Ben
@urbanistben.bsky.social
CA, Urbanist, Photographer, Generally Annoying
Almost every bit of snow had melted by sunset
December 2, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Almost every bit of snow had melted by sunset
Reposted by Ben
it's hard to get your mind around how irredeemably broken this country has become. no one in charge at this time seems to understand even the basics of our system of government as written or our stated set of values as a secular society
Pirro: "These Guardsmen and all who are here to protect the District are the line that separates a civilized society from a barbaric one."
November 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM
it's hard to get your mind around how irredeemably broken this country has become. no one in charge at this time seems to understand even the basics of our system of government as written or our stated set of values as a secular society
Thankful I grew up walking distance to this
November 27, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Thankful I grew up walking distance to this
Wild how the Scarecrow makeup was makeup in Wicked: For Good, because I thought it was some of the worst cgi I've ever seen.
November 26, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Wild how the Scarecrow makeup was makeup in Wicked: For Good, because I thought it was some of the worst cgi I've ever seen.
Reposted by Ben
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Los Angeles is a mashup of the Albuquerque, Atlanta, and the Tuscan country side
November 25, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Los Angeles is a mashup of the Albuquerque, Atlanta, and the Tuscan country side
Reposted by Ben
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 6:24 PM
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
Reposted by Ben
When I turned that off, the tabs "Updates, Promotions, Social, InBox" were deleted by default. The tabs that existed BEFORE Gemini. #rage
a cartoon drawing of a cat 's eyes with fire in them
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a cat 's eyes with fire in them
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM
When I turned that off, the tabs "Updates, Promotions, Social, InBox" were deleted by default. The tabs that existed BEFORE Gemini. #rage
Reposted by Ben
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Did Google just nerf gmail?
November 21, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Did Google just nerf gmail?
Funny how in the Platner case the opposition research provided Reddit account turned into a nothing burger and the "putting this out there to get ahead of it" Tottenkopf tattoo did not.
November 20, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Funny how in the Platner case the opposition research provided Reddit account turned into a nothing burger and the "putting this out there to get ahead of it" Tottenkopf tattoo did not.
Reposted by Ben
Donald Trump announces he has signed the bill to release the Epstein files.
November 20, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Donald Trump announces he has signed the bill to release the Epstein files.
I worked at TV-9 when it was still part of The Gazette, I even wrote for The Gazette for a while, and really hope that the Adams purchase is a good thing.
I wish the company had held on to Color Web Printers a little bit longer. It makes me sad to think of the paper being printed in Wisconsin.
I wish the company had held on to Color Web Printers a little bit longer. It makes me sad to think of the paper being printed in Wisconsin.
November 20, 2025 at 12:32 AM
I worked at TV-9 when it was still part of The Gazette, I even wrote for The Gazette for a while, and really hope that the Adams purchase is a good thing.
I wish the company had held on to Color Web Printers a little bit longer. It makes me sad to think of the paper being printed in Wisconsin.
I wish the company had held on to Color Web Printers a little bit longer. It makes me sad to think of the paper being printed in Wisconsin.
Reposted by Ben
“Short bursts indicate an ICE sighting. Long whistles indicate agents making arrests. If you hear the whistle and you’re undocumented, said [Whitney Hu, a community activist and organizer with South Brooklyn Mutual Aid], ‘you hide. And if you’re somebody who’s not, you go to the street.’”
As ICE Street Raids Ramp Up, New Yorkers Stock Up On Whistles
Taking a cue from Chicago, community groups have distributed thousands of whistles in recent weeks — a grassroots system people in other cities have adopted to help neighbors sound the alarm.
www.thecity.nyc
November 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“Short bursts indicate an ICE sighting. Long whistles indicate agents making arrests. If you hear the whistle and you’re undocumented, said [Whitney Hu, a community activist and organizer with South Brooklyn Mutual Aid], ‘you hide. And if you’re somebody who’s not, you go to the street.’”
A car is not a choice in most of America and that's a longstanding result of policy.
The overwhelming evidence is that in spite of the purposeful destruction of American cities directly through government policy cities survived and came back to thrive again, large and small.
The overwhelming evidence is that in spite of the purposeful destruction of American cities directly through government policy cities survived and came back to thrive again, large and small.
Right, this is true, but the OVERWHELMING evidence of the past 100 years of American life is that vastly more people want space and a car than a smaller unit and a car-free lifestyle. This is mostly why the suburban share of US population has grown relentlessly for the entire 20th and 21st century
Some people put a premium on space in my experience, others put a premium on not having to have a car and not being isolated out in the suburbs
November 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
A car is not a choice in most of America and that's a longstanding result of policy.
The overwhelming evidence is that in spite of the purposeful destruction of American cities directly through government policy cities survived and came back to thrive again, large and small.
The overwhelming evidence is that in spite of the purposeful destruction of American cities directly through government policy cities survived and came back to thrive again, large and small.
I wish someone would pull your head out of your ass
November 16, 2025 at 8:27 AM
I wish someone would pull your head out of your ass
Reposted by Ben
Keep in mind how insane that y-axis is, merely showing the top one percent of earners. Even amongst that group the overwhelming amount of gains have gone to the 0.01 percent.
0.01% of Elon Musks net worth is about $50 million dollars. For now. We could see a world where that's a nine figure 0.01%.
0.01% of Elon Musks net worth is about $50 million dollars. For now. We could see a world where that's a nine figure 0.01%.
it's fascinating that you can see when exactly the Reagan revolution happened
November 16, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Keep in mind how insane that y-axis is, merely showing the top one percent of earners. Even amongst that group the overwhelming amount of gains have gone to the 0.01 percent.
0.01% of Elon Musks net worth is about $50 million dollars. For now. We could see a world where that's a nine figure 0.01%.
0.01% of Elon Musks net worth is about $50 million dollars. For now. We could see a world where that's a nine figure 0.01%.
Reposted by Ben
And how much Transportation is hidden in the other categories? What portion of Housing costs is the garage under your apartment building? What portion of Food is the sea of parking surrounding the supermarket? What portion of Healthcare is car-related injury and respiratory disease?
Transportation costs are the second largest burden on American family budgets (17%), after housing (33%)!
To address the affordability crisis, we must create cities with abundant housing of all types (subsidized, social, coop, market rate) and make walking, biking, and taking transit convenient.
To address the affordability crisis, we must create cities with abundant housing of all types (subsidized, social, coop, market rate) and make walking, biking, and taking transit convenient.
November 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
And how much Transportation is hidden in the other categories? What portion of Housing costs is the garage under your apartment building? What portion of Food is the sea of parking surrounding the supermarket? What portion of Healthcare is car-related injury and respiratory disease?
Reposted by Ben
I just don’t see how we can pretend even for a moment that anything involving our federal government is remotely normal when the president is covering up his involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Like, what are we doing here
November 15, 2025 at 1:14 AM
I just don’t see how we can pretend even for a moment that anything involving our federal government is remotely normal when the president is covering up his involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Like, what are we doing here
Reposted by Ben
jesus christ man
Platner then again airily shrugs it off as being just "a skull & crossbones," chuckling slightly about it. He again reiterates that "skull & crossbones" logos have been "popular since the Romans" (not the greatest reference if you're trying to win over Jews, btw). 4/
November 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
jesus christ man
Reposted by Ben
People should be allowed to have a THC seltzer if they want to
November 14, 2025 at 5:34 PM
People should be allowed to have a THC seltzer if they want to
Reposted by Ben
my most woke opinion is that any truck/SUV over 4,000 pounds should require a commercial drivers license, increased insurance/registration, more expensive parking, and higher punishments for traffic violations
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 4:10 PM
my most woke opinion is that any truck/SUV over 4,000 pounds should require a commercial drivers license, increased insurance/registration, more expensive parking, and higher punishments for traffic violations
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 AM