Agent of Chaos

I am beyond disappointed. Angry. Scared. But not surprised. It seems like the world is moving in the direction of authoritarianism and the US is just the latest country to fall to this madness. 

Most of all, I am sad. Sad for my family members in the US; sad for any Americans who are not CIS, white, and male; sad for Ukraine and other countries struggling for freedom; sad for the planet because there will be no chance of mitigating global warming. 

The next four years (at least) are going to be chaotic. I am not looking forward to them. 

Featured Links - November 4, 2024

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

The future if Trump wins

• Guns. Knives. Bats. Hammers. Hatchets. Spears. "As incidents of road rage escalate across the country, aggressive drivers in Texas try to understand what triggers anger." A good article about something that is all too common. 
• Kingdom Uncovered. "New documentary reveals that 21,000 laborers have died working on Saudi Vision 2030, which includes NEOM, since construction began."
• See a giant ‘ghost particle’ detector and more — October’s best science images. "The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team."
• Reinventing the world’s favorite building material (archive link). "Concrete, the second-most-used material on Earth, generates about four times more CO2 emissions than planes." And one of the solutions might be slag; I hope someone at Algoma Steel reads this article. 
• The 2024 Grateful Dead Almanac. The year in the world of the Grateful Dead.
• The Strongman Fantasy. "And Dictatorship in Real Life". An historian on life under a dictator. 
• A fearful nation. "Jeremy Dauber's American Scary argues that America's horror genre are intrinsically linked to our horrific pasts–and present."
• Thousands Turn Out For Nonexistent Halloween Parade Promoted By AI Listing. The perils spreading disinformation created and enhanced by AI. 
• How The New York Times is using generative AI as a reporting tool. "LLMs help reporters transcribe and sort through hundreds of hours of leaked audio." AI can be useful, if it's handled responsibly and with understanding of its limitations.
• Why Are Liberals Infuriated with the Media? "From sanewashing to false equivalence, many readers have had it with their favorite news publications. Editors would do well to listen."

Photo of the Week - November 3, 2024

This week's photo is of the fall colours on the other side of Frenchman's Bay, taken with my Pixel 8 Pro.

Fall colours on the bat

 

Saturday Sounds - The Allman Brothers - Final Concert 10-28-14

It's been ten years since The Allman Brothers played their final concert. I watched it on a webcast and it made me even sadder that I never managed to catch them playing live. They were definitely one of the great live bands. So this week's music treat is that last concert, recorded at the Beacon Theater in New York and featuring most of their classic tunes. Enjoy.

Movie and TV Reviews - October 2024

Movies and TV shows that Nancy and I watched in October. I do these posts mainly so I can keep track of what we've been watching, so the reviews are cursory. 

Movies

• The Instigators: An entertaining heist flick that we enjoyed more than the somewhat similar Wolfs. (Apple TV+)
• Alien: Romulus. The latest in the long-running Alien franchise. It's probably closest to the first movie in plot and tropes but a bit over the top for my taste. After a while it just got tedious. 
• Bruce Spingsteen: Road Diaries. A documentary about Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band preparing for their current tour. The rehearsal sequences are fascinating; the concert performances exciting. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him in Toronto next week. (Disney+)

TV Shows

• Bad Monkey: A twisted comedic drama about an ex-cop now working in the Florida keys, not very successfully as a PI, who gets a job to investigate a human arm found by a tourist fisher. We enjoyed it. (Apple TV+)
• Slow Horses (season 4): The best spy drama in years is even better in its fourth season. (Apple TV+)
• Time Bandits: This is a reboot in series form of Terry Gilliam's wonderful movie. It has high production values and a similar plot to the movie with a lot of silliness but without Gilliam's satirical bite. (Apple TV+)
• Only Murders in the Building (season 4): The podcast crew become the subjects of a movie and of course someone has to die. I didn't like this one as much the previous seasons though it's still fun. (Disney+)
• The Long Shadow: Another top-flight British police procedural about the hunt for a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper in the 1970s. These shows often tend to sanitize the police, if not idolize them, but this series doesn't pull any punches and clearly shows both how the police bungled the search for the killer and the consequences of that mishandled investigation. Highly recommended. (Acorn TV)
• Antiques Road Trip (season 4): We continue working our way though the old episodes. (PBS)
• The Terminal List: A series about a Navy SEAL who is targetted after a mission he leads goes terribly wrong. Nothing special here; if you like this sort of thing walch Reacher. (Amazon Prime)