there is no folly of the beasts of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men

A small figure in the style of the WKU Topperfella, which periodically appears around campus through anonymous drops, in various special editions, delighting the community. This version, created by a student in a Reacting to the Past game I’m running, has been modified with a red beret, a mustache, and a French Revolution flag

Mood

This was so terrific.

This whole thread

I was not surprised to learn that I Georgetown, like most American colleges and universities, has succumbed to the pressure to appear part of the “AI” in-crowd (and to the temptation of the resources being made available to those in that crowd). But even though everything I have done in my professional life has been in some way based on the expectation that institutions will tend towards corruption, corrosion and capture, when I think about what this particular instance of that phenomenon signifies for you, the students of Georgetown, I feel very sad and angry. And I decided that the best thing to do with that sadness and anger would be to write to you all directly about why this decision by your university, which may seem on the surface to be an example of garden variety corporate thoughtlessness, should disturb you deeply, and provoke you to fight back.

Emily Tucker, the Executive Director of @georgetownprivacy.bsky.social, remains stellar and GOATed.
medium.com/center-on-pr...

Me this semester of teaching

you say "i asked chatgpt"
i hear "i asked [an improv comedy group]"

an improv group wrote this report
instead of a therapist i use an improv comedy group

MAKE AN EMERGENCY DONATION to Trans Continental Pipeline right now.

They are a Colorado based org that helps trans people relocate there and they are overwhelmed with requests. CO borders KS, and TCP has the infrastructure to help get people out.

GO DONATE.

tcpipeline.org

Whoah this is going to be great! Terrific cause and many favorite posters

I always have to skip that and the one after on my rewatches

A black cat with exceptional ears, on a desk with books, greenery visible out window behind him. His name is William.

Two black cats readying for a tussle, on a rug, shelves of vinyl albums on the background. One cat has an arched back and tail curved down; the other has flattened ears.

Yeah

Surely the French won’t be sporting that tricolor flag that celebrates their own revolution…that would be political

Am so going to unpack this with my world history students!
And now I want to look up the symbols all other countries’ teams wear to see what’s deemed “non-political” for other counties… (hopefully someone else is already on the comparative angle)

Great insights here

Great book

Well worth supporting.

www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ch...

Support Minneapolis Daycare Workers Contribute mutual aid to the educators and caregivers who love and care for our children everyday

One small thing you can do *right now* — donate $5, $10, $50, whatever you're able — to this rent fund for South Minneapolis daycare workers whose families are sheltering in place. Can we raise $5k today??

Whatever you can give matters. And if you can't give, can you share?

givebutter.com/Rbpl0z

We have it in our power to begin the world over again

Stand With Minnesota A directory of places to give to as Minnesota defends itself from ICE occupation

crazy that the website that I randomly decided to put together at 10AM yesterday has had over 25k unique visitors in 24 hours.

please keep sharing with your networks.

If you need inspiration to keep going right now, may I recommend the story of Robert Smalls, who stole a confederate steamboat and piloted his family and almost 20 others to freedom and went on to become one of the first Black people elected to Congress ✊🏽

www.usatoday.com/story/life/b...

After federal troops forced a fugitive slave named Anthony Burns back into slavery in the 1850s, one Bostonian wrote, “we went to bed one night old-fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs and waked up stark mad Abolitionists.” The abuse of power radicalizes people. We are seeing that now.

We've published deeply on Cuba, Venezuela, and US policy toward Latin America, and as these issues return to the headlines, history matters more than ever. Authors: if you’ve written on this topic, drop your book title + link below and let's build a thread that helps make sense of this moment.

Tail of a cat who, against all odds, forced his way into a closed-up moving box

How I’m walking out of 2025

Ah, the world! Oh, the world!

Behold: the first-ever list of news outlets that have banned generative AI in their reporting. As of today, this is literally information that you cannot find on Google.

My goal is to fill the starter pack, so please send over suggestions with supporting evidence!

go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT

Mood

Revised Definitions of the Verb “To Google” 1. To look something up quickly and then spend twenty minutes fact-checking the AI summary, only to find out that it was absolutely wrong. 2. To se...

"To attempt to find useful information and instead take part in the solidification of the internet as an ad-delivery business, where you’re given no option but to be the product."