Pinned
Mark Blacknell
@blacknell.bsky.social
· Sep 12
This summer, we signed up for a week of dive lessons. I’d never really learned how to use a diving board.
It was an hour a day of throwing my body into the air and hoping I did it right. It was some of the most fun I’ve had in years, and I’m so glad we did it.
(First in a series of Good Things)
It was an hour a day of throwing my body into the air and hoping I did it right. It was some of the most fun I’ve had in years, and I’m so glad we did it.
(First in a series of Good Things)
Ah, 1L.
The Billboard Modern Rock tracks from 30 years ago
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
January 5, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Ah, 1L.
Sounds like Mexico should join NATO. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a slot opening up soon.
New: Trump admin officials tell Zeteo that Trump is “very interested” in secret plans drawn up last year to send US Special Forces into Mexico.
One official even says Trump recently asked for updates on preparations for a possible operation.
One official even says Trump recently asked for updates on preparations for a possible operation.
After Trump’s Venezuela Invasion, Mexico Could Be Next
Officials tell Zeteo that Trump remains ‘very interested’ in the idea of sending US Special Forces into Mexico, as the president threatens Colombia and Cuba, too.
zeteo.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Sounds like Mexico should join NATO. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a slot opening up soon.
I assume that Putin encouraged Trump in this Venezuelan adventure as a means of demonstrating just how much alike the US and Russian approaches to the world are right now.
We're going to have to get that man out of the White House before he's finished building that bunker.
We're going to have to get that man out of the White House before he's finished building that bunker.
Everything Trump, Rubio, & Hegseth are doing in 🇻🇪 now, along with the wildly illegal threatening of the territorial sovereignty of our NATO allies, legitimizes these wildly illegal war crimes & this entire wildly illegal invasion of another sovereign state #SlavaUkraini 🇺🇦
Kyiv in darkness. Blackouts in most districts, the city is in darkness from the Russian strikes.
Emergency and planned power outages have been introduced. Many shops, pharmacies work from generators
Russia terrorizes millions of people.
📹Galyna Lapina
Emergency and planned power outages have been introduced. Many shops, pharmacies work from generators
Russia terrorizes millions of people.
📹Galyna Lapina
January 4, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I assume that Putin encouraged Trump in this Venezuelan adventure as a means of demonstrating just how much alike the US and Russian approaches to the world are right now.
We're going to have to get that man out of the White House before he's finished building that bunker.
We're going to have to get that man out of the White House before he's finished building that bunker.
Adding: TSA routinely rejects a *Global Entry* card (also issued by DHS!) as insufficient ID at airport checkpoints. This despite the fact that DHS' own webpages cite it as sufficient for checkpoint use.
A trash agency staffed by malevolent and incompetent people from the very beginning.
A trash agency staffed by malevolent and incompetent people from the very beginning.
January 4, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Adding: TSA routinely rejects a *Global Entry* card (also issued by DHS!) as insufficient ID at airport checkpoints. This despite the fact that DHS' own webpages cite it as sufficient for checkpoint use.
A trash agency staffed by malevolent and incompetent people from the very beginning.
A trash agency staffed by malevolent and incompetent people from the very beginning.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
They really are.
But also:
DHS is a rogue agency that routinely acts in unlawful ways. It cannot be reformed. It must be abolished.
But also:
DHS is a rogue agency that routinely acts in unlawful ways. It cannot be reformed. It must be abolished.
January 4, 2026 at 4:24 PM
They really are.
But also:
DHS is a rogue agency that routinely acts in unlawful ways. It cannot be reformed. It must be abolished.
But also:
DHS is a rogue agency that routinely acts in unlawful ways. It cannot be reformed. It must be abolished.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
I appreciate the spirit of this post so much. But I also think a government that people don’t think about is a lower bar than we think, leads to complacency, and is part of how we are where we are. People need to be paying attention to and think and care about government always.
I want to help make a government that isn’t evil and works so well that you don’t really think about it
I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for in a politician but not having every day be a nightmare of horrors would be pretty high up so someone should run on that
January 4, 2026 at 12:43 PM
I appreciate the spirit of this post so much. But I also think a government that people don’t think about is a lower bar than we think, leads to complacency, and is part of how we are where we are. People need to be paying attention to and think and care about government always.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
sorry folks but you can only achieve the hidden good ending if you refuse the mission in the first place. now that the gameplay has started the final options are only bad ones.
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
January 3, 2026 at 11:35 PM
sorry folks but you can only achieve the hidden good ending if you refuse the mission in the first place. now that the gameplay has started the final options are only bad ones.
Welp, can't say I expected to find out that I caught the last United flight out of Antigua yesterday . . .
Nuts.
Nuts.
Yea I dunno if you’re an American trying to get home from the Caribbean…good luck?
I think literally *everything* is cancelled today. That’s tens of thousands of stranded passengers who need to be rebooked at the end one the highest peak travel season.
I think literally *everything* is cancelled today. That’s tens of thousands of stranded passengers who need to be rebooked at the end one the highest peak travel season.
United Airlines issued a Caribbean Airspace Closure alert for ANU, AUA, BGI, BON, BQN, CUR, DOM, POS, SJU, SKB, STT, SXM, UVF. Original travel: Jan 04, 2026 - Jan 06, 2026; must be completed by Jan 13, 2026. Additional details here. #PaxEx #AvGeek
January 3, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Welp, can't say I expected to find out that I caught the last United flight out of Antigua yesterday . . .
Nuts.
Nuts.
Wait, are we removing criminal despots and their thieving wives, now? Because if so . . . .
January 3, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Wait, are we removing criminal despots and their thieving wives, now? Because if so . . . .
You know the vacation is truly over when you have to put your pants back on.
January 2, 2026 at 4:02 PM
You know the vacation is truly over when you have to put your pants back on.
You end up with a depressingly short list.
My 2026 advice is cross somebody in The Discourse off the list as soon as you catch them pretending not to understand something they understand fully.
January 1, 2026 at 10:52 AM
You end up with a depressingly short list.
Aww, Jim Gilmore didn’t even get to keep this title.
youngkin ending his term as virginia’s worst governor of the 21st century thus far, with a political career that has gone down the toilet
Politico Gives Youngkin “The Milk Carton Award for Missing Politicians”; Says His “star faded as he hemmed and hawed about running for president last year” – and Badly Lost the 2025 Elections bluevirginia.us/2025/12/poli...
December 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Aww, Jim Gilmore didn’t even get to keep this title.
On one hand, I read this and think "Absolutely, fuck. Yes." On the other, I think about so many who look up at the same sky and go "What? What are you talking about?"
If you ever have the experience of seeing a night sky out in the deep countryside you can understand this; it really is a fundamentally different experience, and I can't imagine it not being formative to people.
December 27, 2025 at 3:43 AM
On one hand, I read this and think "Absolutely, fuck. Yes." On the other, I think about so many who look up at the same sky and go "What? What are you talking about?"
I mean, there's a story out there about how many times this threat has been made (in the past century), how many times it's been followed through on (almost never), and how publications like the NYT keep nevertheless hyping it.
Billionaires are considering cutting or reducing their ties to California by the end of the year because of a proposed ballot measure that could tax the state’s wealthiest residents.
A Wealth Tax Floated in California Has Billionaires Thinking of Leaving
It’s uncertain whether the proposal will reach the statewide ballot in November, but some billionaires like Peter Thiel and Larry Page may be unwilling to take the risk.
nyti.ms
December 27, 2025 at 12:11 AM
I mean, there's a story out there about how many times this threat has been made (in the past century), how many times it's been followed through on (almost never), and how publications like the NYT keep nevertheless hyping it.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
This is a model for what actual masculinity should be. Men don’t need to spend more time in caves beating their chests with other men; they need to take their daughters to a meaningful thing and talk to them about it. Relatedly I think the biggest cure for toxic masculinity is platonic women friends
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
December 23, 2025 at 11:25 PM
This is a model for what actual masculinity should be. Men don’t need to spend more time in caves beating their chests with other men; they need to take their daughters to a meaningful thing and talk to them about it. Relatedly I think the biggest cure for toxic masculinity is platonic women friends
AI companies turning the internet into a Superfund site, in dire need of remediation.
December 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
AI companies turning the internet into a Superfund site, in dire need of remediation.
I think we'll find out that this is happening in the current Administration. Obviously Trump is willing patsy for Putin, but I suspect there are plenty of people underneath who are actively using their access to feed helpful military info (about allies *and* the US) to Russia.
Opponents of the far-right Alternative for Germany have accused the party of attempting to disclose sensitive information on arms supply routes and drone defenses, which could be of great interest to Russian intelligence.
politi.co/44KwBBg
politi.co/44KwBBg
Germany’s far-right AfD accused of gathering information for the Kremlin
Alternative for Germany’s opponents accuse the party of attempting to disclose sensitive information on arms supply routes and drone defenses.
politi.co
December 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I think we'll find out that this is happening in the current Administration. Obviously Trump is willing patsy for Putin, but I suspect there are plenty of people underneath who are actively using their access to feed helpful military info (about allies *and* the US) to Russia.
My impression from TikTok is that the algorithm has already been undergoing some real reworking over the past couple of months. My TikTok has always been a happy place - music, travel, scuba/freediving, dance, etc. - but I'm getting some really out of character politics/rightwing stuff lately.
Democrats were so worked up about young people seeing the genocide happening in Gaza that they paved the road for TikTok becoming owned by Trump family members and cronies.
Also, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to break the law repeatedly with no redress
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...
Also, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to break the law repeatedly with no redress
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...
TikTok U.S. Deal to Close Next Month: Oracle and Silver Lake Confirmed in Buyer Consortium
Abu Dhabi's state investment fund will also be a managing investor.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
My impression from TikTok is that the algorithm has already been undergoing some real reworking over the past couple of months. My TikTok has always been a happy place - music, travel, scuba/freediving, dance, etc. - but I'm getting some really out of character politics/rightwing stuff lately.
Getting closer to those big red banners dropping down the sides of the Kennedy Center every day.
Kennedy Center to be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center —Karoline Leavitt x.com/PressSec/sta...
December 18, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Getting closer to those big red banners dropping down the sides of the Kennedy Center every day.
This GM rides.
Ok Metro customers, let’s see what you got. It’s Metro Rewind Day. Who joined me in the real 1% club this year?
Check your card stats here and show the world how much @wmata.com has connected you to this great region we call home.
metrorewind.com/rewind/
Check your card stats here and show the world how much @wmata.com has connected you to this great region we call home.
metrorewind.com/rewind/
December 18, 2025 at 5:08 PM
This GM rides.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
Facebook made an algorithm that gave Boomers whatever they wanted, and they destroyed democracy, and then all those FB product managers went over to OpenAI and made ChatGPT, and now they've made a chatbot that tells Boomers whatever they want to hear, and... well, this should go great.
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
December 17, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Facebook made an algorithm that gave Boomers whatever they wanted, and they destroyed democracy, and then all those FB product managers went over to OpenAI and made ChatGPT, and now they've made a chatbot that tells Boomers whatever they want to hear, and... well, this should go great.
Reposted by Mark Blacknell
If you live in DC, there's a good chance that your drinking water passed through the Washington City Tunnel, right under that shaft house, right below Adams Morgan.
December 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
If you live in DC, there's a good chance that your drinking water passed through the Washington City Tunnel, right under that shaft house, right below Adams Morgan.
So, DC, they're stealing Hains Point from us. (I know it's a long long list of what these criminals are stealing, but this one . . . man.)
Trump has served a default on the folks running the public project so he can take the course and turn the national park courses into, it seems obvious, a high end private course administered by his own golf company
golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports...
golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports...
National Links Trust served notice of default by Trump administration
The National Links Trust, which operates 3 municipal golf courses in Washington, D.C., was served a notice of default, according to the Washington Post.
golfweek.usatoday.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:41 PM
So, DC, they're stealing Hains Point from us. (I know it's a long long list of what these criminals are stealing, but this one . . . man.)
Absolutely etched in my brain, too. And I'm trying hard not to let it connect to the modern era, too. But my Trump voting dad very much saw Archie as one to admire and emulate then, and not a retrograde guy out of step with the times.
It's amazing how the All In The Family theme song (which is etched in my memory) prefigured the MAGA worldview. Farewell, Rob Reiner. You imagined something better.
youtu.be/GI46_zBGv1A?...
youtu.be/GI46_zBGv1A?...
All in The Family (Intro) S2 (1972)
YouTube video by RetroAlexander
youtu.be
December 16, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Absolutely etched in my brain, too. And I'm trying hard not to let it connect to the modern era, too. But my Trump voting dad very much saw Archie as one to admire and emulate then, and not a retrograde guy out of step with the times.