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Adam Bumas

@bumas.bsky.social

1.2K followers 390 following 160 posts

Pronounced "BYOO-muss". He/They. adambumas.01 on Signal. Head of Research and Assistant Editor, @garbageday.email. Other research and journalism elsewhere. The perfect level of online.

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Mar 5

I'm pleased to announce my new position as Head of Research at @garbageday.email! Making sense of the internet is only becoming more important, and I'm proud (mostly) to do it for a living.

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · 5d

Read all about it (behind the paywall) here: www.garbageday.email/p/dying-an-i...

Dying an influencer's death

Here's your Garbage Intelligence for September 2025

www.garbageday.email

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · 5d

Every month, we write about the most popular content around the internet. For the first time, I'm proud to say that we're on our own list! @panicworld.com was Patreon's fastest-growing podcast last month.

Despite this, there’s one source of news about the shooting that’s gotten a lot of attention in September: Us, apparently. According to Graphtreon, Panic World was the fastest-growing Patreon in September for the “podcast” category, with over 1,300 new subscribers this month. Our own reckoning puts as as number 12 across the whole website — first place, of course, goes to a porn game with over 3,300 new Patrons — but we’ve never even come close to making our own lists before, so we think we’ve earned the brag.

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · 12d

John Pork calling to the faraway towns

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · 19d

Your delivery’s here.

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · 19d

Chat, are we back (writing for @wired.com)?

The Kirk fallout shows there's a massive deficit in understanding what it means to be Very Online, which is a problem because if you're reading this, you are too.

www.wired.com/story/no-one...

No One Knows What ‘Terminally Online’ Means Anymore

The memes and online footprint of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson don’t place him neatly in a box, though many are still trying.

www.wired.com

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Sep 8

Today's @garbageday.email reminds you that facts don't care about your feelings.

www.garbageday.email/p/nate-silve...

Also, Adam wanted me to mention here that about 5-10% of the most popular posts on Bluesky — 1,000 likes or more — are actually just cartoon erotica. Which no one seems to mention when they talk about the influence of the platform.

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Sep 8

So I'm not a huge Movie News poster but Lizard Music was one of my favorite books as a kid - @danielpinkwater.bsky.social was the best kind of bad influence - and I'm surprised how much The Rock as The Chicken Man makes sense to me.

Every Film Now @everyfilmnow.bsky.social · Sep 8

Dwayne Johnson reunites with director Benny Safdie for the film adaptation of ‘LIZARD MUSIC.’

The story follows a lonely boy discovering a secret broadcast of musical lizards, embarking on a surreal adventure with the eccentric Chicken Man (Johnson) and his chicken.

#BennySafdie #DwayneJohnson

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Reposted by Adam Bumas

Cates Holderness @cates.bsky.social · Sep 2

Was listing to All Things Considered this evening on @npr.org on my physical radio and heard my colleague @bumas.bsky.social in this story! Super rad!!! www.npr.org/2025/08/28/n...

'AI slop' videos may be annoying, but they're racking up views — and ad money

Critics say that "slop" videos made with generative AI are often repetitive or useless. But they get millions of views — and platforms are grappling with what to do about them.

www.npr.org

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Sep 1

x.com/matthewseiji...

x.com

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 27

bbno$ is short for bedford-nostrand avenues

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 13

My latest for @garbageday.email: Trump's takeover of Washington is all thanks to dumb Truth Social posts and Big Balls - that's the whole point. Welcome to the age of LOLgislation.

www.garbageday.email/p/the-uncann...

This is the latest in a long series of what I’ll call LOLgislation. There was no specific bill or political movement to take federal control of Washington, but Trump posted about it and all of a sudden it was happening. The agenda has been dictated entirely via public comments on social media, pretty much the easiest possible thing to dismiss as not being serious. But when you’re the President, everything you say has to be taken seriously, even — no, especially — if you’re using social media as frivolously as it’s designed for.

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 9

🧠: Vivziepop producing the Homestuck animated show makes total sense as her blank check from Hazbin Hotel

🌌: Toby Fox playing John in the Homestuck animated show makes total sense as his blank check from playing John in “The Baby Is You”

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 4

2025 now has its second movie named after the hero starting with EL that probably would make more money with a more descriptive title.

Maybe Ella McCay also gets abducted by aliens, how the fuck should we know?

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 2

🫡 Sent it to the general smallbu address!

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Aug 1

Bit of a longshot, but @smallbu.bsky.social, I’m an internet culture journalist. Would I be able to speak to you about getting Baman Piderman back?

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jul 27

Just as good as his more socially satirical numbers were his songs for The Electric Company - almost like public funding for the arts is good or something. But I digress:

youtu.be/dB2Ff8H7oVo?...

Tom Lehrer - "L-Y"

YouTube video by Edgar Aldrett

youtu.be

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jul 27

Tom Lehrer. Words fail.

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Reposted by Adam Bumas

Cates Holderness @cates.bsky.social · Jul 11

I wrote about DashCon 2 in yesterday’s @garbageday.email newsletter and it made me wish I had attended www.garbageday.email/p/the-legacy...

The legacy of DashCon

Read to the end for Goose and his watermelon

www.garbageday.email

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Reposted by Adam Bumas

Ryan Broderick @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social · Jul 9

Last night was the first night of Garbage Day's 3-night residency at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn and it was a blast. You can buy tickets to nights #2 and #3 by clicking the links below!

wl.seetickets.us/event/garbag...

wl.seetickets.us/event/garbag...

See you there!

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Reposted by Adam Bumas

Jay Brandstetter @jaybrandstetter.bsky.social · Jul 2

What do nu metal icon Fred Durst and grain mesh cereal Chex have in common? They were both the focus of online voting brigades in the pre-Boaty McBoatface era! This and next week on IFTI we have @bumas.bsky.social to talk about Austin TX's waste management rebranding. shows.acast.com/im-from-the-...

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jun 23

("chicken jockey!" voice): temporary secretary!

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jun 22

The best thing about Elio is the "playpen Mass Effect" vibe all the alien stuff has. Similar sensibilities but cuddlier and cuter. Even the bad guys look like Reapers with cartoon meanie faces!

The villain of Elio, who looks a lot like a cartoonier version of the Reapers from Mass Effect

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jun 18

That creator is also running a merch store, with all proceeds from sales in June going to The Trevor Project!

www.redbubble.com/people/eljef...

ElJefe900 Shop | Redbubble

ElJefe900 is an independent artist creating amazing designs for great products such as t-shirts, stickers, posters, and phone cases.

www.redbubble.com

Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jun 18

Seen this symbol around? For today's issue of @garbageday.email, I tracked its history and spoke to its creator!

www.garbageday.email/p/the-cure-t...

The cure to male loneliness

Read to the end for an imposter

www.garbageday.email

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Adam Bumas @bumas.bsky.social · Jun 17

I’m the best interior designer in the John Wick universe. Every time a client wants something other than “Art deco/industrial/neon” they turn up shot 6 times and stabbed 17 times.