Liz Ahl
@surlyacres.bsky.social
it's a coup
https://linktr.ee/lizahl
https://linktr.ee/lizahl
Pinned
Liz Ahl
@surlyacres.bsky.social
· Dec 6
Find Out Why Health Insurance Denied Your Claim
You likely have the right to access records that explain why your insurer denied your claim or prior authorization request. Use ProPublica’s free tool to generate a letter requesting your claim file f...
projects.propublica.org
"When you name something, you are pointing at the world. When you describe it, you are sharing it or evoking it through your filter. Are we our filters? Are we the prisms that the light shines through? I think great literature is about the reader, not the author."
November 25, 2025 at 2:59 AM
"When you name something, you are pointing at the world. When you describe it, you are sharing it or evoking it through your filter. Are we our filters? Are we the prisms that the light shines through? I think great literature is about the reader, not the author."
"All language is staged; all sentences are speech acts. Similarly, all actions—even walking—are choreographed to some extent. Practice and intentionality are needed."
November 25, 2025 at 2:54 AM
"All language is staged; all sentences are speech acts. Similarly, all actions—even walking—are choreographed to some extent. Practice and intentionality are needed."
"I was lying in a hospital bed with no nouns, no story. There was no narrator and yet something remained, existed, continued. It was both terrifying and liberating."
November 25, 2025 at 2:53 AM
"I was lying in a hospital bed with no nouns, no story. There was no narrator and yet something remained, existed, continued. It was both terrifying and liberating."
"Once you let go of the idea that you have to be a reliable narrator, you can begin to consider letting go of the idea of being a narrator at all." —Richard Siken tinyurl.com/yvyt8nsv
An Encyclopedia of the Self: An Interview with Richard Siken About "I Do Know Some Things" - Chicago Review of Books
Our interview with Richard Siken about his new collection, "I Do Know Some Things."
tinyurl.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
"Once you let go of the idea that you have to be a reliable narrator, you can begin to consider letting go of the idea of being a narrator at all." —Richard Siken tinyurl.com/yvyt8nsv
Reposted by Liz Ahl
Since this article and its perspectives are generating a bit of buzz, I'd like to dig into what I find distasteful and, frankly, disingenous about it, particularly the ethical values it proclaims. 1/8
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Since this article and its perspectives are generating a bit of buzz, I'd like to dig into what I find distasteful and, frankly, disingenous about it, particularly the ethical values it proclaims. 1/8
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
New "How to Report ICE" zines up today:
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
SALUTE zines **BE SURE TO PRINT AT 100%!** - Google Drive
drive.google.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Aw, thanks, Mitch. That means a lot to me. 💜
November 15, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Aw, thanks, Mitch. That means a lot to me. 💜
Reposted by Liz Ahl
One way I have found to mourn someone is to set up a monthly sustaining donation to a mutual aid effort they cared about. If you can join me in honoring Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social with a sustaining donation today, please do. Thank you Alice, and I will not let the bastards grind me down.
November 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
One way I have found to mourn someone is to set up a monthly sustaining donation to a mutual aid effort they cared about. If you can join me in honoring Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social with a sustaining donation today, please do. Thank you Alice, and I will not let the bastards grind me down.
Reposted by Liz Ahl
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
Here's one of two poems I'm happy to have included in the new "Birds of a Feather" issue of The Fourth River --
www.thefourthriver.com/o16-poetry/2...
www.thefourthriver.com/o16-poetry/2...
The Crows and My Mother — The Fourth River
by Liz Ahl
www.thefourthriver.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Here's one of two poems I'm happy to have included in the new "Birds of a Feather" issue of The Fourth River --
www.thefourthriver.com/o16-poetry/2...
www.thefourthriver.com/o16-poetry/2...
Reposted by Liz Ahl
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Liz Ahl
No one will ever sum up Bari Weiss's career more succinctly than "what's the point of standards"
“Standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She asks ‘What’s the point of standards?’
November 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM
No one will ever sum up Bari Weiss's career more succinctly than "what's the point of standards"
Reposted by Liz Ahl
From the outside it might look like ICE officers wear masks to avoid accountability, but in reality they are a way to avoid accountability.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
November 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
From the outside it might look like ICE officers wear masks to avoid accountability, but in reality they are a way to avoid accountability.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Call volume is currently very high forever.
November 10, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Call volume is currently very high forever.
Reposted by Liz Ahl
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
Reposted by Liz Ahl
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
Reposted by Liz Ahl
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
Recently met someone who was very surprised to hear I didn’t use ChatGPT or any LLM.
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
November 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
I had read and loved Postcolonial Love Poem before planning this class, but Echidna was a recommendation from a stranger in a poetry group on Faceblurgh. So so glad to have added both of ranapiri's collections to my shelf/life/canon.
November 6, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I had read and loved Postcolonial Love Poem before planning this class, but Echidna was a recommendation from a stranger in a poetry group on Faceblurgh. So so glad to have added both of ranapiri's collections to my shelf/life/canon.
I didn't know when I chose them that these treasures by Natalie Diaz & @ired0mi.bsky.social would be the last books I taught as an English prof (taking a last minute buyout in grim conditions). These books, individually, are terrific. Together, in conversation? Holy smokes. Revelation & balm, both.
November 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I didn't know when I chose them that these treasures by Natalie Diaz & @ired0mi.bsky.social would be the last books I taught as an English prof (taking a last minute buyout in grim conditions). These books, individually, are terrific. Together, in conversation? Holy smokes. Revelation & balm, both.
Reposted by Liz Ahl
NEW: Mississippi Democrats broke the Republican Party's supermajority in the state Senate tonight for the first time since 2011.
It came as Democrats flipped 2 Senate seats and 1 House seat.
“Mississippi just broke the supermajority—and the people have taken back their power,” the party says.
It came as Democrats flipped 2 Senate seats and 1 House seat.
“Mississippi just broke the supermajority—and the people have taken back their power,” the party says.
Mississippi Democrats Break Republican Senate Supermajority, Flipping 3 Legislative Seats
After 13 years, Mississippi Democrats broke the Republican Party's supermajority in the Mississippi Senate, flipping 3 legislative seats.
www.mississippifreepress.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:25 AM
NEW: Mississippi Democrats broke the Republican Party's supermajority in the state Senate tonight for the first time since 2011.
It came as Democrats flipped 2 Senate seats and 1 House seat.
“Mississippi just broke the supermajority—and the people have taken back their power,” the party says.
It came as Democrats flipped 2 Senate seats and 1 House seat.
“Mississippi just broke the supermajority—and the people have taken back their power,” the party says.
Reposted by Liz Ahl
This person took this when they called the race
November 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
This person took this when they called the race
"You have had days like this, no doubt. And wasn’t it
wonderful, finally, to leave the room? Ah, what a
moment!
As for myself, I swung the door open. And there was
the wordless, singing world. And I ran for my life."
www.medhumchat.com/discussiongu...
wonderful, finally, to leave the room? Ah, what a
moment!
As for myself, I swung the door open. And there was
the wordless, singing world. And I ran for my life."
www.medhumchat.com/discussiongu...
Mary Oliver: Work, Sometimes — MedHumChat
I was sad all day, and why not. There I was, books piled on both sides of the table, paper stacked up, words falling off my tongue. The robins had been a long time singing, and now it was begin...
www.medhumchat.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
"You have had days like this, no doubt. And wasn’t it
wonderful, finally, to leave the room? Ah, what a
moment!
As for myself, I swung the door open. And there was
the wordless, singing world. And I ran for my life."
www.medhumchat.com/discussiongu...
wonderful, finally, to leave the room? Ah, what a
moment!
As for myself, I swung the door open. And there was
the wordless, singing world. And I ran for my life."
www.medhumchat.com/discussiongu...
Reposted by Liz Ahl
In this November edition of Prisons, Prose & Protest, I give a brief history of a radical higher education experiment from late-1960s Berkeley. I recommend two podcast episodes, several good recent articles and essays, and more… open.substack.com/pub/prisoncu...
Prisons, Prose & Protest - #32
Rants, Musings and More
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
In this November edition of Prisons, Prose & Protest, I give a brief history of a radical higher education experiment from late-1960s Berkeley. I recommend two podcast episodes, several good recent articles and essays, and more… open.substack.com/pub/prisoncu...