agrippina
@agrippina.bsky.social
Writing and editing (treaties, trade, and other foreign policy; novels, poetry, flash fiction). Mostly on here with domestic life.
This is my first time reading Adorno and is he actually this much of an asshole or is it some quirk of translation?
October 8, 2026 at 1:45 PM
This is my first time reading Adorno and is he actually this much of an asshole or is it some quirk of translation?
THE TWENTYSOMETHING ECONOMIST I'M EDITING WITH A VELVET HEADBAND AND CHARLI XCX SHIRT: I'm like soooo bad at writing lmao, thanks for all your help!
ME, SWEATING THROUGH A PAGE ABOUT HETEROSKEDASTIC ERRORS: uhhh yeah. Anytime
ME, SWEATING THROUGH A PAGE ABOUT HETEROSKEDASTIC ERRORS: uhhh yeah. Anytime
It's always humbling to work with subject matter experts, but nothing makes me feel dumber than editing an economist. Yeah of course I understand the need for permutation testing to estimate statistical inference, for sure, obviously
October 1, 2026 at 11:40 AM
THE TWENTYSOMETHING ECONOMIST I'M EDITING WITH A VELVET HEADBAND AND CHARLI XCX SHIRT: I'm like soooo bad at writing lmao, thanks for all your help!
ME, SWEATING THROUGH A PAGE ABOUT HETEROSKEDASTIC ERRORS: uhhh yeah. Anytime
ME, SWEATING THROUGH A PAGE ABOUT HETEROSKEDASTIC ERRORS: uhhh yeah. Anytime
I like a good straightforward opening sentence. "The conflict between Ernst Bloch and Georg Lukács over expressionism in 1938 forms one of the most revealing episodes in modern German letters." I'm sold, I'm locked in, I'm simply too seated, etc
September 29, 2026 at 3:32 PM
I like a good straightforward opening sentence. "The conflict between Ernst Bloch and Georg Lukács over expressionism in 1938 forms one of the most revealing episodes in modern German letters." I'm sold, I'm locked in, I'm simply too seated, etc
Finally reading Billy Budd and after a slowish start I'm having a fantastic time. Nobody has ever done it like Herman Melville.
September 25, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Finally reading Billy Budd and after a slowish start I'm having a fantastic time. Nobody has ever done it like Herman Melville.
Even as the despot tightens his grip on the occupied capital, locals gather for a festival in the shadow of armored vehicles and watching soldiers with their sidearms.
September 19, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Even as the despot tightens his grip on the occupied capital, locals gather for a festival in the shadow of armored vehicles and watching soldiers with their sidearms.
Reposted by agrippina
rip annie dillard
September 16, 2026 at 3:29 PM
rip annie dillard
There are valid and important points to be made about predatory marketing, to say nothing of the cesspool that is Instagram, but IMO this article veers a bit too close to "do they really NEED hormones?"
Perimenopause was largely overlooked by the health care system for decades. Now, after the removal of an FDA “black box” warning on hormone therapy, perimenopause is becoming big business.
Inside the Perimenopause Industrial Complex
How an alliance of tech startups, MAHA operatives, and actual medical experts made millennial women the new face of hormone therapy.
www.wired.com
September 1, 2026 at 6:50 PM
There are valid and important points to be made about predatory marketing, to say nothing of the cesspool that is Instagram, but IMO this article veers a bit too close to "do they really NEED hormones?"
As someone finishing Victor Hugo's Ninety-Three, this observation is SO spot on. Umberto Eco even says as much in his essay "Hugo, Hélas!: The Poetics of Excess" - the extraordinarily dense and repetitive prose lends to the scale of the revolution and the odds against it.
This sort of dense prose works kind of like those old magic eye posters - it's a lot of noise until your brain picks up on the structure, and then it jumps off the page in three dimensions. If you are going to have AI tell you "it's a dolphin," then you are missing the entire experience
August 11, 2026 at 4:27 PM
As someone finishing Victor Hugo's Ninety-Three, this observation is SO spot on. Umberto Eco even says as much in his essay "Hugo, Hélas!: The Poetics of Excess" - the extraordinarily dense and repetitive prose lends to the scale of the revolution and the odds against it.
What's the most offensive aspect here? The idea that Rooney and Ferrante "focus on themes" that are inherently unappealing to men? That men can't be expected to care about women writers or women's interior lives? That men are fragile snowflakes who need books that make other men nod approvingly?
August 7, 2026 at 3:00 PM
What's the most offensive aspect here? The idea that Rooney and Ferrante "focus on themes" that are inherently unappealing to men? That men can't be expected to care about women writers or women's interior lives? That men are fragile snowflakes who need books that make other men nod approvingly?
Apropos of nothing I resent the idea that we as writers can't tell the difference between using a spell checker and having an AI tool generate your work. This whole "oh, but where do you draw the line? Isn't it so nuanced? Don't be a gatekeeper!" stuff insults the intelligence of everyone involved.
August 5, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Apropos of nothing I resent the idea that we as writers can't tell the difference between using a spell checker and having an AI tool generate your work. This whole "oh, but where do you draw the line? Isn't it so nuanced? Don't be a gatekeeper!" stuff insults the intelligence of everyone involved.
Tomato season = pasta, salad, and of course the silken tofu with pickled tomatoes from Hetty McKinnon. If you haven't bought sungolds yet this year now is the time! #cookingsky
August 3, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Tomato season = pasta, salad, and of course the silken tofu with pickled tomatoes from Hetty McKinnon. If you haven't bought sungolds yet this year now is the time! #cookingsky
Got an accidental psychic suplex from a stranger at a professional event yesterday when I described my current role and someone replied "What gives you the strength to keep going?"
July 27, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Got an accidental psychic suplex from a stranger at a professional event yesterday when I described my current role and someone replied "What gives you the strength to keep going?"
Mental health has, well, it's been better, but summer produce has cheered me up a lot. Plus a beautiful Penedès we enjoyed at a neighborhood picnic. #cookingsky #winesky
July 26, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Mental health has, well, it's been better, but summer produce has cheered me up a lot. Plus a beautiful Penedès we enjoyed at a neighborhood picnic. #cookingsky #winesky
Re: editor discourse, I can't think of anything more harmful than letting writers believe abuse is part of the process. Editing is a conversation, a relationship, a team effort. It can deflate your ego---a lot of writing is learning you aren't as clever as you thought---but it should never be cruel.
July 18, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Re: editor discourse, I can't think of anything more harmful than letting writers believe abuse is part of the process. Editing is a conversation, a relationship, a team effort. It can deflate your ego---a lot of writing is learning you aren't as clever as you thought---but it should never be cruel.
Reposted by agrippina
Seriously, though, this is part of the weird moralistic way people talk about writing (of any kind) that dissuades people from pursuing it.
No, writing is not always a journey of pain and misery that only the strong survive. It’s just not always sunshine and lollipops, either. It’s just work.
No, writing is not always a journey of pain and misery that only the strong survive. It’s just not always sunshine and lollipops, either. It’s just work.
An editor is your teammate. They are your support system, your sounding board and, yes, your hard truth teller.
But they sure as shit aren’t your abusive asshole monster that tears you down and demolishes your self esteem and self confidence.
If you have an editor like this fire them immediately.
But they sure as shit aren’t your abusive asshole monster that tears you down and demolishes your self esteem and self confidence.
If you have an editor like this fire them immediately.
July 17, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Seriously, though, this is part of the weird moralistic way people talk about writing (of any kind) that dissuades people from pursuing it.
No, writing is not always a journey of pain and misery that only the strong survive. It’s just not always sunshine and lollipops, either. It’s just work.
No, writing is not always a journey of pain and misery that only the strong survive. It’s just not always sunshine and lollipops, either. It’s just work.
A much-needed perspective in a publication that's well worth your time and investment. These days "experience" seems to signal that you're paying for an intangible sense of luxury and self-importance. Why is that so hot right now? Why do we need restaurants to validate us?
I wrote about how most restaurant "experiences" feel like blatant cash grabs, which is logical for them but also sucks www.weareravenous.com/restaurant-e...
I Am Completely Exhausted by Restaurant 'Experiences'
Restaurants keep trying to lure diners with tableside spectacles, and it's starting to get ridiculous.
www.weareravenous.com
July 14, 2026 at 2:28 PM
A much-needed perspective in a publication that's well worth your time and investment. These days "experience" seems to signal that you're paying for an intangible sense of luxury and self-importance. Why is that so hot right now? Why do we need restaurants to validate us?
Reposted by agrippina
Patriot front marching from Union Station right now. White supremacist and neo-fascist organization. Cowards.
July 4, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Patriot front marching from Union Station right now. White supremacist and neo-fascist organization. Cowards.
I'm already the kind of person more inclined to think of military flyovers as "waste" versus "inspiring", but flyovers every ten minutes is both wasteful and intolerable in a city under occupation. And this is the rehearsal! We have seven straight hours of this tomorrow.
July 3, 2026 at 3:55 PM
I'm already the kind of person more inclined to think of military flyovers as "waste" versus "inspiring", but flyovers every ten minutes is both wasteful and intolerable in a city under occupation. And this is the rehearsal! We have seven straight hours of this tomorrow.
I've briefed the president of the United States but I don't think I'll ever match today's career high of convincing two lawyers to delete a paragraph
June 26, 2026 at 2:17 PM
I've briefed the president of the United States but I don't think I'll ever match today's career high of convincing two lawyers to delete a paragraph
Reposted by agrippina
can god create a new doubt so doubtful that not even He could raise it
June 23, 2026 at 9:40 PM
can god create a new doubt so doubtful that not even He could raise it
monnezzaglia ("leftover") pasta + caramelized cabbage + homemade ramp pesto + Loire chenin blanc = dinner done quick. PS check out our newly stained fence!
June 20, 2026 at 10:50 PM
monnezzaglia ("leftover") pasta + caramelized cabbage + homemade ramp pesto + Loire chenin blanc = dinner done quick. PS check out our newly stained fence!
There's an underground tamale place in our neighborhood. You get a heads-up about when they're open and place your order a week or so in advance. Another neighbor pours free margaritas on the porch while you chat with everyone else eagerly awaiting the best refried beans of your life.
June 20, 2026 at 7:28 PM
There's an underground tamale place in our neighborhood. You get a heads-up about when they're open and place your order a week or so in advance. Another neighbor pours free margaritas on the porch while you chat with everyone else eagerly awaiting the best refried beans of your life.
Reposted by agrippina
Wake up y’all new structure ambiguity exercise just dropped. #linguistics
June 10, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Wake up y’all new structure ambiguity exercise just dropped. #linguistics
Reposted by agrippina
english isn't for cowards. if you're not saying 'torpify,' that's a skill issue. there's no Académie Française telling you what to do. if you try to type 'pallific' and freak out when you see a little red underline, maybe you're not ready to roll with the big dogs.
June 5, 2026 at 5:52 PM
english isn't for cowards. if you're not saying 'torpify,' that's a skill issue. there's no Académie Française telling you what to do. if you try to type 'pallific' and freak out when you see a little red underline, maybe you're not ready to roll with the big dogs.
A writer called my developmental edits "a revelation", and compliment aside it's a nice reminder that there's no substitute (or automation) for another set of eyes.
June 2, 2026 at 4:12 PM
A writer called my developmental edits "a revelation", and compliment aside it's a nice reminder that there's no substitute (or automation) for another set of eyes.