Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 4d

Have fun! Was a lovely poetry event last week.

Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 11d

Happy 20th birthday to Wolf Parade's APOLOGIES TO THE QUEEN MARY! I was so honoured to write the liner notes for the deluxe edition, released in 2016—which everyone should buy, if only for the reminder that you're the one-eyed feather (you're the lion's mane).
wolfparade.bandcamp.com/album/apolog...

Apologies to the Queen Mary (Deluxe Edition), by Wolf Parade

25 track album

wolfparade.bandcamp.com

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

Dave Kaufman @davekaufman.bsky.social · 23d

Montreal's Martha Wainwright was on Fallon last night and chose one hell of a song to play: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c-e...

Martha Wainwright: Save the Country | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

YouTube video by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

www.youtube.com

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 23d

I know you have strong feelings about some of these things so if anything I bumbled through on the podcast doesn't feel clear to you, please reach out! I hope you're well!

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 23d

This is really very kind, George. I was disappointed, but isn't everyone.

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 25d

I am so very sorry, Anakana.

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · 26d

hey don’t tell anyone! ive been trying to snag a cheap original one on ebay for at least five years

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Sep 11

I appreciate your surprise. Start a petition!

Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Sep 11

i applied and they didn't even ask for an interview! 😭

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

Thad McIlroy @thadmcilroy.bsky.social · Sep 6

"For publishing professionals watching from the sidelines, this represents a masterclass in how AI companies are treating copyright disputes as manageable business costs rather than existential threats." www.linkedin.com/pulse/anthro...

Anthropic's $183 Billion Valuation: The Authors' Pyrrhic Victory Settlement Has Investors Drooling

The publishing industry must now contend with a reality where its primary asset - copyrighted content - has been effectively commoditised by companies with access to virtually unlimited capital and a ...

www.linkedin.com

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

Meredith Rose @mrose.ink · Sep 5

Unfortunately, I expect that the fact they won a pretty resounding fair use victory is going to be lost in much of the coverage. They lost on downloading & storing the LibGen dataset (straight infringement!), but the act of training on copyrighted material (+ making their own ebooks) was a win.

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · Sep 5

Breaking: In landmark agreement, AI firm Anthropic will pay $1.5 billion to settle a copyright lawsuit brought by book authors and publishers. Story to follow.

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 29

If you're a Jewish writer, it's wide enough for you, too.

More information here:
parchmentmag.ca

Free Palestine
/end

Home | Parchment Journal

Parchment is the only literary journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing. We champion work that is diverse in aesthetic and national in scope.

parchmentmag.ca

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 29

Jewish literature is wide enough for Marcel Proust, Ivor Cutler, Hannah Arendt, Maurice Sendak, Grace Paley, Oliver Sacks, Judy Blume, Paul Auster, Sarah Schulman, Kafka, Deborah Levy, David Graeber, Muriel Spark, "Lemony Snicket," Harold Pinter, Oliver Sacks, Patrick Modiano 4/5

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 29

It seems like an insane and also important time for Jewish writers/readers to be in conversation with each other. It feels depressing (oy vey, honestly) but potentially galvanizing, too: reading changes the reader. 3/5

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 29

Parchment is a project of the Association for Jewish Canadian Studies; it describes itself as "national in scope" and there's a diversity of politics on the editorial board. But I want to explicitly encourage anti-Zionist writers to submit their fiction, poetry & literary non-fiction. 2/5

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 29

"This will never work": PARCHMENT (@parchmentmag.bsky.social), a literary journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing, is returning to print.

I joined the editorial board because I don't feel "Jewish writing" needs to mean what it usually means, especially lately. 1/5

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · Aug 21

Big IP slop is one of the pipelines to genAI slop; denaturing the vitality of the arts for corporate interests. Good to see an actor speak about it honestly.

Daniel Carlson @danielwcarlson.bsky.social · Aug 21

THE MANDALORIAN was so badly written that it broke Katee Sackhoff’s sense of self

CINEMA BLEND
I lost all of my confidence after 'Mandalorian".. My style of acting has always just been your first instinct is the right instinct. Do that. Play the reality of the situation.
And I've never really played a character. You know what I mean? I've always played two steps removed from myself, in a sense. Like, it always felt grounded in some part of my belly of who I was.
Bo-Katan is nowhere near who l am as a human being.
Her life, what she wants.
I didn't understand her.
As much as I understood her, I never felt her in my stomach. I never identified with her. I didn't know how to find her.
KATEE SACKHOFF
'THE SACKHOFF SHOW'

CINEMA BLEND
It broke me. It just broke me where I started doubting everything about myself. I'm not a strong auditioner on tape and I was having to put myself on tape. I wasn't booking anything, and for three years, I basically didn't work... I broke down. I was crying one day with [Michael Trucco] at his kitchen counter.
And he was like, 'You're going to be fine. You always work! And I was like, I'm not okay, man.
I'm not working. I'm so broken. I've got no confidence left. I don't know what to do. I'm lost!
KATEESACKHOFF
'THE SACKHOFF SHOW'

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 20

speaking of stomp and clap—remember this one?

Forest Fire's "Slow Motion"

What a smoulder, what a treasure.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1d...

Forest Fire - Slow Motion

YouTube video by von_kond

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · Aug 18

BREAKING: Downing Street has warned Sally Rooney risks committing a terrorist offence if she funds Palestine Action

It comes after the author said she would continue to support the group financially

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 18

Consistent!

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Aug 1

dude!

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Reposted by Sean Michaels

Polaris Music Prize @polarismusicprize.bsky.social · Jul 29

Mustafa has been nominated for the #SOCANPolarisSongPrize #ShortList for the song Gaza is Calling. Find out the winner and see 9 other artists perform at Massey Hall live on Sept 16. Get 15% off tickets now—link in bio.

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Jul 19

a neighbour's vertebra?!

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Jul 19

Truly seems most likely a deer (or a pork bone from cooking? but reasons to think unlikely).

I asked OpenAI's top public model: chatgpt.com/share/687bbd...

ChatGPT - Identifying vertebrae origin

Shared via ChatGPT

chatgpt.com

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Sean Michaels @swanmichaels.bsky.social · Jul 19

This piece by @meghanor.bsky.social nails the big problem looming for literature and AI, and it isn't any of the problems (copyright, homework, slop, bias, energy) most people spend their time worrying about: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o... A fantastic and well-informed essay.

Opinion | The Seductions of A.I. for the Writer’s Mind

www.nytimes.com

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