PicoBlog

Mom went one way; I went the other. We had travelled to Buffalo for my brother’s wedding; my new sister-in-law was from Buffalo, or as he used to say when introducing her pre-wedding, “Most of my friends are from human parents.” Clint, who had moved to L.A. from our Houston hometown, in 1978, was a budding stand-up comedian, and I helped write his act. Thankfully, I can’t (and won’t) claim that one!

The UCF Jewish Monitor has been documenting pervasive, rampant, and institutionalized antisemitism at UCF since October 2023. Our coverage makes it clear why Seif Asi and the unidentified other student felt comfortable enough to threaten Jewish lives: because UCF creates - through inaction on some matters, and discriminatory action on others - a campus climate rife with normalized Jew hatred. You wouldn’t know that if you relied on local and national media for your news.

We have a 50-amp RV and purchased a 50-amp surge protector (yup, we are listening to you). We frequently stay at 30-amp-only campgrounds and want to keep electrically safe. Right now we connect a 30/50 dog-bone adapter to the pedestal, then the 50-amp surge protector, and finally our RV’s 50-amp power cord. Is this the best way to hook everything up to protect our RV from electrical problems? Thanks. —Joni and Roger W.

Hello and welcome to Gossip Time, a weekly guide to the stars by Allie Jones. This week: a pop star is happy, another pop star is sad, and Kylie Jenner is wearing a crop top (you know what that means).  Selena Gomez has been dating her perfect boyfriend Benny Blanco for nearly a year now, if you can believe it. So Us Weekly is right on time with this exclusive report: 

Recently a number of projects have emerged on measuring LLM capabilities on a number of tasks that imply high risk, such as: The model’s ability to autonomously replicate and adapt The model’s ability to assist in (bio)weapon development The model’s understanding of its own situation The model’s ability to do ML research and pretrain new models or fine-tune itself The model’s ability to persuade humans The model’s ability to find and exploit security vulnerabilities in digital systems

Are you gaslighting yourself? Many of the dynamics we deal with at work are not overtly toxic or unhealthy. We know people mean well and do their best, even when nerves fray and things don't pan out. However, left unchecked, these situations (and how you respond to them) erode your sense of self-worth and sap your self-awareness. They can ultimately be even more damaging than acute toxic situations.  The negative effects sneak up on you, and it is especially hard for people sensitive to how others respond to the situation.

In the tiny Seattle clubs where Pearl Jam performed before Ten came out, some people in the audience felt magic. “I was kind of in awe,” KISW disc jockey Damon Stewart said about Pearl Jam’s first show. “I just tried to soak it all in. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, that was different.’” Pearl Jam shot the video for “Alive” by playing the song three times at an August 3, 1991 show at RKCNDY.

Hello and welcome to REPLY ALT, the greatest email newsletter about music in the world/shameless hype machine for my new book SELLOUT, which is out NEXT WEEK. (BUY IT!) GET SELLOUT NOW Today I’d like to introduce a new podcast segment which I’m excited about called Sellout Stories. These are interviews with people whose major-label experiences (or near-miss experiences) deserve a full hour of chatting. Some people will appear in SELLOUT, some won’t.

Hi! My name is Sarah and I’m an author, writer, and new mom living in Los Angeles by way of New York. I got sober four days after my 28th birthday, a decision that felt scary and impossible at the time. Giving up alcohol changed my perspective on so many aspects of my life and ultimately led me to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Since then, I have written about navigating wedding season in early sobriety for The New York Times, how dating without alcohol made me feel like a teenager again for The Cut, what happened after I got sober for Cup of Jo, how your “work family” fantasy is actually hurting your career for Cosmopolitan, and more.