Good Things Friday (358) and Link Love
January 9, 2026
1. I sure wish I had any knack for painting at all. These beautiful plastic-free watercolors from Beam Paint are calling my name but for gifts because they’d be wasted on me.
Challenges this week:
That’s how you use money! Rick Steves saves his local hygiene center.
Horror, endless: These Bloodsucking Leeches Jump like Striking Cobras
Yay Mamdani (a clip of his inauguration speech)
Would that more leaders could be as free to embrace all that they might be able to do for their electorate first and foremost: Why It’s a Good Thing Zohran Mamdani Can Never Become President. I wish for more Mamdani level leaders for ourselves at the city and state levels, as much as at the federal (and a speedy exit to hell for Gavin Newsom for his trashing homeless encampments and turning on trans people).
‘It’s surreal’: US sanctions lock International Criminal Court judge out of daily life
An excellent first move: Mamdani immediately revokes NYC policies on Israel, antisemitism
Argh: Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence
I WANT to have hope that this signals the beginning of a seismic shift away from bullshit GenAI but I don’t want to be disappointed: Dell’s CES 2026 chat was the most pleasingly un-AI briefing I’ve had in maybe 5 years
Gov. Walz to Republicans: Expect me ‘to ride you like you’ve never been ridden’
This should read murdered by ICE: Driver shot in Minneapolis is at least the fifth person killed in U.S. immigration crackdown