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sam blickhan

@snblickhan.bsky.social

1.1K followers 970 following 450 posts

She/her. Chicago. People, tech, museums, research. Zooniverse.org Co-Director & #DH lead at Adler Planetarium. PhD. CW Handbook: https://britishlibrary.pubpub.org/ Lapsed musicologist/medievalist. Fiber artist. Musician: https://umbrellabirds.bandcamp.com

britishlibrary.pubpub.org

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sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · Nov 10

Welcome new folks! I post about #DH R&D, crowdsourcing, platform maintenance, #UX design, people power. Also fiber arts, crafting & data physicalization via #DHmakes. Will often post 📸 of my dog Bowie. Sometimes music, sometimes mine. I RT for the people, incl shitposts when they make me laugh.

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 2d

Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.

He is a computer safety researcher.

And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.

In under 1600 words.

aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...

I Want You to Understand Chicago
Politics Chicago
2025-11-08

I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.

Every day my phone buzzes. It is a neighborhood group: four people were kidnapped at the corner drugstore. A friend a mile away sends a Slack message: she was at the scene when masked men assaulted and abducted two people on the street. A plumber working on my pipes is distraught, and I find out that two of his employees were kidnapped that morning. A week later it happens again.

An email arrives. Agents with guns have chased a teacher into the school where she works. They did not have a warrant. They dragged her away, ignoring her and her colleagues’ pleas to show proof of her documentation. That evening I stand a few feet from the parents of Rayito de Sol and listen to them describe, with anguish, how good Ms. Diana was to their children. What it is like to have strangers with guns traumatize your kids. For a teacher to hide a three-year-old child for fear they might be killed. How their relatives will no longer leave the house. I hear the pain and fury in their voices, and I wonder who will be next.

Understand what it is to pray in Chicago. On September 19th, Reverend David Black, lead pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, was praying outside the ICE detention center in Broadview when a DHS agent shot him in the head with pepper balls. Pepper balls are never supposed to be fired at the head because they can seriously injure, or even kill. “We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof,” Black recalled. He is not the only member of the clergy ICE has assaulted. Methodist pastor Hannah Kardon was violently arrested on October 17th, and Baptist pastor Michael Woolf was shot with pepper balls on November 1st.

Understand what it is to sleep in Chicago. On the night of September 30th, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to execute a raid on an apartment building on the South Sho…

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Mo Ryan @moryan.bsky.social · 2d

I know many of us are tired, scared & angry. When you can, if you can, channel that into doing what you can to help. Every day it's more clear the only ones who are going to save us ... are us.

Whenever you start to say "people should do x," it's you. You're "people." We're "people." It's just us.

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 2d

I just want everyone to have the experience of living in dignity with access to sufficient food, safe housing, needed medical care, high quality education, and time to engage with what sparks their curiosity and spirit

this should not be controversial 🫠

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 2d

i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 2d

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.

The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.

People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.

And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 2d

They’re wearing masks so they can’t be prosecuted later. As long as they think they can’t be prosecuted, their crimes will intensify. They will torture, starve and kill, as they have already, on greater and greater scale.

Signed, someone who’s covered the unaccountable War on Terror for 23 years.

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.

It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 3d

Video on social media shows an immigration agent pulling a gun in Little Village and holding it to the side — which is not an appropriate or safe way to hold a gun. (Among other issues.)

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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 3d

My latest is a love letter to Chicago. "I see you stumbling through the stubborn, awkward rhythm of showing up, again and again. I see you fighting alongside people who sometimes frustrate and confuse you, and defending neighbors you may have never met, because you know they’re all your people."

In Chicago, We Run Toward Danger Together

"Faced with unrelenting state violence, Chicagoans have refused to be cowed," says Mariame Kaba.

organizingmythoughts.org

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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 4d

Identifying flaws in GenAI unfortunately offers a pretext for claims that perfecting the product is just a matter of time & money. So pointing to chatbots’ role in,say, suicides can only go so far if we don’t also identify the systemic, irresolvable lack of Gen AI’s human commitment bc math has none

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Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 5d

A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 6d

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this video.

I don’t know how we’ve gotten to the point where men in full balaclavas can abduct daycare teachers while they’re watching children.

But I do know that this isn’t sustainable. Abolish ICE. There is no way to reform this.

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 6d

Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school

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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 7d

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral race, NBC News projects. nbcnews.to/4nIzNUC

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 7d

The Biden administration worked hard to accomplish this new free IRS filing system. It’s astounding that one should have to pay fees in order to pay their taxes. But this rent seeking is entirely consistent with the economic policies of the current administration that benefit the most wealthy.

Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 7d

👀 Scoop: IRS Direct File, the free government-backed program that let you file your taxes for free, is dead.

IRS wrote to state tax agencies saying it would not be operational this coming tax season, per records I've obtained.

IRS Direct File: 2023-2025.

(Story from when the pilot launched.)

IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax-prep giants

The tax agency has quietly built its own prototype system for filing tax returns digitally and free of charge, according to current and former officials.

www.washingtonpost.com

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capux.bsky.social @capux.bsky.social · 12d

Broderie d'après Jérôme Bosch.

Des personnages tirés de tableaux de Jérôme Bosch en broderie au contour

Le premier personnage presque entièrement brodé (un oiseau avec un entonnoir sur la tête et un manteau rouge)

Le 2e personnage brodé en partie (une tête avec une capuche bleue et de gros pieds)

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sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · 11d

Fun fact: this is my choir (St. James Cathedral, Chicago)!

Such a cool collaboration with the #Newberry and so appropriate for the season. 👻 Click through to read about the piece, and listen to the recording!

Suzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 11d

Happy Halloween!

We recorded the ACTUAL Dance of Death (via music from a #NewberryLibrary book c. 1650) for your listening pleasure! Read all about it while you listen to the recording in my latest blog post!

www.newberry.org/blog/spooky-...

Screenshot of the Spooky Singing Skeletons blogpost, including the 1493 imago mortis from the Nuremberg Chronicle with several dancing and music playing skeletons.

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Laurie @laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 12d

Map of verified ICE sightings in Chicago

bit.ly/chi_ice_map

CHI verified ICE sightings/avistamientos de ICE verificados/observations vérifiées de l'ICE/ - public

Este es un mapa de avistamientos verificados de ICE en el área de Chicago. Los puntos rojos representan avistamientos de los últimos tres días, los puntos amarillos, los de la últimas dos semanas, y l...

bit.ly

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 13d

As DH grows, it’s increasingly important to publish conference papers, but there hasn’t been a clear venue for that.

So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.

Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!

bit.ly/ach-anthology

Screenshot that reads:

Introducing the Anthology for Computers and the Humanities

Taylor Arnold, Maria Antoniak, Miguel Escobar Varela, Marie Puren, Mila Oiva , Amanda Regan, Lauren Tilton, and Melanie Walsh

1 Data Science and Statistics, University of Richmond, U.S.A.
2 Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, U.S.A.
3 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore
4 Laboratoire de Recherche de l'EPITA, Paris, France
5 History and Archaeology, University of Turku, Finland
6 History and Geography, Clemson University, U.S.A.
7 Rhetoric and Communication Studies, University of Richmond, U.S.A.
8 Information School, University of Washington, U.S.A.

Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.63744/HHsQG7hNWyxG

Published: 25 September 2025

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 13d

New: Videos show ICE/CBP agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE has tool to instantly look up unprecedented number of databases with just a photo

“I’m an American citizen so leave me alone”

“Alright, we just got to verify that”

www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...

ICE and CBP Agents Are Scanning Peoples’ Faces on the Street To Verify Citizenship

Videos on social media show officers from ICE and CBP using facial recognition technology on people in the field. One expert described the practice as “pure dystopian creep.”

www.404media.co

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sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks!!

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Amanda Wyatt! Visconti @literaturegeek.bsky.social · 14d

If you want to save favorite socks & learn a fun & easy (& cozy!) craft method, @snblickhan.bsky.social & I made this free zine on using a Speedweve (tiny, <$15 mending loom) for mending 🧵✨:

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sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · 14d

Congratulations! Great news! 🎉

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Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 15d

"What I need you to understand is that nobody is letting them go quietly. The Feds' every movement is announced by a chorus of whistles, by a parade of cars honking in their wake, neighbors rushing outside to yell to film to witness.... Neighbors running towards trouble."

dan sinker @dansinker.com · 18d

ICE has been cracking down hard across the vast expanse of the greater Chicago area, and I wrote a little bit about what you need to understand about what it’s like here now. Plus, I compiled some resources for locals to get alerts and whistles. dansinker.com/posts/202…

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sam blickhan @snblickhan.bsky.social · 16d

It’s beautiful!!! Yay!

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Charismatic Frontman @westerberghs89.bsky.social · 18d

*springsteen voice*

Well they burned up the Wicker Man on Summerisle last night

Burned up some sheep too

Flaming Hydra @flaminghydra.com · 18d

AND FINALLY: Please join us in bidding a spooky little farewell to WICKER MAN WEEK. A chilling time was had by all!! flaminghydra.com/r/e76536b6?m...

Yellow brick road / The long march

Laurie Woolever visits the Emerald City, and Carrie Frye reflects on last week’s protests, and Wicker Man Week comes to a close

flaminghydra.com

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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 17d

It's hard to overstate how fully engaged Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are in this ICE madness. There are neighborhood watch alerts, spontaneous crowds gathering outside schools at pick up & drop off plus madly blowing whistles and honking car horns, this city is fighting back and hard.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 17d

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