I forgot to post this working paper when we put it online a couple months ago, but we think it's really cool and you should read it. tl;dr: State targeting of even a small group of people can have an absolutely massive effect on turnout of the larger group bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.ed...

Song of Roland, with a Kingdom of Heaven-esque update that asks the viewer to question and rethink clash of civilizations narratives

Daniel Tunnard@danieltunnard.bsky.social · last wk.

Are there any other poems that have been made into films? Could Nolan have a crack at "This is just to say"?

“Miller owes his entire career to government investments in research and education. He grew up in Chicago and went to public schools. Neither of his parents went to college.” This is what public investment does, allow people to follow this path

How Trump’s “America First” Administration Could Shut U.S. Scientists Out of the Next Nobel-Worthy Discovery

A proposed White House rule would give political appointees unprecedented control over scientific funding. One physicist, who helped discover the Higgs boson, explains how the rule would’ve stifled that breakthrough.

propublica.org

Now is the moment for a Silmarillion movie. Utúlie'n aurë! Auta i lómë!!!!

Tim Marchman@timmarchman.bsky.social · 2w ago

Superheroes are dead now, so Hollywood has no choice but to stage incredibly elaborate adaptations of unfilmable science fiction classics. The masses need The Book of the New Sun!

While we're talking about the Odyssey: It's arguably the origin of some of the most famous fanfic in world history, including the Aeneid ("What if another guy got lost coming home from Troy and then founded Rome?") and a British foundation myth ("then what if his grandson got exiled?")

If you haven't picked up Emily Wilson's translation, please do! And don't miss this interview about a fascinating, tough call she had to make while translating one of the poem's very first words. www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/m...

The First Woman to Translate the ‘Odyssey’ Into English (Published 2017)

The classicist Emily Wilson has given Homer’s epic a radically contemporary voice.

nytimes.com

EMILY WILSON@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 2w ago

Now that many people are buying my 2017 metrical verse translation of the Odyssey in great numbers (thank you, Mr Nolan!), or at least, gazing at it and wondering whether to buy it, I thought I should share some thoughts on the cover design.

Love it when the Claude "thinking..." narrative starts to read something like "exploring why the user is catastrophically wrong and how I break it to him..."

The entire soundtrack of KPop Demon Hunters

Becky Tyler@beckytylerart.bsky.social · 2w ago

What song did the Sirens sing in The Odyssey? Wrong answers only.

Congress has the power to set term limits for Supreme Court justices. Here’s why: bit.ly/4wkTlDK

Want Supreme Court Term Limits? Here’s How to Do It

The Brennan Center has laid out a compelling roadmap for Congress to follow.

brennancenter.org

Similarly, I've long believed the Odyssey technically shares a genre with Dude Where's My Car

Two things are true: Government can and should seek to meet the needs of the diverse communities that make up our country. And, grant cuts seeking to weed out "DEI" initiatives have consistently caused harm to *all* Americans.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

TINA SMITH: Researchers in MN made a breakthrough in childhood cancer in Black kids with a grant. But it seems that according to your proposed rule, this type of research wouldn't allowed bc it's 'DEI.' VOUGHT: We are against DEI policies. We have intended to rid of them whenever we possibly can.

I am once again begging Hollywood to stop using the Greek alphabet for an Ancient World movie, if they can't afford to even throw a couple of quid at anyone with an inkling of the language. Unless they really think audiences are dying to see THS THDPSSSSPS

"Civilization was a mistake" — me when I stay up too late playing Civilization

Dismantling federal agencies is not a costless exercise.

Ryan Marino, MD@ryanmarino.bsky.social · 11mo ago

CDC is no longer surveilling outbreaks caused by campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia. What could go wrong?

The popular New Jersey playspace "Kids Empire" presupposes an earlier, more virtuous "Kids Republic" and raises the grim prospect of a "Kid Caudillo"

I’ve always written with em dashes and I like em.

The Trump Administration seeks to overturn "sanctuary” laws that define how and when local police will work with ICE. We filed amicus briefs on behalf of law enforcement experts in such two cases, arguing these laws help keep people safe. Read more: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Court Says Local Police Can’t Be Forced to Spend Resources on Federal Immigration Enforcement

A friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Brennan Center argued that Boston’s policy, which describes where and when city officials will work with ICE, makes cities safer.

brennancenter.org

Exactly right. And as has been discussed elsewhere too, science agencies like NIH and NSF provide clear counternarrative: they have derived substantial democratic accountability from the legislature. Appropriations law and report language have done a lot to set national science priorities.

Sam Halpert@samhalpert.bsky.social · 4w ago

Well-put. What’s missing now is not the work of deconstructing UET. That’s done. What’s needed is work constructing a counternarrative. (As Prof. Baumann has argued elsewhere.)

Comments are due next week on a proposed OMB regulation that could compromise the independence of American research science and upend federal grant-funded work nationwide. We wrote about how scientists already face slashed budgets and rising uncertainty. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

The Cost of the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Research Funding

Arbitrary funding cuts and assaults on agency independence have destabilized American scientific research, potentially setting technology, health care, and the economy back decades.

brennancenter.org

Note how Le Guin correctly expands the way we think about skill, too, to include complex but historically under-compensated work like housekeeping.

Daniel Burke - 🍺Innkeep@innkeep.bsky.social · 4w ago

Le Guin on the idea that there is a secret to getting good at writing.

How do we relate to people and institutions that fall short of our hopes for them — and their own ideals? @richardswanauthor.bsky.social’s “Empire of the Wolf” series is some of the best fiction I’ve seen tackling that big question. Highly recommended, to sci-fi/fantasy readers and beyond.

I picked up “Handmaid’s Tale” a few years ago, when the TV show first released, curious to see if it held up to the age. I reached the same conclusion as Thiago. It’s a truly stunning and timeless book.

Thiago Carvalho@cyrilpedia.bsky.social · last mo.

When I first read this 30 years ago, it was clearly SciFi. Re-reading it now, it feels like a different genre. (also, it holds up: Atwood is a great writer)

I really do love what this nation aspires to. Happy Fourth of July — may we constantly rededicate ourselves.

Appreciate the author characterizing this dish as a "before bath dinner" when serving to young kids

Rebecca / The Practical Kitchen@ryeisenberg.bsky.social · last mo.

Ok, hi, I don’t know where *you* are but where I am it is really fucking hot so here is a list of my favorite recipes to make when I need to stay cool. Starting with this bright and fresh green “spaghetti” sauce thepracticalkitchen.com/green-spaghe...

Highly notable for Olson and Tabarrok to comment on OMB’s proposed grant making rule.

Walter Olson@walterolson.bsky.social · last mo.

From me, now expanded into a Cato post, on OMB's proposal to centralize grantmaking and research funding authority and require that all discretionary grants "demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities” and not "promote anti-American values.”

Oh HELL yeah! First look at the California Science Center’s new Space Shuttle Endeavor exhibit in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Opening in November, and I can’t wait!

HYPOTHESIS: Giving kids healthy food helps them grow EXPERIMENT: Cook balanced, filling meals for the family RESULTS: Kid ate six berries and a bite of toast, but grew two inches overnight CONCLUSION: Children grow through photosynthesis

@petersagal.bsky.social Can’t find Alzo on Bluesky but please tell him he’s crushing it!

dad jokes? i bet he does

"No nap, no nap. Book please. Yes?" - Our very tired two year old, keeping her priorities straight