Tag: Poetry

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday Morning Reading and mourning insights to share.

Another sweltering summer Sunday morning so it’s time for a little Sunday Morning Reading with a host of topics mostly dealing with the myriad challenges ahead of us and mourning some that are behind us.

Natasha MH reminds that in the midst of tough times there are ways to conjure magic that’s actually within our power to control in When Space Meets Stoicism. A lovely piece that hits home. Good advice in these unsettling times. Or even settled ones.

Speaking of unsettling, Cody Delistraty takes a look at how we Americans do and don’t deal with grief in It’s Mourning in America.

Artificial Intelligence remains a hot topic this summer and will remain so for quite some time. There’s been some excellent points made on all sides of the issues involved and I can’t wait to be a few years down the road and see how that’s all rolled up and regurgitated by some generative AI engine that probably doesn’t exist today. In the meantime check out some interesting thinking on the matter from Wenzel in Apple Intelligence and the DMA, Dan Henke’s take in Beardy Guy Musings, and Tim Marchman and Dhruv Mehrotra’s chronicling of Wired’s adventures with Perplexity, Plagiarism and the Bullshit Machine here and here.

Most of the above centers on the issues surrounding AI and its potential for abuse of creators. Sadly, history proves the heat around that issue will eventually cool down. Perhaps we should examine the heat all of this “compute” needed to power this abuse takes on the planet. Check out Bloomberg’s AI’s Insatiable Need for Energy Is Straining Global Power Grids. 

David Todd McCarty gives us an artist’s guide to learning how to listen in It’s Not All About You. It’s not just advice for artists.

As crazy as the political and tech worlds are these days, the entertainment world is just as nuts, especially when it comes to the covering of it. Winter of Content by Kevin Nguyen is a rich piece focusing on print media’s transition to the Internet from within the crazy explosion of coverage of Game of Thrones. Great read.

And speaking of entertainment coverage and mourning, it’s a fun game for this older guy to track the sad news surrounding an artist’s death. You can tell when a typically young writer knows very little about an artist’s body of work by the ludicrous title choices of that artist’s work they choose to run in the lede of the obituary. I doubt AI summaries of this will be any better than the quick scans of Wikipedia these interns obviously do now. With this week’s passing of Donald Sutherland it was particularly entertaining given the breadth and complexity of his career. However, there was one piece that grabbed my attention that bucked the trend. Amber Haley tells her remembrance of working with Donald Sutherland as a young set decorator proving that not only do small details matter, they tell the bigger story.  Check out The Set Decorator and Donald Sutherland. 

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.

Confrontation Nation

The intimidation tactics and strategy have worked far too well.

Judges. Pastors. Politicians. Every day Joe and every day Jane. People feel threatened by rhetoric spewing out of mouths like lava out of a volcano. It’s an insult to the concept of rhetoric, just another in the long list of “life as we knew it” torched by the angry mob.

The threats multiply daily and there’s no system or institution that can contain them so we might as well quit pretending and waiting around for the fire brigade. Like it or not the decaying orange turd and his worshippers are taking everything down with them. Scorched earth. It’s only going to get worse and there’s no “before it gets better” on the horizon.

The intimidation tactics and strategy have worked far too well. Judges can toss down a gag order, but they’re doing so behind security details and burdened by a judicial system that’s melting under the heat and buckling under its own burden. Pastors can preach for patience and penitence, but those that follow the lessons of scripture are being overwhelmed and overmatched by their own brethren who’ve reduced to ashes the messages of the Gospel, or any other good book, while profiting from the pulpit. As for politicians, let’s just say I don’t think there are anymore feet remaining worth holding to the fire.

This approaching calamity too many are trying to avoid is coming one way or the other. It’s just a matter of when.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday Morning Reading as the time shifts and some are racing against the clock to turn back the hands of time in our political and social lives. Yes, some politics but also some history and some tech today.

Laughter may be the best medicine, but not when it can be used against us. Fintain O’Toole in the New York Review of Books takes a look at how cruel humor can be used as a weapon. Laugh Riot is an excellent if not troubling (also long) read.

(Side note: some folks get upset at links I offer here that are behind paywalls or require registration. I get it. Two thoughts: Writers deserve to get paid. Also, there are only a gazillion ways around circumventing these kinds of things on the Internet. Use your smarts.)

Taylor Lorenz offers up The Word ‘Viral’ Has Lost Its Meaning. I think she’s correct.

The use of Artificial Intelligence continues to baffle. Charles Bethea takes a look at The Terrifying A.I. Scam That Uses Your Loved One’s Voice.

Speaking of baffling tech, Steven Aquino takes a look at How Smart Home Technology Made My Home More Accessible. Why do I say baffling? Steven’s post isn’t, but in the potential gold mine and boon for those with accessibility issues that is Smart Home Tech, no one has gotten this right yet. When it works it’s great. When it doesn’t it’s a mess.

Apparently back in 2022 the US was quite nervous that Putin would launch a nuke towards Ukraine. Check out Jim Sciutto’s piece Exclusive: US Prepared ‘Rigoursly’ for potential Russian Nuclear Strike in Ukraine in 2022. It’s a good read, although I’m not sure why it’s an exclusive as I recall most of us being worried about this.

Josh Kovensky in Talking Points Memo takes us Inside A Secret Society of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping for a ‘National Divorce.’

Sascha Pare tells us that Scientists Just Discovered A Massive Reservoir Of Helium Beneath Minnesota. Sounds like the Iron Range might be getting a new nickname.

And returning back to time, David Todd McCarty is searching for answers. I think we all are. Well worth your time to read Frittering Away What’s Left of Eternity.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

Playing a bit of catch up after a week off due to some health issues and travel to visit the grandkids, so here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to catch up on and share as the world continues its wobbly spin. 

Context is Everything. I concur with NatashaMH. Cat piss and all.

Trigger me this: John Mellencamp says that one way to combat our US problem with guns is to start showing the carange on the news. Daniel Kreps tells us about it in John Mellencamp on How To End Gun Violence: ‘Show America the Carnage.’ I think Mellencamp is right.

Teri Kanefield has a nice rundown on Why Some Prefer Oligarchy and What’s Russia Got To Do, Got To Do With It? If you don’t follow Teri’s stuff, you should. 

Michel Schwirtz and Adam Entous writing for The New York Times put out an explosive piece on The Spy War: How The CIA Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin. It’s not explosive for the content because those who need to know these things already do. What’s intriguing is that when info like this hits the Main Stream Media, there’s always a motive. The question is whose?

James Carville writes a piece for The Bulwark entitled A Crusade for Something Noble. If the title triggers you, read the article. If the subject matter doesn’t trigger you, well… let’s just say don’t say you weren’t warned.

Christopher Mims says AI means It’s The End of the Web As We Know It. I think he’s right, but have we ever really known this moving target?

David Dreams of Everything is a nice piece of introspection from David Todd McCarthy. Also check out his piece  Fish Or Cut Bait.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

Here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share on a day when the political world is fixated on diatribes about age, infirmity, and a tottering judicial system that’s too long in the tooth and already rotted out with decay. Meanwhile a majority of eyeballs are getting ready to tune all of that out and watch some talented young athletes bash each other’s brains out on a playing field, hoping for a moment of glory. But hey, you can always do some reading.

First up, Clare Malone wonders Is The Media Prepared for An Extinction Level Event? The short answer is no. But read the article. It’s good.

And speaking of bordering on extinction, David Brooks in The New York Times pens an interesting piece titled Trump Came for Their Party But Took Over Their Souls.A bit like that old axiom about shutting barn doors after the horses have galloped away, but worth a read.

Smart Is Not Always Wise, says David Todd McCarty. He’s right. I may have linked to this already, but it’s worth you catching up to if you haven’t yet. Also check out The Scale of Evil Things. Smart and wise.

One of the mysteries of our time is how so many got suckered into so much bullshit thinking about things that used to feel like touchstones in our lives. In this piece, Reed Galen is talking about religion. The scary thing is how spot on the title is: Hiding in Plain Sight.

NatashaMH thinks she needs to be fucked up in order to be creative in her piece The Fucked Up Creative. Here’s to being fucked up if that’s the case. 

Back on the politics beat, but also the fucked up beat, Ronald Brownstein talks about the non-secret plans the decaying orange turd has if he gets elected again in Trump’s ‘Knock on the Door’. We can’t say we didn’t see it coming this time around.

The Apple Vision Pro continues to dominate tech talk and here are a couple of interesting takes from this second week of that beta project’s life in the wild. Apple Vision Pro Review: Eyes on the Future by Jason Snell of Six Colors and  Christopher Mim’s analysis that Apple’s New Face Computer Is For Work. 

And finally to close out the morning here’s a look at How Steinbeck Used The Diary as a Tool of Discipline, A Hedge Against Self Doubt, and a Pacemaker for the Heartbeat of Creative Work by Maria Popova. No AI or fancy tech required.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

From deep in the heart of the frozen South here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. A slimmer list of links this weekend as we head into the final week of rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy fighting the cold, burst water pipes and other winter wonders. Looking forward to putting the tech touches to this show and heading home to Chicago. Oh, wait. It’s winter there too. Meanwhile stay warm and enjoy this week’s Sunday Morning Reading.

As someone who wakes early, even in the crazy late night weeks of directing a play, Scott-Ryan Abt’s What Do You Do at 3am? feels very familiar.

Richard Zoglin takes on all the pre-movie promotional stuff tossed at movie goers in When Is This Movie Really Going To Start? I’ve Been Here Half an Hour. My going to the movies habit began changing long before the pandemic because of this.

NatashaMH takes us on a tour of life through a visit to a bookstore in Small Wonders In A Big World.Wonderful.

David Todd McCarty takes us the long way around in telling this story about story telling in ‘Round The Outside. He’s also wondering Where Have All The Hitmen Gone?

Steven Levy takes us through the evolution of the Mac in Apple Shares The Secret Of Why The 40-Year-Old Mac Still Rules.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro interviews Kevin D. Roberts the head of the Hertiage Foundation in Inside The Heritage Foundation’s Plans for ‘Institutionalizing Trumpism.’ If you want to know where the crazy comes from on the right, talk to Kevin.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

Winter is bearing down on big portions of the U.S. Some places are already digging out. I’m in one of the former portions (Memphis) that doesn’t handle it well. So today, Sunday Morning Reading will contain less links than usual. We’re rushing to get things accomplished before folks anticipate a rough time (or a snow day) in this old southern town. But don’t rush through these links.

As for winter, Zoë Schalnger has a good piece up about The Threshold at Which Snow Starts Irreversibly Disappearing.  Given deadlines and what’s impending here I sort of wish it never would appear, but that’s not the point of this article.

U.S. Politics may be a hot topic, but not enough to defeat Old Man Winter in Iowa where the first caucus will be held tomorrow for apparently no reason. The debate also rages on about the 14th Amendment. This piece from Jason Linkins, The Fourteenth Amendment Scolds Abetting Trump’s Return, turns up the heat on that issue and the media that keeps screwing up the coverage.

Natasha MH, talks about school reunions in The United States of Reunion. Great piece about the inner conflicts they can dredge up.

Smart is Not Always Wise. I concur. So does David Todd McCarty who penned this piece.

And for those who come here for a little tech, check out John Siracusa’s take on Artificial Intelligence entitled I Made This. Well worth your time.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

We just commemorated the anniversary of the history altering events of January 6th. So some of thse links in this weeks’ edition of Sunday Morning Reading will reflect that. Not all. But some. If that turns you off, apologies in advance. Not to you. Because of you.

Kicking it off is David Todd McCarty’s Who’s Teaching You a Lesson? Read it damnit.

Driftglass offers up The Art of Persuasion is Over. Short. Sweet. Persuasive.

David French offers up The Case of Disqualifying Trump is Strong. I agree. Too bad the judges it will be argued in front of are not.

David Graham tells us How Trump Taught America to Tolerate Brazen Corruption. We’ve always tolereated corruption. Most of us just don’t want it flaunted openly in our face by a bunch of bragadocius buffoons.

Changing the tune, check out To Own The Future, Read Shakespeare. Not what you think. It’s about tech and the liberal arts. Great read.

NatashMH wonders how the plot got lost regarding feminism in We Were Once Dragons and Phoenices. Another great read.

And then for something completely different, check out Dana Milbank’s I Killed A Deer From My Bathroom.

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.

Sunday Morning Reading

The last Sunday Morning Reading column for 2023. Yet another year gone that I think collectively we’re all glad to see pass as we keep hoping for something better around the corner of the next one. There’s always hope. There’s always promise. There’s always the other side of both of those coins. So as we mark the passage of time from one year to another, here’s a short list of some good reading to share on the last day of 2023.

There wouldn’t be much to read if someone didn’t write it first. David Todd McCarty Writes Like You’re Running out of Time. Check it out and other excellent writers on Ellemeno.

I don’t know about you, but I do most of reading on the Internet these days. Anil Dash tells us That the Internet is About To Get Weird Again. Who’d a thunk it?

Time passes. Rivers run. Everything ages. Sit still and things can stagnate. Maria Popova tells us about John O’Donohue’s great book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Check out here article A Spell Against Stagnation: John O’Donohue On Beginnings.

And since we’re celebrating the passage of time, check out A Brief History of Time as told by a watchmaker by Jaq Prendergast

Here’s another piece worth your time from David Todd McCarty called Boys Don’t Cry, Men Don’t Bond. I’m in with part two. Not so much with the first. Must be an age thing.

And to close out the year and this edition of Sunday Morning Reading check out NatashaMH’s piece Writing Out of the Shadows.

Happy New Year!

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.

My Picks Of The Year for 2023

Here’s a list of my favorites of the year in entertainment, books, apps, and a favorite gadget purchase for good measure. I don’t believe in “Best of.” There’s too much good being created by too many good (and some not so good) folks out there, that I just pick favorites. Lots of mediocrity out there, but here’s the cream that rose to the top of my list, though I certainly didn’t see or consume everything.

Movies

  • Oppenheimer
  • Barbie
  • Maestro
  • FinestKind
  • Blackberry

TV and Streaming

  • The Bear
  • Mrs. Davis
  • Drops of God
  • Silo
  • Slow Horses
  • Fargo
  • The Fall of the House of Usher
  • The Last of Us
  • Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl Shorts on Netflix

These films and streaming shows mentioned above contained some outstanding performances by Carey Mulligan in Maestro and Emily Blunt and Robert Downey, Jr in Oppenheimer. As for Oppenheimer all the hype was about the big boom. I loved it more for the explosive intimacy of the brilliant film making in the human moments. Brilliant acting from that entire ensemble. Also, episodes 7 and 8 of Season 2 of The Bear were two or the richest small screen viewing experiences I think I’ve ever experienced. Masterpiece work.

Books

  • Prequel by Rachel Maddow
  • Undertow by Jeff Sharlett
  • Sapiens Yual Noah Harari
  • The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in the Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta
  • The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Apps and Software

  • Paste. A terrific clipboard manager.
  • It’s an update to the iPhone, but The Action Button
  • Ivory. A Mastodon client.
  • IceCubes. Another Mastodon client.
  • Mona. Yet another Mastodon client.
  • Bartender 5 (It’s an update to an oldie, but always goodie)
  • The Double Tap Gesture on the “Is it legal or not legal?” Apple Watch

Gadget Purchase of the Year

GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) Travel Router. Excellent, powerful travel router in a tiny package that belies its size. Helps extend WiFi and provides on board VPN protection while traveling. A huge winner in a small package.

Here’s hoping you enjoy your New Year!