Brett Biebel

My grandpa spent most of his career at NCAR. When I got to meet a bunch of his former colleagues at his memorial, they were just the nicest, most obviously curious folks. The work they do is important. Gutting stuff, honestly.

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics because of banned helmet honoring war dead Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych is out of the Milan Cortina Games after he refused to stop wearing a banned tribute helmet.

The IOC seems to believe that, w/o the threat of punishment, athletes would speak out constantly and compete in political costumes, but elite sports mostly incentivize silence. This decision is reactionary paranoia, the fear of athletes as humans with values beyond sport.

apnews.com/article/hera...

Don't kill the lie, Curt. We need the empty symbolic hope.

Read Sophie Newman’s interview with “Tacoma” author Aaron Burch. They talk about the last 20 years of the literary scene, writerly obsession, autofiction, and more.

buff.ly/wOBxFyz

Ukrainian skeleton athlete ready to be disqualified over ‘helmet of memory’ The Ukrainian skeleton racer ­Vladyslav Heraskevych says he is ready to be disqualified from the Winter Olympics

If the people on this helmet had died in a plane crash, the IOC wouldn't do this. But they died in (a cruel and illegal) war, so the helmet breaks the rules? Even IF one concedes some expression limits are needed in comps, this isn't a good place to apply them.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Flyer announcing Book Launch and Reading, with Patricia Q. Bidar, Jacqueline Doyle, Lynn Mundell, and Dawn Tasaka Steffler. Event takes place February 28th at 2:30 PM at Books on B, 1414 B Street in Hayward. Flyer is turquoise blue with photos of the readers.

I'm thrilled to announce that @jacqdoyle.bsky.social @lynnmundell.bsky.social and @dawnsteffler.bsky.social are reading with me later this month at @booksonb.bsky.social !

Have you seen us reference “Discord” each time we promote an event? Not sure what it entails? Luckily, we’ve recorded a short tour of our Discord server, where all our events take place!

P.S. If you’re unfamiliar with Discord, worry not, as a tutorial is in the works!

This is tonight! 8pm CT!

NBC opening its primetime Olympics preview of pairs figure skating's 90s night with Vanilla Ice is a....choice, I guess?

Happy Football Independence Day to all who celebrate.

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.

Hundreds of kids are still detained.

We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

Bad Bunny deslumbra en la Super Bowl con un homenaje a Puerto Rico y una defensa de América más allá de Estados Unidos El artista boricua firma, con la ayuda de Lady Gaga y Ricky Martin, una brillante actuación en el espectáculo del descanso de la final de la NFL más esperado de los últimos tiempos

El Pais on Bizarro Halftime:

"La oferta la encabezaba Kid Rock, gloria pasada del rap metal...y la completaba un puñado de cantantes country de segunda."

Gosh, I hope the rap-metal has-beens and second-rate country stars don't read El Pais. They'd get real offended.

elpais.com/us/entreteni...

Trump lashes out at Team USA athlete for sharing thoughts on political situation at home President Trump criticized Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess after he and other American athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics shared their thoughts on U.S. politics.

Exhibit A of this admin's view of free speech is that a skier who does an EVENT none of these assholes have ever heard of is the object of ire for saying, frankly, some pretty diplomatic shit that stayed purely first-person. Keep talking, folks. It pisses them off.

www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-l...

Maybe 5 or 6 50-50 calls (and that's being generous) went Indiana's way down the stretch. Poorly officiated. Of course, Badgers also scored 5 pts in the last six minutes (including OT), so...still had chances. Weird NCAAT profile for Bucky, but nobody in the country has a better W than @ Michigan.

Vance Brutally Snubbed on World’s Biggest Stage The crowd made it clear that the vice president was not welcome.

"No," a spokesperson for the administration said. "The San Siro crowd was simply chanting 'OOOOsha.'"

www.thedailybeast.com/jd-vance-bru...

Cheers to @terryhorstman.bsky.social and @underreviewlit.bsky.social. One of my favorite journals out there. Terry's "Letter From the Editor" is a must read.

“Start again with 1, 2, 3 and keep going until something takes shape from when you were a child. A pebble, a shard of glass, a secret memory, but find it, join the dots and see.”

“Join the Dots” by Nora Nadjarian @noranadj.bsky.social, new flash fiction out today at OKD: buff.ly/WWxn5eF

One reason Minneapolis remains in the world's eye is we have one of the most robust & independent media ecosystems remaining in the country. You all need this...and more! @mprnews.org @startribune.com @sahanjournal.bsky.social @minnesotareformer.com @minnpost.bsky.social @racketmn.com etc.

I know Italy is a big country, but JD Vance needs to be much, much farther away from the pope.

Hurray! Great to see this review of @crsutton.bsky.social's KRACKLE'S LAST MOVIE as we hype up for the release on Tuesday!

Nice to see the Gophs finish off a W. They've been right there in so many games. Flip a few possessions, and they'd be right on the bubble with a month to go. Medved already doing good work, even if the results aren't there yet.

The Liminal Space of the Track at a Tri-City YMCA — Ghost Parachute A woman circles the track at the YMCA after work, around and around like a mouse on a wheel. Not a hamster, like one might expect. She’s far more mouse-like—anxious, prone to tachycardia, most active ...

This was a great first day of class piece! I LOVE the way the narrative moves forward while remaining stuck in place. I love the way it takes something familiar and recreates its texture. I love the inner life it lets us into. Excellent writing.

ghostparachute.com/issue/januar...

Death Benefit — Ghost Parachute The neighbor, Lyle, he was a plumber, and also an action junkie. He’d bet on anything. Eagle sightings. If any of the kids would get a skinned knee that day. Whether he could convince the teetotalers ...

Ghost Parachute always brings it, so I'm extra honored this piece will be in their forthcoming anthology!

ghostparachute.com/issue/august...

Bezos isn't destroying the Washington Post because it isn't profitable. He's destroying the Washington Post because he's calculated that a robust free press threatens the ability of his class to warp society around their interests

blue background with a brown, hairy monster icon, asking the question "What's your favorite line from your book?"

Our third question for @crsutton.bsky.social about KRACKLE'S LAST MOVIE, and it's every author's favorite question (i.e. "What's your own favorite line from the book you just slaved over writing?")

At a certain point, "ideological litmus tests" are actually just citizenship tests. If you're out there complaining about "too much politics," you might just be failing civics.

My serious question for the "stop saying Nazi" people is: where would you place this administration? If ICE isn't the Gestapo, are they the Stasi? Is Trump closer to Pinochet or Orban? I'm all for linguistic precision, but there's no point quibbling when the main point's conceded wherever you land.

Some U.S. Olympians are speaking out after Minneapolis killings The Olympics have been a venue for political expression for more than a century, with one of the best-known incidents occurring in 1968 when two Americans protested on the medal stand.

So far, it is indeed our female Olympians making the most direct anti-ICE statements. More of this please. And it is definitely worth violating an IOC rule to do something on the medal stand.

www.nbcnews.com/sports/olymp...

February 2026 Issue — Ghost Parachute

The February 2026 issue of Ghost Parachute is here! Cover illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social.

tinyurl.com/yz54jnyb

Maybe the most intense sporting event I have heard/read about.