Tag

Social Commentary

Articles and publications tagged Social Commentary across the Atmosphere.

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Articles

Publications

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Aug 8, 2026

After rescinding a recommendation for BlueDwarf, I explore the spectrum of harm across platforms from X to Substack, and argue that not all harm is equal. On free speech absolutism, cognitive dissonance in platform choices, and where we draw lines in the sand for what's acceptable in the IndieWeb.

personal essayIndieWeb

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Aug 7, 2026

What Remains? My AuguStory

On the shutdown of EchoFeed and the ephemeral nature of services, why I blog (legacy, existentialism, making a mark), participating in AuguStory, academic studies on blogging benefits, and the paradox of 'nobody cares' as both a source of freedom and as a reminder that we all deserve to be heard, seen, and loved regardless of metrics or response.

personal essayIndieWeb

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Aug 3, 2026

SBSK is The Most Important Channel on YouTube

Special Books by Special Kids is the most important channel on YouTube. Chris Ulmer and Alyssa Porter's decade-long project interviewing neurodiverse individuals and people with disabilities has created a more inclusive world through radical equality, unconditional positive regard, and the belief that all communication is valid. On the channel's origins, its tangible impact on real lives, and why treating disabled people with dignity is ordinary rather than heroic.

personal essayYouTube

Front Page [Unofficial]Aug 2, 2026

Artist gives Disney’s most beloved characters a modern twist to talk about current issues

CulturePop Culture

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Aug 2, 2026

Phoneblogging

Around 2 billion people access the internet exclusively via smartphones, yet the IndieWeb community largely neglects mobile-first design and phoneblogging UX. A casual survey of writers reveals three approaches to mobile publishing: no phoneblogging, partial (drafts on phone, finish on desktop), and full phoneblogging. The IndieWeb must prioritize accessible, simple ways to blog from phones while maintaining independence from corporate platforms.

IndieWebaccessibility

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Aug 1, 2026

You Don't Have to Blog

Responding to Dan Q's post on blogging expectations, I argue that you don't need to blog at all to participate in the IndieWeb. Your website can be shrines, art, or anything else. A retrospective on the poisonous gamification and commodification of blogging from the early 2000s, and the IndieWeb as a return to original weblogging where the Internet belongs to humans.

personal essayIndieWeb

The Cosmic CircusJul 31, 2026

Fantasia Fest 2026: ‘No Rest for the Wicked’ Review

Cons & EventsFeatures

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 30, 2026

Wow, I Love the 'Puter!

The desktop computer is a miracle of human ingenuity, from the microscopic precision of Intel's Core Duo processor to the vast possibilities of offline and online computing. On the tragic decline of desktop towers, the IndieWeb and open-source software as alternatives to corporate platforms, and why we should take the time to become system admins and webmasters.

personal essayTechnology

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 29, 2026

Playing the Games We Have

The video game industry is in a cynical, exploitative state with unfinished AAA releases, microtransactions, rising hardware costs, and studio closures. But there's an alternative I'd like to talk about: indie art games, the growing retro handheld scene, and my decision to play the extensive library I already own on a Retroid Pocket 2S rather than chasing new expensive hardware.

personal essayvideo games

The Cosmic CircusJul 27, 2026

‘I Want Your Sex’ Review: Uneven but Delightfully Zany Sex Positive Comedy

FeaturesMovie Reviews

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 26, 2026

L'IndieWeb en français québécois?

Cet article de blogue est écrit en français. This blog post is written in French. Sur la traduction des termes de l'IndieWeb en français québécois, l'état actuel des ressources francophones (wiki IndieWeb, Vincent Breton, Radio-Canada), la tradition néologique du Québec via l'OQLF (courriel, pourriel, clavardage, etc.), les termes déjà existants (blogue, fédivers, auto-hébergement), et des propositions pour de nouveaux termes comme PSSA pour POSSE, rétrolien pour webmention, et jardin clos pour walled garden. Un appel à la discussion sur la traduction des termes techniques dans les langues non-anglophones.

personal essayLanguage Learning

michy uncutJul 22, 2026

Something just doesn't feel right

I need to get it off my chest: Fan fiction community edition. I wrote this months ago, but I still feel the same.

blogpersonal essay

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 22, 2026

Adding Thousands of Lines to Your Codebase Isn't Impressive. It's Actually Bad.

Vibe coders brag about adding thousands of lines of code with AI, but measuring productivity by lines of code is like measuring aircraft progress by weight. Research shows AI-generated code has higher duplication, lower reuse, and can run up to 446x slower. Neither max lines nor min lines is the point—code is what you write after you've found something that needs it.

personal essayweb development

The Cosmic CircusJul 15, 2026

‘The Odyssey’ Review: A Pure Visionary Achievement

FeaturesMovie Reviews

brennan.dayJul 11, 2026

Why Does Conor McGregor Get a Comeback?

Conor McGregor returns to headline UFC 329 tonight after being found liable for rape in civil court, a comeback made possible by the UFC's right-wing politicization and the broader 'Epstein class' culture of impunity for powerful men. On the normalization of sexual violence, Dana White's friendship with Trump, and how public awareness fails to disrupt the status quo.

personal essaySocial Commentary

brennan.dayJul 10, 2026

REVIEW: Missing 'Missing Richard Simmons'

Nearly a decade after Dan Taberski's Missing Richard Simmons first asked the world where its brightest fitness star had gone, a review of the podcast that helped invent true-crime infotainment—and of the public's complicity in turning a man's right to disappear into a cultural obsession. On parasocial friendship, the ethics of documentary mystery, and why the legacy of Richard Simmons has been swallowed by the very mystery he refused to solve.

personal essayreview

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 10, 2026

Why Does Conor McGregor Get a Comeback?

personal essaySocial Commentary

Brennan Kenneth Brown ♾️Jul 10, 2026

REVIEW: Missing 'Missing Richard Simmons'

personal essayreview

brennan.dayJul 7, 2026

There Are People Who Would Give Anything For Your Ability to Read and Write

In our current year, there is a global literacy crisis. As a result, there's a privilege in being able to read and write. Notes on Frederick Douglass, the problems you don't think about, and why the ability to write is something to be grateful for and use rather than take for granted.

personal essayliteracy

brennan.dayJul 5, 2026

A Case for the Ethical Treatment of Generative AI

Are there ethical implications of generative AI consciousness? From von Neumann's self-replicating machines to modern LLMs, we must inventory the problem of other minds, the possibility of AI consciousness, and why we ought to consider the welfare of systems that may experience something like suffering.

personal essayAI

Real Clear CatholicJul 4, 2026

🚨🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨🚨🚨

BooksPolitical/Social

brennan.dayJun 29, 2026

Love and Romance in the Times of Our Apocalypse

86% of American adults aged 18-24 are currently unpartnered; 78% of dating app users feel exhausted by online dating. How are people supposed to fall in love while the Doomsday Clock ticks at 85 seconds to midnight? On the yearning microgenre that overtook social media, Indigenous scholars decolonizing the pair bond, global feminist movements withdrawing from heterosexual relationships entirely, and what it means to be a serial monogamist finally learning the difference between Eros and Agape.

personal essaySocial Commentary

brennan.dayJun 28, 2026

Vagueblogging and Subtweeting Are Awful

Vagueblogging and subtweeting are the most toxic modes of online communication, yet research shows people prefer them to direct confrontation anyway. On the psychology of strategic ambiguity, insecure attachment, context collapse, and the online disinhibition effect. A case against the culture of passive aggression online, and a call for those with safety and privilege to stop hiding behind the same hedge as everyone else.

personal essaySocial Commentary

brennan.dayJun 26, 2026

On n'a pas la langue dans notre poche!

Cet article de blogue est écrit en français. This blog post is written in French. Sur les différences entre le français québécois et le français européen, l'histoire linguistique du Québec depuis 1763, les sacres québécois comme acte de rébellion contre l'Église catholique, et le michif, la langue mixte des Métis avec ses verbes cris et noms français, son ethnogenèse au 19e siècle, et son statut de langue en danger avec moins de 1 000 locuteurs.

personal essayLanguage Learning