We looked back on the "backlash" against American Eagle ads featuring Sydney Sweeney and her "great jeans." Right-wing media declared that liberals were outraged and thought the ads were racist -- even the White House joined in. If you thought that story reeked, you'll want to see what we found.

PLAN TO CUT COSTS AT YOUR LOCAL UNIVERSITY: STEP 1: Eliminate all academic departments. STEP 2: Hire consultant to interpret 99% drop in enrollment.

it may feel a little like homework, but i genuinely think people should read the lincoln-douglas debates to see what the practical politics of anti-slavery looked like in an environment where the public was neutral to hostile to the question of emancipation

maybe math can be about play and exploration I dunno, just spitballing

"Democracy dies if prominent black writers don't frame their arguments around appeasing white voters in Wisconsin," or "Democracy dies unless liberal writers praise radical, hateful conservative activists" is the subtext. And it's worth thinking through who makes these kinds of arguments and why.

One Battle After Another and Sinners both lay out a formula for cinema success: diverse movies where white nationalists get duffed in the most graphic way possible shot and presented in increasingly baroque high resolution formats.

now I'm working through it I question whether hyping this up as the most terrifying class that any math undergrad will ever take is actually a helpful strategy

I dunno, guys, I'm having fun so far

Some big implications for journalism, too, where reporters often mistake trending posts as a reasonable reflection of public opinion.

I cannot express how wild this quote is. This is a top tech analyst at a well-regarded firm saying that there is not enough capital to actually pay for all the stuff that NVIDIA and OpenAI has promised. It is so important that everybody realizes that *there is not enough money to do this*

Morning walk

My wife @coralinewren.bsky.social said this is the funniest thing I’ve ever written and I make it a point not to disagree with her, especially when she’s right.

The ADL criticizes Mamdani for not meeting with "mainstream" Jewish groups, but they define "mainstream" in such a way such that if any Jewish groups meet with Mamdani, as many have, they no longer count as "mainstream." It is a game that cannot be won.

Pete Buttigieg having to immediately do an about-face within three days of his big interview with Pod Save America because even his diehard supporters were flipping out on him for giving a series of non-answers about Palestine is a pretty good indication of where things are headed on this issue.

Talk Of Fascism Dangerous, Warns Ministry Of Compliance

The most accurate recreation of DS9 I've seen.

Here's my newsletter about the movie:

Okay, time for my favorite letterboxd reviews of 2025! Up first is this long review where I talk about the movie and a weird thing that happened at the showing.

I’m mighty proud of this long winded hot take.

Ten years of me watching this movie summed up in one review.

Sometimes I do bits with my reviews. Other times it’s just a snarky quip. Occasionally though I do an actual review, and some of those I like.

This review brought to you by the good people at Hilton Hotels

Another personal story attached to this one about my freshman year in marching band

One of my longest reviews is about one of my favorites and is one of my most heartfelt.

The wounded knee thing is really Trumpism distilled to its essence. It’s not enough to be able crush people who can’t fully defend themselves, it’s not enough to actually crush them, you also have to love and admire those who do the crushing otherwise the Trumpists’ delicate feelings are injured

As seen at the Phillies Game: “Philly Jews Say Free Palestine & Go Phils!”

people do not really understand that once a movement's popularity starts falling towards the 30% mark, it begins shedding even core supporters. this is because you can no longer maintain the information environment inside that core. there are just too many leaks.

One job asked for my most recent standardized test score. And, like, I’m forty fucking four, I haven’t thought about standardized tests in like two decades.

CHOTINER: And when was that? MY CAT: I mean at least 14 hours ago CHOTINER: Well hold on. You're telling me you haven't been fed at all today but if I look in your bowl here I see a- MY CAT: An untouched serving, I know, but if you'd let me finish- CHOTINER: Yeah, of course.

CHOTINER: And you thought it would be funny to do a fake interview by me? ME: A lot of people have, so CHOTINER: You were looking for engagement? ME: Well, to make someone laugh I guess CHOTINER: How many likes and reposts did it get? ME: That's, uh, not really the metric...look can we start over

Today's Total: 1,765 words Total for Entire Project: 10,407

These photos of Claudia Cardinale feeding cats spaghetti should honestly replace the Italian flag

Claudia Cardinale on the set of THE PROFESSIONALS. An early crush. RIP

Tonight’s movie: Le Samouraï (1967) Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

everyone should take three hours out of their day and watch THE LEOPARD, a total masterpiece of a film. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...

i have to say, as a trans journalist who has covered the "trans debate" for about a decade now, there is no daylight between how the trump administration and conservatives lie about tylenol and autism and how they've lied about youth trans care.

the Brazilian right is attempting to pass measures through the legislature to shield Bolsonaro and other legislators from the legal consequences of the failed coup, for which Bolsonaro was recently sentenced to 27 years. these photos are of the massive protests in response.

I‘m not a big Jimmy Kimmel fan but Bob Iger can kiss my ass.

Tonight I celebrated our second anniversary (delayed a few days) with my wife @coralinewren.bsky.social We had some great Italian food then came home and watched Chungking Express (my first time).

our politics in a nutshell, circa 2025

I didn’t agree with most of what Thogroft the Exsanguinator did, but he aleays did it civilly and that’s worth celebrating in this day and age.

Kid just said "I'm watching 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' It stars... Johnny Depp??? Whoever that is." Nature is HEALING

Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/

I saw FAUST in a rep theater years ago and it was really an astonishing experience

The series of videos for this character are so subtly funny that I can’t even explain how good the character work is:

uhhh what's this now

This from Riley Gaines is why trans people freak out when Democrats try to carve out some compromise over sports. The politicians and activists attacking trans people are not interested in compromise! They're interested in our eradication from public life and are exploiting sports to that end

yeah. the fact that conservatives are bleating about women's sports at all is a huge tell, 5 minutes ago these people were mocking the WNBA and trying to dismantle Title IX

many professional political observers are closet or open trump supporters - when he fails or stumbles, as he frequently does, they cover for him and insert a fake, fictional trump into their stories that's doing smart stuff for normal reasons.