Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
@merz.bsky.social
"There are no answers; only choices."
– S. Lem
I choose one [o] or two-cell [8] organisms and dissonant music.
Professor of Biochemistry @ UW-Seattle. Any coincidence of my opinions with my employer's is coincidental.
– S. Lem
I choose one [o] or two-cell [8] organisms and dissonant music.
Professor of Biochemistry @ UW-Seattle. Any coincidence of my opinions with my employer's is coincidental.
Pinned
Barbie yes, Oppenheimer no. There was nothing genuinely new or *transgressive* about Oppenheimer in a cultural, cinematic, or literary sense. But Barbie… all three.
Go back to 2018 and you have both Black Panther and Into the Spiderverse.
Go back to 2018 and you have both Black Panther and Into the Spiderverse.
What 2020s movie has the greatest cultural footprint?
Note: This is not necessarily about box office, Oscars, critical acclaim, though all of those can count. It's more... pieces of it have so completely permeated our cultural groundwater that it will always be there.
Note: This is not necessarily about box office, Oscars, critical acclaim, though all of those can count. It's more... pieces of it have so completely permeated our cultural groundwater that it will always be there.
February 9, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Barbie yes, Oppenheimer no. There was nothing genuinely new or *transgressive* about Oppenheimer in a cultural, cinematic, or literary sense. But Barbie… all three.
Go back to 2018 and you have both Black Panther and Into the Spiderverse.
Go back to 2018 and you have both Black Panther and Into the Spiderverse.
Just wait until the Defenders of Western Civilization learn about opera.
“I’m mad I can’t understand Bad Bunny’s lyrics because they’re not in English”
my brother millions of metalheads around the world have been happily listening to incomprehensible Finnish shrieks and Japanese death grunts since we were teens, you’re just boring and racist
my brother millions of metalheads around the world have been happily listening to incomprehensible Finnish shrieks and Japanese death grunts since we were teens, you’re just boring and racist
February 9, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Just wait until the Defenders of Western Civilization learn about opera.
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
Rita Levi-Montalcini was raised by a strict father who disapproved of women in higher ed.
She convinced him to let her study medicine.
She went on to co-discover the Nerve Growth Factor. She received the Nobel Prize in 1986.
She was another immigrant that gifted the US with pioneering work.
🧪
She convinced him to let her study medicine.
She went on to co-discover the Nerve Growth Factor. She received the Nobel Prize in 1986.
She was another immigrant that gifted the US with pioneering work.
🧪
February 8, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Rita Levi-Montalcini was raised by a strict father who disapproved of women in higher ed.
She convinced him to let her study medicine.
She went on to co-discover the Nerve Growth Factor. She received the Nobel Prize in 1986.
She was another immigrant that gifted the US with pioneering work.
🧪
She convinced him to let her study medicine.
She went on to co-discover the Nerve Growth Factor. She received the Nobel Prize in 1986.
She was another immigrant that gifted the US with pioneering work.
🧪
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
That Lilly ad is pretty cool, even though the person with the sep funnel is not using PPE.
February 9, 2026 at 4:38 AM
That Lilly ad is pretty cool, even though the person with the sep funnel is not using PPE.
I simply cannot believe that anyone is foolish enough to go out of their way to install one of these things.
jack asked if i would sketch up a poster to tell people in nearby neighborhoods about the partnership between flock and ring, and this is what i came up with. it can be printed on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper.
![YOUR RING CAMERA IS AN ICE AGENT
[a drawing of a ring camera with an ice agent dragging a person away in its field of vision]
"In October of 2025, Amazon's Ring announced its partnership with FLOCK, an A.I. surveillance group that freely shares its footage with ICE, the secret service, and the navy. Flock customers can use A.I. tools to sift through footage to assist in all manner of operations (like raids and deportations) without a warrant. Unplug Ring! Melt ICE! Protect your neighbors!
See: https://blog.ring.com/about-ring/ring-expands-community-requests-to-additional-community-safety-partners/
https://www.404media.co/ice-secret-service-navy-all-had-access-to-flocks-nationwide-network-of-cameras/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9MwZkHiMQ
https://www.aclum.org/campaigns-initiatives/get-the-flock-out-resource-guide/](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:p2aefnvhb3zmkrazk67dppxw/bafkreic7teyeocg7k5qcqxnc666k7clyiislh2zfi6iopcz6fs3e3lt6xy@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 4:46 AM
I simply cannot believe that anyone is foolish enough to go out of their way to install one of these things.
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
This halftime show proves that even now, art defined by identity, colored by history of oppression, & centered in love is not only deeply powerful, but can also be widely accepted & beloved by a global audience.
Despite what the state tells us, the arc of history is still bending towards justice.
Despite what the state tells us, the arc of history is still bending towards justice.
February 9, 2026 at 4:03 AM
This halftime show proves that even now, art defined by identity, colored by history of oppression, & centered in love is not only deeply powerful, but can also be widely accepted & beloved by a global audience.
Despite what the state tells us, the arc of history is still bending towards justice.
Despite what the state tells us, the arc of history is still bending towards justice.
My mother in law was on the 1956 Hungarian Olympic swimming team. At the Olympics she sought asylum in the US to evade invading Russians and their imposition of exactly the malignant thought control that Kelly would like to impose, right here in the Land of the Free.
Susie was sixteen years old.
Susie was sixteen years old.
February 9, 2026 at 4:24 AM
My mother in law was on the 1956 Hungarian Olympic swimming team. At the Olympics she sought asylum in the US to evade invading Russians and their imposition of exactly the malignant thought control that Kelly would like to impose, right here in the Land of the Free.
Susie was sixteen years old.
Susie was sixteen years old.
What if Leni Riefenstahl had switched sides?
February 9, 2026 at 3:44 AM
What if Leni Riefenstahl had switched sides?
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
This gots me tripping,,, cuz how was Cardi B on the field and in my suite during the Super Bowl half time show,??
February 9, 2026 at 2:25 AM
This gots me tripping,,, cuz how was Cardi B on the field and in my suite during the Super Bowl half time show,??
AC/DC?
MORE MUSIC BY FURRINERS AT MUH SUPERBOWL
MORE MUSIC BY FURRINERS AT MUH SUPERBOWL
February 9, 2026 at 3:11 AM
AC/DC?
MORE MUSIC BY FURRINERS AT MUH SUPERBOWL
MORE MUSIC BY FURRINERS AT MUH SUPERBOWL
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
Macbeth: SHIT
February 9, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Macbeth: SHIT
Pats praying that the Stanford University Marching Band will arrive soon.
February 9, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Pats praying that the Stanford University Marching Band will arrive soon.
The Pats are looking a little deflated.
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 AM
The Pats are looking a little deflated.
If you decided to watch it, that is a valid choice.
February 9, 2026 at 1:41 AM
If you decided to watch it, that is a valid choice.
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
I think one of the best things about Bad Bunny’s performance is that it was so *specific*. It so clearly had a point of view coming from real lived experience and actual emotion, actual heart, not cynical calculation. Just beautiful.
February 9, 2026 at 1:36 AM
I think one of the best things about Bad Bunny’s performance is that it was so *specific*. It so clearly had a point of view coming from real lived experience and actual emotion, actual heart, not cynical calculation. Just beautiful.
THAT BILLLBOARD
THE ONLY THING MORE
POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE
THE ONLY THING MORE
POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE
February 9, 2026 at 1:32 AM
THAT BILLLBOARD
THE ONLY THING MORE
POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE
THE ONLY THING MORE
POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE
A provocation in the best possible sense
The new official language of the United States of America is NO SUBTITLES fuck yeah.
February 9, 2026 at 1:28 AM
A provocation in the best possible sense
The new official language of the United States of America is NO SUBTITLES fuck yeah.
February 9, 2026 at 1:25 AM
The new official language of the United States of America is NO SUBTITLES fuck yeah.
HAHAHA YES this is so good
February 9, 2026 at 1:22 AM
HAHAHA YES this is so good
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
Amber Glenn, a queer Texan who started ice skating at the stonebriar mall in frisco at age 5, who plays magic the gathering, is an olympic gold medalist
grateful to work at a place that always lets me write about how much i love gay women
www.chron.com/culture/arti...
www.chron.com/culture/arti...
Amber Glenn, a queer icon from Texas, is about to make Olympic history
The American figure skater's unapologetic queerness feels more important than ever.
www.chron.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Amber Glenn, a queer Texan who started ice skating at the stonebriar mall in frisco at age 5, who plays magic the gathering, is an olympic gold medalist
America the Beautiful is vastly better than the Star Spangled Banner, but This Land is Your Land crushes both and it should be our national anthem.
February 8, 2026 at 11:30 PM
America the Beautiful is vastly better than the Star Spangled Banner, but This Land is Your Land crushes both and it should be our national anthem.
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
With >85% of votes in, Portugal decisively rejects far-right candidate André Ventura. Center-left candidate António José Seguro is the President-elect.
February 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM
With >85% of votes in, Portugal decisively rejects far-right candidate André Ventura. Center-left candidate António José Seguro is the President-elect.
It's because they are terrified that they suck — and they are right about that. One major defect in their thinking is in thinking that they are proxies for white people generally.
February 8, 2026 at 9:20 PM
It's because they are terrified that they suck — and they are right about that. One major defect in their thinking is in thinking that they are proxies for white people generally.
Apparently it was a typo from the outset. The backers had actually intended to type "free bleach."
crickets from the free speech crowd, of course
FAMU can't use the word Black on anything posted around campus related to Black History Month, to stay in compliance with Florida state laws against DEI. Black students can't use the word Black at their Historically Black College during Black History Month.
February 8, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Apparently it was a typo from the outset. The backers had actually intended to type "free bleach."
Reposted by Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦
I've written about the overarching post story, causes, underlying pattern. But the failure of Lewis or Bezos to even show up, literally or figuratively, on a day of devastating cuts epitomizes the profound lack of character and accountability that is so common place today within the American elite.
February 8, 2026 at 6:15 AM
I've written about the overarching post story, causes, underlying pattern. But the failure of Lewis or Bezos to even show up, literally or figuratively, on a day of devastating cuts epitomizes the profound lack of character and accountability that is so common place today within the American elite.