Vienna Teng
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viennateng.bsky.social
Vienna Teng
@viennateng.bsky.social
Songwriter and hopepunk climate nerd. Whateverworksist. Holding two truths in my head at the same time. Incapable of shitposting.
I did not anticipate the appetite for a bike shanty, y'all.
April 1, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I am obsessed with this new song "Sisters of Winter." www.instagram.com/reel/DHoumYg...
🌸🌲🎍

MILCK has generously given me permission to cover it live, so look for it in this Saturday's Patreon livestreams (plural!) & on tour in Europe next month 💜
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March 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
It appears I am only writing sea shanties right now. And because I've never been on a sailing ship (or worked fields, or shelled beans for hours), it appears these shanties are going to be about biking. Maybe next I'll write a drinking song involving mocktails. The muse, she has questionable taste.
March 25, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I have profound respect for @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, so I'm grappling with why this piece feels unhelpful to me.

She's not wrong. Yet I think it encourages a "just keep going" mindset among progressives (like myself!) that flies in the face of electoral results.
These stories amount to "the left was so annoying about pronouns or liberals made people feel so guilty about plastic straws they had no choice but to get on board with the second coming of the Third Reich and the destruction of the planet."
The She Made Him Do It Theory of Everything
The rhetoric and logic of the abuse of power operates similarly at all scales, which is why I've found feminism such useful equipment for understanding authoritarians in public and political life. Bec...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
February 27, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Well, I'm flat on the couch with a fever & a nice wet cough. Gotta love winter bugs. At least I'm negative for Covid. (The 5yo's not even to blame this time, & I was masking for much of Folk Alliance!)

Shifting Two Truths micro-workshops to same times next week. 🗓️
OK, gonna try something new this week: micro-workshops! A guided reflection on holding two truths in our heads at the same time, using the trilogy of music videos for "We've Got You" as a starting point.

Thu 9pm ET on Instagram
Fri 12pm ET on YouTube
Sat 5pm ET on Zoom
February 27, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Meanwhile Folk Alliance was last week & I'm so grateful for the existence of @ginachavezmusic.bsky.social, @kcturnerpresents.bsky.social, @allisonrussell.bsky.social & many other heroes of indie music 💜 They distill the joy not in turning away from hard things, but linking arms to go through them.
February 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I'm still on Twitter/X. It's nice here, but honestly it's a bit of an echo chamber, and my focus rn is on understanding folks who joined the MAGA team & are cautiously optimistic - but could swing back. We need them. They're not, for most part, on here.

Some observations so far:
February 26, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This whole thread is really helpful.
The single most important thing you can do, by a parsec, is show up at a town hall w/ your GOP member and talk to them face to face.

Heroes like @indivisible.org helped organize last time. People drove for hours to spend just a few minutes talking to their members. But we saved lives because of it.
February 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
OK, gonna try something new this week: micro-workshops! A guided reflection on holding two truths in our heads at the same time, using the trilogy of music videos for "We've Got You" as a starting point.

Thu 9pm ET on Instagram
Fri 12pm ET on YouTube
Sat 5pm ET on Zoom
February 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Vienna Teng
Absolutely gorgeous work from @viennateng.bsky.social
Vienna Teng - We've Got You (∞ - Two Truths) [Official Music Video]
YouTube video by Vienna Teng
youtu.be
February 22, 2025 at 4:40 AM
From today's protest.

I've come not only to accept, but to appreciate that I don't 100% agree w/all the signs or reasons other people are here. That's how democratic stuff works: people with different agendas & beliefs, coming together to act on what matters to us all.

@50501movement.bsky.social
February 17, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Yes yes yes yes all of this.

My only quibble is that the *opposition* isn't the majority (yet), but opposition + persuadables absolutely is - a point that comes across clearly in the piece itself.

This is a winnable game. Resigning to doom now is premature, to put it lightly. We've got work to do.
We are in a dangerous time but here are two important facts:

1. Trump's base of support is a minority.
2. That base is going to shrink as his agenda is enacted.

The opposition is the majority. No moping allowed.

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-are-a...
They Are a Minority
Get your mind right.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
February 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Speaking of subscriptions, I would happily tip Rhymezone. As an incessant near-rhymer, I've been leaning hard on this treasure trove.

(I'm sure they're doing fine under Merriam-Webster & with all those ads, but still).
February 14, 2025 at 2:28 AM
This is useful.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

(Behind a paywall - if you could really use a subscription, let me know.)
February 14, 2025 at 2:20 AM
FYI. Integrity matters as much as intent, especially these days.
Folks: I am NOT affiliated with the group that is using my name to support an economic boycott. Please spread this post, if you would.
February 13, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Near halfway through @fawmchallenge.bsky.social. I've got several exciting half-songs, but nothing's tipped into "It's all here, just have to write it." All boulders uphill.

Also not sure if anyone wants a 100% thinly-veiled-political-metaphor record from me, but that's what's coming out right now.
February 12, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Reposted by Vienna Teng
There's an excellent and very bittersweet @viennateng.bsky.social song about this idea, btw youtu.be/0RCIdOp5GHg
February 12, 2025 at 5:42 PM
2 things can be true:

1) Protest is necessary.
2) Protest is insufficient.

We're a country of minority views. Whatever you care about, you're outnumbered (but so is everyone, including the current admin). Time to persuade & be persuaded to join forces.

www.instagram.com/reel/DFx-dFM...
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February 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
When 3.5% of the population shows up in the streets, autocracy can't hold. May @anatosaurus.bsky.social be right. Let's do this.
February 7, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Vienna Teng
200 law professors from across the country have signed on to a Statement of Urgency about the peril of the constitutional crisis that is now upon us. Complete list of signers below. Please read and repost!! Thank you!
February 6, 2025 at 12:59 PM
We in DC don't have reps with voting power to call...but some of us can show up to protests on short notice.

Treasury Tues night, Capitol earlier today. Let me know if you want me to go to one on your behalf.
February 6, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Scott shares great stories about car-lite life, living in a place where it doesn't occur to many that it's even possible. Well worth a follow 💜
I think this is the very first time I’ve use a bicycle as part of my journey to or from an airport for a flight, and it felt great! I would totally do it again!

Thanks to @viennateng.bsky.social for the inspiration!
February 5, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Yes, this conveniently syncs with my personal instincts, but it's also a practical reality.

We are outnumbered today. Think of all that you want to protect. The path to their safety runs through the people who change heart & join us.
friendly reminder that the best case scenario over the coming years is that a lot of people say "I supported Trump but this isn't what I wanted at all" and when they do that it's gonna be really, really important that we say "welcome in," not "fuck you, we told you so"
February 4, 2025 at 8:12 PM
"Trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality. He is hoping that perception then becomes reality. That can only happen if we believe him."

1/5
February 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM