Disqus - Latest Comments for Aurelio

Re: Commentary: AI Should Not Be Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Aurelio — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 09:47:09 -0000

Sadly, the use of graphic/film AI in our industry seems far too inevitable. AI isn't and never can be truly creative or innovative--it can only create endless mash-ups of already existing images, but Hollywood and virtually every form of entertainment and media is all about repeating, repackaging, regurgitating... the risks of original ideas not only aren't wanted, they are already being locked out.

AI will never be able to create truly original ideas the way we can or discover fresh perspectives, but unfortunately, that won't matter in a world dominated by the presold mash-up marketplace of non-ideas currently generating billions for people who already hate anything new.

Re: Disney Will Pay You To Learn Traditional Animation With Legends Like Eric Goldberg And Mark Henn

Aurelio — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 10:20:31 -0000

"A" trainee? As in ONE SINGLE trainee? If so, it sounds like, rather than hire another actual experienced (expensive) animator, or "reviving" hand-drawn, they are more likely looking to hire cheap for their teeny existing hand-drawn odd jobs. (Couldn't ask for better teachers though, so that trainee will be one lucky person.)

(Aah--I checked the actual posting and it doesn't really specify how many people they will take--never mind.)

Re: Buttigieg: 'I was slow to realize' South Bend schools were not desegregated

Aurelio — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 10:49:17 -0000

Wow. Looks like most of this comment section is filled by trolls, so I'm not sure what good an actual comment here will make, but here goes: why did John Bowden and The Hill only focus on Buttigieg's one comment/admission and not give the rest of the context in which he shared it in this article? Isn't The Hill simply trolling Buttigieg too by hard-selling the impression that he is racially clueless? He was speaking to a black audience, so I assume he was illustrating a larger point--but ahem... you left that main, larger point out? Shame on you.

Re: Post-ruckus, Altadena Library District looks to find its footing with new top executive

Aurelio — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 10:04:14 -0000

Your article covers the caustic staffing issues regarding Kittay's mess on this but nothing from the perspective of community library users like me. She basically ruined one of the best libraries going, inexplicably replacing most of the stacks with tables, chairs, and living-room-esque tableaus, then selling off the bulk of the older, out of print, and harder to find books (apparently with the thought that, if no one had checked them out in a while, they shouldn't be there?) to make room for all this furniture? And, as an Altadena author, I had donated copies of each of my own novels to the library over the years only to discover they were also disposed of under Kittay's "reorganization."

I assume her concept was to popularize/contemporize both the library environment and collection with no thought of its use for research and as an historic repository.

Unfortunately and tragically, the depth of the library's previous collection cannot be reestablished--it has now become a shallow, contemporary reading-room rather than a library. There are no words.

Re: GLAAD Rips Megyn Kelly for Dismal Segment Propping Up SCOTUS Anti-Gay Baker and the Hate Group Behind Him: WATCH

Aurelio — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:09:20 -0000

Another, perhaps simpler-minded, thought on The Great Wedding Cake Wars, pointing out the core silliness of it all:

Traditionally, people planning to marry may feel the need to ask for the blessings of their parents, or, if marrying in a specific faith, the blessing of their pastor or specific denomination--but now we gay people (and ONLY we gay people) may soon be LEGALLY required to secure the blessings of our bakers and photographers and caterers? Who the hell in the straight world would put up with this crap?!

Clue-phone for you, Muffin-man, et al.: no one cares a whit what you think about their choice of spouses-to-be, gay or straight. Get the hell over yourselves, you arrogant prigs!

Man, if I counted how many times I've been to weddings where everyone was mumbling, "this one ain't gonna last," under their breath--but... it wasn't up to us, was it? So we all just sucked it up and crossed our fingers for them and toasted the happy couple.

And that's what all these pious poseurs who think gay marriage is the wrong choice need to do: shut the hell up, grow the hell up, suck-it-the-hell up, wish the couple their best, and do your friggin' job!

Re: Democrats Will Learn All the Wrong Lessons From Brush With Bernie

Aurelio — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 20:28:12 -0000

Thank you for this--spot on.

Re: San Francisco Examiner Editorial Board endorses Bernie Sanders for President

Aurelio — Fri, 20 May 2016 20:20:52 -0000

So pleased to read this today--it gives me hope for democracy. Thank you.

Re: Why Young People Are Right About Hillary Clinton

Aurelio — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:48:30 -0000

This "poor, picked-on Hillary" thing gets to be a bit much--it's not like the Republicans haven't given hell to everyone else too. Gee--do you think they've been kinder to Obama, or to Bill Clinton when he was President, who they impeached once and then tried to a couple more times? They called Warren "Darth Vader" the other day--she was wise enough to laugh it off, which is what it deserves. Clinton people need to wake up--no one wants to elect an eternal victim. It makes Clinton look like a wimp.

Re: Why Young People Are Right About Hillary Clinton

Aurelio — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:43:11 -0000

Nice and well-observed piece--better late than never I suppose, but one wonders if this might not have helped more if it had been offered earlier on in the primary (for both Bernie and your mag.)

Re: Carl's Jr. CEO Thinking About Putting Up Restaurant Where All Workers Are Robots: Why?

Aurelio — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 18:18:08 -0000

Has anyone told this guy that robots don't eat burgers?

Re: Bernie Sanders Explains His Path to Victory to Rachel Maddow, Says It’s ‘Absurd’ That He Drop Out: WATCH

Aurelio — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 18:12:45 -0000

All Bernie has to do is win by about the same margins that Clinton has won to this point and he will be ahead--we are not even half way done yet with the primaries . Why is that considered outside the realm of possibility? And, why should the southern states reduce my choice simply by nature of them holding their primaries first? The south can want a Trump or Clinton race all they want but pardon me if I want to choose for myself.

Re: Are down n’ dirty debates like last night’s good for Democracy?

Aurelio — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 14:28:10 -0000

I find it so strange that you do not see that you in the media are the one who are broken, not Trump. Trump simply knows how to play you. Larry, you claimed things of substance were discussed in the debate last night but you have yet to cover any of that in your show--instead you give Trump all your air time and focus. If you simply covered the substance and ignored the errant child in the room spouting nonsense, you'd serve the public better.

Re: Poll: Clinton, Sanders would beat Trump

Aurelio — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 18:59:11 -0000

Why do these articles ALWAYS elevate Clinton and downplay Sanders? It is infuriatingly slanted! Sanders beats Trump by 12 points and Clinton only by 8 points but this is how you word your article:

"Clinton tops Trump in a hypothetical match-up, 52 percent to 44 percent, in the CNN/ORC survey released early Tuesday.

Sanders would also beat the outspoken billionaire, pollsters found, by a 12-point margin."

You completely reverse who is actually the best foil for Trump and hide Clintons slimmer 8-point margin by making readers do the math, and put her first to give the impression hers is the better position. Shame on you.

Re: Clinton Beats Sanders in Survey of LGBT Voters; Trump Is Top Republican With 2%

Aurelio — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 10:49:05 -0000

I guess there is still a lot of self-loathing going on in the gay community. Why any informed gay person would prefer Clinton over Sanders is beyond me--the Clintons have done nothing at all for gay people (and a lot to damage to gay people--DADT, DOMA.) Now Hillary conveniently "evolved" in this election cycle--when it serves her purpose and is easy and all she really has to do is give lip-service. You all realize Bernie's State of Vermont was the first state to get same-sex marriage legalized, right? Back when it wasn't popular and was hard and took some guts, right? And that he was the one advocating hard for our rights, right? While Clinton was busy sucking up to the religious right in NY for votes with the "sacred" man-woman crapola speeches about straight marriage, right?

Re: Killing the Future: Centrist Dems are Trying to Destroy the Optimism of Bernie Sanders' Followers

Aurelio — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:57:22 -0000

Nicely said--I have been astonished at the systematic re-labeling of what are classic and long-held Democratic goals as crazy, radical daydreams. Sanders is the only true Democrat running, IMHO.

Re: The Pragmatic Case for Bernie Sanders

Aurelio — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 11:39:03 -0000

Thank you, Mr. Cook. This article really encapsulates most of my on-going discussions with my Clinton supporter friends--in a sad way, I feel like they've given up, and she's their candidate of concession. But the problem with Clinton's approach is, any change under her would be be marginal at best. (And I believe she'd be blocked more eagerly than they have blocked Obama from doing anything--Republicans despise her.) Her theme: incremental goals, because to want anything more, according to her campaign, is not sensible? That is just sad. And it ignores the fact that the problems we face are big ones, not small ones to nibble at. You can't stop an ongoing flood with a sand bag or two at the edges.

Re: Bernie's Super PAC Problem: Twice as Much Outside Money Spent Supporting Sanders as Promoting Clinton

Aurelio — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:48:05 -0000

Conflating union support into the broad label of Super Pac is pretty bogus, IMO. Most of the larger unions are supporting Clinton anyway, and the ones supporting Sanders did so by membership vote. In business terms, it's like the difference between a Wal Mart and a Co-op.

Re: Hillary Clinton Losing Her National Lead Over Bernie Sanders, Poll Shows

Aurelio — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 13:23:29 -0000

Gee--thanks, once again, ABC, for making your whole clip here all about Hillary, showing Hillary 's attacks on Sanders (and not his responses), and then basically the only clip you show of Sanders speaking is when he defends her on the emails--nice. Not slanted at all. And your commentator begins and end with yammering all about Hillary--this is an advert, not a report. Shame on you.

Re: litpark » Question of the Month: Complete

Aurelio — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:43:38 -0000

Hey, that's so cool about the London Fair push for your book! Congrats!

BTW - I have an essay out today in the current issue of Impact Times entitled, "Cannibal Lecture":

www.impacttimes.com

Re: litpark » Question of the Month: Complete

Aurelio — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:45:42 -0000

I'm very excited about your book, my friend! It looks perfect - the title is perfect. Warms my heart.

I don't know if this qualifies as something I completed, but it is something I accomplished that I'm particularly proud of.

I worked at a summer camp for several years, and one year I was the crafts counselor there, which meant wrangling squirrelly kids through the creation of sand candles, macrame plant pot holders, leather wallets, and bead weaving. I was always looking for new ways to challenge and inspire the kids, so we did things like making pin hole cameras and pine needle baskets (a Native American art) and so on.

The crafts room also became a hideout for the quiet loners who didn't want to involve themselves in the more social or group oriented activities, so every once in a while I'd get a special kid, one who the other kids tended to ignore, or worse, teased and ridiculed. One of these quiet little boys was hiding out in my crafts room one day, disengaged with life. Nothing interested him. He said he just wanted to be left alone. I insisted he create something if he was going to be in my activity so I suggested he go sketching. He'd never drawn before. I said it was pretty easy - look at things, study them, their edges, shape, volume, texture, then draw it down. I gave him paper and a pencil and sent him over to observe the camp's the barnyard animals.

Then kid came back about a half hour later to show me some of the nicest animal drawing I'd ever seen. They were amazing. The other kids gathered around and soon he was the center of attention, and received lots of admiration from his peers. The boy had no idea he had a gift, and I saw that realization dawn.

Later that summer I got a letter from his parents. They told me that their son wanted to be an artist now and that his camp experience had changed his whole life. I think it's very cool to have been able to play a part in that.

Re: Question of the Month: Joy

Aurelio — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:38:40 -0000

Oh, and to actually answer your question Susan, the real joy for me is when my characters come alive and begin writing themselves. It feels so strange. Like a variation on automatic writing. Like, "Is this coming out of me?" But when that separation happens, when they become real in my head, I can enjoy them as an observer rather than a puppet master.

Re: Question of the Month: Joy

Aurelio — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:07:53 -0000

I believe any creative career comes with this potential downside, be it fine arts, acting, writing, dance, or music. It is especially difficult to be a creative sort in our current corporate-dominated, quick-money, short-term-gain world. This world insists on reducing risk, and the unknown is by definition risky. This leaves us only with the known, thus all the regurgitated fodder, the smaller and smaller client lists, ho-hum book sales and a shrinking market.

I think to creatively flourish as writers we need to ignore things like publishing company's wants and be the ones driving the literary world rather than begging publishers, agents, and the like for a seat in their downsized and shrinking clown car. Just as Jobs, Wozniak, and Wayne did with Apple, Inc., we need to reinvent our industry out on the edges and away from corporate timidity and fear of failure.

This means letting go of aiming for advances and multi-book deals and really digging into what we want to say. It means believing in the creative process more than the bottom line.

Re: LitPark Question of the Month: 2010

Aurelio — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:20:26 -0000

It's easier to see where I'm going using the window. ;-)

Re: LitPark Question of the Month: 2010

Aurelio — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:46:59 -0000

My goal is not to lose faith or conviction in my goal of releasing my current novel this year on my own and in my own weird way. It means risking a monetary investment in myself, and a massive amount of work.

But, if it all works, it'll be a gas.

And if it doesn't, at least I'll have tried, no???

Re: Question of the Month: Title

Aurelio — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:44:38 -0000

I also noticed Sue Grafton is running out of alphabetical titles soon. What comes next? Double letters, like "AA is for Alcoholics Anonymous"??? ;-)