iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

am coming off THREE weekends of attending weddings, almost back-to-back... joyful but also exhausting. The costuming! The makeup! Feel like I am in a national Broadway tour of Ali Attending Weddings. We need an Actors Equity Association for this

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 23h

Oh I can’t wait to read this and learn some Happy Birthday song lore 👀🎶🎂

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Glad that someone is looking into this Happy October 🎃 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Excerpt from an article investigating whether more deaths occur on Friday the 13th

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Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

There is a lot of "oh dear" to go around in the results of this very thorough Pew study on the issues with synthetic samples, but this strikes me as particularly "oh dear" www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/20...

AI polling results can lean on racial or partisan stereotypes

In many cases, our AI poll took beliefs or attitudes that are reasonably common among a particular subgroup and portrayed them as nearly ubiquitous. For example, our AI poll would indicate that:

97% of Hispanic adults are at least somewhat likely to follow the World Cup (while the actual share is 43%).

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

do any of you have a million dollar grant you can give me

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

new wedding hazard just dropped - www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hadn’t thought about Corner Bakery in DC in ages until the ProPublica story came out today! Generally concur with the other replies on this thread lol It’s like a less-cheery Panera and doesn't have even a whiff of intrigue … wild to see it come up in a DC bribe drama

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Amber Sparks @ambersparks.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I haven’t talked about this very much because honestly I’m just too devastated, but Trump really did just take my city’s beloved arts center and trash it because fascists hate art and I’ll never be over it, for my community and for all the artists and all the Kennedy Center employees

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fall is here… 🎶🍁😈 and so are my allergies time to re-up this autumn song parody PSA I made last year while furloughed and stir-crazy lol/sob youtu.be/puQdTbiXVlc

youtu.be

Autumn Leaves - Parody - Fall Lament - Jazz

YouTube video by Ali Ruth music

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ACARS Drama @acarsdrama.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Air to Ground Message: HAHA NO WORRIES AT ALL Area: Tampa, FL, USA Type: Boeing 737-900 A: #ae488233dcb F: #fffdba62201

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Anna Sproul-Latimer @annasplat.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This requiem for The Kennedy Center I wrote in Feb is perhaps my "favorite" thing I've ever written in the sense that I have to keep coming back to it for self-soothing at every step in this humiliating march toward completely optional national suicide :) neonliterary.substack.com/p/come-sit-w...

neonliterary.substack.com

Come sit with me in the empty theater

A note on ambition as the old world breaks.

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission @cpsc.gov · 10/09/2026

Always lay your baby down to sleep on their back in a product designed for safe sleep.

A baby sitting in a catapult in a suburban backyard. The baby seems surprised to be there. The text reads: Is this a safe sleep environment for your baby? No! This is a catapult! Put your baby to sleep flat on their back in a crib, bassinet, play yard, bedside sleeper or other product designed for safe sleep. If your baby falls asleep in a car seat or other product not designed for sleep, move them to a safe sleep space.

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Years ago I ended up getting my first covid vax at the local health department bc I sometimes faint after injections (vasovagal syncope etc etc) and - unlike CVS - the health department was equipped with cots for lying down afterwards

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

unexpectedly moved by this placemat at a NJ diner I, too, strive for perfection but make unintentional mistakes from time to time

Diner placemat with text: “while we strive for perfection, the best we can do is come as close as possible. Unintentional mistakes do occur from time to time” and has more positive thinking text

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Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

ICYMI yesterday, a quick guide to sorting through the deluge of midterm polling to find data that can actually tell you something:

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Erik Hane @erikhane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

you're already a step behind her when Ms. Rachel cuts across the back side. When she gets the ball you're on the perimeter with her on a goddamn island. No switch is coming. Jab step and you're on skates. You don't even get a hand up. Splash. She stares you down while backpedaling. Long night ahead

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

IN DEVELOPMENT: working on a modern dance restaging of Martha Graham’s “Lamentations“ on the dog It’s going well I think

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Gasped at this workshop acronym that surfaced in my emails today. Well played, nerds

Flyer for the 2026 New England Rare Disease Statistics (NERDS) Workshop

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

was about to buy sheet music online but decided to go to the local music store in-person instead (Middle C Music) - what a blast. Got a great haul and so glad I went

Piano songbooks on a piano - ABBA and Fiddler on the Roof

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

re-listening to one of my favorite Dolly Parton songs… have always particularly loved the lyrics in this one. ❤️🎶 youtu.be/4HMw1eV2Qcs

youtu.be

Wildflowers (2015 Remaster)

YouTube video by Dolly Parton - Topic

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Love how this dude discovered the cheat codes of "what if I listened to constituents" and "what if I modeled good behavior" and "maybe I behave like a normal person should." These are apparently dark secrets that have been hidden from other politicians.

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Printing this out and putting flyers up around the office “Reply-All Emergency Response 101 🚨”

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Massive “reply all” email chaos happening at work rn We need to include response trainings for this alongside tornado drills and fire drills imo

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

unexpected upside of the "Odyssey" movie release: I've had so many conversations with people recently about their experiences of reading the original. Realized that my experience was more positive than most bc I had an *amazing* high school English teacher who brought the book to life for us

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

These are the options for the voice/tone of the ChatGPT tool at work, including a "cynical" option - who on earth would *choose* to be negged by an AI??

Options for a ChatGPT voice, including: professional, friendly, quirky, and cynical

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

am excited to share this Lady Gaga + public health handwashing music video parody of “Bad Romance” that I made, an outlet for 1) my frustration with current public health comms and 2) too-many-years of theater training that I have otherwise been unable to work into my other public health doings

youtu.be

Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance" - Parody - "Wash Your Hands" - short version

YouTube video by Ali Ruth music

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Oooo the Argentina national anthem is jaunty, I dig it 🎶 Last game let's gooooooooooooo ⚽

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

yep yep just over here researching the sizes of various types of particulate matter when trying to re-stock the home supply of air filtering masks www.iqair.com/newsroom/par...

A graph showing sizes of small airborne particles; viruses are the smallest, followed by things like soot, dust, mold, and pollen (in that order)

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

currently responding to the latest Old Senator news by throwing together a slapdash plot of the age distribution of current U.S. senators in order to feel... something? I don't know. (fwiw, I think age *alone* is a terrible proxy for judging fitness-to-serve; the numbers, however, are striking!)

RStudio console with R code and a histogram of senator ages; min is 39, mean is 65, max is 92

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Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

You visit the zoo. THE RHINO IS IN, a large sign informs you. But you don't see any rhinoceroses, just some zookeepers crawling around in a rhino suit. "We've worked with the rhinoceros for years," the zookeepers explain, when confronted. "We know exactly what he'd do in this situation."
"Do we need to get another rhino, though?" you ask. "Is there a rhino in this zoo, currently?" No one answers. You don't deserve an answer.

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

This is the face of a dog miraculously unbothered by the sound of fireworks and downright unimpressed by the spectacle

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Air quality in DC this morn…sigh

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Fortunately I will be attending this conference…cue the opening of a heist movie where I persuade a NIST scientist to extend the formal length of a second so I can simply get more stuff done in less time

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Oo - just learned that a new definition of time will be droppin in 2030 🕑🙌

Conference abstract noting that the international standard for a second will be changing in 2030

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Unfortunately it is impossible for me to read this graphic without mentally setting the words to the opening number of “SIX”

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Preparing for Tony Awards night, as usual, by reading up on the nominees but ALSO sifting through old pans of short-running Broadway musicals This review of Dr. Zhivago.... brutal www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/t...

New York Times review of Dr. Zhivago including the phrase "Is it over yet?"

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Ominous email today from the local piano retailer (infographic fails to mention that free used pianos are also more likely to be deeply Haunted)

Infographic warning about the risks of picking up a free used piano

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Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

riding the MARC in a ball gown

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

disrespect the triumphal arch community at your own peril

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

👀 this makes me feel slightly less crazy for occasionally jpeg-ing and pdf-ing webpages that I want to reference later!

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Just caught up with some fellow 30-something friends and the key emergent theme seems to be that absolutely everyone is starting to have lower back problems... the girlies are droppin like flies, lower-back-wise. lots of tempurpedic talk etc.

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Am discovering that my (frequent!) use of this is wildly misaligned with some people’s… shaken to my core

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

URGENT: what is your usual use / interpretation of the eyeballs emoji (👀): 1) I’m reviewing or taking a look at this. 2) ummm WHAT?! (side-eye)

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Had a ”reply all” mishap at work today but I bravely resisted the urge to follow-up with a ”ack sorry, didn’t mean to reply all!!” e-mail that could further perpetuate the reply-all dysfunction ^learning, growing, healing etc.

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Oo this is interesting - hadn’t thought of the more benevolent design decisions and thinking that can go into apps as well i’ve told ppl that the weather app I *most* want would simply display YES/NO answers to the following questions 1. do I need umbrella today 2. and do I need jacket? Thx

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Ali Ruth @ali-ruth.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Always good 2 be reminded that every single feature I interact with on my phone is an arbitrary opinionated decision made by Some Guy at Some Tech Company (^I do feel like many people are getting wiser to this fact as AI leaders’ interpersonal squabbles get news coverage)

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