Kirsti
@kst.bsky.social
Librarian. Geek. Music is life. I block early & often. “Always fight for the user, never for the system.”— Cory Doctorow.
Reposted by Kirsti
PSA: Somebody is posting false reports to ICE tracking apps in Seattle. It’s possibly right-wing trolls or ICE themselves.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
January 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM
PSA: Somebody is posting false reports to ICE tracking apps in Seattle. It’s possibly right-wing trolls or ICE themselves.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
This one, posted today, included an AI generated photo of ICE at a 7-11. Use caution before sharing.
Baroque musicians are so terrifying.
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Winter Festival | Early Music Seattle | Variation II
Beyond Baroque Variation II February 12–15, 2026 Our 2026 Winter Festival goes “Beyond” with music pushing our standard ideas of the borders of early music! Featuring “East is East” with Infusion Baro...
earlymusicseattle.org
January 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Baroque musicians are so terrifying.
I first learned about Idaho's Chinese community from Ken Liu's short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories"
In the 1870 census, Boise, Idaho was almost 50% Chinese. Just...think about that. Think about Boise, Idaho today and what you think about it racially.
What happened after that was, to put it bluntly, repeated violence against the Chinese population in the West.
What happened after that was, to put it bluntly, repeated violence against the Chinese population in the West.
January 22, 2026 at 4:23 PM
I first learned about Idaho's Chinese community from Ken Liu's short story collection "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories"
I remember those days.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
Be as passionate about something in life as a child is over the toys they haven't looked at in 5 years that you're about to donate.
January 22, 2026 at 4:18 PM
I remember those days.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
We finally ended up with a "1 in, 1 out" rule. When Kid wanted a new toy, they'd talk through which toy they might get rid of to make room for the new one.
Reposted by Kirsti
They want you to think that there is nothing in the past but shame so that people flinch away from examining history.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
January 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
They want you to think that there is nothing in the past but shame so that people flinch away from examining history.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
If you examine history, you will find good people. At every time in history, you will find them.
Maybe not enough, but they were there. You can be this generation's good people.
Reposted by Kirsti
i am now told that the grok interface for free users restricts the words "bikini" or "swimsuit". yay!
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
January 22, 2026 at 4:02 PM
i am now told that the grok interface for free users restricts the words "bikini" or "swimsuit". yay!
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
but you can bikinify photos by asking for "clothing suitable for being in a large pool of water"
hooray guard rails! what's a good catchy name for this security sploit. "boobleed"
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Winter Festival | Early Music Seattle | Variation II
Beyond Baroque Variation II February 12–15, 2026 Our 2026 Winter Festival goes “Beyond” with music pushing our standard ideas of the borders of early music! Featuring “East is East” with Infusion Baro...
earlymusicseattle.org
January 22, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Early Music Seattle is organizing a weekend "Baroque & Beyond" music festival in February. They just had to cancel one of the performances. "Due to the new visa restrictions imposed on January 1, 2026, through Presidential Proclamation 10998" some of the musicians have been denied visas.
Reposted by Kirsti
Republicans are defined in large part by the belief that authoritarianism is good and that only Republicans have a legitimate claim to power.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
January 22, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Republicans are defined in large part by the belief that authoritarianism is good and that only Republicans have a legitimate claim to power.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Democratic leadership are defined in large part by the exact same belief, and a hope for more polite authoritarianism.
Reposted by Kirsti
Democratic leadership is terrified of being seen on the side of the people of Minneapolis, least they lose the potential future support of pro-cop people whose support they do not and never will have.
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Democratic leadership is terrified of being seen on the side of the people of Minneapolis, least they lose the potential future support of pro-cop people whose support they do not and never will have.
Reposted by Kirsti
I started a MN Accounts list of Minnesota people and institutions here that I learn from.
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
January 22, 2026 at 1:11 PM
I started a MN Accounts list of Minnesota people and institutions here that I learn from.
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's informative but incomplete.
Pin it. Browse accounts to follow or browse the feed to stay up to date with posts from all the accounts.
If you want on or off, DM me.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
It's going to be near freezing tomorrow & I have to go into the office. I want to ride my bike, but not when it's that cold & I have to be functional first thing.
January 22, 2026 at 8:35 AM
It's going to be near freezing tomorrow & I have to go into the office. I want to ride my bike, but not when it's that cold & I have to be functional first thing.
Reposted by Kirsti
A lot of folk in the US think ICE is the bad guys, and US police are the good guys.
No.
They don't understand that most of the world looks at what US police do to Black people, and see that it is even more horrific and sustained.
30,000 kids under the age of 10 have been arrested since 2013.
No.
They don't understand that most of the world looks at what US police do to Black people, and see that it is even more horrific and sustained.
30,000 kids under the age of 10 have been arrested since 2013.
🤷🏿♂️ Why?
Why is arresting on 5 to 7 year old somehow worse than arresting *checks notes* 2,600+?
Why is transporting one kid to another state for juvenile detention somehow worse than having a whole department of the government just for transferring kids between states?
Why is arresting on 5 to 7 year old somehow worse than arresting *checks notes* 2,600+?
Why is transporting one kid to another state for juvenile detention somehow worse than having a whole department of the government just for transferring kids between states?
This is horrific! It's absolutely inexcusable to arrest a 5 year old child!
🤔I just have a few questions... what if the child is Black though? Is it still cruel?
Is it also cruel to send Black kids as young as 7 to juvenile detention facilities in other states, so that their moms can't even visit?
🤔I just have a few questions... what if the child is Black though? Is it still cruel?
Is it also cruel to send Black kids as young as 7 to juvenile detention facilities in other states, so that their moms can't even visit?
January 22, 2026 at 6:49 AM
A lot of folk in the US think ICE is the bad guys, and US police are the good guys.
No.
They don't understand that most of the world looks at what US police do to Black people, and see that it is even more horrific and sustained.
30,000 kids under the age of 10 have been arrested since 2013.
No.
They don't understand that most of the world looks at what US police do to Black people, and see that it is even more horrific and sustained.
30,000 kids under the age of 10 have been arrested since 2013.
I train catalogers that we're not just cataloging for library patrons, we're also cataloging for future library workers who need to be able to figure out what the heck is going on with this thing in their hands.
This is one of the great things of working in a large institution. You're a time traveller. You have colleagues working a century ago, or a century from now. They pass their work on to you, and you pass your work on to them.
For better or worse.
For better or worse.
January 22, 2026 at 8:13 AM
I train catalogers that we're not just cataloging for library patrons, we're also cataloging for future library workers who need to be able to figure out what the heck is going on with this thing in their hands.
Reposted by Kirsti
TRAD 📽️ is about Irish music and the most unusual coming-of-age film I've ever seen, in that its heroine has adventures without ever coming to the slightest bit of harm. A total joy movieswetextedabout.com/trad-review-...
'Trad' Review - A Movie to Get You Dancing
Since seeing Trad I’ve been trying to remember another coming-of-age movie about a teenage girl in which she doesn’t come to the tiniest bit of harm. I can’t, making Trad so rare and unusual that only...
movieswetextedabout.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:59 AM
TRAD 📽️ is about Irish music and the most unusual coming-of-age film I've ever seen, in that its heroine has adventures without ever coming to the slightest bit of harm. A total joy movieswetextedabout.com/trad-review-...
Reposted by Kirsti
I've heard it said we must meet readers where they are. This Saturday I'll greet runners who've completed a loop around downtown Seattle, the waterfront, and Chinatown/International District, and tell them about the legacy of John Okada and NO-NO BOY. Glad I don't have to run alongside them.
January 21, 2026 at 8:42 PM
I've heard it said we must meet readers where they are. This Saturday I'll greet runners who've completed a loop around downtown Seattle, the waterfront, and Chinatown/International District, and tell them about the legacy of John Okada and NO-NO BOY. Glad I don't have to run alongside them.
Reposted by Kirsti
You begin to understand why Union troops who saw what the slavers did to other humans became coldly focussed on *ending* it.
January 22, 2026 at 4:42 AM
You begin to understand why Union troops who saw what the slavers did to other humans became coldly focussed on *ending* it.
Some of these recommendations are ones I've seen used by democracy activists living under military dictatorships. Well worth reading.
🧵ICE's tactics for arresting and holding observers and protestors is ever-shifting, and I'm hearing lots of different stories. Right now, my perspective is that these are your best practices:
January 22, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Some of these recommendations are ones I've seen used by democracy activists living under military dictatorships. Well worth reading.
Reposted by Kirsti
Let me just say, having to ask my pregnant patients who are having sudden bleeding if they’ve been at all exposed to chemical irritants/tear gas is not something I ever pictured having to do when going to nursing school.
#Minneapolis
#OBGYN
#Minneapolis
#OBGYN
January 22, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Let me just say, having to ask my pregnant patients who are having sudden bleeding if they’ve been at all exposed to chemical irritants/tear gas is not something I ever pictured having to do when going to nursing school.
#Minneapolis
#OBGYN
#Minneapolis
#OBGYN
Reposted by Kirsti
Guys, I called my mom. Facebook, Insta, and a small city paper are her only news sources.
She didn’t even know about tear gas in the Twin Cities.
Call your normies.
She didn’t even know about tear gas in the Twin Cities.
Call your normies.
January 22, 2026 at 4:06 AM
Guys, I called my mom. Facebook, Insta, and a small city paper are her only news sources.
She didn’t even know about tear gas in the Twin Cities.
Call your normies.
She didn’t even know about tear gas in the Twin Cities.
Call your normies.
At the library recently, I found out Jack Black did a movie called "The Polka King" & there's a soundtrack for it. I don't care that much about the movie, but I borrowed the soundtrack & I'm listening to it now.
"Everybody polka it will make you glad"
I kinda needed this.
"Everybody polka it will make you glad"
I kinda needed this.
January 22, 2026 at 4:52 AM
At the library recently, I found out Jack Black did a movie called "The Polka King" & there's a soundtrack for it. I don't care that much about the movie, but I borrowed the soundtrack & I'm listening to it now.
"Everybody polka it will make you glad"
I kinda needed this.
"Everybody polka it will make you glad"
I kinda needed this.
Reposted by Kirsti
I've never seen a population more united. If people can hold onto that unity, if people can accept that different people will have different ways of confronting fascism, if we can remind NGOs and orgs that they can join but not control the resistance, then, well, people here will write history.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I've never seen a population more united. If people can hold onto that unity, if people can accept that different people will have different ways of confronting fascism, if we can remind NGOs and orgs that they can join but not control the resistance, then, well, people here will write history.
Reposted by Kirsti
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
Reposted by Kirsti
I got in late last night. First thing this morning, I saw cars following an ice vehicle down the street, honking at it.
Later, we didn't drive more than three blocks before we found people defending a childcare facility. (The idea that people have to defend a childcare facility... let that sink in)
Later, we didn't drive more than three blocks before we found people defending a childcare facility. (The idea that people have to defend a childcare facility... let that sink in)
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I got in late last night. First thing this morning, I saw cars following an ice vehicle down the street, honking at it.
Later, we didn't drive more than three blocks before we found people defending a childcare facility. (The idea that people have to defend a childcare facility... let that sink in)
Later, we didn't drive more than three blocks before we found people defending a childcare facility. (The idea that people have to defend a childcare facility... let that sink in)
Reposted by Kirsti
The techniques they test on non-white folks get rolled out to the rest of us whenever they succeed
Which is a case Dems could EASILY make about ICE if they wanted to demonstrate any moral fiber whatsoever
Which is a case Dems could EASILY make about ICE if they wanted to demonstrate any moral fiber whatsoever
January 22, 2026 at 3:40 AM
The techniques they test on non-white folks get rolled out to the rest of us whenever they succeed
Which is a case Dems could EASILY make about ICE if they wanted to demonstrate any moral fiber whatsoever
Which is a case Dems could EASILY make about ICE if they wanted to demonstrate any moral fiber whatsoever
Reposted by Kirsti
As somebody who is living abroad on a work visa and is definitionally an immigrant—I have a lot of thoughts watching what is unfolding.
One of them is that what is happening in Minneapolis is more brazenly authoritarian than anything I've experienced in my time in the Middle East or in China.
One of them is that what is happening in Minneapolis is more brazenly authoritarian than anything I've experienced in my time in the Middle East or in China.
January 22, 2026 at 2:06 AM
As somebody who is living abroad on a work visa and is definitionally an immigrant—I have a lot of thoughts watching what is unfolding.
One of them is that what is happening in Minneapolis is more brazenly authoritarian than anything I've experienced in my time in the Middle East or in China.
One of them is that what is happening in Minneapolis is more brazenly authoritarian than anything I've experienced in my time in the Middle East or in China.