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Melissa Paints

@melissavandiver.bsky.social

1.3K followers 1.4K following 6.9K posts

Melissa Vandiver (she/her), artist & illustrator in New Orleans. Board member New Orleans Women and Children's Shelter. Noted loudmouth. Follow my art account for art and less loudmouth: @mvandiverart.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/mvandiverart

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 24d

Would love it if y'all followed my art page and shared my posts from there!

Melissa Vandiver Art @mvandiverart.bsky.social · 24d

Here's a thread of the art I spend most of my time on: themed pet portraits. They are all commissions, and I love collaborating with pet weirdos to portray these lil guys. I have done around 250 of these and they are each different. If you ever wonder what I'm working on, it's probably one of these.

Painting of a cat in an astronaut's space suit, standing on the moon, with an American flag and dark space behind. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver..#petportraits #art #neworleans #cats #cat #catsky #catsofbluesky #space #moon

Painting of a furry black, white, and brown dog, wearing a giraffe costume, on a black and white giraffe print background. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.#petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky #giraffe #giraffes

Painting of a brown dog in the crow's nest of an old-fashioned ship, with another mast and crow's nest in the distance behind. Background is blue sea and sky. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

Painting of a furry white dog in a leather jacket, against a background of a brick wall with graffiti. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

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Slurmsadako MacKenzie @slurmsmackenzie.bsky.social · 1h

GenAI truly was the worst technology to come along at this moment.

An energy and water guzzler when we most urgently need to take climate action.

A disinformation machine as our journalism fails.

A bias machine as fascism takes root.

A job killer in a cost of living crisis.

Bria "tries to write a book" Horses @thevoidencore.bsky.social · 5d

The "cognitive decline and brain damage from repeat COVID infections" and "easy to use robot that makes slop and melts your critical thinking skills" is a hell of a combo in a post-fact media ecosystem

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Michele @geauxwithmichele.com · 1h

#nolasky we got them shaking and we gotta come back out and finish the job. Piss Liz Murrill off even more and volunteer to help Calvin Duncan win. www.calvinforclerk.com

Calvin Duncan For Clerk

calvinforclerk.com

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Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 4h

"One source told me that some of the reversals came after the Trump administration realized that they had accidentally terminated critically important staffers working on current measles and Ebola outbreaks."

Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 4h

…really?

Breaking News: RIFs in reverse. Some CDC workers have been brought back, in latest whiplash.

This is breaking news.

insidemedicine.substack.com

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 1h

This is the same principle by which one should judge "ethnic" restaurants

Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 2h

My grand theory is that 6.5 is the ideal rating on IMDb for an interesting movie because it means it alienated idiots. If you’d like proof: Almost every Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie is rated between 6.3-6.9.

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Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 6h

For those not fluent in Catholic: refusing the Monstrance is not denying prisoners the Eucharist, it is refusing Christ himself, since Christ is present in the Monstrance.

If Portland’s blow up animals are the right language for Portland, this is the right language for Chicago.

Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 10h

Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 4h

Good to know.

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 4h

Me neither - I'm pretty sure more women vote nationally too

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 4h

I have pretty low expectations that Moreno will be better than Cantrell in terms of making anything better in this city but if she can have like half as much baggage that would help!

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 6h

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skooks @skookses.bsky.social · 6h

Stunning upset

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Marc Fischer @marc-fischer.bsky.social · 10h

Chicago: Avondale! 60618! A neighbor has created a community altar at the Shell station on the south east corner of Belmont and Milwaukee - a memorial to human rights and victims of ICE. I added to it and you should too. Let's make it massive and impossible to miss. Bring your offerings.

A community altar by a Shell gas station on the south east corner of Belmont and Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Signs read: "Stop Ice Abductions" and "Stop Terrorizing our Communities. Abolish ICE!" There are also candles, and various offerings, as well as sidewalk chalk.

A detail of altar offerings - dolls, a stuffed frog holding a "Send ICE Home!" sign, and candles - some lit.

A pair of flyers inspired by those used by Chicago contractors who are often undocumented - both insulting ICE in various ways.

Memorial candles and a sign reading "We remember our neighbors, kidnapped by ICE at this gas station on Wednesday, October 8, 2025" hand written in black marker on blue paper.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 16h

an incontestable fact of the second trump administration is it is actively trying to sicken and kill as many americans as it can

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 18h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 6h

Ugh I'm so sorry, what a disaster. I hope you see healing days soon ❤️

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 6h

Also how informed can his choice even be if (presumably) he's being fed the same lies about LLMs being magic that the rest of us are??

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 6h

OMG I think they turned this person into a living LLM to benefit the ppl around him, I cannot think of a more clearcut way to demonstrate how ppl treat those with neurodivergences and disabilities - all responses designed to make others feel more comfortable. The stuff of sci fi dystopias.

Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 6h

I am straight-up going to have nightmares about this

In the video Smith posted online, he said Neuralink engineers had started using language models including ChatGPT and Grok to serve up a selection of relevant replies to questions, as well as options for things he could say in conversations going on around him. One example that he outlined: “My friend asked me for ideas for his girlfriend who loves horses. I chose the option that told him in my voice to get her a bouquet of carrots. What a creative and funny idea.”

These aren’t really his thoughts, but they will do—since brain-clicking once in a menu of choices is much faster than typing out a complete answer, which can take minutes.

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Dr Eleanor Janega @goingmedieval.bsky.social · 7h

Look, this is what Catholicism does so well. Yes girl, BRING OUT THE MONSTRANCE. MAKE THEM SAY IT IN FRONT OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. Martin Luther could *never*. He failed to predict the Trump Presidency and also is directly implecated. I am so serious.

Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 10h

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 8h

Note: it's not even curfew yet.

State police just started pushing people off the business park corner. Here in the road, a brave group of demonstrators are attempting to hold their line.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 9h

... if they could stop for a potty break and kept apologizing. I was like COME HANG OUT WITH ME EVERYONE'S WELCOME

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 9h

I'm a millennial without kids and my friends who have kids are always really hesitant to come over with them. I'm perfectly happy to have them around! A neighbor/friend of mine walks by my house everyday with her kids to go to the park and the other day she asked...

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Asst. to Gov. Huey P. Longbody @writtennred.bsky.social · 10h

Still waiting for transfers to dry but I don't care, it's 5 O'clock Somewhere.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 9h

AIPAC was one of the driving forces that lost her the last election, we and the world would be better off with her back in there.

Cori Bush @coribush.bsky.social · 10h

I don’t wait for permission to fight for what’s right. I’m running to represent Missouri’s First because our community deserves a leader who shows up when it’s hardest and fights for all of us with courage.

Thanks for having me, @velshi.com @msnbc.com. #CoriForUs

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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 13h

The promotion of pseudoscience about a supposed “cause” or “cure” of autism and the destruction of special education (and all of public education, really) are part of the same project. It is a fascist attempt to expel certain people from the body politic, based in eugenics.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 14h

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 10h

I'm so sorry about Queen Bean ❤️

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 10h

I was thinking if Dracula was on the ballot he'd probably get at least 20%. My husband thought he'd make the runoff haha.

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Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · 10h

A candidate we can all support

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