@robotwig Very briefly at the start of ai stuff I looked into it to understand what the image generators were doing.

I think the most artful stuff was from uncomplicated prompts that really allowed for bizarre mashups. And I knew that was the stuff that would be debugged quickest even though it had the most potential to make art.

I love how an artist is trained to leave in the stuff that most folks would erase. It says a lot about what we actually love vs what we think we should love.

@Ruth_Mottram Folks have no idea about high/low.

Its not even about skill, folks who have a connection to their work and find joy in being part of a society are generally better at the work they take on because they understand that the outcome depends on them doing a job well.

Calling food service "low skilled" is just asking for food poisoning. The basics of the work are easy to pick up but the service folks want relies on more attention to detail and pride in a job well done.

@robotwig I miss how amazing movies looked pre-easily available digital tools. You've really captured that look. Its not just the lack of digital glossiness. The inherent "imperfection" creates something that reads heavier* visually.

*tangible vs imaginary

@robotwig A combination of defunded education (including but especially the arts), diminished time for meaningful reflection (boredom time but also just, non economic focused time) and really meaningful interaction with other people who have different interest, experiences and lives.

The ai thing isn't happening in a bubble. Folks are burned out and overwhelmed by a system where ai makes the most logical sense because "why would you spend so much effort?".

Which is truly insanity. Truly.

Reposting from Blue Sky in case anyone is looking for places to submit #writing

https://bsky.app/profile/tangledwilderness.bsky.social/post/3mcs2j3vr2k2q

#writingCommunity #writers

Its loosely tied to my own age and openness to music at the time but genuinely, there was a moment where online forums openned up so much music from other scenes to folks who would never have heard the music unless a band toured nearby, a radio station played the song or a music nerd stocked the album.

I loved that era but it sits on both sides of 2000 so it is neither 90s or 00s precisely.

#ScribesAndMakers

#ScribesAndMakers Feb 16 - Do you have a favourite decade of music? Which one(s)?

Late 90s/early 2000s has a lot of my favorite albums and it was this sweet moment as music was easier to discover but Napster's effects hadn't totally blown through the industry.

Nick Cave:
https://youtu.be/iocNqYjVLpY

NIN: https://youtu.be/OqWM-tXtoBU

Big Milk: https://youtu.be/BB45fnxdo5M

PJ Harvey: https://youtu.be/sRCkgLXwEAg

Afghan Whigs: https://youtu.be/a5T7EOeFHYk

And I could keep going...

#WritersCoffeeClub 16/02/26: What's the most ridiculous place you've tried to sneak in some writing?

Probably at the swimming pool, hopped out to jot down notes and then right back in.

@_L1vY_

Sharing in case you have not come across it: https://bsky.app/profile/tinadesireeberg.com/post/3metgqayja22o

edit to specify what since the link doesn't preview.

agent pretended to have car issues to lure target

@ApostateEnglishman @mloxton He's just a preacher for the folks who kind of want to believe in something but think they're too smart for religions with gods.

Space is their holy land.

@Em0nM4stodon I'm concerned that it'll cause a real backlash on folks who wear glasses that aren't spyware.

Which is not unprecedented as glasses have historically been unfavorable for any number of reasons.

@momo @jeneralist Its another reason the US needs to sort out the healthcare/health insurance issue. Companies scrapping truly innovative medicine because it isn't extremely, eye wateringly profitable is bad for everyone everywhere.

It becomes a global rather than local issue.

@lispi314 @jeneralist Markups on medications are why the US market is a big thing here. That's why they're focused on the US. They can mark it up as much as they'd like.

Last year I checked how much it would cost to get my Covid booster w/o insurance as it was several hundred dollars. Just, shocking. I thought it might be somewhere around $100 but it was quite a bit more.

No way I could get it without.

@franksting @mu @jeneralist @Taco_lad It has to do with the markups on medication being uncapped in the US.

Elsewhere they can't just mark meds up 1000% but in the US they generally can and do.

So, 5% sure but the profits come from the markups on that small population.

I think multimedia storytelling is helpful for developing imagination even if you can never truly picture things in your head. The spatial quality of a map helps lend an idea of what an author means about a character's journey through the story. There are always parts of the map thst you notice that aren't in the story and I think those areas are where readers develop curiosity.

To this day I still read the Brambly Hedge books and trace the pictures with my fingers.

#WritersCoffeeClub

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 Feb
Do you use maps as reference materials as you write?

I make maps as part of my writing since most of my stories take place in other worlds. I do find inspiration in real maps and will sometimes look at those before I make my own.

The interest in maps developed around the same time as my interest in storytelling plus my favorite books as a kid were the Brambly Hedge series which includes a lot of essentially vertical maps of mouse homes inside of trees.

#ScribesAndMakers Feb 13
How well do you sing? If you don't consider yourself a good singer, do you sing anyway?

I've taken singing lessons so I'm a better singer for it but that was decades ago.

Living in apartments kinda quashed my singing generally.

I'll sing from time to time, including a silly jingle about how my cats love crunchy food.

@HeliaXyana Gardening really does have this mad scientist vibe.

I got one strawberry plant last year and immediately went plant mad accomodating all the runners 😅

@_L1vY_ @fsinn I suspect it just means that they're switching tactics because the pushback is stronger than expected.

Which is different than leaving.

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 25 - What comes first: setting, character, plot? What comes next?

I write the way I read so: character, setting, plot.

I want to connect with the characters, then I'm curious about their world and then I'm curious about where things are going.

This isn't how everyone reads or writes but I'm fairly happy with it.

Personally, I dislike totally plot driven stories as the characters tend to be more generic but acknowledge that a strong connection with plot drives momentum