Dan "A Malevolently Bad Map" Royles 🥥🌴

Costco sells it (or used to sell it?) in a 1.25 lb bucket that is (or was?) WONDERFUL

How did she win the primary after running such a bonkers ad? I know there were other factors in play but it calls to mind Britney Spears' 2007 VMAs performance, which, despite being a total trainwreck arguably relaunched her career:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbT9...

Preparing a lecture on the Obama years, which led me to the 2010 midterms, which led me to remember that the Carly Fiorina "demon sheep" ad exists, and remains a perfectly insane piece of digital ephemera: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_GX...

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fascinating exchange Colbert had with Dua Lipa, when she asked him about the role his faith plays in his comedy.

Still, I found the part where her doctor wonders about the point of being a good person if there is no afterlife: "If nothing happens after we die, what’s the point of striving for justice and caring about others in this life? Might as well be selfish, greedy, live the good life and then die.”

I really liked this op-ed by Kim Fellner about using curiosity and grace to engage someone with a radically different worldview—in this case, the person responsible for her end-of-life care:

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

It's so nice to read an op-ed in the NYT that doesn't make me want to set myself on fire!

Opinion | Elite Colleges Have Found a New Virtue for Applicants to Fake

"Institutions should reinvest in disciplines like philosophy, history and political theory that teach people how to reason through disagreement and should equip faculty members to lead hard conversations constructively."

-- @alexbronzini.bsky.social

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...

Coming soon—The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia (until now a web-only resource) is putting out a three-volume set in October, which will include my essays on:

- AIDS and AIDS activism
- LGBT civil rights
- Legionnaires' disease

www.pennpress.org/978151282935...

Screenshot of Google Maps location of Villa Toscana Miami Wedding Venue & Quince Photography Bella foto Dress studio

2. This is the full name of the venue on Google Maps, which took me all the way out, #becausemiami

Even before we looked it up, my husband goes, "I think I went to somebody's quinces there."

4/n

1. This place is fully in Homestead, which explains why they took a sprinter. From the Design District. Homestead is where all of the farming happens in Miami-Dade County, and it's where Julia's farm is. They should have just stayed overnight so how long a trip it is.

3/n

When I looked up Villa Toscana, the location of Alexia's goddess party, where they're all going to read misspelled Successories-style messages about narcissism written on mirrors in lipstick, I learned two things:

2/n

I love to look up filming locations for Real Housewives of Miami to see where they're eating and drinking (and how far those locations are from the establishing shots of South Beach that they use all the time). 1/n

Okay but I would put my life in Kiki Barth's hands.

You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you?

The "Vote Blue No Matter Who" bitches can vote Mamdani in November 😌

And Syracuse!

What I love about your work is how well grounded it is in historical scholarship, and how often you center that grounding in your writing. It's so contrary to this caricature, because you stand out as a public thinker who is rigorously faithful to the historical record, and I appreciate that.

Histories wanted! Are you a recently terminated federal employee? Historians want to record your story! There's so much you know; let's get it on the record. You may record anonymously if you wish. www.oah.org/2025/03/04/f...

I haven't changed the way I use my account, and I certainly don't use it for anything illegal. Mostly it's my husband and I paying one another for bills and groceries, or I'll use it to pay for stuff at estate sales. I know it's a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but it's mind-boggling.

So #wellsfargo has permanently revoked by access to #zelle and I have no idea why. I called three different numbers at the bank and all they do is read me the same boilerplate about how there was some violation of user terms, they can't tell me why, and the decision is final and irreversible.

when does the 30 days start

asking for 340 million friends

Also I ended up not even using the Lost Cause slides because I ran out of time 😂

...and work from there, like I was planning a lecture on Reconstruction where I wanted to also talk about the Lost Cause and I was like, screenshotting the title cards from Gone with the Wind before I had even written a slide for the 14th Amendment.

also SWBAT= Students Will Be Able To

My husband (who taught secondary) and I were just talking about this last night and he told me to reverse plan, starting with outcomes (he said "SWBAT") and working backward. I need to get better at this because I usually just start with some weird corner of what I think might get included...

We went to the one in Iceland! It was underwhelming! (Not a joke or a pun, it just was!)

Prepping a lecture on Reconstruction and thus in part on birthright citizenship for tomorrow while PEPFAR has been (temporarily?) defunded and the Senate is deciding whether to put an HIV denialist in charge of public health

Could stand to have what I do be less relevant, tbh

AI fake account - block with extreme prejudice

The intro to One Night In Paris which is an American flag graphic with the words "in memory of 9/11/01.... We will forget"

You can't understand what the 2000s were really like without realising that the official release Paris Hilton sextape opens with a tribute to the victims of 9/11

Other academics: when you published your first book (or all your books, idk, I only have the one) did you have post-publication depressions? How did it show up?

All Day (Copy) New | Milu | Chinese Restaurant in New York, NY Milu is a lively hub for friends, family, and neighbors who share a passion for Chinese cuisine. We want Milu to be a casual, comforting experience that reflects the evolution of both Chinese and Amer...

I'm gonna add: get a little bit away from the conference hotel by taking the R/W down to 23rd St and eat at Milu. Their Yunnan brisket bowl is my desert island meal and their pork and fennel dumplings are really good too. (They also have veggie options) www.eatmilu.com/menu/