Marian Call

@mariancall

Songwriter, writer writer, director of MusicAlaska / AKIMI, probably owes you an email. Still rockin on Bandcamp, Twitch, and Patreon.

4210 Siguiendo3783 Seguidores4523 Publicaciones

Bluesky

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y mariancall.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Marian Call@mariancall· 12d

this is the bell they ring to summon the Dark Knight

Marian Call@mariancall· 20d

that's just layperson observation, i am not a biologist, so take that with a grain of salt -- there are lots of species to be concerned about up here, it's just a little odd to see this speculation about one of the most secure species. lots of bears is fine.

screenshot from Wikipedia of Alaska Peninsula Brown Bear overview, indicating that the species has "apparently secure" status (on a scale of endangerment).

Marian Call@mariancall· Jul 12

Mint Julep. Cheers, everyone.

Close-up photo of two mint julep glasses clinking.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jul 8

i miss consumer protections

screenshot of a smartphone call log. Every call listed but one is a spam or political call, all made within 24 hours.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jul 3

love to sit on top of the double decker helicopter, just under the blades

zoom in and close crop of the AI-generated image linked above, focusing on one of the helicopters soaring above the impossibly dense crowd. The helicopter is branded "Trump Travel Agency" and dozens of people are spilling out of it while it's in flight, sitting in the open door, on the skis, and improbably, on top of the cabin.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jul 2

I keep thinking about this, how much worse everything would be right now if any of these people actually knew how to get any work done at all.

screenap from linked article reads "These were very ambitious goals for people with so limited an understanding of and so little respect for actual work. Their actions will, we can hope, be adjudicated at truth and reconciliation hearings sometime in the future, but for now we might as well take them at their word when it comes to how sincerely they want all this awful shit. It's just that these are not people who could really have other jobs, from the gnarled TV creatures and defective podcaster atop vital agencies to the weedy groyper freaks and chittering adult libertarians filling out the ranks below; they scream at underlings on speakerphone and suck up to their bosses in meetings that lack the substance to fulfill the "could have been an email" part of the remit, and then they fuck off on vacation, or just back onto their phones. The metaphors collapse instantly into slapstick—they literally are clomping around in too-big shoes while Playing Daddy."

Marian Call@mariancall· Jul 1

When all the other musicians cancel, call on the ones you can order to play for as long as you want.

Screenshot from linked article reads "The Joint Armed Forces Orchestra will also perform at the nighttime program that begins at 7 p.m.
In his post, Trump wrote: "More than 300 Members of our strong and talented Military Bands, Orchestras, and Ceremonial Units, will perform Patriotic Melodies and American Classics, and my Playlist (We will have none of those people that put you to sleep and constantly complain!), as we celebrate our Country, and Rally into the next 250 years."

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 29

So, if Disney uses about a million per year across all their properties... this had to be an insane spike in actual fireworks manufacture. is this gonna contribute to fireworks price inflation across the board?

Screencap from linked article reads "Freedom 250 did not respond to NPR questions about how much the display will cost."

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 27

Bravo, great article.

Screencap from linked article reads: "We are envisioned as the consumers who will make the economics of the future work, and we are ultimately the investors paying for it to come about, but no one seems to have bothered to ask us if it's what we want. With artificial intelligence, the impression is that our opinions hardly matter: that, one way or another, AI is coming, and it's better that we are in control of it than China.

But we weren't consulted on the metaverse, either, and as it turned out that mattered a great deal more to the companies than to us. There are limits to how far big tech moguls can impose their vision of the future. Sometimes the winning move really is as simple as not playing the game."

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 21

it was neck and neck at the end. but sadly not neck and neck and neck.

close-up of a cribbage board with two of three contestants' pegs tied at the 120 mark.

photo of Pat and his dad playing cribbage. Pat has the look of someone about to lose to his father.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 14

SeaTac has a big game watching station set up in the food court. unfortunately, they forgot about the Sun, which will be radically backlighting this display until almost 10pm.

Photo of the main concourse food court of SeaTac airport, facing the multistory floor-to-ceiling wall of windows that face west. A big screen TV is set up in the center, but the sun, directly behind it, is blinding and makes the images on it nearly impossible to see.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 12

stood and watched about 10 people walk directly thru this wet cement a couple days ago in downtown Minneapolis, much to my amused dismay

Photo of a sidewalk with a recent wet cement repair clearly drying. The patch of wet cement is completely surrounded by orange traffic cones; however, white muddy footprints indicate that many pedestrians have somehow not noticed and walked right through the drying cement.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 12

Private AI tribunals for journalists to establish their "Honor Index Score" cool. cool cool cool

Screencapped text from linked article reads: "Livingston, a young staffer who describes his job on LinkedIn as, simply, “creating shareholder value,” noted that an AI tribunal would attempt to “adjudicate a determination of truth,” and that the announced outcome “will also affect your Honor Index score, a measure of the veracity of your published work.” He went on, adding, “You can argue your side by uploading your evidence and suggesting your interpretation of the allegation.”

I perused the web page, designated “Sackler v Baum (2026).” It featured a countdown clock ticking toward an apparent verdict. Then I read up on the company, which is backed by the prominent right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, who waged a legal war against Gawker Media after it published coverage about his business interests and personal life which upset him. The effort led to the outlet’s demise. At first glance, Objection seemed to be a kangaroo court catering to rich and infamous plaintiffs, the latest service in the lucrative sector of digital reputation management."

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 12

yeah wow and as i, the customer, interact with platforms i have used for a decade, things just keep getting glitchier. SO MUCH GLITCHIER

zoom in and crop of infographic from quoted tweet, showing that "Production quality is declining" [as a result of increasing AI-generated code]. "Impacts of AI adoption on production stability and quality:" chart shows 247% more incidents, including outages, and 54% more bugs per developer.

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 9

oh dammit they got me

close-up photo of an attractive tray of cake donuts topped with swirls of sweet cream and honey-drizzled dried apple rings. A sign on the tray reads "Breath of the Wild Honeyed Apple Cake".

Marian Call@mariancall· Jun 6

by total coincidence, my life has somehow led me to the community celebration of Prince's Birthday in downtown Minneapolis, and i couldn't be more grateful. #msp #minneapolis

a large crowd starts to gather, mostly wearing purple, in front of the Prince mural at the end of 1st Ave in downtown Minneapolis.

a Black woman in a purple cowboy hat and sunglasses takes a selfie with her beau in front of a crowd of thousands enjoying the Prince singalong. A massive dove parade puppet looms over the audience closest to the stage.

Marian Call@mariancall· May 29

it's mainly an ephemeral live experience, but you'll be happy to know i've got it about 3/4 recorded to release as a single soon.

Marian Call@mariancall· May 7

i mean we knew this shit was coming but ffs "radically pro-gender" "anarchist such as antifa"

screencap of text from linked article reads ""Our national counterterrorism activities will prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent, secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-gender or anarchist such as antifa, we will use all the tools constitutionally available to us to map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations, Gorka said of the modes the administration will use to target the left-wing groups.
The Trump administration formally designated antifa as a terror group in September., Short for anti-fascists, antifa is an umbrella description for far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 29

photo from a plane of the Inside Passage just north of Juneau, AK. Snow-covered mountains, spruce forests, and dark blue water.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 28

Tonight Juneau! #akleg #alaskasky

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 28

hey everybody, I'm playing an online concert this weekend with my buddy Kelsey Riker -- sunday afternoon in the US, sunday night abroad! mariancall.bandcamp.com/merch/may-the-third-be-with-you we won't have this many sequins or saxophonists, but we WILL have a blast. Join live or within 48 hours.

photo of musicians onstage at a concert, singing and playing loudly, dressed in various arrays of sequins and sparkles: Marian Call, playing cowbell, Kelsey Riker and Taylor Vidic, singing, and Spencer Edgers playing saxophone.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 24

so i wrote a new song. it's very short, it's a bit shouty. i'm shouting my lungs out. i'm screaming. people have asked for it since my friends and i sang it at Alaska Folk Fest, so here's a demo. i'm releasing this song into the public domain. it's for anyone. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jw08y...

Photo of Marian Call, Cate Ross, and Kelsey Riker singing the song 'Neighbor' at the Alaska Folk Fest.

Screenshot of lyrics for the song linked above, titled 'Neighbor' by Marian Call. Lyrics read:

i was raised to love my neighbor
now i'm grown, now i'm grown
looks like everyone's my neighbor
i should have known, should have known
all those stories that they told me
as a child said it plain:
we're each other's and i'm standin here to say

i know that's my neighbor, don't you hurt my neighbor
you can't take my neighbor, they belong right here

no sir, that's my neighbor, don't you hurt my neighbor
you can't take my neighbor, they belong right here

god asked cain where abel was
he said am i my brother's keeper
am i my brother's keeper
am i my brother's keeper

god asked cain where abel was
he said am i my brother's keeper
if we don't keep our neighbors who are we?

i was raised to love my neighbor
close to home, close to home
but home is everywhere for someone
i should have known, should have known
all those stories that they told me
as a child said it plain:
we're all each other's and i'm standin here to say...

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 24

Good read. Good to send to your democratic reps if you have 'em.

Screenshot from linked article reads: "But our polling also shows that this puzzle — Democrats being more unpopular than Republicans because of intra-party disaffection — has now resolved itself. When we ask voters whether they think Democrats or Republicans possess certain character traits, Democrats win on nearly every one we tested. Independents dislike Republicans roughly three times as much as they dislike Democrats. Even voters who say they have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party often plan to vote for Democrats anyway. And when Democrats’ own voters complain about their party in their own words, the complaint is not that Democrats are too liberal or “weak and woke”, it’s that they’re not fighting hard enough, particularly against Donald Trump."

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 19

omg. anchorage. what is this secret magical biscuit kingdom and why have you been hiding it from me in the Sunshine Mall #alaskasky

photo of exterior of a small cafe in a strip mall with the sign 'Biscuit Club' next to the window.

photo of interior counter of Biscuit Club, with the kind of colorful, cluttered artwork and community-minded signage that loudly signal a safe, friendly and local indie gem of a food experience. The commercial espresso machine has giant googly eyes.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 16

This is extra frustrating because I used to get 1099K's from Patreon and Paypal, but the threshold kept rising, so they quit sending them. Patreon kindly calculated the amount I get tipped thru the platform, but without a 1099K I have no recognized block of income to write them off FROM.

Screencap of text from instructions for Form 1040 reads: "Examples of occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on
or before December 31, 2024, as well as
the occupation title and TTOC, are listed
next.
• Beverage and food service: bartenders (101); wait staff (102); chefs and
cooks (105); dishwashers (108); host
staff, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
(109); and bakers (110).
• Entertainment and events: gambling dealers (201), dancers (205), musicians and singers (206), and digital content creators (209)."

Screencap of text from form 1040 instructions reads: "Only amounts that appear in
the aggregate on Forms 1099
can be considered qualified
tips. Any “cash tips” received by the
tour guide in actual cash that don’t appear on Form 1099-K cannot be included in the deduction."

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 14

hey Anchorage!!! I am coming to town tomorrow. I get to present with @lilyhopeweaver.bsky.social at the state arts conference, I get to record for my new album, AND I get to play a house concert on Saturday night. RSVP and details at mariancall.com!

Photo of the author singing into a studio microphone with her mouth open exceptionally wide. Taken by Annie Bartholomew who is a total babe.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 9

Best Star Trek Crew; wrong answers only.

Image shows a movie poster of the cast of the film A Mighty Wind posed in costume as assorted folk singers.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 9

I'll be performing at the Alaska Folk Festival the next few days -- live in Juneau, online anywhere. I also have a house concert in Anchorage and another Bandcamp concert coming up, all the details are at mariancall.com!

Selfie of the poster with a cute hat, poised to play guitar at a studio microphone.

Marian Call@mariancall· Apr 7

thought I had Rep. Nick Begich's number in my phone and couldn't find it. looked it up online and dialed -- and oh yeah, that's how I have it saved