I obviously don't agree with the politics of Mr. Vargas Llosa, but my goodness, what an interesting life. Utterly fascinating.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/o...

The thing we learned from Web2 is that the most impactful businesses became the most impactful by optimizing for addiction.

Which means we should all ask, how would you optimize generative AI for addiction? Whatever makes it the most addictive is probably what it will become.

I honestly believe our most powerful position in a toxic time that feeds on cynicism, apathy,& despair is to genuinely care and act for a better world.

Cynicism is our enemy. We should check it, incl. on the left. It’s not intellectually superior. It’s the virus they’re trying to infect us with. NO

One of my favorite parts of seeing Wicked was just how HAPPY people were leaving the theater. Adults, kids, and especially the theater geeks like me.

This is one of those videos that you could work on forever, but suddenly it felt very important to make it, so I finally did: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Pn...

I've been thinking about this poem by Langston Hughes recently and although it was published in 1931, it remains relevant as ever.

#books #reading #booksky #poetry

At the risk of reading too much into Bluesky’s success at the moment, I do think it’s a signal that people don’t want to be surrounded by bots and manipulated algorithms

AI can only go so far. We want human connection.

Yes, libraries are invaluable for their collections and public services they offer, but also social contact without the expectation to interact with anyone or spend any money is so important to so many people

Eleanor Rigby says hang in there everyone. In the end, kindness, intelligence and cool heads always prevail.

You are not alone, and this will not last forever.

Something will shift. Something always shifts. In the world, in nature, in your neural pathways and your own, dear heart. You are not trapped in this moment forever.

What an achievement vaccines are. What a monument to our love for each other it is to stare straight into the face of something as horrific and unstoppable as smallpox or measles or polio or cervical cancer and say “You know what, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

HUMANS!

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry: a great poem for troubled time...

The reason Elie Weisel said "no one is illegal" is because declaring people as "illegal" is an early step to creating a permission structure for mass dehumanization and genocide.

That's why it matters. We are in the business of words. Accuracy matters in the word business. Intent and context matter

“Not having a driver’s license has been a key for Alva Cadogan making it to 100. Ms Cadogan, nee Scott, has walked everywhere throughout her 100 years to maintain her health.”

Alva Cadogan, welcome to The War on Cars.

They want you to be shocked.

Remember that.

Find joy. Somewhere. Anywhere.

Practice gratitude. For something. Anything.

Embrace awe. Let it into some part of your soul. Any part of your soul.

Shock will activate only the parts of your brain that make bad choices. Steady on. The best you can.

A poem by Naomi Shihab Nye read during UU service yesterday

Earnest post, but: a thing I like here is it’s okay to have moments of happiness in public without being broadly scolded, and I believe that sustaining this kind of humanity will be very important as we resist fascism.

We have to sustain each other. Making joy isn’t denial, it’s how we will survive