Tessera

Of the many calls to action to be found in this AI bizarro world, the one that keeps getting my attention is the apparent need and desire from so many people for a private, shame- and judgement-free space to ask questions.

Librarians: we have been hard at work designing and offering information literacy programs for the last 40 years. And here we are. Were we doing it wrong? Did we achieve something, and the timeline would have been much worse without our work? It's hard to fathom.

Lately I have been in multiple meetings where we appear to be reinventing library services and approaches we jettisoned 20 years ago. That's not shade: more than half the time I'm the one doing the re-inventing. I can't believe the words coming out of my mouth half the time, but things have changed.

I’m a one-issue London municipal voter, and that issue is narrowing Wharncliffe.

Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · last mo.

I know there's no evidence of ice age people knitting, but it really seems like a reasonable ice age technology. And it wouldn't necessarily leave easy evidence, would it.

I wrote a thread the other day about eels' life cycle, 'cause it's a wild story. Fun stuff! But did you know that I also did a map? And that you can own it? It's true! I drew a map of the eels' life cycle, from their perspective, and you can order one for your wall! #eels #maps etsy.me/3Nvk5jK

Eel Life Cycle Map - Etsy

This Wall Decor item by SurprisedEelMaps has 15 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Hialeah, FL. Listed on Jun 15, 2026

etsy.me

The convention of Americans referring to "the South" in international contexts: that's odd, isn't it? Doesn't every place have a south?

The Serfs (youtube.com/theserfstv)@theserfstv.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Nice to get this Treaty 6 #landback preview. The future is Indigenous.

One of the most powerful videos you'll see today. Dr. James A. Makokis speaking to the historic announcement that Saddle Lake Cree Nation will defy Alberta's anti-LGBTQ+ laws and provide a safe haven for trans and two spirit people on their land 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈❤️🪶

The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

BREAKING! "Saddle Lake Cree Nation is asserting its Treaty rights and jurisdiction to provide safe refuge for those seeking and providing gender-affirming care. Any Albertan will be able to access gender-affirming care on Saddle Lake Cree Nation reserved lands and territories"

Dr. Scott Hartman - but not THAT kind of doctor @skeletaldrawing.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A thought that is brand new to me: are there not rules about how wide a lane has to be? Is it legal, or wise, for a lane to incorporate the curb?

Have you ever wanted to visually compare the size of your favorite extinct animals? Now you can, as I'm launching an interactive size comparison tool on my website. Give it a try and let me know what you think: www.skeletaldrawing.com/compare/

🇨🇦LisaFellarinaAntifa📎@lisaantifafella.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Write what you know, they say. What if someone cloned Neanderthals and pygmy mammoths in modern day Vancouver? Check. Neanderthal twins living in Chemainus chasing Sasquatch sightings? Drafting it. Kid living in a winter house on the mammoth steppe during the last glacial maximum? On it.

You can sign until November! Let’s get that number up!

Brainiac Kim 🇨🇦@brainiackim.bsky.social · 2mo ago

257,496 Canadians have signed the petition to eject U.S Ambassador Pete Hoekstra (as of 4:26pm). Canada needs to stand up to the USA www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #USpoli #cdnpoli

On Saturday morning at 4am, I fell down some stairs and bashed my head into the corner of a pony wall. With a bleeding head injury and a massive bruise in a straight line down my upper arm, I was briefly worried that the pony wall might be structurally important and I may have hurt my house.

Bony 🦴 Skeletino 💀@notalegalrecord.net · 3mo ago

My sectional arrived in Toronto last week, spent this week like a tourist I guess, is taking the long weekend to recuperate, and is arriving on Wednesday. Will it be worth the wait? Will it fill the gap in my living room?

AI companies are buying, scanning, and destroying older books to improve their models' training data & avoid problems of "model collapse" (wherein LLMs choke on their own slop). One of their suppliers is Better World Books, which partners with public libraries. www.404media.co/ai-companies...

AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop

ISBNdb, a company that sources printed books for AI companies to turn into training data, tells clients “the optics problem is real.”

404media.co

Imagine assuming people rake thousands of square kms of forests.

That thing when you're getting going on a new story draft and the tipping point happens: now you're in it. You're there, it's real, you can feel it and smell it. You know that moment? Glorious.

Maureen Johnson @maureenjohnsonbooks.com · 4mo ago

Surely there's a financial penalty to breaking a trade agreement.

JKR and her new org apparently helped get the new Amnesty International report on how TERF organizations destroy lives taken down from their site. Well, guess what? The Streisand Effect is real. Here's the entire report in a thread. Read it. Share it.

Alejandra Caraballo@esqueer.net · 4mo ago

Amnesty International put out a major report documenting the influence of UK based anti trans gender critical organizations and their funding. Within hours, GC groups threatened defamation lawsuits and Amnesty was forced to pull it down. Proving the point they're anti rights. Anyways, here it is.

I'm halfway through Tae Keller's JENNIFER CHAN IS NOT ALONE and I'm just

Michael Urie: I Adore You (Younger)

Alt: Michael Urie: I Adore You

static.klipy.com

rochelle.mazar.ca/2026/07/12/a...

Putting in a Hard Day’s Work at the Word Factory - Working Title

I am fascinated the whole phenomenon of generative AI as a fiction-writing machine. Not because I think it's a good idea (it's a terrible idea), but because of what it tells us about what we think the...

rochelle.mazar.ca

AmaraJLynn 🦹 drafting Fire & Feathers@amaralynn.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I wrote a story set in Wesbrook Village, one of the neighbourhoods at UBC. It's an experiment in utopian urban density. The UBC farm is there, I gave them a herd of pygmy mammoths. The student who worked there were with me on the need for pygmy mammoths. #QueerWriters #writesky #writers

#QueerWritersChat Question Four: Have you ever based a story in a real place? If so, where? Thanks for chatting with us! Outros at :45! @theodoresnapdragon.bsky.social #QueerWriters #writesky #writers

#QueerWritersChat Question Four: Have you ever based a story in a real place? If so, where? Hosts: @amaralynn and @theodoresnapdragon Every Friday 8pm EST All LGBTQIAP writers and allies welcome Background: gray wood with multicolor art supplies around the border.