Ben Blythe
@visitingwriter.bsky.social
Jewish SciFi/Fantasy/Horror author. Developmental editor. University instructor. Chicago Manual of Style enthusiast.
Pinned
It's happened before and it'll happen again: The world's on fire and I am procrastinating, so I'm gonna get caught up on #NovemberWorldbuilders just to keep from going insane.
We're going back to the 2090s for this one.
Feel free to mute this thread if #worldbuilding isn't your jam.
We're going back to the 2090s for this one.
Feel free to mute this thread if #worldbuilding isn't your jam.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
precisely my thought. the president and his dumbass republican allies put these men and women into harm’s way for a political stunt and look what has happened
Whether this was random street crime or targeted political violence, I think it was bad for the president to unnecessarily put the National Guard in harm’s way like this. They simply don’t need to be there.
November 26, 2025 at 8:53 PM
precisely my thought. the president and his dumbass republican allies put these men and women into harm’s way for a political stunt and look what has happened
The thing I keep thinking of is how Nuzzi helped shape the big surge of BIDEN OLD and BIDEN DEMENTIA narratives in 2023-2024.
Everyone who took part in that disinformation campaign has blood on their hands. It will never wash off.
Everyone who took part in that disinformation campaign has blood on their hands. It will never wash off.
When the, ah, Nuzzi affair first dropped we were treated to several journalist luminaries insisting to us that it wasn't that big of a deal except she should have told her editor she was sleeping with her source.
this fuckin guy ...dropping allegations of journalistic malpractice and source betrayal in separate piece meal events like it’s delicious media gossip and then writing, “we haven’t reached the halfway point, and I haven’t yet described the most bizarre, consequential, and newsworthy events”
November 26, 2025 at 11:36 PM
The thing I keep thinking of is how Nuzzi helped shape the big surge of BIDEN OLD and BIDEN DEMENTIA narratives in 2023-2024.
Everyone who took part in that disinformation campaign has blood on their hands. It will never wash off.
Everyone who took part in that disinformation campaign has blood on their hands. It will never wash off.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
National Guard troops don't sign up to be used as political pawns. They sign up to serve their country, not needlessly deploy to American cities to pick up garbage. These two soldiers should be alive right now and at home with their families for Thanksgiving. I'm furious.
November 26, 2025 at 9:14 PM
National Guard troops don't sign up to be used as political pawns. They sign up to serve their country, not needlessly deploy to American cities to pick up garbage. These two soldiers should be alive right now and at home with their families for Thanksgiving. I'm furious.
If you see this post an anime you love
November 26, 2025 at 10:45 PM
If you see this post an anime you love
Reposted by Ben Blythe
the line separating normie and poaster passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between parties either--but right through every human heart. this line shifts. inside us, it oscillates with the years. and even within hearts overwhelmed by poaster, one small bridgehead of normie is retained
November 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
the line separating normie and poaster passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between parties either--but right through every human heart. this line shifts. inside us, it oscillates with the years. and even within hearts overwhelmed by poaster, one small bridgehead of normie is retained
Reposted by Ben Blythe
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Helluva thing to say about a guy you're going to symbolically murder in the not-too-distant future.
November 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Helluva thing to say about a guy you're going to symbolically murder in the not-too-distant future.
Fruity alcoholic drinks are the only good alcoholic drinks.
November 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Fruity alcoholic drinks are the only good alcoholic drinks.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
I think we can safely say that the Leavitt's brother called ICE on his ex, the mother of his child, and I have to say: I have no desire to respect, find common ground or share the country with these monsters.
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
‘Brazil is not her home.’ Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, brought to US as child, detained by ICE. - The Boston Globe
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was brought to the United States as a child in 1998. She is now in removal proceedings in Louisiana.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I think we can safely say that the Leavitt's brother called ICE on his ex, the mother of his child, and I have to say: I have no desire to respect, find common ground or share the country with these monsters.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
One of my professors pointed out that one of the hallmarks of dictatorship is that portraits of the leader are inescapable
November 26, 2025 at 6:24 AM
One of my professors pointed out that one of the hallmarks of dictatorship is that portraits of the leader are inescapable
I want the extra mile of confirming this human being's existence and god help us all, she IS real.
See: Federal Register, 1 November 2022, DHS Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board membership.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
See: Federal Register, 1 November 2022, DHS Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board membership.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
November 26, 2025 at 5:03 AM
I want the extra mile of confirming this human being's existence and god help us all, she IS real.
See: Federal Register, 1 November 2022, DHS Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board membership.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
See: Federal Register, 1 November 2022, DHS Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board membership.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
This could have been us.
This should have been us.
This should have been us.
November 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
This could have been us.
This should have been us.
This should have been us.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
As the year comes to an end, I'm reposting some of the comics I made this year, including this ridiculous thing.
November 25, 2025 at 3:19 PM
As the year comes to an end, I'm reposting some of the comics I made this year, including this ridiculous thing.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
when trying on pants, do this in the store. then tell the sales associate "the menswear guy told me to do this."
IG mr.funkys0ul
IG mr.funkys0ul
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 AM
when trying on pants, do this in the store. then tell the sales associate "the menswear guy told me to do this."
IG mr.funkys0ul
IG mr.funkys0ul
More grist for the Blocking Mills: Phrases in people's bios.
- Blue dot in a sea of red.
- Fierce mama/momma.
- America First
- ANY variation on "Make America Great Again."
- Anything celebrating deportations.
I may have gone on a spree after the dickhead that prompted my last post.
- Blue dot in a sea of red.
- Fierce mama/momma.
- America First
- ANY variation on "Make America Great Again."
- Anything celebrating deportations.
I may have gone on a spree after the dickhead that prompted my last post.
Nobody asked but here's a list of phrases I take as red flags/auto-mutes and/or auto-blocks:
- Read that again.
- Don't look away.
- Think on that.
- You are loved.
- You are seen.
- Let that sink in.
- Sit with that.
- Almost any post where it's just the same sentence over and over again.
- Read that again.
- Don't look away.
- Think on that.
- You are loved.
- You are seen.
- Let that sink in.
- Sit with that.
- Almost any post where it's just the same sentence over and over again.
November 25, 2025 at 7:31 AM
More grist for the Blocking Mills: Phrases in people's bios.
- Blue dot in a sea of red.
- Fierce mama/momma.
- America First
- ANY variation on "Make America Great Again."
- Anything celebrating deportations.
I may have gone on a spree after the dickhead that prompted my last post.
- Blue dot in a sea of red.
- Fierce mama/momma.
- America First
- ANY variation on "Make America Great Again."
- Anything celebrating deportations.
I may have gone on a spree after the dickhead that prompted my last post.
One thing I'm happy about on Bluesky: Every time I find some rightwing dickhead and click through to their followers/following, I've already blocked 90% of them.
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
One thing I'm happy about on Bluesky: Every time I find some rightwing dickhead and click through to their followers/following, I've already blocked 90% of them.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
November 25, 2025 at 3:20 AM
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
The US currently has a whites only refugee policy.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
I know I've posted this before, but:
The core backstory of Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story is that a misguided war in Venezuela in the final failure that completely shatters the US, to the point that it gets sold for parts to the Chinese and Norwegians.
The core backstory of Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story is that a misguided war in Venezuela in the final failure that completely shatters the US, to the point that it gets sold for parts to the Chinese and Norwegians.
Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"
November 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I know I've posted this before, but:
The core backstory of Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story is that a misguided war in Venezuela in the final failure that completely shatters the US, to the point that it gets sold for parts to the Chinese and Norwegians.
The core backstory of Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story is that a misguided war in Venezuela in the final failure that completely shatters the US, to the point that it gets sold for parts to the Chinese and Norwegians.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
I think this is true; one aspect of it is that America has an *extraordinary* amount of scamming.
I'd add that American life is also quite a lot more intangibly annoying. It takes longer and costs more to get places. You're subject to a lot more debt (which you mostly can service, because you're better paid) but it's a cognitive load that makes you feel less agency than elsewhere.
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I think this is true; one aspect of it is that America has an *extraordinary* amount of scamming.
Reposted by Ben Blythe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed.
November 24, 2025 at 5:43 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed.
A nightmare scenario I give to my students every semester: A world where everyone is reliant on LLMs just to make conversation, the LLMs all pull from ~3 large datasets owned by a tiny handful of people, and then one of them gets edited to delete an idea.
Now no one can articulate the idea.
Now no one can articulate the idea.
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that one of the main impacts of LLMs is to disrupt thinking: to make it so that far too many people never properly learn how to do it, and then to control the output so there are thoughts that people never learn how to think.
November 24, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A nightmare scenario I give to my students every semester: A world where everyone is reliant on LLMs just to make conversation, the LLMs all pull from ~3 large datasets owned by a tiny handful of people, and then one of them gets edited to delete an idea.
Now no one can articulate the idea.
Now no one can articulate the idea.
Translation: "We don't want to do anything that requires courage or risk in pursuit of the greater good, like breaking ranks and siding with Democrats to save the Union from a would-be dictator, so we'll just bitch out and quit instead."
PUNCHBOWL: “.. GOP members messaged us over the weekend saying that they, too, are considering retiring in the middle of the term. Here’s one particularly exercised senior House Republican:
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Translation: "We don't want to do anything that requires courage or risk in pursuit of the greater good, like breaking ranks and siding with Democrats to save the Union from a would-be dictator, so we'll just bitch out and quit instead."
Reposted by Ben Blythe
It’s like the people behind the Fyre Festival decided to throw a little war
Really looks like the United States is about to launch a regime change war against Venezuela with:
-No casus belli
-No authorization from Congress
-No allies or international support
-No plan for a post-Maduro Venezuela
-No preparation for any sort of stabilization or containment of the fallout
-No casus belli
-No authorization from Congress
-No allies or international support
-No plan for a post-Maduro Venezuela
-No preparation for any sort of stabilization or containment of the fallout
November 24, 2025 at 3:59 PM
It’s like the people behind the Fyre Festival decided to throw a little war
Reposted by Ben Blythe
“Last Christmas” involuntarily forced on me by store music systems is almost enough of a reason to abolish the entire Christmas season into oblivion.
It’s a human rights violation and a war crime.
This isn’t even a hot take. This is simply the truth.
It’s a human rights violation and a war crime.
This isn’t even a hot take. This is simply the truth.
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 PM
“Last Christmas” involuntarily forced on me by store music systems is almost enough of a reason to abolish the entire Christmas season into oblivion.
It’s a human rights violation and a war crime.
This isn’t even a hot take. This is simply the truth.
It’s a human rights violation and a war crime.
This isn’t even a hot take. This is simply the truth.