Tough reading for tough times in today’s Sunday Morning Reading.
It’s a Sunday. I’ve been reading. As usual I’ll share some of that with you in today’s Sunday Morning Reading.
I started out the week thinking I’d try to avoid politics. That didn’t work. Sort of like getting a cancer diagnosis and not wanting to know anything about the disease taking over your body. So, apologies if there isn’t much “light” reading today.
I’ll start of with an anonymous piece published in The Guardian. We all knew misogyny was a feature of the incoming frat party that will be the new administration. I don’t think anyone thought it would filter down so quickly to high schools. The Boys In Our Liberal School Are Different Now That Trump Has Won, tells that story. Woe be onto us and our children.
Sherrilyn Ifill calls her piece The Truth. It is. And it’s hard.
Joan Westenberg says the way to destroy a generation is to make them think the word runs on feelings and then use those feelings against them. Check out How To Destroy a Generation.
Life may feel too short to worry about some things. But it’s all a matter of perspective. Check out Natasha MH in Life’s Too Short for Matching Socks.
And to close things out, BlueSky is the latest social network to experience a burst of new users. This time the the burst is due largely in reaction against Musk’s rape of Twitter/X, and dissatisfaction with Zuckerberg’s Threads, which had been the darling for awhile. Mike Issac takes a look in Bluesky Is Growing Up. Maybe Too Fast.
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. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. You can also find me on social networks, including Bluesky, under my own name.
Croissant is a sweet and simple app for social media cross-posters.
With the social media world still very much atwitter and scattered among various platforms in the wake of Twitter’s destruction at the hands of Elon Musk, some users like myself traverse across the multiple platforms seeking to replace it. That’s all well and good as far as it goes, but it presents a first world problem of having to post separately for those who do.
To the rescue comes Croissant. A lovely little app from indie developers Ben McCarthy and Aaron Vegh that simplifies cross-posting to Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky. While there are promises a plenty of interactivity via ActivityPub, that’s still by and large a waiting game. I also don’t think buying into a protocol will be the simple answer most think it will be for differing complex platform agendas. Meanwhile Croissant serves up a tasty treat for cross-posters.
In this first version the action is sweet and simple as is the design. Feed in your account credentials and cross-post away. You can add photos, hashtags, and you can tag someone in your post assuming you know their handle and it’s the same across multiple platforms. Swipe right to delete a post, swipe left to create a thread.
You can choose to spill out your toots, threads, and posts to all three, or pick and choose where each pearl of wisdom drops. You can also save drafts and create threaded posts. For those who manage multiple accounts on any of the platforms it provides a one-stop solution. Croissant also delivers the now table stakes of different color schemes and your choice of icons.
I’d like to add more to this quick review, but there’s no need. In its first iteration Croissant does what it does simply enough and that is its elegance and its utility. The developers have a road map for adding new features in the future, but I hope hanging on to the “buttery smooth” simplicity remains a priority.
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.
Social Media, AI, and exoskeletons are all in this week’s Sunday Morning Reading
It’s Sunday. It’s a morning. Time for some Sunday Morning Reading with a bit of history, some looking forward on social media, and as usual, a mix of reading on AI and politics. Around here it’s always free for your reading pleasure.
Continuing on the AI front, Karen Hao takes a look at Sam Altman’s consolidation of power as OpenAI (and others) keep making moves behind the scenes that I doubt any LLM will ever be able to summarize. Check out OpenAI Takes Its Mask Off.
While we’re talking the Internet behind the scenes, Emma Roth gives us an explainer on what’s happening at WordPress in The Messy WordPress Drama, Explained. Hint: It’s always about the money.
Politics and the coverage of it continues to ratchet up anxiety levels. Dan Fromkin wonders What If The Media Has The Election All Wrong? At this point I don’t think they or we would have anyway of knowing.
Peter Wehner walks us through The Republican Freak Show, listing out most of the freaks most are already familiar with. It’s a good summary of the lineup, but as the cliché goes, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s a couple of interesting reads that provide some necessary historical context. First up Paul Rosenberg takes a look at Who Created “The Constitutional Sheriff” Myth. Hint: It’s Not in the Constitution. Also check out The Fire of The Grand Dragon by Phil McCombs. The piece dates back to 1991. It’s not dated or old. It should serve as a reminder that what we’re seeing out in the open these days has been smoldering under cover for as long as most people keep conveniently forgetting.
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. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. You can also find me on social networks under my own name.
The price of chocolate is through the roof and even ideas seem to be melting away in some fashion or the other in this Easter edition of Sunday Morning Reading.
The price of chocolate is through the roof and even ideas seem to be melting away in some fashion or the other in this Easter edition of Sunday Morning Reading.
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. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.
Part of the Information Super Highway traveled some rough road this morning. Meta experienced an outage in all of its services today that took down Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Messenger, and I imagine everything else in the Metaverse. A source told the Daily Mail that the company’s internal systems were also down. Boomshakalaka, another day on the Internet.
We’re somewhat accustomed to Internet outages. In much the same way we’re sadly becoming accustomed to extreme weather events. Some are caused by malicious hacks, some by incompetence, some by rodents chewing through cables. Internet connectivity has made so much of our current world more convenient and convenience always comes with a cost. It’s a cost that those who own the servers, the services, and the connections, sometimes don’t want to pay for, leaving users stranded at times. It’s apparently tough to value an ounce of prevention on the Internet.
We hear about these outages when big ones hit. That’s sensational news. But far too often there are “backend” issues that happen that we never hear about. Those are the ones that only affect “a small percentage of users” or companies that don’t command the public’s day in day out appetite for connectivity.
Intriguingly enough, those charged with communicating with users when problems do arise sometimes never hear about them either, or if they do are they are told not to talk about them. Again, nothing surprising.
The corporate PR pros may or may not issue lawyered up responses, but rarely do users get any nuts and bolts answers as to what went wrong. Vague apologies, promises to do better, free credit monitoring when user info is hacked, etc… We’ll’ hear the now-clichéd “small percentage of users” modifier trotted out whenever things get righted. It’s funny/not funny how we all just move on.
Earlier this morning I was chatting with some folks on Threads who were seeing issues with Apple’s Weather app not updating as designed on their Apple Watches. I casually replied that it was probably an issue with iCloud’s backend and how it was associated with the provider Apple uses to offer up weather info. These issues with Apple always seem to manifest as they are rolling out new operating system updates, so my guess is more than a guess. (Apple rolled out iOS updates today.)
I’ve been going round and round with Apple for almost two years now trying to solve what is apparent to me, after much effort and investigation, an iCloud related issue. It’s not just apparent to me, there are several other users experiencing the same issues I’m having, as well as other users with other iCloud related issues in similar but different veins.
When I talk to Apple Support (a regular occurrence) we’ve developed this coded, often unspoken, acknowledgment that the issues are iCloud related. But as I said in this post, Apple needs to allow its support personnel to acknowledge directly what the problems are. And in my case, and those of others, so far that continues to not happen.
(Side note for those who might read the links above or are familiar with the situation: I’ve discovered a workaround to sometimes get things back to normal thanks to Dwight Silverman. Signing out of Messages and then back in works about 8 times out of 10. Otherwise I just have to wait it out.)
The problem is bigger than a social media network going down, or a streaming service buffering out during the big game for lack of bandwidth. Those may be frustrating but in the grand scheme of things merely inconveniences. But the more connected our daily lives become to our banks, our medical institutions, our governments, etc… the more reliant we become on services being well run, well maintained, and frankly just available and working as advertised.
I think of it as I think of streets and roads. We’re reliant on them and need them well maintained. The big difference is we see the potholes and understand the inconvenience we’re about to experience when the construction barriers go up.
When Apple, Microsoft, or Google releases a software update, they are not just updating the bits and bytes on your device. Corresponding updates happen on the backend as well. When your favorite app updates the same thing occurs. If that app provides a service, whether it be a social network, streaming media, or checking your bank balance something’s cooking on the backend.
And that’s just the backend updates we’re at least peripherally aware of. Perhaps we need better signage on the Information Super Highway.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome
It’s one of those winter Sunday mornings. Time to share a little Sunday Morning Reading while trying to get back into a different groove after returning home from a long gig and nursing a couple of bulging disks in my back. Today’s version is a wide mix of topics today mostly in the cultural realm. Enjoy.
First up, check out Scott-Ryan Abt’s The Euphoria of Quiet Time. Quiet time is something I’m trying to find more time for.
Legendary record producer Max Norman says there’s no point in making “world class” records any longer because no one cares anymore. Check out The Phonecian’s article on Norman here.
It’s no secret what most of us think of as journalism is in as much trouble, if not more so, than anything else. Phillip Longman offers How Fighting Monopoly Can Save Journalism. It’s a long, detailed look at a troubling issue.
David Todd McCarty says I Owe You Nothing. He’s right. Go read the piece and find out why.
And finally this week marked the release of The Apple Vision Pro. I posted some links to some great review coverage of the device and what it may or may not promise here. This one, Apple Vision Pro Review: The Infinite Desktop, from Brian Heater is also worth your time, regardless of which device you read your bits and bytes on.
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. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.
On the merry-go-round of life some things we just know. Some things we just know but find that others want to pretend something different. Here are some things we just know.
Donald Trump is a criminal, a rapist, an insurrectionist, a scumbag, a loser, a lousy liar, and more beyond redemption than most of the evil people in recorded history. He’d love to top even that list. He wants to dismantle the US Constitution and any other aspect of governance as long as he can stay out of a prison jump suit that might clash with the color of his makeup while grifting his way to the grave.
The Republican Party is the largest collecton of cowards and liars ever gathered under the guise of a political party, afraid of any shadow with a hint of orange in it, and terrified of the ignorant constiutents they represent and claim to love. They deserve whatever comes from their cowardice and lying. The rest of us don’t.
Elon Musk is a drug-addled fool who just happens to control a few companies, somehow has a national security clearance, a hoard of wealth, and could care less about anything other than for whatever is in his brain at the moment. Or the next.
Too many American voters don’t know which way to turn because either fork in the road seems like a tortured path. Too many American voters need to pay better attention, because if they are not careful they’ll lose the ability to make choose how severe the torture is going forward.
Big Tech isn’t Big Tech anymore. Big tech, like most other human endeavors, is in the Big “Let’s Make All The Money We Can before the merry-go-round stops” game. The merry-go-round always stops.
Artificial Intelligence can be both a boon and a bust. It will be both. You don’t have to be intelligent or real to see that coming.
Social Media can be fun. Social Media can be harmful. In either case, only if you let it.
Wars are destructive, foolish expressions of ego and and desire. Rules and Laws of War are silly made up sing-songs to allow men to destroy each other and anyone in their way in service to those egos.
The Media is a mess of its own making in covering any of the above, and seems to enjoy swimming in its own slop with its mouth agape. Anyone in their right minds would have stopped the bleeding by now. Unless they just enjoy self-harm. But if it bleeds it leads. Even it’s draining the lifeblood out of you.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.
Happy Christmas Eve! Sitting here away from and missing home, waiting for the clock to run out on my COVID quarantine (so far a very mild case). Life hits. You take the punch. You move on. So moving on, here’s some Christmas Eve Sunday Morning Reading to share.
Kicking off with a couple of pieces from one of my favorite writers, David Todd McCarty. First up for those into the holiday gift giving thing he offers The Ol’ Bowling Ball Bag Gift.
Following that with another holiday themed piece about how small moments with a family can turn into life long touchstones in We’re All Tired, Dear.
To close out back to the holidays spotllighting an Icelandic folk tale of Jólakötturinn, The Yule Cat that eats children who don’t wear the new clothes they received on Christmas. Guess you better don those new socks tomorrow morning.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.
Some culture, some politics, some tech, and some fun to share in this week’s Sunday Morning Reading. There’s also a bit of Picasso tossed into the mix. I’m in Memphis starting rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy at Playhouse on the Square so life’s rhythms are a bit fractured currently, but life’s slower on the Mississippi.
Kicking it off, David Todd McCarty in We Could Be Heroes asks what do we do when mystery no longer sustains us after we’ve moved past enlightenment? I’m thinking the answer is either drink more or drink less. Pick your poison. Also check out his weekday daily columns here.
Susan B. Glaser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos explain How The American Right Came to Love Putin. My $.02? It’s simple. It’s not about Left and Right in the traditional sense. It’s about take what you can because the good guys have proven they can’t really stop you.
Ray Naler in Time Magazine has an excellent piece on Artificial Intelligence called AI and The Rise of Mediocrity. We’ve been rising/sinking to that level for awhile now. The pace is quickening.
Speaking of quickening, what was Twitter continues to quickly plunge into past tense. The Verge has an excellent and fun piece called Elon Musk Killed Twitter from a team of writers.
More and more journalism these days seems to be telling us what we already suspected, already surmised, or already knew. Jodi Kantor and Adam Lipton fill in a few blanks on how the disaster that was the Roe v Wade decision came down in Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v Wade.
It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and also the Sunday after Black Friday which seems to have been going on since the 4th of July. To help you recover from the hustle and bustle, both behind and ahead, here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. There’s not a deal to be had. Just some interesting reads and good thinking.
Denny Henke (BeardyStarStuff) tackles the deepening political and social crisis we’re facing in this post with the looming threat of losing Democracy as we think we’ve come to know it. Here’s a quote: “It has been eroded to a thin veneer with little substance because the substance of democracy is the people. And the majority of people of the US stopped caring decades ago.”
State of play? State of Mind? With 2023 heading to a close that means 2024 beckons and so too does another presidential election in the US. But this one seems a bit, well, let’s just call it divisive. There’s certainly tumult ahead. Some are picking up and moving to safer places. Do those exist? Timothy Noah takes a look at The Red State Brain Drain Isn’t Coming. It’s Happening Right Now.
Speaking of broken things, what’s going on in the world of Artificial Intelligence after last week’s craziness with OpenAI and Sam Altman? No AI engine could possibly figure it out, much less a human. But Christopher Mims seems to think that ‘Acclerationists’ Come Out Ahead with Sam Altman’s Return to OpenAI.
Just for fun, here’s another entertainment industry piece, Caity Weaver takes a look at the career of Flo. You know Flo. She sells insurance. But do you know the actress who plays her? Check out Everybody Knows Flo From Progressive. Who is Stephanie Courtney?
And since you’ve read all of this on some screen or the other, take a look at this piece from Scott-Ryan Abt as he wonders What Happened to the Man on the Train? Here’s quote: “Maybe there was a time when people didn’t stare at their screens, but those days are forgotten. Maybe there was a time when you’d have a shared human experience on a train, at an airport, at a coffee shop, or on the street. Screens have changed that.”
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.
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 