Words cannot express the degree to which I’ve had it with these stupid media and their moronic headlines.

Something unprecedented happened in the recent phone call between Putin and Trump. Putin offered to relinquish two of the regions which he not only already occupied but for which he modified the Russian Constitution. He never offered anything like this before. It’s an enormous concession for him.

Now, the interesting question is why he’s suddenly so amenable. The Russian summer offensive failed badly. Russia sustained catastrophic losses with almost no territorial gain within the last year. These are WWI type losses with no gain. 40% of Russia’s oil industry has been destroyed by Ukrainian drones. There are long lines at the gas stations across the country. Young people are singing “fuck you, warmongering monsters” in the streets of St Petersburg. Putin is growing desperate.

These are the actual news and not what Trump did or didn’t toss. I’m so tired of the Trump obsession because it has stolen what little brain matter people had. It’s impossible to find an analysis of the situation anywhere because every journalist in existence is making everything about Trump.

Over the last fifteen years, Reddit's relationship advice has shifted towards recommending:

– Breakups
– Boundaries
– Therapy

And against compromise, communication, and letting people have their space. pic.twitter.com/9ilwj2gwvV

— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) October 19, 2025

Well, boundaries mean precisely compromise, communication, and letting people have their space. And therapy teaches you how to do these exact three things. It’s a difference in terminology but the substance is the same.

Half a million views on a panicky engagement-bait post with zero substance. 

The Canadian province of British Columbia is informing home owners that they don’t have the right to their homes because the land was recently adjudicated as belonging to a tribe:

The purpose of land acknowledgements have become clear.

Today, Duolingo regaled me with a story in which a woman spontaneously and casually changes her sexual orientation and becomes a lesbian.

Can anybody imagine a Duolingo story where a woman becomes straight because she meets the right guy?

Of course not.

It always works in only one direction.

It can cost over 200k to get a PHD in paleontology. Try paying that off with a 60k salary lmfao.

— Cera Gibson (@CeraGibson) October 17, 2025

No, it can’t. Nobody pays to get PhDs in this country. People get paid to get PhDs.

Of course, that these women lie is obvious given their profession but I’ve seen normal people repeat this myth, too. Nobody got into gigantic debt to get a PhD in Basket Weaving. That does not exist.

People don’t know how things in their own country work. “Graduate schools will collapse without international students paying for their PhDs”. Dude, you are so off, you are falling behind the horizon.

The only good thing about Mamdani is that he doesn’t believe in any of the stuff he says. He is happy to have found the perfect way to scam the perennially unpaired who channel their cosmic frustration with life into political slogans. He is a rich dude who wants to be even richer and is milking the marks because he can.

Since he doesn’t believe any of the ideas he expresses, he’ll be more interested in photo-ops, chasing after desperate 35-year-old tail, and getting even richer to prove things to mommy than in “reforms.”

This way, he won’t do as much damage as an honest fanatic would.

Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska back in late August, was scheduled to have a Rule 24 court hearing on Thursday, Oct. 16. A Rule 24 hearing is for the state to determine whether or not they would pursue the death penalty.

Court documents said that the hearing has now been pushed back until April 2026.

Dude’s going to be released in a few years R this pace. And everybody will have moved on and forgotten because there will be so many more of such murders that it’s impossible to keep track.

I discovered two new (to me) pieces of technology in Spain. One I hate and the other has potential to be good but I haven’t tried it yet.

The one I don’t like is the digital lock that connects with an app and can’t be opened without it. The lock pairs with my phone while I’m still in the elevator and starts making happy, chirpy noises as I approach. I feel pressured to come in when it does that. Why can’t a person come in when she feels like it and not when an overeager lock tells her to?

The lock can’t be opened without the bloody app. I’m developing a neurosis where I’m scared my battery will die and I will be locked out of my apartment in the middle of Tetuán (a residential neighborhood in Madrid). I’m also developing another neurosis where I keep checking that the app didn’t accidentally unlock the door while I’m inside. The app not only unlocks but actually opens the door. As you can imagine, the situation is ripe with generating fresh, juicy neuroses.

The technology I still need to try is a washer that is simultaneously a dryer. I’ve heard from Ukrainians that it exists but never seen it before. Has anybody on here tried it? Are they any good? I’d love to be able to do my own laundry, especially because of all these new neuroses I’m picking up.

I couldn’t walk as much as I usually do in Madrid because I’m running low on energy after all the flights. Plus, it’s hot. Not as bad as at home but still uncomfortable. I took an Uber and really lucked out with the driver. It was an older woman, very cultured. She speaks several languages, and the music in the speakers was Chopin. The driver started apologizing for the choice of music but I assured her that it made my day.

It’s kind of insane that people like this woman have to drive an Uber but humanity’s loss was my gain today.

At the large Casa del Libro bookstore in Madrid, people are behaving like books have been banned and this is their last chance to haul out as many as possible. It’s very nice to see a crowded bookstore. And most visitors are younger than me, which is very heartening.

On the negative side, there are so many titles about Palestine that one has to dig one’s way to the good stuff.

On the positive side, as I walked away from the bookstore (and truly, what a sad phrase this is), I came across a Georgian restaurant. N is eager for me to try Georgian food in hopes that I’ll like it and will start cooking it for him. I’m going to visit it tomorrow because after two days with no sleep, I can’t look at food.