Chris Holden
@cholden.bsky.social
Music librarian, trivia nerd, infrequent social media presence. The questions are more important than the answers
The Post was one of the success stories of the Trump 1.0 era, and somehow its leadership managed to completely squander the good will and massive subscription influx they earned, chasing weird AI curios and clickbait op-ed writers instead.
Breaking News: The Washington Post began sweeping layoffs that were slated to shrink the scope of the publication.
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
The layoffs are slated to shrink the newsroom by hundreds of journalists, cutting into The Post’s local, international and sports coverage.
nyti.ms
February 4, 2026 at 2:57 PM
The Post was one of the success stories of the Trump 1.0 era, and somehow its leadership managed to completely squander the good will and massive subscription influx they earned, chasing weird AI curios and clickbait op-ed writers instead.
English words I learned reading fantasy novels that I’m annoyed are not accepted by the NYTimes Spelling Bee:
ABATTOIR
ATTAINT
CATAMITE
I am sure this will be a list in progress.
ABATTOIR
ATTAINT
CATAMITE
I am sure this will be a list in progress.
February 2, 2026 at 3:23 PM
English words I learned reading fantasy novels that I’m annoyed are not accepted by the NYTimes Spelling Bee:
ABATTOIR
ATTAINT
CATAMITE
I am sure this will be a list in progress.
ABATTOIR
ATTAINT
CATAMITE
I am sure this will be a list in progress.
What the fuck, no one asked me about this www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks
After years of steady sales declines, the format will largely disappear next year.
www.publishersweekly.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:37 PM
What the fuck, no one asked me about this www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Every so often the Grove Dictionary of Music absolutely throws some poor obscure 17th century composer under the bus
January 28, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Every so often the Grove Dictionary of Music absolutely throws some poor obscure 17th century composer under the bus
The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!
By using a “fire snake,” crews were able to safely warm the rail, melt surrounding ice, and complete repairs efficiently — restoring service in a timely manner to keep our customers moving safely.
January 28, 2026 at 2:22 AM
The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!
Hell yeah, Philip, now repeat it 400 more times while the chordal structure slowly shifts.
Breaking news: Composer Philip Glass withdrew his highly anticipated Symphony No. 15 from its scheduled Kennedy Center performance, saying “the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony.”
Philip Glass pulls world premiere from Kennedy Center
The pioneering composer announced that “the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message” of his Symphony No. 15: “Lincoln.”
wapo.st
January 27, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Hell yeah, Philip, now repeat it 400 more times while the chordal structure slowly shifts.
One of my college roommates friended every Hatfield and McCoy on Facebook in 2005 and let them fight each other on his profile page, and I think we should have shut down all social media after that.
The peak of Facebook was in like 2011 when you could join a private group called “people named Matt Ward” and one of the Matts would periodically comment “what’s up Matt Ward” and get like 30 “what’s up Matt Wards” in reply. that was the top.
January 24, 2026 at 1:04 AM
One of my college roommates friended every Hatfield and McCoy on Facebook in 2005 and let them fight each other on his profile page, and I think we should have shut down all social media after that.
One of the things I have learned living in DC is that there is a class of nominally "progressive" people who also believe they have a right to never have to interact with a poor person. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
In wealthy Chevy Chase, divisive plan advances to add housing to library
The recently released proposal would add affordable and market-rate housing on top of the new library, stoking a debate about the right ways to use public land.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:04 PM
One of the things I have learned living in DC is that there is a class of nominally "progressive" people who also believe they have a right to never have to interact with a poor person. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
One Battle After Another>Sentimental Value>Marty Supreme>Sinners>Train Dreams>Bugonia>The Secret Agent>F1>Hamnet>Frankenstein
January 22, 2026 at 2:08 PM
One Battle After Another>Sentimental Value>Marty Supreme>Sinners>Train Dreams>Bugonia>The Secret Agent>F1>Hamnet>Frankenstein
This is a Hungarian speaking in English to a Mexican journalist with the interview translated *back* into English by a machine, but there is something so childlike and wonderful about the language László Krasznahorkai uses to describe Thomas Pynchon's love of pizza.
January 8, 2026 at 4:41 PM
This is a Hungarian speaking in English to a Mexican journalist with the interview translated *back* into English by a machine, but there is something so childlike and wonderful about the language László Krasznahorkai uses to describe Thomas Pynchon's love of pizza.
Reposted by Chris Holden
9 Hours. 26 minutes. 18 seconds.
That's how much daylight we have in DC on this shortest day of the year. Happy Winter Solstice at 10:03 AM!
Seasonable w/ some sun, breezy, and highs mid-40s to near 50. Colder Mon, then warmer Tue thru Christmas Day, when a shower is possible.
More at cwg.live
That's how much daylight we have in DC on this shortest day of the year. Happy Winter Solstice at 10:03 AM!
Seasonable w/ some sun, breezy, and highs mid-40s to near 50. Colder Mon, then warmer Tue thru Christmas Day, when a shower is possible.
More at cwg.live
December 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
9 Hours. 26 minutes. 18 seconds.
That's how much daylight we have in DC on this shortest day of the year. Happy Winter Solstice at 10:03 AM!
Seasonable w/ some sun, breezy, and highs mid-40s to near 50. Colder Mon, then warmer Tue thru Christmas Day, when a shower is possible.
More at cwg.live
That's how much daylight we have in DC on this shortest day of the year. Happy Winter Solstice at 10:03 AM!
Seasonable w/ some sun, breezy, and highs mid-40s to near 50. Colder Mon, then warmer Tue thru Christmas Day, when a shower is possible.
More at cwg.live
I have recently been spending time on the etymology reddit, and it’s mostly people geeking out about linguistics, But every so often someone mistakes it for the entomology reddit and shows up with a question about bugs and all the words nerds gang up on them and drive them away.
December 16, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I have recently been spending time on the etymology reddit, and it’s mostly people geeking out about linguistics, But every so often someone mistakes it for the entomology reddit and shows up with a question about bugs and all the words nerds gang up on them and drive them away.
I actually laughed at this one; Heathcliff has still got it. Crazy that he's stayed funnier longer than Garfield.
November 19, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I actually laughed at this one; Heathcliff has still got it. Crazy that he's stayed funnier longer than Garfield.
There are cats all over Istanbul that are collectively cared for by the city's population, and I find it really charming, and also I love that this goes back hundreds of years. www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/ista...
Cats return as historic cat door reopens in Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace
Visitors to Topkapı Palace in Istanbul can now witness cats passing through the Karaağalar Quarters, highlighting the Ottomans’ integration of animals...
www.dailysabah.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:17 PM
There are cats all over Istanbul that are collectively cared for by the city's population, and I find it really charming, and also I love that this goes back hundreds of years. www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/ista...
The neighborhood listserv is mostly NIMBYisms and barely-concealed racism, but when it hits, it hits.
November 4, 2025 at 1:11 AM
The neighborhood listserv is mostly NIMBYisms and barely-concealed racism, but when it hits, it hits.
The signs and the metro stop identify the airport as "Reagan," but if you call it that, you're either a tourist or a cop.
What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?
October 8, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The signs and the metro stop identify the airport as "Reagan," but if you call it that, you're either a tourist or a cop.
May I offer you the naiads and tritons in the Court of Neptune fountain at the Library of Congress (a fountain so sexy that someone stole the fig leaf off Neptune’s genitals and they never bothered to replace it)
September 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
May I offer you the naiads and tritons in the Court of Neptune fountain at the Library of Congress (a fountain so sexy that someone stole the fig leaf off Neptune’s genitals and they never bothered to replace it)
I have my gripes with the NYTimes Best Movies of the Century project (overreliance on English-language releases, complete lack of any avant-garde or installation pieces that didn't get a commercial release) but instead of complaining about it incessantly, I'll just post my (unordered) list I guess.
June 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I have my gripes with the NYTimes Best Movies of the Century project (overreliance on English-language releases, complete lack of any avant-garde or installation pieces that didn't get a commercial release) but instead of complaining about it incessantly, I'll just post my (unordered) list I guess.
I’m conflicted on the Kennedy Center, which is rotten from the top but has a lot of people doing good work in the face of a hostile Board. And I've talked to people who don't have the luxury of picking and choosing their venues if they want to stay in the arts at all.
May 8, 2025 at 12:03 PM
I’m conflicted on the Kennedy Center, which is rotten from the top but has a lot of people doing good work in the face of a hostile Board. And I've talked to people who don't have the luxury of picking and choosing their venues if they want to stay in the arts at all.
The French Lieutentant's Woman (1981) joins the short list of Movies Better Than The Book. The film fixes the problems with Fowles' novel (turgid prose, authorial voice that thinks it's more clever than it is) and improves on the conceit with a parallel story about the actors making the movie.
April 12, 2025 at 11:21 PM
The French Lieutentant's Woman (1981) joins the short list of Movies Better Than The Book. The film fixes the problems with Fowles' novel (turgid prose, authorial voice that thinks it's more clever than it is) and improves on the conceit with a parallel story about the actors making the movie.
The 🎉 emoji, except it’s muted www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427...
Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon: 9781594206108 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The new novel from Thomas Pynchon Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation busines...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:37 AM
The 🎉 emoji, except it’s muted www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427...
Always excited for new PTA, but worried that, much like with Inherent Vice, he's interpreted post-GR Pynchon as being explicitly pro-hippie.
March 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Always excited for new PTA, but worried that, much like with Inherent Vice, he's interpreted post-GR Pynchon as being explicitly pro-hippie.
Nancy, come to the 21st century! You'd fit right in on Letterboxd.
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 28,1947
February 28,1947
February 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Nancy, come to the 21st century! You'd fit right in on Letterboxd.