Ned Raggett
@nedraggett.bsky.social
Hi! I write about music at various spots (@thequietus.com, @thewiremagazine.bsky.social, Shfl and my Patreon, also in the past @allmusic.com, @pitchfork.com, @bandcamp.com etc. etc.). Plus podcasting about #Tolkien with friends at @bythebywater.bsky.social
Pinned
Ned Raggett
@nedraggett.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Given the very specific circumstances, I'd either check to see if I'm on drugs or if the baby is on drugs and if the latter find out where I could get some because clearly those are some gooooood drugs.
Well, it's time for some honest to god Bluesky lore.
A year ago, the site was still invite only, and one morning I posted something random and didn't think much about it beyond my own amusement.
This is the story about the #ChristianSkydivingBaby and how it completely took over @bsky.app (1/x)
A year ago, the site was still invite only, and one morning I posted something random and didn't think much about it beyond my own amusement.
This is the story about the #ChristianSkydivingBaby and how it completely took over @bsky.app (1/x)
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Btw, if you post a cutesy ai caricature of yourself, you’re announcing to any artist friends you have that you don’t give a shit about them. 🤘
February 5, 2026 at 5:16 AM
Btw, if you post a cutesy ai caricature of yourself, you’re announcing to any artist friends you have that you don’t give a shit about them. 🤘
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Scroll down for the real news here:
"Real estate and crypto money funding major Oakland political group"
Spoiler, as always when gross money is pouring into Oakland, it's backing Loren Taylor.
"Real estate and crypto money funding major Oakland political group"
Spoiler, as always when gross money is pouring into Oakland, it's backing Loren Taylor.
Plus: Two councilmembers running unopposed have raked in tens of thousands, and Pamela Price is gearing up for another shot at district attorney.
Barbara Lee has yet to confirm she's running for mayor — but she’s raised $31,000
Plus: Two councilmembers running unopposed have raked in tens of thousands, and Pamela Price is gearing up for another shot at district attorney.
oaklandside.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:17 AM
Scroll down for the real news here:
"Real estate and crypto money funding major Oakland political group"
Spoiler, as always when gross money is pouring into Oakland, it's backing Loren Taylor.
"Real estate and crypto money funding major Oakland political group"
Spoiler, as always when gross money is pouring into Oakland, it's backing Loren Taylor.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Reposted by Ned Raggett
🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US.
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
February 4, 2026 at 6:41 PM
🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US.
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Thought I was done writing about the bullshit that outside media says about S.F.
But this pair — making fun of unhoused people in wheelchairs — coaxed me out of retirement.
On loving the city, and the fragility of visiting adult male Patriots fans.
Gift link 🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
But this pair — making fun of unhoused people in wheelchairs — coaxed me out of retirement.
On loving the city, and the fragility of visiting adult male Patriots fans.
Gift link 🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Are all Patriots fans this soft? Boston radio hosts mock S.F. in idiotic Super Bowl tirade
Radio hosts Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti failed the empathy test this week when they took to the airwaves to call San Francisco a “zombie apocalypse.”
www.sfchronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Thought I was done writing about the bullshit that outside media says about S.F.
But this pair — making fun of unhoused people in wheelchairs — coaxed me out of retirement.
On loving the city, and the fragility of visiting adult male Patriots fans.
Gift link 🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
But this pair — making fun of unhoused people in wheelchairs — coaxed me out of retirement.
On loving the city, and the fragility of visiting adult male Patriots fans.
Gift link 🎁
www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/arti...
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Social climbing sucks. Be a good hang. Spending time with fascinating people is its own reward.
February 5, 2026 at 4:13 AM
Social climbing sucks. Be a good hang. Spending time with fascinating people is its own reward.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
❝Sites of memory increasingly fail to reach new generations. Visitors learn facts, dates, perpetrators. But knowledge of past crimes does not automatically prevent future ones. Evil is placed safely in the past. The visitor leaves morally intact.❞ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
To show the next generation the horrors of the past, we need to learn from David Lynch | Grzegorz Kwiatkowski
How best to portray the evil of Stutthof camp witnessed by my grandfather, asks writer and musician Grzegorz Kwiatkowski
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:09 AM
❝Sites of memory increasingly fail to reach new generations. Visitors learn facts, dates, perpetrators. But knowledge of past crimes does not automatically prevent future ones. Evil is placed safely in the past. The visitor leaves morally intact.❞ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Ned Raggett
What happens when equity markets start fleeing any requires-labor industry?
Gonna. Be. Lit.
Gonna. Be. Lit.
February 5, 2026 at 4:09 AM
What happens when equity markets start fleeing any requires-labor industry?
Gonna. Be. Lit.
Gonna. Be. Lit.
No lies told, of course. I get it to some degree — more people have grown up with these kind of tools having ‘always’ been there — but man, I’d just get tired. (And the podcast will NEVER be a video-based one, c’mon.)
Maybe it’s just because I’ve spent an increased amount of time on IG since the start of the year to keep up with The Horrors, but the more Reels and TikToks I see the more baffled I am at the amount of video content there is. Like, people really are just filming themselves all the time, everywhere?
February 5, 2026 at 4:09 AM
No lies told, of course. I get it to some degree — more people have grown up with these kind of tools having ‘always’ been there — but man, I’d just get tired. (And the podcast will NEVER be a video-based one, c’mon.)
Reposted by Ned Raggett
watching curling, of course. 🥌🧹
February 5, 2026 at 3:59 AM
watching curling, of course. 🥌🧹
Reposted by Ned Raggett
sneaking around the neighborhood at night, slapping stickers that say "I bought this after Elon begged to go to the wildest party at Pedophile Island" on every last Tesla I find
February 4, 2026 at 10:12 PM
sneaking around the neighborhood at night, slapping stickers that say "I bought this after Elon begged to go to the wildest party at Pedophile Island" on every last Tesla I find
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Love it! 🥇🇭🇹
alt-text: a Black man and woman model the 2026 winter Olympic outfits designed by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean.
Inspired by Édouard Duval-Carrié, a blue sky, lush greenery, and a horse are painted onto quilted thermal ski fabric. The woman wears matching headwrap & full skirt.
alt-text: a Black man and woman model the 2026 winter Olympic outfits designed by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean.
Inspired by Édouard Duval-Carrié, a blue sky, lush greenery, and a horse are painted onto quilted thermal ski fabric. The woman wears matching headwrap & full skirt.
THE LEWKS ARE IN!! Dressed in Sella Jean originals, the Haitian athletes are making a statement at the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
More on #HelloBeautiful://hellobeautiful.com" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">HelloBeautiful.com
More on #HelloBeautiful://hellobeautiful.com" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">HelloBeautiful.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Love it! 🥇🇭🇹
alt-text: a Black man and woman model the 2026 winter Olympic outfits designed by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean.
Inspired by Édouard Duval-Carrié, a blue sky, lush greenery, and a horse are painted onto quilted thermal ski fabric. The woman wears matching headwrap & full skirt.
alt-text: a Black man and woman model the 2026 winter Olympic outfits designed by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean.
Inspired by Édouard Duval-Carrié, a blue sky, lush greenery, and a horse are painted onto quilted thermal ski fabric. The woman wears matching headwrap & full skirt.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
This is another effort that has taken a HUGE amount of local activism, led by community folks who care.
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
New Mexico Senate approves bill to ban ICE detention centers
The New Mexico Legislature approved the Immigration Safety Act. House bill 9 bars the state from allowing ICE detention centers.
www.elpasotimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:20 PM
This is another effort that has taken a HUGE amount of local activism, led by community folks who care.
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
Reposted by Ned Raggett
abolishing the department of homeland security and its sub-agencies makes you hot and cool and popular
So there was just a very loud and sustained "Fuck ICE" chant during a pro wrestling show on live primetime television, if you wanna get a sense of the vibe shift.
(One of the wrestlers, Brody King, is an outspoken prigressive and wore an "Abolish ICE" shirt at a Mexico show in June.)
(One of the wrestlers, Brody King, is an outspoken prigressive and wore an "Abolish ICE" shirt at a Mexico show in June.)
February 5, 2026 at 3:41 AM
abolishing the department of homeland security and its sub-agencies makes you hot and cool and popular
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Wow! What sounded like the entire AEW Dynamite audience in Las Vegas tonight chanted "Fuck ICE! Fuck ICE!" in unison before the main event
February 5, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Wow! What sounded like the entire AEW Dynamite audience in Las Vegas tonight chanted "Fuck ICE! Fuck ICE!" in unison before the main event
Reposted by Ned Raggett
She wasn't a general assignment AUSA roped into this. If you believe someone who was deporting people before choosing to join the fight to keep people detained during the middle of the ICE occupation was actually trying to fix the problem from the inside, I think you're a little naïve and credulous.
February 5, 2026 at 12:13 AM
She wasn't a general assignment AUSA roped into this. If you believe someone who was deporting people before choosing to join the fight to keep people detained during the middle of the ICE occupation was actually trying to fix the problem from the inside, I think you're a little naïve and credulous.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
A bizarre number of people have stepped up to defend Julie Le. What you see in that transcript is an attorney who chose to do evil work—deporting people for ICE then moving over to DOJ in early Jan. specifically to fight these habeas petitions—being called to the carpet. She's desperate, not heroic.
If you want to read the transcript of the February 3 hearing where Julie Le had her "this job sucks" meltdown, now you can:
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
February 5, 2026 at 12:10 AM
A bizarre number of people have stepped up to defend Julie Le. What you see in that transcript is an attorney who chose to do evil work—deporting people for ICE then moving over to DOJ in early Jan. specifically to fight these habeas petitions—being called to the carpet. She's desperate, not heroic.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
New Muppet Show was fun, and Sabrina, who is essentially a muppet herself, was a great guest. But there's really no modern analogue to the Muppet Show guests of yore. Who are the Avery Shreibers and Kaye Ballards of today?
February 5, 2026 at 3:23 AM
New Muppet Show was fun, and Sabrina, who is essentially a muppet herself, was a great guest. But there's really no modern analogue to the Muppet Show guests of yore. Who are the Avery Shreibers and Kaye Ballards of today?
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Being a wrestling fan is rough, but man…shit like this makes me proud to be one.
February 5, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Being a wrestling fan is rough, but man…shit like this makes me proud to be one.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
in real terms, #7 would give states leverage to put an end to surges, #8 would give states the ability to outright stop construction of new detention facilities, #1 and #6 would slow the rate at which DHS could train and deploy officers, #2 and #10 would likely shrink the pool of recruits
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 3:18 AM
in real terms, #7 would give states leverage to put an end to surges, #8 would give states the ability to outright stop construction of new detention facilities, #1 and #6 would slow the rate at which DHS could train and deploy officers, #2 and #10 would likely shrink the pool of recruits
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Aw heck yeah the younger kid is playing Drone Not Drones this weekend. So far they have narrowed down his set time to sometime between 2 am and 5 pm on Saturday
www.dronenotdrones.com
www.dronenotdrones.com
DRONE NOT DRONES: the 10th annual 28-hour drone
DRONE NOT DRONES: the 11th annual 28-hour drone; February 6–7, 2026; a benefit for Doctors Without Borders at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, MN. Stream live at dronenotdrones.com
www.dronenotdrones.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Aw heck yeah the younger kid is playing Drone Not Drones this weekend. So far they have narrowed down his set time to sometime between 2 am and 5 pm on Saturday
www.dronenotdrones.com
www.dronenotdrones.com
Reposted by Ned Raggett
Also it's easier to sell vibes and aspirations than it is to make an actual working product. Our capital markets reward this overly and maybe even overtly.
Once again: if these LLMs could actually do all the things their owners claim, they wouldn’t be selling access. They would be building and selling all the things they claim their software can do.
February 5, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Also it's easier to sell vibes and aspirations than it is to make an actual working product. Our capital markets reward this overly and maybe even overtly.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
dug this up while I was looking for '80s country songs during the last video. country only remebers song that sound timeless but there is so much incredibly dated country-pop in every era that has yet to be resurrected
Bruno Mars could do a good cover of this
Bruno Mars could do a good cover of this
Dan Seals - Bop (Music Video)
YouTube video by Dan Seals
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:18 AM
dug this up while I was looking for '80s country songs during the last video. country only remebers song that sound timeless but there is so much incredibly dated country-pop in every era that has yet to be resurrected
Bruno Mars could do a good cover of this
Bruno Mars could do a good cover of this
Reposted by Ned Raggett
One awesome thing about being an indie writer: pretty much every person I've encountered who does it has learned a ton from other indies who've generously shared their knowledge and support, and wants to pay it forward.
With the awful WaPo layoffs and the state of journalism more broadly, if it's useful for any writers and reporters considering going indy, @molly.wiki, @xoxogossipgita.bsky.social of Aftermath, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social of 404 Media, @edzitron.com and me will do a little workshop next week.
February 5, 2026 at 12:19 AM
One awesome thing about being an indie writer: pretty much every person I've encountered who does it has learned a ton from other indies who've generously shared their knowledge and support, and wants to pay it forward.
Reposted by Ned Raggett
I need y’all to know
Japan is going to see a release of Hundreds of Beavers soon
And they’ve called it
FEVER BEAVER
Localization is cool, actually
Japan is going to see a release of Hundreds of Beavers soon
And they’ve called it
FEVER BEAVER
Localization is cool, actually
February 4, 2026 at 5:51 AM
I need y’all to know
Japan is going to see a release of Hundreds of Beavers soon
And they’ve called it
FEVER BEAVER
Localization is cool, actually
Japan is going to see a release of Hundreds of Beavers soon
And they’ve called it
FEVER BEAVER
Localization is cool, actually