iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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annika boo-ranti klein @noirbettie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

nobody loves shitty ROI more than a city spending millions to stop thousands in fare evasion. (if they actually wanted it to stop, they’d eliminate fares and make public transit be for the public!)

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

And here I thought they didn't like gender-affirming care.

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Jonathan W. Gray @elmcitytree.blacksky.app · 07/09/2026

I can’t wait to read the NYT op-ed from Renee Good’s wife about grief on the one year anniversary of her death. Surely the NYT will extend the same grace to Becca Good—whose partner died protesting against state power—as it has to Erica Kirk—whose partner died defending white supremacy

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I just saw a very odd advertisement from Meta (nee Facebook) about AI. I'm going to paraphrase it for you rather than link to it:

Paraphrased script to a Meta AI commercial filled with feel-good images and stirring music but not much else.

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026

Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

With remarkable consistency, dictators and authoritarians tend to recruit mediocre losers for their in-house thugs. (Gift article, no paywall.) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...

nytimes.com

Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R. (Gift Article)

New research sheds light on how mediocre employees help would-be authoritarians maintain power.

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Diedrich Bader @diedrichbader.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Well, we may have lost but at least we look like we cheated

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Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

What was removed from the curriculum to allow time for learning two different ways to write?

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ceej @ceej.online · 20/03/2026

I heard there was a secret cord that David kept in his cable hoard but he can never find it when he needs it

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Also, may I say that I don’t agree with people saying ICE and CBP need “more training.” They’re doing exactly what this administration has trained them to—impose a reign of fear in blue cities. They don’t need more training. They need to be ripped up root and branch.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

"They don't like nation building, but they do like nation bombing."

NY Times headline explaining Republican support for attacking Venezuela. Subhead: "They don't like nation building, but they do want to project American power."

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Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.

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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 01/01/2026

“Can’t believe NYC elected a Muslim as mayor.” In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

The earliest known recording of Carol of the Bells was made in 1922, although it wasn't known by that name yet. It was an arrangement of a Ukrainian folk song called "Shchedryk," sung by a visiting Ukrainian chorale in New York City: (1/4) www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXZL...

youtube.com

Ukranian National Choir - Shchedryk or Carol of the Bells 1922

YouTube video by RoelVos

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

You will be visited by three spirits.

Wash, Mal, and Zoë in a scene from the TV series Firefly

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Visited Mount Vernon today, the home of the original No Kings protester.

Photo of Mount Vernon. a large two-story tan home situated on a broad green lawn between two rows of trees.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Happy Tuesday to everyone who isn't Alex Jones! (Gift article, no paywall.) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

nytimes.com

Supreme Court Denies Alex Jones’s Appeal of Payment to Sandy Hook Families

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Delurking to give a thumbs-up to The Decameron. It was better than I expected, and it finished strong -- the last two episodes will stick with me. Eight episodes, on Netflix. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLim...

youtube.com

The Decameron | Official Trailer | Netflix

YouTube video by Netflix

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Hot take #1: The US has at least four national parties, so Musk is not proposing a third party, but a fifth one. Hot take #2: A year from now, I'll look at this post and wonder what it was even about.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Today's pleasant surprise: @petridishes.bsky.social has begun writing for The Atlantic! This is a nice step up from her previous job at Jeff Bezos's in-house corporate newsletter, The Washington Post. Petri is brilliant and hilarious. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

theatlantic.com

My Super-Special 79th Was Not Super Special

A diary entry by a disappointed president

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Let me save everyone a click. The forceful pushback advocated by the NY Times is that we should all point out that a third term is not allowed. Literally, that's their suggestion.

NY Times Op-Ed headline, May 6: "Trump's Third-Term Jokes Deserve a Serious Response. The president's fantasizing about remaining in office deserves a more forceful pushback."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

This incredible security lapse has been brought to you by a bunch of straight white guys who think DEI hires aren't competent.

Headline from The Atlantic magazine today: "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans," by Jeffrey Goldberg

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Bezos in October: "We won't endorse a candidate, because it makes us appear biased, and we can't have that." Bezos yesterday: "From now on we only print conservative opinions, because LOL."

Quote from WaPo owner Jeff Bezos on Oct 28 explaining that the paper won't endorse a candidate because it creates a perception of bias.

Quote from Bezos on Feb 26 explaining that the henceforth, WaPo will stop publishing editorials that don't support his views on "personal liberties and free markets."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

I canceled my WaPo subscription in October, when Bezos axed their Presidential endorsement. Kinda wish I could cancel it again this morning.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

One thing I've learned from reading biographies of Lincoln is that I enjoy reading biographies of Lincoln. This one, by a Pulitzer-winning historian, is currently on sale for $1.99 from all e-book sellers. Not sure how long that lasts.

Book cover of And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, by Jon Meacham (2022), featuring the standard half-of-a-face front photo of the subject, which apparently is required of all biographies now.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

In 1938, the leaders of Britain and France met with Hitler and decided that Germany could take the parts of Czechoslovakia that it wanted, in exchange for Hitler's promise not to start any other wars. Hitler cheerfully agreed. Been thinking about that a lot lately.

Screencap of a NY Times article in which Trump and Putin discuss what to do with Ukraine.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

When Slobodan Milošević tried to displace a million ethnic Albanians from their homeland in Kosovo, the US response was "Ethnic cleansing is a hard no," and we led NATO in a war that stopped it. Trump suggested doing that to twice as many people, and the NYT calls it a "brazen proposal."

Screenshot from today's NY Times article referring to "Trump's brazen proposal to move as many as two million Palestinians out of Gaza"

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Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

see this is what happens when you pretend to be religious but don't actually know how the story ends

Tweet from some yahoo named Javk Miladim to Justin Trudeau: had canada been trearing us fairly, this would never have happened. So buckle up Canada, you're taking on goliath

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

A 5-minute NYT video (no paywall) of people who watched their countries slide into authoritarianism. They talk about warning signs -- not signs they missed, but signs they saw and disregarded. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Lessons on Authoritarianism From Around the World (Gift Article)

Tyranny doesn’t happen overnight. Take it from the people who missed the first signs.

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Susanne Allen @evensong.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

It’s 24 degrees F in DC tonight and the windchill is 12. These are people standing in line to honor President Jimmy Carter as he lies in state. It’s hard to be positive. Jan 6ths insurrection had no consequences for the man that incited it and we face an onslaught of fascism, but this gives me hope.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

youtube.com

Ukranian National Choir - Shchedryk or Carol of the Bells 1922

YouTube video by RoelVos

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

The only penalty for a President issuing an unpopular pardon is the resulting public shame. If the President is leaving office, that's no penalty at all. Which is why nearly every President issues unpopular pardons when leaving office: Because they can, and because it'll be forgotten in a week.

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Mikel Jollett @mikeljollett.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

TRUMP: I’m going to use the FBI illegally to go after my political enemies! BIDEN: Um, I guess I’ll pardon my son then because fuck that. MEDIA: Biden is breaking norms!

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Plague of Gripes @plagueofgripes.bsky.social · 06/02/2024

An apparition appears in your room, alongside a more successful looking doppelganger of yourself. Apparition: " - and THIS is what you would be!" Doppelganger: "Oh my god! Spare me these twisted visions, specter! I've learned my lesson!" (both vanish) You: Hey what the fuck

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 29/09/2024

This big fellow occasionally shows up in the woods behind my building. The dogs always let me know when he's around. He was unimpressed by their very loud exhortations to leave.

A four-point buck in the small patch of woods behind my building, gazing calmly at the photographer from about 20 yards away.

A male deer, leg raised, peeing on the underbrush behind my building while (off-camera) two dogs bark furiously at him.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 02/09/2024

I'm two episodes into Kaos, and it's excellent so far. It's funny and appalling, in a "Greek mythology meets The Sopranos" sort of way. Jeff Goldblum plays a rather Jeff-Goldblumy Zeus, but it works. (Streaming on Netflix.)

Promo poster for Kaos, in the style of a Renaissance ceiling fresco, with various Greek deities in modern attire gazing down smugly at the viewer.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 11/06/2024

Today I learned I've been pronouncing "pho" wrong all this time.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 06/06/2024

Just spotted the year's first Joro in suburban Atlanta. She's still quite tiny, with a legspan of less than an inch. She'll get bigger quick once the mosquitos start showing up.

Close-up shot of a very small yellow-and-black Joro spider hanging out on her web, with dense green foliage in the background.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 22/02/2024

Had to say goodbye to this gentle old soul last week. Toby was 15 years old, and I'd had him for the past 7 of those years. During that time he took thousands of naps in the sunshine, made dozens of new friends, and barked exactly three times. He was a very good dog.

A large black dog named Toby, reclining on a tennis court, with a toy nearby. He's very regal. It's sunny, and he is thinking about taking a nap.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 05/02/2024

Timeline: Jan 30 2024: @mikechenwriter.bsky.social publishes A Quantum Love Story, involving a four-day time loop. Feb 4 2024: Phoebe Bridgers takes home a bunch of Grammy awards. Now: Story with 4-day time loop includes shout-out to Phoebe Bridgers. (Or was it there before? Who knows?)

Cover image: A Quantum Love Story, by Mike Chen

Quote from A Quantum Love Story, by Mike Chen, mentioning the song "Motion Sickness" by Phoebe Bridgers

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 02/02/2024

Congratulations, you've invented writing, what will you use it for? Mesopotamia: Law codes! China: Ethics! Greeks: Philosophy! Romans: Rhetoric! Norsemen: Just teach me how to spell "A curse upon the man who moves this rock."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 30/11/2023

Thoughts on Kissinger from "A Cook's Tour," Anthony Bourdain's 2001 memoir:

Screenshot of paragraph from Bourdain's book: "Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia – the fruits of his genius for statesmanship – and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević. While Henry continues to nibble nori rolls and remaki at A-list parties, Cambodia, the neutral nation he secretly and illegally bombed, invaded, undermined, and then threw to the dogs, is still trying to raise itself up on its one remaining leg."

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 16/11/2023

ME: I bet he's an expert in something that isn't climate science. ARTICLE: Yeah, he's done no work at all in climate science.

Elderly man sitting on sofa, very pleased at how well the Dunning-Kruger effect works.

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Rob Beauchamp @robeauch.bsky.social · 06/11/2023

New Sufjan Stevens just dropped. I've gone through my usual three-step emotional arc listening to it: 1. Very disappointed that this isn't Illinois. All Sufjan albums should be Illinois. 2. But I guess it's okay if you like quietly thoughtful indie-folk. 3. This is excellent and Sufjan is a genius.

Cover for Sufjan Stevens' album Javelin (2023): A collage of tiny face photos, with the title spelled out in slapdash gobbets of pink paint.

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