DoctorSyntax
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doctorsyntax.bsky.social
DoctorSyntax
@doctorsyntax.bsky.social
Alter ego of Peter Ginna. Editor, writer, & occasional blogger on books & publishing. Former editor & publisher at several houses. Author of WHAT EDITORS DO: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing. Website: peterginna.com
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Donald Trump is now reposting videos on Truth Social suggesting that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had Melissa Hortman assassinated.

This is objectively evil, and calling it out should not be political.
January 3, 2026 at 10:49 PM
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first as tragedy then as farce. then as farce again. then farce one more time. a little more farce after that. then some farce. and then another farce and more farce after
July 11, 2024 at 6:10 PM
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Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
I want some of those Sugar Waffers
I hope that the Roosevelt Field Airport Diner looks just like the diner in The Rocketeer.
Just imagine Amelia Earhart having a 10¢ cheeseburger and nickel Coke while they’re gassing up her plane
(It’s a mall now)

Roosevelt Field Airport Diner
Long Island, NY 1920s
#VintageMenus
January 2, 2026 at 2:49 PM
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January 2, 2026 at 2:27 PM
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I insist that you watch this video released by the government of the republic of Somaliland about a visit by the AFRICOM commander *with sound on* because the music is delightful
January 2, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Can I be sworn in on a DVD of DUCK SOUP? Or even better, a 35mm print of it
a black and white photo of a group of men in suits
Alt: Groucho Marx in the film Duck Soup
media.tenor.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:00 AM
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This is brilliant! Check out the website: www.trumpkennedycenter.org

"A national cultural center dedicated to legacy, loyalty, and the careful presentation of history... What is remembered matters. What is omitted matters more."

... gift article from The NY Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/u...
Trump Has Renamed the Kennedy Center, but a Satirist Owns the URL
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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Trump has done many terrible things this term. None has been worse than his pardon of his private army that stormed the Capitol to overturn the election of 2020.

This superb podcast sheds new light on one of the darkest days in our history.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Not a peaceful protest: Part 1 of 2
Podcast Episode · Trump's Terms · 12/29/2025 · 44m
podcasts.apple.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Important read on “Somali fraudsters” in MN
I feel like "attention hacking" is most of politics now. The Minnesota aid fraud story is becoming a perfect example.

Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
December 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Heard this story 30 years ago and have never forgotten it.
Pia Zadora once appeared in a theatrical production of The Diary of Anne Frank as the title character and her performance was so disliked that, when the Nazis came on stage, an audience member shouted, "She's in the attic!"
December 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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got into their Sweden nonsense here
COVID Contrarians Are Wrong About Sweden - The American Prospect
Trying to ‘let it rip’ in early 2020 was a disaster.
prospect.org
December 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
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Recently stumbled upon this Instagram account that's just a guy who lives in a downtown Chicago high rise throwing paper airplanes out his window. Dudes rock, tbh www.instagram.com/reel/DR3CmxB...
December 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
This is your feelgood video of the day
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 11:32 PM
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what rough grinch slouches towards Whoville
December 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
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Absolutely right.

AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.

Let me illustrate …
Not a historian but like to research. The AI might summarize what I'm looking for, but it doesn't find what I'm *not* looking for. The book on the shelf next to the one I wanted. The insight in chapter 6 based on the quote I needed from chapter 4.
December 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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I think bigotry has become a kind of loyalty ritual among young republicans, it’s how you show you’re one of them www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Racial Slurs and Nazi Symbols: Inside the Complaint That Shut Down The Harvard Salient | News | The Harvard Crimson
Screenshots and message logs obtained by The Crimson appear to show Salient leaders casually using racial slurs, defending extremist rhetoric, and dismissing internal concerns — conversations that lat...
www.thecrimson.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:44 PM
A writer friend made MG’s words into a lovely poem, but I went her one better (or worse) and made this into a limerick:

 “Vitality’s what you have got
And blocking it’s what you must not.
It just ain’t your business
How shitty your work is!”
As Agnes has never forgot.

#writing #art #words2liveby
As told by the late dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille.
December 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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We are ruled by a Satanic death cult.
December 20, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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As told by the late dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille.
December 20, 2025 at 2:10 AM
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don't put it in the papers that me mad
They think me mad
December 20, 2025 at 7:47 PM
What the

🗃️
Hey OAH members. There's a post on Facebook that requires us to object. I did. Screenshot of post below and screenshots of email I sent to OAH leadership following.
December 20, 2025 at 7:18 PM
100%
#copyediting

One of those "I didn't learn it till very late, and now that I know it I follow the rules, even though I really don't care, and lots of people do it the 'wrong' way" things:

set foot in ✅

step foot in ❌
December 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
From the “we need some more things to spend ridiculous amounts of money on” school of interior decorating
December 20, 2025 at 4:54 PM