My Phrase of the Day: Hedonic calculus A method for calculating the amount of pleasure or pain a specific action is likely to cause.
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My Phrase of the Day: Hedonic calculus A method for calculating the amount of pleasure or pain a specific action is likely to cause.
A survey by the Financial Times found that economists based in the US and Europe believe the president’s attacks on the US central bank have caused long-term damage to the institution as well as to the economy on.ft.com/47V6KZz
My Word of the Day: Diuturnity A long duration or continuance.
Feeding all my medical records along with medical textbooks into Perplexity, and having it do deep research into medical journals has been extraordinarily helpful. Question: as a Doctor are you annoyed by patient who says “AI said to…”?
Some generative A.I. tips for patients www.wsj.com/opinion/a-ch...
Inside the Minds That Never Forget: Exploring #Hyperthymesia #Neuroscience
My Word of the day: Dialectician One who is skilled in logical argumentation and debate. *JD Vance thinks he is one. He is not.
Declaring CAUGHT STEALING the best Aronofsky since BLACK SWAN isn't the sterling endorsement that some reviewers think it is.
I realize many veteran actors are game, up for it (whatever "it" might be), especially when the rest of the cast is equally prestige, but that doesn't excuse the mortifying use of Jennifer Saunders in Lena Dunham's TOO MUCH, and the idiotic, ageist palaver bwtn Felix and Jess afterwards--
Politics aside, the use of Palantir's AI software to scan through law-abiding Americans paperwork to fish for "crimes" should worry everyone!
#Zelenskyy calls for 'tough' sanctions on #Russia after major air attack on #Kyiv #Europe #Ukraine #WarCrimes
Lesbian thespian Nancy Kulp, aka Miss Jane Hathaway on the The Beverly Hillbillies TV show, was BOTD in 1921 & died in 1991 at the age of 69. Liberal Democrat Culp ran for Congress in 1984 & conservative Republican Buddy Ebsen, her "Hillbillies" co-star, campaigned against her!
Good to see @bsky.app has emerged as the social media platform of choice for science stuff arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Big Five No More? New Study Uncovers Hidden Personality Traits #Psychology #Neuroscience
As I highlighted in SUPER AGERS, there is no evidence that very high intake of protein improves health outcomes, but there are data it can be pro-inflammatory and promote atherosclerosis in experimental models (no mention on The Daily podcast) + David bars contain ultraprocessed ingredients
Via Euronews: #Ukraine knocks out 17% of Russia's oil refining capacity, creating shortages and disrupting exports #Europe #Russia
“The more you trust that life is on your side, the more you see signs of grace returning.” - Louise Hay
Art world nymphomaniac Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was BOTD in 1898 & died in 1979 at 81. Art collector, bohemian, gallerist & socialite, she was born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family & was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down w/ the Titanic in 1912
Jovita Neliupšienė, the EU’s Ambassador to the US, has quite a job ahead of her! @euambus.bsky.social
The trailer for IS THIS THING ON? looks so mopey. And murkily under-lit, as so many movies are these days to save on light bulbs. Swampy interiors and mugly tattoos.
If THE NAKED GUN couldn't revive mainstream movie comedy, maybe THE ROSES will do the trick. (Stands up at park bench, stretches, sits back down, tosses a peanut to an appreciative squirrel.)
Thank you!
So a few weeks later do we know if THE NAKED GUN "saved" mainstream movie comedy or not? I haven't been keeping up enough to know if it hit some magical mark or not.
My Phrase of the Day: Transcendental Object In Kantian philosophy, the unknowable thing-in-itself, which exists independently of our senses and experience.
Today we proudly honor Ukraine's Independence Day. For more than three years, Ukrainians have bravely fought for their sovereignty, and for the right of all people to live without fear of tyranny. 🇺🇦
It's been a year in Los Angeles. This week @mayor.lacity.gov sat for a candid conversation to talk about it.
So? The point of the 14th Amendment, which their father wants to repeal, is that it doesn't matter. If you're born here, you're a citizen.
May 25, 1988. Ivana Marie Trump, a 39-year old immigrant born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, becomes a US Citizen. Thanks to the 14th Amendment, her three children were automatically citizens of the US, even though their mother was not at the time of their birth. A truly wonderful system.
Do you live in northern California? By the time a website is updated, the flames could be a block away. I know from experience. It’s important to know what human beings nearby are reporting.
I agree, and yet when I search “earthquake” and select “near me” on X, it usually gets it right.
Not really. Not right after an earthquake or when a big fire has started.
Location is important during local emergencies — sadly I have to go to that other site when theres an earthquake or fire here near my home in California to see if it’s serious or not.
HBD Hitchcock & Ford star Vera Miles, BOTD in 1930, turning 95 today! She starred in Ford's "The Searchers" (1955) & Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960). Hitch signed her to a personal contract to make her his next "muse" after Grace Kelly but she got pregnant & dropped out of "Vertigo"
“The mirror reflects not just a face, but the punishing chasm of temporal self discrepancy. That brilliant, audacious youth you once were now stands as a silent accuser to the compromised adult you've become, a daily reckoning with the slow, quiet treason of a life half-lived.”
My Phrase of the Day: Temporal Self Discrepancy A distressing awareness of the conflict between one's past, present, and future or ideal selves.
The Pentagon fired the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency , weeks after the agency wrote a preliminary report contradicting Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear sites had been 'obliterated' in U.S. military strikes.
My Word of the Day: INTERCAUSAL Involving multiple, interacting causes. (But I still blame Trump.)
I just made a donation to South Gaza: Tents, Food & Water. Please consider pitching in. chuffed.org/project/1132...
I see that intelligence has no place in the trump crime organization.
It was! I deleted it.
Hey kids, get your selfie at the Antarctic before it disappears!
If you were a Russian asset would you do anything differently?
Scientists Created an Entire Social Network Where Every User Is a Bot, and Something Wild Happened #AI #SocialMedia #Science #Technology
Pulp novelist Jaqueline Susann, author of “Valley of the Dolls,” which famously outsold the Bible in 1966, was BOTD in 1918 or 1921 & died in 1974 at 53 or 56. Truman Capote once said she looked like a truck driver in drag. She threatened to sue & he apologized - to truck drivers
What an inspiring story
A profession suited to the true talents of a monarch: looking decorative and doing nothing of substance.
My Phrase of the Day: Battre le fer pendant qu’il est chaud. To act decisively and take advantage of an opportunity before it is lost. (What Democrats must do until the 2026 election.)
“Pete Hegseth is proud of traitorous enslavers and Ku Klux Klan leaders. He said so himself.” @shalisemyoung.bsky.social on whitewashing the truth.
The ultimate example of Trump talk.
My Word of the Day: ACCUMULATIO A rhetorical device of amassing and piling on words or arguments to emphasize a point.
Shelley Winters was BOTD in 1920 & died in 2006 at 85, although it seems that she shaved a couple years off. I'll always think of her underwater, in Stevens' "A Place in the Sun" (1951), in Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) & in Neame's "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972)
My Word of the Day: CHARDI KALA chardi kala: A state of high spirits, optimism, and positive attitude, even in the face of adversity.
The California redistricting public comment form is up! Make your voice heard by submitting a statement. Encourage others to do the same! This is the link: selc.senate.ca.gov/redistrictin...
My Word of the Day: MECONNAISSANCE The brutal méconnaissance of the ruling class is its tendency to mistake inherited advantage for innate genius. This is a willed blindness, a collective misreading of history that sees a titan in the mirror where only a fortunate, and often foolish, child stands.
Absolutely!
In California's new Congressional map, the entire MAGA rural area along the Oregon border from the coast to Nevada will be rep'd by MARIN COUNTY environmentalist @rephuffman.bsky.social Ultra-MAGA Doug LaMalfa's voters will now be in LIBERAL Santa Rosa & Healdsburg... but who will run against him?
My theory is that HBOMax executives previewed the season ending episode of AND JUST LIKE THAT and said, We have to kill this thing now before it can mutate. The toilet bowl scene is a metaphor for the entire revival project.
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” It costs a lot less to house people.
A fascinating discussion about Epstein's ties to Putin.
No, a govt that issues a free‑floating sovereign currency can’t run out of that currency. the real limit is inflation and capacity, not “running out of money”
Shitocracy, says someone I’m delighted to have just been gotten back in touch with.
@timmiller.bsky.social keeps having people like Jason Calacanis on @thebulwark.com podcast that say the country is "going to go broke" because of national debt. Good heavens, will you PLEASE get @stephaniekelton.bsky.social on the show to explain how this stuff ACTUALLY WORKS. We cannot "go broke."
I agree, but I don't think voting for Jon Stewart is MAGA-like. He would have to compete in a primary, and prove himself just like anyone else. He wouldn't be winning because of fame, but because voters throughout the US agree with his positions.
We can be pure or we can win. At this point I don't care who it is as long as they can win against MAGA.
Jon Stewart for President? My only care: can he win? If so, DO IT.
We have two GREAT people running against MAGA Rep. LaMalfa: Jim Salegui @jim4ca.bsky.social & Rose Penelope Yee @roseforcongress.bsky.social They BOTH need our donations, even if you don't live there, so whoever wins the primary is well equipped to take him on -- and help flip the House in 26!
"QAnon was bad enough, but AI is manufacturing new nutters by the minute. " -- @tinabrownlm.bsky.social
I REALLY hope @maddow.msnbc.com covers this tonight: MAGA congressman LaMalfa confronted at rare town hall in a rural RED district at 7:30 this morning!
What do we do about our $36 Trillion National Debt? On our latest show, economist Stephanie Kelton of @stonybrooku.bsky.social says we should stop worrying about it so much. Full show on the podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
Absolutely! It's astonishing there are so many smart people who don't really understand how our monetary system actually works.
We don't have debt. We have a sovereign currency, and our "debt" as you call it is paid in OUR currency (unlike most other countries that borrow our currency not their own.) PLEASE get up to date with MMT ( @stephaniekelton.bsky.social ), this "debt" nonsense is being used to confuse and control.
The compose function looks really cool. And Bookmarks! Yay!
Next Sun Aug 17 I’m showing 1972’s DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES with special guests Barbara Hershey & director Paul Williams at the Aero Theater. Here’s a Trailer From Hell commentary I did on this unsung film a few years back. youtu.be/5aK5_A-cWL8?...
Anas Al-Sharif was one of the most remarkable reporters of his generation. For 673 days, he defied Israeli threats to kill him. Al Jazeera now confirm their crew in Gaza City have all been assassinated: RIP reporters Anas Al-Sharif & Mohammed Qareqea and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher & Mohammed Nofal
The rules haven't stopped the governor of Texas from upending the entire 2026 election. Why not? Because where there's WILL there's a way. People too often use "the rules" as an excuse for inaction.
Sarcasm aside, I think we give in to Authoritarianism if we leave everything up to Federal governments to decide. California has about the same population as Canada. Massive economy. If Trump were governor of California and Newsom President Trump would still not be held back by rules and convention.
You're right. Trump might not like it, so we shouldn't do the right thing. What's he gonna do, shoot down a plane as it arrives at SFO? Stop stretchers with Palestinian kids- who would have B-2 visitor visas- from crossing customs? Fine, do that with news cameras recording. One thing at a time.
The governor of California (where I live) presumably wants to be President of the U.S. I should hope he can multitask. California is not suffering. It is the 4th largest economy in the world -- larger than Spain, Italy, and the UK, which are all trying to care for injured Gazan children.
Yes, I live in California. The 4th largest economy in the world -- larger than Spain, Italy and the UK, countries that ARE trying (in a small way) to help care for injured Gazan children. So did you have another question, other than where I live?
What Palestine people? I'm American. And I didn't ask what Trump should do, I asked what California should do. California could try, and if Trump bars it -- take it from there. I'm just sick of seeing governments around the world largely doing NOTHING.
Why isn't California offering to take in sick children from Gaza who need treatment, @governor.ca.gov -- the governments of Italy, Spain and the UK, and the city of Hannover, Germany, are doing so.
Interesting article, but an odd tone -- begins as an insider look at this young woman's life as she encounters fame... and ends like the Grok version of a Cosmo story: "Welcome to America, where it’s increasingly hot to be on the right — and the right is increasingly hot." Mmkay.
I hope you will encourage California lawmakers to drastically raise California taxes on superwealthy to cover loss of services from the Federal govt.
Of course a psychopath would decorate with a dead baby elephant.
The late Alberto Pinto put all of this together for him. I guess Pinto didn't like him because this is awful.
Add this to Jeffrey Epstein's list of crimes: he had terrible taste. He had a real baby elephant (stuffed) in his residence at 22 Avenue Foch in Paris, and would joke "let's talk about the elephant in the room." That's the wit that won over the world's billionaires.
“No one touches Mr. Trump’s penis without a glove.” -- from the newest installment of Fresh Hell by @tinabrownlm.bsky.social
Yes, that's true. I'd add that anger DOES NOT have to be a reaction to fear, and anger in itself isn't bad-- it's what is done with it. But too many folks seem to be set on anger as their default state of being!
I disagree, but thank you for providing the quotes.
I agree. And it's not good for their health. Always thinking you're under attack -- by govt, media, feminists, woke people, etc., etc. I don't envy them.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Thank you for talking to me." DAVID MAMET's final words before leaving an interview with the brilliant @samfragoso.bsky.social today. Why are right wing men of a certain age always SO ANGRY? talkeasypod.com/david-mamet/
Here is the un-gated version of the article Richard Branson recommended: archive.ph/9DLcx
This is how we got here. However I also can’t help but notice all the blue is made up of men too. We need a range of strong women in the new left media strategy. Who is investing in us???
The jobs numbers were horrible so Trump fired the messenger. People are struggling with rising costs and Trump proposes a huge ballroom at the White House. For what? For whom? He says private donors. The money could be spent on something to benefit the American people.
Just finished, highly recommended! "“I hypothesize,” Iris cautioned, “that we are how the universe observes itself.”"
My client #MziaAmaglobeli - journalist & founder @netgazeti.org - has been wrongly imprisoned since January. Tomorrow she is back in court. A key moment for journalism. For democracy. For women's rights to be free from police thuggery. And above all, for Georgia. #FreeMzia #JournalismIsNotACrime
Thank you, yes, that's exactly what I was referring to and now it works! Yay!
Curtis Yarvin is such a bad writer, I can't tell whether his ideas about MMT align with what Prof. Stephanie Kelton @stephaniekelton.bsky.social has brilliantly explained over the years. Sadly he seems to have real influence over the current government, so I hope he's on the right track. Doubtful.
And I wonder if it might include something BSKY has not yet launched -- Groups? Feeds and lists filter input, but filtering output to select users would be massive for growing a true community.