Andrew Durkin
@andrewdurkin.bsky.social
He/him.
Composer. Author. Editor. Publisher. Illustrator. Progressive. Lapsed academic. Runner. Dad. Husband. NJ-born, LA-formed, PNW-based.
pjce.bandcamp.com/album/breath-of-fire / yellowbikepress.com / andrewdurkinauthor.com
Composer. Author. Editor. Publisher. Illustrator. Progressive. Lapsed academic. Runner. Dad. Husband. NJ-born, LA-formed, PNW-based.
pjce.bandcamp.com/album/breath-of-fire / yellowbikepress.com / andrewdurkinauthor.com
Pinned
Andrew Durkin
@andrewdurkin.bsky.social
· Jan 25
This morning, I'm thinking about how to find balance between posts that are relevant to our current peril, and posts that promote the beauties of life as it should be, can still be, and will be again: nature, books, music, art, community, other sources of joy.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
A profession struggling to sustain itself - The Society of Authors
ALCS report on author incomes shows 60% drop in median incomes since 2006
societyofauthors.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
This is the flip side of the Mamdani meeting, with the same effect. Trump wants attention--whether the fearful, hateful, or fawning kind. Mamdani's calmness, equanimity, and focus denied him that, derailing him. MTG saying "fuck it, I'm out" will derail him, too. Every derailment helps.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, former Trump loyalist, says she is resigning from Congress
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a once-loyal supporter of President Donald Trump who has become a critic, says she is resigning from Congress in January.
apnews.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:31 PM
This is the flip side of the Mamdani meeting, with the same effect. Trump wants attention--whether the fearful, hateful, or fawning kind. Mamdani's calmness, equanimity, and focus denied him that, derailing him. MTG saying "fuck it, I'm out" will derail him, too. Every derailment helps.
The opposition contains multitudes.
I don’t understand why Dems have to choose? “Trump is a corrupt billionaire pedo whose self-serving policies have made your life more expensive” is not that hard of a message imo
The usual suspects are telling Dems that Epstein won’t win elections, get back to “affordability” and I think my head might explode. www.offmessage.net/p/force-a-re...
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
The opposition contains multitudes.
Authors: here's a great overview and explainer on the Anthropic settlement, including action items if you are "on the list" (as I am, as I discovered almost by accident).
What Authors Need to Know About the $1.5 Billion Anthropic Settlement
Updated October 2, 2025 IMPORTANT: The Works List Is Now Live on the Settlement Website The searchable Works List and Claim Forms are now available at www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com. Find more i...
authorsguild.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Authors: here's a great overview and explainer on the Anthropic settlement, including action items if you are "on the list" (as I am, as I discovered almost by accident).
As a runner / bicyclist / dog walker in a residential community where people routinely do 30 mph (or more) in a 20 mph zone and blow through stop signs with abandon, I think about this all the time. It's as if being in a metal box with wheels makes you forget your connection to your fellow humans.
People think "politics" is what you say, but politics is in fact how you wield power. In that sense, driving a car is one of the most profound ways to reveal what your actual politics are.
How people drive reveals the sickness at the heart of our society: wanting power, but not responsibility.
How people drive reveals the sickness at the heart of our society: wanting power, but not responsibility.
It just needs to be way easier to lose your license and your car for reckless driving, because a few months of major societal disruption 5 years ago taught people that driving in such a way that kills others or themselves is nbd
November 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
As a runner / bicyclist / dog walker in a residential community where people routinely do 30 mph (or more) in a 20 mph zone and blow through stop signs with abandon, I think about this all the time. It's as if being in a metal box with wheels makes you forget your connection to your fellow humans.
Recent practice. Procreate released some new brushes, so I've been exploring . . .
September 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Recent practice. Procreate released some new brushes, so I've been exploring . . .
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
We are hearing reports of increased federal agents in Portland. Let me be clear: Trump wants to tell a story of Portland that does not reflect who we are.
The Portland we love is strong, compassionate, and unwavering in our commitment to protect our neighbors.
The Portland we love is strong, compassionate, and unwavering in our commitment to protect our neighbors.
September 27, 2025 at 1:45 AM
We are hearing reports of increased federal agents in Portland. Let me be clear: Trump wants to tell a story of Portland that does not reflect who we are.
The Portland we love is strong, compassionate, and unwavering in our commitment to protect our neighbors.
The Portland we love is strong, compassionate, and unwavering in our commitment to protect our neighbors.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
I’m excited by the attention on free speech issues now. But we’d be remiss if we focused just on Kimmel. Or even the FCC chair Carr. The entire environment is retaliatory, affecting the most vulnerable who have the least infrastructure for support. That’s why speech for all matters more than ever.
September 24, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I’m excited by the attention on free speech issues now. But we’d be remiss if we focused just on Kimmel. Or even the FCC chair Carr. The entire environment is retaliatory, affecting the most vulnerable who have the least infrastructure for support. That’s why speech for all matters more than ever.
Roughly one year ago, Trump was in the middle of the racist lie about pets in Springfield. He was floundering and desperate. It was not clear that he would win the election. He did win the election, but history is full of plot twists.
September 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Roughly one year ago, Trump was in the middle of the racist lie about pets in Springfield. He was floundering and desperate. It was not clear that he would win the election. He did win the election, but history is full of plot twists.
Recent portraiture practice. Not enough hours in the day!
August 11, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Recent portraiture practice. Not enough hours in the day!
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
I love when I can see the work in a piece of art. Practical effects in film, brush strokes on canvas, strange sounds in music, "impossible" visuals in games. It puts me in conversation with the artist. That's why - ethics aside - art created with AI is just so disappointing. There's no work to see.
August 4, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I love when I can see the work in a piece of art. Practical effects in film, brush strokes on canvas, strange sounds in music, "impossible" visuals in games. It puts me in conversation with the artist. That's why - ethics aside - art created with AI is just so disappointing. There's no work to see.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
🧵Today is Friday, July 4.
Good morning ❤️
We hold these truths to be
self-evident:
that all [people] are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
that among these are
Life
Liberty
and
the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
Good morning ❤️
We hold these truths to be
self-evident:
that all [people] are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
that among these are
Life
Liberty
and
the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
July 4, 2025 at 2:51 PM
🧵Today is Friday, July 4.
Good morning ❤️
We hold these truths to be
self-evident:
that all [people] are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
that among these are
Life
Liberty
and
the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
Good morning ❤️
We hold these truths to be
self-evident:
that all [people] are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
that among these are
Life
Liberty
and
the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights,
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
A contender for the most “Show me your budget and I’ll tell you who you are” bills in modern history.
An act of breathtaking moral monstrosity and nearly unprecedented self-sabotage for the country.
An act of breathtaking moral monstrosity and nearly unprecedented self-sabotage for the country.
June 30, 2025 at 1:49 PM
A contender for the most “Show me your budget and I’ll tell you who you are” bills in modern history.
An act of breathtaking moral monstrosity and nearly unprecedented self-sabotage for the country.
An act of breathtaking moral monstrosity and nearly unprecedented self-sabotage for the country.
My life lately is focused on writing and drawing people. I don't know a lot, but I read people a lot. I study body language to build it into characterization. I study subtleties of facial expression to better capture likeness and mood. What I see here is a man who is full of shit and who knows it.
ICYMI — “LIE!!”
Dems heckled Speaker Johnson as he tried to put all the blame on Senator Padilla
Dems heckled Speaker Johnson as he tried to put all the blame on Senator Padilla
June 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
My life lately is focused on writing and drawing people. I don't know a lot, but I read people a lot. I study body language to build it into characterization. I study subtleties of facial expression to better capture likeness and mood. What I see here is a man who is full of shit and who knows it.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3
apnews.com/article/nih-...
apnews.com/article/nih-...
June 10, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3
apnews.com/article/nih-...
apnews.com/article/nih-...
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
The right statement from the woman who should have been our president. My heart breaks for what might have been and for what we now face.
BREAKING: Kamala Harris issues statement on Los Angeles.
June 8, 2025 at 11:38 PM
The right statement from the woman who should have been our president. My heart breaks for what might have been and for what we now face.
Some recent digital paintings. In May, I forced myself to start working with color, which has not been my comfort zone. Happy weekend!
June 7, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Some recent digital paintings. In May, I forced myself to start working with color, which has not been my comfort zone. Happy weekend!
I'm trying to be more diligent about posting recent drawing practice.
May 23, 2025 at 8:07 PM
I'm trying to be more diligent about posting recent drawing practice.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.
May 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
The comment period for this ends in 3 DAYS. Please leave a comment telling them EVERYONE should be able to get covid boosters.
www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...
www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...
May 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The comment period for this ends in 3 DAYS. Please leave a comment telling them EVERYONE should be able to get covid boosters.
www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...
www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...
Reposted by Andrew Durkin
The chatbots aren't hallucinating when they "get things wrong," WE are hallucinating when they "get things right"
People think LLMs are "smart" for the same reason they think the moon has a face.
People think LLMs are "smart" for the same reason they think the moon has a face.
May 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
The chatbots aren't hallucinating when they "get things wrong," WE are hallucinating when they "get things right"
People think LLMs are "smart" for the same reason they think the moon has a face.
People think LLMs are "smart" for the same reason they think the moon has a face.
The take I needed to hear tonight!
Optimistic take of the night: don't listen to people who tell you that even when Trump is gone, his damage will never be fixed in our lifetimes. That's nonsense. Societies, nations, the whole world, have come back from worse much faster and with less resources to help them do it than we'll have.
April 30, 2025 at 4:41 AM
The take I needed to hear tonight!
"With glowing hearts we see thee rise / The True North strong and free!"
Cheers to my Canadian friends. Thank you for tonight's good news!
Cheers to my Canadian friends. Thank you for tonight's good news!
Canadian Voter: I think who I voted for would be the best to take care of Trump, because Trump is, I’m sorry to say, an asshole.
April 29, 2025 at 3:32 AM
"With glowing hearts we see thee rise / The True North strong and free!"
Cheers to my Canadian friends. Thank you for tonight's good news!
Cheers to my Canadian friends. Thank you for tonight's good news!
Exactly. Thus, an important juxtaposition with today's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan is ICE's being forced by court losses to restore SEVIS status for thousands of foreign students. As the regime weakens, they'll lash out more. The best response to that will be to increase the pressure more.
One of the things that will happen as this administration begins to see small victories slip through their fingers is that they will try to intimidate harder and louder to get people to stop fighting back.
April 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Exactly. Thus, an important juxtaposition with today's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan is ICE's being forced by court losses to restore SEVIS status for thousands of foreign students. As the regime weakens, they'll lash out more. The best response to that will be to increase the pressure more.
Remember: reading is fundamental, even when (maybe especially when) the world is chaotic.
Here's something I recently finished. A collection of short stories that somehow managed to be surreal, disturbing, comical, charming, intriguing, and uncanny all at once. Recommended!
Here's something I recently finished. A collection of short stories that somehow managed to be surreal, disturbing, comical, charming, intriguing, and uncanny all at once. Recommended!
April 12, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Remember: reading is fundamental, even when (maybe especially when) the world is chaotic.
Here's something I recently finished. A collection of short stories that somehow managed to be surreal, disturbing, comical, charming, intriguing, and uncanny all at once. Recommended!
Here's something I recently finished. A collection of short stories that somehow managed to be surreal, disturbing, comical, charming, intriguing, and uncanny all at once. Recommended!