Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 1d

the defining image of the early 21st century is an agent of the state pointing a gun at a person, and a citizen pointing a smartphone camera back at them

we see this scene reenacted every day, around the world

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

and then i went home. the whole thing feels like a fever dream as i remember it now. whenever you see a swan, particularly when you do not expect to see one, it is some kind of sign from the universe. what it portends we cannot often know. and that, my friends, may be the point

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

now, one swan already — a big deal! but then, from the other side of the bridge’s great feet sunk in the flowing water, i saw three more emerge! Four swans! I was essentially blackout at the time. I gripped the stone bannister, gleeful

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

one night, while on a stroll, when i lived in paris, i observed a swan swimming in the river at night. it was a cold fall night. i was alone — always a beautiful feeling to find yourself, for just a second, alone in a big city.

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

nothing like looking at moving water while one is melancholy. this is what it’s all about, a good feeling

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

yes bestie it went weird but good?

www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

Meme Expert Aidan Walker Gives Brutal Brushback To Bill Maher Over Transgender Kids Rant

Bill Maher got defensive when young guest Aidan Walker issued a brutal rejoinder to his pointed interrogation about transgender acceptance in schools.

www.yahoo.com

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

chat, i have negative canthal tilt

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

Phrenology reply guy on twitter looked at my head shape when i was on bill maher and really went “physiognomy check failed, not listening to a word he’ll say”

internet is a great place

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 11d

it is all about the simple joys: herringbone sidewalks paved with brick, the smell of wood fire, the precisely-chosen typeface on an esoteric shitpost

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 14d

thank you so much!

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 17d

Isaac Chotiner is an american hero

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 19d

memory is a contest -- rambles about the difficulty of internet archival work and the deficiency of progress narratives to explain history open.substack.com/pub/howtodot...

memory is a contest

why memes matter, especially now

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Aidan Walker

Chris Egusa @goosenaut.bsky.social · 23d

Super proud of the team for pulling this together in just a few days. Always insightful to hear from @aidanwalker.bsky.social

morgan sung @morgansung.bsky.social · 23d

we did a big deep dive with @aidanwalker.bsky.social explaining the meme references found on the bullet casings, the groyperfication of young people, and why this shooting was, ultimately, a shitpost: disruptive and incoherent

www.kqed.org/news/1205620...

Groypers, Doxxing and Charlie Kirk’s Death as a S***post | KQED

What is a “groyper?” The term began trending on Google in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death. Kirk, the right-wing podcaster and Turning Point USA co-founder, was fatally shot last Wednesday during...

www.kqed.org

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Reposted by Aidan Walker

morgan sung @morgansung.bsky.social · 23d

we did a big deep dive with @aidanwalker.bsky.social explaining the meme references found on the bullet casings, the groyperfication of young people, and why this shooting was, ultimately, a shitpost: disruptive and incoherent

www.kqed.org/news/1205620...

Groypers, Doxxing and Charlie Kirk’s Death as a S***post | KQED

What is a “groyper?” The term began trending on Google in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death. Kirk, the right-wing podcaster and Turning Point USA co-founder, was fatally shot last Wednesday during...

www.kqed.org

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 26d

thank you Jake! hope you are well

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · 26d

here it is on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcMY...

the assassination was a s**tpost

YouTube video by Aidan Walker

www.youtube.com

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Sep 7

another take on if MrBeast is devil

open.substack.com/pub/howtodot...

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Sep 7

asking the important questions:

open.substack.com/pub/howtodot...

is MrBeast the antichrist?

the woe of more and more and more and more and more and more and more

open.substack.com

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Sep 6

finally, Abundance reviewed in the proper context

www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

How to Blow Up a Planet | Trevor Jackson

What happened to the future? When did we lose it, and what has taken its place? Political scientists have found a continual decline in visions of a shared

www.nybooks.com

Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Sep 5

strangely charming to imagine these man-children fumbling about their lives, screenshotting the email draft with 30% battery on the smartphone and posting it to the official department of justice account -- the country being run by sad sack losers

pbs.twimg.com/media/G0CltA...

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Sep 3

This is the way I felt after watching a program called “bailing out baddies,” on instagram reels
open.substack.com/pub/howtodot...

everywhere is ohio

the spiritual alienation of american weird, part two

open.substack.com

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Aug 26

Does anybody have a good explanation for why congressional democrats arent on 14th street heckling the occupiers? I’m not angry so as much as just wanting to understand why

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Reposted by Aidan Walker

Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · Aug 20

This TikTok from a researcher on the thesis he wrote about the distracted boyfriend meme is the most succinct explanation of how the internet info ecosystem has changed in the last decade that I’ve maybe ever seen. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8BrkPe6/

distracted boyfriend 8th anniversary post #distractedboyfriend #memes #critique

TikTok video by Aidan Walker

www.tiktok.com

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Aug 21

no worries! I’m so grateful that folks enjoy it, and see the importance of memes. Might start going under three minutes and posting more stuff on here/skylight :)

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Aidan Walker @aidanwalker.bsky.social · Aug 20

thank you so much! glad you enjoyed it

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