Schuyler Laparle
@schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
500 followers 680 following 260 posts
Lecturer in Communication and Cognition | Researching metaphor and gesture | Caring about prefigurative politics and emancipatory education | Wanting secretly to be a woodworker
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schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Very excited to announce that a collaborative art project aimed at "reclaiming the commons" is now open for contributions!

These are not good times, and so I needed an outlet for creating, sharing, and fostering hope. This is my modest attempt at that. You're all invited🌻

outsidemywindow.org
Outside My Window
Reclaiming the commons one window at a time
outsidemywindow.org
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Saying "not that!" is not enough. You also have to say, "so what about this instead?"

That is prefiguration: moving past the condemnation and critique of current systems to imagine an alternative and *act as if* it is a reality.

Sell enough tickets to your show, and it becomes our reality.
Blue states should come together to declare an emergency. Here’s how | Thomas Geoghegan
States opposed to Trump can create a compact – a new prototype for American government – even if it’s perceived as political theater
www.theguardian.com
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
I had a first round interview with a unicorn-level exceptional job today...

Please pray to all your goddesses and gods for me 🙏
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
I just want a job that I believe would still exist in a world that isn't defined by inequality, consumerism, and ecocide. Is that really so much to ask?

Why does such a thing seem like a unicorn-level exception and not the default?

#BullshitJobs
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
You've obviously been moving too much. Be still, human, and provide undisturbed warmth.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
He was also apparently a landlord who fought against rent control and said the following gem at a public meeting: “The treatment of landlords in Berkeley is comparable to the treatment of blacks in the South...our rights have been massively violated and we are here to correct that injustice.”

🤮
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
You should go see One Battle After Another.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
PhD in linguistics and lecturer in communication and cognition here. This is NOT the right thing to do, unless all you want to do is make people hate you even more. And guess what, that's only helpful for *destructive* change. It makes you an accelerationist. We need *constructive* change.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
As a scholar of communication and cognition, I will say that this is in fact a very very stupid thing to do, unless your goal is to shut down any chance of persuasion and re-education. And if that is your goal, what exactly is your end game? Irreconcilable hatred? That won't save us.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
I've always felt that "semantic anomaly" was actually just a lack of creativity in thinking up a felicitous context. And here we are. Thank you 😂
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
We need this kind of campaigning in the US. And that's only going to be possible if we finally give up on our two-party system. It's holding us hostage as entrenched powers drag our country rightward into hate.
bladeofthes.bsky.social
They want you to be obsessed with immigration so you ignore all the other problems.

But all the other problems ARE the problem.

Don't be distracted and let them blind you with hate.
Reposted by Schuyler Laparle
stevecooke.org
I have this lovely poem pinned to the noticeboard on the corridor outside my office.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Blue-tinted headlights don't just mess with night vision, they are down right dangerous for folks with photosensitivity (and, as a consequence, everyone else around them).

I'm lucky that my epilepsy is very well-controlled with medicine. But even with that, these lights can trigger migraines.
cageyratfish.bsky.social
this is a multigenerational complaint but WHOSE idea was it to make car headlights out of high-Kelvin LEDs?? Didn't anyone realize that blue-tinted light fucks up your night vision? There should be illegal bulb temperatures for vehicle headlights. Hmmph!
yeeeerika.bsky.social
i don't want to hear your most boomer complaint. what's your most millennial complaint?
Reposted by Schuyler Laparle
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
This bag was made from upcycled scrap fabric. And I'm using it as gift wrapping for a friend's birthday, rather than disposable paper. I'd like to think that represents a little piece of an alternative world worth striving for.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
I totally agree.

Sometimes I'm nervous that people will be like "the world is falling apart, and you're posting about little bags?!"

But then again, there is a lot of rage. And that can be good. It activates people to seek change. But there also has to be something positive to strive for...
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Hehe thanks! And will do (so long as it isn't *too* embarrassing 😉)
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Aww thank you for such kind words!

And I like that spin a lot. Every little thing made by hand and with love is a kind of resistance. ❤️✊
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
So I recognize that, in the grand scheme of things, this is a deeply unimpressive thing. But... I finally learned how to use a sewing machine, and made this over-engineered drawstring bag as my first project.

Making things is fun, especially when you get to do it in a super supportive makerspace 😌
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
This brought me a lot of joy. Thank you 😂
Reposted by Schuyler Laparle
arthursmid.bsky.social
"I want a battle plan. Yet if Overshoot lacks such a plan, it nonetheless fully describes the theater of war.

"... one of the most important books about climate change in the canon."

In advance of Andreas Malm and Wim Carton’s forthcoming book, Genevieve Guenther revisits their first volume:
The Point, However, Is to Change It | Los Angeles Review of Books
In advance of Andreas Malm and Wim Carton’s forthcoming book “The Long Heat: Climate Politics When It’s Too Late,” Genevieve Guenther revisits the authors’ 2024 title “Overshoot: How the World Surrend...
lareviewofbooks.org
Reposted by Schuyler Laparle
josemarichal.bsky.social
"This might seem like a drastic accusation for such small infractions. But indulging in the familiar can habituate us away from exploring new ideas. The result can be the death of liberal democratic institutions – slowly, then all at once."
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
Well, this made me physically sick.
schuylerlaparle.bsky.social
When killing people for being homeless is more conceivable than just giving people housing, where can one even start the conversation?

Chat Pile, please:

youtu.be/sER0FzJO-c0?...
Reposted by Schuyler Laparle