iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I've been doing the daily Guardian cryptic for the last couple of weeks. It's so hard! I never finish.

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... I read Bret Stephens' latest column, which is almost a textbook example of all the flawed arguments Beinart pokes holes in. I do wish Mamdani had just kept his October 7 statement to the events of what happened that day. But Stephens goes over the top as usual.

I just finished Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, by Peter Beinart, a short book that has helped with my thinking. It lays out moral, practical, even religious arguments against what Netanyahu and the Israeli right-wing have done in Gaza and the West Bank. And then a few minutes later...

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Uptown buses on Broadway are nicely timed so that as soon as they pull away from a bus stop, they hit a red light. Every two blocks. Every time.

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Tonight’s show: Good Time Charlie @ The Public Theater, by and starring Ryan J. Haddad

Ludwig is so good. If you like puzzles and British detective shows and Victoria Coren Mitchell's husband then you should watch Ludwig.

Well jeez. anyhumanever.com/life/1731364...

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I know my foot is healing and my walking speed is getting faster because I’m getting annoyed at slow walkers in Manhattan again.

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(If I had much simpler opinions I would be better at microblogging and I would be more popular here)

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Few human beings like to question their assumptions or their worldviews. Mamdani raises uncomfortable truths, and not always as sensitively as he could. But in the long run I think it's "good for the Jews" to think about these things.

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Is this good politics? Well, he won the mayoralty by being who he is, so why would he change? Most of us Jews are used to NYC mayors who soothe us on Israel and keep us from confronting hard questions. Mamdani doesn't do that. I think he's helpful in that sense.

I don't know if Mamdani's antisemitic. But I think he is uninterested in the nuances of complicated Jewish feelings on this issue. He's comfortable with Jews like Brad Lander who criticize Israel, but he's not interested in meeting other Jews where they are. He's not interested in hand-holding.

I think Mamdani's statement was politically unhelpful and tone-deaf. He feels strongly about Palestinian suffering and Israel's actions, strong enough not to care about the politics of it. To his credit or detriment, he's not interested in catering to the sensitivities of some Jews about Israel.

God do I hate journalistic crutches like this. Who raised questions? Why is it not "uniting" for a mayor to criticize another country? Anyway who said his job is to "unite" people all the time? OK. (deep breath) On the other hand... www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/n... www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...

"The events raised questions about whether Mr. Mamdani, who energized his campaign with his embrace of the Palestinian cause and ardent criticism of Israel, can now, as mayor, unite New Yorkers whose emotions remain inflamed over the issue."

NEW YORK – Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani released the following statement on the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks:

This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss.

The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children. Even since the so-called ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed. That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing. Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them—all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes.

Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment.

To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.

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USA: LOS ANGELES: FORMER PRESIDENT REAGAN STILL GOES TO THE OFFICE

Here's possibly the last video footage of Ronald Reagan - going to his Los Angeles office in 1997, three years after his Alzheimer's diagnosis. He died in 2004. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJFw...

youtube.com

YouTube video by AP Archive

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I think the people calling for things to slow down were genuinely frightened/unsettled by the HF incident and others.

I'm confused by the stance some fellow lefties are taking on this issue. I would think that we lefties'd be naturally wary of AI & worried by what happened with Hugging Face. Yet there are lefties who seem to think the fear is BS. I don't get it, what would be gained by generating a false fear?

Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Reposted by Jeff 🏳️‍🌈

Econ 101

Person one: Taught my kids how socialism works. Let them trick or treat while I stayed home. Then took all their candy. Socialism 101.

Person two : The socialism part is where the community came together and fed your kids for free. The capitalism part is where you made them do all the work and stole from them.

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Phillip Maciak @pjmaciak.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I wrote this without having seen LANTERNS' season finale, which aired last night. But I think the main argument holds up: LANTERNS is SURF DRACULA. newrepublic.com/article/2159...

newrepublic.com

The Bleak Future of HBO’s Lanterns

In Damon Lindelof’s new show, the good guys might survive, but they have to wade through a whole season of disappointment along the way.

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I had no idea he was also the voice of Superman! Whoa.

Hitchcock blondes Tippi Hedren and Kim Novak are still alive though.

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Putting aside discussion of the merits of Tom Friedman's columns - and sometimes I agree with him! - he is just such a cringey writer.

By Thomas L. Friedman

Opinion Columnist

I was in Greece last week attending the Athens Democracy Forum — a gathering of democracy experts and activists from around the world — so I have been thinking a lot about the privilege and the responsibility that go with living in a democracy. Every morning I ate breakfast at my hotel’s rooftop restaurant, which had a view of the Parthenon — the iconic Greek temple built in the fifth century B.C.E., at the height of Athenian democracy. And every morning the waitress would ask me: “Do you have any allergies?”

Every morning I would bite my tongue to keep from saying: “Well, since you asked, I have two allergies — but they’re political, not biological. I have an allergy to lazy, performative online activism, like ‘Hey, I tweeted about that,’ or ‘Hey, I posted my favorite pop star’s denunciation of Israel on my Facebook page, so get off my back.’ But I also have an allergy to no activism when your own democracy is on the line, like ‘Hey, my law firm does a lot of business with the federal government — we had to cut a deal with Trump.’”

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I will never understand Cockney rhyming slang or why it is funny.

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I keep a spreadsheet of U.S. presidents whose biographies I've read. I have a separate column for books about someone's presidency that aren't technically biographies. LBJ is unfinished... waiting for Caro's last volume. There's a big Taft biography coming out next month!

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For me, Reagan went from "friendly grandfatherly figure who likes jelly beans" to Iran-Contra and neglect of the AIDS crisis. Part of me still looks at him nostalgically through a child's eye. And his long 20th-century-spanning journey through Hollywood and into politics is something I'm drawn to.

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I really liked this Reagan biography. Well-balanced and intelligently written. Reagan was the first president I was aware of. During his presidency I went from first grade to high school. That's an eternity when you're growing up. By the time he left office we were living in Japan.

Any idea who the voiceover announcer is? I recognize his voice from NBC promos all through the 80s.

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Hah, I was there the same night as you and your husband. Recognized you both in the lobby and in the audience!

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I haven’t driven in years, and one of my fears is being distracted by all the extra technology and screens that cars have now.

Jeff 🏳️‍🌈 @tinmanic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Excellent essay from Adam Kirsch about how and why Zionism came to be, and why it's so difficult for anyone to agree on what it is. I found the last part, about where to go from here, unsatisfying. But there are many profound, quotable ideas in this piece. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

theatlantic.com

What Is Zionism?

To understand what the word means today, you have to go back to the beginning of the story.

Jay Kuo @nycjayjay.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Reposted by Jeff 🏳️‍🌈

This is a community note for the ages.

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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Which is all a long-winded way of saying: These debates about Zionism and anti-Zionism are mostly unhelpful right now, and I wish everyone could just drop these terms unless speaking historically and talk about their political vision for the future in other terms.

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Jeff 🏳️‍🌈 @tinmanic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

What is the point of executing someone whose sentencing was 30 years ago? If it was ok to keep them alive for 30 years, why is it suddenly necessary to kill them now? The death penalty is barbaric.

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Reposted by Jeff 🏳️‍🌈

Matt Kingston 🎯 @hitormiss.org · 04/10/2026

Out for dinner with @tinmanic.bsky.social for our 13th / 23rd anniversary and Swarm told me it was our 1500th check in together (which actually seems low after so many years)

Swarm check in screenshot showing it’s my 1500 check in with my husband Jeff

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Jeff 🏳️‍🌈 @tinmanic.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

What a bizarre movie. I don’t think it really works, but it was interesting and I’m always up for a movie that swings for the fences.