Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

380 followers 270 following 3.1K posts

dude, thing coyote :: variously proficient in english, spanish, german, nawatl, and yips :: environmental sci. major :: san antonio texas my beloved :: i make music sometimes θΔ

I talk a lot of non-Anglo Texas history but also furry stuff so ymmv

18+⚠️

Posts Replies Media Videos

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

ozymandias

A screenshot of a Bluesky post, one I wrote but which was too long to post in one go. It reads:

I traveled an antique land, deserted in nature

I saw, in a distant visage, a vast and crumpled statue, scrawled at its feet were the words

"I am Ozymandias, King of Kings, look upon my words ye mighty and despair"

Painted over those stone etchings was chicken scratch, proclaiming

"I am coyot; look upon my disruption ye mighty and despair"

November 5, 2025 at 1:06 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

Were you NOT stopping before ???

A screenshot on an excerpt from an article about the construction of new two-way bike lanes in downtown San Antonio. The excerpt reads:

"This is a push by the anti-car crowd to make it miserable for you to drive, to make you have to stop at all the lights, to make you have less road space, and to snarl up traffic," Hall said.

October 31, 2025 at 3:42 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

It's also believed to depict a cosmological myth that would later be inherited by the Nahua and Huichol peoples, but also the Coahuiltecans of what is now Texas and Northeastern Mexico.

Of particular interest to me is the Moon Goddess portion which reminds me of the Coahuiltecan 'Napakō' (cont.)

This portion of the mural is believed to depict a Moon Goddess, who is depicted here as decapitated. The white figure stands next to a black figure; I believe the black figure is one of the primordial ancestors, and the white figure is the Moon Goddess she became.

October 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

White Shaman is believed to have been intricately planned due to the materials needed and the time frame in which this was all painted. It would have required scaffolding and has intricate motifs that all tie together cohesively; leading some at the site to call it the earliest book in the Americas

A photo of the totality of the White Shaman Mural. It's much taller than you may suspect, with the mural going as high as 13 feet. The totality of it is believed to depict the birth of time. The tall and elaborate people-like figures here have also been interpreted as the primordial ancestors during the sacred journey at the beginning of time, and the Divinities they became.

This portion is believed to represent Dawn Mountain in both Huichol and Nahua cosmologies, where the sun first rose. The figure with antlers standing on the mountain is believed to be the sacred deer that lead the primordial ancestors to Dawn Mountain, and who in Huichol traditions was sacrificed for the sun to rise.

This portion is believed to represent the Mother Goddess, who is interpreted by people working at the site as having serpent and catfish like characteristics. This is apparently a depiction shared by Huichol traditions. It is also interpreted that the Mother Goddess may be meeting the sun at midday. The white line that runs throughout this mural may also be the path of the sun, or to further interpret on that, the path that ancestors, the sun, and Divinites travel. The Mother Goddess as painted here is also six feet tall, not to say that's her exact height but rather she is depicted as either being very large or perhaps, more metaphorically prominent, but this last sentence is just me ruminating.

This portion is believed to depict the underworld, and it is located on a part of the rock wall where there is water seeping out. It's likely the underworld was intentionally painted here as to depict the watery underworld; which the Nahua and Coahuiltecans both have a tradition of. (The Huichol also may, I am not so versed in that though). Another connection is possibly the caterpillar like being, and the nine bulges on that rectangular motif, both of which are associated with the underworld in Nahua traditions. (Specifically the number nine, rather, not the whole rectangle motif)

October 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

The White Shaman Mural (and the Lower Pecos Canyonland Archeological Complex) is so cool

Like this is increasingly believed to depict both an origin of the cosmos and the people, as well as a map of sacred sites from that location, particularly the sacred journey along the springs of Central Texas

A screenshot of a presentation, where they are mapping features of the White Shaman Mural to physical landmarks in Texas

October 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

yeah if it was like, less than four miles to the southwest it'd be in the recharge zone and subject to regulations; but because SAWS can't run piping out to it (because they don't have a permit), and TCEQ okay'd it, now there's the possibility of damaging the water supplies for 2.6~ million people

A map of the Helotes Creek watershed. The red star denotes the location of Guajolote Ranch and the planned subdivision to be built on it. There's a big light blue colored zone that runs along the bottom part of the map; that's the recharge zone for the Edwards Aquifer; Guajolote Ranch isn't far from it, but because the Edwards Aquifer Authority has much less regulations in place for the Drainage Zone (or as it's called in this map, the Contributing Zone), where water runs off into the Recharge Zone, there's little that agency can do.

October 24, 2025 at 5:49 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

if you go into this room while its operational, without earplugs, you risk serious damage apparently

(that's $230 million dollars of primo desalination equipment right there)

A photo of the room where the primary desalination process happens. Water is pumped in from the outside through underground pipes. The floor actually has markers telling you where a pipe is running under you.

Another photo of the desalination room, showing the skids where water is ran through filtration tubes, the filters made of a kind of PVC. They have also three specific columns off to the side of this photo, for concentrate byproduct. Currently they have no viable use for the concentrate, so they dump it in a 5000 feet deep waste well at the moment; but they're open to any alternative uses of the concentrate byproduct, which is rich in salts and other minerals.

October 23, 2025 at 3:07 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

t.co/Ba28MweLYa

holy shit. This is rotten.

[the telegram chat shared between the state leaders of the Young Republicans organization leaked]

TW: explicit racism, references to r-pe, Nazis

A screenshot of the beginning of the Politico article about the Telegram chat shared between the national leaders of the Young Republicans. The article was published October 14th 2025.

The title reads "'I love Hitler': Leaked messages expose Young Republicans' racist chat"

A subtitle reads: "Thousands of private messages reveal Young GOP leaders talking about gas chambers, slavery and rape."

The attached header image shows a collage of Telegram messages, sent by different state leaders of the Young Republicans youth organization. Many of the messages are explicitly racist, and says things like "[you're] expecting the Jew to be honest" and "I'd go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkeys play ball" and "Great. I love Hitler".

October 15, 2025 at 2:39 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

Fuck ass repair practices at this Sunbelt ended up damaging our equipment trailer trying to return the machine they should have fixed to them 🙏

The carpet cleaning machine from downtown SA Sunbelt Rentals cut grooves into the wooden door of our equipment trailer because the suction mechanism was broken and dragging (because of them)

Fuckass repair practices at this Sunbelt location just broke one of the hinges on our trailer door trying to get their machine to them 🙏

October 13, 2025 at 8:04 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

There's a great website ran by a local SA scientist that talks all things Edwards Aquifer

www.edwardsaquifer.net/spspring.html

I love reading historical descriptions of the land I also live on now. I can only imagine what it looked like in previous eras (what it'll look like tomorrow)

A painted depiction of a spring at San Pedro Springs. It was made in 2014 by Susan Dunis as a series of paintings about a Native American family from the Lower Pecos on a sacred journey along the springs of the Edwards Aquifer. The actual painting depicts the family swimming in the water, fishing, and gathering chert for tools and wild grapes for eating. It's beautiful, it's lush and the spring is full.

A painted depiction of a spring at San Antonio Springs. This one was also part of the series painted by Susan Dunis in 2014 and depicts people trading with each other and cleaning themselves at the spring. It's beautiful, it's lush and the spring is bubbling with life.

October 13, 2025 at 7:35 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

The Geological Society of America is hosting their annual conference in SA this year & because of that they're also hosting a bunch of fun field trips for interested nerds.

I'm excited to get a hands-on exploration of the Edwards Aquifer hydrology with experts, & its history with the building of SA

A screenshot of one of the tours being offered by GSA this month. It's titled "Building San Antonio: Geology, water and building resources in the historic 'Valley of the Missions'". Above the title is a day-time photo of Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo (usually just called Mission San Jose)

A screenshot of one of the tours the GSA is offering this month. It's titled "The Edwards Aquifer of South-Central Texas - An Aquifer Under Stress". Above the title is a day-time photo of typical Balcones Escarpment flora, with a creek running through a lush riparian area.

Side note, the Comal Springs in what is now New Braunfels, Texas, are the largest springs in the Southwestern US; and I heard that San Pedro Springs in whats now San Antonio, at one time gushed so powerfully that it had a fountain like effect, where it would spurt into the air.

A screenshot of one of the tours the GSA is offering this month. It's titled "The Flow of Sustainability: Inside the San Antonio Water System (Wednesday Afternoon)". Above the title is a day-time photo of the San Antonio Water System (or SAWS) headquarters building.

A screenshot of a tour being offered by the GSA this month. It's titled "Bracken Cave Bat Flight". Above the title is a photo of a bat (probably a Mexican Free-tailed (or Freetail) Bat) hanging upside-down from a rock, assumedly in a cave.

Side note, Bracken Cave is actually home to about 20 million bats a year (!), due to migratory patterns. I've heard it called the largest concentration of mammals (excluding Humans) in the world!

October 13, 2025 at 6:23 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

So hungry for Parisa

I NEED Parisa

But the only meat market near me that sells it sells shitty parisa that's always going bad 💔

I shall make a pilgrimage, to Medina County 🙏

The town of Hondo has the best Parisa makers 🙏

A photo of a wonderful looking Parisa in a nice bowl stituated next to a row of saltine crackers, and a nice spreading knife.

A photo of Parisa that looks wonderful. This Parisa photo clearly shows the ingredients such as onion, cheddar, jalapeños, and the meat itself. This looks like Parisa someone just got from a meat market. Yum 🙏

October 10, 2025 at 12:11 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

Youtube PLEASE stop putting the incredibly gassy theme song in my music mixes it's ruining my mixes I never even watched it

A drawing of a stickman crying, bawling his eyes out and with a anguished expression on his face. He holds a pair of headphones to his head with both hands on either speaker cup thing

October 9, 2025 at 9:07 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

www.tpr.org/education/20...

Fuck I hadn't even considered the possibility that armed counter-protesters could have shown up because of SAISD's intimidation email

A screenshot of an excerpt from a Texas Public Radio article about the Fox Tech High School walkout protest. The excerpt reads:

Nora with Right to Rebel [a student group that supported the walkout] also said she thought SAISD sent the letter to intimidate students and keep them from protesting.

"They did not provide any real evidence, because there was none, and ultimately, we understand it as a purely malicious chess move that the school did to lie about kids. There is nothing more shameful than adults getting together to lie about kids," she said, adding that the district saying there would be guns was dangerous because it could have inspired counter protesters.

October 8, 2025 at 1:15 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

I have worse dental health than a 13th century western european peasant

An illustration of Siddhartha Gautama meditating under a bodhi tree.

October 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

diagnosed with periodontitis at 19

October 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

slop city

A photo of a grimy trash chute room. It is horribly dirty, as there are no drainage grates for grime to leave the room when it is cleaned with a pressure washer. The actual room itself is made of concrete, and the grime has piled up much that the floor is covered in visible layers of black goop. For comparison, you can also see spots of unstained concrete, which is a neutral gray. Random little bits of litter also are scattered across the ground.

October 6, 2025 at 10:31 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

SAISD is saying the walkout is being influenced and organized by "outside agitators" (it's literally students)

I forget that Socialism is actually an actionable thing with Gen Z 🤎

A screenshot from the San Antonio Express-News article I linked in the post that this post is replying to. The screenshot excerpt reads:

The Fox Students League, which describes itself as "an independent revolutionary student organization," wrote on social media that SAISD's letter was untrue and full of "scare tactics to intimidate students out of walking out."

According to its Instagram page, students created the organization in September to "serve the working-class struggle by politically educating, organizing and empowering students to take action."

October 4, 2025 at 3:08 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

New bird just dropped 💕

The San Antonio Grue Jay

Hybridization of Blue Jays and Green Jays

A photo of what's being called a "Grue Jay", a combination of the words blue and green due to it being a hybrid of a blue jay and a green jay. It has black feathers all around its face, except for the area under the beak until it runs into the black chest crest. It has dark blue feathers running down the top of its head, and a lighter blue feathered back with touches of white feathers sprinkled in. Its eyes are also brown, hazel I think, with a dark pupil in the center.

A comparison photo of a blue jay on the left, a grue jay in the middle, and a green jay on the left. You can see how it carries traits of both, with the longer and more narrow tail of the green jay, along with a more similar beak to the green jay, but with colors much closer to the blue jay.

September 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

Some dudes I was doodling

A photo of a doodle of a bulky geometrical... being. He looks like an animal, but of an unknown kind, with a long snout-face and two wide-long ears. He's looking off to the side with two eyes, and has his maw ajar. The head could be described as fox-like as a lithe fox was originally what I had in mind, but I never drew the body, so I reinvented him (so think of the head as anything). He has a rhomboid torso, and square-ish legs with a short extention at one of the bottom corners for walking on. He has a long thick tail, which is literally sectioned off into different geometrical pieces, but somehow all still coordinate with each other when moving as if they were all connected by an unseen force. His arms are made of diamonds, the shape that is, and much like the tail, they all move together like one. His left arm is made of a string of diamonds each in a horizontal position, while his right is made of a string of diamonds each in a vertical position. Perhaps the diamonds switch between vertical and horizontal depending on his mood or action(s). He's a pretty large framed guy, and bulky I imagine, though maybe he'd surprise me.

In the bottom left there is a few doodles of me trying to make a fox tail in the same geometric style, but they ended up looking more like plants or quills than a tail devoid of that context; so I drew a fox guy on the back page, that's the other photo.

The same thing as the previous photo but with a darker lighting.

A photo of a lithe fox dude I sketched based on the original head and idea I had for the other page. I wanted to play around with making a fox tail in that style. The tail is basically a bunch of ovals layered on each other; not directly over each other but overlapping half way, kinda, as the tail widens towards the tip. I uh, just realized that doesn't really look like a fox tail since it doesn't round back to a tip at the end. Woops. But I like the idea I will refine it. The fox dude is also saying "Heyyy"

The same thing as the previous photo but in darker lighting.

September 25, 2025 at 4:37 AM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

Here's kind of an idea of what the base game map is like. It stretches from Scandinavia and the British Isles to India, the scale is much more "zoomed-out" than the Bronze Age mod

A screenshot of Imperator: Rome's base game map, well actually I'm kind of lying a bit, since I'm running the Invictus mod with it, but not many people play the base game without it so I'm not lying 💖 The screenshot focuses on the Near-East, I can't screenshot all of the game map at the same time due to its size, I think, maybe I could lol

September 20, 2025 at 6:54 PM

🕯

@amuleto.bsky.social

the bronze age fixation returns

I'd form Minoa right now but I'm metagaming and waiting to form another nation before Minoa to maximize the amount of benefits I can get