Alan M
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alanm.in
Alan M
@alanm.in
440 followers 660 following 280 posts
Introverted lurker and old-school nerd
Star Wars | Star Trek | X-Men | sci-fi | comics | gaming | pop culture | various other nerdy stuff

Podcast addict who uses Podcast Addict

Systems Analyst by vocation, progressive liberal by conscience

he/him/his
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Alan M
shy-magpie.bsky.social
Post from Foz Meadows: human gender and sexuality are very much like animal taxonomy, in that both look structured and simple on the surface, but once you start investigating, it turns out there's actually no such thing as a fish despite the fact that we all know what a fish is, and that's okay Reply from FutureEvilScientist: As a biologist, that is a fantastic comparison. We talk about "fish" (which, cladistically, do not exist, there is no monophyletic group of "fish" that simultaneously includes all organisms we understand to be "fish"-like while also excluding, say, humans) because, despite the utter fiction that is fish, it's still a useful label when we talk about certain features that "fish" tend to have in common. Gender is absolutely the same way.
November 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
alanm.in
Pleasantly surprised by how excited the trick-or-treating teens were for the sticker sheets we had on offer. Fully expected those to be grabbed almost entirely by the toddlers. Glow sticks were also very popular, especially as night fell. Dum-Dums not so much, but our 5yo loves them, so 🤷🏻‍♂️
November 1, 2025 at 2:24 AM
alanm.in
I was just thinking about this one today! It's a perennial favorite
October 31, 2025 at 1:27 AM
alanm.in
Whenever I enjoy a D&D novel or comic, it always turns into homework as I take notes on the characters and settings so I can deploy them in my games.

Currently gathering details on Fielle's family inn as I read this, to use in my Baldur's Gate campaign… Thanks @delilahsdawson.bsky.social 😄
The cover art for Delilah S. Dawson's "Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd"
October 31, 2025 at 1:08 AM
alanm.in
Unplanned werewolf double-feature tonight, as I knocked off the two shortest films on my October watchlist:

The Wolf Man (1941) – ★★★
boxd.it/bxsiYp

Slice (2018) – ★★
boxd.it/bxvb67
Poster for "The Wolf Man" (1941) Poster for "Slice" (2018)
October 30, 2025 at 4:59 AM
alanm.in
As soon as I saw this headline, I could hear @yrfatfriend.bsky.social and @michaelhobbes.bsky.social in my head yelling about what "ultraprocessed" even means
California becomes the first state to phase ultraprocessed food out of school meals
The law, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Wednesday, sets a 10-year deadline for the change to take place.
www.nbcnews.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Alan M
amybrown.xyz
i saw goody proctor making inflammatory posts about charlie kirk
September 15, 2025 at 9:23 PM
alanm.in
It's only 32 miles away, think it'll still be there if I leave now? 🤔
pftompkins.bsky.social Paul F. Tompkins @pftompkins.bsky.social · Sep 10
Hello, I didn’t check the delivery address when I ordered some Chipotle delivery just now so if you are in Chicago and would like a chicken burrito go to:

The Chicago Hotel Ambassador
1301 N State Pkwy
Chicago, IL 60610

It’s at the front desk. Enjoy!
A sad little brown bag on a counter in a hotel lobby
September 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Reposted by Alan M
leftistlawyer.com
If you're arrested in Illinois protesting the planned ICE HQ in North Chicago, I can represent you pro bono. Email me at sheryl@weikallaw.com. As always, I will take as many cases as I can.
August 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
alanm.in
Inspired by a @ghweldon.bsky.social moment in today's Pop Culture Happy Hour episode. I regret nothing (except the resolution of the headshot 😕)
The "Is this a pigeon?" meme, with Glen Weldon's head pasted onto the man, and the poster for the Tony Scott movie "The Hunger" over the butterfly, with the caption "Is this camp?"
July 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
alanm.in
This hardly even counts, but I was getting lunch with some coworkers at a fast food joint, and after we checked out my colleagues were like "That was [famous Chicago Bear (or maybe Bull?)] behind us!" I'm so not a sports person, I still have no idea
bolt451.bsky.social "Timeless" Toni Soprano @bolt451.bsky.social · Jun 13
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie

Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 13, 2025 at 12:29 PM
alanm.in
Honestly? Would
wiggiescotia.bsky.social B Skinner @wiggiescotia.bsky.social · Jun 9
Social Media coming through hard with the future of food.
Cheetos Marshmallow Crispy Treats
June 9, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Alan M
chipflake.com
happy pride month!
Digitally illustrated graphic with big, bold, black text in the center reading "trans lives are more important than harry potter". Two cats with alternating colours of the trans flag lay above the top left and bottom right of the text, turning it pink & blue where they cross over.
June 2, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Alan M
nhannahjones.bsky.social
I didn’t give a wit about new pope coverage, but the first American pope being a man with Black ancestry born in Chicago by way of New Orleans by way of Haiti. Names his self after the pope who condemned slavery? In the Trump era? Oh, baebae, I am HERE for it.

www.wwltv.com/article/news...
Pope Leo XIV's grandparents were 7th Ward Creoles
The newly elected pontiff, born in Chicago, has ancestral ties to the city’s historic Seventh Ward, according to genealogists at The Historic New Orleans Collection.
www.wwltv.com
May 9, 2025 at 12:11 AM
alanm.in
Oof, this "game" sounds like a relationship destroyer 🫣
An ad for "Décorum: A Game of Passive Aggressive Cohabitation" Game description: "You and your partner share the same objective: decorate your home. The problem is, different things make each of you happy and nobody says exactly what they need. Can you make it work, or is it time to move out?"
May 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Alan M
strandjunker.com
Allow me to address the elephant in the room: The decades-long outsourcing of domestic manufacturing to China was not an insidious Chinese conspiracy for dominance but the greedy strategy of the American ruling class to explode its profit margins by exploiting global inequality.
May 5, 2025 at 7:40 PM
alanm.in
Or, y'know, your life is FULL of people telling you which to pick, but they're, like, boring adult authority figures, which you're ignoring because you're a teenager 🤷🏻‍♂️
bugsmaytrix.bsky.social Bugs, Beleaguered Babysitter of the Booger Brothers @bugsmaytrix.bsky.social · May 2
"Being a teenage man today feels like standing in a hallway with a dozen doors, each leading somewhere different, and no one telling you which to pick."

you feel like you're in a hallway with a dozen doors because you're in high school. that's how they're designed.

also teenaged man? brother,
"Being a teenage man today feels like standing in a hallway with a dozen doors, each leading somewhere different, and no one telling you which to pick." this is an excerpt from an essay on why some teen boys like the tates.
May 2, 2025 at 10:36 PM
alanm.in
Shared to the Fb group for my community a negative encounter with some sketchy door-to-door teen solicitors, and SO MANY people were like "Call the cops on them" which…seems like an unnecessary escalation? #SuburbanLife #DontCallTheCops
May 2, 2025 at 9:27 PM
alanm.in
Hey @nytimes.com Games, got an update for your Spelling Bee dictionary:
The 4/26/2025 New York Times Spelling Bee grid, with the letters A G H I L N O, saying that "GOANNA" is not in their word list A screenshot of the Wikipedia page for "goanna", a species of lizard
April 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Alan M
zoeskunk.bsky.social
Protect trans kids.

Fuck your hogwarts house bullshit.

(Stolen from a discord community, no origin given)
Picture of two trans kids walking away from a bin of JKR trash. Caption reads: fuck your hogwarts house. Protect trans kids.
December 30, 2024 at 6:23 PM
alanm.in
A film that takes place where you're from

(Kinda. The book was actually set at my high school and surrounding environs, of which Larry Doyle is an alum. Names — and filming locations — were changed for the movie)
Movie poster for "I Love You, Beth Cooper"
April 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM
alanm.in
That Bat-Cola bottle design rules
tompeyer.bsky.social Tom Peyer @tompeyer.bsky.social · Apr 14
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Superman and Batman on stage with giant bottles of two soda brands: Super Cola and Bat Cola. A master of ceremonies says that the proceeds from the bottles "sold here" go to charity "and it's ENDORSED by the WORLD'S FINEST HEROES!"
April 14, 2025 at 8:03 PM
alanm.in
Wait, hey, I had salmon on First Contact Day too! 🐟🖖🏻
April 7, 2025 at 1:15 PM
alanm.in
Ruin a movie with a kitchen utensil

Ladle in the Water
robstaeger.bsky.social Rob Staeger @robstaeger.bsky.social · Apr 1
Ruin a movie with a kitchen utensil

When a Strainer Calls
joshcrewsreally.bsky.social Josh Crews @joshcrewsreally.bsky.social · Apr 1
Ruin a movie with a kitchen utensil

Citizen Can Opener
#rosebudsoup
April 1, 2025 at 3:36 AM
alanm.in
Let's get her there!
March 31, 2025 at 8:42 PM