CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
@cjdeboix.bsky.social
uncooperative trans enby queer pan ace | ex-academic (music, phil, theo), retired teacher | multilingual | autistic adhd | conversion therapy survivor | breast cancer (stage IV) | pfp: Bubo the Mechanical Owl
I finished Glorious Exploits this evening and was not expecting the ending to go that hard. Had to lay down and cry into my pillow for a minute.
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December 1, 2025 at 4:30 AM
I finished Glorious Exploits this evening and was not expecting the ending to go that hard. Had to lay down and cry into my pillow for a minute.
📚💙
📚💙
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
So much of woke backlash is “I miss when I didn’t have any social consequences for being a huge piece of shit”
November 30, 2025 at 3:53 PM
So much of woke backlash is “I miss when I didn’t have any social consequences for being a huge piece of shit”
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
and this is why the Death of the Humanities Degrees is devastating; we're just giving up on teaching students how to synthesize information in a way that's not somehow tied to capitalism
One hard part of the literacy problem in the United States is there are a lot of people -- some of them with college degrees and beyond -- who don't realize that they are bad at reading
I don't know how to reach those people
I don't know how to reach those people
November 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM
and this is why the Death of the Humanities Degrees is devastating; we're just giving up on teaching students how to synthesize information in a way that's not somehow tied to capitalism
The irony of him evoking the name of George Washington, who, despite his many notable shortcomings, wasn't much a fan of the presidency thing either
Donald Trump has not just convinced me that I do not want a king—I'm not even sure about the president thing anymore.
November 30, 2025 at 11:10 PM
The irony of him evoking the name of George Washington, who, despite his many notable shortcomings, wasn't much a fan of the presidency thing either
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Very good piece on the quite fast rollout of "AI-powered" textbooks in South Korea. The government went from making the textbooks mandatory to supplementary because of complaints and now the textbook companies are suing because "the market suddenly disappear[ed]."
restofworld.org/2025/south-k...
restofworld.org/2025/south-k...
AI-powered textbooks fail to make the grade in South Korea
South Korea’s AI learning program was rolled back after just four months following a backlash from teachers, students, and parents, underlining the challenges in embedding the technology in education.
restofworld.org
November 30, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Very good piece on the quite fast rollout of "AI-powered" textbooks in South Korea. The government went from making the textbooks mandatory to supplementary because of complaints and now the textbook companies are suing because "the market suddenly disappear[ed]."
restofworld.org/2025/south-k...
restofworld.org/2025/south-k...
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Possibly I should just stop complaining like a human and get on with it.
November 30, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Possibly I should just stop complaining like a human and get on with it.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Perfect natural experiment. If Biden and Congress had treated the Jan 6th insurrection like the treason it was and jailed the people behind it, Trump’s power would have shriveled on the vine.
"Mussolini once said that he didn’t create fascism – he extracted it from the Italians’ unconscious. And I think it’s the same thing with Bolsonarismo. Bolsonaro dies, but these radical ideas and ideology are here to stay." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Foam that’s washed away’: support dissolves as Bolsonaro starts 27-year jail term
Brazil shows little sign of feared rightwing rebellion, with only a few die-hards protesting outside prison
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Perfect natural experiment. If Biden and Congress had treated the Jan 6th insurrection like the treason it was and jailed the people behind it, Trump’s power would have shriveled on the vine.
Like unto like, as the Thomists would say.
fraudsters stick together
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Like unto like, as the Thomists would say.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Catapult the rich. No ceiling.
The New Deal wasn’t built on a promise that there would be “no ceiling” for the richest Americans.
Quite the opposite, in fact. FDR knew its politics could only work if he singled out the rich as villains and knew that its policies could only work if the rich paid their fair share in taxes.
Quite the opposite, in fact. FDR knew its politics could only work if he singled out the rich as villains and knew that its policies could only work if the rich paid their fair share in taxes.
November 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Catapult the rich. No ceiling.
It's noon and it's only 50F here. This is unacceptable for West Texas.
November 30, 2025 at 7:08 PM
It's noon and it's only 50F here. This is unacceptable for West Texas.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
It is very hard for evil to take hold of the unconsenting soul.
November 30, 2025 at 6:40 PM
It is very hard for evil to take hold of the unconsenting soul.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
RFK Jr. took the CDC pledge off the website entirely last month and replaced it with a conspiracy screed. they took it down because don’t believe in any of it. what a small, sad man compared to walt dowdle
The Pledge to the American People was a foundation for Walter Dowdle’s Mountin lecture in 1990, and it used to be as prominent on our website as this 20ft mural in the lobby of one of our buildings.
I used to walk past these words every day, proud that we could rise together with these principles.
I used to walk past these words every day, proud that we could rise together with these principles.
November 30, 2025 at 6:47 PM
RFK Jr. took the CDC pledge off the website entirely last month and replaced it with a conspiracy screed. they took it down because don’t believe in any of it. what a small, sad man compared to walt dowdle
I really want a poppy seed bagel and the only place near me that reliably has them is Einstein Bros, which I hate because it's a super bougie crowd there who act annoyed by a disabled person like me and they don't have a drive thru. Are all Einstein in Bros super bougie or just the one by my house?
November 30, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I really want a poppy seed bagel and the only place near me that reliably has them is Einstein Bros, which I hate because it's a super bougie crowd there who act annoyed by a disabled person like me and they don't have a drive thru. Are all Einstein in Bros super bougie or just the one by my house?
In the 1990s, as a grad student, I was asked to give presentations on Camus at my uni, and I had to add a "Hitler was morally bad but also incompetent as fuck" segment into my presentation because Neo Nazis would show up to my talks and I felt compelled to shame them. We need more shaming en masse.
Hitler was bad.
An essay that, you know, I didn’t think I’d need to write.
An essay that, you know, I didn’t think I’d need to write.
Perry: The pro-Hitler problem with the American right
"We need to get back to the basics: Hitler was bad. The people who suggest otherwise are also bad," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
In the 1990s, as a grad student, I was asked to give presentations on Camus at my uni, and I had to add a "Hitler was morally bad but also incompetent as fuck" segment into my presentation because Neo Nazis would show up to my talks and I felt compelled to shame them. We need more shaming en masse.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
On the horrific news that Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of boat bombing survivors, remember: The Trump Murder Memo "authorizing" the strikes preemptively clears those carrying them out. That's unusual. And we still haven't heard from the commander who resigned:
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
November 30, 2025 at 1:55 PM
On the horrific news that Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of boat bombing survivors, remember: The Trump Murder Memo "authorizing" the strikes preemptively clears those carrying them out. That's unusual. And we still haven't heard from the commander who resigned:
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
I hate the streaming model so much that I largely do not participate anymore
i’m being radicalized by peacock charging $10.99 per month and having A MILLION COMMERCIALS
November 30, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I hate the streaming model so much that I largely do not participate anymore
Will be finishing up Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon amd Planetfall by Emma Newmann today. Really have enjoyed both a lot. Also reading Ammonite by Nicola Griiffith and plan to read Aliss at the Fire by Jon Fosse today if I have time.
Good morning Blue Sky! Hope you’re all ok? Today I’m currently reading an excellent fantasy novella Mirror Marked by Vida Cruz-Borja. What are you reading at the moment?
November 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Will be finishing up Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon amd Planetfall by Emma Newmann today. Really have enjoyed both a lot. Also reading Ammonite by Nicola Griiffith and plan to read Aliss at the Fire by Jon Fosse today if I have time.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
This is Jack for a timeline cleanse.
November 30, 2025 at 4:23 AM
This is Jack for a timeline cleanse.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
In case you’re wondering why Pete Hegseth is freaking out about a congressional video reminding the military not to participate in illegal orders:
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 12:14 AM
In case you’re wondering why Pete Hegseth is freaking out about a congressional video reminding the military not to participate in illegal orders:
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Unvaccinated infants are the second most likely group to get hospitalized for Covid after older adults. Any effort to minimize the effectiveness for kids is evil.
November 29, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Unvaccinated infants are the second most likely group to get hospitalized for Covid after older adults. Any effort to minimize the effectiveness for kids is evil.
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
A persistent myth is that US teachers are a left-wing monolith. It's a destructive myth.
"He says some teachers seem to make a point of working his legal name into every interaction, he told the Texas Tribune, outing him to peers and rekindling the dread he felt in his time before Ethan."
"He says some teachers seem to make a point of working his legal name into every interaction, he told the Texas Tribune, outing him to peers and rekindling the dread he felt in his time before Ethan."
Teachers are outing trans students thanks to state's new "Don't Say Gay" law - LGBTQ Nation
His deadname is "sprawled everywhere," said one high school senior.
www.lgbtqnation.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:26 PM
A persistent myth is that US teachers are a left-wing monolith. It's a destructive myth.
"He says some teachers seem to make a point of working his legal name into every interaction, he told the Texas Tribune, outing him to peers and rekindling the dread he felt in his time before Ethan."
"He says some teachers seem to make a point of working his legal name into every interaction, he told the Texas Tribune, outing him to peers and rekindling the dread he felt in his time before Ethan."
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
November 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The Boston Globe identified the companies in Massachusetts that employ the most SNAP recipients. A key stat: "In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are employed, half of them full-time."
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Full article: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...
Reposted by CJ de Boix, mechanical owl, they/them👽🌈♿
Kate makes an excellent argument here.
Also trauma plays heck with your memory formation and recall and these kids have been through a lot without adult resources to help.
Also trauma plays heck with your memory formation and recall and these kids have been through a lot without adult resources to help.
I have been reading all the "students these days" threads from various sides and I have an essay's worth of thoughts -- there's a lot of complexity and heterogeneity that is hard to communicate on social media. There are a couple of things I will say here though. 1/
November 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Kate makes an excellent argument here.
Also trauma plays heck with your memory formation and recall and these kids have been through a lot without adult resources to help.
Also trauma plays heck with your memory formation and recall and these kids have been through a lot without adult resources to help.