Haunting explanation from a ESPN producer on why she quit over the network’s all-out embrace of sports betting: www.cjr.org/the-intervie...

First risograph workshop… at Rollins College, generously facilitated by Rachel Simmons & Book Arts Guild of Central FL

Well Chelsea are eager to return to league play. Ahem. 2-0 in under 5’. Let’s see how their endurance is.

Safe weathering panhandle neighbors. Not in the path this time, but on day 3 of rain and a few more to follow. Have seen several landscaping crews this week patiently waiting in their trucks for a break in the heavy showers.

National Weather Service@nws.noaa.gov · 2w ago

#Isaias 4pm CT update: A life-threatening storm surge is expected from the Mouth of the Mississippi River to Suwannee, Florida. Residents under evacuation orders should leave immediately and follow advice from local officials.

a fond farewell to @josephsciorra.bsky.social a friend and colleague who has left us too soon. grateful to have had the good fortune to work with you. you will be missed. resta in pace caro amico @calandrainstitute.bsky.social

Florida problems: when you come home after a long day of teaching & a dr. appointment and grab a bag of popcorn from the counter but don’t realize a lizard is on the underside so now you have a lizard in your hand. 🦎Too tired to even scream. cc: @stacyparkerlemelle.bsky.social

#USMNT playing Peru later this afternoon not far from where I am. It’s not 100 degrees today so hope the turnout is decent. But I’ve opted for listening to #ENG v #ESP at home while I attempt to workout. Pilates first half; treadmill 2nd.

Only took 2.5 hours to recover the poems (from 2 different backups) I’ve been working on for 5 or so years… very relaxing Saturday morning.

Higher ed is stressful now. But today my dean & I hosted with bare bones planning a drum circle for International Peace Day (which was yesterday but anyway). 34 people came including the campus drum ensemble & dance troupe. That is a big # for our commuter campus! People need space to be together.

A piece I knew was coming but wasn’t ready for @nhannahjones.bsky.social revisits her decade old piece now that her daughter is 16.

Mark Simpson-Vos@simpsonvos.bsky.social · last mo.

Reader, I sobbed at the end of this. Because ALL our children deserve better than the world we are bequeathing them.

My longread on the cult of Mussolini and Italy’s far right for anyone with the time and inclination of a Saturday morning. Last punt - it’s the first biggish piece I’ve had published from Italy.

Dani Garavelli@danigaravelli.bsky.social · last mo.

Predappio - the town where Mussolini was born & where his remains lie - is a grotesque neo_Fascist fever dream. I visited during his birthday commemorations & wrote on what its willingness to exploit his memory says about the country, and the rise of its far-right. In the latest @lrb.co.uk

“FEMA says it cannot change the rules for threatened properties unless Congress amends the laws that govern the National Flood Insurance Program. Such a bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2025, but it is stalled in the House of Representatives.”

People's houses are collapsing into the ocean. FEMA gives them no other option

Waterfront homes are collapsing along the coast. Homeowners generally have plenty of warning before their house buckles. So why aren't most houses removed, or at least emptied, before they fall?

npr.org

This school year I thought I’d learn how to nap. Reclaiming my Mediterranean heritage! About a month in & can’t say I’ve fully napped yet, but I’ve kept my wistful schedule of riposo at least 2x a week. —Napping pros what are your secrets?

Do other departments have recently reformulated learning outcomes that they feel good about? Asking for a friend.

Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · last mo.

BREAKING: Boston University's English department (my dept) recently voted to approve new learning outcomes for the English major, including an anti-AI provision that requires students to “craft and revise writing that is sustained, original, and generated without the assistance of AI."

So on first read, not terrible? Probably as many guardrails as we are going to get given larger environment. The proposed rule from today's meeting as it applies to state colleges in Florida: www.fldoe.org/file/20974/1...

Tampa Bay Times@tampabaytimes.bsky.social · last mo.

Florida Board of Education sets AI rules for school districts, public colleges

Emma Bonino never waited for the world to catch up. She went ahead and pulled it with her. That is how she will be remembered in Italy and in Brussels, where she served as a Member of @europarl.europa.eu and European Commissioner. The Europe she fought for will miss her

Roberta Metsola@president.europarl.europa.eu · last mo.

Emma Bonino non ha mai aspettato che il mondo fosse pronto. Ha sempre scelto di andare avanti, indicando la strada agli altri. È così che sarà ricordata in Italia e a Bruxelles, dove ha ricoperto il ruolo di deputata al Parlamento europeo e di Commissaria europea.

✨🕯️✨ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

Emma Bonino, radical Italian politician who stood up to Vatican, dies aged 78

Militant feminist led campaigns to legalise abortion and divorce and went on to become foreign minister

theguardian.com

Why I began to build in an early flex week in my Fall courses… there was a stretch about 6-8 years ago where it felt like every early Sept we had a weather-related campus closure.

Michael Lowry@michaelrlowry.bsky.social · last mo.

Only twice in the reliable records have we gone the entire week centered on the September 10th hurricane season peak with no tropical activity. This week marks only the 3rd time and the ongoing hurricane drought isn't about to be busted anytime soon. ⬇️

At least Antoine is helping me feel better about backing out of my weekend yard work goals.

John Muller@johnspacemuller.com · last mo.

The face of a man deeply regretting his decision to live in Florida

""What did he study? “Philosophy and theology. A teacher in high school said, there’s no money in that, and I said: ‘Sir, that’s disrespectful. That’s insulting, because not everybody’s about money.’" he's one of us!

‘I don’t chase the dollar. I never did’: the astonishing hidden life of Mr T

He grew up in the ghetto, became a global superstar – then gave it all up. Why did he step away from the spotlight?

theguardian.com

Since March I have been copied on multiple wedding planning emails for Jason & André in NYC. Not a scam just a simple typo from the professional wedding planners that persists and persists. Half tempted to crash the fête like a long lost old friend. 🥂

Think I’m going to listen in to this virtual event as a way to prepare myself to re-enter the term: www.americamagazine.org/community/20...

Live Zoom Panel: Analyzing the Impact and Reception of ‘Magnifica Humanitas’

Join America Media’s team of experts for an exclusive, subscriber-only event to examine the core issues, public response to and overall impact of Pope Leo’s first encyclical, ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ ne...

americamagazine.org

#Florida schools see an increase in homeless students www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/08/08/a... via @orlandosentinel.com

‘A tremendous need:’ Central Florida schools see a rise in homeless students

Five new, in-school resource centers are opening in Central Florida schools to help homeless children and other needy youngsters get food, toiletries and other supplies.

orlandosentinel.com

One of my first jobs was as a temp for BellSouth logging reports of payphones to be upgraded or removed based on ADA (Americans w/ Disabilities Act) compliance. I had to sit in a warehouse office near a glass-walled room where machines sorted all the coins from the payphones. It was very, very loud.

Stephanie Porras@periodeye.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This is a triggering image of a museum display in the natural history museum in DC about life before smartphones. Me and a fellow 40+ person were laughing at how we are now LITERAL MUSEUM PIECES. MY teen was like did you have a clear phone? An address book? A book of maps. Yes, yes I did. 🫠🫠🫠

The details of disaster preparedness. Quite the craftsmanship and industry knowledge described here. Thinking of everyone impacted by wildfires: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

These boots are the safest for US wildland firefighters. Fewer and fewer can afford them

The handcrafted leather boots are a century-old tradition – but with money tight, the cost of up to $800 is harder to justify

theguardian.com

Pioneering L.A. assemblage artist Betye Saar, who ‘liberated’ Aunt Jemima, dies days before her 100th birthday https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-07-27/betye-saar-dead-artist-assemblage-aunt-jemima-99?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_ 

Curious if anyone has alternative paper assignments they like for Philosophy sophomores? Moved my Humanities & Women’s Studies classes off major papers a few summers ago to projects & archive-based work. Am comfortable with lots of nontrad teaching but haven’t cracked a better final Philo project.

With all the production value, a trap door in the stage was overlooked.

Thank you Bluesky for providing some (mostly fun) World Cup community - and for all those who tolerate our sports sickness. See some of you for the Euros in ‘28. And now to grieve that summer really is on the clock.