Sean Connell
@slcpgh.bsky.social
Wordsmith, educator, parent (not in order of importance). Now quasi-librarian. Opinions are frequent and vociferous and very much not representative of my employer who shall not be named. He/Him.
Pinned
Sean Connell
@slcpgh.bsky.social
· Apr 23
Speaking of such things…
New followers (that are actual people and/or sentient bots): Hi, welcome!
Are you sure about this?
No, really, are you sure this is wise?
I swear a lot, am frequently angry lately, but there are occasional cat and food posts.
Gallows humor is all I’ve got.
New followers (that are actual people and/or sentient bots): Hi, welcome!
Are you sure about this?
No, really, are you sure this is wise?
I swear a lot, am frequently angry lately, but there are occasional cat and food posts.
Gallows humor is all I’ve got.
Reposted by Sean Connell
Will AI save money? Does it make work faster? Does it make work better? All of these questions are irrelevant when the person shoving it down your throat has millions invested in AI startups
November 27, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Will AI save money? Does it make work faster? Does it make work better? All of these questions are irrelevant when the person shoving it down your throat has millions invested in AI startups
Good Christ the fucking typos.
November 27, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Good Christ the fucking typos.
I appreciate that, whatever it’s other faults, Ken Burn’s The American Revolution does not shy away from pointing out what an elite, rich, slave-owning bastard Washington was.
November 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I appreciate that, whatever it’s other faults, Ken Burn’s The American Revolution does not shy away from pointing out what an elite, rich, slave-owning bastard Washington was.
My firm position is if you can’t put down the phone long enough to follow along you don’t deserve to have it recapped for your fifteen minutes later.
Y'all we have gotta stop doing this second screen dialogue thing where characters just repeat plot points to each other to make sure everyone is up to speed and the audience isn't left behind.
Eventually it's just a bunch of people in a room talking about a TV show they're in.
Eventually it's just a bunch of people in a room talking about a TV show they're in.
For @dreadcentral.bsky.social, I reviewed the first volume of STRANGER THINGS 5, a messy but invigorating return that sees the show battling the weight of its own legacy through clunky dialogue, weird pacing, and yes, that old Hawkins magic.
November 27, 2025 at 1:57 AM
My firm position is if you can’t put down the phone long enough to follow along you don’t deserve to have it recapped for your fifteen minutes later.
All of it?
That said, I make my own cranberry sauce. It’s very simple, very tasty, and does not hold a cylindrical shape.
That said, I make my own cranberry sauce. It’s very simple, very tasty, and does not hold a cylindrical shape.
What is a must have on your Thanksgiving plate?
November 27, 2025 at 1:55 AM
All of it?
That said, I make my own cranberry sauce. It’s very simple, very tasty, and does not hold a cylindrical shape.
That said, I make my own cranberry sauce. It’s very simple, very tasty, and does not hold a cylindrical shape.
Going to look like a pool at a cheap hotel when he’s done.
What’s the over-under on national monuments he ruins?
November 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Going to look like a pool at a cheap hotel when he’s done.
Reposted by Sean Connell
Translation: "If you don't use AI then the guys using our chips can't pretend to make money and can't pay the loans they took out to pay for the original loans they took out for all the money they're not making and it all falls apart and we can't sell chips to fuel the money they're not making."
November 27, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Translation: "If you don't use AI then the guys using our chips can't pretend to make money and can't pay the loans they took out to pay for the original loans they took out for all the money they're not making and it all falls apart and we can't sell chips to fuel the money they're not making."
I’m not on TikTok, but of course inevitably things cross my path anyway.
If I thought TikTok was more like this, I might revise that stance.
If I thought TikTok was more like this, I might revise that stance.
Fireee🔥 #eminem #withoutme #1950s #hiphop #soul
TikTok video by J.rocko
www.tiktok.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I’m not on TikTok, but of course inevitably things cross my path anyway.
If I thought TikTok was more like this, I might revise that stance.
If I thought TikTok was more like this, I might revise that stance.
Reposted by Sean Connell
Got to respect its optimism about the future. It's set "late in the C20th," there's a busy moonbase, regular flights, extensive international cooperation.
And the villains are space techbros. Their spokeswoman said their philosophy is to move fast and break things in pretty much so many words.
And the villains are space techbros. Their spokeswoman said their philosophy is to move fast and break things in pretty much so many words.
November 26, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Got to respect its optimism about the future. It's set "late in the C20th," there's a busy moonbase, regular flights, extensive international cooperation.
And the villains are space techbros. Their spokeswoman said their philosophy is to move fast and break things in pretty much so many words.
And the villains are space techbros. Their spokeswoman said their philosophy is to move fast and break things in pretty much so many words.
Reposted by Sean Connell
I remember during the first Trump term, one journalist was furious that I criticized individuals that sat on stories for their books. He basically called me dumb and naive. I hope he’s doing poorly now. Sigh
New — I wrote about the myriad ways journalism’s moral rot manifests, and how our crumbling institutions have created the conditions for it to fester:
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Esptein's journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 26, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I remember during the first Trump term, one journalist was furious that I criticized individuals that sat on stories for their books. He basically called me dumb and naive. I hope he’s doing poorly now. Sigh
Reposted by Sean Connell
Since we are once again dealing with "the only silent era comedians of note were men" I feel I need to stand up for the ladies.
Marion Davies!
Marion Davies!
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Since we are once again dealing with "the only silent era comedians of note were men" I feel I need to stand up for the ladies.
Marion Davies!
Marion Davies!
Reposted by Sean Connell
In a major meta twist, @gailsimone.bsky.social is a fictional character in the writings of Remy LeBeau in an obscure X-Men special written by Chris Claremont in 1975.
Remy wasn’t recognized as Gambit until 1990, though, so there was a lot of foreshadowing on Claremont’s part.
Remy wasn’t recognized as Gambit until 1990, though, so there was a lot of foreshadowing on Claremont’s part.
I don’t believe you.
Of course not! There's not such thing as Gail Simone.
She's just a story Canadian parents made up to get their kids to eat their underwhelming non-pickled cucumbers.
Gail Simone can't hurt you.
She's just a story Canadian parents made up to get their kids to eat their underwhelming non-pickled cucumbers.
Gail Simone can't hurt you.
November 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
In a major meta twist, @gailsimone.bsky.social is a fictional character in the writings of Remy LeBeau in an obscure X-Men special written by Chris Claremont in 1975.
Remy wasn’t recognized as Gambit until 1990, though, so there was a lot of foreshadowing on Claremont’s part.
Remy wasn’t recognized as Gambit until 1990, though, so there was a lot of foreshadowing on Claremont’s part.
I’m not even going to pretend it’s a dust mote or something. This one made me tear up.
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I’m not even going to pretend it’s a dust mote or something. This one made me tear up.
Reposted by Sean Connell
nose down ass up
that's the way we cyberstuck
that's the way we cyberstuck
November 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
nose down ass up
that's the way we cyberstuck
that's the way we cyberstuck
We can sick the wyverns on these, too.
To HELI-D, the sky is a new visual frontier for brands and political candidates.
'Unignorable' flying billboards are slated to come to California
To HELI-D, the sky is a new visual frontier for brands and political candidates.
bit.ly
November 26, 2025 at 9:18 PM
We can sick the wyverns on these, too.
Reposted by Sean Connell
They say nothing good comes from hate, but when I see artists hating on AI, it makes me immediately like them and want to check out their work.
November 26, 2025 at 9:11 PM
They say nothing good comes from hate, but when I see artists hating on AI, it makes me immediately like them and want to check out their work.
Reposted by Sean Connell
"Assume everyone I interact with online is struggling with their mental health" has only become a more important guiding principle in the past couple years
My personal guidelines for dealing with people on social media:
Assume everyone is a friend you haven't yet gotten to know.
Assume everyone is struggling with their mental health
Don't promise any emotional labor you might not be able to provide
If someone seems like a hater, disengage right away
Assume everyone is a friend you haven't yet gotten to know.
Assume everyone is struggling with their mental health
Don't promise any emotional labor you might not be able to provide
If someone seems like a hater, disengage right away
November 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
"Assume everyone I interact with online is struggling with their mental health" has only become a more important guiding principle in the past couple years
Yeah, that’ll work.
"Let me get this straight. Your lab has bred a dragon?"
"A wyvern, director. It has two legs, two wings, whereas a-"
"Which flies, breathes fire, and is intelligent?"
"About as intelligent as a border collie."
"So, intelligent. Why?"
"You asked us to invent measures to take down small drones."
"A wyvern, director. It has two legs, two wings, whereas a-"
"Which flies, breathes fire, and is intelligent?"
"About as intelligent as a border collie."
"So, intelligent. Why?"
"You asked us to invent measures to take down small drones."
November 26, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Yeah, that’ll work.
Had to be reminded of the cardinal rule here. (We all stumble occasionally.)
Just block and move on, they don't deserve the attention they clearly want
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Had to be reminded of the cardinal rule here. (We all stumble occasionally.)
Reposted by Sean Connell
Amazing what happens when you yank out a freeway:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Can a Waterfront Park Wake Up Downtown Seattle?
After demolishing an elevated highway and digging a $3 billion tunnel, the Pacific Northwest’s largest city is eager to show off its “new front door.”
www.bloomberg.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Amazing what happens when you yank out a freeway:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Are “AI Experts” the same as the tech bros trying to force it on us?
It's not this platform. It's all of society that hates AI
November 26, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Are “AI Experts” the same as the tech bros trying to force it on us?
Reposted by Sean Connell
I strongly support this kind of gloating, it’s good for everyone’s souls!
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I strongly support this kind of gloating, it’s good for everyone’s souls!
Reposted by Sean Connell
TAPS SCREEN
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
Just saw someone claim that authors who want to be paid for their work are "class traitors" because we "only let the wealthy" read our books, and I think I need to go into the woods to scream into the night for a bit.
It's $5, not your first-born child! I need that $5 for health insurance!
It's $5, not your first-born child! I need that $5 for health insurance!
November 26, 2025 at 7:49 PM
TAPS SCREEN
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
For like the zillionth time: Libraries are FREE for you, but WE still get compensated for our work!!
Reposted by Sean Connell
The rest of the damn Easy Rawlins books
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.
November 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM
The rest of the damn Easy Rawlins books
I know, as in personally know, good writers, talented and hard working writers, who, for whatever reason, did not get visited by the writing luck fairy and had their “careers” stall out after a handful of books. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
Yes, and also recognize that with creative fields, survivorship bias is real: You hear about full-time creatives with envious career arcs precisely because they've survived in the field where others (for whatever reason and independent of quality of work) have not. This is an important fact.
Would-be/struggling writers can feel like losers or wannabes when they read about other writers writing "full time" or promo'ing their book in various exotic cities. And it's good to recognize that, yeah, sometimes there's another income (or a spouse is helping to pay the bills).
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I know, as in personally know, good writers, talented and hard working writers, who, for whatever reason, did not get visited by the writing luck fairy and had their “careers” stall out after a handful of books. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.