I like going for walks at night. It’s a thing I do, especially in the summer when it’s too hot to move while the sun is out. I’m acutely aware how unusual and precious it is for a woman to be completely comfortable, unafraid, and free on dark, silent streets. I want my daughter and then her daughter to have this. An enormous effort of civilization went into making this very unnatural and very beautiful reality possible.

We can’t make everybody else on the planet live like this. And we shouldn’t try. But neither should we give it up. It’s such a wonderful thing. Let’s do everything to keep it.

Does anybody have an explanation for why Israel stopped the Greta Thunberg boat? What is the purpose? What’s the big deal if she does get to Gaza?

Where’s Tucker Carlson when you need him?

One of the most interesting things about Mexican-Americans is that, despite their vast numbers in the US, they contribute almost nothing to scientific and technological innovation here, comparing poorly to other immigrant groups in this regard (especially on a per capita basis). https://t.co/NSwVDCY7vV

— i/o (@avidseries) June 8, 2025

I still can’t get over the story of a dude who opened a school for computer programmers in Ukraine. It was very successful, so he decided to open another one in Mexico.

Matt, blaming individuals for systemic government failures is lazy analysis. Mexicans flee corruption, not culture—and many of them work harder for this country than the people born here. Try again.

— OneStepCollective (@OneStepCol) June 8, 2025

Whose corruption do Mexicans flee? Is corruption like Godzilla, a magical beast that is chained in the middle of Tlatelolco and the only way to avoid it is to run away?

To those who can, I highly recommend reading Fabricación by Ricardo Raphael or Salvar el fuego by Guillermo Arriaga. That is Mexico as narrated by the most talented Mexicans. That is most certainly the culture. It’s wonderful in many ways. And it’s also extremely dysfunctional in others.

I told my mother about the conflict between Trump and Musk. She’s very not politicized and doesn’t like Trump but she immediately said, “But how can you lower the national debt if the border is wide open and there are millions of illegals?”

This is not as complicated as many people pretend.

I’ve been a little overwhelmed. I’m teaching an online asynchronous course, which puts me into a vile mood but nobody is paying for anything else. Our university restructurings is underway, and there’s unrelenting weirdness at work. My writing is as intense as ever. So in any case, my car looks downright indecent because I have no time to go to a car wash.

This is me taking a nap in the office on Saturday:

Today is Pentecost, and it means an extra long service. As if any Orthodox service could ever be not extra long but you know what I mean. So while I was inside, one of the parishioners cleaned my car. It had nasty tar stains that I didn’t know how to erase, and he took care of all that.

As nice as the action itself is the reason for it. The guy is sweet on my friend and is trying to impress her.

The best parents I’ve seen in my life (and which have the best relationships with their kids) have been:

Politically liberal
Never divorced
Didn’t want kids until late in life
Created firm boundaries for their kids

The worst parents I’ve seen have fallen into one of two groups:

Group one

Politically very conservative
Had kids early
Created super-rigid boundaries for their kids

Group two

Politically liberal
Created few boundaries for their kids.

https://x.com/avidseries/status/1931716064875827312?t=bNxdFCUhowpRCXlkxs7q-Q&s=19

My father was group one and the best father on the planet aside from N. And we had a very profound relationship until the day he died.

I don’t do this boundaries thing myself because I’m an old parent, and the forty years that separate me and my kid are boundary enough. Neither do I do punishments, consequences, timeouts, or any of that stuff. But again, at my age it’s all kind of mega unnecessary.

The sequel to the “Summer of George Floyd” appeared right on time.

The first round was decisively won by the Left in 2020. The result was race-based insanity that consumed the country for several years.

The current iteration of Leftist riots is run in a different America. People have been battered by too much “water is racist” sloganeering and have become jaded. Trump doesn’t seem to have many fucks to give this time round, either.

Let’s hope the sequel has a happy ending.

Footage like this completely dooms any presidential bid by Gavin Newsom – violent assaults on federal law enforcement clips would be played wall to wall in the primaries. pic.twitter.com/AoW9n5xaCJ

— captive dreamer (@avaricum777) June 7, 2025

Yeah, I don’t know. This kind of thing makes middle-aged liberals feel edgy and rebellious. They watch, pout, and feel ferocious.

The scenes from LA are sad and embarrassing but there are many people who will find inspiration in the dysfunction.