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Sunday Morning Reading
Christmas and Hanukkah are almost upon us. There’s that traditional feeling of magic in the air, but it’s tempered a bit by apprehension about what may come in the New Year. But it’s Sunday and it’s before all of that, so it’s time to share some Sunday Morning Reading.
First up are a couple of Christmas gifts that seem appropriate both for their historical holiday context and in today’s current one. Shannon Cudd takes on The Surprisingly Corporate Retail Origin Story Behind ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ Feels appropriate in this approaching age of oligarchy even if that age seemed a bit more innocent.
Follow that up with Olivia Jordan’s A Christmas Carol in Context: Dickens’ Beloved Festive Fable. Having directed many a production of ‘The Carol,’ I’m always amazed that its story of goodwill and redemption is at once so popular, yet always so quickly forgotten. It’s a puzzler. But then the great messages told around Christmas typically lose their resonance once we move away from the season.
Speaking of puzzlers, Generative AI is still on everyone’s mind and Gary Marcus thinks Generative AI Still Needs To Prove It’s Usefulness. Yes, he means beyond the hype it’s generated that has made some fabulously wealthy.
Journalism is having a moment and not a good one in today’s political climate. Most of that is of its own making and a good deal of it is by the owners. Podcaster and tech journalist Kara Swisher might be fed up enough to try and do something about it. She is seeking to round up investors to fund a bid to buy The Washington Post, after Jeff Bezo’s weak capitulation to the incoming Trump regime. I hope she succeeds. Meanwhile, John Gruber has written a terrific piece on this titled Journalism Requires Owners Committed To The Cause. He’s spot on.
Meanwhile Om Malik takes a look at the just how dark things may be for traditional media in these dark days in Musings On Media In The Age of AI. Here’s a quote:
None of the media business models will work in the future — neither advertising nor paywalls. Today’s content deals, like the one The Atlantic signed with OpenAI, are akin to the sugar high you get from soda. The sugar high is followed by the inevitable crash.
Jennifer Berry Hawes, Nat Lash, and Mollie Simon for ProPublica take a look at The Story Of One Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation. Good reporting on a story that somehow feels more than a little Dickensian.
Folks seek validation in many ways. Climbing mountains and overcoming obstacles can be a part of that game. So too is recognizing that “not everything in life needs to be conquered.” Check out Ain’t No Mountain High Enough from NatashaMH.
And to close out this week’s Sunday Morning Reading with a bit of grace, check out The Laundromat On Sixth Avenue by Grace 🎶 @notesofgrace
May whatever holiday you celebrate this time of the year bring you some peace and perhaps some joy. Here’s hoping we all can find that comfort surrounded by the company of family and good friends.
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.
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Crashing and Burning
Let me state clearly here at the beginning of this post, I do not want to see anyone in any capacity hurt by the looming government shutdown. Repeating, I do not want to see anyone in any capacity hurt by the looming government shutdown.
That stated and repeated, let me offer the following. Regardless of any action taken on a government shutdown people are going to get hurt.
Assume this circus/charade/shit show over a government shutdown wasn’t occurring. That responsible adults (assuming a lot I know) would be working to transition our government from one administration to another in an orderly fashion. We know, based on campaign promises and post-victory statements that large numbers of people are going to be harmed and hurt once the new administration is sworn in come January 20th. You can’t repeat often enough that cruelty is the point. There is going to be pain. Let those so desperate to cause it, feel some of it themselves.
So, with that as a given, and with the continued interference from Elon Musk, an unelected drugged up man child of an oligarch who has desires on running not just the US, but the world, I say let these damn Republican sniveling cowards shut down the country. Take Musk’s urging and keep it shut until January 20th and possibly beyond. Should make for a swell inauguration party.
At some point no matter how smoothly any transition may or may not go, the system is going to crash and there’s going to be damage none of us can calculate. Why not get on with it?
Sure you can play the game of which administration’s watch it might happen on, but give me a break. There’s no effective action coming from the outgoing administration or Congress to correct the actions of what feels like a transition already out of control and almost completed. Sure, Biden, at the moment still wearing the crown bestowed on him by the Supreme Court, could declare a state of emergency and make some bold moves. But we all know that’s not going to happen.
Call the bluffs. Blow out the bluster. Bust it all. Then let’s see what happens when the pieces need to get picked up come January.
One way or the other sacrifices are going to need to be made. Lame social media calls for resistance and not surrendering in advance are going to feel more like nursery rhymes than rallying cries. What we had is gone. It’s not coming back. You kid yourself if you think otherwise. Democrats stepping in to save some semblance of what was are only going to weaken any position they currently don’t really have at the moment. At least not until they come up with their own madman oligarch.
When an arsonist has to put out the fire he started to try and save himself, things look a lot differently.
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.
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Black Doves Makes A Play To Be A Deadly Christmas Movie
There’s a long standing debate that rolls around this time every year about whether or not the classic Bruce Willis film, Die Hard, is a Christmas movie or not. I happen to think it is, so there’s my $.02 on that. Netflix is making a play to join the violent Christmas movie genre with its recently released spy/gangster thriller Black Doves.
Does Black Doves stack up as a Christmas movie? For some probably so, for most I’m guessing not. It has a great sense of comedy amongst the dire circumstances, and almost enough holiday charm and romance to qualify it as a Hallmark holiday movie. Semi-stuffed with holiday trappings and none of the ticking clock pressure of trying to solve it by Christmas Day it sorta works. That’s not to its detriment.
Black Doves does stack up as a decent spy/gangster tale with very good performances from Keira Knightly and Ben Whishaw, and it’s the spy game/gangster game plotting and sub-plotting that makes it work, though not necessarily with edge of your seat suspense. Which at times seems strange since World War III keeps threatening to break out.
In any case, it’s not perfect, but it’s fun. I’d recommend Black Doves as a good stream if you’re looking for good entertainment over the holidays, whether you want things wrapped up with a pretty bow or not.
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.
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Sunday Morning Reading
Drones may (or may not) be circling the skies overhead, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep our eyes peeled for some good writing and good reading. This week’s Sunday Morning Reading features a usual mix of writing on tech, Artificial Intelligence, politics, and culture. Buckle up and enjoy.
Speaking of Artificial Intelligence, Arvino Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor tell us that Human Misuse Will Make Artificial Intelligence More Dangerous. I’ve been saying that for a while and so have any number of science fiction writers. Still, this short piece is worth a read.
Matthew Ingram asks and answers the question Are AI Chatbots Good or Bad For Mental Health? Yes. Good read.
Reed Albergotti chronicles an interview with Google’s Sundar Pichai on Google going all in on AI and the next move, Agentic AI. Check out Why Sundar Pichai Never Panicked.
Rounding out this group of links on AI, take a look at this intelligent and very human piece from NatashaMH. In No Society Left Behind she posits that AI will still leave us with uneven playing fields across the different strata of society.
John Gruber has an interesting piece On The Accountability of Unnamed Public Relations Spokespeople. It’s politics specific but it also speaks more broadly about the, in my opinion, decline of PR as an effective tool.
We still haven’t come to grips with the shooting of the United Health Care executive and the reaction to it. Adrienne LaFrance takes that as a cue for Decivilization May Already Be Under Way. I would argue it’s been under way for quite some time now. Itt’s just accelerating.
David Todd McCarty says We’re All Going to Need To Hunker Down For A Long-Ass Storm. I concur, although I fear it’s going to be looked back on as a major climate shift.
Dave Troy in the Washington Spectator gives us The Wide Angle: “Project Russia,” Unknown In The West, Reveals Putin’s Playbook. It will never ceae to amaze me how we let this one slip by us.
Looking back a bit in history take a look at this piece from the Atlantic’s 1940 issue called The Passive Barbarian by Lewis Mumford. With the exception of a few references in the article and the publication date, I bet you would think it had been written in this current moment.
And finally, with the holiday drone buzzing around us David Todd McCarty offers up Struggling To Find Peace In The Midst of Exuberant Joy.
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.
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Sunday Morning Reading
We’re on the road this weekend to get the Christmas holidays started with the grandkids, but there’s still time to share a little Sunday Morning Reading. Enjoy.
First up is a piece by Margaret Dean called An Afternoon In My Strawberry Fields. You’ll enjoy wandering there.
I don’t think the sun sets anywhere on the planet that there isn’t a current political crisis. Artists and storytellers keep doing their thing regardless. This story from Tom Phillips and Etienne Cóte-Paluck tells of a Haitian theatre troupe still carrying on in the face of that island’s chaos. Check out ‘An Act of Rebellion: Haitian Theatre Persists Amid Political Crisis and Violence.
No crime story has quite captured public attention and exposed how insufficient American media is at reporting out what’s behind the headlines as the murder of United HealthCare’s CEO Brian Thompson. The act is shocking, the reaction to it is shocking as well, yet not surprising. Some of the best reporting I’ve seen so far comes from the BBC from Mike Wendling and Madeline Halpert in Killing of Insurance CEO Reveals Simmering Anger At US Health System.
If you’re wondering about that “simmering” and why I don’t think we should be surprised by what this event reveals, check out this guest essay in the New York Times from Dr. Helen Ouyang entitled What Doctors Like Myself Know About Americans’ Health Care Anger.
Casey Newton delivers one of the best pieces I’ve seen on Artificial Intelligence with The Phony Comfrots of AI Skepticism. You might want to hang on to this one for future reference.
Mark Jacob wonders Can Journalism Survive Billionaires? My short answer is not with this current crop.
If you think repealing women’s right to vote in America isn’t on the agenda of some in the world of MAGA misogyny check out Emma Cieslik’s piece Christian Nationalism’s First Item On The Agenda: Repeal The Women’s Right To Vote.
Brian Krebs is a name most on the Internet have run across as a top-notch security researcher and reporter. Robert McMillian and Vipal Monga have gone behind the curtain to reveal some of the lengths Krebs has to go through to keep himself secure. And not just on the Internet. Check out He Investigates The Internet’s Most Vicious Hackers-From A Secret Location.
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.
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Things Are In The Air
Things are in the air. I keep searching for a breath of hope. I’m not finding it.
Too many conversations with too many good folk who are either in denial, purposefully choosing to avoid difficult discussion, or just too wrapped up with life things to be able to pay attention. With some there’s a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil feel to it.
I can’t begrudge anyone any way they need to find their path through what we’re going through. I do hope that at some point they begin engaging with the reality of what’s ahead.
It’s coming. And we need to be ready.
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.
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Decorate Your Mac For The Holidays with Festivitas
In case you hadn’t noticed, ’tis the season for holiday decorations. (Although we’ve put up our tree without decorating it yet.) For those who might feel a bit grumpy after staring at their screens all day and want a little holiday distraction on their Macs, Simon B. Støvring has created a clever little app that allows you to bring a little holiday cheer to your Mac. It’s called Festivitas.
Festivitas allows you to string some lights on your screen by adding strings of blinking lights along your Menu Bar and/or dock. You can configure various settings including the size of the lights, the cable thickness, the distance between lights, and the patterns and speed that the lights do their blinking, as well as the colors. You can hang the lights from your Menu Bar and have them float above your Dock, or choose one or the other.
You can check out the App at this link and pick it up for a song.
Clever stuff from Simon and a nice little holiday treat, because we could all use a little whimsy and a bit of delightful distraction this holiday season.
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.
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We Might Want To Become Familiar with The Vacancies Act
The numbers 210 and 300 might come into play over the next couple of months. Why? Those are the time limitations that acting appointments made by a President of the U.S. can serve in an “acting” capacity, depending on the circumstances of the appointment.
Of course, given the desire for damage promised by the decaying orange president-elect you could also say all bets are off as regards to following any rules, laws, or traditions. No one really knows just what might happen come January 20 and after. Just look at South Korea.
Remember, Trump made a number of “acting” appointments to his cabinet the last time around, primarily to avoid Senate confirmation. Given his rogue gallery of nominations so far, and his already announced penchant for recess appointments, I’m sure he’d like to take whatever shortcuts he can.
Still, a lot of bad things can happen in the span of 210 or 300 days.
As a reference, here’s a Government Accounting Office FAQ on the Vacancies Act that you might want to keep handy.
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.
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Breaking All The Molds: Emilia Pérez
Breaking the mold is one way to describe the movie Emilia Pêrez. Breaking all of them is more apt. Imagine taking the making of movies, more specifically the making of movie musicals and creating something new, different, in the end probably not completely successful, yet you can’t take your eyes off of it.
Now imagine the story of that movie is about a ruthless Mexican drug cartel leader, who hires a lawyer to seek a sex change operation to become their true self, a woman. Put it all together and it is an intriguing adventure in story and cinematic story telling.
I won’t say it completely holds together, because I’m not sure it does. But it keeps turning in on itself and musical movie making in ways as daring as the titular character’s mission. In that lead role Karla Sofía Gascón is excellent, as are Zoe Saldaña as the lawyer, and Selena Gomez as the wife of the cartel boss.
But, it is Jacques Audiard’s work as a director that stands above all. Unfurling a story of transformation and redemption, this isn’t the first film featuring a story about a trans character, but it is certainly the one that spins out its story this way. I’d call it a pop-opera, but that too simple a definition as is calling it a musical.
The film was controversial when it debuted and won awards at Cannes, and in today’s climate I’m sure it will remain so. Quite frankly, that’s what gives the film some of its allure.
At its heart it is a story of transformation, mashed up with music, love, violence and full of surprise. Again, I’m not sure it holds together completely, but if you’re looking for something that plays around with convention while telling a surprising story, it is more than worth a watch.
Emilia Pêrez is playing on Netflix and you can watch the trailer below.
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.
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Sunday Morning Reading
Sunday, it’s a Sunday. The Sunday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, although every Sunday these days feels like it’s the Sunday after yet another Black Friday. Even so, it’s time for some Sunday Morning Reading. This week’s edition contains some somber writing, fitting for the onset of a winter of discontent and reflection, along with some thinking on the tech scene and vaccines. For good measure, there’s a history of dive bars at the end. Enjoy.
Leading off, David Todd McCarty’s piece I Was F*cking Wendy Under The Stars, The Night Elvis Died, reflects on the risks we take, and perhaps don’t take, in building a life.
Promises and Scars by Kelly Gawitt is an excellent piece of writing on second chances. We all need them.
Joan Westenberg says We’re Dying. Here’s How to Make Better Decisions. Joan’s Mortality Matrix is something to see.
Sam Roberts gives us a look back at a real heroine in Madeline Riffaud, ‘The Girl Who Saved Paris,’ Dies at 100. I’m thinking we might need some Madeline’s going forward.
Patrick Fealey offers a harrowing and personal inside look at homelessness in America in The Invisible Man.
Tim Berners-Lee, who conceived the World Wide Web is taking a crack at a new way our digital lives are stored online with a new venture called Solid. Harry McCracken takes a crack at explaining it all in The Man Who Gave Us The Web Is Building A Better Digital Wallet. Hope it works.
Christopher Mims says that Googling Is For Old People. That’s A Problem For Google. The lede is fantastic:
If Google were a ship, it would be the Titanic in the hours before it struck an iceberg—riding high, supposedly unsinkable, and about to encounter a force of nature that could make its name synonymous with catastrophe.
Vaccines. Who in their right mind thought we’d ever be debating anything about the miracle of vaccines? Donald G. McNeil Jr. says that Vaccines Will Have To Prove Themselves Again. The Hard Way. Warning: the “hard way” isn’t a pretty way.
And after all of that if you need a drink or two or three, check out Linze Rice’s piece on The History of Chicago’s Dive Bars, Once Called ‘The Vilest Holes In The City.’ Bottoms up.
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.
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Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3
Musings on life, the theatre, technology, culture and the occasional emu sighting
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 