S. T. Ismail

@stismail.bsky.social

1185 Followers 377 Following

Former Nutmegger. Chemistry major and science nerd. Educator. Classical music lover. Patriots/Celtics/UConn fan. "Judge less. Read more." —Kate Good

A brand of dates called ROLLING CAMEL. The box depicts a camel, but with no evidence of rolling.
A copy of a book titled "TOUCHED: THE JERRY SANDUSKY STORY." A sticker says the book is autographed and from Waldenbooks.
A meme of Christopher Walken from SNL, saying "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more guitars."
A parody of the Super Bowl 51 scorebug that read "NE 3, ATL 28." This one says "France 0, England 4" at halftime.
A map showing University Park, Texas, in red, surrounded by the city of Dallas (gray), and a map showing Dallas County, Texas.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine meme Bashir: "What salads are safe to eat?" Garak: "Alas, my dear doctor . . . none, for now." Bashir: "Even word salad?" Garak: "*Especially* word salad."
An old photo of Burn Notice actor Jeffrey Donovan wearing New England Patriots hoodie and Patriots Super Bowl 39 cap. In his right hand he is holding two tickets to a Patriots-Chargers playoff game. The Patriots won.
A round of (fresh) shredded hash browns made in an Instant Pot air fryer oven, around 360 degrees for about 9 minutes. It is crispy and golden brown on the outside, tender in the center.
Two consecutive Bluesky posts. The bottom one depicts two paintings of the top of a cat's head. One is a white canvas, with the ears and eyes of the cat visible at 6 o'clock; about 90% of the canvas is blank. The other depicts a 2x2 square of cat heads; pink upper left, blue upper right, green lower left, yellow lower right. The actual cat stands in front of the yellow square, in the same pose. The top half of the top post shows a girl pointing out a black cat at a train station, saying "What a cute little kitty." The bottom half says "me with myopia and astigmatism," showing that the girl is actually looking at a black trash bag that vaguely resembles a black cat.
Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon titled "Primitive UFOs". It shows three cavemen looking in shock at a "UFO" suspended a few feet off the ground. It is made of crude stone, wooden branches, and what appears to be hay. The UFO looks like it will fall out of the sky at any moment.
Corrected on July 13, 2026: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of a journalism organization. It is the Committee to Protect Journalists, not the Committee to Project Journalists. We acknowledge mistakes in our reporting with corrections. If you spot an error, please let us know at corrections@nytimes.com.
Wins in Foxborough Since 2011. Top row: the French flag, for the French national soccer team (Les Bleus): 3 wins, 2 world cup matches, 1 friendly Bottom row: the New York Jets logo: 1 win, and they play the Patriots in Foxborough every year
The Captain and Tennille. He is wearing a white suit and captain's hat. Tennille is wearing a large choker and a purple strapless dress.
A black cat near a door, courtesy of the Cat Distribution System.
Argentina 3, Egypt 2, with a red asterisk next to the 3 for Argentina.
Zebrafish larvae under a scanning electron microscope, with faces resembling the "wow" face emoji.
Quoted in READING THE ROCKS by Brenda Maddox, written c. 1830: ‘There are other investigations which more nearly affect our social happiness than the philosophy of geology,’ it stated, ‘but perhaps there is none which in an indirect manner produce a more wholesome and beneficial effect upon the mind . . . After the perusal of Mr. Lyell’s volume, we confess to emotions of humility, to aspirations of the mind, to an elevation of thought, altogether foreign from the ordinary temper of worldly and busy men . . .’ There are ‘sermons in stones and tongues in brooks,’ concluded the Spectator, ‘but they want an interpreter: that interpreter is the enlightened geologist. Such a man is Mr. Lyell.’
New England Patriots kicker Zoltan Mesko, in the middle of a punt, about two feet off the ground, with his kicking foot hitting the helmet of a Minnesota Vikings player squarely in the face.
New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri raising his fists in celebration after making a field goal against the Rams in Super Bowl 36.
A selection screen showing the UCLA logo and the mascot name, Joe Bruin, but with the UCF mascot Knightro.
Your closest political compass match is Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York City (2026-present)
An ad for a "game about Buddhism". The caption reads "I'm addicted to this Buddhism game. Think Duolingo, but instead of learning a language, you're becoming a Buddhism expert." An Instagram user comments "I had to laugh at this ad for a Buddhist game. Tell me you know nothing about Buddhism without telling me you know nothing about Buddhism."
In the aftermath of the outbreak, the Air Force issued an exception to the voluntary vaccine policy, requiring that all recruits at Lackland get flu shots — part of a broader effort to stem the virus’s spread.
A blue single-story house with a "mother-in-law" door, about three feet off the ground. If you walked out of the house through it, you'd fall onto the ground, as it has no porch or stairs; it opens up to air.
Michelle and Barack Obama holding microphones. Michelle Obama is describing her dress, which bears her favorite portrait of her mother Marian Robinson, who is smiling with her head cocked to the side. She claimed it "messed up" Barack Obama emotionally because he just saw it for the first time a few minutes before they stepped on stage.
Two recipes, back to back, in Bluesky posts. The top one depicts a bowl of beans in sauce, with a piece of toast on top, saying "There's nothing quite like a simple lunch of beans and toast!" On the bottom is a picture of a bowl of pasta, underneath a post saying "Turkey meatballs, zucchini, and orecchiette (which act like tiny meatball catching mitts) with pesto everywhere -- in the metballs, in the brothy sauce, and dolloped at the end."
A graph showing Brexit vote by age. 18–24 year old voted for Remain nearly 3 to 1; voting to Leave increased with age, with 60% of 65 and olders voting Leave.
A map of New York state marked "Is it upstate?" Long Island and most of New York City is marked "No", as are Westchester and Putnam counties. The counties just west of Putnam and Westchester--Orange, Rockland, and Dutchess--are marked "Maybe," as is Staten Island. The rest of the state is marked "Yes."
Texas Tech athletic director on Brendan Sorsby: "we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan's case warranted permanent ineligibility. As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan's recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court's order."
A Norwegian curler, wearing a mostly red shirt and black pants filled with red, white, and blue polka dots.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, three volumes. They are large brown books, each about 1,000 pages long, with tiny print. A mass-market paperback about half their height stands next to them.
Word clouds for the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump on the left in red, Hillary Clinton on the right in blue. The word "email" in blue dominates the image, more than three times the size of any other word.
A pair of consecutive Bluesky posts. The top one shows Tom Brady wearing a Gucci outfit walking down the runway. The outfit consists of a leather jacket and pants, all in black. The bottom one shows a male Star Trek: The Next Generation character wearing a red skant, a one-piece unisex uniform with a short-sleeve uniform shirt, resembling a pullover, and a miniskirt bottom.
Bari Weiss told CBS News staff something similar in January, only a few months into her tenure running the network’s news division. “Winning isn’t about ratings. It’s about making things that people can’t live without.”
A bus saying "We send the EU 350 million pounds a week. Let's fund our NHS instead. Vote Leave. Let's take back control." That funding didn't happen.
From Xitter: a tweet from @TheDemocrats saying "Pete Hegseth needs to go." Pete Hegseth responds: "Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI—all of which are no longer allowed @DoD." The Democrats respond "Pete's POV" with a screenshot of an iPhone screen but blurred, implying that Hegseth is looking at his phone while drunk.
The OP's quote followed by a Bluesky post showing a skeleton leaning over a figure in shadows who appears to be asleep
A closeup of a Bat'leth weapon, a curved weapon from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It has a bow-like curve with two blades, with three more blades near the middle projecting forward.
Top: astronaut Christina Koch aboard Artemis II in space. Bottom: the Artemis control room, with dozens of women watching. The caption in the middle: "The last time we went to the moon, women couldn't open a credit card on their own. Now they're flying to the mob and leading the Mission Control Center."
An ESPN headline reading "Could Sarah Strong be UConn's all-time best -- and a four-time champ?"
A score bug for a baseball game between the Phillies and the Pirates, with zeroes between their logos, reading "POOP"
A post from @bcdreyer.social that reads: "The next president will have to establish a cabinet position of Secretary of Eradicating That Asshole's Name and Every Trace of His Existence."
A portion of a New York Times Mini crossword, with the clue for 6 Across "Publication with the headline 'C.I.A. Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years," with "The"
The Onion graphic with headline: "Crab Just Happy to Be in Bucket with All His Friends." It shows a bucket of crabs. Added are labels to two crabs, one reading "John Cornyn," the other "Ken Paxton."
Iran superimposed on the continental US. It goes from Mobile, Alabama to southeast Montana. It is bigger than Alaska.
Bluesky post from Amy Klobuchar on ICE harming Minnesota.
A black swan
Cover of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, showing a house made of money beneath fireworks
Bashir: when is Star Trek good? Garak: All Star Trek is good Star Trek. Bashir: Even "Move Along Home"? Garak: Well, not *especially* that episode. But yes, even "Move Along Home".
Two Xitter posts from 2020. One reads "From Karen's kitchen," and is a recipe titled "Crockpot 2 ingredient whole chicken recipe." The ingredients are a whole chicken, olive oil, and "salt and pepper to season (if desired)." The second post is a tongue-in-cheek reply: "I don't have a chicken. Can I substitute a can of fruit cocktail?"
The cover of Earth, a novel by David Brin, showing a halo of light or energy gradually surrounding the Earth.
From Xitter: Scott Adams: "Every male encounter is implied violence. It's the principle behind law enforcement, the military, and all social conduct. No one takes that off the table. Try to deal with the reality, please. No one supports dumb violence. Everyone supports smart violence." Reply: "'Every male encounter is implied violence.' Look, I don't even like my dad all that much but I can assure you there's not an implication of violence every time I encounter him. Not on my part, anyway. I suppose he could live in a constant state of resisting the urge to punch me." Scott Adams: "Oh, there is. Stick your fingers in his ass without permission and see how it goes."
1959 UCONN Husky logo. This Husky has *seen* things.
A cartoon showing two cats with their tails plugged into the wall. On the left is a gas cat that is hissing and on the right is an electric cat that is purring. Uma charge mostra dois gatos com os rabos conectados a uma tomada na parede. À esquerda, um gato a gás está sibilando, e à direita, um gato elétrico está ronronando.
A Xitter post depicting Tom Brady, from the account @TomBradyEgo, stating: "Tom Brady never played a snap in the NFL where he was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention."
A T-shrt saying "UConn, transitive ACC football champions," as they defeated the ACC champion, Duke.
Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme. One Spiderman has the Patriots' "Flying Elvis" logo over his head, with "28-3" beneath him. He is pointing at a Spiderman with a "Y" over his head, representing the Yale Bulldogs, with "42-14" beneath him.
Harvard football losing to Villanova 52-7. Box score shows them losing at halftime 31-0.
Harvard losing to Villanova in football, 52-7 on the same day Yale engineered a 28-point comeback.
A chart supposedly comparing HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a real law) to HIPPA (Health Information Privacy Protection Act, which isn't a real law) and both of those to HIPPO (a picture of a hippopotamus, and also apparently a real law).