[WHFW] What Have Friends Wrought III: May 19, 2026
I've got an actual article I'd like to finish, but I've got to give you all some proof of life in the meantime.
It’s been a while since I posted one of these (or anything at all—trust me, I’ve noticed), and truth be told, that’s because both my patience and attention span have been severely tested over the last month.
Without further ado, what have friends wrought1?
(Other editions of WHFW available here for perusal.)
On Speaking Hatred in Tongues
If you’re visiting this newsletter, you’ve probably already read Anthony Moser’s “I Am An AI Hater.” You may even be aware that it has been translated into Italian and (Brazilian) Portuguese.
Well, as of a few weeks ago, it’s also been translated into Spanish by, uh, this little priest right here, with the editorial help of Christine Quinones.
I also offered to translate it into Latin. Unfortunately for me, but very fortunately for the public good, Den McHenry got there before I could get started. I think I have a couple quibbles, but it’s a totally able translation that renders Moser’s anger as well as, if I’m allowed to brag, mine does.
It’s particularly interesting to see the differences in how I would’ve done certain things, as a native speaker of a Romance language who tends to favor that mode of expression when working in Latin.
Most notably, I had intended to translate the title of the essay as Intellegentiam Artificialem2 Odi—which is what I did in Spanish.
On My Ever-Expanding To-Be-Read List
Friend of the newsletter Karlo Yeager Rodríguez has started serializing his novella, Iron Kelwas, the Raven Knights, and their Little Sister, on his newsletter.
Since he’s the reason I ended up on this platform, it’s only fair I direct you his way. And, you know, distract from the fact that I haven’t read either the second or third entries.
On the Cat Distribution System
Kila Greene and I were once the few, the proud, the sane members of Astros Twitter.
While I have since dedicated myself to avoiding the possibility of editorial rejection, Kila has forged bravely ahead with her writing career, and that’s how we get to “Clowder,” a sweet little story, written with utmost care and emotional resonance, that will immediately pluck at any cat parent’s3 heartstrings.
We got our beautiful Minerva almost three years ago now. One of the reasons we got to keep her is that the day after my wife found the poor girl starving and shivering under the AC unit in our front yard, I had to spend the day in bed recovering from some pretty brutal post-vaccine side effects, and tiny, flea-ridden Minnie laid on the pillow next to me almost the whole day.
I, who had thought for decades that I had inherited my mother’s extreme cat allergy, turned out to be perfectly fine with her.
On Goodbyes
Here’s hoping it doesn’t take long to assemble the next edition. Hasta entonces, gente.
If that phrase is twigging at your memory, it’s because I equated this feature with the first Morse code message transmitted in the United States. I get to do that, given I’m from the island where that anti-Catholic, pro-slavery asshole transmitted the first wired communication in Latin America. ↩
I almost wanted to call it something like intellegentia mendax, inspired by the Periodic Table of Desserts, where frozen yogurt is glaciēs mendax (“lying ice cream”). ↩
For some reason (and I have my rather petty and mean suspicions on this subject) the Internet is convinced that cats not only do treat us like domestic staff, but that that’s a good thing. I refused to accept this as the nature of our relationship, I still don’t put up with 99% of her bullshit, and the result is that I am her favorite. ↩
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