Jack Whalen
@jackwhalen.bsky.social
Former many things, in many places. Fave thing: Philly cabbie. Or maybe Santa Barbara drummer. Or Eugene 9-1-1 dispatcher. Or really, ethnographer all over the place. Anyway, now full time grandparent. Proud dual-national 🇺🇸🇮🇪
The first episode of The Joy of Baseball is out now with @kentremendous.bsky.social. It turns out he also recently wrote a book!
The Joy of Baseball Podcast@joyofbaseball.bsky.social · 6d agoUpdate: We’re live on Apple Podcasts! 🔗 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
‘…everything we take for granted about our world is in fact radically contingent. Not only do life and human life not need to exist; it would be immensely more reasonable for them not to exist.’
The great silence: why haven’t we found any aliens yet?
The long read: Given the size and age of the universe, it should be full of species with technology far more advanced than our own. But so far there is no trace
theguardian.com
The left’s recent victories make clear what has worked: face-to-face campaigning, personal testimonials from supporters and an easy-to-embrace outsider message. The campaigns themselves say the secret is in the basics.
Inside the Left’s Playbook for Winning Elections
nytimes.com
Senator Tommy Tuberville called Dr. Abdul El-Sayed a “terrorist.” Representative Nancy Mace described “every single Muslim holding public office in America” as “a threat to both national security and our republic.” President Trump said that there were “jihadists being elected all over the place.”
With El-Sayed’s Victory Comes a Wave of Islamophobia (Gift Article)
As Muslim politicians like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan have become more prominent, they have experienced considerable bigotry. President Trump said Democrats were electing “jihadists.”
nytimes.com
Helsinki’s dreamy streetscapes - and the work of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen
Beguiled by the Dreamy Streetscapes of Helsinki (Gift Article)
A writer goes in search of the architect Eliel Saarinen, whose Art Nouveau-inspired designs helped shape early-1900s Finland as well as midcentury America.
nytimes.com
An absolute must read, especially for those at institutions proposing versions of ‘computational humanities’ or ‘tech humanities,’ which are often framed on industry terms rather than humanistic ones
Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app · last wk."But there is no honour for the humanities in regaining their standing through the attention of AI companies, if they engage only on the technology industry’s terms. In that case, they will have become important in exactly the wrong way." www.ft.com/content/bdb3...
June's events in Northern Ireland: Not 'protests' but violent attacks www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...
The night Belfast burned: how the Northern Ireland race riots unfolded
A stabbing in June sparked another summer’s night of racial violence, stoked by loyalist groups. How did the unrest erupt – and why do many fear it will happen again?
theguardian.com
‘Our need for color right now is real’ Stephanie Kesey said ‘And peace and love, exploration and kindness’
The ‘Furthur’ Bus’s Long, Strange Trip, and Why It’s Returning to San Francisco (Gift Article)
The psychedelic bus whose passengers hit the road and fueled ’60s counterculture is coming back out. And to its owners, America sure could use it.
nytimes.com
During the Gaza Genocide in 2024; Chris Bryant maintained that 'Israel had a right to defend itself'. Israeli 'defence' has always been the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, Lebanese & Syrians & the illegal annexation of their homes, land & resources. www.parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/chris-bry...
Chris Bryant extracts from Israel and Gaza (20th May 2024)
Chris Bryant contributions to the 20th May 2024 Israel and Gaza debate Mon 20th May 2024 - Commons - Israel and Gaza debate
parallelparliament.co.uk
Chris Bryant claimed 10 years ago that criticism of Israel is antisemitism. This man shouldn't be the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Over-zealous attacks on Israel are 'anti-semitism by proxy', Labour MP Chris Bryant says
The shadow leader of the House of Commons said Labour members should not question Israel's right to exist
independent.co.uk
You want me to wager money on baseball, the thing I have been watching for decades and am no closer to predicting? Are you cracked?
Where a Ring of Steel Once Stood, Belfast Unites in Song
Where a Ring of Steel Once Stood, Belfast Unites at the Fleadh Cheoil (Gift Article)
A weeklong celebration of Irish music and culture is bringing an expected 800,000 people to Northern Ireland’s capital. It’s a sign of how far the city has come decades after a bloody sectarian confli...
nytimes.com
Very much looking forward to reading this, both as an #EMCA researcher and as the father of a 3 year-old 🧒🍽️💦
Sally Wiggins Young@profsalwiggins.bsky.social · 2w agoUpcoming book on 'Researching children's mealtimes' due out in October and aimed at researchers across the social sciences interested in interactional analyses of children's eating in everyday settings. Perfect for #EMCA, DP, & language socialisation research. www.routledge.com/Researching-...
This should be really good! Wiggins has a talent for clear, sharp and entertaining writing, and is probably the world's authority on social interaction around meal times and other occasions when people eat together.
Sally Wiggins Young@profsalwiggins.bsky.social · 2w agoUpcoming book on 'Researching children's mealtimes' due out in October and aimed at researchers across the social sciences interested in interactional analyses of children's eating in everyday settings. Perfect for #EMCA, DP, & language socialisation research. www.routledge.com/Researching-...
For the first time in more than 70 years, women took the field in a professional baseball game. Dreams that generations fought for are finally becoming reality. Here’s to every girl who has ever been told, “Baseball isn’t for you.” Keep proving them wrong💪 #WomensSports #SheShed #ViVaHerAlliance
💢REPORT | Since the ceasefire was announced in Gaza last Oct., Israeli forces have killed 1,250 Palestinians, including 270 children, 134 women, & 38 elderly people, & wounded 4,110, including 1,147 children, 700 women, & 175 elderly people. The report shared by the Palestinian side w/ mediators...
Here is her statement in full: My name is Lucinda, This is my response to your questions regarding my experience or knowledge of my ex husband, David Brouillette. /
‘the administration’s use of the law has often been less about protecting federal agents than about providing legal cover to cow protesters and immigrants into submission’
They Were Charged With Assaulting ICE Agents. The Cases Are Crumbling. (Gift Article)
The Trump administration has lost or abandoned hundreds of criminal cases against protesters and immigrants, a Times investigation found.
nytimes.com
NEW: A second ex-wife of David Brouillette, the ICE agent who killed Joan Durán Guerrero in Maine, Lucinda Brouillette, issued a statement this morning. "If you were to ask me whether I believe David Brouillette is capable of this level of extreme violence, my answer is unequivocally yes." /
"Throughout the years, I brought my concerns to law enforcement, the courts, and the Department of Health and Human Services. I tried to explain what I believed was a long-standing pattern of abuse, intimidation, manipulation, and controlling behavior" /
of course, this is assuming we will even have meaningful/free mid-elections this November
The Many Ways Trump Is Trying to Tip the Scales for the Midterms (Gift Article)
Here’s how President Trump is using the powers of his office to try to reshape the rules governing the midterms and future elections.
nytimes.com
5 year-old Somali-American girls in Minnesota are the latest target of Trump’s campaign of hate against immigrants
Trump’s Posts on Singing Somali Schoolchildren Stir Anger in Minnesota (Gift Article)
The state’s large Muslim and Somali communities expressed indignation after the president reposted a video of a kindergarten promotion ceremony, including comments noting the girls were in hijabs.
nytimes.com
Wait… ‘Godless communism’? I heard these words, this accusation, so often, a long time ago - so is it 1961, and am I 12 years old again?
Trump attacks Democrats as ‘godless communists’ in test of midterms message
President seizes on wins by Mamdani-backed candidates to warn darkly of threat to ‘traditional American way of life’
theguardian.com
The results also shook the foundations of the Democratic Party far beyond the five boroughs. The outcome will also force a Democratic Party, already searching for its identity, to reckon with its ascendant, unapologetic left.
Election Live Updates: Mamdani Allies Sweep House Primaries in Big Night for Left-Wing Democrats
nytimes.com
“The hypocrisy is almost unreal,” Gostin said. “The whole raison d’etre of Secretary Kennedy’s tenure has been based upon medical freedom, ‘the patient gets to choose’, and yet here they’re issuing immediately a compulsory deprivation of liberty.”
‘It’s not science, it’s coercion’: health experts decry RFK Jr order on hantavirus quarantine
Kennedy overrides CDC order saying an American who came into contact with hantavirus can self-quarantine
theguardian.com