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Brad Proctor

@bdproctor.bsky.social
2.8K followers 833 following 1.6K posts

Historian at the Evergreen State College, occasional/lapsed banjo player, IndyCar fan. Olympia, WA. 🏳️‍🌈

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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 14h
A new queen has entered the tent
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 15h
But I *just* sent my syllabus with an AI statement to the copy center for tomorrow's first day of class!
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 18h
This wasn't me I swear
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Frog and Toad Bot @frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 20h
And all the next day Toad played music for his seeds.
Toad, an accomplished musician, plays violin for his seeds.

From "The Garden"
In *Frog and Toad Together*
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gorlock @gorlock.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"may i do that?" - Steve urkel after completing my online etiquette course and earning his certification in politeness & gracious concord
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Roses are red Prepare for defibrillations
livenowfox.com
Blood pressure medication recalled nationwide after failing 'dissolution specifications'
Over 13,000 bottles of blood pressure medication are the subject of a nationwide recall, according to the FDA.
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Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I have separated the art from the artist and am now whipping the art to stiff peaks, after which I will gently fold it into the artist before baking at 350 til golden and puffed
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The absolute disconnect between how most people live and the idea that planning dinner is merely about ingredients is not something I can relate to.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 26/09/2026
I really wonder about this. Why do so many journalists who write or opine about the university do so from a position of deep hostility to the people who do the teaching and research? Most of these writers are college educated and not stupid.
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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.
A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with 
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future
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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
AP Stylebook warns against anthropomorphizing AI systems: “Avoid language that gives them human characteristics… Instead, explain what a system does, how well it performs, who built it and who could be affected by it.”
APStylebook @APStylebook
X.com
Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics. This is called anthropomorphizing, when we ascribe human traits, emotions or behaviors to non-human things, such as animals or inanimate objects.
Instead, explain what a system does, how well it performs, who built it and who could be affected by it.
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Not really a problem since my salary has tripled in 7 years. I'm sure yours has, too.
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Iron Chef Bot @ironchefbot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Frame #1250 from S03 -E11 - 2000th Plate Special - Part 1-627682
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JP @jpbrammer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
it's important to arrive at sturdy ethical principles that you can't be annoyed out of. people are annoying as shit
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm not stranded in Iceland but I have been on an active chat with Xfinity for at least 95 minutes trying to activate the complimentary Peacock Premium Account I have had for well over five years that suddenly stopped working when we moved
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A Whole Damn Town! @im.a.whole.damn.town · 22/09/2026
Twin Peaks: Margaret Lanterman aka the Log Lady, at a town meeting.
Margaret Lanterman aka the Log Lady, at a town meeting. Twin Peaks S01E01 - Northwest Passage.
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
One of the basic points in Mills' The Racial Contract (originally published in 1997!) was that, if nothing else, White Supremacy deserves to be taken seriously as one of the great motivating ideologies of modernity and it's bizarre that political philosophers are so disinclined to treat it as such.
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Iron Chef Bot @ironchefbot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Frame #70950 from S04 -E25 - Battle Saury Fish-628221
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Dr. Liz Norell @liznorell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Join @cjdenial.bsky.social @josheyler.bsky.social @thetattooedprof.bsky.social and me for a free webinar on Resisting the Use of AI in Education on October 13, 1:00-2:00 pm ET. Register now! olemiss.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Announcing a live webinar on Resisting the Use of AI in Education: Taking a Stand for Our Students and Our Colleagues. Event takes place on October 13, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET. Speakers are Cate Denial (University of Minnesota Rochester), Joshua Eyler (University of Mississippi), Kevin Gannon (Queens University Charlotte), and Liz Norell (University of Mississippi).
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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
when ai leaves u behind
7 panel comic.

Panel 1:
A Red Guy with AI across his chest looks like he’s about to run away. A Yellow Guy stands next to him. Red Guy says “I’m the future, buddy. You comin’?”
Yellow Guy replies “Nah”

Panel 2: 
Red Guy is almost out of the panel. He leans in and says “Enjoy getting left behind, pal”
Yellow Guy replies “ok”

Panel 3:
Yellow Guy stands alone.

Panel 4: 
Close up on Yellow Guy, there is a quiet “huff-huff-huff” noise coming from behind him

Panel 5:
Yellow Guy turns to look behind him

Panel 6: 
Close up on Yellow Guy’s face as if from the point of view of an attacker.
Yellow Guy yells “Jesus Christ”

Panel 7:
AI Red Guy is now chasing the Yellow Guy. 
Red Guy: “Use me”
Yellow Guy “No”
Red Guy “USE ME”
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 21/09/2026
for your future voting knowledge, Gavin Newsom was central in pressuring the AGs to settle their antitrust lawsuit against Paramount:
deadline.com
Done! Paramount Settles Antitrust Suit, Set To Seal Deal For Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount agreed to settle an antitrust suit by a dozen State Attorneys General led by California's Rob Bonta, the last obstacle to its merger with WBD.
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
finally?????!????
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 18/09/2026
beyond bad faith part of what is happening here is that people who think this are basically incapable of thinking historically and see the political world as simply a set of actions and reactions.
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My work's Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication might just be the death of me. Why, when on campus, do I need to re-log-in and then verify my identity just to see if our library has access to a journal?!?
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Dagger John @thesloopjohnm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The Treasury Secretary says you can stop paying your taxes because of inflation
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Sarah Milov @allofmilov.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It was good that nuclear technology was regulated. It is bad that AI is not. Still, I would not hold up the Atomic Energy Commission as a model for AI regs. The AEC cared more about promotion than regulation. This credibility gap caused its demise--and eroded public faith in gov't more broadly.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/09/2026
ah working class is when you are a contractor pulling six figures from a business that earns seven, professional is when you pull $40K doing office work
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
reporters werent “barred” from recording, the powerful people they are covering asked them not to record and they immediately complied and hid whats happening from their audience
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Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
hilarious
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Howard Sherman @hesherman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Farewell to costume designer Bob Mackie, a designer of spectacular gowns for great divas, but also the creator of perhaps the greatest costume sight gag in history.
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 14/09/2026
We’ve all been living a lie! bsky.app/profile/prop...
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Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is just a spectacular unintentional self-own
Dude on Threads: If you hate on ai, you better be pretty damn good at whatever you're doing
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Lena of Lune @lena.isextremely.gay · 13/09/2026
Yep. I've had to explain this even to blue state trans electeds: here in TN, we *had* the rights to healthcare, accurate ID, playing sports, etc. We lost all of those rights we already had! I was one of the last trans people who could get their gender changed on their driver's license!
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Kleya Queen of the Desert
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Kleya Queen of the Desert
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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Max @2xaught7.ing · 11/09/2026
There's a browser glitch that separates these two stanzas. Great for a punchline delivery.
Tony La Russa, Hall of Fame manager: “His rookie season, ’05, somewhere in like April. He’s struggling. Second and third, two outs and we’re down a run. He’s hitter. Makes an out. I go into my favorite time with the press. And I think (the reporter asked), ‘Did you think about pinch-hitting for him?’ Oh, yeah, I thought about it. ‘So why didn’t you?’ I said, ‘Yadi can go hitless for the rest of our season, and he’s our catcher.’“Later, I’m in my office. (Knocks on a bench as if hearing a knock on the door.) ‘Yeah?’ Yadi’s (leaning in through door): ‘Skipper, I won’t go hitless for the season.’”
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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Max @2xaught7.ing · 09/09/2026
A couple of cool stories from @dgoold.bsky.social's piece centered on memories of Albert Pujols, who will be inducted into the Cardinals HOF this weekend. www.stltoday.com/sports/professiona…
David Eckstein, World Series MVP: “You remember when I hit the grand slam against the Braves? I didn’t know this at the time, but he went up to John Rodriguez and told him to put his bat down. He wouldn’t let him grab his bat to get in the on-deck circle. And in that situation I had to at least hit a ball that three runs could score. The faith that he always showed in me was incredible. And then throughout the whole 2006 year. Personally, I didn’t feel like I was coming through in the clutch for the club. He would always come up to me and say, ‘Eck don’t worry about it. When we need you, you will come through.’ And then it happened in the World Series. It was that unyielding faith that he had in his teammates.”Joey Votto, former MVP and Cincinnati great: “What people don't know about the St. Louis Cardinals’ stadium is how big it is. It just felt on a consistent basis like you're playing in a big, big yard. And I remember playing against Albert back in those first few years before he left for Anaheim and how he would hit balls on a line in both gaps and make the park look small. I remember on a consistent basis him somehow abusing a park that should have suppressed his career numbers. I felt like (Busch Stadium) was a big park for me, but Albert made it look small. Albert was a level above everybody. He would sometimes talk about the park I played in, the Reds’ ballpark. ‘I would have bigger numbers if I hit there.’ And without a question, that's true. I'm guessing that if he played in my ballpark, he may have had another 50 homers during the course of his career.”Brendan Ryan, former Cardinals shortstop: “For me, personally, he was so good to me that I think I remember those moments where some veterans weren’t being super-cool and he would just shut them up. His presence. He didn’t have to say anything. He could just stand in between and it was over. In ’07, my rookie year, I had a sterling silver chain. He said, ‘No.’ He bought me the white gold chain.”Adam Wainwright, 200-game winner and longtime teammate: “In the spring training of 2007 following our ’06 World Series championship, a famous painter named Opie Otterstad came into the clubhouse with a few different paintings he had done of our team in celebration mode. He had one of me with my arms up and the team running right toward me that I thought was awesome. So I asked him how much it was and he told me it was $5,000. I told him, ‘Well somebody’s gonna definitely enjoy that painting. But it ain’t gonna be me!’ And then Albert told me I needed to buy it. I told him I was a rookie and I didn’t need to spend that much money on a painting even if it was awesome. So he looked over at Opie and said, ‘I’ll buy it for him.’ There was no talking him out of it. He said if I didn’t let him buy it for me I’d be going back to Class AAA. It still hangs in my office today above the fireplace.”
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Kye @kyebarker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Something that Star Trek got right is that even if sentient AI emerges and is granted rights, the art it produces will still be mind-numbingly terrible
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Count Zoloft @wizardrodeo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This heel turn strikes me as big divorced guy ener- Ah, I see.
An excerpt from the article detailing Jentleson's separation from his children's parent following their transition. This Jentleson guy seems like a real piece of shit!
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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Here is a premise. Kermit tries to keep a cast of characters under control backstage as they put on a variety show with a celebrity host.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 10/09/2026
No matter how much you throw trans people under the bus, you are still going to get attacked. All you've done is betray a vulnerable minority, anger your base, and made the issue front and center.
Alt Text:
Screenshot showing two sequential posts on X by journalist Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) discussing Texas politics:
 * Top post: Text reads, "Paxton on Talarico: 'He wants to transition your kids!'" accompanied by an embedded video frame of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaking at a podium in a dark suit and red tie.
 * Bottom post: Text reads, "Talarico says he would vote in favor of a national ban for transgender surgeries for minors," above a video thumbnail from Fox News Channel featuring a woman anchor in a red blazer, with lower-third banners reading "EXCLUSIVE," "SHIFTING THE REINS?", and "TALARICO STANCE DIFFERS FROM EARLIER COMMENTS."
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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 10/09/2026
People get confused about the trans sports thing because at a glance it seems like a small issue that impacts a very small number of people and thus makes sense as a "reasonable" concession. But it isn't, because conceding that is accepting that a kid's trans identity is on some level fraudulent
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Anyway. Data politics are the cataclysmic danger. AI is mostly just a mid tech attached to a speculative finance scheme. Anything it can make dangerous is already dangerous enough to kill us.
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Please apply and come work with me!
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Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'm going to try and be as polite as possible about this: this isn't a purity test, this is a "will you defend a minority group when the government is working hard to murder them" question, and acting like it's a wedge issue rather than the entire game is a failure of empathy and historical vision.
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Brad Proctor @bdproctor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Evergreen is hiring a musicologist/music faculty!
evergreen.peopleadmin.com
Music (Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences) (Tenure Track Faculty)
The Evergreen State College seeks a highly skilled and inspiring musician/educator for a full-time, regular* faculty position in ethnomusicology beginning in September 2027. This position reflects the...
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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
More to say but, mostly he's just the best. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
theatlantic.com
Lonnie Bunch Is Leaving the Smithsonian
After months of clashes with the White House, the historian and leader of the institution is retiring later this year.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 08/09/2026
hell of a piece. wooooof harpers.org/archive/2026...
harpers.org
Child’s Play, by Sam Kriss
Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Vaccine conspiracism is overwhelmingly clustered among the religious, white and affluent. It’s a function of conservative ideology and bad faith media. Being nicer to MAHA types will not ‘bring them into the fold,’ it will only increase their sense of entitlement.
Objective: Strengthening of antivaccination movements in recent decades has coincided with unprecedented increases in the incidence of some communicable diseases. Many intervention programs work from a deficit model of science communication, presuming that vaccination skeptics lack the ability to access or understand evidence. However, interventions focusing on evidence and the debunking of vaccine-related myths have proven to be either nonproductive or counterproductive. Working from a motivated reasoning perspective, we examine the psychological factors that might motivate people to reject scientific consensus around vaccination. To assist with international generalizability, we examine this question in 24 countries. Methods: We sampled 5,323 participants in 24 countries, and measured their antivaccination attitudes. We also measured their belief in conspiracy theories, reactance (the tendency for people to have a low tolerance for impingements on their freedoms), disgust sensitivity toward blood and needles, and individualistic/hierarchical worldviews (i.e., people's beliefs about how much control soci hould have over individuals, and whether hierarchies are desirable). Results: In
order of magnitude,
antivaccination attitudes were highest among those who (a) were high in conspir-
atorial thinking, (b) were high in reactance, (c) reported high levels of disgust toward blood and needles, and (d) had strong individualistic/hierarchical worldviews
. In contrast, demographic variables (including
education) accounted for nonsignificant or trivial lev
f variance. Conclusions: These data help
identify the "attitude roots" that may motivate and sustain vaccine skepticism. In so doing, they help shed light on why repetition of evidence can be nonproductive, and suggest communication solutions to that problem.
Keywords: vaccination, conspiracy beliefs, health communication,
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John LaRue @john-larue21.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
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