JDG

I love how the ballroom costs either $200 million or $250 million, depending on the day and the news outlet you're reading, since no one has any idea what's going on.

Also a museum of immigration, Civil Rights movement exhibits, things of that nature.

Greg Newby

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Greg Newby, who led Project Gutenberg ( @gutenberg.org ) with passion and purpose. Greg’s belief in free and open access to knowledge continues to inspire us and so many others working to preserve our shared culture online. gutenberg.org/about/newby....

The president is demolishing a wing of the White House, in direct contradiction of what little he's said about the project publicly, and the only reason we know anything about it is that people see it happening and an anonymous source talked to a newspaper.

It bears just saying this stuff plainly.

There’s such a disconnect between people who need to scout tickets for months in order to finally buy the worst seats in the house, vs people broadcasting their nightly presence in the best seats and getting Pham Points™️ for it, and more people in the first category are just going to quit.

It’s so bizarre to be in a place where there’s staggered levels of participation in the Phish community, with “seats at a show with a view of the front of the stage” at the very top of the pyramid. The shows were never free but the price of participation could be swung by most of the fanbase.

So the logic here is that if a candidate says “oligarch” there is no room for him in a winning party, but if he’s an ex-mercenary with a Nazi tattoo than he must be supported or else the party is toast.

There’s this tendency among radical centrists to make arguments on behalf of rightists that they themselves are not even making.

They’re presenting Platner as if he came clean on his past and has long ago reformed and been working for acceptance.

Which is not what happened!

Uber but for The Depression

William Gibson, Lisa Simpson and More on Their Favorite Pinch of Pynchon

Writers, musicians, video game designers, and a pair of Springfield residents all weigh in on their favorite Thomas Pynchon moments.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/b...

Gotcha, replace 0 with 1

I put in the thought in a long time ago. Just reciting an opinion. But: happy to help!

We’ve agreed that’s when decades/centuries start. What’s the harm in that reality?

There’s nobody who was here for year 0 and feels like they’re being shortchanged a year or something.

But it’s also true that when we talk about “decades” and centuries these are essentially social constructions, not math problems. The pedantic truth about numbering things is not as relevant as the fact that the zero rolling over is received socially as the big change….

But to talk about the underlying issue seriously for a second. I think two things are true.

It’s a reality of taxonomy that we count 1 through 10, 1 through 10, and on. Yes, you can say decades technically start on the xxx1 year….

I know it sucks, sometimes that happens! I’ve held the flame for many lost causes. I just started saying “4.0” like a few months ago.

(Not attacking you at all and fully lighthearted to be clear)

You lost this argument 25 years ago

The sad truth is there’s a lot more bad bagels than good bagels out there. But a good bagel is fucking delicious.

He’s doubling down, on the grounds “I already SAID [my ignorance] is b/c I’m on twitter, you idiots should read the actual post”

IDK, if my media environment left me completely baffled at the motives behind the biggest day of protest in the U.S. in 55 years, I’d see a dire mistake I need to fix!

State Voting Laws Roundup: October 2025 The number of new restrictive voting laws has increased this year, while legislation aimed at expanding voting access has lagged.

So far this year, 16 states have enacted 29 laws that restrict the vote — a rise from previous years. 28 and parts of the 29th will be in effect for the 2026 midterms. Learn more in the latest State Voting Laws Roundup from the Brennan Center and @goldmanschool.bsky.social:

Sometimes I look at my show history on @phish.net and it’s a complete surprise that I saw some show or particular song or version of a song.

Fuzziness btw is b/c it’s always the same venue, and while in 1.0 I tended to do the whole run, in 3.0 it became irregular—a 12/31 here, a skip, a 12/30-31 there. Then add the yrs that weren’t scheduled 28-31, to add confusion. Then add the bizarre reality I just haven’t absorbed dates in 3.0/4.0.

At least 7, but the still-insane thing to me is I have little idea which NYRun shows I went to in 3.0 aside from NYEs (which I largely know by gag, not year). Pretty sure I went to at least one of those 12/30s but I’d have to look them up.

This statement would have been unfathomable to me pre 3.0.

Image of Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman suppressing an overwhelming need to pee.

Like so

I’m not a fan of when pitchers come to a set position that could be mistaken for them suppressing an overwhelming need to pee.

What’s the worst Star Wars movie?

It’d be lame to have a World Series where every game’s first pitch is 5pm local.

Though MLB can have a homercentric style OR have every team do a stupid prop thing with each one, but not both.

Now THAT’s a dramatic home run. I hate the strikeout-or-HR era of play but this is inarguably exciting.

Merchants vs farmers aka urban vs rural?