Hal O’Brien

It’s that time of year, Opus.

You’ve been Rick Rolled… but in a good way.

Thou sayest the King grows mad, I’ll tell thee, friend, I am almost mad myself.

As a history major, let me point out (again) that whenever law does not hold elites to account, it inevitably invites a form of "lawless" accountability from below, running the gamut from assassination to revolution. Choices. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Pompeii is a UNESCO world heritage site not because it was remarkable in its prime, but because it survived to our era untouched: one moment, preserved for all time. But future generations won't know what OUR world was like unless we do the same. This is why we MUST bury Toronto with a volcano

The more you insist that cars equal “freedom,” the more likely it is that you live in car dependency, which is the opposite of freedom.

As someone with 5, and perhaps 6, of their 8 great-grandparents coming from Canada, I’ve long joked that I’m “ethnically Canadian.” I approve this message.

The Nepal-Tibet Floods. Terrible as they are (and my heart goes out to the victims), they are but Scenes of Coming Attractions of the future Mt. Rainier lahars. (When, not if.)

Oh, good god. Maybe he is a Russian asset, after all.

So. This is idiotic, uninformed, and wasteful. It will take the Ford out of service for years and delay the rest of the class. Or, as we say here in the Trump years -- Thursday.

Or, you know, #115, “Courtyards Which Live,” from A PATTERN LANGUAGE. Although Alexander is looking at aesthetics, while this guy is selling energy savings, and how to get your Zoning Board to approve. Enh. Let a thousand flowers bloom. youtu.be/mLY4loOceZ0

When will my husband return from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

shout out to The Strand bookstore staffer who did this

And you think *you’ve* got problems.

Pulled up from comments: I’m really curious what Homer’s original melodies were for the ODYSSEY and the ILIAD. All the old epics, of any tradition, were probably sung. What were those melodies? Icelandic Eddas. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Song of Gilgamesh (kinda gives it away, eh?).

@lizcopeland.bsky.social psst! If memory serves, nudge Jeff a Happy Birthday! (And is @jeffcope.bsky.social him? Just a staked claim?)

I do keep wondering which league Unreal Madrid are in. Unreal Tournament, perhaps?

All these are true: 1. FIFA is awful and corrupt. 2. The #WorldCup is a fantastic event despite #FIFA. 3. Co-hosting in Canada isn’t worth the outrageous costs/conditions FIFA demands, especially with few physical legacies. 4. Vancouver has done a fantastic job leveraging outcomes for the city.

The existence of Disney+ implies that Hulu is Disney-

I hear it’s your birthday, @johncusack.bsky.social ! Congratulations! (It’s also mine, but I’ll share.)

EXACTLY what everyone wants to hear right now thenextweb.com/news/carney-...

If you’re a vet (such as, say, @pecunium.bsky.social ), this sounds like an interesting resource. youtu.be/obnvZ-aioQQ

New U.S. customs prescreening protocols being carried out before Amtrak departures from Vancouver, BC are allowing trains to skip an extra stop at the border, cutting trip times by at least 10 minutes. Larger time savings may be achievable soon. Story: www.theurbanist.org/amtrak-casca...

people who think basketball is full of floppers have never seen the tragedy of soccer players felled by sniper fire

So Trump blew up Obama's deal with Iran, launched a new war, depleted our arsenal, cost us tens of billions, exposed the US as weaker to the world, and ended up just going back to a version of Obama's deal but worse? Do I have that right?

Time to bring this up. I always lose it when he gets to Robben Island, and then when he goes home. youtu.be/Pwe-pA6TaZk

They just took out dedicated bike lanes in the nearest major city to me, against the wishes of the businesses, in the name of "restoring retail traffic." Even though the businesses TOLD the city council sales were better with the bike lanes.

Following the unveiling of an oversized golden statue of Donald Trump, MAGA preachers ordered to skip over books of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Galatians, Corinthians, Isaiah, and John.

This almost reads like an Onion headline: “Man Refutes Letter He Has Too Much Power in the Media by Blackballing All Signed It.” www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

“The thing about living in a small town of 60 is you can never make any trouble. Your parents will hear about it before you get home.” Patrick, my driver today

just going for a casual walk on the water (Patty Ornelas on tiktok)

Whoever called the faction of the press who still want to attend the White House Correspondents Dinner the ‘Access of Evil’ I salute you

My .EPUB reader doesn’t handle highlighting/copying when italics are in just the right place so… here, have this: (Ada Palmer, INVENTING THE RENAISSANCE)

I've seen a lot of references online to a "J. Edgar Boozer" and although I'm not saying anyone in particular deserves that appellation, I do think it would be the perfect name for someone serving as head of the Federal Bureau of Intoxication, if there were such a thing, which I'm not saying there is