Benjamin J. Kirby
@benjaminjkirby.bsky.social
Writer of poetry, fiction, and the occasional political essay. Raising 3 kids and a dog in St. Petersburg, FL. Former government and political communications.
linktr.ee/benjaminjkirby
linktr.ee/benjaminjkirby
Wish we lived in a country that created tartans to apologize for witchcraft persecution.
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
See the New Tartan Pattern Created to Honor Women Accused of Witchcraft in Scotland Between 1563 and 1736
The black, red, gray and pink design honors the thousands of individuals—mostly women—who were persecuted under the Scottish Witchcraft Act
www.smithsonianmag.com
March 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Wish we lived in a country that created tartans to apologize for witchcraft persecution.
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
Reposted by Benjamin J. Kirby
Among the material devastation to everyday people, Senate Dems have now blown a hole in their ability to work with the House.
We had an agreed upon plan, House took immense risk, then Senate turned around midway and destroyed it w/ a fear-based, inexplicable abdication.
They own what happens next.
We had an agreed upon plan, House took immense risk, then Senate turned around midway and destroyed it w/ a fear-based, inexplicable abdication.
They own what happens next.
March 14, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Among the material devastation to everyday people, Senate Dems have now blown a hole in their ability to work with the House.
We had an agreed upon plan, House took immense risk, then Senate turned around midway and destroyed it w/ a fear-based, inexplicable abdication.
They own what happens next.
We had an agreed upon plan, House took immense risk, then Senate turned around midway and destroyed it w/ a fear-based, inexplicable abdication.
They own what happens next.
Reposted by Benjamin J. Kirby
What if we ate healthy foods to prevent contagious and deadly diseases, but instead of food it was like a liquid produced in a lab by a scientist, and instead of eating it we put it into our muscle?
March 11, 2025 at 1:22 AM
What if we ate healthy foods to prevent contagious and deadly diseases, but instead of food it was like a liquid produced in a lab by a scientist, and instead of eating it we put it into our muscle?
Reposted by Benjamin J. Kirby
Good suggestions
PR is extremely hard. Learn how to write a press release. It’s not hard, but there is literally a specific format and construction of the message is critical - reporters want a unique angle. Tons of resources out there for you to check out
PR is extremely hard. Learn how to write a press release. It’s not hard, but there is literally a specific format and construction of the message is critical - reporters want a unique angle. Tons of resources out there for you to check out
Related: if you - a professor - are staging some kind of protest or action or teach in send your own damn press release. Learn to write them. Figure out who are the reporters who might care (major metro papers have people covering higher ed) and send them an email with a good subject line.
Demand university communications send out press releases for humanities publications. You may have to learn to write press releases. It ain’t hard.
March 8, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Good suggestions
PR is extremely hard. Learn how to write a press release. It’s not hard, but there is literally a specific format and construction of the message is critical - reporters want a unique angle. Tons of resources out there for you to check out
PR is extremely hard. Learn how to write a press release. It’s not hard, but there is literally a specific format and construction of the message is critical - reporters want a unique angle. Tons of resources out there for you to check out
I don't know much about Minnesota, but they keep pumping out high-quality politicians.
February 23, 2025 at 1:28 PM
I don't know much about Minnesota, but they keep pumping out high-quality politicians.
Reposted by Benjamin J. Kirby
How soon before the Social Security checks stop?
February 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM
How soon before the Social Security checks stop?
So one of the things that I think is lost on AI proponents is what I call the card catalog effect, a thing I shouldn’t call it because a lot of people probably have no experience with a card catalog.
February 18, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Reposted by Benjamin J. Kirby
Yeah so the Constitution isn’t really in effect right now
Opinion | There Is No Going Back
The president’s opponents, whoever they are, cannot expect a return to the Constitution as it was.
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Yeah so the Constitution isn’t really in effect right now
I do, in fact, have literary goals.
January 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I do, in fact, have literary goals.
Well. I'm sure we'll get to the cost of goods and services after we're done stripping away equal rights. Right?
idahocapitalsun.com/2025/01/22/m...
idahocapitalsun.com/2025/01/22/m...
Memorial targeting same-sex marriage in Idaho heads to House floor after passing committee • Idaho Capital Sun
A petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage is headed to the Idaho House floor.
idahocapitalsun.com
January 25, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Well. I'm sure we'll get to the cost of goods and services after we're done stripping away equal rights. Right?
idahocapitalsun.com/2025/01/22/m...
idahocapitalsun.com/2025/01/22/m...
They want you talking about CEOs doing Nazi salutes and the meaning of Melania's hat because it's better than talking about the fact that Trump rescinded the Biden Executive Order to lower prescription drug costs for people on Medicare and Medicaid.
January 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM
They want you talking about CEOs doing Nazi salutes and the meaning of Melania's hat because it's better than talking about the fact that Trump rescinded the Biden Executive Order to lower prescription drug costs for people on Medicare and Medicaid.
The internet feels particularly nasty today.
January 13, 2025 at 1:19 PM
The internet feels particularly nasty today.
This is something else
January 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
This is something else
For a guy who purports to write about war crimes, I would have imagined that calling on Biden to pardon cop killers for political advancement would be unfathomable.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Opinion | Biden Should Pardon the Jan. 6 Insurrectionists
Pardoning the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol doesn’t condone their crimes. But it’s a start at healing a fractured nation.
www.politico.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
For a guy who purports to write about war crimes, I would have imagined that calling on Biden to pardon cop killers for political advancement would be unfathomable.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Let's remember the Biden Boom when we're crawling out from whatever rubble in 2028.
www.axios.com/2025/01/10/j...
www.axios.com/2025/01/10/j...
U.S. economy ends 2024 with a bang, adding 256,000 jobs in December
The number was more than 100,000 jobs above economists' average expectation.
www.axios.com
January 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Let's remember the Biden Boom when we're crawling out from whatever rubble in 2028.
www.axios.com/2025/01/10/j...
www.axios.com/2025/01/10/j...
This is right on the nose. They're all important, but pace is a big one these days -- people want to go through everything they have to say so quickly, like they're on a clock.
bigthink.com/business/why...
bigthink.com/business/why...
Why great communicators listen to the music of “The Five Ps”
Radically improve your work-life speaking and presentation skills using a technique used by musicians and brand-name politicians.
bigthink.com
January 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
This is right on the nose. They're all important, but pace is a big one these days -- people want to go through everything they have to say so quickly, like they're on a clock.
bigthink.com/business/why...
bigthink.com/business/why...
So grateful to the @poetryfestival.bsky.social team for publishing my poem, In the Before Time.
DEATH Poem: In the Before Time, by Benjamin Kirby
festivalforpoetry.com/2025/01/07/d...
@benjaminkirby
festivalforpoetry.com/2025/01/07/d...
@benjaminkirby
DEATH Poem: In the Before Time, by Benjamin Kirby
She comes to me now, in recent dreams as real as she ever was Young, possible as a new day Tall and pretty, the smell of innocence on her like wild clover Before acceleration on a wet road In the w…
festivalforpoetry.com
January 8, 2025 at 2:54 AM
So grateful to the @poetryfestival.bsky.social team for publishing my poem, In the Before Time.
Beyond overjoyed to have my poem, Journey, will be in the upcoming issue of Magazine1 -- love that they're just down the road in Sarasota. I'll definitely be stopping by. Hope you do, too, when the next issue comes out this month.
www.magazine-1.com
www.magazine-1.com
Magazine1
www.magazine-1.com
January 6, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Beyond overjoyed to have my poem, Journey, will be in the upcoming issue of Magazine1 -- love that they're just down the road in Sarasota. I'll definitely be stopping by. Hope you do, too, when the next issue comes out this month.
www.magazine-1.com
www.magazine-1.com
An extraordinary life, an underappreciated presidency. A shining example of service. Rest in peace, Mr. President.
www.ajc.com/news/former-...
www.ajc.com/news/former-...
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 100, dies
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at home in Georgia.
www.ajc.com
December 29, 2024 at 9:24 PM
An extraordinary life, an underappreciated presidency. A shining example of service. Rest in peace, Mr. President.
www.ajc.com/news/former-...
www.ajc.com/news/former-...
Finishing off the year strong in the poetry department. You can find my poem, Of Life, in the inaugural issue of the University of Alabama's Al Dente, a "food journal produced and published by the undergraduate students."
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f65e...
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f65e...
Al Dente, Issue 1: Devour
Extending far beyond its role as a necessity for life, each meal we eat undergoes a journey before reaching our plate. We don’t just eat, we consume. Whether it is through the production of a single i...
storymaps.arcgis.com
December 29, 2024 at 4:25 PM
Finishing off the year strong in the poetry department. You can find my poem, Of Life, in the inaugural issue of the University of Alabama's Al Dente, a "food journal produced and published by the undergraduate students."
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f65e...
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f65e...
Hope you'll check out the latest from Friends of Strays Animal Shelter -- complete with photo cameo from Cookie. Lots of her buddies at Friends of Strays who need a home this holiday season could use your help.
www.friendsofstrays.org/blog,ben-kirby
www.friendsofstrays.org/blog,ben-kirby
Built to Last: The FOS Mission, Brand, and our Commitment to the Animals We Serve
Friends of Strays is fortunate to have supporters from diverse backgrounds and expertise. Ben Kirby is the vice-shair of the Board of Directors. He holds decades of experience as a communications...
www.friendsofstrays.org
December 27, 2024 at 2:05 PM
Hope you'll check out the latest from Friends of Strays Animal Shelter -- complete with photo cameo from Cookie. Lots of her buddies at Friends of Strays who need a home this holiday season could use your help.
www.friendsofstrays.org/blog,ben-kirby
www.friendsofstrays.org/blog,ben-kirby
Is there a big issue around regulating presidential libraries I don't know about? What's with Florida Republicans and local pre-emption, anyway?
www.cltampa.com/news/new-bil...
www.cltampa.com/news/new-bil...
New bill would block Florida cities from regulating Donald Trump's presidential library
Sen. Jason Brodeur filed the measure, which would prevent local governments from enacting ordinances and other regulations about presidential libraries.
www.cltampa.com
December 22, 2024 at 10:14 PM
Is there a big issue around regulating presidential libraries I don't know about? What's with Florida Republicans and local pre-emption, anyway?
www.cltampa.com/news/new-bil...
www.cltampa.com/news/new-bil...
Waxahatchee killing it on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert. Best one I've seen in awhile.
youtu.be/ps1f7p720FA?...
youtu.be/ps1f7p720FA?...
Waxahatchee: Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
youtu.be
December 17, 2024 at 3:35 AM
Waxahatchee killing it on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert. Best one I've seen in awhile.
youtu.be/ps1f7p720FA?...
youtu.be/ps1f7p720FA?...
Started Skeleton Crew with the 6 year-old and it's great, the best Star Wars stuff since Mandalorian. One part The Goonies, one part Treasure Planet. Fantastic.
December 16, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Started Skeleton Crew with the 6 year-old and it's great, the best Star Wars stuff since Mandalorian. One part The Goonies, one part Treasure Planet. Fantastic.