LE Franks

fighting self-censorship at home, one rude tweet at a time... oh, and the gay lit thing, too.

[Steve Schmidt @SteveSchmidtSES]

America continues to fail in Iran while Donald Trump retreats further from NATO. I break down why Trump's mistakes are laying the foundation for the next global catastrophe.

https://t.co/ukM9q4nYJO

[Ladytron Fan Account @Lady_FanAccount]

"Hurt" is not an original by Johnny Cash. The song was written by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) in 1994 for the album The Downward Spiral. Rick Rubin had to insist several times on Cash recording his version, at first Johnny found the idea completely insane because the original version is industrial and noisy. At 71, already very ill, almost blind and with trembling hands, Cash completely transformed the band.

The iconic video, directed by Mark Romanek, was filmed at the House of Cash (his own museum). June Carter Cash appears looking at him fondly, the video was shot in February 2003, a few months before she died (May) and Johnny himself (September).

Trent Reznor was so moved that he declared, "This song is not mine anymore." It is considered one of the best covers of all time.

[Supersonic Redhead🛫 @Supersonic_Red]

There’s a generation a lot of people forget exists. We were born at the tail end of the Boomers, but we are not culturally the same as people born in the 40s and early 50s. We are Generation Jones.

And honestly, it explains a lot.

We grew up in a world that still felt fundamentally analog, but we were young enough to be dragged headfirst into the digital revolution. We are the bridge generation between rotary phones and smartphones, between slide rules and AI, between Walter Cronkite and algorithm driven media.

We remember when there were only a few television channels and the entire country watched the same thing at the same time. We also adapted to the internet, email, forums, social media, streaming and now artificial intelligence. We lived before and after the technological singularity hit everyday life.

That is not a small thing.

People born in the 40s came of age in a post World War II America that was still industrial, deeply hierarchical and institutionally stable. Their formative years were shaped by the Cold War, Vietnam, the civil rights era and a society where information moved slowly.

Generation Jones came later. We inherited the aftermath of all of that.

We were the kids who watched Watergate destroy blind trust in government. We watched manufacturing begin to collapse. We saw divorce rates explode. We were the first truly latchkey generation in massive numbers. We learned independence early because many of us had to.

We grew up with one foot in old America and one foot in whatever this new thing was becoming.

We played outside until the streetlights came on but we also learned DOS commands. We learned cursive and keyboarding. We had card catalogs and Google searches. We went from vinyl records to cassette tapes to CDs to MP3s to streaming in one lifetime.

We remember maps. We remember memorizing phone numbers. We remember life before GPS and before every human interaction became filtered through a screen.

And because of that, I think Generation Jones developed a very unique perspective. We are adaptable because we had no choice but to adapt. We learned technology as adults instead of being born into it. We remember a slower world but were forced to survive in a rapidly accelerating one.

That creates a very different mindset than either older Boomers or younger Gen X and Millennials.

A lot of us also reject the caricature people now associate with “Boomers.” We were not buying houses for the cost of a sandwich in 1965. The interest rate on my first house was over 14% and that was after buying down a point. Many of us got hit by recessions, outsourcing, pension collapses and economic instability just like younger generations did. We watched promises evaporate in real time.

We understand older generations because we were raised by them. We understand younger generations because we had to evolve alongside them.

That’s why the Jones generation often feels culturally homeless. We are rarely discussed, rarely defined and usually lumped into categories that don’t actually fit us.

But we exist.

We are the human transition point between the industrial age and the digital age.

And frankly, there will probably never be another generation quite like us again.

[okazakitomohiro @oo_kk_aa]

ニャッキの伊藤有壱さんにお声掛け頂き、コマ撮りの展覧会に一作家として参加しています。私はコマ撮り分野ではない場所から活動をはじめて、デザインの視点でのコマ撮りに取り組んできましたが、今回初めてコマ撮り界の本丸の方々とご一緒でき嬉しいです。今6年目のマッチ撮影素材等を展示しています

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Death Valley National Park is experiencing its first major superbloom in a decade as of March/April 2026, driven by record winter rainfall (1.7 – 2.5+ inches) that transformed the desert landscape with vibrant carpets of yellow, pink, and purple flowers.
https://t.co/YgaHskYSlM

[Nature Unedited @NatureUnedited]

At an aquarium in South Korea, after closing time, some clever little otter pups help their grandpa tidy up their toys. As a reward, he gives them ice cubes

[Halpoulard_boy 🀄️🇸🇳 @salif_sy05]

@Harre_mans https://t.co/3Qn2HhFyfo

[єℓαιηє @elainesim28]

My favourite thing Irish people do is the apology insult 😂

[Miss Ally @MissAlly_01]

NASA's Artemis II just released the first photo of the far side

[Culture Explorer @CultureExploreX]

One of the best history accounts on this platform.

If you enjoy memorable history nuggets, Today in History is well worth a follow.

[Idle Sloth @IdleSloth84_]

This is my favourite photo taken by Artemis II so far.

[🎸 Rock History 🎸 @historyrock_]

The oldest known image of Keith Richards, published around 1140 AD 😂

[MERICA MEMED @Mericamemed]

This is simultaneously the funniest and most relatable reel I’ve ever seen in my life

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

Rita Moreno is one of just three people to win an Emmy for The Muppets, the other two: Bernadette Peters and Peter Sellers. The comedy timing during her performance of "Fever" while Animal attempts to railroad her is incredible. It was also done in one take
"Dat my kinda woman!"

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is so accurate it’s ridiculous

[Bill Madden @maddenifico]

Iran is now releasing cartoons that Trump can understand. 😂🤣👇

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

When threatened, the pope can spray holy venom up to fifteen feet.

[Ethan Brooks @alt_w_v_g]

Update: didn't realize my parent-teacher conference went viral

Until the teacher called my wife saying she saw it

My wife asked why strangers on the internet care about our life

I said "I don't know. I just write down what happens."

She said "that's the problem"

She's probably right

A follow-up conference has been scheduled

This time she requested my wife come alone

I was not invited

First time I've ever been excluded from a meeting I didn't want to attend

It stung more than I expected

But I have my wife's calendar synced to my phone

Will I attend anyway?

Of course

Plz fix. Thx.

Sent from my iPhone

[Tom Morello @tmorello]

#TheDownwardSpiral