
September 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Phish @phish.com

2025-09-20 @ Hampton Coliseum

Mothership ascending…

#Phish #Hampton #RetinaFlex #musicsky
September 21, 2025 at 8:31 PM
The Phish @phish.com

2025-09-19 @ Hampton Coliseum

Virginia is for Lizards

#Phish #Hanpton #RetinaFlex #musicsky
September 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
(Thee) OSEES

2025-09-10 @ Ogden Theatre

“Skin like metal, fold like a river, bend like a reed, yeah”

#livemusic #Denver #musicthatmoves #musicsky #retinaflex
September 11, 2025 at 6:03 PM
FU MANCHU

2025-09-06 @ Bluebird Theater

Kings of the Road 😎🤘⚡️

#livemusic #Denver #musicthatmoves #musicsky #retinaflex
September 8, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Your #Denver area upcoming PSYCH (Rock) calendar~

9/06 - Fu Manchu - Bluebird Theater
9/10 - OSEES with DMBQ - Ogden Theatre
9/28 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Summit
10/01 - Autechre - Ogden Theatre
10/15 - Earthless & Minami Deutsch - Marquis Theater

#frontrange #livemusic let 'er rip 😎🤘⚡️
September 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM