morwennastower - Tumblr blog

[morwennastower]

“—she twisted her throat around the bizarreness of the new language, and her mind around the concepts, wrestling them as if wrestling an angel—the object being not to win but to lose to the other: to surrender into the alternate mind-set and think in the other language, and for the hundredth time become more than she ever had been before the surrender […] Her enemy was changed too; she looked inside her, and found a lover there instead” (The Wounded Sky, Diane Duane).

What I absolutely adore about this depiction of Uhura is how it removes the act of learning a language as "owning" the language, which is more like an act conquest, and instead asserts that the language and way of thinking assimilates you instead of the other way around and that there is joy in that surrender—there's this almost anticolonial sentiment underneath that sort of philosophy and also fits very neatly into IDIC as a concept. Just. Very cool.

[morwennastower]

[morwennastower]

A Life with Footnotes

I've just finished reading Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes, the official biography by his personal assistant Rob Wilkins.

It's beautifully written, and includes quite a bit that I remember happening at the time, like his one visit to Hay Festival (when I was in the audience carrying a stuffed orangutan!)

I cried at the end.

GNU Terry Pratchett.*

*For those who haven't read the books, GNU is an instruction on the Clacks system to keep a message moving - a person is not dead as long as they are remembered.

[morwennastower]

Time to reveal one of the secret illustrations I made specially for Good Omens Artbook ✨

I love to imagine Crowley and Aziraphale looking from the clouds on the city that keeps so many of their shared memories 🤍🖤

Drawing the London view from above the clouds was challenging, but so much fun! All these little lanterns and windows shining in the twilight 🌟

[morwennastower]

Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, acrylic on illustration board, 9”x12”. Selling for $225, purchase here

[morwennastower]

Besides Israel admitting it was the Mossad, but to say shit like this you'd have to be a) okay with looking very stupid and b) to pretend that Israel hasn't historically been notorious for using different new technologies to inflict violence and maintain its apartheid regime in Palestine, in addition to using Palestine and Palestinians as testing grounds for these new weapons and technologies.

Take recent months in Gaza for example, Israel has been using AI systems like Lavender to create kill lists. In the first few weeks alone following October 7, Lavender flagged up to 37,000 Palestinians and their homes as bombing targets.

Israel has also been using AI automated systems like the one they disturbingly call "where's daddy?" which is used to track the targeted individuals and specifically carry out bombings when they enter their family’s home.

Another AI based system that Israel has been using in Gaza is The Gospel, which generates targets at an almost instantaneous speed, to the point where Israeli intelligence calls it the "mass assassination factory".

Israel has been, for decades, infiltrating communications throughout Palestine. Now they listen in to the phone calls made specifically by the families of martyrs to determine the success rate of their operations.

And this is just in Gaza in the past 11 months alone.

In the West Bank, Israel has been employing AI based systems for years. They have been using robotic guns, dubbed "smart shooters", which use AI to track people who Israel determines as targets, and shoots to kill with a remote control.

Israel has also been using a facial recognition technology called Red Wolf at checkpoints throughout the West Bank but especially in Hebron.

Simultaneously, Israel has also been using Blue Wolf, an app that contains a database of all available information on Palestinians living in the West Bank and is used by Israeli forces to restrict the movement of Palestinians and to harass them, and in many instances to kill them.

That's besides the constant heavy use of quadcopters and drones to surveil Palestinians' every move and to carry out assassinations. You can hear them nonstop in the background of videos coming out of Palestine, specifically Gaza.

All of this is to say that you simply cannot, with a straight face, say that Israel hasn't been a leading figure in the weaponisation of AI systems and cyber-technology in general, using them to inflict so much violence and to indiscriminately kill tens of thousands with complete impunity.

[morwennastower]

Israel is now carrying out another massive terrorist attack in Lebanon. Similar to the pager attack yesterday, Israel is targeting electronic devices and making them explode all over the country:

Reuters news agency reported, citing both a security source and an eyewitness, that the devices involved in Wednesday’s explosions were portable radios, unlike the pagers that were attacked the previous day. Al-Mayadeen reported that the devices, apparently ICOM V82s, detonated, and “due to the devices containing highly flammable lithium batteries, the explosions were severe.” “The explosions caused massive fires in cars, motorcycles, apartments, and stores all over Lebanon,” the report added.

Several residential buildings and shops are on fire. Nine people have been killed so far, and hundreds more are wounded.

People with family in Lebanon are now receiving texts and calls from their loved ones telling them not to worry if they don't hear from them for a few days, as they're scared their phones might be rigged with explosives.

What do you call this, if not terrorism?

[morwennastower]

"crochet can't be made by machines" went from being a cool fun fact to being a call to action of "so if you see mass manufactured crochet in Target, that was made by a person and they were underpaid and you should boycott it" which is true, it was made by a person, but EVERY item of clothing you own (that you did not purchase from a company using ethical labor) was made by a person being underpaid (at *best*.)

Sewing machines are operated by *people*. Knitting machines are operated by *people*. Yes lots of the process is automated but you cannot tell a machine "make me a t-shirt" or "make me a knit cardigan".

Higher awareness of fast fashion, and the true human labor and abuse behind it, is GREAT, but let's not pretend that the crochet hat in target is THE problem. Every article of clothing in target is the problem. "All clothes are made by people" is the jumping off point here into understanding this issue it's not just crochet it's the whole thing ahhhhHHHHHHHHHH

[morwennastower]

[morwennastower]

Israel just carried out a large-scale terrorist attack in Lebanon by causing a number of pagers to simultaneously explode across the country, injuring thousands of people.

It's a developing story, but so far eight people, including an eight-year-old girl, have been confirmed murdered in the attack. An additional 3,000 have been injured.

I've seen Western media outlet report on this like its a target attack on Hezbollah fighters, with media figures in my own country using words like 'sophisticated' and 'impressive' in their reporting.

Look at this still from a video capturing one the pagers going off, and tell me what you see:

Does this look like a justified "military target" to you?

We don't know how these pagers were compromised yet, or who were carrying them, but we're starting to get a good idea of where they exploded, and so far, from the videos circulating online, that includes shops, supermarkets, buses, cars, civilian homes and hospitals.

If this had been done by any other country in the region, it would have been called a terrorist attack.

[morwennastower]

Can't make this shit up but Israel really just detonated walkie talkies across Lebanon today killing 9 so far and injuring 300. This comes only a day after Israel had detonated pager devices simultaneously across multiple areas in Lebanon, injuring almost 3,000 and killing 8.

This is some cartoon villain shit and the only reason Israel was able to execute an almost replica of the same attack 24 hours prior is exactly because not a single international body had condemned Israel for its terrorist attack, let alone held it accountable.

In the same timeframe, Israel had also bombed countless areas in Gaza including a school filled with displaced Palestinians, killing 8 mostly women and children, while also committing two massacres against families, killing 20 and injuring over 50.

Israel is a terrorist state.

[morwennastower]

The IA's "Open Library" is Not a Library, Yesterday's Lower Court Decision does Not "Hurt Authors," and the Planned Appeal Is (Almost Certainly) NOT a Good Way to Try to Change Bad Law (In Fact, It's More Likely to Make Bad Law Worse)

Ok, so a day later, I'm still mad about this. If anything, I'm even madder. I'm going to write this as a response to the Internet Archive's "The Fight Continues" blogpost, but before we begin, let's get some facts straight:

Copyright law in the United States, especially the law around digital lending, currently sucks. It's really really bad, and anyone with a stake in the game - except the big publishers and e-book services that profit from it - hate it.

That said, copyright law exists as a thing. As I said in a previous post, you *can* try to change it through court cases, but there are certain things you cannot change. And there are certain things you can try to change, but it will be an uphill battle to change them in a positive direction. And notably, as bad as digital lending law is in the U.S., it still could always get worse! And one general rule of impact litigation: if you are trying to change the law, you want to make sure you have the best possible facts. Because the worse your facts are, the worse your case is likely to go.

Yesterday's district court ruling DID NOT CHANGE ANY SUBSTANTIVE COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE U.S. I cannot emphasize that enough. Regardless of whatever you think of the ruling, it was applying already existing law to the facts.

This is because the Internet Archive's "Open Library" absolutely violates existing copyright law. It just does! They broke the law, they had plenty of notice they were breaking the law and harming authors (more on that below) and just think the law shouldn't apply because they don't like it.

The Internet Archive's "Open Library" is not a library. Some big ways it differs:

While it pretends to have a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio, as the opinion granting the publisher's motion for summary judgement notes, IA concedes that it allows "partner libraries" to add books to its collection and then doesn't check (and has no way of checking) if the book is out of circulation at the "partner library" at the same time it's being "checked out" of the Open Library. In other words, it's like if you took a book, scanned the pages, and then gave the scans to your friend who then loaned the scans out to other people but totally promised they were only lending the scans to one person at a time so it's basically like there is still just one copy! And meanwhile you still own, are reading, and lending out the physical copy of the book. Except instead of one book, they were doing this on a massive scale. NO, THAT'S JUST THEFT.*

Speaking of which, the "Open Library" didn't keep that promise! Their "Emergency Library" just let everyone borrow as many copies at a time as they could! Again, THAT'S JUST THEFT.

Like I'm sorry if you don't like the idea of copyright at all: right now, we live in a capitalist system where authors need to be paid for their work in order to, like, not die. If you take their work, scan it into your computer, and give it away for free to anyone and everyone, THAT'S JUST THEFT.

Also, most authors love libraries! Libraries allow more people to access their books while not substantially impacting their revenue and not impacting their rights! AUTHORS - not just publishers, authors - DO NOT LIKE AI'S "OPEN LIBRARY." Why haven't authors sued to stop this before, why is this the publishers suing? From the above letter: "Even simple copyright lawsuits must be brought in federal court, and often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A challenge to the Internet Archive could easily cost millions." Publishers have deep pockets that authors and authors' groups don't. Also, authors who object to AI stealing their work are frequently subject to harassment.

If IA won this case, the new law that would be made is this: it would be legal to steal an author's works.

*I'm using "theft" and "steal" instead of "piracy" throughout this write-up to make it clear what this is. "Pirating books" is just stealing them.

So to sum up the facts above: copyright law in the U.S. sucks, but it exists. Attempting to change it for the better through the court system would be very difficult. Even then, changing the law for the better would likely require a case with good facts. Unfortunately, the law could also change for the worse. Yesterday's ruling did not change any law. The facts in this case are very bad, because the IA absolutely violated copyright law. That is in part because the IA's "Open Library" is not a library; they just steal books. Many (if not most) authors and author's groups don't like that IA is stealing from them. If IA won this case, that victory would mean that anyone was allowed to steal an author's works.

*deep breath*

Ok, let's turn to the IA's statement, "The Fight Continues":

"Today’s lower court decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is a blow to all libraries and the communities we serve."

The Internet Archive is not a library.

No it's not. It is a blow to the Internet Archive, specifically, because you broke the law and it ruled you broke the law. As stated above, it does not change anything with regard to copyright, including digital copyright, law in the U.S., and therefore does not impact libraries or the communities they serve. If you appeal this ruling, as you have stated you intend to, and the law does change for the worse (which is always a risk of appeal, and a risk that gets worse when you have bad facts), THEN libraries might be affected.

"This decision impacts libraries across the US who rely on controlled digital lending to connect their patrons with books online."

I mean yes, in the sense that "controlled digital lending" isn't normal e-book lending. It's the thing you made up where you steal books and illegally redistribute them.

This genuinely sucks for libraries and communities that don't have other ways of accessing digital books because the current copyright scheme sucks so bad! Real libraries are doing things to try to help, and not just steal from authors! More on that below!

"It hurts authors by saying that unfair licensing models are the only way their books can be read online."

OH GO FUCK YOURSELVES

Ok this line, this line right here? That is honestly why I wrote this whole thing.

How DARE you cloak your theft in the real struggles authors face with unfair licensing models. How DARE you pretend you are on the side of authors when you are stealing their works, and they have made it quite clear that they would like you to stop, please. And how DARE you frame it in this "for exposure" bullcrap that ignores the real struggles that authors have to eat, to get healthcare, to get any sort of fair pay and wages for their work, and instead pretend that all authors should care about is whether or not their books can be read online.

And bluntly? If you - not IA, YOU, tumblr user reading this - if you shared this bullcrap statement and told people to donate money to the IA because of this? If you told people they should steal more books in response (because it's the publishers fault, ignore the real authors who are actually harmed)? How DARE you. How DARE you pretend to be on the side of authors and writers.

"And it holds back access to information in the digital age, harming all readers, everywhere."

Except for those readers who are also authors, and need to eat.

And readers who want to read books that will never get written if authors can't write (because they need to eat).

And also, no it doesn't, because it doesn't change the law. It just applies the law that already exists to you. Because you are not above the law.

"But it’s not over—we will keep fighting for the traditional right of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books."

You are not a library.

You were not (and are not) fighting for "the traditional right of libraries." Plenty of other organizations are fighting against bad copyright law in the U.S. This court case, however, was literally just about you stealing books.

Like I cannot emphasize enough that you were just stealing and you got caught.

"We will be appealing the judgment and encourage everyone to come together as a community to support libraries against this attack by corporate publishers."

You aren't a library.

Fuck you for borrowing the (justified) hatred of corporate publishers to paper over your bad actions.

Does "coming together as a community to support libraries against this attack" mean giving you money, as suggested by the calls to action at the bottom of this page? Because you aren't a library.

"We will continue our work as a library."

You aren't a library.

"This case does not challenge many of the services we provide with digitized books including interlibrary loan, citation linking, access for the print-disabled, text and data mining, purchasing ebooks, and ongoing donation and preservation of books."

First, and most important: these are all uncritically good and important things that the IA does! Despite the rest of this post, I am really really glad the IA exists, that it is doing these things, and I hope that it will continue to do this things!

You are correct that this case does not challenge those services! Because those services aren't just stealing books from authors, which is what you were doing, which is what this case is actually about!

I'm skipping the statement from Brewster Kahle because it's just more of the same. The statement then invites you to Take Action! by donating to IA and positing themselves as standing up for libraries! (They are not a library.)

But real libraries and librarians are actually fighting the good fight over lack of access to materials, especially digital materials and bad laws, and you can support them!

If you actually do want to "come together as a community to support libraries," and support digital access, may I suggest instead donating to The Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned program?:

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned

While they aren't directly challenging bad copyright law, they are directly fighting back against laws that are much more actively and materially impact people's access to books, including providing free e-book and database access to everyone in the U.S. age 13-21. It's a great and important program, and your donations can really help!

[morwennastower]

fucking adore this man

[morwennastower]

The Legend Of SWORD DOG

[morwennastower]

This was meant to be a quick warm up, but it turned into a comic that I’ve wanted to draw for a while. This is something that is extremely important to me, and I appreciate it if you read it.

A while ago, I heard a story that broke my heart. A family went a cat shelter to adopt. The daughter fell in love with a 3-legged cat. The father straight up said “absolutely not”. Because he was missing a leg. That cat was that close to having a family that loved him, but the missing leg held him back. Why?!

Many people have the initial instinct of “nope” when they see an imperfect animal. I get it, but less-adoptable does NOT mean less loveable. 9 out of 10 people will choose a kitten over an adult cat. And those 10% that would get an adult cat often overlook “different” animals.

All I want people to do is be open to the idea of having a “different” pet in their lives. Choose the pet that you fall in love with, but at least give all of them a fair shot at winning your heart.

Don’t dismiss them, they deserve a loving home just as much as any other cat. They still purr, they still love a warm lap, they still play, they still love you. Trust me, next time you are in the market for a new kitty, just go over to that one cat that’s missing an eye and see what he’s all about!

[morwennastower]

Kinda realized I never shared this here. But, yeah, Crowleys iconic 1827 look just screamed at my inner historical fashion nerd. So why not try to replicate a costume that has a added up screentime of maybe half an hour, pretty much all of them shot entirely in the dark? I don't know how much I peered over grainy scaled up screenshots to find out exactly what layers made up the outfit. Shirt, waistcoat, tailcoat and overcoat are all made up by me. Using a variety of commercial historical and selfdrafted patterns.

Creating this cosplay took me the better part of two months at the beginning of this year, but someone reminded me to enter it to TIC5 cosplay competition, even if I was only attending virtually. Well, thanks to all the lovely people over there!

I hope I get to wear it in person to a convention one day (I do get a lot of use out of the coat in my everyday wardrobe though)

(Also, since I can't keep myself brief on the details about the creation process - those have been moved to a rather long article over here: https://www.carnivalofvanity.com/costumes/a-devilish-dandy)