"The best thing for being sad is to learn something. This is the only thing that never fails." I swear I'm going to memorize this quote (and possibly also reread The Once and Future King)

This man has clearly never read Susan Beth Pfeffer’s LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, which starts with the moon being knocked off course and then involves tsunamis, volcanos, black rain, and mass death.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 11h ago

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on rockets crashing into the moon: "It's not a big deal right now. The moon has clearly seen better days."

WE HAVE REAL CAMPS YOU CAN BE OUTRAGED ABOUT

Jonathan Howard@joho.bsky.social · 2d ago

These guys are freaking out over their own imaginations again.

We are seeing an increased ICE presence in NYC - making it imperative that NYers KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. I wrote a comic with @mayor.nyc.gov @nycimmigrants.bsky.social @davidhahn.bsky.social @elllewrightart.bsky.social @tayloresposito.bsky.social to do that! DOWNLOAD: www.weteachnyc.org/resources/co...

every single day I am baffled by the fact that this man - this incredibly, astoundingly embarrassing man - is the one half the damn country built a cult of personality around

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

Trump: “The Winning Shot in the Bedminster Club Championship! Thank you very much to all of those who participated. I won with a 70, & am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, bc I’m focused on many other things. It’s called TALENT, and I have it”

The NYC ICE Hotline remains a vital resource. Call or text 229-304-8720 ASAP if you see ICE in your neighborhood. (3/3)

I have now seen THE ODYSSEY as well as read Emily Wilson’s review, & to me the key question is: What crime did Christopher Nolan commit, that he keeps making the same movie about a man trying to get over his enormous guilt? 1/

Cheryl B. Klein@cherylklein.bsky.social · last wk.

I haven’t seen THE ODYSSEY yet but I think this point in Wilson’s essay is super interesting because it’s the same elision Nolan made in OPPENHEIMER — you see the horror of the bomb & the suffering of the perpetrator but never the actual (in that case, Japanese) people killed by it.

Thieves stole the bowls and hardware out of multiple water fountains in Prospect Patk, probably for the metal. Truly antisocial behavior, especially in hot weather.

I have now seen THE ODYSSEY as well as read Emily Wilson’s review, & to me the key question is: What crime did Christopher Nolan commit, that he keeps making the same movie about a man trying to get over his enormous guilt? 1/

Cheryl B. Klein@cherylklein.bsky.social · last wk.

I haven’t seen THE ODYSSEY yet but I think this point in Wilson’s essay is super interesting because it’s the same elision Nolan made in OPPENHEIMER — you see the horror of the bomb & the suffering of the perpetrator but never the actual (in that case, Japanese) people killed by it.

Wait, it’s August???????????? WHO APPROVED THIS, omg??????

Beyond this BS below, NPR said this morning that Trump made $2 BILLION while in office last year, & man, I hope that’s the centerpiece of every single Dem ad right now.” Vote R, you’re voting for more of that!” Simple, angry, direct!

NPR@npr.org · 5d ago

The president's media company is offering investors early access to his Truth Social feed for up to $100,000 a month. Experts say the service may violate insider trading laws. n.pr/4fHpgIF

Sad authorial news for me this week: One of the picture books I cowrote, THUNDER TRUCKS, is going out of stock, likely permanently. It's had a good almost seven-year run, helping many kids get over their fears of thunderstorms. Not too late to get a copy! www.cherylklein.com/picture-books

Hey! There are still some spaces left at Big Sur Children's Writer's Workshop (EAST COAST edition!) -- Come hang out with agents and editors and terrific writers and workshop and revise your book in a gorgeous and serene location on Cape Cod this Fall! www.bigsurchildrenswriters.com/home-cape-cod

When I was a preteen, my Baptist dad (who was also a science teacher) taught me that the basic human drives were the four Fs — “food, fight, flight, and sexual reproduction.” I said “That doesn’t start w S.” He gave me a Significant Look, and I got it.

I don’t want to be too sensationalist about this but also I’m the least violent person in the world and I think if someone said this to my face I’d hit them

Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele@drdragases.bsky.social · last wk.

No longer content with pillaging intellectual work and dismembering our environment (already critically weakened), AI companies are now hellbent on destroying books galore including rare editions. Shut down these nefarious enterprises already.

This is the exact right messaging. And it is, also critically, vastly different than the messaging of the opposition. It feels like you get an actual choice in the future you're voting for, not different flavors of the status quo.

Dr. Lucky Tran@luckytran.com · last wk.

"Helping working people to afford lives of joy” This is absolutely why Mamdani is succeeding in New York and is so beloved.

The Missouri Attorney General is threatening librarians with arrest over an LGBTQ+ story hour for kids, suggesting that a picture book about gay dinosaur dads is "pornography." The Secretary of State says he'll pull funding if the event happens, citing the state's new age verification law.

I’m so sad to hear this. ONCE and the Frames albums were the soundtrack to much of my late 20s, and he was such a talented & passionate guy, with so much music left to make.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · last wk.

Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter, dies aged 56 in motorcycle crash

As long as you identify yourself directly and personally with the cultural objects you like you will find critique intolerable, regardless of the quality of the critique or the object

Once more: Mamdani understands that you can't just do things in politics and expect voters will notice on their own and thank you for it. You've got to work just as hard selling yourself to voters once you're in office as you did selling yourself to them to get into office. This is the way.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · last wk.

Now serving: a new era for small business.

I haven’t seen THE ODYSSEY yet but I think this point in Wilson’s essay is super interesting because it’s the same elision Nolan made in OPPENHEIMER — you see the horror of the bomb & the suffering of the perpetrator but never the actual (in that case, Japanese) people killed by it.

G. Willow Wilson@gwillow.me · last wk.

This bit, however, should be printed in large font in every public square. "War is fine as long as you feel bad about it afterwards" is the rotten apple that is steadily corrupting the entire barrel of western culture (a term I hesitate to even use bc it is so unhelpfully vague).

Welp, right at the top of the CDC page on autism and vaccines: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” 🫨 [cdc.gov]

Autism and Vaccines

Answers to common questions about vaccine safety and autism.

cdc.gov

write the book you want to read because you will have to read it over and over and over when revising

Hey, romance readers! HEARTS ON THIN ICE is a PRH Exclusive Kindle Deal! Only $1.99 for lots of steam and hockey! #Romance @alcovepress.bsky.social

"Do the thing you can do instead of beating yourself up over not doing the thing you're not doing" is honestly life-changing, even life-saving, advice.

Leiracal@leiracal.bsky.social · 12mo ago

This concept was introduced to me as "run the dishwasher twice" and was an important part of my executive functioning recovery as well as my path to self-acceptance.

He laid down that boogie and played that funky music til he died...

This is kind of an incredible website: Why your stuff stopped lasting, who profited, and what's still built right.

Worse on Purpose

The brands you trusted quietly gutted quality to protect margins. Investigative essays on corporate enshittification. Free newsletter.

worseonpurpose.com

In the tradition of annoying morning-person parents everywhere, I woke the 6yo for a very early flight this morning by singing a loud song he hates.* * The Ultra Nate cover of “If You Could Read My Mind” — though to be fair, when I was a kid, I hated the droning Gordon Lightfoot original.

Mamdani's critics in one screenshot, lol

We rebooked our flight yesterday to avoid likely weather problems in NYC. Got to Raleigh today & our connecting flight to FL was canceled. Can’t fly out till tomorrow. Making lemonade by getting good BBQ. Please send good travel vibes for tomorrow morning.