Okay, so I spent most of last week with posts about Banned Books Week which, based on site traffic, was well received (unlike some books in some quarters), but as we know, AI is being used for writing copy. Not always for school papers. Not always for blog posts. But in familiar patterns like the one I’m mocking right now. They also like using the em dash, to which I say: Yeah, I’m not going…
Hopefully you’ve had a fine Banned Books Week and now simply want to kick back with some mead and enjoy a stirring saga of a bunch of folks who the average 9th Century inhabitant of the British isles would like to ban. Yes, I’m talking about the Vikings and, seeing as it’s Leif Erikson Day, that extremely well-known holiday passed into law in 1964 for which we don’t get off work, I’m sure you’ve been…
What with it being Banned Books Week and me posting yesterday about how much people are reading for pleasure less, it’s altogether unusual that a bookstore chain is doing well… well enough to befuddle no end of retail analysts in the age of inveterate online shopping. Now, I posted about Barnes & Noble’s curious resurgence back in January 2025, but guess what? It’s still going strong as per this eight-minute video for Fortune: I have…
In looking for additional posts for Banned Books Week, I came across this article by Chrissie Gruebel for Barnes & Noble noting some of the petty and pretty ridiculous reasons people have sought to ban books. And if you’re wondering about the image above, yes: Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? was removed from a school curriculum in 2010… for Marxism! Some of the other reasons for book removal are similarly ill-informed and,…
I’m probably not the only person during Banned Books Week pondering how much reading people are doing during this age of algorithms trying to keep people online. You’ve probably heard news reports or anecdotal evidence about people reading less. Well, I went and found one of the actual studies that doubtless fueled some of those news reports. Basically, Americans have been “reading for pleasure” less and less over the past 20 years or so… as…
Once again, it’s Banned Books Week, an annual, nationwide celebration of the freedom to read that I’ve posted about since 2018. Whether you need an excuse to crack open a book, want to add a title that’s not in your usual reading mix, or just want to stick it to The Man, I highly recommend web-strolling over to the American Library Association’s website specifically for Banned Books Week. There, you’ll find this past year’s most…
As part of my ongoing posts about AI and machine learning, I did muse (and link to a number of videos) about what society would be like post-AI disruption. Check it out if you hadn’t before because, odds are, you could use a little positivity. But even assuming we break through the current disruption, there’s one aspect of what it’ll take to get to a non-hellscape that I don’t think the linked videos touched on…
When you filter out all the Star Trek posts and viewing guides, one of my most visited posts was about Javier Grillo-Marxuach’s “11 Laws of Showrunning.” Showrunners are invariably writer-producers, and while some of the laws definitely get into writing (e.g. #6: Write and Rewrite Quickly), it’s more into management. I mean, per my reading, a huge motivation for writing the “11 Laws” was Grillo-Marxuach wanting to give leadership principles he wished he’d been given…
Look. I’ve posted about pirates before (as evidenced here and here for a start). I see no reason to stop now.,, especially considering one of the finest pirates ever to sail the faux Spanish Main has passed (see grinning man above). So whether you want to enjoy Muppet Treasure Island or something with less felt and more blood, it’s best you go into it without being a complete lubber. Historian Angus Konstam is looking out…
If you’ve been following my series of posts on AI and machine learning, you’ll recall I’ve referenced Adam Conover and his vitriol against AI before. Not only do I believe his message is worth listening to, it’s delivered in a fun way: Now, I suppose if someone had no exposure to the previous Internet, before everything was curated by algorithm and pushed to apps or both… or if one is a fan of corporate consolidation,…