workweek reading recs (28 April 2025)

[matsushima]

• I reached out to someone I knew on LiveJournal and had never met in person. (2025/03)
• A podcast called The Telepathy Tapes claims a group of nonspeaking autistic people can read minds. The truth is more complicated. (2025/04)
• The Alabama Landline That Keeps Ringing: Auburn University’s help desk is still answering the public’s calls 70 years on (2025/04)
• Contraband Marginalia (2024/09)
  tw: incarceration
Why AI isn't going to make art (2024/08)
• The Truth About Getting Your Neck Cracked (2025/04)
Fiction: A Lithuanian Folktale (Told Backwards and Forwards in Time) by Beston Barnett
• Academic: Spirituality in Childhood Studies: Encounters with imaginary friends and angels

This week, I'm going to encourage everyone to participate in 3weeks4dreamwidth! In particular, donating points is a good way to support the platform and your fellow dreamers!

The success of J.K. Rowling's transphobic fight depends on the future of "Harry Potter"

[matsushima]

Sorry (not sorry) to double post today but this article deserved its own space and I'd love to discuss it with other former Harry Potter fans.

A statement from an HBO spokesperson claimed that the [reboot] would benefit from Rowling’s involvement and that Rowling has the right to her beliefs.

While that may be true, the statement from HBO goes on to say: “We are proud to once again tell the story of ‘Harry Potter’ — the heartwarming books that speak to power, friendship, resolve and acceptance.” Note the last word in that sentence, and you’ll spot the dissonance between HBO’s statement and the reality of the situation. Rowling’s role in the show’s production is directly tied to its existence and vice versa, whether the network likes it or not. She’s even made time for posts about it amid the seemingly endless barrage of transphobic garbage.

-The success of J.K. Rowling's transphobic fight depends on the future of "Harry Potter" (2025/04)