Helen Sonner
@helensonner.bsky.social
Medical writer by vocation and cultural historian by avocation. More often than not, these are one and the same. Enjoying the blue sky.
Pinned
We will miss her. She was so talented and funny.
O'Hara enjoyed a six-decade career in TV and films playing sometimes over-the-top, but endearing characters. "I loved playing cocky untalented people," she told Fresh Air in 1992. n.pr/4q2AuZT
Catherine O'Hara, who starred in 'Home Alone' and 'Schitt's Creek,' dies at 71
O'Hara enjoyed a six-decade career in TV and films playing sometimes over-the-top, but endearing characters. "I loved playing cocky untalented people," she told Fresh Air in 1992.
n.pr
January 30, 2026 at 9:17 PM
We will miss her. She was so talented and funny.
Reposted by Helen Sonner
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
Reposted by Helen Sonner
New discussion: The Remarkable Story of Margaret Barry
The Remarkable Story of Margaret Barry
A link to an audio visual radio documentaruy I just made for DundalkFM, my local community radio station. Hope you enjoy;
thesession.org
January 28, 2026 at 12:15 AM
New discussion: The Remarkable Story of Margaret Barry
My personal #BurnsNight tradition always includes basking in the glory of Dick Gaughan's rendition of Composed in August aka Westlin Winds. youtu.be/vZ7oYCx6tBw?...
Dick Gaughan - Now Westlin Winds
YouTube video by 76AMD
youtu.be
January 25, 2026 at 10:35 PM
My personal #BurnsNight tradition always includes basking in the glory of Dick Gaughan's rendition of Composed in August aka Westlin Winds. youtu.be/vZ7oYCx6tBw?...
Reposted by Helen Sonner
For Burns Night, some thoughts on the later uses of his distinctive stanza form — or ‘standard Habbie’ — from Wordsworth to Heaney
Wee, Sleeket
The shrinking poetry of the Burns stanza, from Wordsworth to Heaney
someflowerssoon.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:16 PM
For Burns Night, some thoughts on the later uses of his distinctive stanza form — or ‘standard Habbie’ — from Wordsworth to Heaney
Reposted by Helen Sonner
Whittier, Minneapolis vibe check
January 25, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Whittier, Minneapolis vibe check
Reposted by Helen Sonner
My friend Sara posted this about the superb care her father received from with Alex Pretti
Absolutely heartbreaking
Absolutely heartbreaking
January 25, 2026 at 4:19 PM
My friend Sara posted this about the superb care her father received from with Alex Pretti
Absolutely heartbreaking
Absolutely heartbreaking
Reposted by Helen Sonner
Almost 256 years ago, when British soldiers were occupying a city that was restless in their presence but still firmly part of the empire, a confrontation ended in the shooting death of five people, with 6 more wounded. This offset image of the Boston Massacre is so evocative. 1/
January 25, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Almost 256 years ago, when British soldiers were occupying a city that was restless in their presence but still firmly part of the empire, a confrontation ended in the shooting death of five people, with 6 more wounded. This offset image of the Boston Massacre is so evocative. 1/
Reposted by Helen Sonner
In Brazil, it is tradition that the first piece of cake goes to the most important person in your life. 🥹🥹😍
January 25, 2026 at 1:54 PM
In Brazil, it is tradition that the first piece of cake goes to the most important person in your life. 🥹🥹😍
Reposted by Helen Sonner
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
Reposted by Helen Sonner
And to be perfectly clear, had these seven Dems voted no (and Massie stayed no), it would have gone down 213-214.
NEW: DHS appropriations bill funding ICE passes 220-207
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
7 Democrats voted YES on the bill:
- Jared Golden
- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
- Henry Cuellar
- Tom Suozzi
- Laura Gillen
- Don Davis
- Vicente Gonzalez
One Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
January 22, 2026 at 11:09 PM
And to be perfectly clear, had these seven Dems voted no (and Massie stayed no), it would have gone down 213-214.
Onetime, after a long and fraught committee meeting, the chair tried to bring the discussion to an end, saying: “We are just beating our heads against a dead horse.”
Vance on the economy:
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
January 22, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Onetime, after a long and fraught committee meeting, the chair tried to bring the discussion to an end, saying: “We are just beating our heads against a dead horse.”
Reposted by Helen Sonner
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Helen Sonner
In a country with an actual free press, the photo of that poor old man would be the cover of every single paper with a headline that reads ENOUGH.
January 19, 2026 at 5:47 AM
In a country with an actual free press, the photo of that poor old man would be the cover of every single paper with a headline that reads ENOUGH.
Older American man terrorized, arrested, and dragged outside unclothed, without cause.
Hmong man detained by ICE today in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(Photo via Reuters)
(Photo via Reuters)
January 19, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Older American man terrorized, arrested, and dragged outside unclothed, without cause.
Helen Rosner channels Wallace Stevens.
"There is no true burger per se, lurking behind your experience of it; it didn’t become the burger you ate until you ate it." @hels.bsky.social
"It was only a glass because he looked in it. It was nothing he could be told." share.google/FE7tie7mSKtL...
"There is no true burger per se, lurking behind your experience of it; it didn’t become the burger you ate until you ate it." @hels.bsky.social
"It was only a glass because he looked in it. It was nothing he could be told." share.google/FE7tie7mSKtL...
Ha ha ha I made myself cry about cheeseburgers www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
January 18, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Helen Rosner channels Wallace Stevens.
"There is no true burger per se, lurking behind your experience of it; it didn’t become the burger you ate until you ate it." @hels.bsky.social
"It was only a glass because he looked in it. It was nothing he could be told." share.google/FE7tie7mSKtL...
"There is no true burger per se, lurking behind your experience of it; it didn’t become the burger you ate until you ate it." @hels.bsky.social
"It was only a glass because he looked in it. It was nothing he could be told." share.google/FE7tie7mSKtL...
"The idea of an 'active dad' was so absurd that I can think of just one example from my entire childhood....At the time this was so novel as to be miraculous, as if we were playing with someone who had been exhumed from a bog, his face purple, his knee wrapped in tape." 🤣
January 18, 2026 at 4:39 PM
"The idea of an 'active dad' was so absurd that I can think of just one example from my entire childhood....At the time this was so novel as to be miraculous, as if we were playing with someone who had been exhumed from a bog, his face purple, his knee wrapped in tape." 🤣
Reposted by Helen Sonner
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
🚨 BREAKING: Over 100 clergy at Target HQ in Downtown Minneapolis demanding justice #ICEOutOfMN #ICEOutForGood #ReneeGood
🎶 “We can stay here all day, we shall not be moved. We are shopping elsewhere, we shall not be moved.”
🔗 Watch live: www.facebook.com/share/v/1ALf...
🎶 “We can stay here all day, we shall not be moved. We are shopping elsewhere, we shall not be moved.”
🔗 Watch live: www.facebook.com/share/v/1ALf...
January 16, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Reposted by Helen Sonner
We Shall Not Be Moved share.google/vV1aDgwhZORe...
Mavis Staples - We Shall Not Be Moved
share.google
January 16, 2026 at 12:08 AM
We Shall Not Be Moved share.google/vV1aDgwhZORe...
Reposted by Helen Sonner
The history of civilian mass detention on the basis of identity without due process or recourse (which is how I defined concentration camps in my history of them) shows that it invariably leads to permanent harm—and typically significant loss of life as well. The longer it goes on the worse it gets.
As detention expands, conditions get worse, thanks to overcrowding and the chaotic transfers of people all over the country.
ICE detention has always had problems, but they're worse than ever now and the impact is clear. Deaths hit a record level in 2025, and 2026 is already looking to be worse.
ICE detention has always had problems, but they're worse than ever now and the impact is clear. Deaths hit a record level in 2025, and 2026 is already looking to be worse.
The detention system has grown so rapidly that already harmful conditions have worsened.
Thousands of immigrants arrested in the interior are detained in hastily built tent camps, where conditions are brutal.
More people died in ICE detention in 2025 than in the past four years combined.
Thousands of immigrants arrested in the interior are detained in hastily built tent camps, where conditions are brutal.
More people died in ICE detention in 2025 than in the past four years combined.
January 14, 2026 at 4:43 PM
The history of civilian mass detention on the basis of identity without due process or recourse (which is how I defined concentration camps in my history of them) shows that it invariably leads to permanent harm—and typically significant loss of life as well. The longer it goes on the worse it gets.
Reposted by Helen Sonner
