Red Durkin
@daedsider.bsky.social
bookseller, book buyer, book scout, bookstore owner, horror & rare book collector. I don't read; it's my terrible secret, please don't tell anybody
Psalms 109:8
Psalms 109:8
Pinned
Red Durkin
@daedsider.bsky.social
· Jun 9
Don't let the Earth being a 13 septillion pound rock that's home to billions of people where objectively and subjectively important things happen literally all day, every day distract you from the fact that it's actually an elaborate psy-op where only one truly important thing happens at a time.
I really love If Books Could Kill because, as a longtime bookseller, I'm never surprised by the titles they pick but, even with my low expectations, am *consistently* surprised by exactly *how* dumb these books wind up being. I knew in advance this book was bad, but daaaaaaamn
Episode 46: Sapiens
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
Sapiens
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 11/20/2025 · 1h 38m
podcasts.apple.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:50 PM
I really love If Books Could Kill because, as a longtime bookseller, I'm never surprised by the titles they pick but, even with my low expectations, am *consistently* surprised by exactly *how* dumb these books wind up being. I knew in advance this book was bad, but daaaaaaamn
Me: of course I'm paying attention, I've been taking notes
My notes:
My notes:
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Me: of course I'm paying attention, I've been taking notes
My notes:
My notes:
Reposted by Red Durkin
After working in food service & kitchens for a long time, including managing a kitchen in Indiana, I applied to be a kitchen manager at a diner in Oakland where, upon being interviewed, they told me I was wildly underqualified for the job.
I then applied to be a cashier at Borders for the holidays.
I then applied to be a cashier at Borders for the holidays.
November 22, 2025 at 8:50 PM
After working in food service & kitchens for a long time, including managing a kitchen in Indiana, I applied to be a kitchen manager at a diner in Oakland where, upon being interviewed, they told me I was wildly underqualified for the job.
I then applied to be a cashier at Borders for the holidays.
I then applied to be a cashier at Borders for the holidays.
Don't ever talk to me or my armful of cats again
November 22, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Don't ever talk to me or my armful of cats again
Reposted by Red Durkin
every year someone does a study that’s like “we gave 100 homeless ppl money and their lives improved” and every year the government kills that guy
November 21, 2025 at 4:44 PM
every year someone does a study that’s like “we gave 100 homeless ppl money and their lives improved” and every year the government kills that guy
At one point when I was living alone in Indiana, I didn't have television or internet at home, but I did have a VCR and 3 films on tape: Casino, Forrest Gump, and the Fifth Element. I haven't watched any of those movies in YEARS, but I'm still nowhere near seeing anything else as many times.
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
At one point when I was living alone in Indiana, I didn't have television or internet at home, but I did have a VCR and 3 films on tape: Casino, Forrest Gump, and the Fifth Element. I haven't watched any of those movies in YEARS, but I'm still nowhere near seeing anything else as many times.
While the perpetrators have never been identified, I'm personally a fan of the theory that it was Eric Fournier, who would've been 19 at the time, and went on to create the character Shaye Saint-John (google it, I dare you.)
Happy anniversary to the Max Headroom incident, the greatest example of signal hijacking.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hea...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hea...
November 22, 2025 at 6:42 PM
While the perpetrators have never been identified, I'm personally a fan of the theory that it was Eric Fournier, who would've been 19 at the time, and went on to create the character Shaye Saint-John (google it, I dare you.)
If you've got a better way to keep my health bar topped up than eating hams and roast chickens I find on the ground, I'd like to hear it
who is following you dorks that you feel the need to repeatedly post that mtg is not on the side of the angels. it feels like spending a lot of time telling people not to eat hams they find on the ground
November 22, 2025 at 6:27 PM
If you've got a better way to keep my health bar topped up than eating hams and roast chickens I find on the ground, I'd like to hear it
Well, that's not ideal.
"Chomsky had deeper ties with Epstein than previously known, documents reveal"
"The philosopher and the sex trafficker were in contact long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, documents reveal"
"The philosopher and the sex trafficker were in contact long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, documents reveal"
Chomsky had deeper ties with Epstein than previously known, documents reveal
The philosopher and the sex trafficker were in contact long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, documents reveal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Well, that's not ideal.
Reposted by Red Durkin
We're at the next stag of the authors' lawsuit against Anthropic.
Check the link below to see which of your books they raided and then click through to file a claim.
Four of mine were in there.
Check the link below to see which of your books they raided and then click through to file a claim.
Four of mine were in there.
November 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
We're at the next stag of the authors' lawsuit against Anthropic.
Check the link below to see which of your books they raided and then click through to file a claim.
Four of mine were in there.
Check the link below to see which of your books they raided and then click through to file a claim.
Four of mine were in there.
Reposted by Red Durkin
this has been the playbook for the human trafficking moral panic for years. big announcements, big shows of force, resulting in zero or near zero charges.
the whole thing is built on the media’s willingness to report cop’s statements as facts without real sourcing.
the whole thing is built on the media’s willingness to report cop’s statements as facts without real sourcing.
Remember the recent middle-of-the-night apartment building raid where children were dragged outside naked & zip-tied in the street while black & Latino residents were _sorted by race_ and piled into separate vans while their apartments were ransacked & robbed? That raid? So it resulted in 0 arrests.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign and be criminally charged, according to critics who seized on a report revealing that zero people who were arrested in a high-profile raid were charged with a crime.
November 16, 2025 at 6:22 PM
this has been the playbook for the human trafficking moral panic for years. big announcements, big shows of force, resulting in zero or near zero charges.
the whole thing is built on the media’s willingness to report cop’s statements as facts without real sourcing.
the whole thing is built on the media’s willingness to report cop’s statements as facts without real sourcing.
Ah, yes. State & local police. Who've done so little to abet this administration & are famously not abusive. Masterful take as always, sir.
ok I only saw the one dumb take but it turns out that was only a warmup
November 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Ah, yes. State & local police. Who've done so little to abet this administration & are famously not abusive. Masterful take as always, sir.
Reposted by Red Durkin
Look, I know that fast fashion is terrible and I try to buy nothing new and repair what I have whenever possible. But my normal resistance to Temu ads is utterly undone by this objectively incredible item
November 11, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Look, I know that fast fashion is terrible and I try to buy nothing new and repair what I have whenever possible. But my normal resistance to Temu ads is utterly undone by this objectively incredible item
Reposted by Red Durkin
Reposted by Red Durkin
important reminder that, while we appreciate her sticking a knife in Trump at this present moment, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a committed antisemite and is not and will never be your friend
Marjorie Taylor Greene to Dana Bash: "You should have Nick Fuentes on your show"
November 16, 2025 at 4:30 PM
important reminder that, while we appreciate her sticking a knife in Trump at this present moment, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a committed antisemite and is not and will never be your friend
I'm not sure why, but the old owner used a marble countertop for one of my store's front desks. I added a new sign, for safety.
November 15, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I'm not sure why, but the old owner used a marble countertop for one of my store's front desks. I added a new sign, for safety.
Reposted by Red Durkin
“straight up giving the president a bar of gold” is where we’re at now on the “corruption isn’t real” scale
good work, John Roberts
good work, John Roberts
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
“straight up giving the president a bar of gold” is where we’re at now on the “corruption isn’t real” scale
good work, John Roberts
good work, John Roberts
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works and please be advised that they were prepared in a facility that also processes the following: milk, eggs, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works so we can circle back Monday
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, per my last e-mail.
November 13, 2025 at 10:16 PM
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works and please be advised that they were prepared in a facility that also processes the following: milk, eggs, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish
Thanks, I hate it.
Girl.... That cover is doing you NO favors jfc
November 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Thanks, I hate it.
Reposted by Red Durkin
Sif the Great Gray Wolf is a big, mean, and bad dog who hit me with a sword. I'm proud to have killed her & I'm glad she's dead
April 6, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Sif the Great Gray Wolf is a big, mean, and bad dog who hit me with a sword. I'm proud to have killed her & I'm glad she's dead
Reposted by Red Durkin
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX