iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Glad you liked it! Thanks for posting about it.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Today is Andie MacDowell’s birthday. Hmmm. Interesting. #macdowell

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Reposted by David DeGusta

Center for the Art of Translation (CAT) @catranslation.org · 17/04/2026

The Center for the Art of Translation's new public home will provide translators and the literary community a place to gather, learn, and discover new global voices and perspectives for years to come. 🌟 Help us create a lighthouse for readers: www.catranslation.org/sf-literary-...

Graphic featuring a quote from Jazmina Barrera, National Book Award Finalist & Two Lines Press Author. Text reads: At a time when the founds for literature, for translation, for humanities all around the country are being cut, I see the Center for the Art of Translation as a refuge, but it also a lighthouse.

Graphic featuring a rendering of our new building at the corner of Leidesdorff and Commercial in downtown San Francisco. Text reads: Opening 2027, Help open our doors.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Thank you for saying so, very glad you enjoyed it! A great conversation, aided by your thoughtful contributions.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Lots and lots. Almost no Amharic literature has been translated. I hope that will start changing though.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Skedaddle is a nifty word. Just saying.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Thank you! Poetry is quite the stretch for me (though I suppose that’s the point of poetry?) so kind words from an accomplished poet are manna.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I’ve had two poems published, both in Barrelhouse theme issues: I’ve found my lane! Which is a little amusing, given that I bought a certain Barrelhouse t-shirt referencing poets at my first AWP. In all honesty, very happy to have some writing in one of the first lit journals I subscribed to-thx!

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

A particular thanks to the Temple University students who edited this special issue of Barrelhouse — they clearly have phenomenal taste and bright futures.

BARRELHOUSE
Note: This special online issue was edited by the students in Mike Ingram's Fall 2025 Writers at Work class at Temple University. Editors include: Teresina Bova, Charlotte Chadwick, Genevieve DeBlasio, Sydney Dietrick, Sara Glaze, Alexis Hammond, Jack Jones, Madison Kifolo, Aidan Kinniry, Cheyenne Kirby, Laura Lahee, Astrid Le, Christian Lopez, Nicky McKee, Christian Patrick, Idris Settles, L Singleton, Soc Son, Kenna Stewart, Caitlin Weissing, and Maggie Whitfield.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Very grateful to have my poem “Our Survey of Western Dirt” be a part of the latest issue of Barrelhouse. Many thanks to Mike Ingram and his students at Temple (see next post for their names) for including it. www.barrelhousemag.com/online-lit/o... @mikeingram.bsky.social @barrelhouse.bsky.social

barrelhousemag.com

Our Survey of Western Dirt, by David DeGusta — Barrelhouse

“ Most states have designated an official state bird, flower, and so forth. Similarly, each state has designated a state soil .” -Soil Science Society of America Oregon Jory red soil births Will...

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Besides Oromay’s importance, I wanted to translate it because I think it’s a great story. It’s got it all: politics, love, war, spies, humor, philosophy, and so many memorable characters.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

The history is complex, and mostly covered (in English) in specialist volumes. If you have specific questions, or want to dig into the scholarly literature, DM me.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Put simply, the Red Terror refers to “internal” purges of suspected dissidents, mostly in Addis, circa 1976-1978 (western calendar). The Red Star campaign was launched in 1982 against separatist groups in Eritrea. Both involved the Derg using violence against opponents, but two separate things.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Very excited to hear that you’ll be featuring Oromay - thanks! One small correction though: the Red Terror and the Red Star Campaign are two different things. If you’d like more background, just let me know. The most informative review about the relevant history was in the Times Literary Supplement.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

If you think time at MacDowell might be beneficial to your art (fwiw I bet it would be) then APPLY. They are incredibly welcoming and supportive, the experience was transformative for me and many others, and no, you don’t have to be a superstar to get accepted. So, apply! @macdowell1907.bsky.social

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Oh, that’s wonderful to hear! Thanks for taking the time to share that. Happy new year!

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Glad you liked Oromay - thanks for posting it!

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Fascist idiots obsessed with ‘racial purity’ drove a motley assortment of scientists to flee to the US where they played absolutely vital roles in developing the atomic bomb, allowing the US to win the war and become a superpower so 80 years on Miller could wish we had acted like the fascist idiots

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

How many ethical violations is Brooks going to be allowed to get away with? (Question applies equally to Dillon Brooks of the NBA and David Brooks of the NYT)

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Same. If I had to point to a moment that made me a writer, it was seeing Arcadia at ACT in SF in 2013. Walked in with no idea of what the play was about, walked out forever changed. Amazing production. Went back and saw it the next night, which was closing else I’d have kept going. rip Tom Stoppard.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

You helped make paleogroup a great experience - good times!

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Oh, sure - that totally makes sense. My only variant (and not saying it’s a better way, just my way) is that I would announce those clarifications to the class as a whole (e.g., north vs south-facing slope). Completely agree that I don’t want to trip up students on non-class vocab.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

My policy for questions during an exam is that I will either respond “answer the question as written” or, if a clarification is needed, I will announce it to the whole class. No individual guidance, as that can be unfair. Also cuts down on pleas for help in question form. (Hi Mike!)

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Their conversation seemed to ignore the fact that if you expose people to gambling, a certain percentage of them will get addicted. Especially now with gambling via smartphone apps. That ruins lives, even without cheating. Sports books losing a few bucks to insider info is not the big harm here.

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Reposted by David DeGusta

Doc Jock Tags @blazersunitracker.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Chauncey Billups lost a coach's challenge on an out of bounds call four minutes into the first quarter last night. If that dude beat me in poker, I'd be hella suspicious too.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Spotted in the SF Bay Area. Feels like an inflection point for me, marking the moment when I can no longer maintain even the illusion that I have some tentative understanding of wtf is going on in the world.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

I did. But I tried to structure it so that the first few minutes of class weren’t critical for following the rest of the session. That way latecomers could still participate. Also, just because students are in their seats doesn’t mean they are fully “there” yet, so a little warmup is nice for all.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

“Fiction: Bringing Game Theoretic Predicaments to Life Since the Second Millennium BC” Might still need to workshop that slogan a bit.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

And for those who might respond to such concerns with, “But AI is going to be way better soon,” it’s worth noting that OpenAI’s own researchers just released a research paper showing mathematically that errors (hallucinations) are inevitable in LLMs. www.computerworld.com/article/4059...

computerworld.com

OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws

In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

It struck me as a fake thing that Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat would get a bunch of C-list comedians to agree to with all kinds of over-the-top requirements (“You must do one knock-knock joke - our leader really loves those. Knock knock, who’s there, hit squad! So funny!”).

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Fwiw, the article just says that the center will offer classes in digital content, so the poster seems to have invented the idea that they are adding a new degree/major. But yeah, the notion of something like “The Jake and Logan Paul Endowed Chair of Trolling” is pretty hilarious.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

The article just says the center will be offering courses, no mention of any new degrees or majors (which would typically come through a department rather than a center).

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Thank you for mentioning Oromay!

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

I probably shouldn’t admit this (note to other entities, this only applies to Scriptnotes!), but … it actually did prompt me to go back and re-listen to episode 633 with John Gatins on “dormant” projects. 🤷

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Admitting and correcting mistakes is exactly the kind of journalistic good practice* that one worries might be jettisoned under the rumored new leadership at CBS News. * also good human practice.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Jane Goodall was a gem. I only met her a few times, but was struck by how she had both a strong sense of purpose and real kindness - a rare combination. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

nytimes.com

Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Yes, I remember that from one of your early Valkyries newsletters and, being statistically minded, it struck me as an excellent and underappreciated point. Though I can understand how players and commentators might naturally resist that idea, at least emotionally.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

And there’s the free throw lane violation in Q3 by Natasha Howard that took a point off the board for Indy. Obviously a game that goes to OT means that every point in regulation mattered, and LV would have played differently down 1 at end of regulation, but free throw violations are really rare.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Love it when someone digs into a minor local mystery and finds all kind of interesting tidbits behind it … it’s great that @coyotemedia.org and Reo Eveleth are on it.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

More of this in life too please!

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Reposted by David DeGusta

Sewanee Writers' Conference @sewaneewriters.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Come live and write with us in Sewanee! The Department of English & Creative Writing's is seeking applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Poetry position! Apply by Nov. 3.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Also, support literary magazines, especially if you submit to them. As you are able, amplify them on social media, subscribe, or volunteer as a reader. I learned a ton reading for @themassreview.bsky.social. The lit mag ecosystem needs balance between submissions and readers, else the latter drown.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Also, support literary magazines, especially if you submit to them. As you are able, amplify them on social media, subscribe, or volunteer as a reader. I learned a ton reading for @themassreview.bsky.social, and the lit mag ecosystem needs a balance between submissions and readers.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

My “to read next” is a match …

The cover of the novel We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad.

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

This should be a regular feature on McSweeney’s: “Isaac Chotiner Interviews Things That Aren’t People.”

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David DeGusta @davidwrites1.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

I’ve had the good fortune to have once been in the same workshop with @nafissa.bsky.social, and some of her observations have stuck with me to this day. If you have a chance to work with her, I highly recommend doing so.

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