Elections Aren’t About Compromise— They’re About Power… Let the Consultants Burn: Democrats' fear of identity politics and wokeness convinces nonwhite voters that Democrats don’t care about them and that’s how Democrats lose. downwithtyranny.com
Crossing the U.S. Border? Here’s How to Protect Yourself theintercept.com/2025/03/2…
Gen Z is flocking to Tumblr. businessinsider.com. I’ve been on Tumblr since 2009 and I’m still active today. That makes me either “forever young” or “a creepy old guy.” I’m going to go with “creepy old guy.”
The original Star Wars is back – but what if George Lucas is right about it not being much good? Lucas said the original 1977 version was half a movie and preferred the 1997 digital remaster. theguardian.com
I was 16 when I saw “Star Wars” in 1977 in the theaters. It blew me away.
RIP Jean Marsh, who created and starred in “Upstairs, Downstairs.” She was born into the working class. “If you were very working class in those days, you weren’t going to think of a career in science,” she said in 1972. “You either did a tap dance or you worked in Woolworth’s.” nytimes.com
"How to Be a Happy 85-Year-Old (Like Me)."
Life advice from octogenarian Roger Rosenblatt at the New York Times:
2. Make young friends.
For older folks, there is nothing more energizing than the company of the young. They’re bright, enthusiastic, informative and brimming with life, and they do not know when you’re telling them lies.
Also:
6. Everyone’s in pain.
If you didn’t know that before, you know it now. People you meet casually, those you’ve known all your life, the ones you’ll never see – everyone’s in pain. If you need an excuse for being kind, start with that.
A lovely, wise and funny essay.
Do me a favor please: If you’re reading this on Mastodon, please reply. Late Friday afternoon, I migrated my Mastodon account (which is, or was, @mitchw@mastodon.social) to my MIcro.blog blog (@MitchW@mitchw.blog).
But I’m not sure if it worked.
So please let me know if you see this message on Mastodon, and also please let me know if you recall whether you followed me on @mitchw@mastodon.social or @MitchW@mitchw.blog.
Thanks!
Bluesky’s Quest to Build Nontoxic Social Media. newyorker.com. Kyle Chayka writes an in-depth profile of Bluesky CEO Jay Graeber.
“I’m Not a ‘Gatsby’ Scholar. I’m a ‘Gatsby’ Weirdo.” Andrew Clark has listened to “The Great Gatsby,” read by Jake Gyllenhaal, more than 200 times since 2020. This is a lovely short essay about a lot more than one man’s obsession with a single book. nytimes.com
I think I’ll sign up for the Pro subscription for ChatGPT again. I’m intrigued by the new persistent memory feature.
The Week ChatGPT Truly Became an Assistant. parkerortolani.blog
The Problem With Abe Lincoln's Face: The president's iconic beard was a product of the anxious new realities of the photographic age.
James Lundberg, writing at The Atlantic, describes how the new technology of photography changed people’s perceptions of themselves and their faces.
When Abraham Lincoln was running for President in 1860, a little girl wrote him a letter advising him to grow a beard to improve his appearance. And so he did.
“If you will let your whiskers grow,” she wrote, “you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin.”
I think this story is familiar to most Americans, taught in schools. What I did not realize until reading this article is that Lincoln’s looks were an issue because photography was new — it first came to the US 21 years earlier. Photo studios quickly swept the country and set off a fad for portraiture.
Those having their likeness taken for the first time did so with some combination of wonder and trepidation. Posing before the camera, early sitters said they felt drafts of air on their face or tingling in their cheeks. The process was orchestrated by a camera operator under a blanket–whom [Oliver Wendell Holmes, writing in The Atlantic in 1859] described as a chemical-wielding “skeleton shape, of about a man’s height, its head covered with a black veil.” The experience seemed to partake of the occult. And the results, often ghostly because of the long exposure times required, only strengthened such feelings.
These early sitters weren’t entirely wrong. There was no sorcery involved, but something was happening to them in front of the camera. Becoming an image, reckoning with an entirely new form of self-presentation, introduced an intense awareness not just of the self, but of the face.
Parallels to the later invention of television and smartphones are apparent.
RIP George Bell, 67, who stood 7'8" and was listed by Guinness as the tallest man in America. “I never had anyone else around who was 7-8 who I could talk to and who could help me learn how to handle it,” he said. “Fortunately for me, I’m a very patient person.” nytimes.com
A Rhode Island state legislator suggests getting around the Trump tariffs using a 1663 “royal charter” to declare the state a “free trade zone.” Sure, why not? abc6.com
Zuckerberg in the dock: The antitrust case against Meta is strong and the Trump White House seems inclined to pursue it aggressively. [pluralistic.net]
“You have only two choices if Trump comes after you: 1. If Domestic, fight. 2. If foreign, and he’s only threatening, tell him to pound sand and ignore him. If he does something, retaliate.” [ianwelsh.net]
Welsh is talking about strategy, not ethics. Obedience doesn’t work with Trump, who sees compliance as weakness and comes back for more.
“Apparently, people don’t want the US dollar to be a meme stock.” Also: “Far-right populist parties get into power by raging against the incumbents and the establishment and then once they’re in office, they have to continue to pretend like they aren’t actually in power.” [garbageday.email]
Scientists dispute Colossal Biosciences’ claims to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction. “… extinction is still forever.”