Mark Athitakis
@mathitak.bsky.social
Writer, mostly about books.
A school superintendent in the Chicago burbs tried to cover up his spending taxpayer money on porn by saying it was for an Epoch Times subscription. That's not better! patch.com/illinois/lag...
IL School Official Rubber-Stamped Porn Spending: Inquiry
The misspending spiked after a new finance official assumed a hands-off approach, according to an investigation.
patch.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:07 PM
A school superintendent in the Chicago burbs tried to cover up his spending taxpayer money on porn by saying it was for an Epoch Times subscription. That's not better! patch.com/illinois/lag...
Share a 90s movie you think deserves more love.
The best 80s teen movie came out in 1990.
The best 80s teen movie came out in 1990.
November 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Share a 90s movie you think deserves more love.
The best 80s teen movie came out in 1990.
The best 80s teen movie came out in 1990.
<alternate ending to "It's a Wonderful Life"> Hey everybody, it's OK now! Sam Wainwright is floating me a loan to cover the missing funds! You all can take your money back! Nice gesture, though!
November 25, 2025 at 1:43 PM
<alternate ending to "It's a Wonderful Life"> Hey everybody, it's OK now! Sam Wainwright is floating me a loan to cover the missing funds! You all can take your money back! Nice gesture, though!
McSweeney’s really and truly outdid themselves this time around. Just pricing this out alone must've been a nightmare.
November 24, 2025 at 7:44 PM
McSweeney’s really and truly outdid themselves this time around. Just pricing this out alone must've been a nightmare.
Reposted by Mark Athitakis
Stahl house is for sale in case you are in need of an architecturally significant property in the Hollywood Hills:
www.latimes.com/travel/story...
www.latimes.com/travel/story...
Iconic Stahl House, a Midcentury Modern stunner, up for sale
The Stahl House is selling for $25 million. The current owners say its tour program will continue for now.
www.latimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Stahl house is for sale in case you are in need of an architecturally significant property in the Hollywood Hills:
www.latimes.com/travel/story...
www.latimes.com/travel/story...
Never thought of mac and cheese as a Thanksgiving dish.
with charity and goodwill, i must here part ways with rolls.
November 24, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Never thought of mac and cheese as a Thanksgiving dish.
I enjoyed Natan Last's ramble through the history, meaning, and social possibilities of crosswords, "Across the Universe." Fun as a Monday, smart as a Saturday. Me in LAT: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
The crossword has a radical history. A puzzle veteran explores why
Natan Last’s book delves into the crossword's century-long story, exploring what the grids we solve reveal about news and culture.
www.latimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I enjoyed Natan Last's ramble through the history, meaning, and social possibilities of crosswords, "Across the Universe." Fun as a Monday, smart as a Saturday. Me in LAT: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Mark Athitakis
Breaking news: Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae star whose lead role in the 1972 cult-movie sensation “The Harder They Come” helped introduce the genre to a global audience, has died. He was 81.
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae star with global following, dies at 81
His lead performance as a singer-turned-outlaw in the 1972 film “The Harder They Come” helped introduce reggae to the world.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Breaking news: Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae star whose lead role in the 1972 cult-movie sensation “The Harder They Come” helped introduce the genre to a global audience, has died. He was 81.
Forget it, Charlie Brown, it's Chinatown.
I’m not the guy you kill, Charlie Brown. I’m the guy you buy!
This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Forget it, Charlie Brown, it's Chinatown.
I've been out of touch with the NFL for a while; when did the Eagles shift to this Crayola 8-pack shade of green?
November 23, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I've been out of touch with the NFL for a while; when did the Eagles shift to this Crayola 8-pack shade of green?
I should've known how much of a role Macy's played in establishing when Thanksgiving lands on the calendar: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franksg...
Franksgiving - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I should've known how much of a role Macy's played in establishing when Thanksgiving lands on the calendar: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franksg...
#1,262 in the Icons of My Childhood series.
This 19-foot tall giant was originally in front of the Paul Bunyon restaurant in Cicero, Illinois. It's now in Atlanta, Illinois, on Route 66.
November 23, 2025 at 2:16 PM
#1,262 in the Icons of My Childhood series.
There's a road I'd like to tell you about, lives in my home town
Lake Shore Drive, the road is called it'll take you up or down
From rats on up to riches, 15 minutes you can fly
Pretty blue lights along the way help you right on by
The blue lights shining with a heavenly grace help you right on by
Lake Shore Drive, the road is called it'll take you up or down
From rats on up to riches, 15 minutes you can fly
Pretty blue lights along the way help you right on by
The blue lights shining with a heavenly grace help you right on by
Woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in
November 23, 2025 at 2:15 AM
There's a road I'd like to tell you about, lives in my home town
Lake Shore Drive, the road is called it'll take you up or down
From rats on up to riches, 15 minutes you can fly
Pretty blue lights along the way help you right on by
The blue lights shining with a heavenly grace help you right on by
Lake Shore Drive, the road is called it'll take you up or down
From rats on up to riches, 15 minutes you can fly
Pretty blue lights along the way help you right on by
The blue lights shining with a heavenly grace help you right on by
Play Shuffalo: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Can you make a longer word with each new letter?
www.newyorker.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Everybody (but Xgau) hates "Dirty Work," bit "One Hit (to the Body)" is great.
Name your fav song by The Rolling Stones.
November 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Everybody (but Xgau) hates "Dirty Work," bit "One Hit (to the Body)" is great.
Reposted by Mark Athitakis
Found an incredible gift for someone’s cool dad
November 22, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Found an incredible gift for someone’s cool dad
Mail call (with Barney). I had the pleasure of reading an early version. Get your own, Midwest-lit nerds: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
November 22, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Mail call (with Barney). I had the pleasure of reading an early version. Get your own, Midwest-lit nerds: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
I've seen enough.
Another candidate whom she had profiled. Another note—a poem, according to Olivia—though this time from the candidate to her.
“Yr open mouth awaiting my 1/
“Yr open mouth awaiting my 1/
November 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I've seen enough.
Talking Heads' "The Overload" was written as a Joy Division song, even though they'd never heard a note of their music; they wrote it based on reviews they read. That's how I'm approaching whatever this new RFK thing is; I'm just gonna read your skeets and imagine.
November 22, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Talking Heads' "The Overload" was written as a Joy Division song, even though they'd never heard a note of their music; they wrote it based on reviews they read. That's how I'm approaching whatever this new RFK thing is; I'm just gonna read your skeets and imagine.
Love this. Bookshelves aren't just there for reference; they make our lives as readers tangible.
My latest at 3 Quarks Daily.
"...the past is simultaneously absent and present."
3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...
"...the past is simultaneously absent and present."
3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...
Books As Memorabilia - 3 Quarks Daily
by Mary Hrovat
3quarksdaily.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Love this. Bookshelves aren't just there for reference; they make our lives as readers tangible.
For a second there I thought His Holiness was a publicist who screwed up an email blast.
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
For a second there I thought His Holiness was a publicist who screwed up an email blast.
Dave Farina has been doing the lord's work this year exposing grifters, antivaxxers, creationists, RFK Jr., and other stains upon the science community.
I helped Professor Dave lay out exactly how Avi Loeb has manufactured doubt and pushed a false narrative about 3I/ATLAS, which is still an interstellar comet. Please enjoy the video and please repost this to share the word.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf9o...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf9o...
Avi Loeb is a Fraud Part 2: 3I/ATLAS Shrugged
YouTube video by Professor Dave Explains
www.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Dave Farina has been doing the lord's work this year exposing grifters, antivaxxers, creationists, RFK Jr., and other stains upon the science community.
How your message finds me.
November 20, 2025 at 11:55 AM
How your message finds me.
All other things aside (a big lift, I know), why is *she* the one behind bars? And handcuffed to them, if she's already behind bars?
Someone found an mp3 of the creepy "Jailbait" song Olivia Nuzzi released when she was 16 🫣
November 19, 2025 at 7:47 PM
All other things aside (a big lift, I know), why is *she* the one behind bars? And handcuffed to them, if she's already behind bars?
Now that Orthodoxy is back in the Discourse, a mini-thread from a little while back.
What I get for going on Drudge: An article about men embracing Eastern Orthodoxy because it's the One True Church of swole anti-woke bros or something. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
Young, single men are leaving traditional churches. They found a more ‘masculine’ alternative
New parishes are planned across US to accommodate ‘tsunami’ of male worshippers who have converted since pandemic
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Now that Orthodoxy is back in the Discourse, a mini-thread from a little while back.