I need to wash so many dishes before bed but so many things feel pointless

Do you remember normal weekends?

On this day where librarians consider the closing of Baker & Taylor, I would like to remind you that Sandy Berman still walks this earth and today is his birthday. www.sanfordberman.org

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if the television is not saying what’s true then how can I ever emerge tremfyant

Every time Eric Adams is in the news, I think about this response he gave to the question of what the best concert he ever attended was.

Ms. Moore was a character in Sondheim’s dark musical “Assassins,” which debuted Off Broadway in 1990. In the show, she was portrayed as a hapless revolutionary — “a true flibbertigibbet,” as NYT critic David Richards wrote, “as likely to pull a banana from her capacious handbag as she is a pistol.”

In the TV context, the joke is attributed to Jack Paar (1960), but Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. made the same joke in 1857 in the very first issue of The Atlantic Monthly. (His "Breakfast-Table" columns were a continuation of essays he had written for a different publication in 1831–32.)

So @jimmykimmel.com's first words back tonight--"As I was saying..."-- were an homage to Tonight Show host Jack Paar, who used those words when he returned after walking out on his show in a censorship dispute with NBC. From 65 years ago: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrhQ...

As a Booker prize judge I helped whittle 153 books down to a shortlist of six. Here’s why you should read them | Chris Power

The Booker Prize shortlist was announced an hour ago. And in that time, i've had my tea (meatballs), and added this wild offer onto my website, where you can get ALL SIX of the shortlisted books at a big discounted price! biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi...

My favorite photo from the Paul McCartney exhibit I saw last weekend at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

The Clique – Superman [US, Rock/Pop] (1969) – Original version of song covered by R.E.M. https://redd.it/6m0bdg https://youtu.be/HzvnACkYEjg

"Ladies and gentlemen, for tonight's entertainment, I'm proud to present 𝑊𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦. I will be playing all the parts. Thank you." youtu.be/FexfjCHW8C0?... It's important to note that the medley goes on for like 20 minutes and Cher is at any given moment four to six hot guys.

Michael Shannon @jasonnarducy.bsky.social and Friends will be touring in tribute to the 40th anniversary of the band’s fourth studio album, Lifes Rich Pageant, Feb.-March ‘26. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10:00 AM. We’ll post more details as we get them but for now stay tuned to Jason’s page.

“It’s nice to have a curated collection of the things you like around. Especially with everyone trying to ‘Marie Kondo’ their lives…. Otherwise, in the future we’re all just going to be in white rooms with one speaker and a touch screen. And that sounds like a really boring life.”

"So we beat on, boats against the cheesecake, borne back ceaselessly into the past"

From ‘The Onion’ Editorial Board:

I can

Transgender studies professor Dr. Susan Stryker tears Gavin Newsom a new one while accepting the Transgender Legacy Award from the California state legislature 🔥🔥🔥 @susanstryker.bsky.social

Mabuhay Gardens, the legendary San Francisco venue and Filipino restaurant, was ground zero for the Bay’s burgeoning punk scene in the ’70s and ’80s. A new effort to purchase the venue aims to revive the property as a multi-use space with a focus on music:

i have done the math and this would be like oakland A's fans eating 9.2 hot dogs each

While riding the B or Q trains between Dekalb Ave station and the Manhattan Bridge, you may catch a glimpse of "Masstransiscope," a public art installation by Bill Brand. It was added to the #NYCsubway system in 1980.

This is the best art show in the Bay Area right now

one of the truly real parts of the original taking of pelham one two three was the lady who slept through the entire hijacking

things were better when the computer lived in its own specific room and you only went in there sometimes

The main founders of Devo and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders were students at Kent State in 1970 when the Ohio National Guard (now in DC) murdered 4 students For this late boomer, the Kent State massacre inventing punk rock explains everything

My sister is a librarian and whenever she hears me advocating for the return of video stores she reminds me that libraries are still in the game. And this is very true. Especially the selection at my local library. But why not both?

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A few snippets from @jasonnarducy.bsky.social Michael Shannon and friends in Manchester tonight, playing some R.E.M. (and Pylon) classics. Crazy

A cluster of teens reading quietly is called a mystery. A pile of books gathering dust is called a hold shelf. A handful of change is called a budget. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/col...

“I teach in deep East Oakland. My kids are experts in how power works.” Excellent article by Oakland history teacher Jesse MacKinnon… oaklandside.org/2025/08/18/t...

I’ve started watching the West Wing again because I need to watch some functional government.

I can confirm, having just paid $3 for (sigh) Howdy: CHINA BEACH is now streaming via Roku’s new subscription service. And it looks good! The Supremes song that’s the show’s theme—“Reflections”—has been replaced by a sound-alike, but at least this show is finally streaming. NOW DO THIRTYSOMETHING

China Beach is available for streaming (without the classic 60s music, unfortunately--that's only in the DVD version...shoutout for physical media)!!!! Finally!

Somebody who dealt with Trump in Term 1 told me he had a “Snapshot mind,” meaning he had a snapshot of how things were, usually from the 80s. You could explain how things had changed, and he’d nod and say “Oh,” but next time: back to the snapshot. In the 80s, Tiffany’s was the classiest brand.

Currently listening to doo-wop for distraction. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdKK...

2. There are so many of them with so little to do that they are sending 25-30 cops and Feds to arrest one man. By the end of it, we had MPD, FBI, Park Police, US Marshals, Metro Transit for some goddamn reason, and guys in vests that just say “police” presumed to be DHS/ICE.

Some good news, for a change. pitchfork.com/news/daryl-h...

Also “…in Missouri workers are not mandated breaks of any kind during work.”

Hey, as a librarian I need to tell you: Our funding depends on usage. So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.

it's crazy how we just take for granted now that the president is a deranged racist

Smart people: with the vast choice now offered by streaming, physical media formats are obsolete and entirely unnecessary Me:

Thank your local archivist and librarian. I'm immensely grateful to the staff at @folger.edu for working to allow me to view and handle Edwin Booth's Richard III tunic yesterday. Textiles are such a beast to preserve and make accessible. Being able to spend time with this costume meant the world.

Oh wow, Oakland, wonder why it’s on this list. Baltimore too.