iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Kelly Barnhill @kellybarnhill.bsky.social · 9h

Do we really need to explain to people that it is really, REALLY important to read to young children? Like, you, personally, need to read to your child - your voice, your face, your hand gestures, your lap, your arms, your closeness. What kind of parent doesn't know this in their bones?

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Sitting on a corn flake @grrlscientist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In 1992 Peter Ratcliffe received this rejection from Nature. Almost 30 years later he won the Nobel Prize for the same discovery.

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Arienne Childrey @ari4ohio.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Today, I resigned as Vice Chair of the ODP Pride Caucus. The state party expects us to be a sales team, censoring our voices when we beg candidates not to trade on trans lives. I am still a Democrat, but I will not value party approval over true, defiant advocacy. Full text below. 👇

Part 1 of an open letter of resignation by Arienne Childrey, stepping down as Vice Chair and member of the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Pride Caucus. She states that party leadership treats the caucus as a recruitment and sales team rather than a representative body. She cites an incident where the ODP censored and denied permission for the caucus to post a letter by two trans leaders addressing harmful comments made by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. The State Party Chair reportedly called the letter an "unwelcome distraction," which Childrey notes demonstrates how little party leadership values the voices and dignity of LGBTQ+ Democrats.

Since that decision, every Caucus plan, every potential post, and every path forward has been filtered through a lens of strict compliance and ODP approval. That may very well be the party's rule, but following those rules right now is a dereliction of our duty to the LGBTQ+ community.

For me, any rule that silences advocacy for the trans community during this time is an unjust rule, and I see no obligation to follow it. In alignment with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

We are living in incredibly dangerous times for the trans community. We are in an era where the GOP has so thoroughly weaponized trans lives that even some formerly self-professing allies within our own party have fallen prey to the rhetoric. Looking at the national trend towards Democratic anti-trans triangulation, as well as our own internal conversations, it is clear to me that this shift is much more than a simple coincidence.

We have to speak up—loudly, strongly, and unapologetically—or I fear what our 2028 choices may look like. The ODP would like everyone to believe they are a "big tent" party. However, their successful efforts to silence even the Pride Caucus—even in cases where we are simply begging our candidates not to trade on our lives for perceived electoral advantage—has proven otherwise. The tent hasn't gotten any bigger; it has simply shifted, leaving many trans individuals, progressives, and allies out in the rain.

I will continue to advocate, organize, and fight for our community with everything I have. But I can no longer compromise my own moral principles by remaining part of a caucus that appears more interested in party approval than in true, defiant advocacy.

Sincerely,
Arienne Childrey

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Eric Pazdziora @ericpazdziora.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"Opera doesn't make money. Opera’s what you spend money *on*.” “But . . what do you get out of it?” “You get opera. You put money in, you see, and opera comes out,” said Salzella wearily. --Terry Pratchett, 'Maskerade'

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Shepherd @neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Oh my heart is so full reading about this. The US Colored Troops were huge in the story of emancipation and in the human dignity of enslaved Black people. For the first time they had weapons and uniforms, just like white men.

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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 02/10/2026

> an increase in thin papers of narrow scope, as well as ‘salami’ papers, where a single work is broken up and submitted as a set of smaller papers. There is also a marked increase in dense, AI-written papers. AI tools are making it easy for authors to flood arXiv [and others with] low-value papers.

A histogram showing the incredible increase in submissions.

> In September of 2016, arXiv received 9,869 submissions. In September of 2024, arXiv received 20,569 submissions. This September, arXiv received 40,363 submissions, which in turn generated almost 9,000 support tickets for arXiv staff and moderators. In only the past two years, submissions have doubled.

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Danny (they/them) @dannyfaust.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Have you ever found yourself wondering "Gee, what would it be like if Rosalind Russell played Archie Goodwin?" Well, buster, have I got a book series for you!

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BulletPharm @bulletpharm.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

"And here is Deshaun Watson who is playing well but also credibly accused of sexually assaulting at least 26 women. If you're watching with your kids, here is an opportunity to have a conversation about consent and bodily autonomy. Now let's see if they can convert this 3rd down"

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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 01/10/2026

I keep seeing this Semafor graph that seems to show the Trump administration’s effect on international visits is comparable to the pandemic. My first thought was “that can’t be true” and indeed it is not. This is monthly data. We only have to Jun/Aug 2026. The lines are over-fitted to the months.

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Ethan Kocak @ethankocak.com · 29/09/2026

BTW, new (silly) page up over at The Unfamiliars. theunfamiliars.site/comic/85/

theunfamiliars.site

THEY LIVE for references around here.

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Storm Mesa @stormmesa.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Feel like I need to watch both of these now.

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It's a good day to google "Foxconn," "Wisconsin," "Trump," "2018," "13,000 jobs" and "didn't happen, didn't even come close"

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Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 28/09/2026

This gorgeous little blue guy is West Texas Grass Sage, Salvia reptans. It forms an airy clump for much of the year, then flowers into this.

The small flowers of a sage held over fingers. The color is a blue to make strong men weep.

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 27/09/2026

Mike is a scientist so yeah he’s going to be interesting in questions of quantification and specificity Treating that like it’s weird, socially criminal behavior is itself deeply anti-social

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Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 04/09/2024

Guy who tries to be a free-thinkong contrarian but instead of saying the usual Nazi shit he's just constantly ranting about how "dogs aren't like they used to be" and "doesn't anyone remember when dogs used to talk?"

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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

At what point do these corporations get charged with felonious activity? Humans certainly aren't allowed to mess with government websites or else the FBI would be knocking on their door. We all saw Wargames.

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 26/09/2026

Does my Speak-n-Spell feel pain when I type O-U-C-H? The jury is out. Philosophers and neuroscientists say that's fucking stupid, but I called a guy from the Center for Pretending that Household Electronics Are Sentient and he said there's no way to know for sure.

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Julie S. Lalonde @julieslalonde.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The literacy crisis is not just referring to people's ability to literally read and write. It's also people's inability to read for context. I've been a public educator for over 20 years and I have never, ever seen it this bad.

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I think V FOR VENDETTA is much more relevant now than it was during the War on Terror years for reasons I got into with director James McTeigue on this week's Bulwark Goes to Hollywood. Interesting movie to look at 20 years later! www.thebulwark.com/p/how-v-for-...

thebulwark.com

How ‘V for Vendetta’ Perfectly Explains Our Age

Director James McTeigue on the push-pull between progress and reaction.

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K.B. Spangler @kbspangler.com · 24/09/2026

I know everything feels overwhelming right now, but that's because we're all overwhelmed. I should probably put something happy here so, I dunno, we've all gotten really good at sadly poking things with sticks, I guess? Go clean something easy and very small. You'll feel better.

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Potash humor. @cnn.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2026/09/23/e...

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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

When Ds reached 60 seats they had seats in Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, West Virginia + Dakotas, Montana etc. That’s what made the Affordable Care Act possible. It wasn’t that long ago.

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Julia Serano @juliaserano.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

...Assumption #4 has been driving me batshit, yet no one seems to realize it: if you're worried trans ppl might potentially harm your Dem candidate's chances, then YOUR CANDIDATE MADE A BAD DECISION! so why not join us in trying to get them to reverse position? juliaserano.medium.com/on-democrats...

screenshot from linked-to essay that reads:
Assumption #4: The elephant in the room that no one is talking about
There is a striking disconnect between Talarico, Turek, et al. — who have clearly made a political calculation that abandoning trans rights will help them more than it will hurt them in this election — and the many cisgender liberals I’ve encountered online who are absolutely freaking out over the possibility that trans people’s critiques and protests will ultimately tank said candidates.
Both of these things cannot simultaneously be true!
If you think your favorite candidate enacted the correct political strategy, then there is no reason to berate trans people for protesting it, as those protests should already be baked into your candidate’s calculations. So why are you berating trans people then? (Unless, of course, you enjoy berating trans people just for the sake of it.)
Alternatively, if you think trans people *are* capable of tanking your favorite candidate via our criticisms and protests, doesn’t that imply that your candidate (and their consultants and strategists) totally fucked up in their political calculations here? And if they did fuck up, shouldn’t you be reaching out and complaining to *them* (rather than berating trans people), in the hope that they might reverse their bad decision?

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James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Been reading about Paramount's promise that an outside body will ensure CNN's editorial independence, and man is it wearisome to be the sole person on Earth who remembers anything that happened more than 10 years ago www.theguardian.com/business/200....

theguardian.com

Wall Street Journal committee claims Murdoch broke agreement

A special independent committee accused the press baron of breaking agreement to protect editorial integrity

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K.B. Spangler @kbspangler.com · 21/09/2026

Hey so we're going to see a lot more of these polls. They have a chilling effect on voting bc we think someone else will do the work. If we've learned ANYTHING over the last ten years, it's that we cannot count on anyone else doing the work. WE have to do the work. Voting is work.

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Max the comics guy who does comics about comics @waitingforthetrade.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The thing I like about the X-Men is that if you join it doesn’t matter if you were an assassin or raised in a murder cult or worshipped as a god, at some point they will make you try to teach geometry to a bunch of fifteen year olds.

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Emily J. Edwards @msemilyedwards.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

it's genuinely shocking to see just how *dedicated* portions of the internet are to "Fascism is only happening in the US" when this has been brewing in Germany for literal years, Italy's PM is an avowed fascist, and the UK has had multiple masked, anti-immigrant protests in 3 months

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LEE GATLIN @neilaglet.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Some old ones for #batmanday

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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Trump's move to ban outlets he doesn't like from reporting inside the White House comes amid a wave of bad news less than 2 months before the midterms: *Record diesel prices, $4+ gas, ~7% mortgages, higher interest rates, high fertilizer prices, ~$7 beef. *Terrible polling for Rs, Trump *Etc Etc Etc

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Bryan @bryanpedersen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

"Everyone knows that the color palette includes blues, greens, yellows and purple. What this movie pre-supposes is: what if it didn't?" #folkhorrorfriday

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

BESPOKE: “.. 17 S&P 500 stocks are down at least 50% from their 52-week highs.”

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Nome @nome.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

You do not need to explain, to Queer or Black or Disabled people in America, that you can't always have a perfect thing. That is not news to us. You are not providing new information. It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.

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Storm Mesa @stormmesa.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Was hoping there were Doctor Who chicken tenders ... you know we could have a little miniature Tardis for the dipping sauce. Sigh.

Screenshot of Bluesky Trending list, with second item listing "BBC opens Doctor Who tender"

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An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog @hugobookclub.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Also, the meme has been recontextualized and played with. The cow tools version still makes me laugh. Partially because I just know how much Frank Miller probably hates it.

Batman holding the cow tool from far side comic “cow tools”

He says “this is the tool of the cow. We do not understand it. We will not use it.”

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Ed Sheeran would one hundred percent hide a zombie bite.

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Helene Meisler @hmeisler.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

No idea if this is real or not but it's too funny not to share.

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“.. NYT asked a bunch of ten year olds what life will be like in 2050.” (via @shashj.bsky.social)

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Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 12/09/2026

Your regular reminder that coldhardycactus.com ‘s adorably unfinished website has all your “you live in zone 3? We got a cactus for that!” needs covered.

coldhardycactus.com

The Cactus Man - Cold Hardy Cactus

We're all about finding the most cold hardy and low water cacti and succulents! This collection is a compilation from cacti gurus from around the world !

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sonnybunch.bsky.social @sonnybunch.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

At the midterm convention it became painfully clear that Donald Trump, the memory of Charlie Kirk, and fear of Democrats are the only thing holding the party together. But the Iran War looms as a wedge that could split the whole thing apart. www.thebulwark.com/p/fear-and-l...

thebulwark.com

Fear and Loathing Among the Fearful and Self-Loathing

What I saw at Trump’s tribute to Trump in Dallas.

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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 11/09/2026

Ooh! Well how giant could it possibly be, haha I'll just wait WAIT NO *thuds* *distant screaming* *sounds of buildings being demolished*

a sandwich board outside reading "home of the giant croissant"

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

They don't call Mina the GOAT for nothing

Mina Kimes in WIRED on why Bluesky is great and Twitter sucks shit:

"Favorite social network: Bluesky
I post everywhere to try and get my work out there and get it seen and read. But I would say the one that I use the most is Bluesky. While it has its flaws, there's definitely the occasional sports ball person in my mentions. I’ve found the interactions on there are the most like interactions I have with people in the real world, which is a rarity on the social internet these days.

Least favorite social network: Twitter
Everyone says Twitter, right? Which is a bummer because it used to be really fun and essential for news. When breaking news was happening, it was a place you'd go to get on-the-ground impressions. You could meet friends, you could find new writers and comedians, and all of that feels lost just because Elon completely killed the vibe. And I say that because obviously he's done things far more serious in terms of poisoning the discourse, and the place is a cesspool for racism and misogyny and misinformation, but it's also just, like, a terrible fucking hang. Everyone either seems miserable or is determined to make other people miserable.

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Shepherd @neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I bought not one but two mustangs

Two bay horses shining in the desert sun

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Effin' Birds @effinbirds.com · 08/09/2026

The proto-Effin’ Birds was my Tumblr “Swear Trek”. It opened a lot of doors for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I don’t have plans to revive it (one daily comic is enough work), just wanted to thank it for getting me here on this 60th anniversary of Star Trek.

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Shepherd @neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The number of newsletters by people who are otherwise not terrible that stay on substack and help them pay Nazis is astonishing.

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