iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I'm not saying this team or other teams will never reach parity with Photoshop, but it's worth noting where they're at now according to the team itself. The team is also very small and spreading its attention across the whole suite.

"Status: PhotoCraft is in early alpha, and we want to be straight about where it stands: much of Photoshop's feature surface exists in some form, but it is not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work. The biggest gaps are AI/generative features, about twenty missing tools, depth in typography and pro workflows, and plug-in compatibility. Every Photoshop menu item is wired to a command (docs/parity.md), but that measures wiring, not behaviour. The honest, dimension-by-dimension picture and where we're going next are in the roadmap's parity assessment. Expect rough edges, and please file issues (include your OS, document size, layer count and a screenshot). You can also tell us what broke on Discord."

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It makes me think of @molly.wiki's post showing "the staff" of Citation Needed—all Molly White. Newsletters give opportunities, sure, but they also leave writers to the face the vagaries of the internet alone and, worse, leave marginalized writers unprotected in the pressure cooker Evan described.

Photo of our team, showing Molly White as editor-in-chief, Molly White in sunglasses as general counsel. Molly White in a different shirt as growth, Molly White in a baseball cap as communications, and half of another row of Mollys.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A recent poll by the Center for Strategic Politics found Democratic voters tend to oppose the party moving right on trans issues, with 42 percent against, 35 percent in favor, and 23 percent undecided.

"Democrats should move right on transgender issues: -7" Showing 42 percent against and 35 in agreement.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I feel like I saw more outcry over the Gulf of Mexico actually. It‘s an imperfect measure certainly, but Google Trends seems to agree?

Google Trends for Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario. Gulf of Mexico is consistently higher by a small margin until a massive spike early 2025. There‘s a corresponding but smaller spike for Lake Ontario at the rightmost edge that‘s less than half the major spike.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

It does seem to be getting worse for younger workers, although not as drastically as the overall figure would imply. And of course, with 16-19 year olds, the question is whether it's an economic problem or teens choosing to focus on, say, school.

Graph of labor force participation over the last ten years for people between 20-24. It was variable but rising slightly to about 73 percent before dropping drastically during the pandemic to 64. It then rebounded to the 71 to 72 percent range. Recently it's declined a bit and stands at 70.6

Graph of labor force participation for 16 19 year olds for the last ten years. It was varying before hitting a relatively high point at 36.7 before the pandemic. Then it dropped down to 30 percent before rebounding. By 2024 or so it got above the pre-pandemic number, in the 37 to 38 percent range before declining in 2025 and 2026 to 34.9 percent.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The same Substack blog also wrote an essay arguing transitioning is more dangerous than anorexia, comparing a treatment that demonstrably improves well-being with a dangerous eating disorder.

Article on the Poison and Pens Substack titled ”I Could Have Died of Anorexia. Today, Girls Are Being Pushed Toward Something Worse.“ The subheadline is ”What My Struggle with Anorexia Taught Me About Transgender Hormone Therapy.“

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Good illustration of why access to abortion and trans healthcare are related. www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Screenshot of article reading ”One of the bills Pritzker signed, HB4834, removes testosterone from the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program — the electronic database that collects information about specific medications and treatments. The bill also prevents the addition of estrogen, mifepristone, and misoprostol — the latter two of which are used to end pregnancies early — to the monitoring program.”

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I was curious if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made any acknowledgement of the Pulse shooting ten years ago, and found the announcement that flags would be flown at half mast today. It is a short statement that mentions ISIS but not gay people.

Announcement titled "Flags at Half-Staff in honor of Pulse Remembrance Day." It is dated June 11, 2026, and sent from the governor to Brian Fienemann, director of real estate development management.

It reads "Nine years ago, on June 12, 2016, a shooter claiming alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant committed a horrific act of terrorism at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed and fifty-three were wounded. As a mark of respect for the victims, their families, and the many affected by this tragedy, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida from sunrise to sunset on Thursday, June 12, 2025."

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

He's somewhat self-aware, at least.

"And it’s not as if I’m some Platner booster. He’s always struck me as an impulsive dumbass (not unlike me I suppose, except I would never run for Congress). "

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Amazing the founder claims he's running the games because he supports "bodily autonomy."

"'Bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right. Adults with free, informed consent should be able to do with their body what they wish,' he says."

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Another view of what people have been saying and experiencing. The number of job openings has been at or below what it was in February 2020, marked with a dotted line. This data is a bit stale—came out in March and covers through February—but I was checking in on it and thought I'd share.

Graph of data from FRED showing job openings, showing a slow rise from 2008 to 2018 followed by a drop and then a big spike upwards. in 2022, which slower tapers off to the present. There's a line that marks the February 2020 value, which the line is hovering around now.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Also, this is the conflict of interest statement on the 31-person study

Conflict of interest statement reading: ” EW received consulting fees from Hill United Health and founded Adapt Your Life, Inc. (equity interest)—both companies founded on low-carbohydrate-diet principles—and received royalties for books that recommend a carbohydrate-restricted diet. GE reports stock options in DietDoctor.com, a company founded on low-carbohydrate principles. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.“

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Today in a much longer post, she’s indicating some doubt about DHS messaging including its veracity. I think this is one of many signs rage over ICE‘s actions is spreading well beyond people already opposed.

” - I still am unclear about the true story surrounding Pretti’s killing

- I am not sure DHS messaging on Pretti’s death has been completely accurate or helpful“

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Evangelical podcaster and Christian nationalist Allie Beth Stuckey posted yesterday that Democrats are “winning the media war“ in Minneapolis. Stuckey is not an expert analyst or media critic but spends extensive time convincing Christian women of the goodness of the Trump administration.

Tweet from Allie Beth Stuckey reading "Dems are winning the media war in Minneapolis. Republicans have played decent defense, but we need more stories and images showing the professionalism and compassion of ICE and border patrol, as well as stories/images of the victims of illegal alien violence" It has 1,300 comments, 4,700 likes, and 731,000 views according to the site metrics at the bottom.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Minor point, but I believe the child is 6, not 4. Annoyingly, the Star-Tribune appears to have corrected the story without noting the change.

Text from the article reading: "Good had previously been married to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died in 2023 at the age of 36. Macklin’s father, Timmy Ray Macklin Sr., was shocked to hear the news that Good had been shot and killed.

He said Good and his son had a child who is now 6 years old.
Advertisement"

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Seen at the Columbia, South Carolina airport. These posters have been in at least some airports for months, but I’m not sure are widely known they are.

Poster titled “Self Deport with CBP Home and Leave on Your Own Terms”

Bolded text reads “Claim a Free Flight and $1,000 for EACH Member of Your Family”

More information is written below in smaller print.
It also says “Visit dhs.gov/cbphome for more information”

Poster reading “Auto depórtese con CBP Home y salga bajo sus propios términos”

In bold, it reads “Reclame un veulo gratis y $1000 para CADA MIEMBRO DE SU FAMILIA”

Additional details are written in smaller print

It also says “Visite dhs.gov/cbphome para más información”

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

I think this comic applies to discussions about what the electorate knows more than we'd like to admit.

Single-panel XKCD comic featuring two stick figures, one with a pony tail ("Ponytail") and one with no hair ("Cueball")

[Ponytail and Cueball are talking. Ponytail has her hand raised, palm up, towards Cueball.]
Ponytail: Silicate chemistry is second nature to us geochemists, so it's easy to forget that the average person probably only knows the formulas for olivine and one or two feldspars.
Cueball: And quartz, of course.
Ponytail: Of course.

[Caption below the panel]
Even when they're trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person's familiarity with their field."
Transcription from Explain XKCD.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

This appears to be an AI-generated video. Note the reporter has three hands. Additionally the City 9 organization on the van and microphone does not appear to exist. (Reposting due to a bug making the image show up as a black square and then a typo.)

Crossed out post of a post by Jenn Budd, reposted by Clara Jeffrey.

Below is an apparently AI-generated video, of a reporter being arrested by police. It has four blue squares added that highlight an apparently non-existent news organization, a hand holding a microphone in front of the woman, an elbow pulled behind her, and a second elbow behind her.

The post reads "Seems like they are going after reporters who are women. They hit one w/pepper spray ammo in her car, the WGN reporter and now this."

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

This appears to be an AI-generated video. Note the reporter has three hands. Additionally the City 9 organization on the van and microphone does not appear to exist.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

I mean, they do say it out loud.

Screenshot of article reading "The mayors of those cities — all of whom are Black and Democrats — have pushed back against Trump in recent days, pointing to data that shows crime is down in their communities.

'I think it's very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime,' Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. 'The president could learn from us instead of throwing things at us.'"

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Seems to be either having technical issues or was unpublished.

Breadcrumbs reading Home, then Protecting Women and Children, then Access Denied.

The message reads " You are not authorized to access this page. "

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Many journalists are reporting that "transgender" has been removed from page about the Stonewall National Monument. However, some references to LGBTQ remain in places where the page links to other pages.

Image of Stonewall National Monument with the headline "'By the time of Stonewall...we had 50 to 60 gay groups in the country. A year later...1500.'" with red boxes around text underneath that reads " lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person," which are cases where they've dropped mentions of transgender people.

Three images reading "Education Resources," "Get the most out of your visit," and "Explore LGBTQ History and Places." Highlighted are a small "LGBTQ Heritage" header above "Education Resources" and "Explore LGBTQ History and Places," which still include the original acronym.

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Alys Brooks @alysbrooks.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute during his speech at President Donald Trump's inauguration. (The photo, from Reuters, is by Mike Segar.)

Elon Musk with his right hand raised to form a Nazi salute.

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