TrishEM

I'll be on this stream in about 35 minutes with @shaunduke.net to interview @obrackenbury.bsky.social and Molly Tanzer about modern takes on the good old fantasy subgenre of Sword g Sorcery!

Do you go to Eastercon/Satelite/PictCon/Fantasycon/Norncon or any of the other volunteer run sf conventions? Do you go to Swancon or Worldcon? If so, you are eligible to vote in the Southbound GUFF race: sending a fan to Swancon, AU Candidate statements & ballot are here taff.org.uk/ballots/guff...

I'm glad I studied the making of Casablanca in a unit on History In Film. Read about its politics and purposes, its makers and refugee cast.
Then in the essay contrasted 'propaganda' in Casablanca and Zach Snyder's 300, heh.

UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say Ministers urged to abandon plans to let tech firms use work of novelists, artists and writers without permission The UK’s creative industries must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of speculative gains in AI technology, a House of Lords committee has warned, as the government prepares to reveal the economic cost of proposals to change copyright rules. A report by peers has urged ministers to develop a licensing regime for the use of creative works in AI products and abandon proposals to let tech firms use the work of novelists, artists, writers and journalists without permission. Continue reading...

UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say

"From Icepunk to a Crown of Stars: Exploring Kate Elliott's Wonderful Worlds" by Paul Weimer - A Dribble of Ink Kate Elliott’s fiction first came to my attention in the mid-’90s. In the age before the rise of massive social media, I discovered authors through publications like Locus, and through things like awa...

He includes a long paragraph about the series in this 2015 roundup of her work.
aidanmoher.com/blog/feature...

- the government’s mixed public messaging on AI & copyright is hindering licensing
- the government should make a clear public statement that AI companies operating in the UK need to license their training data (which is the law)

4/5

They say:

- the government must not weaken copyright law, and should instead strengthen licensing, transparency & enforcement
- the government should stop prioritising large multinational tech firms

3/5

Thread. (TLDR: the House of Lords DCC report on AI came down hard on the correct side of the debate, rather than siding with industry lobbyists.)

Bessie Stringfield in stylish white overalls and a peaked cap, standing next to her motorcycle in B&W photo. #WHM26 #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInSTEM

Bessie Stringfield, Motorcycle Queen of Miami US motorcyclist 1st African-American woman to ride across US solo, starting in 1930. #WWII 1 of few civilian motorcycle dispatch riders for US crossing US 8 times. Inducted in2 Motorcycle Hall of Fame b #OTD 5 Mar 1911/2 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_...

a man in a suit is smiling in front of a sign that says hulu Alt: President Cal in the TV show Paradise saying "I Like That." It's one of the new entries on the list of labour unions in SFF.

Updated the list of labour unions in SFF with a ton of new entries. (Many found by @joachimboaz.bsky.social)

Everything from 19th Century utopian works to reactionary tomes from the 1970s.

List as HTML: hugoclub.blogspot.com/2018/12/orga...

List as Spreadsheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Perry: This St. Patrick’s Day, don’t forget Irish music’s anti-fascist roots Dropkick Murphys, the iconic Irish American punk band, are headlining a free block party March 6 near where Alex Pretti was killed by immigration agents, contributing columnist David M. Perry writes.

NEW “We’re celebrating a tradition that is at its core about resisting occupation and maintaining community in the face of horrors. You can’t keep politics out of Irish music. No one should try, for two reasons. First, it’s ahistorical. Second, Minnesotans are ready for a big anti-fascist party.”

On the blog, @pematson.bsky.social (Trish E. Matson) reviews Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall, a space-opera disaster-lesbian religio-corporate-dystopia retelling of Moby-Dick that she thinks is great!
skiffyandfanty.com/b...

On the blog, @stephengm.bsky.social reviews a happy surprise: Free Planet, Volume 1. "If it wasn't clear by now, in addition to being very good comics, this is very good science fiction..."
skiffyandfanty.com/b...

WATCH: Sen. Tillis calls for Noem's resignation as DHS head at oversight hearing The Republican senator blasted Noem for her leadership decisions in the immigration enforcement ramp-up in Minneapolis.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her leadership decisions in the immigration enforcement ramp-up in Minneapolis. https://to.pbs.org/4smbTRk

Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a Texas shelter flagged as medically risky Government officials and advocates for the children worry the goal is to concentrate them in Texas, where abortion is banned.

Government officials and advocates for the children worry the goal is to concentrate them in Texas, where abortion is banned. n.pr/4lgOdeX

'Trump betrayed us': Fleeing Kurds condemn U.S. decision to leave Syria As U.S. troops follow President Trump's orders and pull out of northeast Syria, they leave behind men they fought side by side with against the Islamic State group. Amid fears of ethnic cleansing by T...

2019 was basically forever ago www.pbs.org/newshour/amp...

When we talk about Baby Boomers not getting off the stage: In 1997, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2007, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2017, the US president was born in 1946.

And next year in 2027? The US president will have been born in 1946.

This completely misunderstands the research process including the point of doing literature reviews. Claude’s “analysis” treats research as paint by numbers regurgitation of pre-existing work.

Kustov & folks who share these views need to give up their jobs in favor of those who want to research.

All I can think about is Jeff Bezos saying that he slashed jobs at the Washington Post — including those of foreign correspondents in the Middle East — based on "the data," and a few weeks later a whole war breaks out in the Middle East that these laid off folks would have covered as true experts.

Federal judge demands answers from top Minnesota prosecutor in ‘extraordinary’ contempt hearing A federal judge demanded answers from Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen on why immigrants’ belongings had not been returned after they were unlawfully detained.

A federal judge clashed with Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor during a contempt hearing, after he accused the federal government of violating multiple court orders to return property to immigrants who had been unlawfully detained.

Another great thread from @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social

Tillis to Noem: "A 14 month old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You decided to kill that dog bc you hadn't invested the appropriate training, then you have the audacity to write a book & say it's a leadership lesson! ... Those are bad decisions not unlike what happened in Minneapolis"

Tired: Reading national news about a local story

Wired: Reading the local independent press to get local stories before they're national

Awards Eligibility Post for 2025 - Jennifer Brozek Award season is upon us. The Hugo Award nominations are open. I would be pleased if you would consider my works for nomination. You must be a member of

Blog: My Awards Eligibility Post for 2025.
TL;DR Best Editor Short Form: Jennifer Brozek,
and
Best Semiprozine: Augment Magazine by Jennifer Brozek, John Helfers, and Kathleen Hardy.
jenniferbrozek.com/blog/post/20...

AI-generated artwork is officially not eligible for copyright protection after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the appeal.

The court ruled that a work must have a human creator in order to qualify for copyright.

(Link: www.reuters.com/legal/govern...)

When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

Catherine and Michael at a book table.

#Booksky Look for Catherine Lundoff and Michael Merriam @mmerriam.bsky.social at MarsCon Minneapolis this weekend! They’ll be working our table in the Makers Mart and will be on programming.
marscon.org/sides/26sche...

They've entered the town of Outskirt, where little is as it seems. Can @trendane.bsky.social, @taritoons.bsky.social, Undeveloped Bruce, and TheCroxxx discover its secrets? Find out at 12 p.m. EST with Free League's Dragonbane: The Secret of the Dragon Emperor! www.twitch.tv/arvaneleron

Okay fine one more author announcement, like as a treat.

@kathleen.loadingreadyrun.com.

As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.