Just Fun – Page 5 – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Check Out Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy

Worth a watch even without many surprises.

Here is the U.S we’re heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, already surrounded by the madness of Black Friday, coupled with anxiety brought about by the recent election. It feels like everyday has been Black Friday under dark cloudy political skies for too long already, and of course that will continue straight into Christmas and beyond.

Here’s a thought. If you gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, instead of watching football or squabbling over politics, tune everybody into the Netflix documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. The trailer is embedded above.

This somewhat entertaining documentary (it’s presentation conceit feels a bit too cutesy for my tastes), tackles the problems of rampant consumerism through a prism of what happens to all the stuff we buy this Black Friday, those previous, those to come, and any other day of the year.

The highlights of the series are the short cut interviews with former employees of Amazon, Adidas, Apple, folks from the fashion industry, and activists who are trying to address the issues of the large amount of waste created with all of our purchasing power.

If you’ve even remotely been paying attention to the world, there won’t be any grand surprises about the large amounts of unrecyclable waste we’re swimming in and adding to. That said, hearing some of the folks who feel responsible for their own decisions that led their company down that path of excess discuss their shifts in thinking makes the piece worthwhile.

There also aren’t any real surprises in the way the documentary lays out the tricks of the marketing trade to convince us to buy more stuff. Addressing the issue through a perspective of saying we could all buy less certainly makes sense, but given we all know that the game is rigged no differently than carnival games are, it makes one wonder why we do keep coming back each time the circus tents get pitched.

Style points and lack of surprises aside, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is worth viewing, especially I would think if you have younger ones in your holiday household who might still be impressionable.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

More Adventures with iPhone 16 Pro Photography (and Hairy Balls)

Aliens Haven’t Landed, but these “Hairy Balls” Sure Look Out of This World.

Stumbled across these alien looking pods this weekend on a walk around the neighborhood. They are called Balloon or Puffball Milkweed, and also according to the neighbor who tends the corner garden “Hairy Balls.”

A close-up of a green, spiky seed pod hanging from a plant, surrounded by leaves and other vegetation. Some blurred background elements include a road and parked cars. Called Balloon or Puffball Milkweed and nicknamed Hairy Balls.

She had an open pod and showed what the seeds inside look like.

There’s a gallery of more shots after the Read More link below.

There’s more iPhone 16 Pro Photography and quite a few pumpkins in this post also.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

iPhone 16 Pro Photography and Pumpkins

iPhone 16 Pro Photography and Photographic Styles demo.

I’m always grateful that Apple releases new iPhones in September. It comes during the period when supermarkets are stocking up on pumpkins, gourds and other Cucurbits. Obviously one of the first things you check out on a new iPhone is whatever changes and improvements Apple makes to the cameras, and these colorful counters are a great location to do so.

Here’s a few shots taken during a supermarket tour playing around with different camera settings and what Apple now calls Photographic Styles. First up is just a series of photos in a gallery all using the Standard setting.

Following the Continue Reading break below are two videos showing off the differences in Photographic Styles Apple offers and more photos.

Grand Weekend with the Grandkids

Grand time with the grandkids.

What a grand weekend! My daughter dropped off the grandkids for a sleepover with Grandpa and Grandma on Friday as she came into town to support our son-in-law in his job producing content for the Professional Fighters League. We had a blast keeping up with the kids, discovering the wonders of Grandpa’s house, and hanging out with their Mom and Dad and my wife’s mother.

Good times watching these two little ones on their journeys into bigger ones.

Two Shows Worth Putting In Your October Streaming Queue

Sometimes it’s about the script. Sometimes it’s about the performers. Often it’s about the directors. The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix and The Changeling on Apple TV+ are two streaming series I’d recommend watching for the directors. Especially if you like something fun and a bit scary during the Halloween season.

CleanShot 2023 10 22 at 14 24 37 2x

Personally, I’m not a fan of most of the Halloween genre. Hollywood has drained the life out of the fun and scary in the same way the overabundance of Christmas movies have stripped all of the joy out of that holiday viewing. But my wife enjoys a scary movie or two so we try to pick some that are worthwhile. We lucked out with these two.

Neither are perfect. Both have flaws. But both have directors who use the opportunity to experiment with their storytelling skills, the camera and the genre. Both are good viewing fun. Both are based on existing literature: The Changeling by Victor LaValle and The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Although part of the fun with Usher is how so many other of Poe’s tales weave in and out of the main story. If you’re a Poe fan you’ll have a blast with the obvious and not so obvious references.

The directors for The Fall of the House of the Usher are Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari and the directors for The Changeling are Melina Matsoukas, Jonathan van Tulleken, Dana Gonzales, and Michael Francis Williams. All of the directors know when to crank it up and when to let their actors do their thing. There’s not much fear in creating fear here. But there’s more than enough intelligence in doing it well while only occasionally going over the top.

Both series also have some delicious performances especially Carla Gugino in Usher and Adina Porter and Jane Kaczmarek in The Changeling. That’s not to slight any of the other actors. Both casts have some remarkable opportunities and actors who take full advantage.

If you enjoy watching directors have fun I’d highly recommend both The Fall of the House of Usher and The Changeling. If there’s a disappointment it’s that there’s no news yet as to whether or not The Changeling will get a second season after it’s cliff hanger ending.

Sunday Morning Reading

Summer is inching its way to fall. So here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share for a long sleepy Labor Day weekend here in the US. Grab some coffee.

Cup of coffee and newspaper

Speaking of sleepy, here’s A Look Into the REM Dreams of the Animal Kingdom from Carolyn Wilke at Ars Technica.

And following that theme, Amanda Gefter explores What Are Dreams For?

There’s lots of words being written about the shaky state of theatre in the US at the moment. (I expect I’ll spill out a few this week.) MIchael Paulson has a good take about the challenges of the subscription model and what that might mean for the industry in Hitting Theater Hard: The Loss of Subscribers Who Went To Everything.

David Todd McCarty takes a look at Why Sports Matter.

Proust. Yeah, that guy. There’s seemingly a Proust for everybody and Adam Gopnik takes a look into what might be the real one in What We Find When We Get Lost in Proust.

ProPublica has a an excellent piece from Cheryl Clark about the crazy challenge you might have if you have to appeal to your health insurance company for a denial of benefits in I Set Out To Create a Simple Map for How To Appeal Your Insurance Denial. Instead, I found a Mind-Boggling Labyrinth. Call it a horror story.

And since my wife and I are celebrating our 23rd Wedding Anniversary this weekend here are two pieces that caught my eye this week.

In The Day The Circus Came to Town Natasha MH isn’t clowning around as she takes along for a very personal story.

Max Meroni takes us on a bride’s One Way Ticket train ride into a voyage of self-discovery.

And if you’re enjoying a cup of coffee with your Sunday Morning Reading don’t toss out the coffee grounds when you’re done. Check out Scientists Discovered How To Make Concrete 30% Strong With Used Coffee Grounds by Joshua Hawkins.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

On the road this weekend, so this edition of Sunday Morning Reading will be a little brief. There’s always something to share though.

Carhighway

On the Artificial Intelligence beat, Catherine Thorbecke at CNN reports that AI might not be quite the time saving boon some have promised. Imagine that.

Who knew Country Music would get embroiled in the so-called “Culture Wars.” Well, unless you haven’t been paying attention, just about everybody. Because hey, just about everything gets caught up at one time or the other. Emily Nussbaum has a terrific long read in Country Music’s Culture Wars And The Remaking of Nashville. FYI: No mention of some guy not born in a small town but singing as if he was.

If you’re looking for a collection of good writers and good writing you won’t go wrong with Ellemeno Magazine on Medium. Some top notch and provactive stuff going on there. Because there’s so much quality writing, I don’t feel so guilty for not recommending more this selections this Sunday.

If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

As the picture says, I’m on lake time this Sunday morning. So the list of suggested Sunday Morning Reading topics is a shorter one. Here’s hoping you find a little weekend time to chill as well.

Theatre and opera director Adele Thomas talks about her beginnings, her art and her career and how artists and the challenges (financial and otherwise) that directors face trying to get a career going. Good interview by Fiona Maddocks.

A great piece from Lisa Melton: My Coming Out Party

A couple of interesting pieces on Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial Stimulated Stupidty by Robert E. Wright and Is AI a Snake That Eats Itself? by Om Malik both reflect some of my thoughts on the topic.

And while the world is watching Orcas attack yachts and other sea-going craft, here’s a piece on The Giant Whale That Terrorized Constantinople.

If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday Morning Reading for Father’s Day. There’s no real theme to this week’s edition. Which is fitting. We used to joke that my Dad had a new hobby every six months. He did. But that just demonstrated his endless curiosity about the world around us. I think I got some of that tossed into my mix. So here’s a pot-pourri of topics to share.

Humans aren’t mentailly ready for a lot of things. So called Artificial Intelligence is certainly one of them. Thor Benson tells us why that might be the case.

Nicholas Casey tells a great spy story in The Spy Who Called Me.

Barbara Kinsolver is a great writer. Her latest book Demon Copperfield brings a dive into Dickens for a tale from Appalachia. Lisa Allardice has written a terrific profile on Kingsolver.

Pennsylvania apparently is one of the key stomping grounds for the Christian Right’s desire to spin us back to the dark ages. Frederick Clarkson gives us an excllent look into this.

Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On? Devin Gordon offers up some answers. Mine’s simple: Selfish stupid filmmaking.

What came first the chicken or the egg? Well that age-old riddle leaves the rest of the egg-laying species out of the question. Intriguing piece by Nisha Zahid.

And while we’re talking about the riddles that plague humans about the non-humans sharing our planet, Ari Daniel highlights an article in Cell that says an Octopuses can tweak the RNA in their brains to adjust to warmer and cooler waters.

This is a scary and sad tale. Gina Dimuro tells us about Blanche Monnier. Her parents locked her in her room for 25 years after she fell in love with the wrong kind of guy.

If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

Charisma might be the theme of some of this week’s edition of Sunday Morning Reading. Or maybe it’s our fasicnation with folks who seem to marshall it for mischief. The theme runs through a range of topics from Artificial Intelligence to the media with a few other subjects tossed on the reading pile. Speaking of charisma and mischief marshaling, these articles all came my way as we were absorbing the news of the Trump indictment this week. I wrote a little something about that here.

Om Malik stands as much in dismay as I do at how much time the media spotlights charlatans in Media and Monsters.

Joe Zadeh takes a look at the The Secret History and Strange Future of Charisma. It features this quote from Ernst Glöckner.

“I knew: This man is doing me violence — but I was no longer strong enough. I kissed the hand he offered and with choking voice uttered: ‘Master, what shall I do?’”

We’ve witnessed quite a few falls from grace this week. None more glaring than CNN’s Chris Licht. Mark Jacob in the Courier breaks down the difference between platforming and journalism. The latter Licht’s lickspittling helped slide further down the reputation damage scale.

Morality is declining. That seems to be something most believe at the moment. Data says otherwise according to Mariana Lenharo.

Jeff Jarvis followed a court case in which a couple of lawyers had to own up for submitting nonexistant citations and cases created by ChatGPT.

John Warner lays out an excellent long read on why Speed and Efficiency are Not Human Values. Yes, it’s AI related but you’ll also find a little Korsakov, Tolstoy and Prince in the mix.

James Grissom claims he received a phone call from playwright Tennessee Williams, who asked Grissom to “be my witness.” After a meetiing with Williams, Grissom takes the names Williams gives him and proceeds to follow the playwright’s wish: “I would like you to ask these people if I ever mattered.” Grissom turned it into a calling card, a book and a career. Lots of folks doubt the whole thing. Helen Shaw tackles the story in Did This Writer Actually Know Tennesee Williams?

David Todd McCarthy takes on our fascination with the unprecdented in America Grows Up.

Sabrina Imbler tells us the story of The Strange Case of the Woman Who Gave Birth To Rabbits.

And to end this week’s edition of Sunday Morning Reading here’s a piece by Melissa Cunningham about Jenny Graves. “Why are we still singing about Adam and Eve when there’s so much gorgeous science out thre is the world that explains our origins.” That’s the question Jenny Graves, an evolutionary geneticist, asked herself on her way to creating a libretto based on Joseph Hayden’s The Creation. Melissa Cunningham tells the story

If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.