The algorithm says it’s grunge o’clock. Turned on my car and one radio station was playing Smashing Pumpkins, another had Alice in Chains, and a third was Pearl Jam. (This is not me complaining).

I’ve said it for a long time. Glad someone is finally acknowledging it. “Birds are the disturbing winged people from the clouds, and one day they will kill us all.” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/eve...

Suggestion: don’t ask ChatGPT or any other AI tool. Depending on the question you have ask: -a librarian -a medical doctor -an anthropologist -a literary/cultural studies scholar -a travel agent -a historian -a media studies scholar -a copy editor -a writer -an artist … Just don’t ask ChatGPT.🙋🏻‍♀️

Resisting the urge to take a nap when there is so much course prep left to do before school starts up again this week...

The first time I did it I forgot to keep in the whole of the post’s text, so I did it again. My year will be sloppy potato? Could be worse, I guess.

Looking for New Years Eve movies to watch and discovering the Poseidon Adventure (1972) is available to stream! Yes, please!

MTV is officially ending all of its music channels. In honor of that, what's your favorite music video? www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJ...

Watching Prancer (1989) and this cute family film is shot like a horror film. The cinematography and editing are seriously creepy in some scenes.

One thing I love about 1940s clothes is shoulder pads in women's robes (and *gigantic* shoulder pads in fur coats). This brought to you by watching some older Christmas (and Christmas-adjacent) movies today with my husband (and last week with my mom).

Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.

Everyone knows that self-reporting in studies is not great, Count. #HATM #PrincessBride

Anyone else think that the Prince and the Count are secretly a couple? #HATM #ThePrincessBride

Such a crazy diverse career. 1. Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, and All in the Family. #HATM

I know this isn't what it is doing. I know. But I'm just so tired of having conversations with people who think what it is doing is anything remotely like what we do with our own minds when we think and create. That's what scares me. Not what it can do, but how little people think of what WE can do.

New theory? In the Rankin Bass Rudolph special Hermey the elf has hair, no pointed ears, and a smaller nose. Is he secretly a human like Buddy the elf from Elf?

Making Christmas cookies while visiting my folks.

“On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925.” Includes Betty Boop, Blondie & Dagwood, and works by William Faulkner, Agatha Christie, and the Marx Brothers. [web.law.duke.edu]

People say AI is a magic shortcut to creativity & success. I’ll tell you the real secret and it’s voraciously reading, being interested in everything, being diligent in the pursuit of learning, paying attention to the interior lives of others & keeping a heart open to the world.

Machine-learned AI is terrible for idea generation. The algorithm is designed to *produce the most predictable next token* Even as you try to push it to originality, it fights you and tries to pull it back to the most average tropes. Its a PREDICTABILITY MACHINE.

Happy birthday to Shirley Jackson, an all-time favorite of mine. To celebrate, here's my favorite Jackson paperback cover art, an image that famously captures the central theme of The Lottery: boobs.

Flashing my green light in complicated strobe patterns, to hypnotize Gatsby into doing my bidding.

"To attempt to find useful information and instead take part in the solidification of the internet as an ad-delivery business, where you’re given no option but to be the product."

“I am so bored by AI. One of the things I love about the theatre is AI can’t do it.” Ethan Hawke is a dude 👌🏻

Welcome to the future.

It looks like Pryce from Better Call Saul showed up to the meeting of cartel leaders. #HATM #ClearandPresentDanger

I wonder if the portrait of George Washington in his military uniform over the fireplace is meant to imply anything? #HATM #ClearandPresentDanger

Oof

“I wanted to tell you I didn’t enjoy reading before [taking] your class, and now I kind of like it” is *literally* the best thing a student has ever said to me at the end of a semester. 😭🥹

Our longest yearly book list ever! Thirty six books by contingent historians for you to read, gift, and request for purchase at your library!

Today's the last day to submit for our end-of-year publication lists. We're soliciting monographs, journal articles, and book chapters by contingent historians with a 2025 pub date! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...

In my family the band is Boston who, according to my uncle Matt, “rock as good as anybody.”

Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...

What perfect album came out the year you turned 16? (Because the image is flagged, it's the Red Hot Chili Pepper's album By the Way).

I'm tellin' ya, birds are terrifying creatures.

They don’t even necessarily *know* whether they’re using LLMs anymore. What’s OK? Summaries, Grammarly? Brainstorming? Their college has an institutional subscription to ChatGPT, so why is their prof mad at them for using it?

Ok I had to go find the clip bc this is the energy I will be bringing when anyone ever asks me if I use this ugly nonsense x: www.instagram.com/reel/DQun5Qr...

When I was in grad school one of my advisors was working on a project about memoirs written by mercenaries. Got to help by reading a couple of books by Mike Hoare. Same time period/general location of this film, but different events. It was like reading a book version of a John Wayne war movie #HATM

2. On Amazon Prime: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy; Manchurian Candidate ('62); That Thing You Do; Some Like it Hot; Nickel Boys; The Best Years of Our Lives; September 5; The Pajama Game; Spartacus; 1984; Rear Window; Escape from New York #HATM

"Look! We made a s****y picture of a horse! We're not sure how it helps... but it's pretty cool!" youtube.com/shorts/hL9pl...

As long as they're not buying a new cup www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBgo...

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"

Pitching cosy British crime drama in 2025 youtube.com/shorts/Qvli_...

How do these zombies (dead meat sacks) have such strong grips? #HATM #TraintoBusan

Long trombone/tuba sound in the score does not inspire confidence that this will go well... #HATM #TraintoBusan

Nice that he didn't make her choose between a lottery ticket and bread (like his character in Squid Game). #HATM #TraintoBusan

Every good Midwesterner knows that you gotta check to make sure that deer didn't wreck up your car. #HATM #TraintoBusan

I'm going to try watching, but I may need to tap out if it gets too scary for me. #HATM #TraintoBusan

A reminder that we're collecting books, chapters, and journal articles by non-TT historians for publication in our year-end lists. Anything with a 2025 pub date is eligible and you can submit for your friends/colleagues! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...

IMPORTANT BEAR NEWS www.latimes.com/california/s...