“Scarlett Johansson has taken legal action against an AI app that used her name and likeness in an online advertisement without permission.”
“Now, a team of scientists posit that silicate dust played a larger role in the mass extinction [of the dinosaurs] than previously estimated. Using paleoclimate simulations and details of the material kicked up by the impact, the researchers determined that fine dust may have stayed in Earth’s atmosphere for up to 15 years following the asteroid impact, which could have cooled the Earth significantly—by about 27°F (15°C).”
“Same idea. “I don’t believe you were riding magical flying beasts with Diana because I don’t believe that either Diana or magical flying beasts exist.” The rabbi and the medieval church were monotheists, not monolatrous polytheists. The idea that either Jewish or Catholic orthodoxy required belief in the existence of the goddess Diana would have seemed confused and confusing to them.”
“Think, for just a moment, about the worst relationship in your past—and why it ended. Odds are, there wasn’t just one reason, it wasn’t one thing, it was everything: a book’s worth of fights and slights and resentments and grievances. Maybe there was a final indignity—an affair, a betrayal, the discovery of a derogatory text—but even if one party was blindsided, the other could list a dozen long-gestating reasons for the breakup. That’s why Fox dropped Carlson. It wasn’t one thing. It was everything.”
“We need to stop asking people in diners about foreign aid. (Populists who demand that we rely on guidance from The People should remember that most Americans think foreign aid should be about 10 percent of the budget—a percentage those voters think would be a reduction but would actually be a massive increase.)”
“After two years of deliberation, the American Ornithological Society announced on Nov. 1 that birds in North America will no longer be named after people. The group plans to rename all species that honor people, as well as any species whose names that are deemed offensive and exclusionary, with new names that actually describe the birds’ appearance, habitat, or behavior.”
This story about Geddy Lee’s baseball memorabilia collection is just delightful.
“Years before House Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to public office, he was the dean of a small Baptist law school that was supposed to take shape in a historic building in downtown Shreveport, but never did.” The law school would have been named for accused pedophile and rapist Paul Pressler.
New Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering, finished college with a 4.0 grade point average, and was twice an intern at NASA. So yeah, he’s also a rocket scientist.
“So when a six-month romp is reversed in less than a week, it creates a credibility issue. When it happens in consecutive years in the same league, it cries out for an explanation. There is no satisfactory one, of course. The truth is “because when two good teams play a best-of-five, no result is a surprise,” and let me tell you that no one wants to hear that.”
“Office-sharing company WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey federal court Monday”.
“CBS’ news-and-stations division will launch a new unit to examine misinformation and so-called “deepfakes,” or false videos that can often be generated via artificial intelligence.”
“The collective erosion of X, Instagram, and Facebook marks a turning point for millennials, who are outgrowing a constant need to be plugged in.”
RIP, Robert L. “Bobby” Moody, member of Galveston’s iconic Moody family.
“This “embattled and thriving” thesis has shaped scholars’ understanding of evangelical culture for decades. But it is coming under strain, as it is no longer clear that this community is thriving, at least religiously. By many measures the white evangelical community has actually been shrinking. The community is deeply divided over a number of issues, not least their alliance with Trump, which tarnished an already troubled brand. If white evangelicals today perceive themselves as more embattled than ever, shouldn’t this be making them stronger?”
I swear, nobody thinks about pr0n as much as evangelical Christians do.
Yes, by all means, bring back the USA Network. In Plain Sight had a top ten series finale, and I will die on that hill.
Good riddance, and about damn time.
RIP, Frank Borman, astronaut who commanded the Apollo 8 mission that circled the moon ten times. Here’s his biography from NASA.
Why does David Zaslov hate movies so much?
RIP, Jezebel.com, former Gawker media site.
“Vatican removes conservative Texas bishop who was critical of Pope Francis”.
I freely admit, I gorged myself on some schadenfreude when that nasty bullying little hypocrite Carlson got blindsided by the axe. I’m continuing to nibble on it as I see that in fact he is not bigger than the Fox platform (although Bill O’Reilly and Megan Kelly could have warned him). But I consider all that as an appetizer, as Fox has yet to get all it truly deserves for all its lying to its audience. The Dominion settlement was just another appetizer.