Category: microposts Page 2 of 73

I really like this idea from Cal Newport that social media is ultra-processed content, analogous to ultra-processed food:

the users of social media platforms simulate something like the food scientist’s ability to break down corn and reconstitute it into hyper-palatable edible food-like substances

Mike Masnick argues that social media can’t be inherently harmful, saying, “The complaints here are with speech.” but while Doritos & Pepsi are (technically) food, that doesn’t mean they’re good for you

another day of Euros, another Ukraine game bizarrely not being shown on any of Fox’s channels. I know it’s paranoid thinking, but I can’t help wondering whether that’s a coincidence from a broadcaster that’s shown perfect willingness to cozy up to the likes of Russia in 2018 & Qatar in 2022 ⚽️

new post: 600 Words About 1,000 Words, in which said writing stunt is found to have been worthwhile (and, thankfully, behind me) 📝

and… scene! I stopped posting it daily, but I did it: I wrote a thousand words a day for two weeks (Ulysses tells me it’s actually a total of 14,606). I’m glad I did it but I’m glad it’s done. now to figure out what’s next 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

me, finishing Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club: that was great. I wonder if they’ll make a movie of this

Wikipedia: YA THINK?

Spielberg’s production company bought the global film rights… Osman confirmed… that Helen Mirren would play Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan would play Ron, & Ben Kingsley would play Ibrahim

📚🍿

another day, another thousand words: 1,011 today, in which I finally got to make the silly, obscure reference I set up from the start (“better head back to 10-SE, Jed”) 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

I didn’t get around to posting it yesterday, but I did write: 1,072 words. today, too: 1,016 words. clearly stopping just as soon as I cross the word-count line, but no apologies. six days down, eight to go 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

I did it again; 4 for 4 so far. 1,143 words today, in which a good cop as well as a bad cop appeared 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

a long day today, that started with a trip to the dentist for a replacement crown, and only got Monday-er from there. nevertheless, I persisted, and wrote 1,015 words this evening 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

day 2 of #1000WordsOfSummer, and I felt so little like sitting down to write today, but I did it: 1,002 words. now my murder mystery finally has a dead body 📝

feeling less than complete confidence about managing this every day for the next two weeks, but today, the first day, I did it: 1,005 words written 📝 #1000WordsOfSummer

The Atlantic: Guilty on All Counts

The jury returned with a verdict… after less than 12 hours of deliberation. …Trump is the first current or former president to be tried for any serious crime, and now he is the first to be convicted. Not only that, but he was found guilty on all 34 counts against him.

couldn’t happen to a shittier guy

going to give #1000WordsOfSummer a shot this year. like a mini NaNoWriMo, it calls for writing 1,000 words a day, for two weeks. starts June 1. not sure I’ll do daily word-count checkins they suggest, but for the sake of non-Twitter social media – maybe! (god help me I may even join the Slack…) 📝

Temple of Kukulcan, Chichén Itzá

really appreciating Molly White’s newsletter, “[citation needed]”, and even more so as she expands beyond covering the Web3 trainwreck(s). her latest issue, AI isn’t useless. But is it worth it?, is as well-written as it is well-considered. recommended

for sale: eclipse sunglasses, never worn

(not really true: it was cloudy but we got some cool glimpses despite that) 🌚

enjoying a new trivia podcast: “WikiHole”. it’s hosted by comic actor D’Arcy Carden, with other comedians as contestants, and it’s just crude & silly enough to work 🎙️

Sleater-Kinney at ACL Live 🎵

yay, the Tournament of Books starts today! with a perfectly funky, funny, & earnest judgement 📚

also, a good summary of the thing overall in the match commentary:

We deliberately created a dumb competition with no stakes. It doesn’t matter who wins. Authors are not in competition with one another, and the intention has always been to lift everyone’s boat. I think the Rooster does that. But as with all meaningless competitions, it matters a little.

I’ve missed Half.com (so dead now that its SSL cert doesn’t even work; RIP Half.com), so I was excited to learn about Pangobooks. I listed a (select) handful of books a few weeks ago to try it, & have already sold 3! 📚

well, that’s a shame: ‘They lied’: plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals

At a 1956 industry conference, the Society of the Plastics Industry told producers to… aim for materials to end up “in the garbage wagon”

good stuff from Dan Pfeiffer on how to navigate the age debate:

This election is not a referendum on whether an 81-year-old should serve another four years as President. It’s a choice between a decent, accomplished 81-year-old man who cares about you and an incompetent, chaotic 77-year-old criminal who only cares about himself.

great new effort from anti-book-banning activist Frank Strong: full contextual summaries of targeted books to pit against the outrageous, out-of-context excerpts that the book-banning mobs rely on. a good resource to fight this scourge locally 📚