There’s this term in the processed food industry for when something is quantifiably at its most delicious, but also–critically–still unsatisfying enough that you always crave more. It’s called the bliss point, and it’s what ensures that you always want another sip of that soft drink, or the crunch of that potato chip. It’s about maximizing the bliss of consumption so that you consume more.
Now, Disney Research has developed a neural network that seems to be chasing a similar idea–but for the world of movies. The system has been trained to watch an audience of theatergoers as they watch a film. It can track reactions like smiling and laughter on hundreds of faces in a dark theater, allowing Disney to quantify whether or not a film is working as intended on a granular scale. It’s easy to imagine such technology eventually reaching well beyond the movie theater, into the real world, where Disney parks could react to your mood with real-time Disney magic.
Disney’s researchers tested the system across 150 showings of several Disney films like The Jungle Book and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in movie theaters. Studios like Disney have used the reactions of test audiences to gauge early cuts of films for decades, often making changes to the edit or ending if the film wasn’t hitting as hoped. What’s different in this instance is the sheer amount of analysis Disney Research was able to produce with this methodology: 3,179 people generated 16 million points of data. (Read more from “Disney’s Next Movie Could Be Watching You, Too” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/star-1179254_960_720.jpg720960Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2017-07-24 18:18:432017-07-24 18:18:43Disney’s Next Movie Could Be Watching You, Too
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The police knew there was a problem in the Women’s Medical Society of Philadelphia, but they didn’t realize just what the problem was until they got there.
They thought they were raiding the largest supplier of illicit prescription painkillers in the City of Brotherly Love, but once inside, they found that Kermit Gosnell’s medical office was something much worse . . .
There was blood on the floor and the smell of urine in the air. The two surgery rooms were dirty and unsanitary, completely unbefitting a surgical facility. Semi-conscious women scheduled for abortions sat on filthy recliners covered with blood-stained blankets in the waiting room or recovery room.
And then there were the severed body parts of late-term aborted babies displayed in jars over a dirty sink.
And the remains of 47 aborted babies crammed into a freezer and packed into boxes in the basement, all with mysterious wounds across the backs of their necks. (Read more from “Eyewitnesses Take You Inside Abortion ‘House of Horrors'” HERE)
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Of all the recent state lawsuits filed against the federal government’s refugee resettlement program, which annually distributes tens of thousands of Third World migrants to more than 300 U.S. cities and towns, the one filed by Tennessee might be the most significant.
Tennessee doesn’t just ask the feds to do a better job of “vetting” refugees or to “consult” more closely with state officials, like the failed lawsuits filed by Alabama and Texas. Tennessee attacks the program at its core, challenging the federal government’s self-proclaimed right to secretly plant foreign nationals of its own choosing – and the choosing of the United Nations – into U.S. cities and towns. Tennessee contends this is a blatant violation of the 10th Amendment and an unconstitutional infringement on state sovereignty.
The 10th Amendment says the federal government possesses only those powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution, with all other powers reserved for the states.
Tennessee filed its lawsuit in March, and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case in June claiming the state was seeking to stop the influx of refugees as part of a discriminatory policy that treats refugees as inferior to other immigrants. But the state claims just the opposite. In its 33-page answer, filed July 14, Tennessee claims the only reason it felt compelled to sue the feds was because the feds were demanding that states grant refugees special rights and special favor not available to other immigrants. (Read more from “State Revolts Against Feds: No More Refugees!” HERE)
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Mr. [Joseph] Rago made his biggest mark writing about health care. In 2011, he captured the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing for what the Pulitzer organization called his “well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama.”
“No matter where you fall in the debate of health care reform, the arguments advanced by Joseph Rago in his series of editorials in The Wall Street Journal were impossible to ignore,” the judges wrote. “Not paying attention to these editorials was not an option for policymakers.”
Mr. Rago gained credibility with the policy community and with politicians because he did his homework, becoming one of the most well-sourced people around on health care, with sources throughout Washington and among academics on the left and right, Mr. Gigot said in an interview on Friday.
“Through his editorials, he had enormous impact on events in Washington,” he said.
The last editorial Mr. Rago wrote, on Wednesday, was titled “The ObamaCare Republicans,” Mr. Gigot said. Read more HERE about the young journalist, unafraid of crossing the global elite.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Rago.jpg17122287Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2017-07-24 02:15:062017-07-29 17:07:39Obamacare Critic With “Enormous Impact” on DC, Dead at 34 of “Undetermined” Causes; Last Article Hammered RINO’s
By Miranda Green. Sean Spicer said Friday night that President Donald Trump did not want him to resign as White House press secretary but “understood” that it was in the best interest of the administration.
Speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Spicer said that while he had previously considered resigning, it was his decision alone to leave his post as press secretary and give it over to a new communications team under Anthony Scaramucci, who was named the new White House communications director, and deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who will be taking over the press secretary position. The White House announced Spicer’s resignation earlier on Friday.
“He’s been very gracious throughout this process,” Spicer said of Trump. “My decision was to recommend to the President that I give Anthony and Sarah a clean slate to start from, so that they can talk about the President’s agenda and help move it forward. And he, after some back and forth, understood that the offer that I was making was something that was in the best interest of the administration.” (Read more from “”Mega-Donor” to Gay and Bisexual Groups Named Trump’s New Spokesperson as Spicer Resigns ” HERE)
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Little Known Facts About Scaramucci
By Newsmax. * Goldman Sachs was Scaramucci’s first job out of law school, and he was fired a year later. “I was terrible at it,” he told New York Magazine. He would return to Goldman Sachs soon after and stay there until 1996, when he left to start his own business.
* In 2008, he was a fundraiser for Barack Obama, whom he knew in law school, he told Gawker. It was the only time he crossed the aisle, returning to the Republican side to help Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012. . .
* He’s spoken out in favor of gun control in the past. “We (the USA) has 5% of the world’s population but 50% of the world’s guns. Enough is enough. It is just common sense it apply more controls,” he tweeted in 2012. (Read more from “Little Known Facts About Scaramucci” HERE)
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Gay Rights Sympathizer Scaramucci Selected for Role as Key Adviser to Trump
By Peter LaBarbera. Anthony Scaramucci, who describes himself as a committed “gay rights activist,” has been picked for a top job advising President-elect Trump that is comparable to Valerie Jarrett’s preeminent role in the Obama White House, The Washington Post reported Friday.
As LifeSiteNews previous reported, Scaramucci told BBC in November: “I’m … a gay rights activist. … I’ve given to the [pro-“gay” Republican] American Unity PAC … to the Human Rights Campaign, I’m for … marriage equality.”
“We don’t want to be on the wrong side of history,” Scaramucci told the Huffington Post last April, explaining why his investment company, Skybridge Capital, gives to LGBT groups. Scaramucci, a 2012 Mitt Romney mega-donor, last year invited “transgender” activist Bruce (“Caitlyn) Jenner to speak at his annual SALT conference, which he describes as a “premier thought leadership and global investment forum” for fellow hedge-fund investors. (Read more from “Gay Rights Sympathizer Scaramucci Selected for Role as Key Adviser to Trump” HERE)
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Stubbs, Talkeetna, Alaska’s honorary cat mayor and beloved by Alaskans and tourists alike, has died at the age of 20 according to the animal’s owners. The great statesman, who never once wrote a law or took freedom from anyone, has passed on.
After the false death report about Stubbs last year, the statesman quickly rebounded and proved he’d beaten the lies. But not for long. Stubbs’ death was announced late Saturday in a statement from the Spone family, who purchased Nagley’s General Store and the West Rib Pub and Grill in 2015. Part of the contract, the family said, was that Stubbs would stay with the store. But Stubbs the cat went on to become the Mayor of Talkeetna.
Stubbs had survived an attack by a dog in 2013 but because of his age, was spending less time out and about at the general store where he had routinely let visitors pet him. By late 2016 he was largely staying at home, but was spending more time with the two kittens the Spones had taken in, Aurora and Denali. “After a day or two of him giving them the eye and a little growl here and there; they became best friends,” the family wrote. “He got some spunk back playing with kittens. He would even swat at them as they passed and snuggle in his bed with them at night.”
Stubbs’ last day on earth was Thursday. That night, the loving cat went to bed curled up next to the kitten, Aurora. When the family woke up Friday, “he was already in heaven.”
“Stubbs lived for 20 years and 3 months. He was a trooper until the very last day of his life; meowing at us throughout the day to pet him or to come sit on the bed with him and let him snuggle and purr for hours in our lap,” the family wrote. “Thank you, Stubbs, for coming into our lives for the past 31 months; you are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you. We loved the time we were allowed to spend with you.”
Although Stubbs is gone, one of the Spones’ kittens might be ready to step up and take the illustrious cat’s place as mayor. “Amazingly, Denali has the exact personality as Stubbs. He loves the attention, he’s like a little puppy when he’s around people,” the family wrote. “We couldn’t have asked for a better understudy than Denali – he really has followed in Stubbs’ paw prints in just about everything.”
If you wish to send condolences to Stubbs’ family, they have asked that cards be mailed and to avoid calling them, the store, or the restaurant. But please if you wish, please send cards or letters to the store at PO Box 413, Talkeetna AK 99676.
Rest in peace, Stubbs. One of the last, great, statesman. (For more from the author of “The Great Statesman and Beloved Mayor of Alaskan Town Has Died” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Talkeetna_Alaska_3.jpg21122816Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2017-07-24 00:11:292017-07-24 00:11:32The Great Statesman and Beloved Mayor of Alaskan Town Has Died
The recent drop in the cost of oil has been a happy surprise for drivers, who are enjoying the cheapest gas prices at the start of summer in 12 years.
Oil prices have dipped into bear market territory and gasoline prices have followed, falling every day since June 2, according to AAA. The average price nationally for a gallon of regular is now $2.28, down 10 cents since the start of the month.
And the outlook for the rest of the month is good: Wholesale gas prices suggest that prices drivers pay will keep falling, and this weekend could bring the cheapest prices so far in 2017, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks pump prices for AAA. (Read more from “Gas Prices Fall to 12-Year Low Under Trump Presidency” HERE)
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It’s not just ISIS that we need to worry about, but also Russia, North Korea, and the rise of Iran.
Newly minted CIA Director Mike Pompeo explored the long-term threats to U.S. interests this week during an hour-long interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
It’s still quite unclear how the Trump administration plans to divert from the previous administration’s approach in Syria. The Obama administration prioritized the defeat of ISIS while putting many of the long-term regional threats to the United States on the back burner.
The director of America’s premier intelligence agency offered insight into the regional threats that occupy his mind during his long days at Langley. Director Pompeo, a former Republican congressman, emphasized that the new administration is keeping a watchful eye on the adversarial regimes in Russia and Iran.
In Pompeo’s analysis, Russia’s “intention” was to continue to embed itself into Syria. Russia plans on making a permanent play in the country, hoping to install a warm-water naval port that can help Moscow better pursue its global interests, he explained. And if Russia expands into Syria, that will make American policymakers’ lives much more difficult.
Russian involvement in Syria on the side of the Assad regime (along with Iran and Hezbollah) “fundamentally changed the landscape” of the Islamic civil war there, Pompeo said to the forum. The CIA director alleged that former President Barack Obama had essentially “invited the Russians in,” which caused an even more inflamed sectarian environment.
Although he clearly labeled Russia as an adversarial nation with goals opposite that of the U.S., Pompeo remained open to dealing with the Russians on matters of common interests.
Turning to Iran, he noted that the theocratic regime has made troubling progress throughout the Middle East region. Iran is trying to become the “kingpin” of the region in expanding its revolution through Iran, Iraq, and now Syria, Pompeo said.
The CIA director expressed his long-held discontent for the Iran nuclear deal, which received another lease on life as Iran was re-certified as being in compliance with the rules by President Trump. Nonetheless, he said the U.S. would be ready to counter Iranian regional threats.
“They love to stick it to America,” Pompeo told the Aspen forum. “When we have a strategy in place, I’m confident we will be able to push back.”
Moving away from Syria and the Iranian regime, Pompeo said that much of the time dedicated to White House national security discussions these days revolves around North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
“The president — when I’m with him nearly every day — rarely lets me escape the Oval Office without a question about North Korea,” Pompeo said. “It is at the front of his mind.”
Pompeo entertained the possibility that Iran and North Korea were working together to further their nuclear weapons programs.
“They’ve had a lot of willing partners — suppliers, engineers, and talented physicists,” Pompeo said.
Lastly, the CIA director touched upon the global jihadi threat.
Pompeo expressed confidence that ISIS’ days are numbered, but warned that the global menace of radical Islam will remain a constant threat to the United States.
“The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is something that will be around for an awfully long time,” he warned. (For more from the author of “CIA Director Reminds Us That ISIS Aren’t Only Bad Guys in Town” please click HERE)
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In the end, Phelps was able to swim 100 meters off South Africa in 38.1 seconds — but the shark won with a time of 36.1 seconds.
However, he wasn’t actually racing next to the shark. Discovery Channel staffers calculated the great white’s time and compared it to Phelps’ performance, according to SI. On the broadcast, an image of a shark was superimposed over the Olympic swimmer.
The swimmer earlier told Fox News the challenge was “probably the hardest race I’ve ever had.” (Read more from “Did He Do It? Olympic Swimmer Learns If He’s Faster Than Great White Shark” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/lkjjj.jpg8531280Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2017-07-23 23:57:002017-07-23 23:57:00Did He Do It? Olympic Swimmer Learns If He’s Faster Than Great White Shark
