Catherine Berry
@isomeme.bsky.social
I'm a 63 year old Thelemite vision-impaired autistic trans woman software engineer. I live in Los Angeles with my wonderful partner Leanne. I celebrate diversity in all its radiant forms.
Banner: Wilson River, Oregon USA (my photo)
Banner: Wilson River, Oregon USA (my photo)
Pinned
Catherine Berry
@isomeme.bsky.social
· Nov 15
I am outsourcing my "I'm here!" post to the brilliant and delightfully weird poet Stephen Crane:
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
Reposted by Catherine Berry
She probably had dyspepsia.
November 14, 2025 at 12:25 AM
She probably had dyspepsia.
I listened to "One More Red Nightmare" this morning,and I'm going to a Steve Hackett concert at the Orpheum tomorrow night. I'm not sure whether to feel seen or called out. 🙃🎵💜
theonion.com/dad-calling-...
theonion.com/dad-calling-...
Dad Calling Just To Say He Loves King Crimson
BROCKTON, MA—Acknowledging that he doesn’t get the chance to say it that often, but emphasizing that it doesn’t make it any less true, the father of local resident Eric Flores reportedly called him Th...
theonion.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I listened to "One More Red Nightmare" this morning,and I'm going to a Steve Hackett concert at the Orpheum tomorrow night. I'm not sure whether to feel seen or called out. 🙃🎵💜
theonion.com/dad-calling-...
theonion.com/dad-calling-...
Reposted by Catherine Berry
The Epstein list isn’t like team sports
We don’t care if it takes down Democrats
We don’t care if it takes down progressives
We don’t care if it takes down our fave celebrity
If you raped children, you must be held accountable
If you trafficked children, same
I don’t care what side you’re on
We don’t care if it takes down Democrats
We don’t care if it takes down progressives
We don’t care if it takes down our fave celebrity
If you raped children, you must be held accountable
If you trafficked children, same
I don’t care what side you’re on
November 13, 2025 at 5:44 AM
The Epstein list isn’t like team sports
We don’t care if it takes down Democrats
We don’t care if it takes down progressives
We don’t care if it takes down our fave celebrity
If you raped children, you must be held accountable
If you trafficked children, same
I don’t care what side you’re on
We don’t care if it takes down Democrats
We don’t care if it takes down progressives
We don’t care if it takes down our fave celebrity
If you raped children, you must be held accountable
If you trafficked children, same
I don’t care what side you’re on
"Frontier justice" doesn't usually refer to the frontier of sociology research. 😁
theonion.com/not-sure-how...
theonion.com/not-sure-how...
Not Sure How They Deal With Criminals In Your Town, But ’Round Here We Use A Restorative Justice Process
Well, well, well. What have we got here? Another city slicker who thinks he can waltz into my town and start causin’ all sorts of trouble. I’d be careful if I was you, fella. Because however they do t...
theonion.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
"Frontier justice" doesn't usually refer to the frontier of sociology research. 😁
theonion.com/not-sure-how...
theonion.com/not-sure-how...
Reposted by Catherine Berry
Trading places with Elon would be like waking up as a cockroach and the worst part is that you would have traded away your knowledge of Kafka and the literary grounding to make sense of said experience.
November 11, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Trading places with Elon would be like waking up as a cockroach and the worst part is that you would have traded away your knowledge of Kafka and the literary grounding to make sense of said experience.
This shipwreck happened 50 years ago today, thousands of miles from my home, and involved nobody I knew. Yet thinking about it makes me cry. Such is the power of an inspired bard to ensure that a story becomes immortal.
music.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K...
music.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K...
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
YouTube video by Gordon Lightfoot - Topic
music.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
This shipwreck happened 50 years ago today, thousands of miles from my home, and involved nobody I knew. Yet thinking about it makes me cry. Such is the power of an inspired bard to ensure that a story becomes immortal.
music.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K...
music.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K...
My quoted post below got flagged as sexually suggestive. The link is apparently adult content. The post is a reference to the myth of Galatea, with a link to the relevant Wikipedia article. The absurdity level is approaching toxicity.
Or perhaps "Hey Google, write a version of the myth of Galatea, only set it in the modern world and make it extremely cringe."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatea...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatea...
Galatea (mythological statue) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:39 AM
My quoted post below got flagged as sexually suggestive. The link is apparently adult content. The post is a reference to the myth of Galatea, with a link to the relevant Wikipedia article. The absurdity level is approaching toxicity.
Reposted by Catherine Berry
And I speak of spiritual suffering! Of people seeing their talent, their work, their lives wasted. Of good minds submitting to stupid ones. Of strength and courage strangled by envy, greed for power, fear of change.
November 7, 2025 at 6:10 PM
And I speak of spiritual suffering! Of people seeing their talent, their work, their lives wasted. Of good minds submitting to stupid ones. Of strength and courage strangled by envy, greed for power, fear of change.
Reposted by Catherine Berry
"A month after you get a rejection from a prestigious magazine, you see an article on the same topic you pitched, using the same sources, written by an in-house writer. The article wins awards. Describe the hex you place on the magazine."
Horrifying Writing Prompts
You inadvertently send your My Little Pony/The West Wing fan fiction to the New Yorker. If your reaction was a New Yorker cartoon, what would it lo...
buff.ly
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM
"A month after you get a rejection from a prestigious magazine, you see an article on the same topic you pitched, using the same sources, written by an in-house writer. The article wins awards. Describe the hex you place on the magazine."
Reposted by Catherine Berry
One of the many pleasures of coding is running across evocative comments in other people's code. Even the big software companies occasionally let a little bit of a programmer's personality slip through. This example is from a class holding constants representing all versions of Android. 1/3
October 31, 2025 at 9:49 PM
One of the many pleasures of coding is running across evocative comments in other people's code. Even the big software companies occasionally let a little bit of a programmer's personality slip through. This example is from a class holding constants representing all versions of Android. 1/3
There's a Great Horned Owl somewhere out there in the darkness. That "hoo-huhHOO-hoo-hoo" call is unmistakable. I haven't previously heard them around here. It's nice to hear one right now. I should be doing various things, but for the moment I'm just sitting here, quietly entranced.
November 3, 2025 at 6:23 AM
There's a Great Horned Owl somewhere out there in the darkness. That "hoo-huhHOO-hoo-hoo" call is unmistakable. I haven't previously heard them around here. It's nice to hear one right now. I should be doing various things, but for the moment I'm just sitting here, quietly entranced.
This essay by @cstross.bsky.social is the best big-picture analysis I've ever seen of where we are and where we might be heading. Despite being forthright about the immense dangers we face, he manages to retain a glimmer of hope. Give it a read.
www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...
www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...
The pivot - Charlie's Diary
I'm calling this the pivotal year of our times, just as 1968 was the pivotal year of the post-1945 system, for a number of reasons.
www.antipope.org
November 2, 2025 at 10:35 PM
This essay by @cstross.bsky.social is the best big-picture analysis I've ever seen of where we are and where we might be heading. Despite being forthright about the immense dangers we face, he manages to retain a glimmer of hope. Give it a read.
www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...
www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...
One of the many pleasures of coding is running across evocative comments in other people's code. Even the big software companies occasionally let a little bit of a programmer's personality slip through. This example is from a class holding constants representing all versions of Android. 1/3
October 31, 2025 at 9:49 PM
One of the many pleasures of coding is running across evocative comments in other people's code. Even the big software companies occasionally let a little bit of a programmer's personality slip through. This example is from a class holding constants representing all versions of Android. 1/3
Reposted by Catherine Berry
I am rather surprised to realize that I'm glad Trump is desecrating the White House with his trashy-Albert-Speer ballroom. This building was a symbol of a civic ideal which we have failed to nurture and defend, so its loss is dramatically coherent. 1/2
October 28, 2025 at 7:22 AM
I am rather surprised to realize that I'm glad Trump is desecrating the White House with his trashy-Albert-Speer ballroom. This building was a symbol of a civic ideal which we have failed to nurture and defend, so its loss is dramatically coherent. 1/2
Reposted by Catherine Berry
Talk about an in-flight meal.
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
October 27, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Talk about an in-flight meal.
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
I am rather surprised to realize that I'm glad Trump is desecrating the White House with his trashy-Albert-Speer ballroom. This building was a symbol of a civic ideal which we have failed to nurture and defend, so its loss is dramatically coherent. 1/2
October 28, 2025 at 7:22 AM
I am rather surprised to realize that I'm glad Trump is desecrating the White House with his trashy-Albert-Speer ballroom. This building was a symbol of a civic ideal which we have failed to nurture and defend, so its loss is dramatically coherent. 1/2
Reposted by Catherine Berry
I think it would be rather interesting to talk to a sentient computer. On the other hand, it is decidedly uninteresting to talk to a sycophantic autocomplete tool.
October 27, 2025 at 7:32 AM
I think it would be rather interesting to talk to a sentient computer. On the other hand, it is decidedly uninteresting to talk to a sycophantic autocomplete tool.
This evening my partner and I went out to dinner. We took a Lyft, since neither of us can drive. After a few other topics, I told my partner about a useful Android utility class I'd developed as part of a project I'm working on that I might open-source independently. 1/4
October 26, 2025 at 8:25 AM
This evening my partner and I went out to dinner. We took a Lyft, since neither of us can drive. After a few other topics, I told my partner about a useful Android utility class I'd developed as part of a project I'm working on that I might open-source independently. 1/4
Reposted by Catherine Berry
@joshtpm.bsky.social is completely correct in his analysis. Democratic civil society relies on a pervasive sense that each citizen has obligations to society -- a "civic duty". This sense has been eroded by neoliberalism since Thatcher's infamous assertion that there is no such thing as society.
Fear, Greed, Civic Virtue and the Fall of the Elites talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
Fear, Greed, Civic Virtue and the Fall of the Elites
Members of America’s founding generation had an ambivalent and evolving understanding of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
@joshtpm.bsky.social is completely correct in his analysis. Democratic civil society relies on a pervasive sense that each citizen has obligations to society -- a "civic duty". This sense has been eroded by neoliberalism since Thatcher's infamous assertion that there is no such thing as society.
In our accelerating rush toward the Singularity, we have reached the stage of meta-outage alerts. Outage meta-alerts? Meta-outage hyper-alerts? Humanity is not ready for what awaits us.
October 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
In our accelerating rush toward the Singularity, we have reached the stage of meta-outage alerts. Outage meta-alerts? Meta-outage hyper-alerts? Humanity is not ready for what awaits us.
@joshtpm.bsky.social is completely correct in his analysis. Democratic civil society relies on a pervasive sense that each citizen has obligations to society -- a "civic duty". This sense has been eroded by neoliberalism since Thatcher's infamous assertion that there is no such thing as society.
Fear, Greed, Civic Virtue and the Fall of the Elites talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
Fear, Greed, Civic Virtue and the Fall of the Elites
Members of America’s founding generation had an ambivalent and evolving understanding of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
@joshtpm.bsky.social is completely correct in his analysis. Democratic civil society relies on a pervasive sense that each citizen has obligations to society -- a "civic duty". This sense has been eroded by neoliberalism since Thatcher's infamous assertion that there is no such thing as society.
I'm starting to think that many senior politicians are in denial about Trump because to see him clearly would involve acknowledging how badly they have done their jobs for decades to get us to the point where this is possible. It's cognitive dissonance in action.
October 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I'm starting to think that many senior politicians are in denial about Trump because to see him clearly would involve acknowledging how badly they have done their jobs for decades to get us to the point where this is possible. It's cognitive dissonance in action.
Reposted by Catherine Berry
And if I were a queen, failure to use the subjunctive mood appropriately would be a capital crime.
Mike Johnson: "The irony was that they called it the No Kings Rally, but if President Trump was a king, the government would be open. If President Trump was a king, he would've closed the nationals parks and the National Mall so they couldn't of had the rally out here."
October 21, 2025 at 9:09 AM
And if I were a queen, failure to use the subjunctive mood appropriately would be a capital crime.