As the World Stearns

Social media created this nonsense idea that not exposing yourself to hatred is isolationist. Choosing to not spend your free time with bigots isn’t living in a bubble. I don’t need to know what’s going on at X. I won’t be smarter or more knowledgeable or empathic by being there. Neither will you.

Summary of This American Life story: “Sheetcakes In The Conference Room, Whiskey After Dark David Rakoff discusses the world of birthdays and other holidays, as they're celebrated on the job... and what happens when you call yourself an editorial assistant but the editor you're assisting calls you a secretary. He read this story before a live audience at Town Hall in New York City, during a This American Life live show. (15 minutes) “By David Rakoff”

Perhaps this? Is it from This American Life? (Apologies if not.)

These are criminal acts, and there is no way to find the other side of this without meaningful accountability for this—like “in the dock at The Hague” accountability.

“What terrible news to wake up to” is a sentence I wish felt rare

Nothing that happens in this war matters more than the fact this is the worst violation of the Constitution in U.S. history, an illegal war crime

Unless Congress impeaches Trump this weekend, and it won’t, then we are a dictatorship, full stop

At the terrific Conan Gray show in Newark. He is an impressive singer and showman, but one of the most impressive things about the show is his absolutely kickass backing band. Who are, incidentally, all women.

A million times this.

The frustration of looking things up and having to flip through pages of results to reach a text-based answer is a modern hell. We don’t need some asshat explaining something slowly, maxing out engagement to raise more $; we just need a paragraph of smart text.

This Heffernan catalog of the man’s utter lack of any motivating code or passion or love—whatever one might call it—is breathtaking. Knew this, of course, but to see it listed this way boggles the mind. Truly the most empty human on the planet.

No cheating, your last saved picture of a celebrity is your therapist.

Literally NO elected politician or public servant should be on X, a creep site for creeps. So I followed @ajcampbellma.bsky.social and I hope you will to.

Anyone still muttering "gosh wow it's hard but we need to have law and order so maybe more training" needs to be slapped over and over with: They're just fucking kidnapping people. They're just fucking kidnapping people. There is no law or order. They're just fucking kidnapping people.

“it's a terrible John Constantine film, but it's a fun supernatural thriller.”

Precisely. Enjoyable as a movie that ain’t the Constantine comics.

"Is there any technology the Left is excited about?"

Vaccines.

People always ask, "What would you do if you were born in another time period?"

With my health the answer is almost always, "Die before kindergarten."

Medical progress is the real deal, buddies.

Respect yourself!

Omg, this is beyond psychotic. The level of dehumanizing hatred you must feel towards someone to do this to children is jaw-dropping.

This is the sort of stuff that requires truth and reconciliation tribunals—there’s no crime here, but it demands public accountability.

A screenshot of a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the account "Libs of TikTok." The text of the post reads: "LGBTQ protestors in NYC took down the US flag and raised a Pride rainbow flag in its place despite Trump's orders. The American flag was then put up alongside the Pride flag amid disapproval from the crowd. This is a clear violation of Trump's orders." Below the text is a video thumbnail credited to "Oliya Scootercaster" and "FREEDOMNEWS.TV." The image shows a large crowd of people gathered in a city park area with bare trees and brownstone buildings in the background. In the center, a Pride rainbow flag and an American flag are being flown together on a single flagpole, with the American flag positioned above the Pride flag. Several people in the crowd are holding smaller Pride flags and recording the scene with their phones.

Cry more.

The story of my cat, Moon Unit, international adventurer. Once upon a time there was a stray cat hanging around at work, in East London. Nobody seemed to own her, so I took her home and adopted…

Did I mention my cat disappeared for 8 years? She was found in Paris. I do not live in Paris. Or indeed in continental Europe.

medium.com/@sheepbop/th...

I saw a post from someone that said they believe negative posting on Bluesky will affect turnout for less engaged voters and buddy there ARE no 'less engaged voters' on Bluesky and if you think faceless rageaholics on a tiny social media site influence election turnout, they absolutely don't.

Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw From rising horror star and award-winning author of Thi…

My publisher is giving away 20 finished hardcover copies of my upcoming novel, WRETCH! 🪲🕯️🖤 Please help spread the word if you can! This book is queer and sad and a little gross. I hope you love it!

www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

Exclusive: Detention Center Captives Are Throwing Lotion Bottles Wrapped With Notes to Organizers Outside Otay Mesa Facility ~ L.A. TACO “For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa captive communicated through handwritten note. "We are all in one big room with no doors...

Concentration camps:

“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."

it's not just that Mamdani is charming af (he is), it's that he is normalizing the idea that children are full members of society that we all share a collective responsibility for

Eww!

My heart breaks at the end of the Books section at the Post. So many brilliant people there, especially @roncharles.bsky.social, the most beloved book critic I know. I feel like I should write more about this, but I’m on deadline and trying to finish a freelance piece myself.

So, more than a year after going silent, Neil Gaiman has emerged to say a single anonymous substack has solid journalistic evidence that all the real journalists missed that exonerates him? A substack that seems to have no other purpose than to prove his innocence?

How stupid does he think we are?

No posts tomorrow, in solidarity with the planned strike.

No war but class war.

Fuck ICE, fuck these fascists.

This is the way, make “ok, abolish only ICE” the moderate position.

Not surprised that Ketter, a hero of f&sf publishing for decades, is also a hero of the guy-who-is-there-for-his-neighbors variety. DreamHaven is always a worthwhile business to support, no more so than now.

Clues by Sam A daily logic puzzle where you deduce who is a criminal!

Clues by Sam. Straight up logic. Takes some time to learn how it thinks, but satisfying.

cluesbysam.com