George
@nonlinearbotanist.bsky.social
Baroque mind that loves Baroque music. Broken mind that loves breakaway minds. I am 68. A radical environmentalist. Happily married for 36 years. Dual citizen. In Canada - NDP or Green Party. In the US - straight Democratic ticket. I am sort of retired.
Pinned
George
@nonlinearbotanist.bsky.social
· Dec 22
These Spiritual Democrats Urge Their Party to Take a Leap of Faith
In a party that has grown less religious, some prominent Democrats say discussing their deepest beliefs can be a way to connect — when it’s authentic.
www.nytimes.com
The United Church of Canada has fought for a woman’s right to birth control and abortion since 1923. We believe in science and teach evolution in Sunday School. I think Democratic politicians with strong religious beliefs should campaign on those beliefs.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/u...
Reposted by George
Reposted by George
ah yes, the best way to explain and understand the world is by ignoring experts and practitioners and turning our attention to the “average American,” whatever that means
This isn't about democratizing the news. It's about elevating "vibes" and "feelings" to be on par with lived experience and subject-matter expertise.
January 3, 2026 at 12:02 AM
ah yes, the best way to explain and understand the world is by ignoring experts and practitioners and turning our attention to the “average American,” whatever that means
Reposted by George
I was told "if you don't use GenAI, you will be left behind".
But the reality is people include GenAI slop in their work, and if you don't use GenAI, your work is already more careful, higher quality, and more authentic.
I am not just talking about academic papers.
But the reality is people include GenAI slop in their work, and if you don't use GenAI, your work is already more careful, higher quality, and more authentic.
I am not just talking about academic papers.
December 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
I was told "if you don't use GenAI, you will be left behind".
But the reality is people include GenAI slop in their work, and if you don't use GenAI, your work is already more careful, higher quality, and more authentic.
I am not just talking about academic papers.
But the reality is people include GenAI slop in their work, and if you don't use GenAI, your work is already more careful, higher quality, and more authentic.
I am not just talking about academic papers.
Reposted by George
Take YouTube as an example. So many GenAI-slop nowadays: AI-generated images, videos, voices, and scripts, tonnes of hot garbage. But what do viewers value? Authentic stuff, genuine craftsmanship, factually accuracy, and stories that actually connect with us.
December 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Take YouTube as an example. So many GenAI-slop nowadays: AI-generated images, videos, voices, and scripts, tonnes of hot garbage. But what do viewers value? Authentic stuff, genuine craftsmanship, factually accuracy, and stories that actually connect with us.
Reposted by George
We need a Generative AI Code of Conduct at the University level because it's becoming increasingly clear that my colleagues (other professors and ESPECIALLY admin) are using AI way more than my students are.
December 20, 2025 at 6:08 PM
We need a Generative AI Code of Conduct at the University level because it's becoming increasingly clear that my colleagues (other professors and ESPECIALLY admin) are using AI way more than my students are.
Reposted by George
I just realized that Karoline Leavitt is 28, not like 44, and it's breaking my brain.
December 20, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I just realized that Karoline Leavitt is 28, not like 44, and it's breaking my brain.
Reposted by George
Tambourine Dove (very shy) small forest dove found across subSaharan Africa. Recognizable by its soft gray-brown plumage & finely spotted neck, best known for its gentle, rhythmic call that sounds like a distant tambourine markscheflen.com #bwindiimpenetrableforest #uganda #birdsofeastafrica #birds
December 27, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Tambourine Dove (very shy) small forest dove found across subSaharan Africa. Recognizable by its soft gray-brown plumage & finely spotted neck, best known for its gentle, rhythmic call that sounds like a distant tambourine markscheflen.com #bwindiimpenetrableforest #uganda #birdsofeastafrica #birds
Reposted by George
Oh look, more of the same from the New York Times playing down renewables/decarbonization and playing up nuclear and natural gas (w/ mythical "capture). This time via David Victor, whom I identified as a problematic actor in the climate space in "The #NewClimateWar" (bookshop.org/p/books/the-...)
December 27, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Oh look, more of the same from the New York Times playing down renewables/decarbonization and playing up nuclear and natural gas (w/ mythical "capture). This time via David Victor, whom I identified as a problematic actor in the climate space in "The #NewClimateWar" (bookshop.org/p/books/the-...)
Reposted by George
The thickness of #Arctic sea ice dropped to a new all-time record low this year around the North Pole (data from PIOMAS). More in my latest 'climate viz of the month' blog: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-... #OpenScience #SciComm #DataViz #OpenData
Climate Viz of the Month
November 2025 Hi! I am happy to share the first of (hopefully) some new graphics in this ‘climate viz of the month’ blog. For quite a few years now, I’ve been procrastinating on figuring out an eff…
zacklabe.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The thickness of #Arctic sea ice dropped to a new all-time record low this year around the North Pole (data from PIOMAS). More in my latest 'climate viz of the month' blog: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-... #OpenScience #SciComm #DataViz #OpenData
Reposted by George
December 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by George
#1 And of course, my favorite book of all-time, read for my second time. The single best book about Animism, Indigenous Knowledge, and human-inclusive ecology perhaps ever written. Literally changed the way I approach science.
December 31, 2025 at 5:43 PM
#1 And of course, my favorite book of all-time, read for my second time. The single best book about Animism, Indigenous Knowledge, and human-inclusive ecology perhaps ever written. Literally changed the way I approach science.
Reposted by George
#2 Parable of the Sower. Again, I don't know why it took me so long to read this one but it instantly became one of my all-time favorites. Dark, prescient, moving. One of the few on my list that I did as an audiobook--I got 30,000 steps in one day as an excuse to keep listening.
December 31, 2025 at 5:43 PM
#2 Parable of the Sower. Again, I don't know why it took me so long to read this one but it instantly became one of my all-time favorites. Dark, prescient, moving. One of the few on my list that I did as an audiobook--I got 30,000 steps in one day as an excuse to keep listening.
Reposted by George
Humanity emitted more Greenhouse Gases in 2025 than any year ever
January 2, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Humanity emitted more Greenhouse Gases in 2025 than any year ever
Reposted by George
Perfect match! Fossil and modern Common Eland horn from Kenya
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
January 2, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Perfect match! Fossil and modern Common Eland horn from Kenya
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
Reposted by George
BREAKING: Hope Returns as New Leaders Take Office in New York and Detroit
open.substack.com/pub/reallyam...
open.substack.com/pub/reallyam...
BREAKING: Hope Returns as New Leaders Take Office in New York and Detroit
From New York to Detroit, historic swearing-ins mark a generational shift and a renewed belief that government can work for the people.
open.substack.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:31 PM
BREAKING: Hope Returns as New Leaders Take Office in New York and Detroit
open.substack.com/pub/reallyam...
open.substack.com/pub/reallyam...
Reposted by George
January 2, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by George
I wish I’d gone hard on being a creative instead of an academic. I feel like creatives have so many more opportunities to feel fulfilled by what they produce. I mostly put stuff out that makes people resentful or annoyed.
Not like that doesn’t happen to creators too, but.
Not like that doesn’t happen to creators too, but.
January 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM
I wish I’d gone hard on being a creative instead of an academic. I feel like creatives have so many more opportunities to feel fulfilled by what they produce. I mostly put stuff out that makes people resentful or annoyed.
Not like that doesn’t happen to creators too, but.
Not like that doesn’t happen to creators too, but.
Reposted by George
Since Mike Johnson won’t do anything about the DOJ’s illegal slow-walking of the Epstein-files release, we have to.
Write to your Rep here and tell demand Pam Bondi release ALL of the files!
Write to your Rep here and tell demand Pam Bondi release ALL of the files!
Tell Congress: Demand AG Bondi release ALL of the Epstein files now
Contact Congress today!
actionnetwork.org
January 3, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Since Mike Johnson won’t do anything about the DOJ’s illegal slow-walking of the Epstein-files release, we have to.
Write to your Rep here and tell demand Pam Bondi release ALL of the files!
Write to your Rep here and tell demand Pam Bondi release ALL of the files!
Reposted by George
"2025 was tough. It was painful. This was the year that America broke open. Now the seedy interior of what lies within so many structures of power in our country has been revealed. It is not pretty." -- @sifill.bsky.social
The Year America Broke Open
It would be silly to pretend that 2025 was not among the most challenging years this country has faced in modern times.
sherrilyn.substack.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:48 PM
"2025 was tough. It was painful. This was the year that America broke open. Now the seedy interior of what lies within so many structures of power in our country has been revealed. It is not pretty." -- @sifill.bsky.social
Reposted by George
Stephen Schwartz, the composer of 'Wicked,' says he'll no longer host a gala at the Kennedy Center.
"It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,l Schwartz said. "There's no way I would set foot in it now."
"It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,l Schwartz said. "There's no way I would set foot in it now."
'Wicked' composer Stephen Schwartz says he won't appear at Kennedy Center
The Broadway icon, who grew up in Nassau County, had been scheduled for a Washington National Opera event in May.
www.newsday.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Stephen Schwartz, the composer of 'Wicked,' says he'll no longer host a gala at the Kennedy Center.
"It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,l Schwartz said. "There's no way I would set foot in it now."
"It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,l Schwartz said. "There's no way I would set foot in it now."
Reposted by George
The bad news is that it appears CBS News has fallen.
The good news is that independent media has been ready for this moment.
Join us: meidasplus.com
The good news is that independent media has been ready for this moment.
Join us: meidasplus.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:51 PM
The bad news is that it appears CBS News has fallen.
The good news is that independent media has been ready for this moment.
Join us: meidasplus.com
The good news is that independent media has been ready for this moment.
Join us: meidasplus.com
Reposted by George
Test results summary: He crayoned mostly inside the lines and was able to tell the difference between Stephen Miller and a hyena (on the third try).
January 2, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Test results summary: He crayoned mostly inside the lines and was able to tell the difference between Stephen Miller and a hyena (on the third try).
Reposted by George
The fun part here is that people who don’t like migrants largely believe this because they’re constantly screamed at about menacing immigrants from every TV, radio and news stand, and the whole reason that’s done is to discourage people from noticing who it is that gets most of the money, and how.
January 2, 2026 at 6:25 PM
The fun part here is that people who don’t like migrants largely believe this because they’re constantly screamed at about menacing immigrants from every TV, radio and news stand, and the whole reason that’s done is to discourage people from noticing who it is that gets most of the money, and how.
Reposted by George
New years day = pizza
Tuna, ham nothing else needed 🫡
Tuna, ham nothing else needed 🫡
January 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM
New years day = pizza
Tuna, ham nothing else needed 🫡
Tuna, ham nothing else needed 🫡
Reposted by George
I don't drive an EV, I don't particularly want one. Though I am excited to see that Tesla is being smashed in sales worldwide.
January 2, 2026 at 7:45 AM
I don't drive an EV, I don't particularly want one. Though I am excited to see that Tesla is being smashed in sales worldwide.