Baize Not Binaries

That's just embarrassing.

Philip Glass is already one of my favorite composers, glad to see him doing this.

"Say His Name: Alex Pretti" David Farrier's Webworm reports that Alex Pretti's gun never left its holster - before ICE agents removed it and killed him at point blank range.

i've been out in minneapolis all day, talking to locals and trying to wrap my head around the murder of alex pretti. it's 11.23pm, and this is what i've arrived at. please RT, it's free to read: www.webworm.co/alexpretti/

I literally have a post in my Tumblr drafts about how hard it is to write anything about snooker right now because every time I start to draft something, we (the US) do a war crime, strip people of healthcare, or the feds murder someone. I'm so fucking tired y'all.

straight up execution by ICE

@wpbsa.bsky.social With all due respect to the players, why did we have commentary on table one at WSF with two relatively unknown players, while two former Women's World Champions were left on table 2 with nothing?

Top bosses have already earned more than you will this year.

Happy New Year!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/06/ftse-100-ceos-earn-more-than-average-worker-yearly-pay-by-noon-on-6-january-2026

Given everything happening right now, I updated this article with options for weather apps, web forms, and translation services — along with some tweaks to existing categories.

I hope it helps your transition off US tech!

They as in Vancouver, the subject of the tweet. As far as I understand, scissor stairs were banned there too until a code change a week or so ago.

Okay. So they allowed them high rises before but the new rule allows in smaller buildings?

Didn't they just pass the scissor stair thing like a week ago?

Good morning and happy new year. Katie Wilson became Mayor of Seattle at midnight.

I think thats a big factor too. European and particularly British players get a pass on a lot things that I don't think Chinese players would. If Xiao Guodong had done what Selt did against Zizins last year, do you think he'd be on Hendry's YouTube the next day laughing it off with him? I doubt it.

This whole thing has been thinking, particularly in the framing of justice and rehabilitation like I was talking about in the thread with Nick, so I might put together a Tumblr post about this. I definitely have more to say than will fit in a tweet.

of the story. That's mostly what bothered me about Nicks column, he spent more time talking about the ban than the win. If we can talk about Higgins without talking about his ban at all, surely we can talk about Zhao without making it the only thing we are talking about. 3/3

center of attention. He's not the only player to have done wrong, but others seem to get the "its in the past" attitude and rarely have it mentioned, which I actually think is a good thing. I get that it's more recent, so maybe it's worth more of a mention, but it doesn't have to be the center 2/3

I found the "amateur" thing weird as well. They tried to play it up like some unknown kid from a Welsh mining town came through and won. When really just a couple years before he was topping lists for potential WC winners.

That's the other thing that bothers me about putting his ban at the 1/3

Thank you for sticking trough my lengthy replies. Clearly short form social media is not my home turf. I really appreciate that you are willing to engage with readers/listeners so readily. Snooker and its community really are the best sport.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 8/8

When Zhao's win gets overshadowed by his past misdeeds, it feels a lot like punishment for the sake of punishment rather than rehabilitation. Our mistakes make us who we are, but they aren't the center of our story, nor do they need to be a caveat on our successes. 7/x

I really do hope we reach the point soon where this can be behind us. This is something I really get passionate about. Not to get too political but justice and rehabilitation are not things we do well, particularly here in the US (and are in fact doing it horrifically at the moment). 6/x

any insider knowledge that others in the snooker media have been instructed to sweep it under the rug, I think the fair assumption is that they have different feelings on the ban and just don't feel that it needs the kind of attention that you think it does and thats reflected in their coverage. 5/x

As I said above, I think your sense that he was talked about too warmly is a product of your own feelings on him. If you wanted a longer ban, his unjust return would warrant a lot of discussion. If you are comfortable with the ban, it doesn't need to be the center of the story. Unless you have 4/x

Snooker's match-fixing bans send a message but was it strong enough? The bans allow serial match-fixers to return to the sport in the future.

would have gone a long way to give readers context and maybe something to think about.

As for his apology, the full text of which is hard to find from a reliable source, but is summarized here by Phil Haigh, what more are you hoping for? 3/x metro.co.uk/2023/06/08/s...

That being said, I do wish you had included that opinion when writing about his win. While its clear in the piece that you are uncomfortable with his win, I think more detail on what exactly makes you uncomfortable and what you would have preferred to see happen in terms of his ban & his return 2/x

That was a bit of hyperbole to say you're the only one, more just playing off the way you suggested in your column that others were not talking about it and skirting around it.

I don't recall hearing you say the ban was too short, so my apologies for suggesting you hadn't said so. (1/x)

What I don't really understand is those that weren't fans of his before & don't have a personal wound to heal who take issue with the timing. If he should have been banned longer, thats an issue to take up with the WPBSA, but I don't see many people making it about them, they make it about Zhao. 2/2

That makes a lot of sense. I can see how as a fan of his, if you still need time to heal that the timing would be less than ideal. I can understand it when the disappointment is centered around him, his actions, and what the timing his victory means for him and his fans. (1/2)

the feelings and reasons behind it. I would just rather see that stated outright rather than talk of "sadness" and "timing" that when unpacked and taken to a logical conclusion, is really just "he should not have been there." (6/6)

he is welcome back to play but not win yet is asinine. Should he have come back and intentionally lost because the timing wasn't right? Of course not. So if you don't think he should have won, it means you don't think he should have been there. That's a valid opinion, I disagree, but respect (5/x)

The only skirting I'm really seeing is when people talk about "The timing." When they say that, what they mean is that his ban wasn't long enough. He either served his ban and is welcome to play and win again, or he is not and should have been banned for longer. The suggestion that (4/x)