Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 12h

“Who clearly knows how to sell the news and take on the mob” is such a tell

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 14h

Incredible framing by the paper of record of yet another unconstitutional budget runaround of Congress.

NYT headline: Trump Says He Will Pay
Troops Despite Government
Shutdown

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Reposted by Jim Ray

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 22h

This is an exact encapsulation of why I moved to Bluesky.

No amount of handwringing in the Atlantic about how I owe some eternal Promethean suffering to the discourse is going to make me stay on a site I hate, that stopped doing anything for me professionally years ago.

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 20h

For that matter why is she wearing short shorts in the jungle. Malaria has killed more people than every war combined, Lara!

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 1d

Makes you wonder how many children with cystic fibrosis, like one of Vought’s own daughters, will no longer get the kind of school assistance that would help them live full lives.

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Reposted by Jim Ray

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 1d

Guys and ladies and everyone else: I revived the newsletter. I hope you’ll take a look. It is free.
bsky.app/profile/howt...

How To Read This Chart @howtoreadthisch.art · 1d

The first edition of the new newsletter is out! Check it out IF YOU DARE (halloween)
www.howtoreadthisch.art/the-glorious...

The glorious return of How To Read This Chart

Chapter 1 So, uh, what have you been up to? The last time anyone received an issue of "How To Read This Chart," President Trump hadn't yet deployed the military to D.C., the Mets were only a game-and...

www.howtoreadthisch.art

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 1d

My rubric for why tech billionaires continually humiliate themselves: in the summer of 2020 a marketing intern posted in a company-wide Slack channel "frens could we consider more inclusive language, like 'feed 2 birds with one scone' plz" and the bosses all lost their goddamn minds.

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Reposted by Jim Ray

Virginia Murdoch @virginia.alertbutnotalarmed.com · 2d

I made something! Monomarks.at is an open social bookmarking tool along the lines of Pinboard or Delicious, and it's based on ATProto, because I was inspired by @danabra.mov's widely-read post. Log in with your Bluesky account to save bookmarks and browse links posted by the people you follow. 😎

Monomarks: open social bookmarking

Open social bookmarks

Monomarks.at

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Reposted by Jim Ray

dame @dame.is · 2d

if u wanna try to reshape/rewire your relationship with social media, try to force yourself to experience it in a very different format via @anisota.net for like a week — it’s a minimal bluesky/atproto client that removes the “scrolling” mechanic completely and doesn’t let you consume endlessly

anisota 🕯️ @anisota.net · 2d

a third way: social media without engagement metrics front and center — instead, they are represented by an abstracted “rarity indicator” symbol in the bottom corner of a post card

experience bluesky this way: anisota.net

a post card in anisota that has a star rarity instead of metrics

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Reposted by Jim Ray

Josh Crutchmer @jcrutchmer.bsky.social · 2d

Would have made the first words in this post “In a New Netflix film,” but I’m built different

NPR @npr.org · 2d

A single nuclear warhead, of unknown origin, is heading toward the U.S. mainland in Kathryn Bigelow's new Netflix film. It's an unnerving scenario — but it's also thrilling to watch. n.pr/48przga

Every moment pops in the nuclear thriller 'A House of Dynamite'

A single nuclear warhead, of unknown origin, is heading toward the U.S. mainland in Kathryn Bigelow's new Netflix film. It's an unnerving scenario — but it's also thrilling to watch.

n.pr

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Reposted by Jim Ray

David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 3d

It's the purest contemporary franchise in this way. No one really cares, the lore is inconsequential/nonsensical, but some proprietary and incorrect numbers suggest it's worth making another one. The result looks decent and gets some talented people paid. Cool. Two more Event Horizon movies please.

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 3d

Pretty confused by how TRON became a big-budget movie franchise. Was it a bit hit when it came out? No. Did it become a big hit on video/TV? Also no. Do people have fond nostalgic memories of it? Eh kinda but not really. Was it secretly great and critically acclaimed? No again

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 3d

Name the business school after AI. They just wanna churn out a bunch of management consultants making slop powerpoints to justify mass layoffs anyway.

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 3d

"The faculty member wrote that Roberts pushed for the new school despite lacking a 'cogent idea' as to what the 'School of AI' will entail, teach and stand for"

Don't love this!

dailytarheel.com/article/univ...

UNC schools of data science and information science to merge, forming unnamed ‘School of AI’

SDSS Dean Stanley Ahalt will be made dean of the new school while SILS Dean Jeffrey Bardzell will stand as the University’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Vice Provost for AI.

dailytarheel.com

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 3d

"Papá can we read together tonight?"

Bed time? Six year olds don't need a bedtime.

Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 3d

This is like the mirror world of “oh you know the ones”

Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 3d

We're really doing this, huh

spyglass.org/soras-slop-hits-...

Sora’s Slop Hits Different

It’s about creative comedy creation, stupid

spyglass.org

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 4d

It’s neat to think that Truth Social, which is almost certainly compromised by every foe and ally with a half serviceable cyber operation, is likely filled with critical and top secret data.

Sean O’Kane @seanokane.bsky.social · 4d

WSJ is reporting that the Truth Social post where Trump told Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey *really was supposed to be a private message*

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Inside the Justice Department Where the President Calls the Shots

The president has executed a wholesale transformation of the Justice Department, taking control in ways he could have only dreamed of in his first term.

www.wsj.com

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 4d

*And* the Cubbies won!

Jacob Soboroff @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social · 4d

Michigan Avenue right now.

Reposted by Jim Ray

Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 4d

In June I announced that I was retiring from NYU after 39 years, but I am not leaving the field, or the fight for a public service press.

Today I can explain what I meant by not leaving the field. I have a new job: president of News Creator Corps. Read on. newscreatorcorps.org/2025/10/news...

I joined up with News Creator Corps by putting two and two together… Allow me to explain. - News Creator Corps

The consumers of news and information, the people formerly known as the audience, have gone into the production side.

newscreatorcorps.org

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Reposted by Jim Ray

Ed Morrish @edmorrish.bsky.social · 5d

“so how about next week you try to be more of a bo-YES-bo?” - chimp therapist

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Reposted by Jim Ray

mandy brown @aworkinglibrary.com · 4d

A word about annual review season and being human. https://everythingchanges.us/blog/re-views/

Re-views | everything changes

Be a five at being human.

everythingchanges.us

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 4d

FWIW that “ruined brain summer” resonated so much in ways I also can’t articulate but instantly recognized.

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 4d

Every @kissane.bsky.social dispatch is such a balm. Please consider tossing in to support her work if you care at all about building better online spaces.

www.wrecka.ge/a-year-into-the...

A year into the wreckage and salvage

It’s coming up on been a year, somehow, since I started this website/micro-studio/space to think in. What a wild choice that was, setting out in October of 2024, eyes on the horizon! We’d hoped things would turn out differently. The research and thinking I came here

www.wrecka.ge

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Jim Ray @jimray.bsky.social · 4d

It was a delight to see it at the top of my inbox this morning

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Reposted by Jim Ray

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 5d

For the first time in history renewable energy sources are now generating more power than coal worldwide.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

www.theguardian.com

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