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Zak Jarvis

@zakjarvis.bsky.social

850 followers 280 following 6.5K posts

Artist, writer, extremely niche historian. He/him. Links to my published fiction can be found on http://voidmonster.com My collected writings on straight razors can be found at http://theshiveringbeggar.com Tabula rasa accounts are auto-blocked.

voidmonster.com

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · Jul 4

Anybody want a highly realistic, life size human skull made from a 3d scan of a 14th century archaeological site in Visby, Sweden? I make and sell these. DM for details.

A photograph of a painted, 3d printed human skull. The the individual who wore it on their shoulders appears to have experienced a catastrophic facial injury, possibly involving an axe. The bone is deeply cut across the upper and lower jaw with several teeth lost. It sits on a glass shelf in front of a yellow wall, with strong lighting coming from the right, making the inside of the left eye socket glow much like real bone. It is, in fact, made of resin and acrylic paint.

A view of the same skull seen from its right side. This time, the illuminated eye socket glows in the shadow of the cheekbone. The sutures of the skull are clearly visible.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 3h

I've seen her two or maybe three times, and it's always been great.

That first show, though... that was special. You could hear her singing *louder* than the amps on that song.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 4h

I was lucky enough to see her live in a tiny little venue in San Diego just after Blacklisted came out.

Furnace Room Lullaby that night was one of the most astonishing performances I've seen. You could hear a pin drop as the last syllable faded. I swear no one was breathing.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 5h

Certain songs *always* squeeze story juice out of my brain.

This is one of them.

nekocaseofficial.bandcamp.com/track/dirty-...

Dirty Knife, by Neko Case

from the album Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (Bonus Track Version)

nekocaseofficial.bandcamp.com

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Reposted by Zak Jarvis

Rob MacWolf, Werewolf Hitchhiker @robmacwolf.thevoice.dog · 10h

When we write or draw porn or erotica, we get banned from having a bank account and our livelihoods get seized even if we give it away for free.

When billionaires steal what we've written or drawn to churn out a slop-approximate of porn, they're allowed to charge for it.

Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 13h

Oh good, ChatGPT is getting "erotica for verified adults" later this year

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

Can't warm the house without a little black lung!

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

Most religious art bores me.

The creepy stuff? OH YEAH. THAT'S THE STUFF! GIMME!

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

They also knew the slaves in the lead mines died much more quickly and concluded it was the lead that poisoned them.

But we've known since the 1810's that working around particulates kills people and we *still* refuse to install sufficient air circulation in places were people work and gather.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

Kid's love it!

Hey Jimmy, have another paint chip.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

I would be *so powerful* if I had not grown up in the era of leaded gasoline.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 8h

It doesn't help that lead is delicious.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 9h

Way too much hay is made about the divide between litfic and genre.

People should read whatever interests them.

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Reposted by Zak Jarvis

Kat for now 🍉 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏕️ @esedia.bsky.social · 13h

Another dead boyfriend story just dropped! Many thanks to the amazing @vajra.me for picking it!

The Deadlands @thedeadlands.com · 13h

FICTION continued

The Ghost of Cerrera Orbital Station Makes Herself Known, by @amadolaila.bsky.social

The Pretendian, by Jason Pearce

Punks Don't Die, by @esedia.bsky.social

Liminalities of the Second Contraction, by Scott Payne

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 12h

Not unhinged.

Simply true.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 12h

Well THAT sentence just spawned most of a story in my head.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

Watching Cronenberg's The Fly (thanks again, Criterion Channel!)

It's mind-blowing how much post-teleport Brundle talks exactly like every SV techbro.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

Some music for momentum.

lilirefrain.bandcamp.com/track/imitatio

Imitatio, by LILI REFRAIN

from the album 9

lilirefrain.bandcamp.com

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah, this is straight up 4AD album cover stuff.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

Not only did we memorize phone numbers, some of us memorized the prefix maps so we could tell what general neighborhood a phone was in by the first three numbers (minus area code).

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 1d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

Reposted by Zak Jarvis

mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 1d

what did she call us | patreon.com/lubchansky

PANEL 1: MATTIE and one other person are handcuffed on a platform over a big cylindrical vat full of glowing liquid. Behind them, TWO ARMED TROOPERS stand. One is shouting, next to a big lever.
TROOPER: You have all been charged with sexual deviance under the new statutes!
TROOPER: You are hereby sentenced…

PANEL 2: Closer in on MATTIE and the person next to her.
TROOPER (VO): …To being dropped into a big vat of acid, thus dissolving your perverted bodies!
MATTIE: I sure did prefer life before we were overrun by fascist stormtroopers.

PANEL 3: The TROOPERS look at each other.
TROOPER 2: Sorry…What did she-he call us?
TROOPER 1: NOT Cool…

PANEL 4: The other TROOPER from panel 3. He's crying, and pulls the lever. Some acid splashes into the frame.
TROOPER: STOP BULLYING ME!
SFX: CLUNK
SFX: SPLASH

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

Dear god. The usenet (and fidonet, in the BBS era before the continents drifted apart) arguments.

I remember one guy who insisted quantum physics was bullshit.

In the late 90’s, I got doxxed for telling a guy that an SGI workstation wouldn’t make his work better.

Reposted by Zak Jarvis

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 1d

ICYMI, my horror short 'You Will Survive This Night' (1st pub COME JOIN US BY THE FIRE s2, Nightfire), now free to read as a reprint. A woman in her 30s is dragged to a late night winter house party in the poshest part of Kolkata & regrets it even more than expected. Here be monsters, mundane & not:

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

I cannot think of a single one of his films I've liked.

The lot of them come across like grabbing a live wire only to have the bulb barely glow.

Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

I’d been taking it seriously because it had imagery yanked directly from a memorable childhood nightmare, but I saw where it was going from a mile away and just got increasingly pissed at the wasted good bit.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

It makes me almost as angry as the end of Signs.

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Zak Jarvis @zakjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

🤝