The thing about the US is that we can’t even build a single high-speed rail line and the department of transportation of the largest, wealthiest state wants to waste people’s time by studying a fake mode of transportation. These two facts are related.

Goddamn ninjas cutting onions…

But yeah I think we underrate what actually happened with Katrina and the aftermath where people from New Orleans were regularly referred to as refugees within the country they were citizens.

Delaware told Pennsylvania to fuck off concurrently with telling George III to fuck off.

I feel like we need a national conversation about allowing municipal areas to split off and form their own states. Memphis, New Orleans, et al deserve representation. There is some precedent for this. Long ago, Massachusetts was part of Maine. And of course, West Virginia. Municipal statehood now!

A NEW TWIST in Africa's soaring solar story: It's now manufacturing its own panels. The factories use imported Chinese cells, which are 40% of the value of panels, keeping much of the value domestically. 9 GW of cells+wafers in Mar/Apr alone🧵

You are not the last guardian between truth and chaos. It is not your duty to educate on every wrong take. You can just let people be wrong and it will be ok.

DO NOT ENGAGE, JUST BLOCK Honestly, it works. Also: BLOCK ON VIBES You don't need a "good" reason to block someone. Offensive joke? Block. Reply guy? Block. Ineffably creepy vibe? Block. Feeling vaguely pissy that day and need to do something petty? Block. Don't like the username? Block.

No, you're right When this place started, we were all "don't quote-dunk, just ignore" and we ought to get back to that

what kind of ice cream truck doesn't have an orange push pop truly, the west has fallen bullshit country, tear it all down

Michigan hates Detroit so bad, it's honestly ridiculous how crazy it is, yet those same people will travel and tell people they're from Detroit when they're really from a city like 45 minutes away

Man, I know we’ve gotten jaded—it took me over an hour online before somebody mentioned that there was yet another alleged assassination attempt yesterday.

Today's "spam scam for writers" email purports to be from an agent asking if I am seeking representation. I know the actual agent in question, reasonably well actually, who very well knows I am not in the market for an agent. Remember, kids, agents are extremely unlikely to query YOU.

Sharing a real time request sent by a friend. MASS CALL FOR BODIES AT DELANEY HALL. ICE IS ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFER THE HUNGER STRIKE ORGANIZERS OUT OF THE FACILITY.

If you want your kids to read a lot of books, you must read a lot of books in from of them. If you want your kids to wear a hat in the sun, you must wear a hat in the sun. Modeling the behavior you hope to see is not always sufficient to reach the goal, but it is a necessary step.

When your kid is between the ages of 12 and 22 you will be an absolute embarrassment to them, and you should totally lean into that role, like, really play it up

Why does she look EXACTLY AS YOU WOULD EXPECT "How can I make myself look like a joyless scold? I better get a haircut that doesn't suit me and practice scowling in the mirror."

I'm "Deceased."

this is why i strongly believe "cringe is antifascist": make weird, ugly, embarrassingly earnest, emotional and utterly fun and unproductive art! write poems in internet lyrical styles! paint hyperrrealist pikachus! do penis-costume performance art at protests!

Great thread!

Today's accomplishment was planting 15 tubers of Four O'clock plants. They all had stems popping out already. And apparently you're supposed to plant them with the pointy end of the tuber pointing down, but I put them all in sideways.

THIS RIGHT HERE My mother went to law school when I was 7 years old. She was a full person, not my mom/servant, from the time I was old enough to understand people. Did this make me a latchkey kid? You bet. So I learned very young that *I* was a full person, too, not an adjunct of my parents.

One of the best gifts you can give your children is modeling an adulthood that is worth looking forward to. Have fun, be interesting. Martyring yourself to your kids is bad for you and them.

Beyond lethal ones, you should absolutely let your kids make mistakes. Let them cut their own bangs or touch the candle. Lectures, they tune out. Consequences, they remember and actually learn from. And learn to think for themselves rather than passively waiting for others to do the thinking.

Posting to social media is one thing, but does it really match the dopamine hit you get when two love interests who have been referring to each other via formal titles finally blurt out first names in a moment of vulnerability and desperation

No social media discussion is complete without mentioning that we were calling it "the Hellsite" long before the square-headed Nazi took over. It wasn't just the people that were bad; it was the whole culture. We can be better, and frankly, we deserve better.

Incredibly vivid colors in recently-cleaned 1528 Visitation. Mary & Elizabeth accompanied by 2 haunting women in De Chirico-like street. By Pontormo, born OTD 1494.

What's happening in Louisiana is happening in every state. It's not a coincidence that states are reverting to "tough on crime" penalties in a time of rising fascism. www.propublica.org/article/loui...

We should never have let fame become a middle-class job, or even middle-class job adjacent. It’s the toxic run-off of actual accomplishment, and instead we made it the top of the food pyramid.

It's wild still seeing the "Bluesky is a bubble :(" discourse rolling around, especially after reading that article about botfarming social engagement. Just admit you can't be bothered to curate an interesting online experience for yourself and you're fine having your opinion shaped by billionaires.

I think it's time we bring back wearing black armbands to signify grief.

The "leftists are here so they don't have to argue with anyone" is very funny if you know literally anything about leftists

This needs to be normalized at conventions. (With ALT text)

There's a 20% off sale on my entire payhip (aka buy direct from me) store right now, so get caught up! Below is a thread of my books with links to payhip and other stores - or you can just go directly to the Payhip store itself: payhip.com/kristadball

These guys are all free-market Capitalists until the market decides their product sucks.

We’re the product, not the customers. It’s our job to keep feeding the AI our personal data. They’re angry at the cows because we’re not producing milk.

As CEO of Rancid Burger, believe me when I tell you that the problem is not with our rancid burgers made from stolen meat. The problem is that you peasants aren’t evolved enough to appreciate explosive diarrhea.

"Peaked on Twitter" is the new "Peaked in high school"

No SERIOUSLY I want you to think about how much you paid in taxes this year. And then multiply by, let's say, 60 good working years in a lifetime. And then figure how many lifetimes of your taxes the Blue Angels throw away doing -97 million in recruiting benefit, EVERY year.

Bot alert! Just got a shitload of follows from profiles with weird names, animal avatars, and no bios.

tldr: Mandalorian has a good CinemaScore, getting solid revenue, it should be a nicely profitable movie that is not a blowout.

“.. Chants like ‘.. 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘒𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘖’𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 ..’ “.. a reference to the project’s billionaire investor.” @jessefelder.com utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/05/23/h...

Talking about one of my favorite pieces of science today. Excited to see how long it takes my students to find the actual point of the trial

I knew about this, of course. But seeing it all laid out on one page, in depth, everything interlinked is really eye opening. Every mainstream "controversy" is manufactured. Most of the time one company is responsible for both "sides" Who knows what actual people think nowadays?

Reminder... My late Dad, a veteran, would noticeably cringe when someone told him "Happy Memorial Day". He had fellow soldiers/friends who died in combat. He did not.

I also think part of the reason genAI is inevitably doomed as a cultural force is, who likes it. Not just the bosses/techbros, but your uncoolest uncle, flooding Facebook with genAI of him like, dating Marilyn Monroe or dressed as Superman. That's lame as fuck. And being lame is the kiss of death.

I'm really enjoying @k8lister.bsky.social series online. It's great to see sex work discussed without stigma and with clarity, and shown it's context historically in human sexuality. Also she's a Leeds lass so ❤️ youtu.be/X78cKSGLxXQ?...

The "evolved enough" frame is the antisocial person's version of evolutionary biology. The 19th century used it to justify colonialism. The twentieth century used it to justify eugenics and class hierarchy. The twenty-first is using it to justify a technology rollout. Same trick. Different costume.