Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
@pataphysicien.bsky.social
Dilettante & bon vivant | Professional historian of dope, rock'n'roll, and fucking in the streets | Amateur 'pataphysicien
Pinned
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
February 18, 2026 at 5:13 AM
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
AI Con List:
-Environmental damage
-Job loss
-Massive theft
-Child endangerment
-Owned by the worst humans on the planet
-Creatively bankrupt and an insult to humanity
AI Pro List:
-Can write a LinkedIn post for me*
*Apologies, this should have been in the con list, too
-Environmental damage
-Job loss
-Massive theft
-Child endangerment
-Owned by the worst humans on the planet
-Creatively bankrupt and an insult to humanity
AI Pro List:
-Can write a LinkedIn post for me*
*Apologies, this should have been in the con list, too
February 18, 2026 at 12:26 AM
AI Con List:
-Environmental damage
-Job loss
-Massive theft
-Child endangerment
-Owned by the worst humans on the planet
-Creatively bankrupt and an insult to humanity
AI Pro List:
-Can write a LinkedIn post for me*
*Apologies, this should have been in the con list, too
-Environmental damage
-Job loss
-Massive theft
-Child endangerment
-Owned by the worst humans on the planet
-Creatively bankrupt and an insult to humanity
AI Pro List:
-Can write a LinkedIn post for me*
*Apologies, this should have been in the con list, too
To myself, every time one of these skaters falls:
“Down goes Frasier!”
“Down goes Frasier!”
February 18, 2026 at 12:59 AM
To myself, every time one of these skaters falls:
“Down goes Frasier!”
“Down goes Frasier!”
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
February 14, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
New Article!
View of The Slow Deaths from Climate Change
| Cultural Anthropology
journal.culanth.org
February 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM
New Article!
I tell my students “if you ever fantasize about living in the past, just know that you would never want to be born before penicillin.”
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 7:54 PM
I tell my students “if you ever fantasize about living in the past, just know that you would never want to be born before penicillin.”
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
BRO, WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!
February 17, 2026 at 12:41 AM
BRO, WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!
Duvall (as Frank Hackett in Network) saying “It’s a big, fat, big-titted hit, and I don’t have to waffle around with Ruddy any more!” lives rent free in my head. RIP
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95
From the classic To Kill a Mockingbird to blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, the Oscar-winning actor’s films spanned a remarkable range
Robert Duvall, the veteran actor who had a string of roles in classic American films including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, MASH and To Kill a Mockingbird, has died aged 95.
“Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,” wrote his wife, Luciana Duvall, in a message on Facebook. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Duvall (as Frank Hackett in Network) saying “It’s a big, fat, big-titted hit, and I don’t have to waffle around with Ruddy any more!” lives rent free in my head. RIP
Xandra Velzeboer is a monster! 🇳🇱
February 16, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Xandra Velzeboer is a monster! 🇳🇱
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Time’s been unkind to The White Stripes
February 15, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Time’s been unkind to The White Stripes
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Some very powerful people want us to believe human labor is obsolete & way too many people are buying it.
Don’t let them make you think that you are disposable.
Time to revive the idea of a job guarantee. They just created a bunch of fascist ICE jobs overnight. Imagine that for work that matters.
Don’t let them make you think that you are disposable.
Time to revive the idea of a job guarantee. They just created a bunch of fascist ICE jobs overnight. Imagine that for work that matters.
February 15, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Some very powerful people want us to believe human labor is obsolete & way too many people are buying it.
Don’t let them make you think that you are disposable.
Time to revive the idea of a job guarantee. They just created a bunch of fascist ICE jobs overnight. Imagine that for work that matters.
Don’t let them make you think that you are disposable.
Time to revive the idea of a job guarantee. They just created a bunch of fascist ICE jobs overnight. Imagine that for work that matters.
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
lol this is gonna burst so fucking hard
February 14, 2026 at 11:47 PM
lol this is gonna burst so fucking hard
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Of all the Warner Brothers contract players from the 40s, you proclaim a day in honor of Ronald Reagan? Really? Not Claude Raines? Not Barton MacLane? Not George Tobias? I call bullshit!
Governor Newsom proclaims Ronald Reagan Day
Governor Newsom proclaims Ronald Reagan Day | Governor of California
www.gov.ca.gov
February 13, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Of all the Warner Brothers contract players from the 40s, you proclaim a day in honor of Ronald Reagan? Really? Not Claude Raines? Not Barton MacLane? Not George Tobias? I call bullshit!
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
𝙎𝙃𝙐𝙏 𝘿𝘼 𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆 𝙐𝙋
Dario Amodei compared AI and humans working together to a mythical creature — the centaur.
Anthropic's CEO says we're in the 'centaur phase' of software engineering
Dario Amodei compared AI and humans working together to a mythical creature — the centaur.
www.businessinsider.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:09 AM
𝙎𝙃𝙐𝙏 𝘿𝘼 𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆 𝙐𝙋
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
One of these days, people will look back on these sports betting ads like we do on the ads for patent medicines featuring cocaine.
February 9, 2026 at 12:31 AM
One of these days, people will look back on these sports betting ads like we do on the ads for patent medicines featuring cocaine.
I knew a dude in junior high who read “American Ninja” magazine and sounded just like this
February 12, 2026 at 3:49 AM
I knew a dude in junior high who read “American Ninja” magazine and sounded just like this
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Gee, Universal Basic Income recoups more than it costs AND the recipients are happier and healthier.
Hmmm. Where have I seen those results before? Oh yes, in every other goddam pilot study of UBI for more than a decade. Ireland joins Finland in at least making a start.
Hmmm. Where have I seen those results before? Oh yes, in every other goddam pilot study of UBI for more than a decade. Ireland joins Finland in at least making a start.
Ireland’s basic income for the arts scheme becomes permanent
When piloted, initiative that provided €325 a week to eligible artists recouped more than its net cost, study shows
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Gee, Universal Basic Income recoups more than it costs AND the recipients are happier and healthier.
Hmmm. Where have I seen those results before? Oh yes, in every other goddam pilot study of UBI for more than a decade. Ireland joins Finland in at least making a start.
Hmmm. Where have I seen those results before? Oh yes, in every other goddam pilot study of UBI for more than a decade. Ireland joins Finland in at least making a start.
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Folks I’ve run the numbers on this and—you won’t believe this—for the 900th issue in a row, the real problem is not the issue itself but instead the way “””The Left””” talks about it. What are the odds
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Folks I’ve run the numbers on this and—you won’t believe this—for the 900th issue in a row, the real problem is not the issue itself but instead the way “””The Left””” talks about it. What are the odds
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
No son, they are not "magically delicious." The workers made them delicious. This is a slogan meant to mystify the social conditions of labor
February 11, 2026 at 1:46 AM
No son, they are not "magically delicious." The workers made them delicious. This is a slogan meant to mystify the social conditions of labor
I’m shocked at the continuing revelations that “abundance” is a scam
February 9, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I’m shocked at the continuing revelations that “abundance” is a scam
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
When I worked for Reason magazine during Trump's rise to power in 2016, I was explicitly forbidden by the editor in chief from writing about Trump's racism, or the violence and racism at his rallies.
It was a "sideshow," I was told.
It was a "sideshow," I was told.
February 9, 2026 at 2:10 PM
When I worked for Reason magazine during Trump's rise to power in 2016, I was explicitly forbidden by the editor in chief from writing about Trump's racism, or the violence and racism at his rallies.
It was a "sideshow," I was told.
It was a "sideshow," I was told.
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Do you love war crimes and genocide but also want everyone to think that terminated fetuses are like the holocaust but you also are not sure the actual holocaust happened? There's probably a guy with a table in the city centre who wants to be your friend.
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Do you love war crimes and genocide but also want everyone to think that terminated fetuses are like the holocaust but you also are not sure the actual holocaust happened? There's probably a guy with a table in the city centre who wants to be your friend.
Reposted by Rev. Col. C.A. Martin, PhD
Brilliant piece, and a public service to put these foul and upsetting pieces together.
I wrote about the Epstein files (gift link) www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo
The emails show the “anti-woke” crusaders are afraid of accountability.
www.theverge.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Brilliant piece, and a public service to put these foul and upsetting pieces together.