The Gorilla Librarian
@gorillalibrarian.bsky.social
Happiest when correctly guessing plot twists in tv shows.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
I have a new piece up @thenation.com on Billy Wilder, the Holocaust, survivor's guilt, and confronting the limits of Zionism. www.thenation.com/article/cult...
Billy Wilder’s Battle With the Past
How the fabled Hollywood director confronted survivor’s guilt, the legacies of the Holocaust, and the paradoxes of Zionism.
www.thenation.com
August 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I have a new piece up @thenation.com on Billy Wilder, the Holocaust, survivor's guilt, and confronting the limits of Zionism. www.thenation.com/article/cult...
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
Our pop stars continue to be both more accountable and more responsive to feedback than the editorial board of the New York Times
Chappell Roan shares follow-up story after deleting Brigitte Bardot tribute post:
“Holy shit i did not know all that insane shit Ms. Bardot stood for obvs I do not condone this. very disappointing to learn.”
“Holy shit i did not know all that insane shit Ms. Bardot stood for obvs I do not condone this. very disappointing to learn.”
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Our pop stars continue to be both more accountable and more responsive to feedback than the editorial board of the New York Times
Shook hands with Martin Sheen at a fundraising dinner in Seattle, just prior to the start of The West Wing
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
December 29, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Shook hands with Martin Sheen at a fundraising dinner in Seattle, just prior to the start of The West Wing
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America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
America has 925 billionaires as of this year. Collectively they have a record $6.9 trillion in wealth.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
The bottom 50% of Americans control $4.2 trillion in wealth.
When 925 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
Oh my god
December 27, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Oh my god
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It’s a white guy who has never read anything in the genre absolutely outraged nobody comes up to the booth he set up in the corner of the book fair to sell his self published fantasy book “the nipples of grimdark” for 30 dollars per signed copy
December 26, 2025 at 4:35 PM
It’s a white guy who has never read anything in the genre absolutely outraged nobody comes up to the booth he set up in the corner of the book fair to sell his self published fantasy book “the nipples of grimdark” for 30 dollars per signed copy
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we’ve been over this
we just did this in Massachusetts
they’re not gonna leave, they’ll whine and bitch and moan and eventually this will raise more money than expected because nowhere they go is actually like the place they’re leaving
we just did this in Massachusetts
they’re not gonna leave, they’ll whine and bitch and moan and eventually this will raise more money than expected because nowhere they go is actually like the place they’re leaving
Billionaires are considering cutting or reducing their ties to California by the end of the year because of a proposed ballot measure that could tax the state’s wealthiest residents.
A Wealth Tax Floated in California Has Billionaires Thinking of Leaving
It’s uncertain whether the proposal will reach the statewide ballot in November, but some billionaires like Peter Thiel and Larry Page may be unwilling to take the risk.
nyti.ms
December 27, 2025 at 12:49 AM
we’ve been over this
we just did this in Massachusetts
they’re not gonna leave, they’ll whine and bitch and moan and eventually this will raise more money than expected because nowhere they go is actually like the place they’re leaving
we just did this in Massachusetts
they’re not gonna leave, they’ll whine and bitch and moan and eventually this will raise more money than expected because nowhere they go is actually like the place they’re leaving
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
Per Craig Ferguson: When you're about to say something, ask yourself
1. Does this need to be said
2. Does this need to be said by me
3. Does this need to be said by me right now
It's amazing how asking these will get keep you out of trouble (that is, if you actually have sense to begin with)
1. Does this need to be said
2. Does this need to be said by me
3. Does this need to be said by me right now
It's amazing how asking these will get keep you out of trouble (that is, if you actually have sense to begin with)
I’ve been trying very hard to not be an asshole as I get older. Often, that just means keeping my mouth shut and nodding along.
December 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Per Craig Ferguson: When you're about to say something, ask yourself
1. Does this need to be said
2. Does this need to be said by me
3. Does this need to be said by me right now
It's amazing how asking these will get keep you out of trouble (that is, if you actually have sense to begin with)
1. Does this need to be said
2. Does this need to be said by me
3. Does this need to be said by me right now
It's amazing how asking these will get keep you out of trouble (that is, if you actually have sense to begin with)
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
This shit is made up, actually
December 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
This shit is made up, actually
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
Can we fill the TL with suggestions of untapped archives/collections? That would be a lot of fun! I think there's quite a bit of material in the Gregory Bateson papers at UCSC Special Collections that has yet to be written about.
In the spirit of the season, I want to offer my fellow historians and other scholars the gift of an amazing, largely untapped archive.
Ladies and gentlemen, the John Doar Papers at Princeton. 🗃️
Ladies and gentlemen, the John Doar Papers at Princeton. 🗃️
December 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Can we fill the TL with suggestions of untapped archives/collections? That would be a lot of fun! I think there's quite a bit of material in the Gregory Bateson papers at UCSC Special Collections that has yet to be written about.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
‘Asterisk’ comes from a Geek word meaning “little star.”
*Greek
*Greek
December 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
‘Asterisk’ comes from a Geek word meaning “little star.”
*Greek
*Greek
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
No one says to legit business owners, "hey I see there's an underground market selling toxic knock-offs of your product: how will you incorporate the toxic product AND protect your customers against its harms?" But apparently it's fine to make this suggestion to educators with respect to AI.
December 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
No one says to legit business owners, "hey I see there's an underground market selling toxic knock-offs of your product: how will you incorporate the toxic product AND protect your customers against its harms?" But apparently it's fine to make this suggestion to educators with respect to AI.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
Plato argued in the Republic that the 'tyrant,' or someone with unlimited wealth and power, would live the worst possible life because his soul would be devoured by lawless, unlimited desires that could never be sated. I think we've gotten confirmation of this from more cases than Trump lately
I always thought Plato was pretty pollyannaish on this point, but this is decent evidence for the view that a man of bad character will therefore be unhappy even with every external trapping of success and good fortune.
President Donald Trump gifted the world with nearly 200 Truth Social posts (and counting) on Christmas Day, where he amplified conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and called for a member of Congress to be deported.
December 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Plato argued in the Republic that the 'tyrant,' or someone with unlimited wealth and power, would live the worst possible life because his soul would be devoured by lawless, unlimited desires that could never be sated. I think we've gotten confirmation of this from more cases than Trump lately
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Sending three ghosts tonight to fuck up Stephen Miller.
December 25, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Sending three ghosts tonight to fuck up Stephen Miller.
My parents always watched the Kennedy Center honors every year - but not this year. Glad to have this excellent writing to witness instead of the current catastrophe.
but seriously if you want to know how the Trump Kennedy Center Honors went here’s my report from the night-of
Trump’s Very Weird Night at the Kennedy Center Honors
The president and I both got our heart’s desire. But something felt wrong.
www.theatlantic.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:48 PM
My parents always watched the Kennedy Center honors every year - but not this year. Glad to have this excellent writing to witness instead of the current catastrophe.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
youtu.be/R9XN1iOungs?...
youtu.be/R9XN1iOungs?...
I Talked To 50 Dads at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour
YouTube video by DARK WEB | Paul Scheer & Rob Huebel
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 4:54 PM
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
youtu.be/R9XN1iOungs?...
youtu.be/R9XN1iOungs?...
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
December 23, 2025 at 9:18 PM
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
After banning Rudolph from any other Reindeer games, Coach Comet went on to be a member of the Texas Legislature.
December 23, 2025 at 6:36 PM
After banning Rudolph from any other Reindeer games, Coach Comet went on to be a member of the Texas Legislature.
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The Cracker Barrel thing was THIS YEAR. We have three more years of this shit. Anybody who makes it to 2028 without looking like Nosferatu will be required by the state to start a skincare brand.
December 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
The Cracker Barrel thing was THIS YEAR. We have three more years of this shit. Anybody who makes it to 2028 without looking like Nosferatu will be required by the state to start a skincare brand.
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"10:30 A.M. Send another overdue notice to the impish man who checked out 'Tom Sawyer' months ago and listed last known address as 'Heaven.' Men like this are why I’m a single spinster."
A Day in the Life of Mary Hatch in the Alternate Bedford Falls
7:00-8:30 A.M. Wake up whenever I want—no kids! 9 A.M. Open library, feeling refreshed and ready for the day. 10:30 A.M. Send another overdue notic...
buff.ly
December 23, 2025 at 7:27 PM
"10:30 A.M. Send another overdue notice to the impish man who checked out 'Tom Sawyer' months ago and listed last known address as 'Heaven.' Men like this are why I’m a single spinster."
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When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
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A number of my works are available through the National Library Service, which provides work via audio and braille, and I encourage their use. All my contracts allow for this service to provide access to my work.
www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-s...
www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-s...
December 22, 2025 at 3:54 AM
A number of my works are available through the National Library Service, which provides work via audio and braille, and I encourage their use. All my contracts allow for this service to provide access to my work.
www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-s...
www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-s...
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
please let “bugs bunnying” become the slang for manipulating an LLM into ignoring its guardrails, i have never seen a more succinct and evocative term for it
Highly amused by the stories of companies using agentic AI chatbots to run their internal company stores, only for their employees to immediately Bugs Bunny the chatbot into giving them free stuff www.aiweirdness.com/when-a-chatb...
When a chatbot runs your store
You may have heard of "agentic AI", which is basically the idea that you can hook up a large language model to controls that do real things. The controls might run internet searches, run commands to o...
www.aiweirdness.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:20 PM
please let “bugs bunnying” become the slang for manipulating an LLM into ignoring its guardrails, i have never seen a more succinct and evocative term for it
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Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Not a historian but like to research. The AI might summarize what I'm looking for, but it doesn't find what I'm *not* looking for. The book on the shelf next to the one I wanted. The insight in chapter 6 based on the quote I needed from chapter 4.
December 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Reposted by The Gorilla Librarian
I wave a tearful goodbye to my family before stepping into the robotaxi, which immediately drives down the boat ramp and disappears into the river
May 6, 2024 at 4:41 PM
I wave a tearful goodbye to my family before stepping into the robotaxi, which immediately drives down the boat ramp and disappears into the river