iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 11h

Kudos to @acls1919.bsky.social for stating this explicitly in their request for reviewers. That stance & explanation definitely made me more eager to accept the invitation to review!

Please note that due to privacy concerns, we do not allow peer reviewers to use generative AI tools for this work. ACLS applications contain both personal information and intellectual property and must be kept confidential by both ACLS and reviewers. You may not upload any applicant materials into AI-enabled digital tools, and you may not query AI for assistance during the process.

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Mollie Katzen @molliekatzen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There are more Cornell frat boys accused of raping one woman than there are trans athletes competing in all of NCAA sports.

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Exit, pursued by a fucking bear

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Have you ever felt that your entire career has just been elaborate preparation to watch a single film?

youtube.com

You Can See Everything | Official Trailer HD | A24

YouTube video by A24

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Tonight marked the end of the Vermont summer concert season, albeit on a chilly wet night. Of Monsters and Men brought it hard, with a lot more rock show energy than I’d expected, led by a tremendous drummer!

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Ian Bogost @ibogost.com · 17/09/2026

American college has faced three successive crises: COVID, the Trump research-funding chaos, and artificial intelligence. Together, the three have revealed that higher education is a bundle of incompatible missions. That tenuous marriage is unraveling—and has been for a long time.

theatlantic.com

College Is Coming Apart

Successive, overlapping crises reveal that American higher education makes no sense.

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[in]Transition @intransition.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

New issue just launched, with nine new video essays on topics including Red Desert, One Night in Miami, surveillance footage, visual representations of sound, feminist zombie narratives, the British cine-club movement, and Before Sunrise! Check them out: intransition.openlibhums.org/issue/1969/i...

intransition.openlibhums.org

[in]Transition | Issue: Issue: 3(13) (2026)

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Tony Yates @t0nyyates.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I think you cancel an IPO because you are worried people won't give you the $ you predicted, not because you should now focus on safety.

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Helena Fitzgerald @hellafitzgerald.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

we watched I Love Boosters and 9 to 5 on two consecutive nights this weekend and it turns out that's a surprisingly perfect double feature, I can't believe there are two different movies that ask "what if you got really high and fed Das Kapital into the outfit computer from Clueless"

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A.J. Wilden🏳️‍⚧️ @wcwit.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"They're not misunderstanding the film; they're co-opting a message"

Screencap from the interview linked in the quoted post

Marlow Stern (the interviewer): You have one of the most renowned replies in Twitter history. Elon Musk tweeted out, “Take the red pill,” then Ivanka Trump enthusiastically wrote, “Taken!” to him, and then you replied, “Fuck both of you.” I’m curious how you feel about the co-opting of “The Matrix” by those on the right who don’t really seem to understand its messaging.

Lilly Wachowski: I mean, I can’t sit in a room and explain the movie to every single person who watches it. Even if I did sit in a room with Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump — yikes — it doesn’t matter. They’re not misunderstanding the film; they’re co-opting a message. And that’s what fascists do: They co-opt the messages of progressives and use it to their benefit to confuse and obfuscate what is going on and the intention of their ideology. They do it with everything. They do it with Martin Luther King Jr. Look at how they’ve changed the idea of what antisemitism is.

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🚨 BEWARE of VoteSafe.org 🚨 While it bills itself as a “safe” way to register to vote, it is actually a digital surveillance machine created by Elon Musk’s super PAC.

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 10/09/2026

The thing liberals fundamentally don't understand is that trans people are losing rights they already had. We're not asking for more, we're asking not to lose what we already had for decades. Most sports leagues and the Olympics had inclusion criteria for decades without issue.

Screenshot of an X (formerly Twitter) exchange discussing political pragmatism and the Overton window.
The initial post by onion person (@CantEverDie) reads:
> "doesn't matter, this is about what the right is able to push with the overton window. first its democrats needing to disavow trans women in sports to get elected, next it'll be agreeing to ban access to HRT to get elected. we've seen how this plays out"
>
A reply from Nick Pappas (@NickAPappas) reads:
> "Are you insane? The Overton window didn’t even include this discussion until recently. The public has never been in favor of desegregating the sports by sex.
> Personally I’m glad Barack Obama ran against gay marriage in 2008. Not because that was the right position, or one he even actually held, but because he knew the public wasn’t with him on it. If he hadn’t won he wouldn’t have been able to appoint 2 of the justices who ultimately voted in the majority for Obergefell.
> Lincoln in 1860 didn’t even run on abolishing slavery! He just wanted to stop its expansion. And thankfully he did that and won because a more extreme and morally correct position would have lost. As a result he was able to win the Civil War and push through the 13 amendment.
> Political practicality is the entire history of progress in America. There’s no other way."
>

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Interesting points, but I'm shocked that the word "grade" doesn't appear at all. The underlying assumption throughout is that a course's function is for students to produce assignments that faculty must grade, creating an "output" on a transcript. But it misses a key place where reforms can help (+)

nymag.com

The College Students Finding New Ways to Cheat With AI

Colleges are testing new ways to catch AI use. It isn’t working.

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A truly infuriating & demoralizing read: Let us mourn for a global industry that provided the only livable wage for educated Africans doing intellectual labor for privileged lazy Americans, put out of business by replacing noble human cheaters with profiteering & environment-destroying machines.

nytimes.com

Kenyans Made a Living Writing College Essays. Then A.I. Arrived. (Gift Article)

Thousands of Kenyans made a living writing essays for overseas students. With A.I., the work has dried up, a warning for online gig work that has been a global lifeline.

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

nytimes.com

Kenyans Made a Living Writing College Essays. Then A.I. Arrived. (Gift Article)

Thousands of Kenyans made a living writing essays for overseas students. With A.I., the work has dried up, a warning for online gig work that has been a global lifeline.

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bluevoter24.bsky.social @bluevoter24.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Finally! That's what I'm talking about! #politics

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Make your favorite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: The kindest, warmest, bravest, most wonderful human being anybody has ever known plays a lot of solitaire.

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Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

How it started… how it’s going

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Great thread by Ryan - particularly the key point he makes about how such AI policing falls hardest on contingent faculty. Making it the default would at least normalize such policies and support those with least institutional power:

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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Look, are we the laughing stock of the world? Yes. Are we losing a war we should’ve never started? Yes. Is all our food poison now? Yes. Are all the jobs going away? Yes. But the important thing is a blue-haired college student I made up in my head feels bad about memes.

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Carlos Maza @carlosmaza.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

NEW VIDEO: Video Essay Creep youtu.be/itSlOoKo1t0?...

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Tonight @themountaingoats.bsky.social brought it hard to Vermont! Beyond the tremendous musicianship, my favorite thing is how much John Darnielle projects total joy & delight that it is his job to sing songs about drug-addled actors, shipwrecks, and bitter divorces to adoring crowds!

The Mountain Goats playing at Higher Ground in Burlington Vermont

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Leonore (Lee) Carpenter @leecarpenter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

In case you are an academic who is currently being gaslit into believing that you're a caveman who wants their students to be jobless if you resist allowing AI in your classrooms... I present to you Berkeley Law's response, which can be summarized as "Fuck off directly into the sun."

law.berkeley.edu

Artificial Intelligence Policy

Effective Summer 2026 Purpose Future lawyers may need to use artificial intelligence (“AI”) fluently. But the current state of the technology requires that AI use be coupled with the cognitive […]

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Once all the takes get aired, I’m betting that it boils down to Harper getting pissed off that his colleagues had better parking spaces than he did:

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It is sufficiently rare for highly partisan GOP operatives to actually stand-up for consistency, so I'll give a little credit to Mark Fowler - the architect of 80s media deregulation & demise of fairness doctrine - for actually calling out FCC overreach & excess, even when it benefits his own party:

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Talking Heads, "True Stories" (in retrospect, good choice 13yo me!)

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 16/08/2026

"Why do the kids hate the filterless sociopaths who are destroying the environment and the economy and who monologue like James Bond villains?"

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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

there is no such thing as "age verification." All "age verification" is actually "identity verification." You can coat it in glitter and "privacy-preserving" wrapping paper. But in the end, mandating age verification means mandating surveillance be built into software and hardware. Period.

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Jason B Jones @jbj.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Great thread about adblockers and how they work in reality

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Most years, Lake Street Dive plays two sold-out shows at Shelburne Museum, always a highlight of Vermont summers. Tonight’s concert was phenomenal, just a huge party with top tier musicians!!

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Every once in a while I have a moment where I ask myself "do I really live here?", even though I've been in Vermont for 25 years! Today we attended a great daytime concert by Kathleen Parks Band at Knoll Farm in Waitsfield, where this was the tremendous view as we listened to the music:

Mountain & valley view at Knoll Farm in Waitsfield Vermont

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

High score for me this morning! hankgreen.com/smush · Aug 9 1194 pts · PERFECT 💯 · 34-day streak

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Self-segregation is real, but this overlooks crucial context: when RWers deny the legitimacy of many people's identity & existence, there's no "productive conversation that sharpens minds." Putting the burden on queer, BIPOC or undocumented students to attend a "conservative" college is malpractice.

nytimes.com

Opinion | College Is More Political Than Ever. But in a New, Insidious Way. (Gift Article)

Students are self-segregating by ideology.

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Kate Erbland @katerbland.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Betty Gilpin remains the number one interview subject I would talk to about literally ANYTHING. But about her Emmy-nominated turn in WIDOW'S BAY, perfect line readings, "mugging in hoopskirts," and anti-ChatGPT TV? Just, a dream: www.indiewire.com/awards/consi...

indiewire.com

For Emmy Nominee Betty Gilpin, ‘Widow’s Bay’ Is ‘the Ultimate F**k You to Safe, Algorithm-Friendly, ChatGPT’ TV

The four-time Emmy nominee tells IndieWire talks her best lines, the joy of collective fun, and "mugging in a hoop skirt."

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Happy New Bobby Fingers Video Day for all who celebrate!!! And for those who don't celebrate (and thus probably don't yet know about the genius of Bobby Fingers), you're welcome: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGt7... (Short description: imagine if Nathan Fielder were an Irish diorama-crafting YouTuber)

youtube.com

Johnny Depp's Bed

YouTube video by Bobby Fingers

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

youtube.com

Johnny Depp's Bed

YouTube video by Bobby Fingers

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Just finished watching s2 of INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, and hoo boy, that's some great TV! Been awhile since I saw a TV season felt so well designed and firing on all cylinders like that. Very excited to dive into VAMPIRE LESTAT next!

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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

there's a lot of things you could say that explain why someone is not fit for public office but "he cheats at a solo sport " should be all you ever need

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Sky Blue Sky is Wilco’s best album.

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Fabulous night seeing Sylvan Esso playing at Burlington Waterfront Park! They’ve expanded to a six-piece, which works well for most songs, but definitely a different vibe than a duo. Highlight was crowd demanding an encore for 10 minutes - and us getting “Funeral Singers” to end the night!

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Alissa Wilkinson @alissawilkinson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Something I like about @elazic.bsky.social's careful read here is that it points out a fatal flaw with a lot of pieces of writing that pass for "reviews" (even from critics!) because they talk about a movie: saying "this is bad!" as if it's self-evident, rather than arguing for *why* it is bad.

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The Onion @theonion.com · 28/07/2026

Ken Burns Wants You To Watch America: Birth Of A Nation Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cTi_vTwwmU…

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Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

What blows my mind with AI is the people who are like "how could you possibly function without it?" To which I say, "you, YOU literally did until what like 3 years ago? Did it degrade your brain that fast that you can't figure out how to do the thing you trained for years and earned a PhD to do?"

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

After playing hundreds of games of Wingspan & all its expansions, tonight we inaugurated Wingspan Pocket! A faster, smaller version that feels cleverly similar but different from the original. Looking forward to playing many more times - bravo @elizhargrave.bsky.social @stonemaiergames.com!!

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