"More thoughts on the nature of story from The Mystery Feast by Ben Okri… When they want to destroy a people they begin telling stories about them. Even when negative stories about a people are not believed they still leave an imprint on the underside of the mind, a residuum of doubt, a sinister grain that in time can become an evil pus of perception." The power of story.
"But to the extent that books have transitioned to digital, the flow is almost entirely through Amazon. With its data and power, the company could make books designed specifically to keep people reading and buying, and with its impressively wide-reaching marketing strength, it could get those books in front of hundreds of millions of people with credit cards." I don't doubt that Amazon has been collecting and collating the information in seriously deep and multi-dimensional connected databases. They'd be fools not to. But exploiting that data assumes that 1) there is a writing formula and the discussion about that could fill volumes including that yes, there are some (but mostly defined by the exceptions), there are also programs that currently can write copy. But 2) looking at the various learning algorithms attempts at other endeavors, "computers writing copy" are rudimentary at best when it comes to fiction. And 3) too much pablum becomes boring. I know I certainly have different tastes in fiction than when I was younger (I haven't read LoTRs for almost a decade now and I doubt I'd be able to do so again, nothing against the story or the writing, I just don't have the patience or time for it). And while various genres are derided as being formulaic, they really aren't and those perceptions are created and held by people who don't actually read widely in those genres. So like the rumored and highly anticipated Singularity, I have a feeling this is more hype than actual chance. That doesn't mean they won't try it and it doesn't mean that such product wouldn't take a good percentage of sales. But if I had to place money on a bet, my guess is those sales would just be in the "direct to e-book/published on Amazon only" stories (not to say that wouldn't be terrible for a lot of authors). As the joke goes, "All we needed was one more monkey, one more typewriter." (Grokked from Jason Sanford)
"For the first time in six years, a new mission is about to land on Mars. On November 26, NASA's Mars InSight lander will touch down on the Red Planet at 3 p.m. EST."
"Miscarriage, or the loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks, is so common that Americans often stay quiet about their pregnancies until after the first trimester, when the majority of miscarriages occur. Improvements in early pregnancy detection and the use of fertility treatments have increased the likelihood that couples learn they have miscarried, when they once might not have even known they were pregnant." And if the miscarriage happens later there can be some pretty terrible outcomes associated with it, which is reason #783 why I support legal, and safe abortion options. "In reality, most miscarriages are caused by genetic problems." But that won't stop conservative lawmakers from enacting laws that will criminalize women who experience miscarriages.
"Over the next few decades of climate change, the country’s first national park will quite likely see increased fire, less forest, expanding grasslands, shallower, warmer waterways, and more invasive plants — all of which may alter how, and how many, animals move through the landscape. Ecosystems are always in flux, but climate change is transforming habitats so quickly that many plants and animals may not be able to adapt well or at all." Glad I saw it when it was still good. Note the climate conversation is no long, "what will happen in the future" but is now, "what have we lost, what can we possibly save." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Chinese authorities have announced strict new measures in an attempt to halt the country's fast-growing African swine fever crisis, which has spread to 18 provinces and led to the culling of more than 200,000 pigs."
How are those tax cuts working for increasing revenues? "The U.S. recorded a $100.5 billion budget deficit in October, an increase of about 60 percent from a year earlier, as spending grew twice as fast as revenue." Oh, about as good as the last 4 tax cuts were at increasing revenues. So in January, as Republicans and conservatives suddenly remember they're against deficit spending and are all about fiscal responsibility as the Democrats take control of the House, remember when, where, and why these deficits appeared.
I'm not saying Trump is a Nazi, I'm saying Nazis say Trump is a Nazi. "A man laced the atmosphere of a Baltimore theater with menace when he began shouting 'Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!' during intermission of a classic play set in a Jewish village in czarist Russia… The patron’s pro-Nazi and pro-Trump outburst during a Wednesday night production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' sent dozens of panicked people running for the exits at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Women carrying lacy underwear took to the streets across Ireland this week after a man was acquitted of rape in a trial that featured a 17-year-old's thong as a line of defense." Her underwear… as a defense. I guess her skirt wasn't short enough or her blouse not transparent enough that they're now saying the kind of underwear she wore was an excuse for rape. I suppose next we'll finally just get to, "Well, she had a vagina… she was asking for it."
So why was Turkey all hellbent on going after the Saudis for the killing of a US Green Card holder? "The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. in order to placate Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people briefed on the requests." And the president is just weak enough to do it. It's an embarrassment all around. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"The U.S. Justice Department said it is planning to prosecute controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange." And while everybody continues to focus on the releasing of the DNC emails, Julian Assange is wanted on crimes much older than that. You might remember Chelsea Manning.
How do you followup passing a Stand Your Ground law after gaveling down a speech by a prominent African-American representative? "Ohio’s GOP-controlled House passed a bill to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or as early as six weeks before many people even know they’re pregnant. In a 58 to 35 vote Thursday, the House sent the measure to the Senate." Ohio, the heart of fuck you conservatism. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"In partnership with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Trump White House has secured lifetime appointments for 29 appeals court judges and 53 district court judges. That's not to mention two Supreme Court nominees." And they're mostly white males (Trump's nominees are 77% male and 83% white). I know you're shocked.
"Something happened at the Capitol Tuesday to reaffirm my long-held view that liberals should stop believing what conservatives say liberals believe." A tweet storm of truth. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"Facebook hired GOP oppo firm to smear protesters by linking them to George Soros, an anti-Semitic trope: NYT." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"On Thursday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) delivered a speech to the conservative Federalist Society… In it, Lee warned of a brewing civil war, and claimed that the only way to avert violence would be to eradicate a long list of federal programs including 'the interstate highway system,' funding for 'K through 12 public education,' 'federal higher education accreditation,' 'early childhood education, the Department of Commerce,' 'housing policy, workforce regulation,' and what Lee labeled the 'huge glut of federally owned land.'" BINGO! I got Bingo! And yes, there are conservatives, considered "mainstream" who believe this. Dear Sen. Lee, that's exactly what will have us liberals shooting mad. (Grokked from Chip Dawes)
"It's one thing to read about the 340,134 Georgia voters who were wrongly purged from the rolls. That is, to be sure, an eye-popping number — if even a quarter of those voters had gone to the polls and been permitted to vote on Election Day, the odds are overwhelming that Democrat Stacey Abrams would have at least been able to force a runoff against Republican Brian Kemp, if not defeat him outright. But as with all statistics, the abstract number can obscure the human toll." Yes one party is attempting to steal elections, and it's the party shouting the loudest about other people stealing elections. The GOP's habit of projection continues.
Flipping twenty House seats is considered a "wave" election. "On Thursday, Democrat Jared Golden beat Maine Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin, marking the 33rd seat pickup for Democrats in the 2018 election."
Michael Avenatti was arrested on charges of domestic abuse, however Jacob Wohl's Surefire Intelligence claimed it as a victory. There's very little information than that, so I'm not linking to any articles. Just like Project Veritas reports, these should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
"Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office is exploring whether longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone tried to intimidate and discredit a witness who is contradicting Mr. Stone’s version of events about his contacts with WikiLeaks, according to people who have spoken to Mr. Mueller’s investigators." (Grokked for someone, sorry, lost the link)
"President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated during an interview that he tapped former US attorney Matthew Whitaker to replace then Attorney General Jeff Sessions in order to rein in the Russia investigation." I still have the feeling the Presidents personal lawyers are just drinking themselves into a stupor at night.
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