Dave Pell On Singular Form Today
Just some of the one liners from him today ....
Right from the outset, there was bad news for Trump: His mic worked.
Looking for a glimmer of hope? TV ratings for this debate were down 20%. (Apparently a lot of people weren't able to replace the TVs they shot during the first debate.)
The long-predicted Trump pivot finally arrived. He went nuclear.
Self Protection
Blaming ad blocking and tracking protection on the companies providing them is like blaming pharmaceuticals for treating diseases. People use ad blockers and tracking protection for the same reason they use umbrellas and sunblock: to protect themselves from something they don't want.
Great article from Doc - and I agree with him - BUT - I still think we need to be careful about our terms. 'Ad blocker' has become a universal term that IMHO favors the Ad Tech industry. Their defense is that they need to advertise - why should be block them.
We should call them what they really are. Tracker Blockers.
I don’t mind ads being served to me - if that helps pay the bills for my free content. What I object to is those ads tracking me - storing my data and my movements around the web and selling that info on. Which is why they are putting those trackers in.
To prove my point - here is an ad for MailButler
MailButler is great. If you use Apple Mail, you should really take a closer look. It's free to try out - click here to see what I mean.
Please note - this ^^^ is an ad. Simple though it is, an ad it is. Promoting Mailbutler. No 'ad blocker' is going to block this ad -because 'ad blockers are 'tracker blockers' - and there is no tracking in this ad.
The Second Debate
Funny. Here is a short extract.
Clinton: I want to do all kinds of things. I want to do good things. There’s nothing we can't do together, you and me Patrice. I want to work with people of all ethnicities. I want to heal the country. Make it a better place. For you and for me and the entire human race. And our children. And grandchildren.
and then
Trump: This country’s going to shit. Healthcare costs are going up. We made Iran great again. We get killed on trade—an $800 billion deficit last year. We’re gonna make great trade deals. We’re gonna bring back law and order. Did you hear about those policemen that were shot today? We need justice. I want to fix the blacks in the cities. I want to fix the Latinos, Hispanics, etc. I want to make them great again. Make America great again.
Come Together
… no not that one. This one.
I first heard it nearly twenty years ago, bought the album and it has remained one of my ‘go to’ pieces in the music library ever since. Powerful. Forceful. Driving.
Delighted therefore to read the following in Spin.
.. to celebrate (the 20th anniversary), the English space-rock greats announced that they will play the album in its entirety at a show on November 7. To encapsulate the expansiveness of the album, the band will perform at Barbican Hall in London and be accompanied by a gospel choir and 15-piece orchestra made up of percussion, brass, and strings.Read All About It.
If you are reading this post on my site, you will see that this link is rendered as an embedded video at the bottom of the post. (THANKYOU @rknightuk]. It will render just fine - unless the video owner wants you to watch it over on YouTube (and to be fair - there are very good reasons for that). If that happens, click on the link above and you will be taken to YouTube. The 'error' is only because the creator wants you to got to YouTube to watch it. That said - on rare occasions, it might actually be broken. If it is - sorry about that - try sending me an email and I will check if I made an error.
Palm Springs Invaded By Old English Dudes
... including Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards. Pete Townsend, Roger Daltrey and of course Canadian Neil Young.
America's only defense was Bob Dylan.
I think Ronnie Wood at 69 is the only one under 70.
Welcome to the Palm Springs retirement home for genteel musicians
... Mick Jagger
Read All About It. (There are some great photos)
BTW - a couple of days after I published this post - Dylan got the Nobel.
#JustSayin
Shameful
Written about this before - writing about it again.
The most common strategy among Trump-supporting Republicans, at least so far, is to denounce Trump’s comments without rescinding support.That list includes …
- Ted Cruz of Texas
- Roy Blunt of Missouri
- Richard Burr of North Carolina
- Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
- John McCain of Arizona
- David Perdue of Georgia
- Rob Portman of Ohio
- Marco Rubio of Florida
- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
- Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
- Kevin McCarthy of California
- Steve Scalise of Louisiana
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington
I Want To Punch Him In The Face
More recently, the Guardian had this ....
Actor and director Robert de Niro gives his take on the US presidential election, and on Republican nominee Donald Trump in particular, as part of a campaign urging people to vote in the 8 November poll. De Niro is one of a number of celebrities who took part in the #VoteYourFuture initiative but his scathing contribution was considered to be too partisan to be included in the final campaign, and was instead released separately by the producers on Friday
In case you were wondering - I am with Robert.
Which Is Worse?
These people are so far on the wrong side of history …
Ryan, the top-ranking Republican in Washington, said he was “sickened†by the recording and that Trump would no longer appear at what would have been their first campaign event together in Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin on Saturday. Trump confirmed that his running mate, the Indiana governor, Mike Pence, would take his place at the Republican county festival.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said Trump’s remarks were “unacceptable in any circumstanceâ€.
But neither of the Republican leaders withdrew their endorsements of Trump.… Read All About It.
Reunion
Every year, UEA - my alma mater - has a global reunion. I attended my first one last week. I cannot believe that there were so many people that attended my University in the sleepy town of Norwich, East Anglia (that's in England folks) .... that now live in the Bay Area !
White Privilege
If you have an aversion to hearing Cruz's voice - and I do understand - then scroll through to the start of minute 2.
Trevor Noah absolutely nails it.
Fair and Balanced
Just 7 LINKS to share today.
To save you the click through - they are all about a Samsung 7 bursting into flames. Old news you might think. Actually - no. These links all point to today's story of how this one is one of the replacement phones that were exchanged for a faulty one!
You cannot make this stuff up - and I will say it again - IF THIS WAS APPLE - the mainstream media wouldn't have time to cover the election, because there would be so much coverage about Apple's problems.
Seems We Do Employ People To Spy On Us
A National Security Agency (NSA) contractor has been arrested and charged with stealing highly classified information, U.S. authorities said Wednesday, a data breach that could result in a damaging new leak about the U.S. government’s surveillance efforts.
The contractor worked for Booz Allen Hamilton.
.. and no - it wasn't Edward Snowden. It’s another one that Juan Cole explores in this excellent read.
All I am wondering is how long it will be before BAH is sued, charged, anything over placing spies into the Government.
If not that - then maybe at least stopping them from working with the Government?
#JustAsking
Is It Time To Stand Up Yet?
From Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley
It is always difficult to decide on how to respond to people whose ethos is so alien and, in fact, repellent to one’s own. It is not that I take exception to the general points made by you but that every ounce of my energy has been devoted to an active opposition to cruel bigotry, compulsive violence, and the sadistic persecution which has characterised the philosophy and practice of fascism.
The whole letter - with the context can be read over on Maria Popova's excellent site 'Brain Pickings'.
In case you are wondering who Oswald Mosley is ... think Trump, in the 30s, in the UK, but actually elected.
History continue to repeat itself. Oh wait - that's right nobody is actually standing up to Trump!
In Case You Were Thinking Something Different ...
Time is now to spread your voice,
Time's to come there'll be no choice,
Why do you feel small,
It happens to us all.
... as 'writ' by The Moody Blues
... and in case you are wondering just how small, this should put it all into perspective.
To The Crazy Ones
This is too good to not add to the flow, even though I had already posted about this earlier today.
Maybe It's Digital - Not Virtual - 'Reality'
Lots of news. Lots of commentary. Lots of noise about Virtual Reality. Augmented Reality. And it got me to thinking.
It takes about two seconds to find an article on the internet asking whether we are real. Even postulating that the universe itself might in fact just be a simulation. Like this one for example.
'Virtual Reality', by definition describes a reality that is (nearly) like ours (that is after all the original meaning of the word 'virtual'). How long therefore before 'virtual reality and 'real reality' are essentially indistinguishable? And then what?
I have a feeling that just as the iPhone is actually a misnomer - yes it is a phone - but the name belies the underlying power of the device that so many people carry in their hands. And there are many more historical artifacts such as
- Unused 'footage' from a movie, and who hasn't asked for
- a 'dial in' number, when seeking to join an online conference call.
Fast forward to the future ... we will have
- the reality that we 'know '- that which most people consider to be their physical space
- the online reality - an alternative reality that is 'in the computers'
- the augmented reality - where the computer's reality is layered on our physical space
It might make more sense to think of it all in terms of
- physical reality - a world that we observe without computers
- digital reality - a world that we observe with computers
- augmented reality - where we layer the digital reality on top of our physical reality