Bokeem Woodbine is a freaking acting treasure.

Benson: [stop talking about my nipples]

Things overheard in this apartment lately (ie., today):

'Omg, Benson. It's so hard to be Big Booty Judy around here.'

'Uh oh. Lookit this nipple. Are you a two spirit doggo, Benson? You got these nipples and you got a pee-pee. Pee pee and nipples. Hm... Men have nipples... and pee-pees. Hmph.'

"Let's count all your lumpy-lumps....5. You have 5 lumpy-lumps. And your 6 nipples. Why do you have so many nipples?"

Sometimes, we don't have the smartest conversations over here.

#OverheardAtHome
#BensonUpdate

Ha! Take that, Mr. Veterinarian!

My Benson is literally big-bone-ded! Your own vet tech said so!

Me: Mr Man Vet Dude said Benson needed to lose weight. We're trying! Honest! But when he's around 75 lbs he starts looking starved and underfed! I don't like that.

Vet Tech: Yeah, Dr. F is like that. Benson is doing fine. I can still feel his spine. [demonstrating]

Benson: [instant butt wiggles]

Vet Tech: And I can see and feel his ribs. [more touches]

Benson: [butt wiggles and now in her lap]

Vet Tech: Mr. Benson is a very healthy boi,. He's just...WIDE, y'know?

HA! Take that, Dr. F!! My schmoopie is just thicc in the middle -- which is what I've been saying all along. Hmph.

#BensonUpdate

Tech Equity (on the briefing call): "If you look too permissive [about AI], you start to lose trust with the populace."

Folks want this genie back in the bottle.

This is a fascinating study.

I was on the briefing call yesterday and, y'all -- people (especially older women) HATE AI with the personal kind of passion one reserves for the villain who killed your father.

They HATE tech execs. Like, HAAAAATE.
And this sentiment does not change when folks 'get used to' AI. In fact, distrust has increased despite everyone using it.

They absolutely distrust AI boosters. No one believes the hype and an overwhelming majority believe this shit is bad -- because of personal experience of harm or they know someone who has been harmed.

People want AI *punished* they hate it so much. (This is me editorializing.)

And they want someone to wrap some chains around AI before it's too late. #RegulateAI

Duuuuude. Faaascinating.
Full report drops next week.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lKvEjvDK_zwIvGDdCdL8d74ov5eVFqkm/view?pli=1

"An impromptu anti-ICE protest took place in Essex County on Wednesday morning, with demonstrators decrying the recent arrests of four people in Maplewood and South Orange."

#NewJersey

https://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewood/anti-ice-protesters-rally-maplewood-south-orange-after-local-arrests

I had 6 meetings today.

I'm grateful for my ability to ask the right questions.

#YayMe

Study finds the stigma of remote working is lessened when it is framed as a normal business option, but when framed as a special arrangement for mothers or caregivers, the stigma persisted or intensified.
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/6020044-remote-work-bias-study/

The #LAPD report on how they were totally correct during the Bovino ICE raids is causing an immediate crashout among activists who documented everything and were hoping there would be accountability. The report itself is a masterful piece of fash propaganda/fiction.

Los Angeles is thoroughly corrupt and a city of collaborating fash from the Mayor, the so called 'reformers', the cops, the city council, and the media. Also, all the way up to Newsom's office (which has done very little to make it harder for DHS to operate in the state.)

It's demoralizing. Ordinary kids, older folks, and regular community members went up valiantly against hard power and got smashed.

I hope they can step back and regroup. Those folks went hard AF.

#ICE

Interview: "Silicon Valley billionaires’ war on democracy"

"A small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires & venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way — & that they should be governing in its place."

"Their fringe ideologies [are now] in the White House." DOGE was one, cutting USAID, another.

“They have so much money, they can turn these weird ideas into policy & cause tremendous damage.”

~Gil Duran

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/10/nx-s1-5927227/silicon-valley-billionaires-war-on-democracy

#USPol #EUPol #BigTech #news #democracy .

Workers are struggling to get by. The government should be using every tool to fight discrimination that costs people jobs and pay.

Instead, the EEOC is bent on erasing the data that proves discrimination exists. (Surprise.)

Boost or take action and submit a comment of your own to the EEOC.

https://equalrights.quorum.us/campaign/166996/

Study (N=800) finds 47.7% rejected someone online & experienced aggressive responses - men were 93% of senders. Included entitlement to consent, contradictory insults & aggression triggered by even subtle rejection, like not responding or ghosting.
https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/news-all/toxic-masculinity-women-bear-brunt-threatening-online-rejection

Put a job out to bid.
Received a few viable bids, a few bids with zero info.
Communicated with the best bids; asked follow up questions.
Managed expectations of bidders.
Transparently set deadline for my decision.
Made decision.
Communicated clearly and professionally with all bidders.
Received one msg saying they appreciated the professional and clear communication.
Received a series of voicemails from another complaining he hadn't been given a chance.

I'm flagging and keeping an eye on him.
I take crazy seriously these days.

One year ago today, Israel killed Anas Al-Sharif as part of its deliberate campaign to target Palestinian journalists. Join the Palestinian Youth Movement in honoring the 260 journalists martyred in Gaza by exposing Western media's complicity.

https://mondoweiss.net/2026/08/entrusted-with-palestine-honoring-the-martyred-journalists-of-gaza-through-action/

#Palestine #Israel #Gaza

Democrats have spent over a decade asking how to win back working-class voters.

A political scientist looks at why the party has been asking the wrong question – and may take the wrong lesson away from the recent Michigan primary victory of progressive Abdul El-Sayed.

https://theconversation.com/democrats-have-a-working-class-voter-problem-that-progressives-like-abdul-el-sayed-are-still-struggling-to-solve-289294

A tenant moved out a few months ago and left behind a massive bunch of books. They are all beautiful, color, coffee table picture books bound in hard covers. There's more than 60 of them and I want to get rid of the whole lot.

He was a retired industrial designer so the books cover art, architecture, applied design, and commercial graphics. They are all about 20-30 years old. Many of them are full of post-its but are otherwise unmarked.

The local public library won't take them, and nobody I've asked wants them. I simply don't have the heart to toss them in the dumpster. I don't care if they get cut up by school kids for goofy art-class collages, as long as they get used for something other than land fill.

They weigh a couple hundred pounds so you need to come pick them up in West Petaluma. Maybe a maker-space could put them in their library? Anybody? Bueller?

STICKY NOTE ON MY LAPTOP THAT JUST SAYS "FUCK SHIT UP."

SO BE IT.

I love seeing Black people being quirky and nosy in TV shows.

It reminds me of the stories I'd make up for me and my sister when we were kids. There were SO many haunted houses with secret rooms I put us in in my imagination.