Ah, I see it’s going to be wall-to-wall Kirk funeral coverage today. Not just the broadcast but every other media touchpoint. Time to go to the library, get a book, turn off the tiny demon computer I carry everywhere with me, and sit in a park for a while.

I’ve been saying this for half a decade, but worth saying again: Make your digital/technological life as dumb as possible. Refuse internet connection. Chuck the voice assistants. Disable the AI. Most of this shit is not ready for prime time, and the rest is a trojan horse for marketeers. Curate.

Went to a vet today and there’s a sign on the wall informing you that your conversation will be recorded by AI and help with diagnosis - just say no if you want it shut off! So I guess that’s a fun new game: whenever you walk into a professional office, having to ask for any AI to be shut off.

Robert Redford on Richard Nixon's death. Not much changes, I guess.

[me, a journalist who spends all day every day on a social media app where the discovery algorithm is personally controlled by its owner, captain birdseye] you know, a lot of people are talking about fish fingers, we should probably cover that

If you’re overwhelmed right now may I recommend time travel? Traveling to the past (historical fiction) probably better at the moment than traveling to the future (sci fi). Dimensional travel (fantasy) also very valid.

I’ve recently been calling my Senator not to lodge an opinion but to get them to help me with broken fed agency processes: it strikes me everyone needs to do this more. Make it obvious that when a fed agency shifts to maddening AI phone trees, someone’s still got to provide constituent support.

I want to tell people to spend less time on social media, but then they say “how about a closed group chat?” and hey THAT IS ALSO PROBLEMATIC. Leaves me thinking that we need to get away from a default where the sole mechanism for social connection is the written word. It has to be “words AND…?”

Update: Civil War cancelled due to shooter being demographically uncooperative

If I were editing a column about Charlie Kirk’s political genius, I would tell the writer he needed to quote Kirk’s actual political beliefs. If the writer responded that doing so would weaken or distract from his argument, it’d be a pretty good sign that the column was not ready for prime time.

Look, I’m just as lost as anyone else as to how we go forward. Because a lot of things are horrible, and going back’s not an option. But one thing I can do to try and extend some safety to everyone is get vaccinated, so I did that today for flu and covid. No time like now. Took 5 mins. Go.

I’m sure you’re all hearing the same thing I am.

I feel like I’m responding to most news updates these days by howling “CALVINBALL!!!!!!!” in a tone better suited to a war cry. If they play Calvinball? WE PLAY CALVINBALL.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And those who are too lightweight to actually do ALL the reading versus printing off the wikipedia summary are condemned to make themselves sound like simpletons. We’ve been calling him “the Mad King” for a reason, Brooke.

This is like having someone write a completely insane fanfic about your life in real-time, and tons of people subscribing to it and saying “wow, I am so informed about this person” while you, the actual living human, are screaming “NONE OF IT IS TRUE” only for them to murmur “so gritty, so real”.

It’s a small thing in the grand scheme, but when a consultant is on a flailing project but needs to keep an insane, sabotaging client happy because the invoice is still unpaid, you say “what I admire about X…” These people know the client might renege at any moment, and they just want to get paid.

Watched a drag queen unpack two different accordion-style makeup kits and apply a full face of makeup over the course of maybe 15 stops. With running commentary. Genuinely think face recognition would have logged them as 25 different people over the course of the ride.

everyone tell me your favorite subway interactions. one time this older dude sat down next to me, called me a snow bunny, and opened his bag to show me that it contained piles of banded cash

I had a very typical day in NYC yesterday and walked 4.5 miles. I didn’t notice it. A day full of going from place to place either by foot or public transport. It was 90 degrees much of that time. Many errands. I own a car - no reason to drive. Cities are good, healthy, and safe you loons.

I’ve become pretty numb to US institutions “unexpectedly” crumbling at the lightest authoritarian touch. But seeing a bus line full of people passively watch police gleefully terrorize a homeless guy and then watching those passengers shout down the bystander who objected is fucking terrifying.

I continue to watch historical cdramas and increasingly think that Americans really do not appreciate our federal government. We could (and may soon) be a bunch of warlord-ruled regions fighting each other. We’re so lucky to exist on a standalone, united landmass. What the hell are we doing.

"Get it all on record now. Get the films. Get the witnesses. Because somewhere down the track of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened." – Dwight D. Eisenhower, Germany, 1945

It’s wild to think that, decades from now, some historians will unearth the “all rulers are slandered by their successors” theory and apply it to Trump, and claim that he wasn’t actually that bad and had his good points, really.

I wish as many people wanted to actually click on Teen Vogue stories as like a post about our work being good and important, because this post is almost at 20k likes and that would be pretty good traffic!

As I continue to assess new products and services through the lens of “who controls the data I enter” and “can another entity remotely disable this against my will”, I realize I’m basically treating my home and assets like I’m the CO of the Battlestar Galactica.

Call Secretary Kennedy and tell him to restore mRNA funding. This is the direct line. He’s going to kill a lot of people if he doesn’t get immense pressure to continue mRNA vaccine development. 202-690-7000

Protect Rep. Jolanda Jones at all cost. Part 2:

I’m watching asian historical dramas again and it turns out that the elements I really liked about them (warlordism, factionalization by elites, intrigues based on a blend of short-term rapaciousness and long-term family power-building) are much less fun to witness in real time in today’s America.

Hulk Hogan was the willing vehicle for Peter Thiel to attack Gawker, and Gawker was the best-positioned to cut Trump’s presidential run off at the knees until Thiel killed it. And that NYC gossip void got us the fascism we live under today. I can’t be argued out of this conviction.

If you don't already, watch Colbert. He is a man with no more f*cks left to give. And it's glorious. Check out this song parody from last night's show: Mike Johnson Delays House Epstein Vote Until September

there is something so...wild about seeing science come under attack broadly in this country, grants taken away from researchers who want to do actual research, while at the same time rich people cosplay making scientific discoveries via a glorified auto text generator

Here's @brianbeutler.bsky.social explaining the many House rules that could be used to slow this bill. But Jeffries needs to be on board. More than that — Jeffries needs to be actively pushing the House members to use this playbook. So far, he's been doing the opposite.

This isn’t over—we can still stop the GOP bill. I’m staying in the fight for every baby who shouldn’t go hungry. Every senior who shouldn’t get kicked out of a nursing home. Every American who shouldn’t lose their health care. Now is the time to call your senators.

To stay sane and accurate in future, people will have to apply significant rigor and foresight to their actions. Go only to reputable websites. Opt not to get the product or service that implies customer support for maintenance. Only answer known numbers. For most, an impossible bar to meet.

Worth a watch: Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.

Dreamed that Zohran was elected Mayor, but they decided he was too young to actually take the role yet, so they installed his mom as Regent.

I’m rereading “Snow Crash” and really not enjoying it, wholly because of the extremely clear parallels to where we’ve ended up. All of this shit was foreseen and we did it anyway.

On Friday night, we walked the length of Manhattan, from Inwood Hill to Battery Park. New Yorkers deserve a Mayor they can see, hear, even yell at. The city is in the streets.

The way things are going, I’m going to run into Hiro Protagonist on the street tomorrow and not even feel surprised.

Well. I guess it’s time for a re-read.

Feel like you’re missing something about the AI hype? This explains the weird hollowness of AI promises very well.

If you're heading to a protest tomorrow, it's important to know your rights. Consult this information from the ACLU. Be peaceful. Be safe. Be careful. Be strong.

Fun fact: in the 1960s, Civil Rights protestors were given literal classes on nonviolent protest; they didn't all just spontaneously know what to do. So, if you're planning on showing up, this weekend: read this comic. And if you're staying home, signal-boost it/link it around.

30 years ago. Nicole Sullivan on Mad TV.

"Liberate this city from socialists and burdensome leadership." If that's not regime change, I don't know what to tell you. The inflection point is now.

Folks, this “AI Everything!” thing isn’t going to happen. It’s going to be cheap and mid, and you’ll know it’s cheap and mid and hate it. The rich will buy their way into better products and services, and the techbros will totally forget it was their miracle pill and move on to the next thing.

It is beyond me why people would want to integrate AI more deeply into their lives. Has no one learned the lesson of the smart home? The annoyance of updates bricking certain interconnected systems, of support sunsetting? Do not let an AI bot have your bank details! Ever! Ever ever ever!

Please pay attention

Unidentified strangers, not in uniform, can just snatch people up and disappear them in the United States now. We are living in hell on earth. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8j56Rx1/