It's time to help Apex funding their issues for 2026! In this dire times of exploitative AI tools and art having to "prove" its relevance to the public, it's almost an act of defiance to see a SFF magazine thriving. So let's help this happen! They have several stretch goals going on too.

Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.

@UCBerkeley and @UCLA are the top two public universities in the country, with all nine undergraduate campuses in the top 50 public/100 of all universities in the country, according to the 2026 Best Colleges rankings, released today by @usnews https://bit.ly/3Kf2TNf

The neat thing about the ultra-viral Czech beaver dam story is that it’s just a particularly vivid example of what legions of unsung beavers do every day — help us solve our environmental problems without our gratitude or acknowledgment, and in spite of our attempts to kill them! Beavers gonna beav.

The Kimmel suspension is a much bigger deal than you know. It's really about a growing alliance between Trump and the companies that own America's local TV stations - like Nexstar - to turn local TV into Trump propaganda. 1/ Let me tell you the short story. It's chilling.

🦫+🪵=💧💧💧 eos.org/articles/wha...

1901, photograph by Dr. Allan Warner of two 13 year old boys both infected with smallpox on the same day, one vaccinated as an infant and one not.

“I’m tired of being pitted against my neighbor. I’m tired of being told to hate my neighbor.” @jamestalarico.bsky.social’s #CupOfJoe is dialed-in. Our future depends on rejecting the politics of hate and choosing a path that heals, unites, & rebuilds. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2kb9wzax

“My friend got hit in the back… my friend Victor saved me, he laid on top of me…” We are failing them.

I got the complaint in the horrific OpenAI self harm case the the NY Times reported today This is way way worse even than the NYT article makes it out to be OpenAI absolutely deserves to be run out of business

🔥 🇺🇸 NEW @gavinnewsom.bsky.social Ad: “Wake up, America. We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear… on November 4th you have the power to stand up to Trump.” Californians: stopelectionrigging.com

Today they have crossed a deep red line. We, the people, must hold the president and his appointees accountable for this outrageous abuse against American liberty.

This video shows what happened to Sen. Padilla after they forcibly removed him from Kristi Noem's press conference. He's given orders from the officers that would cause him to smash his face, then pushed to the ground and handcuffed. Via: x.com/elex_michael...

sure this sounds bad but remember this nation was founded on the principle of cheerfully tolerating large surtaxes on imported goods

On April 7th, 2025 I signed a law protecting every Coloradan’s right to marry who you love at a time when it’s under attack in Washington, DC. #freedomtomarry #freestateofcolorado

"We have ceded so many of the core operations of our lives and institutions to tech, we must recognise that strong encryption isn’t the enemy of security — it *is* security." - Signal President @meredithmeredith.bsky.social for @financialtimes.com on the war on encryption www.ft.com/content/a934...

📣 Starting now, @HighCountryNews will provide free digital access to all of our reporting to any federal employee, including those who have recently lost jobs due to government layoffs. 📣

Listening to Tananarive Due's Ghost Summer vie Blackstone Unlimited. So glad OC Public Library offers this resource!

On a lighter note, I’ve really been enjoying FINSPAN, the ichthyological sequel to everyone’s favorite avian board game. Fun mechanics and, most important, a great selection of marine fish. Can’t wait for the freshwater expansion!

Just picked up a Crucial X9 Pro Portable SSD with an eye toward removing my files from various cloud services. Really happy that this drive is plug'n'play on Ubuntu!

No, I don't need a bloody copilot for this document, thank you. Writing is, in no small part, a tool for thinking. If you outsource that element to a machine that cannot think, you shouldn't be surprised if, at the end of the process, neither you nor your reader are any the wiser.

if you're an artist / art worker living in los angeles that has been impacted by the recent fires, applications for the LA arts community fire relief fund just went live. up to 10k in unrestricted funds (w/ proof of full time residency required); apps open until 2/18: www.cciarts.org/relief.html

And today marked the start of my friend who was displaced by the Eaton Fire getting scam calls from a fake FEMA agent. The scammer didn’t ask for money, but for ID. Be cautious, folks! People are totally willing to take advantage of a desperate situation.

Radon xkcd.com/3037

FEMA will be at L.A. Cunty libraries today and tomorrow - lacountylibrary.org/fema/

L.A. County Eaton Fire Damage Inspections Dashboard - recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire/

MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources - docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

LA Fire Hotel Availability - docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Not what I thought I'd be writing about when I picked the name Torched. Thanks to everyone for checking in. We're fine. Many of our friends are not fine. I tried my best to describe what's happening with the fires and what LA needs to do now www.torched.la/zero-percent...

American Red Cross: Disaster Relief & Recovery Services - www.redcross.org/get-help/dis...

L.A. County Fire V3 on Broadcastify - m.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/...

Eaton Fire Reports on Google Maps - maps.app.goo.gl/Z15Dyi3AuTRK...

My wife loves Mazdas. We're both fans of Panasonic. Can't wait to see how this rolls out. www.carscoops.com/2025/01/mazd...

1. Hundreds of companies who pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election on 1/6/21 have broken their promise over the last 4 years But we've identified 10 promise keepers: Farmers Airbnb Expedia Nike Clorox General Mills Holland & Hart Qurate Whirlpool Lyft

A Correction to The Scism and Allied Families- grrr.sharonda.me/a-correction... A post to correct a huge mistake in a book pertaining to the Scism family history.

Moved my bearblog to a grrr subdomain because duh!

Yes. Yes you should. blog.remainna.xyz/you-should-u... You should use RSS - A post from RemainNA's bearblog providing both arguments and tools for RSS use.

This is my first blog post using bearblog.dev. It's not an important post, and you don't need to read it, but I'm really excited about having found bearblog, and wish I'd found the platform before now! sharonda.bearblog.dev/human-food-c...

Just ordered a new OEM hood prop rod holder clip for my wife's 2001 Mazda Tribute. Sadly, this act feels as if it might be today's big accomplishment.

variety.com/2025/film/ne... - @orangecountygal.bsky.social

And, to accompany the new Ars article, an old Smithsonian piece to shine a light on some of the creepier spy satellite patch design choices: www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...