Thomas Hartwell
@twindeercreek.bsky.social
Writer, Composer/Arranger, Music Director with far too many interests than is probably healthy.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
it is incredible that the entire high level legal apparatus of the United States is "anything that helps people is impossible, anything that kills people is permitted"
January 3, 2026 at 2:24 PM
it is incredible that the entire high level legal apparatus of the United States is "anything that helps people is impossible, anything that kills people is permitted"
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
What’s especially baffling to me is that we’re broadly winning. Trump is unpopular, losing his party’s loyalty, and likely to eat dirt in the midterms. He just backed out if Chicago with his tail between his legs. This is a monstrously bad situation, but as those go, this is going great.
Begging American leftists to stop talking doom and hopelessness and giving up when the fight has barely even started. Come on. Have at least SOME fucking grit and resilience. Make the fuckers work. Nothing’s over til it’s over, and even when it finally is, you can still make them bleed for it.
January 4, 2026 at 5:24 AM
What’s especially baffling to me is that we’re broadly winning. Trump is unpopular, losing his party’s loyalty, and likely to eat dirt in the midterms. He just backed out if Chicago with his tail between his legs. This is a monstrously bad situation, but as those go, this is going great.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
If it's legal to depose another country's president, I've got a request for Canada
January 3, 2026 at 10:36 PM
If it's legal to depose another country's president, I've got a request for Canada
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I honestly do not believe I’ve lost a single reader to AI, for the simple reason that I’ve cultivated a literate audience who want nuance, wit, and to be surprised by their art. My best advice to artists concerned about being replaced by AI is to stop being so damn replaceable.
December 16, 2025 at 6:46 AM
I honestly do not believe I’ve lost a single reader to AI, for the simple reason that I’ve cultivated a literate audience who want nuance, wit, and to be surprised by their art. My best advice to artists concerned about being replaced by AI is to stop being so damn replaceable.
It’s that time of year again when my inner Grinch comes out and I admit that I think The Muppet Christmas Carol is merely *ok*. It’s *fine*. A film I’d like a lot more if everyone else liked it a little less.
December 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
It’s that time of year again when my inner Grinch comes out and I admit that I think The Muppet Christmas Carol is merely *ok*. It’s *fine*. A film I’d like a lot more if everyone else liked it a little less.
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Like, I agree we shouldn’t be saddling people with lifetime debts for education, but breaking education to appease that fact is very “now you have two problems.”
December 9, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Like, I agree we shouldn’t be saddling people with lifetime debts for education, but breaking education to appease that fact is very “now you have two problems.”
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*youth pastor voice*
Let me tell you kids about another carpenter who wasn’t very popular with the authorities
Let me tell you kids about another carpenter who wasn’t very popular with the authorities
Sabrina Carpenter made the White House delete their fuck ass tweet.
December 5, 2025 at 9:10 PM
*youth pastor voice*
Let me tell you kids about another carpenter who wasn’t very popular with the authorities
Let me tell you kids about another carpenter who wasn’t very popular with the authorities
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
Nothing about this deal is done. Oppose it to the bitter end.
So many publications are phrasing the netflix - warner thing as a done deal, but its not + it will take a YEAR minimum to even officialize this sale. Ive heard the director's guild of america is planning a movement to block the proceedings, they dont want you to know you can oppose this
December 5, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Nothing about this deal is done. Oppose it to the bitter end.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
On this day in 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. For 381 days people boycotted the buses. They walked, carpooled and organized every single day until segregation cracked. Nothing will change today without that same resolve. Freedom isn’t granted, it's taken one step at a time. #Resist
December 1, 2025 at 12:08 PM
On this day in 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. For 381 days people boycotted the buses. They walked, carpooled and organized every single day until segregation cracked. Nothing will change today without that same resolve. Freedom isn’t granted, it's taken one step at a time. #Resist
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
A good pair to this quite well done video essay would be @eruditorumpress.com's On Incomputable Language: An Essay on AI.
November 24, 2025 at 4:05 AM
A good pair to this quite well done video essay would be @eruditorumpress.com's On Incomputable Language: An Essay on AI.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local authorities deny catholic prisoners the Eucharist, bishop arrives, Papal sanction may follow”
Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José María Garcia-Maldonado at ICE detention facility: “Being here is an act of holiness…soon we will seek access to the facility to bring the Eucharist to our brothers and sisters; if they say no again, we will keep praying.”
November 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local authorities deny catholic prisoners the Eucharist, bishop arrives, Papal sanction may follow”
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this is a reminder that we dont have to settle for newsom in 2028
November 5, 2025 at 2:44 AM
this is a reminder that we dont have to settle for newsom in 2028
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
Zohran at the rally for trans youth on february 8 ❣️ he was polling single digits.
June 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Zohran at the rally for trans youth on february 8 ❣️ he was polling single digits.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
The Democrats desperately need to 1) figure out how to run against an ambient disinformation machine, 2) make regulating the tech industry a central part of their policy platform, since it doesn’t fucking mater what you put there except inasmuch as there’s a right answer and they never take it.
I've been saying for *years* that YouTube is a far-right radicalisation engine on a grand scale. Probably even more so than Twitter is even now in the Musk era.
woof
November 3, 2025 at 12:40 AM
The Democrats desperately need to 1) figure out how to run against an ambient disinformation machine, 2) make regulating the tech industry a central part of their policy platform, since it doesn’t fucking mater what you put there except inasmuch as there’s a right answer and they never take it.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
The current shitshow is at least one of those moments where, after standing still for fifteen years, the world has revolved back around me and suddenly providing guerilla media literacy training is chic and important.
What we are going to have to do in the coming years is build out a whole lot of parallel institutions that can do the work previously assigned to the state, most especially civic education.
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
November 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The current shitshow is at least one of those moments where, after standing still for fifteen years, the world has revolved back around me and suddenly providing guerilla media literacy training is chic and important.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
I just don’t feel like compromising on “Nazis are bad” as a political principle in the year of our dictator 2025. Idk what to tell you.
October 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I just don’t feel like compromising on “Nazis are bad” as a political principle in the year of our dictator 2025. Idk what to tell you.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
I think some of the people on social media sneering at the No Kings protesters are just mad that those normies with signs are way better shitposters than they are
October 19, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I think some of the people on social media sneering at the No Kings protesters are just mad that those normies with signs are way better shitposters than they are
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
The world joined us and said, “No Kings.”
October 19, 2025 at 4:17 AM
The world joined us and said, “No Kings.”
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This would be @eruditorumpress.com whose books on Doctor Who (which are really books on ways to live in the world) were of incalculable help to me as a mental balance during a difficult time.
Hey let's try something different today.
Let's start a thread where we shout out a trans person on Bluesky who's inspired you or made a difference in your life.
Let's start a thread where we shout out a trans person on Bluesky who's inspired you or made a difference in your life.
October 16, 2025 at 9:54 PM
This would be @eruditorumpress.com whose books on Doctor Who (which are really books on ways to live in the world) were of incalculable help to me as a mental balance during a difficult time.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
If there's one thing you can say about AI, it really makes you miss clippy
October 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
If there's one thing you can say about AI, it really makes you miss clippy
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this is how I, a resident of LA, found out that the Palisades fire was arson, that they caught the guy, and that he used gen AI to work his way up to doing the crime
the city of los angeles burned in january in part because of a man who couldn’t stop generating images of burning cities on ChatGPT, and then after he lit the fire he asked if the fire he started was his fault
October 8, 2025 at 5:42 PM
this is how I, a resident of LA, found out that the Palisades fire was arson, that they caught the guy, and that he used gen AI to work his way up to doing the crime
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
Continuing to experience queer joy is, in fact, a meaningful form of resistance.
October 2, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Continuing to experience queer joy is, in fact, a meaningful form of resistance.
Reposted by Thomas Hartwell
I fully understand how difficult it is to remain focused on any one particular atrocity but this really ought to be a serious scandal and people need to pay heavy prices for this
I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were
September 30, 2025 at 1:33 AM
I fully understand how difficult it is to remain focused on any one particular atrocity but this really ought to be a serious scandal and people need to pay heavy prices for this