Eric L-M Shuman
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barzai.com
Eric L-M Shuman
@barzai.com
300 followers 700 following 1.4K posts
Historian and ecologist; experiential learning. Director, Barzai Observatory. Former star trucker and bartender. Masters (Ancient Mediterranean). 🎲🌌🏺♻️🪔🌱🖖🦬

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Eric L-M Shuman @barzai.com · Nov 1
VFP Actually I Don’t Actually Give A Fuck What People Buy With Their Food Stamps (Demilitarized)

(“Money implies poverty.” Iain M Banks)
hammancheez.bsky.social hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · Oct 31
You heard me
90s kid giving fingerguns in stylised video game neon backdrop saying “I don’t really give a fuck what people buy with food stamps and if you do it’s because you’re a fucking loser”
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
profabelmendez.bsky.social
The Wow! Signal wasn’t the only mystery in the Big Ear data. Thousands of pages of unpublished observations still exist on paper. Help us save, digitize, and release it before it’s lost forever. #RadioAstronomy #Astrophysics #WowSignal #SETI #GivingTuesday phl.upr.edu/support
December 2, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
rosemarymosco.com
Wildlife tracking! I'm reposting things I made this past year. If you look closely at the deer tracks you'll see I added the hint that they're double registering (hind foot is stepping into the same spot as front foot).
A six-panel comic titled "Wildlife Tracking Tips". In panel 1, the text says "A white-tailed deer traveled through here," and there are white-tailed deer prints in fresh snow. In panel 2, the text says "An American Red Squirrel came by," and the leap marks of a red squirrel are in the snow. In panel 3, the text says "A Snowshoe Hare passed through," and there are the distinctive fluffy-footed marks from a snowshoe hare jumping across the snow. n panel 4, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare found a sword," and one of the front paw marks in the track has been replaced with a long thin line running alongside the track. In panel 5, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare is dual wielding," and both front paw marks have been replaced with long thin lines. In panel 6, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare tamed a mount, vastly increasing its jumping distance. You should run," and the Snowshoe Hare trail runs into a deer track and disappears.
December 1, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
rebeccahazelstaff.bsky.social
My awesome friend Eric has made a TTRPG! It’s got alien relics under a green-gold sky, wayfinding by instruments in the desert, and stolen rebel plans! It’s for sale now and ever so affordable. Take a look! habros.itch.io/stars-eternal
Stars Eternal by Barzai Observatory Workshop
2d6 Space opera adventure for everyone in the jumpsuit future
habros.itch.io
December 1, 2025 at 12:06 PM
barzai.com
It’s done, and it’s out there, and it’s meant to be seen. Diane Duane is quoted on page 1.
barzai.com Eric L-M Shuman @barzai.com · 3d
Today we’re finishing up the very last changes on STARS ETERNAL 1.1 (First Edition’s first release!), with just a couple edits to copy and layout. It’s going live today!! To celebrate, we’re doing an all-day Trek movie binge.

Get Stars Eternal at habros.itch.io/stars-eternal
Stars Eternal by Barzai Observatory Workshop
2d6 Space opera adventure for everyone in the jumpsuit future
habros.itch.io
December 1, 2025 at 3:26 AM
barzai.com
Today we’re finishing up the very last changes on STARS ETERNAL 1.1 (First Edition’s first release!), with just a couple edits to copy and layout. It’s going live today!! To celebrate, we’re doing an all-day Trek movie binge.

Get Stars Eternal at habros.itch.io/stars-eternal
Stars Eternal by Barzai Observatory Workshop
2d6 Space opera adventure for everyone in the jumpsuit future
habros.itch.io
November 30, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
unraveledpress.com
~1 yr ago we sent a Giving Tuesday email to our tiny mailing list shortly after starting our own publication.

In the time since, we have been overwhelmed by how many of you find our work worth supporting.

No email this time around. But if you'd like to support indie media today, here's how:
Support Unraveled
unraveledpress.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
blockclubchi.bsky.social
An Illinois congresswoman says a tour of the Broadview ICE facility reinforced her concerns. blockclubchi.co/4rfLYep
November 25, 2025 at 9:16 PM
barzai.com
Name another holiday that lands on Thursday. It cannot be done
dryad.technology mcc @dryad.technology · 9d
Explaining to my Canadian wife that Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursdays because Thanksgiving is the Thursday of holidays
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
elmcitytree.blacksky.app
Every paragraph is a banger. I’m so happy right now. Sometimes you find a piece of writing just when you need it.
Sobe it. We cannot awaken this sleper, and God knows we have tried. We must do what we can do, and fortify and save each other—we are not drowning in an apathetic self-contempt, we do feel ourselves sufficiently worthwhile to contend even with inexorable forces in order to change our fate and the fate of our children and the condition of the world! We know that a man is not a thing and is not to be placed at the mercy of things. We know that air and water belong to all mankind and not merely to industrialists. We know that a baby does not come into the world merely to be the instrument of someone else's profit. We know that democracy does not mean the coercion of all into a deadly-and, finally, wicked—mediocrity but the liberty for all to aspire to the best that is in him, or that has ever been.
October 5, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
elmcitytree.blacksky.app
You can read the full essay—that Baldwin wrote after Angela had been arrested and put on trail—here
An Open Letter to My Sister, Miss Angela Davis | James Baldwin
One might have hoped that, by this hour, the very sight of chains on black flesh, or the very sight of chains, would be so intolerable a sight for the American people, and so unbearable a memory, that...
www.nybooks.com
October 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
barzai.com
Dropping Friday! First edition!

Habros.itch.io/stars-eternal — a love letter to sci-fi, fandom, and the conviction that a better world is possible.
Stars Eternal rpg wordmark on a starfield, in layout
November 24, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
cheryllynneaton.bsky.social
If they see you mentoring a woman or treating her as an equal? You're a traitor to them. Offering a trans person a job? Traitor. Creating a black character? Traitor. If they see you do or say something antiracist, feminist, etc., you are in their crosshairs.

So...just being a decent human being.
November 25, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
cheryllynneaton.bsky.social
Cishet white men at these AAA companies think that if they keep their heads down, say nothing, and watch as their peers are picked off one-by-one, that they will be safe. Nope. Because there is no safety in doing nothing. Unless you are vocally supporting their beliefs, they want you gone.
November 25, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
rebeccareyeswriting.com
All us minorities are always trying to Sisyphus-like prove shit to the majority.

Then, when some guy in the majority says, "There might be something to this," and only then, do others nod their heads along with them. Those who aren't nodding just stay silent or keep spitting disproven bullshit.
November 25, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
margogontar.bsky.social
This is Kyiv tonight : people of Kyiv sheltering in metro from Russian drones and missiles attacking the city.
November 25, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
leavittalone.bsky.social
1900s America even
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
tepid.meme
Genesis? What’s that?
The bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek Ii: The Wrath of Khan
November 25, 2025 at 12:44 AM
barzai.com
Dropping Friday! First edition!

Habros.itch.io/stars-eternal — a love letter to sci-fi, fandom, and the conviction that a better world is possible.
Stars Eternal rpg wordmark on a starfield, in layout
November 24, 2025 at 11:54 PM
barzai.com
I solved the daily Clues by Sam, Nov 23rd 2025 (Hard), in less than 17 minutes
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟨🟩
cluesbysam.com

Thanks to @amalelmohtar.com for introducing myself and @cricketvoyeur.bsky.social to this fun game! 🧐
November 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
schmidtocean.bsky.social
This fluttery finned fish, possibly from the family Oreosomatidae, was spotted during #AsgardArchaea at around 1000 m. Read more about this expedition led by @archaeal.bsky.social from @texasscience.bsky.social here: https://schmidtocean.org/cruise/searching-for-the-asgard/
November 22, 2025 at 12:34 AM
barzai.com
This is what myth does. This is why real myths are vernacular, grassroots, and powerful.

(Fandom is the grassroots part.)
November 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
barzai.com
Does anyone have recommendations for college-level case studies for environmental problems in the area of transit, urbanism and human ecology?

I’ve got some great health & wildlife types of cases, but I’d like something along the lines of urban planning.
November 19, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
mrdanzak.com
"The fact that many men believe they no longer even have to pretend to respect women in order to participate in public life makes it unlikely that anything will change anytime soon. The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
cameroncorduroy.bsky.social
of course there is a long list of prosecutions that need to happen after 2028 but i think a very high priority if not the highest should be a thorough investigation into every single death in ICE custody

criminal or civil penalties i don't care, there needs to be accountability here
November 20, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by Eric L-M Shuman
refrag.bsky.social
Today is the day to repost this meme about International Men's Day, one of the most unironically wholesome memes that has ever been made.

Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
Nerdy kid at keyboard: Hi guys, I've noticed that it is International Men's Day today, and I'm confused. Why do we need a day to talk about men? We're not a marginalised group like women, queer people, or people of colour. The media is already full of stories about men. Big buff shirtless dude at keyboard: I'm glad you asked, champ. Whatever your view on men's place in society, it's still true that we face a lot of issues - like social isolation, risk of suicide, health problems, and attitudes towards sex and child rearing. Having a day to talk about those doesn't take away from anyone else's problems. In fact, having a day to talk about them helps us be more mindful, and listen better at other times. Second shirtless buff dude on a couch at his laptop: The chief here is really on to something. I want to echo what he said, and also point out that the idea we should remain silent about our problems actually contributes to a lot of our issues. We are human beings, with human needs. Seeking mutual support and understanding isn't the same thing as placing a burden on others. Especially if we're providing it for each other. Third buff dude at his laptop: Right on, my fellow kings. We've inherited a social legacy of competition and division, and a lot of what makes a man in our era is under question. IMD is a chance for us to examine and rethink what we are together, and build the bonds of solidarity and support that will make a better way possible - like in this meme. Because in our hearts, we're all curious kids and buff guys on keyboards.
November 19, 2025 at 6:38 PM