Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
@zeruch.bsky.social
artist, tech-dude, music nerd, wonk... This is not a single issue account, so buckle up.
Art commission/licensing, public speaking, or other requests: [email protected]
http://josepharruda.com
Art commission/licensing, public speaking, or other requests: [email protected]
http://josepharruda.com
Pinned
As a reminder to those new here or new to me (quite a few friends and colleagues are joining), I'm not kidding when I put in my profile "artist, tech-dude, music nerd, wonk... This is not a single issue account, so buckle up."
Strap in folks, I don't drive for comfort, I drive for purpose.
Strap in folks, I don't drive for comfort, I drive for purpose.
Uproar in #DTSJ no longer exists, But I definitely had a lot of good times there, including doing several group and solo shows. This is a BTS shot of me prepping "my" wall at a show there w/ me and Patron, back during the era of Local Colors' original 1st Street studios, which we both belonged to.
January 23, 2026 at 3:38 AM
Uproar in #DTSJ no longer exists, But I definitely had a lot of good times there, including doing several group and solo shows. This is a BTS shot of me prepping "my" wall at a show there w/ me and Patron, back during the era of Local Colors' original 1st Street studios, which we both belonged to.
#throwbackthursday from the flat file; a #drawing of multi-disciplinary artist @jngaio.bsky.social. an absolute talent, and well worth seeking out (her performance art is limited to Australia, but her paintings are affordable and she ships).
January 23, 2026 at 3:29 AM
#throwbackthursday from the flat file; a #drawing of multi-disciplinary artist @jngaio.bsky.social. an absolute talent, and well worth seeking out (her performance art is limited to Australia, but her paintings are affordable and she ships).
It's child safety....let it all in for judicial review.
Meta is set to go on trial in New Mexico for allegedly failing to protect minors. The company is requesting a broad swath of information not be allowed to be presented in court.
Meta seeks to limit evidence in child safety case | TechCrunch
Meta is set to go on trial in New Mexico for allegedly failing to protect minors. The company is requesting a broad swath of information not be allowed to be presented in court.
techcrunch.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:03 PM
It's child safety....let it all in for judicial review.
#WilliamElliotWhitmore live at Bottom of The Hill. This is not my first tim catching him, and just like previous shows, he delivered the goods. #livemusic
January 22, 2026 at 6:06 PM
#WilliamElliotWhitmore live at Bottom of The Hill. This is not my first tim catching him, and just like previous shows, he delivered the goods. #livemusic
In a political career of gaffe-laden, embarrassing, incoherent proclamations, Trump's speech at Davos was a new low in terms of sheer incomprehensibility, and barely functioned as speech. It sounded like an endless slurred collection of arbitrary phonemes, emitted from a dyspeptic, concussed panda.
January 21, 2026 at 6:45 PM
In a political career of gaffe-laden, embarrassing, incoherent proclamations, Trump's speech at Davos was a new low in terms of sheer incomprehensibility, and barely functioned as speech. It sounded like an endless slurred collection of arbitrary phonemes, emitted from a dyspeptic, concussed panda.
#sketchbook is a quick ink and graphite doodle of jazz organist Brian Ho (super talented guy, and great live performer). #art #drawing
January 21, 2026 at 9:28 AM
#sketchbook is a quick ink and graphite doodle of jazz organist Brian Ho (super talented guy, and great live performer). #art #drawing
Queue up the lawsuits and prosecutions please...
Two DOGE members working at the Social Security Administration were secretly in touch with a group seeking to “overturn election results in certain states,” and one signed an agreement that may have involved using Social Security data to match state voter rolls"
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data
Some DOGE personnel had more access to data than previously acknowledged, according to a court filing.
www.politico.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Queue up the lawsuits and prosecutions please...
This is of course the classic problem of both parties but is endemic to the GOP. For things that people want, but the party (or in this case the transgressive avatar of the party) doesn't, nothing moves.
Again, the president could dramatically lower health insurance premiums TODAY with one phone call to Senate leadership, but he refuses.
Meanwhile, at Davos….
Meanwhile, at Davos….
Bessent: "Someone, maybe your parents for their retirement have bought 5, 10, 12 homes."
January 20, 2026 at 7:57 PM
This is of course the classic problem of both parties but is endemic to the GOP. For things that people want, but the party (or in this case the transgressive avatar of the party) doesn't, nothing moves.
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
Trump demanding control of Greenland—which the US already has access to—is based on multi-layered lies. Threatening NATO allies to get it undermines the Western alliance.
I did a point-by-point breakdown of Trump's aggressive letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Støre about the Nobel and Greenland.
I did a point-by-point breakdown of Trump's aggressive letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Støre about the Nobel and Greenland.
With Greenland Threats, Trump is Destroying the Western Alliance
A point-by-point breakdown of Donald Trump's aggressive letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre about a Nobel Peace Prize and control of Greenland
www.arcdigital.media
January 19, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Trump demanding control of Greenland—which the US already has access to—is based on multi-layered lies. Threatening NATO allies to get it undermines the Western alliance.
I did a point-by-point breakdown of Trump's aggressive letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Støre about the Nobel and Greenland.
I did a point-by-point breakdown of Trump's aggressive letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Støre about the Nobel and Greenland.
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
Every time Trump breaks the clear letter of the law, the NYT and WaPo write a story about how he’s “pushing boundaries” or “testing the limits of his authority”
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
January 19, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Every time Trump breaks the clear letter of the law, the NYT and WaPo write a story about how he’s “pushing boundaries” or “testing the limits of his authority”
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
So here is an updated list of US Treasury holdings by foreign assets.
January 19, 2026 at 6:19 PM
So here is an updated list of US Treasury holdings by foreign assets.
"...tracking a coordinated network of...accounts are engaged in a high-volume #propaganda campaign, promoting pro-#Russian narratives and...associated with known state-aligned #disinformation operations."
about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/c...
about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/c...
Coordinated Pro-Russian Propaganda Network Targeting ActivityPub and ATProto Services
Indicators of compromise (IOCs) that identify accounts as likely being part of the network include: a single follow (the bsky.brid.gy @ bsky.brid.gy account), or first follow is the bridge follower…
about.iftas.org
January 19, 2026 at 9:32 AM
"...tracking a coordinated network of...accounts are engaged in a high-volume #propaganda campaign, promoting pro-#Russian narratives and...associated with known state-aligned #disinformation operations."
about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/c...
about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/c...
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
The shadow cabinet idea was a great idea and should have been implemented a year ago. Would have presented an organized, unified response to the chaos, issue by issue, by people with expertise.
Democrats could act like a real opposition party, refusing to validate Trump malfeasance with votes, and setting up a shadow cabinet that regularly communicates how Democrats would be different. But nah.
It’s not only a majority of Democratic voters that hate this approach. US allies see it too.
It’s not only a majority of Democratic voters that hate this approach. US allies see it too.
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
January 18, 2026 at 11:29 PM
The shadow cabinet idea was a great idea and should have been implemented a year ago. Would have presented an organized, unified response to the chaos, issue by issue, by people with expertise.
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
My understanding, and I'm completely open to being corrected here, is that government offices can't close their FOIA function.
How sad is this? The CDC closed its FOIA office, so this story could only be published because a Danish journalist provided Rolling Stone with the documents, after obtaining them through a freedom of information request to the University of Southern Denmark
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
HHS Gave a $1.6 Million Grant to a Controversial Vaccine Study. These Emails Show How That Happened
Two Danish researchers faced accusations of “questionable research practices” as RFK Jr.’s top appointees made their study a “funding priority.”
www.rollingstone.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:31 AM
My understanding, and I'm completely open to being corrected here, is that government offices can't close their FOIA function.
Reposted by Joseph 'zeruch' Arruda
I do worry about the rush to claim certain things are definitely AI, which people think they can tell with certainty (they absolutely cannot) will lead to bad outcomes as well. A while back I wrote about the hoops my kid went through to try to avoid sounding like AI, which made the writing worse.
January 18, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I do worry about the rush to claim certain things are definitely AI, which people think they can tell with certainty (they absolutely cannot) will lead to bad outcomes as well. A while back I wrote about the hoops my kid went through to try to avoid sounding like AI, which made the writing worse.
This should have prevented him from taking office the first time.
I genuinely don't understood how America took the emoluments clause -- the common-sense bar on a president using his powers to line his own pockets, a law children can understand -- and just said, nah, that doesn't apply for our Very Special Boy.
He’s turned the presidency into the world’s largest ATM machine.
January 17, 2026 at 4:03 AM
This should have prevented him from taking office the first time.
Ellison's Japanophilia backfires spectacularly; the goddess Izanami is not without irony in this case, as she has to do with both creation...and destruction. She is AFAIK a fairly antagonist entity in Shinto.
Real life is The Onion
Ellison names his megayacht "Izanami" -- then reads the name backwards
futurism.com/future-socie...
Ellison names his megayacht "Izanami" -- then reads the name backwards
futurism.com/future-socie...
Tech Billionaire Forced to Rename Humongous Yacht After Realizing It Spelled Something Horrible Backwards
Oracle founder Larry Ellison named his 191-foot superyacht "Izanami," only to change his mind after finding out what it spelled backwards.
futurism.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Ellison's Japanophilia backfires spectacularly; the goddess Izanami is not without irony in this case, as she has to do with both creation...and destruction. She is AFAIK a fairly antagonist entity in Shinto.
New #abstractart ..."ankles + wrists" is something I actually had conceived in a sketchbook over 15 years ago. It is, for those with certain musical affectations, pretty clear in terms of origin, when I was in one of my perennial mixed media Jasper Johns kicks. #art
January 16, 2026 at 8:19 AM
New #abstractart ..."ankles + wrists" is something I actually had conceived in a sketchbook over 15 years ago. It is, for those with certain musical affectations, pretty clear in terms of origin, when I was in one of my perennial mixed media Jasper Johns kicks. #art
This is like a Klein bottle of satire/commentary. Well done...?
Okay, wait, but someone told Grok to put a bikini on the Bluesky logo... and Bluesky folks... made it their pfp.
And then... the bio:
And then... the bio:
January 15, 2026 at 9:44 PM
This is like a Klein bottle of satire/commentary. Well done...?
#AlfaMist is one of the better contemporary #jazz auteurs out there right now (saw him live a few years ago at the SJZ Breakroom and he smoked); he's got a revamped lineup of his live band, and they still cook with the 70s cosmic fusion overlay in their sound I dig.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sw...
Alfa Mist - Live at Real World Studios
YouTube video by Alfa Mist
www.youtube.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:42 PM
#AlfaMist is one of the better contemporary #jazz auteurs out there right now (saw him live a few years ago at the SJZ Breakroom and he smoked); he's got a revamped lineup of his live band, and they still cook with the 70s cosmic fusion overlay in their sound I dig.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sw...
#AmericanFlagg
"...a damning assessment of humanity, via deranged Sci-Fi interpolation of a possible future both harrowing and hilarious. A satirical commentary...equal parts Philip K Dick, Hunter S Thompson, John LeCarre, Paul Verhoeven, and Truman Capote"
zeruch.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/a...
"...a damning assessment of humanity, via deranged Sci-Fi interpolation of a possible future both harrowing and hilarious. A satirical commentary...equal parts Philip K Dick, Hunter S Thompson, John LeCarre, Paul Verhoeven, and Truman Capote"
zeruch.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/a...
American Flagg IS The Uncanny Valley of the Future
…or a variation on a theme of a possible one. When I first picked up an issue of AF in the indie shelf at R&K Comics on the El Camino, I was only interested in the fact that it was create…
zeruch.wordpress.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:04 AM
#AmericanFlagg
"...a damning assessment of humanity, via deranged Sci-Fi interpolation of a possible future both harrowing and hilarious. A satirical commentary...equal parts Philip K Dick, Hunter S Thompson, John LeCarre, Paul Verhoeven, and Truman Capote"
zeruch.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/a...
"...a damning assessment of humanity, via deranged Sci-Fi interpolation of a possible future both harrowing and hilarious. A satirical commentary...equal parts Philip K Dick, Hunter S Thompson, John LeCarre, Paul Verhoeven, and Truman Capote"
zeruch.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/a...
#nowplaying ...some interesting interpretations of Monk, by Kronos... #vinyloftheday
January 14, 2026 at 9:35 AM
#nowplaying ...some interesting interpretations of Monk, by Kronos... #vinyloftheday
January 14, 2026 at 8:34 AM