#sarah ct

[missr3n3]

saw what appeared to be a teaser for a sequel to happy anniversary on the bird app, so obviously i had to get these last few rotten roots memes out of my system

[pollyaunt]

wait so apparently, The Void, Urd, Wyrd, all three are the same thing referred as a cauldron of life by the Under-King...is she THE MOTHER?

and the fact Wyrd as in from Wyrdmarks is used here specifically to refer how she was described in another old world...the TOG universe?

GURL-

[uriayx]

ooo, can you tell me about your tmc au? It looks really cool!

OOGOHOHOHOHOOHOH. YOU HAVE MADE A HORRID MISTAKE. <333333 there's a full rundown pinned on my blog if you want something more professional and in-depth (plus 4 out of 10 total character designs if you wanna draw em!!!) but here's a more basic rundown

so basically, I was playing TOTK when I made this and i got like- the sword from Skyward Sword????? and it reminded me of how Link and Zelda are cursed to be reborn over and over again to fight Ganon. In short, I took inspo from that idea and applied it to TMC- Cesar and Mark are passed-down reincarnations of gods, but they've been reincarnated so far down that they dismiss any sort of clue to them being gods as "just a coincidence." When Cesar and Mark die (with Cesar getting fused with Alt!Cesar), they are reincarnated as Adam and Jonah- Cesar -> Adam, Mark -> Jonah

Also, there's a fic also pinned!!! just fused the 1st and 2nd chapters bc i didnt like the flow lmao..........a few things of note btw is that jonah is she/he, mark and adam are trans guys, and Alt and Cesar live in the same body but aren't the same person, as they both occupy Adam

also Gabriel plays a part with Thatcher, Adam has a little sister named Mary, and Evelyn and Adam are still dating (though I plan on making it very background) (and also the oc bitch in my pfp is there bc i ran out of characters. their name is sketchka)

read the fic if you want im sosososoos glad you're interested in it <333333

[miss-wanna-draw96]

Rereading Rotten Roots because I actually managed to finish the two part Christmas story

And oh my god (the following contains spoilers for Rotten Roots, Cabin Tales, my crossover AU)

When Thomas (creator of Cabin Tales) made Wong, it was seriously a great idea to make her an officer of the law and a cultist who wants to bring criminals to justice. I also enjoy the character of Norman, a very sophisticated gentleman at first glance but as the episodes continued, he is truly a dangerous man. I also like Steve too, he had a cool voice and so did Isabella

Now, when missr3n3 wrote Rotten Roots, I was not ready for what was in store. Since before I read her fanfic, I hadn't listened to the two piece episodes since I was still finishing season 1 at a slow pace, but now that I finally listened to it today: I'm rereading the story.

But there are some things that I want to mention about how missr3n3 wrote out the cultists, Sarah and Peter. I do believe that Wong would make a perfect villain and the way how she wrote her character is phenomenal. But since I listened to the episodes, I know what her voice is and I can see how people would either mistake her for a good person or not believe her facade. As for Norman, he is truly a hypocritical man. He brings in terrible people to his mansion only to kill them in brutal ways, when he himself is not a good person. And that is what makes him so damn interesting. I also love how missr3n3 gave Isabella and Steve a bigger role even if they weren't mentioned much in the podcast. I do believe that when Sarah had left Isabella alive, it shows that not even death is an escape for her. As for Steve, he was truly something else. He nervous person at first but over time, we see the true him as someone who wants everyone to suffer. But we also see him get used by Norman and Wong in both the podcast and the fanfic. Am I justifying his actions? Absolutely not, he deserves to rot (haha because the fanfic is called 'Rotten Roots') and stay alive, but he let himself be used by people higher than him. I absolutely cannot forget the pathetic sad wet cat known as Peter! He has experienced true character growth (both negatively and positively) and while he is an abuser, (and he's not real ;-;) I am genuinely happy to see this man get the help he needs. To a shy and awkward person to an abusive boyfriend to a mentally unwell person who wants to heal, that's character development. Now, Sarah is a total badass who I aspire to be. Not only did she escape Peter, she saved him and showed the cult that she was not a force to be reckoned with. While I'm glad I got to see her grow from a shy woman to a lady ready to shoot people for the sake of her safety and her ex-boyfriend, she deserves better. She suffered through physical, mental and emotional abuse and I know that it's hard to recover from that, I'm just hoping that she gets the life she deserves: A good one.

And Mittens is a great cat, 10/10.

[littlecornerinbrooklyn]

when Hubhouse and Carl broke up and she was supposed to go on traitors I felt the universe shift to try and give me a CT/Hubhouse coupling but somehow things were misaligned and now she's out with Bananas and like...booooo wrong The Challenge alumnus!!!

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

02/16/2002 american legion garfield nj – sarah lewitinn

03/01/2002 loop lounge passaic nj – ATØMIC JĒY

06/14/2002 club krome south amboy nj – spaceyrayrun

06/29/2002 harmony grange hall no. 12 wilmington de us – spaceyraygun

07/05/2002 american legion – camp merritt post 21 cresskill nj usa – spaceyraygun

07/19/2002 loop lounge passaic park nj – spaceyraygun

08/03/2002 rexplex elizabeth nj – spaceyraygun

08/16/2002 maxwell’s hoboken nj – george koroneos

08/17/2002 alissas basement kinnelon nj – spaceyraygun

09/14/2002 electric factory philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

12/02/2002 fireside bowl chicago il – brad nolan video on plentyoflegs

12/18/2002 trocadero theater philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

12/23/2002 factory 324 roanoake va – panterathrashfan13

1/11/2003 fireside bowl chicago il – brad nolan videography

02/20/2003 mississippi nights st louis mo – brad nolan videography

02/21/2003 beaumont club kansas city mo – brad nolan videography

02/28/2003 boonton elks lodge boonton nj – user: random stuff

03/23/2003 club krome south amboy nj – douglas carl

05/14/2003 north star bar philadelphia pa – deadhoarse

05/23/2003 imusicast oakland ca – skyline studios – oakland

06/08/2003 bloomfield avenue cafe montclair nj – spaceyraygun

06/26/2003 the knitting factory nyc ny – luxlillian

07/26/2003 the chameleon club lancaster pa – spaceyraygun

08/18/2003 9:30 club washington dc – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

08/19/2003 trocadero theater philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

10/23/2003 downtime nyc ny – spaceyraygun

10/31/2003 south amboy nj halloween show – user: MCR stuff and things

11/14/2003 university of connecticut-stamford stamford ct – user: random stuff

12/14/2003 irving plaza nyc ny – spaceyraygun

05/17/2004 des moines iowa house of bricks – 515 archive

06/02/2004 manchester university manchester uk – TEMIHATOP-HvH

06/08/2004 vintage vinyl fords nj – spaceyraygun

06/09/2004 newbury comics shrewsbury ma us – punkstermann

06/10/2004 north star bar philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

08/08/2004 summer sonic festival tokyo japan – dusted out on route guano

11/08/2004 hard rock live orlando fl – ryanninja

11/13/2004 unknown venue orange ca – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

12/12/2004 universal amphitheatre universal city ca – andrea amador

01/17/2005 trl nyc ny – patty8239

02/03/2005 la boule noire paris – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/04/2005 arrow hall mississauga ontario ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/05/2005 john labatt centre london ontario ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/29/2005 arco arena sacramento ca – moranestes

05/21/2005 kroq weenie roast irvine ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

05/27/2005 wxdx summer kick off chevrolet amphitheater pittsburgh pa – neeeeonafterglow

06/06/2005 le trabendo paris france – the academy is my beautiful romance

06/10/2005 download festival donington park castle donington uk (interview) – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

06/25/2005 warped tour reliant park houston tx – ibanez27

06/27/2005 hard rock live orlando fl – ATØMIC JĒY

07/02/2005 32/20 warped tour pier san francisco ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

07/12/2005 warped tour thunderbird stadium vancouver ca – kristi haubrick

07/30/2005 warped tour molson park barrie ontanio ca – loveorsympathy

07/31/2005 warped tour silverdome pontiac mi – nightrain5565

08/01/2005 warped tour post gazette pavilion burgettstown pa – price family homestead

08/05/2005 warped tour vinoy park st. petersburg fl – rogo117

08/10/2005 warped tour nissan pavilion bristol va – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/11/2005 warped tour ford pavilion montage mountain scranton pa – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/12/2005 warped tour tweeter center camden nj – katemcilwaine

08/13/2005 warped tour randall’s island park randalls island nyc ny – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/14/2005 raceway park englishtown nj – readydeady

08/23/2005 the underworld london england – leila vardar

08/31/2005 melkweg the max amsterdam netherlands – user: random stuff

09/01/2005 abart zurich switzerland – mychemrock1

09/03/2005 idroscalo segrate italy – nacho en tour

09/15/2005 promowest pavilion columbus west ohio – andreaflowers

09/17/2005 eastern michigan university convocation center ypsilanti mi – amanda

09/27.2005 mesa amphitheatre mesa arizona – mark zeta

10/02/2005 event center arena san jose ca – jason is lost in japan

10/08/2005 gwinnett center duluth ga – living with ghosts

10/10/2005 revolution live ft lauderdale fl – natnizzle

10/14/2005 tweeter center camden nj – decoemergency

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

[taylorswiftstyle]

📕⭕️ TAYLOR SWIFT STYLE BOOK TOUR ⭕️📕

10 cities for 10 albums.

Taylor Swift Style is a love letter.  To fashion, of course.  To Taylor and her music, naturally.  But also to YOU as a community for making this highly niche topic something that a publisher realised people would have an appetite for. 

There is no TSS without you. TSSers who are kind, thoughtful, insightful, curious, excited, and unafraid of the deep dive. You want more from conversations and connection and emotions. You crave intensity and thoroughness and thoughtfulness. You want to magnify the small because it’s those tiny microscopic details that make up the shattered mosaic of our hearts. It’s why we’re Taylor Swift fans, right? I so hope that at least one of you sees a bookstore that you love and have fond memories of on this list. And I’m so excited at the chance to make new ones together on this tour. 

*RSVPing is highly encouraged and free! Some events will require free registration beforehand* 

**Ticketed events require a ticket purchase beforehand. This applies only to Naperville, IL**

💚 Tuesday, Oct 8 | 7PM PT || Third Place Books (Seward Park) in Seattle, WA. UPDATE: SOLD OUT.

💛 Wednesday, Oct 9 | 7PM PT || Bookshop in Santa Cruz, CA. RSVP HERE.

💜 Thursday, Oct 10 | 7PM CT || Andersons Bookshop in Naperville, IL in conversation with Kate Kennedy. UPDATE: SOLD OUT.

❤️ Saturday, Oct 12 | 11:15AM CT || Heartland Book Fest in Kansas City, MO in conversation with Melody Rowell. RSVP HERE.

🩵 Tuesday, Oct 15 | 6:30PM ET || Barnes & Noble (Atlantic Ave) in Brooklyn, NY in conversation with Olivia Muenter. INFO HERE.

🖤 Thursday, Oct 17 | 6PM PT || Black Bond Books (Broadway) in Vancouver, Canada. INFO HERE.

🩷 Saturday, Oct 19 | 3PM PT || Annabelle's Book Club in Studio City, LA in conversation with Elizabeth Holmes. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE.

🩶 Monday, Oct 28 | 6:30PM CT || Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN in conversation with Bryan West. UPDATE: SOLD OUT. WAITLIST HERE.

🤎 Wednesday, Oct 30 | 7PM ET || Kramers in Washington, D.C.. RSVP HERE.

💙 Friday, Nov 1 | 7PM ET || Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA. UPDATE: SOLD OUT.

And as Taylor would say 🔜🇨🇦😘

If you haven't yet, Taylor Swift Style is available to pre-order at a number of major retailers HERE.

Pre-orders mean everything in the world of book publishing. Pre-orders determine how many copies a bookstore orders, how a book is displayed in stores, and they largely determine best seller lists. How incredible would that be if TSS were on one? (There's a particular one I have in mind ... which is perhaps dreaming impossible things). All that to say, if you were thinking of waiting for release that a pre-order would mean so much!

With love, Sarah

[mousegirlheart]

sarah for the love of god please remember to book that ct scan for your spine

[dk-thrive]

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia Latifolia). ‘Sarah’. 69° F. June 7 2023. Darien, CT (@dkct25)   

[garadinervi]

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet. I Will Not Bend an Inch, Edited by Sarah Ganz Blythe, Dominic Molon and Kajette Solomon, RISD Museum, Providence, RI, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2024

Contributors: Amalia K. Amaki, Horace D. Ballard, Sarah Ganz Blythe, Jennie Goldstein, Simone Leigh, Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, Dominic Molon, Maureen C. O'Brien, Ebonie Pollock, Mack H. Scott III, Kajette Solomon, Stephanie Sparling Williams, Lorén M. Spears, Kelly Taylor Mitchell,

Exhibitions: RISD Museum, Providence, RI, February 17 – August 4, 2024; Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY, March 14 – July 13, 2025; Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, August 27 – December 6, 2025

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Announcing The Lost Cause Tour: LA, Stratford, Concord, Simsbury, Toronto, New York and Chapel Hill!

I'll be at the Studio City branch of the LA Public Library on Monday, November 13 at 1830hPT to launch my new novel, The Lost Cause. There'll be a reading, a talk, a surprise guest (!!) and a signing, with books on sale. Tell your friends! Come on down!

There's just one week until my next novel, The Lost Cause, goes on sale, and I'm hitting the road with it! I hope you can make it out – tell your friends!

Los Angeles: I'll be at the Studio City branch of the LA Public Library on Monday, November 13 at 1830hPT; there'll be a reading, a talk, a surprise guest (!!) and a signing, with books on sale. Tell your friends! Come on down!

Stratford, Ontario: I'm onstage on November 16 at 19hET with Vass Bednar at the University of Waterloo Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business. I'll also be doing a talk for middle-schoolers at the Stratford Public Library on November 16 from 1330hET-1430hET.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-ideas-visionaries-in-conversation-tickets-729692809837

Simsbury, CT: I'm at the Simsbury Public Library on November 20 at 19h.

Toronto, ON: I'm at the Metro Reference Library on November 22, at 19hET, hosted by Vass Bednar.

Toronto, ON: I'm hosting Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, on November 27 at 19hET, at the Metro Reference Library.

New York City: I'm at the Strand Bookstore on November 29 at 19hET.

Chapel Hill, NC: I'm at Flyleaf Books on December 5, live with Sarah Taber, at 18hET.

If you don't see your city on this list, don't panic! I've got another tour coming in a couple of months, when The Bezzle, sequel to Red Team Blues, comes out in February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/08/fiduciaries/#the-lost-cause

[missr3n3]

i started these cabin tales survivor portraits before 2.4 dropped, but ended up delaying finishing them just in case any of the fried four survived and i had to make more... better luck to the next cabin protag i guess!

[angelic-writer]

Whos which from ct

Hmm... Again, it's very hard to choose.

Add to cart - Sophie, Tori, Star

Genocide - The peace cult, Howard, Romeo, Juliet, The Sailor, The Merchant

Cry - Koby, Ethan, Sophie, Kevin

"mood" - Marcus, Roderick, Lance, Pierce

"f in the chat" - Eric, Roderick

"lol XD" - Koby, Steve, David

Mental Breakdown - Brandon, Kevin, Ethan, Cassidy, Arthur, Sophie, Koby

"it be like that sometimes" - Ben, Jeremy, Maxwell

shots!!! - Roderick, Pierce (Let's be honest, he probably drinks too.)

"thank you" - Jeremy

"hoes mad" - Sarah

"its my horoscope" - Peter

Bottle it up - Kevin, Roderick, Sam

Leave the country - Officer Williams

Fistfight god - Pierce (while tripping on acid)

[uriayx]

Fun Facts about CTS because im. bored

Sarah and Sketchka know each other exist. Sarah has a strong connection to the undead and so can see Sketchka fairly clearly, at least in mirrors and in dreams.

I gave Adam a little sister BECAUSE I CAN. Her name is Mary <3

Jonah acts very different when he's being influenced by Mark, he acts more nonchalant and he needs weed like 24/7 in order to function........Adam just becomes a drama queen when being influenced by Cesar LMAOOO

Mary is also an Alternate, but Adam shields her from that fact bc he doesnt want her to go through what he went through. He just says she's autistic like he is

Ruth dies in this AU, but she can talk through Sketchka and occasionally through Gabriel- though, Gabriel spews Ruth's words half the time

Jonah and Mark both loved comicon so much........Mark was a star trek nerd and Jonah just likes the stimulation and all the nice people. He drags Adam with him

[lulubelle814]

Just Dizziness - Chapter 4

Tom and I agreed that it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion.  Tom enlisted Luke to help get an appointment with one of the top neurologists in London, Dr. Higgins.  

Considering the circumstances along with Tom's celebrity status and Luke's bribe to give Dr. Higgins tickets to whichever west end production he wanted to go to, Dr. Higgins was more than amenable to see me after hours that same day but said the tickets were unnecessary.  With the nature of the case, he wanted to see what he could do to assist.  His staff agreed to stay late as well for whatever tests needed to be run so that they could get a head start.

For Dr. Higgins, this was somewhat of an unusual case.  He ordered a CT, MRI, and some x-rays, hoping that it would shed some light as to what was going on.  When Tom and I arrived, Higgins started on the usual tests, checking my pupils, asking various questions, and then moved on to the CT, MRI, and x-rays.  

In the midst of the MRI, I started getting another one of my dizzy spells.  When I opened my eyes, I was back in the hospital with my best friend who was looking more exhausted.  I was tired myself, unable to keep up with what was going on.  Now?  I was starting to no longer care, and not in the good sense.  I felt like giving up.  This was all becoming too much.  

When my bestie woke up, she tried to talk to me, but I no longer felt like responding, not really seeing the point.  She called for the attending doctor along with Dr. Day.  He was unable to get me to respond either; however, Dr. Day thought it might be a good idea to have me stay a few more days.  The attending physician agreed and advised they would run some additional tests, see if they could find out more about what was going on.

Sarah never left my side, even with my  radio silence.  When I felt another dizzy spell, I brushed it off, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

When I woke up again, I was back with Tom at Dr. Higgin's office.

"On my darling.  You're awake!  We were so scared, but the doctor thinks he may have found what was going on.  I don't quite understand all of it myself, but it seems that there's some issue that occurred when the accident happened and is recommending surgery in the next few days.  He thinks it will help."

I was still feeling depressed, unsure of which reality was the true one and remained radio silent which concerned Tom, but he knew he couldn't begin to fathom how I was feeling through all of this.  He renewed his vow to stay with me and help me through all of this, never leaving my side and doing whatever he could.

When we arrived home, he carried me upstairs to the bedroom and placed me under the duvet.  He went back downstairs long enough to make a pot of my favorite tea and bring it back up.  He placed it on my bedside table along with some chocolate biscuits.

While I loved the gesture, my depression was getting increasingly worse.  If this wasn't real, then what was the point in tea and biscuits?  The only comforting thing was Tom.  I allowed him to hold me, and he began reciting sonnets.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand'ring bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

As he spoke, I slowly drifted to sleep in his arms.

Chapter 5

[fragile-practice]

Week in Review

October 23rd-29th

Welcome to Fragile Practice, where I attempt to make something of value out of stuff I have to read.

My future plan is to do longer-form original pieces on interesting topics or trends. For now, I'm going to make the weekly reviews habitual and see if I have any time left.

Technology

OpenAI forms team to study ‘catastrophic’ AI risks, including nuclear threats - Tech Crunch; Kyle Wiggers

OpenAI launched a new research team called AI Safety and Security to investigate the potential harms of artificial intelligence focused on AI alignment, AI robustness, AI governance, and AI ethics.

Note: Same energy as “cigarette company funds medical research into smoking risks”.

Artists Allege Meta’s AI Data Deletion Request Process Is a ‘Fake PR Stunt’ - Wired; Kate Knibbs

Artists who participated in Meta’s Artificial Intelligence Artist Residency Program accused the company of failing to honor their data deletion requests and claim that Meta used their personal data to train its AI models without their consent.

Note: Someday we will stop being surprised that corporate activities without obvious profit motive are all fake PR stunts.

GM and Honda ditch plan to build cheaper electric vehicles - The Verge; Andrew J. Hawkins

General Motors and Honda cancel their joint venture to develop and produce cheaper electric vehicles for the US market, citing the chip shortage, rising costs of battery materials, and the changing market conditions.

Note: What are the odds this isn’t related to the 7 billion dollars the US government announced to create hydrogen hubs.

'AI divide' across the US leaves economists concerned - The Register; Thomas Claburn

A new study by economists from Harvard University and MIT reveals a significant gap in AI adoption and innovation across different regions in the US.

The study finds that AI usage is highest in California's Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, but was also noted in Nashville, San Antonio, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, and Tampa, as well as Riverside, Louisville, Columbus, Austin, and Atlanta.

Nvidia to Challenge Intel With Arm-Based Processors for PCs - Bloomberg; Ian King

Nvidia is using Arm technology to develop CPUs that would challenge Intel processors in PCs, and which could go on sale as soon as 2025.

Note: I am far from an NVIDIA fan, but I’m stoked for any amount of new competition in the CPU space.

New tool lets artists fight AI image bots by hiding corrupt data in plain sight - Engadget; Sarah Fielding

A team at the University of Chicago created Nightshade, a tool that lets artists fight AI image bots by adding undetectable pixels into an image that can alter how a machine-learning model produces content and what that finished product looks like.

Nightshade is intended to protect artists work and has been tested on both Stable Diffusion and an in-house AI built by the researchers.

IBM's NorthPole chip runs AI-based image recognition 22 times faster than current chips - Tech Xplore; Bob Yirka

NorthPole combines the processing module and the data it uses in a two-dimensional array of memory blocks and interconnected CPUs, and is reportedly inspired by the human brain.

NorthPole can currently only run specialized AI processes and not training processes or large language models, but the researchers plan to test connecting multiple chips together to overcome this limitation.

Apple’s $130 Thunderbolt 4 cable could be worth it, as seen in X-ray CT scans - Ars Technica; Kevin Purdy

Note: These scans are super cool. And make me feel somewhat better about insisting on quality cables. A+.

The Shifting Web

On-by-default video calls come to X, disable to retain your sanity - The Register; Brandon Vigliarolo

Video and audio calling is limited to anyone you follow or who is in your address book, if you granted X permission to comb through it.

Calling other users also requires that they’ve sent at least one direct message to you before.

Only premium users can place calls, but everyone can receive them.

Google Search Boss Says Company Invests to Avoid Becoming ‘Roadkill’ - The New York Times; Nico Grant

Google’s senior vice president overseeing search said that he sees a world of threats that could humble his company at any moment.

Google Maps is getting new AI-powered search updates, an enhanced navigation interface and more - Tech Crunch; Aisha Malik

Note: These AI recommender systems are going to be incredibly valuable advertising space. It is interesting that Apple decided to compete with Google in maps but not in basic search, but has so far not placed ads in the search results.

Reddit finally takes its API war where it belongs: to AI companies - Ars Technica; Scharon Harding

Reddit met with generative AI companies to negotiate a deal for being paid for its data, and may block crawlers if no deal is made soon.

Note: Google searches for info on Reddit often seem more effective than searching Reddit itself.  If they are unable to make a deal, and Reddit follows through, it will be a legitimate loss for discoverability but also an incredibly interesting experiment to see what Reddit is like without Google.

Bandcamp’s Entire Union Bargaining Team Was Laid Off - 404 Media; Emanuel Maiberg

Bandcamp’s new owner (Songtradr) offered jobs to just half of existing employees, with cuts disproportionately hitting union leaders. Every member of the union’s eight-person bargaining team was laid off, and 40 of the union's 67 members lost their jobs.

Songtradr spokesperson Lindsay Nahmiache claimed that the firm didn’t have access to union membership information.

Note: This just sucks. Bandcamp is rad, and it’s hard to imagine it continuing to be rad after this. I wonder if Epic had ideas for BC that didn’t work out.

Surveillance & Digital Privacy

Mozilla Launches Annual Digital Privacy 'Creep-o-Meter'. This Year's Status:  'Very Creepy' - Slashdot

Mozilla gave the current state of digital privacy a 75.6/100, with 100 being the creepiest.

They measured security features, data collection, and data sharing practices of over 500 gadgets, apps, and cars to come up with their score.

Every car Mozilla tested failed to meet their privacy and security standards.

Note: It would be great if even one auto brand would take privacy seriously.

EPIC Testifies in Support of Massachusetts Data Privacy and Protection Act -Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)

Massachusetts version of ADPPA.

Note: While it may warm my dead heart to see any online privacy protections in law, scrambling to do so in response to generative AI is unlikely to protect Americans in any meaningful way from the surveillance driven form of capitalism we’ve all been living under for decades.

Complex Spy Platform StripedFly Bites 1M Victims - Dark Reading

StripedFly is a complex platform disguised as a cryptominer and evaded detection for six years by using a custom version of EternalBlue exploit, a built-in Tor network tunnel, and trusted services like GitLab, GitHub, and Bitbucket to communicate with C2 servers and update its functionality.

iPhones have been exposing your unique MAC despite Apple's promises otherwise - Ars Technica

A privacy feature which claimed to hide the Wi-Fi MAC address of iOS devices when joining a network was broken since iOS 14, and was finally patched in 17.1, released on Wednesday.

Note: I imagine this bug was reported a while ago, but wasn’t publically reported until the fix was released as a term of apple’s bug bounty program.

What the !#@% is a Passkey? - Electronic Frontier Foundation

Note: I welcome our passkey overlords.