Tootfinder

Donald Trump presents himself as strong, indomitable, and always forceful.
But when disaster strikes — whether hurricane, flash flood, or pandemic — he’s oddly helpless.
To hear Trump tell it, he has infinite power to do good and no power to do bad
-- and anyone who says otherwise is an enemy of the country.
To believe in MAGA is to believe in his simultaneous omnipotence and impotence, depending on whichever is convenient for partisan purposes.
This dynamic h…

Disasters are for the greater glory of Trump
He cannot fail. He can only be failed.

Just finished "Beasts Made of Night" by Tochi Onyebuchi...
Indirect CW for fantasy police state violence.
So I very much enjoyed Onyebuchi's "Riot Baby," and when I grabbed this at the library, I was certain it would be excellent. But having finished it, I'm not sure I like it that much overall?
The first maybe third is excellent, including the world-building, which is fascinating. I feel like Onyebuchi must have played "Shadow of the Colossus" at some point. Onyebuchi certainly does know how to make me care for his characters.
Some spoilers from here on out...
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I felt like it stumbles towards the middle, with Bo's reactions neither making sense in the immediate context, nor in retrospect by the end when we've learned more. Things are a bit floaty in the middle with an unclear picture of what exactly is going on politics-wise and what the motivations are. Here I think there were some nuances that didn't make it to the page, or perhaps I'm just a bit thick and not getting stuff I should be? More is of course revealed by the end, but I still wasn't satisfied with the explanations of things. For example, (spoilers) I don't feel I understand clearly what kind of power the army of aki was supposed to represent within the city? Perhaps necessary to wield the threat of offensive inisisia use? In that case, a single scene somewhere of Izu's faction deploying that tactic would have been helpful I think.
Then towards the end, for me things really started to jumble, with unclear motivations, revelations that didn't feel well-paced or -structured, and a finale where both the action & collapsing concerns felt stilted and disjointed. Particularly the mechanics/ethics of the most important death that set the finale in motion bothered me, and the unexplained mechanism by which that led to what came next? I can read a couple of possible interesting morals into the whole denouement, but didn't feel that any of them were sufficiently explored. Especially if we're supposed to see some personal failing in the protagonist's actions, I don't think it's made clear enough what that is, since I feel his reasons to reject each faction are pretty solid, and if we're meant to either pity or abjure his indecision, I don't think the message lands clearly enough.
There *is* a sequel, which honestly I wasn't sure of after the last page, and which I now very interested in. Beasts is Onyebuchi's debut, which maybe makes sense of me feeling that Riot Baby didn't have the same plotting issues. It also maybe means that Onyebuchi couldn't be sure a sequel would make it to publication in terms of setting up the ending.
Overall I really enjoyed at least 80% of this, but was expecting even better (especially politically) given Onyebuchi's other work, and I didn't feel like I found it.
#AmReading

Ukraine strikes Russian Black Sea Fleet communications hub in Sevastopol: https://benborges.xyz/2025/09/14/ukraine-strikes-russian-black-sea.html

Many mainstream media reporters no longer seem to have the morality or incentive to check sources, verify stories or offer retractions when they screw up.
For reporters in nearly every field, Clicks & Scoop > Accuracy & Ethics
😢
From: @…

On The Road - To Xi’An/Before & After 🌬️
在路上 - 去西安/之前之后🌬️
📷 Pentax MX
🎞️Lucky SHD 400
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite

🪧 Trump to blame for high cost of living, Americans say in new poll
#inflation

Sevastopol under attack – Drones strike Russian Black Sea Fleet: https://benborges.xyz/2025/09/14/sevastopol-under-attack-drones-strike.html

🍐 When scientists share their failures, the public trusts them more
#science

When scientists share their failures, the public trusts them more
In an age where trust in science often feels like it's teetering on a fault line, new research from the University of Michigan offers a simple but powerful insight: When scientists share their struggles—especially their failures—they may actually earn more public trust.

Ukrainian troops strike Russian Black Sea Fleet communications hub and railway #shorts: https://benborges.xyz/2025/09/14/ukrainian-troops-strike-russian-black.html

Purple and white Cosmos Flower with a very narrow depth of field that turns the background into a psychedelic field of green and brown smudges and white sparkles
#photo #photography #flowers