DramatistDreamer

230,000 subscribers joined Mastodon social media network in the past week? Wow! That’s the Twitter effect.

Kind of amazing how, considering Bouie was once of the crowd decrying “virtue signaling” has changed his mind, now believing that virtue, even performative virtue, is important to a functioning government. Paywall-free link. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/opinion/paul-pelosi-youngkin-lake.html?unlocked_article_code=Vg-cp0qQVVbEPxj2KLUDBTvVZtrWFmx51A74WFqLg632Xm0LSg6nSJ8uTxhMGVxY0rC1YdOFyUej429KhGhs4bQ-L2FkjBfNerf0v81UxEMZB3WEBsVe2AEeFDeJ_sbnyMlpiZN0--072X2_K4lqwYA0XC1faXHhdq7rhMRNZENJBMU2AWO8ClYemqip-AAiKg77Zm48NBRVJtMQj2y1UM4O17ElKO8Kfeb4phX78BMXkfvdPU5PXftcStSnQVU8aWMetp6UrnhzpbXzb-PLU7V8xgqxZ6dAdxR_0YN7xB4SzwiXARxrzuCQqOfnXNZTqzU06iAMzL3asrFZmY1ccj2Ybg&smid=share-url

^^ Yeah, I saw that one coming. Doesn’t CA (where Silicon Valley is located) have laws about giving adequate notice for these types of layoffs/firings?

So much of what we hear about Africa is overwhelmingly negative but this article offers a glimpse of contrast. There are a few ominous signs, depending on what politician ends up in control and every one of them seem to have drawbacks (some more than others) but the steps taken for conservation in Gabon seem hopeful, for now. Hopefully those efforts will continue in earnest, irrespective of who is in power. The aspect of influencing neighboring countries to launch similar conservation efforts is also a hopeful sign. https://indianexpress.com/article/world/can-a-nation-replace-its-oil-wealth-with-trees-8249072/

When they would play the live version at the Daytime Emmy awards, it sounded even better. You would really hear that bass guitar. I know people were saying it would have been quite impossible to resurrect these themes so many years later but this theme song and the one before it are so versatile that both would have needed minimal tweaking to resonate. Of course, that would have meant that the theme songs would have outshined the actual show in the final years.

Seems like this is really the set target. Whoa. Twitter is devolving daily and precipitously. I know there are those who don’t want to abandon it because they have invested a lot in their personal Twitter accounts and cultivation of followers but it just looks like no meaningful discourse can take place on that platform at this point, just trolling. If/as it continues, people who value their names and brands will eventually leave the platform.

Seeing as layoffs at Twitter take place tomorrow, I wonder how many will ultimately be laid off? There are some estimations set as high as half, which sounds ridiculous on its face, until you remember how Tesla is run.

The original theme was sweeping and beautiful, I particularly appreciate the modifications done from 1967-1981. I was one of those people who had wanted the show to resurrect the theme in its final year, even briefly as tribute. I also understand the need for exploring change . I have a special place in my heart for the mid 80s theme though and when I heard a live version with real instruments, I loved how soulful and funky it sounded. I had always wanted to hear a stripped down, acoustic version of that that theme, similar to the versions we heard in individual scenes and sequences like the tribute to Chris Hughes/Don MacLaughlin right before the opening sequence. Honestly, those are two themes that I would have loved to hear a refreshed version brought back in the final year of the series as a tribute. The themes that came after ‘87 really had no emotional or sonic resonance for me.

I was on and off with my viewing of the show at that time, so I wasn’t sure if it was just me, or was the storytelling truly that disjointed? Hearing your thoughts tells me it wasn’t just me, it really was that disjointed! The one redeeming quality was the chance it gave to Tonya Lee Williams to show her acting chops, an all too rare opportunity for her. Like I said, it really buried Nathan and the character never made his way back.

They’re Live. https://youtu.be/7aaZi8ChaCw

During that awful final decade of the show.

Best: The Tom, Margo and Hal affair (ATWT) made the best of a bad BTS situation with Gregg Marx’s decision to leave the show. It seemed like a sudden adjustment to the trajectory of the characters but the subsequent storyline was grounded in the history of those characters, when years Margo initially and briefly turned to Hal for comfort when she mistakenly believed that Tom had had an affair with Barbara. Looking ahead, when Tom and Margo experienced a rift in their marriage after a miscarriage, Margo and Hal had an affair, for real this time—which had consequences for a number of characters, including Barbara who would go on to marry Hal. Worst: Jennifer Munson and Craig Montgomery- Just. Yuck. The same could be said of most of the affairs and relationships TPTB had Craig involved in during that time period. Just anachronistic, awful and without merit. So-so/On The Fence: Nathan Hastings and Keisha- It sort of had a PSA (the perils of engaging in a lack of monogamous relationship in HIV+ era) wrapped up in the middle of the storyline and it was very much of its time, it also gave Tonya Lee Williams the chance to emote and demonstrate her talent as an actor but man, did it ever ruin Nathan! The character, that had been there before either the Barbers or the Winters, was never able to rebound from that, especially seeing as there seemed to be no interest in rehabbing the character the way many other characters had been given opportunities to (I’m looking at you, Victor Newman and Michael Baldwin!)

Thanks for the reminder. Strangely, I had completely forgotten about this.😆

Thanks for the tag. Hopefully I can get to watch this sometime later today. A couple pages ago in this thread, I mentioned Scott Bryce as a guest tomorrow @2pm EST on this podcast. It looks as if Tonya Pinkins will also be a future guest on this podcast too.

Now if they could get things right in Haiti…

Lula, with the assistance of Brazil’s voters gave Bolsonaro the heave-ho. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-votes-heated-bolsonaro-vs-lula-presidential-runoff-2022-10-30/ Those margins are looking a little too close though. 95% of the votes have been counted. Also, there have been reports that voters are complaining of being blocked from voting in areas that lean toward Lula.

Musk co-opts others ideas and hard work and then buys them out. Genius, he is not. Jobs, at least knew how to engineer the thing that he became wealthy for selling. Somehow, Musk comes across as someone who may know very little about build a vehicle. Or a rocket, for that matter. I say, build a replica and call it a day. MySpace was once considered a “must” too, at one time.

😆

As much as I love ATWT, TPTB did dirt to most of their male characters who were Black, going back to Eddie Earl Hatch. Wait until you get to the Marshall Travers era, it’s the worst of all.

Twitter fading out would be for the best, imo. The only value it has for me these days is the search bar, where I can find gifted articles that break through the paywall. Thankfully I can do that without logging in, especially since I have already deactivated my account (after archiving all my tweets six months ago). The coup de grace would be Musk losing a huge chunk of money from the implosion of the platform. It would be the best thing that could happen at this point.

GM has temporarily suspended its advertising on Twitter. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/28/gm-temporarily-suspends-advertising-on-twitter-following-elon-musk-takeover.html

Felix is beginning to make good on the expectations that some of us have had for him for several years now.

Yeah, I realize that the NYT is eager to run with the narrative of Black voters “being left cold” by the Democratic Party. They have taken an aspect of the political machine, that of the recurring issue of lack of funding for Black many women candidates and ran with with it to paint a picture of discord in broad strokes.

Will the GOP have to find another goal post to move?

Presented without comment. https://news.yahoo.com/black-democrats-party-isnt-helping-183105194.html