THESE.

I didn't break 1000 on my SATs (before the writing part was a thing). I was in remedial math. I struggled in chemistry. I ranked close to the middle of my class.

I'm now a professional writer and editor with several published books and a mortgage. Are my academic cooties still a problem?

I somehow wandered onto former smart kids Tik Tok and just got fed a "funny" post about how terrible it was for the advanced kids to have to slum it, I guess, in "regular" classes with the average kids, and it had all these comments commiserating. As a former average kid...just...yikes?

The older I get, the more convinced I am that Megan Follows was absolutely born to be Anne of Green Gables.

Brandy, a floppy earred tan mutt with black snout and Clarence, an orange striped cat, are each curled up on individual wingback chairs

*Extreme Robin Leach voice*: Dogs and cats living together...in luxury? Stay tuned to find out how these fabulous friends live the high life at Grampaw's house, next on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

(PS, I recently found out that the AI system that helped eliminate my job was actually not quite ready for primetime and freelancers eventually had to be hired to make up for those of us who got cut. No one could have predicted that, right?)

I'm a dinosaur who prefers having cable to streaming but guess who had to cut her Verizon Fios cable completely after being laid off due to AI taking her job? 🙋‍♀️ Lest this guy thinks his industry is insulated from the fallout this would cause....

I only use FB for my town news, and seemingly all the local businesses have started using the same AI app to make ads/fliers. So they all look alike. Great, you guys saved money by not having to pay someone to make this for you...but you can't discern one business from another. Swell marketing!

One of the most Jersey things about me is that two of my favorite diners got sold and turned into brunch spots over the last decade and this is NOT the same thing, and, yes, I'm still bitter about it.

Ahhh, got it. He's got the look downpat!

Clarence was a big roach stalker when we lived in Jersey City (he stayed up all night one time waiting one out under the bathroom sink), so he appreciates kitties with shared interests 😺

A bottle of water, a navy blue journal with pen (Pilot Varsity: they rule) and a hot dog wrapped in New York Yankees logo paper, all staged from above right field of Yankee Stadium.

Friday nights tix, Season 22. Let's do it.

And sure, YES crowd mics help, I guess, but I'm trying to figure out how, exactly, the players can't hear stuff on the field when I'm in my kitchen, two rooms away from my TV, and can hear "BOOM BOOM BOOM NOW LET ME HEAR YOU SAY WAY-OH" clear as an annoying-ass bell.

I'm going tonight and the first thing I made sure of today is that my Loop earplugs haven't fallen out of their carrying case. The only reason I own them? Yankee Stadium. The speakers are right over our seats and I've legit gotten alerts on my Apple watch like "Uh, bit noisy, innit?

I’m the new poetry editor and want to read your stuff!!!

Post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet.

A text convo that reads: - Um we need to discuss Stanton's red belt and shoes - He's going to add a jaunty red scarf tomorrow -Like Linda Danonsays: Jazz it up with a scarf

TFW your Yankee group chat all met working at a soap opera publication

Clarence, an orange striped cat, stares into the middle distance, pretending his owner is not using her yogurt spoon as a microphone and encouraging him to do the Bob Dylan part.

"I'm sorry, it is in my Gen X DNA to name every artist before they sing and act out each part dramatically. I know this is absolute torture for you."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*We Are the World, USA for Africa, #2 this week in 1985

#caturday

We Talked to a Writer Accused of Publishing An AI-Generated Essay in The New York Times She was accused of publishing AI slop in The New York Times. She says she didn't use AI to generate content — but did use AI to get published.

"I didn't use AI to write, I only used it to do [blank]" is what someone who used AI to write would say.
And even when they think they're telling the truth, editing is writing. If you "only" use AI for editing, that means you're using it for rewriting, which is, say it with me, using it for writing.

Clarence, an orange striped cat, lies sleepily on his side while smizing at the camera

"If I'd been born just a few days earlier, I would have been born in the week this was the number 1 song. I consider that a dodged musical bullet."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*Don't Give Up on Us, David Soul, #3 this week in 1977

Ugh, boo. The ad also looks incredibly stupid lurking up there by itself.

LOL, it's somehow worse

Nah, I don't need to hear Paul Olden, YES. I'm just gonna groove out to these sick beatssssss (plz fix this before the Yankees are announced, OMG)

A row of AI-generated "boys" in unintelligible baseball hats, all with the exact same face shape and features. The "boys" behind them all have faces that are some degree of melted.

So many businesses in my area are using AI to create ads and one of the things I've noticed is that if there are multiple "people" in the ads, almost all of them have the same face. This one for a local Little League's opening day is one of the worst I've seen (click to expand/see the whole thing)

An ad for Pottery Barn's adorable Clarence Seagull Shaped Pillow, who looks like a jaunty old-timey sailor. It says "Bring it home before it sells out!" But this is not possible for one on a restricted income as he is also $89.50 USD.

Pottery Barn: Look at this adorable pillow that shares a name with your cat. LOOK AT IT.

Me: OMG, I AM looking at it!

PB: You should get it, it fits your whole aesthetic.

Me: IT REALLY DOES

PB: JK, your aesthetic is also "unemployed" and it's EIGHTY-NINE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS, PEASANT

Me: 😐

She's totally weirded out by him wobbling around so she's been giving him a wide-ish berth. (She's part hound, though, so she *does* attempt to sniff him every now and then.)

(He was diagnosed with crystals in his urine after having trouble peeing. I hauled his butt into the emergency vet, because if Pet Tik Tok has taught me anything, it's you take a non-peeing cat hella serious. He should be okay with new food. He's still gonna have to listen to AT40, tho.)

Clarence, an orange striped cat, sits with his face pressed against the bars of a baby gate, his dog sister Brandy, a tan floppy-earred mutt with black snout, stares on with a look of "Bruh..." in the background

Clarence, an orange striped cat, sits with his head pressed against the bars of a baby gate. He does not want to be kept out of the room that has all the food in it.

Learning a lot about kitty stubbornness today, as Clarence got "spicy" at the vet & had to get sedated. He's still staggering around a bit & I had to baby-gate him out of the kitchen because he still wants to jump on the counter stools...and his aim is off. Anyway, he's still trying to get in 🤦‍♀️

Clarence, an orange striped cat, serves the camera a look of "OK, and???"

"Two vocal powerhouses got together for a duet and didn't know the hairbrush-as-microphone lip syncing they'd inspire for decades to come."

-today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), Aretha Franklin & George Michael #10 this wk in 1987

#caturday

Brandy, a tan floppy earred mutt with black snout, sits obediently on the floor while Clarence, an orange striped cat, sits above her on a kitchen stool

Brandy and Clarence are TGIF'ing!