if I can't shoehorn another PCT attempt into the next five years, I'm going to go actually feral

(I've been watching this year's thru-hiking vloggers again)

Not sure really how to reorient us, but we've been talking a lot about how feminist critique and imaginary are two sides of the same coin

They've been burned by technology (most social media, edtech, unwanted AI) and now it's hard to disentangle how current tech has been built/used socially from how it could be otherwise

I've been trying to figure this out in my social media/digital rhetoric classes esp. as some students are shifting to radically anti-tech positions--it's hard to imagine feminist (in our case) tech futures together in class

Folk Tech Showcase! - April 2026 - Project Show & Tell · Luma Folk Tech is a movement among people who want to develop apps for their community without depending on big tech companies and a community of developers making…

Join us Wednesday for the first @folktech.bsky.social Showcase!

Featuring amazing projects such as Roundabout, Semble, Mirlo, Flotilla, OpenHaven, Spacious, The Protopian Prize, Moss, Inkverse, The Governance Memory System, and more!

Hosted by WorkAdventure.

Register here: luma.com/h0o701wf

A 'Self-Doxing' Rave Helps Trans People Stay Safe Online At a New York party, attendees spent Trans Day of Visibility dancing, DJing, and learning how to become less visible online.

New for @404media.co - On Trans Day of Visibility, I went to an OpSec party that teaches trans people how hunt down their old data (to be less visible online) 🫥

I'm in an AI training and learning that some doctoral programs are shifting the weighted emphasis from written dissertations towards the oral defense in order to ascertain candidate's true understanding of their field.

Plato vindicated after all?

CSU Releases Findings After Conducting the Largest and Most Comprehensive Survey on Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

From the CSU's systemwide survey on artificial intelligence:

"About 80% of student respondents are not comfortable submitting AI-generated work as their own."

But at the same time,
"More than half of faculty respondents use AI to develop course materials"

blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/202...

#ainglish

A grey and white cat rolls on some concrete in early morning sun.

find someone who looks at you the way Mushroom looks at a concrete balcony

A handwritten letter in a deep teal ink.

Sending another couple letters out today. This ink is Myrrh the Merrier (also from the 2025 Inkvent set): a teal base with blue shimmer and reddish sheen.

It doesn't photo well, but even on this cardstock, the sheen comes through a bit. The shimmer, unfortunately, is all trapped in the feeder.

Since it's for the whole department, the sources hold a range of views on AI (pro-inclusion to resisters), but I'd be interested to hear any other suggestions to include (sending up the #TeamRhetoric bat signal)

AI News for English@SJSU by Vee Lawson on Surf Surf - This feed curates news, research, and media about AI, focusing on writing pedagogy.

Recently, I became the AI Ambassador for my department, so I made this @surf.social feed to curate news, research, & media about AI as it relates to writing

I'm keeping it limited to orgs/institutional sources rather than individuals, but hopefully it's helpful to folks

teachingai.surf.social

Alas, another day, another grant rejection 🥲

taking way too much psychic damage today [logged into LinkedIn]

Tapping the sign

I'm so glad you're able to get back into letter writing! Perhaps you'll share photos of the cards you create? :)

Two envelopes addressed to Letters Against Isolation on a wooden table. The body of the envelopes is a muted French blue, and the flaps have a deep pink hydrangea design.

Today's ink: Ambiance (chameleon) from Diamine Inkvent Teal (2025). The ink is a medium orange with an orange/yellow shimmer.

A spring break project: using through my fountain pen inks sending notes to seniors through LettersAgainstIsolation.com.

Today's ink is Ambiance, a mid-orange with chameleon shimmer, from the Teal Diamine Inkvent calendar.

The Renaissance of the Trans Magazine - Electric Literature Eight editors behind trans periodicals discuss trans activism and the power of t4t publications

"Print lasts, and in many cases lasts longer than the file formats of digital media. ... I’ve started my own cardboard box of trans zines, saving print ephemera from this time as an act of faith in the future of trans life."

electricliterature.com/the-renaissa...

According to this, Canvas's IgniteAI Agent will handle "low-value" tasks: "The new technology...can automate 'low-value' tasks for faculty such as rubric generation, content alignment and discussion reviews." Those are not low value, they are essential pedagogical choices that define a class. (1/3)

Book cover for Hester Steel's The Faceless Thing We Adore. A purple face covered in swirling lines dissolves into butterflies against a hot pink background.

I've been reading more horror books as a nice respite from The Horrors, & @steelhester.bsky.social's The Faceless Thing We Adore is possibly my favorite of the past year--cosmic queer horror & I couldn't guess the ending

www.thisishorror.co.uk/look-out-for...

A mobile solar-powered AI surveillance system on SJSU's campus.

Love to be surveilled while walking on campus 🥴

AHOY! 2025 - Aendra Rininsland on Queer Resilience on the Social Web - ATProto Community AHOY! European Social Web Day in Hamburg in 2025

I stumbled across this talk/blog by @aendra.com on @leaflet.pub this morning, and this is exactly the kind of work I was trying to get at in my #4C26 talk--how do we build better, more resilient social media that can support us (esp. trans/queer people)?

atprotocommunity.leaflet.pub/3mh7xu63f2c2...

*Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is by Gabrielle Zevin

I really liked Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series (narrated by Rachel Dulude, great at character voices) & Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (narrated by Jennifer Kim & Julian Cihi, no spoilers but some chapters that I think would've been annoying as text worked well in audio)

Bane vs Pink Guy meme Pink Guy: Me crossing three time zones on my way home from CCCCs Bane: Daylight Savings Time.

So… I've been writing for about 18 years on the idea that if you somehow manage to make meaningfully conscious machine minds & then you treat them as tools, then you're enslaving those minds, and that's pretty messed up. And this ties into something else I've re-upped recently: LLMs can't say "No."

There are still some free books and stickers left to claim! ☺️ #4C26

Quote tweeting this from a conference in Ohio where I can't even check my DMs without verifying my age

A notice at the top of my Bluesky homepage that reads: The laws in your region require you to verify you're an adult to access certain features. Tap to learn more.

I miss California already*

*I'm aware of the Digital Age Assurance Act, but I think it's going to be impossible to enforce + is already receiving heavy criticism

CFSHRC's Feminist Bingo: Complete a full row, column, or diagonal to win! Prizes include your choice of a book from Parlor Press's Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms (3 available), vinyl rhetoric stickers designed by Ryan Skinnell (5 packs of 5 stickers available), and a takeout box (sourdough starter, seasoning, and mini food zines) from the panelists of "Coming to the Table" (1 available). DM us to claim your prize! @CFSHRC on Facebook or Bluesky.

Welcome to #4C26 and our first-ever CFSHRC Bingo!
🌈 Complete a full row, column, or diagonal to win 🌈

When you have a bingo, DM us here or on Facebook to claim your prize!
(Read on for prize info!)