Lev Mirov
@thelionmachine.bsky.social
poet, novelist, graduate student, time traveler. in my sock knitting era. Jewish genderfluid bone wizard writing queer trans speclit in hell. Medievalist inexplicably writing a dissertation about Anna Akhmatova's queerness. no English pronouns, thanks.
I have friends from middle school I met online and talk to a couple times a year. There are a small handful of people, about a dozen at any time, whose lives overlap with mine in a way where we talk weekly or even daily online. One of those people I met in high school.
watching John Green talk about his buddy from high school who is still his friend and I’m curious, is that common for people on here?
February 14, 2026 at 1:54 AM
I have friends from middle school I met online and talk to a couple times a year. There are a small handful of people, about a dozen at any time, whose lives overlap with mine in a way where we talk weekly or even daily online. One of those people I met in high school.
Reposted by Lev Mirov
It might've had a Streisand Effect, but it's just another example of the IOC's willingness to cozy up to dictatorships despite their rhetoric of democracy and universal humanity in sport.
But they've also been selling merch of the Berlin Olympics of '36 in the official store, so I'm not shocked.
But they've also been selling merch of the Berlin Olympics of '36 in the official store, so I'm not shocked.
Counterintuitively, the IOC’s disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for insisting on wearing his “helmet of memory” at the Winter Olympics may have reminded the world of Ukraine’s ongoing suffering more effectively than the helmet itself could have.
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 PM
It might've had a Streisand Effect, but it's just another example of the IOC's willingness to cozy up to dictatorships despite their rhetoric of democracy and universal humanity in sport.
But they've also been selling merch of the Berlin Olympics of '36 in the official store, so I'm not shocked.
But they've also been selling merch of the Berlin Olympics of '36 in the official store, so I'm not shocked.
Here's what happened
His mother's surname is said
Ma-lin-in-a (not Mal-ih-neen-a) -- penultimate syllable is stressed but not lengthened
His name is not said Ma-lee-nin like the penultimate syllable is the li, but like it's Malinina -- the feminine ending is removed but the stress pattern remains
His mother's surname is said
Ma-lin-in-a (not Mal-ih-neen-a) -- penultimate syllable is stressed but not lengthened
His name is not said Ma-lee-nin like the penultimate syllable is the li, but like it's Malinina -- the feminine ending is removed but the stress pattern remains
Sorry but the name thing works both ways. Ilia Malinin grew up in America and pronounces his name in an Americanized style. You don't get to tell an American how to pronounce his own name.
February 13, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Here's what happened
His mother's surname is said
Ma-lin-in-a (not Mal-ih-neen-a) -- penultimate syllable is stressed but not lengthened
His name is not said Ma-lee-nin like the penultimate syllable is the li, but like it's Malinina -- the feminine ending is removed but the stress pattern remains
His mother's surname is said
Ma-lin-in-a (not Mal-ih-neen-a) -- penultimate syllable is stressed but not lengthened
His name is not said Ma-lee-nin like the penultimate syllable is the li, but like it's Malinina -- the feminine ending is removed but the stress pattern remains
Aleksei and I have put a shitton of hours into merely scanning and making into accessible plaintext an out of print book that originally was published as samizdat for MY PERSONAL USE because it's the only collation of letters from three archives on two different continents. AI could LITERALLY never.
Right, another key thing that historians do is working with important records that have not been digitized.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Aleksei and I have put a shitton of hours into merely scanning and making into accessible plaintext an out of print book that originally was published as samizdat for MY PERSONAL USE because it's the only collation of letters from three archives on two different continents. AI could LITERALLY never.
Got my grocery bag searched by the national guard trying to walk home 🙃 I'm trying not to be salty about it but also: I cannot go anywhere without dealing with police, the guard, armored vehicles, street closures and barriers, and it's very very stressful to my brain
February 12, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Got my grocery bag searched by the national guard trying to walk home 🙃 I'm trying not to be salty about it but also: I cannot go anywhere without dealing with police, the guard, armored vehicles, street closures and barriers, and it's very very stressful to my brain
It's amazing how *I* feel like a huge bully for asking aomeone to remake my coffee they got wrong the first time. Brain. Why. I literally paid for this drink and was told I had choices.
February 11, 2026 at 10:40 PM
It's amazing how *I* feel like a huge bully for asking aomeone to remake my coffee they got wrong the first time. Brain. Why. I literally paid for this drink and was told I had choices.
Reposted by Lev Mirov
Here to advocate for the #PoetryHugo
It takes not a long time to read a new speculative poem.
Please consider nominating poems this year! It means a lot to us poets that we get a permanent poetry Hugo.
Keep changing minds and hearts, poets!
It takes not a long time to read a new speculative poem.
Please consider nominating poems this year! It means a lot to us poets that we get a permanent poetry Hugo.
Keep changing minds and hearts, poets!
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Hugo Awards!
Emails are going out to eligible nominators (those who became a member of LAcon V by January 31, 2026, or were a member of the Seattle Worldcon 2025) about how to set up their LAcon V virtual convention account.
Emails are going out to eligible nominators (those who became a member of LAcon V by January 31, 2026, or were a member of the Seattle Worldcon 2025) about how to set up their LAcon V virtual convention account.
February 11, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Here to advocate for the #PoetryHugo
It takes not a long time to read a new speculative poem.
Please consider nominating poems this year! It means a lot to us poets that we get a permanent poetry Hugo.
Keep changing minds and hearts, poets!
It takes not a long time to read a new speculative poem.
Please consider nominating poems this year! It means a lot to us poets that we get a permanent poetry Hugo.
Keep changing minds and hearts, poets!
Writing a grant application is WAY harder than reading 500 of them and deciding who gets the money, and that was not easy either!!!
February 11, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Writing a grant application is WAY harder than reading 500 of them and deciding who gets the money, and that was not easy either!!!
"AI" has very limited utility to aid humans in doing their jobs when trained correctly. It's a dead end for emergent consciousness. There is almost nothing that can stop the AI bubble is about to explode and ravage industries that were counting on it to develop utility it doesn't and cannot have.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 5:53 PM
"AI" has very limited utility to aid humans in doing their jobs when trained correctly. It's a dead end for emergent consciousness. There is almost nothing that can stop the AI bubble is about to explode and ravage industries that were counting on it to develop utility it doesn't and cannot have.
Reposted by Lev Mirov
If you are an American beader who is running your own small business and could use a bead stash, please email me team @ peculiarityshop dot com with your address.
Marginalized creatives highly encouraged to reach out. I will do five boxes to start. Mixed media, random grabs.
Make art.
Marginalized creatives highly encouraged to reach out. I will do five boxes to start. Mixed media, random grabs.
Make art.
February 11, 2026 at 5:39 PM
If you are an American beader who is running your own small business and could use a bead stash, please email me team @ peculiarityshop dot com with your address.
Marginalized creatives highly encouraged to reach out. I will do five boxes to start. Mixed media, random grabs.
Make art.
Marginalized creatives highly encouraged to reach out. I will do five boxes to start. Mixed media, random grabs.
Make art.
My parents literally screamed at me that if I couldn't teach myself pre-Algebra that I'd never get into college and should maybe learn to cook better 🙃
I passed the GRE with slightly better than average math, it's like I needed a teacher, and I'm not actually too stupid to live
I passed the GRE with slightly better than average math, it's like I needed a teacher, and I'm not actually too stupid to live
Those who weren’t resigned to the Math Idiot Garbage Bin as kids may not grasp how much “if you’re bad at math, you’ll die in a ditch and all will be better off for it” sentiment was floating around in the 90s and 2000s, but it sure felt real to me.
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
February 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM
My parents literally screamed at me that if I couldn't teach myself pre-Algebra that I'd never get into college and should maybe learn to cook better 🙃
I passed the GRE with slightly better than average math, it's like I needed a teacher, and I'm not actually too stupid to live
I passed the GRE with slightly better than average math, it's like I needed a teacher, and I'm not actually too stupid to live
Aleksei scanned and I am digitizing an out of print book for personal use and it is SO fucking hard. It is INCREDIBLY physically and mentally demanding. I have crazy respect for people who do this all the time. My forearms are already pissed off by the "delete extra page breaks" keyboard posture.
February 11, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Aleksei scanned and I am digitizing an out of print book for personal use and it is SO fucking hard. It is INCREDIBLY physically and mentally demanding. I have crazy respect for people who do this all the time. My forearms are already pissed off by the "delete extra page breaks" keyboard posture.
I just got a tourism ad for Egypt that closed on the tagline "unmatched diversity"
I... okay. There's a lot of choices happening there.
I... okay. There's a lot of choices happening there.
February 11, 2026 at 4:05 AM
I just got a tourism ad for Egypt that closed on the tagline "unmatched diversity"
I... okay. There's a lot of choices happening there.
I... okay. There's a lot of choices happening there.
Reposted by Lev Mirov
I did a partial payment today but I still need to take care of the rest of my back rent to keep my housing. It needs to be taken care of ASAP. You can also buy books in my digital shop to help!
January rent is past due and I also need some help to keep the lights on and pay me health insurance. Any amount helps and so do shares 💖
ko-fi.com/A356F63/goal...
ko-fi.com/A356F63/goal...
Buy Chelsea M. Cameron a Coffee
Become a supporter of Chelsea M. Cameron today!
ko-fi.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:03 AM
I did a partial payment today but I still need to take care of the rest of my back rent to keep my housing. It needs to be taken care of ASAP. You can also buy books in my digital shop to help!
I was having usual pain emotions and suddenly realized I will never hear Alice Wong's opinion on New Star Trek or really anything ever again and I'm gutted. This sucks. I miss her.
February 11, 2026 at 1:08 AM
I was having usual pain emotions and suddenly realized I will never hear Alice Wong's opinion on New Star Trek or really anything ever again and I'm gutted. This sucks. I miss her.
Nothing like watching a knitting YouTube video where the host apologizes because she's in Kiev and the power keeps cutting out in sub-zero temperatures and then goes "ANYWAY this is what I've been knitting"
If you're wondering how other countries take it day by day.
If you're wondering how other countries take it day by day.
February 11, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Nothing like watching a knitting YouTube video where the host apologizes because she's in Kiev and the power keeps cutting out in sub-zero temperatures and then goes "ANYWAY this is what I've been knitting"
If you're wondering how other countries take it day by day.
If you're wondering how other countries take it day by day.
White people stop defending dead racist writers to IBPOC challenge difficulty: fucking impossible apparently according to my mentions
February 10, 2026 at 9:41 AM
White people stop defending dead racist writers to IBPOC challenge difficulty: fucking impossible apparently according to my mentions
Reposted by Lev Mirov
something you can do is make your little rushlight in the long cold dark
idk i think in a time when it feels like nothing matters & all is futile it might actually be time to double down and write your stories & make your paintings & sing your songs & do your art. create the things that make us human and share them.
February 10, 2026 at 6:39 AM
something you can do is make your little rushlight in the long cold dark
I just heard a white guy in this taqueria call queso and chips "cheeses and crackers" with 0 irony or self awareness.
February 10, 2026 at 3:19 AM
I just heard a white guy in this taqueria call queso and chips "cheeses and crackers" with 0 irony or self awareness.
I dreamed that I survived an explosion, if you're wondering how much pain I'm in today
February 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
I dreamed that I survived an explosion, if you're wondering how much pain I'm in today
Reposted by Lev Mirov
finally, if this strikes you as performative: correct!! this is a high-visibility public performance of politics designed to make some little PR number-cruncher in some fetid corporate basement go running to their supervisor like "sir! it seems the peasants do NOT like the nazi collaboration!"
February 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM
finally, if this strikes you as performative: correct!! this is a high-visibility public performance of politics designed to make some little PR number-cruncher in some fetid corporate basement go running to their supervisor like "sir! it seems the peasants do NOT like the nazi collaboration!"
Reposted by Lev Mirov
I mean, we have done a really good job of reminding people to keep their actual volunteer resistance OFF of social media because that's basic operational security, and nobody needs to suddenly acquire an ICE minder because they were talking about grocery runs on the open internet.
And they aren't all crowing about it on social media, so let's not assume that all the people in hats and buttons passing out whistles are doing nothing else. People - "wine moms," "knitters," who else do you think has ready access to breast milk? - are working behind the scenes for good.
A detail I don't want to get lost in this: So far, Bri and her network have helped more than 500 families with grocery deliveries and more than 300 with diapers and wipes. In just two months.
February 9, 2026 at 12:16 AM
I mean, we have done a really good job of reminding people to keep their actual volunteer resistance OFF of social media because that's basic operational security, and nobody needs to suddenly acquire an ICE minder because they were talking about grocery runs on the open internet.
Reposted by Lev Mirov
Call me Cato the Elder because I’m salting it like Carthage.
February 8, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Call me Cato the Elder because I’m salting it like Carthage.
In case anyone was wondering, the bread subscription service for bread shipped to you and finished in your oven does NOT have a gluten-free bread box that HAS NO WHEAT INGREDIENTS. All the breads contain de-glutened wheat flour, which many people still react to. Particularly me.
February 8, 2026 at 6:50 AM
In case anyone was wondering, the bread subscription service for bread shipped to you and finished in your oven does NOT have a gluten-free bread box that HAS NO WHEAT INGREDIENTS. All the breads contain de-glutened wheat flour, which many people still react to. Particularly me.