iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

For me, I'd been debating leaving for a while, especially after they changed the name. But I stuck around because I was part of a fairly active group chat. The true catalyst was Trump getting re-elected. Then we all jumped en masse and migrated the chat to a private Slack.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The name of mine is also a covid-era artifact: The Chat of Impending Doom. We call it DoomChat for short now.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There was a lovely 6-part documentary series in the 90s devoted to Yo-Yo Ma's collaborations with various artists to bring each cello suite to life in different mediums. The first one, dedicated to the music garden, is actually available on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyM9...

youtube.com

Music Garden Movie

YouTube video by Will Moir

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Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...

So the message of this research out of China, where you were seeing a lot of kids using A.I. to help them, was that when they were using the A.I., they were getting things done faster. But it turned out that the skills they were learning were not holding, that their actual personal performance, at least in the way we traditionally measure it, was degrading.

What do you think when you hear that?

The last part — I completely agree. Try to get a kid to do long division right now. The multiplication table is starting to be forgotten. Doing square roots, my goodness. Basic math is being forgotten. Does it matter?

That’s my question for you.

Yeah. I don’t think it does. I don’t think it does.

But there must be some set of skills that matter.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But maybe not those. We’re going to discover new ones. Just maybe not those.

There are a lot of skills that don’t matter. My first confession, I actually don’t know my address.

And I ——

I don’t really believe that to be true.

It’s completely true. Janine will tell you and Lori will tell you.

One day I had to pump gas — it was a few years ago. They needed my ZIP code, and I panicked. I didn’t know my ZIP code. I don’t know my telephone number. I forget these things. I can live with it.

But let me take the other side because I don’t want to fall into a thing where, because some skills can be safely offloaded ——

Yeah.

I also can’t get anywhere without a mapping system now. Never could, frankly. But I’m a big reader. And one of the skills I really value, one of the capacities I have that I really value is an attention span formed on physical books.

You’re a big reader. I’ve read about the kind of reading you do. And there is, prior to A.I., a lot of concern and noticing among college professors and others that the way people use the internet has probably shortened attention spans.
Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.

Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.

Yeah. Well, I think that we’re going to lose some finer intellectual dexterity, but we’re going to be better systems thinkers.

Today’s engineers are far better systems thinkers than I was when I graduated from school. But I was a much better transistor thinker.

What do you mean by systems thinker?

They think of large systems. Today’s computers have trillions, hundreds of trillions of transistors in them. When I first graduated from school, the first chip I worked on had 200 transistors. I knew every one of them by name. No engineer does that today. Most engineers now work well above the transistor, well above the functionality, and they’re cobbling things together to do things.

So you need to think much more about systems and interactions of systems. So some of the lower-level knowledge is gone.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

There's a book I read a while back that might be able to shed some light on this! It's about how home cooking was shaped by the glut of leftover industrial/military food processes after WW2: laurashapirowriter.com/something-fr...

laurashapirowriter.com

Something from the Oven

On sale: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Books-a-Million In this captivating blend of culinary history and popular culture, the award-winning author of Perfection Salad shows us what happened …

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Aidan Moher @aidanmoher.com · 03/09/2026

Takes less than 90 seconds, and it’s the best thing you’ll do today if you’re a Canadian.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is kind of beside the point, but have you seen Coyote Vs Acme? Might give you a burst of inspiration to keep going even harder.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I read it about 2 years ago. It's a great collection! Undertow's stuff in general kicks ass. Also highly recommend another collection from their catalogue, "Jackal, Jackal" by Tobi Ogundiran.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Wait until you meet No-As-Big-As-Medium-Dog-But-Bigger-Than-Wee-Dog-Dog

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Irony of ironies: the NYT wanted me to prove I was a human before loading the article.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Honestly, I've been curious to read his work, but I worry that I wont understand it because I haven't read a lot of classical philosophy. Is there some "Spinoza for beginners" work you'd recommend?

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It's funny you should mention this, because I was just thinking about a book I read last year where Kim Campbell discussed the campaign and how she was set up to fail in '93. bsky.app/profile/cvas...

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

TBH, before I scrolled down to see the link you shared, I thought this was going to be an Ea-Nasir joke.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

This is a tangent, but one thing I find interesting in the Aragorn/Eowyn/Faramir dynamic is that Faramir calls Aragorn "puissant" when describing Eowyn's feelings for him. Tolkien tried to reduce Romance-language influence in the text as much as possible, so this feels like a very telling exception.

An excerpt from Tolkien's "Return of the King", found in the chapter "The Steward and the King":

‘I wished to be loved by another,’ she answered. ‘But I desire no man’s pity.’
‘That I know,’ he said. ‘You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn. Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is. But when he gave you only understanding and pity, then you desired to have nothing, unless a brave death in battle. Look at me, Eowyn!’

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The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 30/06/2026

The Ford government just deleted every long-term care inspection report from before 2023 from their website, obfuscating a vital public record, especially from the devastating pandemic era. But we have 10,000 of those reports, and we're making them publicly available. thelocal.to/long-term-ca...

thelocal.to

The Ford Government Just Deleted Thousands of Long-Term Care Reports. Here They Are. | The Local

The provincial government has eliminated access to long-term care home inspection reports from before 2023. We have over 10,000 of those reports, and are restoring access to the public.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I stayed on for a while after the X rebrand, partially because of a group DM I was in. All of us in the DM finally abandoned ship after the Orange Asshole was re-elected. We deleted our accounts and moved to Slack. I was on Twitter for over a decade. What a waste.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

It's almost like an entire industry telling people to use AI or else they'll be laid off results in people desperately overusing AI to avoid being laid off. Who'dathunkit?

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I haven't read Emma, so I can't say.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Ooh, I am here for Middlemarch discourse. I'll start: Fred Vincy is the Ur-failson.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

The latest episode of @llepodcast.bsky.social has a segment about the history of sound effects, and actually discusses the sound design of Star Wars quite a bit!

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Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 @fairvote.ca · 08/04/2026

Floor-crossing is a byproduct of a system where a handful of seats can turn a disproportionate minority into a majority. Proportional representation removes that shortcut. When power requires genuine cooperation, the focus shifts from poaching MPs to building consensus.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Do you need a catchy song to sing to her that has her name in it? Because if so, I present to you one of my favourite Tragically Hip songs: "Goodnight Josephine" youtu.be/9aLpXi2B2aE

youtu.be

Goodnight Josephine

YouTube video by The Tragically Hip - Topic

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Vincent Lore 🏳️‍⚧️ @vincentlore.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

i don't know what the hell to do. Everything i could do seems entirely pointless now. How can I write, read, promote my shit, right now? I wish I could do more. I wish I could do anything.

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Can't tell you how many members of Congress who *at best* had nothing to say when I asked about the Minab girls school attack. There is a profanely cold detachment inside Capitol Hill, a mode completely unrecognizable to common human decency I wish I could properly convey to you.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Kind of reminds me of this news story: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e... If you don't want people to jump, say something like "stay still" or "stay here" instead of "don't jump".

independent.co.uk

Teenager died during bungee jump after mishearing instructor

The instructor said ‘no jump’ which she misheard as ‘now jump’

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The (defunct?) Canadian band Portico has an excellent song about the Battle of Duck Lake! open.spotify.com/track/2QUTdp...

open.spotify.com

First Neighbours

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Helen O'Hara @helenlohara.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Happy Day The Ring Was Destroyed, everyone. Here's hoping all dark lords fall from their towers today to mark the occasion.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Haha, same. Last year I visited Edinburgh and climbed Arthur's Seat, and thought that calling the body of water at the base "St. Margaret's Loch" was quaint. That's a *pond* at best!

St Margaret's Loch at the base of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh

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onion person @junlper.beer · 19/03/2026

it’s incredibly blackpilling to me that it takes rising gas prices and rising gas prices alone to have people turn against the war in iran, and not the american government murdering thousands of children and civilians in iran. americans are incredibly selfish

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I got it at Bakka Phoenix last weekend! I'm kind of in a reading slump, but that first paragraph. Wow. And the cheeky deconstruction of how the narrator deals with switching between multiple languages in dialogue!

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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

It wasn't "cancel culture" when women and people of color got used up, silenced, and dismissed before their careers even began. It only became "cancel culture" when powerful abusers started having established careers momentarily inconvenienced by revelations of what they'd done.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Today in unexpected covers, I urge you, reader, to check out the a capella version of "Teardrop" by O'Hooley and Tidow. Some really lovely dissonance in there.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

If you ever get the chance, I also highly recommend "Newfie poutine". It's poutine with turkey/chicken stuffing added. It's so salty, but so good.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I am 41, and I have already had shingles TWICE. The first time was when I was only 12 years old. I really wish Ontario would make the vaccine available to people under 50.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Completely by happenstance, I attended the book launch for The Iron Garden Sutra by @thesuiway.bsky.social at Bakka Phoenix books today, and it was lovely. So I posted about it! You should give this book a shot if you get the chance. booksandtea.ca/2026/02/book...

booksandtea.ca

Book Launch: The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui - Books and Tea

Today, we attended the book launch for The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui. If you're a fan of locked-room mysteries with an existentialist streak, this book may be up your alley.

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✨Zelly✨ @hazelcakes.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

the jump from “trans people can’t have a driver’s license,” to “unmarried women can’t have a driver’s license,” is a secret nighttime vote away fight with us now, or fight with far less backup later

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Have you read "The Course of Honour" by Lindsay Davis? Historical romance set in Ancient Rome, a retelling/exegesis of the relationship between Vespasian (who becomes emperor) and a freedwoman. The romance is important, but it's also about her life in general.

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance. And you know why? Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Not just the opposition party, but the NDP too. I'm not sure how things will change once the NDP leadership race finishes, but it would be so much healthier for everyone if all 3 major parties had stronger voices.

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 13/02/2026

In terms of what cures are being lost: - Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis - herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis - shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

"Moderna's CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: 'You cannot make a return on investment if you don't have access to the U.S. market. Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.”
9:12 AM
Feb 12, 2026
604.8K Views

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Have you ever seen the Game Changer episode he was in, where it was all about crowd work in standup? It's excellent.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

My favourite is Ghost Dog's relationship with the ice cream vendor. They may not speak each others' language, but they still understand each other and are genuinely good friends. Especially that scene of the boat on the rooftop - what a strange, dreamlike image.

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Jorts (and Jean) @jortsthecat.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

It’s 2026. There is a measles outbreak in the prison for babies

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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

This is a cover up of a murder, led by our own federal government.

Screenshot of an X post by Omar Jimenez (@OmarJim…, 7h) stating that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he doesn’t have the names of the agents who shot Alex Pretti, adding: “I’ve been a lawyer for 36 years. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Below is a CNN video thumbnail showing a split screen: on the left, an older man in a black cap and glasses labeled “Brown | Business Owner,” and on the right, Keith Ellison in a suit. A CNN “LIVE” bug appears in the corner.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

"Design is only as humane as the business model allows and affords." - Erika Hall This is something I've been thinking a lot about in my own work - whether what I'm doing is actually a net positive to the world. Sure, I'm not making bombs, but I'm still part of an extractive machine.

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Christina Vasilevski @cvasilevski.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

AKA: What's right for the user and what's right for the business are often at odds with each other. The relationship between the product/service experience is an interactive feedback loop with unintended consequences. (Yay capitalism!) #Throughline

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