Barb
@sylvancreek.bsky.social
This is super cool. It looks like humans may have been making fire 400,000 years ago, rather than 50,000 years ago.
SCIENCE. FIRE. SCIENCE ABOUT FIRE.
SCIENCE. FIRE. SCIENCE ABOUT FIRE.
Study finds humans were making fire 400,000 years ago, far earlier than once thought
Archaeologists in Britain say they have found the earliest known evidence of deliberate fire-making, dating to around 400,000 years ago.
apnews.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:29 PM
This is super cool. It looks like humans may have been making fire 400,000 years ago, rather than 50,000 years ago.
SCIENCE. FIRE. SCIENCE ABOUT FIRE.
SCIENCE. FIRE. SCIENCE ABOUT FIRE.
Watching Strictly Ballroom in 1994 is what got me to start dancing. It’s been my primary hobby for decades. I rewatch the movie every year.
Today in The December Comfort Watches, I'm essaying Strictly Ballroom, a loving look at a delightfully weird little subculture, that is, in its way, an absolutely perfect film:
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/09/t...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/09/t...
The December Comfort Watches 2025, Day Nine: Strictly Ballroom
A personal story to begin: I was a film critic at the Fresno Bee newspaper when Strictly Ballroom came out in 1992, My review of it was an unqualified rave, and I said something along the line that…
whatever.scalzi.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Watching Strictly Ballroom in 1994 is what got me to start dancing. It’s been my primary hobby for decades. I rewatch the movie every year.
Reposted by Barb
My latest restaurant piece is now live on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social site: Here's a preview of Fallow Kin, opening in #Cambridge early this year. Very excited about this one! Great team (the Talulla folks + Marcos Sanchez of Tasting Counter and more).
www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...
www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...
Cambridge’s Fallow Kin Takes Farm-to-Table to the Next Level
Opening early this year in the former Craigie on Main space.
www.bostonmagazine.com
January 2, 2025 at 7:45 PM
My latest restaurant piece is now live on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social site: Here's a preview of Fallow Kin, opening in #Cambridge early this year. Very excited about this one! Great team (the Talulla folks + Marcos Sanchez of Tasting Counter and more).
www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...
www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...
Reposted by Barb
Whomst among us hasn't felt a little vacuum about snackie all done
November 18, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Whomst among us hasn't felt a little vacuum about snackie all done
Reposted by Barb
He said "Amen" straight into the drop
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
November 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM
He said "Amen" straight into the drop
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
Reposted by Barb
Us Gen X women are in our werewolf era. We’re growing hair in places we don’t want + changing shape fast & hot. Not to mention occasional bloodbaths & spending most of our time incandescently furious. Perimenopause = lycanthropy. You can’t tell me otherwise.
November 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Us Gen X women are in our werewolf era. We’re growing hair in places we don’t want + changing shape fast & hot. Not to mention occasional bloodbaths & spending most of our time incandescently furious. Perimenopause = lycanthropy. You can’t tell me otherwise.
Two things at once:
- Get pennies back into circulation
- Donate to food banks
- Get pennies back into circulation
- Donate to food banks
November 17, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Two things at once:
- Get pennies back into circulation
- Donate to food banks
- Get pennies back into circulation
- Donate to food banks
Reposted by Barb
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 AM
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
Reposted by Barb
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Barb
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Reposted by Barb
dawg they’re live laugh loving the white house. president homegoods
November 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM
dawg they’re live laugh loving the white house. president homegoods
Reposted by Barb
Mostly vampires.
Though I've lived in NYC for 25+ years, I know very little about Staten Island (beyond the stuff everybody knows, like, that it's extremely conservative). Curious about this little fringe of blue on the voting map. What's -that- part of Staten Island like?
November 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Mostly vampires.
Reposted by Barb
Tonight's Dem victories show we’re a big tent party that wins when we fight for the people—affordability, healthcare, & democracy.
Grateful for every candidate, organizer, & voter.
I feel so hopeful & resolved to keep defending our communities & governing like lives depend on it, because they do.
Grateful for every candidate, organizer, & voter.
I feel so hopeful & resolved to keep defending our communities & governing like lives depend on it, because they do.
November 5, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Tonight's Dem victories show we’re a big tent party that wins when we fight for the people—affordability, healthcare, & democracy.
Grateful for every candidate, organizer, & voter.
I feel so hopeful & resolved to keep defending our communities & governing like lives depend on it, because they do.
Grateful for every candidate, organizer, & voter.
I feel so hopeful & resolved to keep defending our communities & governing like lives depend on it, because they do.
Reposted by Barb
I’ve played with LLMs a fair amount and noticed something that these studies that show using LLMs degrading intellectual performance may not be picking up: What if having pretty good critical thinking skills makes LLMs less appealing/satisfying to use in the first place?
October 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I’ve played with LLMs a fair amount and noticed something that these studies that show using LLMs degrading intellectual performance may not be picking up: What if having pretty good critical thinking skills makes LLMs less appealing/satisfying to use in the first place?
Reposted by Barb
This has to be one of the greatest gags in schism history
Mar Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, also born in Chicago, gave Pope Leo a Cubs jersey.
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 AM
This has to be one of the greatest gags in schism history
Reposted by Barb
Food bank director: “for every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine. There’s no way we can meet that gap.”
October 27, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Food bank director: “for every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine. There’s no way we can meet that gap.”
Reposted by Barb
Remembering the end of Practical Magic when every woman in town gathers together to exorcise the evil, sweep its vaporized remains out of the house, and then get drunk on margaritas.
I want that for all of us. We deserve it.
I want that for all of us. We deserve it.
October 20, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Remembering the end of Practical Magic when every woman in town gathers together to exorcise the evil, sweep its vaporized remains out of the house, and then get drunk on margaritas.
I want that for all of us. We deserve it.
I want that for all of us. We deserve it.
Reposted by Barb
all these people protesting today in groups of a few dozen on the main streets of small towns in deep red Trump country - where they will absolutely take shit from their neighbors about it at church tomorrow or at work on Monday or next time they go to the grocery store - are braver than the Marines
October 19, 2025 at 12:02 AM
all these people protesting today in groups of a few dozen on the main streets of small towns in deep red Trump country - where they will absolutely take shit from their neighbors about it at church tomorrow or at work on Monday or next time they go to the grocery store - are braver than the Marines
Reposted by Barb
I didn't get a picture of the best sign I saw today, but I remember what it said:
Somewhere in America
A little Hispanic girl
Is hiding in an attic
And keeping a diary.
#NoKings
Somewhere in America
A little Hispanic girl
Is hiding in an attic
And keeping a diary.
#NoKings
October 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
I didn't get a picture of the best sign I saw today, but I remember what it said:
Somewhere in America
A little Hispanic girl
Is hiding in an attic
And keeping a diary.
#NoKings
Somewhere in America
A little Hispanic girl
Is hiding in an attic
And keeping a diary.
#NoKings
Reposted by Barb
Official count estimates are up - before it was "nearly 7m" then it was "roughly 7m" now it is officially "more than 7m." Trend is up!
October 19, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Official count estimates are up - before it was "nearly 7m" then it was "roughly 7m" now it is officially "more than 7m." Trend is up!
Reposted by Barb
you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you
October 15, 2025 at 4:10 PM
you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you
Reposted by Barb
LA: we will fight you.
Chicago: we will fight you.
PDX: we will make you endure week after week of of improv theater.
Chicago: we will fight you.
PDX: we will make you endure week after week of of improv theater.
October 8, 2025 at 1:38 AM
LA: we will fight you.
Chicago: we will fight you.
PDX: we will make you endure week after week of of improv theater.
Chicago: we will fight you.
PDX: we will make you endure week after week of of improv theater.
Reposted by Barb
As a protest optics nerd love about the inflatables is how much they visually disrupt and pull focus from the fascist shock imagery Noem & Miller are trying to create.
So many of these photos now look like the world's silliest dance party, backgrounded by a bunch of guys in uniform looking awkward
So many of these photos now look like the world's silliest dance party, backgrounded by a bunch of guys in uniform looking awkward
October 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
As a protest optics nerd love about the inflatables is how much they visually disrupt and pull focus from the fascist shock imagery Noem & Miller are trying to create.
So many of these photos now look like the world's silliest dance party, backgrounded by a bunch of guys in uniform looking awkward
So many of these photos now look like the world's silliest dance party, backgrounded by a bunch of guys in uniform looking awkward
Reposted by Barb
A producer told me once she has to warn young crewmembers to avoid being alone with Aykroyd. "Not because he's a creep, he's a gentleman. But if you let him strike up a conversation the next thing we know all the PAs will be huddled in his dressing room learning how humans evolved from dolphins."
I love Dan Aykroyd because he has very clearly entered the stage in his life where he is going to make sure everyone knows about his special interests and he has the profile and resources to do it in a high profile manner. You are GOING to hear about rocks, dinosaurs, vodka, and ghosts dammit.
September 17, 2025 at 7:06 PM
A producer told me once she has to warn young crewmembers to avoid being alone with Aykroyd. "Not because he's a creep, he's a gentleman. But if you let him strike up a conversation the next thing we know all the PAs will be huddled in his dressing room learning how humans evolved from dolphins."
Reposted by Barb
Blue cities should tear up the roads in front of ICE facilities and then start decades of community engagement and input sessions to rebuild them. Let's harness our core competencies.
September 27, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Blue cities should tear up the roads in front of ICE facilities and then start decades of community engagement and input sessions to rebuild them. Let's harness our core competencies.