Tag: brooklyn bridge park

Posted on
by
Quoted Exclusive: A Day in the Life of Luxury With Carl Gambino by Kristine Hansen (realtor.com)
"It is unusual to find a 25-foot-wide Brooklyn Heights townhouse that preserves its 1848 Greek Revival character while offering a fully rebuilt interior," says Gambino.

I came across an article about a “fully restored 1840s Brooklyn Heights townhouse” available for the low price of $12.75 million. It looks nice. But the artcile does leave out some potentially important notes about its location. It is in Brooklyn Heights, unlike Old Fulton Street. But there is a caveat here. Beginning at Hicks Street, Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights goes sharply downhill, descending to Furman Street and Brooklyn Bridge Park, both of which are about level with the East River. There are two one-block side-streets coming off that sharp-downhill section of Joralemon, connecting it with State Street. Those two side-streets are Willow Place and Columbia Place. This residence is on Willow Place. Thus, I will submit that it is on a side street in the middle of a steep hill between the main, “high” part of Brooklyn Heights, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. I do like both Willow Place and Columbia Place (although I would be wary of living on or right off of Joralemon in the current Brooklyn Bridge Park era), but this would certainly be something to evaluate before throwing down $12.75 million for the Brooklyn Heights experience.

Posted on
by

My throat is irrtated, my nose is stuffy, and I have a slight headache. It’s ragweed season. Unrelated: It’s time for our daily Pook-Emu Bee links.

Photo of a blue bench resting against a black cast iron fence next to potted shrubs in front of a restaurant.
I took this photo in what I think was Cobble Hill on the afternoon of August 23, 2026.

1 | Dating App Adds Feature Allowing Men To Filter Out Women Who Support Lindsay Clancy (The Babylon Bee. April 27, 2026.)
An all-timer from Babylon Bee.

2 | Iconic, stained glass ‘Watertower’ above Brooklyn Bridge Park dismantled (Mary Frost for Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I’m a fan of the watertower. I am sure I have a photo of it somewhere. But fear not, it is only being taken down temporarily.

3 | This open-source tool was built for academics, and it’s the best productivity tool I own (Yash Patel for XDA. Sep. 1, 2026.)
Zotero is indeed great. Especially when combined with Syncthing for file sync.

4 | Review: Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet—Using a Little to Say a Lot (June for Fuwanovel. August 25, 2026.)
According to Steam, I played Planetarian in 2015. Count me as a fan, it’s an excellent short visual novel. Maybe I should review it since it is also relevant to the history of Insani.

5 | Dyson launches $499 toothbrush with built-in camera, AI technology (Bradford Betz for Fox Business. Sep. 1, 2026.)
GPTeeth?

6 |  Convicted cab driver rapist Gurmeet Singh stripped of US citizenship 15 years after assaulting passenger (Emily Goodin and Chris Nesi for the New York Post. Aug. 31, 2026.)
Now now. I’m sure Mr. Signh’s forgetting that he had brutally raped (not “assaulted” NY Post headline writers) a woman weeks earlier when he was filling out his Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, was nothing more than an honest clerical oversight.

7 | Delicate white blossoms on a tree branch (Doncoombez on Upslash. March 17, 2026.)
This photo appeared as a Brave new tab image on my phone. I liked it, so you can enjoy it too. While you’re in the area, enjoy my 2022 re-publication of a poem about apple blossoms.

Posted on
by

For the first time in about a week (if not a little more), I do not have a tight work deadline. Thus, I present you with a relatively leisurely edition of the Pook-Emu Bee to kick off September.

Three white flowers and leaves, shot from overhead. In the top right corner we see a bee flying toward the flowers.
Note the bee in the top right. I took this photograph in Brooklyn Bridge Park on August 28, 2026.

1 | Expression After Hit By Car (Ojai Raptor Center (via Owl’s in Towels). Oct. 11, 2024.)
That raptor has seen more things than the original raptors.

2 | GrapheneOS might skip the Pixel 11 series over the lack of MTE hardware security support (Paul for AlternativeTo. Sep. 1, 2026.)
Pixels are going in the wrong direction, but my (LineageOS-powered) 3a XL is going stron[-ish].

3 | Tether Brings the Apple Continuity Experience to Linux (Sourav Rudra for It’s FOSS. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I don’t run iOS (see above), but this looks like a neat project for Linux/iOS people. I have now done my PSA duty for the week.

4 | “A Cute Little LibGen Babysitter”: Music Publishers Sue Anthropic Founders Over Torrenting Spree (Ernesto Van der Sar for Torrent Freak. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I’m somehow not surprised that the Claude leadership described their thoughts about torrenting pirated works contemporaneously in the style of teenage girls keeping a diary.

5 | The 3DO Is Getting A New DOOM-Esque Shooter Featuring The Voice Of Silent Hill’s Lisa Garland (Sep. 1, 2026.)
Having conquered ONScripter-EN, should I make my next visual novel for 3DO?

6 | Dem AG urges Jewish voters to put humanity above ‘safety and security’ of own people (Alec Schemmel for Fox News. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I could state the obvious here. But instead I will offer a more novel take. How in the world did a woman with these political instincts win state-wide office in one of the biggest states in the union?

7 | I built my own streaming box, and it beats every smart TV I’ve owned (Anurag Singh for XDA. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I just use a mini PC running Fedora with KDE Plasma. With that being said, I should really test out LineageOS with Waydroid on my TV.

8 | Homan Denies Yiannopoulos Deported Quickly to Bypass ICE Detention (Pam Key for Breitbart. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I know this is going to be hard for a reporter at CNN to understand, so we can go slowly. Detention occurs in the course of removal proceedings or in the period after an alien has been ordered removed but has not for one reason or another been removed. Mr. Yiannopoulous had already been ordered removed in absentia, apparently did not seek to reopen his removal proceedings, and did not otherwise try to obstruct his removal to the United Kingdom, which apparently did not refuse to accept the return of its national (between the return of Prince Harry and Mr. Yiannopoulous, they are having a rough stretch). Thus, Mr. Yiannopoulous was removed expeditiously after DHS performed a social media touchdown dance instead of being detained pending nothing whatsoever. With my “Ted Talk” completed, I will note with some surprise that the new position of CNN is “the prompt execution of removal orders is special treatment.”

9 | Aki 2026 Banuzke Analysis (Fantasy Basho. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I’m thinking about putting together some detained predictions for the upcoming Aki Banuzke. Not fantasy though. Real, ice-cold predictions.

Posted on
by

Another weekday means another set of Poook-Emu Bee links.

A rainbow suitcase with wheels sitting in front of a gray kiosk on a sidewalk.
I photographed this suit case on August 14, 2026, on Court Street between DeGraw and Sackett. Only the brave wheels away a “free” suitcase in Brooklyn.

1 | Jeanie Buss battling siblings over sale of remaining Lakers shares to new ownership group: reports (Scott Thompson for Fox Business. August 17, 2026.)
The unfortunate ramifications of sidelining your siblings for your own benefit. Your siblings, now having little stake in the organization, may decide that turn-about is fair play.

2 | Private Pre-K in Brooklyn Heights: Kinder Prep Montessori’s New 4–5s Program (sponsored post on Brooklyn Bridge Parents. August 18, 2026.)
Note that “sponsored” here refers to sponsored on Brooklyn Bridge Parents. I am not sponsored by any preschools (or anyone for that matter). Here, I demonstrate my impeccable independence with a question. How is this preschool simultaneously in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Brooklyn Heights? Spoiler: It is in Brooklyn Bridge Park, not Brooklyn Heights. BBP is a neighborhood unto itself for all intents and purposes (evinced by the fact it now has preschools).

3 | Geekom admits to shipping malware-laced network drivers for AMD mini PCs — company responds with guidance, removes malicious package (Bruno Ferreira for Tom’s Hardware. August 18, 2026.)
Quoting Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony (HT): “Just wipe the drive and reinstall Windows first.” I offer a slight amendment: Wipe the drive and install Linux first. I installed Linux on my two Beelink mini PCs (note I am unaware of any stories about Beelink shipping malware, but as a general matter I would agree with bringing your own operating system to your China mini-PC).

4 | I clung to Android’s 3-button navigation for years until I learned this clever swipe trick (Jade Bryan Jardinico for Android Police. August 17, 2026.)
Being a relative late-comer to Android, I recently went the opposite direction from swiping to three-button. I had too many problems with unwanted swipes.

5 | May This Balloon Banjo Resonate With You (Kristina Panos for Hackaday. August 17, 2026.)
I see a new project for my good friend and expert luthier, Victor V. Gurbo.

6 | BIA Reads Dictionary, Finds that a ‘Departure’ on Advance Parole Is a ‘Departure (Andrew R. Arthur for Center for Immigration Studies. August 17, 2026.)
One of my first assignments at my job about 10 years ago involved the 2012 Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012). When I saw the Board’s new decision in Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), which overrules Arrabally and Yerrabelly, I thought to myself that time flies.

7 | NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin backs away from e-bike registration despite pressure (Haley Brown for the New York Post. August 14, 2026.)
I conclude by quoting myself from the May 15, 2026 Pook-Emu Bee:

I will spoil the feedback process for anyone who questions unlimited accommodations for bikes (including effective exemption from traffic laws) in New York City. Heads, bikes win. Tails, you lose.

Nicholas A. Ferrell

PS to NYP: She folded because of pressure (from the bike lobby) not despite pressure.

Posted on
by

Two consecutive editions of Pook-Emu Bee daily links? What in the world is going on here?

Photograph of the Marina at Brooklyn Bridge Park in the late evening. It is lined with three tall American Flags on its left side. In the background we see the Manhattan Skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Seen here is the Brooklyn Bridge Park Marina on July 13, 2026. I lined the American Flags, so I took a couple of photos. To the left you see Manhattan and off in the distance straight away you can see the Brooklyn Bridge.

1. Sega Dreamcast driver fixes appear in Linux 7.2-rc3 — fabled console remains in favor while iconic computing architectures like i486 fall by the wayside (Mark Tyson for Tom’s Hardware. July 12, 2026.)

I mainly used my Dreamcast for playing Sonic Adventure, the NBA 2K entries it received, Pen Pen Trilceon, and a little but of Chu Chu Rocket. Missed out on Linux for Dreamcast (in fact I dare say I almost certainly had no idea what “Linux” was). But Pen Pen Trilceon does have a penguin-esque cover character. Close enough. In any event, very cool to see.

2. Never Forget — Today Marks Two Years Since Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA: ‘God Was with Me’ (Amy Furr for Breitbart. July 13, 2026.)

I missed noting the anniversary yesterday. Two whole years… time flies. “I said ‘Wow, what was that?’ I said ‘It’s either the biggest, most violent mosquito in history, or I just got shot.’”

3. ‘Moderate’ Gov Abigail Spanberger Taps Former FBI Official Behind Retracted Biden-Era Memo Targeting Catholics as Terror Threat To Lead Prison Reform Council (Jessica Schwalb for The Washington Free Beacon. July 13, 2026.)

Because I don’t live in Virginia, I’m willing to take the partial win of “at least he’s not in the FBI anymore.”

4. Microsoft Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Appointed to Federal Reserve Jobs Advisory Role After Mass Layoffs (Lucas Nolan for Breitbart. July 10, 2026.)

I see and understand the criticism but let no one say she’s not an expert in increasing the number of American citizens in the open job market.

5. UKRAINE: Conscientious objectors convicted, jailed, held in military units: list (Felix Corley for Forum 18. July 10, 2026.)

I kid you not. I was going to be working on a case involving a man claiming a well-founded fear of persecution in Ukraine based on part on his religion and opposition to compulsory military service when this popped up in my feed on the 10th. Timing is everything.

6. LineageOS introduces web flashing tools, revamped stats page, Android 17 plans, and more (Paul for AlternativeTo. July 9, 2026.)

I haven’t tried it yet, but this looks promising and could potentially make LineageOS more accessible (I am currently running it on my Pixel 3a XL after having installed it the old-fashioned way).

7. REESE’S PIECES Unveils New Chocolate Cookie Candy Nationwide (Vending Connection. July 8, 2026.)

I haven’t hade Reese’s Pieces in a very long time, but I like them. Cookie Reese’s Pieces do sound intriguing…

8. Mayor Mamdani’s map of NYC immigrant neighborhoods sparks outrage for ignoring Little Italy (Matthew Fischetti, Carl Campanile, and Natalie O’Neill for the New York Post. July 8, 2026.)

I begrudgingly respect his trolling. Here he engaged in a very simple troll and got a three-byline report for the New York Post plus days of follow-up articles.

9. The front page of the internet has an AI slop problem (Whizy Kim for Tech Brew. July 7, 2026.)

Reddit? You’re telling me Reddit has a slop problem of any kind? I don’t believe it. Perish the thought! (Remember that AI is a problem, but rarely the only problem.)

Posted on
by

It has been 12 days since I last published “daily” Pook-Emu Bee links due to some combination of being busy and not feeling my best. Both of those blockers exist today, but I have time to squeeze in a new edition.

A close up image of leaves and flowers with a bee atop a white flower in the top third of the image.
I photographed this bee hard at work in Brooklyn Bridge Park on July 5 at just after 7 PM.

1. You Can Now Play Virtua Racing On PC, Xbox 360, & Xbox One, Thanks To These Impressive New Emulators (Jack Yarwood for Time Extension. July 13, 2026.)

This is very neat. But Virtua Racing will always be a 32X cartridge to me.

2. July 2026 Grand Sumo Tournament Height-Weight Scatterplot (Mary Pat Campbell at Sumo Stats. July 1, 2026.)

Kazuma is one of the complete newbies, up from Juryo, and he’s the reason I had to extend the weight axis as he comes in at 205 kg (452 pounds) at the height of 185 cm (6’1”).

I thought Kazuma looked “big” when his first match came up. Then I saw his weight in the graphic. He’s a big boy.

3. For the Birds 20 (tugster: a waterblog. July 12, 2026.)

The tugboat blog takes a rare detour into avian photography.

4. Sen. Lindsey Graham Dead at 71 After ‘Sudden Illness’ (Olvia Rondeau for Breitbart. July 12, 2026.)

I was surprised and saddened when I read the news of Senator Graham’s passing. He was certainly one of the more interesting national politicians of the current century. Rest in peace.

5. Manny Pacquiao takes over Floyd Mayweather’s former Hollywood gym in brutal troll (Daniel Farr for the New York Post. July 11, 2026.)

This is all well and good but I’d rather they go back in time and fight in the 2010-11 area. Thank you.

6. You can now legally rip your Wii, GameCube, and Xbox games using a Blu-ray drive (Patrick O’Rourke for XDA. May 25, 2026.)

My Blue-Ray drive is supported… but it looks like a bit of a pain to install the firmware for my specific model on Linux.

7. Court files reveal disturbing details of child sex offender pardoned by Walz, Ellison before deportation (Jenna Gloeb for Alpha News. July 8, 2026.)

Disturbing? How disturbing are we talking?

He further claimed that the 10-year-old victim ‘should be arrested also because she was as much at fault.’

Quite.

8. Immune to DRAM crisis, the original PlayStation gets a massive 8x upgrade 30 years later (Rahim Amir Noorali for Notebook Check. July 9, 2026.)

This bears watching. At the rate AI is eating RAM, PSX running some kind of barely functional Linux may be our best hope down the line.

9. A Top Mamdani Official Tried to Meet with Iran (Adam Lehodey for City Journal. July 9, 2026.)

Having suffered the unfortunate ramifications of empowering provincial machine politicians to run the biggest city in the most powerful country on Earth, New York City upped the ante and now has provincial DSA members trying to conduct foreign policy.  Here, at least, the State Department was there to affectionately say “no, lol.”

Posted on
by
Replied to Second Ship Sinks in Red Hook by Nick Bello (South Brooklyn History)
Victory Chimes, a historic schooner beloved in the state of Maine and commemorated in a 2003 quarter, sank in Red Hook over the weekend. Victory Chimes becomes the second historic schooner owned by Crew to sink in less than a week, as the schooner Pilot sank last Wednesday.

In late 2024, I wrote a research article on Victory Chimes, a historic schooner that was docked at Brooklyn Bridge Park and was in the process of being converted into a restaurant boat. My article perfomed well on NLJ, earning a Wikipedia citation and rating as my 22nd most-visited article of 2025. Granting its past success, it hit a new level beginning around July 4 in a surge which continued through the 7th, rating as our second most-visited article of July 4-10. Unfortunately, my article did well for a sad reason. A fellow “Nick” named Nick Bello explained on his blog, South Brooklyn History:

Victory Chimes, a historic schooner beloved in the state of Maine and commemorated in a 2003 quarter, sank in Red Hook over the weekend. Victory Chimes becomes the second historic schooner owned by Crew to sink in less than a week, as the schooner Pilot sank last Wednesday.

I never wrote about the Pilot, which preceded Victory Chimes in sinking on July 1, but it had been a working restaurant/bar boat at Brooklyn Bridge Park for several years. I had read about the sinking of the pilot before reading the Victory Chimes news. I thought the Pilot sinking sounded odd and, when I saw that it had been owned by Crew, which I recalled owned Victory Chimes, I thought to myself that surely Victory Chimes, which had been covered by a tarp in Brooklyn Bridge Park over the winter before being removed to Red Hook, would not sink too. But sink it did just a few days later.

Photograph of the Victory Chimese schooner when it was docked at Brooklyn Bridge Park undergoing repairs on August 21, 2024.
My photo of Victory Chimes at Brooklyn Bridge Park from August 21, 2024.

I venture no guesses here as to why these historic, ships both owned by the same entity sunk within days of each other in Red Hook, although Mr. Bello reports vaguely that there is “speculation online” and cites to some accounts that the ships had appeared to be in “rough shape” in recent months. But I will note with some concern that another ship I covered in 2025, the Governor Alfred E. Smith, which is currently a working restaurant ship in Brooklyn Bridge Park, is also owned by Crew. While the Alfred E. Smith looks to my eye to be in good shape, the sinking of its two friends would seem to raise questions about Crew’s ability to take care of its growing (or perhaps now shrinking) restaurant fleet.

Having enjoyed researching and writing about Victory Chimes, I hope that both V.C. and Pilot can be salvaged.

Posted on
by

I have more work ahead of me today. But once again, I refuse to let work stand between me and another edition of our regularly scheduled Pook-Emu Bee links.

1. Can an ESPN analyst revive the Scripps Spelling Bee? (Molly Liebergall for Morning Brew. May 28, 2026.)

The premise presupposes that the spelling bee needs to have big (it’s relative) TV ratings.

2. Hochul tries to dunk on Trump over Knicks fandom — but it totally backfires (Haley Brown, Mark Lungariello, and David Propper for the New York Post. May 27, 2026.)

I have an upcoming NLJ article planned that should help the Governor keep her New York Knicks NBA Finals history straight. (Aside: Why does this article have three reporters on the byline?)

3. Japanese government to allow desecration of flags on kids’ meals (Master Blaster for SoraNews24. May 25, 2026.)

Say what one will but the Diet is thorough.

4. Obviously AI, totally acceptable (Herbert Lui. May 5, 2026.)

My policy is … If you didn’t put yourself into it, I don’t want to read it.

I agree with Mr. Lui’s post in full. But I would add as an addendum that if the prose reeks of AI, I will probably click away regardless of the profundity of the insights (it’s not that, it’s [list of three things]…)

5. WordPress 7.0 (Gordon McLean at Happily Imperfect. May 22, 2026.)

I’m on WordPress 7.0 and hadn’t noticed the new “Connectors” option under settings. My life goes on well. But it is clutter so I’ll figure out how to make it go away later.

6. Your WordPress Site — From RSS Feed to Social Account (Matthias Pfefferle at ActivityPub for WordPress Blog. May 22, 2026.)

I looking forward to these new features making it to self-hosted WordPress.

7. This Is Your Reminder to Go Touch Grass (Absurd Pirate’s Internet Blog. May 26, 2026.)

Photograph of the Manhattan Skyline and Brooklyn Bridge Park from the Fruit Street Sitting Area in Brooklyn Heights. The BQE is the immediate foreground. The trees and grassy hill Brooklyn Bridge Park is in the middle. Off in the distance we can see the southern tip of Manhattan, a Staten Island Ferry, and the Statue of Liberty.
I took this photograph this morning from the Fruit Street Sitting Area in Brooklyn Heights. We see the BQE, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the East River, and Manhattan/New Jersey/Governor’s Island off in the distance. The orange just leaving Manhattan is the Staten Island Ferry. If you squint, you can also see the Statue of Liberty way out back. No fires in New Jersey today.

Posted on
by

Monday is here. So too after taking the weekend off are my Pook-Emu Bee links.

1. Maniac strangles 7-year-old boy in Brooklyn park: cops (Dean Moses for Brooklyn Paper. May 18, 2026.)

These sorts of troubling Brooklyn headlines are seldom about places I visit. That is mostly true in this case as well, but “Bush-Clinton Park in the Red Hook Recreation Area” caught my attention. I only walked by the park a few times (it is not where I typically stroll in Red Hook), but one of those walks led to my article on the unintentionally presidential name and the identity of “Bush” (surprisingly not known for certain). Returning to more serious matters, I hope the victims recover without too much trauma and the very clear image of the perpetrator leads to a quick arrest.

2. Plaintiff Can Sue Pseudonymously Because She’s a Criminal Defense Lawyer with a Gambling Addiction (Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy. May 18, 2026.)

Setting aside the legal issues, I agree with Mr. Volokh as a prudential matter that “I just don’t think that her desire to keep this secret should outweigh the public’s ability to supervise what the court does in this case—and indeed prospective clients’ ability to decide whether to trust a lawyer who has this problem.” (Emphasis added.)

3. Meet the Sad Wives of AI (Alessandra Ram for Wired. May 13, 2026.)

Everyone involved, including the author, should remember that the world is not San Francisco.

4. Shawn Kemp said Jack Nicholson smelled like weed during Lakers games (John Jefferson Tan for Basketball Network. May 16, 2026.)

While I understand that “The Reign Man” and I have different opinions on the subject of “weed,” I also appreciate that he recognizes it smells like skunk, which inspired me to write two 2022 Justin and Justina articles. See A Dialogue on Pot and Skunk Waterboarding and Dialogue: “Skunks” in Staten Island Conspiracy. Now if only I didn’t have to know what it smells like…

5. An iconic Oregon waterfall was put up for sale on Redfin. Lawmakers approved the money to buy it (Claire Rush for AP. March 12, 2026.)

Odd. You get them for free in Animal Crossing.

6. The PGA Championship Is Golf’s Democratic Major. It Just Doesn’t Know It. (Neil Paine. May 14, 2026.)

This turned out to be an on-point preview article for the 2026 edition.

7. Photoville 2026 returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park in May (Brooklyn Bridge Parents. May 11, 2026.)

I’m not seeing anything that tops Kevin the hamster from Photoville 2021, but the bug and apple series look cool.

8. Xteink blocks installation of custom firmware on some eReaders, launches a new Android-powered model (Brad Linder for Liliputing. May 2, 2026.)

Not mine! Of course, I still need to take it out of the box (I think mine arrived in December).

9. Spotify adds ‘Verified’ badge to distinguish human acts from AI (Laura Cress for BBC. May 1, 2026.)

Something tells me most human acts lacking big record labels will be passed over by Spotif-AI.

Posted on
by

After bouncing back from missing Tuesday with daily Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday, we make it two days in a row with your daily collection of links for May 7, 2026.

1. Mamdani to announce free 2026 World Cup fan events across NYC (Mary Frost for Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 27, 2026.)

Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su said the World Cup is an opportunity to celebrate all of the city’s diverse cultures and people. ‘In the past, host cities have been criticized for failing to ensure their own workers and residents benefit and get to participate in the opportunities this global game presents,’ she said, calling Mamdani’s approach ‘a new model.’

New York City is not a “host city.” There will no World Cup matches being played in New York City.

2. Lasers, hawks and even guns haven’t solved the UK’s pigeon problem. There is a better way (Sydney Lobe for The Guardian. May 4, 2026.)

There is a better way. Stop being hysterical. Help pigeons in need.

3. Warren Buffett on Sports Betting: ‘It’s a Tax on Stupidity’ (Dylan Gwinn for Breitbart. May 6, 2026.)

I have never been one to wait at the base of the mountain for Warren Buffett to appear with a tablet, but he’s certainly not wrong here.

4. How the Portland Fire marketers created content without players (Alyssa Meyers for Marketing Brew. May 6, 2026.)

They have their work cut out for them when the team with no players is called the “Fire.” Are we mere years away from a Portland Fire/Indiana Fever final? The original WNBA teams had great names. New York Liberty, Houston Comets, Phoenix Mercury, etc. But after, even shortly after like the Portland Fire, they lost the [Los Angeles] Sparks.

5. Beijing Frames the Trump Visit (David Bandurski for China Media Project. October 28, 2025.)

Cameras have an tend to love President Trump so China should not have difficulty framing the visit, assuming it is not scuttled by one geopolitical circumstance or another. But I would recommend that Chinese officials ensure that the Mao and Xi frames always have a place of honor, prudence and all.

6. The Partisan Asymmetry In Callais (Josh Blackman for Reason. May 4, 2026.)

Asymmetrical no more.

7. REVEALED: EU Planning Forceful Merging of BlueSky with X (Peter Caddle for Gript. May 1, 2026.)

The extent to which this is an actual plan rather than one policy document is perhaps overstated by the headline, but I think X has enough moderation failures involving bots and grifters without taking on Bluesky’s considerable baggage.

8. The NBA lottery reform is good, actually (Mike Shearer at Basketball Poetry. May 1, 2026.)

It seems alright but I suspect tanking will still be an “issue,” especially in years where there exists the perception that there are 3-4 elite, top-pick caliber prospects.

9. Oscars: Film Academy Cracks Down on AI, Opens Up International and Acting Categories (Scott Feinberg for The Hollywood Reporter. May 1, 2026.)

The organization’s board of governors decreed that the only sorts of performances that will be eligible for acting Oscars are those credited in a film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent. (This appears to address questions raised by the posthumous completion of a performance by Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, using AI.). Additionally, the Academy explicitly spelled out that only human-authored screenplays are eligible for writing Oscars.

The Oscars and 3D people movies are not my area, but these new rules sound good to me.