Libby Larson

Trump official: We answer to no one

Top Trump official suggests the administration will ignore Congress and the Constitution to get its way. app.sosha.ai/s/bxy8y5is

If you live in a place where you are represented by a Republican in the US House please call and tell them to vote NO

Photo of the cover of the book "The Work of Art: How something comes from nothing" by Adam Moss.

Photo of book section with text: All Art Fails Eventually, inevitably, we got around to talking about failure. It had been a long conversation, and it would soon be time to go. Tony was so forgiving of himself-and others. I couldn't help but think that his an- alysis had worked "All art fails," he said, "because all art is essentially Orpheus. All art is meant to resur- rect the dead, and it will not succeed in doing that. The great model for all artists is Orpheus and in his greatest work he bombed. He didn't get her out. "Almost all playwrights are like physicists-we do our work from our late teens to about thirty-three. And then we're kind of garbage. We may generate some interesting things after that, but for some reason it seems to go that way. ""There are flaws and problems and failures in every work that I love. A lot of people feel that the epistle is the big mistake in Angels "

Photo of book page with text: WRITING ROY Tony said that a particularly tough part of these first pages was writing a scene he knew he needed: the conversation between Roy and the doctor when the doctor tells him he has AIDS. "The last thing I wrote in act I was Roy and his doctor, because I knew that's how I wanted to end The scene didn't work. I struggled for weeks. Then, for some reason, I reread Billy Budd. And I came across this line about Claggart: he had perfected the use of the rationale as an ambidextrous instrument for effecting the irrational. In other words, a great order is a disorder and a great disorder is an order, these things are one. It made me realize what I was getting at with Cohn, which is true of right-wing thinking in general--that reality is an activity of the imagination. They're fundamentally idealists, they believe that the idea precedes matter. They reject the notion that you begin with material reality. You just demand that reality obey your fantasies. "Then I called my friend Kimberly and said, I think Ive just written the best scene that I`ve ever written.'"

I borrowed this from the library and it's so good I think I need to buy it for myself. Moss interviews artists of all kinds-the excerpts here are from the chapter with Tony Kushner, who wrote Angels in America. Love what he says about art, and his take on far-right thinking seems particularly apt.

I highly recommend "A City on Mars." The authors thought they were pro Mars settlement before they started doing research, but after they learned about the physical, biological, environmental, economic, social, legal, and psychological challenges, they realized what a monumentally bad idea it is.

The official AMS logo.

The AMS is temporarily opening its career services to all who need them, regardless of membership status, and offering dues waivers and meeting registration fee reductions for those impacted by job loss due to changes in the government.

Read more: bit.ly/4gRiHAk

I highly recommend these!

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show Don't Believe Him | The Ezra Klein Show

Long but worth the watch: youtu.be/K8QLgLfqh6s?...

So I’ve been doing all the things: learning, investing in relationships, therapy, yoga, taking walks, journaling, etc. These days I’m hoping that maybe resilience grows stronger if it is tested (though not too much!). Always happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Cat pics for soothing.

It’s only more recently that I’ve realized that you can cultivate and nurture your own resilience, and it’s probably a good idea to do so long before you might need it (though it’s never too late to start!).

I have been thinking a lot about resilience lately. When I was younger I thought (though maybe only subconsciously) that people had a natural well of resilience that you could discover when it was needed. 1/n

Oh you know, getting by as well as can be expected...

I feel like there’s a 50/50 shot he signs an executive order extending January indefinitely tomorrow

This is a great thread. I want to offer this to others, but also need it offered to me.

Bronze statue of Bacchante and infant faun by Frederick William MacMonnies.

Alison Saar born 1956, Los Angeles, CA Rouse 2012 wood, bronze, paper, antler sheds, and stamped ceiling tin.

Titus Kaphar born 1976, Kalamazoo, MI Monumental Inversions: George Washington 2017 wood, glass, and steel

Titus Kaphar born 1976, Kalamazoo, MI Monumental Inversions: George Washington 2017 wood, glass, and steel

Spent a little time yesterday at the SAAM. For the first pic, to my modern eyes it totally looks like she's taking a selfie with her kid. 😀

Colder weather encourages cuddling. 🐈🐈‍⬛️

Ogden Museum of Southern

At the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, NOLA.

Random NOLA pics.

Oh! Looking forward to this! I really enjoyed the chapter with @samlmontano.bsky.social in @ayanaeliza.bsky.social 's What If We Get it Right?

Blue book cover that reads: Disasterology Dispatches from the frontlines of the climate crisis by Dr. Samantha Montano

~SOME NEWS~

My book Disasterology: Dispatches From The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis is being re-released in paperback on March 4th!

It'll be the same as the hardcover just with an additional chapter on "The Problem With Climate Havens".

You can pre-order here: www.disaster-ology.com

Are you part of ESWN? @maitri.vatul.net put together a starter pack.

Climate risk companies don’t always agree – CarbonPlan A comparison of address-level fire and flood risk assessments.

I'm at #ams2025 in a TH on climate services. One of the panelists is from @carbonplan.org , mentioned this research: carbonplan.org/research/cli... . Looking forward to digging in to this later.

I hope this takes off. I have curated my Instagram feed to be full of artists, plants, friends, and cat videos and would love a non-Meta alternative.

The Limits of Data Policymakers want to make decisions based on clear data, but important factors are lost when we rely solely on data. A philosopher writes:

I've been getting more into Science and Technology Studies (STS) stuff the longer I've been a scientist and working for the federal government. Here's a recent article I deeply appreciated: issues.org/limits-of-da...

Bobby Mcferrin GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY GIPHY animates your world. Find Bobby Mcferrin GIFs that make your conversations more positive, more expressive, and more you.

giphy.com/explore/bobb...
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Heritage Foundation Staffers Flood Federal Agencies With Thousands of Information Requests The conservative think tank’s requests are clogging the pipeline at federal agencies in an apparent attempt to find employees a potential Trump administration would want to purge.

Got my first FOIA request at work. I assume it's part of this: www.propublica.org/article/have...