Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 7h

Stitchalong WIP status: Crow has a face.

A photo of a cross-stitch in progress: A black crow from the breast up with a purple beak and a beady purple eye on fabric in shades of blue and purple wit opalescent flecks. Near the upper right edge of the embroidery hoop, there's a star-shaped needle minder. A threaded needle rests upon it.

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 11d

Does anyone care is almost never the right question. People care. The issue is that people don't know what to do.

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C. R. Legge @crlegge.bsky.social · 14d

16. Maenam

#photography #art #abstract #leaf #macrophotography #crleggeart #ostranenie

The edge of a leaf crosses the image from corner to corner with a water like blue color behind it.

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austin_walker @austinwalker.bsky.social · 17d

Sometimes you read an article that makes you feel like... idk... 15 years ago, some of us got on an express train and saw what was on the tracks ahead. And now we're on a call to the people on the slower train, now approaching, and they cannot comprehend the landscapes we describe as familiar.

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 17d

ICE shooter Joshua Jahn's politics aren't what's being reported, three longtime former friends tell me.

www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-ice-sh...

The ICE Shooter’s Motive

Joshua Jahn's friends speak

www.kenklippenstein.com

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M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 17d

Current WIP is a stitchalong with family. 🐦‍⬛🌙 I ice dyed some opalescent Aida and picked up COSMO floss packs for the occasion. We're only working on it when we meet up and started recently, so… here's a tiiiny bit of progress + the floss.

A photo of cross-stitch in progress. A few rows of black stitches on fabric in shades of purple and blue with opalescent flecks. Seven skeins of thread in teal, black, purple, and bright green are partially visible at the bottom.

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Rien Gray @riengray.bsky.social · 18d

I haven’t seen a lot of cis people I usually see pushing for calls, etc. doing so about these rules provisions, which would devastate trans people nationally.

Calls need to be made to all electeds and a firm stance taken ASAP, with ten times the fervor of the Kimmel/D+ event

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 18d

1. Trump has dug in on anti-trans provisions in the shutdown fight this morning, cancelling a meeting with Dems unless they cave on trans people.

His post to Truth Social is a clear indication that Republicans are making targeting trans people a priority.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Trump Digs In On Anti-Trans Provisions In Shutdown Fight Message

The provisions are becoming a key sticking point in the ongoing fight to keep the government open.

www.erininthemorning.com

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M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 18d

Happy autumn equinox 🍁🍂✨

A crow perched on a roof as seen through the slats of window blinds, the leaves of the tree in the background are a mix of greens to reds.

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M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 18d

Happy autumn equinox 🍁🍂✨

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M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 18d

Now, if I could convince others to mask up, too…

M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · 18d

A few hours of socializing drains all my energy, lately. Yesterday was worth the inevitable crash nap and day of recovery, but oof.

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nonetoon.bsky.social @nonetoon.bsky.social · 22d

Art motivation 💪

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C. R. Legge @crlegge.bsky.social · Sep 10

Hey! If you were one of the backers of Lethe, you should absolutely keep an eye on your email for a surprise...👀

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pikaole @pikaole.bsky.social · Sep 3

☕️

Two-panel comic

First panel
There's a laptop and a mountain of paperwork.

Second panel
An axolotl is looking at it, doing nothing
but just drinking coffee.

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Jessie Seiler @jessieish.bsky.social · Sep 3

I think it's worth pointing out that using the past tense to refer to the pandemic is a way of stigmatizing those who still mask indoors in public, who test before seeing loved ones or before flights, and who still feel a strong obligation to community care.

Arielle Duhaime-Ross @adrs.bsky.social · Aug 20

I will die on this hill:

it isn’t hard to say “at the height of the pandemic” or “at the start of COVID” during a podcast interview. Producers, hosts, don’t let your guests say “during COVID” like this thing is over. Correct them. Ask them to say the sentence again. This is your job.

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M.A.D. @timidcryptid.bsky.social · Aug 30

Found some miniature embroidery hoops, so. Tiny cross-stitch hearts.

Two small cross-stitch hearts on separate pieces of ice dyed dark blue Aida. One heart is pansexual pride colors (pink, yellow, blue) and the other is asexual pride colors (black, grey, white, purple). A miniature embroidery hoop is next to the cross-stitch.

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Zane Schacht - Voice Goblin @voicesbyzane.bsky.social · Aug 30

Current vibe

The skeksis gathered around their dying emperor

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C. R. Legge @crlegge.bsky.social · Aug 28

Friday Tea has less than 8k to go! Please donate if you can to help them out.

If you do, DM me a screenshot of the confirmation and I'll send you itch.io codes to all of my paid ttrpgs. Which just so happens to include a game that uses drinking tea as its main mechanic. crlegge.itch.io/witchs-brew

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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · Aug 28

Just a heads up. I was able to schedule my COVID vaccine appointment. Online it will ask “do you have a condition that puts you at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 virus.”

Click yes and it will allow you to schedule an appointment.

No questions asked.

No proof required.

Pass it on.

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Ruth EJ Booth (she/they) @ruthejbooth.bsky.social · Aug 14

"If your books were uploaded to LibGen/fed into the LLMs, add your name to the potential class action lawsuit by tomorrow." Details:

LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...

(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · Aug 27

Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!

Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · Aug 27

AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.

Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action

Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.

arstechnica.com

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C. R. Legge @crlegge.bsky.social · Aug 26

This is my favorite tea shop and a very important place for so many. If you can, go donate to help them get over this last hurdle. They have less than 10k to go.

If you do donate, DM me a screenshot of the confirmation and I'll send you itch.io codes to all of my paid games. (crlegge.itch.io)

Friday Afternoon Tea @fridaytea.com · Aug 25

Last week of our pledge drive to clear tea house debt and go into the busy season strong, 83% of the way there!

Transparency report: between this drive and the opportunity to vend at Worldcon, we are no longer in danger of closing our brick & mortar this year.

HOWEVER (1/2)

square.link/u/La2AFWmg

Progress bar showing $49,899 of $60k raised with 7 days left on the pledge drive clock

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Bree Lundberg @breelundberg.com · Aug 26

Losing my mind seeing anyone try to argue that AI has sentience. It does not!!! Stop confusing it with fiction. The androids and robots in sci-fi have feelings because HUMANS wrote those stories. In reality our AI isn’t actually intelligent, it’s vastly inferior to what we’ve imagined.

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headfallsoff @headfallsoff.com · Aug 22

one thing you really have to be careful of online is not letting your experiences with annoying people online drive your politics for real material issues. the internet is real but also your phone is a portal to a world that doesn’t fucking exist

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Zachary Berger @zacharyberger.bsky.social · Aug 13

Friends (esp if you live in CA) we REALLY need signatures on this petition supporting Bill AB412 - the AI Copyright Transparency Act.

TLDR = this will require AI corps to be transparent about what is in their datasets!

Signing takes 1 min. Once you sign, PLEASE SHARE!! tinyurl.com/4uxbp963

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