Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 3h

…or maybe it's real after all. Roderick Long sends an alternate etymology (found in www.sfgate.com/entertainmen... and the paywalled www.kerouac.com/herb-caen-di...) where the word was coined a few years earlier. "Nudnik" precedes "Sputnik," so that certainly could be true.

LETTERS TO DATEBOOK

The term was actually coined by Mrs. Leonard "Etya" Gechtoff, owner of the East and West...

www.sfgate.com

1 1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 4h

Your morning image (via x.com/vintagemapst...)

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 17h

This is a good point! The story, dated 1957, includes the word "beatnik," but Herb Caen didn't coin that term til 1958. Which makes me think either the manuscript is misdated or it ain't authentic.

Someone on Twitter replied to me: "Why would Kerouac be using the term 'beatnik' in April 1957, 18 months before the launch of the Sputnik satellite that directly led to the word’s invention?" (And then followed up: "Sorry, 6 months before, but the point still stands - it makes no sense.")

1 1 4

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 23h

"A 'very significant' unpublished story by Jack Kerouac...has been discovered after languishing in the files of an assassinated Mafia crime boss for at least 40 years"

‘Very significant’ Jack Kerouac story discovered after mafia boss auction

Exclusive: Two-page 1957 manuscript signed by author linked to his classic of beat literature On the Road

www.theguardian.com

3 16 65

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

This just might be the most pathetic way possible to cover this story.

Nobel Peace Prize goes to Maria Corina Machado, despite calls for Trump to receive the award

Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, beating out President Donald Trump despite brokering a historic deal between Israel and Hamas.

www.foxnews.com

4

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Your morning image

2 1 9

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Robert Altman at 100

Hollywood Could Use Another Robert Altman Right Now

The Criterion Channel’s retrospective on Robert Altman, the auteur behind masterpieces like Nashville, M*A*S*H, and The Long Goodbye, is a reminder that, not long ago, Hollywood backed maverick filmma...

jacobin.com

2

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Even when Johnny Cash was parked semi-permanently at the Wayne Newton Theater in Branson, you'd have to search pretty far to find someone calling him "deeply uncool."

Wall Street Journal headline/subhed: "It’s Finally Time to Give Johnny Cash His Due
Compared to Dylan and Springsteen, the country-music legend can seem deeply uncool. It took years for me to appreciate his profound, plainspoken strength."

1 3 14

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, I like SMALL CHANGE best of his jazz-era albums. Long before I had a copy, high-school me kept calling the college radio station to request "Step Right Up" and "The Piano Has Been Drinking."

1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

It's not a bad album at all, but it's scattershot and IMO the follow-up is much better. (Though HEART is also the first album of his that I ever owned, back in the days when we acquired albums one by one as our budgets allowed and then listened over & over, so I have a sentimental attachment to it.)

1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

My most notable disagreement (with the Waits discussion; I have bigger disagreements with NR) came in part 1, when multiple people asserted that HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT was a step down from CLOSING TIME.

1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

They don't skip discussing it, but they all say it's a letdown after Rain Dogs. (I'm a fan of the album myself, though I agree with them that Rain Dogs is better.)

1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Tom Waits: The Avant-Gutbucket Years

Damon Linker / Tom Waits [Part 2] | National Review

Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of Tom Waits’ career (1983-2011) with Damon Linker.

www.nationalreview.com

1 2

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 1d

Sharing this for various reasons, including the line "Also, I think health insurance and all insurance is a scam, just be clear!"

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 on X: "I was not in Congress when all this Obamacare, “Affordable Care Act” bullshit started. I got here in 2021. As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment. Let’s just say https://t.co/hKH7pPh6CG" / X

I was not in Congress when all this Obamacare, “Affordable Care Act” bullshit started. I got here in 2021. As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment. Let’s just say https://t.co/hKH7pPh6CG

x.com

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

Your morning image

5

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

One reason I don't think Stephen Miller is the "shadow president," no matter how much baleful influence he has, is that they didn't invoke the Insurrection Act months ago.

Trump administration officials seriously discussing invoking Insurrection Act, sources say

A decision isn't expected to be imminent, one source said, but debate within the administration has shifted recently to more deeply exploring how and when the act might be invoked.

www.nbcnews.com

5

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

"This might not sound all that notable. Americans support the 1st Amendment and the 6th Commandment: big whoop. That should be the bare minimum, right? But I do think these findings are noteworthy in light of the hordes of people who are telling us the opposite."

Two Things Americans Agree On

Murder bad. Speech good.

www.wakeuptopolitics.com

2

Reposted by Jesse Walker

Robert Anton Wilson @rawilson23.bsky.social · 2d

RAWIllumination.net: Jesse Walker on 'Shadow Ticket,' the new Pynchon @notjessewalker.bsky.social - www.rawillumination.net/2025/10/jess...

Jesse Walker on 'Shadow Ticket,' the new Pynchon

At Reason magazine, Jesse Walker reviews Shadow Ticket : "There is often a scent of madness around Thomas Pynchon's fan base, and I say tha...

www.rawillumination.net

2

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

Gore Vidal at 100

The Eternal Gore Vidal

At 100, the ultimate man of letters still looms

rosselliotbarkan.com

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

hahahahahahaha (catches breath) hahahahahah...

On Twitter, Rand Paul criticizes the strike against alleged drug smugglers & someone replies, "Correct me if I'm wrong, were you in the Senate when Obama was droning everyone?"

1 1 4

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

Nozick's framework for utopia (seniors edition): "niche retirement communities...for specific individuals and interests like horse lovers, film buffs and even retired postal workers"

Margs, Stars and Classic Cars: Surprising Retirement Communities

www.nytimes.com

1

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 2d

But is it really enough to protect immigration agents from anti-ICE hate speech? Shouldn't they be represented in every boardroom too?

SCOOP: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class

Internal emails show tech giant used anti-hate-speech rules meant for minorities to block an app documenting immigration enforcement.

migrantinsider.com

1 4

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 3d

Volunteers patrol their neighborhood, keeping an eye out for an out-of-town gang that's been assaulting people in the area

Volunteers on ICE patrol in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, looking for agents

Elias Cepeda and his team want to warn people in Pilsen, where many Mexican immigrants live, if they see federal agents. They plan to document every interaction.

www.wbez.org

1 3

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 3d

"I have a fascination with depth, with the illusion of depth. The screen has a certain 2-D ambiguity. Things can be where you think they are, and then they're somewhere else. You can create irrational spaces."

Ken Jacobs, Visionary Experimental Filmmaker, Is Dead at 92

www.nytimes.com

2

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 3d

Your morning image (via x.com/arithmoquine...)

1