Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Transgender science?

Hello,

Is being transgender scientific? I shared my heart and soul in this essay, which is beautifully written if I do say so myself.  :)

http://www.youandmemagazine.com/articles/how-could-i-be-a-woman

Please let me know what you think about it.

xoxoxo,

Michelle

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Amazin' Amazon?

Amazon's big money maker is _not_ retail.
Wait, Amazon's big money maker isn't retail?

Digital storage.
Cloud computing.
Amazon Web Services.

According to two Amazon documentaries, one on CNN, one Frontline on PBS, Amazon's big money maker comes from companies and agencies hiring Amazon to store their data.

Major clients: US government agencies, Conde Naste magazines, PBS. Not CNN?

 In 2017, Amazon was hired for storage by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Do you read Wired, The New Yorker, or Vogue? They are Conde Nast publications.

Outages, past?

Too big to fail?

Friday, April 26, 2019

Death and Life

I'd been meaning to call a friend back. Now I can't because he passed away suddenly. I didn't expect this, as he was barely older than 50.

Has this ever happened to you?

If there's a better reason to be nice when you talk to people, I can't think of it.
If there's a better reason to call friends back sooner, I can't think of it.

So many adages and advice about life make more sense to me now. 

Is it just me?


Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine's Day

I want to share my gratitude to my sweetheart for making my life better. Love has changed my life. Happy Valentine's day, sweetie.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

September theater!

She was a Hollywood super-star and, surprisingly, co-inventor of technology used in missile guidance and cell-phones!

The award winning, hilarious, and thoughtful play "Hedy!" by my friend Heather Massie will be performed on Saturday September 15th in NYC!

Tour, tickets, pics: http://www.heathermassie.com/hedy



Thursday, April 19, 2018

Einstein's activism

Einstein's activism against lynching apparently takes up 20 pages of his FBI "Treason File #61". There's nothing treasonous in it.

Einstein's FBI file is available on the FBI website.

Its implications are discussed in the newly updated _The Einstein File: The FBI's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist_ by Fred Jerome. I went to the book launch tonight.

Apparently, Einstein didn't just sign a letter. He actively co-chaired an anti-lynching organization, in shock and anger at the wave of lynchings in 1946 after black soldiers returned from World War II. His co-chair was noted singer and activist Paul Robeson, who was also a friend. When a singer was not allowed to stay in a local hotel --solely due to her race--- Einstein let her stay at his house. In her memoir, she recalled him fondly.

Einstein was also active ---beyond writing--- on other issues. Free speech and nuclear weapons are still debated today. But on anti-semitism and race, Einstein's opinions, while radical in their day, are common sense now.

I like knowing this side of Einstein. For me, it humanizes him.

Monday, April 2, 2018

"Local" news

I was surprised that much of "local" TV news stations is not locally owned.

Is "local" commentary local?

If I choose to watch Fox, I know it's the same regardless of where I am. That's a fair choice.

If I watch a local news station, and the local anchor makes a commentary, I assumed that commentary was hers or his.

Apparently, Sinclair Broadcast Group gives local news anchors scripts that they must use --without telling that it is centrally scripted. Why do they hide this? 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/business/media/sinclair-news-anchors-script.html