Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

I saw a squirrel fall out of a tree today. It landed with a thud, looked embarrassed, then scampered back up.

Roundtable includes: Stephanie Brown, Brianna J. Cox, Misty D. Fuller, Nicholaus Gutierrez, Amanda Konkle, Derritt Mason, Chelsea Wessels, and is moderated by Jennifer Blaylock and Lisa Jacobson.

More Fairuza Balk appreciation: there's something about how she moves her mouth that reminds me of Cole Escola. Now I really want to see them together in a stage production of The Craft—and maybe also Return to Oz!
#spookyseason #Halloween #witchy

Just rewatched The Craft. Can we get Fairuza Balk on Yellowjackets ASAP? @emilystjams.bsky.social?

A copy of "Color Protocols: Technologies of Racial Encoding in Chromatic Media" edited by Carolyn L. Kane and Lida Zeitlin-Wu on a plain background

"Color Protocols," edited by Carolyn L. Kane and @lidazeitlinwu.bsky.social, explores how color intersects with problematic histories of racial encoding in linguistic, visual, and algorithmic media: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255350...

Two people in military gear, one smirking and one with a face covering, while civilians look on from behind

Pop Quiz: Is this a photo from The Guardian or a still from One Battle After Another?
#PTA #OneBattleAfterAnother

California police stumped after trying to ticket driverless car for illegal U-turn San Bruno officers pull over Waymo but say a ticket wasn’t issued, as ‘our citation books don’t have a box for “robot”’

In lighter news, is this The Guardian or The Onion?

FCC Chair Carr’s post from 12/30/23: Free speech is the counterweight—it is the check on government control. That is why censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.

👀

When they said small government, I didn't think they meant autocracy.

They are literally canceling culture

condemnations of political violence are well taken but it does feel as if some
prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.

My favorite thing about Georgia Tech students might be how they give each other feedback. There's a consistently high level of honesty, sincerity, and mutual respect. It gives me a much-needed spark of hope for the future.

#teaching #peerreview #GATech

The Oxford Handbook of Global Realisms Abstract. Realism is an artistic practice that aims to faithfully represent reality. Historically, it has been practiced across different media, from early

Margarita Vaysman & I have been working on this for the past 5 (!) years, but it's finally done- the online version is up and the hardcover should be out later this month! Welcome to the Oxford Handbook of Global Realisms, feat. 41 chapters and beautiful cover art: academic.oup.com/edited-volum... 🎉

Yikes, that sounds like a very taxing day! Hope you got some good rest today.

My body is like, "Phew, it's been a long semester! When's Thanksgiving break again?" It's Day 2.
#academia #teaching

Quote from a story on changes at the U of Chicago that notes they are "pausing" doctoral eduction in Classics, Comp Lit, Germanic studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Romance languages and literatures, and South Asian Studies.

Wow. The University of Chicago, a world-class institution whose humanities faculty in the past has included Homi Bhabha & Lauren Berlant & Ralph Ellison & Hannah freaking Arendt, is getting rid of basically every graduate department involving the acknowledgment that other cultures & languages exist.

The first time Charlie Chaplin used his voice in a film, he wielded it to forcefully condemn the rising forces of fascism around the globe. Will we listen to his words today?

If you had "deploying military forces against civilians in your own country" on your authoritarianism bingo card, well, go get your dauber.

What's that, LA? You already marked that square in June?

#WashingtonDC

a man wearing a hat and a suit is smiling and looking at the camera . Alt: Lakeith Stanfield's smile starts to curdle in Get Out

Reading about Columbia's capitulation to the current regime....

Trump news at a glance: president tells Europe to ‘stop the windmills’ ahead of EU and UK trade talks Donald Trump also criticises European leaders on immigration ahead of crunch meeting with Ursula von der Leyen. Key US politics stories from 26 July 2025

Now he's actually tilting at windmills. The absurdity would be funny, if it weren't coupled with egomaniacal cruelty.

An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed

Venus Williams becomes oldest WTA winner since Martina Navratilova Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams, 45, beats Peyton Stearns - 22 years her junior - in the first round of the Washington Open.

Serena is the undisputed GOAT, but never underestimate Venus, who continues to do things in her own time, on her own terms. I have been awed by her for 30 years and counting.
#tennis #Venus #WilliamsSisters

Part II is still on the main page for now, but this should be the stable link.

For my fall course prep, I've been rereading our teaching dossier on ungrading. Let me shout out Part I again, edited primarily by @jennblaylock.bsky.social and secondarily by me. We really wanted to make something thoughtful, honest, and above all USEFUL—so please read and share with abandon!

Spending this 4th of July traveling between Germany and the Netherlands, two countries I once called home and gladly would again.

Three people in person and one projected onto a large screen engage in discussion in a university seminar room

Still thinking about #NECS2025 in Lisbon last week. It was an honor to present on the panel "Socialism Goes Global: Cold War Geopolitics Beyond Europe" with @cheryldueck.bsky.social, Deniz Göktürk, and Balázs Varga. More in Montpellier? [Photo credit: @nwbaer.bsky.social]

View of Lisbon with rooftops, waterfront, and bridge

After exploring the beautiful city of Lisbon with Maggie @hennefem.bsky.social, I'm ready for #NECS2025 to begin!

Watching #nokings from afar (East Germany) and sending all the love and solidarity 💗

Update: Success! Major thanks to Inkoo Kang (and to BlueSky) from the bottom of my TV-nerd heart.