Let's review the ambitious labyrinthian design of Mothership's Gradient Descent, a 64-page mega-dungeon with a half-letter (5.5 × 8.5'') format.

This is gonna be a long one, so I'll experiment and break this review into multiple threads. This one will be about graphic design.

Mothership is a lived-in universe. No matter the particular brand of sci-fi you bring to your table, the books imply a grimy, sweat-soaked space made of pig iron and leaky hoses.

Of all the Mothership products, Gradient Descent is the truest expression of that.

Exhibit A: Textures

For example, the pages look like Sean McCoy didn't design the book so much as found it wedged behind IBM terminals tasked with MKUltra—and then faxed it to himself.

Every page has this weathered look deliberately placed where it would exist in real life.

Before I was a copywriter, I crawled inside furnaces in manufacturing, and strung from the catwalks over centrifuges and die toolings were books like this.

Cobbled together, photocopied, faxed, stomped out, squeegeed dry, and faxed-again manuals.

This design speaks to my soul.

If Gradient Descent were a handout, the graphic design would be perfect. Atmospheric. It feels more discovered than constructed.

But as a gm article, it fights itself on usability, economy, and storytelling, which I'll explain further in parts.

This is a thread I have been wanting to write, but it needed to come from a place of logic and truth and not just words. It is yet another one of my Christianity threads. However, this one will really focus on politicians that use Christianity to attain power.

We have politicians who in one tweet say very divisive words like “radical left” and their next tweet is a Bible quote, think Rubio. I have explained in the past that many Americans call themselves Christians based upon the fact that that they are white and American only. “I am

an American and a proud Christian.” This is Christian nationalism. They don’t actually follow Jesus or what he represents. It’s the same as someone who is born in Iraq, they are Muslim based upon it being the predominant religion of the country. There are those that practice

their religion and others that do not.
But what I want to highlight is the evil that comes from those who only use a religion for power. And it really highlights two things.
1. Evil using religion
2. The literal meaning of the Bible.
Now theologians and Biblical scholars

state that the Bible isn’t literal. It’s what they study. But we have evangelicals who say that it is a literal word of God. But there are issues here. They don’t take the whole Bible literal, they choose parts to take literally. But here’s the issue. If these people say we must

I had never heard of a man named Ferdinand Pecora before I had met the likes of the legendary William K Black who is the foremost expert in bank control fraud. But Bill was adamant that we learn about Ferdinand Pecora who had apparently brought the banksters to their knees 1/x

I was then introduced to @PatrickLovell1 and his brilliant partner Eric Vaughan who reemphasized the need for a modern day Pecora hearing.

I started to dig in. These guys Eric, @PatrickLovell1 and Bill had created a docuseries called "The Con" and it broke the story of the housing collapse and the fraud that fueled it from the GFC in 2007-2009 and beyond.

Our financial system is a backstop for elite control fraud. Elite bail outs while the same wretches predate on the poor and minorities, these rich cons live off of their misery foreclosing on homes people spent their lives securing.

The Con is about every person. Regular you and I. But it centered on an elderly black woman named Addie Polk who committed suicide as her home was being taken from her. Millions of Addie Polks exist today. Many of us experienced the fall out of Countrywide and subprime mortgages.

1) In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a princess of the legendary city of Troy, and the most beautiful of King Priam’s daughters.

She was seduced by Apollo, who gave her the ability to predict the future.

2) When she refused herself to him, he cursed her by making people disbelieve her predictions.

3) So she went around knowing and predicting the future, telling people what was going to happen, but no one ever believed her.

She foresaw the fall of Troy, but couldn’t prevent it.

4) Cassandra is a figure both of sagacity and of tragedy, where her combination of deep understanding and powerlessness exemplify the paradoxical condition of mankind.

5) In her frightened, ego-less state, she may blurt out what she sees, perhaps with the unconscious hope that others might be able to make some sense of it.

But to them, her words sound meaningless, disconnected, and blown out of all proportion.

1/ I enjoy rereading books that provided me a lot of insights and ideas on the first go around.

just reread this, and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't

2/ The author, Paul Kalanithi, was a neurosurgeon and writer who got a stage IV lung cancer diagnosis when only in his mid-30s. He died at age 37 in 2015, but not before writing "When Breath Becomes Air."

It's filled with insights that perhaps only a dying man could see clearly

3/ “There is a moment, a cusp, when the sum of gathered experience is worn down by the details of living. We are never so wise as when we live in this moment.”

And

“If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life worth examining?”

4/ But, as I remembered from my first reading, it was his last passage that took my breath away. Here it is:

"Everyone succumbs to finitude. I suspect I am not the only one who reaches this pluperfect state. Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way,

5/ they belong to the past. The future, instead of the ladder toward the goals of life, flattens out into a perpetual present. Money, status, all the vanities the preacher of Ecclesiastes described hold so little interest: a chasing after wind, indeed."

It’s time to post my top 20 films of 2020 and top 20 tv shows of 2020!
As usual, I need to have seen it, it was released in 2020 in the UK and it is just my opinion. If you disagree, please tell me about your choices, I’d love to know!
#FilmsOf2020 #TVShowsOf2020

One thing to note, that is different this year, due to Tier 4 restrictions in London, I am going to make #WonderWoman1984 eligible for next year’s list (2021). I am classing it’s release date as 13 January 2021.

#TVShowsOf2020
10. Ted Lasso
A real surprise and a gem of a comedy.

9. The Stranger
A bizarre Netflix mystery drama. Captivating watch.

8. The Twilight Zone
A brilliant reprisal of the old series. Such great, mysterious stories and incredibly entertaining.

#TVShowsOf2020
7. Manhunt: Deadly Games
Little known in the UK, but this series was fantastic. Thrilling.

6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
This sitcom keeps going from strength to strength, so funny.

#TVShowsOf2020
5. The Boys
Action? Thriller? Drama? I’m not sure what to call this show. It’s bizarre, dark, controversial and well worth a watch!

4. The Mandalorian
Mando has brought peak Star Wars back. This series is just pure joy, and so much fun to watch. Plus, BABY YODA!

A Christmas Eve Confession & Absolution

Holy God, as Christmas Eve dawns
we find little joy in our hearts.
We have lost so many things
and given up so much
in trying to protect the world around us
and the loved ones we hold so dear
but cannot hold.

None of us are at our best.
We are frustrated with ourselves,
with our family, with all our fellow children of God.
Our spirits are faint and fraying.
Yet still, you are on your way.
Just as you came at Christmas,
you will now not leave us
without mercy and comfort.

We cry out:
Come, O come, Immanuel!

Holy God,
Our holiday meals are made with tears
and our gifts wrapped with tired hands.
We are struggling to stay connected
in this time when the safety of all
requires distance from each other.
All around your beloved world, too many tables
will have empty seats at Christmas.

What should be a time of celebration
only feels like mourning.
Yet still, you are on your way.
Just as you were born and laid in a manger,
you will find us not where we think we should be
but right where we are.

Happy Monday readers, it's Dark Phoenix week! Over the next ten issues, we'll explore what is perhaps Claremont's most celebrated story that depicts the ascension of Jean Grey to the role of Dark Phoenix.

It's UXM #129-130, in which we are introduced to multiple X-mainstays!

I warned late last week that these threads will include heavy topics, because I find it difficult to adequately discuss the D.P.S. without acknowledging its commentary on agency, sexual violence, & how privilege corrupts.

Please stay safe & mute me until Sunday if you need to!

Our first issue starts off where we left off on the shores of Muir Island following the team's defeat of Proteus!

It's incredible to think that just last issue, the team met their most dangerous opponent yet, but Proteus was only but a primer for what the team will face next.

Our team officially drops from 7 to 6, with Banshee, after many issues depowered following an injury, officially leaving the team to remain with Moira on Muir Island.

Scott's attempts to make up his membership losses are rebuffed not once- but 3 times by Jamie, Alex, & Lorna!

It's almost like Claremont was clearing the decks to make room for some new members on the team...

The SBC is headed for an unnecessary "civil war", all in the name of a pseudo-conservative resurgence. In the meantime, baptisms are down. For those outside or inside the SBC who are not aware of the Conservative resurgence please read this book (https://t.co/fTcR6dJuzj)

1/

The Conservative resurgence sought to purge the SBC of legit liberalism (but still had blindspots w/ sins of its leaders). The book (in post 1) explains how the "SBC" works, & the process of leadership position appointments produce transformation inside the convention.

2/

Inside the SBC Seminaries were Professors who denied the Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture, the literal resurrection of Jesus, and all other essentials of the Christian faith. Liberals were in key leadership positions and the Conservative resurgence took them head on.

3/

Today, there’s an expressed fear the SBC is once again under attack by Liberals, Communists, Marxists, et al. In order for a war to be justified there must be an enemy, thus the identified enemy of the SBC is none other than Critical Race Theory (CRT).

4/

In a time of war, two existing enemies who, put their differences on hold, in order to form an alliance to defeat a common enemy is called “Co-Belligerence”. An easy example of this is the USA & USSR, putting aside beef, to form an alliance & defeat Nazi Germany in WWII.

5/

"This fearless book [by @abigailshrier] shows how girls’ bodies have become collateral damage in adult culture wars," says @VictoriaPeckham. In 2021 we must explore what drives gender identity theorists to put their ideology above the health & welfare

of children & young people. Gender identity ideologues promote a “progressive” new world where "trans children" skip an essential stage of every human being's physical, psychological & sexual development - puberty. /2

Then these “trans children” move on from puberty blockers to cross sex hormones whose effects are immediate and visible. 98% do @TaviAndPort. More experimentation and no measurable improvement to mental health. /3

And then we see some surgeons who have forgotten their oath to “First, do no harm” or who simply cannot resist the temptation of £/$. They remove healthy organs whose functionality can never be restored. /4

Most children play, dress up, put on make-up & cowboy hats. They use their imagination to try out all sorts of things. We think they're just growing up normally. We believe they deserve protection from a global movement that seeks to force outdated gender stereotypes on all /5

1/ Read Bloomberg’s autobiography (from ‘97) this weekend. Covers the first 15 years of Bloomberg LP & and how Mike built such a dominant franchise. Written before “lean startup” and modern software startup nomenclature, but lessons sound like something @chetanp would share...

2/ Bloomberg initially focused on a narrow use case: real time yield curve data for bond traders. Today, Bloomberg covers equity & debt markets around the world, offers financials, news, messaging, alternative data & more. But it started with a simple product & seemingly tiny TAM

3/ They “nailed” product/market fit for this use case because they deeply understood their customers. Not only did Mike Bloomberg and the first four employees all come from the industry, but they also built a tight feedback loop w/ their first "lighthouse" customer, Merrill Lynch

4/ When Bloomberg installed the first 22 terminals at Merrill, they embedded themselves with initial users. They visited daily. They had two users who provided constant feedback, helping to rapidly squash bugs and improve the product.

5/ Bloomberg also offered professional services. In fact, their first $100,000 in revenue was from PS. The consulting work helped pay the bills, but more importantly helped the Bloomberg team map their customers' needs and to build relationships across the organization.

Steps on how to order a book via

https://t.co/M6J2AdfTO5 website

@NuriaStore
#NuriaStore #books #read #ShopAtNuriaBookStore

Thread

1/

My 12 favourite quotes from Phil Fisher, from his wonderful book 'Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits'

Aside from Buffett/Munger, Fisher is the investor that has had the most influence on me and I would recommend his book to anyone:

"More money has probably been lost...

...by investors holding a stock they really did not want until they could 'at least come out even' than from any other single reason... Especially so when you consider foregone reinvestment gains."

"If the growth rate is so good that in another 10 years the company might well have quadrupled, is it really of such great concern whether the stock might or might not be 35% overpriced? Maintain the position and don't worry about losing a small part of the gain."

"If a company has changed for good it deserves to trade at a P/E premium to its history and will probably continue to do so. For young companies in particular many investors will mistakenly view them as overvalued...

…Stocks that at first glance appear to the highest priced may, upon analysis, be the biggest bargains."

It’s thirty years since The KLF’s 3am Eternal hit Number One so I suppose it must also be about thirty years since 13-year-old me met The KLF at Top Of The Pops.

I’d decided they were my favourite band a couple of years earlier and at that point I hadn’t really grasped the fact that most of the music they were making in 1989/1990 was for people either at raves or coming down after raves.

To be frank I made a complete nuisance of myself. Often after school I’d phone their PRs Mick and Pam, or their radio plugger Scott, or their distributor James, and later on Cress and Sallie at their office in Brixton.

I must have been extremely annoying but they’d make time for a chat and sometimes send me photos and white labels and merch. Sometimes they even phoned me. I once came home from school to find my dad on the phone to Bill Drummond.

At one point someone mentioned in passing that on my 13th birthday the band had toyed with the idea of driving their famous but increasingly dilapidated car, Ford Timelord, to my house in East Grinstead and dumping it outside. (?)

My new book, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights, addresses a problem that few Europeans are willing to discuss: the undermining of women’s rights in multiple countries in the wake of mass migration.

In recent years, Europe has experienced a large influx of migrants. Approximately 3 million have arrived illegally since 2009, the majority of whom have applied for asylum. Two-thirds of the newcomers were male. Eighty percent of asylum applicants are under the age of 35.

The increase in numbers of young men, mostly from Muslim-majority countries, has brought to the surface a problem: their regressive attitudes to women. At their worst, these attitudes have caused a spike in sexual violence and harassment.

The arrival of a vaccine means that Europe will eventually return to normal. Unfortunately, for many women across Europe, normal means fending off sexual harassment and assault which has significantly increased in recent years.

Even COVID lockdowns have not managed to put an end to these assaults. In May 2020, a 48-year-old Naples woman was raped while waiting for a bus. With the city in lockdown and few people about, a Senegalese man allegedly sexually abused her for 45 minutes.