Elsa
@modstgodds.bsky.social
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
I am here to read mainly. Occasionally share posts.
I am here to read mainly. Occasionally share posts.
Reposted by Elsa
an incredible close reading of the performance last night
First shot: sugarcane
The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times
Still used to make rum of course!
The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times
Still used to make rum of course!
February 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
an incredible close reading of the performance last night
Reposted by Elsa
A Superb Owl on a Super Bowl (Attica, c. 450 BCE, British Museum) for whatever your game this Sunday #SuperbOwl
February 8, 2026 at 1:57 PM
A Superb Owl on a Super Bowl (Attica, c. 450 BCE, British Museum) for whatever your game this Sunday #SuperbOwl
Reposted by Elsa
Context: this speech is from SIR THOMAS MORE, a history written, as near as scholars can tell, in the early 1600s by 6 or 7 people including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Shakespeare, and Munday.
It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Context: this speech is from SIR THOMAS MORE, a history written, as near as scholars can tell, in the early 1600s by 6 or 7 people including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Shakespeare, and Munday.
It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.
Reposted by Elsa
One of my favorite quotes...
January 17, 2026 at 3:38 PM
One of my favorite quotes...
Reposted by Elsa
…it should break your heart to kill.
January 8, 2026 at 4:02 AM
…it should break your heart to kill.
Light is returning
Even though this is the darkest hour
No one can hold back the dawn
Let's keep it burning Let's keep the light of hope alive Make safe our journey through the storm
One planet is turning Circles on her path around the Sun Earth mother is calling her children home
(Charlie Murphy)
Let's keep it burning Let's keep the light of hope alive Make safe our journey through the storm
One planet is turning Circles on her path around the Sun Earth mother is calling her children home
(Charlie Murphy)
December 24, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Light is returning
Even though this is the darkest hour
No one can hold back the dawn
Let's keep it burning Let's keep the light of hope alive Make safe our journey through the storm
One planet is turning Circles on her path around the Sun Earth mother is calling her children home
(Charlie Murphy)
Let's keep it burning Let's keep the light of hope alive Make safe our journey through the storm
One planet is turning Circles on her path around the Sun Earth mother is calling her children home
(Charlie Murphy)
Reposted by Elsa
Reposted by Elsa
My response to anything over the next two weeks
December 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM
My response to anything over the next two weeks
Reposted by Elsa
Reposted by Elsa
A poem for Winter Solstice: "The Shortest Day" by Susan Cooper, author The Dark is Rising and numerous other luminous books.
The image is from www.thelostland.com. The poem is © Susan Cooper.
The image is from www.thelostland.com. The poem is © Susan Cooper.
December 21, 2025 at 7:14 AM
A poem for Winter Solstice: "The Shortest Day" by Susan Cooper, author The Dark is Rising and numerous other luminous books.
The image is from www.thelostland.com. The poem is © Susan Cooper.
The image is from www.thelostland.com. The poem is © Susan Cooper.
Reposted by Elsa
If you have a newsletter, please tell me where I can sign up for your newsletter! I am trusting The Socials less and less for getting me news of what my pals, colleagues, and parasocials are up to. Tell me where I can find you! Mine is: buttondown.com/MarissaLingen
And Other Stories: Marissa Lingen's Newsletter
Stories, poems, essays...and some anecdotes and recipes from author Marissa Lingen
buttondown.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:38 PM
If you have a newsletter, please tell me where I can sign up for your newsletter! I am trusting The Socials less and less for getting me news of what my pals, colleagues, and parasocials are up to. Tell me where I can find you! Mine is: buttondown.com/MarissaLingen
Reposted by Elsa
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Reposted by Elsa
I have for some time now told crows the story of my friend Marissa who tells stories to crows, and here at last is a story about that.
New story this morning! The Crow's Second Tale in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social ! www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-... This is one of my stories that is 100% not autobiographical except the part that is, which is that I tell stories to crows too, just in case.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - The Crow’s Second Tale by Marissa Lingen
So Kiris knew, even at the age of five: no one should only know one story. Not even a crow, like in the song. And if she was the only one who had spotted the problem, she felt down to her five-year-ol...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I have for some time now told crows the story of my friend Marissa who tells stories to crows, and here at last is a story about that.
Reposted by Elsa
For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says. n.pr/47hcegr
Renewable energy outpaces coal for electricity generation in historic first, report says
For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says.
n.pr
October 9, 2025 at 12:29 PM
For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says. n.pr/47hcegr
Reposted by Elsa
"The U.S. government has been shut-down since Donald Trump stepped back into office" should be the Democrats' catch-phrase.
The government has effectively been shut down for months as Trump has destroyed checks and balances, usurped the power of the purse from Congress, and unleashed an authoritarian nightmare throughout the country.
Why would any Democrat vote for any continuing resolution that allows this to continue?
Why would any Democrat vote for any continuing resolution that allows this to continue?
October 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
"The U.S. government has been shut-down since Donald Trump stepped back into office" should be the Democrats' catch-phrase.
Reposted by Elsa
This only happens to you once
September 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This only happens to you once
Inventing the Renaissance! Ada Palmer is more known as a sci fi author but this is one of those "Change Your Worldview" books. portersquarebooks.com/book/9780226...
September 19, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Reposted by Elsa
Inventing the Renaissance! Ada Palmer is more known as a sci fi author but this is one of those "Change Your Worldview" books. portersquarebooks.com/book/9780226...
September 19, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Inventing the Renaissance! Ada Palmer is more known as a sci fi author but this is one of those "Change Your Worldview" books. portersquarebooks.com/book/9780226...
Reposted by Elsa
“A small group of malevolent plutocrats—the Kochs, Murdoch, Musk, and the Texas trio—have collectively impeded efforts to act on the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, or both".
— Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael Mann, Peter Hotez
— Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael Mann, Peter Hotez
September 17, 2025 at 12:25 AM
“A small group of malevolent plutocrats—the Kochs, Murdoch, Musk, and the Texas trio—have collectively impeded efforts to act on the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, or both".
— Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael Mann, Peter Hotez
— Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael Mann, Peter Hotez
Reposted by Elsa
If you are wondering whether or not you can get a COVID vaccine, wonder no more…
🧪#MedSky
🧪#MedSky
September 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
If you are wondering whether or not you can get a COVID vaccine, wonder no more…
🧪#MedSky
🧪#MedSky
Reposted by Elsa
I’ve excitedly preordered many books in my life, but maybe never more than this one! I’ve been telling people about it incessantly since being lucky enough to read a draft. It’s a wild & gorgeous book about being shaped by others, the power of collectivity to defeat plagues, & change. Preorder it!
Hey hey hey! My new novel Everybody's Perfect is available to preorder with a release date of June 30th 2026! (I'm linking to Amazon but you can preorder it from anywhere good books are sold) www.amazon.com/Everybodys-P...
Everybody's Perfect
Everybody's Perfect - Kindle edition by Walton, Jo. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Everybody's Perfect.
www.amazon.com
September 1, 2025 at 7:48 AM
I’ve excitedly preordered many books in my life, but maybe never more than this one! I’ve been telling people about it incessantly since being lucky enough to read a draft. It’s a wild & gorgeous book about being shaped by others, the power of collectivity to defeat plagues, & change. Preorder it!
Reposted by Elsa
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
August 28, 2025 at 11:35 PM
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Reposted by Elsa
🌀Spiders and ghosties and two-headed bears? It’s a spoopy explosion at Silly Bunny Toys!
August 28, 2025 at 8:37 PM
🌀Spiders and ghosties and two-headed bears? It’s a spoopy explosion at Silly Bunny Toys!
Reposted by Elsa
Resign or impeach him.
Three senior CDC leaders who resigned told The Post they were asked to participate in an unscientific vaccine recommendation process that they believe could harm the health of Americans.
CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives
As the CDC reels from the firing of its director, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Fox News the agency is “in trouble and we need to fix it.”
www.washingtonpost.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Resign or impeach him.
Reposted by Elsa
@r-emrys.bsky.social dives into the potentially world-changing ideas in "Braiding Sweetgrass," in which botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer offers a path to completely rethinking our relationship with nature and ecology
reactormag.com/asking-permi...
reactormag.com/asking-permi...
Asking Permission for the Harvest: Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass - Reactor
A book about changing the future by rethinking our place in the world.
reactormag.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:22 PM
@r-emrys.bsky.social dives into the potentially world-changing ideas in "Braiding Sweetgrass," in which botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer offers a path to completely rethinking our relationship with nature and ecology
reactormag.com/asking-permi...
reactormag.com/asking-permi...