Mastodawn

Saving local news also means saving the archives 🗞️

Not just the physical clips and photos, but the digital stories too. When they vanish, communities lose their only record of themselves their memory, identity, and history.

From newsroom moves to closures and broken tech, this loss is already happening quietly across the country.

There is still time to act and protect what remains.

#Poynter #LocalNews #DigitalPreservation #PressFreedom #HistoryMatters

P.D. Magnus 9h ago

The tyranny of evil men

TL;DR: Hegseth has been saying this shit for years, and he never gave much thought to what it meant.

https://www.fecundity.com/nfw/2026/04/16/the-tyranny-of-evil-men/

The tyranny of evil men

TL;DR: Hegseth has been saying this shit for years, and he never gave much though to what it meant.

News For Wombats

P.D. Magnus Mar 31

Aloe vera in bloom.

P.D. Magnus Mar 29

Winter salad greens going to seed in our greenhouse.

P.D. Magnus Mar 26

Charlie Stross Mar 26

RE: https://masto.ai/@WellsiteGeo/116295938819935650

By targeting the chief, AT BEST Israel just promoted someone they don't know into the dead man's shoes—someone who knows he's in a fight for survival.

At worst? The Iranian defenses will keep running on rails with nobody in a position to hit the "stop" button.

Decapitation strikes are a TERRIBLE strategy—they leave no way for your adversary to de-escalate.

P.D. Magnus Mar 26

Street Art Utopia Mar 26

🎨 Support — By Lorenzo Quinn in Venice, Italy 🇮🇹 The Weight We Carry (9 Artworks): https://streetartutopia.com/2026/03/26/street-art-about-the-weight-we-carry/

P.D. Magnus Mar 20

Qs about the queues

With Bluesky's announcement that they've taken another round of money from venture capital, there's speculation about how enshittification will set in and destroy the platform.

https://www.fecundity.com/nfw/2026/03/20/qs-about-the-queues/

Qs about the queues

With Bluesky’s announcement that they’ve taken another round of money from venture capital, there’s speculation about how enshittification will set in and destroy the platform.

News For Wombats

P.D. Magnus Mar 8

He climbed the mountain where the guru was meditating.
"Wise guru? Is it true that microfiction must rely on stereotypes, because there is so little space to convey novelty?"
"No. If we were in a story, readers would be able to surmise from style and nuance that we are both anthropomorphic otters and that we first met years ago when we were working as rodeo clowns."
Gosh, he thought, what an unexpected answer! He was glad that he had asked the guru.
#MicroFiction #SmallStories

P.D. Magnus Mar 7

The inevitable next level

In bombing Iran, the US has been using AI to pick targets. This is a playbook that was deployed first by Israel in the early attacks on Gaza. As I commented last year, "Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza has shown that they are willing to bomb and murder indiscriminately, outstripping even their hyped AI’s alleged ability to identify targets."

https://www.fecundity.com/nfw/2026/03/07/the-inevitable-next-level/

P.D. Magnus Mar 6

Always a good idea

I am teaching 17th&18th Century Philosophy this semester for the first time in a while. This week was my favorite bit of the course: Berkeley's argument for idealism. It's a short, deductively valid argument from tempting premises, to the conclusion that the whole sensible world is just ideas. It invites a kind of wonder at how thoughts can fit together.

https://www.fecundity.com/nfw/2026/03/06/always-a-good-idea/

Always a good idea

I am teaching 17th&18th Century Philosophy this semester for the first time in a while. This week was my favorite bit of the course: Berkeley’s argument for idealism. It’s a short, …

News For Wombats

blog	https://www.fecundity.com/nfw
professional homepage	https://www.fecundity.com/job
A Philosophy of Cover Songs	https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0293
pronouns	he/his, although I’d be fine if we universalized the singular they