Your daily dose of kittens.

Someone made an utter mess with the kitty ink and now we have this.

My god this Mark Carney speech. Here in its entirety:

A mild-mannered Canadian banker appears to be the most courageous leader in the world right now. Carney is saying a lot of things that had been deliberately kept quiet to avoid upsetting the powerful.

Specifically, grassy areas in arid climates. Still useful in highlighting the nuances of effective urban greening. It matters a lot *what* you plant.

For folks out of town-Jason Chavez is the city council person for this area. Trustworthy and great!

This may be reasonable under the circumstances, but if @massgovernor.bsky.social truly cares about climate change and affordability, she'll simultaneously step up efforts to maximize energy efficiency and ensure that Mass. consumers aren't overcharged for electricity. Will you, Governor?

Maybe ICE is as American as apple pie. This reminds me of hard truths spoken at Saturday's LUCE rally, which I know at least some participants definitely hadn't signed up to hear. www.instagram.com/reel/DTb2VBJ...

Why is CBP even in Minneapolis? The city lies outside the 100-mile "border zone," so even the absurd rules that apply in places like LA, Chicago, NYC and Boston don't apply there.

With climate change, summer heat is going to make our cities increasingly hard to live and go out in. Adaptation is crucial: from street trees and shade structures, to comprehensive public health strategies. Two great webinars coming up! us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... @walkmass.bsky.social

Think about the mindset, and the expectation of immunity, of someone who texts this to friends.

Boston, there is another protest tonight in memory of Renee Nicole Good (Thurs Jan 8):

Tonight, I was one of more than 200 people who gathered on Chicago’s North Side to mourn Renee Nicole Good. Several people asked me to publish my remarks from the vigil, so I’m sharing them here.

We’re hosting a national rapid response call tomorrow night to go over concrete next steps. Please circulate - we need a national response. More details to come. www.mobilize.us/indivisible/...

This is the institutional equivalent of carpet-bombing. They're pulling the U.S. out of the UNFCCC, the IPCC, IRENA and the IUCN. How long till they learn the OECD and IEA are also unsuitably "woke," believing in physics and such? www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Super interesting analysis, but make sure to also read the underlying study: somervillema.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=.... The blog finds we need studios/1BRs more than anything, but the study assumed couples want studios/1BRs. In reality, many want a 2BR. Studios are best to replace roommate setups.

Impressive results. Boston is overdue for a similar policy. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I waited a long time for this book on Libby, and it was fantastic. Emotionally raw, gripping and hard to put down. #Booksky victorsuthammanont.com/hollow-spaces/

This was great.

Hey #SomervilleMA folks! Do you know a teenager who loves nature and/or is interested in government? The Urban Forestry Committee is recruiting a second youth member. It's a chance to learn about urban ecology, native species and public service. Deadline: Jan. 5. www.somervillema.gov/news/somervi...

Wow, this photo. This is what they *want* to look like? www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...

Sasha imagines what a responsible elementary school might do if an 11-year-old child did and said what this vile man has done. How so many people can see such obvious depravity and just 🤷 is just unfathomable to me.

Just finished Oyinkan Braithwaite's "Cursed Daughters," a gorgeous, multi-layered novel quite different from the author's hit novel "My Sister, the Serial Killer," sadder, but rich and lushly written and often wryly funny. #Booksky chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/11/i...

Just participated in a pretty aggressive push poll from @sethmoulton.bsky.social in his race against Ed Markey. The irony is that, much as I love, respect and appreciate Senator Markey, I wish he'd retire and clear the path for a younger progressive, like Ayanna. But NOT a white male "centrist."

Big thanks to Joan for live-tweeting this and sharing details!

Adaptation starter pack go.bsky.app/3G5Eono

ChatGPT: So you never have to speak with another human or even read anything again. Guaranteed to be totally reliable, of course.

Jasmine Crockett doesn't look, talk or act like any U.S. Senator I know of. Because the Senate is overwhelmingly old white men. I don't know if Texans will get behind her, but she's certainly smart, tough and gutsy enough for the job.

I'm reading this right now and it's so great! Like the noodles it features, it's fun and enjoyable, but also multilayered, with bite. #Booksky

This is brilliant. It focuses on NYC, but is relevant to cities all across America (and beyond). Free parking is a huge waste of public resources. Meters and modestly priced permits are just... civilized and can help pay for better mobility for all. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...

It seems clearer to me every day that the assault on 🏳️‍⚧️ and 🏳️‍🌈 people is just an extreme manifestation of a much broader campaign to subject *all* people to rigid and oppressive gender stereotypes. Responding to "kids are suffering if they're not girly/manly enough" with "it's the Bible" is just vile.

Friendly vocabulary lesson: Forward = moving ahead, like "step forward" Foreword = preface, like a note from a CEO or a public official or some respected authority before the main text

I'd never heard of this show until last night and wow it's so fun! And indeed, distinctly Canadian. (In the U.S., found it free on Roku btw.)

Wild.

Political Gap Between Pastors & Pews “Political partisanship of the average mainline pastor diverges significantly from the politics of the folks sitting in their pews.” Ryan Burge analyzes recent PRRI data to highlight pervasive pattern in Mainline Christianity 👉 open.substack.com/pub/ryanburg...

God forbid you accidentally include a few trans women in your disaggregated data; let's make sure everyone who participates in climate activities must disclose intimate information! An absurd distraction that only hinders urgent progress for women and girls.

Just staggering amounts of sea-level rise: 1.3 feet from 2008 to 2040, and 4.3 feet later this century. So glad I live a whole... 20 feet above sea level... and torrential rains are also increasing inland flood risks. Adaptation is urgently needed. www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

This cozy fantasy, set in 1926 Carmel by the Sea, is just a delight with great characters, most notably a very strange, sentient and fastidious old house on a cliff. Read author @bethcato.bsky.social's own pitch: whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/01/t... #Booksky

Tesla's a special kind of awful, but I'm increasingly conscious of how all these "advanced features" in cars could come back to bite us. So many more points where hardware and software can fail, costing lots of money and, sometimes, lives.

I'm starting a bit late this year, but hey, it's time for Beat the Bay State again! This is when hundreds of people across Mass. track every mile we walk, jog or run in a quest to complete the perimeter of our state, to raise funds for @walkmass.bsky.social. Join me! runsignup.com/Race/MA/Bost...

As of Dec. 2024, @unhcr.org says, there were an astonishing 123 million people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. www.unhcr.org/refugee-stat.... Even at its best, the US takes a tiny fraction, but it's still a crucial refugee destination. This is vile.

Incredible deals on a lot of eye-opening, thought-provoking and inspiring books.

An AI-driven mobile app which overrides hard documentary evidence to reach its own "definitive" conclusions of someone's citizenship sounds like an idea that didn't make it out of the Black Mirror writers room

This is how you lose elections: Force people to accept a betrayal of their rights and core values, or just not vote. Sending a clear message that you value conservatives who might (but probably won't) vote for you far more than LGBTQI people, communities of color, progressives and other loyal Dems.

Drop off gently used clothing and shoes the next 2 Saturdays at Connexion to help us stock up for our free store! Drops offs on Nov 1st & 8th from 1-4PM. Our upcoming Free Store is Sat., Nov. 22nd, from 10AM-2PM, at East Somerville Community School. 🥰 Español/Português/Kreyòl Ayisyen 🧵⬇️

The PTA at the Winter Hill Community School are holding an emergency fundraiser to provide free food and gift cards to families who are losing their SNAP benefit on Saturday. If you have the capacity, please donate to help keep our neighbors from going hungry. givebutter.com/qmnqus

The great @tressiemcphd.bsky.social has some thoughts about @grahamformaine.bsky.social, whether we should just expect working-class white people to be racist and shrug it off, and what it takes to win back those voters without betraying our core values www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o... (1 of 3)

Reckless, stupid, cruel. And in case you don't believe it, look at Jamaica right now. It's horrific.

An unfortunate exchange with someone who relies heavily on AI to write inspired me to post this on LinkedIn, and I thought I'd share it here as well. AI is so tempting, but trust me: it turns your thoughts into pink slime, neat and smooth but awful up-close. www.linkedin.com/posts/marion...

Climate change + dense urbanization + deep inequality = severe and escalating extreme heat risks in Latin American and Caribbean cities. Read this NEW World Bank/GFDRR report and share widely! It could save lives. Super proud to be a co-author. www.worldbank.org/en/region/la... #extremeheat #climate