Dave Blewett
@planet-daveb.bsky.social
Planetary scientist - mainly Moon, Mercury, asteroids. Opinions are my own and do not represent my employer or funding agencies. Namesake of asteroid 8997.
Started off 2025 planning to annex Panama and Greenland, make Canada the 51st state. What is next on the list?
Places Trump Wants to Attack in 2026
TBR Sunday Read
www.borowitzreport.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Started off 2025 planning to annex Panama and Greenland, make Canada the 51st state. What is next on the list?
Fans of crime drama should like “Down Cemetery Road.” Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson are great in the series, adapted from the Mick Herron novel.
Down Cemetery Road - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 24, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Fans of crime drama should like “Down Cemetery Road.” Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson are great in the series, adapted from the Mick Herron novel.
Highlights of this week's Consumer Health Digest.
- Nutrition influencer dies of hemorrhage undergoing freebirth.
- Promotion of freebirths is a health threat.
- Infant died, siblings malnourished on alkaline diet; parents agreed to plea deal.
- Warning about heavy metals in ayurvedic product.
- Nutrition influencer dies of hemorrhage undergoing freebirth.
- Promotion of freebirths is a health threat.
- Infant died, siblings malnourished on alkaline diet; parents agreed to plea deal.
- Warning about heavy metals in ayurvedic product.
Consumer Health Digest, Issue #25-51 | Quackwatch
Nutrition influencer dies of hemorrhage undergoing discredited freebirth. Promotion of freebirths exposed as a population health threat. Infant died, siblin ...
quackwatch.org
December 23, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Highlights of this week's Consumer Health Digest.
- Nutrition influencer dies of hemorrhage undergoing freebirth.
- Promotion of freebirths is a health threat.
- Infant died, siblings malnourished on alkaline diet; parents agreed to plea deal.
- Warning about heavy metals in ayurvedic product.
- Nutrition influencer dies of hemorrhage undergoing freebirth.
- Promotion of freebirths is a health threat.
- Infant died, siblings malnourished on alkaline diet; parents agreed to plea deal.
- Warning about heavy metals in ayurvedic product.
I'm reading Amanda Petrusich's excellent profile of David Byrne in The New Yorker. I didn't know that he shared an Oscar in 1988 for the score of The Last Emperor.
David Byrne’s Career of Earnest Alienation
At seventy-three, the former front man of Talking Heads is still asking questions about what it means to be alive. But now he’s also offering ideas of hopefulness and service.
www.newyorker.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I'm reading Amanda Petrusich's excellent profile of David Byrne in The New Yorker. I didn't know that he shared an Oscar in 1988 for the score of The Last Emperor.
This week's spot-on satire from Tom Tomorrow.
Cartoon: The news cycle
A cartoon by Tom Tomorrow. As always, if � you find value in this work I do, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter, � Sparky’s List! � You can get it in ...
www.dailykos.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:10 AM
This week's spot-on satire from Tom Tomorrow.
Here are one of my favorite bands (James) performing their hit “Sit Down” on what is apparently a massively popular BBC dance-contest show.
James perform their hit song Sit Down in the Ballroom ✨ BBC Strictly 2025
YouTube video by BBC Strictly Come Dancing
www.youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Here are one of my favorite bands (James) performing their hit “Sit Down” on what is apparently a massively popular BBC dance-contest show.
DOGE has ended, months ahead of schedule. "DOGE, like the rest of the Trump administration, was a lesson in what happens when the least knowledgeable, most careless, poorest-intentioned people are put in charge of matters of life and death."
The Most Humiliating Failure of the New Trump Administration Has Come to a Sad, Fitting Close
It failed at every one of its stated goals while still managing to do tremendous damage to millions of people.
slate.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:33 AM
DOGE has ended, months ahead of schedule. "DOGE, like the rest of the Trump administration, was a lesson in what happens when the least knowledgeable, most careless, poorest-intentioned people are put in charge of matters of life and death."
Educators at universities across the southern United States, which are dominated by Republican-controlled legislatures, face policing of their classes, pressure to self-censor and an undercurrent of fear and anxiety. . .. 1/4 of them say that they are actively looking for jobs outside their state.
Policed and censored: professors in the southern US feel under siege
Politics trumps salary as the main reason academics are looking for jobs in other states, a survey of university educators shows.
www.nature.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Educators at universities across the southern United States, which are dominated by Republican-controlled legislatures, face policing of their classes, pressure to self-censor and an undercurrent of fear and anxiety. . .. 1/4 of them say that they are actively looking for jobs outside their state.
Another great one from Tom Tomorrow.
Cartoon: MAGA Trek
As always, if � you find value in this work I do, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter, � Sparky’s List! � You can get it in your inbox or read it on ...
www.dailykos.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Another great one from Tom Tomorrow.
In Sept., the president posted an AI-generated video of a fake F*x News story in which he announces that “Medbed” hospitals will soon be available. If you're not familiar with this particular branch of the Qanon conspiracy fantasy, you might want to listen to this podcast episode (18 min).
Medbeds: Sleeping in Bunk - Skeptoid
A conspiracy theory claims the Hollywood and Deep State elitists have a magical bed that allows them to remain forever young and healthy.
skeptoid.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:58 AM
In Sept., the president posted an AI-generated video of a fake F*x News story in which he announces that “Medbed” hospitals will soon be available. If you're not familiar with this particular branch of the Qanon conspiracy fantasy, you might want to listen to this podcast episode (18 min).
DJT and RFK are making the whole world less healthy.
How science journalists worldwide are fighting White House health misinformation
“All we can do is not get pulled into the political debates and try to be fair-minded, factual, credible and authoritative,” said STAT’s founder Rick Berke.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
November 19, 2025 at 4:06 AM
DJT and RFK are making the whole world less healthy.
The Liar's Dictionary – a fun, low-key novel about the link between two lexicographers working for the same second-rate dictionary 100 years apart. Some funny wordplay and clever made-up words.
November 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
The Liar's Dictionary – a fun, low-key novel about the link between two lexicographers working for the same second-rate dictionary 100 years apart. Some funny wordplay and clever made-up words.
Can I use FanDuel or DraftKings to bet on which team/sport will have the next gambling scandal?
Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted on charges linked to illegal sports betting
Ortiz was arrested Sunday in Boston and will appear in court Monday. Clase was not in custody as of early Sunday afternoon.
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Can I use FanDuel or DraftKings to bet on which team/sport will have the next gambling scandal?
Great conversation with author of a new book about The Cars (500 pages!!).
Sound Opinions #1041: The Cars are Underrated Plus Opinions on Sprints
Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot talk about The Cars with Bill Janovitz, the author of a new book on the band. The book makes the case that The Cars are an underrated band. Plus, the hosts review the ...
www.soundopinions.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Great conversation with author of a new book about The Cars (500 pages!!).
Parallels between Mao's Cultural Revolution and the current U.S. regime: attacks on universities, expertise and competence; fanatical youth movement; continual grievance and anger; no relation between rhetoric and reality; hatred toward “the enemy within”. History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme.
A constant bombardment of noise and information: China, 1974 to America, 2025
Geremie Barmé lived in China during the dying days of the Cultural Revolution, when every day brought a new political upheaval. It's a familiar feeling in Trump's world.
www.rhymingchaos.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Parallels between Mao's Cultural Revolution and the current U.S. regime: attacks on universities, expertise and competence; fanatical youth movement; continual grievance and anger; no relation between rhetoric and reality; hatred toward “the enemy within”. History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme.
I enjoyed Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein". It has a different perspective than the original Shelley novel, much more from the creature's point of view. The actress who played Elizabeth is named Mia Goth (not kidding).
Frankenstein (2025 film) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I enjoyed Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein". It has a different perspective than the original Shelley novel, much more from the creature's point of view. The actress who played Elizabeth is named Mia Goth (not kidding).
Whooping cough on the rise in Louisiana.
Louisiana Took Months To Sound Alarm Amid Whooping Cough Outbreak
State health officials appear to have deviated from the usual response during an outbreak after it killed two infants.
undark.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Whooping cough on the rise in Louisiana.
The same week that Texas hosted a major anti-vaxxer conference, we have this story about 4x increase in whooping cough.
Whooping cough cases skyrocket in Texas, quadrupling last year's numbers
Texas is currently seeing four times the number of whooping cough cases compared to the same time last year.
abcnews.go.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The same week that Texas hosted a major anti-vaxxer conference, we have this story about 4x increase in whooping cough.
Install unqualified lackeys in positions of authority and this is the predictable result.
F.B.I. Director Is Said to Have Made a Pledge to Head of MI5, Then Broken It
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Install unqualified lackeys in positions of authority and this is the predictable result.
The administration is raising cronyism to the highest levels.
JD Vance officiated the wedding of new head of NIH environmental institute
Unusual hiring process raises fears of political favoritism
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:39 AM
The administration is raising cronyism to the highest levels.
We're really living in kooky-billionaire times: This guy is touting “Christian AI” as a way to bring on the second coming and Peter Thiel is giving speeches warning about the anti-Christ.
An ex-Intel CEO’s mission to build a Christian AI: ‘hasten the coming of Christ’s return’
Patrick Gelsinger, executive chairman of Gloo, has made it his mission to advance Christian principles in Silicon Valley
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 AM
We're really living in kooky-billionaire times: This guy is touting “Christian AI” as a way to bring on the second coming and Peter Thiel is giving speeches warning about the anti-Christ.
Great Fresh Air conversation with Guillermo del Toro. His adaptation of Frankenstein comes to Netflix on Nov. 7. Support your local NPR station!
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro says 'I'd rather die' than use generative AI
Del Toro's new Frankenstein adaption reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel. Frankenstein was like a tech bro: "creating something without considering the consequences," he explains.
www.npr.org
October 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Great Fresh Air conversation with Guillermo del Toro. His adaptation of Frankenstein comes to Netflix on Nov. 7. Support your local NPR station!