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iainpj.bsky.social
@iainpj.bsky.social
Chicago resident, rapidly aging
The one thing that actually threw me about this story was reading that Tai Babilonia is actually a grandmother.

I remember watching them skate and thinking that Tai-and-Randy were so beautiful on the ice...

www.latimes.com/sports/olymp...
How Tai Babilonia's groundbreaking career shattered barriers for U.S. figure skaters
Through triumph and tragedy, Tai Babilonia redefined what a figure skater could be, winning five U.S. titles with pairs partner Randy Gardner.
www.latimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Is that ... a guillotine in a yard sale? I mean ... what? Why? How? ... though it looks like the "blade" is actually wood, which ... would take a while. Painfully.

www.youtube.com/shorts/OiI7K...
I’m just sayin #funny #yardsale #kink #fashion
YouTube video by Refashioned Hippie
www.youtube.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

- Statistics
- Milton
- Thucydides
- World history
- The Bible in Western Civilization
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

- Geopolitics and strategy in the modern era
- Cowboy poetry
- Student uprisings in the 1960s
- Literature of revolution (we read so much Marquis de Sade)
- Sociology of policing (did a ride-along with a deputy coroner for this)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

1. Creative Writing - Poetry
2. Modern Art
3. Shakespeare
4. Contemporary Fiction
5. Topics in Religious Studies
January 31, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Reportedly, this particular type of deployment is nothing unusual. Has been going on since the division was created. Which brings up the question: WHY? Why is a division specifically created for very specific domestic work being used this way?

www.espn.com/olympics/sto...
Demonstrators in Milan protest ICE unit at Winter Olympics
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Milan to protest the deployment of U.S. ICE agents ahead of the Winter Olympics, which begin next week.
www.espn.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted
Let’s not sacrifice our arts on the alter of generative AI!

86% of authors say GenAI has already reduced their earnings
72% of authors say job opportunities have already been cut
57% of authors say their career is no longer sustainable

#JusticeForCreators and #TheWriterBehindTheWords
January 30, 2026 at 11:46 AM
A sign of the times. Glaucomflecken, an ophthalmologist, normally does comedy medical videos.

www.youtube.com/shorts/z4dy0...
What To Do If You Get Pepper Sprayed
YouTube video by Dr. Glaucomflecken
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reposted
Of the biggest scandals in US history just this week, I think I’d rank them:

1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens

2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar

3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
January 29, 2026 at 2:52 AM
OK, (a) this is weirdly delightful, and (b) I Have Questions.
First, why is that one guy there?
Second, why does everyone disappear just when the ... er, Muppeteography was getting good? Or at least Gaga-esque.
Also, not the "Venus" I was expecting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkEf...
Lady Gaga - Venus (Live at "Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular")
YouTube video by Haus Of Marmo
www.youtube.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:24 AM
WWII history I'll bet most people didn't know. Clearly, it was a massive crisis that needed addressing, and European ingenuity was up to the task.

www.youtube.com/shorts/6V6Az...
Beer Delivered by Spitfire | Cheers to History
YouTube video by Extra History
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:29 PM
This ... is nice. And good. And that's really all I have to say about it.

www.tennis.com/news/article...
Coco Gauff gives back, talks HBCU donations totaling $250,000 in two years at Australian Open | Tennis.com
The American discussed family ties to Historically Black Colleges and Universities after reaching the third round in Melbourne.
www.tennis.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Reposted
My books cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Reposted
Comic artist LeBeau Underwood’s daughter has been missing in Chicago since yesterday morning. Please share in the hopes we can bring the family a happy conclusion to this.
January 13, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Reposted
Basically Jack Reacher has sex with The Law Enforcement Officer Du Livre as a break for the author exhausted by choreographing constant violence. Whereas a Regency duke has a full bare-knuckle boxing scene as a break for the author who really cannot think of one more synonym for penis.
January 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Aw, hell.
Condolences to her family and friends.

www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...
Chef and food stylist Elle Simone Scott dies at 49
Scott was known for her work on "America's Test Kitchen." Her family confirmed that she died on Jan. 5.
www.wbur.org
January 8, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Reposted
January 8, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Reposted
“Can’t believe NYC elected a Muslim as mayor.”

In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.
January 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Reposted
January 1, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted
To wit:
December 31, 2025 at 4:18 PM
In which Amazon demonstrates that, yes, it can suck just that much more.

www.youtube.com/shorts/s8jGn...
This is big business doing what it does #amazon #smallbusiness #buyforme #amazonsucks
YouTube video by Refashioned Hippie
www.youtube.com
December 29, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted
COMPLETE ESSAY HERE. Free to read: colleendoran.substack.com/p/stuff-peop...
December 27, 2025 at 5:11 AM
May I just say: one of the weirdnesses of the festive season is the annual reappearance of the music for Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" on commercials, because it has tinkly chimes in the chorus. Don't hear any of the lyrics of course, because the song is WILDLY inappropriate for that purpose.
December 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Regarding LRP: People magazine deciding to describe Halle Berry -- the first black woman to win a best actress Oscar (yes, yes, in 2002, keep up, folks!) -- deciding to describe her as "the Catwoman actress" and ONLY that was definitely ... a CHOICE, it was.

people.com/halle-berry-...
Halle Berry Draws Gasps for Saying Gavin Newsom Is 'Devaluing' Women and 'Shouldn't Be Our Next President' Moments Before He Comes on Stage
Halle Berry criticized Gavin Newsom for 'devaluing' women and said he 'shouldn't be our next president' moments before he took the stage at 'The New York Times' DealBook Summit.
people.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted
Halle Berry? Dang, bring it

(Also the replies & quotes are *full* of other receipts about ways that Newsom has been a jerkass)
"...Newsom has vetoed our menopause bill, not one but two years in a row. But that's OK, because he's not going to be governor forever. And with the way he's overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either."

youtu.be/603NmGNkfqY
December 4, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Another day, another food recall.

It is fascinating how weirdly centralized parts of our food chain have become. One processor with an issue affects dozens of states and hundreds of stores, and a surprising number of brands.

www.today.com/food/recall/...
Over 1.5 Million Bags of Shredded Cheese Sold at Aldi, Walmart and Target Recalled
The cheese products were sold under multiple labels at Aldi, Walmart, Target and other major retailers.
www.today.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM