Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.

Pocket Birds is live! Come get your #bird zines! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...

Pocket Birds - Mail Club!

Showcasing new artists and writers each month, Pocket Birds doesn't just teach you about a new bird in each issue, but sparks your creativity and encourages you to share your creations with the commun...

backerkit.com

*takes deep breath* *ululates* WE ARE OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS hornedlarkpress.moksha.io/publication/...

Are you looking for a way to help win the midterms? ⬇️ VoteRiders is looking for volunteers to help people secure the ID they need to vote. Virtual or in-person. Sign up for an orientation session here: voteriders.org

For those who think The Odyssey is long, where are my fellow #Denver Tantalus survivors? October 2000. Ten Hour Play, baby. Meal breaks. Multiple nights.

I went to look up the Twilight Zone episode 'The Midnight Sun' and found out that A LOT of other people have been looking up that episode. You know it's too hot when that's what is resonating. Rod Serling, you terrible genius.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense just stated that—so far—the war with Iran has cost $37.5 billion dollars. That's since February. That same amount is how much the United States spent on planetary science from FY2013 through FY2026 inclusive. Thirteen years of planetary science or five months of war.

Printing out labels for our postcard party! If you’re looking for a way to help voter suppression states, this is a great source for action, guidance, and empowerment.

Center for Common Ground@ctr4cmnground.bsky.social · 2y ago

Hi Bluesky! We are the Center for Common Ground. For those that don’t know us: we are a nonpartisan, Black led voting rights org committed to mobilizing Black voters in voter suppression states. Stay up to date on our efforts: bit.ly/join-cfcg

Happy World Emoji Day! Because we have mostly been great about ALT text here, I'm offering this resource so you can read the often verbose descriptions for emojis. WOW, right? So when you do a long string of them . . . it's verbal sensory overload. Accessibility can take many forms. emojipedia.org

NEW: Aurora Police say an ICE detention center employee shot a protester last night. She is expected to survive. 42-year-old Brandon Booth, who works for the ICE contractor GEO Group, is being held on suspicion of attempted second degree murder and other charges.

For the one millionth time this is why we need a free N95 mask program everywhere. Masks are important tools we all need to stay healthy throughout our lifetimes.

From fire country to . . . I guess newer fire country: 1. AirIQ is a great app for tracking your air quality and predicting when it’s less terrible to be out. 2. Fire Watch is a nonprofit app to track the fires near you and get alerts. 3. Mask up. N95s are useful. Let’s try to keep our lungs.

N95s remain very good and are readily available. My favorite is still the 3M Aura (and I no longer work there!). You can get ‘em for about a buck each. Amazon: a.co/d/04ALWZeZ Menards (a bit more but not Amazon): www.menards.com/main/tools/w...

Jessica Shortall@jessicashortall.bsky.social · 3w ago

A face mask for Covid A face mask for ICE pepper spray A face mask for air that you can chew it’s so thick with wildfire smoke

I’m going to see my dad this week. We will probably be watching The Dish, a Sam Neill movie he loves so dearly he watches it every year to commemorate the moon landing. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your memorial watch list. What a treasure he was.

I KNOW there are some folks here with some eloquence around this topic. Submissions due August 31. www.wearefeministleaders.com/resistance-a...

Resistance Anthology | We Are Feminist Leaders

wearefeministleaders.com

Two things, #Denver BlueSky. 1. Please come out to the MileLongTable on August 1st. We're celebrating Colorado's birthday by having dinner together. Yes, in person. Thousands of us. At once. www.milelongtable.org

Mile Long Table | August 1, 2026

This August 1st, on Colorado's Birthday, Longer Tables is setting the 1st Annual Mile Long Table - where 5,280 humans from all across Denver will share dinner at a literal, mile long table. The Mile ...

milelongtable.org

I have done my Colorado part and also helped Arizona out because they need it. Calling western geeks and geek fandom! Watching a classroom of little larval scientists have contact with a fully formed and flown scientist is pretty great. And it’s a way to change the future. We need those.

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D.@sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 4w ago

Donations have stalled :( So many sad little bubbles. Colorless. Empty. From Upstate New York and Connecticut to Hawaii. Fill a bubble today 🥺 givebutter.com/USS2026

Alright I gotta go run a potentially soggy moth night Do me a kindness and close some states while I'm out talking urban biodiversity with my fellow Philadelphians 🥺 $10 to fill a bubble. Fill this map in: givebutter.com/USS2026

United States of Science 2026

By Skype a Scientist

givebutter.com

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D.@sarahmackattack.bsky.social · last mo.

The 2026 United States of Science Challenge starts NOW! Each bubble represents classrooms we’ve matched with scientists this year. This a competition to fill bubbles with $10 donations to support @skypeascientist.bsky.social The first region to fill all bubbles wins. 👇🏻 givebutter.com/USS2026

Thanks to my mountain town for running a drone show tonight. Our air quality has been terrible with all the fires around us. The drones don’t scare anyone but let us all enjoy a sky show together. More like this.

The @thisiscolossal.com posting of fellowships, grants, and other goodness for creatives is up. www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/06/july...

July 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

These grants, open calls, fellowships, and residencies for artists all have deadlines in July and August. Apply!

thisiscolossal.com

Reminder that extreme heat crisis is a mental health crisis! It affects your meds, your memory, your mood, and your decision-making. Summer seasonal depression is a thing. Be kind to yourself and others, check your dosage on your medications including insulin, and be careful out there.

"They said you cant win without corporate PAC money. They said you can't beat a 30 year incumbent," Melat Kiros tells her supporters. "You are the proof that the power of organized people beats the power of organized money."

As someone who grew up in Colorado Springs on losing progressive campaigns with my tireless mom and then went on to work for Wellstone, I am so happy about Weiser. I loathe that we couldn’t get Hickenlooper out, but there was a lot of national money behind him. A lot of good wins tonight.

Guess what else those masks are good for?

On this week’s edition of why betting markets are terrible.

High Country News@highcountrynews.org · last mo.

Fire survivors say “it’s morally reprehensible,” and experts worry the wagering could lead to arson.

Do centrist corporate Democrats have no memory of that giant cross country No Oligarchy tour Bernie and AOC did last fall? Are their memories that short? They were filling halls in Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa. That sentiment didn’t go away.

my meme marketing aside, the paperback is available to preorder through INGRAM, so you library folks can get in on the action

Jen Donohue@authorizedmusings.bsky.social · last mo.

okay now we've got like 19 days left PREORDER AMUSEMENT PARK ARCANA it is a novella! it is the kind of horror where I go "hmm is this horror enough" and then look at the last 25% of the book it is about friendship! sunburn! summertime! coming July 15! books2read.com/AmusementPar...

New global residency for artists doing community work. Apply by July 31st. #art fineacts.co/ted-posca-re...

TED & POSCA Global Artist Search — Fine Acts

TED & POSCA are launching a new form of artist residency – a distributed cohort of artists working across the world, united by a shared drive to shape culture and community.

fineacts.co

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Trump directed his Postmaster General to INTERFERE WITH YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE Pursuant to an Executive Order the USPS proposed a rule where they’ll REFUSE to carry mail-in ballots from certain states YOU HAVE UNTIL JULY 2 TO OBJECT You can do so HERE: apwu.org/news/submit-...

Submit a Comment Objecting to Vote-by-Mail Takeover | American Postal Workers Union

Tell USPS: Hands Off Our Right to Vote-by-Mail Under pressure from the White House, the Postal Service is trying to rewrite the rules on who gets to Vote-by-Mail, and we urge postal workers to speak u...

apwu.org

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

PETERS: If a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list to the federal govt, will Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposed rule? STEINER: No PETERS: So it basically coerces states to hand over their absentee voter rolls or face consequences of not being able to vote by mail