Confederate statue discourse coming back is a reminder to melt the statue down when you get the chance

I literally could not believe this but look

Some people ritually repost that Tom Holland umbrella lip sync video whenever they see it. I ritually repost this Tom Hollander essay on his typical day.

ACADEMIC READING ALREADY COMES WITH A SUMMARY IT IS CALLED THE ABSTRACT

Academic pals: I'm starting a shared doc to collect info on exactly why/how AI is indefensible—specifically in humanities classrooms, but also across the board. Please share/add as you see fit. I plan to lecture from this in the first week; many students don't know. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

She has now been moved to Louisiana. This shouldn’t happen to *anyone* but it’s worth noting that she had a valid visa through next December. The whole Diocese of New York is furious, and I sure wouldn’t want those folks mad at me.

Air quality is dangerously poor today Monday August 4, with almost all monitors in WNY reading above 150 (unhealthy for all) - check in on neighbors who have underlying health conditions, and if you are outside, consider wearing a n95. www.nyaqinow.net map.purpleair.com/air-quality-...

my grandfather told of seeing a Gret Big Vanishing black dog in Virginia, on that part of the eastern continental divide called the Devil’s Backbone, between the Devil’s Peepover and the Devil’s Inkstand

It is likely easy for the average person to eye-roll about professors complaining about students generating essays with bots, but the process of formulating an argument, a story, or a eulogy changes the writer, and, in its reading, can change readers as well.

If you're on Substack, here's a helpful article about why you might want to think about leaving the platform and how to do that. leavesubstack.com

For a medieval monastic chronicler, a headline to die for

Buffalo, Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s production of Richard III is cathartic as all get out! What a joy to see the play staged to bring out its current relevance, and what a pleasure to watch it from a picnic blanket, among clover and plantain, under the moon and stars.

This “rural people don’t deserve public broadcasting” lie has me looking to the Douglas Adams postcard. Radio Hitchhiker’s gave me such rare delight and wonder as an isolated Appalachian teenager. I never expected him to reply to my fan mail! That, and how, he did is still helpful.

the thing is that in wealthier, more liberal areas, the "viewers like you" may well make up the lost funding. in poorer, rural, more reactionary areas, that's the end of PBS and NPR and their affiliates

the republican party hates public goods and wants to force feed you and your family slop produced by its billionaire allies

Join the pledge today 🤝

Ed Poe with ballroom details:

Listen to sci fi and fantasy writers when we tell you what techno fascists are doing. We've been thinking about this stuff all our lives, and we know it when we see it.

I heard there was a secret ape The state of missouri caught on tape But you don't really care for primates, do you

Apparently it’s World Embroidery Day so maybe you’ll enjoy this aerial landscape I made of my beloved childhood haunt - the White Horse of Uffington. An @nationaltrust.org.uk site from the later Bronze Age or Early Iron Age. Find out more here www.oxfordarchaeology.com/uffington-wh...

BUFFALO/WNY AREA can’t post video on here but sharing with permission: roughly an hour ago (9:30am), someone shared footage of possible 🧊 activity at the asian grocery store on niagara falls boulevard

The Jewel of the Free & United Great Lakes will be an oasis for the weary, the downtrodden, and the sweaty

so many commonalities with spa towns in Appalachia

A.I. enthusiastes are lyke "thys will open up a whole newe worlde" and the new worlde ys usinge a search engine during disasteres and gettinge A.I. hallucinations ynsteade of reale information

Wow! I did not have that on my bingo card. The Kinkade fan base is full of easy marks for the type of propaganda that dhs is pulling, here. That his family stands against it might be helpful.

It was the beste ALF tymes. It was the worste ALF tymes.

Donations and shares appreciated for one of my staff, Mari: gofund.me/48ac058e On Sunday night her apartment complex caught on fire, the ceiling was destroyed in her unit, and everything got covered in insulation and drenched in water.

stopped to sympathize with a crying kid who lost his balloon and then his sister gave him HER balloon and then a lady stopped and gave them both stickers and everyone had entirely different accents and I LOVE NEW YORK CITY Y'ALL

there's a whole lot of deeply faithful Christians actively doing a whole lot more to aid community & fight fascism than just being mad online all the time too.

Biggest take-awaye from NYT article on loathsome AI-focused schoole ys the trend of seeing educacioun as an individualized luxurye item and not as a part of civic lyfe. We lyve yn an age wher the moost privileged are activelye hyperselfish. Thei make an ego factorye and call it educacioun.

‘Folksy Devout Christian Liberal’ is a deeply recognizable North Carolina Type of Guy

Every day I see cool artwork on here and think, I would repost that if it had alt text.

Ok one more Tom Lehrer song because some of you may not know you know him from Schoolhouse Rock

Harsh.

This is where they went

amazing @themountaingoats.bsky.social show on the first night of their tour with Guster—lovely new material, and the fierce ragged joy of dancing to Next Year with others who know the lyrics by heart

Why I 🧡 the web. drawafish.com Just draw the fish. Trust me. 🐟

ALERT, ALERT, WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SHINIES HAVE BEEN FREED FROM PURGATORY.

so did I

I’m just going to keep quote-skeeting this endlessly—in this case to note that the book includes a section devoted to WVU / by Mountaineers. I’m just so grateful to Kevin, Lisa, & ALL the contributors for entrusting us w/ their stories and lessons. And huge thanks to @derekkrissoff.bsky.social too.

Since it won't be on exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, seems like we ought to share this painting widely. Amy Sherald, Trans Forming Liberty, 2024.

Going to post this all over www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFqp...

43. The true form of The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the BBC Radio series.

Nacht der Langen Dumplins

I have the honor of setting down a few thoughts in words about one of the most important musical figures in my life. May he rest in the knowledge that he gave voice to sentiments many struggle to express.

Saw someone call AI users “botlickers” and that is very funny

Bring back printed course readers and physical grade books. There’s no saving this well once it’s good and poisoned.

Hey US weather folks...this is a big deal. Go follow @nws.noaa.gov cc @faineg.bsky.social