iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 3h

Where I was 36 years ago tonight. $17.50. My 20 year-old self would never have dreamed I'd still have this ticket stub...

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 8h

When the political movement has as its core premise that the only true Americans are its adherents, the rest of the madness follows

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 11h

NYC pals: if you're around next Friday, it'd be great to see you.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 15h

80% of my time in the ginormous corporate coffeeshop is spent trying to figure out where to stand so I'm not in anyone's way

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

CRUCIAL GUITAR UPDATE Replacing the stock Schecter SuperRock II bridge humbucker with this Seymour Duncan SH-6 was definitely the right move

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's not always easy to complain about academic life. But many reliably find a way.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Happy Monday! "Three Girl Rhumba" - Wire

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Tomorrow, I'm finally getting around to brining this fabulous G&L Fallout to my guy for a proper set up (and string inversion). Looking forward to getting into my playing rotation....

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Mellow Sunday. "Yesterday Is Here" - Tom Waits. Opening tune in my oldster lounge set...

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

AT THE MEGA GUITAR SHOP Me, playing a Gretsch hollow-body through a Fender tweed, ultra mellow tone, lots of reverb Rando: What is that you're playing? Sounds familiar Me: It's a lounge version of "Angelfuck" R: What? Wait... Misfits? Me: Yup R: Huh...

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Today's Guitar Adventure: I came dangerously close to convincing myself that I could make room make room for this in our loft. Had to walk away....

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Everything's terrible, but look on the bright side: There's literally nothing stopping Smashing Pumpkins Bro, Tool Bro, Foo Bro, Sonic Youth Bro, and White Stripes Bro from forming a "super" group of unimaginably self-important bullshit. And somehow that hasn't happened yet.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

"The Act We Act" - Sugar. Maybe slightly niche

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

"The people around me haven't done a good enough job of telling you how great I am" is a helluva closing argument to midterm voters

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Senator Schmitt: "Do you believe that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all?" Jack Smith : "That is Jack Rawls"

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Happy Friday! "Complications" - Killing Joke. I miss Geordie

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Apparently some undergraduates who took my Justice course within the past few years have nominated me for a university teaching award, which is pretty gratifying. Thanks, whoever you are.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Happy October! "Static Age" - Misfits

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

When I was department chair, I had a senior colleague who'd routinely write the most unhinged, antagonistic emails, always with the closing "Cordially." Hilarious.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Refusing to acknowledge that you made a glaring error that involved the public demeaning of another person is cowardly

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Had to explain to a student today that the reason I generally don't socialize with people on campus is not that I dislike them, but rather that I don't have the emotional resources required to make new friends (or enemies)

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Happy Wednesday! "Money Is Not Our God" - Killing Joke

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Now playing in the Talisse-Billett household

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

NEW RING OF HELL ALERT: Jack White Poetry Reading

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Sometimes the purported smoking gun backfires, the alleged dirtbag villain wins, and also you prove that you're the dirtbag villain

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I've studied the great works of political theory for over half my life, yet the most important insights for our times can be gained from Scorsese films. Like this one: People will endure almost anything if you promise them a shot at free money

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Where I was 30 years ago tonight. $17.50

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Surely part of the reason why Rorty was so widely read in his day is that he very confidently told people who'd never read Kant that they needn't bother

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Happy Monday! "Love in a Void" - Siouxsie & The Banshees

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Several years ago, I received a "let's bury the hatchet" note from someone I hadn't seen in well over a decade and had no recollection of ever being in a feud with. I never replied.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Do campus "centers for teaching" offer programming about de-teching one's classroom or teaching screen-less courses? I don't pay much attention to this stuff, but it seems things go only the other direction: "to become a better teacher, incorporate more tech into your classroom"

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Mellow Sunday Morning. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" - Simon & Garfunkel

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Niche Riff Saturday: "Fun and Games" - Killing Joke

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Unsolicited advice for those starting a philosophy PhD: Figure out your general reading rate - how long it takes you to carefully read, say, a 20-page article or chapter. Time management is a common obstacle.

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Happy Friday! "Moral Majority" - Dead Kennedys

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Happy Dolly Day Eve to all who celebrate

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Where I was 37 years ago tonight. Montclair University, I think

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

You may say you're old-school . . . But are you really?

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yes, tenure is valuable for reasons of academic freedom and professorial autonomy, etc. But it's also valuable because it empowers one to say no

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Every so often, I get an unexpected check-in email from an old friend, and I find myself writing sentences like the three below, and wonder what our 19 year-old selves would think of us

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"She Sells Sanctuary" - The Cult. (I usually play inverted lefty, so this guitar is strung upside-down...)

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Latest arrival. This Fallout checks two boxes on my to-get list: a G&L USA model and a guitar with a humbucker-P90 configuration. It'll take two weeks before I can get this to my guy for a righteous set-up....

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Looks like the big Bad Brains announcement is that a newly-recovered early demo (remixed by Ian MacKaye) is being released. Cool, but also not what I was hoping for...

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Doyle makes his own signature "Monster" humbucker pickups. They're not cheap. I love the Misfits as much as the next guy, but I've never heard Doyle's playing and thought "that's what I want to sound like"

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"The safest general characterization of hardcore is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Bad Brains." --A.N. Whitehead

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Robert Talisse @roberttalisse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm convinced that the "De...Stroy...... Bab...Y...Lon" part of Bad Brains' "Destroy Babylon" has no time signature

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