Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 3d

As if we're all just receptacles waiting to suckle on the teat of content-production. As if writing or reading wasn't supposed to help convince us that staying alive and connected to each other is worth it. Speaks volumes about those who think AI is the best thing to ever happen to the artform.

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 3d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Rebecca Bollwitt @miss604.com · 3d

“A motion calling on the Vancouver Park Board to officially apologize for hosting an upcoming Harry Potter attraction passed Tuesday in a unanimous vote.”

‘This will not happen again’: Vancouver Park Board apologizes for hosting Harry Potter event

A motion calling on the Vancouver Park Board to officially apologize for hosting an upcoming Harry Potter attraction passed Tuesday in a unanimous vote.

www.ctvnews.ca

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 3d

I wish my grandfather were still around so that we could watch that upcoming Expos documentary together. It's been over ten years and I still get these little moments of wishing I could talk to him about the most random stuff.

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 7d

There are SO MANY very very mundane and common reasons why a person could physiologically not experience the classic endorphin/mood boost that could come from exercise! I wish fitness culture was way more generous and compassionate and inclusive in this matter. It is a huge pet peeve of mine!

Dreamer Hallowyeen @dreamerhyena.bsky.social · 7d

I wish "Gym folks" would understand that their experience is not universal.
"You will learn to love it!
"It will eventually feel great!"
No, not everyone will. Some don't get an endorphin high, some don't feel good after a workout.
For some it's an uncomfortable painful slog even after months.

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 7d

There is an infantilization of Greta in some online discussions that really bothers me, and though I am finding I have a weird time trying to explain why I am so bothered, I think it boils to: Neuro-divergent people are not inherently more naive, more innocent, more righteous, or more childlike.

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Colin Spacetwinks @spacetwinks.bsky.social · 8d

looking into the article, important part to it is this was initiated by italian unions, making it possible to organize such action at all. which reinforces for what and why such union restrictions exist in america. keeping labor down doesn't just generate wealth, it also suppresses other movements.

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 8d

Over 2 million people across Italy have rallied in more than 100 cities for a one-day general strike.

2 million rally in Italy for Gaza as general strike halts key services

Over 2 million people across Italy have rallied in more than 100 cities for a one-day general strike.

bit.ly

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 10d

That's a thought. Though doesn't exactly correspond with this description that I am reading (I wish writers looked up space when writing about stuff happening in space...)

Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 11d

True!!! That may explain why the phrase feels older to me, I've been in anglo nerdy spaces for sooooo long

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 11d

Holy guacamole I feel old now

Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 11d

Question: would a non continuous nuclear explosion (Not A Star!) in space create shockwaves? I argue no: no atmosphere, no ground, no ...vibrations that travel outward. Right?

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 11d

Gotcha! Makes sense!

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 11d

"You sweet summer child" is a Game of Thrones reference?! How did I miss that?!

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Rob @robosullivan.bsky.social · 12d

I'm putting this out there now. I'm not accepting any austerity measures when the AI bubble bursts. The stupid fucks who thought a plagiarism-fueled magic 8 ball was the future of the economy can cover the cost of the fuckup this time. I will start fires before I endure service cuts.

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Paul Waldman @paulwaldman.bsky.social · 13d

1. More Americans work at the Cheesecake Factory than in the entire coal industry, and that won't change. It's because of automation, not snooty libs.

2. Coal energy is now more expensive than wind and solar.

3. So this means: higher energy prices, more pollution, no jobs benefit. Genius!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13d

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 13d

Interesting to note that the coal industry in the U.S. employs just a tad over 40,000 people, according to the BLS. The same source tells us that 64,000 people work at wineries.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13d

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."

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Lia @liasae.bsky.social · 13d

Hey, if some of you are Wikipedia-editing-literate, could you go assist with this? It’s preposterous that what is likely to be this era’s Act Up is not deemed objective enough

Julia @lolhiphop.bsky.social · 13d

The draft has been rejected once again on #Wikipedia because it was deemed an "advertisement" even though there were several different sources... You can see the draft here below #masksblocs
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:M...

Julia @lolhiphop.bsky.social · Jul 24

So apparently people can still submit a new page for Mask Blocs on Wikipedia, that could include all the new sources we have now and it would be a more detailed article.
Are there ppl interested in working on this with me?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

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Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 13d

I wrote about this in "The Unaccountability Machine" - when you describe leveraged buyouts to ordinary people, half of them say that it should be illegal and the other half are often convinced that it already is.

Jeremy Parish, imperial aerosol kid @jparish.bsky.social · 13d

Buying a company by taking out a massive loan, then making the company you bought responsible for paying off that loan, is so patently evil that it should be beyond illegal. The kind of thing that inspires enlightened societies without corporal punishment to bring back the death penalty as a one-off

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dr rv 🚐 (spooky 🎃) @rinewithoutacat.bsky.social · 13d

I appreciate Florence making this point now—the National Post has already run targeted hit pieces on profs, incl one(s) targeting queer/trans profs bc of their research.

Universities caving to the NP (and Kay) is scary for all of us, and it's a gift to others that they are pushing back. Solidarité!

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 13d

"Why would it bow to antidemocratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent, or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada."

What Happened to the University’s Commitment to Free Expression? Charley Kirk, uAlberta, and Me | Centre for Free Expression

I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charli...

cfe.torontomu.ca

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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 13d

The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 13d

As in all things, this stuff is a game. You can make some allowances for clumsy kids learning or tech being difficult in the case of a misclick, but if something feels unfair for one or both sides, best take it on a case by case basis.

There is a thing to be said about good sportsmanship, however.

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Gersande La Flèche @gersande.com · 13d

This kind of thing reminds me of playing chess in school as a kid (it was a part of math class I think?) and having « toucher bouger !!! » yelled at me whenever I accidentally touched the wrong piece or knocked something over (possibly connected to the fact I needed glasses real young lmao)

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Liz Renzetti @lizrenzetti.bsky.social · 13d

"It took less than a minute for a city prosecutor to toss out nearly 3,000 charges in a Toronto courtroom." Charges related to careless driving, running red lights - and a driver knocking a cyclist underneath a streetcar. A deeply disturbing story about system failure www.thestar.com/news/gta/she...

She was thrown under a streetcar when a car driver knocked her off her bike. Her case was withdrawn — one of thousands tossed each year by a ‘system in shambles’

The mass withdrawal of road safety-related charges has become routine, the result of an overwhelmed court system that is leaving millions in fines on the table and letting dangerous drivers off the ho...

www.thestar.com

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Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 13d

Hi! Did you know that you aren’t pronouncing axolotl correctly?

Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!

Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:

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Julia @lolhiphop.bsky.social · 13d

The draft has been rejected once again on #Wikipedia because it was deemed an "advertisement" even though there were several different sources... You can see the draft here below #masksblocs
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:M...

Julia @lolhiphop.bsky.social · Jul 24

So apparently people can still submit a new page for Mask Blocs on Wikipedia, that could include all the new sources we have now and it would be a more detailed article.
Are there ppl interested in working on this with me?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Wikipedia:Deletion review - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Patricia Tessier @patriciatessier.bsky.social · 13d

Ian Lafrenière à Tout un matin: "On ne peut pas forcer les policier à ne pas porter la "thin blue line"." en réponse à la question de Masbourian. Mais votre parti on peut forcer les femmes musulmanes à retirer leur foulard? Bravo de porter vos préjugés à visage découvert!!

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