Mastodawn

Costa Rica aims to certify its entire coffee sector as deforestation-free to meet new EU rules. However, its "head start" masks a tougher road for other nations.

Can the rest of the world emulate this model, or will the EUDR leave resource-strapped producers behind?

Learn more in this report by Claudia Geib for #Mongabay. https://mongabay.cc/xeGMc7

#News #EUDR

Costa Rica’s head start may mask tougher EUDR road ahead

Costa Rica’s famous coffee industry says it’s nearly ready for EUDR. The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires that all coffee shipped into the EU not come from recently deforested land, prompting Costa Rica to develop a pilot program with its largest coffee cooperative. The initial program provided tools and training to help growers, […]

Conservation news

David Bridger 15h ago

Simon Willison 2d ago

New on Niche Museums: the John M. Mossman Lock Collection, available to view by appointment only at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York https://www.niche-museums.com/118

John M. Mossman Lock Collection

John M. Mossman (1846-1912) was a bank vault engineer who operated out of New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His customers included the Stock Exchange and Bank of America, and he often found himself replacing older locks with new, upgraded versions. He kept hold of the locks that he replaced, which formed the basis for his 370-item lock collection. As a result, the collection focuses primarily on bank locks, including an extensive collection of time locks. In 1903 he donated the collection to the General Society, under the condition that it be made available to the public. The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York was founded on November 17, 1785, and moved into its current headquarters in 1899. It describes its mission as "to serve and improve the quality of life of the people of the City of New York through its educational, philanthropic and cultural programs". The museum is by appointment only: I emailed on a Monday afternoon and was able to arrange an appointment for Tuesday morning. Upon entry, visitors are presented with a small brown leather-bound book entitled "The Lure of the Lock". This is the museum catalog, which opens with the following: > It is the mission of this museum to present one of the most fascinating sidelights on an industry which is peculiarly American. Locks are full of romance, and especially bank locks; for nearly every lock in this collection has protected untold millions in money and securities. After one has studied these locks for a month or two, one comes to almost love them, they are so interesting by reason of their peculiar mechanism. The catalog is dated 1928, but as you explore the collection you will realize that every item on display is accompanied by a small card that tells you which page in the book to consult for a description. Evidently the collection has remained almost constant since 1928, such that the catalog is still the best way to understand it! Who needs to see locks from the past 100 years when the ones from pre-1928 are so delightful already?

David Bridger 18h ago

V, The Dragon Witch 🌙18h ago

Hey, I wrote a book! If you fancy a slice-of-life space fantasy of family and friendship, check out The Old Goat and the Alien.

Avari struggles with people and keeps to themself, working as a cleaner for other cosmorans. But when human gardener Jenna arrives on Geminus unexpectedly due to an immigration error, Avari is forced to take her in until she is settled.

You can read the first 3 chapters for free!

https://veocorva.xyz/books/the-old-goat-and-the-alien-by-veo-corva/

David Bridger 20h ago

#TurtleIsland
Can anyone advise me about the respectful use of the name Turtle Island for North America by someone who isn't from there. I'm aware of the distress and damage caused by #CulturalAppropriation and absolutely do not want to do it. My question is, might people of the First Nations or Native American cultures object to outsiders calling their land by this name?

Thanks for your advice.

David Bridger 22h ago

#WordWeavers 17th Mar 2026. Did you ever receive formal education in creative writing?

When I was 13, my English teacher handed back a homework essay and told me, "You are a writer." Encouragement, but that was as far as it went. To be fair, I never wanted anything other than to sail the world, but always in my back pocket was the notion that when I retired from the sea I would learn how to write novels. Which I did.

David Bridger 1d ago

Show thread

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈2d ago

#PennedPossibilities 958 — What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

It's a little something from 2000. This book taught me so much about *my* life, friendship, life in general, stereotypes and racism, Spanish Harlem, and what it means to be a morally gray character who does bad things for very good reasons.

Please, buy this book and read it, I beg of you. It will be on your list of favorites afterward. You will, cry, enjoy it, hate parts of it, and it will leave you with emotions and thoughts long after it's finished. I read this one as an older teenager and it changed me. Ernesto Quiñonez is such an amazing author. Libraries aren't even allowed to carry this book in schools anymore. (For the obvious reasons. I'm sick to my stomach.)

Quick blurb: The word is out in Spanish Harlem: Willy Bodega is king. Need college tuition for your daughter? Start-up funds for your fruit stand? Bodega can help. He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange only for loyalty--and a steady income from the drugs he pushes. Bodega turns to Chino, a smart, promising young man, for a favor. Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.

#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #BodegaDreams #ErnestoQuinone

David Bridger 1d ago

Zack Polanski 1d ago

Trump has just held up a model of a B2 fighter plane and declared these are dropping the biggest bombs on Iran you’ll ever see.

B2s are reportedly taking off from British bases.

Keir Starmer must answer my simple question. Are these planes attacking Iran?

David Bridger 1d ago

#FediCoven This evening, in candlelight, I was given a fleeting glimpse of a she-wolf with a coat of black and silver. I believe it was The Morrigan.

David Bridger 1d ago

ig 🏳️‍🌈1d ago

#WordWeavers 17. Did you ever receive formal education in creative writing?

our high school had a particularly dedicated English teacher who taught a creative writing course at the twelfth grade level. i'm grateful to have participated in that. but i've never taken writing courses at the post-secondary level.

i never pursued creative writing in higher education because i had a feeling it would do more to constrain creativity than foster it. my favourite authors never even went to university at all; formal education probably would have flattened all their idiosyncrasies into forgettable sameness. the value of these MFAs is more about the networking privileges than any improvement in the way people write.

David Bridger 1d ago

Claire McNab 1d ago

#RachelCorrie died 23 years ago today, on 16 March 2003. She was crushed by an #Israeli army bulldozer, when trying to prevent the demolition of a house in #Rafah, #Gaza, owned by a #Palestinian doctor and his family. Rachel was 23-years-old. See http://rachelcorriefoundation.org

#JimPage's song "I'd rather be dancing" is based on letters Rachel wrote home to her parents before Israelis murdered her: https://youtu.be/QxazIsQE1XE

Rachel placed her body between civilians and killers. That's what a war hero is.