Please don’t trust your chatbot for medical advice Four separate studies all point in the same direction

Please don’t trust your chatbot for medical advice

Four separate studies all point in the same direction...

open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...

“The Manifesto of the Half Bright”

Thanks!

And in the US, if you want to buy online, use bookshop.org and designate a percentage of your purchase to your local bookstore

Black cat lounging in a warm patch of sunlight on an ornate patterned rug beside polished hardwood floors, looking perfectly content and unbothered. #caturday

Cool cat always finds the best warm spot

#caturday

We’re teaming up with the good people of Eckleburg Review and @splitlipthemag.bsky.social for an open mic night to benefit Immigrant Defense Fund on Thursday, May 14 from 6-9 PM at Starr Bar. RSVP through the link in our bio—let’s stand up for a safe, equal NYC!

The confidence of the half bright

I used Amazon a great deal during COVID and kept using it afterward.

Last year my wife and I quit.

Two weeks later we barely noticed we weren’t using it anymore.

How about 25 million of you join us?

Hungary election results live: Orbán concedes to Magyar's Tisza after projections show opposition winning two-thirds majority Veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orbán conceded defeat after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a setback for his allies in Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump'...

Bad day for Putin, Trump, and Vance. JD’s personal appearance helped create the humiliating size of the defeat

Hungary election results live: Orbán concedes to Magyar's Tisza after projections show opposition winning two-thirds majority

www.reuters.com/world/hungar...

Graphic for the Foyle Young Poets Award, with the text 'Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Submit your poems at foyleyoungpoets.org.' Images of a keyboard, pen, pencil and pair of glasses, with the top edge of a notebook, in orange blue and green. Logos for The Poetry Society, Foyle Foundation and Arts Council England.

Graphic showing photos of the Foyle Award judges 2026: John McAuliffe and Rachel Long. Their names in black text, as well as the words 'Meet the judges'. At the bottom, the text 'Foyle young poets of the year award 2026'. Images of a keyboard, pen, and pair of glasses, with the top edge of a notebook, in orange blue and green.

Calling all poets aged 11-17: the 2026 Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is now open for entries! We are delighted to have the fantastic poets John McAuliffe and Rachel Long as judges. Visit foyleyoungpoets.org for more details on how to enter.

#FoyleYoungPoets

And no paywall!

@thorley55.bsky.social

Not so much a single book as much as reading great contemporary short fiction in the 1980s—Tobias Wolff, Andre Dubus, Lorrie Moore.

Trump's VA killed a home loan program. Vets are now losing their homes because of it Foreclosures on VA loans are at their highest level in a decade. VA has a fix but it is months away and could still leave vets worse off than most other homeowners.

My dad served in WW2 and, burdened with PTSD, his life was never the same. The VA was the only tangible support he ever had.

So this breaks my heart.

Trump's VA killed a home loan program. Vets are now losing their homes because of it

www.npr.org/2026/04/02/n...

Imagine how much worse this would be if Trump was speaking in a raspy voice or stumbling over the word "Medicare".

a black and gray dog with bandages around her head and neck is caught mid-lick. she's reaching up towards her human's face to give him kisses. her human sits in a chair wearing a beige ball cap and a white shirt. he smirks as he accepts her kisses. an inset photo of Honey, the black and gray senior pup. she sits on brown grass in dappled sunlight. she smiles up at the camera. her head looks small because it's wrapped up in bandages.

This is Honey. She's a half-blind senior who survived a bear attack while protecting her family and farm. “She protected our chickens and our family," said her mom. "She’s our little savior." Honey has been treated for her injuries and is on the mend. We're awarding her our highest honor, a 15/10

BBC: Spaghetti-Harvest in Ticino | Switzerland Tourism YouTube video by Switzerland

My grandma did this delicate work as a child

When he gets back he can brag that he was the one who got to visit Grapevine, TX

Exactly 5 minutes BEFORE Trump announced a 5-day delay in bombing Iranian power plants, someone purchased $1.5 billion worth of S&P futures in a single trade. Someone also sold $192 million in oil futures.

Trump and/or his cronies are engaging in market manipulation and insider trading.

God so stressful!

A sleek black cat lies stretched out on its side across a dark, floral-patterned rug. The cat’s fur blends into the rug’s black background, with its head turned slightly to the left and ears alert. Its front paws are relaxed, and its tail extends behind it. The rug features intricate cream, gold, and red designs, creating a vivid contrast with the cat’s dark coat.

Cool rug, cooler cat

#caturday

A square cyanotype print on white paper shows delicate plant silhouettes in white against a deep Prussian blue background. Several small botanical fragments—thin stems, feathery leaves, and seed-like shapes—are arranged loosely across the composition, with one curved, vine-like stem arcing through the center. The edges of the blue area are soft and uneven, revealing the hand-coated process. The print rests on a textured, light-colored surface, with faint mottling and watermarks visible, emphasizing its handmade quality.

First cyanotype

This is Hank. He is incredibly invested in this plumbing project that does not require him in the slightest. 13/10 (TT: compound_interest_)

I am delighted to announce a series of talks sponsored by the Chicago Humanities Festival, curated by me, on the history, meaning and future of the Constitution, titled (not by me, I swear!) Peter Sagal's Constitution Sessions, beginning in May with three great events.

www.chicagohumanities.org

Greg Brown - Our Little Town YouTube video by solutioncow

Greg Brown is, for my money, America’s greatest songwriter

Picture of a person standing in blinding light of a doorway into a dark and dirty room. The figure is too washed out with the light to see detail but is swathed in white gauzy fabric which they are holding in at the waist. The light illuminates dust in the air in lines radiating from the door. The image is colour but appears almost sepia because of the light contrast. Text overlay" SmokeLong Quarterly Issue 91, March 2026. Sarah Juma Yoram Ong Leah Brennan Renberg Alice Kim Hawari T.E. Hahn Roberta Holland Cate McGowan Margaret Dunn L.F. Graubard Suzanne Biro and John Dufresne. Cover art: Anyanwu David

It's cover reveal time for our Issue 91, which is out on Monday. What an issue. We can't wait.

A black cat stands in a kitchen sink, leaning forward to drink from a thin stream of water running from a curved black faucet. On the counter behind the sink are a blue sponge, a soap dispenser with a purple design, and a soda can. A window above the sink lets in light, and a small silver electronic device and a dark stone sit on the windowsill.

Fresh water for a cool cat

#Caturday

Senator Tuberville on x writing a response to the @endwokeness account Original tweet from @EndWokeness - “less than 25 years apart” Image 1 - the twin towers as they are hit by a the planes on 9/11/2001 Image 2 - Mayor Mamdani sitting on a prayer rug while hosting an Iftar at city hall Quote tweet from Senator Tuberville - “the enemy is inside the gates.”

Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers.

Screenshot of a tweet from Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) with a verified checkmark. The tweet reads: “This is coming from a place of love and support, but… It’s ‘shoo-in,’ not ‘shoe-in.’ It’s ‘case in point,’ not ‘case and point.’ It’s ‘moot point,’ not ‘mute point.’ It’s ‘hunger pangs,’ not ‘hunger pains.’ It’s ‘jibe with,’ not ‘jive with.’” The post humorously corrects several commonly misheard phrases

You’re welcome

10 readers. 4 literary magazines. One night for the books—both published and forthcoming. We’re very grateful to all the writers and friends who came out to our offsite reading last Friday with @creamcityreview.bsky.social, @baltimorereview.bsky.social, and Lampblack Lit!

I miss the brief, brilliant reign of “Ahoy!”