An irregular hodgepodge of links beyond the library curated together from @OmniumGatherum at Hrmtc I∴O∴ and more … Omnium Gatherum for December 21, 2022.

Here’s a selection of notable things I’ve recently found that you may also be interested in checking out:

• “Christmas Eve is for the Devil! | Fireside Fairy Tales” Includes German folklore from Fellow Jürgen Hubert
• “Songs and Lyrics by Tom Lehrer”—”In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money. NOTICE: THIS WEBSITE WILL BE SHUT DOWN AT SOME DATE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, SO IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING, DON’T WAIT TOO LONG.”
• Watch “Weekend Update: Krampus on Kidnapping Naughty Children“—”Krampus (Bowen Yang) stops by Weekend Update to discuss his job kidnapping and punishing bad children for Christmas.” “Yeah, I’m a demon, Colin. I’m queer.”
• Thread—”A widely used Christmas time special of the past in Europe was to buy a paper crown … A paper crown? Yes, a printed paper crown. … Paper crowns were seasonal extras of the printing industries … Follow this thread along for more.”
• “Back from underworld: Greek city’s cultural rebirth. It was the Greek city where the ancients flocked in the hope of learning the secret of life after death.”—”Now Eleusis — known to Greeks as Elefsina — aims to resurrect its flagging fortunes by becoming European capital of culture next year.” 👀 I mean, I can think of one thing they could revive that could get people to go there … “Dance, concerts, street art, films and exhibitions will draw on the city’s fabled history and its long experience with unemployment, immigration and environmental degradation.” “For some 12 centuries Eleusis was one of the most important religious centres of both the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. The birthplace of ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus, its mysterious rites centred on Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, and her daughter, Persephone, wife of Hades and queen of the underworld.” “In a large hall that could seat up to 3,000 people, participants at nocturnal torchlit ceremonies were told of the endless cycle of life and death, and attended a re-enactment of the myth of Persephone, archaeologists say. ‘It was kind of a psychotherapy to deal with the fear of death,’ Efi Anesti, an archaeologist at the sprawling Greco-Roman sanctuary where the mysteries took place, told AFP.”
• “Symmetry, Art, and Religion. How art and geometry inspire humanity to understand God.”—”Nature is beauty, and beauty will continue to mystify us. Regardless, we should continue to pursue it in our daily lives through mediums like art, music, and religion.”
• “‘The 1619 Project’ Hulu Limited Docuseries Set for January Premiere (TV News Roundup)“—”The series is an expansion of the project of the same name from journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine.” About The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story [Amazon, Bookshop] by Nikole Hannah-Jones, & al.
• “From Vogue to war-torn Europe: American model turned photographer Lee Miller to be played by Kate Winslet in upcoming film“—”The movie is inspired by the biography, The Lives of Lee Miller, by Anthony Penrose, Miller’s son by her second husband, historian and surrealist painter Roland Penrose. The film’s script is co-written by Liz Hannah, Lem Dobbs, John Collee, Marion Hume and The Lee Miller Archives.” Based on The Lives of Lee Miller [Amazon, Bookshop] by Anthony Penrose.
• “Reading Ezra Pound in the Neofascist Age of Trump“—”What, I wondered, would Pound have thought of Donald Trump? The extreme events of January 2021 completed a flip in my feelings about Pound that began earlier; I want here to trace those feelings over several decades.” “Fascism likes to appear to be on the march when in fact it’s on the creep—and harder to see.”
• “What Is Required of Every Man. When Charles Dickens Walked Abroad.”—”It’s an odd thought, that a wanderer could find rest in the wandering. Dickens seemed almost compulsive about it. … No wonder that this peripatetic aspect of the author is embodied in one of his most famous characters” Also “Charles Dickens partied HARD after finishing A Christmas Carol in just six weeks.“—”Given the degree to which Dickens felt his future was tethered to the completion (and success) of A Christmas Carol, it’s no surprise that he went a little wild when he finished.”
• “Librarians Have a Message for Book Banners: ‘Beware’. Invisible to the untrained eye, our work is like the hidden rings beneath a tree’s outer bark.”—”But the librarians of the world have a message for would-be book banners: beware. We’re expecting you and we’re not afraid. Though we may or may not actually be sweater-wearing cat people, one thing is for certain—you are underestimating us and our collective power.”
• “News Release – The Huntington Acquires Thomas Pynchon Archive“—”The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced today that it has acquired the archive of American author Thomas Pynchon, considered by many to be among the greatest novelists of our time. Comprising 70 linear feet of materials created between the late 1950s and the 2020s”
• “Eric Adams’s Public Library Cuts Would Devastate a System Average New Yorkers Need. New York’s public libraries are essential institutions providing a wide range of services and cultural programming on top of books and media. If Eric Adams’s proposed library cuts go through, huge numbers of New Yorkers will suffer immensely.”
• “Book banning is bad policy. Let’s make it bad politics. Progressives must change the terms of debate on a series of cultural issues in the right wing’s arsenal. Battling book bans is one of the most important.”
• “Exercise is medicine for cancer and every dose counts – even in late stages of the disease. Even a single bout of exercise can produce anti-cancer proteins called myokines, which can significantly suppress tumour growth.”—”These patients are palliative, so there is no cure and they will eventually succumb – however, there is evidence that exercise will extend survival and the increased myokine levels explored in our recent paper is a prime mechanism.”
• “‘Space hurricanes’ swirling over the Earth surprise scientists. When we think of auroras, we often picture narrow and elongated curtains of light. Space hurricanes, too, shine brightly in the same green, red, blue and pink hues.”
• “World-first project to ‘self heal’ cracked concrete using sludge could save $1.4 billion repair bill to Australia’s sewer pipes“—”Water treatment sludge could be used to prevent 117,000 kilometres of sewer pipes in Australia from cracking in future, without any intervention by humans, helping to save $1.4 billion in annual maintenance costs.”
• “Two Exoplanets May Be Mostly Water, NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Find“—”A team led by researchers at the University of Montreal has found evidence that two exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf star are “water worlds,” where water makes up a large fraction of the entire planet. These worlds, located in a planetary system 218 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, are unlike any planet found in our solar system.” Watch “Two Exoplanets May Be Water Worlds.”
• “New immune target to treat cardiovascular disease discovered. The protein, suPAR, has been found to cause atherosclerosis and kidney disease, raising potential for new treatments.”
• “Gut Microbes Can Boost the Motivation to Exercise, Penn Medicine Study Finds. Study in mice uncovers gut-to-brain pathway that increases exercise performance.”—”differences in … performance within a … group of lab mice were largely attributable to … certain gut bacterial species in the higher-performing animals. … metabolites that the bacteria produce … stimulate … nerves … to enhance activity in a motivation-controlling brain region during exercise.”
• “A membrane-based seawater electrolyser for hydrogen generation“—”Here we propose a direct seawater electrolysis method for hydrogen production that radically addresses the side-reaction and corrosion problems. … This strategy realizes efficient, size-flexible and scalable direct seawater electrolysis in a way similar to freshwater splitting without a notable increase in operation cost, and has high potential for practical application.”
• “Not just light: Everything is a wave, including you. A concept known as “wave-particle duality” famously applies to light. But it also applies to all matter — including you.”—”Quantum physics has redefined our understanding of matter. In the 1920s, the wave-particle duality of light was extended to include all material objects, from electrons to you. Cutting-edge experiments now explore how biological macromolecules can behave as both particle and wave.”
• “The Sayburç reliefs: a narrative scene from the Neolithic. A wall relief … constitutes the earliest known depiction of a narrative ‘scene’, and reflects the complex relationship between humans, the natural world and the animal life that surrounded them during the transition to a sedentary lifestyle.”—”This principal human figure holds its phallus in its right hand … faced on each side by two leopards.” No one tell the poets or Calvert Watkins!
• “Ancient amphibians had their bones cooked. Scientists have solved a decades-long mystery as to why ancient tetrapods – amphibian-like creatures that lived over 300 million years ago – preserved in one of Ireland’s most important fossil sites seemingly had their bones cooked after they died.”—”We have also been able to radiometrically date the apatite which shows it formed during a time when all the continents on Earth were coming together and colliding to form the supercontinent Pangaea. As these continents collided, they formed mountain belts with super-heated subterranean fluids flowing of them. It is these super-heated fluids, which flowed throughout Ireland that cooked and melted the bones of these fossils causing the alteration we see today.”
• “A Groundbreaking Scientific Discovery Shows That We Can Reverse Death. New experiments raise important questions on what it means to die.” Don’t do it! This is how we get zombies.
• “Study sheds light on mysterious mounted warrior from Africa who fought the Roman legions. A revised analysis of a horseman’s portrait found in southern Spain suggests he may have helped kill Publius Cornelius Scipio, the famous general who fought Hannibal in the Second Punic War.”
• “Gene-edited hens may end cull of billions of chicks. Israeli researchers say they have developed gene-edited hens that lay eggs from which only female chicks hatch.”—”The breakthrough could prevent the slaughter of billions of male chickens each year, which are culled because they don’t lay eggs.” Hey, in other news, I think I figured out where the plague in Y: The Last Man comes from! *cough*
• “NASA’s Juno Exploring Jovian Moons During Extended Mission. After revealing a trove of details about the moons Ganymede and Europa, the mission to Jupiter is setting its sights on sister moon Io.” DOOM was a documentary.
• “Scientists finally found the clitoris on snakes – and there are two. Researchers found the first evidence of a two-part sexual organ called a hemiclitoris in all nine species of female snakes they examined.” *staring in Ophiolatreia* Also “It Took a Team of Female Scientists to Find the Snake Clitoris. ‘I think it’s a combination of not knowing what to look for and not wanting to.'” A story as old as time …
• “Report: A hotter, wetter Arctic spells trouble for everyone. The planet’s “refrigerator” is breaking, scientists warn.”—”The Arctic, warming four times faster than the planet overall, is rapidly destabilizing — with troubling consequences for the people who live there as well as global weather patterns.”
• “‘Rail cars’ of material released after NASA spacecraft hit asteroid“—”When NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft slammed into the tiny asteroid Dimorphos, the impact certainly left a mark.” Also “Scientists Following a Dusty Tail to Shape the Story of Dart’s Impact.” Also “Webb and Hubble capture detailed views of DART impact.”
• “Weird quantum effect used for highly precise interferometer. Interference patterns in a cloud of atoms made in a portable device.”—”the first three-directional hybrid quantum inertial sensor, which can measure acceleration without using satellite signals. At the heart of this breakthrough device is something called ‘matter wave interferometry,’ which uses two distinct characteristics of quantum mechanics: wave-particle duality and superposition.”
• “Researchers propose new structures to harvest untapped source of fresh water“—”An almost limitless supply of fresh water exists in the form of water vapor above Earth’s oceans, yet remains untapped, researchers said. A new study … is the first to suggest an investment in new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapor as a solution to limited supplies of fresh water in various locations around the world.”
• Watch “Arctic Sinkholes I Full Documentary I NOVA“—”In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate. Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters.”
• “Physicists Rewrite a Quantum Rule That Clashes With Our Universe. The past and future are tightly linked in conventional quantum mechanics. A tweak could let quantum possibilities increase as space expands.”
• “UMD Scientists Create Chemical Compound That Can Reverse Effects of Potentially Deadly Drugs. Their method successfully counteracted two highly addictive drugs—fentanyl and methamphetamine—in lab experiments.”
• Drug Combination for Stage IV Melanoma Shows Success in CU Cancer Center Trial. CU Cancer Center member Martin McCarter, MD, led the study on the effects of pembrolizumab combined with all-trans retinoic acid.”
• “Cities on asteroids? It could work—in theory. Rochester scientists use physics and engineering principles to show how asteroids could be future viable space habitats.” It’s a mini-Ringworld! Neither Ringworld nor Dyson’s Sphere, but I’ll take one! When can I move in?
• “Olfactory Viral Inflammation Associated with Accelerated Onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers suspect it disrupts the olfactory tract, impacting the hippocampus, which controls memory and learning.”
• “Gene therapy gel heals decades-old wounds in trial for blistering skin disease. Researchers find that a gel tested in patients with a life-threatening blistering skin disease helps wounds heal. The gel — the first topical gene therapy — awaits FDA approval.”
• “7,000-year-old fibers in Jordan Valley oldest known evidence of cotton in Near East. Team from University of Haifa, US and Germany studies sediments under a microscope to identify remains of cotton fibers, pointing to Tel Tsaf’s important role as a global trade hub.”—”The cotton is likely to have come from the Indus region, now modern-day Pakistan, which was the only area of the world that had started to domesticate cotton during this period.”
• “The Perseverance rover is about to have a big first on Mars“—”Perseverance isn’t letting any dust gather under its wheels. The rover is about to build the first depot on another world as it drops a collection of rock and dust samples on the Martian surface.”
• “Wearable Skin Patch Monitors Hemoglobin in Deep Tissues. A photoacoustic sensor could help clinicians diagnose tumors, organ malfunction and more.”—”unprecedented access to crucial information that could help spot life-threatening conditions such as malignant tumors, organ dysfunction, cerebral or gut hemorrhages and more.”
• “Stranded Dolphins’ Brains Show Common Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. The brains of three different species of stranded dolphins show classic markers of human Alzheimer’s disease, according to the most extensive study into dementia in odontocetes (toothed whales).” Oh! Damn.
• “A deep red, cranberry-tinted lipstick that’s also antimicrobial“—”To develop a version with antimicrobial properties, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have added cranberry extract to the formulation. Their deep red cream quickly inactivates disease-causing viruses, bacteria and a fungus that come in contact with it.”
• “This Wasp Fights Predators Using Its Genitals Like a Spear. Warning: We don’t recommend humans do the same.” The PRIEST, issuing from the Tomb, holding the Lance erect with both hands—Liber XV .
• Tweet—”My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.”
• “What Happens When Implants Become Abandonware?“—”You’ve probably had a company not support one of your devices as long as you’d like, whether it was a smart speaker or a phone, but what happens if you have a medical implant that is no longer supported?” “Since removing defunct implants is expensive (up to $40k!) and includes the usual list of risks for surgery, many patients have opted to keep their nonfunctional implants. The failure of so many implant startups does raise the question of how we can better facilitate advances in implant technology while making sure there’s a safety net of spare parts and documentation should these startups fail.” Or you foolishly go a-tweeting something that hurt the ruler of Twitter/Neuralink/Tesla’s feelings and having your brain wires shut off, and then your car bricked so you also can’t get to the hospital.
• “Why Quitting Twitter Is Not So Clear Cut For African-Americans And Other Marginalized Groups. Permanently breaking up with Twitter is not an easy decision for many existing in society’s margins.”
• “Developer platforms are all about trust, and Twitter lost it“—”We were excited and looking forward to announcing our vision to developers at Chirp last month, and now that vision is just an opening keynote document, lost on my bricked Twitter computer.”
• “Twitter Suspends Over 25 Accounts That Track Billionaires’ Private Planes. The suspended accounts include one that followed the private plane of Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner. It was reinstated hours later, before being suspended again.”
• “Elon Musk Had His Most Absurd, Disturbing 24 Hours at Twitter Yet. Musk banned accounts that he said he never would, made up new rules, and asked his 121 million followers to identify a man.”
• “Woman Finds The Bots Are Very Much Still On Twitter With Two Word Test. Musk had earlier claimed that bots were dead.” They used things like “sugar daddy” “shrroms drugs crypto cashapp venmo” “essay due tomorrow” to trigger them.
• “Twitter ‘to lose 32m users in two years after Elon Musk takeover’. Forecast predicts people will leave platform over technical problems and spread of hate speech.”
• “Twitter has reportedly dismissed Elon Musk’s personal lawyer. The company is preparing for a series of legal battles over missed payments.”
• Toot—”If you think it’s a terrible idea to let a billionaire control a company like Twitter so he can ban journalists who criticise him, consider it’s also a terrible idea to let billionaires control our natural resources and essential services. No individual should hold so much power.”
• Tweet—”Statement on tonight’s suspension of CNN’s [Donie] O’Sullivan”—”The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising. Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses the platform. We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.” Also “Twitter is blocking links to Mastodon“—”Trying to tweet links to many Mastodon servers results in a message that the site is ‘potentially harmful’.” Also toot—”After banning the JoinMastodon account, Twitter now calls links to many Mastodon instances ‘unsafe,’ including the one I’m on. Can’t even post a tweet with a link, it’s ‘potentially harmful.’ Incredible garbage fire.”
• Toot—”This is what happens when (as someone put it) a fragile narcissist buys the world’s largest criticism factory.”
• “In the Den of the Dark Lord Elon Thinskinnious“—”You’ve likely seen a lot of write-ups about Elon Musk having a temper tantrum last night and banning a group of journalists. It’s gotten a lot of attention in part because he banned ones that were in some sense covering him and his acquisition of Twitter, and because he banned reporters from some of the most prominent news organizations in the country” “In most cases (it’s hard to know because there’s been no clear explanation of why any of this happened) the bans were based on tortured readings of a new rule Twitter put in place the night before based on a different temper tantrum on Wednesday. Perhaps fittingly enough for a neo-Gilded Age tale, the episode starts with Musk’s private jet, a 2015 Gulfstream G650.”
• Thread—”the bigger question is whether WE WANT TO LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE POWERFUL PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO LIE AGAIN AND AGAIN WITH IMPUNITY AND THEN USE THESE LIES TO JUSTIFY OTHERWISE INDEFENSIBLE ACTIONS”
• “Elon Musk flees reporters after journalist “purge” — as EU official threatens Twitter ‘sanctions’. Musk’s suspension of journalists from NY Times, Washington Post, CNN and others may violate EU law.”
• “Elon Musk’s Twitter Suspends Reporter Who Has Investigated Him for Years. Linette Lopez said she hadn’t tweeted details about the location of Musk’s private jet—his stated rationale for other suspensions.”—”‘Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous,’ she said on Friday of the allegations, laughing. ‘What a frickin’ fantasy.'”
• “Elon Musk is offering the generous opportunity to invest in Twitter at $54.20. Looking for more investors to ‘obviously’ overpay.”—”Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about that time when Elon Musk bought a McLaren F1 for $1 million and then immediately drove it into a ditch while trying to show off to Peter Thiel.” “Musk is trying to get more investors for Twitter at the original $54.20 per share price he bought the company at before he frightened away advertisers and banned a bunch of journalists. About that price — remember how Musk decided actually buying Twitter at $54.20 was a bad idea and tried to back out of the deal? Anyone remember that?” “‘One could argue he has created value or destroyed value at Twitter … It’s hard to tell at this point.’ I feel? Like I am losing my mind?”
• “I Wish I Could Tell You This One Is Not All About Twitter“—”On Tuesday — three days ago, a veritable epoch in Musk time — Dorsey started a newsletter/blog on Revue … Put aside the merits of Dorsey’s principles for just a moment and enjoy the fact that, less than 24 hours after starting his newsletter, Twitter shut down Revue. File under ‘shit that happens when you’re no longer the CEO’.”
• “The Boring Conservatism of Elon Musk“—”In recent months, Musk has revealed himself to be conservative, a boring and completely predictable move for someone with a shit-ton of money, but which seemingly flies in the face of his acolytes’ conception of him as a free-thinking maverick genius god being.”
• “Twitter’s risky plan to save its ads business. Agree to personalize your ads — or else.”—”It’s a bold move for a company that has already been forced to offer advertisers huge concessions to prevent them from fleeing. But behind the scenes, Twitter has been working on a plan that executives hope will make Blue profitable – forcing all Twitter users to opt in to personalized ads in order to keep using the app”
• “Musk’s Twitter hasn’t paid rent since takeover — and threatens to end severance for laid-off workers. Twitter has even begun to auction off furniture and kitchen equipment from its office.”
• “Here’s All the Ways Elon Musk Embarrassed Himself. And we’re just talking about just this week.”
• “Angry, irrational, erratic: This is Elon Musk’s Twitter. It’s not about doxxing. It’s about Elon.”—”But I think we’re better off if we face reality on reality’s terms: One of the richest men in history bought something many of us use and like. Because he could. And now he’s going to run it based on his whims. Because he can.”
• Toot—”Called it. Musk wasn’t in Qatar to watch soccer; he was there to take instructions from his bosses.” Also toot—”It’s more likely that Musk didn’t want to be tracked to the Saudi suite at the World Cup, standing against the wall with Jared like butlers in a lineup. Hence the blockapalooza.”
• Watch “Elon Musk is not doing so great at running Twitter so far. This sums up his experience.”
• Tweet—”🫣”
• Toot—”suddenly going down in a maelstrom, within three rods of the planks, he wholly disappeared from view”
• “Elon Musk: Twitter users vote in favour of boss resigning. Twitter users have voted in favour of Elon Musk stepping down as the platform’s chief executive after the billionaire ran a poll on his future.”—”He’s fond of quoting the phrase ‘vox populi, vox dei’, a Latin phrase which roughly means ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’.” *cough* Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit. *cough* Wikipedia—”And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.” Also, because, ffs, of course: “Right-wingers cry fraud as Twitter users overwhelmingly vote for Elon Musk to resign in his own poll. Conservatives that embraced Musk’s war on the left are baselessly blaming the poll results on ‘bots’.”
• Meanwhile: “Tesla Shareholder Frustration Turns Into Revolt Against Elon Musk. The electric vehicle maker has lost nearly $640 billion in market capitalization this year.”
• “Conspiracy theorists, homophobes, neo-Nazis: Ten accounts that embody Twitter’s change under Musk. The billionaire unblocked many accounts leaning toward the far right. Millions of users said Musk should step down as head of Twitter on Monday in a poll that he initiated and promised to abide by.”
• “Mastodon Features That Twitter Should Steal (but Won’t). Elon Musk’s platform could learn a thing or two from its most popular alternative—like how to build a social platform people actually want to be on.”—”I’m not sure if Elon Musk has ever been in a town square. He seems to imagine them as places where people loudly argue with each other to get as much attention as possible, ideally while paying him to rent megaphones.” Yes, it is important for the enclosure to capture as many of the features of the commons as possible … especially those that were created in response to the enclosure, apparently. smdh. Maybe skip the enclosure and frolic in the commons instead?
• “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad“—”I was thinking about these words while pondering the actions of three people: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Donald Trump since all three seem to be on the path of self-destruction. I am not implying that they are mad but they do seem, on the basis of past success, to suffer from an irrational overweening confidence in their own powers, and this has led to rash decisions that threaten to bring them down.”
• “Elon Musk’s censorship spree exposes the fundamental flaw in the right’s definition of “free speech”. Liberals aren’t secretly afraid white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ talking points will “challenge” us.”—”The simplest explanation for Musk’s ever-more-hilarious self-contradictory behavior as the new boss of Twitter is that the man is a narcissist and a hypocrite.” “But it’s worth digging a little deeper, because this entire (extremely entertaining) debacle also helps reveal quite a bit about the right wing mythology around ‘free speech’ that colonized Musk’s mind.”
• Tweet—”I think the new richest person should be required to buy Twitter now and this cycle should continue until none of them are rich anymore.” Every year, we’ll pick 12 of the richest people, and make them fight to the death for the privilege of buying Twitter. We’ll call them Tributes, and this will be the Eat The Rich Games, so no one of the 99% suffers from hunger again, or something.
• “How to get your news fix now that Twitter sucks. Twitter used to be great for news junkies. Now it sucks. Here’s what I’m doing to stay on top of news without Twitter on my phone.”—”… An RSS reader: for curated headlines from websites you care about …” “RSS! Still good!” And, you know, 👉👈 go follow my @OmniumGatherum account in the ‘verse, web, or RSS, maybe.
• Twitter is the apotheosis of Silicon Valley fairy tales. They moved a shit ton of money & did creative accounting & tax avoidance whilst paying their people, the bills, and having tons to throw around. Then, the investors and C-suite, found a fool to pay for their fairy gold, and went home happy. The sucker got a sack of bitter dust and leaves. Whether Jack sold his part or not, and if he didn’t cash out then he really is an idiot, he did his job #1 which was to act as the negotiator for maximal enrichment of the Investor/Capital collective bargaining unit. It worked as designed. It’s just that the design was for the Eloi not for the Morlocks. Hmm, who could be responsible this?
• “John Carmack is leaving Meta. Carmack, known for his work in VR and on classic games like Doom and Quake, is stepping down from his consulting CTO role at Meta.” “We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort. There is no way to sugar coat this; I think our organization is operating at half the effectiveness that would make me happy.” “Some may scoff and contend we are doing just fine, but others will laugh and say ‘Half? Ha! I’m at quarter efficiency!'” “Maybe it actually is possible to get there by just plowing ahead with current practices, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Make better decisions and fill your products with ‘Give a Damn’!”
• “A New Lawsuit Accuses Meta of Inflaming Civil War in Ethiopia. The suit claims the company lacks adequate moderation to prevent widespread hate speech that has led to violence and death.”
• “A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook? Robot vacuum companies say your images are safe, but a sprawling global supply chain for data from our devices creates risk.”—”In the fall of 2020, gig workers in Venezuela posted a series of images to online forums where they gathered to talk shop. … The images were not taken by a person, but by development versions of iRobot’s Roomba J7 series robot vacuum.” “It’s much easier for me to accept a cute little vacuum, you know, moving around my space [than] somebody walking around my house with a camera.’ And yet, that’s essentially what is happening. It’s not just a robot vacuum watching you on the toilet—a person may be looking too.”
• “‘Stress, burnout, churn, and a cut-throat atmosphere’: An internal Amazon study slams the company’s culture. The document, a copy of which was obtained by Insider, paints a grim view of the company’s internal culture and stresses the urgency for change.” Also “Amazon cited by OSHA for warehouse injury report failures. These citations are part of an ongoing investigation.” Also “Amazon workers will go on formal strike for the first time in the UK. Employees at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse in central England voted Friday to go on strike. It will be the first legally mandated strike to take place in the U.K. The walkout will add to the wave of industrial action happening across the U.K.”
• “The Internet Used to be Smaller and Nicer. Let’s Get It Back. When ‘Star Trek’ alum Wil Wheaton started blogging over 20 years ago, he found a friendly, collaborative internet. He hasn’t lost hope it could exist again.” Also “The Internet Can Still Be Small And Nice, But It’s On All Of Us To Make That Work“—”In some ways, the fact that Wil chose to publish in the WSJ is a microcosm of the issue that he’s discussing in the piece: you publish in the WSJ because it’s likely to attract a larger audience than publishing on your own site (and Wil does maintain and regularly publish his own independent blog which is full of great content). But, there are always tradeoffs.” “Wil’s article is yet another reminder that we need to keep being reminded that this internet still exists and wonderful things are still happening on it. But it also requires some additional responsibility on all of us to not just keep it alive, but to make it thrive.” Also “Was there ever a good internet?“—”I have a New Year’s resolution, for a change, and that is to clean that stuff up and make it more of a habit to use my RSS reader … You should try it too — you’ll get a more varied diet of information and escape out from under the corporate thumb, a little bit.”
• “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes. When the only thing better than a flip phone is no phone at all.”—”the Luddite Club, a high school group that promotes a lifestyle of self-liberation from social media and technology. As the dozen teens headed into Prospect Park, they hid away their iPhones — or, in the case of the most devout members, their flip phones, which some had decorated with stickers and nail polish.” The kids are alright. Also “Weirdo without social media wastes another day living blissfully in the moment“—”Police are warning the public to be on the lookout for a strange individual, who has been spotted wasting yet another day living in the moment and enjoying life without the constant distractions of social media.”
• “Dangerous ‘Kids Online Safety Act’ Does Not Belong in Must-Pass Legislation“—”wrangling over spending often comes down to the wire, and this year, some Senators are considering shoehorning a controversial and unconstitutional bill, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), into the must-pass legislation. Make no mistake: KOSA is bad enough on its own, but putting KOSA into the ‘omnibus package’ is a terrible idea.”
• “Social Media Is Entering Its Flop Era. Instagram is dying, Twitter’s imploding and TikTok is for a certain kind of person. Where does that leave us now?”—”People don’t know how to use social media anymore. Because social media is flopping.” “With the recent shift in people’s trust in social media, and who is at the top of the chain of command, these platforms can no longer hide behind the illusion that social media is neutral or objective.” “The future of social media is richer and more intimate – mirroring the days of early influence, when those who cultivated a following were individuals first and influencers second.”
• “The viral AI avatar app Lensa undressed me—without my consent. My avatars were cartoonishly pornified, while my male colleagues got to be astronauts, explorers, and inventors.”—”Out of 100 avatars I generated, 16 were topless, and in another 14 … overtly sexualized … I have Asian heritage, and that seems to be the only thing the AI model picked up on from my selfies. … generic Asian women … anime or video-game … Or most likely porn.” “Lensa’s fetish for Asian women is so strong that I got female nudes and sexualized poses even when I directed the app to generate avatars of me as a male.”
• “IMDb now lets performers remove their age and personal details. It’s a significant about-face after it fought for years against the change.”
• “UC Berkeley Launches SkyPilot to Help Navigate Soaring Cloud Costs“—”researchers at U.C. Berkeley’s Sky Computing Lab have launched SkyPilot, an open source framework for running ML and Data Science batch jobs on any cloud, or multiple clouds, with a single cloud-agnostic interface”
• “The Alarming Deceptions at the Heart of an Astounding New Chatbot“—”I knew ahead of time—how could I not? —that reading my own obituary would be unsettling. What I didn’t anticipate was just why it would be so disturbing. It wasn’t my manner of death. In fact, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out how I died … the real problem had to do more with how the obituary was written than what it contained.”
• “Why We Should Regulate AI Like We Do Drugs and Guns. We have the FDA for drugs, the FAA for airspace, the EPA for pollution… why not an agency for regulating bots?”
• “The Spawn of ChatGPT Will Try to Sell You Things. Companies are exploring how to adapt powerful new chatbot technology to negotiate with customer service—and to persuade humans to buy stuff.”
• “How to spot AI-generated text. The internet is increasingly awash with text written by AI software. We need new tools to detect it.”—”This sentence was written by an AI—or was it? OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT, presents us with a problem: How will we know whether what we read online is written by a human or a machine?”
• Xiaomi’s Humanoid Drummer Beats Expectations. Solving drum-playing helped quest for whole-body control.” Hey, ChatGPT! Insert a joke about dumb drummers here. “In a nice surprise, Xiaomi roboticists have taught the robot to do something that is, if not exactly useful, at least loud: to play the drums.” Watch “Xiaomi CyberOne Drumming.”
• “Hundreds of Video Game Workers at Microsoft-Owned Studios Are Trying to Unionize. This month, around 300 workers at four Microsoft-owned video game studios across the US are voting on whether to unionize. Jacobin spoke to workers involved in the effort about their organizing and why they want a union.”
• “Cryptocurrency was always a scam — powered by white male privilege. The downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried serves as a reminder of how many white male ‘geniuses’ are just full of crap.”—”the shorts-and-T-shirt enthusiast who claimed he was ‘not that much of a consumer’ resided in a $30 million penthouse … That’s pretty sweet for a guy who wanted his fans to believe he didn’t take showers and mostly slept in a beanbag at the office.”
• “On any given week in San Francisco, office buildings are at about 40 percent of their prepandemic occupancy. What Comes Next for the Most Empty Downtown in America. Tech workers are still at home. The $17 salad place is expanding into the suburbs. So what is left in San Francisco?”
• “‘Out of control’: No one knows how much to tip“—”Customers and workers today are confronted with a radically different tipping culture compared to just a few years ago — without any clear norms. … It’s being driven in large part by changes in technology that have enabled business owners to more easily shift the costs of compensating workers directly to customers.” Tipping is a crime. People should earn a living wage *cough* on top of UBI *cough*. But, the history of tipping is awful. See: “The Land of the Fee“—”Tipping is a norm in the United States. But it hasn’t always been this way. It’s a legacy of slavery and racism and took off in the post-Civil War era.” Tipping is awful. It is a practice that turns a cost of business, that would be clearly communicated in prices, into an externality, a hidden cost that is charged at POS without regulation and *cough* often subject to wage theft *cough*, also it’s historically racist. I still tip where traditionally appropriate, because I realize some workers are still stuck in the system where they rely on tips because employers are structurally and often literally assholes. But, I also recognize there’s a better possible world and that the expansion of tipping to all workers is a bullshit trend that makes hourly work part of the gig economy.
• “Covid cases explode in Beijing leaving city streets empty and daily life disrupted“—”Empty streets, deserted shopping centers, and residents staying away from one another are the new normal in Beijing – but not because the city, like many Chinese ones before it, is under a ‘zero-Covid’ lockdown.” Also “COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter.”
• “Is legislation to safeguard Americans against superbugs a boondoggle or breakthrough?“—”With time running out in the 2022 congressional session, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and infectious disease specialists is scrambling to pass a bill aimed at spurring the development of antibiotics to combat the deadly spread of drug-resistant pathogens.” I mean, it’s Kaiser so you know what they think, but …
• “Exploding gift sends Polish police chief to hospital after Ukraine visit“—”Poland’s police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk was hospitalized with minor injuries on Wednesday after a gift that he had received in Ukraine suddenly exploded, according to a government statement.” But, wait for it. From the Darwin Awards dept: “Police chief fired grenade launcher given as gift by Ukraine, Polish media reports. Prosecutors investigating after Jarosław Szymczyk injured in blast at police headquarters in Warsaw.”
• “Judge warned in 2021 of Club Q shooter’s plans for mass attack, records show“—”A judge dismissed a 2021 kidnapping case against the Club Q shooter despite raising concerns about the suspect’s violent behavior and stockpiling of weapons for a possible shootout, according to transcripts obtained by AP.”
• “Conservative Lawyer Who Saved Madison Cawthorn from ‘Insurrection’ Challenge of Candidacy Sues Client for Not Paying Legal Bills“—”Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), the embattled incumbent pro-Trump North Carolina congressman, is now facing a new legal challenge, courtesy of some of his fiercest defenders.”
• “Texas GOP lawmaker hires Christian nationalist who called for drag show attendees to be executed“—State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, hired Jake Neidert, 22, last month as his office’s legislative director amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ violence and rhetoric and ahead of an impending legislative session that is expected to focus heavily on anti-trans bills.”
• “GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson’s false “pedophilia” attack on Katie Porter blows up in his face. Jackson gets debunked after pushing false claim about Porter’s criticism of ‘groomer’ attacks.”
• “‘You Don’t Get to Lead a Government You Tried to Destroy’: House Dems Move to Block Trump 2024 Run. ‘The 14th Amendment makes clear that based on his past behavior, Donald Trump is disqualified from ever holding federal office again,’ said Rep. David Cicilline, the lead sponsor of a new bill raising a constitutional challenge against Trump’s bid.”
• “Voter fraud crusader Mark Meadows may be charged with voter fraud after registering at mobile home. Meadows was registered to vote in at least three states in the past two years.”
• “Trump lawyers implicated in “coordinated plot” to copy voting system data in multiple states. The data can be used to “undermine, disrupt, or tamper with elections in a number of ways,” experts warn.”
• “DeSantis reverses himself on coronavirus vaccines, moves to right of Trump. In a potential wedge issue for the 2024 primary, DeSantis is attacking the life-saving covid shots he once praised and promoted.” Also “‘Anti-vax quackery’: Experts ‘stunned’ after DeSantis demands grand jury probe into COVID vaccines. Doctors ‘outraged’ after DeSantis pushes investigation and truther panel to refute CDC public health guidance.”
• “Jan. 6 rioter charged with plotting to kill agents who investigated him. A Tennessee man facing charges over assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is now accused of plotting to kill law enforcement officials investigating him.” Also “Tennessee man accused of plot to kill FBI agents in latest January 6 charges. Pair allegedly had list of 37 law enforcement agents they planned to assassinate.”
• “Donald Trump’s ‘Major Announcement’ Is Grifty NFT Project. Donald Trump’s “major announcement” turned out to be a lame NFT project. Some advisers are already pointing the finger.” Also “Mysterious company behind Trump’s $99 trading cards has same address as his West Palm Beach golf club.” Also “How Trump and Elon build their cults: Exploiting right-wing insecurity. Yep, Trump’s latest ‘MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT’ is massive cringe — but that only makes his fans cling to him harder.” Also “Trump’s Badly Photoshopped NFTs Appear to Use Photos From Small Clothing Brands. Gizmodo found the address for the company behind the NFT auction is out of a UPS store in Utah, though company LLC registration points elsewhere.”—”The images were so lazy that based on reverse image searches they were edited photos scraped off the internet.” “So if you’re really into the idea of a Trump NFT, for some reason, just be aware the NFTs are ‘non-refundable’ and ‘non-returnable.’ Of course, you can just do what we did and right click and ‘save-as,’ but that would defeat the purpose of digital scarcity, now wouldn’t it?” Also “MAGA rioter ‘can’t believe’ he’s going to jail for Trump after watching trading card stunt“—”‘I can’t believe I’m going to jail for an NFT salesman,’ he lamented.” 🎻
• “Donald Trump has one underrated advantage in the 2024 election“—”But Trump has an ace up his sleeve if an “electability” debate emerges in the GOP primaries: the electoral college. Trump has proven that he can win 270 electoral votes even when Democrats win the popular vote. If Republicans choose DeSantis or some other Trump alternative, that edge might shrink — or even disappear.”
• “Trump Hoarded Most Of The $147 Million In Small-Donor Money He Raised For Himself. The much-touted super PAC he created spent only $15 million on GOP candidates in key Senate races, and nothing at all on Herschel Walker’s runoff.”—”The coup-attempting former president in October transferred $ … to his … super PAC, which was ostensibly created to boost GOP candidates in tight races. … Of that $73 million total, though, only $15 million went toward electing” Rs
• “Trump lawyers’ bid to delay trial over “pyramid scheme” lawsuit just backfired on his 2024 campaign. A federal judge is done with Trump lawyers’ stonewalling.”
• “‘Taxpayers are losers in Trumpland’: Juror in Trump Organization tax fraud case speaks out.”
• “What’s in the House January 6 committee report summary“—”That evidence has led to an overriding and straight-forward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed. None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him.’
• “The Trump Abandonment Has Begun. The former president’s newest critics ought to show some contrition.”—”Welcome, tentatively, to the resistance.” The only thing they’re stepping away from is the losing. They got what they wanted, and they still want more of the same, just now they’re going to scapegoat Trump in order try appearing reasonable and normal falling out of their far right clown car.
• “Criminal referral for Trump is coming — but it’s the Jan. 6 evidence that matters. Jan. 6 committee will make history by recommending Trump’s prosecution — but Jack Smith will need hard evidence.”
• “Trump World is imploding — which could be the start of Trump’s big comeback. Possible prosecution is coming and his tax returns will soon be laid bare. Watch out: He thrives on attention.”
• “Trump previews defense against possible insurrection charges: ‘I was 100% right!’” I knew I was guilty of the crime I committed all along!—Dump Truck, probably.
• “Jan. 6 Committee Says Donald Trump Associates Tried To Bribe Witnesses. Rep. Zoe Lofgren said a lawyer affiliated with Trump offered a witness a well-paying job if she refused to talk to the committee.”
• “Jan. 6 committee launches ethics complaint against McCarthy, other GOP lawmakers.”
• “Who Is Rep.-Elect George Santos? His Résumé May Be Largely Fiction. Mr. Santos, a Republican from New York, says he’s the “embodiment of the American dream.” But he seems to have misrepresented a number of his career highlights.”—”George Santos … helped Republicans clinch a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, built his candidacy on the notion that he was the ‘full embodiment of the American dream’ and was running to safeguard it for others.” Also “Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician. Andrew Intrater, money manager to Russian Viktor Vekselberg, gave $56,100 to committees tied to Rep.-elect George Devolder-Santos, who called Ukraine ‘totalitarian.'”
• Watch “Imagine Being Ben Shapiro.”
• “REVEALED: The Donors to Tucker Carlson’s News Org—and Their Ethical Conflicts. Some of those bankrolling the Daily Caller got positive coverage or even wrote op-eds.”
• “Why Do Anti-Woke ‘Free Thinkers’ All Have the Same Opinions? They claim to support vigorous debate and spirited dissent, then they huddle in their ideological bubbles crying ‘I was canceled.'”—”We seem to be living in the Age of the Self-Identified ‘Free Thinker.'” “It’s all such bullshit.” “let’s focus on what’s so funny about the “free thinkers,” which is their delusional victimhood and overblown estimation of their own iconoclasm.”
• “House Passes Bill That Could Pave the Way for Puerto Rican Statehood. The legislation has little chance of becoming law in the short term, but its passage in a bipartisan vote reflects a perception by the House that Puerto Rico’s status as a colonial territory is untenable.”
• “House GOP divided over whether McCarthy should give in on ‘motion to vacate’“—”The bitter divide is only heating up and has emerged center stage in House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s quest for 218 votes to win the position. For McCarthy’s backers, the so-called motion to vacate is seen as little more than a promise of hostage taking, a tool that could be used by the right flank to hamstring McCarthy’s ability to lead the conference and effectively govern.”
• “The US is a rogue state leading the world towards ecological collapse. It’s not just indifference. It’s an active, and deadly, cavalier attitude towards the lives of others: an example other nations follow.”
• “The Question Is No Longer Whether Iranians Will Topple the Ayatollah. It’s a matter of when.”—”The protests in Iran, now in their third month, are a historic battle pitting two powerful and irreconcilable forces: a predominantly young and modern population, proud of its 2,500-year-old civilization and desperate for change, versus an aging and isolated theocratic regime, committed to preserving its power and steeped in 43 years of brutality.”
• “House committee asks National Archives to review Trump storage unit. Rep. Carol Maloney says the storage facility and other properties ‘may contain presidential records that were not the focus of the search and therefore have not been turned over to the federal government.'”
• “Trump Special Counsel Subpoena Shows New Grand Jury in Place Through March. Latest grand jury is active to consider evidence into 2023. Subpoena recipients aren’t bound by strict secrecy rules.” Also “The Trump Organization lost a secret trial and was held in contempt of court for defying grand-jury subpoenas. Former President Donald Trump’s company refused to comply with grand-jury subpoenas and court orders, leading to a secret one-day trial.”
• “Architect of SCOTUS takeover funnels millions to groups trying to gut voting and discrimination laws. Leonard Leo, the man behind the right-wing takeover of the courts, is funding groups with cases before the court.” Also “How the Supreme Court’s Agenda Is Being Shaped by Right-Wing Billionaire Money. Conservative activist Leonard Leo is spending millions to shape the Supreme Court’s agenda. On his docket: ending affirmative action, rolling back antidiscrimination protections, and giving state legislatures unreviewable oversight of federal elections.”
• “The Minneapolis police officer who maced protesters and bystanders is unmasked by court documents. Former MPD officer Samantha Belcourt now runs a frozen banana food truck in Arizona.”—”She received a $150,000 workers’ compensation settlement from the city in March and receives over $59,000 per year in pension payments.”
• “Oregon’s LGBTQ community worries that a new law will keep them from obtaining guns“—”Measure 114 lacks criteria clearly defining what disqualifies applicants, details on what makes someone a threat and what data can be used by law enforcement in making that decision. That’s a problem for activists who have critiqued law enforcement, particularly in the racial justice protests that took place over the past two years.”
• “Seattle City Council Endorses Whole Washington’s Initiative for Universal Healthcare. Not Everyone Is Jazzed.”—”No one presented a counterargument to Mosqueda’s resolution in the meeting, but some healthcare advocates hold strong concerns … The ballot initiative, I-1471, would establish the Washington Health Trust which, according to the campaign’s website, would be the ‘first state-wide, publicly financed, not-for-profit healthcare system in the US.'”
• “A third of US executions botched in 2022 – report. More than a third of executions in the US this year were botched or highly problematic, according to a new report.”—”The report from the non-profit, which takes no position on capital punishment, said the executions were visibly problematic because of incompetence, failures to follow protocol or defects in the protocols themselves.”
• “Can politics kill you? Research says the answer increasingly is yes. The toxicity of partisan politics is fueling an overall increase in mortality rates for working-age Americans, new studies show.”
• “Power plant pollution higher in neighborhoods subject to racist redlining. Past maps of “high-risk” neighborhoods shape present power plant emissions.”—”In the US, it’s well-documented that poor neighborhoods are likely to suffer from higher pollution levels. … adds to the economic burdens faced by these neighborhoods, with increased medical costs, productivity lost due to illness, and premature deaths.”
• “Study: Low Income LA County Neighborhoods Pay More for Internet Service Than Wealthier Neighborhoods“—”higher poverty neighborhoods (which tend to be mostly made up of people of color) pay anywhere from $10 to $40 more per month than mostly white, higher-income neighborhoods for the exact same service.”
• “What One Black Judge’s Family History Can Teach Us About Justice. This is why representation matters.”—”for decades and indeed centuries, diversity on the bench has not been anywhere close to where it should be. Donald Trump’s judicial appointees were, recall, 84 percent white. Diversity matters on the federal and state judiciaries for a whole host of reasons, chief among them that such diversity determines whose stories are told in court and how.”
• “2023 Is Upon Us and Still No Black Women Serve as Governors or in the Senate: What Will It Take?“—”Earlier this year, I wrote about the record number of Black women running for office in 2022, particularly for the US Senate and statewide executive roles. Well, now the dust has settled, and while there were some gains, this was not the year a Black woman was elected to a governor’s mansion or the US Senate.”
• “Tax pros ‘expecting the worst’ with Venmo, PayPal tax reporting change. How to handle a 1099-K for personal payments.” It’s going to be a frickin’ clusterfuck of carnage out there. “Many Americans are bracing for a new reporting change for third-party payment networks like Venmo or PayPal. Starting in 2022, you’ll receive Form 1099-K, which reports income to the IRS, for business transfers over $600. Experts cover what to do if you receive 1099-Ks for personal payments by mistake.” There’s going to be so many mistakes and much misreporting. If this is what the extra IRS hires were for … they’re starting enforcement at the wrong end of the tax brackets … again.
• “West Virginia Coal Miners Who Fought Their Bosses Are Getting the Monuments They Deserve“—”As statues of tyrants and reactionaries come down, organizers in West Virginia are building monuments to the coal miners whose resistance to corporate domination a century ago has largely been forgotten.”
• “Rejoice! Cannabis Seeds are Legal. OG cultivation expert Ed Rosenthal releases his own genetics for the first time.”—”Back in April, the DEA quietly acknowledged that cannabis seeds are legal. Rosenthal began releasing seed packs alongside his books in May. Since then, rapper and Cookies clothing mogul Berner has also embraced the idea, offering seed packs along with his recent From Seed to Sale album release.”
• “Tax Legal Weed and Give the Money to Drug War Victims. It’s great that the cannabis business is booming and fewer people are being locked up. Now pay back the people whose lives were destroyed by prohibition.”
• “Cannabis Reform Dead In Congress After Objections From Republicans. Lawmakers couldn’t even agree to approve a modest bill allowing cannabis businesses access to banking.”—”With Republicans set to take control of the House next month, the chances of any significant legislation, including marijuana reform, becoming law are likely slim to none. Republican House members are readying scores of investigations into the Biden administration …” Conservative lawmakers are often staffed by people that are way more conservative than their constituents, and that’s one way that mismatch happens and is perpetuated. But, I mean, damn. seems like Kentucky weed would sell really well nationally as a gain to state revenue. They should get on that gravy train.
• “The secret lives of MI6’s top female spies. For the first time ever, SIS officers reveal why women often make the best spies for our times.”—”… the chief of MI6 is the only member … who is named or permitted to speak in public, and because all of them have been men, this is the first time that female SIS officers have ever spoken on the record. … They agreed to speak to encourage women applicants and correct the perception of espionage as a man’s game” “Recruiting and managing agents overseas was not always easy, especially when the template for the role was cartoonishly male.” “Kathy argues that, counter-intuitively, it is in the most conservative countries that women sometimes have the upper hand.” “‘When you’re playing into a culture which is particularly male-dominated, women tend to be underestimated and therefore perceived as less threatening … that’s been an advantage for me, because sometimes those individuals won’t necessarily see you coming. And it’s about their perceptions of SIS. They’re not necessarily expecting a younger woman to bowl up to them.’ This element of surprise, she says, ‘can definitely be a secret sauce’.”
• “Oregon governor commutes sentences of everyone on death row in state. With less than a month remaining in office, Kate Brown, said she was using her clemency powers to change the term to life in prison.”
• “Before Roe, a Baptist Preacher Performed Abortions in Secret. Now He’s Helping Texans. Dr. Curtis Boyd’s career encapsulates our long-fought abortion wars.”—”It was 1973, and Boyd, an ordained Baptist minister, had been providing underground abortions for five years … ‘It’s over, it’s over, thank God at last it’s over,’ he says. He no longer had to live in fear that he—or worse, one of his patients—might end up in jail.”
• “Deal reached for new non-Russian power source for Europe“—”The leaders of Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan finalized an agreement Saturday on an undersea electricity connector that could become a new power source for the European Union amid a crunch on energy supplies caused by the war in Ukraine.”
• “Russia Can Finally See That Putin’s ‘Days Are Numbered’. The war in Ukraine has destroyed Putin’s aura of infallibility back home, and even the Kremlin seems to have realized this is the beginning of the end.”
• “Ukraine’s museums keep watch over priceless gold in bid to halt Russian looters. Experts monitoring the loss of Scythian artefacts have been shocked at scale of theft by Putin’s forces.”
• “Russian is fined £400 for DREAMING about Zelensky: Man is found to have ‘discredited’ the army after describing how he saw Ukrainian leader capture Putin’s troops. Ivan Losev, 26, was fined under draconian laws that prohibit criticism of army. The law was passed in March, a month after Putin launched invasion of Ukraine. Losev slammed the case against him as ‘idiotic’ and said Russia will lose war.” Sure, but it wasn’t the dreaming that got him in trouble …
• “Anti-abortion priest Pavone defrocked for blasphemous posts“—”The Vatican has defrocked an anti-abortion U.S. priest, Frank Pavone, for what it said were ‘blasphemous communications on social media’ as well as ‘persistent disobedience’ of his bishop who repeatedly told him to stop his partisan activism for Donald Trump.”
• “10 states have now banned the sale of cosmetics tested on animals“—”New York became the tenth state to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a measure into law Thursday evening. The law, known as the New York Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, prohibits the sale and manufacturing of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. It is slated to go into effect in January 2023.”
• “The first climate change candidate: Inside Al Gore’s oddly prescient 1988 presidential run. Al Gore focused his 1988 presidential campaign and climate change — and the world shrugged him off.”
• “Historic biodiversity agreement reached at UN conference“—”The most significant part of the agreement is a commitment to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030, known as 30 by 30. Currently, 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas are protected.”
• “Netherlands slavery: Saying sorry leaves Dutch divided. The Netherlands has apologised for its colonial past and the enslavement and exploration mandated by the Dutch state during the 17th-19th centuries/”—”Increased attention in the media and education shows the topic is now approached very differently, he adds. This awakening has fuelled fundamental questions about the distribution of Dutch wealth and the prevalence of colonial-era prejudices today.”
• “The End of Economic Growth? Unintended Consequences of a Declining Population“—”In many models, economic growth is driven by people discovering new ideas. These models typically assume either a constant or growing population.” Too many … too few … MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, PEOPLE!
• “University of California Academic Workers Reach Deal to End Strike. The tentative agreement comes more than a month after 48,000 employees walked out.”
• “Students Rebel Against Heat-Sensing Crotch Monitor Surveillance Devices“—”Outside of mere cameras, companies are rushing to develop all manner of new devices to surveil individuals, too. One such device intended to track students quickly drew the ire of scholars at Northeastern University, and the cohort fought back.” Also “‘NO’: Grad Students Analyze, Hack, and Remove Under-Desk Surveillance Devices Designed to Track Them. In October, the university quietly introduced heat sensors under desk without notifying students or seeking their consent. Students removed the devices, hacked them, and were able to force the university to stop its surveillance.”
• “Space Force official kept job after IG investigated sex toys at work. ‘Brilliant’ director of Pentagon space office often acted ‘like a 13-year-old boy,’ co-workers said.”—”It began with a pair of sparkly pants.” Oh, as it so often does …
• “Richest people in UK ‘use more energy flying’ than poorest do overall. The wealthiest people in the UK burn through more energy flying than the poorest use in every aspect of their lives, according to new research.” Given that each jet trip is a massive emission of greenhouse gasses, tracking the wasteful use of jets is crime reporting.
• “Arrest of student in Boston a grim reminder of the danger facing Chinese dissidents on campus“—”FIRE has warned for years that it’s growing more and more dangerous to criticize the Chinese government, even on American college campuses. This week, that danger became apparent once again.”
• “Kanye West’s Love of Hitler Allegedly Goes Back 20 Years. The rapper spoke of his admiration for Hitler during the making of ‘The College Dropout,’ and even tried to use propaganda strategies inspired by the Nazis to boost his own fame, sources tell Rolling Stone.”
• “The Rich Get College Subsidies While the Student Debt Debate Goes On. As debt relief for student loan borrowers faces scrutiny, wealthy families can amass millions of dollars in tax-favored 529 college savings plans.”
• “Vatican Returns Parthenon Sculptures to Greece After Centuries“—”Pope Francis ordered the Vatican to return three sculptural fragments from Athens’ Parthenon temple to Greece, putting pressure on the UK to follow suit over the famed Elgin Marbles.”
• “For Planet Earth, This Might Be the Start of a New Age. A panel of experts has spent more than a decade deliberating on how, and whether, to mark a momentous new epoch in geologic time: our own.”—”Ten thousand years after our species began forming primitive agrarian societies, a panel of scientists on Saturday took a big step toward declaring a new interval of geologic time: the Anthropocene, the age of humans.”
• “P-22, Los Angeles’ famous mountain lion, has been euthanized after ‘severe injuries’ from possible ‘vehicle strike’.” Fuck. Godsdamnit.
• “This Anishinaabe researcher is working to catalogue the traditional names of birds. Joe Pitawanakwat would like to double the about 150 bird names known in Anishinaabemowin.”—”Pitawanakwat recently worked on a Birds Canada pamphlet that highlights 15 birds with their Anishinaabemowin names. Now, he’s working on a larger guide with two other people that will catalogue as many names as possible in the Indigenous language.”
• “An Expressive Ode to Expressionless Women. Their thousand-yard stares are like laser beams into my heart.”—”Aubrey Plaza’s character, Harper, has an unexpected response to her husband’s ‘I love you.’ ‘So depressing,’ she says, scoffing and rolling her eyes. Visibly disappointed, she downs a glass of water and lets the silence build.” Something something unavailable people something something wanting someone one cannot have, but it’s a type, to be sure!
• “Pussy Riot arrives in Iceland, urinates on a Putin portrait. The first Pussy Riot retrospective reveals the Russian artists at their defiant best.”
• “Donald Glover to Star in, Produce Spider-Man Movie Based on Villain Hypno-Hustler (Exclusive). Fans previously wanted the actor to play Spidey in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man.'”—”Donald Glover is finally getting a Spider-Man movie. It’s just not quite what you think.” Also “Donald Glover’s New Marvel Casting Makes Spider-Man History“—”This news means that Glover has become the first actor to be cast as two separate major live-action characters in the Spider-Man franchise … In addition, Glover also voiced Spider-Man/Miles Morales in the Disney XD series Ultimate Spider-Man in 2015.”
• “‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is the first great high frame rate movie. But the HFR technology remains divisive.”—”Perhaps most impressive, though, is that James Cameron has managed to craft the best high frame rate (HFR) movie yet. Certain scenes play back at 48 frames per second, giving them a smoother and more realistic sheen compared to the standard 24fps.” “Unlike the handful of high frame rate movies we’ve already seen … the Avatar sequel deploys the technology in a unique way. Rather than using HFR throughout the entire movie, Cameron relies on it for major action sequences, while slower dialog scenes appear as if they’re running at 24fps. To do that, the entire film actually runs at 48fps, while the calmer scenes use doubled frames to trick your brain into seeing them at the typical theatrical frame rate.”
• Watch “How To Make A Fantasy City Map In Minutes!” I see sigils. (Using a sigilized word to create a fantasy town map.)
• “Modiphius to End ‘Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed of RPG’ Line. License Goes to Monolith Games; Plans to Revive the ‘Conan’ Board Game in the Works.”—”Monolith plans to bring back the Conan board game and then a brand new RPG. There will be no more restocks for the Conan RPG products from Modiphius, and all remaining stock will be sold by June 30, 2023.”
• Watch “The Legend of Vox Machina – S2 – Trailer (Red Band Trailer)“—”The Legend of Vox Machina S2 is coming January 20, 2023.” “After saving the realm from evil and destruction at the hands of the most terrifying power couple in Exandria, Vox Machina is faced with saving the world once again—this time, from a sinister group of dragons known as the Chroma Conclave.” “Grab destiny by the balls.” Also “Critical Role’s Vox Machina season 2 trailer includes one oddly satisfying draconic retcon. Gird your loins for a January premiere.”—”The first three episodes will air Jan. 20 on Amazon’s Prime Video service, with three more each week for the full 12-episode run.” “A big draw this season, aside from outdoing Ant-Man and reprising one of fans’ favorite story arcs, is a cavalcade of guest star appearances. Fans should keep an ear out for the voice talents of Will Friedle (Boy Meets World), Billy Boyd (The Lord Of The Rings), Henry Winkler (Barry), Lance Reddick (John Wick), Cree Summer (Rugrats / The Patrick Show), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Cheech Marin (Up in Smoke), Troy Baker (The Last of Us), Sendhill Ramamurthy (Beauty and the Beast), Ralph Innerson (The Witch), and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence). Returning guest cast include Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Encanto), Indira Varma (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Game of Thrones), Gina Torres (911: Lone Star), Kelly Hu (BMF), and Esme Creed-Miles (Hanna).”
• “Guillermo del Toro says AI art used in film would be ‘an insult to life itself’. ‘I consume and love art made by humans’.” Nom nom. Wait. Whut? Oh. Not that kind of consume? Okay. Never mind. … But now I’m hungry. 🧛🏻
• Watch “Barbie Teaser Trailer “—”[Barbie The Movie], from director Greta Gerwig, only in theaters Summer 2023✨ This film is not yet rated. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.” This … was not the star child I was promised. But, I’m not sure if that’s not okay with me somehow? For reasons. Also “Yeah, Okay, You Got Me, Greta Gerwig“—”Now I’m definitely curious about it.” At least it’s not only me! Also “The ‘Barbie’ Trailer Is, Like, Really Good“—”Words I didn’t expect to write today.”
• Watch “The Whale | Official Trailer HD“—”From director Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, and Hong Chau.”
• “DnD doesn’t need WotC anymore“—”in my opinion, one of the most fundamental distinctions is between what I’m going to call folk D&D and official D&D”
• “EXCLUSIVE: Dungeons & Dragons’ Classic Cartoon Returns With a New Miniseries“—”The cult classic D&D cartoon of 1983 continues next year with Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures, a four-issue miniseries published by IDW.” Miniseries of comics. Not on TV or streaming. FFS. I mean, okay, but that’s misleading and disappointing.
• Watch “Paradise Killer: A Late-Stage Dystopia“—”Kat explores the hidden cost of utopia in everything from Ursula Le Guin’s fiction, to John Calhoun’s famous rodent experiments, to the game Paradise Killer.”
• “Surrender to Alejandro Iñárritu’s Netflix movie ‘Bardo,’ a surreal ‘chronicle of uncertainties’. The ‘Birdman’ director lets his imagination and daring run wild with this ambitious exploration of a man’s identity.”
• “Cézanne Portrait, Hidden for 158 Years, Found Under a Still Life. The painting, discovered by a Cincinnati Art Museum conservator, might be one of the Post-Impressionist painter’s first self-portraits.”
• “An Unconventional Grant That Lets Artists Pay it Forward . The 15 initial winners of the Art Matters Foundation grant each choose another artist to receive the prize.”
• “Seattle Center Monorail to become fully accessible to all, thanks to $15 million grant“—”Public transit is meant to serve the public, which means that it has to be accessible for everyone who needs to use it … The Monorail has not been updated in over 60 years and is inaccessible for too many individuals.'” Well, about time the future caught up to today, innit?
• “I won’t do that“—”advertise Hogwarts Legacy? HELL NO. You want me to contribute to the coffers of wicked transphobe and bad writer JK Rowling? Not gonna happen. Never in my lifetime. I’ll go the other way and suggest that everyone should boycott Hogwarts Legacy. I’m going to side with Jessie Gender on that.” Video game developer appears fuckin’ desperate for people to cover their game based on the books by Dolores Umbridge.
• “Jeremy Clarkson condemned for ‘vile and disgusting’ tirade at Meghan saying he ‘hates’ her and dreams of people ‘throwing excrement’ at her“—”Jeremy Clarkson has spewed a hate-filled tirade in Meghan Markle’s direction, saying that he despises her ‘on a cellular level’ and dreams of people throwing ‘excrement’ at her in a rant that’s been condemned as ‘vile and disgusting’.” Huh. That gives me an idea about how people should treat Jeremy Clarkson. About “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*****ks. WE all know in our heart of hearts that Harold Markle is a slightly dim but fun-loving chin who flew Apache helicopter gunships in Afghanistan and cavorted around Las Vegas hotel rooms with naked hookers.” My opinion is you’re a racist and misogynistic numpty glaikit bawbag, mate. Also “Jeremy Clarkson Issues Total Non-Apology For Hateful Meghan Markle Comments. The ‘Top Gear’ presenter said he was ‘horrified to have caused so much hurt,’ but didn’t apologize.” Go stick yer dick in a fan belt, fuckhead. Did that hurt? So sorry for you.
• “What a stupid year“—”2022, an exceptionally dumb year … If trends continue apace, 2022 will end up being less stupid than 2023, which will end up being less stupid than 2024, et fucking cetera, until the heat death of human life on Earth – an event we are collectively working on accelerating.”
• “Make your own simple, public, searchable Twitter archive by Darius Kazemi”—”NO uploading happens in this entire process. Your data stays with you, on the computer where you are running this. When you attach your archive it stays on your computer, running in a local browser app.” 🎩 Darius Kazemi 👋
• Toot—”If Mastodon had attempted to create a fictional founder called John Mastodon, everyone would’ve thought that was stupid as hell. But this? This is golden. You can’t buy PR like this, it has to happen organically.” If you’re living under a rock, or, for some reason don’t have an account in the ‘verse, and haven’t noticed yet, just check out #JohnMastodon at Hrmtc I∴O∴ (or on your own instance) for tons more fun with this brand new Mastodon community cryptid.
• Tumblog—”John Mastodon, the legendary founder of Mastodon you mean? I was at a TED Conference in Vancouver in 2014 … submarine … orphans and their kittens … Pirates. What a man!”
• Toot—”There were three men came out of the West
 Three kings both great and high 
And they have sworn a solemn oath
 John Mastodon must die.”

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