iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 18h

Our two weeks in France were glorious. But our humble Rogue Valley gave us a warm welcome home.

Low sun over the valley as seen from an airplane window

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Dr. Merri 🐸 @merri24.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I am going to hunt down this brewery and buy every can 😎

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 01/10/2026

After many postponements, finally got to see Midsummer Night’s Dream at #osfashland. Spectacular, even better than my previous favorite, the 1997 production directed by Penny Metropulos with Ray Porter as Puck. That one was magical, this one dazzling in rich detail. Also hilarious. And beautiful.

Set of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at start of Act I.

Set of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at start of Act II.

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Time for this classic again.

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THEE NWMagpie - I Don't Argue With Ppl John Brown Would've Shot @thenwmagpie.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I enjoyed Mike Luckovich for years, and then he created this cartoon. I sat and cried for several minutes. Then I cut it out of the Los Angeles Times, and I've kept it ever since. Thank you, Mr. Luckovich.

Mike Luckovich's editorial cartoon showing the 9/11 NY firefighters who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers, finally making it to the top.

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s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 11/09/2026

Speaking of sense memories, I always revisit this incredible @tomjunod.bsky.social feature from 2021 about "Falling Man," photographer Richard Drew, and the image's indelible impact on our culture and all that came next.

esquire.com

The Falling Man

Do you remember this photograph? In the United States, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of September 11, 2001. The story behind it, though, and the search for the man pictured in i...

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Buddy Stone @buddystone.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A small #9/11 remembrance in the burbs. All three dates, including Jan. 6, were times our country was under attack.

Dec. 7, 1941, Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 6, 2021 noted on a blue garden flag with the words "Never Forget" and an image of the US Capitol building. Flanked by two small American flags with black mourning ribbons

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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 11/09/2026

Pretending the days after Sept. 11, 2001 were some kind of gauzy Hallmark special when we came together as a country is nauseating and ahistorical. The country went completely insane and has not recovered

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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Stop stop stop treating this $5k check thing like it’s real. It’s just…not.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 07/09/2026

The cyborg king in David R. Bunch’s “Moderan,” written 60 years ago, sounds exactly like a certain current idiot tyrant—right down to the bullshit promises and random capitalizations.

"I'll ask my Corps of Engineers to install some of the most sophisticated snoop gear in the history of mankind. I'll have them install signals and graphs and all kinds of metering devices. And as a fair little warning to you, let me say, and let it not be misunderstood, that I have never in all my life been fooled in my own personal estimate of an individual, his potential, his behavior, his overall utilization of self. Not that I'll need it, but I'll tell you ahead of time what I'm having put in to verify to all what I will know already. It will be called the Beep for Record' plan. When any man ANY MAN! is remiss in any one of the many categories in which a man can be remiss, throughout all this great new Stronghold a giant BEEP will sound, alerting all. Then that man's name—you do have names, I trust, or numbers—anyway, that man's designation will be loudmouthed throughout all this vast fort; his designation will reverberate from wall to wall, from hall to hall, from ceiling to floor, ALL EVERY-WHERE, as a miscreant. Let each man EACH MAN, please, now make a silent vow to keep his personal part of the 'Beep for Record' silent. Then he'll know he's doing what he should be doing anyway, without this threat. That's all. Just what he should be doing anyway.
He can expect no prizes for his silent BEEP. It will only mean that he is functioning adequately. Is that understood?
"For prizes? Well, I have BIG plans for that, which we'll go into at some better, later time. But for just right now, I'd much rather that you get clear that this is a no-nonsense place, and we mean business at this Stronghold. I'm King here and you are my subjects. I mean to

be the greatest King in Moderan and that will mean that you will be the greatest subjects in Moderan. Let's work hard. Our goals are simple. To be first First FIRST, those are our plans. Let no man shirk.
Heaven HEAVEN help him if he does. Do I want a happy Stronghold?
Ha phaw! Happy Strongholds are for old women warriors. I want a steel-driven Stronghold. I want a cold Stronghold. I want a Stronghold such that when the steel birds hit our air they'll feel a chill along the very wings they flap to flee our space. I want no mollycoddles. And I'll not be a mollycoddle's nursemaid. I'll take heads off; I'll melt people down. It could well be that the most obedient man in all the Stronghold will inexplicably one bleak day find himself in the pot.
He won't know why; I won't know why, except that these things work out. Strength answers to strength. Let no one feel secure. Yet let every man go at that special speed which leaves no room for accel-eration. What I mean, you'll be at MAX at all times and all the way.
When you wear out I'll replace you with no thought whatsoever concerning what you were. The GOAL of the overall effort is the ALL that counts. The little component parts mean nothing Noth-ING, except they contribute. And then their meaning is only in their time of function. I HOPE I HAVE MADE MY POSITION PERFECTLY CLEAR."

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Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 07/09/2026

On this Labor Day, let us remember that it wasn’t the CEOs and billionaires who saved us during COVID-19. It was the janitors, nurses, cleaning crews, grocery and food workers with their hard, often invisible labor.

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JRho @jrho.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.

Massive quilt made of prize ribbons in blue, red, yellow, and white

Center square of quilt made of yellow and red ribbons and yellow rosettes

Block of quilt made of blue, yellow, red, and white ribbons. Ribbons state the year. Some have the prize winning object written on in marker

Carol St. Clair Johnson
born 1954; resides Albuquerque, NM

O Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years
2023
satin ribbons

After unexpectedly winning her first blue ribbon for a sewn cape in 1981, Carol St. Clair Johnson developed an enduring love for the New Mexico State Fair. The quilt Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years incorporates more than six hundred of the ribbons she won at the fair every subsequent year except 2020 (when the fair was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson earned ribbons for needlework, knitting, crochet, pies, cookies, cakes, canning, jewelry, flowers, vegetables, and potted plants. The title of the quilt is a reference to the state song, and the design places the state's Zia sun symbol at the center. The quilt earned Johnson yet another ribbon: Best in Category (miscellaneous quilt) at the 2023 New Mexico State Fair.

Courtesy of Carol St. Clair Johnson

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 07/09/2026

Dumb and Dumber, A.I. edition

Search Assist box reads:
Guava is a fruit that has three syllables and four letters.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 06/09/2026

Hi, I’m Michael Rene, a writer, musician, photographer and voiceover artist. Annie Lennox’s “Into the West” from “The Return of the King” soundtrack never fails to give me chills—she sings “What can you see …” and then her voice soars “ … on the horizon?” Brilliant symbiosis of lyric and melody.

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Josephine beckbook.com Riesman @josie.zone · 05/09/2026

I should point out that this comic, "What If...?" #44, was published during the 1984 election season

REAL CAP: LISTEN TO ME -- ALL OF YOU OUT THERE! YOU WERE TOLD BY THIS MAN -- YOUR HERO -- THAT AMERICA IS THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!

HE TOLD YOU THAT AMERICANS WERE THE GREATEST PEOPLE -- THAT AMERICA COULD BE REFINED LIKE SILVER, COULD HAVE THE IMPURITIES HAMMERED OUT OF IT, AND SHINE MORE BRIGHTLY! HE WENT ON ABOUT HOW PRECIOUS AMERICA WAS -- HOW YOU NEEDED TO MAKE SURE IT REMAINED GREAT! AND HE TOLD YOU ANYTHING WAS JUSTIFIED TO PRESERVE THAT GREAT TREASURE, THAT PEARL OF GREAT PRICE (!!!!!) THAT IS AMERICA!

WELL, I SAY AMERICA IS NOTHING! WITHOUT ITS IDEALS -- ITS COMMITMENT TO THE FREEDOM OF ALL MEN, AMERICA IS A PIECE OF TRASH! A NATION IS NOTHING! A FLAG IS A PIECE OF CLOTH! I FOUGHT ADOLF HITLER NOT BECAUSE AMERICA WAS GREAT, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS FRAGILE! I KNEW THAT LIBERTY COULD BE SNUFFED OUT HERE AS IN NAZI GERMANY! AS A PEPOLE, WE WERE NO DIFFERENT FROM THEM! WHEN I RETURNED, I SAW THAT YOU NEARLY DID TURN AMERICA INTO NOTHING! AND THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE NOT LESS THAN NOTHING--

--IS THAT IT'S STILL POSSIBLE FOR YOU TOO [sic] BRING FREEDOM BACK TO AMERICA

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Sophie Labelle @assignedmale.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Your bad art is better than AI slop.

four frame comic. first frame shows a typical AI poster that says : All chatgpt flyers look the same, especially with this font! the text above it reads : I won't go to your event if the poster was made by AI. second frame shows a still frame from a Hank Green youtube video. text above reads : I won't read your post or email and I won't watch your video if they were made with AI. third frame shows an AI restaurant poster of burgers and chicken in a window. text reads : I won't patronize your shop or restaurant if it is advertised with AI. last frame shows an MS paint window with badly written : Your bad art is better than AI slop. text reads : if you can't take the time or make the effort to interact with me yourself, then why should I do it?

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Hegseth has taken out more American generals than Iranian ones.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 30/08/2026

Said farewell today to a woman who, despite a 10-year fight with metastatic breast cancer, embraced joy and brought happiness to all those around her until her dying day and beyond. This is the way to live, however long or short our life is.

What Would xxx Do?
Go outside.
Take the trip.
Dance-even if no one comes with you.
Read the book.
Paint the rock.
Share the meme.
Wear the fun earrings.
Order the fries.
Care.
Laugh loudly.
Stand up for people.
Make someone feel seen, loved, and valued.
Don't wait for life to come to you.
And, when you feel lost,
Believe in yourself the way she believed in you.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 27/08/2026

Every day I wake up later I'm afraid to face the sun I want to hide from everyone Memory is bitter Tell myself I'm no quitter But the gold no longer glitters babe The hardest thing for me Is true simplicity But it's the only thing That's good enough for you — Tim Curry

music.apple.com

Simplicity by Tim Curry on Apple Music

Song · 1989 · Duration 4:18

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

One thing that's been bugging me today: people who claim Dolly Parton wasn't political. False. She was very political. Her art and life's work were about interrogating power + amplifying the powerless. You only think she wasn't political because she did this by example, not bullshit slogans.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 23/08/2026

34 years a couple, a team, a force to be reckoned with

A very attractive couple toast their anniversary

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

There are going to be Democrats who say we shouldn’t rip it all out — it’s already built, we have other priorities — but removing the visible signs of Trumpism is absolutely necessary.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 21/08/2026

One of my work-study jobs in college was walking out to Capitol Boulevard first thing Monday morning to change BSU’s reader board. I’ll never forget the day when the campus was cloaked in dense fog and I heard, but could not see, a lone bagpiper somewhere on the quad, skrilling his or her heart out.

nytimes.com

The Bagpiper’s Endless Quest for a Place to Practice

A tour of New York’s cemeteries, toxic canals and industrial zones where a great Highland bagpipe can drone in peace.

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"This incurious and inexperienced person, armed with little more than a threadbare resume and no shortage of hubris, has been vaulted into a Senate vacancy and doesn’t seem to have any qualification for it beyond direct nepotism."

charlotteclymer.substack.com

Darline Graham Doesn’t Know Shit About Taiwan

And she should. She really should.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 18/08/2026

Stopped at Sparrow Bakery on our way home from Bend this morning to pick up half a dozen of their incredible Ocean Rolls. Gave away three of them, which leaves us the other three—each of which is roughly the diameter of a cantaloupe.

Three enormous cardamom buns fill a cloche-covered cake stand

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Joan@Seadog926 ☮️🌅 @seadog26.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This is what it is like living in Oregon, just exhausting to deal with this 😭

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 11/08/2026

If the plural of antenna is antennae, why isn’t the plural of enema enemae?

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 11/08/2026

Under the terms of my state alcohol server permit, if a customer said this in my bar I would be required to cut him off and arrange a ride home for him.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 09/08/2026

OK, in honor of the The Odyssey, give me your top 3 films about trying to get home (NOT including The Odyssey) 1. Lord of the Rings (3 films but 1 story) 2. The Warriors 3. Deliverance

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Sara Cress @saracress.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

School supplies should be free. They should come with the school. They should be purchased by the state.

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Gabriel Bosslet @gbosslet.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

RFK Jr said these words today on national television "There were ICUs that were empty all over the country including in New York at the height (of the pandemic)" hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha You are a fucking idiot hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha <sobs silently>

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 29/07/2026

Great! It will be even easier to ignore his intellectual dishonesty.

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Paula Poundstone @paulapoundstone.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Donald Trump made 1.4 billion inhis crypto scam in the first year of this term. How are you doing?

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Part of an old Jewish (Hillel) saying goes, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” Last night, the most visible part of our national press corps showed they won’t stand up for each other. And they undermined not just themselves, but every local news reporter who must put up with far worse.

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I'm supposed to believe the First Amendment is celebrated by our free press, and I'm also supposed to ignore that political journalists appear to be too frightened to defend their colleagues slandered in front of their faces by the sitting president at a black tie dinner.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 24/07/2026

No agenda notice. No public input. No comment after the fact. Funny how Trump’s sheeple simultaneously exhibit contempt for the citizens they serve and cowardice when confronted by those same citizens. MAGAnites know how full of shit they are. They throw a punch and then run away.

oregonlive.com

Surprise anti-immigration vote in Oregon county draws public meetings law complaint

The complaint targets Douglas County’s fast-tracked rejection of Oregon sanctuary policy.

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Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 24/07/2026

The claim “RFK Jr. does not fuck chickens” is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that RFK Jr. fucks chickens.

KEY POINTS
• The claim 'vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based
claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 23/07/2026

“The things I’m doing are so preposterous that it’s hard to believe they’re real.” Even Elon Musk doesn’t buy Elon Musk’s bullshit. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.com

‘I got carried away’: Elon Musk expresses regret about Doge and wading into Trump’s orbit

Billionaire in interview with the Economist admits he was too consumed by politics and shares predictions about AI

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 21/07/2026

Lashes. Just one of Henry’s many superior attributes. He bats them and the girl dogs swoon. 🐕🐾

A dog’s gorgeous black eyelashes highlighted against a white background

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Michael Rene Zuzel @michaelzuzel.com · 20/07/2026

It’s not a fair trade, but wildfires do make for some kickass sunsets.

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