1/ California is seeing two major public health stories this week: a deadly mushroom poisoning outbreak linked to foraging, and the first real test of our #WestCoastHealthAlliance due to ACIP’s hepatitis B birth-dose vote. Here’s what you need to know 👇

Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work. Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion” futurism.com/artificial-i...

carpal tunnel surgery strikes the left hand. not a lot of pain but shows how much i actually need both hands for everything

A good recipe and excellent notes on what's happening in Chicago today. 💖

Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri, is a weed that causes massive losses to crop yields. It was recently found in certain Safeway bird seeds. These bags are now being recalled! See WSDA's news release for more information: agr.wa.gov/about-wsda/n... #pnw #agriculture #birds #invasiveplants

Despite *waves hand about*, I read 2 great books this week: Hiron Ennes' LEECH & Cherie Priest's THE DROWNING HOUSE. Atmospheric, great characters, gripping plots. LEECH was the kind of weird I love, and DROWNING HOUSE's atmosphere went well with late night hot tea. Highly recommend both.

You cannot represent as a martyr for free speech someone whose entire line was that most people who weren't white, male, Christian and straight should be excluded from debate. Or who used the public arena to lie and intimidate.

Busy yesterday so I missed that Anthropic had settled. Figures. LLMs have violated thousands of copyrights; they *knew* it would kill them if it went to trial. Anyway, the Authors Guild has some useful info here: authorsguild.org/news/what-au...

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

The U of C/University of Chicago is having a 75% off ebook sale (code EBOOK75). Writers, they have a ton of writing/editing/publishing books (including WHAT EDITORS DO, where I wrote the chapter on editing genre). Lots of other books on sale too... press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/se...

I feel this way EVERY day

Get these and more now in my shop :> www.paraplyshop.com (sharing helps me out a lot, thank you 🙏)

2 at a time socks done--seemed to take a long time but not really any longer than making them one at a time. Used size 2.75mm (2) 100cm (40") long ChiaoGoo lace circular needle. Lost yarn wrapper, so can't ID yarn but it feels like a poly-blend sock weight. 🧶 #sockknitting

Made it to the ankle--doing 2x2 ribbing 🧶 #sockknitting

Starting 2 at a time socks using yarn from frogged socks

"Sinners" is as good as everyone's saying; horror-averse could probably see it w/o issue (unless bloody violence is a no-go for them); music is just superb

Out of the oven and cooling

Making a little loaf

S2 Andor. So. Good.

🚨 Cool new project alert 🚨 WE- you, me, everyone- need to work together to get important science messages out to people. 4 artists & 3 scientists collab'd on these posters. We hope YOU will put them out in your community. Each poster comes w/info about each topic. Get 'em Squidfacts.bigcartel.com

Noodling around with bold colors and shapes #watercolor #art

A little watercolor experiment with salt on the background. Interesting texture #watercolor

Had to post this for all my TTRPG player friends @birdietam.art makes amazingly cute things! Sale going on right now! birdietam.art/collections/...

A little older watercolor with pencils #watercolor

Art noodling with shapes--kind of abstract-ish #watercolor

Watercolor noodling, experimenting with blotting to make clouds #watercolor

Just a reminder: Congress could reverse these insane tariffs TODAY. Republicans are just choosing not to. Every Republican in Congress who refuses to do something is endorsing Trump's tax hike on YOU.

NBC News: The Espionage Act contains a provision making it crime to disclose national defense secrets "through gross negligence."   The law does not require info be classified, because it was written before the classification system existed. The law refers simply to "national defense information."

Posting just in case anyone who follows me hasn't heard...

Trump and Elon are destroying the Social Security Administration, and without staff & offices, there will be people who can’t get their benefits—period. I put together a fact sheet about what Elon's decimation of Social Security will mean for YOU. Please share it far and wide.

I wish more people were talking about egg prices as less of a “muh egg prices!” thing and more about the fact that there is an organized egg cartel that is illegally price gouging and almost certainly illegally price fixing and reaping massive, gigantic profits.

I just came off the floor after speaking for an hour. I refuse to let Republicans confirm Russ Vought the easy way, so we're holding the floor through the night for 30 straight hours. Vought has shown he'll ignore the law & constitution. I'll be voting NO tomorrow.

They're flooding the zone with putrid garbage on purpose, even if it turns out to just be incompetence. It's a tactic. It's stressful, disheartening, enraging. They want you to burn out & give up. Do what you can, and take care of yourself & your loved ones.

My German Short Rows heels are so holey & I can't get the knack for closing the holes. I also can't get my head around converting top-down to toe-up heel patterns 😵‍💫 Seeking advice, tips, links to videos! Thanks! #knitsky 🧶

For folks who may be missing a pet in the recent LA wildfires, you can search through this database to see if your pet was picked up and currently with Pasadena Humane! I saw other animals such as a turtle, tortoise, and chickens as well ✨💖 👉: 24petconnect.com/psdn?sb=days...

Knitting a blanket means I can use it while I’m still working on it 😀

Another no knead loaf kneaded just a bit to tighten crumb--it's a bit denser than last loaf. Maybe a little less water next time? Or maybe I need to wait longer to cut it--still feels... damp #breadsky #baking 🍞

I baked bread. This is a no knead recipe, proved overnight, bread flour (I used AP flour for yesterday's mini loaf). #baking #bread 🍞

Once again

“‘People should know there are steps they can take to uphold democracy’ said Erica Chenoweth. This is a core tenet of civil-resistance theory, also known as people power—that citizens, working in concert, have more agency than they are led to believe.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

i'm always angry at our fucked up electoral process angry at selfish single-issue protest non-votes & purists enraged at Citizens United that welcomed in this fuckery furious at voters who decided a fucked up administration run by psycho billionaires, nazis & xtian zealots is a-ok

I love early, mail-in voting.

The Last Binding is a historical fantasy trilogy about magicians, murder, houses with personalities, high-heat queer romance and assorted hijinks in Edwardian England! All three books are available now, buy links & more info about the first book can be found here: freyamarske.com/books/a-marv...

MISTRESS OF LIES is a queer, dark fantasy romance about a spymaster and a lost heir who team up to hunt a serial killer in the court of the Eternal Vampire King It is the first in a trilogy with an M/M/F endgame and has Filipino and Trans rep, out now from Orbit!