iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

My Duolingo Welsh lesson today was a little on the nose, but also needs an update for the spread of chaos beyond our borders.

English:
According to the paper, that country is in a terrible mess.

Welsh:
Yn ôl y papur, mae'r wlad honno mewn llanast ofnadwy.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

lt's not right vs left. It's top vs bottom: Power vs Powerless Voice vs Voiceless @weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social @democracynow.org Full Interview of Jon Stewart and Amy Goodman: youtu.be/fHonUeO_ePU?...

Jon Stewart:
And it strikes me that it's because the axis that you work under, and you tell me if this is even mildly accurate; they seem to focus on right-left. You seem to focus on power-no power, voice-no voice. And is that what grounds it and makes the work so essential?

Amy Goodman:
I mean, that's what Democracy NOW! is all about, is to go to where the silence is. And it's often not silent. I mean, it's raucous. It's rowdy. People are organizing. We're really about covering movements, because movements are what make history. We're covering the people closest to the story.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

This book will forever change how you experience the forest 💚

Cover of the book Tree: A Life Story by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

"A strong Nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity." —Jimmy Carter

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Bore da! It looks like a lovely spot. I recently picked up this beautiful bilingual book of modern Welsh poetry in which each of the 50 poems centers a particular river by name. I wonder if your nant is in there.

Cover of the book, Afonydd, from Arachne Press.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Weapons and War Compassion and Restraint Verse 31, The Tao te Ching Stephen Mitchell, Translator

Photo of a page from the Tao te Ching (Verse 31)

"Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.

Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the piece has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?

He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral."

Verse 31, The Tao te Ching

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Calligraphy by Suzanne Lamoureux

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Calligraphy by Suzanne Lamoureux

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Federal Way, Washington This looks serious.

The Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and the Ghostbusters station wagon parked at a gas station in Federal Way, Washington. Where gas prices displayed are $8.49 for unleaded and $9.19 for premium

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I misspoke because my Long COVID brain is extra foggy today (I know how privileged am to still be able to read at all) Between Aging: An Apprenticeship, and Something in the Woods Loves You, was this book, by Thich Nhat Hanh, a series of short reads for managing anxiety and finding peace.

Cover of the book, Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Every Day Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh, and with a forward His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Image: Looking down upon a red umbrella flecked with snow, with footprints in the snow, revealing the ground beneath them, trailing behind the umbrella.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

It's been a little while since the last time I felt that a book I so dearly needed had found me. Aging: An Apprenticeship, edited by Nan Narboe, was the last such book. 50 authors, divided by decade, 50's, 60's...90's, offering insight, validation, and comfort.

The cover of the book Aging: An Apprenticeship, edited by Nan Narboe, with the names of some of the authors who contributed essays:
Donald Hail
Hilary Mantel
Ursula K Le Guin
Judy Blume
Kate Clinton
David Shields
David Bradley
Gloria Steinem

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

"In the depths of depression, most any action in pursuit of any goal is a powerful gesture of defiance against that inner voice telling you to sit still with your misery." Part memoir and part deep observation of nature, I found a new friend in this book 🌱 🙏🏼 @jarodkanderson.bsky.social

Cover of the book by Jarod K. Anderson, Something in the Woods Loves You.

Image of a heron wading serenely in a pond of a marsh fed by a stream, trees lining the distant bank. Ephemerals, wildflowers, and grasses edging the shore, fish and frogs jumping amid cattails and water lilies, dragonflies darting, and a smaller songbird diving toward the water or the shore.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Dark Money is on my list! Williamson's book might be a good follow-up to that. There are some incredible lectures series from The Great Courses which I discovered at my library during COVID. Hasan Jeffries', African American History - From Emancipation through Jim Crow, was eye-opening.

Book cover for The Price of Democracy: the Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History by Vanessa Williamson

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

A place I used to walk in order to cover distance is one I now slow down to take in every beautiful detail. I felt so refreshed after what was expected to be an hour turned into 3 1/2 listening to birds, studying moss and fungi, absorbing the terrain, and appreciating individual trees. Zoom in/out

A photo of the trees surrounding me with the camera pointing straight up

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

"When truth isn't free, freedom isn't true." "Quand la vérité n'est pas libre, la liberté n'est pas vraie." ~Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) French poet, screenwriter

Words that appear to be painted on a large square of fabric tacked to a wall read:

"QUAND LA
VÉRITÉ N'EST PAS
LIBRE, LA
LIBERTÉ N'EST
PAS VRAIE"

JACQUES PRÉVERT

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

"When truth isn't free, freedom isn't true." "Quand la vérité n'est pas libre, la liberté n'est pas vraie." ~Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) French poet, screenwriter

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

"When truth isn't free, freedom isn't true." "Quand la vérité n'est pas libre, la liberté n'est pas vraie." ~Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) French poet, screenwriter

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Instead of watching the State of the Union on Feb 24th—guaranteed to be lying, self-congratulating propaganda—watch presentations by leaders committed to recovering our Democratic Republic from the authoritarians in the White House. Sign Up Here for The State of the Swamp www.defiance.org/sotu

DEFIANCE.Org, the Portland Frog Brigade, and COURIER present

State of the Swamp
Feb 24 | 7pm ET| The National Press Club| Washington DC

Featuring remarks and appearances by

Robert de Niro • Senator Ron Wyden • Stacy Abrams • Jim Acosta • Mark Ruffalo • Marianne Williamson • George Conway • Tom Arnold • Joyce Vance • Glenn Kirschner • Mehdi Hasan

Former Governor Steve Bullock • LaTosha Brown • Rep Seth Moulton • Rep Dan Goldman • Stephanie Grisham • Miles Taylor • Tara McGowan • Former Rep Joe Walsh • Wajahit Ali

Sue Gordon • Norm Eisen • Steve Schmidt • Charlie Sykes • Olivia Troye • Abbe Lowell • Asha Rangappa • Brian Karem
• And more surprise guests...

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Misogyny and Racism is the brand.

A black woman with her back to the camera faces a wall where large 3-D letters read:

DONALD TRUMP
IS A
RA_IST

She is holding a 3-D letter P in one hand and a letter C in the other.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

"Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent people detest them..." ~Tao te Ching, Chapter 31 May we always seek peace, but never at the expense of justice. (Photo of an off-season salmonberry flower by me, seen on January 17, 2026 with no others in sight anywhere)

Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent people detest them.

Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent person will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is their highest value.
If the piece has been shattered,
how can they be content?
Their enemies are not demons,
but human beings like themself.
They do not wish them personal harm.
Nor does they rejoice in victory.
How could they rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of people?

They enter a battle, gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if they were attending a funeral.
~ The Tao te Ching
Chapter 31

(Photo of an off-season salmonberry flower by me, seen on January 17, 2026 with no others in sight anywhere)

The open face of a single, bright pink, five-petaled flower, with a cluster of anthers bundled tightly in the center, and a light dusting of pollen on the petals below.
With the flower occupying the majority of the frame, three stalks of the plant appear to frame the flower with one stalk descending straight below the flower, and one stalk on each side in a wide V, suggesting a person with their arms raised above their head and to the side, perhaps in surrender, or perhaps ready to offer a hug.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Nailed it! The master plan of the Trump Regime @jimmykimmel.com

"You know, I never believed there was some big master plan, but maybe there is. Maybe it goes like this:
Step One, you call your opponents vermin and violent and the enemy within. You say they're part of a group of paid protesters called Antifa.
Step Two, you send a bunch of poorly trained, heavily armed goons into cities that don't need or want them there.
Step Three, when the people inevitably protest being occupied by their own government, you accuse them of starting an insurrection. And then,
Step Four, you invoke the Insurrection Act. You call out the military. You cancel the elections and you take charge for good."
~Jimmy Kimmel
January 15, 2026

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

"Democracy doesn't defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people." ~Rob Reiner Leaving the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

Cover of the course guidebook for The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution, 2007, published by The Great Courses.
Professor Thomas L. Pangle
The University of Texas at Austin

In the lower right field is an image of a portion of the original Constitution with the words We the People clearly shown, and a white quill pen laid upon it

"The deepest, and perhaps the most important, Anti-Federalist contribution is their highlighting of the insufficient attention paid by the founders and by our Constitution to fostering civic virtue through civic education, encouraging civic, citizen participation. All of which, the Anti-Federalists plausibly insist and fruitfully warn, must be more vigorously cultivated in the populace if our system is not going to drift slowly toward a condition in which a passive, apathetic, and atomized populace becomes dominated by a paternalistic, bureaucratic, and distant government apparatus. The kind of civic education the Anti-Federalists warn us that we need to keep striving to invigorate, includes as an important cornerstone what we have been doing in this course itself; the ever renewed rethinking of the Great Debate out of which our unique republic was born."
~Professor Thomas L. Pangle

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

While this is not the primary message of this TED Talk, the implications are profound. Owning print books is a good idea.

"I've been with the libraries for well over half my life, over 35 years, and I've come to believe that libraries are a fundamental pillar of democracy. Democracy demands an informed citizenry and informed citizens must have free and equitable and open access to information, and to knowledge, especially the knowledge that we've collectively funded and created. Knowledge is not a private commodity to be handed off to some third party. Knowledge is a public good and it must be treated as such."
~Jeffrey Edmunds
Digital Access Coordinator at the Penn State University Libraries

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

I was today years old when I learned that what some people mean when they say they are dog people/dog-lovers is not what I mean when I say that. Dogs are not objects to satisfy our needs for companionship or entertainment, but are living entities with physical, emotional, and social needs.

Coco and Beau playing and resting after some wrestling.

Two photos of a white, female Schnauzer/Bijon-Frise (Coconut) and a red/gold, male Shih Tzu (Beau Bo).

In the first photo, the photographer caught Beau sitting on his haunches facing Coco while retreating from a playful attack, which caused both of his ears to extend out and above his head, looking like wings.

Coco is on her belly, head turned toward Beau warning him off.

In the second photo both dogs are sitting on their haunches, tongues lolling, while Coco looks nonchalantly forward and Beau looks toward Coco like he's thinking about another assault.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Plaque at West Point military academy about showing loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and not to any one particular leader, president, king, or tyrant. @captmarkkelly.bsky.social @slotkin.senate.gov @crow.house.gov @goodlander.house.gov @deluzio.house.gov @houlahan.house.gov

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

My father and paternal grandmother, who I am named after. My dad was on his way to Europe during WWII. He started in the Army Air Corps and then became a scout in the 44th Infantry Division after the Air Force was formed as a separate branch. He came home with two Purple Hearts and PTSD.

B/w photo of my paternal grandmother and my dad before he was sent to Europe during WWII.

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Lyra Bérénice @lyrabee.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

The Traitor Eight led by Shady Schumer

The eight senators who voted for the shit CR

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Sen. Angus King of Maine

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

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