iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

And the anthropologist's office......

An office completely covered in Post-It Notes with the tagline: Actual picture of an author's mind.

Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I second the motion! I have two novels out there now. The Way By and By The Way. So, if anyone wants to read about an evil unicorn trying to take over the world, you know where to go!

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Kali's Rage, second paint layers and first contrast paints done. Highlights next. Then on to details.

My sculpt of Kali Ma in a fighting pose, screaming in rage. The figure is primarily still in all dark colors due to the contrast paints.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In the words of one cardiologist: “it’s bots fighting bots, agents fighting agents, a horrible dystopic future nobody wants to live in.”

Headline: Battle of Hospital AI vs. Insurer AI is Pushing Medical Costs Higher.

The use of artificial intelligence by hospitals and health insurers is escalating their longstanding feud over paying for medical care.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The way I typically judge both ideologies and technologies is by what they do. Not what people say they do. What actual consequences they have for people. If they actually make things better, then they can be viewed as good/beneficial. But if all they do is harm, no future promises are worth it.

Headline from Mother Jones: ChatGPT Helped Tumbler Ridge Shooter Focus on Guns, Tactics, and Terror

--and then offered tips on how to evade its own safeguards. It advised Van Rootselaar to always frame her content as fictional or hypothetical in order to "never get flagged again" by OpenAI's moderation systems.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning...

A deep red, cloudy sky at dawn just before the arrival of the Nor'easter storm in Massachusetts.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Fight! Fight now! Fight together!

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Calories per Ghost..... Well, ok, that would mean that a serving is what? 2.973~ ghosts? Seriously they couldn't have made a serving size three full ghosts and 111 calories. I hate having to measure out .973 ghosts.

A photo of a Peeps "ghost" Halloween candy showing 37 calories per ghost but a 110 calories per serving.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Holy shit! They went to plaid! (Though, Trump should be President Scroob here. Vance is Dark Helmet.)

A satirical post of the fascist-style Space Force uniform reimagined as if it was from the movie Spaceballs.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I feel like there is a metaphor in here.....somewhere....

If Holly finds its leaves are being nibbled by deer, it switches genes on to make them spiky when they regrow. So on taller Holly trees, the upper leaves (which are out of reach) have smooth edges, while the lower leaves are prickly.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Me 🏺 Age 5: Bird Age 10: Archaeologist Age 15: Anthropologist Age 20: Famous Author Age 25: "Anything but this." Age 30: Anthropologist Age 35: Still trying to be an anthropologist... Age 40: Still trying to be an anthropologist... Age 45: Still trying to be an anthropologist...

Career Goals Throughout My Life:

Age 5: Cat
Age 10: Famous Author
Age 15: Journalist
Age 20: Publisher
Age 25: Famous Author
Age 30: Bookstore Owner
Age 35: Bookstore Cat

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I mean, I'm starting to see it everywhere....

actually Emily Wilson said something yesterday talking about tech bros embracing stoicism that made me think about this—the gist was that they think that they can understand the uncaring nature of the universe but also harness it themselves in a way that provides security for them as an individual

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I am going to start calling this plant Carol Ann for the number of times I have yelled "grow towards the light" at it.

A tall vine growing in a window. Most directed at the ceiling and the not the sunny window.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

But.....but.......I have to go to school today, buddy. I'm the teacher!

Me and my dog, Carter, snuggling on the couch. He has his head pressed up against mine as he uses me for a pillow.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Building up my colors some more. Bit by bit it all (hopefully) starts to come together! "Sleeping Naga" - WIP, 2026

Gouache painting of a Naga sleeping on the forest floor with a fae also snuggled up in a coil of his tail.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Seems to be happy, as far as I can tell anyway.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I'm a bog witch. I'm a bog witch. I'm an actual bog witch. I'm a bog witch..... (Injured crow climbed up onto my arm after getting hit by a car while I was walking home. Super sweet. Let me clean her off without any fuss. Wildlife rehabber on the way.)

An injured crow sitting calmly on my hand as we look at each other under the air conditioning.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The glacial collapse that caused this disaster happened near to where I work and has deeply affected many of the communities I hold dear. Friends, colleagues, and my Nepali family have all been affected. Here's how we can help:

Front page of the Guardian showing the devastation in Nawakot caused by a glacial collapse and massive flash flood in the Himalayas.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I've never really liked curtain choices. So, I'm growing my own. Wisteria, Morning Glory, and a special type of Clematis vine. #bogwitch #flowerproject

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Slowly but surely we build and texture! Each day, the forest grows darker.....

Sleeping Naga watercolor work-in-progress.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ok, ok, now let me explain to you how Shiva is PowerPoint, Brahma is Excel.....and Vishnu is Word.

Brahma, Vishna, and Shiva compared to the "more iconic trio" of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

"They had clear ritual significance...." 🏺

A cache of old Mrs. Butterworth syrup bottles, covered in dust.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Brown, right? Brownish-Greenish-Mud? How do I describe this?!? Oh, wait, I get it. Bog. Bog Witch Eyes. Makes sense.

My right eye, because I am trying to figure out what color it is. It's sort of browish-greenish-mud.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Colors are still pretty muted/faded but I'm working up to it! Slowly but surely! Really like how the sleeping Naga is coming out, though! #WIP #watercolorpainting

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

How's the last few weeks of summer been?

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

My newest watercolor called "Naga's Rest." I just got the first colors down, so it needs to dry but we are definitely in my least favorite part of painting. The "trust the process" part. Oy. #Naga #Serpent #Snake #Watercolor #wip #wipwednesday

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

So, true story, I forgot one of our Halloween pumpkins from last year on the corner of the yard. It was a Silver Fairytale Pumpkin from a local farm stand. Well, fast forward to this summer and....we have our very own Silver pumpkin vine. And yet, everything I plant intentionally just dies.

The accidental silver pumpkin vine spreading out nicely along the corner and edge of our lawn.

A silver pumpkin in the making. Mostly a little lime green at the moment.

Our accidental silver pumpkin vine spreading out nicely along the corner and edges of our yard.

Another small silver pumpkin in the making. More lime green at the moment but it's still small.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Well, the stones are actually Shaligrams but I'm definitely a frog in a hat and overalls today.

A frog in a hat and overalls says: I don't know what's next either. But I have a pocket full of stones and a reckless kind of hope.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Things are so bad, I'm working on the third...

A black and white comic showing a man in a boat during a thunderstorm. The caption reads "This is it...the time to finish your novel."

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Day two of this mess. So, I went grocery shopping early this morning and started with the laundry down in the basement (where it's still pretty cool). The pets and I salute you from underground. Stay safe out there.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Today and tomorrow are under severe heat advisories (heat index over 100). So, the pets and I will be in the living room (where the AC is best), trying not to move. Or think, preferably. In the meantime, anyone know where I can get some Canopic Cookie Jars? It's for an, um, project.

Heat advisory covers much of Mass. as temps, humidity set to surge to dangerous levels. Boston 25 News.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I teach a whole lecture on economics attempting to use and reframe anthropology (wherein they use literal colonization). Mainly because of a current textbook that has been written "towards economics" and then, well, this. A reading list of old, colonial, anthropology a hundred years out of date.

Bronislaw Malinowski, a Polish anthropologist from a century ago, poses among the Trobriand Islanders he studied.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I actually teach a whole lecture on economics attempting to use and reframe anthropology (wherein they use literal colonization). Mainly because of a current textbook that has been written "towards economics" and then, well, this. A reading list of old, colonial, anthropology.

Bronislaw Malinowski, a polish anthropologist from a century ago, poses among the Trobriand Islanders he studied in the early 1900s.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Me: "Hey, Goblin. You want some brine shrimp?" Goblin (my green betta): "YUSSSS!!!!!!" (In other news, this idiot jumped out of his tank today. Thankfully, I found him right after and he's fine. Back in the water but not smarter.)

Green Goblin, my green alien betta in his tank. Sitting at the top water line waiting for food.

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