links list (the Internet may be getting worse)
Mar. 12th, 2026 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muccamukkThe Battle Against Enshittification
![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_dev: AI and Dreamwidth.
Great post from![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
mark about exactly how DW could use AI (potentially spam filtering), and how it will never use it (feeding your posts into the maw).
404 Media: 'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back.
The Verge: Grammarly is using our identities without permission.
Wired: Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI 'Expert Review' Feature.
I'm sure everyone enjoys getting sued by Stephen King.
The Flytrap: Sex Workers Versus the Algorithm.
Mostly about payment processors, but also about filtering:
The Guardian: The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all.
Canadian Politics
(I'm actually saving fewer links about this, because it's mostly pretty disheartening. And I can't deal.)
![[youtube.com profile]](https://youtube.com/favicon.ico)
TheBreach: Pierre Poilievre is misleading the public about refugee healthcare (Video: 3 minutes).
The Tyee: Advocates Hope a Ruling Will Change RCMP Treatment of Indigenous Witnesses.
Nominally good news, but so much about this case pisses me off. $7k each? Seriously? Reminder that the one person who got state protection in all of this, the guy who (allegedly) abused all those people, is John Furlong. Fuck that guy.
The Breach: A notorious RCMP unit shaped B.C. universities’ reaction to Palestine encampments.
Category: jackbooted thugs.
Kind of Cool, Actually:
HeatherCoxRichardson: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | Reckoning with Jason Herbert Podcast (Video: 1:43 hours).
Words cannot express how validating this was. Lo! How many long years have I said that AL:VH is the most historically accurate Lincoln movie? HCR agrees.
The Tyee: What Can You Do with Used Plastic and 3D Printers? Meet Two Pros.
Not sure how scalable this is, but it's a cool project.
The Narwhal : In northeast B.C., fresh food is scarce. This First Nation hopes geothermal energy could change that.
Cool project to restore food security after Site C fucked it up, hopefully they can get funding.
NorthernBallet: Northern Ballet's Gentleman Jack | Costumes (Video: 2 minutes).
I've really been enjoying the promo clips for this new ballet. I hope there's some way to watch it online.
dw_dev: AI and Dreamwidth.Great post from
mark about exactly how DW could use AI (potentially spam filtering), and how it will never use it (feeding your posts into the maw).404 Media: 'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back.
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
The Verge: Grammarly is using our identities without permission.
When users select the 'expert review' button in the Grammarly sidebar, it analyzes their writing and surfaces AI-generated suggestions 'inspired by' related experts. Those 'industry-relevant perspectives' include the likes of Stephen King, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan, among many others.
Wired: Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI 'Expert Review' Feature.
I'm sure everyone enjoys getting sued by Stephen King.
The Flytrap: Sex Workers Versus the Algorithm.
Mostly about payment processors, but also about filtering:
the endless dance around content bans requires constantly coming up with new ways to craft video titles and content that are frustrating not only for adult performers, but also their customers.
The Guardian: The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all.
Age-verification systems require collecting sensitive data to support the biometric information. In no time, the internet will become a fully surveilled digital panopticon.
Canadian Politics
(I'm actually saving fewer links about this, because it's mostly pretty disheartening. And I can't deal.)
Desmond Cole fact checks his misinformation and explains how blaming the most vulnerable distracts us from fighting for good health care for all.
The Tyee: Advocates Hope a Ruling Will Change RCMP Treatment of Indigenous Witnesses.
But critics say the Canadian rights tribunal didn’t go far enough after finding police discrimination.
Nominally good news, but so much about this case pisses me off. $7k each? Seriously? Reminder that the one person who got state protection in all of this, the guy who (allegedly) abused all those people, is John Furlong. Fuck that guy.
The Breach: A notorious RCMP unit shaped B.C. universities’ reaction to Palestine encampments.
From Fairy Creek to university campuses, CRU-BC is positioning itself as the go-to police force for repressing dissent.
Category: jackbooted thugs.
Kind of Cool, Actually:
Words cannot express how validating this was. Lo! How many long years have I said that AL:VH is the most historically accurate Lincoln movie? HCR agrees.
The Tyee: What Can You Do with Used Plastic and 3D Printers? Meet Two Pros.
Not sure how scalable this is, but it's a cool project.
The Narwhal : In northeast B.C., fresh food is scarce. This First Nation hopes geothermal energy could change that.
Cool project to restore food security after Site C fucked it up, hopefully they can get funding.
I've really been enjoying the promo clips for this new ballet. I hope there's some way to watch it online.
Life Isn't Binary by Meg-John Barker & Alex Iantaffi (2019)
Mar. 12th, 2026 10:55 ampauraquesubtitle that didn't fit in the subject line: On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between
I'm going to say this prominently because I think it has caused some confusion among reviewers: This is a book by two nonbinary authors and the title is Life Isn't Binary, and it is NOT (primarily) about nonbinary gender identity! If you want a book that is primarily about nonbinary gender identity, this book may not give you what you're looking for!
Instead, it is about problems with binary thinking in all areas of life. There is a tendency for people to view many things in terms of two categories in opposition. Male/female and cis/trans, yes, but also Black/white, straight/gay, privileged/marginalized, body/mind, emotion/logic, friend/lover, us/them. The book examines and deconstructs these binaries and more, and encourages thinking about who currently benefits from their resultant flattening of nuance, and what we could gain from framing concepts in a less polarized way.
The book is short but extremely densely packed with ideas. I read it as a two-person book club withdragonque, and every chapter elicited fruitful discussion about its points and how they related to our own lives and experiences. I have known dragonque for a long time and I feel like I got to know them much better through talking about this book!
I do think at times it can feel too dense and too short for the vast scope of its thesis. The authors can state in one sentence an absolutely massive idea that could itself be an entire book, and that's the only thing they say about it because they're already on to the next point. (The authors have in fact collaborated on several other books which sound like they may elaborate on some of the things where I was like, "so, that's all you're going to say about that one? okay!")
But I found the book very worthwhile and thought-provoking, and after returning it to the library I bought my own copy because I expect I will be re-reading it, referring to it, or wanting to lend it to people.
I'm going to say this prominently because I think it has caused some confusion among reviewers: This is a book by two nonbinary authors and the title is Life Isn't Binary, and it is NOT (primarily) about nonbinary gender identity! If you want a book that is primarily about nonbinary gender identity, this book may not give you what you're looking for!
Instead, it is about problems with binary thinking in all areas of life. There is a tendency for people to view many things in terms of two categories in opposition. Male/female and cis/trans, yes, but also Black/white, straight/gay, privileged/marginalized, body/mind, emotion/logic, friend/lover, us/them. The book examines and deconstructs these binaries and more, and encourages thinking about who currently benefits from their resultant flattening of nuance, and what we could gain from framing concepts in a less polarized way.
The book is short but extremely densely packed with ideas. I read it as a two-person book club with
dragonque, and every chapter elicited fruitful discussion about its points and how they related to our own lives and experiences. I have known dragonque for a long time and I feel like I got to know them much better through talking about this book!I do think at times it can feel too dense and too short for the vast scope of its thesis. The authors can state in one sentence an absolutely massive idea that could itself be an entire book, and that's the only thing they say about it because they're already on to the next point. (The authors have in fact collaborated on several other books which sound like they may elaborate on some of the things where I was like, "so, that's all you're going to say about that one? okay!")
But I found the book very worthwhile and thought-provoking, and after returning it to the library I bought my own copy because I expect I will be re-reading it, referring to it, or wanting to lend it to people.
multifandom icons.
Mar. 12th, 2026 09:25 amwickedgame posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_iconsFandoms: 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, 1923, A Discovery of Witches, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Echo, Elite, Fallout, Heated Rivalry, Stargirl, The Order, Yellowjackets
rest HERE @mundodefieras
rest HERE @
mundodefieras wednesday books have been away
Mar. 11th, 2026 10:36 pmlandofnowhereRecent travel means that I haven't done much beyond keep up with my book club. (But there's a new Una Silberrad on Gutenberg, so maybe you'll hear about that next week.)
Chroniques Du Pays Des Mères, Élisabeth Vonarburg. So much is going on here, sometimes heavy, but with occasional comic relief. The secret ritual! Archaelogical expeditions! Ancient artifacts and books that are recognizable to the reader (and sometimes let us know that the protagonist has no idea what she is doing, Schliemann-style). Our protagonist is starting to learn that men are people too... We are clearly building up to a climax but I'm not exactly sure how it will play out.
Chroniques Du Pays Des Mères, Élisabeth Vonarburg. So much is going on here, sometimes heavy, but with occasional comic relief. The secret ritual! Archaelogical expeditions! Ancient artifacts and books that are recognizable to the reader (and sometimes let us know that the protagonist has no idea what she is doing, Schliemann-style). Our protagonist is starting to learn that men are people too... We are clearly building up to a climax but I'm not exactly sure how it will play out.
protecting LGBTQ kids
Mar. 11th, 2026 08:30 pmflamingsword posting in thisfinecrewBecause Biden told HHS that they couldn't stick kids with people who would make them more likely to be bullied into self harming, and Trump hates everything that Biden stands for including protecting kids from people like him, Trump is trying to stick LGBTQ kids with unsupportive "traditionally Christian" families. He's getting his stooge, RFK Jr., to propose scrapping protections for LGBTQ+ kids in foster care.
The Trumpist regime is trying to sneak another shortened comment period by us too quickly for people to protest. If you want to register a comment about how much these people hate children, etc, here is where to do so. And if you want to read the whole weasel-worded decision, you can do so here.
The Trumpist regime is trying to sneak another shortened comment period by us too quickly for people to protest. If you want to register a comment about how much these people hate children, etc, here is where to do so. And if you want to read the whole weasel-worded decision, you can do so here.
The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling
Mar. 11th, 2026 03:53 pmrachelmanija
Gyre explores the tunnels of an alien world in a mechanical suit, her only connection to the outside world the voice of Em, her handler who she’s never met, who may or may not have her welfare in mind, and who definitely has boundary issues.
Gyre has less experience caving than she claimed, and caving is extremely difficult. There are sandworm-like creatures called Tunnelers that will kill multiple parties of cavers for unknown reasons, so cavers go in alone, unable to take off their suit for weeks on end, with their handler as their only link with the outside world. Em can literally take control of Gyre’s suit/body, can inject her with drugs, etc - and not only has little compunction about doing so, but won't tell Gyre what the actual purpose of the mission is.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
This is a type of story I don’t see very often, in which there’s one main science fiction element – in this case, the mechanical caving suit – which is explored in depth and is essential to the story, and it’s also set on a (very lightly sketched-in) other planet. Generally the “one science fiction element” stories are set on Earth. Apart from the Tunnelers, this novel actually could take place on an Earth where the suit exists.
The Luminous Dead, like The Starving Saints, has a small cast of sapphic women and takes place almost entirely in the same claustrophobic space; if it was on TV, we’d call it a bottle episode. I normally like that sort of thing but unlike The Starving Saints, it outstays its welcome. It has about a novella’s worth of story, and while it’s very atmospheric and any given portion is well-written and interesting, considered alone, as a whole it’s very repetitive and over-long. I would mostly recommend it if you like complicated lesbians with bad boundaries.
Hiding from stellar radiation behind an asteroid
Mar. 10th, 2026 10:52 pmlizvogel posting in little_detailsOkay, I thought I knew science, but after several days of researching this, all I've got is indecision and a headache.
Original fiction, unspecified not-too-far-future time.
My character is the pilot of a small cargo ship in the asteroid belt. (No FTL, no artificial gravity.) Said ship has sufficient radiation shielding to be safe under normal conditions. My idea is that there's an unusually strong solar event (solar flare? coronal mass ejection?), and he has to survive by positioning his ship on the shadowed side of an asteroid (rocks are good shielding), and use his excellent piloting skills to stay there until the storm passes.
1. Does this, theoretically, actually work?
2. I'd like the solar event to be a Coronal Mass Ejection, because some CMEs move relatively slowly, and that gives my character time to make a narratively interesting choice. But is it the CME itself that's hazardous to human life, or a sort of "bow wave" of radiation that precedes it? And if the latter, is that radiation moving at the speed of the CME, or the speed of light? (I keep thinking I have a grasp on this, and then the next source I read contradicts it.)
Guidance appreciated, fellow space enthusiasts!
Original fiction, unspecified not-too-far-future time.
My character is the pilot of a small cargo ship in the asteroid belt. (No FTL, no artificial gravity.) Said ship has sufficient radiation shielding to be safe under normal conditions. My idea is that there's an unusually strong solar event (solar flare? coronal mass ejection?), and he has to survive by positioning his ship on the shadowed side of an asteroid (rocks are good shielding), and use his excellent piloting skills to stay there until the storm passes.
1. Does this, theoretically, actually work?
2. I'd like the solar event to be a Coronal Mass Ejection, because some CMEs move relatively slowly, and that gives my character time to make a narratively interesting choice. But is it the CME itself that's hazardous to human life, or a sort of "bow wave" of radiation that precedes it? And if the latter, is that radiation moving at the speed of the CME, or the speed of light? (I keep thinking I have a grasp on this, and then the next source I read contradicts it.)
Guidance appreciated, fellow space enthusiasts!
[127] RESIDENT EVIL (various)
Mar. 10th, 2026 09:27 pmzombieproof posting in fandom_icons---RESIDENT EVIL 4 (REMAKE)
[x]55 leon scott kennedy
[x]3o luis serra
[x]o2 leon & luis
[x]o2 ingrid hunnigan
---RESIDENT EVIL: INFINITE DARKNESS
[x]23 leon scott kennedy
---RESIDENT EVIL 6
[x]o6 leon scott kennedy
[x]o9 helena harper
( i have no good cut text for this )
[x]55 leon scott kennedy
[x]3o luis serra
[x]o2 leon & luis
[x]o2 ingrid hunnigan
---RESIDENT EVIL: INFINITE DARKNESS
[x]23 leon scott kennedy
---RESIDENT EVIL 6
[x]o6 leon scott kennedy
[x]o9 helena harper
( i have no good cut text for this )
[127] RESIDENT EVIL (various)
Mar. 10th, 2026 09:27 pmzombieproof posting in icons---RESIDENT EVIL 4 (REMAKE)
[x]55 leon scott kennedy
[x]3o luis serra
[x]o2 leon & luis
[x]o2 ingrid hunnigan
---RESIDENT EVIL: INFINITE DARKNESS
[x]23 leon scott kennedy
---RESIDENT EVIL 6
[x]o6 leon scott kennedy
[x]o9 helena harper
( i have no good cut text for this )
[x]55 leon scott kennedy
[x]3o luis serra
[x]o2 leon & luis
[x]o2 ingrid hunnigan
---RESIDENT EVIL: INFINITE DARKNESS
[x]23 leon scott kennedy
---RESIDENT EVIL 6
[x]o6 leon scott kennedy
[x]o9 helena harper
( i have no good cut text for this )
Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman
Mar. 10th, 2026 07:50 pmrenay posting in ladybusinessA collection of thoughts about Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman: ( Read more... )
the pitt; s2 robby/abbot + noah & shawn icons
Mar. 10th, 2026 05:07 pm
Weekly reading
Mar. 10th, 2026 06:48 pmtroisoiseauxRead a couple of books that unexpectedly ended up pairing well, tone/vibes-wise: The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, a novel loosely based on a real-life 17th century Danish witch trial, from the perspective of one of the accused women's omniscient wax doll/poppet, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, in which a young woman's road trip with her boyfriend to meet his parents for the first time (and probably last, given her doubts about the relationship) gets weird. I probably wouldn't actually have considered these similar if not for the accident of reading them back-to-back, but there's an aspect of a Greek chorus in both— in The Wax Child, a number of passages are packed-together snippets of conversations (e.g., women trading jokes and complaints over communal work like carding wool or gutting fish); in I'm Thinking of . . ., the first person POV narrative is interspersed with oblique, anonymous community gossip about a shocking local tragedy— and they're both just kind of... narratively unsettling? The Wax Child has the unhooked-from-time-ness of a story told more or less chronologically from the POV of a character who, basically, Sees All; Reid's novel takes a frog-in-boiling-water approach, the narrative peeling back layer by layer until it hits ( spoilers )
In War and Peace, since separating from his wife, Pierre has had an existential crisis and joined the Freemasons, because sure, why not. I had vaguely remembered his induction into the Masonic rites as a dramatic scene but this time it mostly struck me as unexpectedly funny, what with Pierre being the embodiment of tomorrow I'm going to lock in and turn my entire life around! it will definitely work this time!
(Also funny, at least to me: the guy explaining the concept of hieroglyphs while Pierre stands there blindfolded thinking yes, I know what hieroglyphs are, and how "{a}s he was being led up to some object he noticed a hesitation and uncertainty among his conductors. He heard those around him disputing in whispers and one of them insisting that he should be led along a certain carpet.")
In War and Peace, since separating from his wife, Pierre has had an existential crisis and joined the Freemasons, because sure, why not. I had vaguely remembered his induction into the Masonic rites as a dramatic scene but this time it mostly struck me as unexpectedly funny, what with Pierre being the embodiment of tomorrow I'm going to lock in and turn my entire life around! it will definitely work this time!
Half an hour later, the Rhetor returned to inform the seeker of the seven virtues, corresponding to the seven steps of Solomon's temple, which every Freemason should cultivate in himself. These virtues were: 1. Discretion, the keeping of the secrets of the Order. 2. Obedience to those of higher ranks in the Order. 3. Morality. 4. Love of mankind. 5. Courage. 6. Generosity. 7. The love of death.
. . . But five of the other virtues {besides "love of death"} which Pierre recalled, counting them on his fingers, he felt already in his soul: courage, generosity, morality, love of mankind, and especially obedience—which did not even seem to him a virtue, but a joy. (He now felt so glad to be free from his own lawlessness and to submit his will to those who knew the indubitable truth.) He forgot what the seventh virtue was and could not recall it.
(Also funny, at least to me: the guy explaining the concept of hieroglyphs while Pierre stands there blindfolded thinking yes, I know what hieroglyphs are, and how "{a}s he was being led up to some object he noticed a hesitation and uncertainty among his conductors. He heard those around him disputing in whispers and one of them insisting that he should be led along a certain carpet.")