iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

My grandparents got me to sample their Grape Nuts one memorable morning during a visit to their house... it was horrid. As for disdained children's cereal, I never much cared for the strange textures of Honeycomb (styrofoam-like) or original formula Cocoa Puffs (gritty, cardboardy).

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

First Dolly, now Tim Curry. Death keeps taking the wrong 80-year-old.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Delightedly surprised by The End of Oak Street, the first 70-odd mins really crackle with great story choices and character beats, though the last 30 sagged for me. Dinos a mixed bag, some v accurately portrayed (I presume), others ludicrous. Can't wait to hear @chasmosaurs.bsky.social's thoughts!

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

8am Tuesday morning. "Me time"

A debonair black and white mixed breed hound dog, lying on his stomach on a short nap rug, a comical stuffed chicken toy cuddled in his forelegs.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Which leaves Farage with only one opponent with a national profile…perennial joke candidate Lord Binface, who is only too eager to step up to the challenge. Farage may get the coverage he craves, but it may not boost his stature quite like he thought it would.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Farage is a long-time troublemaker who helped push Brexit over the line. Nevertheless his party is leading in opinion polls, and he could conceivably become PM after the next general election.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

"Some of us are critically endangered, but things could be worse, I guess."

A children's sticker book titled "Realistic Whales Stickers"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Quote with a fictional band that is not Spinal Tap

Album cover featuring the nihilist band from "The Big Lebowski"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Once again 'tis the season for my annual endorsement of prosciutto on buttered matzo. (I won't eat chametz during Pesach but also don't keep kosher.) Set against the crisp texture of a flavorful matzo brand (such as well-charred Yehuda) the salty unctuousness of the charcuterie is a revelation.

Four rectangular pieces of matzo unleavened bread, each draped with intensely pink tissue-thin slices of prosciutto, the air-cured Italian ham. Understandably difficult for observant Jews to embrace, as it combines forbidden pork with the religiously symbolic cracker bread, but I'm telling you people, the taste is out of this world!

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Coincidentally, as of one week ago...

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Es Con Field Hokkaido, home to the Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional baseball. Opened in 2023, this retractable roof stadium can hold 35,000 spectators.

The angular interior of a baseball stadium with a peaked roof of dark metal struts and trusses suspended high above the playing surface, and a huge wall of glass beyond the outfield. Photo credit unknown, sorry.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Medieval prince Elizabethan courtier Regency butler WWI soldier

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

1) A pointed reminder that prior to the founding of the Jelly Belly brand all jellybeans were utter ass. 2) This not too dissimilar product was available at my local grocery last year or the year before, and was also a nightmare in confectionery.

A package of (allegedly) turkey dinner flavored candy corn.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Chicken McNuggets! Fan from the very beginning when they were test marketed in '80 or '81 in some regions (including my home state) as "Chicken 'n Chips"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Probably the most famous alum of Shady Side Academy (also in Pittsburgh for those unfamiliar) USED to be the great historian David McCullough, though we could also claim a Secretary of Agriculture, an astronaut, and one of the Talking Heads. Unfortunately, now it's this villain of the Trump era...

Lickspittle journalist Bari Weiss, who as the new head of CBS News is hard at work turning it into a Trump-friendly propaganda outfit.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I can't buy it - too slyly satirical. In Boston a similar ad offering $50 to see "Melania" turned out to be the work of merry pranksters. But I'm not saying the MAGA crew aren't above this kind of mischief. Below from the Guardian, about obvious vote-rigging in Rotten Tomatoes reviews of the film:

Snippet of a newspaper article explaining that the breathless encomiums awarded to the Melania movie on the Rotten Tomatoes website all seem to originate just from buyers of tickets via Fandango, none of whom appear to have reviewed any other movies before.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

"Dreamweaver" reminds me that we have yet to see an appearance at the Midnight Society of the horror writer's horror writer...

Horror superstar Garth Marenghi, author of CRAB!!, Beyond the Valley of the Screams, and Night of the Haddock, among many spine tinglers

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

It was delicious while it lasted!

Native American food from Conflict Kitchen 2016-17

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Whichever nation was featured - they cycled through Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, Palestine, and finally Iroquois - the food was never less than delicious. And the food packaging featured interesting information about the history of relations with the US, diaspora community, etc.

Graphic showing storefront designs for some of the different iterations of Conflict Kitchen - North Korean, Venezuelan, Afghan, and Cuban.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Pittsburgh's Conflict Kitchen 2010-2017 was the brainchild of a CMU professor - a takeout spot serving the native cuisine of one of several countries the US was in conflict with. The menu changed about every 18 months and was always designed with the help of nationals of the different countries.

First iteration of Conflict Kitchen serving Iranian (Persian) cusine.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

It's probably Stephen Miller. I always thought he left his fandom behind some years ago - it's hard to square the cosmopolitan utopian futurism of Gene Roddenberry with white nationalist immigration policies - but perhaps not.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

I reposted your great Cheney/Vader cartoon from 20 odd years ago (which I had saved in my Brilliant Cartoons file) and it is doing numbers, as the kids say.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

To mark the passing of former shadow US President Dick #Cheney today, this banger from @mluckovich.bsky.social of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

An editorial cartoon divided into two panels. On the left, a couple watching tv news; the wife asks out loud "Dick Cheney's been compared to Darth Vader. I wonder how he feels about that..." On the right stands Darth Vader, dark lord of the Sith. "I'm hurt" he replies.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Never fear, the French have put their finest man on the case—

Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

If Joe #Flacco sticks with the #Bengals the rest of the way he could conceivably start v. the #Browns in Week 18... the team he led against Cincy in Week 1! Has this kind of volte-face ever happened before within a single #NFL season? Surely not. #football

Action shot of QB Joe Flacco, dressed in the home uniform of the Cleveland Browns, his former team, about to uncork a throw in last month's opener against his current team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

If America's present trajectory is roughly analogous to the decline of the Roman Empire (it's sure tempting to see it that way) is social media/AI slop our equivalent of their lead pipes, brain poisoning everybody and weakening the ruling class?

A man costumed as a Roman centurion stares at a smartphone in his hand. A structure partially seen in the background may or may not be the ruins of the Colosseum in Rome.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

The local food pantry endorses cannibalism.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

The Guardian cuts to the heart of the matter with its hard-hitting reporting.

A selection from the Guardian's American news liveblog:

One neighbor who lives across the street from the Robinsons, declined to be named. He said he’s “blind to the world”, and only learned about Robinson’s arrest when he saw reporters and law enforcement in the street this morning.

He was agnostic about the massive media presence on his street. “Mother nature is mother nature, whatever she calls to do, let’s do it,” he said.

And was similarly accepting when asked about Robinson, the subject of a massive 48-hour search, living just across the street.

“If it’s close to home, if it’s 50 miles from me, it’s the same damn thing,” he said. “Shit happens and that’s what it is.”

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Opthamologist voice: "Now look at this and tell me, better? Or worse?

Infamous pic taken by Atlantic editor Dante Ramos of a young woman sitting in the seat in front of him on an airplane. Her long ponytail hangs over the back of her seat and into his space, even blocking his view of the seatback video screen.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Visiting Cape Cod today the idea for the perfect name of a local cannabis dispensary struck me like a bolt from the blue: THE LOBSTER POT

Charming topiary sign at the end of the Bourne Bridge, welcoming visitors to "Cape Cod"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

It's Anthrocon weekend in Pittsburgh, North America's largest gathering of fursuit devotees (and for all I know, the world's). It's really nice that the city is so welcoming to this offbeat subculture! Yet one thing troubles me... 1/x

A group of 5 or 6 people in fursuits prowl (in the nicest sense of that word) a sunlit street in downtown Pittsburgh.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Some of these limited edition chip flavors (or flavours for our Canadian friends) are Lovecraftian abominations not meant for consumption by mortal man. BUT the Chicken Tikka Masala Kettle Chips from a few years ago were a spicy, tomato-y revelation and I miss them still.

An orange bag of limited edition Lay's Kettled Cooked Indian Tikka Masala chips. Delicious!

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

"Guggenheim Partners draw a lot of water in this town, Homan. You don't draw shit."

The Malibu police captain from "The Big Lebowski"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Now that #TomCruise is finished with the #Mission:Impossible franchise, what I really need now is him starring alongside Robert DeNiro, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bill Murray in a remake of "Cocoon".

A still from 1985's classic "Cocoon", only with four different actor's heads swapped in for those of the original cast.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

"If you have a problem, and no one else can help, and if you can find them..."

Four food mascots matched with their obvious A-Team counterparts. Colonel Sanders is the team's military strategist, the obvious equivalent of Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith. Charming, dapper Mr. Peanut is the squad's "Faceman". Both Kool-Aid Man and B.A. Baracus are adept at smashing things down, and have memorable catchphrases. And who esle but the Noid could be the team's loopy wildcard, a la "Howling Mad" Murdock.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

I suspect it's primarily to accommodate the support structure for the mount, but it also feels like an old carney dodge designed to impress the rubes. Look at how high up this actually rather petite sauropod nicknamed Gnatalie is placed in this display in Los Angeles, for example:

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Saw Ryam Coogler's #Sinners tonight - it was a hoot! A cinematic love letter to music and vampire flicks. Coogler must have gone into the executive suites and pitched it as "From Dusk 'til Dawn" meets "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

A remake of the live-action Super Mario Brothers movie starring these guys can't come quickly enough, in my opinion. #Mario #MarioBros #Luigi #nintendo #PedroPascal #DiegoLuna #film

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

OH YEAH, MAC SABBATH -- the World's Greatest Fast Food Themed Black Sabbath Parody Band!!!!!!

Four costumed performers resembling a mashup of McDonaldLand characters with heavy metal rock icons.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

A reliable measure of time spent at the roller rink is PTL/V - Playings of "Tainted Love" during visit.

A crowd, bathed in purple neon light, is gathered at the edge of the skating floor at Roller World roller rink in Saugus, Massachusetts.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

They're forcing transition on Columbia

The allegorical goddess Columbia, in a white dress and holding a torch aloft.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

How nice a guy is Ken Casey of the @dropkickmurphys.com?! I watched him give an interview to a local college journalist on the sidelines of today's #handsoff protest in Boston... then come back and do it all over again after she discovered she hadn't captured the audio the first time. What a mensch!

Surrounded by a sea of hands, vocalist Ken Casey stands singing into a wireless microphone.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

One of my signs for the April 5th protest:

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

It strikes me that the most consequential difference between Trump 1 and Trump 2.0 is the force multiplier effect of swapping out the alliance with a deranged millionaire soft furnishings magnate for the alliance with a deranged billionaire industrialist.

Two similar photos, one stacked atop the other, show Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy, above, and Elon Musk (who by now needs no introduction) below. Both are speaking at podiums bearing the Presidential seal, and each is making a gesture with an outstretched right arm... Lindell a defiant fist, Musk an open-palmed fascist salute.

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Adam J.B. Lane @ajbl.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Picked up the new Mike Mignola just Friday, delightful visiting the Picnic as always.

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