Ben Silverman

Agriculture & Commerce

[Ben Silverman @_bensilverman]

Are my lips chapped? YES. Did I use chapstick? YES. Did the chapstick work? NO. Have I even gone outside today? NO. But my lips chapped anyway? YES. So, am I gonna keep using chapstick, even though it doesn’t work? YES, and that’s FINE

[Keano For Taoiseach 🪏 @RoyForTaoiseach]

This is like the coolest thing ever how do people hate Yoko

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

Robert Pattinson says ‘TRANSFORMERS’ is the definitive movie of the 2000s.

“In the early 2000s [movies had] super bright, saturated colors and really glossy stuff and it I guess culminates with Transformers and then it kind of ends.”

(Source: @A24)

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.

[Dr. Alex Zawacki @achillghost]

Fifth book of the Argonautica dropped before Winds of Winter

[Taylor Fritz @Taylor_Fritz97]

Massive tennis ball rant incoming.

After playing Washington, Cincinnati, and the US Open, plus a full week of training in New York beforehand, I got a VERY good feel for the Wilson US Open balls we were using and know EXACTLY what they should feel like off my racket. They were good balls, and I have no complaints about what we played with at those tournaments this summer.

But since coming home, my last two days of practice with Wilson US Open balls have been miserable. They are sold, marketed, and labeled as the same balls, but the way they come off my racket and feel couldn’t be more different.

After that many weeks using the tournament balls, I know exactly how they respond. The balls I’m practicing with feel like literal green-dot kids’ balls: incredibly soft, dead, and going nowhere. I’m playing on a court with a similar speed to the courts at the Open as well just to be clear. I’ve tried balls from multiple cases to rule out a bad batch, and unfortunately, it’s been the same across the board. Other players I’ve spoken to since the Open have described the same thing.

The amount of effort I have to use to just produce a regular rally ball with these balls is insane. I’m having to throw my whole body into shots and swing out of my shoes just to produce a solid rally ball. Beyond being frustrating, it feels like it’s creating bad habits (I would never swing this aggressively normally or else I’d sent balls to the back fence or mistime every other shot) I’m having to adjust the way I hit just to compensate for a ball that behaves nothing like the one we use in competition.

That leads to the obvious the bigger issue and the reason for the rant: we need to be able to train with the same balls we compete with, and in the past I feel like this wasn’t usually an issue.

It didn’t used to feel this way. There was consistency, and any small differences could usually be explained by the court or conditions. Over the last year and a half, though, I’ve noticed such a significant difference between retail balls from both Wilson and Dunlop and their tournament equivalents, which are supposed to be identical, that it completely changes how you want to construct points and take risks on shots and just play points in general. I’m not exaggerating it really is making that big of a difference at the pro level.

The only positive I can take out of playing with these balls the last couple days is that it takes such more extra effort in every shot i hit at least it has been good cardio consistently having to swing so hard all the time 😂

It’s disappointing that this has started to feel normal. Training is a lot less enjoyable, and a lot less productive, when you’re spending it practicing with balls that are so different from what you’ll use when it matters.

Okay, rant over. Everyone go enjoy watching the rest of the Open :)

[Some.BYU.Dude @ByuSome]

Don't forget to set your clock back one second this Saturday for Michigan Savings Time

[The Post-Credits Scene @PostCredits2026]

Missed the obvious fourth

[Collin Rugg @CollinRugg]

Meteorologist starts laughing so hard on air that he starts squealing while reporting on the weather in Maine.

WABI meteorologist Patrick Osborn was live on air when he lost all ability to speak during the segment.

This guy was fighting for his life.

[Bill Lee @BillLeeTN]

Charlie Hatcher & I have been friends for 25 years.

I was a cattleman — he was our veterinarian. For 7 years, he served as my Commissioner of Agriculture.

Now he’s running to serve TN’s 5th District & secure President Trump’s agenda.

Join me in voting @HatcherforTN on Aug 6.

[Jeremy Faison @RepFaison]

On the Tennessee Governor’s Race
For the most part, I’ve been open about supporting @MarshaBlackburn and have intentionally avoided criticizing the other candidates. But after this week, I can’t stay silent any longer.
Let’s be clear about who Monty Fritts is.
I’ve seen many of my friends post that they’re planning to vote for Monty. Before you do, I want to offer a word of caution.
I’ve known Monty for about four years, and I genuinely like him. I believe he’s a good and decent man. But there are some things you should know before casting your vote.
Monty is an ideologue. During his time in the General Assembly, he has never demonstrated the ability to build consensus or effectively bring about substantial legislative change. More than anyone else in our Republican caucus, Monty has consistently voted with Tennessee Democrats. I’m not talking about the occasional disagreement with fellow Republicans that happens from time to time. I’m talking about a consistent pattern, in committee and on the House floor, where he has voted with Democrats against the Republican caucus hundreds of times.
On numerous occasions, he has sided with Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, (Socialist Three) even when other Democrats did not. Time and again, I watched Monty align himself with that bloc rather than with his own party.
Even putting all of that aside, his comments this week crossed a line that I won’t ignore.
Monty said he would “ban pagan religions.”
That statement reflects a view of government that is fundamentally at odds with our constitutional system. It suggests a belief that government should be guided by a particular religious doctrine rather than by the Constitution. While that idea may appeal to some Christians at first glance, history shows that mixing civil government with religious authority is beyond dangerous.
The Founders understood this well. Many came from places where government and religion were intertwined, and they deliberately established a constitutional republic that protects both religious liberty and individual conscience. The First Amendment guarantees every American the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience; or not to worship at all. Government has no authority to compel religious belief, nor does it have the authority to prohibit peaceful religious practice.
Think about the precedent that would be set if government were allowed to ban one religion because those in power disapproved of it. What happens when someone with very different beliefs holds office? What if an atheist becomes governor? A Muslim? A Mormon? Or a Christian whose interpretation of Scripture differs from yours? The principle cuts both ways. Once government claims the power to decide which religions are acceptable, everyone’s liberty is at risk.
I’m supporting Marsha, and I understand why some people may choose to support John. But I hope you’ll carefully consider the implications of supporting a candidate who appears willing to ignore constitutional protections to his own religious convictions.
We may strongly disagree on matters of faith, theology, or philosophy. That’s part of living in a free society. But I will always fight to protect your right to self governance, to follow your own conscience, and to enjoy the religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.

https://t.co/PKNpr19cHB

[bookdepth @bookdepth]

Given my autistic interest in IMAX theater tech, some of you might find it odd that I havent tweeted about the biggest Imax release ever. No longer.

I built https://t.co/xKfvW0Lf68 so that everyone going to see the Odyssey will know exactly where to go and where to avoid

[Vashi Nedomansky, ACE @vashikoo]

UPDATED for accuracy. The top 3 remain the same, plus new additions to the bottom 7. The people have spoken! Appreciate the help!

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

In Georgia I entered a Chick-fil-A drive-thru line of forty cars.

I turned off my engine. I prepared to wait the way my ancestors waited out a siege.

Six minutes later I was holding chicken.

I do not know what happened to the other thirty-nine cars. The line moved like water that had somewhere to be.

A young woman walked between the cars taking orders on a small tablet, on foot, in the sun, smiling like the sun was her idea.

I said thank you.

She said, "My pleasure."

I did not think about it then. I should have.

At the window I thanked the young man for the food.

"My pleasure."

I thanked him for the sauce.

"My pleasure."

I thanked him for thanking me—

"My pleasure."

I want to be clear about what was happening.

This was a duel.

In Japan I trained in courtesy for forty years. Bowing angles. Seasonal greetings. The correct depth of apology for seventeen distinct situations.

I was a white belt in that drive-thru.

I escalated. I used my most formal English. I thanked him on behalf of my entire family line.

He said, "My pleasure," and gave me extra sauce.

Extra sauce. Unprovoked. A counterattack.

I returned the next day to reclaim my honor.

It was Sunday. The restaurant was closed.

All of them were closed. In the entire country. They close every Sunday, and they have closed every Sunday since the beginning, because the founder made a promise, and the promise did not expire when he did.

I stood in the empty parking lot and understood I had lost twice.

Once to a teenager with sauce.

Once to a man I will never meet, who kept his word so long it became a building.

In my country we say a samurai's word is his life.

I had never seen a restaurant say it back.

I returned Monday. I ordered. And this time I said it first, before she could.

"My pleasure."

She smiled and said, "It sure is."

America, I surrender.

It was my pleasure.

[NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin]

@ShuttleAlmanac Because NASA’s job is to put astronauts in space as often as possible

[isaac @ik2onmovies]

The last minute of the final race in Speed Racer was the most religious experience a movie has given me in years

[Emile Hirsch @EmileHirsch]

HAVE a VISION

[Jonathan @jonathanmb32]

The early presale success of the Speed Racer IMAX re-release really is remarkable; there have been successful recent re-releases of movies that were commercial non-events upon release (Oldboy), but a movie that was as big a flop as Speed Racer was selling out screening is wild.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

Warner Bros has just announced that IMAX 70mm tickets for ‘DUNE: PART 3’ go on sale in 30 MINUTES.

[NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin]

.@JesseBWatters for the record, had I heard the question, my answer would be ABSOLUTELY.

We’re in the second space race. We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. We already won, but we are doing everything we can to win again. America will never give up the Moon again.