Red Rock Deserts
@redrockdeserts.bsky.social
ἀϊδνός = unseen. I am usually shy on the internet. Trans. i'm in ur Deep State undermining ur gender binary.
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"When in doubt, draw a distinction."
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
February 1, 2026 at 4:31 PM
"When in doubt, draw a distinction."
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
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Um, excuse me, I thought I was buying an America the Beautiful Pass??? 🤡
January 7, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Um, excuse me, I thought I was buying an America the Beautiful Pass??? 🤡
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Hey, if you are generally supportive of trans people and self-determination but don’t necessarily know much about it, let me explain something that a trans friend & roommate explained to me in 2004.
This is why health care for trans kids is so important.
This is why health care for trans kids is so important.
December 24, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Hey, if you are generally supportive of trans people and self-determination but don’t necessarily know much about it, let me explain something that a trans friend & roommate explained to me in 2004.
This is why health care for trans kids is so important.
This is why health care for trans kids is so important.
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So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified
At least 60,000 murdered in Sudanese city, which resembles ‘a slaughterhouse’
Satellite evidence shows extent of paramilitary massacre in El Fasher
www.irishtimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:50 AM
So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified
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Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Gonna take a moment to expand on a footnote on "a truly intellectually defensible definition of 'the West.'"
The tendency for historians has been to abandon the term as it is mostly used in indefensible ways to 'other' the Islamic world.
But I think 'what could this term do' is a useful exercise.
The tendency for historians has been to abandon the term as it is mostly used in indefensible ways to 'other' the Islamic world.
But I think 'what could this term do' is a useful exercise.
Fireside this week, laying out a brief historiography (the 'history of the history') of the Roman strategy debate - the argument that has swirled since 1976 on the degree if Romans engaged in state-level strategic policy or if they were even able to do so.
(yes)
acoup.blog/2025/11/07/f...
(yes)
acoup.blog/2025/11/07/f...
Fireside Friday, November 7, 2025 (On the Roman Strategy Debate)
Hey folks! Fireside this week. I had wanted to have my post on the hoplite debate (the othismos over othismos) ready for this week, but it’s not quite done, so I am shifting that to next week…
acoup.blog
November 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Gonna take a moment to expand on a footnote on "a truly intellectually defensible definition of 'the West.'"
The tendency for historians has been to abandon the term as it is mostly used in indefensible ways to 'other' the Islamic world.
But I think 'what could this term do' is a useful exercise.
The tendency for historians has been to abandon the term as it is mostly used in indefensible ways to 'other' the Islamic world.
But I think 'what could this term do' is a useful exercise.
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The thing to understand about the wave of transphobia plaguing our politics right now is that it does not nourish itself on the hatreds of ordinary voters. It nourishes on their indifference.
November 5, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The thing to understand about the wave of transphobia plaguing our politics right now is that it does not nourish itself on the hatreds of ordinary voters. It nourishes on their indifference.
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As a biologist, It really is a great analogy. Also trees. It's like saying, "There are trees and grass, you have to be one or the other." Ok... where is the line that defines "is a tree?" what about bush-like grasses? Palm trees? NON-tree palms? What about horsetails and their tree-like ancestors?
November 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
As a biologist, It really is a great analogy. Also trees. It's like saying, "There are trees and grass, you have to be one or the other." Ok... where is the line that defines "is a tree?" what about bush-like grasses? Palm trees? NON-tree palms? What about horsetails and their tree-like ancestors?
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It’s not just that they don’t have to turn off SNAP benefits — they’re not legally allowed to. They legally must use the contingency fund.
The admin is pretending they can’t use it even though their own guidance from a month ago (that they’ve since deleted) contradicts that.
The admin is pretending they can’t use it even though their own guidance from a month ago (that they’ve since deleted) contradicts that.
Yes, they’re using the shutdown to turn off SNAP benefits.
No, they don’t have to.
No, they don’t have to.
October 27, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s not just that they don’t have to turn off SNAP benefits — they’re not legally allowed to. They legally must use the contingency fund.
The admin is pretending they can’t use it even though their own guidance from a month ago (that they’ve since deleted) contradicts that.
The admin is pretending they can’t use it even though their own guidance from a month ago (that they’ve since deleted) contradicts that.
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If you’re recreating at parks this weekend and through out the summer, you’ll likely run into one of these signs. They are part of out the Park Service is complying with EO 14253, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
June 14, 2025 at 1:50 AM
If you’re recreating at parks this weekend and through out the summer, you’ll likely run into one of these signs. They are part of out the Park Service is complying with EO 14253, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
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We don’t need to wait for permission.
We need to act like democracy is ours to reforge.
Because it is.
We need to act like democracy is ours to reforge.
Because it is.
May 26, 2025 at 7:54 PM
We don’t need to wait for permission.
We need to act like democracy is ours to reforge.
Because it is.
We need to act like democracy is ours to reforge.
Because it is.
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Here are some ways the world has gotten better.
May 18, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Here are some ways the world has gotten better.
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March 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
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I can’t emphasize enough that cynicism is a dictator’s best friend. Stay outraged. Believe in and work for democracy.
March 27, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I can’t emphasize enough that cynicism is a dictator’s best friend. Stay outraged. Believe in and work for democracy.
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It's time to speak up for fired public lands employees! ✊
Illegally fired staff at Department of the Interior (including NPS) have NOT been reinstated, even though Forest Service staff have been
Let's see if *public lands* leadership actually listens to the *public* 👀
tinyurl.com/RehireRangers
Illegally fired staff at Department of the Interior (including NPS) have NOT been reinstated, even though Forest Service staff have been
Let's see if *public lands* leadership actually listens to the *public* 👀
tinyurl.com/RehireRangers
March 7, 2025 at 2:03 PM
It's time to speak up for fired public lands employees! ✊
Illegally fired staff at Department of the Interior (including NPS) have NOT been reinstated, even though Forest Service staff have been
Let's see if *public lands* leadership actually listens to the *public* 👀
tinyurl.com/RehireRangers
Illegally fired staff at Department of the Interior (including NPS) have NOT been reinstated, even though Forest Service staff have been
Let's see if *public lands* leadership actually listens to the *public* 👀
tinyurl.com/RehireRangers
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Park rangers want YOU to help us protect our parks! This Saturday, 3/1, in solidarity with the 50:50:1 movement, plan a protest in support of your closest national park. Do it at 12 noon your time, or whatever best fits your secret plan 👀🤠😏
#ProtectOurParks #SaveOurParks #RehireRangers
#ProtectOurParks #SaveOurParks #RehireRangers
February 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Park rangers want YOU to help us protect our parks! This Saturday, 3/1, in solidarity with the 50:50:1 movement, plan a protest in support of your closest national park. Do it at 12 noon your time, or whatever best fits your secret plan 👀🤠😏
#ProtectOurParks #SaveOurParks #RehireRangers
#ProtectOurParks #SaveOurParks #RehireRangers
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Because I get tagged in when people recommend my moderation lists a lot, I figure it's a good time to repeat some other lists I endorse. I do not sub to all these lists myself because some of them knock out too much of what I list, but I've put them all through my tests: bsky.app/profile/raha...
A thread that's been brewing for a while: how DO I vet a moderation list that I've come across to see whether or not it's a good list to subscribe to? The key to deciding: you aren't deciding if the list-maker is using it abusively or maliciously; you're deciding if their instincts match yours.
January 22, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Because I get tagged in when people recommend my moderation lists a lot, I figure it's a good time to repeat some other lists I endorse. I do not sub to all these lists myself because some of them knock out too much of what I list, but I've put them all through my tests: bsky.app/profile/raha...
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To anyone who thinks the right wing war against trans people is a fringe issue, please follow this terrific series by The 19th. The core aims of this movement, if achieved, will have a profound impact on all of us. 19thnews.org/2024/08/the-...
The toll of America's anti-trans war
To understand how the anti-trans agenda could reshape all of our lives, The 19th set out to examine how the laws and rhetoric behind it are impacting Americans.
19thnews.org
August 26, 2024 at 2:25 PM
To anyone who thinks the right wing war against trans people is a fringe issue, please follow this terrific series by The 19th. The core aims of this movement, if achieved, will have a profound impact on all of us. 19thnews.org/2024/08/the-...
I have nothing in particular worth saying, just felt like I should have at least ONE post here, so here's a picture of the Mojave Desert.
August 14, 2024 at 1:55 AM
I have nothing in particular worth saying, just felt like I should have at least ONE post here, so here's a picture of the Mojave Desert.