Sign in

Extinct, not dead

@flightless.bsky.social
823 followers 296 following 2.8K posts

“The undertaking was impossible from the very beginning and of all the impossible ways of carrying it out, this was the least interesting.” - Jorge Luis Borges

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
sameaimee @sameaimee.com · 5h
This is the kind of experience I try to share with students to illustrate what they miss if they read summaries of texts instead of the texts themselves. The pleasure of reading is in the details that touch your heart, change your perspective, spark your curiosity, or make you lose your mind.
031
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social · 4h
I really do think tech crossed a line at some point between "helping you do the things you want to do" on the one hand, and "helping you do the things tech wants you to do" on the other. At this point, we're all contorting ourselves to live how the tech industry thinks we should be living.
30940249
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 8h
Squirrel of the Day for September 30, 2026 knows how to pick a stunning backdrop #sqrlpix
black squirrel in tree with patchy orange and gray bark
26220
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 8h
Whilst out and about and cake-bothering booksellers, I saw my first Hookland sticker out in the wild.
A Hookland sticker on a pipe covering up some fascistic filth. The sticker reads: HERNE THE HUNTER HATES YOUR RACIST BOLLOCKS
739654
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 10h
“It turned out I was just thirsty.” - Sarah Silverman
020
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 18h
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Antarctic winter sea ice falls to third-lowest level on record as scientists warn of ‘now problem’
Coverage levels fall a million square kilometres short of the long-term average, with global heating likely driving losses
06337
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
British Hedgehog Preservation Society @hedgehogsociety.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As the leaves change colour & fall from the trees - don't over-tidy them! 🍂 🍃 They play an important role in the life cycles of many species - from butterflies to #hedgehogs! 🦋 🦔 💤 If you must tidy gardens, leave a designated patch, edge or corner untouched for #wildlife 💚 📹 Ian Mears & BHPS
02110
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Fuck gravity, marry momentum, kill inertia.
051
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 29/09/2026
Seriously, just do not use muse
16818270
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Fuck gravity, marry momentum, kill inertia.
051
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Urvi @theurv.com · 28/09/2026
There were more men in a single documented gang rape at one school than the number of competitive trans athletes nationally. But I’ve heard a lot more politicians being asked about protecting girls from one of these scenarios and not another… I’ll let you guess which is which.
142464853
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 28/09/2026
Hello. Squirrel of the Day for September 28, 2026 #sqrlpix
small gray squirrel in tree hole
210815
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
C. L. Polk @clpolk.com · 28/09/2026
hm. if you want a short standalone, that's Even Though I Knew The End. If you want a series, the Kingston Cycle is a trilogy. If you have enjoyed D&D, The Feywild job is literally a D&D book. If you want a book about reproductive rights while being a fantasy romance, that's The Midnight Bargain.
172
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
They’re fun books!
020
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I would like to see more men talking about how to and peer pressuring each other into calling out misogyny and rape culture. Going against social norms is hard, and it helps to share tips and support.
582192397
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Chicago DSA @chicagodsa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Starbucks is the biggest violator of U.S. labor law in modern history, including repeated union-busting and retaliation efforts at stores across the country.
164
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Greg Casar @gregcasar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The CEO of Starbucks makes 1,700 times what the baristas make. He commutes by private jet. In other words, Starbucks can afford a fair contract. I'm boycotting Starbucks until they sign one. No contract, no coffee.
29547
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jennifer de Guzman Strikes Again @jenniferdeguzman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I think about Samuel Pepys burying a wheel of Parmesan cheese in his garden to keep it safe during the Great Fire of London more than is probably normal
2555
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Can’t believe those Bad Charlotte assholes destroyed #BrooklynVegan. That was a great site.
010
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Hildur Knútsdóttir @hildur.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Psst! I think there's a Kindle sale going on. You can get DEAD WEIGHT for only 3.32 USD!
amazon.com
Dead Weight
Amazon.com: Dead Weight eBook : Knútsdóttir, Hildur, Kowal, Mary Robinette: Books
34818
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jesse @requiemarm.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
you shouldn’t learn about bands from shady TikTok manipulation, you should learn about bands by hanging out with a girl you like but are also extremely afraid of
10599832085
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jason O. Gilbert @gilbertjasono.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
AI EXECUTIVE (bragging about his product): Using this every day has made me incredibly stupid
123195733
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 26/09/2026
Gel Electrophoresis in autumnal shades artologica.etsy.com/listing/4951...
artologica.etsy.com
Extra-large Gel Electrophoresis Silk Charmeuse Scarf - Etsy
This Scarves item by artologica has 69 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Washington, DC. Listed on Jul 28, 2026
1161
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
The Kimono Gallery @roger1952.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This photograph captures the essence of kōyō (or momijigari, the seasonal custom of autumn foliage viewing), a cherished pastime in Japan that dates back to the refined courtly culture of the Heian period (794–1185).
Framed in a breathtaking display of autumn brilliance, a towering canopy of fiery crimson Japanese maple (momiji) and luminous golden ginkgo (ichō) expands above a rugged, hand-stacked stone retaining wall (ishigaki). At the base of the wall, a thick, glowing carpet of fallen ginkgo leaves covers the earth like a golden tapestry. Standing amidst this fallen foliage are two quiet figures holding bright, matching umbrellas—one vibrant yellow and one deep red—strikingly echoing the dual-colored canopy towering above them. The soft, diffused light of a damp autumn day illuminates the scene, evoking the tactile coolness of mountain air, the subtle scent of damp earth, and the quiet rustle of fallen leaves underfoot.
Both the maple and ginkgo serve as quintessential fūbutsushi—poetic seasonal markers that signify the peak of autumn across the archipelago. The presence of the weathered stone masonry and the corner of a traditional timber building suggests the sanctuary of a temple or shrine precinct nestled in the mountains. Here, the deliberate integration of architectural stonework with the surrounding forest demonstrates the enduring tradition of Japanese monozukuri (artisanal mastery in environmental design), where human cultivation acts in gentle harmony with the wild cycles of nature.
824260
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Robert McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I promise, no matter what they say they are doing, Meta is using this to scrape everything they can find on your devices and recording everything you do or say. It is what they’ve done with every product they’ve ever released. Nothing of yours is safe if you use this, no matter how careful you are.
inc.com
Meta’s New Muse AI Agent Read My Private Messages. I Never Asked It To
Permission isn't the same and what a user actually expects your AI product will do with their personal information.
35629339
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
The 51st @51st.news · 24/09/2026
NEW: Forget concerts that are standing room only. What about a concert that encourages the audience to lie down and fall asleep? Reporter @stephaniejudy.bsky.social went to @rhizomedc.bsky.social's 12-hour, overnight drone festival and lived to tell the tale:
51st.news
I went to a twelve-hour drone concert and all I got was removed from time and space
Our reporter survives an overnight journey of ambient music — and the soul — at Rhizome.
1132
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So, Banksy bought a used yacht, repaired it and retrofitted it to serve as a rescue boat to save migrants in the central Mediterranean. The whole project cost the artist $860,000. Since 2020, the boat has saved more than 3,800 people. londondaily.com/banksy-funds...
londondaily.com
Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean - London Daily
Exclusive: UK artist finances bright pink motor yacht that set sail in secrecy to avoid being intercepted by authorities
396382559
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
maple cocaine @maplecocaine.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The thing about trying to appeal to right wing bigots is that right wing bigots are all stupid idiots who get 100% of their news from propagandists so they will never actually find out that you were trying to appeal to them in the first place
7164861216
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
grease the bottom
1116344
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 24/09/2026
Good news! The Drosophila Wing silk chiffon scarf is back and beautiful #sciart artologica.etsy.com/listing/9021... 🧪
purple and blue scarf with wing pattern
04416
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Cartoon by @deadder.bsky.social.
13442681555
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
so i may be out of my depth here but hes at 30% approval, you elites can stop capitulating now
1004405563
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 22/09/2026
IT IS TIME. buff.ly/pykYN6f
buff.ly
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers
For the seventeenth year: Welcome to autumn, fuckheads.
6449189
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Cliff Pervocracy @pervocracy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is a canary resuscitator, which miners would use to revive canaries that had passed out from toxic gas, because ideally not only do you care, you don't even leave the bird behind. just a little mining history and not at all a furious scream
A canary in a sealed box attached to an oxygen tank
172961930
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 20/09/2026
Not really sure where a bunch of liberals got the idea that they can’t win without throwing trans people in the garbage, but they’re stupid and cruel and wrong. If you want a human sacrifice so damned bad put gavin newsom in the wicker man
8475801747
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Same people who seem to think it’s bad for China to beat us at AI are perfectly fine with China beating us at high speed rail, solar energy, wind energy, shall we go on
8685352209
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Also on sale at bookshop.org!
020
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Scheiss Hund @pespizero.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
threads is almost exclusively the people whose favorite part of twitter was watching the official wendys account do a sassy clapback at the official pepsi account
1161
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Helena Fitzgerald @hellafitzgerald.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
the thing they don't tell you about being this age is my god what a fucking relief
227214
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It ys tyme for Tulip skeptics to face some difficulte trouthes. Tulips are the waye of the future. Yf you do not invest yn Tulips you are way behinde. Yf you do not teache your children about Tulips thei will not be able to compete on the jobbe market. Onlye Luddites dislyke Tulips.
14734235
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
JP @jpbrammer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
hello from Portugal! I wrote about The End of the World. johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/the-end-of...
117115
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Jamie McKelvie @mckelvie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I decided I'm going to start a thread of things I love to add to now and then, just because. Music, art, games, whatever. First up: the viscacha, a rodent native to South America. They like to sit on rocks and warm themselves in the sun, which I can greatly emphasise with
A viscacha, which kind of looks like a spherical rabbit with brown and grey fur, sits on a rock and looks very chill.
211083178
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Damn me, but all things are queer, come to think of ’em.
31037476
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Popular Science @popsci.com · 16/09/2026
We are pleased to report that the nightmare is greatly exaggerated. In all likelihood, you'd die almost instantly! 🤗 www.popsci.com/science/coul...
popsci.com
Could a whale really swallow a human? We asked a biologist.
The new thriller ‘Whalefall’ depicts a diver trapped inside of a sperm whale.
3739
Extinct, not dead @flightless.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
😍
010
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 16/09/2026
The Squirrel of the Day for September 16, 2026 chows down on an Osage orange #sqrlpix
black squirrel eating big green and brown fruit
512822
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Cliff Pervocracy @pervocracy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
99% of social media users give up right before they would have found the post that relieved all their anxieties
24814
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
tainalitwakart.bsky.social @tainalitwakart.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New info graphic installed. Arlington Va. Plastic Tsunami v.5.0.
051
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
Michael F @michaelf617.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
And since you're near Boston it scans perfectly to sweet caroline
296
Reposted by Extinct, not dead
daryl "crimetime after primetime" b 🏳️‍⚧️ @hypercubexl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
GDT's reddit AMA spitting fire www.reddit.com/r/movies/com...
reddit comment: 

Hello! Did you intend the ending of Pan’s labyrinth to be real or in Ofelia’s mind?

Guillermo Del Toro's reply: 

My interpretation, and it's exclusively mine, is that it's real.

Because there's two things. One is what people call “The Shining Question.” The Shining Question is, Who opens the door for Jack to get out of the fridge? And Ofelia is in an attic with a guard outside her door, and she draws the door with the magic chalk, and she shows up in the labyrinth. So, the only way she could have gone into the labyrinth is the magic chalk. And the flower is real at the end. The flower that blooms in the dead tree. And the reason I think it’s real is because—and this is why I'm in favor of the human factor in art—I think that art does transform the world. You know?

Think about it for a second. One of the goals, with all this movement, is to make you believe that art is vulgar. That art is nothing special, and anybody can do art. That is like me telling you that I'm faster at running than Usain Bolt but I “run” in my motorcycle. Well, that's not the same. That’s not the same at all.

Art is important, and they want you to believe it isn't. It's part of the idea of control. The goal is not to have artificial intelligence. The goal is to foster natural stupidity. The goal is to foster you not looking for answers, and to trust yourself entirely to an engine. Look at the way we are dipping our toes into these things. We are starting to ask the machine, Is this true? For now, there's a correlation between reality and what the answers of the machine are. For now. But soon, we won't even investigate further. We will be told it's true. And if the machine is in the hands of somebody who should not be trusted, then your reality has been completely and utterly fucked. Because your intelligence ends at the question. You don't seek the answer. It's given to you.Q: You recently mentioned that AI creates 'semi-compelling screensavers' and that you'd 'rather die' than use it. As a filmmaker who relies heavily on practical effects and creature design, what do you think is the biggest thing lost when a computer generates an image instead of a human hand?

GDT:

The three quarters of the process that gave you the chance to think of the idea that people don't think about without that process. Meaning, AI can get you to the middle really fast, but there's a dialectic with the process that gets you to that top 10%. I'll give you an example with the Pale Man.

We sculpted it as an old man, with a face. And then I said, Let's take out the face. This happened because I saw a photo of a manta ray and the poster for Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm. That combination, which happened at two different times during a week or a month, are not permutations that are chemically part of an equation. They are alchemy. And then I said, Take out the face, and then I said, Let's put the eyes on the hands. This triangulation happens because I spent a month or two months living with the idea of this creature. And it's not linear.

AI is like a super-fast engine that makes semi-sentient permutations of things that are already done. Creation is things that have never been done. Coming to exist.

And the second thing is the loss of the apprenticeship that one has as an artist. You're never a master; you're always an apprentice. This is a kinship I have with, for example, Chris Nolan. When he showed me The Odyssey, there’s a scene when Matt Damon is floating in the stormy ocean and I asked him—because we were talking about practical effects, and how great it is and that we both always use a maquette or a model—and I asked him, How did you do it? He said, “We put him in a storm in the ocean.”

And you're gonna find that 30% of a great image occurs accidentally. You know, either a drop of water hits the lens, or the camera shakes. I remember when in 1993, '94, Jim…
2845381906