About t y s t o
Tysto is an online magazine of analysis, opinion, editoria, satire, ephemera, and miscellany that attempts to put events and phenomena in perspective with quiet determination.
Tysto is pronounced TISS-toe.
Tysto’s origin
Tysto was born in a trunk; its mama died and its daddy got drunk. It was named for the Swedish word for “shh.” When it was a teenager, it was bitten by a radioactive spider and developed superhuman powers. It attended classes at Purdue University, where it acquired a degree in sarcasm with a minor in philosophy. Then it went to work at a large technology firm, where it was beaten daily and fed on table scraps and wood chips until it escaped onto the World Wide Web on March 7, 2004. It was converted from tables to WordPress on August 22, 2009.
Laverne’s horoscope
Laverne is a nice lady and former coworker who occasionally mentioned her horoscope, so we created a horoscope just for her. It changes every time the page loads, so, if you don’t like the horoscope you get at first, just reload the page.
Laverne doesn’t write the horoscopes, of course. They are written by Mark Beckstrom and Derek Jensen.
Staff
Derek Jensen
Editor-in-chief and rabid moderate, with a leftward stance on social issues and rightward lean on economic issues. When you see notes signed “—Ed.” this is who’s behind it. Write him at “webmaster” at this site.
BB Rodriguez
Irritable political contributor; liberal… leaning libertarian.
Andrew Cole
Prolific entertainment correspondent.
Roland Grant
Itinerant language explainer and tinkerer with a mild prescriptivist bent.
and guest writers
Guest writers include Mark Beckstrom, who contributes to Laverne’s horoscope, and Barton Castor, who contributes conservative opinion. A few others have written for Tysto in the past and may, or may not, contribute in the future.









your website seems appears to be behaving in a funky manner.
Finally got it figured out and fixed.
Derek, did you get contacts or Lasik?
I got laser eye surgery in 2004. It was great.
I enjoyed checking out the courthouse photo collection. One correction; the Adams County Courthouse listed as being in Decatur, Ohio, is in Decatur, Indiana.
Thanks!
Just had to hunt down somewhere to comment to you about one obscure image; the Native American wool dyes hanging around a fireplace on Wikipedia.
Beautiful image.
Thanks! I remember taking that a couple of years ago at a living museum in Indiana.
Who is the photographer of the Postcards from Cincinnati? Preferably interested in the photo: Cincinnati skyline by night, from the baseball stadium
Those photos are all mine. Derek Jensen.
Would like to reach Derek Jensen! My collaborator and I would like to use the public domain photo of the Twin Beams of Light, and would like to send a copy of our finished product to Mr. Jensen for his generous contribution of the photo to the public. I can be reached at courtneyaweber@gmail.com.
All the best!
Kelley’s Island- This is a great picture.
Can I use it for a video submission in a contest I am entering?
thanks in advance
Burnley Bertolo
Nova Scotia, Canada
Yes. I am happy to allow virtually any of my photos to be used for virtually any purpose, personal or commercial.