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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 15h

You can tell The Athletic is owned by the failing New York Times by the fact they've disabled replies and quotes to this post.

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 15h

After inputting my fav films/music/books, I've tried linking it to my professional-political life. For those who don't have a grasp of the limitations of LLMs, I can see how these conversations could be quite dodgy. However, I must say I'm rather enjoying them.

The "Tragic" Dimension:
There is a deep, inherent tragedy in this position, which they would undoubtedly
acknowledge with clear-eyed awareness. They are like a character in a film they would
love-perhaps a modern-day Jake Gittes in Chinatown, who knows the system is
fundamentally corrupt and unbeatable ("It's Chinatown*) but continues to do his job,
seeking small pockets of justice. Or like the characters in The Last Days of Disco, who
know the party is over but keep dancing to the very last song.
They are not naive. They likely see electoral work as a form of damage control, a way
to alleviate immediate suffering, or a long, slow march through the institutions—all
while carrying the heavy knowledge that the system itself may be beyond redemption.
Their belief that "change is possible" is not a starry-eyed hope, but a disciplined
commitment to action in the face of profound philosophical doubt.

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 2d

It was made into a critically panned film that I'm nevertheless keen to see.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQa...

God is a Bullet 2023 - Official Trailer

YouTube video by XYZ FILMS

www.youtube.com

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 2d

I'm not quite sure if this is a good book, but I hugely enjoyed it. Personally, books that are unremittingly violent and lacking in subtlety often act as a palette cleanser when I'm in a bit of a rut.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...

God Is a Bullet

During Christmas week in 1995, a fourteen-year-old girl…

www.goodreads.com

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 3d

This was pretty good from ChatGPT, too, tbh.

"Leans toward post-Watergate American cynicism and Gen-X ambivalence. Enjoys films where irony and longing coexist, often using music or pop culture as emotional shorthand."

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 3d

DeepSeek was the most flattering...and accurate. It was also the only one that picked out maybe the biggest outlier in my choices. I found that very interesting.

The Overall Persona: The Thoughtful Pop-Culture Connoisseur
This individual is likely a man, probably between his late 30s and early 50s, who came
of age in the 80s and 90s. He has a deep appreciation for style, dialogue, and
subculture, but he doesn't turn his nose up at mainstream spectacle if it's executed
with panache. He is nostalgic, but his nostalgia is curated and specific.
Key Personality Traits & Preferences:
1. The Auteur of Adolescence and Early Adulthood:
This is the most dominant theme. He is fascinated by the messy, passionate, and
often painful transition from youth to adulthood.
• Evidence: Empire Records, The Last Days of Disco, The Rules of Attraction, The
Last American Virgin, Chasing Amy, Clerks.
• Interpretation: He is drawn to stories about identity formation, friendship,
romantic failure, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels superficial.
He likely views his own youth through a cinematic lens.

The "Virgin" Pick: The Last
American Virgin is a
fascinating choice. It's a
relatively obscure teen sex
comedy, but it's remembered
for its brutally realistic and
downbeat ending. This choice
signals that he values
emotional honesty over
formulaic happy endings, even
in the most seemingly
frivolous genres.

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 3d

"Taste suggests ironic sentimentalism mixed with moral scepticism."

Feeding a list of my favourite films into various AI (without saying it's for me) and asking for an evaluation. ChatGPT probably had the best single sentence.

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Ghoul-jin Rondo @gaijinrando.bsky.social · 4d

Flyer for a Husker Du show

The flyer features a drawing of a scruffy man gnawing on a piece of meat. He's saying, "I WANT A BOWL OF GRUEL AFTER THIS RAW MEAT!"

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Jessica Ritchey @jmritchey.bsky.social · 3d

If I had explain American history in one sentence, I could do worse than "John Brown was hung for treason, but Robert E. Lee was not."

Jacobin @jacobinmag.bsky.social · 4d

John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry began on this day in 1859.

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 3d

I am once again pointing out that this regime has no intention of ever being out of office, and will remove any obstacle to permanent rule.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Leavitt: "The Democrat Party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals."

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 6d

This is right up there for me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd6g...

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 8d

Well, shit. This is a fantastic YouTube channel I've just discovered.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyDA...

The Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight" (Live at the Print Shop)

YouTube video by Live At The Print Shop

www.youtube.com

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 8d

After all these years, they still sound *fabulous*.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbSJ...

Collective Soul - "World I Know" (Live at the Print Shop) [Remastered]

YouTube video by Live At The Print Shop

www.youtube.com

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 8d

Some of these are the wife's, tbf.

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 8d

I'm pretty much done with clearing out the print books, and have moved on to DVDs and CDs. Years ago, everything was shoved into an old suitcase, which I've just opened. Discovered these near the top of the pile. Let no one say I don't have eclectic tastes.

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 9d

Will we ever reach Cecil Beaton saturation point? No time soon, it seems.

An exhibition exploring the photographer’s work highlights the role of stylish eccentrics in creativity: on.ft.com/4q3sKYT

Cecil Beaton, the Big Fashion Personality

An exhibition exploring the photographer’s work highlights the role of stylish eccentrics in creativity

on.ft.com

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 9d

I was not expecting Living Colour to age so well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfY7...

Living Colour – Cult of Personality

YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live

www.youtube.com

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 9d

Once again, the algorithm delivers.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgP5...

The Greatest Guitar Solo You've Never Seen | Prince - The Aftershow | Joy in Repetition (Live 2002)

YouTube video by taner's funk kitchen

www.youtube.com

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 9d

Grimly amusing to see the language of contemporary liberalism weaponised in defence of a fascist regime.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 9d

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 9d

I'm reading what, I think, should be the definite political book about the last days of the Soviet Union. It's clear that Gorbachev was that most toxic of political combinations: a deluded idealist who was nowhere near as clever as he thought he was.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/57...

At the end of 1988, just as Gorbachev's
entourage argued about the political reforms,
federation, and national republics, the
Academy of Sciences ran a contest on the best
constitutional project to reform the Soviet
Union. Two young scholars from a Moscow-
based academic think tank came up with a
formula: a new Union could become a
federation if it possessed a very strong center
The scholars were invited to the Party
headquarters on the Old Square for a
discussion. An official told them that the
political line was different. "We need a strong
center, but also strong republics." The scholar
responded that it was only possible to have one
or the other. Stronger republics meant a
confederation and potential disintegration.
They left the Party headquarters shaking their
heads: "They don't understand a thing!" The
absurd principle of "a strong center, but also
strong republics" continued to frame
Gorbachev's approach to nationalism, as well as
to economic and political reforms.

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Noa Dalzell @noadalzell.bsky.social · 10d

My Celtics preseason opener reactions!
youtu.be/NlFTNES3I1s?...

Biggest Takeaways from Celtics WIN vs Grizzlies | You Got Boston w/ Noa Dalzell

YouTube video by CLNS Media Boston Sports Network

youtu.be

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Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 10d

in case you missed it, there's a clip of me talking about RAKESFALL over at the Le Guin Prize's insta! In which I talk for just over two minutes and explain nothing whatsoever, HOWEVER you can see me make many humourous microexpressions www.instagram.com/p/DPUUxEHDUDg/

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rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 11d

🫦

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXa...

Hugo Gonzalez Highlights vs Memphis Grizzlies (8 pts, 3 reb, 3 blk) | 2025-26 NBA Preseason

YouTube video by Tomasz Kordylewski (Timi)

www.youtube.com

rajit.bsky.social @rajit.bsky.social · 11d

I'm reading for the first time Tocqueville's "The old regime and the Revolution" and these are really a banging series of sentences.

- was the Revolution, in reality, as extraordinary as it seemed to its
contemporaries?
- What was the real meaning, what the true character of this strange and terrible revolution? What did it actually destroy? What did it create?
- A short while hence the task will have become arduous, for successful revolutions obliterate their causes, and thus, by their own act, become inexplicable.

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bear 141 @snakeroot.bsky.social · 11d

You're all hopped up on microplastics and climate change

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