Storm Mesa

Kudlow looks like he's dying inside.

Music added

I think it’s very hard for most people to understand just how rich a billionaire is. And then add about three orders of magnitude to that. Musk is worth more than whole countries, entire U.S. states. The interest on his net worth would be roughly the size of the NIH budget.

If you would like to vote early in person in California, today you can start doing that! Go vote! This is a totally a PSA and not me trying to reclaim the Most Early Voters By District crown from District 77 (I’m coming for you, 77, just you wait)

Big respect to the person on high quality drugs in the distant past who decided to call maidenhair spleenwort 'maidenhair spleenwort'.

I really enjoy the Netflix animated show HAUNTED HOTEL and love talking to its creator, Matt Roller, about the show's fandom (it's intense!), when we might see season three (hopefully soon!), and why Candlehead is the show's best character (candles!) www.thebulwark.com/p/book-a-roo...

this goes incredible places and I love everyone involved

We found that the most gendered experience wasn’t work-life balance, the focus of most retention efforts. It was feeling devalued, in formal evaluations, but particularly in everyday interactions. Unlike every other topic, the gender gap in devaluation was larger among more senior faculty.

THIS IS FANTASTIC so great to see such craftsmanship in the age of AI this is how we fight back, with pure handmade special effects www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VUs...

In my new FREE TO ALL Reading Project post for Screamtober, I cover Daniel Kraus's surprise Pulitzer Prize-winning war-horror novel ANGEL DOWN, and Michael Cisco's academic/corporate/metaphysical horror novel BLACK BRANE. billryan64.substack.com/p/a-catastro...

On the firing squad execution that Trump/Hegseth are setting up: "Senior officials should protest, and if necessary resign, rather than being complicit in the voyeuristic degradation of our democracy."👇

Divers free a whale shark from rope that enwrapped it for years: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/interestin...

Host: What do you know about Jason and Friday the 13th? Very young kid who plays Jason: I’ve loved Jason ever since I was a kid. Audience: *hips break*

“Marathon Man” turns 50 today. 🎂 It’s true: Hoffman really did stay up all night to look "out-of-it during the dental scenes," director John Schlesinger said. It didn't work. "I had to completely reshoot.. That’s when Olivier said to me 'Why doesn’t he just try acting?'"

Do we really need to explain to people that it is really, REALLY important to read to young children? Like, you, personally, need to read to your child - your voice, your face, your hand gestures, your lap, your arms, your closeness. What kind of parent doesn't know this in their bones?

Today, I resigned as Vice Chair of the ODP Pride Caucus. The state party expects us to be a sales team, censoring our voices when we beg candidates not to trade on trans lives. I am still a Democrat, but I will not value party approval over true, defiant advocacy. Full text below. 👇

"Opera doesn't make money. Opera’s what you spend money *on*.” “But . . what do you get out of it?” “You get opera. You put money in, you see, and opera comes out,” said Salzella wearily. --Terry Pratchett, 'Maskerade'

Oh my heart is so full reading about this. The US Colored Troops were huge in the story of emancipation and in the human dignity of enslaved Black people. For the first time they had weapons and uniforms, just like white men.

> an increase in thin papers of narrow scope, as well as ‘salami’ papers, where a single work is broken up and submitted as a set of smaller papers. There is also a marked increase in dense, AI-written papers. AI tools are making it easy for authors to flood arXiv [and others with] low-value papers.

Shot, chaser.

Have you ever found yourself wondering "Gee, what would it be like if Rosalind Russell played Archie Goodwin?" Well, buster, have I got a book series for you!

"And here is Deshaun Watson who is playing well but also credibly accused of sexually assaulting at least 26 women. If you're watching with your kids, here is an opportunity to have a conversation about consent and bodily autonomy. Now let's see if they can convert this 3rd down"

I keep seeing this Semafor graph that seems to show the Trump administration’s effect on international visits is comparable to the pandemic. My first thought was “that can’t be true” and indeed it is not. This is monthly data. We only have to Jun/Aug 2026. The lines are over-fitted to the months.

BTW, new (silly) page up over at The Unfamiliars. theunfamiliars.site/comic/85/

Feel like I need to watch both of these now.

It's a good day to google "Foxconn," "Wisconsin," "Trump," "2018," "13,000 jobs" and "didn't happen, didn't even come close"

This gorgeous little blue guy is West Texas Grass Sage, Salvia reptans. It forms an airy clump for much of the year, then flowers into this.

MINA, NO

At what point do these corporations get charged with felonious activity? Humans certainly aren't allowed to mess with government websites or else the FBI would be knocking on their door. We all saw Wargames.

Does my Speak-n-Spell feel pain when I type O-U-C-H? The jury is out. Philosophers and neuroscientists say that's fucking stupid, but I called a guy from the Center for Pretending that Household Electronics Are Sentient and he said there's no way to know for sure.

I think V FOR VENDETTA is much more relevant now than it was during the War on Terror years for reasons I got into with director James McTeigue on this week's Bulwark Goes to Hollywood. Interesting movie to look at 20 years later! www.thebulwark.com/p/how-v-for-...

I know everything feels overwhelming right now, but that's because we're all overwhelmed. I should probably put something happy here so, I dunno, we've all gotten really good at sadly poking things with sticks, I guess? Go clean something easy and very small. You'll feel better.

Potash humor. @cnn.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2026/09/23/e...

A flatteringly comprehensive portrait of our show. They consulted experts! www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

Bingo