Brad Proctor
@bdproctor.bsky.social
Historian at the Evergreen State College, occasional/lapsed banjo player, IndyCar fan.
Olympia, WA. 🏳️🌈
Olympia, WA. 🏳️🌈
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My mom was watching The Final Sacrifice the other day, her favorite MST3K, and it suddenly dawned on me why Luigi's court outfit felt so familiar.
December 2, 2025 at 6:12 AM
My mom was watching The Final Sacrifice the other day, her favorite MST3K, and it suddenly dawned on me why Luigi's court outfit felt so familiar.
If Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, there literally are no Christmas movies. What even constitutes a Christmas movie?
British public’s verdict is in: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie
British public’s verdict is in: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie
Survey also reveals Britons’ favourite festive film, views on tear-jerkers and family cinema trips
When Macaulay Culkin recently said he didn’t consider Die Hard to be a Christmas film – wading into one of pop culture’s most heated holiday debates – he was booed by a live audience.
But it looks like the British people are behind the actor, with a survey revealing that Home Alone is the UK’s favourite festive film, while Die Hard has officially been voted not a Christmas movie. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:27 AM
If Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, there literally are no Christmas movies. What even constitutes a Christmas movie?
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My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.
November 29, 2025 at 2:22 PM
My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.
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Here's me in March 2024 cautioning against the obvious mistake of institutions going all-in on a technology that is entirely unproven in terms of student development and learning. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Generative AI will be there when you need it
We don’t actually know what this stuff is good for yet.
www.insidehighered.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Here's me in March 2024 cautioning against the obvious mistake of institutions going all-in on a technology that is entirely unproven in terms of student development and learning. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
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It's awesome that the organ of the center-left has caught up with what some of us (including me) were saying three years ago, upon the arrival of ChatGPT. biblioracle.substack.com/p/chatgpt-ca...
November 30, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It's awesome that the organ of the center-left has caught up with what some of us (including me) were saying three years ago, upon the arrival of ChatGPT. biblioracle.substack.com/p/chatgpt-ca...
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The New York Times' headline editors have been operating with such gleeful impunity, I'm running out of ideas for how civic society and journalists who follow the SPJ Code of Ethics can hold them accountable.
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
November 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
The New York Times' headline editors have been operating with such gleeful impunity, I'm running out of ideas for how civic society and journalists who follow the SPJ Code of Ethics can hold them accountable.
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Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat
November 29, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat
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"The agreement places no restrictions on our transgender community."
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
November 29, 2025 at 4:32 AM
"The agreement places no restrictions on our transgender community."
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
Except whether they can play sports, where they can use the bathroom or locker room, what kind of housing they can live in, and what healthcare they can receive.
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thinking about her today…
November 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
thinking about her today…
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Handing back student work that’s been written by ChatGPT with a 0 followed by the comment “This essay will never stand in authentic wonder before the Beauty of God’s creation.”
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Handing back student work that’s been written by ChatGPT with a 0 followed by the comment “This essay will never stand in authentic wonder before the Beauty of God’s creation.”
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CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.
ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't
CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.
ISILDUR: true
ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't
CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.
ISILDUR: true
October 6, 2025 at 1:58 PM
CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.
ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't
CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.
ISILDUR: true
ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't
CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.
ISILDUR: true
Every part of this is an abomination
November 24, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Every part of this is an abomination
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Twin Peaks: Major Briggs.
November 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Twin Peaks: Major Briggs.
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One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
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I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
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Neither Trump, nor half of his cabinet have “ancestors” who were in North America before the revolution. I’d guess that less than half of current US citizens do. “Your ancestors” is doing a lot of implicitly white Christian nationalist work here.
November 22, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Neither Trump, nor half of his cabinet have “ancestors” who were in North America before the revolution. I’d guess that less than half of current US citizens do. “Your ancestors” is doing a lot of implicitly white Christian nationalist work here.
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Anyway, do not help the Sam Altmans of the world steal Machine Learning valor to prop up a bunch of gross plagiarism machines that have all our worst biases and failings baked in.
November 22, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Anyway, do not help the Sam Altmans of the world steal Machine Learning valor to prop up a bunch of gross plagiarism machines that have all our worst biases and failings baked in.
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Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
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Have we considered the possibility that the "67" meme is caused by Data sending information out of the time loop in an attempt to stop America from crashing into the USS Bozeman?
November 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Have we considered the possibility that the "67" meme is caused by Data sending information out of the time loop in an attempt to stop America from crashing into the USS Bozeman?
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The disconnect between Platner’s actual class background (upper-middle class) and the way he’s often spoken of (tribune of the working class) has long bugged me. John deftly unpacks that discrepancy here.
November 21, 2025 at 5:23 AM
The disconnect between Platner’s actual class background (upper-middle class) and the way he’s often spoken of (tribune of the working class) has long bugged me. John deftly unpacks that discrepancy here.
Reposted by Brad Proctor
This is very important. The intrusion of AI slop into higher education is not mainly coming from below, from the students. It's coming from the top.
What I've been noticing lately in convos with students is that they *despise* the AI-slopification of everything as much or even more than I do. And yet our universities & their admin seem to believe that students for some reason want it integrated into everything. THEY DON'T.
“To be sat there with this material in front of you that is just really not worth anyone’s time, when you could be spending that time actually engaging with something worthwhile, is really frustrating,” he said.
November 21, 2025 at 2:34 AM
This is very important. The intrusion of AI slop into higher education is not mainly coming from below, from the students. It's coming from the top.
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The vast body of research that Ken Burns relied upon to make his new documentary on the American Revolution would be practically impossible to be produced today, what with the defunding of humanistic scholarship, the collapse of stable academic jobs, the attack on public history & academic freedom.🗃️
November 17, 2025 at 9:43 PM
The vast body of research that Ken Burns relied upon to make his new documentary on the American Revolution would be practically impossible to be produced today, what with the defunding of humanistic scholarship, the collapse of stable academic jobs, the attack on public history & academic freedom.🗃️
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Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc being the only human character in a film of Muppets is, and I’m trying not to be dramatic here, the reason cinema was invented in the first place!
Am I a hypocrite for wanting this after giving a hard no to muppet knives out
Okay, I'm making my case for the only Muppet I want to see on Broadway right now...
November 19, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc being the only human character in a film of Muppets is, and I’m trying not to be dramatic here, the reason cinema was invented in the first place!
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The main difference between their characters is that I would view Butthead as being morally culpable for his crimes in a way I wouldn’t for Beavis. Beavis I’m almost instantly arguing down to manslaughter, Butthead is full Murder One
November 18, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The main difference between their characters is that I would view Butthead as being morally culpable for his crimes in a way I wouldn’t for Beavis. Beavis I’m almost instantly arguing down to manslaughter, Butthead is full Murder One
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