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Ralph Brandi

@thereisnocat.com
2.6K followers 323 following 7.1K posts

He/Him Retired web developer. Amateur photographer (mostly film). Leftist. Amateur genealogist. Of all the places my ancestors came from the place they came from the most is Ukraine. Slava Ukraini! www.thereisnocat.com

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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 2h
Fuck ICE www.flickr.com/photos/thereisnocat/…
flickr.com
%*$# ICE!
There is a time honored tradition in polite society of substituting punctuation for profanity. For my final photo in this series, I wanted to express a common sentiment, and do it with profanity. I was trying to figure out how to handle that when it occurred to me that the six failed photos from my first pack of Round Frame might hold the answer. Abstract “photos” of nothing could substitute for punctuation. And so we get this. If you squint your eyes, you might see that the failed photos were chosen for a resemblance to the letters of my intended profanity here. %*$# ICE and the ICE KING. Mint SLR-670X (I-Type) Ming Edition and Mint SLR-670S, Polaroid Color 600 Round Frame.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 8h
Please No Strollers Because if you please a stroller, who knows what you’ll please next. Nikon FE, Rollei Paul, 510-Pyro. #BelieveInFilm
Shadows fall all over the mall through a sun roof, including on an escalator. A sign next to the escalator reads “Please No Strollers”.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 8h
I already told you how to get one. If you don’t want to build it, send it to me, I’ll build it. I’ll even put a red dot on it so you’ll think it’s a Leica.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 9h
My dad died almost 17 years ago. And yet, he’s still helping me today. Bidet toilet seat showed up, and I had the tools I needed to get it installed. Installed a setup to hold my turntable on the wall the other day; there was a drill and the bits I needed in his toolbox. People die but live on….
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 9h
Damn, that’s loud.
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Reposted by Ralph Brandi
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 11h
Looks like Eric Schmitt has a new website--I guess to campaign to be JD's VP. senatorericschmitt.com
Schmitt
Schmitt: (verb) \ˈshmit\

1. A sudden and urgent gastrointestinal revolt in which the body issues an unmistakable, nonnegotiable evacuation order that causes a considerable mess and great humiliation.

2. To suffer a sudden, public, and spectacular political collapse, especially after overconfidently attempting a partisan attack.

3. To create such an avoidable mess that one’s credibility, message, and electoral prospects are left in tatters.

Example: “I ended up with that cyclosporiasis invection from tainted lettuce and I schmitted myself in the grocery store trying to buy some Pepto.”

Example: “During the hearing performance, he didn’t land a blow—he completely schmitted himself.”
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 11h
I like the cowboy picture but always interpreted it as Cossack. Think I would pick Locutus.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 13h
U. S. Post Office This is the post office in downtown Alpena. It’s a very imposing building. Leica R4, Kodak Pro Image 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
An imposing stone building has arched windows, two to the left and one to the right of the door, which also has an arched window above it. The second floor has smaller rectangular windows.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 14h
Ken Smith died last month. www.roadsideamerica.com/press/relea… (2/2)
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 14h
Many many years ago, I worked with a designer at AT&T named Doug Kirby. While we worked together he started a little side project with his friend Ken Smith called Roadside America. I’m pretty sure Ken worked as a contractor with us briefly. Roadside America became a huge success. (1/2)
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 15h
Remember how @dansavage.bsky.social Google bombed Rick Santorum's name so it came up as the definition for ""the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex." I think there's the ability to do something similar with Schmitt. www.thebulwark.com/p/eric-schmi...
thebulwark.com
Eric Schmitts the Bed
Plus: Trump’s dangerous, reckless embrace of AI.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 16h
The Gakken version I suggested Eddie can get is still an assembly required purchase. That’s one way of getting around the fact that Ilford doesn’t sell them in the US.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 16h
Like a scientist.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 18h
Something remarkable is happening: James Talarico is running an expansively pro-immigrant campaign in Texas, a state Trump won by 14 points, speaking in Biblical terms about our duty to "the stranger." And it's resonating. That's seismic. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
In Texas, Something Seismic Is Happening—and It’s All Trump’s Fault
Thanks to the economy and ICE, Trump has lost Texas Latinos. And James Talarico is developing a humane pro-immigrant message that’s resonating—even in this ultra-Trumpy state.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 16h
You can buy the Gakken version of it on eBay, and then you’ll have the fun of assembling it before you can take any pictures with it. That’s what I did.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 17h
Art Studio Someone had fun painting this place. Pentax 17, Kodak Ektar 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
A small garage is painted in vivid fluorescent colors, one wall yellow, the large garage door blue, its wall purple. A sign painted on the wall above the garage says “126 Water Street Art Studio” .
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 17h
🥺
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 30/09/2026
Nah. In the greater NYC area, Bellevue is the hospital where they would take mental patients (it’s actually a full service hospital and trauma center, but locally colloquially equivalent to “loonie bin”), so the trees kind of look like prison bars. In my context, it’s actually better this way. 😉
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 30/09/2026
Palm Trees Shot from the sidewalk outside our condo with a Kodak Charmera Millennium. #Charmera #ShittyCameraChallenge
Palm tree rendered in 6 colors plus dithering Another palm tree rendered in 6 colors plus dithering
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Mini Mini At the entrance to Paramus Park mall, there were a bunch of kiddie cars. Many of them were Minis, which makes them Mini Minis. There were Many Mini Minis. This is one. Nikon FE, Rollei Paul, 510-Pyro. #BelieveInFilm
A small toy car/stroller in the shape of a Mini Cooper.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
SI = Stupid Intelligence.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
They should call it Trump Intelligence. Then maybe people would understand that it doesn’t think.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
“Don’t be evil” my ass.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Thunder Bay River The Thunder Bay River empties into Lake Huron here in downtown Alpena. Leica R4, Kodak Pro Image 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
Bulkheads line a river as it passes a power station on its way to emptying into Lake Huron.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
This is why we can’t have nice things….
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Jesus. That’s fucking insane. I don’t doubt it, though. One site I’ve been reading for 30 years almost shut down last year because they couldn’t keep the site up under the weight of AI driven accesses. They wound up putting the site behind a CF challenge.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Love Moriyama. I have several of his books. His photography is so stark.
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Robert Stribley @stribs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I’m hearing ICE was involved in a car accident in Elmhurst after an attempted abduction. There’s a lot like this happening daily in NYC that gets little attention. Hope to see some reporting on this one. As of 10 minutes ago ICE was still there.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
I’ve read both. I would start with Hold Still. They both largely stand alone, but you’ll have more context for Art Work if you read it second.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Interesting. I used to be well connected with the accessibility community, but I recognized very few names among the presenters. I think that’s a very good sign; accessibility as a skill is spreading beyond the small community it used to be concentrated in.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Marina This is a view of the marina on the Hudson River as seen from the park in Hudson. Pentax 17, Kodak Ektar 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
Several plasture boats are docked at a marina on a river. The parking lot next to it is largely empty, with a few SUVs and a couple of pickup trucks with trailers and a lot of empty space. In the lower right, people are launching a pair of jet-skis.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Your loss. Legendary station in the NJ suburbs of NYC.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Second best. WFMU exists.
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Jane Lytvynenko @janelytv.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I stumbled on this documentary, Atomic Cafe, while thinking through how war thrusts forward technology and propaganda. The doc is a compilation of U.S. propaganda about the atomic bomb from its creation to its ultimate potential conclusion. A deeply affecting work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jwp...
youtube.com
The Atomic Cafe Documentary (1982)
YouTube video by History Changes
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
Love this film. I have it on DVD, and have the soundtrack on LP, which is amazing, mind blowingly good.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 29/09/2026
I can’t even imagine what an emparogi would be like, but I am so there….
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 28/09/2026
this is legitimately very funny
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GeWilli @gewilli.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Raindrops for a #monochromemonday I put the 50mm f4 M42 macro on the 📷 Pentax K3 mkiii monochrome for today
two raindrops on a eastern red cedar
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 28/09/2026
Don’t worry, SiriAI can’t even book you a place. I tried a bunch of things with it on my way to Florida last week and it failed on everything. Even something that worked flawlessly with OG Siri.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 28/09/2026
Paramus Park Laura wanted to go here when we were up at her parents’ house the other day. This mall was immortalized in the song “Ariel” by Dean Friedman (IYKYK). It’s dying, like most malls, but not as dead as some. Nikon FE, Rollei Paul, 510-Pyro. #BelieveInFilm
A sign above an entrance reads “Paramus Park” in stylized letters. The doors are chrome frames filled with glass.
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Shirley @surlyshirley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Domestic terror operation www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Gone in 90 seconds: an ‘invisibilized’ ICE is arresting more people than ever
After public backlash, the Trump administration changed its tactics from ‘siege’ to ‘soft feet’. Now, ICE is everywhere
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 28/09/2026
I would be utterly unsurprised to find significant crossover between the white grievance crowd and the incel crowd; they seem to have the same psychosis.
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Douglas Wolk @douglaswolk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Woke up to the news that Stevie Wonder was surprise-dropping an EP of four outtakes from "Songs in the Key of Life": open.spotify.com/album/7gzJYO... Which is a bit like "oh, 'Nine Stories' was originally going to be 'Thirteen Stories,' here are the other four..."
open.spotify.com
Songs In The Keys Of Life - EP by Stevie Wonder | Spotify
Stevie Wonder · EP · 2026 · 4 songs
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 28/09/2026
Welcome to Old Town Alpena Even an empty town like Alpena can look pretty good at golden hour. Leica R4, Kodak Pro Image 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
A two story red brick building has a sign out front that says “Welcome to Old Town Alpena”, and a ghost sign behind it that says “North-Side Pharmacy E. C. Spens Prop”. Less visible words beneath mention stationery and cigars. An SUV is parked in front of the building.  A sign partially visible at the far corner at left says “Alpena Visitor In”, with “In” presumably continuing with “fo” or “formation”
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 28/09/2026
Park Thiis park overlooks the Hudson River in Hudson, New York. Pentax 17, Kodak Ektar 100, ECN-2 development. #BelieveInFilm
An asphalt walkway recedes into the distance, lined by benches facing to the left. The grass is fluorescent green, as are the tress, and the clouds are kind of purple. An Amiercan flag holds a place of prominence at the center, and a lamppost matches it for prominence.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 26/09/2026
And now I’m going to take some advice from the book and log off for a while and spend more time in real life. (4/4)
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 26/09/2026
I got Gil Duran’s book The Nerd Reich the day it came out and started reading it a few days later. It was fascinating, but I got so creeped out by the chapter on Peter Theil’s obsession with the Antichrist that I had to set it down. I brought the book to Florida and finished it tonight. (1/4)
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 26/09/2026
You would have to play the Stone Pony, in my back yard, while I’m away, wouldn’t you…. 🤪
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 25/09/2026
You can buy one with what you get from insurance.
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Ralph Brandi @thereisnocat.com · 25/09/2026
Stay safe. Wear a gas mask if you need to go home.
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