For my @xtramagazine.com column this month, I explained why Gavin Newsom's flirtation with anti-trans policy won't win a single conservative or centrist vote for him and also makes him a non-starter for trans lefties. xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

My feed is full of lots of very important & timely information about ongoing horrors and then there’s also this face, so thank you to @bodegacats.bsky.social

Bad Bunny with a powerful anti-ICE speech at the Grammys 🔥🔥🔥🔥 "Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out.’ We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans."

every time i see a headline like this i think about how ICE takes billions of dollars FROM US that we should have in our communities to be building better infrastructure for impending climate disasters

My cat, Onyx, & I are housesitting my parents’ house this week. It’s in the woods, & there are mice. Onyx had quite a night last night. She enjoyed several rounds of running around my room with a stunned mouse in her mouth, dropping it, then crashing around as it ran for safety under the radiator.

Imagine just...being a cat

Greenland embraces the new MAGA hat: ‘Make America Go Away’

‘You all must wake up’ – thousands in Denmark protest Trump’s demand for Greenland

All things considered, I think I deserve more credit for continuing to observe Dry January this year.

“Poverty of imagination” is unfortunately, too apt a phrase for pretty much all recent Dem strategy

[daintily clears throat] THE IDEA THAT DEMOCRATS BENEFIT ELECTORALLY BY BENDING RIGHTWARD ON KEY MORAL ISSUES LIKE TRANS RIGHTS AND IMMIGRATION HAS NOW BEEN THOROUGHLY DEBUNKED. [coughs; daintily clears throat]

Not to put anyone on blast, but some of y’all clearly didn’t eat your black-eyed peas last New Year’s Day. Don’t let it happen ‘gain, k?

So long, 2025. Go ahead & let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

I’d settle for the occasional fancy gf frozen pizza tbh

No notes.

Benson walked so Veep could run. Convince me otherwise. [Disclaimer: I haven't had a chance to watch Veep yet.]

If you don’t do it by 6am, you’ve missed it

Dang, I used to love While Foods. Before Bezos. And ok I know the previous CEO also sucked. But I loved those freaking “natural” takes on all my favorite junk foods in one place. I’m not a complicated guy.

I can't stress enough that you should take every opportunity that comes your way to support your local public libraries. Many of them are currently struggling and are being DEFUNDED. Local action matters on this front. Don't sit back until those libraries are gone before taking ACTION.

This explains a lot, honestly.

normal

Can we seriously just stop?

Having a great time at the RI Philharmonic Concert after hearing Overture by Jessie Montgomery & Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, & getting ready for Sibelius Symphony No. 2—one of my faves! Oboes sounding fantastic, as always 😁

My favorite piece of content today.

Enjoy the weekend, y’all

the people screaming online daily about boycotting x, y, and z had better be in formation...

Proud to be a contributing writer in this collection, and looking forward to seeing it in print! Follow now to help us reach more potential backers: www.kickstarter.com/projects/648... Thanks!

Wow, NYT News Quiz, tell us (from the first question) that you cater to readers who don't even know any poor people without telling us you cater to readers who don't even know any poor people. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

More people marched today than at any time in the history of the United States. For @nytimes.com, it was the 6th most important story. They are making sure that those in power do not see what they do not want to see. This is not what we were brought up to think of as journalism.

Visiting the Concord Museum yesterday with my parents: Mom, looking at a piece of furniture from the 18th c.: What a handsome chest! Me, two months out from top surgery: Why, thank you!

I was today years old when I found out Kristen Stewart played the daughter in Panic Room (even though I own this movie on DVD & have watched it at least a few times—all pre-Twilight) meaning she was on-screen with Jodie Foster & now my lil gay head is exploding & I have to rewatch it ASAP

I’m witnessing the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s children – why is the world letting it happen? | Nick Maynard

‘Skeletons marching to death’: Palestinians face hunger and gunfire as Israel pushes into central Gaza

"In the United States, libraries outnumber McDonald’s. Who would’ve thought that the hunger for a Big Mac would be topped by a hunger for knowledge? Maybe there is still hope for humanity." h/t to @tuck.bsky.social's most recent Patreon newsletter www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

I saw ducklings this morning.

Does this make my top surgery countercultural?

Absolutely Not list, according to Onyx, my cat: 1. Strangers 2. The long-handled grabber I have to use while post-op 3. My mom’s cat 4. My mom [probably guilt by association] 5. Sudden, sharp inhales 6. Idk, sinister air molecules? (partial list; items to be appended without notice)

Someone really should teach these @mbta.com Commuter Rail folks how to pronounce “Pawtucket.”

Plus, it doesn’t actually do a great job a lot of the time

I’m doing basically home kitty hospice with my elderly boy this weekend, spoiling him as much as I can when he can’t/won’t eat any of the special food I got him so I’m trapped in a chair with him on my lap & I can’t reach my other book & I actually should eat something & also I need to pee. 🐈‍⬛😿

I’m horrified to learn—& if you know me, you’ll know why—that emdashes are supposedly now—according to what I’m hearing on the Endless Thread podcast from @wbur.org—an AI giveaway.

Revenue at Duolingo in 2024 was up 41% on 23 to $748M. Net income was up by 451% for same period and yet they're firing workers. We've long been at "insatiable greed" point of late stage capitalism. People may feel helpless but there's a very easy way to kick companies like this. Delete their apps.

A week ago, I had yet another occasion to pull out my go-to sign. It’s been consistently timely since I made it about six years ago. (And for a long time before then, of course.) #pulltogether benjaminbranchaudphotography.pixieset.com/pulltogether...

I had fun last night #pulltogether #pvd @indivisibleri.bsky.social benjaminbranchaudphotography.pixieset.com/pulltogether...

Breaking News: Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia student activist who is a legal permanent resident, was arrested by ICE at a meeting he thought was a step to becoming a U.S. citizen. nyti.ms/4cxlwG4

Hey do I know anyone who wants to join libro.fm & also get me a free audiobook by using my referral link? ::bats eyelashes:: libro.fm/referral?rf_... Bc I really want to preorder So Many Stars by Caro De Robertis just sayin'

This pretty much sums it up, imo

one more thing (for now): be specific, but don't be personal in a way that endangers anyone. trans people are at risk rn. you might have a trans loved one; you don't have a trans nephew. DON'T OUT ANYONE. DON'T OUT YOURSELF. keep your distance but don't look like you're keeping your distance.🧵

trans people deserve healthcare. full stop. trans care is essential & lifesaving. full stop. trans care requires more than just trans folks standing for the right to access it. you can be brief, but be specific. this isn't a "spam the form" sitch. a comment can be anonymous if you need that.🧵