My hottest Odyssey take is that if you want to make an epic movie set in ancient Greece about regretting your war crimes, it should be the Thebaid
I was going to see the Odyssey movie so that I could form my own opinions for the Discourse, but then I saw that it’s 3 hours so nevermind.
See, people always want to make this just about "sports," but the real upshot here is that, 6-3, trans women can't make a claim under the Equal Protection Clause. And if they can't do that, it's hard to see how they have constitutional rights.
This. It's just a chance to be hateful to a small group of people who want to play sports, to deny people the chance to feel part of a team.
Kristina Killgrove@killgrove.bsky.social · last mo.Reminder that there is actual scientific research debunking the claim that trans women have any advantages in sports. But it’s not like SCOTUS cares; they just want to be hateful. 🧪
"The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine advisory committee voted unanimously today to recommend Moderna's mRNA influenza vaccine, mFlusiva, for adults 50 and over. This was its first time reviewing a new vaccine application since 2023." www.npr.org/2026/06/18/n...
Key FDA committee unanimously recommends its first vaccine since 2023
All nine members of the committee unanimously voted to recommend Moderna's new mRNA influenza vaccine for adults 50 and over.
npr.org
Friendly reminder that a person’s performance in a workout says nothing about whether they are fit to serve in political office! Even if Pete were the world’s best weightlifter he would still suck as a person.
Skimmed a webpage or two about whipcording, made bobbins out of popsicle sticks, and after a long session of trial and error ended up with three lovely cords.
Finally some good odyssey takes on this site
Dr Florence H R Scott@florencehrscott.bsky.social · 2mo agolove how the Iliad starts with Agamemnon being like ‘wow haha I love having sex with this girl I kidnapped, she’s much better than my wife back at home Clytemnestra, who sucks in bed btw’ and then the Odyssey starts with him returning home and being murdered by Clytemnestra and her new lover
Some of us even remember being taught to “write for the web” circa 2000 with boldface for important text, lots of bulleted lists, etc. It was understood as best practice for (human) writers and needed to be intentionally cultivated!
Lili Saintcrow@lilithsaintcrow.com · 2mo agoThe thing that absolutely burns my biscuits about this is that human writers don't "sound like 'AI'". The fucking slopgrift machines sound like us because it STOLE MASSIVE TRANCHES OF OUR WORK. It's blaming the *victims of* the theft for the grift *built on* the theft.
in case anybody is wondering how author advocates are handling AI in trade publishing, this is language my agency fought for and won
This. A thousand times this. Libraries do not reduce a book’s sales. They increase its readership. If you want a book your library doesn’t have, ask! If you want others to be able to get their hands on a books you already love, ask! [Speaking as a writer with a new book coming next Tuesday…]
Ilana Masad@ilanaslightly.bsky.social · 2mo agoA week or so ago, I was looking for a couple books by an author from 10 and 15 years ago and my library didn't have them. I requested them via a library form. Today I got a notification in Libby that they purchased both titles. Asking your library for writers' books is an amazing way to support us.
Decided I want to sew a dress and wear it to the renaissance faire this fall. Haven’t made anything for myself yet but found a cheap fleece blanket while thrifting and made a hood/cape out of it for my husband
My emergency hot takes - Oreos are mid. - Knitters these days are too focused on patterns. Do some math and make stuff from scratch, you cowards! - Pineapple on pizza is good but Hawaiian is a waste of ham. Try it with sausage and peppers instead.
Red delicious are good anywhere if you get them fresh! My grandfather planted some trees decades ago and they make good snacking apples.
Lindsay Beyerstein@beyerstein.bsky.social · 2mo ago-Red delicious apples from the store are usually gross, but good red delicious apples in the Pacific Northwest are delicious.
Had a brain fart knitting, and picked up stitches on this sock’s heel flap before turning the heel. Googled whether you can do it in that order. AI overview told me I had it backwards (i know dummy, that’s why I’m asking) and results are just heel turning 101 So fuck it. We’re gonna find out!
ABC killed fivethirtyeight.com, pulling down thousands of stories and dashboards. I can bring them back, but I can offer you https://fivethirtyeightindex.com, my new index of everything captured by archive.org.
Doesn't feel too out there to say that every hour of work "saved" by AI just becomes someone else's hour of work.
Iris van Rooij 💭@irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 3mo ago"Fake citations have turned into a nightmare for research librarians, who by some estimates are wasting up to 15 percent of their work hours responding to requests for nonexistent records that ChatGPT or Google Gemini alluded to." open access link: archive.ph/qt59c 2/🧵
@iwriteok.bsky.social you are working on an Anthony Comstock episode, right? (Please??)
Mel Buer@melbuer.bsky.social · 3mo agoAn entire generation of feminists were thrown in jail for distributing pamphlets on birth control, which violated Comstock, incl. Emma Goldman, who was eventually deported from the US (not the only reason, but one of them) Birth control, abortion access—all a right we with uteruses are entitled to
Web history disappears when it can’t be preserved. Today, many publishers are blocking the Wayback Machine from archiving parts of the public web, putting decades of digital history at risk. Tell publishers: don’t block the #WaybackMachine. Sign the petition ➡️ www.savethearchive.com/newsleaders/
Tell New York Times, The Atlantic, and USA Today to keep the crucial work of journalists in the Wayback Machine!
The news isn’t getting preserved in the Wayback Machine anymore because major media outlets are blocking it.
savethearchive.com
My kid is obsessed with the very true fact that car names get funnier if you make them start with B. Our favorites so far (you need to say them out loud): 1. Bamborghini 2. Bubaru 3. Beep
I knew the ratio of wages to tuition was a lot more workable in the past, but I didn’t realize just HOW drastic the change has been. You could put yourself through school on a minimum wage job in 1970 (full time in the summer, part time during the school year) with no debt.
CZEdwards@czedwards.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe cost of a year’s room and board in the 20th century was about twice the cost of tuition, so even if we round up generously? $1000 for a year. The minimum wage for most workers in 1970? $1.60 an hour. So it took 246 hours of work to pay for tuition in 1970, or just over 6 weeks of full time work.
The notion that there is a separation between "canon" and "fanfic" is an artifact of the business of literature and media. It doesn't reflect how humans typically interact with stories.
It’s not history AND it’s not some original pure literary tradition that others later corrupted. It’s fanfic all the way down.
Jennifer Ouellette@jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 3mo agoThis Is Your Reminder: ‘The Odyssey’ Isn’t Real. It’s Not “History.” www.themarysue.com/the-odyssey-...
Love the Wayback Machine? ❤️ Here’s your chance to stand up for it 📣 When news can't be archived, we all lose part of the public record 🕳️ Tell major publishers: keep journalism in the #WaybackMachine. ✍️ Sign here: www.savethearchive.com/NewsLeaders Campaign is a project of @fightforthefuture.org
Hated this yarn, made up the pattern as I went along, regretted every decision I made when working on it, can’t even see the cool raised texture in most lighting. Kid loves em though. #knitsky
Slightly diminish a book Moby Duck
Jonathan Peelle@jpeelle.bsky.social · 3mo agoSlightly diminish a book Mediocre Expectations