@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

jasonpettus

@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud

Chicago-based writer and photographer, rare-book dealer and indie lit book editor. Blog: write.as/jasonpettus | ilikejason@gmail.com

AI PLEDGE: I promise that all content on this page has been, and will always be, created with a human brain and human fingers, never with an AI bot.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Did you know that the creators of "Laugh-In" made another show afterwards that was even more controversial, cutting-edge and gonzo, and that a station owner in Cleveland managed to get it canceled after one episode because it was scheduled to replace his favorite show, the soap opera "Peyton Place?" HUGE kudos to @ernie and @tedium for bringing it to light, so much so that 93-year-old producer George Schlatter released an official version this week! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDpum0Jp7Gw

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

The Espresso Displays corporation would please like for you to spend $1,000 on a fucking computerless screen. https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/09/4k-espresso-displays/

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@billyjoebowers Yeah, I know, and people spend $2,000 on phones now too. But still!

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Thinking yet again about how Starbucks keeps implying in their promotional material for their new "Oleato" (i.e. adding olive oil to coffee) that it's some revered forgotten Medieval tradition that they've recently unearthed, when in fact the entire concept was invented last year by the company's current CEO, Howard Schultz, who once heard about how extreme-sports athletes put butter in their coffee and thought this would be a great way for Starbucks to add a new sales "vertical."

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

People a hundred years from now will be flabbergasted by and laugh with derision at the sheer amount of time we spend each day here in the early 21st century, simply hunting down electricity sources for the constant, unending need to recharge our shit

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Man, am I tired of hipsters writing entire dissertations about their decision to change the serifs of their corporate font by a sixteenth of an inch https://blog.google/products/android/modern-look/

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

This was heartbreaking to learn. https://vcij.org/stories/how-virginia-college-expanded-by-uprooting-black-neighborhood

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@ernie Then you're going to HATE hearing about how the University of Illinois Chicago managed to secure the space for their campus. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/285a297c8b974eba8e463e4a19ab88c9

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@ernie I mean, the University of Chicago is still doing it to this day, and with the help of Barack Obama! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11950579/Chicago-University-activists-launch-reparations-campaign-calling-1B.html

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

My fellow 54-year-old friend and I were recently informed by her 20-year-old son that, since we regularly have charcuteries and tapas nights when we get together, we are officially embracing

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Finally, a documentary that MATTERS, regarding the history of "Sinemax" softcore direct-to-video erotic thrillers in the '80s and '90s. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/movies/we-kill-for-love-review-what-they-did-in-hollywoods-shadows.html

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@ernie Ha ha! I KNEW something like this would be up your alley!

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

I cannot possibly think of a sadder thing that happens every day in this country than the act of eating fast food out of a bag in a moving car.

grammargirl, to random
@grammargirl@zirk.us avatar

"Anxious" and "eager" have different meanings but are often confused. Plus, attitudes about these two words are changing, so it's important to be careful. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/anxious-or-eager/

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@grammargirl During my first visit to Germany in the early '00s, I noticed that people there didn't have even the slightest idea that "anxious" could be a positive statement. I would say something like, "I'm anxious to get to the party!" and they would respond, "Why? The party's going to be fun; no need to be anxious about it."

beaveinflow, to random

[God creating humans] And when they’ve lived approximately half their lives, make their bodies hurt for no reason, give them permanent indigestion and ensure they never get adequate rest again until they die.

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@beaveinflow For what it's worth, God only meant for this to last a few years; it's humans who have figured out how to have this situation last an entire half of our lives.

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Amazing photos of an entire planned city of mansions in rural China that went bankrupt before anyone moved in, and have now been taken back over by peasant farmers who have turned the roads into fields, and the empty husks of the homes into cow barns. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230720-chinese-ghost-town-of-mansions-reclaimed-by-farmers

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

Was talking here last night yet again about the early days of the Web in the '90s, and heard from some people that they found it funny that in 1995, out of an ad agency with several thousand employees, there was literally only one employee computer in the entire building hooked up to the internet and with a working browser. But keep in mind, at many of my temp jobs in those days, the secretaries didn't even have COMPUTERS, but were still doing ALL their work on electric typewriters. Mid-1990s!

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

I love that Mastodon finally gives me what I've actually wanted from social media this entire time, a place to follow along with the weird clever nerds. I never wanted to have to deal with my relatives and all those acquaintances from high school in the FIRST place

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

RIP pervy weasel Bob Barker, who once got out of a sexual harassment lawsuit by making the deliberate decision to draw the case out for so long that the plaintiff would run out of money (which is exactly what happened). When once asked what had made their marriage last so long, Barker's wife replied, “I love Bob Barker. And Bob Barker loves Bob Barker.” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/arts/television/bob-barker-dead.html

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

The news today of China's economic shutdown reminded me of a great artifact showing how much the US has progressed as a country, Dorothea Lange's Great Depression photos. Less than 100 years ago, most poor people owned only one outfit, and if it was too dirty to wear, you literally had to wear a burlap sack. It's easy to get down about America's problems when you have a permanent short-term outlook. Sometimes looking in terms of centuries is the mentally healthiest thing you can do in your life.

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

I hear from authors all the time who say, "My book goes to press in two weeks, and it's already had a thorough copy edit, so now I just need a quick developmental edit to confirm that it's looking okay." Well, what if it's NOT looking okay? What if, like the book I just got done with, I discover that the entire last third of the book needs to be entirely rewritten from scratch? You should always schedule your developmental edit for right after the first draft, months before you go to press.

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@matdevdug I absolutely agree with you, although in this case it was actually a nonfiction self-help book. Turns out they were a real expert on the subjects they discuss in the first two-thirds of the book, but dangerously naive and uneducated about the stuff they talk about in the last third. They were giving bad advice that contained the chance to actively damage their readers, so I had to tell them that they need to delete the entire last third and start over.

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@matdevdug Not rough for me! But yeah, their original plan was to upload the files to Amazon next week, which is why I give the advice I do, that the developmental edit should be the very first thing you do after you get done with your initial draft (i.e. your developmental editor should be the very first person who actually looks at the manuscript besides you), instead of the very last thing you do right before publication.

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

All of us who loiter in public libraries on weekdays are equal freaks in the eyes of God

jasonpettus, to random
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

I FEEL HEARD https://www.aarparrow.com/health-fitness/why-do-older-guys-groan-so-much

jasonpettus,
@jasonpettus@mastodon.cloud avatar

@jcrabapple Actually, it turns out for the same reason athletes grunt when doing a hard move, because the sound triggers your body to put in a little oomph of effort.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • JUstTest
  • mdbf
  • ngwrru68w68
  • cubers
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • InstantRegret
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • megavids
  • tacticalgear
  • osvaldo12
  • normalnudes
  • tester
  • cisconetworking
  • everett
  • GTA5RPClips
  • ethstaker
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • provamag3
  • modclub
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •