Angry Bird @red-birds-stuff - Tumblr Blog

Fight For The Future - Inside look at plans for next year

I won’t lie, 2025 has been challenging (to say the least). We’ve seen many of our past victories rolled back, opportunities to influence policy disappear, and fascist, authoritarian violence spread in ways that has put so many in serious danger.

Early in the year, the Fight team decided that the best way to direct our resources and power would be to focus on beating back authoritarian censorship and surveillance, so that front line organizers and resistance movements could have the tools they need to fight back against the regime and win.

We’d love to share with you some of the highlights of what we were able to accomplish in this extremely challenging environment and share an insider look at what we have in the works for 2026. Check out our annual How we Fight for the Future in 2026 site now.

EXPLORE 2026 PAGE

This work is an uphill battle, but we will never take the easy way out. We’ll never compromise our values or tone down our messaging to gain access, appease billionaires, or avoid controversy.

That means that we’re often on the outskirts of funding streams that are more risk-averse. Our fearless activism is only possible because thousands of individual people support us with small monthly donations and year-end gifts. We literally could not do this work without you.

And it’s not just donations. This year you have made thousands of calls, shared out useful resources, and refused to let decision-makers off the hook. The actions and messages from Fight for the Future supporters have truly raised our spirits when things have looked so bleak. Thank you so much for all you’ve done.

I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on how we’ve been able to block some of the worst tech policies in 2025, and to read about our plans to keep moving the ball forward next year.

Thank you again,

mistgardens

The Seven of Pentacles, featuring Scarlett merging with the Oracle. My work for the Hello Charlotte Tarot zine!

You can check the zine out here. It's free to download!

Hello Charlotte 10th Anniversary Fanzine

#hello charlotte #scarlett eyler #digital art #paint tool sai #mist gardens tag #mist gardens art #fanart #illustration #art #tarot #saving for later read

writingwithfolklore

Writing Resources to use instead of AI

For coming up with character names:

Behind the name (my absolute fav)

Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.

You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.

Census sites

Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.

For coming up with place names:

Fantasy name generator

This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.

For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:

One Look Thesaurus

This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.

For coming up with ideas:

Word cloud

When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!

WWF Discord

This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!

For visualizing places and characters:

Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.

This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.

(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)

Death to Stock

Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).

Cosmos

Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.

Dupe Photos

Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!

Minecraft

If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.

The Sims

This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.

For checking grammar:

Grammar Girl

Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.

Grammar Monster

This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.

Reedsy

Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.

For writing advice:

One Stop for Writers

This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.

My Blog Directory

Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!

For an alternative to Google Docs:

Ellipsus

Think google docs but without AI. Yay!

(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊)

#saving for later

yourreddancer

All right folks, it’s go time. Next week, there will be a hearing to confirm Steve Pearce as the director of the Bureau of Land Management.

We need you to contact your senators today and urge them to vote NO on Steve Pearce. Calls are most important: 202-224-3121 to be directed.

The BLM oversees 245 million acres of public lands. The person in charge will shape the future of wildlife habitat, grazing policy, oil and gas development, recreation, and conservation across the West. Steve Pearce has spent his career working against the very mission of this agency.

Pearce is not neutral. He is a longtime champion of privatization and extractive industry, with a record that includes: Repeated efforts to transfer or sell off public lands to states and private interests, persistent attacks on the Endangered Species Act and protections for imperiled wildlife, advocacy for expanded oil and gas drilling and hard-rock mining on public lands, alignment with the livestock industry at the expense of land health, native species, and taxpayers, a career in Congress defined by some of the largest proportions of anti-conservation votes on record.

He has also been a leading voice for the failed ideology that public lands are an economic burden rather than a shared national trust — the same agenda that has left ecosystems degraded, wildlife pushed to the brink, and the public shut out of decisions about the lands we all own.

This is a make-or-break moment for our public lands. Follow up the call with a message:

daysleftofsecondterm

We have to try

fullest-circlest

If you're writing 18th century dialogue, this website lets you search words and phrases to double-check whether they were in use & meant what you intend. It doesn't include every period-accurate use of a word/phrase, but it certainly helped me separate genuine 18th century grammar from the vague tangle of 💬old-fashioned fancy-speak💬 I've internalized from TV and video games.

my-deer-friend

Other websites that let you do this:

Johnson's Dictionary Online (thanks @yellowbelliedtoad!) – 1755 and 1773

Green's Dictionary of Slang – 1300s to today

A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – 1788

Feraud's Dictionaire critique de la langue française – 1778

zisurru

A dictionary of the English and Italian languages by Giuseppe Baretti is a bilingual dictionary from 1790!

#saving for later

reasonsforhope

Masterpost: Reasons I firmly believe we will beat climate change

Posts are in reverse chronological order (by post date, not article date), mostly taken from my "climate change" tag, which I went through all the way back to the literal beginning of my blog. Will update periodically.

Especially big deal articles/posts are in bold.

Big picture:

Mature trees offer hope in world of rising emissions (x)

Spying from space: How satellites can help identify and rein in a potent climate pollutant (x)

Good news: Tiny urban green spaces can cool cities and save lives (x)

Conservation and economic development go hand in hand, more often than expected (x)

The exponential growth of solar power will change the world (x)

Sun Machines: Solar, an energy that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge (x)

Wealthy nations finally deliver promised climate aid, as calls for more equitable funding for poor countries grow (x)

For Earth Day 2024, experts are spreading optimism – not doom. Here's why. (x)

Opinion: I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. (x)

The World’s Forests Are Doing Much Better Than We Think (x)

‘Staggering’ green growth gives hope for 1.5C, says global energy chief (x)

Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View (x)

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought (x)

Yes, climate change can be beaten by 2050. Here's how. (x)

Soil improvements could keep planet within 1.5C heating target, research shows (x)

The global treaty to save the ozone layer has also slowed Arctic ice melt (x)

The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past (x)

Scientists Find Methane is Actually Offsetting 30% of its Own Heating Effect on Planet (x)

Are debt-for-climate swaps finally taking off? (x)

High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN (x)

How Could Positive ‘Tipping Points’ Accelerate Climate Action? (x)

Specific examples:

Environmental Campaigners Celebrate As Labour Ends Tory Ban On New Onshore Wind Projects (x)

Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa (x)

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution (x)

Rewilding sites have seen 400% increase in jobs since 2008, research finds [Scotland] (x)

The American Climate Corps take flight, with most jobs based in the West (x)

Waste Heat Generated from Electronics to Warm Finnish City in Winter Thanks to Groundbreaking Thermal Energy Project (x)

Climate protection is now a human right — and lawsuits will follow [European Union] (x)

A new EU ecocide law ‘marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals’ (x)

Solar hits a renewable energy milestone not seen since WWII [United States] (x)

These are the climate grannies. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their grandchildren. [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study (x)

Chart: Wind and solar are closing in on fossil fuels in the EU (x)

UK use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957, figures show (x)

Countries That Generate 100% Renewable Energy Electricity (x)

Indigenous advocacy leads to largest dam removal project in US history [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

India’s clean energy transition is rapidly underway, benefiting the entire world (x)

China is set to shatter its wind and solar target five years early, new report finds (x)

‘Game changing’: spate of US lawsuits calls big oil to account for climate crisis (x)

Largest-ever data set collection shows how coral reefs can survive climate change (x)

The Biggest Climate Bill of Your Life - But What Does It DO? [United States] (x)

Good Climate News: Headline Roundup April 1st through April 15th, 2023 (x)

How agroforestry can restore degraded lands and provide income in the Amazon (x) [Brazil]

Loss of Climate-Crucial Mangrove Forests Has Slowed to Near-Negligable Amount Worldwide, Report Hails (x)

Agroecology schools help communities restore degraded land in Guatemala (x)

Climate adaptation:

Solar-powered generators pull clean drinking water 'from thin air,' aiding communities in need: 'It transforms lives' (x)

‘Sponge’ Cities Combat Urban Flooding by Letting Nature Do the Work [China] (x)

Indian Engineers Tackle Water Shortages with Star Wars Tech in Kerala (x)

A green roof or rooftop solar? You can combine them in a biosolar roof — boosting both biodiversity and power output (x)

Global death tolls from natural disasters have actually plummeted over the last century (x)

Los Angeles Just Proved How Spongy a City Can Be (x)

This city turns sewage into drinking water in 24 hours. The concept is catching on [Namibia] (x)

Plants teach their offspring how to adapt to climate change, scientists find (x)

Resurrecting Climate-Resilient Rice in India (x)

Edit 1/12/25: Yes, I know a bunch of the links disappeared. I'll try to fix that when I get the chance. In the meantime, read all the other stuff!!

Other Masterposts:

Going carbon negative and how we're going to fix global heating (x)

Podcasts and newsletters to subscribe to for more good news (x)

#saving for later read

hylianengineer

I am once again begging everyone to join my in my New Year's tradition of reading the Fix The News article about all the good news you might not have heard about in the last year:

All the news the headlines missed in 2025.

Their 2025 article does a fantastic job of pointing out that while 2025 felt like a disaster to a lot of us, our perspectives are A) not the only ones and B) being manipulated by a culture of news reporting that refuses to acknowledge good things that don't make good headlines.

Here's a couple excerpts (emphasis mine):

We published 38 editions of our newsletter this year, featuring 1,932 stories from 170 countries, and what we found was that while the headlines kept insisting on collapse, the data - child mortality rates, vaccination coverage, emissions intensity, deforestation curves - kept showing stubborn progress. While everyone was staring in horror at the flames outside the capsule, we were looking at telemetry that said there was more than enough oxygen to make it home. This gap, between the world as it is and how we’re told to see it, comes down to a choice about what we do with our attention. Mission control doesn’t ignore danger. It’s acknowledged, monitored, taken seriously. But knowing which emergencies require immediate action means you need to watch all the instruments, not just the alarms. That’s the difference between panic and an effective response. Every year, Gallup surveys around 1,000 people each in 142 countries, asking about their lives and expectations. In its most recent edition, 33 percent of respondents said they were thriving, the highest proportion on record. The share who said they were suffering dropped to 7 percent, matching the lowest level since tracking began in 2007. A decade ago it was 12 percent. You might expect these numbers to feature prominently in coverage about the state of the world. They don’t. A record four in five people are satisfied with their personal freedoms and three in four say their country is a good place for children to learn and grow. Economic optimism has rebounded to its highest point since the financial crisis. More people in more countries report living better lives than at any point since measurements began. ---

Look, I don’t want to sound like some bloodless bureaucrat here. You can’t fact-check people out of a feeling. For hundreds of millions, the world feels like a terrible place right now. If you’re a democracy activist languishing in a Hong Kong jail or a single mother in New Jersey struggling to pay the rent or a cobalt miner risking your life in the DRC, no amount of statistics or lines going up on a graph is going to matter. But I do think the collapse merchants have gotten carried away. We now have an entire genre about living in the worst timeline, about how fascism is inevitable and the kids are doomed, and almost all of it is created by people cosplaying the apocalypse from positions of extraordinary comfort. They’re being lazy. It's easier to predict the end of the world than to wrestle with the truth, which is that some things are genuinely scary, some things are going great, and most of it is just really complicated. But nuance doesn’t sell. Pessimism does. It sounds smart, sophisticated, proof that you’re a clear-eyed realist. Plus, doom is dramatically satisfying in ways that incremental progress never can be. You get to use words like atrocity, crippling and conspiracy. You get to be the prophet who saw it coming, brave enough to tell hard truths while collecting your advance and planning your next speaking tour. The problem compounds when 90 percent of the world’s English-language media comes from the United States. What reads as analysis of global collapse is often just American psychodrama mistaken for planetary diagnosis. The Republic of Letters has been annexed by the Republic of Feelings, and the feelings in question belong to people whose material circumstances remain comfortable enough to afford the luxury of existential dread.

*mic drop*

(by the way, Fix The News is Australian)

#saving for later read

dicklessthewonderclown

currently in the process of transferring all my wips from google docs to ellipsus bc of their stance on generative ia, and i cannot recommend it enough

anyways rapid fire things i like/questions people had on tiktok [disclaimer this is like my second day of using it]:

their stance on ai page says that llms (large language models like chat gpt are unethical

yes it is free

yes you can share documents for collaborations

yes you can see writing history, and you can have the current and previous drafts next to each other to compare

it does not have a mobile app, but it does have a web app, though i personally haven’t tried it

it’s very easy to navigate and so much more aesthetically pleasing than google docs

i didn’t import any of my wips bc that’s a lot of work that i don’t want to do, and just copy pasted directly

you can export directly to ao3

#saving for later

spiritofthemountainnaturephoto

It's a terrible year to be someone who cares about wildlife and nature. At the very least I will try and spread awareness of what is happening.

Meda DeWitt, Alaska senior manager with The Wilderness Society, said that with Thursday’s announcement the administration “is placing corporate interests above the lives, cultures and spiritual responsibilities of the people whose survival depends on the Porcupine caribou herd, the freedom to live from this land and the health of the Arctic Refuge.”

Tribal leaders in some communities further north, in Yup’ik communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region, have expressed concerns that development of a road would harm the migratory birds important to their subsistence ways of life.

The Trump administration on Thursday finalized plans to open the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to potential oil

#nature #wildlife #caribou #alaska #conservation #widlife refuge #artic refuge #pbs #usa news #us news #usa politics #fuck big oil #fuck trump #republicans #donald trump #trump administration #president trump #republican

raccoonmilf

MSC Cruises is trying to build a pier directly on top of a coral reef in Cozumel

All of Cozumel’s reefs are in protected areas except one—the Villa Blanca Reef. Ironically, the this is also probably the healthiest reef there. Why? Because the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program (aka the CCRRP, who I’m partnering with for my research and where I volunteer) is working tirelessly to care for the reefs and propagate and plant coral fragments.

However, all of that is about to be destroyed because of plans to build a fourth cruise ship pier. Directly over the Villa Blanca Reef and the CCRRP’s Coral Restoration Platforms.

MSC Cruises is the main organization backing this project, with further support from the Molina family (essentially oligarchs who have a big stake in the cruise industry) and the Mexican Government.

Recently, they put out a surveying platform to drill holes to survey the soil mechanics for pier construction. Already, they have damaged live rock, coral, and century old sponges—and the construction hasn’t even begun.

More information about this project as well as the protests and legal action taking place in Cozumel can be found here. However, there is a desperate need for international attention, as international tourists are the ones giving these cruise companies money.

Here’s How You Can Help

#ocean conservation #conservation #coral reefs #nature #oceans #marine biology #wildlife conservation #my research #coral #Holy fuck it's not like the coral reefs aren't already in a lot a fucking danger of #vanishing in the upcoming decades #Let's destroy one of them to make more room for ships its not like they can build it somewhere else

faithfromanewperspective

there's a lot of doomerism on here on the state of society or whatever and i need to tell you the climate crisis has kicked so many people into gear the same way things like the ozone layer and acid rain have in the past. yeah it's not happening quickly but it's always been something that's needed transformative change rather than a quick fix and that is happening. every country on track to meet their net zero goals is a country that won't need fossil fuels (or oil, idk why the americans only talk about oil) in 10, 20 years from now. is one less country that's gonna create a market for this whole 'let's invade other countries for their natural resources'.

yeah it sucks now but overall this is happening quicker than fossil fuels run out which means people are getting their needs met and getting it through renewables (smooth transition rather than suddenly running out and having nothing) and the only countries fighting that are the ones already being left behind. and this is why we talk about environmentalism on this site. it's such a big piece of the puzzle and a big source of hope if you know how to analyse trends the same way environmentalists have all through the 20th century when they started warning us about all this. not cause we wanna shame you for using fucking straws or eating a burger

#this its really important that people realize that giving up hope is not the right thing #if you want things to be fix then you cannot give up hope #climate crisis #climate change #climateaction #climatejustice #climate action #climate justice #environmentalism

derekscorner

Since Thursday our politicians have been trying to rush the 'Kids Online Safety Act' (KOSA) and SCREEN acts alongside 15 other bills through committee in order to censor the internet while lying about it being for child safety. It was such laws that allowed the UK, Australia, and Europe to become the hellholes they are where youre arrested for mean posts.

Sadly, our same leaders are also trying to repeal Section 230 alongside these bills. What Section 230 does, in simple terms, is categorize stuff you make online as part of your freedom of speech.

If they aren't stopped they will strip that from you. Be wary.

unshackledhorusshitpostbot

Sorry for the non lancer post but if KOSA or the Screen ACT passes, if section 230 is repealed, it will be apocalyptic for tumblr and any site like it.

All of the bad internet bills. One website.

this site provides good resources to help you fight this if you're an american

the-lemonaut

Solarpunk, realism, dystopia: a rant

Hopefully this is helpful to someone out there 🌸

You can find the Prompts podcast here, I drew some of the covers :D Also check out this digital library full of Creative Commons Solarpunk art (neither of these are sponsored).

🦗Somewhat shameful plug🦗

I would highly appreciate if you threw me a couple bucks on Buy Me a Coffee or bought a commission, my money number is only getting smaller these days 😔🤙

#solarpunk #hopepunk #art #alt text #comic

stellanslashgeode

I really cannot stress how instantly I will turn into the Joker if the United States invades Venezuela.

A lot of it is that I don't want any more senseless wars.

But another part of it is that I was a history major in college, and I cannot stress how much Trump is playing the hits when it comes to failed policies of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

War on Drugs? Waste of money and treasure and just makes the trade more violent.

War for Oil? Ever seen Mad Max and how they're always asking "Who killed the world?" Oil executives killed the world. Don't sacrifice lives for them. We need to get off oil for chrissakes.

Just outright lies? Venezuela does not produced any fentanyl of appreciable amount. These ships getting blown to bits are likely shipping Colombian cocaine to Europe, if they are carrying drugs at all. Which we can never confirm, because we're blowing them up.

Fake WMDs? In this day and age? Are you kidding me what that bullshit? 'Don't piss on me and tell me it's raining' isn't strong enough a sentiment.

Tossing around the enemy combatant thing and "narco terrorist" term as if that means anything 24 years after 9/11 hoping to cash in on public fear and insecurity when that was so abused for so long?

The Monroe Doctrine? Are you fucking kidding me???

I literally will cease all plans and become a full-time protestor if I can scheme a way maintain that lifestyle. It's grotesque. It's offensive. Don't kill in my name just so you can give more money to the oil industry. Haven't we had enough of that? Have you no decency, sir?

#us politics #venezuela #took the words right out of my mouth #I live in Puerto Rico #And I am stressing the hell out #If this breaks out into a full-on war I'm getting bombed in retaliation for a country that I hate #fuck this rotten orange #I hope everyone who is in any form involved in this dies brutally #we need to eat the rich

omegaversereloaded

Protests today all over the country if you're able to make it out!!

Act Now to Stop War & End Racism

This link has times and locations!! Please spread the word!!

#venezuela #usa news #us news #us politics #fuck trump #fuck big corporations #fuck big oil #I hope this doesn't turn into a war #I live in Puerto Rico which means if this does become a war i. getting hit directly

randomperson54321

Fight For The Future - We're Dangerously Behind

Evan here from Fight for the Future. I’m going to be really direct: we’re in a life or death fight, and we need your help.

GIVE TO FIGHT

Fascists are using technology to control us and take away our rights. But resistance movements are using tech to fight back––organizing protests, raising money, and documenting human rights abuses.

This year, we’ve staved off dangerous censorship legislation like KOSA. We brought national attention to creeping surveillance on college campuses. We provided direct support and digital security advice to anti-ICE organizers, LGBTQ resource centers, and Palestine activists.1

As a small, queer-women run collective of activists, artists, and technologists, we’ve built a reputation as one of the most ruthless and effective activist organizations in the United States. But it’s an uphill battle, and in the last several years we’ve lost several major funding sources due to our principled and fearless positions

We’re coming up on the end of the year, and we are dangerously behind the fundraising goals we need to meet our budget. The democratic backsliding of the Trump era is taking a real toll: many traditional nonprofit funders are pulling back from supporting the type of aggressive activism we’re famous for, because they’re afraid of putting a target on their backs. Many of the startups and small tech projects that used to support our work have been gobbled up or run out of business by Big Tech monopolies.

We’re never going to compromise our values or water down our messaging to appease big dollar donors. That’s why our work is so dependent on the community of people who care about these issues. People like you.

We’ve got big plans in the coming year: like building a coalition of parents opposed to online censorship, and launching a major new campaign around the use of AI in hospitals and schools.1 But that means we’re more and more dependent on small, individual donations from all of you.

Our history-making activism is only possible thanks to hundreds of people who chip in $5, $10 or $50 a month to support our work. Many people are struggling right now. We get that. So if you’re in a position to make a donation or become a monthly supporter, please do.

DONATE TO FIGHT

The movement to save democracy needs Fight for the Future, and we need you.Happy New Year y’all, -Evan at FFTFFootnotes: 1. How We Fight For The Future in 2026: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/2026

saxifraga-x-urbium

Force Remove Copilot, Recall and More in Windows 11 - zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI

#saving for later #anti surveillance #anti ai #gen ai

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Angry Bird