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jamesweir.bsky.social
james
@jamesweir.bsky.social
910 followers 1.2K following 1K posts
ann arbor mi | burlington vt | shanghai ch | aa again
birds, tennis, native plants, more housing, china, news and law, etc.
volunteer (board and bird walks) with washtenaw bird and natural alliance
he/they
www.jamesrichardweir.com
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jamesweir.bsky.social
my contribution to the oeuvre
"SPACEMAN SPIFF FOR MARS" election poster in the blue and yellow style of Zohran Mamdani
November 8, 2025 at 11:25 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 12:11 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 12:10 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
September 17, 2025 at 9:40 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
declined to post what i think would have been a really good bit on nextdoor because i'm in favor of a more productive discourse. and i really do mean it about better discourse. but to be clear i also believe in the bit. it would have been thermonuclear, and beautiful #a2council
screenshot of a draft nextdoor post with a really stupid joke that, honestly, you are better off not reading or hearing via screenreader
August 6, 2025 at 5:33 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
some (haters) would like a citation. so to be clear this is a meme
screenshot of a quote tweet. the original tweet says: The haters said I couldn't do it. and they were right. honestly great call by the haters. and the person quote tweeting responded by pointing out a parallel in 20th century french literature by saying: Sisyphus watching the stone roll down the hill once again:
August 6, 2025 at 4:43 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
looks like a good chunk of those absentee votes are in, yes leading 58-42 or so 🤞🤞🤞
Screenshot of a Washtenaw County voting website that shows proposals A and B ahead with a roughly 58 to 42 percent lead. Final result uncertain
August 6, 2025 at 4:21 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
i mean look at this—you have to bike up a ramp to a tall elevated path, navigate a twisty bridge, take a shape 90 degree turn followed by an even sharper 180 degree turn, followed by the existing 90 degree turn under the argo tunnel. why!!!! when bike lanes exist!?! #a2council
overhead view of a map rending that shows an elevated bike and pedestrian walkway that twists and turns over the landscape
August 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
i know everyone who follows #a2council is sick of A and B, and i am sorry but this post from one of the dug-in LCG nextdoor warriors is notable. it is sending me into galaxies unknown. how do i survive in a future in which this doesn’t come to fruition
a screenshot of a nextdoor post. the post text is titled “preserving park land” and then the summary of the text ends. the image is a fever dream with strange buildings hovering over a plaza full of hallucinated people walking amongst strange other-worldly fountains and such. the actual reality of the location is a parking lot that has been a parking lot since the 1940s, and has no actual people on it basically ever.
July 31, 2025 at 2:00 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
most striking in this wild Library Green Conservancy proposal is to see their characterization of the AADL when they wanted something from AADL versus now, when LGC supporters are accusing its leadership of a fraud against the people without any evidence #a2council

drive.google.com/file/d/15Qt5...
A slide from a powerpoint presentation that reads: Potential Ann Arbor Public Library Engagement • The Ann Arbor Public Library is potentially a central player in the evolution of an Ann Arbor Commons. This is often the case in Commons-­‐driven cities. • Public Libraries are arguably a Commons in their own right and in some ways a prototype for Commoning. • The current leadership of the Ann Arbor Public library is extremely well regarded and visionary. It could and should play a leading role in the Ann Arbor Commons.
July 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
enjoyed a lovely afternoon delivering lawn signs for @moreneighborsa2.org and as a bonus met some friendly neighbors in the process. sign the petition and get a sign to show support for building more housing in *all* ann arbor neighborhoods!!!! #a2council

🏘️🛖🏡🏰🏡🏢🏠🏯🏫

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
selfie over the shoulder of a bearded man with a helmet, sunglasses, and backpack. there is a stack of lawn signs attached to the backpack
July 26, 2025 at 10:14 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
i sent this classic meme to a colleague earlier today. and the government just... tweeted it out
a screenshot of a blusky post by Amy Ash, @lolennui.bsky.social, that reads: (me making fun of your crop rotation idea and thereby holding our people back another 5000 years) jeff thinks the beans have to take turns lmao Posted on: August 6, 2023, at 11:38 PM
June 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
incredible slices of bread on this Unintelligible Word Sandwich
Screenshot of a memo on white paper with black and white text that reads: PLEASE WAKE UP - TIME TO BE WOKE! If we lose our city now to the investment companies, we will never be able to restore its character! Please fight back! Please run for city Council in 2026! It’s time to PRESERVE TREE CITY.There will be no second chance. ChatGPT says that “new urbanism” is very difficult to do in a city that is already built.
June 3, 2025 at 11:21 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
can’t stop thinking about how anti-comp.-plan ann arborites have nothing to say about the new monstrosities across from dolph park. the ugly buildings are exactly what they claim the plan would do to ann arbor—except six people will live on this land instead of two dozen or more #a2council
two large single-family homes, under construction but mostly completed, are pictured across a marshy area in the foreground. the houses are extremely ugly and also extremely large, yet can only house a handful of people in a location across from a park and 50 yards from a major bus line
May 16, 2025 at 3:02 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
the important thing to take away slash clarify from this: is screenshot the past tense of screenshot or is it screenshotted or screenshat

@ryanhatesthis.bsky.social @garbageday.email
this image is a screenshot of a mailing list email which reads: Anyways, World’s big launch this month coincided with some fascinating advertising, beyond the weird coffee shop spot. They appear to have duped ardent anti-AI and anti-crypto comedian Adam Conover into promoting them. He has since deleted the post, which I figured he might, which is why I screenshot it. after the mailing list commentary, there is an image of a tweet from adam conover that says: a tech company called @worldcoin paid me to go check out their new product. #ad #world #worldus @worldid
May 13, 2025 at 2:30 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
would be genuinely interesting to know the percentage of DOGE and trump admin staffers/cabinet members that have already committed obvious illegal acts that carry prison sentences

www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
screenshot of an article that reads: But according to an official whistleblower disclosure shared with Congress and other federal overseers that was obtained by NPR, subsequent interviews with the whistleblower and records of internal communications, technical staff members were alarmed about what DOGE engineers did when they were granted access, particularly when those staffers noticed a spike in data leaving the agency. It's possible that the data included sensitive information on unions, ongoing legal cases and corporate secrets — data that four labor law experts tell NPR should almost never leave the NLRB and that has nothing to do with making the government more efficient or cutting spending. Meanwhile, according to the disclosure and records of internal communications, members of the DOGE team asked that their activities not be logged on the system and then appeared to try to cover their tracks behind them, turning off monitoring tools and manually deleting records of their access — evasive behavior that several cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR compared to what criminal or state-sponsored hackers might do. screenshot of an article that reads: The new revelations about DOGE's activities at the labor agency come from a whistleblower in the IT department of the NLRB, who disclosed his concerns to Congress and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in a detailed report that was then provided to NPR. Meanwhile, his attempts to raise concerns internally within the NLRB preceded someone "physically taping a threatening note" to his door that included sensitive personal information and overhead photos of him walking his dog that appeared to be taken with a drone, according to a cover letter attached to his disclosure filed by his attorney, Andrew Bakaj of the nonprofit Whistleblower Aid.
April 15, 2025 at 1:00 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
you simply love to see it lol
a screenshot of the spotify app showing the headline of an episode of the tennis podcast: Miami - Eala dream continues; Serious for Swiatek? Is Zverev the worst World No 2 ever?
March 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
jamesweir.bsky.social
look at this early steak and shake menu—the first words of their menu specifically advertised "Gov't inspected ground beef." Wonder what they'll do when musk and trump eliminate all regulatory safeguards around livestock and the funding that helps american farmers manage food-borne risks
screenshot of an old steak and shake menu, faded like it is likely from a few decades ago at least, with the headline "Luncheon", and then a description of the STEAKBURGER LUNCH, which includes gov't inspected group beef, grilled and served on a toasted bun with French Fries, choice of lettuce tomato salad or baked beans, for $1.10
March 8, 2025 at 4:05 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
this detail is almost unbelievable—the first words of this early menu are literally "Gov't inspected ground beef" lol. good luck to the dumb-as-a-bag-of-dumb-rocks ceo running steak and shake once elon and trump repeal all regulatory safeguards for livestock
screenshot of an old fast food menu with the headline "Luncheon", and then a description of the STEAKBURGER LUNCH, which includes gov't inspected group beef, grilled and served on a toasted bun with French Fries, choice of lettuce tomato salad or baked beans, for $1.10
March 8, 2025 at 3:52 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
you can't say birders aren't observent lol 🪶
a partial screenshot of an ebird screenshot that reads: 1 species observed; 1 red tailed hawk (pooped)
March 1, 2025 at 2:22 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
birds on a sports broadcast is a great genre of bird. my contribution is a chuck-will’s-widow at the miami open last year. anyone on the 🪶 feed have others??
a tv screen displays a bird sitting on a rail in a sports stadium a tv screen shows a blurry bird whipping by a professional tennis player during a match a tv screen shows a blurry bird against the backdrop of a tennis court
March 1, 2025 at 12:41 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
i think these first three screenshots from the segment might be harris's hawks, rather than red-tailed?? the 🦉 feed should know more. either way, this segment adheres to the show's high standards—great story.

all worth watching but bird ID stuff starts around ~3:10

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiN_...
a mostly-dark-chocolate-colored bird of prey perched on a dead snag, with rufous shoulders and a distinct white patch at the base of the tail a blurry bird of prey flying with notably hooked wings, a white tail band at the end of its tail and a pronounced white rump patch, flying above a scrubby field with cacti one slender bird of prey with yellow feet and talons perched on a basketball backboard, and another blurry bird soars in to join it on the backboard. both have notable white patches at the base of the tail. in the background, a sliver of what looks like a mountain is visable against a washed out, nothingness sky in the foreground, a bird of prey is kiting, and in the distance a plane of much larger size is taking off. the perspective makes the bird appear to be half the size of the commercial airliner. unlike the previous photos, this bird does indeed seem to be a red-tailed hawk, likely a dark morph in the west where they are more common
February 18, 2025 at 4:19 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
saw a rare dark morph red tailed hawk today in washtenaw county wearing a backpack transmitter—a remarkable bird, beautiful plumage, apparently part of the RTHA project, and an MSU prof involved has ID’d it as a bird named mercury, last seen in toronto two weeks ago 🦉
redtailedhawkproject.org
grainy and foggy photo of a dark colored hawk perched on a telephone pole. a completely dark bird, with a peek of red tail amongst the feathers
February 16, 2025 at 4:30 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
if you see this post, quote with a bridge from your gallery
photo of a sunset over a still river, with a curved bridge spanning the banks. the river is the huangpu in shanghai circa ~2014 or so
January 24, 2025 at 4:29 AM
jamesweir.bsky.social
ok this seems a little on the nose for today
screenshot of the word game Wordle. The first guess is the word 'wrong', and every letter is incorrect.
January 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM