Oh, Peppa, no. Just, no.
“The WNBA’s biggest PR problem isn’t the overly physical play, [Caitlin] Clark’s complaining, poor refereeing, or even the bad-faith actors who look at every moment like it’s the Zapruder film, in search of ways to ignite culture wars. The WNBA’s biggest problem is the gulf between how good it feels to be a WNBA fan and how toxic the league seems from the outside looking in.”
“One annoying thing about the WNBA season is that it coincides with precisely the time of year when college football and NFL commentators have their most free time. If Fever games constitute your only exposure to the WNBA, I can see why it might feel like the player who has the ball in her hand more often than anyone else in those games is subject to outsized defensive attention.”
“If you’ve ever been shocked to discover that the soul behind your favorite track actually belongs to a white artist, then this one’s for you!”
“As opposition mounts, some experts wonder how long AI infrastructure can steer clear of the partisanship that defines U.S. politics.”
“The Dirtbags Won’t Save Us”.
If you are able to read this story about RFK Jr’s sauerkraut diet without hearing the opening stanzas of Weird Al’s masterpiece Albuquerque, you are possibly less damaged than I am.
“What can we do to get away from an algorithm that just wants us to consume more and more?”
“What follows is a short, very incomplete list of people I have invited to our home to help me do things for money, with not-so-great results. You can ask my husband all about it. But, please don’t.”
One more reason to Stop using AI-recreated voices of dead actors, even if they’ve been licensed. It’s creepy, and there are living actors who deserve to be employed instead.
“When you see an alligator that’s 13 feet long, that’s probably older than any person making a decision about whether it gets to live or die. Doesn’t an animal that impressive deserve your respect, instead of having some guy fly down from New York for the day to shoot it?”
“Given that the 2026 midterms are about four months away, it is of course good that the Court declined to issue a decision that could disenfranchise tens of millions of mail voters, who tend to cast ballots for Democratic candidates. But it is deeply unnerving to learn that four of the Court’s nine members are willing to upend the electoral processes in more than half of states in service of their demented party leader’s most demented lie. As it turns out, the line between the Court preserving the status quo and the Court plunging the country into a chaotic, anti-democracy nightmare is a single vote.”
“Spare a moment to think about your safety this season, won’t you? Here’s how to protect yourself against drowning, heat exhaustion, tick bites and more.”
“It really was only a matter of time before the anti-abortion movement pulled down its “we care about women” facade and began demanding that women be prosecuted for ending their pregnancies.”
“But the idea that the U.S. now has a far left that is equally dangerous and radical as the far right is entirely wrong, no matter how many powerful people and institutions hint or claim otherwise. America’s extreme right wing is by far the country’s big problem, and it’s hard to address that problem when powerful elites insist that the trouble is with “both sides.””
“One of the biggest folk heroes of this World Cup, Merlín the duck arrived outside Mexico City’s stadium on Wednesday to great fanfare — but was ultimately told he could not remain for Mexico’s match against the Czech Republic.”
RIP, Victor Willis, lead singer for the Village People.
“In nearly every state and territory across the country, the official humanities nonprofits created by a congressional mandate to help make history and literature accessible to all Americans had to give up their anniversary planning when DOGE pulled their federal funding, according to people involved with the councils at both the federal and state level.”
“So: Meta’s in a coolness crisis, cops and stalkers are tainting the concept worse than Google Glassholes ever did, they had one chance. In comes Kylie. With the Starfire glasses, we have a few decades-long arcs coming full circle.”
“But according to a new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, 64% of Americans do not want to live in a primarily Christian nation. Instead, they prefer an America of many faiths without a Christian majority.”
“The pain will be felt across hospitals and emergency rooms, which already operate under persistent staffing shortfalls, but it’s the long-term care sector, including senior care facilities and home care, that will suffer the greatest disruptions”.
In case you wanted to know more about those two crazy people who climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and then were arrested for same.
RIP, Wilford Lloyd Baumes, who developed The Love Boat and executive produced TV’s Wonder Woman.
What Scalzi said. I was ten years old in 1976 and remember the Bicentennial celebration well. It was cool! It was massive! It made me think about the 250-year celebration at the time, even though my kid brain could not comprehend the fifty-year time span in between. To say the least, the 250th was and has been hugely underwhelming and forgettable, especially in comparison.
“The Onion debuts new parody of Alex Jones’ Infowars, will send $100,000 to Sandy Hook families”.
“Spotify has removed about 500,000 streams from Malcolm Todd’s hit song “Earrings” days after the song topped the platform’s daily U.S. chart for the first time, as its surge has been tied to manipulation based around bets on the prediction market Kalshi.”
Yeah America 250 was one big bust of a letdown. I had thought about doing nothing to mark the day, but a better way to say “fuck you” to self-centered orange piggy is to celebrate as usual and ignore all the stupid MAGA stuff. Also wearing a “No Kings” shirt for the picnic and fireworks is in keeping with the spirit of the day.
Everything Trump touches dies, and this holiday was no exception.