Notices by Michael Marek (mimarek@universeodon.com)

@georgetakei When I led a college study abroad trip in China several years ago, my number one rule for them was "do not break any law whatsoever, given the way this country works and how it watches foreigners."

I said that if they were arrested, I might need to leave them behind, because we could not deviate from our government-approved itinerary.

More and more people are buying physical DVD/Blu-ray media.

I have been saying for some time, you can't depend on streaming services to keep your favorite shows available.

Same for music.

Oppenheimer's Christoper Nolan encouraged fans to embrace "a version you can buy and own at home and put on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you."

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240102-oppenheimer-and-the-resurgence-of-blu-ray-and-dvds-were-now-in-the-age-of-streaming-anxiety

#News #Streaming #TV #Film #DVD #bluray #Oppenheimer

Things to remember:

☑️ MailChimp is anti-union.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/14/24002001/mailchimp-pineapple-street-union-podcast-canceled

#News #MailChimp #Union #Podcast

I think this was NOT written on the one-day Strike day, so it is OK to share.

Postal workers not allowed to use the word "Amazon."

Remember that USPS is a self-supporting entity. They probably make a lot of money from Amazon deliveries, needed for their bottom line. But that does not excuse missing mail or delays.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/rural-mail-carriers-warned-not-to-blame-mail-delays-on-amazon/ar-AA1l2Zpa

#USPS #Amazon #Delays

Donald Trump entering the political arena in 2015 resulted in a considerable increase in negative language in political discourse.

The increase wasn’t limited to general negativity but spanned specific categories like anger, anxiety, sadness, and swear words.

Prior to 2015, the overall negativity of political language had been decreasing during Barack Obama’s presidency.

The conclusions are based on analysis of nearly a quarter-billion quotes extracted from over 127 million online news articles spanning 12 years.

https://www.psypost.org/2023/12/groundbreaking-study-pinpoints-trumps-role-in-surge-of-negativity-in-u-s-political-discourse-214860

#News #Politics #Trump #Obama #Negative

The Government Accountability Office suggests NASA's Artemis III mission to return people to the Moon could be delayed from late 2025 until 2027.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/12/government-watchdog-says-first-artemis-lunar-landing-may-slip-to-2027/

#News #NASA #Moon #Artemis

Last week, Merriam Webster announced that its Word of the Year for 2023 is "Authentic."

We are bombarded today with falsity in political claims, in things written by AI and not real people, and in a wealth of other areas.

“Authentic” follows 2022’s choice of “gaslighting.”

The Word of the Year is based on analysis of word searches in the company's 500,000-word online dictionary.

https://apnews.com/article/merriam-webster-word-of-year-2023-a9fea610cb32ed913bc15533acab71cc

#News #Authentic #Words #Gaslighting

Should Twitter (X) be allowed to become a bank?

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/09/x-unfit-for-banking-because-of-complicity-in-saudi-spying-lawyers-argue/#p3

#News #Twitter #X #Bank #Regulation

Most people judge the question of the 14th Amendment outlawing a second term for Trump in broad political terms.

But as this article shows, it will likely be decided on parsing the nuances of the exact wording of the Amendment.

In point of fact, the wording of the Amendment does not appear to ban running for elective office.

What it bans is SERVING in a federal office. So, the final legal determination may not be made until after the general election.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/there-is-no-error-to-correct-here-minnesota-supreme-court-tosses-attempt-to-use-14th-amendment-to-kick-trump-out-of-primary-but-its-not-the-last-word/

#News #Politics #Trump #14thAmendment

More evidence that the endless rounds of streaming TV price increases is motivated in part because...

The platforms want to force more people to the "advertiser-supported tier" because...

They make more money by serving you ads between program segments.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/consumers-paying-more-ever-streaming-181821039.html

#TV #Netflix #Hulu #Paramount #Apple #Disney #Peacock