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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 1d

(GIFTED) Here's an absolutely lovely annotated list of the 25 most important/meaningful magazine covers of the last century. Best to read on a laptop or tablet (not a phone)

The 25 Most Influential Magazine Covers of All Time

Four editors, a creative director and a visual artist met to debate and discuss the best of print media — and its enduring legacy.

www.nytimes.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 1d

Here's a thoughtful & wonderful Nobel Prize acceptance speech by Bob Dylan -- pre-recorded & read aloud by the man himself. In addition to talking about poetry and musical influences, he gave personal accounts of reading Moby Dick, All Quiet on the Western Front & Odyssey.

Bob Dylan 2016 Nobel Lecture in Literature

Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer)

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 11d

"Living through the rise of a dictatorship just means inhabiting a space that is gradually shrinking. There’s no point in resisting, not at first. You just make do with whatever breathing room you still have—until you lose that too."
Read Gisela Salim-Peyer:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Authoritarianism Feels Surprisingly Normal—Until It Doesn’t

Life in Venezuela was deceptively mundane. Then everything collapsed.

www.theatlantic.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 11d

50 Cent #ebookdeal_usa This 1996 Humorous SF fantasy novel is about a widowed man who meets a moon goddess of desire (!?). This sci fi author @bradleycdenton.bsky.social lives in Austin, TX. www.amazon.com/Lunatics-Nov...

Lunatics: A Novel

Lunatics: A Novel - Kindle edition by Denton, Bradley. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Lunatics: A Novel.

www.amazon.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 11d

Freebie by this TX author is a great deal...

Scott Semegran @scottsemegran.com · 11d

The eBook of Starman After Midnight is FREE for a limited time! Get it now! Three of my other eBooks are only 99 cents. If you want a head full of my fiction, then nothing like the present. Get ya some!
www.bookbub.com/books/starma...

Starman After Midnight by Scott Semegran is Free! - BookBub

A bighearted, often amusing tale of the weirdness of suburbia (Kirkus Reviews): Welcome to the eccentric small town of Wells Port where quirky animals and wacky neighbors lead to hilarious stories! Da...

www.bookbub.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 12d

Better late than never obituary of the jazz age singer-trumpeter Valaida Snow (dubbed "Queen of the Trumpet") www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/o...

Overlooked No More: Valaida Snow, Charismatic ‘Queen of the Trumpet’ (Published 2020)

www.nytimes.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 28d

I'm amazed at the # of public figures & ordinary people who continue to use Twitter for postings. That platform has been discredited: overridden with bots, disinfo, unmoderated hate speech & sock puppets. Continuing to post on X is like holding a giant sign that says "I AM TOTALLY CLUELESS."

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 29d

Here is that Ukrainian intro sung by Dmytro Shurov of the group Okean Elzy . First season of the show was great, not as impressed with later seasons. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy1Z...

Servant of the people opening Music

YouTube video by Gushagi

www.youtube.com

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 29d

Here are my fave sitcom intros. Special kudos go to the Ukrainian SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE -- showing pretend prez Zelenky riding his bicycle to the president's office. Now looks very bittersweet & overrun by circumstances -- a memory of Kiev before the war. www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idio...

Favorite Sitcoms | Idiotprogrammer: Texas Literary Blog

TX blogger Robert Nagle compiles a list of favorite sitcoms.

www.imaginaryplanet.net

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 29d

This may be less of a statement of how good the Rabbit sequels are than how mediocre the early Rabbit novels were.

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · 29d

Probably doesn't answer yr ?, but Updike's Rabbit novels get better & richer with each successive volume. Not a sequel per se, but a study of a character over different decades (BTW, brilliant concept!). Early Rabbit bks =so,so, but the older version has richer perspective & insight into aging.

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Sep 2

TWO MILLION WORD EBOOK. This ebook contains ALL of Mike Royko's newspaper columns (which I love). HINT: Kobo lists the word count for all ebooks in its store. www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/...

Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984-1997 ebook by Mike Royko - Rakuten Kobo

Read "Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984-1997" by Mike Royko available from Rakuten Kobo. Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 19841997 is an expansive new volume of the longtime C...

www.kobo.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 29

Great vid. Interesting that the report didn't mention carbon footprint. Any idea how much incentives big techs have to partner w/ renewables? 15 yrs ago, Big Tech was focusing on carbon neutrality & ensuring power sources were clean. IIRC, power centers around VA were pretty dirty emitters.

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · Aug 29

Data centers are jacking up your electric rates *right now*
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6B...

We Found the Hidden Cost of Data Centers. It's in Your Electric Bill

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

www.youtube.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 29

GIGANTIC CLASSIC RUSSIAN FANTASY ANTHOLOGY. #ebookdeal_usa $0.50 Selected, translated and edited by a well known Slavic professor, with lots of poetry & unconventional pieces. www.amazon.com/Worlds-Apart...

Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Fantasy and Science Fiction

Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Fantasy and Science Fiction - Kindle edition by Levitsky, Alexander. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Fantasy and Science Fiction.

www.amazon.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 26

COMIC-CEREBRAL AUDIO PLAY ON SPOTIFY (64 minutes) A decade ago I produced a great audio play by Ohio author Jack Matthews. So cerebral that your mind will explode midway through. Premium Spotify users can listen for free -- FYI I did the intro and the narration. open.spotify.com/show/2UiJ4wv...

Interview with the Sphinx

open.spotify.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 26

#ebookdeals_usa Delighted to discover that Robert Greenberg's guide to classical music has finally been discounted to $1.99 . He did some Music Appreciation classes for the Great Courses,which I loved. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...

How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart (The Great Courses)

How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart (The Great Courses) - Kindle edition by Greenberg, Robert. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart (The Great Courses).

www.amazon.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 26

FACEBOOK RANT PT 2. Looks like being banned from FB is more common than I thought. www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idio...

Facebook Obliterates People — and There’s Nothing you can do about it | Idiotprogrammer: Texas Literary Blog

TX litblogger Robert Nagle explains why Facebook is getting to be a bigger problem than ever.

www.imaginaryplanet.net

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 20

I really don't do Facebook that often, but recently when I tried to download my personal data from their export program, they suspended my acct & as part of my appeal, required me to upload a photo of myself. Here is what I uploaded to that #$#$# service.

Robert holding a sign saying "Facebook suckws"

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 20

AWARD FOR BOOK REVIEWERS (NONFICTION). Reviewing is a thankless and unprofitable art, and we need more ways to recognize them. BTW, @lauramille.bsky.social is one of my favorite book reviewers -- & she reviews both fiction & nonfiction. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/t...

The 2025 Kukula Award Winners | Washington Monthly

Annual award celebrates nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.

washingtonmonthly.com

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 19

Here's something I wrote up about books I feel comfortable reviewing. My literary preferences are oddly specific & bizarre, but I'm open to many different kinds of stories -- if only there was enough time to read them all! www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idio...

My Policy on Writing Book Reviews | Idiotprogrammer: Texas Literary Blog

(Occasionally I am contacted about my availability to write book reviews. Here's something I wrote up to explain my policies and preferences). For over 4 years I've been posting a monthly column calle...

www.imaginaryplanet.net

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 11

$0.50 novel (2016) #ebookdeal_usa “What Christopher Isherwood did for Weimar Berlin, Darryl Pinckney has done, more profoundly, for Berlin behind the wall.... A beautiful book, witty, sophisticated, and intensely moving.” www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...

Black Deutschland: A Novel

Black Deutschland: A Novel - Kindle edition by Pinckney, Darryl. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Black Deutschland: A Novel.

www.amazon.com

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Aug 1

COMBATING CLIENT CHANGE DISINFORMATION. This ebook (on sale in USA for $3.64) dissects climate change disinfo & summarizes the latest research in climate change policy & economics. Unusually in-depth for a nonscientist. This was my favorite book I read last year! www.amazon.com/Langu...

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Reposted by Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer)

Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · Jul 31

Contrarian climate assessment from U.S. government draws swift pushback | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

nice article from @voosen.me

Contrarian climate assessment from U.S. government draws swift pushback

Researchers say DOE report cherry-picks data to downplay threat of greenhouse gases

www.science.org

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Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Jul 26

$0.50 FUTURISTIC DYSTOPIAN NOVEL. (USA Only) This intriguing novel imagines a future where most humans have died from plague & remaining ones have strange views of the past. Described as "if Blood Meridan, The Road, & Candide had a baby with a tarot deck?" #ebookdeal_usa www.amazon.com/Wonde...

Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) @nagletx.bsky.social · Jul 26

$0.50 ESSAY COLLECTION. Here's a collection of short & random essays by my favorite Romanian-American poet & author. Talk about Eastern Europe, democracy, pop culture, poetry, dadaism, consumerism -- all the usual stuff. (Amazon USA only) www.amazon.com/dp/B0... #ebookdeal_usa