John Mesjak
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mesjak.bsky.social
John Mesjak
@mesjak.bsky.social
Hi, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood web-swinging, starship-hopping, murder-solving, coffee-drinking, playlist-crafting publishers’ sales rep for indie bookstores @ Abraham Associates.
@ismh86.net I assume other folks have sent you this - but it’s good to see Bill McKibben and the New Yorker on the Memphis xAI energy scam beat alongside your coverage.

apple.news/AxyBmLpnsS3y...
How Is Elon Musk Powering His Supercomputer? — The New Yorker
Fast and loose in Memphis, as in D.C.
apple.news
May 10, 2025 at 5:20 PM
@gruber.foo re: your piece on Vertu phones, I was amazed by their classy callouts on the ironflip line, in addition to the Elesant Charisma, the “Fortuitous repetition of 'V’ As though in chorus, doth resonate with the mantra of win-win, exuding regal poise much like a monarch's sure stride.”
March 31, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Is it wrong that I see an IG ad for those phony Negronis (which ARE delish) and think, mmmm I could use some gin?
January 16, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Happy Continental Op Is Public Domain Day!
January 1, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Yo all my life i thought Garcia-Marquez was Mexican but it’s been pointed out to me that he’s actually from Colombia! The only other Colombian author i know is Pilar Quintana but check this LitHub list if you wanna cast the net wider — lithub.com/15-essential...
December 12, 2024 at 7:43 PM
I’ve reached that point in the prepping-for-next-season process where I say to myself, there are too many ARCs in this house. Time to go to the post office. You know, to send presents to booksellers.
December 7, 2024 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Another bookstore just added! Hoping to hit the 150-account limit for this starter pack before the holidays so you have as many options for book buying as possible.

go.bsky.app/DZdrHhm
December 3, 2024 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by John Mesjak
12/1 Spend A DAY WITH MOUSSE from @transitbooks.bsky.social #Children’sEditions "a crystalline ode to uncomplicated delights...the joy of being in the moment ...revel in...the warmth of sunshine through morning windows, making coffee, choosing socks to wear” www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/a-da...
December 1, 2024 at 12:59 PM
Another epic by @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social - and it’s not just grocery stores and food deserts.
1. The conventional explanation for food deserts—that these places are too poor or too rural to generate enough spending on groceries, or too Black to overcome racist corporate redlining — fail to grapple with a key fact: food deserts didn’t used to exist. My new piece in The Atlantic.
The Mystery of Food Deserts
They didn’t materialize around the country for no reason. Something happened.
www.theatlantic.com
December 2, 2024 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
This is pure joy, and their absolute refusal to break is everything.
Mary Tyler Moore accidentally nailed a perfect trick shot in *The Dick Van Dyke Show* (1962)—on the FIRST take.

It was supposed to be done by a pro, but she shocked everyone and pulled it off herself. Absolute legend. 🎱✨

#ClassicTV #FunFacts
November 30, 2024 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Don’t order, don’t cross the picket lines, support the strike and fuck Jeff Bezos in his wallet
November 29, 2024 at 2:24 AM
I love Murderbot. This is a great profile - filled with the kinds of details about Martha Wells’ career to give any struggling author hope. Be true to you, find your family, keep working.
November 26, 2024 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Easy marker for news outlets "Obeying in Advance," as T Snyder puts it:

If any of them refer, as if it were real, to a "Dept of Gov Efficiency" (DOGE), they are pre-obeying.

A real-world dept needs to be created through actual laws, by Congress. DOGE is a donor-humoring move, to placate Musk.
November 24, 2024 at 11:50 PM
@ismh86.net in connected 526, you mentioned getting the new iPad mini for media and reading. Is there a case you’re using? I just got one too and while I’ve got the official Apple case, I wonder if there’s another option for media consumption times?!
November 23, 2024 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
The problem with pieces like this, which are countless, is the prevailing media assumption that left-of-center Americans need constant corrective instruction about how to be in and engage with the world, whereas right-of-center Americans are simply to be observed in awe, like rainbows or mountains.
Opinion - The problem with Bluesky: It won’t broaden our horizons: In the wake of Donald Trump’s election win, the social-media platform has enjoyed a surge of new users looking for an alternative to Elon Musk’s X. But will it be useful, if it just creates an echo chamber for the left?
The problem with Bluesky: It won’t broaden our horizons
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election win, the social-media platform has enjoyed a surge of new users looking for an alternative to Elon Musk’s X. But will it be useful, if it just creates an echo chamber for the left?
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 22, 2024 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
This is the rallying call that I've needed to hear since November 6th. From Roxane Gay in today's New York Times www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/o...
November 17, 2024 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
This list is all extremely good and I encourage you to read and perhaps memorize it. And also send it to every academic, public servant, journalist and doctor you know. They are going to feel all of this first.
November 18, 2024 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
Reminder: please support local media. For my NYC brothers and sisters, have a look at @hellgateny.bsky.social and the @thecity.bsky.social. Please feel free to call others to my attention!
November 10, 2024 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
It's the Racism, Stupid.
My new post: Do not listen to pundits' pat explanations or to polls that veil the truth. Do not listen to me. Listen to those who experience the nation as it is.
medium.com/whither-news...
It’s the Racism, Stupid
We did this, white America. Trump is our reflection.
medium.com
November 9, 2024 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by John Mesjak
speaking of “is it worth it to unsubscribe from the Washington Post and will anyone there actually care”
from friends in WaPo newsroom, they lost enough subscriptions yday for it to be immediately noticeable and discussed and have an impact on a visibly panicky management.
October 26, 2024 at 6:08 PM
Dumped the Post.

And of course, I recommend shopping for books locally.
For those seeking a way to divest from Bezos, I would recommend that you stop using Amazon. For non-book items, try to shop locally. For books, switch your allegiance to the fabulous Bookshop.org. In both my personal and professional lives I've done so, and it's been great.
Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.
Bookshop.org
October 26, 2024 at 1:37 PM
@racketmn.bsky.social hello, dearly beloved Racket tip line, this news sucks.

www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/2...
Microsoft and OpenAI are giving news outlets $10 million to use AI tools
Several media giants are still suing the pair.
www.theverge.com
October 22, 2024 at 6:06 PM