iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 18h

Functionally indistinguishable from appointing your horse to the Senate.

Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Thunder the kitten, age 14, started kidney food yesterday and quickly went from mopey and uncomfortable to perked up. He hasn't been to his 1-Up pillow shelf in quite a while.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Fondly remembering the time the AP "fact checked" a claim by Bill Clinton that the Romney campaign was lying by noting that Clinton had lied in the past.

salon.com

Fact-check fail - Salon.com

The AP's moronic "fact check" of Bill Clinton's speech suggests the term is rapidly losing all meaning

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Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra

Vituperative Erb @vituperativeerb.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Fantasizing about Republicans winning in 2028 is just unbelievable loser shit

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Not a lawyer, but this kind of sounds like a RICO problem.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Reid Hoffman? Is that... the Netflix guy? How do they have another bogeyman that's even more obscure than Hasan Piker?

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Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I think people should listen to what the administration trying to bring back spectacle lynchings, race riots, and middle passage-esque deportation voyages are trying to tell you about themselves. bsky.app/profile/bren...

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It's driving me insane enough to search "Contrerez" to see who else is annoyed by it.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I love that every time Rowdy Tellez has played in this series, he starts trending here because everybody is like, "Who the fuck is Rowdy Tellez?" or "Rowdy Tellez is still around?" or "Did this guy eat Rowdy Tellez?"

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

#20YearsAgoToday, I shot this clip of Minus the Bear at The Loft in Madison. It was a teen center free show with the odd opening combo of Russian Circles (post-metal) and POS (rap), and I think the only time MtB came to town during their heyday. A top mid-00s band, they soon faded into "maturity."

youtube.com

Minus the Bear: "Pony Up!"

YouTube video by Aaron S. Veenstra

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Yes, explicitly so – he spent the summer of 2016 playing shows with a "NO ONE FOR PRESIDENT" sign taped to his guitar.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The Simpsons has been trying to do this for more than a quarter century and I refuse to let it.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It's actually worse than just "critics say" abuse – the government's claim ("The exercise aims to clean") is granted standalone legitimacy.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Clutchness isn't real, but Jackson Chourio is the most clutch athlete in the history of Wisconsin.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Three more Texas PAC Paxton ads during the game, which is being watched primarily by people in Wisconsin and north/central Florida.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Some theoretical physicists believe it may someday be possible to build a lane big enough for economists to stay in, but others say such a construct is incompatible with the fundamental laws of the universe.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Very sweaty energy all over it, even though the photo of Paxton they used appeared to be from several molts ago.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Just saw a PAC ad for Ken Paxton that a) highlights human trafficking when he's under the pump for giving a child molester a sweetheart deal, and b) ends by saying, "When 'Missing' posters go up, Ken Paxton takes them down." Also, it appears to have been a *national buy* during Fox football pregame.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Proposed: A graduated federal sales tax on collectibles and similar bullshit, kicking in at $100,000 and reaching 100% at $500,000.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

If you "plug AI into" those numbers you'll find that they've never combined for a home run, so.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I’m in a theater waiting for John Wilson’s The History of Concrete to start, and I’m confident it will contribute more to society than 90% of what the Atlantic publishes.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A point being made about one article in a well-trod genre but broadly true of the entire takes-industrial complex.

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Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

If USA Today is indeed unilaterally putting source interviews in some sort of database, in their entirety, allowing them to be cherry-picked by other reporters—and *AI*(!!)—that is journalistically indefensible and no one should ever talk to them again. Is this true? Is it Gannett wide?

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I seem to recall this was brought up in Markos Moulitsas and Jerome Armstrong's book 20 years ago, but I may be mixing it up with one of the other early blog era books. Their thing was about interest group funding for personnel (e.g. unpaid internships on the left), but it's all the same money.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Out: forever wars In: making sure it stays that way

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yes this is very serious, but also Trump asking AI about his legacy is exactly the same as Stewie Griffin making his computer say "Stewie is cool."

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Pre-paywall these just became wasted views. I read a while ago, I think in Nik Usher's book, about how the Miami Herald got nothing from its Epstein coverage, as advertisers didn't care about non-local views and those readers would never become subscribers. But they might've bought "today's Herald."

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"Newsstand sales" essentially don't exist anymore but they used to be a significant source of revenue; now they're not really compatible with the paywall model. One result of this is papers often put huge stories outside the paywall because they're important, but they then don't generate revenue.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It would only work for certain kinds of pubs (daily newspapers, basically), but I'd love to see somebody try a "meso-payment" approach – not a subscription, not an ala carte article, but a digital version of buying that day's paper. For $5, you get access to everything published that day.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I would never ever ever have guessed why Mike Tomlin is trending.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

What is going on with this chart? Why is it smoothed? Mexico alone looks to have dropped by 8M+, Canada by ~6, UK by ~2 – none of the data, axes, and description seem to fit together.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Imagine saying this while losing a war of choice against a power two weight classes below you.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We recently switched to Microsoft Authenticator, which requires me to authenticate through Microsoft Authenticator when establishing my account in Microsoft Authenticator.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I sang "Terminal Annex," one of my favorites from their still-amazing debut album, and after the show was featured on my podcast, somebody got in touch with a photo they'd taken of me. Later I bought a shirt that I'm wearing today!

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#20YearsAgoToday, I shot this clip of Harvey Danger at the Rathskeller in Madison. What a show! Several songs from the end, Sean Nelson's voice gave out and they brought people up to sing in his place. The set had been great, but turning into a party for Harvey Danger dorks made it something bigger.

youtube.com

Harvey Danger & Friends: "Old Hat"

YouTube video by Aaron S. Veenstra

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Can't believe a guy desperate to play second fiddle to a juiceless weirdo two years in advance could get something so wrong.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Joey Votto's Don Cherry wardrobe routine is a fun tribute (to a shitty guy, unfortunately).

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The hope of a nation rides with the Brewers (and I guess maybe the Rays).

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Josh, don't you understand? Trump will sign it on *live TV*.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is a great piece of writing about knowing and loving the character of a place. I already thought Fremantle and Milwaukee were long-lost siblings, but this specifically brings to mind the parade the city held for the Brewers after they lost the 82 World Series. Helpful to read after a brutal GF.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Some of this might be age, but still.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

He threw one of the best games ever in June and just finished one of the best seasons ever looking just as sharp. Best batting average against ever. Third best WHIP ever. I don't know if Jacob Misiorowski can go out and just win 11 postseason games by himself, but it's worth trying.

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Aaron S. Veenstra @asveenstra.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm old enough to remember when a devout Catholic Democrat was president (I am two years old).

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