Notices by Anne Deschaine (aehdeschaine@zirk.us)

@amszmidt I'm afraid I was being cynical and a bit sarcastic. Legality is an important avenue for fighting all this for those who can take it. But no, our current regime does not care one bit if something is legal or not. @overholt

@overholt I was about to ask "is that legal?" out of sheer naive habit, but checked myself.

Best wishes to you and your colleagues in this terrible time of escalation and descent.

Heh. Husband attending a conference online today, and the last (WHY the last?) panel today was full of AI cheerleading. The audience was full of AI skepticism and all the hard questions the presenters SHOULD have asked themselves. Apparently, the presenters seemed completely thrown by the audience members' response.

I just do not understand the blinkered AI positivity. How can you still be unaware of, if not the issues themselves, how people feel about them?

@skinnylatte Aw, no! Savory pastry is frankly so much better than sweet. I convinced my sweet-breakfast-loving French-American husband that the Korean (chain) bakery near us is all we need, and now he is a thorough convert to curry pastry for breakfast. Success!

(But they have never done salmon, so I need to go seeking, because that sounds amazing, and very Pacific Northwest, so surely someone here makes it...)

Anyone need something pen-and-ink to focus on? Join my calligraphy guild's next workshop!

Wonderful instructor Judy Detrick will be teaching us a Dutch Masters script. It's a lightly gothic/somewhat secretary hand with tons of potential for wild flourishing and creative adaptation.

It's Tuesday mornings (Pacific) starting next week, BUT recordings are available for SIX MONTHS!!

Details: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/4/22/dutch-masters-with-judy-detrick-april-22-29-may-06-13

#calligraphy #lettering #handwriting #workshops #typography #graphicDesign #art

Could one of these agencies PLEASE stand up and say "FUCK YOU, NO." I know our elected officials are doing nothing, but that doesn't mean other levels can just roll over. Could the agencies and organizations DEDICATED TO HISTORY refuse to scrub it? PLEASE. I get you're scared for your jobs, but what is the point if the only museum job you can get is to support fascist propaganda? Please, PLEASE, would someone say FUCK NO?!

#USpol #Smithsonian

@hollie Personally, I just think of it in terms of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I think maybe we all DO want to be involved!

@hollie 💯 💯 💯 That is EXACTLY how I've been feeling the last few years. People rave about Succession, I'm repelled by it. White Lotus? Same. Even fantasy that involves lots of rich, powerful types bickering over land? Nope. I didn't make a decision on this, I just started noticing my reactions. You are not alone!

@JoBlakely @hollie I used to be pretty into procedural things like CSI (until I got really paranoid). But the more I read about how deeply the CIA/military cooperate with Hollywood for stuff, the harder it was to like. But even fantasy or historical stuff that centers just the powerful/nobles/war/monarchy just doesn't work for me anymore. Game of Thrones? No thanks

Asking fellow USians:

What are the feasible options/best steps when you hear an ICE raid is being conducted at a school?

State/area-specific advice is great, but any guidance or anecdotal experience could be helpful. (I understand that none of this constitutes legal advice.)

#ICE #Oregon #PDX #PNW

@ahimsa_pdx Thank you! I have been through the OR site, and I've saved the reporting numbers. I guess I'm especially curious what to do on a practical personal level. Should I GO to the school that's having a raid? Is it helpful to have concerned community members on site? Would I just be in the way of the trained staff? Is visible support useful? Especially if I don't know for sure that something's happening.

I'm not sure there really IS advice for this!

@ahimsa_pdx Thanks! It is tough, as much of the advice is aimed (rightly) at people are at risk of being targeted by raids. I just want to know how to best direct my energy and support. Raid-chasing seems ineffective, but maybe not 🤷♀️

We have to sort out our apparently endless dogpiling/brigading problem, or we are going to impede our ability to deal with this time.

Case in point: shrieking about Tesla owners. Did they buy it in 2024? You could form an opinion. Painting ALL Tesla owners as Nazis? Insisting someone who bought one in 2017 should sell it or be painted a Nazi? Please stop.

How on earth are we going to deal with this is we keep getting stuck in side quests, making up snarky names for hashtags?

#USpol

@valhalla @kissane True, but it wouldn't be hard to find the same sorts of points to argue now just reading that article! 😏 Even in those episodes, the ultimate conclusion often relied on one person's willingness to take the next step. AI aside, we're still questioning what/who is sentient.

But anyway, mostly it makes me think about the AIs in Trek and wonder how started. Every Trek-like thing introduced today seems to have the most horrifying origin/growth story, and that is damn depressing.

@kissane I often think these days of all the Star Trek episodes I've seen involving AI beings, and how I completely accepted, even empathized with and rooted for, them. But when I read something like this, it gives me a totally different feeling, and I argue myself into a corner trying to articulate why. But then, I suppose most of the novel things I used to like in Trek have a darker underbelly in real life 😕

A thoughtful piece about Ursula K. Le Guin's activism and complicated feelings, written by Julie Phillips and published on Literary Hub. I do enjoy the little glimpses into the history of my area, too.

https://lithub.com/the-way-of-water-on-the-quiet-power-of-ursula-k-le-guins-activism/

#UrsulaKLeGuin

Need a last-minute gift for the calligraphy-curious in your life? Want a calligraphic start to your new year?

Registration is open for the Portland Society for Calligraphy's first 2025 workshop! Explore delicate Roman letterforms in Suzie Beringer's The Unconventional Pointed Pen.

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST, $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions at: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

#calligraphy #lettering #typography #art #graphicDesign #handwriting

Did you get pens and ink for Christmas? Resolving to try something creative in 2025? Come join my local calligraphy guild's workshop in January!

The Unconventional Pointed Pen with Suzie Beringer

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

Our guild is local, but our members are global! Share at will!

#calligraphy #typography #graphicDesign #lettering #handwriting #art #resolutions2025

Too snowy to go out? Want something to do next weekend? Spaces still available in my local calligraphy guild's workshop!

The Unconventional Pointed Pen with Suzie Beringer

Zoom, January 11–12, 9:00–4:00 PST $70 members/$100 non-members

Register, more info, questions: https://www.portlandsocietyforcalligraphy.org/events/#!event/2025/1/11/the-unconventional-pointed-pen-with-suzie-beringer

Our guild is local, but our members are global! Share at will!

#calligraphy #typography #lettering #handwriting #graphicDesign #art #PDX

My husband keeps a list of "mental health webcams" (as in, live cameras at national parks, nature reserves, watching animal nests, etc.) to check when he needs a break during his workday. It's a very him thing, and I love it.

But I was clued in to a couple of feeds that I've now pinned to check on, and I think I want more.

So, what is your favorite scenic live webcam?

Nature is good, but I'm open to built spaces, too. Non-US would be especially good.

#AskFedi #webcam