Ryan Cordell
@ryancordell.org
he/him—textual technologies enthusiast—Associate Professor at UIUC's School of Information Sciences & Department of English—co-director of the Viral Texts Project (viraltexts.org) & Director @skeuomorphpress.org —also https://theanxiousbench.bandcamp.com
Pinned
Ryan Cordell
@ryancordell.org
· Sep 5
Exhalation EP, by The Anxious Bench
3 track album
theanxiousbench.bandcamp.com
Late this summer I got to go into the studio with @pablohutch.bsky.social & our buddy Tim to record some tunes—and our EP is up today on Bandcamp!
I feel a little weird as a middle-aged dude asking folks to listen to my band—but I'm pretty proud of these songs & would love if y’all gave em a listen
I feel a little weird as a middle-aged dude asking folks to listen to my band—but I'm pretty proud of these songs & would love if y’all gave em a listen
A somber end to the holiday weekend with a memorial service for a local friend who passed suddenly—& far, far too young—just before the holiday. Keeping her family & especially her young kids in our minds & hearts today.
November 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
A somber end to the holiday weekend with a memorial service for a local friend who passed suddenly—& far, far too young—just before the holiday. Keeping her family & especially her young kids in our minds & hearts today.
One of my kids just asked me to “turn on your depressing Christmas playlist, Dad” so here’s my annual reminder that I curate a playlist called “Melanholly & the Infinite Sadmas” for all your weepy holiday needs
song suggestions are welcome
song suggestions are welcome
Melanholly & the Infinite Sadmas by Ryan Cordell on Apple Music
Playlist · 0 Songs
music.apple.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:56 AM
One of my kids just asked me to “turn on your depressing Christmas playlist, Dad” so here’s my annual reminder that I curate a playlist called “Melanholly & the Infinite Sadmas” for all your weepy holiday needs
song suggestions are welcome
song suggestions are welcome
Re-reading Becky Chambers’ *A Psalm for the Wild-Built* for class & moved again by:
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
November 29, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Re-reading Becky Chambers’ *A Psalm for the Wild-Built* for class & moved again by:
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, & I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world & marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live”
Bringing every table & chair from inside & outside the house to try to try & make enough seats for all the friends, colleagues, & students coming over for Thanksgiving tomorrow.
November 26, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Bringing every table & chair from inside & outside the house to try to try & make enough seats for all the friends, colleagues, & students coming over for Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Alright Bsky help me out
I received in the US Mail a copy of “The End Times,”—a 4-page newspaper that purports to be “the very most of the little we know” from the fictional town of North End
It has an editor’s op-ed, “local” news & rumors, household tips, a map of North End—& even a 2-panel comic
I received in the US Mail a copy of “The End Times,”—a 4-page newspaper that purports to be “the very most of the little we know” from the fictional town of North End
It has an editor’s op-ed, “local” news & rumors, household tips, a map of North End—& even a 2-panel comic
November 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Alright Bsky help me out
I received in the US Mail a copy of “The End Times,”—a 4-page newspaper that purports to be “the very most of the little we know” from the fictional town of North End
It has an editor’s op-ed, “local” news & rumors, household tips, a map of North End—& even a 2-panel comic
I received in the US Mail a copy of “The End Times,”—a 4-page newspaper that purports to be “the very most of the little we know” from the fictional town of North End
It has an editor’s op-ed, “local” news & rumors, household tips, a map of North End—& even a 2-panel comic
Dear students, you seem to interpret the fact that I’m commenting on your work today as indication that I expect *you* to work today & respond, when in fact I am trying to completely clear my plate so I don’t have to think about class for a few days
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!!
November 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Dear students, you seem to interpret the fact that I’m commenting on your work today as indication that I expect *you* to work today & respond, when in fact I am trying to completely clear my plate so I don’t have to think about class for a few days
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!!
A student typo that’s nonetheless evocative: rather than "data visualization" they wrote "data visceralization"
I think we need more data visceralizations actually
I think we need more data visceralizations actually
November 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
A student typo that’s nonetheless evocative: rather than "data visualization" they wrote "data visceralization"
I think we need more data visceralizations actually
I think we need more data visceralizations actually
Wild that some folks can remind troops they’re not supposed to follow "illegal orders" & everyone, including the president & his supporters, immediately knew that would mean disobeying this president specifically
November 25, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Wild that some folks can remind troops they’re not supposed to follow "illegal orders" & everyone, including the president & his supporters, immediately knew that would mean disobeying this president specifically
After getting into a regular routine in my mid 30s, the past few years—read, pandemic lockdowns -> today—have been bad for me & exercise. But a few recent events have me motivated to start it up again
My struggle is the same it’s been my whole life: I find nearly all exercise interminably boring
My struggle is the same it’s been my whole life: I find nearly all exercise interminably boring
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 PM
After getting into a regular routine in my mid 30s, the past few years—read, pandemic lockdowns -> today—have been bad for me & exercise. But a few recent events have me motivated to start it up again
My struggle is the same it’s been my whole life: I find nearly all exercise interminably boring
My struggle is the same it’s been my whole life: I find nearly all exercise interminably boring
Wait the new season of “Man on the Inside” is about campus politics, small college precarity, & the often-seedy world of donor relations?
I am so in.
I am so in.
November 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Wait the new season of “Man on the Inside” is about campus politics, small college precarity, & the often-seedy world of donor relations?
I am so in.
I am so in.
I think we can all agree that what the world really needs now is a vulgar insult machine
we’ve been operating at a vulgar insult deficit for so long
we’ve been operating at a vulgar insult deficit for so long
November 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I think we can all agree that what the world really needs now is a vulgar insult machine
we’ve been operating at a vulgar insult deficit for so long
we’ve been operating at a vulgar insult deficit for so long
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
hey don't be so hard on yourselves; it delivered oceans of sensitive government and citizen data to billionaires
Musk’s DOGE Quietly Killed Off After Delivering Almost Nothing
The agency disbanded eight months ahead of schedule.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
hey don't be so hard on yourselves; it delivered oceans of sensitive government and citizen data to billionaires
I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how to look
Through other people's eyes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how to look
Through other people's eyes
November 23, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how to look
Through other people's eyes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how to look
Through other people's eyes
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
”That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way.”
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
November 22, 2025 at 2:18 PM
”That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way.”
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
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. 🧪
Driving to a tiny town in central Illinois (population 2142) to go spelunking for letterpress treasure in an old newspaper office
So, typical weekend plans then
So, typical weekend plans then
November 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Driving to a tiny town in central Illinois (population 2142) to go spelunking for letterpress treasure in an old newspaper office
So, typical weekend plans then
So, typical weekend plans then
Genuinely WTF is the point of being a Democrat voting for a bill "condemning socialism?" Even from the most cynical political perspective, what is the point? The only person who would care is never, ever, ever going to vote Democrat AND you’re alienating plenty who would
They are so bad at politics
They are so bad at politics
November 21, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Genuinely WTF is the point of being a Democrat voting for a bill "condemning socialism?" Even from the most cynical political perspective, what is the point? The only person who would care is never, ever, ever going to vote Democrat AND you’re alienating plenty who would
They are so bad at politics
They are so bad at politics
They would never impeach him for threatening to hang democratic congress people, but they might impeach him for fawning over Mamdani
one of those two things is obviously beyond the pale
one of those two things is obviously beyond the pale
November 21, 2025 at 11:46 PM
They would never impeach him for threatening to hang democratic congress people, but they might impeach him for fawning over Mamdani
one of those two things is obviously beyond the pale
one of those two things is obviously beyond the pale
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
Not only has he never looked at Don Jr. or Eric like this, he’s never been so happy to bask in JD Vance’s presence either.
He looks giddy. JOYFUL even.
Is Zohran a witch
He looks giddy. JOYFUL even.
Is Zohran a witch
November 21, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Not only has he never looked at Don Jr. or Eric like this, he’s never been so happy to bask in JD Vance’s presence either.
He looks giddy. JOYFUL even.
Is Zohran a witch
He looks giddy. JOYFUL even.
Is Zohran a witch
I just got a notice & logged into the university’s financial system to see that @skeuomorphpress.org has an honest-to-goodness budget
It’s not enormous by any stretch, but it’s both sufficient & predictable
Even though I knew it was coming, actually seeing it on my screen made me pretty emotional
It’s not enormous by any stretch, but it’s both sufficient & predictable
Even though I knew it was coming, actually seeing it on my screen made me pretty emotional
November 21, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I just got a notice & logged into the university’s financial system to see that @skeuomorphpress.org has an honest-to-goodness budget
It’s not enormous by any stretch, but it’s both sufficient & predictable
Even though I knew it was coming, actually seeing it on my screen made me pretty emotional
It’s not enormous by any stretch, but it’s both sufficient & predictable
Even though I knew it was coming, actually seeing it on my screen made me pretty emotional
Herein begins my annual tradition where once a day for a week I tell myself "Ryan, it’s just Thanksgiving break. Don’t get sucked into vacation mode. It’s not vacation and there is more semester yet to come"
And by 7 days from now I will be 1000% in full vacation mode. No way around it really.
And by 7 days from now I will be 1000% in full vacation mode. No way around it really.
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Herein begins my annual tradition where once a day for a week I tell myself "Ryan, it’s just Thanksgiving break. Don’t get sucked into vacation mode. It’s not vacation and there is more semester yet to come"
And by 7 days from now I will be 1000% in full vacation mode. No way around it really.
And by 7 days from now I will be 1000% in full vacation mode. No way around it really.
At the beginning of the semester I started letting my hair grow—not sure why, except that based on the men in my family I never expected to have hair at this age so why not?
Now it’s longer than it’s been since I was a teenager & getting to that place where I have to decide whether to commit or cut
Now it’s longer than it’s been since I was a teenager & getting to that place where I have to decide whether to commit or cut
November 21, 2025 at 4:14 PM
At the beginning of the semester I started letting my hair grow—not sure why, except that based on the men in my family I never expected to have hair at this age so why not?
Now it’s longer than it’s been since I was a teenager & getting to that place where I have to decide whether to commit or cut
Now it’s longer than it’s been since I was a teenager & getting to that place where I have to decide whether to commit or cut
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
“Adversarial poetry.”
Love this. Obvs.
Love this. Obvs.
November 20, 2025 at 5:53 PM
“Adversarial poetry.”
Love this. Obvs.
Love this. Obvs.
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
When your relatives ask you what good that English degree is....
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 6:23 PM
When your relatives ask you what good that English degree is....
Reposted by Ryan Cordell
If anybody would like this #letterpress print on Miami language 'myaamiaataweenki' revitalization, email me @ [email protected] & I will share details. All proceeds support cultural programming @ the Myaamia Center @ Miami U. #Indigenous #NAIS #bookhistory #NativeAmerica #printmaking
November 6, 2025 at 1:30 AM
If anybody would like this #letterpress print on Miami language 'myaamiaataweenki' revitalization, email me @ [email protected] & I will share details. All proceeds support cultural programming @ the Myaamia Center @ Miami U. #Indigenous #NAIS #bookhistory #NativeAmerica #printmaking