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Noah Grand

@noahgrand.bsky.social

1.3K followers 300 following 1.8K posts

Social science PhD. 3x ENnie nominee D&D designer. They/He. Bi.

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Noah Grand @noahgrand.bsky.social · Aug 25

Getting ready for my last gaming convention of the year, it's worth looking at what I did since the last convention:

* Wrote an adventure for the con.
* Project manaaged and edited 9 other adventures for the con.
* Wrote a first draft of a novel. Yes, a whole novel.

kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a dark room .

Alt: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a dark room.

media.tenor.com

Reposted by Noah Grand

Maureen Jice @jane.meangirls.online · 2h

he was actually having a flashback to the time he saw The Birdcage on the netflix menu

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 3h

Kershaw couldn’t retire before one final postseason blowup

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Chris Russo @c23roo.bsky.social · 3h

Fuck you Kershaw that was the gayest home run I’ve ever seen

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🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · 7h

AI has a lot of issues but a big one is the way it’s used to :

- demonize basic real emotional desires and needs
- the inability to just straight up and say

“ there is something maladaptive and ill intentioned about wanting to have a digital slave “

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 9h

“The more ways that a student reports that their school uses AI, the more likely they are to report things like 'I know someone who considers AI to be a friend,' 'I know someone who considers AI to be a romantic partner.'"

1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship, or knows someone who has

A national survey of students, teachers and parents shines a light on how the AI revolution is playing out in schools – including when it comes to bullying and a community's trust in schools.

www.npr.org

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GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 7h

i am not sure mike johnson’s plan of abandoning the capitol to a bunch of snarky house dems (of which there are many) with nothing to do was a smart strategic move

Rep. Ted Lieu @reptedlieu.bsky.social · 8h

We are in the second week of the Republican shutdown.

Where are House Republicans? On vacation.

Went looking around the Capitol to see if any Republicans had the common sense to come back. Featuring @mcbride.house.gov.

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 20h

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 7h

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 8h

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 9h

The Macedonian Teenagers, all grown up! 10 yrs later it turns out that tapping the right wing rage machine remains extraordinarily lucrative! Who could’ve guessed?

(I wrote a book about it lol and researched some of this guy’s prior art)

Meanwhile, the capacity for investigations has diminished.

Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 15h

NEW: A MAGA X account often shared by Senator Mike Lee and House Republicans like Nancy Mace--that often alleges Democrats encourage voting fraud-- is run by a man who not only has never stepped foot in the US, he also illegally donated to an American campaign.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

The Viral MAGA Accounts Run by a Man Who Has Never Been to America

Two influential MAGA social media accounts are run by Rumen Naumovski, a Macedonian who may have illegally donated to a U.S. election.

www.rollingstone.com

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Noah Grand @noahgrand.bsky.social · 12h

I met the inspirational folks I needed to come out in my mid 30s

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 1d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 1d

Why Underachievers Dominate Secret Police Organizations: Evidence from Autocratic Argentina
Adam Scharpf and Christian Gläßel

Autocrats depend on a capable secret police. Anecdotal evidence, however, often characterizes agents as surprisingly mediocre in skill and intellect. To explain this puzzle, this article focuses on the career incentives underachieving individuals face in the regular security apparatus. Low-performing officials in hierarchical organizations have little chance of being promoted or filling lucrative positions. To salvage their careers, these officials are willing to undertake burdensome secret police work. Using data on all 4,287 officers who served in autocratic Argentina (1975-83), we study biographic differences between secret police agents and the entire recruitment pool. We find that low-achieving officers were stuck within the regime hierarchy, threatened with discharge, and thus more likely to join the secret police for future benefits. The study demonstrates how state bureaucracies breed mundane career concerns that produce willing enforcers and cement violent regimes. This has implications for the understanding of autocratic consolidation and democratic breakdown.

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Noah Grand @noahgrand.bsky.social · 1d

Can’t wait to hear him read a press release on his first episode

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 1d

Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.

A post by Rebecca Johnson:
“I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.”

A tumblr respond from mightymur:
“The final, brilliant word on passive voice.
"She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive
"Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”

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Erin Fogg says Free Link @criminalerin.bsky.social · 2d

I am once again asking why these data centers are all fucking SECRETS

"A controversial plan to build a 2.2-million-square-foot data center on farmland may still happen. A rural community... is looking to settle a lawsuit recently filed by a development firm working for an unidentified tech giant."

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Zoë “Baddie Proctor” Quinn @unburntwitch.com · 1d

Californians, let’s call (916) 445-2841 to tell Newsom’s office to sign the following pro LGBTQ+ rights bills before the deadline:

AB 82/SB 497
AB 1084/SB 59
SB 418
AB 554
AB 728
AB 678
SB 590
SB 450

mady castigan✨ 🏳️‍⚧️ @madycast.com · 1d

He hasn't signed the other bills yet, but he still has days to do so
This headline is misleading for not mentioning that.

The gender education veto is bad, but far from the most important trans rights bill on his desk.

There's still time to contact Newsom for the rest!

www.gov.ca.gov/contact/

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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 1d

“Conversion therapy” is a euphemism for child abuse, and every mainstream medical and mental health organization has rejected this practice for decades. There is no evidence that it does anything besides harm children. It is one of the few subjects where there is an overwhelming medical consensus.

Conversion therapy is universally opposed as harmful by major medical organizations, including (but not limited to) the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, American Medical Association(AMA), American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association (APA), and the American School Health Association.
Links: https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/medical-experts-lgbtq-people-agree-conversion-therapy-is-no-replacement-for-health-care

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Jen Mercieca @jenmercieca.bsky.social · 2d

This is a long, thoughtful, and brilliant post about how to understand political campaigning & strategy from one of the progressive left's most brilliant thinkers and practitioners @anatosaurus.bsky.social. Read it and listen to her: Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight open.substack.com/pub/michaelp...

Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight

“Pollingism” Has Failed Democrats and Voters. Here’s Why, and What to Do Instead.

open.substack.com

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Noah Grand @noahgrand.bsky.social · 1d

That’s great! Hope he has a smooth recovery.

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Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 1d

This picture is from 1992 in LA and using it in this post and story shows terrible news judgment.

CNN @cnn.com · 1d

"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr

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Noah Grand @noahgrand.bsky.social · 2d

I’ve known two femme queers with middling talent who cozied up to toxic men to advance their careers, save themselves from the toxic men.

Both became abusive, paranoid, and tried to blackball me for not selling out. They hate genuine pride more than anything.

Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 2d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal … and that’s ok. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”

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Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 2d

And, importantly, it was for *artists*.

Investing in creatives having sustainable lives creates better art, which benefits society in a multitude of ways (including financially).

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 2d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Jessie Thomas @jessiethomasauthor.bsky.social · 2d

🐦‍⬛TOMORROW🐦‍⬛

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover reveal for THIS HIDEOUS HEART, my sapphic, gothic horror romance reimagining of Poe’s most famous works 🕯️🫀

Coming this winter! You can add it to your Goodreads TBR: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

A stylized hot pink graphic with a subtle damask pattern. The mockup of the cover includes a sliver of the actual cover. It’s surrounded by a gothic looking frame and cobwebs with a dangling spider. It says COVER REVEAL at the top and TOMORROW at the bottom, with two silhouettes of crows standing guard.

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Dani Finn 🏳️‍⚧️ 📚 @danifinnwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Reading this a chapter or two at a time in odd moments (most of my reading is on my e-reader).

It’s pretty good for contemp—dual POV F/NBi romance between old best friends, one of whom just broke up with her fiancé.

Nice to see a they/them character front & center in a trade romance.

My best friend’s honeymoon by meryl wilsner (paperback) with a can of Diet Dr Pepper

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 2d

The acting CDC director has finally signed off on the vaccine advisory panel's recommendations for the COVID vaccines.

While the CDC is trying to sell this as a win for antivaxxers, in reality this means that COVID vaccines will be more accessible than they have been in recent weeks.