always amused when "mob" in birding refers not to bird behavior but "many [human] observers"

Missouri town fires half its city council over data center deal Residents of a St. Louis suburb turned out in droves to unseat four incumbents just days after the council approved a development agreement for a $6 billion data center.

Voters in a small Missouri town, unhappy with the city council’s approval of a $6B data center, ousted all four incumbent council members running for reelection

Magenta flower blooming on a beavertail cactus

yet another beavertail cactus magenta cup #flowerreport #bloomscrolling

Neo-Nazis have shut down the entire federal funding office for social and behavioral sciences so they can spread election, war, and health disinformation without accountability, and we have to suffer the final indignity of the tongue-in-cheek lie we might be able to debate them into decency

the humanity of spelling your unusual name over the phone, instead of typing it into an app

you’ll miss it when it’s gone!!

A take out order receipt with the name Britta misspelled as Brata

legit incredible that this hasn’t happened in 25 years ago and the last time it was intentionally insulting (disgruntled departing roommate’s final rent check)

After many years, back in Bay Nature, writing in the spring issue about the Estero Americano Coast Preserve, an already wildly popular Sonoma shoreline reserve that's absolutely stunning this time of year! 🌊🌱🌼🦅

Again I’d like to point to all of the high school student walk outs that have been happening for months

In Los Angeles even the middle school students are involved

Cops fractured his skull for standing by in peaceful protest. And people in power claimed he assaulted the cops. No hell greater for those who smeared him. RIP.

You have more in common with the people of Iran than you do with anyone in this administration, any member of the technocracy, anyone who is profiting from this war, or any billionaire. When you see Iranians forming human chains outside key infrastructure sites, you should feel a sense of kinship.

Teen who went to photograph L.A. 'No Kings' rally shot, blinded by Homeland Security agent, attorney says Tucker Collins, an 18-year-old freshman at USC, attended a 'No Kings' protest in Los Angeles on Mar. 28. He ended up getting shot in the eye with a less-lethal projectile by a Department of Homeland S...

A second photographer in Los Angeles lost an eye to law enforcement "less-lethal" munitions while just taking pictures at protests.

These weapons are supposed to be used ONLY for immediate violent threats.

Marshall Woodruff and now Tucker Collins were armed with nothing but a camera.

war how would you feel? blink and you'll miss a revolution, california, cultural studies, empire state of mind, high desert, i'll send an SOS to the world, protest, roadside memorial, semiotics of peace, sign, talking shit a...

obviously I made the photo, didn't take the photo, but it's a tough day for words & feelings

obligatory link to the photoblog running 18 years & counting! evergreen advice to create & maintain nice things with your sweetheart

everything we are seeing now is the consequence of having a political environment in which indifference to the deaths and suffering of other people - even by the state whose supposed responsibility is to safeguard their welfare - is a superpower rather than a political liability

tysm! 🙇‍♀️

A scan of an instant Polaroid photo. It shows a sign that reads "war: how would you feel?" with military imagery of bombs and fighter jets. The sign is in a sandy area with a disused bail bond sign and low mountains in the background.

war: how would you feel? polaroid taken in Joshua Tree last week...

Wild and a great example of why AI can’t replace humans in media. Generative AI can’t make these kinds of logical connections or do this kind of research. For this, you need a nerd (complimentary).

"They understand Canada, its winters & have at least a fighting chance of being able to drive acceptably on snow and ice," the document reads, a tidy version of the "Immigrants can’t drive" trope...Aspiring Albertans should be healthy, too, free of serious illnesses & "experimental mRNA injections."

being able to sit patiently with other people's thoughts, sit patiently with your own, and make both of those processes legible to someone who is not you is very valuable. if you can find a new way to do this that is fantastic news but I suspect it will at least resemble the model we've inherited

you may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like

Protected ospreys likely in for a longer stay at La Jolla Tennis Club A few of the birds, which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, built nests at the club in March and are expected to remain there for three to four months

haha YES (dropping fish guts all over an expensive tennis court that can't evict them)

vivid cover of said book, depicting a sickly yellow sky, orange sun, and inky black ocean water. the coastline is dotted with oil wells

LA weirdos! It appears that @uchicagopress.bsky.social is giving away my book OIL BEACH for FREE this month (as an e-book)

Link is here: press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...

A screenshot from a public library branch newsletter that reads: "April arrives like a hesitation in the air, the season unsure which direction to lean-cool morning layers drifting inland before dissolving into a sun that feels a little too confident. The hills hold a green already beginning to fade, and the wind carries a quiet indecision, as if measuring possibilities it cannot resolve, like something flickering between states. Far away, unseen systems shift and gather weight, hinting at outcomes not yet visible. And within this pause, you find yourself browsing books for comfort and learning."

my library branch's newsletter opens like a horoscope! books for comfort and learning!

Male pyrrhuloxia partly obscured by branches

Male pyrrhuloxia standing on the ground. The red breast and face clearly visible

I recently had a close encounter with a pair of pyrrhuloxia and I'm just in love with the mix of gray and red feathers on these desert dwellers 😍 🪶 #BirdOfTheDay #Feathers

A glowing orange and yellow sunrise against mountains with Joshua trees and desert plants silhouetted in the foreground

becoming a morning person checks out

everyone is talking about how rancid the discourse is, and my feed has been mostly fine?
I must have all the worst possible people on this website blocked, or they've blocked me lol

maybe y'all should block more people with rancid takes.

We don't hate rich people enough.

"criticizing AI use in journalism or other creative industries is classist" NO IT IS NOT

there is a class that benefits enormously from cognitive surrender, epistemic warfare, and the enclosure of all hitherto produced culture and it is NOT THE WORKING CLASS

A white needle teddy bear cholla cactus with a chartreuse green flower opening, surrounded by more buds.

A teddy bear cholla cactus with a chartreuse green flower and several more beginning to open.

teddy bear cholla blooming in the mojave desert #flowerreport #bloomscrolling