Austen
@austen.bsky.social
writer, editor, nonprofit office drone, frisson-experiencer.
Stories in Spectrum, Wisconsin Review, others.
Stories in Spectrum, Wisconsin Review, others.
Watch this show
wrote about PATRIOT, a double great show, over at @rollingstone.com for its anniversary, with thoughts from Steven Conrad, Terry O’Quinn, and Kurtwood Smith: www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
Inside 'Patriot,' the Cult-Favorite Spy Caper You Should Be Watching
'Patriot' creator Steven Conrad and stars Kurtwood Smith and Terry O'Quinn reflect on the short-lived Amazon spy series, which debuted 10 years ago.
www.rollingstone.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Watch this show
This hits all three of my interests
ANUBIS: (presses button with paw) [guilty]
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
November 3, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This hits all three of my interests
Had this one taped to a book cover in junior high
October 21, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Had this one taped to a book cover in junior high
Reposted by Austen
One fun side effect of the AI boom is the increased popularity of the word “ouroboros”.
October 21, 2025 at 10:26 AM
One fun side effect of the AI boom is the increased popularity of the word “ouroboros”.
Reposted by Austen
This meeting could have been a profane ceremony
October 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
This meeting could have been a profane ceremony
Reposted by Austen
"Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass" by Tom Bowman of NPR. www.npr.org/2025/10/14/g... Recommended.
A thing frequently forgotten or ignored is that journalism is one of the few professions people will die for. [Via @brianstelter.bsky.social ]
A thing frequently forgotten or ignored is that journalism is one of the few professions people will die for. [Via @brianstelter.bsky.social ]
Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass
Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...
www.npr.org
October 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass" by Tom Bowman of NPR. www.npr.org/2025/10/14/g... Recommended.
A thing frequently forgotten or ignored is that journalism is one of the few professions people will die for. [Via @brianstelter.bsky.social ]
A thing frequently forgotten or ignored is that journalism is one of the few professions people will die for. [Via @brianstelter.bsky.social ]
Reposted by Austen
the fundamental problem of civilization is that humanity's highest calling is Hanging Out With Friends, but a small minority of humans are maniacally driven to control everyone else because no one wants to hang out with them
January 10, 2025 at 10:48 PM
the fundamental problem of civilization is that humanity's highest calling is Hanging Out With Friends, but a small minority of humans are maniacally driven to control everyone else because no one wants to hang out with them
So many fun potential voice readings for "You imagine that?"
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
October 9, 2025 at 6:48 PM
So many fun potential voice readings for "You imagine that?"
Getting surreal is all we've got left
"The glacier shows me things. I saw your wedding. It was beautiful. You wore armor. Everyone clapped."
Still Here
A: Hey! Just saw your message. Sorry for the delay—got swallowed by a glacier that migrated south. I’m inside the ice now. Surprisingly roomy. Hope...
buff.ly
September 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Getting surreal is all we've got left
This definitely hurts in a unique way. "If that person's *that* old then I must be... oh... oh no."
fyi apropos of nothing do NOT look up how old actors from '90s/'00s movies are now
September 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This definitely hurts in a unique way. "If that person's *that* old then I must be... oh... oh no."
Reposted by Austen
You don’t have to watch everything. Protecting your peace online is an act of self-care, not a state of denial.
Learn how to filter your feeds and safeguard your mental space ⬇️
theconversation.com/how-to-avoid...
Learn how to filter your feeds and safeguard your mental space ⬇️
theconversation.com/how-to-avoid...
September 13, 2025 at 1:48 PM
You don’t have to watch everything. Protecting your peace online is an act of self-care, not a state of denial.
Learn how to filter your feeds and safeguard your mental space ⬇️
theconversation.com/how-to-avoid...
Learn how to filter your feeds and safeguard your mental space ⬇️
theconversation.com/how-to-avoid...
Reposted by Austen
Brazil’s supreme court finds Bolsonaro guilty of plotting military coup
Brazil’s supreme court finds Bolsonaro guilty of plotting military coup
Former president faces decades-long jail sentence for seeking to forcibly cling to power after losing 2022 election
*
Anatomy of a coup plot: why Jair Bolsonaro is on trial
A majority of Brazil’s supreme court judges have voted to convict the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a military coup, leaving the far-right populist facing a decades-long sentence for leading the criminal conspiracy.
Justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha ruled on Thursday that Bolsonaro – a former paratrooper who was elected president in 2018 – was guilty of seeking to forcibly cling to power after losing the 2022 election, meaning three of the five judges involved in the trial had found Brazil’s former leader guilty. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Brazil’s supreme court finds Bolsonaro guilty of plotting military coup
Reposted by Austen
Intently reviewing
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
List of individual dogs - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
August 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Intently reviewing
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Reposted by Austen
There’s a thin line between staying as informed as you should and making yourself anxious in a way that is completely unproductive and every single day the news is trying very hard to push you over into the latter
August 21, 2025 at 12:47 PM
There’s a thin line between staying as informed as you should and making yourself anxious in a way that is completely unproductive and every single day the news is trying very hard to push you over into the latter
Reposted by Austen
Bad poetry is the life force of this poor earth. In reading bad poetry we are vulnerable and cruel at the same time. It confronts us with all the complexity of our own ambivalent relationship to sincerity (authenticity/cringe), to craft (skill/trickery), to our OWN HEARTS, to LIFE ITSELF.
Let's get behind National Bad Poetry Day! I believe this transcends national borders.
Today, Monday 18 August, is (Inter?)National Bad Poetry Day. www.daysoftheyear.com/days/bad-poe...
Also, Pinot Noir Day. www.daysoftheyear.com/days/pinot-n...
And it’s happy 89th birthday to actor Robert Redford. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...]
Also, Pinot Noir Day. www.daysoftheyear.com/days/pinot-n...
And it’s happy 89th birthday to actor Robert Redford. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...]
August 18, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Bad poetry is the life force of this poor earth. In reading bad poetry we are vulnerable and cruel at the same time. It confronts us with all the complexity of our own ambivalent relationship to sincerity (authenticity/cringe), to craft (skill/trickery), to our OWN HEARTS, to LIFE ITSELF.
Reposted by Austen
Poker Face is a fantasy where the ability to recognize bullshit has an effect on society
One of the things that has pretty annoying is that if you have any kind of bullshit meter, if you have anything inside of yourself that doesn’t enjoy being lied to, the last couple of years of almost every area of public life have been driving you up a fucking wall
August 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Poker Face is a fantasy where the ability to recognize bullshit has an effect on society
Reposted by Austen
"As well as deleting old emails, the National Drought Group has urged people to delete old pictures as well as “data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems”.
Also: fix leaking toilets, avoid watering lawns, turn off taps when brushing teeth, and take shorter showers.
Also: fix leaking toilets, avoid watering lawns, turn off taps when brushing teeth, and take shorter showers.
August 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM
"As well as deleting old emails, the National Drought Group has urged people to delete old pictures as well as “data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems”.
Also: fix leaking toilets, avoid watering lawns, turn off taps when brushing teeth, and take shorter showers.
Also: fix leaking toilets, avoid watering lawns, turn off taps when brushing teeth, and take shorter showers.
They're very good space adventure movies, which is what star wars always was about.
Rian Johnson introduced a needed, smart challenge to 'the heroes get lucky against the odds yet again' trope.
The backlash stems from toxic fanboys. People still whining about the ST need to have their cards revoked.
Rian Johnson introduced a needed, smart challenge to 'the heroes get lucky against the odds yet again' trope.
The backlash stems from toxic fanboys. People still whining about the ST need to have their cards revoked.
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy is 10 years old, say something you like about it
I like when Unkar Plutt gives Rey “one quarter portion”
I like when Unkar Plutt gives Rey “one quarter portion”
August 11, 2025 at 3:14 PM
They're very good space adventure movies, which is what star wars always was about.
Rian Johnson introduced a needed, smart challenge to 'the heroes get lucky against the odds yet again' trope.
The backlash stems from toxic fanboys. People still whining about the ST need to have their cards revoked.
Rian Johnson introduced a needed, smart challenge to 'the heroes get lucky against the odds yet again' trope.
The backlash stems from toxic fanboys. People still whining about the ST need to have their cards revoked.
Reposted by Austen
Detective: GPS puts you at Hillside Manor sometime after 2AM.
Adam Duritz: Then the GPS is wrong man! Do I need a lawyer??
Adam Duritz: Then the GPS is wrong man! Do I need a lawyer??
August 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Detective: GPS puts you at Hillside Manor sometime after 2AM.
Adam Duritz: Then the GPS is wrong man! Do I need a lawyer??
Adam Duritz: Then the GPS is wrong man! Do I need a lawyer??
Reposted by Austen
Newsletter: In a media landscape dominated by algorithmic feeds that aim to manipulate and extract, sometimes the most radical thing you can do is choose to read what you want, when you want, without anyone watching over your shoulder.
Here’s how to use RSS.
www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-...
Here’s how to use RSS.
www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-...
Curate your own newspaper with RSS
Escape newsletter inbox chaos and algorithmic surveillance by building your own enshittification-proof newspaper from the writers you already read
www.citationneeded.news
July 31, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Newsletter: In a media landscape dominated by algorithmic feeds that aim to manipulate and extract, sometimes the most radical thing you can do is choose to read what you want, when you want, without anyone watching over your shoulder.
Here’s how to use RSS.
www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-...
Here’s how to use RSS.
www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-...
Reposted by Austen
OFFICER TOM, CHIEF OF CAMPUS SECURITY: “My department got an alert that an elderly, sexually confused woman had dropped from the sky and landed face-first on the South Quad.”
Anxiety Dream Bystanders
JADEN, COLLEGE STUDENT: “It was second semester senior year. I was quietly chatting with classmates before our French literature exam. That’s when...
buff.ly
July 19, 2025 at 1:29 PM
OFFICER TOM, CHIEF OF CAMPUS SECURITY: “My department got an alert that an elderly, sexually confused woman had dropped from the sky and landed face-first on the South Quad.”
This explains how i feel first thing in the morning
water left in a glass overnight tastes bad because it gets haunted
July 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
This explains how i feel first thing in the morning
Reposted by Austen
"Just 10% of users produce roughly 97% of political tweets... A mere 0.1% of users share 80% of fake news."
So when you see that same account popping up over and over, consider a mute or a block, *even if you agree with them*. You'll feel better, I promise.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
So when you see that same account popping up over and over, consider a mute or a block, *even if you agree with them*. You'll feel better, I promise.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us?
Why does the online world seem so toxic compared with normal life? Our research shows that a small number of divisive accounts could be responsible – and offers a way out
www.theguardian.com
July 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"Just 10% of users produce roughly 97% of political tweets... A mere 0.1% of users share 80% of fake news."
So when you see that same account popping up over and over, consider a mute or a block, *even if you agree with them*. You'll feel better, I promise.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
So when you see that same account popping up over and over, consider a mute or a block, *even if you agree with them*. You'll feel better, I promise.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Austen
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
July 14, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
Framing this one
16) Stop kicking yourself for not being like your 20th century idols. The landscape has changed.
June 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Framing this one