Anthropic's CEO shared his thoughts on the economics of AI and the risk-taking of competitors, saying some were "YOLO-ing" with regard to spending.

I mean, it seems like he was right? I remember when reality singing competitions first burst onto the scene back in the early 2000s. Believe it or not, back then American Idol was the biggest show on TV. The first few seasons of the competition, Idol was a certified cultural phenomenon and gave us some massive superstars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. It also inspired spinoffs like Nashville Star, which launched the careers of artists like Miranda Lambert, Chris Young and Kacey Musgraves, and of course, The Voice. These days though, these shows are largely irrelevant when it comes to launching music careers. I couldn’t tell you a single winner from the past decade of any of these shows, and winning is far from the guarantee of success that it once was. But even back when these shows were still semi-relevant, Eric Church made it clear that he wasn’t a fan. Church is a guy who built his career playing bars and dirty clubs, back before going viral on TikTok or winning a singing competition provided a shortcut to stardom. And after he became one of the biggest stars in country music on the back of his 2011 album Chief and mega-hit “Springsteen,” Church ruffled feathers with his comments on reality singing competitions during an interview with Rolling Stone: “Honestly, if Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green turn around in a red chair, you got a deal? That’s crazy. I don’t know what would make an art­ist do that. You’re not an artist. Once your career becomes about some­thing other than the music, then that’s what it is. I’ll never make that mistake. I don’t care if I starve.” The comments didn’t sit well with artists like Miranda Lambert, who not only got her start on a TV singing competition but had also taken Church on tour as an opener back in 2010, something that she reminded Church of when she fired back: Thanks Eric Church for saying I'm not a real artist. Or @kelly_clarkson, @carrieunderwood & @KeithUrban. Your welcome for the tour in 2010. — Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) April 30, 2012 And Blake Shelton also expressed his disappointment with the comments from Church: “I wish I misunderstood this… Why? Just why?” All the backlash forced Church to go into damage control, clarifying that his comments weren’t directed at any of the artists who got their start on those shows, but were simply an observation that the shows present themselves as a shortcut to stardom that, in reality, doesn’t exist: “The comment I made to Rolling Stone was part of a larger commentary on these types of reality television shows and the perception they create, not the artists involved with the shows themselves. The shows make it appear that artists can shortcut their way to success. There are a lot of artists due to their own perseverance that have gone on to be successful after appearing on these shows, but the real obstacles come after the cameras stop rolling. Every artist has to follow up television appearances with dedication towards their craft, but these shows tend to gloss over that part and make it seem like you can be ordained into stardom. I have a lot of respect for what artists like Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and my friend Miranda Lambert have gone on to accomplish. This piece was never intended to tear down any individual and I apologize to anybody I offended in trying to shed light on this issue. I am grateful for all of the artists and fans that have supported me along my journey and certainly did not mean for my comments to undermine their talent and achievements.” The feud didn’t last long, with Miranda later coming out and saying that she understands artists sometimes say things during interviews that come out wrong: “I think that anybody can get roped into a really bad interview situation, and I’ve had things printed about me that sounded way worse than they were. I know he said what he said, but it died off just like anything else that happens. Everybody loves to call it a feud. It’s not really a feud, it’s just, ‘Dude, you totally messed up, and you know it,’ and you move on.” And the two have even gone on to write together in recent years, penning the Jon Pardi & Lauren Alaina duet “Don’t Blame It On Whiskey” a couple years ago. Looking back at his comments now, it seems like he was on to something. I mean sure, there were a few artists who appeared on those shows who got famous, but I would venture to guess that most people don’t even realize Miranda Lambert or Chris Young were on a reality show. They didn’t become stars because they finished third on Nashville Star. They did it because they put in all the work afterwards that was required to get to where they are today – which is something that no reality show can replace, especially today.The post Remember When Eric Church Accidentally Started A Feud With Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton After His Comments On Reality Singing Competition Shows? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Marc Thiessen shredded Democrats over their opposition to narco-terrorist strikes and their suggestions that these terrorists are imminent threats. Watch: I love how he lays out the facts with Obama’s drone strikes. . . .

One of the most important British guitarists of all time, Ritchie Blackmore entered Rock history as a member of Deep Purple and Rainbow, becoming an influence on countless musicians worldwide. He was part of an extraordinary generation of guitar players who gained prominence in the late 60s and early 70s, contributing to the evolution of Hard Rock music. Throughout his career, he commented on and rated many of his peers, including Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. How Ritchie Blackmore rates Jimmy Page as a guitarist Ritchie Blackmore respects Jimmy Page as a guitarist but also criticized him a few times. "I've said it before. (Page he's a strange guitar player. He's not the type of guy you can say is brilliant! No musical theory, but he has a way of writing good riffs, things like 'Kashmir' and some of the other Zeppelin stuff, his riffs were great! He's not a player I would attack. He puts down a very coloured construction to a song, he's a very colourful player of the guitar. It's pleasing to hear because I don't feel I have to be on my toes all the time and fence with somebody. He's not the fastest gunslinger in town, you know? You can get so fast that it gets silly, but Jimmy's not like that. There are a lot of guys doing that now, though, going berserk on the fretboard and I feel like telling them to settle down, say something, what is all this? It's like quoting Shakespeare at 100 miles per hour. It's like having sex for five minutes listening to some of these guys," Ritchie Blackmore told Kerrang magazine in 1985 after being asked to rate Page's playing. He was never really a big fan of Led Zeppelin, although he was a good friend of their late drummer John Bonham. Ritchie said he knew Page would be a star from the moment he saw him play Curiously, Page and Blackmore were born in the same village, and Clapton was not very far from them either. But Blackmore would only have the chance to meet the future Zeppelin guitarist in 1962 and later take part in a few studio sessions with him, when they were both still session guitarists. “I knew that he was going to be somebody then. Not only he was a good guitar player, he had that star quality there. There was something about him, he was very poised and confident. He was confident but not arrogant. So I thought ‘he’s gonna go somewhere’ that guy, you know. He knows what he is doing.” “He was way ahead most guitar players, he was really good, he knew he was good too. (Also), he wasn’t arrogant but he was very comfortable within himself. Then 64 or 65, I met up with him, we did a couple of sessions actually with him,” Ritchie Blackmore said in an interview for his documentary “Ritchie Blackmore Story” (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Blackmore thinks Jimmy Page is a great writer and producer The musician had already said in the 70s that he was not too “struck on Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.” However, in an interview with Guitar Player, when asked if it bothered him that he was not always placed in the same category as Page, Beck and Clapton, he said that he does not like to promote himself, and that this was one of the reasons why. But he also said that they were all good people and that Page was a great writer and producer. "No (doesn't bother me). I'm an introvert, as my father would say. I tend to be very withdrawn, I don't sell myself. I don't think Jeff Beck does either, I think Jimmy Page does and Eric does. They tend to push themselves out there a bit more, although they're all great people. A lot more falls on Eric because he can sing well, and Pagey is such a great writer and producer. Jeff is probably one of my favorite players." He continued: "This man just hits notes and you think, How come that note's not on my guitar? And he gets this incredible sustain for no reason. He's so fresh, so un-show business. That's what I love about Jeff," Blackmore said. Then he agreed with the interviewer that Zeppelin was not a strong band when playing live because "they didn't swing", with Blackmore crediting that to John Bonham's drum playing. Talking about how he was one of the first rock guitarists to play "very long lines", Blackmore recalled a question Jimmy Page asked him. "That's an interesting point. Pagey once asked me, "Where do you get all those runs from?" I developed it from Les Paul, Jimmy Bryant, Chet Atkins and Wes Montgomery. I wasn't listening to rock when I started out. The Beatles were around, but no one took that seriously — except for billions of record buyers! They're still a great band, but you couldn't learn anything instrumentally from them. Pretty little tunes, though," he said in 1996. Blackmore already praised a few Led Zeppelin songs and was influenced by them Although he already said he was not a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Blackmore admitted he was influenced by what they did and it was the main inspiration for Deep Purple to become heavier. The result was their groundbreaking album "Deep Purple in Rock" (1970), which was the start of their most successful phase. “Zeppelin, I liked their hard approach when they came out and did ‘Whole Lotta Love’. I immediately tuned in with that type of style because before when we were fiddling around with orchestras, I thought: something’s wrong. “I’m not giving all that I can. Thanks to them for the inspiration. They got it from Jeff Beck, who got it from the Small Faces,” Ritchie Blackmore told Trouser Press. The Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist also liked "Kashmir", from their 1975 album "Physical Graffiti", saying it was incredible and it helped to sophisticate Rock. “I think Van Halen are interesting. I don’t particularly like them as a band. But there is a lot of movement, a lot of colour to the material they produce. Led Zeppelin too, now they probably defined the term ‘sophisticated rock’. Things like ‘Kashmir’, the certain, the certain scales they would hit… that was incredible,” Ritchie Blackmore told Kerrang! in 1984. Jimmy Page was the reason why Blackmore didn’t play a Les Paul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtVKz0rv4cg&pp=ygUdbGVkIHplcHBlbGluIHRoZSBzb25nIHJlbWFpbnM%3D Curiously, Jimmy Page was the reason why Blackmore didn't end up playing the Les Paul guitar model. According to him, he always wanted to have a Black Les Paul, just like one he saw the British guitarist Albert Lee playing in the 60s. However, after Led Zeppelin achieved fame, suddenly everyone was buying that model and as he said answering fans' questions in 1996, he never liked to do what everyone was doing. "I always wanted a black Les Paul and nobody I knew had one, (they were) very expensive guitars. So I went to London, I was playing with a band called The Savages at the time. I saw this guitarist, he was playing a black Les Paul. He was a brilliant guitar player and his name is Albert Lee. I thought: 'That's the guitar for me!' But unfortunately, Jimmy Page took it up with Led Zeppelin a little bit later and that put me off. Not because Jimmy played it, because it then became the fashionable guitar to play, the Les Paul. I'm really not one to be in cahoots with fashion, if I can help it. But they are very good guitars. It's pretty heavy, if you got a bad back like I do," Ritchie Blackmore said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).The post How Ritchie Blackmore rates Jimmy Page as a guitarist appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

Madalyn Parker, an accessibility engineer from Michigan, wanted to take a couple days off work. There was just one problem. She didn't have the flu, nor did she have plans to be on a beach somewhere, sipping mojitos under a palm tree. Parker simply wanted a few days away from work to focus on her mental health.Parker lives with depression. And, she says, staying on top of her mental health is absolutely crucial. "The bottom line is that mental health is health," she told Upworthy over email. "My depression stops me from being productive at my job the same way a broken hand would slow me down since I wouldn't be able to type very well." Parker, on the edge of burnout, knew she needed to step away. Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash When she informed the team of her time off, she made the bold choice to be completely honest and transparent about why she needed to step away. She was also firm and non-apologetic."I am taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health. Hopefully," she wrote to them, "I'll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%."Soon after the message was sent, the CEO of Parker's company wrote back. What could easily have been a stomach-dropping moment quickly turned into a heartwarming one instead, as Parker's boss completely had her back. And then some."Hey Madalyn,I just wanted to personally thank you for sending emails like this. Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health — I can't believe this is not standard practice at all organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work."Moved by her CEO's response, Parker posted the email exchange to Twitter.The tweet, published on June 30, 2017, amassed over 45,000 likes and 16,000 retweets — though Parker has since moved her account to Private."It's nice to see some warm, fuzzy feelings pass around the internet for once," Parker says of the response to her tweet. "I've been absolutely blown away by the magnitude though. I didn't expect so much attention!"Even more impressive than the tweet's reach, however, were the heartfelt responses it got."Thanks for giving me hope that I can find a job as I am," wrote one person, who opened up about living with panic attacks. "That is bloody incredible," chimed in another. "What a fantastic CEO you have." The office is not always the best environment for mental health. Photo by Israel Andrade on Unsplash Parker, as an accessibility expert who struggles with mental health, continues to educate people about the importance of proper self-care and self-awareness. In a blog post on her website, she warns of the dangers of "brownout," the phase of exhaustion at work that comes right before burnout and utter collapse:Parker writes the signs of brownout are:You do a lot, but have little interest in what you’re doingYour to-do list is never-endingYou are constantly connected to work via your smartphone, from when you wake up to when you go to bed. This includes evenings, weekends, and even vacation.Your body is starting to show signs of wear. You don’t eat well, you don’t exercise, and you don’t get enough sleep.There are a lot of ways to address this hyper-connection and exhaustion, from altering your work environment, to exercising, to eating more of the right foods. Taking time away without being physically sick is another good way to hit the reset button, just as she modeled in her original email to her team.Many users were astounded that a CEO would be that understanding of an employee's mental health needs.They were even more surprised that the CEO thanked her for sharing her personal experience with caring for her mental health.After all, there's still a great amount of stigma associated with mental illness in the workplace, which keeps many of us from speaking up to our colleagues when we need help or need a break to focus on ourselves. We fear being seen as "weak" or less committed to our work. We might even fear losing our job. - YouTube www.youtube.com Ben Congleton, the CEO of Parker's company at the time, Olark, even joined the conversation himself.In a blog post on Medium, Congleton wrote about the need for more business leaders to prioritize paid sick leave, fight to curb the stigma surrounding mental illness in the workplace, and see their employees as people first."It's 2017. We are in a knowledge economy. Our jobs require us to execute at peak mental performance," Congleton wrote. "When an athlete is injured, they sit on the bench and recover. Let's get rid of the idea that somehow the brain is different."Parker's story first went viral in 2017. Since then, mental health days still have a stigma in some places but the understanding and acceptance of them has grown quite a bit. There's now a Mental Health Awareness Day every year on October 8 and in places like California, mental health days are covered with the same worker protections as sick days. The Mayo Clinic recommends individuals take mental health days as "an intentional act to alleviate distress and poor mood and motivation, while improving attitude, morale, functioning, efficiency and overall well-being." As they accurately report, mental health days are not just for people are feeling overwhelmed, they can be part of a deliberate strategy to maintain productivity and strong morale amongst individuals and teammates at work.Kudos to Parker for not only taking care of herself, but publicly modeling how its done for the rest of us.This article originally appeared eight years ago. It has been updated.

Editor's Note: This story discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.Joey Grundl, who was working as a pizza delivery driver for a Domino's Pizza in Waldo, Wisconsin, was hailed as a hero for noticing a kidnapped woman's subtle cry for help. It's a timeless story that continues to resonate with people today. In 2018, the deliveryman was sent to a woman's house to deliver a pie when her ex-boyfriend, Dean Hoffmann, opened the door. Grundl looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffmann. She appeared to be mouthing the words: "Call the police.""I showed up, it was a normal delivery, and saw this middle-aged couple," Grundl, 24, told NBC News. "I gave him his pizza, and then I noticed behind him was his girlfriend," Grundl told WITI Milwaukee. "She pointed to a black eye that was quite visible. She mouthed the words, 'Call the police.'" When Grundl got back to his delivery car, he called the police. When the police arrived at the home, Hoffmann tried to block the door, but eventually let the police into the woman's home. Dean Hoffmann's mugshot. via WITI Milwaukee After seeing the battered woman, Hoffmann was arrested, and she was taken to the hospital for her wounds. Earlier in the day, Hoffmann arrived at the house without her permission and tried to convince her to get back into a relationship with him. He then punched her in the face and hog-tied her with a vacuum power cord."If you love me, you will let me go," she pleaded, but he reportedly replied, "You know I can't do that." He also threatened to shoot both of them with a .22 caliber firearm he kept in his car. The woman later told authorities that she feared for her life. - YouTube www.youtube.com According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women and one in four men will experience physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Stories like this highlight not only the dangers victims face behind closed doors but also the crucial role everyday people can play in recognizing when something is wrong.A day later, Grundl was seen on TV telling his heroic story, wearing a hoodie from Taylor Swift's "Reputation Tour" and her fans quickly jumped into action, tagging Swift in photos of the hero. Grundl already had tickets to go to an upcoming Swift concert in Arlington, Wisconsin, but when Swift learned of the story, she arranged to meet Grundl backstage and they took a photo together."She … she knew who I was," Grundl jokingly tweeted after the concert. "I'm thoroughly convinced Taylor gave me a cold.""This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life," Grundl said. "I'm legitimately getting emotional and I almost never get like this. But as the likely most memorable week of my entire life comes to an end … I guess I can really say … I'm doing better than I ever was." - YouTube www.youtube.com Hoffmann was found guilty of kidnapping, suffocating, harming, and intimidating his girlfriend and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. It was his first criminal charge. During the trial, his victim told the jury that she was "deathly afraid" of Hoffmann. In 2023, after being transferred to Waupun Correctional Institute in Wisconsin, Hoffmann died by suicide after 9 days in solitary confinement. Hoffman has a history of bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation, and his death has raised questions over whether the facility was equipped to deal with severe mental health issues.How anyone can help someone in danger: a quick bystander guide Nonverbal cues are often the only safe way a victim can communicate.Photo credit: Canva 1. Notice the quiet signals. A bruise. A fearful glance. Someone trying to mouth “help.” Domestic-violence experts say these nonverbal cues are often the only safe way a victim can communicate that something’s wrong.This story originally appeared six years ago.2. Put your safety (and theirs) first.Advocates stress that directly confronting an abuser can escalate danger for everyone involved—especially the victim.3. Call for help from a safe distance. Get authorities involved while keeping yourself out of harm’s way. Bystander-intervention programs consistently rank this as the safest choice.4. Remember the “Distract, Delegate, Direct” method. This widely taught approach helps people intervene without putting themselves in danger: Distract if it’s safe. Delegate to police, security, or others. Direct only in clearly safe, public, low-risk moments.5. Know the modern silent distress signal. The now-famous “Signal for Help” (palm up, thumb tucked, fingers folded) has already saved lives when victims used it to alert bystanders discreetly.6. Trust the person, and trust your gut. If someone gives even a tiny sign that they’re in trouble, believe them. Victims often minimize their danger out of fear, trauma, or control by the abuser. A single person taking them seriously can be life-saving.7. Know that leaving is the most dangerous moment. Experts say up to 75% of domestic-violence homicides occur when the victim is attempting to leave.This is why safe, indirect intervention is so important. Sudden confrontation can put them at even higher risk.8. Share resources. They matter more than you think. A hotline number. A shelter website. A text line. These small acts create opportunities for survivors to reach out when the moment is right.Stories like Joey’s show that you don’t need a uniform or a badge to change the course of someone’s life. Sometimes heroism looks like being observant, trusting your instincts, and making a phone call.This story originally appeared six years ago. It has been updated.

In the 1960s, psychologist Julian Stanley realized that if you took the best-testing seventh graders from around the country and gave them standard college entry exams, those kids would score, on average, about as well as the typical college-bound high school senior. However, the seventh graders who scored as well or better than high schoolers, Stanley found, had off-the-charts aptitude in quantitative, logical, and spatial reasoning. In other words, they were gifted.In the 1970s, Stanley and his team launched a full-scale study, identifying many of America's gifted kids and tracking them throughout their lives.The study, called the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth never ended and is now more than 50 years in the making. It has followed countless kids from middle school into their careers as some of America's top politicians, scientists, CEOs, engineers, and military leaders. Needless to say, a lot has changed with how students are today compared to 50 years ago.Stanley passed away in the mid-2000s, but psychologist David Lubinski helped bring the study to Vanderbilt University in the 1990s, where he now co-directs it with Camilla P. Benhow.It's not a stretch to call this the biggest and most in-depth study on intellectual "precociousness." The results of the study thus far are both fascinating and genuinely surprising—a deeply insightful look into the minds and lives of brilliant children. A teacher in front of her class.Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash 1. Some of what we used to think about gifted kids turned out to be wrong.Ever heard the saying "early to ripe, early to rot"? It basically means doing "too much" to foster a kid's special talents and abilities at too young an age could actually cause harm in the long term. That's not even remotely true, at least not according to Lubinski.That might be an outdated example. But Lubinksi says there are plenty of other misconceptions still alive today, like the idea that gifted kids are so smart that they'll "find a way" to excel even if those smarts aren't nurtured and developed.Not so fast. "They're kids," he explains. "They need guidance. We all need guidance." - YouTube www.youtube.com 2. Intelligence is not the same as passion.Quick, what's the "smartest" career you can think of? Doctor? Scientist?While you do have to be pretty brilliant to work in medicine or science, those are far from the only career paths gifted kids choose later in life. "Quantitatively, gifted people vary widely in their passions," Lubinski says. Many of the students in the study did end up pursuing medicine, but others went into fields like economics or engineering. Others still were more gifted in areas like logical or verbal reasoning, making them excellent lawyers and writers."There are all kinds of ways to express intellectual talent," Lubinski explains.When it comes to doing what's best for a gifted student, it's just as important for parents and educators to know what the student is passionate about rather than pigeonholing them in traditionally "smart" fields and registering them in a bunch of STEM courses. Students taking a test.via Canva/Photos3. Hard work definitely still matters.Measuring a student's aptitude, their natural abilities, is only one part of the equation when it comes to determining how successful they'll be in life. Aptitude scores can identify a particularly strong natural skill set but tell us very little about how hard that person might work to excel in that field.Effort, Lubinski says, is a critical factor in determining how far someone will go in life. "If you look at exceptional performers in politics, science, music, and literature, they're working many, many hours," he says. (And for the record, there are a lot more important things in life than just career achievement, like family, friends, and overall happiness.)The idea that hard work still matters aligns with the 10,000-hour rule, popularized by journalist Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. The 10,000-hour rule suggests that some of the world's greatest innovators, including Bill Gates, The Beatles, and Robert Oppenheimer, excelled in their endeavors because they had 10,000 hours of practice. Students around a computer.via Canva/Photos4. Regardless of aptitude, every kid deserves to be treated as though they were gifted.The study's focus is specifically on kids within a specific range of intellectual ability, but Lubinski is careful to note that many of its findings can and should be applied to all students. For example, the children in the study who were allowed to take more challenging courses aligned with their skills and interests ultimately achieved more than those who were not afforded the same opportunity."You have to find out where your child's development is, how fast they learn, what are their strengths and relative weaknesses and tailor the curriculum accordingly," Lubinski says. "It's what you would want for all kids."It may sound a bit like a pipe dream, but it's a great starting point for how we should be thinking about the future of education in America.This article originally appeared eight years ago.