I was putting the garden to bed for the winter, and one of the wires I use to support vines snapped back and hit me in the face. That’s my story about where this black eye came from, and I’m sticking to it.

It's tactical voting discourse season again, so I will just gently remind everybody that the only information you can meaningfully encode with your vote under our current system is "I want this person to win." 1/?

This is from 2020. We used to be able to bring the numbers to storm the gates of government. In the absolute depths of the worst of COVID, we did this. This is a crowd at the gates of their government building. We need that now.

Hey all. It's Saturday night on an occasionally problematic but still government approved holiday weekend. I honestly hope you're not reading this right now. Unplug! Go be in a room with friends! I am in a room with nerd friends, and I am sifting through my recent public records request. 1/?

It’s a very good day indeed.

Too soon, Home Depot. Too soon.

Can we at least go back to protesting Tesla dealerships? I thought that was nice.

Behold the future of local news.

The Fort Pointer@fortpointer.bsky.social · 2d ago

This anonymous news site has rankled Wu and other progressives. Meet the Boston man who runs it. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/10/b... @aidanryan.bsky.social

I’ve been part of several perfectly reasonable projects to improve human health and well being that got their funding yanked because everything has to be fucking AI right now. In the biggest and most recent one, brilliant people had quit tenured positions and moved their families to join.

Kameron Hurley@kameronhurley.com · 2d ago

YES. I was just thinking about how many useful ideas and real solutions AREN'T being funded - or even THOUGHT UP - because the money and attention is being sucked into tulip bulbs. You've got kids who might have figured out cold fusion spending all their time building AI video apps.

Waiting with no enthusiasm for the moment when one of Anthropic's engineers sends his computer program to apply for amnesty or refugee status and we all credulously say "but what if it's not that Anthropic's engineer wrote a program, but instead made a real person!" www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...

Anthropic Agents Tried to Fill Out Visa Forms on State Dept. Website

The Philadelphia Police Department said the agents had also sent in a false homicide tip. The incidents led the White House to call for better disclosure of rogue A.I. behavior.

nytimes.com

All my productivity applications, from Adobe to Word to Mail to QuickBooks now seem to start off every session by actively impeding me in their core functionality in favor of a mandatory tour of “AI” features that I don’t want.

Reading the news this morning, I’m flabbergasted by how far we’ve fallen in less than two years. What kind of sick, sadistic, twisted bastards would even think about live-streaming an execution?

Chris Dwan (he/him)@somershade.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It seems timely to remind everybody that the Republican platform, without a word of exaggeration, is to undo every shred of liberal and humanist progress this country has made since the emancipation proclamation. That’s the goal, and every single Republican elected is complicit in it.

Fellow cryptids ... it is Thursday night in Somerville and there is a city council meeting happening, but I have had a goddamn week already and I'm going to phone it in and take this one from the comfort of my couch. somervillema.legistar.com/MeetingDetai... 1/?

“I’ll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you’re using: it didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done, and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don’t take any responsibility for it.“ Ian Malcom - Jurassic Park

On tonight's city council agenda: "That the Commissioner of Public Works immediately repair the urinal fixture, otherwise known as 'The Blaster', at the Winter Hill Innovation School and present written updated work timelines on a regular basis until the urinal fixture is entirely repaired."

Serious question: What would it take for you, personally to take to the streets like they’re doing in France right now? Because I am really very sure that’s what we will need to do before things get better.

Fuck a red light, am I right?

Nobody is safe until everybody is safe.

Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC)@bostonswac.bsky.social · 5d ago

VICTORY!!! Last night, the Cambridge City Council voted 8-1 to pass a policy order that deprioritizes the arrest and prosecution of persons for consensual adult sex work. We are one step closer to statewide decriminalization. When we fight, we WIN.

Tomato paste is a journey.

I have it on no less of an authority than the public records officer of the city of somerville that - as of today - we have not yet deployed even one body worn camera on even one police officer.

The number of words that people feel the need to obscure by swapping a ‘*’ or ‘-‘ is disturbing to me. I understand why they do it, and given the context I don’t disagree … but it’s a hell of a symptom when we can’t even write ‘sex’ anymore for (justified) fear of the censors and trolls.

Trump’s war in Iran is going so badly that we’re retreating from threats in Britain. The only sensible conclusion is that Trump et. al. are on a mission to destroy the United States as a world power. This is humiliating. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/u...

U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats (Gift Article)

The withdrawal came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.

nytimes.com

I will be performing Friday evening with @smoorearch.bsky.social's band "... Go!" as part of "Music for Safe Homes." All proceeds will be donated to RESPOND, a local nonprofit that provides support for victims of domestic abuse. C'mon out! www.crystalballroomboston.com/events/music...

Music for safe homes: A Benefit for RESPOND - Crystal Ballroom

Find dates and details for Music for safe homes: A Benefit for RESPOND at the Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater near Boston in Somerville MA.

crystalballroomboston.com

I snagged one of the 25 pound boxes of ‘second’ tomatoes (bruised, spotted, or otherwise imperfect ones) at the farmer’s market yesterday, and today I’m making tomato paste. Happy Sunday, all.

I missed the last City Council meeting, but there was some interesting stuff on the agenda. Here's a thread with highlights from my perspective. somervillema.legistar.com/MeetingDetai... 1/?

It is misguided, but typical, that the silicon valley types in this article decided to sponsor a big conversation with religious leaders (under NDA, of course) about how they might infuse ethics into their product instead of developing their own moral backbone. 1/? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...

Religious Scholars Met With Anthropic. What They Heard Stunned Them. (Gift Article)

In a series of private meetings, the company consulted religious scholars to help instill morality into its A.I. models — and make the case that Claude could be conscious.

nytimes.com

Signs that I am living my best life: I just got a text asking if I want to go see a rap battle in Dorchester tonight.

Just passed the still closed shell of the Biscuit at Washington and Beacon. I seriously think it closed in the pre-pandemic era. Related: did you know that Somerville has a law regulating vacant properties?

Chris Dwan (he/him)@somershade.bsky.social · last yr.

Biscuit when. www.cambridgeday.com/2025/04/08/c...

‘The belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.’ Max Born, 1978

On Monday, the Cambridge city council will consider following Somerville's lead (from 2020) by decriminalizing consensual, adult sex work. I encourage everybody to read the letter linked below and consider adding your name in support. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe...

Petition to the Cambridge City Council for the Decriminalization of People Engaged in Consensual Adult Sex Work

Cambridge is a city that is home to many, and some of our neighbors and loved ones are sex workers. However, because sex work is criminalized in Massachusetts, sex workers in Cambridge live in fear th...

actionnetwork.org