Ess Writes Things

Spotify boycott: Artists leave 'garbage hole' platform after CEO invests in AI weapons Daniel Ek's investments in AI dronemaker Helsing have unnerved artists. One called Spotify a "violent armageddon portal."

Now we know where all that Spotify money is going. Not to the artists - perish the thought. No, the CEO has invested it all in AI weaponry designed to kill humans. I wish this were a joke.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.

now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.

Just wait until you get maintenance notifications about bringing your ThinQ microwave to a licensed LG servicer for a turntable alignment, a 10,000 minute tune up, and a protective mesh adjustment…

(Edit to add: very much looking forward to the last chunk and feel like I needed to trust the author. Guess I can try that more…)

modes of narrating, knowing, and living. I read it fast (which meant I was into it!) and could prob use a second, slower read. (Completed)

4. Cloud Missives by Kenzie Allen (2024). I was in awe of the first section, and loved how the book explored identity, race, and settler colonial logics in archaeology/forensic pathology, and then dug into relationality, embodiment, and interconnectedness as alternative…

3. All The Names Given by Raymond Antrobus (2021).

This was a stunningly beautiful and complex book of poetry and what it did with sound and writing, family, and history was brilliant. (As smarter, cooler people than me have said since 2021) (completed)

around halfway through and it pulled me in all the way. I don’t read much romance, but always look for Blake’s books. (70ish% complete)

2. Dream On, Ramona Riley by @ashleyhblake.bsky.social (2025). I quietly devoured Blake’s first sapphic romance trilogy and was looking forward to this. The opening felt a bit looser narratively/editorially than her previous work, but the plot and conflicts developed in fresh directions…

1. You Weren’t Meant to be Human by @ajwhiteauthor.bsky.social (2025). Appreciating this — despite the intense content warnings — it’s measured in its shock and a thoughtful take on bodily autonomy and violence in this moment, from a distinctly trans perspective. (currently about halfway)

Reading a lot lately even though I don’t post about it.

So here are off the cuff random thoughts about stuff I am reading… I guess? 🧵

Grokipedia and the Coup Against Reality Itself Grokipedia, the copycat of Wikipedia launched by Elon Musk isn’t just a string of AI generated slop, it is a weapon. The launch of "grokipedia" is a calculated, strategic escalation by the billionaire...

I wrote about how "Grokipedia" is a new front on the war against reality itself. It's an attempt by the oligarchic class to seize the means of knowledge production itself and create a weaponized unreality.

www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...

🚨‼️As of yesterday KOSA is at 64 cosponsors with @vanhollen.senate.gov + @kim.senate.gov - who claim to support LGTBQ+ rights but are clearly okay with supporting legislation that’ll censor us off the internet- newly signed on.

You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com

fry from futurama is smiling and holding a red scarf over his shoulder ALT: fry from futurama is smiling and holding a red scarf over his shoulder

Another fine patron of Lightspeed Briefs, I see?

Me as a slush reader: "Dang, I don't need every short story you ever wrote in here, just give me your best couple right now..."

Me as a submitter: "Annnd why not, let's throw one more in even though its rougher, that will get us to just meet the maximum number [of words/pages/subs]. Nice."

Unseeable prompt injections in screenshots: more vulnerabilities in Comet and other AI browsers | Brave AI browsers remain vulnerable to prompt injection attacks via screenshots and hidden content, allowing attackers to exploit users' authenticated sessions.

Just gonna drop this here for the ai powered browser stans… brave.com/blog/unseeab...

Well played, you’ve preempted my primary rhetorical strategy.

They really make drawing the transversal across eugenics easy, taking us back to what, Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man & Animals?

I am snagging the whole pocket pubs (ig @pocket_pubs) lineup and getting a little envelope with a strip of washi tape on it and a tiny zine inside for MONTHS and I can’t express the joy it brings me. I wanted to share that with you.

Mia is also editing a series of 10 or 11 pocket zines, starting with Taylor Stout’s entry, “The Last Grizzly Bear”, illustrated by Naava Guaraca (on the right in the image that starts this thread!).

I met Mia Arias Tsang (ig @mia.arias.tsang) at a workshop this summer and we stayed in touch.

Mia is a writer and editor and, among other things, she makes rad, hella indie, queer zines like the one on the left, above.

Hey. Here is something nice.

Mini story about how I now look forward to a steady stream of zines coming in the mail!

It is a rare source of sustained and intermittent joy that I can expect for months! 🧵

And it’s banned books week 🫠

Black text on a red and black background. It reads "Has your library banned events, displays, talks, or anything else related to banned books week this year? Share your story anonymously." It includes the survey link: https://tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25

Has your library banned any displays, events, education, talks, or anything else related to Banned Books Week this year? I want to know about it . . . and emphasize you're not alone.

Please take and share this short, anonymous survey.

tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25

CFP: A Time of Monsters The monster has been here all along. It is a historical constant that manifests in wildly different ways across time, place, and culture. Whatever form it takes, the monster claws at categories; it un...

If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.

if the state of journalism and its capture by the right wing also has you in despair, a real, tangible thing you can do to push back is support/subscribe to worker-owned indie news media!!

@coyotemedia.org (bay area)
@51st.news (dc)
@racketmn.com (mn)
@autonomynews.co
@505omatic.bsky.social (nm)

Until you hear the sound of crunching fiberglass, the crack of glass spidering, and the squeal of steel curving.

Confirmed. I think about it constantly. I also consider: if I stay beyond that point, what good can I still do?

To be clear, I think it is entirely possible we pull back from the brink. It just feels increasingly unlikely. Like watching a car crash in slow motion, whispering we can still turn…

“Please drill this port into your own neck so we can plug you into the matrix.” — AI companies all day, every day