Denny Brenner

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.

certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

YouTube video by EarthWindandFireVEVO Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Official HD Video)

Whoops! Almost forgot to observe this beloved little tradition today...

YouTube video by ClassicVideos80s Dire Straits - Industrial Disease (1982) HD

On my mental soundtrack this Labor Day is an old favorite of mine, one of the wittier takedowns of modern industrial culture that I've heard in recent years.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTb0...

Highly relatable! The elderly one-eyed arthritic cat I took home from the shelter a little over a year ago has been doing wonders for my mental health in these trying times. 🥰

Thanks for the heads-up - I found and blocked him, as the more assholes I can keep out of my head, the better.

Punk in the Park responds after Dropkick Murphys issue statement about owner's Trump donation ”Like many Americans, my political views don't neatly fit into a single box or party affiliation,” Cameron Collins’ statement reads.

I did find the organizer's response to the brouhaha over his MAGA support. IMO the statement is just a bunch of disingenuous bullshit. Any support at all for the Mango Mussolini is the antithesis of what punk stands for as far as I'm concerned. www.brooklynvegan.com/punk-in-the-...

I'd heard about that. Good on the Dropkick Murphys... bummer about the MAGAt festival runner.

Well this gives me a sad. Instant Brands makes a good product, but it looks like their private equity cannibalizer is now doing clumsy MAGA-kiss-up stunts with their wares. Fortunately there are now other makers of electric pressure cookers I can turn to when my Instant Pot wears out

A lynx-point Siamese mix cat sprawls on his back on a woodgrain floor, pausing in his frolics with a banana-shaped catnip toy halfway out-of-frame to the left. The cat has an ample belly covered in fluffy mostly ivory-colored fur, lightly dappled with little streaks of his chocolate-brown points color.

Meanwhile on the home front: I persist in having nothing useful to add (beyond heartfelt expletives of furious agreement) to what other more articulate voices have said about all the shit going on in the nation and the world, so here instead is Mr Swayze consoling me with his adorableness.

YouTube video by FreddeTl Tom Lehrer - Lobachevsky

On my mental soundtrack today: one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite musical smartasses. Rest in peace, sir - thanks for all the laughs.

#TomLehrer #MentalSoundtrack

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQHa...

More Woody Guthrie Songs? Yes, From a Trove of Homemade Recordings.

Wait for it: One standout is “Backdoor Bum & the Big Landlord,” about two characters trekking toward heaven. The landlord expect[s] to buy his way in.That doesn’t happen. Guthrie’s landlord was Fred Trump, Donald's father. Guthrie wrote a song, “Old Man Trump,” denouncing him for segregation.

back in the bush years i used to call this "bullshit conservative legal theory." it was basically "the law is whatever it needs to be at the minute so the republican wins." whether thats saying torture is ok, or surveillance, or killing the DOE or Roe.

its. all. bullshit.

YouTube video by The Midnight Special Political Science - Randy Newman | The Midnight Special

An old favorite of mine is back on my mental soundtrack due to current US fascist fuckery: Randy Newman's brilliant skewering of his era's edition of that mindset - love how he calls the fascists out in this 1974 performance.
#RandyNewman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=olOk...

A lynx-point Siamese cat lies slumped over on the seat of a faded old armchair, in a position that looks like he had been sitting up human-style, decided to take a nap and just slumped sideways and is now out like a light.

Once again, I have nothing cogent to say about the current fascist fuckery here and abroad that does not devolve into inarticulate strings of expletives, so instead please join me in seeking some solace from Mr Swayze here and his latest creative sleeping pose.
#CatsOfBluesky

RIP Jonathan Joss (December 22nd 1965 - June 1st 2025).

YouTube video by Eric Burdon - Topic Sky Pilot

On my mental soundtrack on this US Memorial Day: a meditation on the price of waging war, recorded in 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War.
#MentalSoundtrack #EricBurdon #1960sMusic
www.youtube.com/watch?v=laSJ...

“The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” — Treaty of Tripoli, signed by the United States in 1797.

The philosophy of WAY too many people:
Artificial everything.
Because it's cheaper.
Because all that matters is how much money you can make off of it.

YouTube video by The Museum of Modern Art HOW TO SEE | Joan Miró

Includes content on Miró's experiences under Franco's fascist regime that I found highly relevant to these times.

My brain, struggling for laughter to keep from screaming, whispers the words "Snakes on a Plane Remake 2026." And is now screaming anyway.

As the old saying goes, even a broken clock is correct twice a day. Loomer broadcasts from Bizarro World so her clock is correct only some random tiny percentage of the time, but yeah it's still weird when it happens. Though I do like the MAGAt infighting aspect of this.

To make his human wonder why. That's a major goal of cats when they manage humans. See? It works! He's a feline achiever! 😺

The silent GOP has been giving lip service to their commitment to the Constitution for some time now. They're only embarrassed now that their Fuhrer has dragged their lack of commitment out into the glare of public view.

YouTube video by Frank Zappa - Topic Call Any Vegetable

These are the Mothers on my mental playlist today.
#FrankZappa

Headshot of a lynx-point Siamese cat nestled into a bunch of bedclothes, reaching out one front arm to boop the human behind the camera as he gives them a sleepy little cat smile.

Meanwhile on the home front: Mr Swayze loves to snuggle with his human, though he has to occasionally remind them to put down the camera and keep petting him. #CatsOfBlueSky

History of Mother's Day as a Day of Peace: Julia Ward Howe - The Peace Alliance In the 1800's, Julia Ward Howe, original advocate for “Mother’s Day” and writer of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” nursed and tended the wounded during the civil war. She worked with the widows and...

This article was posted in 2015, and is IMO even more applicable now. Wishing all a woke Mother's Day.
peacealliance.org/history-of-m...

I for reals got slightly nauseated just reading the quote.

Four Dead in Ohio - Ohio History Connection Inspired by the events that unfolded on the campus of Kent State University on May 4, 1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young released their soon-to-be hit single, "Ohio."

On this day in 1970: the Kent State shootings, an event with lessons for these times.
www.ohiohistory.org/four-dead-in...

🧵Spotted While Roaming in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A woman (20s?) is sneakily reading The Two Towers behind the counter of a furniture shop. It might look like a quiet day but there are epic battles to fight. Feisty wizards, horsey warriors, intrepid hobbitses and Helm's Deep await! (1)

The number of times now I have managed to rack up a knee or shoulder by "sleeping on it funny" is seriously no longer funny.