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Irene Kaoru

@irenekaoru.bsky.social
739 followers 2.2K following 544 posts

Artist / Writer / Creative director & strategist / Creator, ParentsResist.tech / 👩🏻‍💻 Brand & art director, NightCrewGames.com

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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
I just learned about the Play-Doh flower kits too. Seems like they are really going all in on the Lego playbook of targeting stressed out adults. www.dezeen.com/2026/07/14/p...
dezeen.com
Play-Doh enters "home decor space" with flower making kit for adults
Hasbro has announced a line for adults with the release of Blooms, a Play-Doh flower-making kit for creating "lifelike flowers"
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Wow play-doh brand marketing team is on fire lately. shortyawards.com/11th-impact/...
shortyawards.com
Secret Lair x Play-Doh: Squishful Thinking - The Shorty Awards
An international award show that recognizes and celebrates the innovation and creativity in digital and social media, by brands, agencies, nonprofits and individuals.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I need to get something important off my chest. I can't contain this any more. COMFORTABILITY IS NOT A WORD THE WORD IS "COMFORT" Thank you for being with me in this trying time.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Of course, robots never say no or try to sue you
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
That too
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Hey Alexa, tell me you don't understand the point of education
Screenshot of a social post that says: "We are sending out kids to school to memorize facts that an AI can retrieve in 0.3 seconds. We're grading them on essays that AI writes better than their teachers."

Underneath, a reply that says: "Worst of all, gym classes are making them run miles an Uber could cover in less than a minute."
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
What they want is an invisible, endlessly validating and enabling mommy/wife combo, tirelessly performing cognitive and emotional labor without ever seeking credit or care in return. The ultimate narcissistic male fantasy.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I often fantasize about chatting with Philip K Dick about what the world is like now over coffee
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
San Francisco Open Studios is going on now! This coming weekend I'll be participating, showing some work and hanging out in Dogpatch, details here! @artspansf.bsky.social www.irenekaoru.com/notes/fall-o...
irenekaoru.com
ArtSpan Fall Open Studios 2026 is Here — Irene Kaoru
The 52nd Annual San Francisco Open Studios citywide art event is here! Here’s a quick update about where you can find me in October. This October I’ll be showing artwork as part of weekend 3 in Dog...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
michael jackson eating popcorn dot gif gizmodo.com/someone-vibe...
gizmodo.com
Someone Vibe Coded a Free Knockoff of Adobe Creative Suite
It's janky for now, but it sort of works.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This bonkers indie game just launched and I'm obsessed 👀👀👀 Slime in the Ice Machine: It's Your Inheritance, Kid by Aconite on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/aco...
kickstarter.com
Slime in the Ice Machine: It's Your Inheritance, Kid
Kick open the doors to the greatest bars in the cosmos (and the worst) to unravel surreal mysteries in this PC/Mac/Xbox game.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
How did we create a culture so permissive to male rape and abuse, and how can we change it? irenekaoru.substack.com/p/just-famil...
irenekaoru.substack.com
Just “Family Stuff”
Esquire doing PR for Brad Pitt is one more thing that makes all women less safe.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
My love @jezharris.bsky.social is playing a show in SF on Oct 15: www.youwereneverasandwich.com/blog/when-yo... #SFmusic #LiveMusic
youwereneverasandwich.com
When You’re Me - October 15 — You Were Never A Sandwich
Come see my show, “When You’re Me,” at Martuni’s on Thursday October 15 at 7pm!
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Avengers: A Serbian Tale
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"In America, a child under 18 is raped every nine minutes, and 83% are girls. That’s 160 child rapes per day. Every time you take your lunch hour, six children get raped. This is not a college problem. This is a global culture problem." historyofwomen.substack.com/p/added-cont...
historyofwomen.substack.com
Some needed context to the Cornell rapes
This is not a college problem. This is a global culture problem.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Rape-prone cultures use male audiences to validate cruelty to women as normalized entertainment." substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
33. A Long Read About Living in a World Where Men Publicly Bond over Women’s Humiliation and Pain
From the Burnerverse to Cornell to Clavicular, our society is all too happy to shift the cost and burden of sexual violence and male onto victims to protect men
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Cool thing my friend started! Pro-democracy no BS news aggregator: www.publicenlightenment.com
publicenlightenment.com
Public Enlightenment — Information Nutrition
Public Enlightenment is a pro-democracy civic news aggregator delivering local and national journalism from nonprofit and independent newsrooms.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Rant incoming: On Dumb AI Takes irenekaoru.substack.com/p/responding...
irenekaoru.substack.com
Responding to This Week’s Most Infuriating Dumb Takes on AI
The noxious horror of learning to type before learning to think (a condition that seems to afflict far too many people on the internet)
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Argh "NYC"! This is how you can tell a human wrote this 🤪
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Recent AI moratoriums in LYC and LA are a huge deal but they are not enough. There are loopholes to close and much work to do. irenekaoru.substack.com/p/nyc-and-la... #EdTech #StopAI #GenAI
irenekaoru.substack.com
NYC and LA said No to AI in Schools
The two largest school districts in the country made a statement. Now what?
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"The conservative blitz over Clancy’s mistrial isn’t fury over dead children. The horrifying fact is that American children are killed every day by their fathers and mass shooters, and Republicans remain silent."
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Highlighted in today's column: "When men kill their families... there are no calls to ban them from public office or to repeal their right to vote. ...[Male] family annihilators are regularly given grimly sympathetic media coverage." jessica.substack.com/p/lindsey-cl...
jessica.substack.com
The Real Stakes of the Lindsay Clancy Gender War
Conservatives are using a Massachusetts murder case to argue for an end to women’s voting rights
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Did you know that a man murders his entire family, on average, about every five days? How many of those men can you name? If you find yourself full of strong opinions about a recent tragic case, maybe think about how the media has shaped your views. www.indystar.com/story/news/i...
indystar.com
American Annihilation: US families face a unique danger – murder from within
There have been at least 227 cases since 2020 of a person, most often a man, killing multiple family members in unthinkable acts of domestic violence.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Gorgeous + instant follow 😍
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
"These masks intersect with social movements’ use of masking as an opaque tool of collective transformation that refuses dominant forms of political representation."
Mask - May 31, 2013, San Diego, CA, from Facial Weaponization SuiteProcession of Biometric Sorrows - June 5, 2014, Mexico City, Mexico, from Facial Weaponization Suite, public action, Mexico City, Mexico (2014), photo by Oliver Santana
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Zach Blas' "Facial Weaponization Suite" protests against biometric facial recognition–and the inequalities these technologies propagate–by making “collective masks” that resist detection by biometric recognition technologies. #art #cyberpunk #dystopia zachblas.info/works/facial...
zachblas.info
Facial Weaponization Suite | Zach Blas
Facial Weaponization Suite protests against biometric facial recognition–and the inequalities these technologies propagate–by making “collective masks” in workshops that are modeled from the aggregate...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
this post is a work of art, part of our cultural heritage, must be protected
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Growing up in SF surrounded by people who believe in equal rights for all, she expressed amusement: "That's silly, no way -it wouldn't be fair at all!" - for women to have no house, no bank account, no vote, and have to do all the housework. I agree, kid, I agree.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Rest in power, Gloria Steinem. This morning I took the occasion of your passing to explain to my 6 year old, for the first time, some details about the rights women didn't always have in our country, & how many people have worked & fought to make sure she has them. msmagazine.com/2026/09/03/g...
msmagazine.com
‘At Last, We Know We Are Not Alone’: Gloria Steinem on Ms., the Feminist Movement and the Work Still Ahead
Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist journalist, activist and cofounder of <em>Ms.</em> magazine, died Sept. 2, 2026, at age 92. For more than half a century, Steinem helped bring feminist ideas, v...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are facing the nightmare scenario; it’s on all of us to recognize that and climb out. We are living in a world where language & the arts are deeply devalued, where analog skill building is routinely replaced with tech in classrooms. irenekaoru.substack.com/p/they-have-...
irenekaoru.substack.com
They have always been coming for our kids
What I couldn’t say then about genAI and how Big Tech targets schools
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Reposted by Irene Kaoru
Night Crew Games @nightcrewgames.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Love Cyberpunk? Create videos, streams, or other content? Apply to become part of the Cyberpunk Legends Creator Program form.jotform.com/261982796362...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
If you're into tabletop design, game math, or balancing mechanics, give this @nightcrewgames.bsky.social post a read: nightcrewgames.com/blogs/news/b...
nightcrewgames.com
Blindfire, the Most Difficult Card to Balance
I’ve been toiling away on Cyberpunk Legends Scenario 05 and an interesting problem came up. I created a card that was the hardest thing to cost that I’ve ever built. That card is Blindfire. Rat Tat Bu...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Gonna replace my LinkedIn with this
The Creative Director filters concepts from less talented team members into a curated strategy aligned with brand values and consumer desires.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
So so so vile people.com/movies/jerem...
people.com
Jeremy Renner's Ex-Wife Accuses Him of Threatening to Kill Her in New Custody Filing: Report
Renner and Pacheco quietly tied the knot in 2014, and Pacheco filed for divorce later that year
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Ugh he's so vile www.imdb.com/news/ni65562...
imdb.com
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Nah no thanks bsky.app/profile/lizj...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The worms are implied
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I'm at the laundromat I'm at the notary I'm at the combination
Photo of a sign that says "Laundromat Bingo Tanning Notary Canoe Rental"
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I played Big Walk last night with a bunch of friends and all I can say is wow. It's wonderful. Play this game immediately. kotaku.com/big-walk-the...
kotaku.com
Big Walk: The Kotaku Review - Kotaku
’Life's like a road that you travel on/When there's one day here and the next day gone’
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Reposted by Irene Kaoru
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 27/08/2026
Breaking News: Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist whose work caused a stir in the 1960s, while her “Infinity Room” installations drew crowds in recent decades, has died at 97.
nyti.ms
Yayoi Kusama, Pop Artist Who Expanded and Endured, Dies at 97
The Japanese artist’s polka-dot covered paintings, phallic sculptures and public performances caused a stir in New York City and Europe in the 1960s.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Fuck. Rule of three is complete 😔 bijutsu.press/books/1931/
bijutsu.press
美術手帖 2012年4月号 草間彌生|美術出版社
【特集】 草間彌生
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Art direction: Research and great concepts ≠ moodboards artdirection.substack.com/p/great-conc...
artdirection.substack.com
Great Concepts Don't Start With Moodboards
Why a moodboard is a starting point for a team to build on, and what we lose when it becomes a picture to be copied exactly
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Reposted by Irene Kaoru
beetle moses @beetlemoses.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A New Color (1/5🧵)
Page 1: A man is walking home, smoking a cigarette, being quietly trailed by a UFO above him. As he enters his apartment, two aliens watch from inside the ship. Alien 1, who has a large head, says, “that’s him. Let’s move.” Page 2: The man walks upstairs as the aliens watch from the entrance of the building. The man enters his apartment and greets his little dog. Suddenly there is a knock at the door.Page 3: he peers through his peephole, and sees the two aliens standing in the hallway. Alien 1 is holding a briefcase. From behind him, the voice of alien one: “don’t scream.” Page 4: The aliens are seated across the room on the man’s couch. Sadie is in her bed next to them. Alien 1 says, “you’re not in any danger. Have a seat.” The man looks at his dog and thinks, “sadie is unusually calm.” Alien 1: don’t scream, or it’s a problem.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
If you have the money to contemplate going to TTITD this year, you definitely have the funds to donate to help some of the people who are being harmed by this :(
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I'm obsessed with this new addition to the Mission: "Society of Thumbs is a communal space to slow down and make things with your hands. We have the art supplies, you supply the curiosity." societyofthumbs.com
societyofthumbs.com
Society of Thumbs | Take a Creative Break in San Francisco
An arts-and-crafts space in San Francisco where you can unwind, craft, and reset with art supplies and creative activities. All thumbs welcome.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"How do we pass down memories to those we love most and those who need to better understand who we are? Across Greater Boston this fall, art exhibitions are ruminating on intimate moments and experiences that are familiar and unique." www.wbur.org/news/2026/08...
wbur.org
12 art exhibits to explore this fall
From caring portraits of loved ones to new languages developed from everyday objects, WBUR contributor Maddie Browning shares a roundup of exhibits that explore the value of sharing intimate memories ...
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Reposted by Irene Kaoru
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 19/08/2026
Woah.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Meta has called the potential payout "outlandish." Do you know what I think is "outlandish"? Burying evidence that your product is actively harming children and continuing to harm them anyway. Sue Meta into the ground. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Meta Accused of Exploiting Kids as Social Media Trial Gets Underway
Meta Platforms Inc. has deceived the public for years by targeting children on Facebook and Instagram with technology designed to turn them into compulsive users and drive up advertising revenue, a la...
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Small piece of good news: Portland school board has made a sensible choice to pause pause on acquiring any new "ed tech" software that uses generative AI. www.oregonlive.com/education/20...
oregonlive.com
Amid concerns that AI is ‘infiltrating’ its schools, Portland school board hits pause
The amendment to the district’s budget for the 2026-27 school year won unanimous approval from school board members.
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Irene Kaoru @irenekaoru.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Key insight: "A paycheck tells workers what they earn. It does not tell them what the job costs them."
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