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I'm proud to mention that I’m a columnist with Renew America. The editors suggested I provide a review of my new novel. The problem with reviews, good, bad, long, short, is that each is one person's opinion. Surely I can be more helpful. Here are the first six reviews: ——————————————————————- “I LOVED IT. It's interesting and fast-paced." —Laurie Endicott Thomas, author of "Not Trivial: How Studying The Traditional Liberal Arts Can Set You Free” —————————————————————— "A riveting sci-fi thriller that delves into artificial intelligence, government surveillance, and the nature of free will. At the heart of the novel is Carlos,...

Low incentives and complicated state regulations, combined with high housing and business costs, have rendered California unable to keep Hollywood from moving production to other states and countries, according to an entertainment industry report released on May 27 by the Milken Institute, a California-based think tank.Hollywood’s in-state production has dropped in the past two years as other states and international destinations continue to increase industry incentives, according to the report’s authors, Kevin Klowden, executive director for the Milken Institute Finance, and Madeleine Waddoups, a graduate teaching assistant in the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California–Los Angeles.The...

A Colombian radiology specialist says a mysterious metal orb discovered in his country is an unidentified flying object (UFO) of extraterrestrial origin, though experts remain skeptical of the claim. Jose Luis Velasquez, the radiology specialist, determined the extraterrestrial origin after inspecting the object and finding no marks indicating the metal orb had been welded together or contained joined parts in any way, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from a creator who labels their content as entertainment. The object - known as the "Buga Sphere" - was discovered in Buga, Colombia earlier this year, according to video in...

Most probably do. So much of our K-12 is conducted at a dumb level, where students and teachers know little. So how's that working out for everyone when suddenly there's a know-it-all machine in the classroom?? The AI is just dripping with factual information. Is each bit true or false or what? Who knows? Teachers are supposed to referee such questions, but the typical teacher has no idea what the AI is talking about. You can't fix this overnight. You have to start educating students and future teachers from the first grade onward. All the best that has been known...

California has been losing population for the last two years due to high taxes and regulations. Up until now, most of the people leaving the state are just average people seeking greener pastures.Now the entertainment industry is starting to flee the state for many of the same reasons. What happens to Los Angeles when there is no more Hollywood? It’s a huge part of the city’s identity. (snip) None of this is going to change if they keep electing the same kind of leaders. Why do none of them understand this?

Hantavirus is a rare but highly fatal virus, federal health officials say. Authorities said Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of Alzheimer’s and heart failure a week after his wife died of hantavirus, a rare viral infection. Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb. 26 in the couple’s Santa Fe home, while a bottle of pills was discovered next to the body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning also tested negative. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and other officials announced the development in a news conference in New Mexico,...

Olivia Dunne sounded the alarm about the lack of viewership in women’s gymnastics and suggested that the judges and the scoring system may be to blame. Dunne fired off an uncharacteristic critical post on X about the state of the sport. It came as LSU was upset in an SEC matchup against Arkansas. The Tigers came into the meeting as the No. 2 squad in the country. “I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics and the empty seats are concerning. I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports especially in the NCAA,” she wrote. “If you want fans to...

Well, here we are. The day we swore would never come, which we couldn’t survive, which we’d leave the country if it ever came to that. Now it’s here and so still are we. For those here in Hollywood in the Democracy coalition, as bleak as it is, the path forward is murky. Is it time for total resistance, laying down in the streets in the path of every statement and edict? Or is our moment just to shut up and sing? As the smoke from the fires faded, I found myself lost in a new haze, as did many...

Film production has failed to bounce back after major strikes last year, and competition from other locales has gotten stiffer.The struggles have become a painful, recurring story line in Hollywood.A script supervisor visiting a food bank every other week. The cinematographer who moved to Georgia for better filming opportunities. An art department coordinator applying for administrative jobs to cover rent.The economic outlook of the Los Angeles area, with a population larger than most states, has been clouded in recent years by events that have upended the entertainment industry. Market saturation led to a shakeout among direct-to-streaming providers. Then the Covid-19...

President Trump endorses my YouTube Channel. https://youtu.be/5omxQlsO_wo?si=x_QXvjY_LyvFJSF6

Books are the purest form of escapism. They can take you to any time, place, or culture. In honor of National Book Lovers Day August 9, we put away our smartphones, pull out a good book and simply read. (Well, an audiobook will suffice too.) From clay tablets to today’s eBooks, literature has played a crucial role in preserving cultures, educating the masses, and storytelling. Thanks to Johannes Gutenberg’s 15th-century printing press, anyone, not just royalty, monks or landed gentry, could read and own books. But, alas, there was no overnight shipping. Today, join a book club or re-read a...

A growing portion of Taylor Swift fans are throwing their support behind Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. presidential election and social media accounts dedicated to their efforts are steadily gaining followers. On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he would not be seeking reelection in the 2024 presidential race after weeks of pressure from within his party and from key Democratic donors to step down amid concerns over his age and mental acuity. On the same day, he threw his support behind Harris. Since the announcement, she has secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee, meaning she...

In 1915, the city of San Diego was in the midst of a drought, and it was willing to do just about anything... They'd heard tales of this "rain man," Charles Hatfield, so they enlisted his help to fill the reservoir with rainwater.Hatfield was so confident he could bring rain to the parched city that he secured a deal but agreed only to accept money for each inch of rain that he produced: $1,000 per inch, to be exact, up to 50 inches. For the council, this was a perfect deal. If Hatfield was a charlatan and produced no rain,...

Support Free Republic Some of the blog's posts are reposted to "Free Republic"... Another weekly excursion your host the hypocrite and sinner feeing months of prompting that signifies real change more progress towards better things in my life. The internet filled with incitement against personalities either side of the political divide. I've been an online character assassin what good is that kind of stuff. That Moment I Dumped Fox News... Hating Other Folks Isn't The Answer Wanting What's Best For Them And Cleaning Up My Own Act Is?... Meanwhile on the Russian Front the sanctions heating up US economic warfare...

Sopranos creator David Chase is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his iconic show’s premier and lamenting the death of television’s exquisite Golden Age. In an interview with the Sunday Times, the 78-year-old who changed television, but sadly not forever, said, “Yes, this is the 25th anniversary, so of course it’s a celebration. But perhaps we shouldn’t look at it like that. Maybe we should look at it like a funeral.”

Angel Studios, the studio behind the surprise hit “Sound of Freedom,” has announced the completion of its latest project, "Homestead,” adapted from the post-apocalyptic book series Black Autumn, written by Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross. "Homestead” narrates the story of two contrasting families in a collapsing civilization: a well-prepared, affluent family and a military veteran family hired for security. Set against a backdrop of escalating violence, the plot explores themes of divine intervention amid human conflict.

The idea of paying for cable was that there wouldn’t be ads. Then the ads came, but there was around five minutes of ads for an hour of content. Then it went to ten minutes for a half hour. In 2023, there are now ten minutes of ads for every ten minutes of content. What was a 90 minute movie is now strung out to three hours on a channel.

Rob Mieremet, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL , via Wikimedia Commons The wokescolds won't stop until they've ruined everything. In recent years, we've seen the bowdlerization of novels by Roald Dahl, woke remakes of Agatha Christie classics, and disclaimers on classic Disney cartoons. Now, the British Film Institute is getting in on the game. The BFI, the institution dedicated to preserving the heritage of British cinema, is screening the James Bond films from the '60s along with some other similar movies, and it has decided to slap trigger warnings on the films on its website. Before you start rolling your eyes,...

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York City to discuss a possible merger, Axios has learned from multiple sources. Why it matters: The combination would create a news and entertainment behemoth that would likely trigger further industry consolidation. Zaslav also has spoken to Shari Redstone, who owns Paramount's parent company, about a deal. WBD's market value was around $29 billion as of Wednesday, while Paramount's was just over $10 billion, so any merger would not be of equals. Details: The meeting between Zaslav and Bakish, which sources say lasted...

Taylor Swift’s performative activism is getting tiresome — and transparently hypocritical.Now that she is the Democrats’ official cultural vector for promoting their left-wing agenda, the mega pop star has become more than ubiquitous. She is being forcibly crammed down everyone’s throats. Her media saturation level is somewhere near Hurricane Katrina. Even NFL fans who just want to enjoy the game have no choice but to watch Clockwork Orange-style as she cheers on her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend in cringeworthy style.Left-wing and establishment media can’t help fantasizing about how Swift’s massive pop culture sway could “save Joe Biden” in next year’s...