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maggy.kia.net
Magdalena Donea | 🇷🇴 🇬🇷 🏳️‍🌈 ♿️
@maggy.kia.net
1.2K followers 1.1K following 3.7K posts
Former refugee. Abolitionist. Old-school net.person. UW MA Cultural Studies. UCSD PhD (in progress) Comm/STS. Surveillance, unbelonging & mediation of displacement. Unprecedentedness and crisis. Critical Data, AI, DH, maps, archives. She/They/Any
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maggy.kia.net
And now for the annual tradition: emptying out last year's container of leftover cranberry sauce at the back of the fridge and cleaning it out for this year's:
A big pot of cranberry sauce on a stove.
November 27, 2025 at 6:14 AM
maggy.kia.net
Never passing up an opportunity to rec State of Grace (1990). There are few other movies for which I have such blinding love. Robin Wright was *luminous* in this.
DVD cover for State of Grace (1990) feat. Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Ed Harris.
November 25, 2025 at 6:25 AM
maggy.kia.net
Someone left one of these on my doorstep and I gotta say, the first thing that came to mind was gosh, those would be painful shoved up your ass, don't you think?
A hand holding a round black sticker of what might be the US flag in B&W with one stripe in green. The end of the stripes all look like guns. Text caption says "FREEDOM IN ALL CALIBERS" and "TPUSA"
November 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM
maggy.kia.net
This is a farce, why would @safety.bsky.app @support.bsky.team @jay.bsky.team do this, and with no explanation?! On what grounds did y'all suspend #sarahkendzior?
Screenshot of Sarah Kendzior's note on Substack from Nov 10, 2025 (8pm-ish PDT) - "I've been suspended from BlueSky. I don't know why. I wasn't online much today, and the last things I posted were excerpts from my substack newsletter articles. The suspension followed without explanation. It seems there's a crackdown. If you enjoy my work and want to make sure you can access it, subscribe! It's free - I would never paywall in times of peril - and voluntary paying subscribers keep it going. It would be great to have your support at this time. Thanks!"
November 11, 2025 at 5:19 AM
maggy.kia.net
If you were driving home with me from the salon the other day, this is what you got. (The hair color went dark for autumn and I'm suuuuuper happy with it.)
Selfie of brunette woman in a car wearing sunglasses.
October 15, 2025 at 2:36 AM
maggy.kia.net
The only stress relief that still seems to work a little bit.
Jigsaw puzzle pieces scattered across a black tabletop with other objects at the periphery.
October 12, 2025 at 6:05 AM
maggy.kia.net
This is dumb but never fails:
A dune buggy kicking up a monster cloud of red sand behind it, with a grinning cat spliced in as its driver. The caption reads: "actual photo of my cat leaving its litter box."
September 29, 2025 at 2:41 AM
maggy.kia.net
Borrowed from @cyborgapologist.bsky.social, whose version of this made my day earlier: bsky.app/profile/cybo... -- let's try this, yeah?
A posting meme challenge: “Music Ask 1. A song you like with a color in the title 2. A song you like with a number in the title 3. A song that reminds you of summertime 4. A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about 5. A song that needs to be played LOUD 6. A song that makes you want to dance 7. A song to drive to 8. A song about drugs or alcohol 9. A song that makes you happy 10. A song that makes you sad 11. A song that you never get tired of 12. A song from your preteen years 13. One of your favorite 80's songs 14. A song that you would love played at your wedding 15. A song that is a cover by another artist 16. One of your favorite classical songs 17. A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke 18. A song from the year that you were born 19. A song that makes you think about life 20. A song that has many meanings to you 21. A favorite song with a person's name in the title 22. A song that moves you forward 23. A song that you think everybody should listen to 24. A song by a band you wish were still together 25. A song by an artist no longer living 26. A song that makes you want to fall in love 27. A song that breaks your heart 28. A song by an artist with a voice that you love 29. A song that you remember from your childhood 30. A song that reminds you of yourself”
September 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
maggy.kia.net
Post a perfect album from the 90s "that isn't Nirvana or Pearl Jam" -- don't get me started, i have about 100 candidates lined up, but here, randomly and not one I've posted before:
Album cover for Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke's "Duality" (1998)
September 5, 2025 at 6:39 PM
maggy.kia.net
So, not a STEM course, not a traditional critical course, more of a "I know what you're being told, let me start by disabusing you of some things, and let's sort out the rest together." So far, feedback is good. We'll see, though. Here was the flyer, for the curious:
A flyer for a UCSD Summer Session course on "Data and AI Industries" reads: Advances in AI and data science raise new and old issues about the role data plays in society. This class examines how data and what has come to be known as "AI" - as technologies and industry practices - transform work, politics and everyday social life. Together, we will learn how institutions (especially cultural industries) collect data, make predictions, and automate labor. We will engage critically with data/AI practices and cultural representations of data/AI, discussing issues like privacy, power, bias, representation, regulation, and labor. We will learn to look critically at hype, sift through real or imagined concerns, consider who should be responsible for solving emerging problems, and explore possible pathways for change in both industry and our wider communities. Students will learn high-level tech concepts, but this class has no programming requirement." (this description borrowed some thematic keywords from related department programming)
September 4, 2025 at 2:14 AM
maggy.kia.net
I control nothing about the way the apartment maintenance folks choose to characterize the problems I report and most of the time that's fine. Every once in a while, though...
An email from my building maintenance that says: "Greetings Magdalena Donea, According to our calculations, your Fix-It service is finished! To jog your memory, this request was for: (in red) toilet is screeching after filling up."
August 27, 2025 at 5:43 AM
maggy.kia.net
I dunno, I just think that as human beings still employed in these professions, we have to do better. If all we're doing is "merely executing," what's the point of having a human in that loop at all?

They may have withdrawn those examples, but someone wrote them, yknow?
Text screenshot: 'Entitled "GenAI: Content Risk Standards," the rules for chat bots were approved by Meta's legal, public policy and engineering staff, including its chief ethicist, according to the document. Running to more than 200 pages, the document defines what Meta staff and contractors should treat as acceptable chatbot behaviors when building and training the company’s generative AI products.'
August 15, 2025 at 3:56 AM
maggy.kia.net
I think this might be my favorite here. Claire Schwartz, "Parable" from her Civil Service (2022).
Cover of the book "Civil Service" (poems) by Claire Schwartz. The cover is a murky gray background decorated with two ghostly, empty robes. The poem "Parable" from pg. 48 The woman sits at her kitchen table across from a head of cabbage. The woman's mouth moves quickly, then slowly. She is trying to explain. She cocks her head to the side, listening. She is trying to understand. Now, she is understanding, nods. Each morning they sit like this, the woman and her cabbage. This is how she grows old, her face a lake the wind whispers to, every day its confidence worrying the surface a bit more. On the stove, the percolator sings. The woman worries over the cabbage. She pours two cups of coffee. One sits there, a tranquil lake. At the end of the day, the woman washes the cups, tenderly, as if washing a body. She knows she is washing a body. One evening, the woman's son comes back. It's not important from where. It's not important how long he's been gone. It matters only that time has deposited in him sarin, legislation, microplastics, and when he returns, he is no longer a boy who sings softly to the moon. The man follows orders. He wields what he's amassed. On the windowsill, petunias wilt in dissent. Now there is a head on the floor, smashed as if cabbage. Now there is a witnessing head, silent as cabbage. (The boy is the state. The cup is you. No, the boy is your lover. The cabbage farmer is you. Or the woman is a lesson, The cabbage is you. No. Oh, the many ways to misread. Or that other risk, the greater one, and what you'd have to do with it...)
August 9, 2025 at 1:32 AM
maggy.kia.net
Apologies to the truly sincere among y'all.
Meme depicting soldiers in tactical gear and formation with guns drawn, labeled "Software Engineer," "Data Engineer," "Data Analyst," "ML Engineer" and "Data Scientist." Among them is a man in full clown gear with yellow clown shoes on, labeled "Prompt Engineer."
July 22, 2025 at 11:00 PM
maggy.kia.net
*me and my book project
Doctor Who and the Face of Boe
July 19, 2025 at 3:40 AM
maggy.kia.net
Frankly, I think IDIOCRACY was way too kind to the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th centuries. But closer to home, I also have to say I'm not looking forward to the upcoming CHILDREN OF MEN / 12 MONKEYS season of our lives. (Credit: danmeth.com)
Infographic titled "Futuristic Movie Timeline" featuring a view of the Earth from space and a timeline of when a number of SF films take place.
July 10, 2025 at 7:57 PM
maggy.kia.net
I... think I might have an idea of when I'm being scammed.
Screenshot from an e-mail inbox with more than a dozen identical emails from the U.S. Department of Education, subject line "Help Us Prevent Fraud - One-Question Survey. Know When You're Being Scammed."
July 8, 2025 at 7:50 PM
maggy.kia.net
Analysis paralysis is definitely my superpower.
No, wait... :)

dre-yo.github.io/super-person...
Results of a "super-personality" test revealing my superpower to be NECROMANCY ("summoning spirits are my forte!") - I am apparently: curious about everything, even the unknown; the spirits don't lie; intelligence is strength; spell-caster, death magic; skeleton army. Personality traits: I prefer to be by my self; ideas, ideas, ideas; analysis paralysis; imaginative & creative; honest; ughhh I can't wait anymore; insensitive; daydreaming; logical. My team: shapeshifter, dream walker. My enemies: telescope vision, accelerated healing.
June 24, 2025 at 8:18 PM
maggy.kia.net
The usual 70 cL / 700 mL European bottle, not anything extravagant. Glenmorangie had a similarly priced one that I didn't get a picture of bc I got distracted by the Harrison Ford in a kilt poster, lol.
Whiskey ad featuring Harrison Ford in the Highlands, in a kilt, his right foot up on a rock, bottle of whiskey resting on his knee, his opposite hand holding a glass.
June 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
maggy.kia.net
I just want to warn the rest of the planet that the duty free zone at Edinburgh Airport is massive and it will bankrupt you if you're not careful. (Narrator: She was not careful.)
Photograph of a walking path through a shopping mall full of tourists and very expensive whiskeys.
June 21, 2025 at 9:18 AM
maggy.kia.net
The Vietnamese was amazing though.
Bun with lemongrass and chicken.
June 19, 2025 at 5:44 PM
maggy.kia.net
Old Town Stirling has a serious case of "whoever stays open past 6pm wins."
Facade of a Vietnamese restaurant in Stirling, Scotland, UK. Open after 6pm (and delicious!) Streetscape in Stirling, Scotland Streetscape in Stirling, Scotland.
June 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
maggy.kia.net
Moved on :)
Escalator downward, sign on the wall proclaiming, "Welcome to Edinburgh"
June 15, 2025 at 7:48 AM
maggy.kia.net
Blue books never really went away, I'm not sure why anyone would think this is a new development.

Anyway, Roaring Spring still prints the classic style (and the green one too): www.staples.com/roaring-spri...
The cover of a blue book exam book - a thin notebook used to administer in person written exams.
May 28, 2025 at 3:14 AM
maggy.kia.net
On this day in 2019, apparently. I miss Seattle :(
Silhouettes of downtown Seattle skyscrapers, sunset peeking out from under cloud cover and sending dramatic rays of light outward.
May 16, 2025 at 6:51 AM