Woke up angry with the news again.

Time for a good ol' walk in the park, then some recording.

Good grief, though.

Some days it's really hard not to be frustrated by the world's relentless tribalism, and how impossible it seems to be for us to have any kind of moral consistency or ethical clarity on a scale larger than our direct communities.

But I'll remember to forgive us silly apes for being mere silly apes in a few.

Just have to move the cranky old meat sack around the block a bit first.

Finished reading a CoSonaut's book tonight, and am currently handling admin work for a volunteer role, but I'm also eager to try to finish a story draft before I call it quits tonight (from an idea that came from another CoSonaut!), so...

Sometimes it's a very good thing indeed to have days too full to wallow. 👍🏻

#MediaLiteracy

The takeaway:

1) Just because a small town / remote region has been highlighted in a news cycle doesn't mean the news is actually from that region.

2) Often, the news cycle is being generated or amplified by people outside the region, for ends that have nothing to do with signal-boosting or empowering people from X region.

3) When in doubt about a whirlwind of a story involving another part of the world, look for *local* reporting. Reporting *on* locals isn't good enough. 2/2

Another #MediaLiteracy note:

Yesterday a friend explained how proud he was to not be "biased" in his assessment of the Springfield news. His reasoning? He'd seen videos of spot interviews with locals, so he now had a "balance" of complaints.

What he'd forgotten is that a swarm of pundits were descending after the fact. Those reports weren't really homegrown. But many don't understand the difference between natural & artificial news growth, especially with all the gutting of local newsrooms. /x

Low-internet day.

Going out now for my newspaper, and after today's work I'll have time to read a CoSonaut's novel and write a little fiction myself.

I humbly ask the world not to blow up entirely in my absence.

Have a good one, and keep your vibes right however you have to.

It's frickin' nuts out there. 🕊️

Oh boy.

"Lionsgate’s exclusive model will be used to generate what it calls “cinematic video” which can then be further iterated using Runway’s technology. The goal is to save money – “millions and millions of dollars” according to Lionsgate studio vice chairman Michael Burns – by having filmmakers and creators use its AI model to replace artists in production tasks such as storyboarding."

I hope they enjoy not being able to copyright the #AI work they use!

#Technology
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/lionsgate-signs-deal-with-ai-company-runway-hopes-that-ai-can-eliminate-storyboard-artists-and-vfx-crews-243035.html

The last two days were derailed by the heaviness of the world.

Today's piece is a reflection on recent news, the terrible dread of waiting on wartime escalation, the heartsickness of seeing how people rationalize atrocity, and the hard fact that this is just how humans have been for almost 3,000 years of written record.

We keep trying to do better not because it's easy or even likely, but because "trying" is only human, too.

#Humanism #Politics #War #MediaLiteracy
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/sitting-with-the-heaviness-of-the

What makes malinformation so effective is that most people are passive consumers of news media, so they'll pay attention more to the urgency with which news items show up on their feeds. They might not have media practices that allow them to quickly slot this flood of outrage into the bigger picture.

This makes people easy prey for the loudest actors.

A good defence starts with making whatever news you do consume *conscientious*.

Do not confuse vehemence on social media with proper reporting.

Not going to finish this essay before 10, but I do want to note a #MediaLiteracy concept we need to stay sharp around:

Malinformation.

It's not *inaccurate* intel, but it's intel blown out of proportion to dominate a news cycle or divert attention from another story.

When a political group has been found to do a Very Bad Thing, for instance, defenders will go on the offensive by signal-boosting smaller issues, flooding the feed with outrage over them instead.

It's propaganda, and it works.

Entirely possible that I'm a little bit toasted and pulling the midnight shift to get a newsletter piece finished before dawn and a new day's mucked-up work schedule of back-to-back Zooms from 10 to 8.

I still love you all very much!

One thing I know be true:

Even when many of us have diametrically opposing views - when some are war-bound, while others are peace-seeking; when some delight in the suffering of political rivals, while others strive for pluralist coexistence - we're all doing the best we can in any given moment, with the social inputs we've been given & the different info silos we consume.

We are all from the same planet, & face the same return to dust.

It's merely the messy middle that causes such despair.

I wasn't sure if I was in the space for this episode of Ologies, but the moment this expert identified themself as a person with bipolar, I knew I could trust the narrative. This is an excellent, calm, insightful overview of many elements (environmental, biological) that conspire to convince us that our only/best option is death. A good resource to combat the stigma of talking about the complex pressure points shaping suicidal ideation.

#Suicide #MentalHealth #Wellness

https://pca.st/episode/b73829ff-b195-431d-9a8b-5160e6669822

New emergency meeting just dropped tomorrow. 😂 Ah well... I'll get caught up on all my other work eventually, I'm sure.

What's that famous definition of death? "Dying is the act of leaving things undone"?

I really wonder sometimes why we bother trying to one-up that standard while we're alive!

The world is filled with heavy, complex news and ugly, hateful attitudes today.

Sending along a big ol' hug to those sitting uneasily with it all.

Off for a wee walk before class.

I love that this morning I had two comment threads going on CoSo - one about the complex pain of political division among family and friends, and one about smut.

And yet, why not?

Here on #CoSo, we are large. (TWSS) We contain multitudes. (She wishes!) 🕊️😈

🤦🏻‍♂️ You know you're moving among poor folk when they get super excited by the plastic bin your cookies came in.

I mean, I knew they would be, but it's a whole other level when you see a group of people *that* excited about tupperware they're "allowed" to keep, and talking about all the simple, nourishing foods they can store in it. Woof. I have no complaints in life. None. Zip. Nada!

(My friend's recovery is going beautifully, though! On the road to full arm functionality, huzzah!)

All right. Was waiting on a call, and now I can head off to start the day in earnest. Have a lovely one, you saucy beasts!