Kevin Smokler

Ok this is first-rate news. I just found out my hometown has a black bookstore blackstonebookstore.com

There's going to be a Season 2 of BEEF: Different actors, same dark premise of a conflict that no one will de-escalate.

They Killed Normal and Called It Progress Julia Roberts, Applebee's, Bandcamp, your manager, and the death of everything in between. (Also, Sweetgreen is the A24 of dining and I will die on this hill.)

If you are a liberally-minded American over the age of 40, someone will likely pass this along to you i.e. the "Sweetgreens is the A24 of dining" newsletter.

TL:DR it is making an important point...badly.

Who is this "Mick-Art-Knee" fellow you speak of?

I think you are right :(

Maybe the clearer version of what I’m asking is “how do we determine as a culture” what are consequences? And is part of the exhaustion is that we have no clear sense of when the consequences have been served?

Certainly. But there’s also a “when has justice been served?” Question. Derek Chuvin has been convicted of murder and sentenced to a length prison sentence. Is that justice served or only if say he got the death sentence? It is impossible to stay vigilant if there’s no ending to an unjust act

What is the "it" that can end? (you are running into my initial ditwittedness/slow learning here)

"The most recent New Pornographers album is a bit disappointing" -- The whitest, most Gen X thing I have said/thought in many years.

Pressing thought this morning: People who lack accountability have often never paid any consequences for their misdeeds. Could this be because enforcing punishment/consequences is exhausting and the miscreant can just fight a war of attrition until the other party gives up?

I stopped counting after twelve :( (via @anniezaleski.bsky.social )

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 17 Nominees for 2026 Include Shakira, Lauryn Hill, Pink, Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, New Edition and Wu Tang Clan The 17 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2026 include Shakira, Lauryn Hill, Pink, Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins and Billy Idol.

Because I clearly cannot help myself, my annual Facebook discussion of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees has begun. We die on mole hills at dawn.

I feel like it gets a bad rap b/c of its production. I humbly diasgree with said bad rap.

George Michael, Aretha Franklin - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (Official Video) YouTube video by georgemichaelVEVO

Inspired by my pal @danyelsmith.bsky.social 's recent research on great musical duets, I submit

True dat

The Bay Area: Birthplace of the slot machine, the popsicle, the Black Panthers, blue jeans and Alycia Liu.

We win.

Exclusive: Storied, faceless, and stubbornly profitable: The Economist braces for change A publication famed for its brilliant, monolithic anonymity faces a moment of intense individualization and personalization.

I hope the explanation for this isn't "Because only rich people read this publication" (via @mediagazer.com )

Here’s your very first glimpse of the new Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Today, Netflix released the first teaser trailer for their upcoming six-part adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, written by bestselling author and screenwriter Dolly Alderton (Go…

Damp shirt, lake, Colin Firth and so forth...

Meet the lady who was a hero to a couple of nobodies named Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash.

We've reached the moment in history where I have now sat through a graduation speech the speaker copied from ChatGPT. Spoiler: It sounded like it in person too..

Iron Maiden Announce Theatrical Release of New Documentary Burning Ambition A new documentary titled Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition will be released in North American theaters for a limited run beginning May 7th via Trafalgar Releasing.

There's going to a be a new documentary about IRON MAIDEN. Will this be the thing that gets them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

consequence.net/2026/02/iron...

Alysa Liu telling 60 Minutes “I love struggling, it makes me feel alive” is a legit revolutionary statement from a Bay Area native in a time when copious amounts of time and resources are being put toward convincing us to opt out of experiencing struggle, friction and self-actualization

And the legendary queen Donna Summer one hopes...

Happy Paczki Day to all who celebrate!

Walkman Land is a ginormous online tribute to the portable cassette device of yesteryear and the great aunt of the ipod and iphone. (via @densediscovery.bsky.social )

walkman.land

What I learned: That Amy Sherman-Palladino loves the band XTC (see their song "Then She Appeared" soundtracking the first Rory/Jess kiss) and the singer Grant Lee Philips (he played the Stars Hollow trubadoor)

Jill Scott Is Back With ‘To Whom This May Concern,’ And A New Channel On SiriusXM | Essence As Jill Scott releases, To Whom This May Concern, she launches “Jill Scott’s Flow,” a SiriusXM channel blending new music, classics, and personal reflections.

Jill Scott's new album in nearly a decade comes out today.

If you have no idea what or whom I am talking about, check out her seminal debut WHO IS JILL SCOTT? It is perhaps one of the sexiest records ever made.

#TIL Marshall McLuhan's actual first name was "Herbert"

"Imagine if The Criterion Channel and Netflix had a baby, but the baby only streamed public-domain classics — and it was completely FREE. That’s WikiFlix." -- @tinarotheisenberg.bsky.social

wikiflix.toolforge.org#/

A first look at Ronnie Scott's jazzy new upstairs venue The first-floor room at the iconic London jazz club reopens as Upstairs at Ronnie’s, a listening venue designed for late-night performances

London's most famous jazz club, reopened after a year-long renovation, is now even better...

www.wallpaper.com/travel/bars/...