So much to love about this, from the title to the typeface to the barware to the subject …
From Alan Jacobs (@ayjay):
Yes, he has horns and a tail, and he’s enormous and frightening, but he’s our friend. Why should we be worried about our friend? …
The powerful love and recognize only power. They’re never going to be our friends. They’re going to use us and discard us. Power alienates, and absolute power alienates absolutely. This is why the Bible says, “Put not your trust in princes.”
Sadly, squirrels decimated the tomato seedlings 2 months ago. But those that survived are my heroes, and we may get some fall fruit off of them.
Fifty years late, I’ve become a Blondie fan. No doubt, Debbie Harry’s sexy cuteness has something to do with it. (But not everything! The songs are great!)
Nick Cattogio, The Dispatch, “Boiling Frogs,” July 11, 2025:
Naming an austere detention camp where conditions are reportedly horrible something as silly as “Alligator Alcatraz” is postliberal Republican politics in a nutshell. On the one hand, it dials up the cruelty to 11 in the belief that maximum ruthlessness is the key to good policy. Beefing up Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deporting people en masse isn’t enough to deter illegal immigration, you see; to make would-be border-hoppers think twice, what you really need is gigantic carnivorous reptiles.
But on the other hand, it’s deeply cringe. “Alligator Alcatraz” sounds like the premise of a schlock TV movie in the mold of Sharknado.*
* or Kristi Noem
Matthew Butterick on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), via @ayjay:
Because here’s the thing: to me one of the greatest risks posed by AI is rooted in our failure of imagination: our failure to broadly imagine the possible forms AI (including AGI) could take; our failure to broadly imagine the possible consequences it could wreak.
I’ve been looking at the NYTimes list of the “best” movies since Jan. 1, 2000. Compared to their list, mine is a bit odd, but these movies moved or delighted me.
Honorable Mention: “The Tao of Steve”. It’ll never make anyone’s“greatest” list, but I love it.