Matthew Cheney
@melikhovo.bsky.social
Writer, teacher, person.
Books from Black Lawrence, Bloomsbury Academic, punctum, Third Man, Lethe. Horror fiction, modernism, pedagogy, weirdness.
(Would love to post less about politics, but, well, look outside...)
https://matthewcheney.net
Books from Black Lawrence, Bloomsbury Academic, punctum, Third Man, Lethe. Horror fiction, modernism, pedagogy, weirdness.
(Would love to post less about politics, but, well, look outside...)
https://matthewcheney.net
Pinned
Matthew Cheney
@melikhovo.bsky.social
· Aug 29
MOON SONGS | Kirkus Reviews
A greatest hits collection of unclassifiable speculative fiction.
www.kirkusreviews.com
Kirkus gives Moon Songs a star!
"This compellingly assembled retrospective gives longtime Emshwiller fans a chance to savor her unique sensibility again, while lucky newcomers enjoy the thrill of discovery."
@thirdmanbooks.bsky.social
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
"This compellingly assembled retrospective gives longtime Emshwiller fans a chance to savor her unique sensibility again, while lucky newcomers enjoy the thrill of discovery."
@thirdmanbooks.bsky.social
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Phil Knight is almost single handedly funding the OR GOP, one of the more extreme state GOPs in the country. Keep that in mind next time you’re in the market for sportswear or sneakers. www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Nike co-founder Phil Knight makes record-setting donation to help elect Republicans
It is the single largest donation Knight has made to an Oregon candidate or political action committee.
www.oregonlive.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Phil Knight is almost single handedly funding the OR GOP, one of the more extreme state GOPs in the country. Keep that in mind next time you’re in the market for sportswear or sneakers. www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
This is heartbreakingly cruel and hypocritical. The same admin that has redefined refugee status to cover white South Africans is now going to drown thousands of refugees already approved for their status in red tape, potentially even seeking to strip some of their status and deport them.
Trump Admin planning a rule to re-decide whether *every* refugee who entered under Biden meets their criteria for a refugee. That’s 230,000 people! And no appeals!
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 AM
This is heartbreakingly cruel and hypocritical. The same admin that has redefined refugee status to cover white South Africans is now going to drown thousands of refugees already approved for their status in red tape, potentially even seeking to strip some of their status and deport them.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
During an unusual evidentiary hearing Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, former Guantanamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi accused a retired CPD detective of orchestrating a horrific program of torture.
Former CPD detective accused of crafting ‘sadistic’ interrogation plan used at Guantanamo
During an unusual evidentiary hearing Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, former Guantanamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi described abuse by a former CPD detective while giving testimon…
trib.al
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 AM
During an unusual evidentiary hearing Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, former Guantanamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi accused a retired CPD detective of orchestrating a horrific program of torture.
Have to dig around in the attic and see if I can find my old "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!" T-shirt...
Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"
November 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Have to dig around in the attic and see if I can find my old "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!" T-shirt...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Incredible 20th century movie lore is how the Rodney King beating by LAPD officers was on a videotape that had also filmed the set of Terminator 2. James Cameron would then co-write Strange Days, the noir plot driven by a recording of police brutality... www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/li...
Flashback: How a Plumber Altered History by Taping the Attack on Rodney King
In the early morning hours of March 3, 1991, George Holliday pointed his new video camera at the commotion unfolding less than 100 feet from his apartment balcony in the San Fernando Valley.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Incredible 20th century movie lore is how the Rodney King beating by LAPD officers was on a videotape that had also filmed the set of Terminator 2. James Cameron would then co-write Strange Days, the noir plot driven by a recording of police brutality... www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/li...
In her book "Word by Word", Kory Stamper has a great chapter on digging into the history and regional variations in use of that much-hated but common (and old) word...
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
In her book "Word by Word", Kory Stamper has a great chapter on digging into the history and regional variations in use of that much-hated but common (and old) word...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
What makes the passing of actors like Udo Kier extra poignant is that he was a reminder of a career film industries across countries and on multiple levels no longer exist to support. The vagabond weirdo who can show up in Criterion Collection darlings and DTV sequels, and be the best part of both.
November 24, 2025 at 6:37 PM
What makes the passing of actors like Udo Kier extra poignant is that he was a reminder of a career film industries across countries and on multiple levels no longer exist to support. The vagabond weirdo who can show up in Criterion Collection darlings and DTV sequels, and be the best part of both.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
'The Reader' - Harold Knight (c. 1910)
November 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
'The Reader' - Harold Knight (c. 1910)
"Bibliomania, the only hobby which is also a mental health affliction."
(I feel attacked.)
lithub.com/nothing-bett...
(I feel attacked.)
lithub.com/nothing-bett...
Nothing Better Than a Whole Lot of Books: In Praise of Bibliomania
Desiderius Erasmus lived his happiest months from late 1507 into 1508 at the Venetian print-shop of Aldus Manutius. A peripatetic scholar, the Dutch scholar had lived in Rotterdam and London, Basel…
lithub.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
"Bibliomania, the only hobby which is also a mental health affliction."
(I feel attacked.)
lithub.com/nothing-bett...
(I feel attacked.)
lithub.com/nothing-bett...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Thanks to Champagne for linking to another article of mine, which offers further justification as to why telling students to audit a ChatGPT essay for errors is also ill advised. bsky.app/profile/mich...
These assignments encourage people to become DIY detectives, exacerbating a boom in conspiracy theories. The “permission structure of doubt” normalises suspicion as a default setting and suggests that another algorithm (like Google’s search) can discover the truth.
By @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social:
By @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social:
AI-Generated Images Are Spreading Paranoia and Misinformation. Can Art Historians Help?
An art historian argues that provenance research—rather than connoisseurship—is our best tool for authentication.
www.artnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Thanks to Champagne for linking to another article of mine, which offers further justification as to why telling students to audit a ChatGPT essay for errors is also ill advised. bsky.app/profile/mich...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
The GOP cuts to Medicaid have cut rural Granite Staters off from basic health services. Nasty, nasty business. #NHPoli #NHPol
www.wmur.com/article/rura...
www.wmur.com/article/rura...
Health center closure in New Hampshire town reveals toll of federal cuts on rural communities
Last month, the Ammonoosuc Community Health Services location in Franconia, a town of around 1,000 people, closed for good.
www.wmur.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The GOP cuts to Medicaid have cut rural Granite Staters off from basic health services. Nasty, nasty business. #NHPoli #NHPol
www.wmur.com/article/rura...
www.wmur.com/article/rura...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
They truly believe this! Like when they arrest a noncitizen who committed a crime years ago and has been out of prison for a decade, they put out a press release claiming they saved the public from a serious threat, even if the person has been law-abiding for years and is a random ex-con doing well.
To paraphrase what an ICE field director said at a Texas hiring event earlier this year: what makes ICE different from other law enforcement officers is that we catch criminals "before" a crime is committed.
NEW: ICE has finally released post-shutdown detention data. The latest data reveals that a full 40%(!) of people arrested in the interior and held in ICE detention have no criminal record; no criminal charges or prior convictions. That is up from just 4% when Trump took office.
November 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
They truly believe this! Like when they arrest a noncitizen who committed a crime years ago and has been out of prison for a decade, they put out a press release claiming they saved the public from a serious threat, even if the person has been law-abiding for years and is a random ex-con doing well.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Major sources of hate speech are located outside the US. Well yeah, we have this conversation every few months. And every few months people reject the bright shiny evidence that easiest way to ruin America is to feed the hate and bigotry that already exists here.
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Major sources of hate speech are located outside the US. Well yeah, we have this conversation every few months. And every few months people reject the bright shiny evidence that easiest way to ruin America is to feed the hate and bigotry that already exists here.
I'm thrilled to be with you in the Calvaire fan club!
November 23, 2025 at 11:12 PM
I'm thrilled to be with you in the Calvaire fan club!
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Marjorie Taylor Greene came into Congress in 2021 worth about $700,000. She leaves five years later worth around $25,000,000. 😳 Congress is just a giant insider-trading scheme.
November 23, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene came into Congress in 2021 worth about $700,000. She leaves five years later worth around $25,000,000. 😳 Congress is just a giant insider-trading scheme.
No surprise (to me), I'm fond of a lot of the movies on this list. Especially nice to see "Calvaire" getting some love.
FYI: With Frank Darabont's THE MIST celebrating an anniversary this week, we're here to ruin your day with 15 more bleak as hell horror movies.
15 Bleak As Hell Horror Movies That Will Ruin Your Day
With Frank Darabont's THE MIST celebrating an anniversary this week, we're here to ruin your day with 15 more bleak as hell horror movies.
dlvr.it
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
No surprise (to me), I'm fond of a lot of the movies on this list. Especially nice to see "Calvaire" getting some love.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
My contrarian view on AI is that humanities will be most sought after degree within a few years, because AI is going to eat many specialized technical skills but providing original content, having high-level editorial skills, and extracting info from original sources will be harder to unemploy.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 9:32 PM
My contrarian view on AI is that humanities will be most sought after degree within a few years, because AI is going to eat many specialized technical skills but providing original content, having high-level editorial skills, and extracting info from original sources will be harder to unemploy.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
She sees your fandom as affirmation, your money as funding for the harm she causes to trans people.
It doesn't matter how you feel about her work, whether it was a formative touchstone or not. If you still buy the merch or hype up Harry Potter, you are complicit.
It doesn't matter how you feel about her work, whether it was a formative touchstone or not. If you still buy the merch or hype up Harry Potter, you are complicit.
Hey yall not what I wanted to do on my birthday but let it be clear
"Death of the artist" is all well & good but you cannot Seperate the art from the artist when the artist is still alive, a terf & every penny they recieve reinforces their beliefs & is used to actively harm Trans folks!
Let it Go!
"Death of the artist" is all well & good but you cannot Seperate the art from the artist when the artist is still alive, a terf & every penny they recieve reinforces their beliefs & is used to actively harm Trans folks!
Let it Go!
'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling says 'a ton' of fans are 'still with me' after trans remarks
J.K. Rowling addressed her controversial comments about transgender women on 'The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling' podcast, saying many 'Harry Potter' fans were 'grateful that I'd said what I said,' and ...
share.google
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
She sees your fandom as affirmation, your money as funding for the harm she causes to trans people.
It doesn't matter how you feel about her work, whether it was a formative touchstone or not. If you still buy the merch or hype up Harry Potter, you are complicit.
It doesn't matter how you feel about her work, whether it was a formative touchstone or not. If you still buy the merch or hype up Harry Potter, you are complicit.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Amazing story, state legislator and Turning Points USA leader who crusaded against bogus voter fraud claims pleads guilty to attempted election fraud. azmirror.com/briefs/turni...
Turning Point leader, former GOP Rep pleads guilty to attempted election fraud | Arizona Mirror
Austin Smith election fraud guilty plea: Former GOP Rep admits forging 100+ signatures on ballot petitions in Arizona
azmirror.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Amazing story, state legislator and Turning Points USA leader who crusaded against bogus voter fraud claims pleads guilty to attempted election fraud. azmirror.com/briefs/turni...
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
I am just old enough to remember when they made the black lady surgeon general resign for saying masturbation was okay
Inactive medical license ✅
Dropped out of medical residency ✅
New Age talking points ✅
Pro raw dairy ✅
Co-founded a health startup ✅
Meet the new surgeon general, Casey Means.
Dropped out of medical residency ✅
New Age talking points ✅
Pro raw dairy ✅
Co-founded a health startup ✅
Meet the new surgeon general, Casey Means.
Trump’s new surgeon general pick wants to “raise the vibration of humanity”
“The future of medicine will be about light," said Casey Means. "I don’t exactly know how.”
www.motherjones.com
May 8, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I am just old enough to remember when they made the black lady surgeon general resign for saying masturbation was okay
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
y'know, if tech companies weren't so fired up to call every single thing "AI" it would be a lot easier to distinguish "ML spam filter that is well-sandboxed and tuned on your emails" from "giant context and IP-eroding foundation model that makes people paranoid and unhappy"
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
The malwarebytes Google opting-your-emails-into-ai-training thing is not true. The post is based on one bad tweet.
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
November 23, 2025 at 12:58 PM
y'know, if tech companies weren't so fired up to call every single thing "AI" it would be a lot easier to distinguish "ML spam filter that is well-sandboxed and tuned on your emails" from "giant context and IP-eroding foundation model that makes people paranoid and unhappy"
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Yep, one of the biggest drivers of the elite panic around “wokeness” was the increasing prominence of Black people and particularly Black women in their fields and we’re seeing that coalition rewarded with the targeting of Black workers.
Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.
The exit economy is here. Black Women are paying the highest price | Fortune
This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. And it's not a recovery, it's a redistribution of opportunity.
fortune.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Yep, one of the biggest drivers of the elite panic around “wokeness” was the increasing prominence of Black people and particularly Black women in their fields and we’re seeing that coalition rewarded with the targeting of Black workers.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
Celan renounced the poem that is most meaningful to most people, most powerful. His ‘Death Fugue’ is harrowing and heartbreaking, and he later felt, by report, that it was *too* much so, too direct in addressing the Holocaust.
A shattering work, and a complex rejection. I think about both, often.
A shattering work, and a complex rejection. I think about both, often.
Remembering Paul Celan on his birthday 🎂
📷 Gisèle Freund, 1970
"It was the peculiar genius of Paul Celan to be able to strip language of its normal socioeconomic occasions without cutting the lines that lead language to the heart."
- Robert Kelly
📷 Gisèle Freund, 1970
"It was the peculiar genius of Paul Celan to be able to strip language of its normal socioeconomic occasions without cutting the lines that lead language to the heart."
- Robert Kelly
November 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Celan renounced the poem that is most meaningful to most people, most powerful. His ‘Death Fugue’ is harrowing and heartbreaking, and he later felt, by report, that it was *too* much so, too direct in addressing the Holocaust.
A shattering work, and a complex rejection. I think about both, often.
A shattering work, and a complex rejection. I think about both, often.
One of the things that gets me about most rightwing approaches to history is just how boring they make it. But that's what happens when your entire intellectual project stands against diversity and complexity.
For now, suffice it to say how depressing it is that the federal government is putting its authority behind this incorrect, decontextualized, and frankly boring vision of history at the same time that it is cutting funding for the NEH and attacking the Smithsonian's independence.
November 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM
One of the things that gets me about most rightwing approaches to history is just how boring they make it. But that's what happens when your entire intellectual project stands against diversity and complexity.
Reposted by Matthew Cheney
I'm a little late getting to this, but this is a must read for anyone who loves EYES WIDE SHUT
thefilmstage.com/that-cut-is-...
thefilmstage.com/that-cut-is-...
“That Cut Is Stanley’s Cut”: Nigel Galt on Editing Eyes Wide Shut with Kubrick
What is it to spend 15 months in a room with—let's just speculate—the most influential filmmaker of all-time on his final project, a work for which they did not survive to elaborate upon and left in a...
thefilmstage.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I'm a little late getting to this, but this is a must read for anyone who loves EYES WIDE SHUT
thefilmstage.com/that-cut-is-...
thefilmstage.com/that-cut-is-...