“Don’t give them what they want” – Julian Simpson

“Theoretically, the mysterious “Algorithm” (which is nigh-on worshipped, despite the fact that it’s just a glorified ratings system that attempts to predict the future by looking at the past) can tell us what will be a hit and what won’t.

Hence the industry now spends hundred of millions of dollars on action movies that were apparently written in crayon, starring people called Chris, directed by project managers”

https://developmenthell.substack.com/p/dont-give-them-what-they-want

“What does Jeff Bezos’ non-endorsement mean?” – Max Read

“The idea of a billionaire sugar daddy buying and “stewarding” your institution as a charitable legacy project sounds kind of nice compared with alternative ownership structures (private equity, Macanese gambling syndicate, the GRU). But it’s fatally condescending to those newspapers and magazines. A good rule of thumb is: If the billionaire that owns you is not trying to influence you to hurt his political enemies, it’s because you don’t matter very much”

https://maxread.substack.com/p/what-does-jeff-bezos-non-endorsement

“Shadow of the Groundnut” – Dan Davies

“The political “lessons” are more or less insurmountable – in this unfortunate world, we have to live with the fact that big projects are going to be led by people who come across well at interview, and that this is very much less than perfectly correlated with ability to do the job.

But the really crucial lesson would be “if something is going wrong, review whether it is viable and don’t hesitate to reverse course; abandoning a failed idea early is a good thing which should be to your credit”. Instead, the UK policy structure seemed to learn “don’t attempt anything big, because if it fails you will be blamed”

https://backofmind.substack.com/p/shadow-of-the-groundnut

“Good grief” – John Elledge

“But the thing about grief I never got before is that it’s not a straight line, or a curve, but a wave form. I sort of imagined, before all this, that it would be linear: things would be bad, but gradually they would get better; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. But those stages don’t happen one after another, but pile onto you at random; you can be triggered by anything or nothing at all, and the pain of everything you’ve lost and the hole it left behind can still hit you like the first time again. Sometimes, when you think you’ve turned a corner, you run straight into a wall”

https://jonn.substack.com/p/good-grief

“Starmer deserves a better class of critic” – Ian Dunt

“I’ve never wanted to love a politician. I evaluate them entirely negatively – not by wondering what wonderful things they will achieve, but by embracing all the terrible things they might prevent. I am prepared to accept all sorts of compromises with my own values as long as the government is better than the alternative. Voting is not an expression of my soul. It is not a demonstration of my identity. It is my attempt to secure marginal improvements on what came before, regardless of all the various disappointments it will necessarily entail.

If there is a central principle that this government is all about, it is about this chief distinction in politics – between those who want pragmatism and sobriety and those who want a great zero-sum battle in the sky”

https://iandunt.substack.com/p/starmer-deserves-a-better-class-of

“You Can’t Make Friends With The Rockstars” – Ed Zitron

“To be clear, Zuckerberg started dressing differently in May, yet he’s still getting headlines about it in October. This has been a successful — and loathsome — PR campaign, one where the media has fallen for it hook, line and sinker, all while ignoring the environmental damage of Meta’s pursuit of generative AI and the fact that the company fucking sucks.

This is a problem of focus and accountability, and illustrative of a continual failure to catch a conman in the act”

https://www.wheresyoured.at/rockstars/

“Hawaii Makes the Shaka Its Official State Gesture” – Lowering the Bar

“Obviously, the meaning of symbols can change over time, maybe the best example being the swastika, which once was a symbol of “good fortune” and “friendship” but now … not so much. Certainly now the shaka seems to have only positive connotations. Even if there is a good chance it was invented by a bunch of kids making fun of an amputee. Just try not to think about that part”

https://www.loweringthebar.net/2024/10/hawaii-makes-shaka-its-official-gesture.html

“The Retreat To Muskworld” – Ed Neidermeyer

“This trajectory, from simulating future capability on public roads to creating a fantasy world for fantasy cars to show off fantasy capabilities, should worry Tesla’s supporters. We can already see Musk retreating into a misinformation-fueled fantasy world every day on Twitter, and the jarring divisiveness of the Cybertruck suggests that his runaway ego is already making Tesla’s products less palatable. If Musk’s retreat into a self-soothing fantasy bubble is also making his hype game less effective, and the 8% drop in Tesla’s stock price suggests that it is, his most important skill set is on the line”

https://niedermeyer.io/2024/10/11/the-retreat-to-muskworld/

“Where I’m At – October 2024” – Julian Simpson

“So then what of the next few months? Activity combats anxiety. Those four movie ideas I’ve been excited about? Pick one and write it, then another, and another. The TV show I was thinking of pitching? Sit down and write the pilot (we’re told no one buys TV specs any more, this, like all the “rules” of Hollywood, is nonsense). 

Keep talking to people. The execs are at their desks with their heads in their hands. Maybe they can’t buy right now, but they can still talk. Be the light, be the energy, be the person who isn’t opining the state of the industry but instead seems to have a ton of ideas and enthusiasm. That person is their first call when the money tap gets turned back on”

https://developmenthell.substack.com/p/where-im-at-october-2024