Princess Leia standing in the prison corridor of the Death Star. Drawing with Clip Studio Paint by Arthur Smid.
Escape from the Death Star
17.02.2026 22:04 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0@arthursmid.bsky.social
Collaborate to advance progressive causes. Community, story, strategy: arthursmid.com Arthur Smid - Portland, Oregon
Princess Leia standing in the prison corridor of the Death Star. Drawing with Clip Studio Paint by Arthur Smid.
Escape from the Death Star
17.02.2026 22:04 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0From six total miles of BAT lanes in October, to 14 miles of BAT lanes today. One member of the project committee said the voices of transit advocates is what made the difference.
It would be Portland's largest-ever transit priority project.
bikeportland.org/2026/02/17/a...
Large swaths of Oregonβs public and private lands are chopped into a checkerboard pattern. Senate Bill 1545 would secure the right of people to βcorner crossβ the checkerboard, without fear of trespass.
17.02.2026 15:30 β π 26 π 5 π¬ 1 π 2WUTHERING HEIGHTS The 1847 edition of the only novel Emily Bronte published was released under the male alias Ellis Bell as a three-volume set less than two years before she died in 1848, aged just 30. Rarer and more poignant than any #WutheringHeightsMovie - only 250 copies were ever printed.
17.02.2026 17:43 β π 11 π 3 π¬ 1 π 0American Sinophobia is being overtaken by something more ambivalent: an anxious fascination with Chinese ascendancy amidst US decline. Our essay of the week tracks the shifting consensus on Chinaβs techno-developmentalist state capitalism.
By @nplusonemag.com editors
buff.ly/odf0Qep
The business school is where capital hones its instruments, not its conscience. As our podcast of the week argues, by rendering exploited labor an abstract externality to shareholder value, mainstream business curricula normalize structural violence.
With Priya Sharma
buff.ly/RkD0tKG
Global climate efforts are failing because they do not tackle the power imbalance between fossil and green asset owners. This piece unpacks how fossil fuel elites exploit weak global rules to protect profits, stalling decarbonization.
By @greenprofgreen.bsky.social in @noemamag.com
buff.ly/vmfb9sx
Anti-urbanism, our open-access article of the week contends, is not an immutable divide between city and countryside, but a political and aesthetic project with deep Romantic roots, one that emerged as a backlash against modernity.
By Jan Nijman in @geographicalreview.bsky.social
buff.ly/JMa1OYZ
U.S. efforts to control Venezuelan oil reveal a stark marriage of energy capitalism and state power. This dialogue suggests this push reflects a broader reshaping of global energy governance, driven by profit motives disguised as democracy promotion.
With @matthuber.bsky.social
buff.ly/KutlXcv
Tickets are now on sale for DCEFF 2026! Running March 19-28, the Festival will feature 50+ programs at venues throughout DC (many free). Learn more at dceff.org.
17.02.2026 17:12 β π 3 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0Gotta watch βem all? PokΓ©mon-style app for birdwatching launches
17.02.2026 16:45 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0Weβve identified at least ten cases in which chatbots, primarily ChatGPT, fed a userβs fixation on another real person β fueling the false idea that the two shared a special or even βdivineβ bond, roping the user into conspiratorial delusions, or insisting to a would-be stalker that theyβd been gravely wronged by their target. In some cases, our reporting found, ChatGPT continued to stoke usersβ obsessions as they descended into unwanted harassment, abusive stalking behavior, or domestic abuse, traumatizing victims and profoundly altering lives. Reached with detailed questions about this story, OpenAI didnβt respond.
We identified a number of cases in which chatbots βΒ primarily ChatGPT βΒ fueled a user's worsening obsession with another real person (or people.) This ranged from affirming false beliefs about "divine" connections; reinforcing romantic delusions; and insisting that the user had somehow been wronged.
17.02.2026 16:46 β π 129 π 22 π¬ 1 π 12/2 He tells it like it is and has receipts. A fresh and urgent take on what our enslaved ancestors always knew: the overseer is the masterβs first line of defense."
βRobin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
a great and important text @stanfordpress.bsky.social www.sup.org/books/sociol...
15.02.2026 19:18 β π 7 π 3 π¬ 1 π 0βA realistic take on marriageβ: readers on their favourite lesser-known movie romances
17.02.2026 16:38 β π 25 π 7 π¬ 3 π 1Appreciate the sentiment of this article but some of us have been banging this drum for decades to no avail. Our work has been ridiculed at SFN and we constantly have to defend ourselves within our neuroscience dept. The field is unwilling to change.
#neuroskyence
Bye bye bird β hello regular!
13.11.2025 19:35 β π 0 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0"Over four bustling days, Pictoplasma Berlin investigates the art and impact of adventurous figurative representation across creative genres and cultures." pictoplasma.com
17.02.2026 16:38 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0New on PictoTV: Jon Burgerman, British-born New York-based artist, shares strategic advice on how to get your character to proudly parade as XXL float on Macy's Day!
Wherever you are, whenever you want β unlock one month of unlimited character-driven creativity on PictoTV
πΊ tv.pictoplasma.com
The Character Campus 2026 is calling:
Next May the Pictoplasma Academy returns bigger, longer β with even more character!
Apply for 10 intense days in Berlin, filled with character design development courses, mentoring sessions, workshops, and full VIP access to the 22. PictoConference
β¦ and maybe Half-Life 3
Whatβs on your list?
Seasons Greetings & Love from Pictoplasma
Weβre giving away 3 free PictoTalks:
Soothe your souls with the preachings of Master Tingus (AU), Fran Nemesis (CL) and Johnny Kelly (IE) β and see you all again IRL in 2026!
Follow the π on tv.pictoplasma.com for 3 free VoDs till the end of the yearβ¦
Some Venezuelan characters from our international character creator network PictoHome: share and find art β all without data mining, algorithm, AI or adds! Next up: Colombia, Cuba, Greenland, Mexico, maybe Canada ...
by @miguel_guercio, @iogarcia, @taniavisual, @veronica_ettedgui
Catching up with work by the PictoAcademy Alumni:
Artist and creative technologist ursooperduper blends intricate combinations of color and form to explore the relationship between visual systems and character.
Sign up for Mayβs Academy Masterclass:
academy.pictoplasma.com
Whoβll be in charge of creating the faces of tomorrow?
Next May's 22nd #PictoBerlin celebrates the art and impact of forward looking figurative representation across EVERY media + opens its stage to ALL creative genres that give character agency, urgency, and Joy!
Youβre welcome:
⬀⬀ link in bio
A green hummingbird on a wire has its body facing left, but has its neck and head twisted toward our right, so we see its right eye
πͺΆ Going with Rob's @robcrank68.bsky.social Alt theme of #Green. This is a green mango hummingbird in Tuis, #CostaRica.
#Birds #photography
An Idaho legislator is calling on Idahoβs congressional delegation to protect public access to public lands and oppose efforts to sell federal public lands.
via @idahocapitalsun.com
Today in no shit.
17.02.2026 14:57 β π 46 π 13 π¬ 2 π 0With the best team, for the best tournament!
27.11.2025 12:33 β π 3 π 4 π¬ 0 π 0