This new blu-ray of The Outfit (1973)—the movie that comes closest to getting Westlake’s Parker right—is out now, and if you get it you can watch me talk about Westlake, Parker, & the material shittiness of the 1970s. (And then watch Duvall & Joe Don Baker & Robert Ryan & (sigh) Marie Windsor.)

Levi Stahl@levistahl.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In case you missed it the other day: If you want to see The Outfit, one of the best Parker novel adaptations, & also get to watch me in my library talking about it, Donald Westlake, and movies of his books as part of the DVD extras, here’s your chance. This was really fun to get to be involved with.

Once again: AI is the reverse printing press that makes asynchronous communication impossible

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d ago

New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...

Earlier this year, leaked video showed dangerous overcrowding at ICE's Baltimore holding facility. It showed dozens of people packed into a tiny room in violation of ICE's own regulations. I will not stop fighting until we stop these abuses for good.

"Travis Scott didn't get to play the lyre" is my fave Emily Wilson complaint

Important anti fascist skill to learn is being brave enough to yell "shut the fuck up" at someone in public

Hemant Mehta@friendlyatheist.com · last wk.

Evangelist Whitney Lynn says she preaches on planes because she loves “a captive audience.” She's not alone. It's becoming a trend. If spreading your message requires listeners who can't escape, maybe it's not as compelling as you think. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/christian-...

I didn't think it was possible to sum up a half-century and change of American foreign policy that succinctly, but here we are.

Acyn@acyn.bsky.social · last wk.

Heckler: Pedophile protector! Trump: He’s a communist!

We’re reaching President Rodney Dangerfield in Natural Born Killers levels we’ve never seen before.

Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 2w ago

Remarkable camera angle of President Trump as he listens to Wall Street Journal reporters receiving an award for their investigation into Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — which they pursued despite Trump’s threats and lawsuit.

young sheldon duh

Hank Green@hankgreen.bsky.social · 2w ago

Aside from the Big Bang, what is the most important thing that has ever happened?

A functioning Congress could solve all of this. The 4A is just a lower bound on your rights. Congress is absolutely free to set more restrictive limits on law enforcement’s search options. We have such weak rights bc Congress lets us.

Matthew Guariglia@mguariglia.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's absolutely infuriating that a number of judges can say that if your phone's contents are downloaded and digitally searched without a warrant at a border or airport, that's unconstitutional---BUT now one judge says if an officer manually searches your phone with their lil thumbs, that's fine.

Today's pod is a doozy! I do a deep dive with @johnkroman.bsky.social about why crime is falling in the United States and whether it will continue. Give it a listen! Apple - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a... Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/3zrk...

A Deep Dive into Why Crime is Falling with John Roman

Podcast Episode · The Jeff-alytics Podcast · July 22 · 37m

podcasts.apple.com

Chief of Baltimore’s wastewater division steps down following critical OIG report. tinyurl.com/yr29czrm Source describes the fired manager as a “scapegoat” for chronic issues facing the city’s sewage treatment plants.

Chief of Baltimore’s wastewater division steps down following critical OIG report | Baltimore Brew

Source describes the fired manager as a “scapegoat” for chronic issues facing the two sewage treatment plants.

tinyurl.com

would hogwarts hire a velociraptor? do you have to let a vampire inside your home - if he's your landlord? is a cop who fights crime as a werewolf by night technically a K9 unit who - deserves overtime? if they become partners, can they literally go anywhere and pull over whomever they want?

www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/a...

The Rediscovery of Country Original Gary Stewart

Gary Stewart spent a few years on top, but was largely forgotten after his tragic death in 2003. Now a new generation is rediscovering the onetime “king of honky-tonk.”

nytimes.com

We experienced one of the tournament’s biggest moments side by side. Joy and connection should not be scarce resources. Every New Yorker deserves to have their dignity affirmed.

The beautiful game. The people’s game. Throughout this World Cup, we have been reminded of a simple truth: football belongs to everyone. So does the joy and community it creates. Yesterday, I joined New Yorkers on Rikers Island to watch England take on Argentina.

"iCe-InVoLvEd sHoOtInG"

Garfield and Friends Screens@garfieldscreens.bsky.social · 3w ago

Traffic stops are a common site of police violence: In 2025, more than 100 police killings (13%) occurred at traffic stops.

"-involved shooting" was the kind of language news outlets "reckoned with" post-2020 then didn't actually and began using even more, according to data analysis by @steadynappin.bsky.social and I. A remarkable failing of the media that now extends to ICE coverage... www.huffpost.com/entry/police...

Major Media Outlets Can’t Stop Describing Police Violence As ‘Officer-Involved’ Incidents

Following the murder of George Floyd, The Associated Press issued guidance that reporters should not describe instances where police shot someone with neutral language. It didn't work.

huffpost.com

James Fallows@jfallows.bsky.social · 3w ago

Query for writers: Can you imagine yourself typing out the words "ICE-involved shooting" or "officer-involved shooting"? I think my fingers would actually block the nerve signals if they sensed that coming. "ICE shooting." "Police shooting." You can sort out the blame. But start with the truth.

GREG KELLY: Do you think we know the whole story about Lindsey Graham's death? TRUMP: Well, I *think* we do. We have great doctors and they talked about a certain part of his body literally blew up.

I don’t struggle with this at all. I get why a Secretary of State whose government is engaged in illegal murder of random boats would WANT us to struggle with this. But I don’t struggle w it at all. I HOPE for it.

Quinta Jurecic@qjurecic.bsky.social · 3w ago

No, this seems fine www.wsj.com/opinion/why-...

Finally got data for all 30 cities I've been tracking through June. Murder is down 20% in that sample of big cities.

GRAMSCI: what the fuck dude LOSURDO: seriously what the fuck

Scott Lemieux@lemieuxlgm.bsky.social · 4w ago

Rupert Murdoch's C-tier having a very normal one

Baltimore photographer and 29th Street Tavern bartender Marie Machin is raising money to save her folks’ home from foreclosure. Please help her out! gofund.me/54f0c68b6

Donate to Help Save Marie's Family Home from Foreclosure, organized by Marie Machin

My name is Marie Jane Machin and I am raising money to help save my parent… Marie Machin needs your support for Help Save Marie's Family Home from Foreclosure

gofund.me

NEW: None of the officers at the scene where a man was fatally shot by ICE in Houston were wearing body cameras, according to two DHS officials and a source familiar with the investigation.

ICE officers involved in fatal Houston shooting were not wearing bodycams

The lack of ICE officers wearing bodycams could hinder the DHS Inspector General’s review of the incident.

nbcnews.to

'Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Flesh-n-Bone and Wish Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony pose on their newly unveiled star during their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony'

"she asked for it"

Nausea-inducing stat from this marvelous book: the August 13, 1998, edition of the SF LGBTQ weekly Bay Area Reporter was the first without a reported AIDS death in 17 YEARS.

John Lingan@johnlingan.bsky.social · last mo.

Also this banger. Wishing everyone a queer as hell holiday.

let this be a lesson to deal with your feelings of gender anxiety and masculine inadequacy with a hobby or therapy or something and not a high stakes senate election

You don't close a supervised consumption site and eliminate drug use. You close a supervised consumption site and move the overdoses somewhere no one is watching. The drugs didn't disappear. The witnesses did. www.cbc.ca/news/investi...

Overdose calls to paramedics on the rise Ontario, CBC analysis shows | CBC Embedded-Only

Non-fatal opioid overdose calls are on the rise in four Ontario cities — nearly tripling in Hamilton in the first five months of 2026. Researchers and social workers suggest the toxic drug supply and ...

cbc.ca