"The fact remains that the real obstacle to development has always been (NorthSide Regeneration's) refusal to sell the properties at fair market value." www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...

Edelman now has the distinction of being the City SC player signed the furthest into the future

Looking forward to attending the Tolkien Society's @westmoot.org again with Josie (who's showing off her shirt at Graham Cave State Park in Missouri). Still trying to decide if I should submit a talk proposal. I have what I think might be a decent idea, but I'm not sure yet.

Riverview mayor Mike Cornell has been charged with sexual assault, harassment and possessing child pornography. The charges two months after a Post-Dispatch report detailing allegations he abused his public office to enrich himself and retaliate against his critics. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...

The FBI's raid of the home of @washingtonpost.com reporter @hannahnatanson.bsky.social Wednesday is an alarming escalation in the Trump administration’s multipronged war on press freedom. Read our statement: freedom.press/issues/fbi-i...

The story www.propublica.org/article/vide...

ST. LOUIS — Every major category of crime declined in 2025 in St. Louis, part of a nationwide trend.

I recently rediscovered an old story on my blog involving my daughter Jadzia that I had long forgotten. It took me by surprise and really hit hard. www.joshrenaud.com/family/archi...

I demand decimal coordinates!

Incredibly interesting data compiled by @ryanburge shows that US youth is becoming more risk averse or smarter (depends on your perspective).

I recently rediscovered an old story on my blog involving my daughter Jadzia that I had long forgotten. It took me by surprise and really hit hard. www.joshrenaud.com/family/archi...

Chief Robert Tracy's $100,000 contract with UMSL, which @stltoday.com obtained through a public records request, stipulates his compensation is contingent on "funding availability from external gift or grants." It's not clear what the external source would be. From @monicaobradovic.bsky.social

Cloudflare is such a user-hostile scourge — and it keeps spreading across the internet. I can't browse or search without being constantly forced to click checkboxes. I can't open several hyperlinks into new tabs without getting rate-limited.

Chief Robert Tracy's $100,000 contract with UMSL, which @stltoday.com obtained through a public records request, stipulates his compensation is contingent on "funding availability from external gift or grants." It's not clear what the external source would be. From @monicaobradovic.bsky.social

I was in a play in 4th grade and my mother saved the local newspaper story about the performance. Therefore, if I got control of a big newspaper chain, I’d definitely boost coverage of grade school theater! www.stlmag.com/news/hoffman...

I'm capturing a 1991 educational laserdisc and SURPRISE! SimCity! on a classic monochrome mac

The potential for two data centers in Foristell has residents worried.

Do you remember BBSes? ANSI art? Interested in comics or obscure history? Check out my profile of ANSI artist Eerie, a talented teenager in Quebec in 1994 who created an original but short-lived online comic that was later the subject of a controversial claim. breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...

This profile was deeply reported, the result of countless hours of research. I don't know of many others doing this level of in-depth work on little-known #retrocomputing topics. All my work on Break Into Chat is free — I've never charged a penny! If you enjoy it, please support me by reposting.

Great pixel art, smooth scrolling and tons of large sprites, this game is technically impressive, but somebody forgot to add the fun. Such an iconic character from the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic really deserves better. youtu.be/LuSd5Xwpyw4?... Another great video from @gears-of-games.bsky.social

Do you remember BBSes? ANSI art? Interested in comics or obscure history? Check out my profile of ANSI artist Eerie, a talented teenager in Quebec in 1994 who created an original but short-lived online comic that was later the subject of a controversial claim. breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...

Sometimes at Repair Cafe we get items in that are a pleasure to repair. This was one of those things, a Tomy Super Cup Football Game from the mid-80s. As you can see from this disassembly it's basically a motor driven gearbox. An absolute joy to work on. This was not working due to a motor jam.

A good new year's resolution for the City of St. Louis: stop people from dumping along the Riverfront Trail. It's pervasive. It's shameful.

The ANSI artist Eerie, subject of my latest in-depth profile, also drew some amazing Calvin portraits — even though he had grown up influenced more by the tradition of French and Belgian bandes dessinées. breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... (3/x) #comics #webcomics

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the final "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip by Bill Watterson. It would be hard to overstate how much this strip meant to teenagers like me growing up during its 1985-95 run. I'm proud that my own kids can quote it today — and at length! (1/x) #comics #webcomics

I'm curious about this forthcoming book, "Tolkien's Medievalism in Ruins: The Function of Relics and Ruins in Middle-earth." One part of the personal talk I gave at @westmoot.org last year compared the ruin/decay in my local midwestern town with Middle-earth. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tolkiens-...

happy new year

PART 3! In 1994, a teenager in Quebec wanted to make his mark in the underground scene. So he drew an original ANSI art comic starring a profane, stoned, gray-skinned detective called "Inspector Dangerfuck." breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... #retrocomputing #comics #webcomics #ansiart #bbs

Happy Jack Smith Testimony Day to All Who Celebrate archive.org/details/yout...

PART 3! In 1994, a teenager in Quebec wanted to make his mark in the underground scene. So he drew an original ANSI art comic starring a profane, stoned, gray-skinned detective called "Inspector Dangerfuck." breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... #retrocomputing #comics #webcomics #ansiart #bbs

One year ago tonight I released an artpack celebrating "Instant Graphics and Sound," a unique Atari ST-specific corner of BBS history. Still proud of it!! #retrocomputing #IGS #vintagecomputing #atari #PixelArt #MastoArt #textmode #ansiart #asciiart #atarist #bbs

The rare, pale grotto sculpin fish has become a rallying point for local support and conservation efforts in Perry County.

Do you ever wonder about the burning existential questions … What was “ANSI art”? What was a “bulletin board”? Were there ANSI comics? Heck, how do you even define "comics"? … Well, I've got some answers: breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... #retrocomputing #textmode #history #comics #webcomics

Do you ever wonder about the burning existential questions … What was “ANSI art”? What was a “bulletin board”? Were there ANSI comics? Heck, how do you even define "comics"? … Well, I've got some answers: breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... #retrocomputing #textmode #history #comics #webcomics

PART 2 IS HERE! Get ready to tackle the ABCs of retrocomputing philosophy and existence: • What was ANSI art? • What were bulletin boards? • How do you even _define_ comics? breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12... #ansiart #retrocomputing #bbs #comics #history #textmode #textart

Bill McClellan remembers Harry Levins and many other P-D alums we lost this year. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...

🤷‍♂️ "Very little is readily available" 🤷‍♀️ "I couldn't find much" 🤷‍♂️ "Scarce and unreliable at best" For 20 years, there have been mea culpas for the dearth of details about one particular, provocatively-titled piece of webcomics history. So let's fill in the blanks! breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...

One book claimed "Inspector Dangerfuck" by ANSI artist Eerie was "the first known comic on the internet." But who was Eerie? What was "Inspector Dangerfuck?" Was it even a comic? Were there other ANSI art comics? My new four-part series will try to untangle it. breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12....

🤷‍♂️ "Very little is readily available" 🤷‍♀️ "I couldn't find much" 🤷‍♂️ "Scarce and unreliable at best" For 20 years, there have been mea culpas for the dearth of details about one particular, provocatively-titled piece of webcomics history. So let's fill in the blanks! breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...

Missouri's quest for a new cross-state bike trail remains stuck in low gear "Like pedaling into a stiff breeze, the quest to carve another cross-state pedestrian and cycling trail across Missouri’s scenic midsection continues to face headwinds." www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...

Was "Inspector Dangerfuck," an ANSI art series by Eerie, really the "first known comic on the internet" as claimed in a 2006 book? Probably not. But there's some fascinating history to untangle! Check out Part 1 of my new series, "ANSI art and webcomics"! breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...

Merry Christmas, Atari STyle! Here's some holiday images and MIDI music collected by @randallkopchak.bsky.social and his dad in the late 1980s and packaged into little demos. breakintochat.com/blog/2014/12...

Merry Christmas! Very happy this still survives.

Merry Christmas, Atari STyle! Here's some holiday images and MIDI music collected by @randallkopchak.bsky.social and his dad in the late 1980s and packaged into little demos. breakintochat.com/blog/2014/12...

Barney Bear meets Santa Claus (Amiga, 1990) (Source.)

The #ChambersBeneath features a large array of treasures, weapons, traps, tools and other items to help or enrich your character. Over the coming weeks, I'll be describing each of them in turn. Get the game from cyningstan.itch.io/the-chambers... #roguelike #ibmpc #msdos #cga

Was "Inspector Dangerfuck," an ANSI art series by Eerie, really the "first known comic on the internet" as claimed in a 2006 book? Probably not. But there's some fascinating history to untangle! Check out Part 1 of my new series, "ANSI art and webcomics"! breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12...