CamannWordsmith is finally flying the blue skies
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camannwordsmith.bsky.social
CamannWordsmith is finally flying the blue skies
@camannwordsmith.bsky.social
250 followers 220 following 770 posts
We need help, the Poet reckoned.📚 Writer, musician, artist, JoCoNaut. "A much less dour Slash." Chromatic Verse Art. He / Him.
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camannwordsmith.bsky.social
So then Megyn Kelly was like "Actually, Epstein was fine because he was only into TEEN girls. It's not like they were LITTLE kids." In response, Patton Oswalt suggested that maybe she should be fed to a woodchipper, so BlueSky has now suspended Oswalt's account. You may remember BlueSky as the social media site that previously suspended trans users who said mean things to people who wished to fatally harm them.
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Been a while since I updated the ol' pin board, which I did this morning.
Black pinboard showing enamel pins from JoCo Cruise, Mega Man, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Good Omens, "Therapy isn't for the weak," invisible illnesses, PTSD, Canada, guitars, the Doubleclicks, and more.
November 11, 2025 at 7:34 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
You're not seeing the full article, which is why it ends like this.
"whether Democratic senators have confidence that Schumer is the right person to lead their caucus. None had anything to say. Schumer’s office, similarly, did not immediately respond to questions from Zeteo. What They’re Saying Behind the Scenes" Red box statimg "this post is for paid subscribers," and asking subscribers to log in in order to continue reading the article.
November 11, 2025 at 5:19 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
It’s a concern shared by charitable food providers across the country as states prepare for lower-income families to see their SNAP benefits dry up. SNAP helps 40 million Americans, or about 1 in 8, buy groceries. The debit cards they use to buy groceries at participating stores and farmers markets are normally loaded each month by the federal government. That’s set to pause at the start of next month after the Trump administration said Friday that it won’t use a roughly $5 billion contingency fund to keep food aid flowing in November in the government shutdown. The administration also says states temporarily covering the cost of food assistance benefits next month will not be reimbursed. In every story about this, it should be required to restate (as this reporter did) that there IS money available for SNAP during a shutdown. $5 billion isn't a lot, but it's enough where we could give everyone half of what they normally get...and while that's certainly not enough, it's also SOMETHING. The money exists for that purpose. They are intentionally making sure it cannot be used. I know that no one is surprised by this - some people are horrified, and others are delighted. But either way, I would like the media to repeat, as much as possible, that this is a choice. We will be unable to get food next month because they are *deliberately deciding* that.
October 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Who's that? Why, it's the fabulous @angelastic.com wearing her new satin skirt, based on my painting "Bliss"!
Angelastic standing on a stone paveway, wearing a black tanktop and a multi-colored satin skirt. The skirt is based on a painting I made called "Bliss," which is abstract art and primarly blue, with bursts of color that look vaguely floral throughout. A painting I made called "Bliss," which is abstract art and primarly blue, with bursts of color that look vaguely floral throughout.
September 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Sometimes I read about weird historical things and share them.

Here's a thing I wrote last year about Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, The Queen of Bees.
So then I was looking into weird historical epithets, and I found out about the Queen of Bees. In the late 1600s, the Duke and Duchess of Enghien have ten children, the eighth of which is Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. Her dad is Henri Jules, Prince of Condé. He's ultra rich, believes he's a werewolf, is horribly abusive to his wife, and isn't much better to his kids and even his staff. Although she's technically a princess, Louise and her siblings are forced to work around the clock and endure constant abuse of all sorts. Louise has an explosive temper, but she's also outspoken and witty. She's also quite small, and the French Court calls her "Doll of the Blood," a play on her being a "princess of the blood."* Supposedly, her sister-in-law came up with it. *A "prince of the blood" is a person who can trace their father's line directly back to a King. A princess of the blood is the daughter of such a person. Not everyone likes her. Louis XIV's sister-in-law calls her a "little toad" and often describes how ugly she is, but no one takes that seriously - it's quite the opposite. She's supposed to marry Louis de Bourbon, Louis XIV's son, but he dies before that happens. Louis XIV has a lot of children. Like, a LOT. Dude has a whole baseball team of mistresses. Some are official, some aren't. We don't even know for sure how many kids he has with the mistresses, but it's at least 16, and probably much higher. At some point, he does admit to most of them, and decides to legitimate them. 'Cause he's the king. He can do that. And part of that process means finding them suitable spouses, whether the spouses like it or not. So when she's 15, Louise is forced to marry Louis-Auguste de Bourbon. He's Louis XIV's favorite son, and his mom is Louis's official court mistress. Despite this, she's not invited to her own son's wedding...but all of his siblings are. They hate each other. She thinks he's weak and is disgusted by his lack of ambition. He thinks she's a tantrum-throwing monster and can't stand how she keeps trying to embarrass him at court. She has several affairs, and doesn't even bother to hide them from her husband. Why should she, in a marriage she's forced into? *** At this time, Madame de Maintenon is Louis XIV's secret wife. She's not a Queen, because although they do have a private ceremony, Louis never publicly admits they're married. He kinda can't, because she was born a commoner. There would be pearl-clutching. But even if no one says it out loud, everyone knows she's the second-most powerful person in France - essentially a Prime Minister. The fact that she's not openly a Queen actually works for her, as it makes her seem more easily approachable by the major players at the time. It's de Maintenon's court that Louise has to sit around in all day, and it's SO BORING. So she creates her own little court at the Château de Sceaux, a huge fancy AirBnB that the Crown owns. She throws fantastic parties. She redecorates. But it isn't enough. So Louise thinks "What would be fun, but also really embarrass my enemies?" *** And she establishes The Order of the Honey Bee, a chivalric order devoted to her, personally. Just for fun. She declares herself "Queen of the Bees" and anoints 39 "knights." Each is expected to attend all parties at Sceaux, and to wear their medal while doing so. The medal has her profile on one side, and the letters L. BAR. D. SC. D.P.D.L.O.D.L.M.A.M engraved below it. This is short for "Louise, baronne de Sceaux, dictatrice perpétuelle de l'ordre de la Mouche à miel" ("Louise, baroness of Sceaux, dictator of Order of the Honey Bee"). The other side features a bee and the words “PICCOLA SI. MA FA PUR GRAVI LE FERITE" ("She is small, it is true, but she inflicts great wounds."), followed by 1703, the year the Order is founded. To make the whole thing as ridiculous as possible, each knight is also given a silver robe embroidered with bees and a wig made to look like a beehive. As it turns out, the Château de Sceaux is WAY more fun than the actual royal court. By 1714, there's regular festivals with ballets, operas, and the best musicians in France. Writers and poets love it; Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and others are Honey Bee fans. *** A bunch of other things happen later, including a scheme with the Spanish ambassador to overthrow the regent ruling on behalf of France's child-king (which gets her and her husband thrown into prison for a year). She builds a library of 3,000 books. She's buried at a church in Sceaux, relatively close to the Order of the Honey Bee's headquarters.
September 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Imagine spending $700 million to rebrand your product, and then immediately changing it back because the most embarrassing man on the planet whined about it.
The switch occurred just hours after Trump weighed in on the rebranding, writing on social media “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll) and manage the company better than ever before.”
August 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Just sayin'
There's a YouTube musician I like who announced this morning that he's releasing an album. The first comment expressed excitement, and also thanked him for not using AI. This prompted annoyed comments like "You need to consider people who can't afford real musicians" and "Jesus, stop virtue signaling." Two things: - No, you absolutely don't. - If it's virtue signaling to want music played by human musicians rather than a thieving robot and the techbros behind it, then I guess I'm gonna need a full light show "Virtue signaling" is what they called "being politically correct" in the 90s - a term people use when they know, somewhere deep down, that what they're doing is wrong and they're pretty insecure about that, so they have to accuse others of grandstanding to make themselves feel better. I have no issue saying bad things are bad. If you do, then maybe that's your issue to figure out.
August 27, 2025 at 7:27 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
I don't like promoting things, but there's free shipping on Wearable Art today, and I think that is A Cool.

chromaticverse.square.site
Hi there, friends. It's been a while. Although I haven't been actively promoting Wearable Art for a bit now, there's a pretty good sale happening, and I thought you might want to know about it. Until 11 PM (EST) tonight, all shipping is free. No minimum. This includes Canada. My site isn't set up for Canadian orders, but I can take them manually. If you haven't been here in a minute, we have most of the old styles y'all liked, plus a few new ones...
August 21, 2025 at 8:16 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Star Wars thoughts
This is exactly right. When you point out the evil that they've done, they don't feel bad - they feel POWERFUL. In part, they enjoy seeing you upset because they don't like you, but that's not the most important thing. Much more than that, they enjoy it because they see themselves as the heroes, the good people who are always kept down by an elite that constantly patronizes them, that wants to control everything so badly that they'll change how math works to make it Common Core, they'll change how biology works by claiming there's more than two genders, they'll cancel anyone who dares speak up, they'll work tirelessly to take away your God-given right to arm yourself... They believe 100% that fascism is alive and well in America. And they believe WE'RE the ones causing it. They see the left as The Empire and themselves as the Rebellion. They truly do. Which is why they don't feel guilt for the evil they commit. We're not really people to them - we're all The Empire. How many stormtroopers get killed in those films? Thousands, surely. But you don't feel bad that a single one of them suffers - they're on the wrong side. The galaxy was more dangerous with them in it, and now it's not. No one ever watched Star Wars and thought those guys were treated unfairly. You watch it and think "This is horrifying and it has to be stopped at all costs." Of course appealing to a sense of humanity isn't going to work - we're the villains, and the heroes are finally winning. Who DOESN'T like seeing the villains realize everything they've built is being destroyed?
July 3, 2025 at 9:53 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
It looks like they're still at it, at nearly 11:30 PM. The only possible hope here is that most of the states with the highest number of SNAP recipients are red, and half the states in the Top 10 for Medicaid are also red. Cutting SNAP and Medicaid hurts their own voters just as much as it hurts us, if not more. The GOP is usually terrified that if they don't bow to That Guy, voters will eviscerate 'em...but if they DO bow on this specific thing, those reps will very likely be intensely attacked by their own voters. What we're waiting for, essentially, is for them to figure out who they're more afraid of.
July 3, 2025 at 3:31 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
He's probably just happy to be around baked goods again after the doughnut incident.
One former national security official said they were struck by how often they’d run into Vice President JD Vance standing outside the Oval Office near the Keurig coffee maker, drinking a cup or eating one of the cookies on offer. Vance’s office declined to comment.
July 2, 2025 at 9:50 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Excited for the morning. It's not every day the government votes on whether or not you should be allowed to see a doctor and eat food. Maybe in the next bill, they'll just go all in and hunt us for sport, but I think that's government inefficiency at its most egregious. As a rule, a bunch of starving sick people probably aren't gonna move too quickly.
July 2, 2025 at 9:26 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Just looked at a position for a copy editor. This was at the bottom.

We've known for a while that 90% of resumes (as of last year - might be even higher now) aren't read by a human; that's not new.

But I feel like it IS new for a company to actually admit it.
This job is posted on behalf of one of our partner companies. If you choose to apply, your application will go through our AI-powered 3-step screening process, where we automatically select the 5 best candidates. Our AI thoroughly analyzes every line of your CV and LinkedIn profile to assess your fit for the role, evaluating each experience in detail. When needed, our team may also conduct a manual review to ensure only the most relevant candidates are considered. Our process is fair, unbiased, and based solely on qualifications and relevance to the job. Only the best-matching candidates will be selected for the next round. If you are among the top 5 candidates, you will be notified within 7 days. If you do not receive feedback after 7 days, it means you were not selected. However, if you wish, we may consider your profile for other similar opportunities that better match your experience.
July 2, 2025 at 12:28 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Hi y'all. A friend of mine has run into A Situation - she has ONE payment left on her car, she owes quite a lot, and she has virtually none of it. And she has just a few days to pay that or her car gets repossessed. The worst part is that one of her regular clients actually has a project for her, but due to training and their payment schedule, she won't even start getting paid until it's too late. She's not asking for people to send her money. She's asking what she can do to EARN it. A bunch of you know I'm very particular about money and the way I ask for help. She is also that way. She can research for the things you've been putting off and don't have time to do. She can proofread, transcribe, enter data, organize files...she can write blog posts, articles, take photos (she's an amazing photographer), do some creative writing. Maybe even some artwork. I will also add that I know, probably better than anyone, how much she doesn't want to do this. People like us, we find this the worst, most difficult thing in the world. So if she's doing it, it is the *very* last option. Also, if you are able, please have her actually do something for you. I know you don't want to because that's not what friends do - that you want to help because it's the right thing, and demanding work in exchange feels gross. I promise I get it, but trust me - it is ABSOLUTELY what she prefers here. I speak from a lot of experience. I'm not posting her name or links here because I don't want that public on Bluesky, but if you DM me, I'll send you what you need. I know things are hard all over, but..if you can hire her or know someone who could use what she does...please consider that.
June 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
I've called myself Gen X my whole life, but I just learned that there's something called a Xennial (some traits from Gen X and some from Millennials), and I think I'm actually that. Now I'm conflicted, because I believe strongly in saying the correct words for things...but also, I don't like the word "Xennial."
June 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
TMW you can't write, can't spell, and can't research...but you somehow have a job as a columnist.
NEWTON Right. I mentioned that one way I use large language models is for fact-checking. I’ll write a column and put it into an L.L.M., and I’ll ask it to check it for spelling, grammatical and factual errors. Sometimes a chatbot will tell me, “You keep describing ‘President Trump,’ but as of my knowledge cutoff, Joe Biden is the president.” But then it will also find an actual factual error I missed. So I get to see the limitations of the chatbot but also the power.
June 18, 2025 at 3:04 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
I don't know, man. Maybe she did. Sure was lucky that her allergy emergency waited until after the Senator she ordered assaulted and handcuffed told his story, though.
NPR screenshot showing the following headline: "Alex Padilla recounts his removal from DHS news conference in emotional Senate speech June 17, 20254:05 PM ET Claudia Grisales" CNN screenshot showing the following headline: "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem transported to DC-area hospital after allergic reaction, DHS says By Holmes Lybrand, CNN Updated 5:53 PM EDT, Tue June 17, 2025
June 17, 2025 at 10:19 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
I see this repeated constantly. The idea that people who actually know how to write MUST be using AI is *incredibly offensive*.

We can't escape this disease. Even when we refuse to use it, said refusal has somehow become proof that we're doing it.
Screenshot from a Grammar Girl Facebook post: "OMG, em dashes are not a sign of AI writing! I kept hoping this myth would burn itself out, but no — the idea that em dashes are a telltale sign of AI writing just keeps spreading. I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I dropped everything and crashed a segment in to the latest Grammar Girl podcast to address it. The whole thing seems to have taken off after a popular GenZ fashion podcast advised people to stop using the “the ChatGPT hyphen.” Their post went viral — and ever since, writers (especially on social media) have been in posting about it or objecting to it. Here’s what I found: • Where the myth likely started — and how Google Trends backs it up • Why AI would use em dashes (because humans do!) • What actual clues are more likely to suggest AI writing • Why you should be deeply skeptical of AI detectors • The real harm false accusations can cause, especially for marginalized groups We’re living in a moment when accusations of AI use are flying — often based on nothing more than vibes, vocabulary, or punctuation. But there’s (almost) no shortcut to knowing for sure in any one case. And em dashes? They’re not the enemy. They’re glorious. 🎧 Links in the first comment."
June 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Just finished S2 of Andor. I can't describe how I feel about this series. To say it's by far the best Star Wars thing is both true, and also not nearly enough. It's one of the best pieces of art I've seen *period*. It's beautiful. And heartbreaking. I'm often cynical about TV and film. I think these days, it's very difficult not to be. But the people who made this? Let them make everything and anything they want for the rest of their lives.
June 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
I understand, but it's still not real.
On the website for a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services, LLC, Boelter described himself as part of the "leadership team." NPR found no record of the firm having clients or providing any services. A call to the company's phone number connected to what appears to be a private phone line, not a business. The address listed in incorporation papers appeared to be that of a law firm specializing in divorce litigation.
June 15, 2025 at 9:37 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Oh Lord, what to do when the romance is gone? "I bought an ELECTION for you! An ELECTION! I gave you everything, and you never appreciated it, never heard my voice...you couldn't even notice me. Was any of it ever real? Did we ever truly share a passion for destroying the country? Or did you simply use me like you've used literally every person you've ever met? I mean, I do that too. Obviously. But I usually do it for free. It wasn't CHEAP, this election. We had goals; we had a life of evil planned together. But you've turned what I thought was so pure into something tawdry and shameful. I just want you to know: Truth Social Bitcoin sounds stupid. There, I said it."
June 5, 2025 at 7:40 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
"So it turns out that the thing everyone said would be incredibly stupid to change was, in fact, incredibly stupid. We did not realize that people expected shows to be good. I will continue to have this job and be paid the equivalent of a small country's GDP for some reason."
Ahead the company’s upfront presentation in New York at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, WBD President and CEO David Zaslav said the name will change once again … back to HBO Max. The company further explained the move in a statement by noting — in what sounds like a clear shot at industry leader Netflix — “This evolution has been influenced by changing consumer needs, and the fact that no consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content. With other services filling the more basic needs with volume, WBD has clearly distinguished itself through its quality and distinct stories, and no brand has done that better and more consistently over 50+ years than HBO.”
May 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
#worldcon
Imagine constantly battling a robot that people use to steal your work and increasingly eliminate human creativity and skill...but at least publishing still exists, right? You're a gifted sci-fi author and your work is still valued. And the Hugo Awards are coming up. That's basically your Emmy - it's gonna be mentioned in association with your name for the rest of your career. So you apply. Bad news - you didn't even make it through the vetting process. That's disappointing, but it happens. As an author, you're used to a massive amount of rejection. It doesn't necessarily mean your work isn't great - maybe it's just not what they were looking for at the time. Just kidding. That's not true. No human looked at your application or thought about anything you said. The staff outsourced that to a robot that can't spell "strawberry," can't correctly take a McDonald's order, and routinely just makes things up and presents them as fact.
May 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM
camannwordsmith.bsky.social
Ah, yes, male authors - those"often overlooked" underdogs. Maybe now a man can FINALLY be published.
The focus of the publishing is in response to “a situation where stories by new male authors are often overlooked, with a perception that the male voice is problematic”, according to Cook. However, he emphasised that Conduit Books “doesn’t seek an adversarial stance”, but “to augment the incredible work of small presses everywhere, some of which are exclusively publishing work by women, with a space for male authors to flourish”. Cook told The Bookseller: “There has never been an independent publisher that champions literary fiction by men. Which is not to say we won’t publish fiction by women in the future – but the emphasis at first will be on male authors.”
April 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM