Nick Savides

Congratulations to Elon & co. for getting compensation approved! I defended Elon early in the year and got flack for it from showbiz swamp. Defending Elon Musk, reevaluating Tom Hanks and Stephen King—an unconventional, freewheeling conversation.

🚨 Interview!: Friedberg sits down with Sen. John Fetterman -- The broken Democratic Party -- SAVE Act moves through Senate, election fraud -- Iran exit strategy, NATO allies bail -- Israel's influence, AIPAC, growing anti-Israel sentiment -- National wealth tax, anti-AI sentiment -- Government fraud, debt spiral (0:00) David Friedberg welcomes Senator John Fetterman; SAVE Act thoughts (1:08) The broken Democratic Party: TDS, what he stands for, why the party changed, losing bipartisanship, popularity with Republicans (11:42) Iran exit strategy, NATO allies bail on the US (17:42) Israel's influence, AIPAC, growing anti-Israel sentiment (20:16) SAVE Act, why he supports voter ID but not this bill, election fraud (26:41) Government shutdown, red lines with ICE and immigration, birthright citizenship, why Biden opened the border (32:49) Debt death spiral, government fraud (37:38) Why he's still a Democrat, national wealth tax, anti-AI sentiment, state of agriculture

I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country

Whoa! This is now my most watched video to date. Thank you to everyone who shared and supported! 🙌 Shooting wedding films is such an honor. Every one I've shot has touched my heart in some way. Elysium Trail is my wedding film company for adventurous couples with built-to-last relationships and the families and friends who help them get there. Love guides the way: elysiumtrail.com

@nancythenance Thank you for the support, Nancy. Much appreciated. :)

@nsavidesPRO Nick, I think this is an absolutely beautiful video that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. And for all the people on here leaving rude and unnecessary comments, seek God because He has an incredible plan for your lives as well.

Making Emily & Alex's wedding film was one of the year's creative highlights for me. They're my first LSU championship couple 🏆, but they also have an endearing love story. I believe they were made for each other, and it was great to see their family and friends come together to celebrate them as a couple.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much." - Theodore Roosevelt

Got the audiobook because of your recommendation, @jason. It directly relates to something I'm working on and offered enough inspiration to keep me going, so thanks for that.

In the commentary track of a podcast interview I did with Game of Thrones compositor Travis Nobles, I discuss the dubious motivations of corrupted entertainers and horror representatives like Hereditary director, Ari Aster. Over the years I’ve come to realize how pervasive that tainted influence is and how difficult it is to overcome. A seemingly endless battle fought from without and within. podcast.nsavides.com/TravisNobles

Hi @pmarca. Saw Eddington because you recommended it in this podcast and elsewhere. The film makes astute social commentary at times. As someone who bought a cowboy hat during COVID partially in response to those who took issue with me walking around without a mask, the first half of the film resonates. By the end though, I couldn’t go along with it. Your time-to-build vision is inspiring, but the film strikes me as the opposite of that. Wikipedia considers Eddington a neo-Western thriller, but I see it more as a testament to the corrosive power of resentment and hell on earth. In other words it’s a horror film, in keeping with director Ari Aster’s background and a genre I’ve come to see as the antithesis of progress. I can’t think of a better example of the regressive aspects of horror than Jack Torrance in The Shining. Rather than awakening from the nightmare of history, he gets stuck in the maze of it and devolves into a Minotaur-like creature by the end, the polar opposite of the Star Child at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. See also the timeline of @StephenKing. Whether he is jeering at a SpaceX setback shortly after a potent cyberattack briefly disrupted x.com, trying to justify the assassination of Charlie Kirk, or calling for the impeachment of Trump right after his administration pulled off an unprecedented military operation that took out an evil dictator who brutally massacred thousands, King’s contaminated commentary is a persistent testament to the anti-progress aspects of horror and the showbiz-swamp source code that seemingly fuels so many of its practitioners. I don’t begrudge you for being captivated by Eddington. It has its moments. I’m writing this because you called it one of the best films of the decade, and I find it bewildering that so many tech leaders and builders don’t seem to acknowledge the extent to which the showbiz swamp undermines the noble things they try to accomplish. This is even after the showbiz swamp produced a musical to celebrate CEO killer Luigi Mangione, helped educate Zohran Mamdani, and stood in solidarity as Billie Eilish undermined property rights at her Grammys acceptance speech, a foundational concept that enables technological innovation and made her illustrious career possible. As someone who studied film and television in college, I understand all too well the inclination to want to embrace popular culture, but doing so without qualms or reservations can have harmful reprecussions. Even Apple is not immune to that inclination. While their marketing suggests that they want to positively change the world, one of their biggest TV hits, Severance, suggests that working for a big company is soul-fracturing and possibly nefarious. I admire the work that you and your partners do to empower entrepreneurs, but if you are not also willing to address the culture that impedes their progress and denigrates their values, then their efforts will be perpetually constrained and potentially demolished by the likes of Mamdani, Ro Khanna, and everyone else under the influence of the showbiz swamp. For more on this, check out the video at the top of this thread. It has over 1 million views and includes some related commentary about @elonmusk, the showbiz swamp, and such. x.com/pmarca/status/…

Congratulations to Elon & co. for getting compensation approved! I defended Elon early in the year and got flack for it from showbiz swamp. Defending Elon Musk, reevaluating Tom Hanks and Stephen King—an unconventional, freewheeling conversation.

On the making of Audible's new full-cast productions of the Harry Potter books. Some hesitate to work with those who don't conform with the entertainment hive mind. Glad Audible is more open-minded. Bet Amazon's investors also don't mind. 20k.org/episodes/harry…

And it will forever be appalling to me that a bunch of celebrities with influence over young people used their platforms to amplify unevidenced claims for the benefit of transitioning minors while smearing those urging caution as bigots.

In a sick world, can a couple possibly meant for each other find true love? This is a question that Wuthering Heights explores. In the London-published 1847 novel, society is inflicted by a constraining class system. In this year's film adaption, written and directed by London-bore Emerald Fennell, the taint seems to be our decadent, sex-obsessed pop-culture. The answer in both cases strikes me as something like, well probably not but wouldn't it be interesting if they could, and also here's some stylized artistry to make that dissonance more palatable. This is why the film adaptation is more notable than some critics suggest. Also, the film's rumored sexual content is mostly implied and/or evoking death in not entirely sexy ways. In context, the death-like aspects of sex don't feel like the ultimate thing certain commerce agents suggest we should always pursue. The film is not for everyone. Nonetheless, I consider it a suitable adaptation for the era. If you appreciate director Baz Luhrmann's attempts to recontextualize the past with a contemporary vibe in a heighted, music-video style (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby), then you might also appreciate this year's take on Wuthering Heights.

From a producer on Oppenheimer who recently released a concept album with Shooter Jennings. Not everyone in the industry has to kiss the ring and conform to the contaminated influence of the showbiz swamp.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” —J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

For what it's worth @StephenKing, I initially wrote this thread after revisiting The Life of Chuck. Something told me I missed something the first viewing, so I borrowed the Blu-ray from the library. The audio commentary accented the significance of Carl Sagan and made me notice the Back to the Future connection and the essence of the story, something I missed initially because of the awkward porn commentary, the right-wing nut reference, and what initially seemed like a gratuitously long dance sequence. (In response to Gene Kelly's gotta dance entreaty, I would respond by saying, "Do we? No, I don't think so." I acknowledge I have my biases.) On second viewing I realized that even though I am not much of a dancer, the film is strangely relevant to me, as is the influence of Carl Sagan's wife on the project. I was going to write to tell you that, not to try to be negative, but I couldn't get past your TDS-tainted commentary. That's what can happen when I listen to that strange sense, why I regularly try to avoid doing that. Can't say that I don't believe what I wrote yesterday, but I wish it would someday seem untrue.

I once tried to do as much for you, @StephenKing. A part of me regrets it, although I'm not sure which part. Also, this you?

What a curious thing for someone to say who is in the business of bringing demons to life, who regularly seems to spew whatever vitriolic talking points his DNC Sith Lords dictate. @StephenKing when was the last time you gave someone on the other side the benefit of the doubt, a second glance, a humanizing characterization?

"My biggest worry is... the perception of technology in America." Ben Horowitz on why optimism about AI is critical: "Over 70% of people in China are optimistic about AI. And less than 30% in America or something like that were optimistic about AI." "We're very focused on the dangers of AI here and not on the positive things." "We're going to... end traffic deaths. We're going to cure cancer. We're going to end poverty as we know it." "Those are pretty good things." "The positive uses of the technology are extremely positive. The negative ones are there, but we can manage them, in the same way we've managed the negative of every technology." "Starting with fire, which has very bad consequences — it can burn down your village... but it also heats your house, and cooks your food, and does some very wonderful things." @bhorowitz with @davidu

Project Hail Mary’s post-cynical message is going to hit big this spring. Why? When things feel the most bleak, that is exactly the time we need to be the LEAST cynical. Cynicism is a self-preservation reaction. It’s “fake smart” & reduces our problem solving abilities.

.@POTUS, this is Mayorkas 2.0. I was the Dem lead on the Laken Riley bill. I want a secure border. You’re accomplishing that. Double down on deporting criminal migrants. It’s what any reasonable citizen wants and voted for.

The UK government flagged these books (among others) as potential signs of far-right extremism. List includes Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Hobbes' Leviathan, Milton's Paradise Lost. You may be an extremist if you've read these. What else would you add to the list?