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Share Since I’m not as young as I used to be, I can only read for so long before fatigue sets in. Audiobooks have rescued me, providing access to the stories I love. However, when I found all three books from the Flesh and Fire series by Jennifer L. Armentrout at Half Price Books, I had to have them. Then I flipped through them. And I decided to read a chapter or two while waiting for more Audible credits.

When Will Thomas decided to bravely call himself Lia Thomas and switch from the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team to the women’s team for the 2021-22 NCAA season, the general ruckus this created, along with my complete ignorance of the sport of swimming, led me to discard a thought almost as quickly as it had registered: Competing as Will Thomas, this person was—despite being one of the better swimmers in the Ivy League—barely faster than Katie Ledecky, regarded as the best female swimmer of all time.

It’s 2024’s worst-kept secret that the title character of Abigail, the new movie from the Radio Silence team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, is a pint-sized vampire. The poster hints at this, the trailer gives it away, and if anyone was paying attention to the press releases around the film, they’d know it was originally titled Dracula’s Daughter. And though the Daddy Vampire played by Matthew Goode who shows up in the film’s final scenes isn’t ever called Dracula by name, the implication is pretty clear.

Do you know who was the first English VTuber? It sounds like something that should be common knowledge. After all, anyone with even a passing interest in VTubing is certainly aware of the first Japanese one. And yet, I’d bet most people don’t know who was Kizuna AI’s anglophone counterpart. Though to be honest, the answer isn’t straightforward. You could of course point at Ami Yamato, who was doing it even before Kizuna coined the term.

So there I was, drinking my Monday morning coffee, just catching up on the news, when I decided to read a story by the Washington Post’s Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell on how newbie Speaker of the House Mike Johnson plans to avoid a shutdown. The story was mostly about how Johnson was going to navigate the various clashing factions within the GOP House caucus. It was in all respects but one a perfectly diligent, professional piece of journalism.

Jack Cameron's weekly exploration of crime, fiction, and crime fiction. There is a free, new issue of Shot of Jack every other Wednesday. Every Friday Shot of Jack Top Shelf debuts a new chapter of Bad Pennies, a serial crime novel. By Jack Cameron · Launched 5 years agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmiikZi4pK3Mnqmopl6owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpw

Welcome to the 64th Pari Passu newsletter. Today, we are learning more about a technical concept that is often underappreciated: FILO and FOLO Loans. It has been several editions since we had the chance to dive into a technical topic, so I am excited for today’s edition. Let’s dive into today’s post. When thinking about a company's capital structure, many know the common types of debt: ABL/Cash revolvers, term loan A/B/Cs, senior/subordinated notes, high yield bonds, preferred debt, convertible debt, and equity.

Danny Casolaro’s goal to uncover The Octopus was so all-consuming that it enveloped his physical life and his legacy as a writer. Sleuths across three decades have poured over the remnants of his manuscripts, voluminous notes and eclectic collection of documents. Few authors, who were unknown en vivo, have unfinished manuscripts which have sustained such public interest. Are the remnants of his notes worthy of editing into a Pulitzer Prize award winning book?

I hope everyone who was on the path of the eclipse yesterday had so much fun! It IS kind of amazing to consider, at a time when we’re all so incredibly divided, that so many people were united, staring at the same sky, for the same reason at the same time. It’s kind of a great of realizing that we have a lot more in common than we sometimes feel like we do.