iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 10/09/2026

I mean, where I live, the bicycle is an important means of transportation, but I broke into a sweat seeing this guy brave the car dominated traffic in #Tucson. Read the full webcomic on ytje.com #traffic #intersection #comic #webcomic #Arizona #drawing #bicycle

In this comic panel, two persons, who are close up, are looking at a man cycling in traffic, cars surrounding him. Text: " Look at that guy maneuvering like a boss! He must have balls of steel!"

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 06/09/2026

Op Zondag 13 September, van 10-16 uur ben je van harte welkom in mijn atelier aan het Groot Heiligland 27 (Joleshuis) in #haarlem tijdens In Context. 50 kunstenaars openen hun werkplek in 9 gemeentelijke panden. Kijk voor meer info en deelnemers op incontext-haarlem.nl #kunstroute #openateliers

Cover of part 3 webcomic Bright Light, Desert City, Life in the Catalina Foothills, depicting people in a supermarket.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 04/09/2026

Page 34 of 'Life in the Catalina Foothills', part 3 in the Bright Light, Desert City series, is online. We watch a man making his way through traffic on a bicycle. #catalinafoothills #cars #traffic #tucson #webcomic #Arizona

A panel (detail) of a comic page depicting a man on a bicycle waiting at a traffic light. Cars are around him.
Text: Nearing an intersection, we watch a man on a bicycle.
Making one's way through what I can safely characterize as car-centric traffic, is no small feat.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 23/08/2026

Page 33, where the basin states in the U.S. will have to find a way to keep access to clean water.

A drop of water, with text in it. In the background,a map of a part of the U.S. where New Mexico is visible, along with parts of Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Text: "On top of that, the Colorado River is in trouble. Climate change is is one more swirl in the shit sundae. Arizona is one of the seven so- called basin states: these states are heavily reliant on the river for their water, but for how much longer will this be feasible?"

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 05/08/2026

Today I found myself converting and comparing water hardness in Arizona and the Netherlands. Didn't have that on my schedule, but I love where the story of Bright Light, Desert City is taking me 🌵

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 30/07/2026

Page 31 is online! I really want to get to the supermarket stuff, that I have already sketched out, but it makes sense to insert something here about water and climate in Arizona. This story is full of surprises, even for me. #Arizona #humidity #drinkingwater #dehydration

An outtakes of a full comic page with three panels. A woman is eating a sandwich and explains to another woman, who is in the second panel, it's important to drink lots of water in Arizona's climate.

Text: "Drink water.Lots. Even if you don't feel thirsty. It's the low humidity, Dutch people aren't used to it. We've had guests, insisting they were sick...
...only to find out in the hospital they were dehydrated."

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 26/06/2026

Page 30: inviting neighbors to tea and walking onto their property without an invite seems to be a social faux-pas in the Catalina Foothills. #AZ #Arizona #southwestusa #webcomic #drawing #Tucson

A comic page with 6 frames about a woman who wants to invite her neighbors for tea in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson AZ.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 21/06/2026

De gehele discografie van Soul Coughing duurt van Dokkum Busstation tot treinstation Duivendrecht.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 08/06/2026

Page 29, Life in the Catalina Foothills: Lunch. For full story and page go to ytje.org. #arizona #lunch #comic #Catalina #Foothills #webcomic #southwestusa

A page out of a comic story, with three frames. One depicts the head a woman, one the head of a man, eating a sandwich. The frame below is a woman turning around to address the man and the woman who are shown in the frames up top.
They are having a conversation.

Text:
"Hester, we noticed that houses on this neighborhood are pretty secluded."

"Yeah, how do you get to know your neighbors?"

"Let me tell you about the time I tried to invite the neighborhood for tea. We had just moved here..."

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 31/05/2026

Some more sketches for the cover of Bright Light, Desert City part 3, Life in the Catalina Foothills. #Arizona #Tucson #southwestusa #comic #sketch #supermarket

Two overlapping pieces of paper with pencil sketches depicting people at the till in a supermarket. On top of the pieces of paper lie a pencil and an eraser.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 30/05/2026

Wat is er tijdens de #stripdagenhaarlem nou leuker dan zelf strips tekenen? Deel 3 van mijn webcomic Bright Light, Desert City loopt nog ongeveer 15 pagina's door, dus moet er worden nagedacht over een cover. Want er komt uiteraard ook een printversie! #zine #comic #strips #Arizona

Sketches for a comicbook cover depicting people in a supermarket. Text: In the third part of this story, walking the dog turns out to be an edifying experience regarding getting to know the neighborhood. And who knew American society as a whole is reflected by visiting a local supermarket? Artist, politics and commerce rolled into one.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 22/05/2026

The latest and last 'fourth wall-esque' break in my webcomic, for now, at least. I couldn't truncate it: I wanted to write this because I feel strongly about women's freedoms and reproductive health. Ytje.org, Bright Light, Desert City #womensrights #womenshealth #prochoice #democracy #abortion

A drawing with a yellow, zagging frame. In it are 3 parts of text. In between the text are two drawings: the top one depicts a woman, partly visible, drawing on a digital tablet. A coffee mug syands in the front of the image.The lower drawing is a view out of a window of buildings and trees. A skyline is visible in the background.

Text: Recently, a ruling in the Fifth Circuit Court in Louisiana threatened to ban access to abortion pills sent through mail. For now, the Supreme Court has ruled differently, preserving access. Litigation is still ongoing despite the Supreme Court ruling.

It remains to be seen if access will indeed be preserved. Women in rural areas, for one, depend on this service. Make no mistake, the rulinge of the very conservative Fifth Circuit Court in Louisiana would have been enforced nation-wide. Pretty wild, right?

This is why the fight for women' s reproductive rights is an ongoing one. Don't for a moment think that this can't happen in our country. That the U.S. A. is far away and that its policies -or whatever goes on politically right now- has no bearing on our democracy.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 08/05/2026

It took some time, but page 25, 26 and 27 of Life in the Catalina Foothills are online. Taking some time to reflect on recent developments I wrote about abortion, taking place in the USA. #Healthcare #prochoice #womensrights

Comic page with text and drawings.
The top image shows a woman partly visible, holding an empty cup. She wears a shirt that says: The War is Never Over, Lydia Lunch. On the shirt is a face of a woman, the lower part of the face covered by a red substance.
The bottom image is the same woman, seen from the back, pouring hot water on coffee. She's in a kitchen with tiled walls, kitchen cabinets and a part of a living room is visible, showing a red wall, with plant and a painting.

Text: In 2024 the near total ban on abortion as stated in the 1864 Howell code, was Struck down. Also in 2024, Proposition 139 was made part of the state's constitution.

This means that every individual has a fundamental right to abortion.

In practice, it's not as straightforward as it sounds: a 24 hour waiting period, counseling and an ultrasound are mandatory.

A sizable percentage of anti-abortion folks are also against contraceptives and sex education. This leaves one route; abstinence. And that is not a viable alternative.

Webcomic page with text and drawings.
The top image show a diverse crowd of protesters, men and women. They carry signs that read "Abortion is healthcare" and "Stop the war on women".
The bottom image is a map of the USA, showing how abortion restrictions are encroaching the country.

Text: When pro-choice people protested against the overturning of Roe, conservatives told them they were being alarmist. They argued there were still states' rights. States have a certain sovereignty, comparable to that of the federal government. So it's really fine. Right?

In 2026, 6, 13 states uphold a total abortion ban. In addition, 4 states uphold a 6 week ban and 2 more uphold a 12 week ban. That's 19 states currently severely restricting abortion.

The ongoing shuttering of Planned Parents hood locations across the U.S.A. doesn't only bar women seeking an abortion - it also takes away other health procedures for women on Medicaid, such as mammograms or pap smears. These are paramount to women's health.

Source of infographic: the Guttmacher Institute www.gutmacher.org

A webcomic page with text and drawings.
Top image: a weary mother, surrounded by children. One child in the foreground is taking care of a younger sibling, while another kid in the background puts up laundry on a clothesline.

Bottom image: a young girl, pregnant, sitting on her bed, with cushions, a doll and plush animal figures.

Text: Furthermore, the program that helps health centers provide birth control, treatment and testing, in regard to sexually transmitted infections, called Title X, is not guaranteed to keep functioning as it did. Title X helps people without health insurance This program was signed into law by Nixon in 1970. The Federal goverment gives money-on a yearly basis to health centers providing Title X services after asking them for data and a budget.

Come 2027, the guidelines for the program will be shifting. Instead of focusing on expanding access to contraception, 'natural family planning' is favoured, tracking menstrual cycles, instead of providing hormonal birth control.

" Your body, my choice," right wing extremists gloated, when Trump became president in 2024. When push comes to shove, it's not about 'sanctity of life. It's about controlling girls and women, while hiding behind performative christianity.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 23/04/2026

I got a test batch printed and it looks good! Bright Light, Desert City part 2: Hello Tucson, available soon! #zine #comicbook #Arizona #drawing

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 09/04/2026

The conversation about abortion continues on page 23 and 24 of Life in the Catalina Foothills. #abortion #womensrights #prochoice

Comic page with a man and a woman having a conversation about abortion.

Text: "The discussions I've had with zealously religious folk always strictly were about the 'sanctity of life'. Their conviction is that life begins at the moment of conception. To them, it's cut and dry.

The only way this works is in theory. Which means it doesn't work. Life's messy.

There's nothing theoretical about pregnancy. It's a life changing event for a woman, whether the pregnancy is wanted or not.
Women should be able to make their own choice in the matter.

Dogmatic thinking can do a log of harm. The argument people who are anti abortion want to make just doesn't hold water. "
"You mean it doesn't hold amniotic fluid..."

"I can leave it to you to make bad puns...lord.."

"Hey, you're the one to talk!"

A comic page with one frame at the top, showing the back of a man and a woman, looking out on the Catalina Foothills.
Around this frame is a larger drawing with a tabletop. A cup of coffee, an e-reader and a newspaper can be seen laying on top of it. Also placed on the tabletop are two hands, intertwined.

Text: "But in all seriousness, I'm glad we talked about this quite early in our relationship. You know I believe a woman should have the ultimate decision regarding this.

It's her body, that's cut and dried enough for me.

How is this even radical? I think every man should support women this way. Empathize, listen and respect their bodily sovereignty."

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 20/03/2026

On page 18, 19, 20 and 21 of Life in the Catalina Foothills. Women should always have the choice whether they want to continue a pregnancy, or end a pregnancy. Read the full (and developing) story on www.ytje.org. #prochoice #womensrights #bodilyautonomy #webcomic

I image: a comic page depicting teenagers in a school yard. Text: I think back to middle school. Classmates would, somewhat regularly, be up in arms about pregnancy scares.
Living in a conservative community does not change the fact that teenagers will experience raging hormones and act on it.
Not every adolscent boy was down with using condoms either.
I had a boyfriend at the time.

Image: a comic page with several panels. Top: a girl, facing her mother in the luving room. Mother is ironing. Middle: two hands pressing a pill from its strip, Below: a girl takingva contraceptive pill, looking into a mirror. Her friend is partly visible in the mirror. Posters on the wall are depicting Lenny Kravitz, Bob Marley and Skin from the band Skunk Anansie. Text:I worked up the courage to ask my mother if I could take the birth control pill.
Thankfully, she agreed.
I was extremely punctual about taking it.
My friends teased me about my rigid approach. They weren’t wrong, I was paranoid, afraid of pregnancy.
“Oh no Ytje! I think you took the pill five minutes late! Are you sure it’s still effective now?”

Image: a comic page with several drawn frames. Top: a toilet bag in a bathroom. Middle: a person holding a portfolio case, standing in front of a building.
Text: At nineteen, I miscalculated and I became really stressed out about potentially being pregnant. I was terrified.

I had been accepted at an art school, some ways away from my hometown.

At this point , I lived in a flat with three housemates. I was excited. Being able to study illustration made me feel so lucky. I
had worked very hard to get there.

Now, being confronted with a possible pregnancy, I saw my future being threatened. I still went home to my parents every weekend. I hung out with my boyfriend, who still lived with his parents.
Coming from a very conservative background, I did not believe that abortion would even be an option. But I also could not fathom being a mother. It sounded like a nightmare to me.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 18/03/2026

I'm working on some drawings about NYC, spanning 20 years. 2004-2024. Here's Christopher Street Station -work in progress- as it was in in 2005. #drawing #NYC #subway #Christopherstreet

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 02/02/2026

Koop je een tweedehands jasje, krijg je er bonusbrokken bij. Er zaten zeker 10 stuks nog in de jaszak. #hondenbezitter #kringloop #adidas

Foto van een open hand, met daarin hondenbrokken. Er is een stuk mouw zichtbaar van een tweedehands Adidas jasje. Achtergrond: houten vloer.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 01/02/2026

Ik was in Berlijn en heb mijn sticker geplakt op de Martha Cooper Wall in het Urban Nation Museum, waaraan eenieder stickers mag toevoegen.

Detail van de Martha Cooper Wall in het Urban Nation Museum in Berlijn, met mijn Y sticker in het midden.

De Martha Cooper Wall in het Urban Nation Museum in Berlijn, een muur helemaal beplakt met stickers.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 18/01/2026

Lydia Lunch & Marc Hurtado brachten gisteravond een eerbetoon aan de band Suicide, in het #slachthuishaarlem. Ik moet daar vaker naartoe, fijne plek, topconcert van Lunch!

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 16/01/2026

Circumventing Youtube: Dirty.radio for your Friday afternoon - ready to slip into the weekend. Dance oriented independent internet radio, created by Underworld fans.

dirty.radio

SHOP NOW OPEN T-shirts, Hoodies, Stickers, Mugs SHOP NOW Latest Picks Latest EPISODES

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 09/01/2026

On page 17 of Life in the Catalina Foothills, I read about originalists and abrtion in the Arizona Daily Star. This was in 2022, in the following pages I'm working on, I'll write and draw more about the issue. Read the full page on my website.

A woman, seen from the side, reading a paper, the Arizona Daily Star. Behind her, there's a decorative garden wall. Behind the wall are trees and a yellow 'Don't tread on me' flag in the distance.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 31/12/2025

Last day of the year, I'm pushing out page 16 of "Life in the Catalina Foothills", which is part 3 of "Bright Light, Desert City" 🏜 read the full page & comic on my website ytje.org. #Arizona #paper #arizonadailystar #webcomic #drawing #america

A preview/cropped image with parts of frames of a comic, where 2 characters have a conversation.
Text: "What have you been up to?" Well, a dog's nose apparently represents its social calendar, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett." "Makes sense."

A preview/cropped image with parts of frames of a comic, where 2 characters have a conversation. This is the version without color.
Text: "What have you been up to? " Well, a dog's nose apparently represents its social calendar, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett." "Makes sense."

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 18/12/2025

Preview of page 15, I retreat to the back yard to read the paper. You can read the full story I've drawn so far on www.ytje.org.

A comic panel depicting a man with long hair and a beard reading a book in the upper right corner. In the panel below, the same man is seen from a different pov, now with a woman next to him. They're surrounded by a garden of desert plants.
Text: " I take a cup of coffee outside to drink while I read the paper. Misha's already there, reading a book."

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Reposted by Ytje Veenstra

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Tucson residents fought back against Amazon’s secretive plans to build a data center in the desert — and won. But now, in a blatant attempt to override the City Council and the will of the people, Amazon and the project’s developer is pushing ahead anyway.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 23/11/2025

Page 14! I'm working dilligently toward more things I encountered in Tucson/ Catalina Foothills. Contractors delivering papers rely on holiday tipping to supplement their wage. Working a job like this to make ends meet is a reality for a lot of Americans. It's not uncommon to work 2 or 3 jobs.

A comic page with different panels depicting the job of someone delivering papers.

Text: This is why contractors rely on holiday tipping. Working a job like this to make ends meet is a reality for a lot of Americans. It's not uncommon to work two or three jobs.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 06/11/2025

Delivering papers in Tucson includes practically a night shift, seven days a week with almost no time off. You can read the full page on my website, www.ytje.org.

Delivering papers in Tucson includes practically a night shift, seven days a week with almost no time off.

Image are 3 comic panels: upper right a screen door though which a car is visible, delivering a paper. The second panel shows a road with cars on it and a gas station. The bottom frame is a woman, putting gas in her car.

Text: They work as independent contractors. They drive their own vehicles and pay for gas, maintenance.

When you subtract those expenses, you're left with pay below minimum wage.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 17/10/2025

Page 12 of 'Life in the Catalina Foothills' is the start of some insight about what it entails to deliver papers in Tucson, Arizona. Believe you me, it ain't a cakewalk.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 07/10/2025

Waking up to good news: a new Pynchon book!

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 03/10/2025

Mornin'. New page of Life in the Catalina Foothills is up on my on my website! The mischievous Chihuahua PETAL is caught, thanks to good ol' Luz. Read it on www.ytje.org 🏜

A man tipping his hat, saying 'Mornin''.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 01/10/2025

Analogue studio: sketching with pencil, while leafing through books on photography and magazines. Like it's 1995.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 12/09/2025

I got back from a trip to #Hamburg and now's the time to start seriously working on a series about subways. Strike the iron while it's hot.

Pencil drawing of an urban area surrounding & beneath Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Germany.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 30/08/2025

Hi I'm Ytje. After a 24 yr career of being a professional illustrator, I'm now focusing on my own art projects exclusively. Currently I'm working on a webcomic called Bright Light, Desert City 🏜, based on a month long stay in Tucson, AZ, in 2022. Read it for free on my website!

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 23/08/2025

Peculiar mailboxes adorn the roadside in the Catalina Foothills. Here's a snippet of page 9 of "Bright Light, Desert City - Life in the Catalina Foothills". Read the full story of a European in the US: www.ytje.org. #roadside #catalinafoothills #mailbox #soithwestusa #webcomic #drawing #journey

At the top of the frame is a street corner, with houses particular to the Southwest of the USA, they have architecturally Spanish influences. Below, on the left, is a panel with an angularly designed mailboxes. In the middle, bottom, the top of a woman' s head, wearing a visor, is visible.
Text:
"I keep seeing these brown metal things, are they some kind of mailbox?"
" Yes they are. The mailboxes are combined with a light pole".

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 07/08/2025

People retreat inside, when it grows hotter in the Catalina Foothills. Workers persist through the rising temperatures. Read the story on my website ytje.org. This is part 3 of my webcomic Bright Light, Desert City 🏜 #Tucson #southwestusa #comic #drawing #gardener #builder #catalinafoothills

Two panels of a comic, detail of a larger page. The top panel shows part of a pickup truck with tools in the back. The lower panel show a man walking out of frame with a wheelbarrow. Overlayed on these two panels is a gardener, holding a shovel, with palm tree leaves in the right top corner.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 31/07/2025

Here's a preview of page 7 of my comic 'Life in the Catalina Foothills'. I'm taking more time to work on pages, which pays off, I feel. I'm also working on the cover for part 2 'Hello Tucson'. Read the story on www.ytje.org. #catalinafoothills #tucson #comic #lineart #drawing #journey

Two images: the top ons shows a dog jumping at a car, being held back by a leash. The bottom one shows a hand that waves at an oncoming car. Text: Luz has a tendency to jump at cars.
The custom here is to wave at cars. It signals you're from here, or that you're meant to be here.

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Reposted by Ytje Veenstra

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.

wired.com

The First Planned Migration of an Entire Country Is Underway

The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu could be submerged in 25 years due to rising sea levels, so a plan is being implemented to relocate its population to Australia.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 16/07/2025

Thank you for your service! Een tijdlijn is nodig om de totale gish gallop te blijven duiden.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 27/06/2025

"We've already established that the neighborhood has no sidewalks. It's entirely car centric." A preview of 6 of Life in the Catalina Foothills. Read it on my website. #catalinafoothills #carcentric #dogwalking #arizona #dividedhighway

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 18/06/2025

Here's a detail of page 5 of my comic Life in the Catalina Foothills, part 3 of Bright Light, Desert City. I'll be posting pages to my website on more of an intermittent basis. I'll be able to give the pages more attention, visually. #comic #webcomic #arizona #tucson #foothills #walking #dog

A dog on a leash, seen from behind. It looks out on porch stairs and a lawn.

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Ytje Veenstra @ytjeveenstra.eurosky.social · 14/06/2025

De enige goeie parade is dat theaterfestival in Amsterdam.

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Reposted by Ytje Veenstra

Eliane Gerrits @elianneke.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

A subtle button. For everybody to wear during this whole sordid election campaign. #shame #politics #scapegoat #elections #racism #xenophobia #ultraright #decency #civilization #whitesupremists #geertwilders #vvd #disgusting

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