iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Until about a week ago, I'd forgotten Reince Preibus was his chief of staff for a bit--feels like an eternity ago.

Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

One of the things that most stuck with me from The Right Stuff was Wolfe's observation that the test pilot couples had probably been to as many funerals as couples their age typically go to weddings.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Lots of people who say we should follow Dr. King's example and judge people by the content of their character get real loud whenever someone judges the content of their character.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Early reactions I saw dampened my interest in watching it, and I was debating whether to see it just to support a Mexican director whose other work I've liked. But then today I read this (erinoverbey.substack.com/p/on-the-rev...) and now have seen your reaction, so my interest is now buidling.

erinoverbey.substack.com

On The Revolutionary Nature of “Digger”

Iñárittu’s revelations and the limits of film criticism

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Butterflies Some depictions of sirens? I think they may have had bird bodies at some point, before they started being depicted like mermaids?

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Moderns see some modern shit happening modernly in modernity and go, "What are we?!? A bunch of medieval mobs?"

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I don't think disliking jazz means one is racist, but it's at least an orange flag if one dislikes it on the grounds that it's (supposedly) not as complex or sophisticated as classical music.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

An Extremely Goofy Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

For those who haven't seen how that came about. (I can hear "after all, I am the bitch" in his voice, and it lives rent-free in my head.)

Q: You were in the music video for Rihanna's song "Bitch Better Have My Money." What's your favorite Rihanna song?

A: I wasn't really aware of who she was so I had to double-check with my kids. And they were screaming in my face: "You fucking moron! Don't you know who she is?? If you don't do this I'll kill you." So I've heard few things. I think she varies a lot; she has a broad palette of different styles. But I have a soft spot for "Bitch Better Have My Money" because, after all, I am the bitch.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Do they snore as well? Cat snores have been among the best discoveries I've made since getting one.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

That's why it can be a good idea for STEM students who plan to apply for grad school to take the GRE their freshman rather than their senior year: their math scores will probably be better if they take it while they're still fresh on the math they took in high school.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Medicine for the soul (referring to both cats and napping)

A tuxedo cat sleeping on a brown couch. His belly is exposed, showing two patches of white fur, and his front legs are stretched out straight in front ofhim like a movie mummy.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A similar thing is going on with his will-he-won't-he threats against Iran. He thinks he's keeping people in suspense and making himself look tough and willing to do wherever it takes, but the more he does it, the clearer it becomes he has absolutely no idea what to do.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

in the "remarkable early talent" category. Admittedly, the prevalence of grind culture presents a complication for this thesis, but I just wonder if believing in people born to be five-tool players is all that different from believing in 10x engineers.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In practice they look different, but I wonder if there aren't parallels to the fetishization of intelligence and disdain for expertise you see in some corners of Silicon Valley. The way of thinking about innate ability seems similar, except (aspiring) tech overlords just assume they and theirs are

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Capitalists seem to have forgotten the supposed justification for them keeping the profits is that they're the ones taking the, checks notes, risk.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The self-proclaimed party of personal responsibility just will not accept that they have a reality problem, not a PR problem.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Spherical bastard: someone who's a bastard no matter which direction you look at them from The more diverse our media gets, the more reasons to despise the man they'll find and report on. He's just that kind of guy!

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

predicting which way Scalia would vote in every case before the Supreme Court that semester.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I once saw a tweet from someone whose law professor had said Scalia was unpredictable because he was a really nuanced thinker. The tweeter replied that Scalia was totally predictable, you just had to ask which outcome would benefit corporate America. They then annoyed the professor by correctly

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I can't remember her name right now, but there's a stand-up comedian with a bit about being told she's unlocked some special status by spending $1000 in 12 months and her reaction being, "Fuck you! It's not your fault, but fuck you for telling me what I've done."

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I think Danica Patrick has talked about driving a Tesla in her private life and how guys pull up next to her at red lights and rev their engines at her and then she leaves them in the dust.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If a wildly active dog is anything like a kitten, I'm guessing they were bouncing around again 15 minutes later.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

But he did make that strange comment in his first term about needing to build the wall high because Mexicans are all mountain climbers.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I was thinking he associates Mexicans with roofers and has some racist ideas akin to the justifications for slavery on the grounds that Black people supposedly experienced less pain.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Reminds of when online messengers were a thing and it took me a while to figure out people were using letters to stand in for while syllables (e.g., x for por, k for que).

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

In the era of always double down, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried charging him with perjury because they have evidence that on a different occasion he was at a different location named Atlanta.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I once read that libertarianism is the political ideology that can most consistently be defeated with "But that doesn't happen, though." Now, though, MAGA and transphobia are really giving libertarianism a run for its money (if not running circles around it).

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Seeing just the quoted post with no context, I at first imagined it was about a toddler and was ... concerned when I got to the chewing through a gate part.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think they uploaded it to YouTube but either uploaded it to a private channel or have since deleted it. Some years later, I went looking for it but never found it again.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Someone who lived in the same college dorm as me was taking a digital special effects class when he saw Sharknado. Figuring he could make effects at least that good, he made a half-hour-long movie called Roachquake. Lots of inside jokes about our university in general and dorm in particular.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This reminds me of that scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where Michelle Yeoh's character comments that the younger woman moves a brush like it's a sword.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I just had a thought. Could their seeing others as NPCs also feed into their fear of death? It could keep them from finding any solace in the idea of being remembered by loved ones. To the solipsistic, the end of their mind might as well be the end of the universe.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

And not be eugenicists convinced of their own genetic superiority

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This may require the tech barons to have read a history book.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yeah, after hitting Reply, I figured anyone capable of getting at records with a billionaire's info wouldn't be long deterred by such a simple cipher. Thanks for the info!

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I think there was also an article in the New Yorker about them contemplating measures like putting shock collars on the bunker security team.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Fair enough In all seriousness, I'm sure people have worked out how to manage the affairs of the obscenely wealthy. It's just fun imagining that in their hubris they might have overlooked something obvious.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

An idle follow-up question one might have is whether people who trust computers this much would think to use a simple cipher to disguise the information (e.g., shifting all the digits some amount from the actual value).

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Not knowing how the rich live, I'm now wondering if there are employees out there who know these guys' social security numbers.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm glad you had the grandfather you had, and I wish peace and safety.

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Kevin Castro, MA @kevincastror.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“British historians write almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it.” --Eric Williams

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