Levi Taylor

the audacity of hope

[audrey @phlegmme]

Latte art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable

[Diana S. Fleischman @sentientist]

In adults, limiting smartphone functionality to texting and calls and blocking all social media and mobile internet for 2 weeks significantly improved attention, self-reported well-being and mental health. 90% of participants experienced a benefit.

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

Jessica Winter has been raising her children to detest A.I. Then her daughter’s public middle school began receiving Google Chromebooks, which came pre-installed with an all-ages version of Gemini, a suite of A.I. tools. “When my daughter, who is in sixth grade, begins writing an essay, she gets a prompt: ‘Help me write,’ ” Winter writes. “If she is starting work on a slide-show presentation, the prompt is ‘Help me visualize.’ She shoos away these interruptions, but they persist: ‘Help me edit.’ ‘Beautify this slide.’ ”

Proponents of generative A.I. in elementary and middle schools argue that such early exposure will foster digital-media literacy, and prepare them for a future in which most professions are steeped in A.I. But the technology also poses significant cognitive and social-emotional risks to young people. Read Winter’s report about A.I.’s infiltration into schools—and what it could mean for young minds: https://t.co/xaIqbeGRnl

[mark leidner @markleidner]

iambic tetrameter ass stick

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

Let this be the year in which you rebuild your attention span. Big Tech wants you unable to focus on anything for longer than a few seconds. Resist the infinite scroll. Avoid short-form videos. Watch movies without being on your phone. Read voraciously and often.

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

John Deere got this video taken off our YouTube channel for two weeks. It took our lawyers reaching out to YouTube to get it back up.

The video lays out how a handful of corporations took control of the entire agriculture industry, bankrupting farmers and screwing over America.

[Mike Petriello @mike_petriello]

I'm assuming this is not the first "Royals face decision on India" headline the Times has ever run, though perhaps the first in about 80 years

https://t.co/BDn6BRDFel

[G @__GDB]

Bun B said Pimp C found out that D’Angelo was making his music with the same equipment Pimp used to make his and Pimp said “okay I need to read that manual” lmao.

[أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif @AnasAlSharif0]

This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.

I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.

I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif
06.04.2025

This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom.

[Isaac Feldberg @isaacfeldberg]

James Gray distilled so well what’s going on with the limited “mass appeal” of superhero films: studios oversaturating one genre, homogenizing the cinematic experience, getting wider audiences out of the habit of going to theaters. This is the end result.

[Jaketropolis @jaketropolis]

"...and who was the author of Jane Eyre?"

"Emily Brontë?"

"Turn the engine off and step out of the truck for me, sir."

[Travel Through Stories @travelstoriesyt]

Juan Goytisolo on the importance of aurality in literature — if novelists don't read poetry, then all they produce is "a utilitarian prose, of terrible quality, that the public devour."

Alright, I really need to read Goytisolo now.

[Levi Taylor @LeviticusTaylor]

@DanGheesling I knew you would beat him tonight after you said “I would rather die than give up”. Pure dial. Congrats, Dan!

[serènity @cultureartislam]

First Ramadan Iftar in Gaza, Palestine.

[Levi Taylor @LeviticusTaylor]

@jacobinfante24 He’s going to be huge for that locker room. He kept the Chiefs accountable when they needed it. Kept them sharp. Great hire for you guys.

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

We need a nationwide “Read More Books” promotional campaign. Celebrity endorsements, Wishbone-style shows, Muppet movies. Kids need to know that reading is cool and fun. The reason millennials read so much is because we were bombarded with pro-book content from a young age.

[Levi Taylor @LeviticusTaylor]

@jacobinfante24 Gonna cost a lot after another ring this year.

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

Last night I met up with my favorite English teacher, a lifelong friend who teaches both high school and college courses.

In thirty-five years of teaching, she has never been more worried about her students.