Pynchokami
@pynchokami.bsky.social
When I'm not crafting magical tales like #M&F or #BerkeleyTapes, you can find me lost in a good book, strategizing over a board game, or experimenting in the kitchen.
Further Exploration:
On Hanway & "Umbrella-Shame": This London Guided Walks Podcast includes a great, short summary on Jonas Hanway: londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast/epis...
On the Umbrella Movement: This American Life: www.thisamericanlife.org/686/transcript
(3/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
On Hanway & "Umbrella-Shame": This London Guided Walks Podcast includes a great, short summary on Jonas Hanway: londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast/epis...
On the Umbrella Movement: This American Life: www.thisamericanlife.org/686/transcript
(3/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
Episode 141: Mocked in London Part 1: Umbrellas - London Guided Walks
Episode 136: Discover the life and legacy of William Beckford, 18th-century Lord Mayor of London and slave owner. Why is he still controversial? Listen now.
londonguidedwalks.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Further Exploration:
On Hanway & "Umbrella-Shame": This London Guided Walks Podcast includes a great, short summary on Jonas Hanway: londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast/epis...
On the Umbrella Movement: This American Life: www.thisamericanlife.org/686/transcript
(3/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
On Hanway & "Umbrella-Shame": This London Guided Walks Podcast includes a great, short summary on Jonas Hanway: londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast/epis...
On the Umbrella Movement: This American Life: www.thisamericanlife.org/686/transcript
(3/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
That history of the umbrella, as a tool for those on foot, a symbol of class, and an instrument of defiance, is still with us. From the streets of 1750s London to the "Umbrella Movement" in Hong Kong. (2/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
That history of the umbrella, as a tool for those on foot, a symbol of class, and an instrument of defiance, is still with us. From the streets of 1750s London to the "Umbrella Movement" in Hong Kong. (2/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
P.S. The whole reason this tangent? The strange history of the umbrella itself.
It was a class and gender war. When Jonas Hanway first carried one in 18th-century London, he was mocked for 30 years. It was seen as "effeminate" and "French." Coachmen tried to run him over. (1/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
It was a class and gender war. When Jonas Hanway first carried one in 18th-century London, he was mocked for 30 years. It was seen as "effeminate" and "French." Coachmen tried to run him over. (1/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
P.S. The whole reason this tangent? The strange history of the umbrella itself.
It was a class and gender war. When Jonas Hanway first carried one in 18th-century London, he was mocked for 30 years. It was seen as "effeminate" and "French." Coachmen tried to run him over. (1/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
It was a class and gender war. When Jonas Hanway first carried one in 18th-century London, he was mocked for 30 years. It was seen as "effeminate" and "French." Coachmen tried to run him over. (1/3)
#BerkeleyTapes
My daughter is a sophomore at Cal now. Funny enough, she had her own "SoCal kid discovers NorCal rain" moment her first year.
I guess that "formative" memory wasn't quite formative enough for me to, you know, actually warn her. (4/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I guess that "formative" memory wasn't quite formative enough for me to, you know, actually warn her. (4/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
My daughter is a sophomore at Cal now. Funny enough, she had her own "SoCal kid discovers NorCal rain" moment her first year.
I guess that "formative" memory wasn't quite formative enough for me to, you know, actually warn her. (4/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I guess that "formative" memory wasn't quite formative enough for me to, you know, actually warn her. (4/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
The calculation: "I can run. Rain is just water. I can beat the rain from the dorm to the lecture hall."
I could not. I sat through that entire lecture, head-to-toe soaked. My tennis shoes squelched, my legal pad was hopeless pulp. The professor's look... formative. (3/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I could not. I sat through that entire lecture, head-to-toe soaked. My tennis shoes squelched, my legal pad was hopeless pulp. The professor's look... formative. (3/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
The calculation: "I can run. Rain is just water. I can beat the rain from the dorm to the lecture hall."
I could not. I sat through that entire lecture, head-to-toe soaked. My tennis shoes squelched, my legal pad was hopeless pulp. The professor's look... formative. (3/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I could not. I sat through that entire lecture, head-to-toe soaked. My tennis shoes squelched, my legal pad was hopeless pulp. The professor's look... formative. (3/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
Freshman year. Cal. First big storm of the season. I had a survey class in one of those inconveniently located lecture halls (memory is hazy, but likely the old Stanley Hall) at the bottom of campus, near University Ave. I was in Unit One.
I made a calculation. (2/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I made a calculation. (2/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Freshman year. Cal. First big storm of the season. I had a survey class in one of those inconveniently located lecture halls (memory is hazy, but likely the old Stanley Hall) at the bottom of campus, near University Ave. I was in Unit One.
I made a calculation. (2/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
I made a calculation. (2/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
My umbrella today isn't even a proper NorCal one. It's a cheap "in case of emergency" model from the Smithsonian. (Apparently, D.C. summer storms are another way to catch SoCal people off guard).
Holding it reminded me of not having one... (1/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
Holding it reminded me of not having one... (1/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
My umbrella today isn't even a proper NorCal one. It's a cheap "in case of emergency" model from the Smithsonian. (Apparently, D.C. summer storms are another way to catch SoCal people off guard).
Holding it reminded me of not having one... (1/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
Holding it reminded me of not having one... (1/4)
#BerkeleyTapes
Thanks for your comment & question. Right now, for them, it's just a sanctuary. We'll have to wait a bit to find out the answer because they are going to be stuck in that doorway until Chapter 3!
November 16, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Thanks for your comment & question. Right now, for them, it's just a sanctuary. We'll have to wait a bit to find out the answer because they are going to be stuck in that doorway until Chapter 3!
They stared out at a narrow slice of the chaos, chests heaving, adrenaline singing. The roar of the street now muffled. They were hidden. They were safe. They were blind to what would happen next. (8/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
They stared out at a narrow slice of the chaos, chests heaving, adrenaline singing. The roar of the street now muffled. They were hidden. They were safe. They were blind to what would happen next. (8/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
"In here! Now!" He didn't wait. He half-shoved, half-pulled Mira and Chloe into the narrow space. Then Ben appeared, stumbling out of the fray. Sam grabbed his jacket, and yanked him inside. Four bodies crashing against the metal, pressed into darkness. (7/8) #BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
"In here! Now!" He didn't wait. He half-shoved, half-pulled Mira and Chloe into the narrow space. Then Ben appeared, stumbling out of the fray. Sam grabbed his jacket, and yanked him inside. Four bodies crashing against the metal, pressed into darkness. (7/8) #BerkeleyTapes
Sam was scanning. An alley, no, dead end. A storefront, no, plate glass. Then he saw it. A dark rectangle. A recessed doorway, an alcove for a roll-up metal gate. (6/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Sam was scanning. An alley, no, dead end. A storefront, no, plate glass. Then he saw it. A dark rectangle. A recessed doorway, an alcove for a roll-up metal gate. (6/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
"David, No!" Mira’s voice broke. He spun. Met her eyes for a single moment. Then turned back toward the cops and was gone. (5/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
"David, No!" Mira’s voice broke. He spun. Met her eyes for a single moment. Then turned back toward the cops and was gone. (5/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
"This way!" Sam’s voice cracking. He grabbed Mira’s hand, Chloe’s sleeve, her face pale, camera hanging uselessly. "David, move!" David stood his ground, faced the police line, his fists clenched. (4/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
"This way!" Sam’s voice cracking. He grabbed Mira’s hand, Chloe’s sleeve, her face pale, camera hanging uselessly. "David, move!" David stood his ground, faced the police line, his fists clenched. (4/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
Flash-bang. Twenty feet away. A percussive thump that kicked the air out of Mira’s lungs, followed by a blinding white light. Pure animal panic. The organizing, the training, all evaporated. (3/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Flash-bang. Twenty feet away. A percussive thump that kicked the air out of Mira’s lungs, followed by a blinding white light. Pure animal panic. The organizing, the training, all evaporated. (3/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
A wall of bodies slammed into them. Mira lost her grip on David. Sam's scream, "JESS!", as rainbow plastic was swallowed into the churning mass. They were three now. (2/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
A wall of bodies slammed into them. Mira lost her grip on David. Sam's scream, "JESS!", as rainbow plastic was swallowed into the churning mass. They were three now. (2/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
The comms in Mira's ear erupted in a single, deafening squeal of static, as if the air itself was being torn. Then, nothing. "Ben? Ben!!" she yelled, but her voice was lost. (1/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The comms in Mira's ear erupted in a single, deafening squeal of static, as if the air itself was being torn. Then, nothing. "Ben? Ben!!" she yelled, but her voice was lost. (1/8)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
Thanks for the comment. Your argument makes sense, everyone wants a "non-lethal" response, but hopefully, also non-potentially permanently damaging! And, who defines when a peaceful protest becomes a "riot" is equally troublesome.
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Thanks for the comment. Your argument makes sense, everyone wants a "non-lethal" response, but hopefully, also non-potentially permanently damaging! And, who defines when a peaceful protest becomes a "riot" is equally troublesome.
This leaves a dark, lingering question: In our current climate, despite a court calling it unconstitutional for local police, could federal agents use this tech against protestors in a major U.S. city today? That's one not-so speculative anxiety I'm exploring. (6/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
This leaves a dark, lingering question: In our current climate, despite a court calling it unconstitutional for local police, could federal agents use this tech against protestors in a major U.S. city today? That's one not-so speculative anxiety I'm exploring. (6/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
#BerkeleyTapes
But that ruling applied to local police. Fed agencies are a different story. In 2018, CBP deployed an LRAD (reportedly in "alert mode") against migrants at the San Ysidro border. The tool is still very much in the federal kit. (5/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul...
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul...
www.oig.dhs.gov
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
But that ruling applied to local police. Fed agencies are a different story. In 2018, CBP deployed an LRAD (reportedly in "alert mode") against migrants at the San Ysidro border. The tool is still very much in the federal kit. (5/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul...
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul...
These tools came home fast. U.S. police used LRADs at the G20 in 2009 and later by the NYPD. This led to Edrei v. Bratton, where an appellate court ruled that using the LRAD's "alert tone" as a weapon could be excessive force. (4/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: clearinghouse.net/case/18113/
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: clearinghouse.net/case/18113/
Edrei v. Bratton 1:16-cv-01652 (S.D.N.Y.) | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
index,follow
clearinghouse.net
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
These tools came home fast. U.S. police used LRADs at the G20 in 2009 and later by the NYPD. This led to Edrei v. Bratton, where an appellate court ruled that using the LRAD's "alert tone" as a weapon could be excessive force. (4/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: clearinghouse.net/case/18113/
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: clearinghouse.net/case/18113/
This is a corporate-sold technology. Genasys Inc. makes the LRAD, marketing it as a "long-range communication device." It's dual-use language makes it palatable to police and local officials as it is touted for "public safety". (3/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further Reading: genasys.com/public-safety/
#BerkeleyTapes
Further Reading: genasys.com/public-safety/
Genasys | Public Safety
Enhance public safety with Genasys' fast and precise emergency management capabilities. Keep your communities informed and prepared during emergencies.
genasys.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
This is a corporate-sold technology. Genasys Inc. makes the LRAD, marketing it as a "long-range communication device." It's dual-use language makes it palatable to police and local officials as it is touted for "public safety". (3/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further Reading: genasys.com/public-safety/
#BerkeleyTapes
Further Reading: genasys.com/public-safety/
Their use as a weapon against civilians is well-documented. They were deployed in Tbilisi, Georgia (2007) and as you'll see below, against peaceful protestors in Belgrade (this hits very close to home for one of my characters). (2/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.npr.org/2025/03/26/n....
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.npr.org/2025/03/26/n....
'Like a sound from hell:' Was an illegal sonic weapon used on protesters in Serbia?
The weapons, which are illegal in Serbia, emit sound waves which can trigger sharp ear pain, disorientation, eardrum ruptures or even irreversible hearing damage.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Their use as a weapon against civilians is well-documented. They were deployed in Tbilisi, Georgia (2007) and as you'll see below, against peaceful protestors in Belgrade (this hits very close to home for one of my characters). (2/6)
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.npr.org/2025/03/26/n....
#BerkeleyTapes
Further reading: www.npr.org/2025/03/26/n....