Ben Pettis
@bpettis.bsky.social
University of Richmond
PhD in media and cultural studies. I research platforms and internet culture
Fediverse/Mastodon: @bpettis@benpettis.ninja (https://mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis)
www.benpettis.com
PhD in media and cultural studies. I research platforms and internet culture
Fediverse/Mastodon: @bpettis@benpettis.ninja (https://mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis)
www.benpettis.com
Reposted by Ben Pettis
It has Turtle McConnell as Lucy because I first made this meme a previous time that Chuck Schumer caved under the promise of getting a future vote on some important issue.
He's certainly consistent and predictable in his cowardice
He's certainly consistent and predictable in his cowardice
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
It has Turtle McConnell as Lucy because I first made this meme a previous time that Chuck Schumer caved under the promise of getting a future vote on some important issue.
He's certainly consistent and predictable in his cowardice
He's certainly consistent and predictable in his cowardice
Reposted by Ben Pettis
It is 72° F (~22° C) and sunny in Richmond, VA. I'm doing yardwork and wearing shorts because of how warm it is out. Today is November 9, 2025
Yes, this is a milder region than where I've lived previously (Wisconsin, Colorado). But this is still way […]
[Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Yes, this is a milder region than where I've lived previously (Wisconsin, Colorado). But this is still way […]
[Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
November 9, 2025 at 7:35 PM
It is 72° F (~22° C) and sunny in Richmond, VA. I'm doing yardwork and wearing shorts because of how warm it is out. Today is November 9, 2025
Yes, this is a milder region than where I've lived previously (Wisconsin, Colorado). But this is still way […]
[Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Yes, this is a milder region than where I've lived previously (Wisconsin, Colorado). But this is still way […]
[Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja]
Reposted by Ben Pettis
RE: https://mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@objectionodon/115510427689074168
I made this silly bot because I remember really enjoying an equivalent version on Twitter. Something about shifting stupid online arguments to over-the-top Phoenix Wright animations just helped to highlight the absurdity of […]
I made this silly bot because I remember really enjoying an equivalent version on Twitter. Something about shifting stupid online arguments to over-the-top Phoenix Wright animations just helped to highlight the absurdity of […]
Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja
mastodon.benpettis.ninja
November 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
RE: https://mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@objectionodon/115510427689074168
I made this silly bot because I remember really enjoying an equivalent version on Twitter. Something about shifting stupid online arguments to over-the-top Phoenix Wright animations just helped to highlight the absurdity of […]
I made this silly bot because I remember really enjoying an equivalent version on Twitter. Something about shifting stupid online arguments to over-the-top Phoenix Wright animations just helped to highlight the absurdity of […]
Reposted by Ben Pettis
Hell of an advertisement for SanDisk, though: what's more crushing than losing your cherished photos and memories?
https://www.techspot.com/news/109921-oceangate-titan-sub-camera-found-mostly-intact-sandisk.html
"OceanGate Titan sub's camera found mostly intact with SanDisk SD card still […]
https://www.techspot.com/news/109921-oceangate-titan-sub-camera-found-mostly-intact-sandisk.html
"OceanGate Titan sub's camera found mostly intact with SanDisk SD card still […]
Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja
mastodon.benpettis.ninja
October 21, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Hell of an advertisement for SanDisk, though: what's more crushing than losing your cherished photos and memories?
https://www.techspot.com/news/109921-oceangate-titan-sub-camera-found-mostly-intact-sandisk.html
"OceanGate Titan sub's camera found mostly intact with SanDisk SD card still […]
https://www.techspot.com/news/109921-oceangate-titan-sub-camera-found-mostly-intact-sandisk.html
"OceanGate Titan sub's camera found mostly intact with SanDisk SD card still […]
Reposted by Ben Pettis
I just learned, Thomas Alter, tenured professor, has been terminated effective immediately. Shame on Texas State! We mst build support for Tom. spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-tex...
Texas State upholds the firing of associate history professor Thomas Alter
Alter’s termination occurred on Sept. 10, stemming from his remarks at the Revolutionary Socialism Conference on Sept. 7.
spectrumlocalnews.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I just learned, Thomas Alter, tenured professor, has been terminated effective immediately. Shame on Texas State! We mst build support for Tom. spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-tex...
Reposted by Ben Pettis
I think that the president calling for a governor and a mayor to be jailed is a Very Bad Thing™
October 8, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I think that the president calling for a governor and a mayor to be jailed is a Very Bad Thing™
Reposted by Ben Pettis
This was the automatically generated alt-text (from trying to read text in the image)
“And this life activity [the worker] sells to another person in “You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in
order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works France? You better work, bitch […]
“And this life activity [the worker] sells to another person in “You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in
order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works France? You better work, bitch […]
Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja
mastodon.benpettis.ninja
October 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This was the automatically generated alt-text (from trying to read text in the image)
“And this life activity [the worker] sells to another person in “You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in
order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works France? You better work, bitch […]
“And this life activity [the worker] sells to another person in “You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in
order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works France? You better work, bitch […]
Reposted by Ben Pettis
on my way to talk about influencers and @sophiebishop's algorithmic gossip piece with my students and/or (depending on who you ask because I teach in America) brainwash students with a bunch of "woke" radical ideologies about labor and precarity
![Portrait of Karl Marx alongside a portrait of Brittney Spears, with quotes beneath each image:
“And this life activity [the worker] sells to another person in order to secure the necessary means of life. ... He works that he may keep alive..”
– Karl Marx
“You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in France? You better work, bitch..”
– Britney Spears](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vtgt6rnut7pmlyu2ki2hdm56/bafkreih5wazvwcn3udzsvkqxnvk4eixft5hr7wwpo2a3tajyavppz5dbva@jpeg)
October 7, 2025 at 4:05 PM
on my way to talk about influencers and @sophiebishop's algorithmic gossip piece with my students and/or (depending on who you ask because I teach in America) brainwash students with a bunch of "woke" radical ideologies about labor and precarity
Reposted by Ben Pettis
My statement on the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023.
October 7, 2025 at 1:17 PM
My statement on the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023.
Truly decentralized social media is an amazing an amazing system. Follow me at @bpettis@benpettis.ninja
But if you're not hosting, joining a server is easy and there are tons to choose from. AoIR members can all sign up on aoir.social. And you can transfer your profile to other servers if you wish
But if you're not hosting, joining a server is easy and there are tons to choose from. AoIR members can all sign up on aoir.social. And you can transfer your profile to other servers if you wish
October 6, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Truly decentralized social media is an amazing an amazing system. Follow me at @bpettis@benpettis.ninja
But if you're not hosting, joining a server is easy and there are tons to choose from. AoIR members can all sign up on aoir.social. And you can transfer your profile to other servers if you wish
But if you're not hosting, joining a server is easy and there are tons to choose from. AoIR members can all sign up on aoir.social. And you can transfer your profile to other servers if you wish
I'm writing an Ace Attorney bot over on Mastodon (mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@objectionodon)
Earlier, I needed to find a thread to test it out on - and I gotta say, I think I found a really fitting example of the Very Healthy Discourse that exists surrounding a person's chosen social media platforms
Earlier, I needed to find a thread to test it out on - and I gotta say, I think I found a really fitting example of the Very Healthy Discourse that exists surrounding a person's chosen social media platforms
October 5, 2025 at 5:44 AM
I'm writing an Ace Attorney bot over on Mastodon (mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@objectionodon)
Earlier, I needed to find a thread to test it out on - and I gotta say, I think I found a really fitting example of the Very Healthy Discourse that exists surrounding a person's chosen social media platforms
Earlier, I needed to find a thread to test it out on - and I gotta say, I think I found a really fitting example of the Very Healthy Discourse that exists surrounding a person's chosen social media platforms
Reposted by Ben Pettis
Say NO to Trump’s loyalty oaths and extortion of our universities!
We will NOT throw our students, faculty, and staff under the bus to comply with undemocratic and partisan ideological agendas.
We will NOT throw our students, faculty, and staff under the bus to comply with undemocratic and partisan ideological agendas.
October 3, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Say NO to Trump’s loyalty oaths and extortion of our universities!
We will NOT throw our students, faculty, and staff under the bus to comply with undemocratic and partisan ideological agendas.
We will NOT throw our students, faculty, and staff under the bus to comply with undemocratic and partisan ideological agendas.
Reposted by Ben Pettis
This is apropos of a thread about what publications lose when they lose older culture writers and only have young ones. All I'll say about that is that learning about cultural history is a lifetime's work, and if you do this for a living, there's no shame in not knowing, only in not trying to learn.
October 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
This is apropos of a thread about what publications lose when they lose older culture writers and only have young ones. All I'll say about that is that learning about cultural history is a lifetime's work, and if you do this for a living, there's no shame in not knowing, only in not trying to learn.
Reposted by Ben Pettis
A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.
September 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.
because of this move, eggs are down more than anyone imagined. 1000% and some even 1500%. The other day a big grocery (this is a new word that I came up with) shopper came up to me with tears in his eyes and said "Sir, thank you for making the eggs affordable again!"
www.reuters.com/business/med...
www.reuters.com/business/med...
US to impose 100% tariff on movies made outside the country
The United States will impose a 100% tariff on all movies made outside the country, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
www.reuters.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:10 PM
because of this move, eggs are down more than anyone imagined. 1000% and some even 1500%. The other day a big grocery (this is a new word that I came up with) shopper came up to me with tears in his eyes and said "Sir, thank you for making the eggs affordable again!"
www.reuters.com/business/med...
www.reuters.com/business/med...
“Liberals can accuse this agency of constitutional violations all they want. But we both know that seeing a man in tactical gear is far better than seeing a man without a face, staring deep into that empty chasm, and instantly going mad.”
ICE Confirms Agents Do Not Have Faces Beneath Masks
ICE Confirms Agents Do Not Have Faces Beneath Masks
WASHINGTON—In response to legislation that would ban officers from obscuring their identities during arrests and raids, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Thursday that beneath their m...
theonion.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“Liberals can accuse this agency of constitutional violations all they want. But we both know that seeing a man in tactical gear is far better than seeing a man without a face, staring deep into that empty chasm, and instantly going mad.”
I’m studying what communication and media scholars think about Twitter/X and its recent whirlwind of changes. If this sounds like you (and you've ever used twitter), please take this survey and share your thoughts.
sl.richmond.edu/Ee
And please share/circulate to help this reach the right people!
sl.richmond.edu/Ee
And please share/circulate to help this reach the right people!
September 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I’m studying what communication and media scholars think about Twitter/X and its recent whirlwind of changes. If this sounds like you (and you've ever used twitter), please take this survey and share your thoughts.
sl.richmond.edu/Ee
And please share/circulate to help this reach the right people!
sl.richmond.edu/Ee
And please share/circulate to help this reach the right people!
Reposted by Ben Pettis
ME: Men will literally make up imaginary interviews with Isaac Chotiner instead of going to therapy
CHOTINER: What a great point. And when was the last time you went to therapy?
ME: Well, now, hold on a second
CHOTINER: What a great point. And when was the last time you went to therapy?
ME: Well, now, hold on a second
September 25, 2025 at 4:37 AM
ME: Men will literally make up imaginary interviews with Isaac Chotiner instead of going to therapy
CHOTINER: What a great point. And when was the last time you went to therapy?
ME: Well, now, hold on a second
CHOTINER: What a great point. And when was the last time you went to therapy?
ME: Well, now, hold on a second
Reposted by Ben Pettis
3/ Tech fascism in a nutshell: “Computers are so much more rule-based, controllable, fixable, and comprehensible than any human will ever be. As many political schools of thought do, these technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect.“ She wrote this in 2000!
September 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
3/ Tech fascism in a nutshell: “Computers are so much more rule-based, controllable, fixable, and comprehensible than any human will ever be. As many political schools of thought do, these technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect.“ She wrote this in 2000!
Truly magical stuff here
September 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Truly magical stuff here
Reposted by Ben Pettis
Have you ever purchased makeup or beauty projects based on your fandom? If you are 18 years or older, please fill out this 10 minute survey for a research project on embodied fan identities. Share widely! Contact with any questions: suzanne.scott@utexas.edu. utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
September 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Have you ever purchased makeup or beauty projects based on your fandom? If you are 18 years or older, please fill out this 10 minute survey for a research project on embodied fan identities. Share widely! Contact with any questions: suzanne.scott@utexas.edu. utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Reposted by Ben Pettis
This App Turns Your Photos into Music If You Want to Do That For Some Reason
September 23, 2025 at 5:01 PM
This App Turns Your Photos into Music If You Want to Do That For Some Reason