Brenden Sparks
@brendensparks.bsky.social
Anti-fascist. Web and UX designer in #HigherEd and board member for Digital Collegium. Polyam, feminist, AuDHD. Hobbyist dev|editor|cartographer. Game enthusiast. Sometimes aka hafengrim.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
Family Dinner Hours
For small groups. Take your role - Skeevy Uncle, Judgy Aunt, Wine Mom, and so forth.
Find the most offensive things to ask each other in the sweetest or most innocuous ways as you pass the salt, or fetch the plates.
You win if someone actually wants to actually punch you.
For small groups. Take your role - Skeevy Uncle, Judgy Aunt, Wine Mom, and so forth.
Find the most offensive things to ask each other in the sweetest or most innocuous ways as you pass the salt, or fetch the plates.
You win if someone actually wants to actually punch you.
I need everyone to make a shitpost game that fits into at most 3 posts on here before the end of the year otherwise thr sun will not rise again
Not enough shitpost games though
December 31, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Family Dinner Hours
For small groups. Take your role - Skeevy Uncle, Judgy Aunt, Wine Mom, and so forth.
Find the most offensive things to ask each other in the sweetest or most innocuous ways as you pass the salt, or fetch the plates.
You win if someone actually wants to actually punch you.
For small groups. Take your role - Skeevy Uncle, Judgy Aunt, Wine Mom, and so forth.
Find the most offensive things to ask each other in the sweetest or most innocuous ways as you pass the salt, or fetch the plates.
You win if someone actually wants to actually punch you.
Jess' work is stellar. If you haven't picked any of it up, now's a good time.
still figuring out if insurance will cover it, but in the meantime it'd mean the world if you'd consider:
1. picking up my latest game "The Vatican Stole the Menorah and We're Going to Steal Back": jumpgategames.itch.io/tvstmawgtsib
2. or a 20% bundle of all my other games: itch.io/s/176257/jum...
1. picking up my latest game "The Vatican Stole the Menorah and We're Going to Steal Back": jumpgategames.itch.io/tvstmawgtsib
2. or a 20% bundle of all my other games: itch.io/s/176257/jum...
Jumpgate Games Winter Sale 2025 by Jess Levine | Jumpgate Games
A bundle by Jess Levine | Jumpgate Games, $25.00 for 4 games
itch.io
December 30, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Jess' work is stellar. If you haven't picked any of it up, now's a good time.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
I have never had a Spotify account and always just played music on Winamp. A loved one's moving away from Spotify to also just owning mp3s and showed me this website. I can't get over how it's exactly the kind of internet I miss and what I wouldn't do to bring it back.
skins.webamp.org
skins.webamp.org
December 28, 2025 at 9:41 AM
I have never had a Spotify account and always just played music on Winamp. A loved one's moving away from Spotify to also just owning mp3s and showed me this website. I can't get over how it's exactly the kind of internet I miss and what I wouldn't do to bring it back.
skins.webamp.org
skins.webamp.org
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
Thinking about the different contexts of "prompt writing" today. When I try to write good prompts for RPGs (for random cards, for PBTA moves), I'm trying to create interesting structures where I myself cannot know what the emergent outcomes will be -- they are context- & player-dependent.
December 26, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Thinking about the different contexts of "prompt writing" today. When I try to write good prompts for RPGs (for random cards, for PBTA moves), I'm trying to create interesting structures where I myself cannot know what the emergent outcomes will be -- they are context- & player-dependent.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
Surprise!
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
December 24, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Surprise!
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
The two hardest problems in Computer Science are
1. Human communication
2. Getting people in tech to believe that human communication is important
1. Human communication
2. Getting people in tech to believe that human communication is important
December 24, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The two hardest problems in Computer Science are
1. Human communication
2. Getting people in tech to believe that human communication is important
1. Human communication
2. Getting people in tech to believe that human communication is important
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
Since we're doing one final post run tomorrow, here's some things you can order now with expected delivery Monday - Tuesday (UK)....
To kick it off, some gifts for your DM:
- The Deck of Many Things
- Battle-Towel, Battle map Tea Towel
- Dice Scroll
- Dice Guardian Ghosties
To kick it off, some gifts for your DM:
- The Deck of Many Things
- Battle-Towel, Battle map Tea Towel
- Dice Scroll
- Dice Guardian Ghosties
December 19, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Since we're doing one final post run tomorrow, here's some things you can order now with expected delivery Monday - Tuesday (UK)....
To kick it off, some gifts for your DM:
- The Deck of Many Things
- Battle-Towel, Battle map Tea Towel
- Dice Scroll
- Dice Guardian Ghosties
To kick it off, some gifts for your DM:
- The Deck of Many Things
- Battle-Towel, Battle map Tea Towel
- Dice Scroll
- Dice Guardian Ghosties
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
Since yesterday, many people have DM’d to say that they were strongly affected by my essay & wished they could share it.
So I've revised, expanded, & posted it for free on both Substack & Patreon.
Please feel free to share.
www.patreon.com/posts/this-i...
catvalente.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...
So I've revised, expanded, & posted it for free on both Substack & Patreon.
Please feel free to share.
www.patreon.com/posts/this-i...
catvalente.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...
December 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Since yesterday, many people have DM’d to say that they were strongly affected by my essay & wished they could share it.
So I've revised, expanded, & posted it for free on both Substack & Patreon.
Please feel free to share.
www.patreon.com/posts/this-i...
catvalente.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...
So I've revised, expanded, & posted it for free on both Substack & Patreon.
Please feel free to share.
www.patreon.com/posts/this-i...
catvalente.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
he was good at his job, his job was explicitly to destroy things so they'd be acquired and shareholders would make a bunch of money
this isn't an incompetent getting a payday, it's the guy who planned the heist getting the biggest cut
this isn't an incompetent getting a payday, it's the guy who planned the heist getting the biggest cut
"Zaslav will receive $30 million in "Golden Parachute' compensation along with $537 million in equity for a total of $567 million in a transaction-associated pay."
half a billion dollars for being terrible at your job
half a billion dollars for being terrible at your job
Warner Bros. Golden Parachutes Revealed: What David Zaslav and C-Suite Will Get In a Deal
The CEO stands to gain $567 million if a deal is sealed to sell the WB empire while longtime lieutenant Gunnar Wiedenfels will see $144 million in cash and stock considerations if a transaction close...
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:00 PM
he was good at his job, his job was explicitly to destroy things so they'd be acquired and shareholders would make a bunch of money
this isn't an incompetent getting a payday, it's the guy who planned the heist getting the biggest cut
this isn't an incompetent getting a payday, it's the guy who planned the heist getting the biggest cut
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
I do not want your AI slop
I do not want it in my mop
I do not want it in my house
I do not want it in my mouse
I do not like brain-rotting AI spam
I do not want it, Sam Alt-man
I do not want it in my mop
I do not want it in my house
I do not want it in my mouse
I do not like brain-rotting AI spam
I do not want it, Sam Alt-man
December 17, 2025 at 12:01 AM
I do not want your AI slop
I do not want it in my mop
I do not want it in my house
I do not want it in my mouse
I do not like brain-rotting AI spam
I do not want it, Sam Alt-man
I do not want it in my mop
I do not want it in my house
I do not want it in my mouse
I do not like brain-rotting AI spam
I do not want it, Sam Alt-man
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
I've seen lots of acceleration due to the use of AI: acceleration of inequality, acceleration of climate catastrophe, acceleration of slop, acceleration of trust collapse, acceleration of scams, acceleration of model collapsed acceleration of misinformation, acceleration of drought
December 17, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I've seen lots of acceleration due to the use of AI: acceleration of inequality, acceleration of climate catastrophe, acceleration of slop, acceleration of trust collapse, acceleration of scams, acceleration of model collapsed acceleration of misinformation, acceleration of drought
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
THE DEATH OF TRUTH IS THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF EVIL
December 16, 2025 at 4:19 AM
THE DEATH OF TRUTH IS THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF EVIL
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
I enjoyed this formulation: "The cutesy language flows in one direction only. Your compliance is demanded in the language of contracts; their failures are communicated in the language of the nursery."
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
Uh Oh! The Infantilization of Failure
When apps fail, when software breaks, you'll likely encounter a message constructed from a specific vocabulary: "Oops!" "Uh oh!" "Whoops!"
Sometimes you'll get the full nursery treatment: an "Oopsie-...
www.joanwestenberg.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I enjoyed this formulation: "The cutesy language flows in one direction only. Your compliance is demanded in the language of contracts; their failures are communicated in the language of the nursery."
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
They see our words and art online and they think it’s gold because they recognize it’s free data. AI is the dirt they’re trying to sell you by pretending it’s food, or shelter, or air, or art. It’s none of those things, but billionaires will expect you to eat dirt after we accept the adoption of AI.
December 15, 2025 at 10:05 PM
They see our words and art online and they think it’s gold because they recognize it’s free data. AI is the dirt they’re trying to sell you by pretending it’s food, or shelter, or air, or art. It’s none of those things, but billionaires will expect you to eat dirt after we accept the adoption of AI.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
If there's anything AI has done for me this year, it's awakened a hunger for person-to-person connection. Hanging out with a baby, going to see live theatre, eating food someone made, appreciating art from 200 years ago, from 800 years ago, from 10,000 years ago... Human creation is so wonderful.
December 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
If there's anything AI has done for me this year, it's awakened a hunger for person-to-person connection. Hanging out with a baby, going to see live theatre, eating food someone made, appreciating art from 200 years ago, from 800 years ago, from 10,000 years ago... Human creation is so wonderful.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
It's so fucked up to have been a kid during the D&D is the devil freakout and the Tipper Gore dirty lyrics freakout and live to see the teen suicide machine get such a pass.
December 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
It's so fucked up to have been a kid during the D&D is the devil freakout and the Tipper Gore dirty lyrics freakout and live to see the teen suicide machine get such a pass.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
We forget this at the peril of our work, our connections, our relationships, and our health. Producing non-stop is a long-term disaster.
“One is not unoccupied because one is absorbed. There is visible labor and invisible labor. To contemplate is to labor, to think is to act. Folded arms toil, clasped hands work. A gaze fixed on heaven is a work. […] To meditate on the Shadow is a serious thing.”
[Hugo, Les Miserables VII.8]
[Hugo, Les Miserables VII.8]
December 13, 2025 at 3:57 AM
We forget this at the peril of our work, our connections, our relationships, and our health. Producing non-stop is a long-term disaster.
December 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
The internet is fast becoming so choked with this, it'll be unusable. We'll all be boats chugging blindly through the gloom and the muck, finding nothing, barely each other, uncertain what's true or even real anymore.
googled something and clicked a link to a website I'd never heard of that looked like a forum, read the discussion and realized the person asking a question and all of the answers were all LLM generated, the entire website was a fake forum pretending to be people asking/answering questions
December 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The internet is fast becoming so choked with this, it'll be unusable. We'll all be boats chugging blindly through the gloom and the muck, finding nothing, barely each other, uncertain what's true or even real anymore.
iHunt is a brilliant FATE hack and I'm really excited to see it explored in a different medium.
I don't want to get TOO ahead of myself here but:
#iHunt: The Feature Film is now in development. Officially. And we have a casting director, who was responsible for casting one of my all-time favorite indie movies, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
#iHunt: The Feature Film is now in development. Officially. And we have a casting director, who was responsible for casting one of my all-time favorite indie movies, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
December 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM
iHunt is a brilliant FATE hack and I'm really excited to see it explored in a different medium.
Reposted by Brenden Sparks
This is why hating and mocking AI relentlessly and publicly is vital work.
McDonald's has taken down a Christmas ad made with AI following online backlash
The company said the moment served as "an important learning" as it explored "the effective use of AI"
The company said the moment served as "an important learning" as it explored "the effective use of AI"
McDonald's pulls AI-generated Christmas advert following backlash
McDonald's said the moment served as "an important learning" as it explored "the effective use of AI".
www.bbc.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This is why hating and mocking AI relentlessly and publicly is vital work.