Julie Blattberg

.@SecRubio : Americans seeking assistance in evacuating the Middle East or Gulf should call these numbers:

Request Emergency Assistance:
+1-202-501-4444 from Overseas
+1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada

@StateDept

Epstein, ‘Lolita’ and a Culture of Disembodiment

[gift link] Epstein, ‘Lolita’ and a Culture of Disembodiment by Rhonda Garelick
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/s...

🔥🔥🔥

American publishing regularly punishes women in their 50s by simply not interviewing them for new jobs in the way @saribotton.bsky.social describes here. So it’s great revenge that she launched Oldster magazine on her own, now with 70k subscribers.

No more Tempranillo!

Good Writing by Neal Allen, Anne Lamott: 9798217046959 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books 36 ways to improve your writing Two writers show you how to turn a worthy sentence into a memorable one. Starting where The Elements of Style leaves off, Good Writing can improve your book, your essa...

Neal Allen & Anne Lamott have written a superb new book on writing. It is EXTREMELY clear & immediately useful. It will improve your writing. If that’s of interest to you, preorder below.❤️✍🏼

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786813...

10/10 No notes.

Tx.

Where was this reported?

Oil and charcoal on canvas, abstract cubist bodies piled together. Description from MOMA site: "With its varying degrees of finish—you can see traces of charcoal and sections of blank canvas—and vast network of undulating lines and geometric shapes, Picasso seems to have obscured legibility in favor of generating a rhythmic abstraction. As if questioning the ability of painting to represent war, he created a shifting, spectral vision."

Picasso's depiction of a fascist massacre, a murdered family unceremoniously tangled together under a dining table.

[Pablo Picasso, The Charnel House, 1944-45]

Lame.

Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion and The Terror, dies aged 77 Award-winning science fiction and horror writer died in Colorado on 21 February with family at his side Dan Simmons, the author of more than 30 novels and short story collections spanning horror, political thrillers and science fiction such as Hyperion and The Terror, has died at age 77. Simmons died in Longmont, Colorado on 21 February, with his wife and daughter at his side, his obituary announced. Continue reading...

Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion and The Terror, dies aged 77

Sen. Ossoff Statement on Iran Atlanta, Ga. - U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff today released the following statement. "Eight months ago, Donald Trump lied to the country when he claimed U.S. air strikes had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear program. "Now Trump says he's taken America to war for regime change in Iran. "Trump has launched this regime change war and put American forces at risk without presenting evidence of an imminent threat, without clear objectives, without having exhausted diplomacy, without a plan for the aftermath, and without the consent of Congress. "I oppose yet another regime change war-of-choice in the Middle East. Congress must convene immediately and pass a War Powers Resolution to assert our Constitutional authority over war and peace. "The President has presented no evidence that Iran or its nuclear program — which he falsely claimed to have 'obliterated' — pose an imminent threat to the United States, or that diplomacy was exhausted. Iran's support for terrorism and uranium enrichment have long destabilized the region. But sending American forces into harm's way should only ever be a last resort. "I pray for the safety of U.S. forces who have been ordered into battle and commend their extraordinary professionalism."

Ossoff’s statement is 1000x stronger than Schumer-Jeffries. This is a moderate Jewish Senator from a Trump state. The split isn’t moderate vs progressive, but leading vs poll-reacting

How a kids clothing company keeps it American-made The vast majority of clothing Americans purchase is imported. Kai Ryssdal looks at how one Los Angeles company does their manufacturing within the city’s garment ecosystem.

City Threads has bucked industry trends and kept manufacturing in Los Angeles by taking advantage of the city’s garment production ecosystem.

It's 12:00. Do you know where your Congress is?

NPR: “What would happen in Oklahoma if everyone without legal status working a job disappeared tomorrow?”

Gov. Stitt (R): “It would be devastating.”

Wow!!!

And draft dodger

I'm old enough to remember when OpenAI was positioned as nonprofit and ethical...

They bombed a girls' school.

Hacked Prayer App Sends ‘Surrender’ Messages to Iranians Amid Israeli Strikes As Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran this morning, Iranians received mysterious push notifications saying that “help is on the way,” promising amnesty if they surrender.

NEW: Iranians received a message saying "help is on the way" and promising amnesty if they surrender via a hacked prayer-timer app called "BadeSaba Calendar." Reporting by @wired.com Middle East: www.wired.com/story/hacked...

Me: Hello, Congress?

Congress:

20 Republicans could end this national nightmare at any time

Trump in 2011: “Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective.”

Wut?

What Happens When Your Books (Don’t) Get Banned? When a friend wrote to me some months ago that he’d heard a book of mine had been banned, I felt a surge of excitement. I’m not proud of this. The banning of a book is hardly a badge of literary me…

The will to ban a text is a signal of impact: it indicates that a creative product presents a perceived insult either to power structures or to the self-appointed guardians of an ideology or status quo. In other words, the gesture of banning suggests social relevance

How are you?

Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple.bsky.social on 60 Minutes
"Artist Molly Crabapple says AI art generators are scraping art from the web without artists’ consent. She calls it “the greatest art heist in history.” cbsn.ws/476QfIC%22

How Book Bans Led to the Postponement of the Diversity Baseline Survey Jason Low, publisher and co-owner of Lee & Low Books, issues a call to action to fellow members of the industry to focus their efforts on fighting book bans.

"One way to resist censorship is to support Freedom to Read bills, which essentially ban book bans...." www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...