Tuesday, July 7, 2026
The California Supreme Court might authorize electronic recordings in civil court proceedings (I've never seen "voice writers" before)
LAT:
Proponents argue recordings would solve a long-standing crisis that leaves many proceedings with no verbatim record.
Court reporters say the job can be performed only by a human being
...
[One out of work tv writer] is now in training to become a “voice writer,” a form of note-taking that relies on a device called a stenomask — something like a cross between a podcast mic and a nebulizer — to produce a transcript. Voice writers repeat every word spoken in court along with a sequence of formatting commands to voice recognition software.
...
A change in state law in 2023 allowed voice writers to become licensed as “certified shorthand reporters,” opening a new pipeline for court staff
Glow in the dark Over the Garden Wall exclusive figure set by Mondo
The Over the Garden Wall Chapter 2 Glow-in-the-Dark Variant Figure Set - Entertainment Earth Exclusive includes:
- Enoch Figure with Swappable Frowning Mouth
- Man Pumpkin with 2 Swappable Pumpkin Heads and 2 Swappable Arm sets ( Holding corn and slicing apple)
- Lady Pumpkin with Swappable Arms
- Grandpa Pumpkin with Swappable Arm with Earhorn
- Dancing Cat
- Dancing Skeleton with Swappable Pumpkin Head
- Beatrice with Ball and Chain Attachment
New Humble Bundle featuring science fiction and fantasy books by Tanith Lee
Today's news and jokes
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) July 6, 2026 at 7:07 PM
(Best jersey in the tournament)(via @belgiumtouch.bsky.social) 🇧🇪
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) July 7, 2026 at 7:29 AM
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The audiobook for Jeff VanderMeer's "Authority" is great
I loved Annihilation (book and movie), but, until now, never got around to reading Authority, I think because I read a later sequel out of order and found it very boring.
But the Authority audiobook is great--the story's great, and the performance by Bronson Pinchot is great. It picks up right after the events of Annihilation and is about a failson FBI agent sent to the Southern Reach to figure out why their excursions keep ending in disaster, and immediately finding himself in way over his head. It reads like gothic horror, with the bureaucracy of the Southern Reach's headquarters serving as the decaying haunted mansion.
Available at Amazon, but I used the Libby app.