Majored in Thaumaturgy
@varlotte.bsky.social
she/her
Chthonic, chronic, iconic, anhedonic, and ~secret fifth thing.~
writes plays, games, code, curricula, a novel (allegedly), and more
📝 femmefaust.us
Chthonic, chronic, iconic, anhedonic, and ~secret fifth thing.~
writes plays, games, code, curricula, a novel (allegedly), and more
📝 femmefaust.us
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
The sandwich newsletter is back!!! Prepare to learn more than you ever thought you would about pastrami! Origin myths! Disputes! An outstanding historical mystery! Yiddish ballads! Unlikely lyricism! The Armenian Church takes a stand! buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Notable Sandwiches #132: Pastrami
Hello, and welcome back to the Sword and the Sandwich! I’ve been struggling with a particularly pernicious case of writer’s block, for months now. Not being...
buttondown.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The sandwich newsletter is back!!! Prepare to learn more than you ever thought you would about pastrami! Origin myths! Disputes! An outstanding historical mystery! Yiddish ballads! Unlikely lyricism! The Armenian Church takes a stand! buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"
December 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
SCOOP from me + @makenakelly.bsky.social: despite recent reports, DOGE isn’t dead—it’s actually everywhere. @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now
Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:37 PM
SCOOP from me + @makenakelly.bsky.social: despite recent reports, DOGE isn’t dead—it’s actually everywhere. @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
artists and designers using ai like
November 27, 2025 at 12:35 AM
artists and designers using ai like
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
the world is a bit smaller tonight with the death of Alice Wong. if you aren't familiar with who she was please pick up any of her books.
Disability Visibility anthology
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (Vintage Books, 2020) Click here for more about the anthology adapted for young people. Order paperback, e-bo…
disabilityvisibilityproject.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:04 AM
the world is a bit smaller tonight with the death of Alice Wong. if you aren't familiar with who she was please pick up any of her books.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
The Crane Wife is one of the best albums ever made if you were a big nerd in high school
March 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
The Crane Wife is one of the best albums ever made if you were a big nerd in high school
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Some of the most fervent volunteers for Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign are Republicans who voted for and still embrace Trump.
Cuomo’s Last-Minute Push Takes Him Into MAGA Territory
The former governor courts Trump fans, finding common ground in dire warnings about a future under Mayor Mamdani.
www.thecity.nyc
October 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Some of the most fervent volunteers for Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign are Republicans who voted for and still embrace Trump.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
it's that time of year, it's time to get your flu and covid booster shot unless you're from massachusetts then it's time for your flu and covid borcester shot
October 10, 2025 at 1:51 PM
it's that time of year, it's time to get your flu and covid booster shot unless you're from massachusetts then it's time for your flu and covid borcester shot
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
i'm at the civil war
i'm at the great depression
i'm at the combination civil war great depression
i'm at the great depression
i'm at the combination civil war great depression
September 2, 2025 at 10:32 PM
i'm at the civil war
i'm at the great depression
i'm at the combination civil war great depression
i'm at the great depression
i'm at the combination civil war great depression
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Many authors have searched The Atlantic's LibGen database of pirated titles to see if they are listed there. However, I've uncovered that authors of short fiction aren't always discoverable there.
Here's how I discovered more of my short fiction in the list. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Here's how I discovered more of my short fiction in the list. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
September 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Many authors have searched The Atlantic's LibGen database of pirated titles to see if they are listed there. However, I've uncovered that authors of short fiction aren't always discoverable there.
Here's how I discovered more of my short fiction in the list. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Here's how I discovered more of my short fiction in the list. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Broke: “you need to lock in because no one is coming to save you”
Woke: “you may need to lock in because you may need to save someone.”
Woke: “you may need to lock in because you may need to save someone.”
September 4, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Broke: “you need to lock in because no one is coming to save you”
Woke: “you may need to lock in because you may need to save someone.”
Woke: “you may need to lock in because you may need to save someone.”
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
House Republicans Want To Doxx Wikipedia Editors Over Bogus ‘Bias’ Complaints
Congress has absolutely zero constitutional authority to investigate a private website for its editorial decisions. Zero. None. This is First Amendment 101. Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and…
Congress has absolutely zero constitutional authority to investigate a private website for its editorial decisions. Zero. None. This is First Amendment 101. Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and…
House Republicans Want To Doxx Wikipedia Editors Over Bogus ‘Bias’ Complaints
Congress has absolutely zero constitutional authority to investigate a private website for its editorial decisions. Zero. None. This is First Amendment 101. Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace have decided otherwise. In a letter to Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander, these two Republicans are demanding that Wikipedia hand over editor identities, internal communications, and arbitration records because some studies suggest there might be bias in Wikipedia articles about Israel-Palestine issues.
www.techdirt.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
House Republicans Want To Doxx Wikipedia Editors Over Bogus ‘Bias’ Complaints
Congress has absolutely zero constitutional authority to investigate a private website for its editorial decisions. Zero. None. This is First Amendment 101. Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and…
Congress has absolutely zero constitutional authority to investigate a private website for its editorial decisions. Zero. None. This is First Amendment 101. Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and…
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Something blue states will need to explore: how to create cross-state compacts dedicated to a functioning government as the Trump administration walks away from it's responsibilities.
This is good: With Trump/RFK destroying CDC, JB Pritzker's officials are exploring the possibility of buying Covid vaccines from manufacturers and distributing them in-state themselves, source tells me.
Dem govs must step up and fill the void.
New piece from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1998...
Dem govs must step up and fill the void.
New piece from me:
newrepublic.com/article/1998...
Trump’s Decapitation of CDC Takes Darker Turn—and Hands Dems a Weapon
Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker is leading a charge other Democratic governors should take up: In our America, we’ll make sure public health systems remain strong.
newrepublic.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Something blue states will need to explore: how to create cross-state compacts dedicated to a functioning government as the Trump administration walks away from it's responsibilities.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Right now, your ability to get access to a COVID vaccine this fall is in jeopardy, whether or not you fit the new, restricted eligiblity criteria. Please send a letter to your member of Congress here. And spread the word. @defendpublichealth.bsky.social actionnetwork.org/letters/writ...
Write members of Congress - Will COVID-19 vaccines be available this fall?
It is clear that HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is on a dangerous and fast-moving path to make COVID-19 vaccines totally unavailable here in the U.S. With COVID-19 cases on the rise in many parts of the US an...
actionnetwork.org
August 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Right now, your ability to get access to a COVID vaccine this fall is in jeopardy, whether or not you fit the new, restricted eligiblity criteria. Please send a letter to your member of Congress here. And spread the word. @defendpublichealth.bsky.social actionnetwork.org/letters/writ...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
We are sacrificing our scarce, dwindling DRINKING water so depraved incels can generate unlimited big-titty anime girls and tech loons can try to build themselves a god
Generative AI is a death cult.
Generative AI is a death cult.
August 30, 2025 at 3:43 AM
We are sacrificing our scarce, dwindling DRINKING water so depraved incels can generate unlimited big-titty anime girls and tech loons can try to build themselves a god
Generative AI is a death cult.
Generative AI is a death cult.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Well, here we go
This is the op-ed in which I denounce the Riesman Center for Harvard Hillel
Pray 4 Josie
harvardindependent.com/avoid-the-bu...
This is the op-ed in which I denounce the Riesman Center for Harvard Hillel
Pray 4 Josie
harvardindependent.com/avoid-the-bu...
August 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Well, here we go
This is the op-ed in which I denounce the Riesman Center for Harvard Hillel
Pray 4 Josie
harvardindependent.com/avoid-the-bu...
This is the op-ed in which I denounce the Riesman Center for Harvard Hillel
Pray 4 Josie
harvardindependent.com/avoid-the-bu...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
I was just telling my girlfriend the other day that the old world is dying. And, my stars, the new world is struggling to be born. And now is the time when you meet such INNNNteresting monsters.
August 29, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I was just telling my girlfriend the other day that the old world is dying. And, my stars, the new world is struggling to be born. And now is the time when you meet such INNNNteresting monsters.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
I hope one thing leftists all take away from Mamdani’s campaign though is that it doesn’t matter how chill and wholesome you are, the dinguses are going to smear and trash you in increasingly unhinged ways anyway, so you might as well shoot for the moon and campaign on what makes your heart sing
August 25, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I hope one thing leftists all take away from Mamdani’s campaign though is that it doesn’t matter how chill and wholesome you are, the dinguses are going to smear and trash you in increasingly unhinged ways anyway, so you might as well shoot for the moon and campaign on what makes your heart sing
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
My job as a professor is not to create a serviceable worker. My job is to help foster thoughtful citizens or community members.
If that sounds fanciful it’s bc corporate interests have spent decades framing how we talk about education so they don’t take the heat for immiserating labor conditions.
If that sounds fanciful it’s bc corporate interests have spent decades framing how we talk about education so they don’t take the heat for immiserating labor conditions.
Do not accept the premise that education is to blame for abysmal jobs outcomes.
“The fantasy economy's framing of economic inequality… focuses exclusively on education…deflects attention away from decades of public policies and changing business practices that have…contributed to stagnating wages”
“The fantasy economy's framing of economic inequality… focuses exclusively on education…deflects attention away from decades of public policies and changing business practices that have…contributed to stagnating wages”
August 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
My job as a professor is not to create a serviceable worker. My job is to help foster thoughtful citizens or community members.
If that sounds fanciful it’s bc corporate interests have spent decades framing how we talk about education so they don’t take the heat for immiserating labor conditions.
If that sounds fanciful it’s bc corporate interests have spent decades framing how we talk about education so they don’t take the heat for immiserating labor conditions.
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
And on the subject of #realartatters: AI poisoning tool NIGHTSHADE is now free for artists to use: venturebeat.com/ai/nightshad...
Nightshade, the free tool that ‘poisons’ AI models, is now available for artists to use
The tool's creators are seeking to make it so that AI model developers must pay artists to train on data from them that is uncorrupted.
venturebeat.com
August 23, 2025 at 9:17 AM
And on the subject of #realartatters: AI poisoning tool NIGHTSHADE is now free for artists to use: venturebeat.com/ai/nightshad...
Reposted by Majored in Thaumaturgy
the ai bubble is bursting soon thank god
August 19, 2025 at 5:53 PM
the ai bubble is bursting soon thank god