iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

He would have a nice little cottage at point D, with axes over the door, and spend a pleasant amount of time at point E, which would be the nearest pub to point D. His wife of course wanted climbing roses, but he wanted axes. He didn’t know why—he just liked axes. 🚜

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They often wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell they wanted to be. Mr. Prosser wanted to be at point D. Point D wasn’t anywhere in particular, it was just any convenient point a very long way from points A, B and C. >

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People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what’s so great about point A that so many people of point B are so keen to get there, and what’s so great about point B that so many people of point A are so keen to get there. >

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Bypasses are devices which allow some people to drive from point A to point B very fast whilst other people dash from point B to point A very fast. >

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Mr. Prosser shook his finger at him for a bit, then stopped and put it away again. “What do you mean, why’s it got to be built?” he said. “It’s a bypass. You’ve got to build bypasses.” >

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“I’m afraid you’re going to have to accept it,” said Mr. Prosser gripping his fur hat and rolling it round the top of his head, “this bypass has got to be built and it’s going to be built!” “First I’ve heard of it,” said Arthur, “why’s it going to be built?” >

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 30/01/2026

I’d say this passage from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is spot on about AI…but that gives too much credit to the Mr. Prossers of this space understanding either A or B (the starting point or the destination). But they are definitely sure they want to be at point D in all of this. >

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Many artistic skills — seeing, composing, making marks —transfer both ways across analog & digital (just ask @loish.bsky.social ) NOTE about gen AI: It can’t help you see unless you ask, it is limited and repetitive for composition, and won’t help you build skill in making marks at all.

Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 29/01/2026

Oof, that hurts to see that called animated. That should remain a term for human skill. Generated. It’s generated.

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Reposted by Julie Meridian

Cullen @hellocullen.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

i gotta say one more thing having worked in animation for years now, calling this "animated" is a fucking mortal insult. completely get fucked. animation is a creator thoughtfully and painstakingly giving something life. this is fucking nothing compared to animation

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 29/01/2026

My go-to response is “…have you looked at/reviewed this?” and I think it’s such a surprising question that people are usually honest about it. If they did review it (rare!) I use it as a way to learn what stood out to them while continuing a discussion about their actual goals.

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AAAAHH-lex Plante 🐀👑 @aplante.com · 22/07/2025

anyway here's the post i wrote up a little while ago as something to share with people who don't get it yet. even if they don't read it, i'm still doing what i can to take away the "i didn't know better" excuse.

aplante.com

A little chat about genAI - Alex Plante

This morning I had the pleasure of appearing on CBC Radio Manitoba and talking to the always-delightful Marcy Markusa about something that has been bothering me and the entire artist community for a l...

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Reposted by Julie Meridian

Nnedi Okorafor, PhD @nnedi.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

So advice… When oblivious friends and loved ones send AI-generated shit for laughs and you kinda hate AI-generated shit (not because you’re out of touch but because it’s unethical technology mainly used for unethical behavior), what do you respond? Note: They don’t want a lecture or convo.

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 15/03/2025

There’s something deeply special about choosing the space for thought and iteration. As someone who’s done live painting, I see similarities with other single session art (live streaming, timelapse): as art creation with a performative aspect. It’s proper art, but not the method for breakthroughs.

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Karla Ortiz @kortizart.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

If you are in any creative or copyright dependent org of any kind, NOW is the time to speak up. You have until March 15 11:59 pm EST to send a note to the WhiteHouse on why we need to follow our current laws. We all lose if tech’s deranged agenda passes. www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st...

whitehouse.gov

Public Comment Invited on Artificial Intelligence Action Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump’s recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Executive Order shows that this Administration is dedicated to America’s global

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Reposted by Julie Meridian

Alt18F @alt18f.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

 You might know us from the guides we have put together, like the de-risking guide and the UX guide. Governments all around the world have used them to make services more accessible and add more value to the public — all while saving millions of dollars. You can still find them here: 18f.org/guides/

18f.org

18F Guides

A central resource for all 18F guides and methods

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Alt18F @alt18f.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people: 18f.org

18f.org

We're not done yet | 18F

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Heh! Yeah, I’m doing a little tailoring per platform. More business wrapper there, more whole-person here.

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Subtext: finally decided it’s time to cancel my Spotify sub (discomfort about system effects for musicians), and plan my data migration project (spite). Just one drop in the user bucket, but it’s their practices that caused me to put ample thought into what I want and how to achieve it elsewhere.

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Social pressure may be the final straw for many, but don't underestimate the erosion power of users' discomfort from how they are treated...and the fiery momentum that can build and self-replicate from sheer spite.

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jess m. ☕🍂 @jametc.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

UX thought of the day: The more a product or service challenges your users' convictions, or demands concessions to fit into their lives, the more open they become to alternatives...including ditching the fundamental "hook" that is at the root of their loyalty to it.

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Reposted by Julie Meridian

saw this on twitter, Stephen Worth made some extremely good points about what originality is animation production design these days and how nostalgia sometimes passes this point of no return in terms of relatability... ...and what it means to be a consumer vs a creative as an animation artist

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G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 18/02/2025

If you want to write heroes in the year 2025, you have to decide what they stand for, and then stand for it. The mealy-mouthed, offend-no-one approach no longer works. People respond to the Walter Whites bc you can put truth in their mouths. So put truth in the mouths of the good guys.

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Amalas @amalasrosa.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Am I too sensitive or is it that you have unlearned how to talk to strangers and fail to consider that you’re rudeness might not read as playful to someone who doesn’t know you?

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Nnedi Okorafor, PhD @nnedi.bsky.social · 07/02/2024

Keep using your voice, making your effort, enjoying the process, learning how to do it yourself. Resist using AI for creative things. The fact of it: Use it or lose it.

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 30/01/2024

I’m a grantwriter and I recently had a client use ChatGPT to help write a first draft for me to review. We had to spend HOURS fixing it line by line 💀 By the end she was like “oh wow you’re even faster than the AI!!” yeah because I have 20 years of experience with this foundation and it doesn’t!!!

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 17/01/2024

The next era will probably be AI-derived assets, and it’s too early to fully understand what feel that will impart.

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 17/01/2024

It caught on in the late 2010’s and has stuck…probably because it replaces the clunky purple-people shorthand for diversity (the previous era of illustration), is significantly lower cost to create, and gives devs something fun to do with the toolkit they have.

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 17/01/2024

I’m weary of this graphic design trend that uses abstract shapes (instead of illustrations or photos) and motion (just because they can). dovetail.com/insightout/

dovetail.com

Insight Out 2024

Join us on April 11, 2024 for an industry conference all about the power of creating, sharing, and leveraging customer insights to build better products.

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 12/01/2024

Using AI tools where judgment is needed is hiring someone who sounds good but can’t distinguish between correct results & making things up, lies about their expertise, and hides their sources so you can’t independently confirm what they say. I think about this every time I see an AI announcement.

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KariLikeSafari @karilikesafari.bsky.social · 03/10/2023

Anyone ages 12 – 26 living in the United States can get a San Diego Public Library Books Unbanned card. With the card, the library’s online collection of banned or restricted eBooks and eAudiobooks are available for FREE, no matter where you live in the U.S. libraryfoundationsd.org/news/stories...

libraryfoundationsd.org

San Diego's Books Unbanned protects the freedom to read

Library Foundation SD and library launch Books Unbanned in San Diego to resist book bans, promote intellectual freedom among young readers, and cement libraries as a place where everyone belongs.

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 06/01/2024

I'm on the cusp of a big art show (Feb) and a big milestone for my UX work (Apr). More details soon! The strong bond that I have between these opposites is that artists will *always* be my users. I am compelled to respond where there are intersections of art and technology.

Self-portrait, half vectors and half pixels

DC Pierson @handle.invalid · 22/12/2023

Reposted by Julie Meridian

Reluctantly crouched At the starting line Parsley Sage Rosemary and thyme

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 21/12/2023

These are necessary things for the health of a social network. I want Bluesky to succeed — which means prioritizing tools for people to protect themselves from the abusive behaviors of people who will do it as long as they get away with it.

Cartoonists United @cartoonist.coop · 04/12/2023

Reposted by Julie Meridian

COMICS WON'T JUST BREAK YOUR HEART - Tynan Stewart "...the momentum generated by the strikes in Hollywood has caused a lot of people to ask, 'Can we do something like this in comics?'" roadmapmag.com/articles/com...

roadmapmag.com

Comics won't just break your heart

by Tynan Stewart on Dec 01, 2023 // On the unforgiving economics of making comics—and cartoonists’ efforts to change them—in the wake of #ComicsBrokeMe

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the lakeshore undead @thecorlew.bsky.social · 03/12/2023

This is one of the most honorable way to approach making art, to believe in your ability to put something into the world that helps *somewhere, sometime* & that hypothetical audience is worth caring about

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Julie Meridian @makeitlegit.com · 03/11/2023

For a second I thought “Petrichor cosplay!!” but realized the horns weren’t quite right. They’re a character who comes into the comics series Saga a little later on (issue 31). It’s an excellent series overall, though — highly recommend.

scott⚡️mccloud @scottmccloud.bsky.social · 21/10/2023

Reposted by Julie Meridian

As well-meaning publishers try to navigate the coming storm of state laws against diversity, I hope they'll consider Timothy Snyder's Rule #1 (from his slim book ON TYRANNY).

Reproduction of excerpt from Timothy Snyder's book ON TYRANNY:

"1. Do not obey in advance.
Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."

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BTW: I see you’re an artist too! Whatever level you feel you are, find your local art scene. Once you find parts of it, they often interconnect. For me in SJ I found it first in a community non-profit (Works/San José) and Kaleid Gallery, and later Local Color (advocacy, studios, etc).

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The slow-burn patronage way: join email newsletters of artists you like. These survive when platforms crash. Otherwise: the most are on Instagram, and Patreon is tailor made for supporting those on it. Following does help, and just feels different when you get to know artists across long spans. 4/4

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The local way: galleries, retail stores, museum shops, Farmer’s markets, craft/holiday fairs. We participate in what’s available. Also keep an eye out for public art like murals you like — they are usually signed and if it’s a @ it’s their Instagram handle. People have found me for art this way. 3/4

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The online way: Etsy, for “custom” or “commission”. Look at seller details to confirm it’s a person and not a faceless art factory. It’s also a way to support locals or a country — it’s been an income source for artists in the Ukraine trying to continue to make a living while they’re bombarded. 2/4

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