We now live in the midst of an artificial-intelligence boom, but it’s hardly the first of its kind. In fact, the field has been subject to a boom-and-bust cycle since at least the early nineteen-fifties.
Category: Written Media / Books
Trump Tributes
by Clay Jones
New Jersey drones and some MAGA ass-kissing. Read on Substack
I’ve felt sick and disgusted since November, and those feelings only increased after I read about what ABC News did. If Donald Trump sues me for doing my job, I will not cave like ABC News, and I’ll tell him to go suck a lemon (replace lemon with something else).
Trump has villainized the media and has tried to take away the credibility of the press. Trumpers believe legitimate news outlets are “fake news” while they share “news” from YouTube and repeat Trump’s lies. Back when I freelanced for CNN and I’d try to discuss an issue with a MAGAt, they’d say, “Oh, you’re with CNN. That explains a lot,” without ever telling me exactly what it explained.
Anytime a Trumper tells you a news outlet lies, they can’t cite one example. Yet, these same idiots are in a cult that worships a man who told over 30,000 in a span of four years.
And it’s not just the cultists who are kissing Trump’s ass.
Jeff Bezos is donating $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration. He also pulled an endorsement from The Washington Post which was for Kamala Harris. When Bezos purchased the Post, he promised he would never meddle with editorial decisions. Bezos said he’s “very optimistic” about a second Trump administration (sic) and will be meeting with the orange goon this week. What’s Bezos’ deal with kissing Trump’s ass after years of criticizing him? It’s Elon Musk.
Bezos has government contracts such as with the Post Office delivering Amazon shipments (which is why you see angry mailmen on Sundays) and through Blue Origins, his rock company (it’s the one that looks like a giant penis). Bezos has lost government contracts to Elon and his rocket company (it’s the one owned by a giant penis). How can Bezos compete when his competition is firmly entrenched up Trump’s ass. It’s why you can’t see Trump anymore without Elon by his side. He’s afraid if he goes to the toilet for one minute, he’ll find Bezos up Trump’s butt when he returns despite the fact he called dibs.
Mark Zuckerberg, who banned Trump from Facebook for a minute (along with Russian trolls until they started paying to post), is also pledging $1 million to Trump’s inauguration and said Trump’s “fight fight fight” after being nipped in the ear was “badass.” Zuck probably also thinks My Little Pony is badass. Zuck is also donating his hydrofoiling board along with his CD that contains Country Roads.
Sam Altman, the owner of OpenAI, is also pledging a million bucks to the grift and said Trump will “lead our country in the age of AI.” That’s great news actually because I hate AI and if Trump is leading it, it’s doomed. But the thing is, Sam knows this and is only saying stupid shit to kiss Trump’s ass.
There’s no word yet on all the donors but former contributors to inaugurations are keeping mum, such as Google, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, etc, but nobody seems concerned about how their money is spent and they’re probably all resigned to the fact their donations will probably be grifted.
Trump raised $107 million for his inauguration in 2017 and a lot of that money disappeared. Sure, they paid for Three Doors Down (opening shot makes me think of what Trump must look like first thing in the morning) to sing Kryptonite and there was a very fine parade of tractors (look at the crowd size), but that didn’t cost $107 million. At least $1 million of it was spent for a ball at what was then Trump’s Washington hotel, but how many more millions landed in Trump’s bank account?
Trump has refused government funding for his inauguration in order to accept private donations. He says he’s saving taxpayer’s money when the truth is, he just wants to be bribed.
The donors didn’t care what happened to the money just so long as they won Trump’s favor, but what’s even more disgusting is when the media kisses the royal rump.
Bezos kissing Trump’s ass and using the Post to do it is one disgusting thing, but then there’s ABC News giving Trump $15 million for his stupid library.
ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump. He was miffed by the way George Stephanopoulos used the term “liable for rape” to characterize a 2023 civil case in Manhattan, the one where a jury ruled that Trump, the rapist, was liable for sexual abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, who won $83 million from Rapey Trump. The judge noted that the jury’s verdict didn’t mean Carroll failed to prove Trump, the rapist, raped her.
The bar is high for libeling a public figure and Mr. McRapey is the most public of them all. News organizations usually don’t settle these bullshit lawsuits as they have the First Amendment on their side. When they do settle, it’s usually because it’s cheaper than paying their lawyers through a long tedious lawsuit, and not for something like $15.
Fox News had to settle with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million but they were guilty as fuck and they’re not a real news organization. So why did ABC settle with a guy liable for rape?
ABC News, which is owned by Disney, settled to kiss Trump’s ass but all they did was give him more encouragement to file bullshit lawsuits. What ABC selfishly did was hurt the entire news industry, which Trump, the rapist, has called the “enemy of the American people.”
Disney should understand that they shouldn’t kiss the ring of Darth Sidious. They own Star Wars. At least Palpatine never had over two dozen women accuse him of rape and sexual assault, not even a female gundark.
Today, Trump scolded the government for not giving out more information about drones in New Jersey, but if the government knows what’s going on with Jersey drones, then Trump probably does too. Sorry to scare you like this but since he’s president-elect (sic), he’s getting daily briefings which means Vladimir Putin is getting daily briefings. Maybe the drones are delivering Big Macs to Bedminster.
Creative note: Proofer Laura asked if I intended to make a Hunger Games parallel with this cartoon. Since I’m the only person in the nation who’s never watched Hunger Games despite there being abundant nudity with dragons (I’ve been told and I hope it’s not just naked dragons), I did not intentionally make that reference, but it sounds cool the way Laura described it.
Laura told me, “In the Hunger Games the “tributes” are the people forced to fight to the death, and drones are used to deliver gifts from audience members to help the tributes survive.” What kind of drones? Dragon drones? What if they smoked the tributes? Can you say a dragon ate my homework?
Laura also said, “In the Hunger Games the gifts sent to competitors are hugely expensive and only very wealthy sponsors can afford to send them, Bezos and Musk types.” That sounds about right. The only people who won’t be eaten by a dragon over the next four years will be people like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
I wish I could send Trump a dragon. (snip)
More Poetry
We Have a Poem
Just click on the title.
Sign by Sahar Romani
What aren’t you willing to believe. A heart
graffitied fuchsia on the street, a missive from another life.
Remember the stem of lavender you found
in a used copy of Bishop’s poems, a verse underlined:
The world is a mist. And then the world is
minute and vast and clear. Suddenly, across the aisle
a woman with your mother’s bracelets, her left wrist
all shimmer and gold, you almost winced.
Coincidence is the great mystery of the human mind
but so is the trans-oceanic reach of Shah Rukh Khan’s
slow blink. Each of us wants a hint, a song
that dares us to look inside. True, it takes whimsy
and ego to believe the universe will tap your shoulder
in the middle of a random afternoon. That t-shirt
on a stranger’s chest, a bumper sticker on the highway upstate.
Truth isn’t going anywhere. It’s your eyes passing by.
Copyright © 2024 by Sahar Romani. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 16, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
The Roads to the Mayflower Compact and Individualism
Chalkbeat: Republicans Promote Religion in the Public Schools
So Many Headlines, So Little Time
I’m making Peppermint Bark for gifts today, so you go to Breaking News USA, read whatever you want, and bookmark the page if you care to. It’s a fine resource, that’s for sure! (I don’t know why the link says Breaking Test on WP’s embed.) Everyone enjoy your day! BBL.
(I’m not sure my bark will be as uniform as this photo shows. However, it will taste as good, because how can it not?)
For Something Different-A Food Post
I’ve been following this cook and author on Substack, though I don’t read her often. I know she’s there! She shares Sri Lankan dishes. Maybe you’ll like this, maybe you’ll find some other recipe you enjoy, on her page.
(Urad and Chana Dals are available online with regular stores, or your own lentils and split chickpeas may be substituted. I use all lentils; I love hummus, don’t care for the unsmashed whole legume!)
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Potato masala: the antidote to boring, bland potatoes by Ranji Thangiah
A deceptively easy recipe that packs a flavour punch Read on Substack
This recipe for potato masala is my antidote to boring, bland potatoes.
When it comes to potatoes, they need to pop because, unless they are fried into chips or cooked with spices, I find potatoes deeply boring.
I know many people love potatoes and consider them the ultimate comfort food. Yet, I can’t muster up the enthusiasm to start cooking potatoes if all I’m going to do is add a bit of butter and salt.
I’m haunted by memories of my school dinners. I lived in dread of the weekly helping of mashed potatoes. School mash was served up dry and lumpy, likely to get stuck in your throat. It was always accompanied by a tedious minced meat pie and green beans boiled to a pale, sickly green.
And then there was Smash. This 1970s “wonder food” found its way into our kitchen because it negated the need for boiling and peeling potatoes. As kids, we fell for the charm of the Smash aliens, who popped up on our TV screens to convince us to eat rehydrated potato granules, trading flavor and nutrition for convenience.
Nowadays, if I’m going to make potatoes, my style is to rev up the flavor and make them pop.
This potato masala recipe is deceptively easy and quick to make. The dals, which don’t need pre-soaking, and the cashew nuts give this dish a pleasant and satisfying crunch. You need to add this recipe to your collection for those times when you want your potatoes to pack a flavor punch.
Make potato masala to stuff your freshly made dosa, serve as a side with a plateful of curries, or enjoy it with a fried egg and a generous dollop of lime pickle.
How to make potato masala
Utensils
Have the following to hand: a saucepan for boiling the potatoes and a large frying pan.
Serves 4 as a side
Ingredients
- 400g new potatoes skins on (chop the larger ones in half)
- 2 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp urad dal
- 1 tbsp chana dal
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped – remove the seeds to reduce the heat
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 10g ginger, chopped
- ½ tsp turmeric
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cashew nuts, chopped
- A few coriander leaves for garnish
First boil the potatoes until tender. Drain drain then set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, spoon in the dals, fry for a minute then add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start to crackle, add the curry leaves and chilli, fry for two minutes then add the onion followed by the garlic and ginger.
Add the potatoes stir into the spices and when the onions start to become translucent sprinkle over the turmeric and salt. Stir the cashew nuts, and continue to stir until the turmeric covers the potatoes evenly. When the cashew nuts start to brown, take off the heat, garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately.
Cookies In The Oven
but this is so nice, I had to share it. Sorry about the cookies, though. Our moon isn’t full here until 3:01 Sunday AM.
december full moon by onecloud
fri 13, 2024 over richmond st. at spadina ave. Read on Substack
december full moon
over richmond at spadina
at 5 PM
under full moon
traffic west bound
bound for home
at oxford st
at richmond
Scottie's Playtime 