Moroney

I spend too much time online - but that's my job. I also spend too much time (and $) on guitars, pedals, comics and scifi - but I'm a big geek.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

President Biden should resign as an act of protest tomorrow so Kamala Harris could be sworn in as the first female president until January.

That would make Trump 48 and ruin that stupid hat of his.

Can we get this trending.

[Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski]

I have compiled a list of 93 campaign promises Trump has made ON VIDEO. Many of these are pretty shocking, but nobody chose to make these an issue in the campaign, absurdly choosing instead to focus on Project 2025 from a 3rd party group. https://t.co/E2wumuEq0u

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

This is why *many* White people voted for Donald Trump.

Change my mind.

[David Corn @DavidCornDC]

Good summation of how the Christian right sold its soul to worship Trump.

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

Trump's makeup application is a good indicator of what his second presidency would look like: sloppy, stale, no unity, and no one in his inner circle telling him "no"

[The New York Times @nytimes]

In @nytopinion

Some of the strongest warnings about Donald Trump’s character have come from his family, business associates and fellow Republicans, writes the editorial board.

Here’s a look at what 91 of those people have said, in their own words.
https://t.co/f2JmKzT0HV

[Lucas Kunce @LucasKunceMO]

John Goodman is a born-and-raised Missourian. He's got a message for you about family values.

All that noise from Josh Hawley? That's something else. Help us break through it so we can give Missourians a real choice in this race: https://t.co/QVflbJMAu7

[Thomas C. Bowen @thomascbowen]

Kamala Harris making Hot Ones her first big press interview would absolutely break the internet and drive the NY Times insane.

Do it.

Be unburdened.

[Optimistic Lizard 🌊proud to be a LIBERAL @rex197878]

This might be one of the most well worded things I've ever read

[Rowan Cheung @rowancheung]

The most common question I get asked is how people can thrive in the AI era.

So I decided to create a full guide.

Here are the 6 steps you need to take to win in the AI age:

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

This is Tim Walz

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

I’m pleased to announce the launch of the Anti-Psychopath Political Action Committee.

Because it’s time to start talking about what should be the number one issue in the 2024 presidential election.

Join the conversation at @PsychoPAC24 and at https://t.co/7Jw8lgMa2q.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

.@gtconway3d is a national treasure.

That’s the tweet.
Follow @PsychoPAC24

[Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel]

“My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”

[Millarworld @mrmarkmillar]

The 10 Best DC comics you might never have read. In no particular order...

[Hudson Valley Magazine @HudsonValleyMag]

In Coxsackie, find plenty of new businesses and a thriving downtown along the Hudson River. #coxsackieny
https://t.co/Fe9ivtkT9n

[Two Buttons Deep @TwoButtonsDeep]

An afternoon in Coxsackie, NY — An unsuspectingly charming village on the Hudson 🌅

This town has had a glow up in recent years, with the New York Times dubbing it “a special place on the Hudson” in response to the abundance of local businesses breathing new life into the historic town 👀

[Nathan Baugh @nathanbaugh27]

In 2016, researchers at the University of Adelaide tested Kurt Vonnegut's theory that, "There’s no reason why the simple shapes of stories can’t be fed into computers."

They took the emotional arcs of 1300+ novels from Project Gutenberg, turned that into data, used modern tech to analyze the emotional arcs, and then identified 6 patterns seen over and over again in western storytelling.

Here they are:

1. Rags to Riches (rise)

Your classic underdog tale. A humble, hardworking peasant climbs the mountain to pull the sword from the stone.

• Rocky
• King Arthur
• The Pursuit of Happiness

2. Riches to Rags (fall)

Maybe the saddest story of them all. A journey from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.

• King Lear
• Citizen Kane
• Scarlet Letter

3. Man in a Hole (fall then rise)

A character’s doing fine, gets herself into a huge problem, but figures out how to overcome it. They often end up better than they started.

“You see this story again and again,” Vonnegut says. “People love it, and it is not copyrighted.”

• The Martian
• The Hunger Games
• Shawshank Redemption

4. Icarus (rise then fall)

The hero goes on a meteoric rise up New York (or some other) society, calls everyone “old sport,” and throws the wildest parties in town. Then reality sets in, and he realizes he’s too close to the sun.

• Macbeth
• Great Gatsby
• Death of a Salesman

5. Cinderella (rise then fall then rise)

I’ll leave this description to Vonnegut:

“We’re gonna start way down here. Worse than that, who is so low? It’s a little girl… the shoe fits, and she achieves off-scale happiness.”

• Red Rising
• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Count of Monte Cristo

This is my personal favorite.

6. Oedipus (fall then rise then fall)

Up until the ~70% mark of the story it looks like things are sunshine and rainbows. Walter White goes from high school teacher to king of the drug lords, if you will. Then all goes wrong. The original fall is often not their doing while the final fall is.

• Hamlet
• Gone Girl
• Breaking Bad

My 3 takeaways:

1. Rags to Riches, Oedipus, and Cinderella rank as the three most popular with consumers. AKA, those books sold the most copies.

2. When you think through a story, give it an emotional shape. Literally draw it.

X axis: Time
Y axis: Ill fortune to good fortune

You might be surprised how much it helps you craft your plot (I was shocked).

3. Vonnegut was a damn genius.

[Linus ✦ Ekenstam @LinusEkenstam]

with sam and greg ousted yesterday
my initial thought yesterday was “shit they have discovered AGI” and the only person who was capable of understanding it was ilya sutskever.

now it’s seems even more an more plausible that is the case. to understand the amount of stress and pressure he must have been under i urge you to watch this short documentary.

this was recorded during the development of chatGPT. but the sincere stream of thought about the greater good AND the bad that will come from AI might put it more clear to why this might have happened.

my thesis, they have had AGI internally for a while, and Ilya, andrej karpathy might have been the first ones to grasp what they have made.

to be clear, geoff hinton regrets his life’s work (the work on AI) due to him worry about all the bad it can be used for.

maybe ilya is under similar pressure. to much for one person to bear.

regardless, we will know more soon.
i feel for all involved parties, and for the community at large. this is not great.