iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

We don’t generally hear our neighbors much from inside the house. Our yard is pretty tree-heavy, we might hear trucks or heavy yard work, or people on four wheelers, but we don’t hear conversation or kids playing. Just heard, very clearly, “What the HELL?” Not going out there. Nope, nope, nope.

Thrifting and used-bookstore-browsing the last couple of weeks has produced a fair cross-section of my interests.

A stack of used books. Metatropolis, edited by John Scalzi; How to Write and Sell Imaginative Stories, by the de Camps; The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide, by Terry Pratchett (with map!); Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells, by Terry Jones;
Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantok; Groucho and Me (1st edition!) by Groucho Marx;
a beat up copy of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1;
Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash (history of his creative works, with physical ephemera stuck in everywhere);
Queer Youth in Focus; Browser's Dictionary, by John Ciardi;
Abandoned Places; and Pop Painting by Camilla d’Errico.

Metatropolis, edited by John Scalzi; How to Write and Sell Imaginative Stories, by the de Camps; The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide, by Terry Pratchett (with map!); Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells, by Terry Jones;
Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantok; Groucho and Me (1st edition!) by Groucho Marx;
a beat up copy of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1;
Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash (history of his creative works, with physical ephemera stuck in everywhere);
Queer Youth in Focus; Browser's Dictionary, by John Ciardi;
Abandoned Places; and Pop Painting by Camilla d’Errico.

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It was in the high 50s in central Florida this morning. Cue mandatory “Nicholas Cage smiling in the breeze” GIF.

Screenshot of Carrot Weather app showing 59 degree weather. Text says, “You're just checking the weather before you start your walk of shame, aren't you?”

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(This is partly why I stopped writing a pop culture columns years ago. Some of it was due to other work pressures increasing, but also it was becoming a second full time job to stay abreast of what was hot, a lot of which I didn’t like much.)

I have also never seen many of the most popular movies or TV shows, many of the most popular books, and entire genres of music are largely unknown to me. I’m good with it. I can’t keep up with the stuff I already know I like.

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What Some Folks Really Mean When They Claim to Have Never Heard 'Choosin' Texas'

The article concedes the loss of monoculture, but still seems scornful if I have not heard a popular song. I don’t listen to radio. Don’t shop in clothing stores. Country pops up in my algorithms occasionally but not often. Most new music comes from son/friend suggestions or movie soundtracks.

rollingstone.com

Claiming to have never heard Ella Langley's record-setting country song 'Choosin' Texas' is similar to saying, 'I listen to anything but country.'

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It’s, like, if you’re into that that’s cool, that’s your thing, but Superman isn’t… he’s not into it, right? Like, Zod should live his truth and it’s great he’s so open about it, but it’s not Superman’s scene.

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Ancient coins are often surprisingly cheap. I know you can pick up some Greek and Roman coins for less than that.

C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Teresa is getting a routine procedure this morning. While waiting, we started noticing the poor choices in music playing. Bon Jovi’s “Never Say Goodbye” Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” When they came to get her we were giggling over the Mike and the Mechanics song about his father dying.

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

TFW YOU FORGOT TO TURN DOWN THE VOLUME YESTERDAY AND THE 1ST SONG IN YOUR PLAYLIST STARTS WITH DRUMS AND FOR A SECOND YOU THINK YOUVE BEEN SHOT

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Like it’s not already impossible to make a living as an author, now grifters are using the AI programs that stole authors’ works to effortlessly crank out crappy copies and market them directly to the authors’ fanbases.

theatlantic.com

The Rise of Parasite Authors

First, AI stole their books. Now it’s stealing their readers.

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Florida students face strict new AI restrictions after board approval

Florida is cracking down on AI use in classrooms, with new rules that prohibit its use for graded college assignments, allow parents to opt their kids out, and ban student use of AI programs that try to be friends with you.

tallahassee.com

New Florida policies heavily restrict AI use in K-12 schools and state colleges and universities. What's changing for students, parents and teachers.

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Is it legal to send nudes in Florida? It depends

U up? Is it legal to send nudes in Florida? Yes, for consenting adults who keep it private. After that, it gets tricky, with serious jail time.

news-journalonline.com

Sexting is legal between consenting adults in Florida. Here's when it can become a crime.

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I will grant you I enjoyed him in “Rock of Ages.”

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It is the first Cruise movie that has interested me in… decades?

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Hope you have a speedy recovery. See if the med unit can install a stronger wrist assembly with reinforced struts and a warning system.

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Years back, we stopped at an antique store in a small North Carolina town and saw a wood apothecary cabinet the size of a wall, clearly designed to be the entire behind-the-counter area of a shop. Couldn’t afford it, couldn’t transport it, have no need or room door it. I still regret leaving it.

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I have just found out that people are using AI to “clean up” the art in Calvin & Hobbes strips and, incidentally, strip them of the power, humor, and artistry of Watterson’s original work. It’s actually a pretty good illustration of the lack of humanity in AI creations. And copyright infringement.

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But it was a good movie, it actually found a plausible reason for ACME’s products to be so dangerously bad, and it kept to the rules for the Coyote/Road Runner dynamic. I need to see it streaming to catch all the in-jokes and classic callbacks in it. I caught a bunch, I’m sure there’s more.

I didn’t really like how Bugs was handled and while all the voices were good, they weren’t Mel Blanc. Same reason the various new Muppets projects haven’t hit home for me, they’re not Jim and Frank. (Although I liked the last Muppet Show, and the Electric Mayhem series.)

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Saw “Coyote v. Acme.” I liked it, and I have a very, very low tolerance for any WB cartoons featuring the original characters made without Tex Avery, Chuck Jones or Mel Blanc. It was funny, had lots of callbacks, and avoided several missteps that frankly I was expecting.

Wile E. Coyote sits next to his lawyer, played by Will Forte, in a courtroom scene in “Coyote vs. Acme.”

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Isn’t that, like, illegal in many states? In Florida you’d have to ask permission of everyone you met or who just walked by in a private place.

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I’m sure it’s cool and amazing and useful, but I’m not ready to drop $2,000 on a phone just yet.

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Reposted by C. A. Bridges

Catherynne M. Valente @catvalente.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The thing is, even within the lifespan of the mainstream internet, things used to work a LOT more smoothly That was one of the huge arguments FOR mainstreaming the internet Now nothing is smooth. It’s crammed full of monetized barriers between user & task to boost stats & keep eyeballs locked in

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Reposted by C. A. Bridges

P. Djéli Clark | The Disgruntled Haradrim @pdjeliclark.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In the original series, the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, came up with a philosophy held by the Vulcan people. He called it IDIC: infinite diversity in infinite combinations. It suggests that an ideal society is made up of many different types, all working together.

theconversation.com

‘Star Trek’ and NASA have intertwined legacies – the show championed diversity and inspired generations of real space scientists

60 years of ‘Star Trek’: A cultural anthropologist on how the show’s “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” conception helped shape NASA’s vision of the future.

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A friend’s father passed and he paid me to go through his father’s house and photograph it as thoroughly as possible so he could remember the last meal he made, the last book he was reading, his hanging clothes, etc. Really touching, cool idea. He refused to let me do it for free.

C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It just occurred to me that I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to with a Chevy at the levee whether it was wet or dry.

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C. A. Bridges @cabridges.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Spent a fair chunk of my afternoon-evening getting my dead car running in a Goodwill parking lot. But at least God promised not to destroy my Corolla by flooding. (Got it going again, finally.)

Double rainbow over a temporarily dead car.

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Cooperstreaming ♿️ @cooperstreaming.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

During his no-frills, “self-indulgent”!tour back in 2018 he performed a new, straight up cover every encore and I suspect he liked it enough to keep doing it. I saw him at the Apollo in NYC. He said he chose a song to honor the venue’s rich history. Then he sang “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young.

The marquee at the Harlem Theater the night Weird Al was performing his name was not on it.

Weird Al on stage at the Apollo Theater.

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Reposted by C. A. Bridges

Finally watched 9-5 and it was cute... but fucking exhausting to see that 45 years later we are asking for the same shit in the workplace and haven't gone anywhere. My main takeaway is Jane Fonda has always been that girl. On the right side of everything for longer than I've been alive

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Stephen Colbert Dancing on Stage

Even if @colbertlateshow.bsky.social has given us nothing else lasting or meaningful, which he has, it still would have been worth it for Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream ice cream.

static.klipy.com

Alt: Stephen Colbert dancing on stage.

It took weeks for Hawke to want to go out again at night after July 4. (I live in a dirt-road area. My neighbors bring out the heavy munitions.) Sigh. First night of a three-day weekend…