Matthew Leibfried

@TheLincoln Dude, slangflation

Everything bad is now "mid," everything mid is now "next-level," and everything good is now "one of the GOATs." We are experiencing unprecedented slang inflation.

@also_psyche Be careful following Virgil though

Guys I made it

@also_psyche Same! I think after a year or two I’ll read it again. There’s so much I’d like to remember from the footnotes alone!

@mleibfried15 Oh yes I love Jonathan Strange too, but I have only read it once. Must return someday.

I don't understand the algorithm here but I am heartened (even if it is all random) that the thing of mine that people are seeing tells them to read three of my very favorite books.

@TheLincoln I just found an almost exact replica of the “I don’t think about you at all” line from Mad Men in David Copperfield! Had to share: Steerforth, the golden boy at Salem House to the teacher: “I don’t give myself the trouble of thinking at all about you.”200 years apart!

@also_psyche @SketchesbyBoze I recently finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, then started David Copperfield, and oh my gosh! It was like continuing a conversation with Susanna Clarke! One line in Dickens even reminded me of an almost exact same line in Clarke! Such a beautiful experience

If you know of a modern novel which engages so deeply with the classics & its philosophical and literary forebears such that rereading it is always a new, rich experience, you should share it with me. My list is pretty short (Piranesi, Secret History, Till We Have Faces)

@TheLincoln I’ll accept that, because there is so little tv that actually tries to show the process of creating art and what it’s like to put artistic vision up against business and profits, despite the art being ads. Don vs Roger, Pete and Peggy. And perfectly timed music.

@TheLincoln Than the creator’s so it’s hard for me to see it another way. But when I rewatched the whole show, I did see the ending as the creator intended it: Don refused to change; he’s still making big ads despite all the upheaval in his life

Getting Mad Men stans furious for pointing out ending isn't satirical and celebrates advertising--as creator explicitly said!--makes me understand how right-wingers read 1984 and think "this is about how the left is bad." If you like something, you insist it fits your ideology.

@TheLincoln I can see that. I did appreciate its willingness to show all aspects of human behavior from just about every character to muddy the moral waters. It was hard to point to good or bad, which I appreciated

Fundamentally, it's a show about how corporate advertising is great. Conservative at least. (I remember critics at the time tried to pretend it was a wicked satire of advertising but the ending and MW's comments put an end to that.) x.com/mleibfried15/s…

@TheLincoln Is Mad Men considered right wing art?

@SketchesbyBoze I GASPED (near the end) when I saw this one live. Unforgettable.

In The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare’s language achieves a shining perfection that no poet in 400 years has equaled. There is a scene towards the end of such redemptive power that when I saw a live performance in Kansas City some years ago, it brought the whole audience to tears.

@SketchesbyBoze Love this poem, and recited the line “time to turn the first big number” to my daughter often just before she turned 10

My nephew is turning ten in a few weeks. I'm sending this poem by Billy Collins to his mom. I cry when I read it.

@Tess_invests @BacklistedPod Same! Saw it recommended by backlisted, just read Look at Me and Dolly, now on to Hotel du Lac. Cool to have a handle on her style before reading her “best” book (they’ve all been the best)

Me reading Anita Brookner: 2 pages in - maybe this is the one dud 10 pages in - actually I’m in safe hands 20 pages in - I never want this book to end @BacklistedPod thank you for getting me on the Brookner trail

@bjcreagh It’s congestion timing, Ben.

So, the Timberwolves game starts at 9:00, really means, 9:30?

@stevemagness Yes, and it pushes us out of the role of critic. Too many of us are sitting in front of our phones or other people doing things, and we watch passively and criticize their performance. Unhealthy.

We need more people to… Play sports Go fishing Create art Build something tangible. Our world has emphasized passive watching. We need more active doing. It provides agency, we see progress, it’s often with others, and there’s an end result.

@jaycreagh @FISCrossCountry I care about you, Jay

@mleibfried15 @FISCrossCountry Definitely didn’t realize I did this. Must have been when I dropped my phone earlier today. Thanks for checking on me!

x2 🥇🥇Who can stop Ebba Andersson⁉️🤯 Ebba 🇸🇪 is the 10km interval start classic FIS World Cross Country Champion 🌈 #fiscrosscountry #wintersport #trondheim2025 #wsc

@jaycreagh @FISCrossCountry jay are you okay

@FISCrossCountry On M no

@ambernoelle and it doesn't even matter. The prices will go up, and trump will find a way to blame the democrats or immigrants. its going to get so ugly and terrible

@AliciaTipcke Such an awesome game!

No. 1 Lynx