In mid-September, the federal government paid a Lake Forest–based company $1 million for launchers to shoot pepper balls like the ones now showering protesters. https://bit.ly/42OtQxG

my favorite robert redford story is that mike nichols considered him for dustin hoffman's part in THE GRADUATE. during their conversation nichols asked redford something like, "have you ever struck out with a girl?" and redford's response was basically, "i don't understand the question"

The answer is The Hobbit part one

Guess what age-inappropriate movie my 5yo was watching when she said "they're not his friends, they're just some elves who came randomly to his house!"

Fun & clever & kept me up late—go preorder!

Get in, we're reading oldschool Ishiguro

Very funny to me that when my 8yo asks about MLB trades, he says "what did he evolve from?"

What radicalized me? The feeling that it's all a lot of oysters but no pearls

My literary hot take is that every novel should be somehow inspired by Daphne du M's Rebecca

Exciting news today! Our next Intensive Coaching Cohort -- with @finejuli.bsky.social‬ leading -- is now open for registration. This six-month program, with weekly online meetings, begins August 11. Only six spots per cohort, so grab yours now! buff.ly/GRW5Bdg #writingcommunity

Chicago! Join us for a FRONTIER launch party next week! @ericarstern.bsky.social & @finejuli.bsky.social at @volumesbooks.bsky.social, on 6/5

Really missing old Twitter right now as a place to document how desperately NYTCooking wants me to make rhubarb crisp

Out November 4, preorder now 🌴💋🎥🫶💍

Severely underestimated how much of parenthood would include 4yo explaining scenes from Home Alone 2

Pope Hotel has prepared us for this

Okay so, the SAVE act requires 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster. The Republicans have 53 votes. Now is the time to call your senators and demand they block this thing, because they absolutely can.

Popping in to let you all know that this season of White Lotus was actually the best one yet

I copied the wrong post, but HERE is more on the 3.5% figure: www.bbc.com/future/artic...

3.5% is all we need. 3.5% of the population being engaged and committed is the magic number to overthrow a dictator. And I'd bet that if 2% of us were *out protesting* yesterday, more of us are out there than that. Keep up the pressure.

He is nearly 15 hours in and fired up! @booker.senate.gov THANK YOU

Lesson #13 from @timothysnyder.bsky.social: Practice Corporeal Politics. "Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them." Watch this. Then join us outside nationwide on April 5th: handsoff2025.com. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

The Stefanik withdrawal pretty much negates any argument of "we have a mandate," yes?

War and Peace (1869)

Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian producer of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was attacked by a group of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and later arrested by the Israeli army, according to activists and a neighbor who spoke to The Post.

"Let's not take the soul-sucking path of sacrificing the most persecuted for that which we deem to be most popular. I know that there are transgender children right now looking out at this world and wondering if anyone is going to stand up for them and for their simple right to exist. Well, I am."

Shout out to Jeffrey Goldberg for reporting on this now instead of waiting two years to put it in a book.

Hear me out, Taylor Swift's Bejeweled but it's Pierre Bezukhov to Helene

What radicalized me? When Crash won Best Picture in 2004

“Your pain makes me forget about my pain.” Mr Krupp, Captain Underpants

Still can't believe Pope Hotel is nominated for best picture

Just donated money towards medical aid in Ukraine. You can help them so much with just a bit of money. war.ukraine.ua/donate/

It's so mortifying to be an American right now.

Is there a public apology to Zelenskyy we can get in on?

Counterpoint to complaints about performative activism: it's good to share your small acts of resistance because it inspires other people to take up their own.

Economic Boycott Today - Feb 28. The tech oligarchs have publicly said they want us in kingdoms run by corporations, not government. Stop supporting them! No purchases from big retailers today if you can help it. Beyond today: buy local every time you can. Buy less. Please share.

The line "Everyone sees a man" from N P and The Great Comet for best actress

Today I bought 5 copies of Run For Something to deliver to little free libraries in purple parts of Wisconsin. If you live in or near a red/purple place with LFLs, consider doing the same!

I'm looking for Texans -- especially those who live in DFW -- who have lost their federal job (or seen their job change) since DOGE took over. Can keep our conversation as private as needed over DM or Signal: signal.me#eu/_1Poia-J3...

email you what I did yesterday? sure thing: -kept looking for that one still missing lego -started looking for the newly missing lego

Hear me out: a performance artist Jacob Marley rattling all around Capitol Hill

your fear feeds them, pointing and laughing and then getting back to the work of getting them the fuck out—whatever your piece of that is—shrinks them. the vibe is “shut up, weirdo, this country wipes its ass with a better class of dictators than you”

Can we be done calling them "conservatives" now

You know what doesn't fund golf trips and nazis? State taxes.

why not focus instead on ai that can replace the truly grueling labor of being a human, looking for the missing lego character my 4yo requires

Thirty lonely but beautiful actions you can take right now which probably won't magically catalyze a mass movement against Trump but that are still wildly important https://thewhitepages.net/p/thirty-lonely-but-beautiful-actions

the real conspiracy is the way insurance companies and a broken healthcare system have decimated people's personal relationships with GPs and made them vulnerable to idiotic conspiracy theories

take a deep breath (soon you won't be able to without catching a previously preventable airborne illness)