. Court of History Sidney Blumenthal & Sean Wilentz discuss Sidney’s essay in-Guardian Cracker Barrel controversy shows how logo change was weaponized by the right-part of the ongoing culture war What corporate retreat reveals about cynical politics driving these battles youtu.be/p0JTgGw3MhA?...

How have I not heard any "You're fired!" jokes

Today (end of Wednesday for me) has been the most bananas news day I can remember, an endless stream of medium and major news, running the gamut from awkward to obscene and dystopian to unbearably tragic. I want off the death-cult train.

Hey, everybody, there's new AllMusic list post by the editing team. What did I pick? 🤔 This one's pretty fun to explore, good job, everyone. Favorite One-Album Wonders: www.allmusic.com/blog/post/fa...

Hey, everybody, there's new AllMusic list post by the editing team. What did I pick? 🤔 This one's pretty fun to explore, good job, everyone. Favorite One-Album Wonders: www.allmusic.com/blog/post/fa...

I just glanced out the back of my apartment to see a hawk dive-bombing a squirrel about 100 feet away near a tree, ran out, and somehow scared it away. (I half thought it might retaliate--it can fly!) 🐿️ Total knee-jerk response.

One of the first things I'd do to set myself apart if I were to become on online personality of some sort (which I won't because of my voice/appearance) is to record & edit in a natural way with pauses. I f^hate (hate!) how videos are sped up & mushed together now, algo be dam'd.

For my homies, a packed interview from Aaron Parnas's Substack: Today, I’m bringing you a special interview with Mallory McMorrow, a rising star and candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan. open.substack.com/pub/aaronpar...

Midwestern U.S., August 2025: I know there are other things going on, but as if to underscore, after what seemed like two months (six weeks?) of continuous unbearable heat, I'm now wearing a hoodie and there's wildfire smoke.

But have you ever fallen UP the stairs?

I've returned to my browbeaten '80s childhood mindset of "I'll figure it out on my own" because the combination of search engines, Help, and AI are so untrustworthy now.

Is it possible that RFKJ got to an age where he understood that the see eye aye ⚰️ his father and has been trying to ⚰️ as many Americans as possible ever since

This is some insane Soviet bullshit. The idea that any American news organization would agree to something like this is unconscionable. I don't know how any self-respecting journalist could work for an outlet that's doing this.

I cried through half of The Zombies: Hung Up on a Dream.

THE SHROUDS felt like an '80s movie about the future to me.

Check out my convo with @wajali.bsky.social - on last nights SCOTUS order allowing POTUS to gut the department of education, and what the R Justices are up to more generally ….

NYC, tonight. Flash flooding has significantly affected the subway. This is the 28th Street station of the No. 1 train. The 1 is out, and the 2 and 3 trains are back in service with severe delays. E, F, M, and R trains are a mess too. Oh, and do *not* drive. Stay home.

It’s crazy that Boeing got away with killing those whistleblowers

So does The Crying Game still work?

I've been sitting on this one for several days and finally read it -- it's a must. "In order to 'live your life' without any COVID mitigations you’re asking me, and so many others, not to live at all." 📢

I've assembled a team of the most horrible perverts and criminals you've ever seen and we're going to fix this country

Make movies like the 1930s again.

I'm not sure any TV show has used music as well as The Handmaid's Tale.

If you haven't figured out yet that there's always one last-minute turncoat -- Rep or Dem -- who "surprise" delivers the power class what it wants, I don't know what to say. It happens every time. So close! 🙄 Maybe next time (if you're still alive then)!

I wanted to quickly gush about an indie pop release day that includes new albums by Lightheaded, Jeanines, and Frankie Cosmos, do enjoy. :) 🤓 Footnote: the Lightheaded is "drenched in lush reverb on tape by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me)" 💙 (quote from Bandcamp).

Leaving your AC off is not a moral victory. Keeping yourself cool is not a weakness.

After Times diary entry: Still have electricity. Managed a full-body shower and blow-drying my hair 😓 in the heat dome. Checking for news on the unprovoked war of aggression momentarily.

I just said (alone in my apartment), "OH MY GOD THE HUMIDITY," and the advisories/alerts haven't even started yet.

I've had validation codes failing all afternoon, on unrelated sites--can't send proof of insurance, can't change social-media passwords, more. I hate & do not request codes (ever) but am being locked out by this regardless. I hate to think the process is centralized? :/

Singing the "I Got It Taken Care Of" song because I had to make a phone call.

💙💙💙

This kind of thing is why I have no patience for self-appointed critics of protesters. Unless you’ve witnessed or experienced police brutality in person, you should really just shut the fuck up. I’m old, and THIS IS WHO POLICE ARE AND HAVE BEEN IN RESPONSE TO UNARMED PROTESTERS FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE.

Updates on the flotilla, L.A., and the Tonys all flooding my Twitter feed like a visual manifestation of American cognitive dissonance.

I picked quite a week to finally start watching The Handmaid's Tale.

"This was an experiment by a kindergarten class. They dropped seeds in the cracks of the sidewalk to see what would happen. This would help our bees " via I Love Bees

I'm going to answer this in the spirit of opener-as-discovery (no co-headliners or future megastars): Tsar opening for @durandurancom.bsky.social in 2000. I'll never understand how this band didn't outgrow the club circuit as headliners, but Jeff Whalen is still making great albums.

Recently, I found myself brainstorming nonsensical threats from my youth, when Ripley's Believe It or Not was a major brand, the First Lady had an astrologer, and quicksand was a regular TV plot line. Spontaneous combustion came to mind. (Article is new.) www.popsci.com/health/can-h...

I just ate a salad from a local delivery yesterday: bitter greens, walnuts, red onions, beets, black olives, and balsamic vinaigrette. I ate it with coffee, and it's one of the lunches I've ever had -- what is wrong with me?

I had never until this moment thought of the word "representation" as "re-presentation." 👻

Note to liberals: If you're enraged about RFK Jr. removing access to Covid vaccines you should also be enraged that Biden declared Covid over & made everyone stop caring about masks

It's like they're trying to make Upton Sinclair relevant again (not that he's ever been fully irrelevant but, like, in very literal ways).

💯

❤! ❤! ❤! ❤! ❤! ❤! This is essential! Thank you, @taylorlorenz.bsky.social. Now, how do I get everyone I know to watch a 35-minute video with ads... (It's not really about Tr---, promise.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXrj...

What Creighton Leigh said, damn it!

It’s so nice to see they saved Sesame Street.

One cannot, I think, overstate how alluring Pedro Pascal is.

Every time I get a follow-up patient survey about a medical appointment, I bitch about lack of airborne disease mitigation and threaten to skip out on future preventative care -- yelling endlessly into the void. 👻