After a couple years of making bots, I’ve made a fair few wordlists that I thought other people might be able to make use of, so I decided to release them. These are provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License; if you want to use them commercially, please contact me and we can work something out.

I’m just providing these as lists in txt files; I use delim.co to turn them into Tracery code.

• body parts
• goo
• buildings that are full of secrets
• unsettling gerunds
• unsettling adjectives
• cooking tools
• ingredients
• cooking styles
• dishes (compiled from multiple cookbooks, mainly the Joy of Cooking, as well as suggestions from Twitter followers)

While onstage at the Glastonbury Festival, Johnny Depp channelled his inner John Wilkes Booth and mused to the crowd, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” The Scottish crowd, by the way, went freaking wild. Still, because freedom of speech (even from awful people saying awful things) is nice in theory but doesn’t seem to be super en vogue with the current administration, Depp issued an apology. He told People Magazine, “I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump. It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.”

Here’s the thing: I don’t give a crap about Johnny Depp. I don’t care that he made a stupid joke; I don’t care that he apologized; I don’t care that he continues to exist. I’m done caring about Johnny Depp.

What I do care about though, is how many people–and which people–took major, public, vocal issue with the joke.

There’s been a dramatic uptick lately in the condemnation of Trump criticism. Whether or not you agree with that criticism, or think the form it takes is in fine taste or poor, speaking out against Trump has become a target of protest (look at Julius Caesar) and even a fireable offense (i.e. Kathy Griffin), and that’s a dangerous direction to be heading. The hypocrisy is staggering, as Trump supporters spent eight years overlooking or cheering on Ted Nugent’s calls to lynch Barack Obama or the multiple Obama-themed productions of Caesar that ran in multiple prominent American theaters. Now, though, making allusions to violence against the president is an unspeakable, some might even say deplorable, act. What a fascinating change of heart.

And let’s not overlook what else so much of America never had a problem with until now: namely, everything else Johnny Depp has done over the last few years. When Depp was accused of abusing his ex-wife Amber Heard, the silence from most of the country was deafening. (Except, of course, us damn feminists and SJWs trying to tear a good man down.)

Where was the Fox News condemnation of Depp when he was accused of abusing his wife?

Johnny Depp “maybe it’s time” (For an assassination of a president)? Damn fool… damn fool-> https://t.co/S0SC1Za0iN

— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) June 23, 2017

No one would expect Donald Trump himself to ever speak out against a man over issues of abuse or harassment. In addition to the accusations leveled against him by many women, I’m guessing he’s never met an accused man he didn’t want to defend. Now, though, Depp is on Trump’s official “sad” list.

Donald Trump, Jr. even went so far as to pretend he cares about the abuse, tweeting out pictures of Amber Heard’s bruises.

Depp is another stellar left wing spokesman: Pictures of Amber Heard after ���Johnny Depp assault��� https://t.co/i2lDNegZQe via @MailOnline

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 23, 2017

How disgusting do you have to be to exploit a woman’s suffering after ignoring it right up until it becomes a useful game piece in your war against people who insult your dad? As disgusting as Donald Trump, Jr, I guess. He’s actually laughing.

Ha, Depp wants to make social commentary: Johnny Depp’s team knew of alleged abuse of Amber Heard https://t.co/WyybzEx3hT via @MailOnline

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 23, 2017

I know that these are total false equivalencies, wondering why people can ignore Depp’s alleged abuse but condemn his tasteless joke about violence. They are not the same thing. But if anything should have brought Depp down–if anything should have kept him out of Fantastic Beasts or put him on America’s shit list–it should have been those pictures above, the accusations of abuse, the way he very obviously and publicly tried to manipulate Heard during their divorce proceedings. And none of it mattered. Most people turned a blind eye, or worse, blamed Heard.

Court documents from their lawsuit have revealed that even Depp’s managers knew about the abuse, at least through the divorce process if not before, and did nothing. Because Depp is a powerful man, and he was making them money. And because we’re still struggling to get people to take the assault of a woman as seriously as they take a joke against a man.

(via BBC, image: Shutterstock)

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After the Trump administration decided to again ban camera from a press conference, CNN decided to get creative: the network decided to send a sketch artist instead.

CNN writes that their usual Supreme Court sketch artist, Bill Hennessy, was sent over to the White House on Friday afternoon to document the press conference led by Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

So far this month, most of the regular press briefings have been off-camera. Only 4 conferences in June have been with cameras present.

With the coverage of conferences now looking similar to those back in the day when the Constitution was first brought about, the media is naturally concerned about its place in today’s politics in America.

“Some days we’ll do it [on camera],” said Spicer, when pressed on the reduction in media access. “I think it’s great for us to come out here and have a substantive discussion about policies. I don’t think that the be all and end all is whether it’s on television or not.”

The White House has held televised briefings since the 1990s, but things have now changed, and without a given reason.

The President of the White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement that, “We believe strongly that Americans should be able to watch and listen to senior government officials face questions from an independent news media, in keeping with the principles of the First Amendment and the need for transparency at the highest levels of government.”

If this trend continues, the Associated Press may need to start thinking about investing in paints and brushes, rather than a bunch of high-end cameras.

Image credits: Sketches by Bill Hennessy/CNN

This one was for Hollywood’s #1 Royals fan.

The celebrities were out in full force as Paul Rudd and some other actors and actresses (Jason Sudeikis, Eric Stonestreet, Rob Riggle, David Koechner, George Wendt, Jake Tapper, James van der Beek, Weird Al Yankovic, but most importantly, Paul Rudd) were in town for the Big Slick Celebrity Softball Tournament before the Royals game. Paul Rudd and the stars stuck around to watch the Royals take on the Jays and the boys in blue gave them a Hollywood ending.

Early on, Jake Junis had his defense let him down. Lorenzo Cain misjudged a ball to allow a hit in the third that Junis was able to work around, but he would find trouble in the fourth. He led the inning off by plunking old friend Kendrys Morales, then gave up a double to Troy Tulowitzki, allowing Morales to score after a poor relay. A flyout by Dwight Smith, Jr. advanced Tulowitzki to third. Junis then uncorked a pitch that got away from Salvador Perez, who was a bit lackadaisical in chasing the ball, allowing Tulo to score, making it 2-0 Jays.

Junis was otherwise solid, turning in one of his best outings as a Major Leaguer. He worked 6 ¹⁄₃ innings, allowing just the two runs while striking out four. He walked just two and gave up six hits, lowering his ERA to 4.97.

The Royals mustered little offense all night against J.A. Happ, but Lorenzo Cain led off the seventh with a liner that he legged out for a double. Second baseman Ryan Goins then flubbed an Eric Hosmer grounder for an error, and Dwight Smith, Jr. misjudged a Salvador Perez line drive to allow it to fall for a single, scoring Cain. Happ was able to retire Mike Moustakas, and with Brandon Moss and Alcides Escobar due up with two runners on, it seemed like a good time to pinch hit. But we all know Ned Yost does not pinch hit. Happ retired Moss on - get this - a strikeout, and Escobar was retired by reliever Danny Barnes to end the threat.

Joakim Soria would come in the eighth and while he wasn’t hit particularly hard, he gave up three singles and a walk to score two more runs to make it 4-1 Jays, and it looked like the Royals may fall short of reaching .500.

But in the ninth inning, the Royals thrilled the audience as much as Paul Rudd does in one of his many popular feature films. With one out, Salvador Perez doubled to deep left. Hope seemed to vanish when Mike Moustakas popped out, leaving it to Brandon Moss.

Moss drew two strikes but battled and worked a walk. Again, Ned Yost stuck with his guns and let Alcides Escobar hit with the game on the line, but his loyalty would be rewarded when Esky drove home a run with a single. The Jays brought in lefty Aaron Loup to face Alex Gordon, but Gordo came through with an RBI single of his own to make it 4-3 and suddenly, things were happening.

With closer Roberto Osuna seemingly not available, the Jays turned to Jason Grilli to try to close the door shut. But they didn’t count on Whit Merrifield being the star of this show. Whit drove a pitch over the head of left fielder Dwight Smith, Jr., allowing two runs to score to win the game and give Paul Rudd a happy ending.

The Royals are back at .500 and have some of the spark and energy that captivated Royals fans in 2014 and 2015. To all those that wrote the Royals off in April, well you may have to deal with Royals Devil Magic all summer. Deal with it.

“This isn’t about having children. It’s about controlling women.”

Missouri is one of the most restrictive states for abortion access in the country. There is only one abortion clinic in the state, people must wait 72 hours before receiving an abortion, and private insurance policies and health plans offered under the state exchange only cover the procedure if the woman’s life is endangered, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Only five other states in the country have 72-hour waiting periods.

But Missouri’s abortion restrictions may become even more strict, now that the legislature is considering a bill that would give its attorney general the power to enforce any abortion law, overturn a St. Louis ordinance that protects people from discrimination in housing and employment based on their reproductive decisions, and allow the state health department to conduct unannounced inspections of abortion clinics.

The bill passed the Senate and the House, but will go back to the Senate after the House made several changes. Alison Dreith, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, said the resistance to the St. Louis ordinance is proof, as well as lawmakers’ choice to push a bill criminalizing prenatal drug use, that many Missouri lawmakers care more about “control, and shame, and harming women’s health.”

“We do door-to-door canvassing and we came across a woman who was fired for taking too much time off after miscarriage, so that was certainly why we pushed the ordinance,” Dreith said. “But this is also a devastating reminder of just how much control some people want to have around women. This isn’t about having children. It’s about controlling women.”

“We’re all wondering if this special session bill gets passed, especially when it includes language to give our attorney general authority to enforce abortion laws in our state, if that would make us the most restrictive state in the country or not,” Dreith added.

Missouri Republicans are also still pursuing 20-week abortion bans, about two weeks less than the state’s current limit, and a bill that would require parental consent for someone under the age of 18 to receive an abortion.

Lawmakers may end up ditching the bill because they’re more concerned about the imposition of a special session than they are about controlling women’s reproductive care. Last week, Gov. Eric Greitens (R) called lawmakers back into a special session because he said it was urgent for lawmakers to respond to a federal judge’s ruling that struck down state regulations requiring abortion providers to get specific hospital admitting privileges. The regulations were similar to a Texas law that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year.

But a bipartisan group of senators is not interested in having another special session and said the broader abortion issue does not need to be handled immediately.

“I don’t think we should be here. “It’s certainly clear the governor doesn’t have any respect for this process,” Sen. Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, told the Kansas City Star.

Dreith said that although the bill has the votes to go through, lawmakers may wait to pick up the bill in January. A bipartisan group of six senators called for an investigation of the governor this month and said they want a list of his campaign donors. In addition to the criticism of the governor, the House’s actions delayed legislation.

“I think that because the Senate worked hard on compromises and the House kind of blew that up and is making the Senate come back to conference now to have another hearing on what they've passed, I think it would behoove even people who don't stand on the same side with us to end this wasteful special session,” Dreith said. “They certainly are not going to side with Missouri women, but I think there is something deeper happening here, that they believe the governor is really hijacking their interim, and ‘How many more is he going to call?’”

Missouri’s already severe abortion restrictions could get even worse was originally published in ThinkProgress on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What do you do with a problem like turning your greatest Nazi-fighting superhero into an agent of Hydra, upsetting fans for months? Continue to milk the storyline unto infinity, if you’re Marvel Comics!

We’ve written about Nazi Cap several times before and now I’m just. Done. At this point, I’m devoid of any other emotion where my beloved Steve Rogers is concerned except for a sense of total exhaustion. Despite more than a year of consternation and pushback from fans and lots of distraught press coverage, Marvel has decided to beat this dead war horse for all that it’s worth. Screenrant reports:

“…it looks like the controversial Captain America story will go on even longer thanks to Secret Empire Omega #1. What originally started as a nine-issue series and countless tie-ins had previously been extended with a tenth issue depicting Captain America’s new Hydra armor on its cover – suggesting his reign as Hydra’s leader wouldn’t be stopped by story’s end. At least, Steve Rogers wouldn’t be returning to the version of Captain America fans actually love.”

This is frustrating particularly because Marvel had assured us, in its tone-deaf way, that we’d be feeling better about Steve’s decisions by the end of Secret Empire, telling fans to “wait and see.” Now you have to wait and see and also buy some more comics! Oh and here also are even more “countless tie-ins.” Gotta catch ’em all!

I guess nothing sells books like exploiting the good will and affection built up for a superhero over seventy years. A character created by Jews to punch Hilter in the face who is now running Hydra. And Marvel’s sitting there like, how can we do even more of this? They’ve certainly thrown a ton of money into promoting and growing this thing rather than, say, the recently canceled titled featuring diverse characters.

Go on, Screenrant:

When an issue is described as something of an epilogue dealing with the “Aftermath” of a major event, there will be some readers who feel it a less-than-necessary read. For the cynics, it’s merely a chance to extend an event’s branding for one more week or month. But with writer Nick Spencer and artist Andrea Sorrentino remaining on for Omega, and announced to contain 40 pages, it’s looking more and more like the creative team may be saving some of their biggest, or most pivotal closing words or events for the very end.

This is what we in the business like to call “LOL suckers we’re coming for more of your hard-earned cash.” Nick Spencer’s probably cackling like some kind of actual Hydra villain going “Muahahaha, I could have wrapped this thing up when I said I would, but oh look AT THIS NEW AND SIZEABLE PAYCHECK.”

Here’s the official synopsis for Secret Empire Omega #1, if you can bring yourself to care (SPOILERS I GUESS):

SECRET EMPIRE AFTERMATH! Hydra has fallen, but the world is still not secure! As the heroes of the Marvel Universe stir from the wreckage of the battlefield, the inevitable rebuilding must begin. However, one question hangs in the air over the proceedings: What redemption can there be for Captain America?

I don’t know? Maybe Captain America wouldn’t need to find redemption if he hadn’t been turned into the leader of Hydra and betrayer of his friends and deepest principles? I’ll give you that idea for free, Marvel.

There’s also this: when you cancel Black Panther & The Crew and World of Wakanda, which were being written, respectively, by Ta-nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay, two best-selling and immensely respected writers with massive followings that you somehow could not figure out how to market effectively, you are doing things wrong. When you delete spaces for diverse voices but find time and resources to extend the universe where Captain America is evil, you are DOING EVERYTHING WRONG.

You may find a way to narratively “redeem” Secret Empire‘s Steve Rogers to some readers’ satisfaction, but how will you, Marvel Comics, redeem yourself from the ill-will and sense of betrayal this year’s decisions have provoked in fans?

Please just let me rest.

(via Screenrant, image: Marvel Comics)

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