A genuinely alarming piece in the NYT about how the developers, scientists and assorted techbros behind "AI companions"/"synthetic care" do not even know or understand the potential harms of the tech they're developing but they're too greedy to stop themselves from developing it.

Ill be clear about why I am so angry and critical about it: Im seeing a good portion of my students who have imbibed the notion that they dont have to read, think or write for themselves because ChatGPT/CoPilot will do their thinking for them, and its terrifying. It should scare all of us.

Absolute banger of a comment on r/military: www.reddit.com/r/Military/c...

You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.

For those who can, here are links to donate directly to local efforts on the ground resisting ICE's terrorizing of Minneapolis. Let me know what you donated to where, and I'll match it until I get a panicked call from my bank! linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid

Democratic Leadership will never cut funding for ICE state-sanctioned terrorism without extreme pressure. That’s why a coalition of creators (w/ a reach of over 20 million followers) & organizers are presenting them with an ultimatum if they don’t whip their caucuses against this DHS funding bill.

Calling all the PhDs I know to make monumental annoyances of themselves (and honestly, who better)

Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum.

So far, I am only seeing TPM, Mediaite, and Daily Beast focusing on this. We live in a world where the president calling an ethnic group "very low IQ" and "bad for our country" while insisting they "ought to get the hell out of here" barely makes headlines. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-m...

im getting disturbing reports that donald trump is doing exactly what he said he would and the results are exactly as disastrous as everyone said they would be

Plans to sign proposed Ukraine “prosperity plan” worth $800B at Davos were scrapped. Greenland dispute derailed efforts to use the week to finalize security guarantees and reconstruction talks between US, Ukraine & Europe. US officials say no signing date was set and document still needs revision.

New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice. ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate www.404media.co/ices-facial-...

Minneapolis and Saint Paul have basically mobilized into a war economy of mutual aid and non-violent defense. I’ve never seen anything like it, even during Covid. People who barely vote are guarding their schools from ICE and doing the shopping for neighbors in hiding.

I'm no longer on Twitter. Just downloaded my archive and will deactivate my account. If you've previously used that platform to contact me or follow along with my work, check my website for other options or just reach out to me here instead.

New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant “This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

⬇️⬇️⬇️

tim walz drops from seeking a third term as minnesota governor

Rough vibes on this website today, likely because people feel Hopeless and Helpless Because Can't Stop It and No One Who Is Supposed To Is Trying To So Now We're Fighting Each Other™. I recommend activities such as book, or potentially instrument if you like instrument, or even do talk on phone.

Love this from Guillermo del Toro

Can't wait for Trump's interview with Tucker Carlson and the hour he'll spend lecturing on "where Venezuela comes from" and whatever Prince Rurik he can slap together from Pre-Columbian Timoto-Cuica culture.

Ok, I stole this from somewhere else on the internet, but a thematic dinner for finishing Stranger Things 5 vol 2: Benny’s Upside Down Burger and Eleven’s waffle fries!

Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. Pokrovsk, birthplace of 'Carol of the Bells', is being destroyed by Russian fire. That’s where Father Oleksandr built his church while working night shifts in the mines. But today, his city, and his church, are in ruins.

periodically, i post this utterly incandescent essay by @isanchezprado.bsky.social. it reminds me about the kind of work i’d like to pursue, the kind most worth pursuing, i think. and my gooooood, the prose. the prose, y’all.

Yep. This is literally how it goes with popular media. Books, film, television, everything. The majority of what you put out will break even, be a mild success, or lose money. But you'll have a scant handful of superstars that basically pay for everything else.

Trump's best friends in the world are Saudi Arabia and Russia -- the nation where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from and the nation that wants to replicate that act of terrorism against the United States. Meanwhile, he's angrily attacking NATO, an alliance that came to our aid after 9/11/

Attention, #ttrpg creators! Did you know that I have tiers that allow commercial access to my maps? Check out the details and start using maps like the ones below in your titles! www.patreon.com/c/dw...

The second of our yearly lists--this one features thirty-five articles and chapters authored by contingent historians in 2025.

There are so many things wrong with this ruling, including the total disregard for the clear error standard. But what really gets me is the notion that legislatures can evade judicial review of their maps simply by passing them as close as possible to Election Day

If you see John Roberts in person, be sure to tell him he’s a worse Chief Justice than Roger Taney (pronounced “tawny”). That’s a nerd burn that will hit him where it counts.

if, in this holiday season, you find yourself reflecting on the experience of going home to your family and discovering for the first or the millionth time that you see the world in fundamentally different and irreconcilable ways, perhaps upsettingly so, i have a book recommendation for you.

My Grandma's Pierogi Recipe here in my newsletter archive: www.jimzub.com/zubstack-2-l...

Decorating for the holidays? There's FREE downloadable papercraft holiday ornaments on my site of some of my favorite characters, including D&D monsters (though I still need to create Spiderwick and WondLa ornaments): diterlizzi.com/activities/

✨Check out our #DND5e titles on sale on the @dmsguild.com!✨ 🎁 site.dmsguild.com/browse.php?a... #DND #Feywild #TableTopGaming #TTRPG #DMsGuild

👾Made for the folks who grew up with the Gameboy. Loving the backlit screen!!! Buttons have a good feel! Hope to see a @modretro.bsky.social handheld for Gameboy Advanced games in the future.👾 #ModRetro #RetroGaming #GameBoy

When I played through OG Baldur’s Gate, I thought Beregost seemed to have a high amount of taverns per capita. Then it struck me, of course, it’s a college town! #BaldursGate #dnd

It's like we're stuck in a techno-dystopian Dickens novel.

Someone commented that they thought my maps looked almost hand drawn, and that they haven't been able to replicate my style in any programs... well, I told them that my maps look hand drawn, because they are... Working on some bark detailing in this video...

Join me tomorrow at Pax U for a game for kids, a meet up between creators, and a panel on horror in kids games! It's a fun mix of topics for the day, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with y'all! You can also fnd my full schedule for the con here on TTRPGkids: https://loom.ly/LnSs_os

"We like to tell ourselves they always looked like that." The Blighted Plane is filled with strange threats for your players to discover. Uncover them all in Harrow: The Blighted Plane, a crystalpunk #TTRPG in a shattered fantasy world! Store: undergroundoracle.co... Dthru: www.drivethrurpg.com...

Archaeologists have unearthed a Bronze Age metropolis in the heart of the Eurasian steppe: an early form of city as complex as those of contemporary, more traditionally 'urban' civilisations, showing how steppe polities were just as sophisticated. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Greg Bovino is leading a rebel cavalry terrorizing America—and it's important to recognize that it's in retreat. While the trauma and terror Bovino’s raiders instill is real and damaging, it’s remarkable to note how ineffective the force has turned out to be. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/trump-bord...

Huh... ".games" is usually a more expensive tld, but now I see there is a ".quest" at similar pricing to ".com" Some of you might find that useful info

The design decision which won narrative gaming Last week, Apocalypse World came back to crowdfunding, with the Bakers seeking funding for a Third Edition of the game. Apocalypse World was first released back in 2010 and it took the indie RPG world by storm; by the time Dungeon World was released…

Short version: Trump: I'm dismantling the Constitution, building a paramilitary fascist army loyal only to me, blowing up the US economy for my billionaire cronies, and destroying the planet. Schumer: Okay, but you have to extend subsidies for corporate health care Trump: No Schumer: Okay

The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout: Humanities majors killed on the job market 1) Mamdani- Africana Studies 2) Spanberger -French 3) Sherill - Global History

I know you've been holding your breath for *my* take on the election, so here it is. BREATHE.

From the top rope

DHS says they “don’t arrest U.S. citizens for immigration enforcement.” But at least 170 Americans they’ve detained know that’s not true. Don’t ignore their stories. If Trump can detain citizens—including combat Veterans—for days without cause, no one is safe from his whims.