A magic bag vacuum is a type of portable vacuum cleaner that has gained popularity in recent years. It is known for its unique design, powerful suction, and convenience. This type of vacuum cleaner is small in size and lightweight, making it easy to carry around the house or even take with you on the go. One of the key features of a magic bag vacuum is its ability to compress the vacuumed dirt and debris into a compact bag, maximizing the amount of space available in the vacuum cleaner. This allows for longer cleaning sessions without the need to empty the dirt compartment frequently. Another advantage of the magic bag vacuum is its powerful suction power.

Jack and Spike on Amazon cutting jobs from Twitch, other divisions

UKRAINE - 2021/06/09: In this illustration, an American video live streaming service Twitch logo seen displayed on a smartphone and a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

(Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

MyNorthwest Content Editor

Amazon has eliminated hundreds of positions across its video production and distribution division, including more than 500 employees working for its livestreaming subsidiary Twitch. Amazon Prime Video and Amazon’s MGM Studios division also lost several hundred jobs.

Once the moves are finalized, Amazon will have removed more than 27,000 jobs over the past year.

According to The Associated Press, these moves being made in early 2024 are to make the “tremendously expensive division” profitable as Twitch CEO Dan Clancy wrote in an email to employees. He added that the platform “is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business.”

“For some time now, the organization has been sized based upon where we optimistically expect our business to be in three or more years, not where we’re at today,” Clancy wrote.

Twitch is a multichannel online network that allows people to watch some of the best gamers in the world similar to how many people watch professional sports. Amazon purchased Twitch Interactive in 2014 for $970 million.

“On Twitch, it wasn’t just video games. It was also pretty ladies. It was also people who were gambling. Major League Gaming sporting events were all on Twitch, it was a really big deal,” Jack Stine said on The Jack and Spike Show. “The problem with Twitch is they started changing their terms of service because they wanted to attract high-level advertisers. They wanted that sweet sweet A-tier, A-rating advertisers. They wanted GM. They wanted Disney and, to get that, they had to make some concessions.”

From there, Jack noted that those types of concessions then led to the departure of talent to another service.

“No more gambling. Cut all those streams. Can’t gamble anymore. What about a nice hot tub stream? Not anymore, it’s got to be censored. You got to have more clothing on,” Otherwise, it’s considered to be indecent exposure,” Jack continued. “So, over time, a lot of the talent that went to Twitch because they couldn’t be on YouTube anymore, they decided I’m not making any money anymore. I’m not a partner there. I can’t collect donations anymore. What’s the point of this? So a bunch of guys got together and they started a platform called Kik.”

According to CBC News, Twitch, Prime Video and MGM Studios employees in the Americas found out if they lost their jobs Wednesday, while most workers other regions were informed by the end of the week. Clancy took to his blog yesterday to state how disappointed he was when he learned this news got leaked early.

Another advantage of the magic bag vacuum is its powerful suction power. Despite its small size, it is capable of picking up a wide range of dirt and debris, including pet hair, crumbs, and small particles. This makes it a versatile cleaning tool for various surfaces, such as carpets, hardwood floors, and upholstery.

Amazon’s willingness to experiment

“Isn’t this a place where a guy like Jeff Bezos, who’s got untold amounts of money, can take a financial hit to put a platform out there like Twitch, which is a safer cleaner platform?” Spike O’Neill, co-host of The Jack and Spike Show, asked while on the air.

“What I’ve heard about Amazon’s corporate strategy is that they’re willing to try big ideas and fail rather spectacularly, right?” Laura Scott, the producer for The Jack and Spike Show, added.

Bezos has described Amazon as a place to fail dating back nearly 10 years. In a 2015 shareholders letter, Bezos stated “Amazon’s approach to experimentation, even when it leads to unsuccessful outcomes, is what fuels its innovation engine.”

In the nine years since that letter, Amazon has taken plenty of risks, especially with its entertainment divisions. The company spent $8.5 billion in 2022 to purchase MGM and quickly parlayed that purchase with another near $500 million investment in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” an 8-episode TV series prequel based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books for Prime Video. MGM owned the TV rights to anything related to “The Lord of the Rings” and Middle-Earth.

Still, Jack described the situation with Twitch as a consequence of “over-policing” content.

Jack on mask requirements at Wash. clinics: ‘It’s not weird’

“Much like what conservatives say about these mega social media platforms, Twitch fell into that same habit of kicking people off that they disagreed with,” Stine said. “And unfortunately, when that happens, you end up having a deficit of talent and a deficit of people who actually want to watch your platform.”

Alongside the employee layoffs, Amazon Prime is set to increase prices for viewers who wish to remain commercial-free in a strategy both Netflix and Disney+ streaming services have previously used.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Listen to Jack and Spike weekdays from noon-3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

A new year means new books. We’ll help you create your reading list.

This year promises to bring another bumper crop for readers. To help us all prepare, we’ve organized 2024 releases we’re especially looking forward to in some major categories and included a few suggestions for what you might enjoy based on your favorite books of recent times. The fall schedule will come into clearer view as the year progresses, so this list leans heavily on the first half of 2024. We’re eager to hear what you’re looking forward to most, whether it’s on this list or not. Here’s to another 12 months of reading pleasure.

Fiction

If you liked “Demon Copperhead,” by Barbara Kingsolver, read “James,” by Percival Everett (March 19)

Barbara Kingsolver’s best-selling Pulitzer winner was directly inspired by the socially concerned novels of Charles Dickens. Percival Everett has set himself the thrilling task of rewriting Huck Finn from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. Everett has been a writer’s writer for decades. In recent years, with a novel shortlisted for the Booker Prize (“The Trees”) and another (“Erasure”) becoming the source material for an acclaimed movie (“American Fiction”), his name has become more widely familiar. It seems possible that “James” will finally make him closer to a literary-household name.

If you liked “Biography of X,” by Catherine Lacey, read “Anita de Monte Laughs Last,” by Xochitl Gonzalez (March 5)

Xochitl Gonzalez published her first novel, “Olga Dies Dreaming,” two years ago. The Washington Post’s Ron Charles wrote: “Rarely does a novel, particularly a debut novel, contend so powerfully and so delightfully with such a vast web of personal, cultural, political and even international imperatives.” Her follow-up also combines the story of an intimate relationship with thoughts about larger social and political concerns. In it, an Ivy League art history student struggling to fit in on campus becomes fascinated by the story of a promising artist who was found dead years earlier.

If you liked “The Seven Year Slip,” by Ashley Poston, read “The Husbands,” by Holly Gramazio (April 2)

Holly Gramazio is a game designer who has created games that can be played in all sorts of places, from your computer to walls in a public park. Her playful creativity now finds expression in a debut novel, in which a London woman discovers that a series of husbands she’s never met before continually emerge from her attic. “It’s about, I guess, online dating to some extent. It’s about the difficulty of making decisions in a world of seemingly infinite choice,” Gramazio has said. “And it’s about how you can’t live all of your lives at once even if you really, really want to.”

If you liked “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” by Gabrielle Zevin, read “Real Americans,” by Rachel Khong (April 30)

Rachel Khong’s debut novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” about a 30-year-old woman who returns home to help with her ailing father, was one of the best-reviewed books of 2017. She returns, painting on a larger canvas, in this story about three generations of a Chinese American family, starting with two geneticists who flee China in the 1960s, during the Cultural Revolution. Their daughter, Lily Chen, narrates the first of the book’s three parts. Different voices follow, in a multilayered look at family and identity.

More fiction coming in 2024

The Ukraine by Artem Chapeye, translated by Zenia Tompkins A kaleidoscopic collection of 26 stories about Ukrainian life, by an author who has been fighting in the war there • Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj A debut novel about the diverse Palestinian American residents of a community in Baltimore

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford The always interesting Spufford sets his new detective novel in an alternative 1920s America where the Indigenous population is thriving • In Ascension by Martin MacInnes Scottish genre-tweaker MacInnes plays with sci-fi, from the deepest ocean to outer space, in this longlisted finalist for the 2023 Booker Prize • Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright One of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary writers has written an “abundant odyssey” (Sydney Morning Herald) that has wowed critics in her home country • Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange Orange follows his debut, “There There,” with a novel about the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and their impact on the lives of one family

Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham The New Yorker staff writer makes his fiction debut with the story of a young Black man working on the presidential campaign of a senator seemingly modeled on Barack Obama • The Children of the Dead by Elfriede Jelinek, translated by Gitta Honegger Translated for the first time into English, this novel by the 2004 Nobel laureate imagines an Austrian resort where victims of the Holocaust return from the dead • The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez Henríquez’s first novel in 10 years (since “The Book of Unknown Americans”) is set around the construction of the Panama Canal • Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman Waldman made a splash in 2013 with her debut, “The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.” This follow-up concerns a group of precarious workers at a big-box store. • Wild Houses by Colin Barrett The first novel by a widely acclaimed Irish writer of short stories involves hard-bitten and bad-luck characters out for revenge • Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel A debut novel about eight teenage girls competing at a boxing event in Reno, Nev. • Until August by Gabriel García Márquez A rediscovered novel by the giant of world literature, about a married woman who each August has a tryst with a different man • The Tree Doctor by Marie Mutsuki Mockett The plot of Mockett’s second novel, about a woman caring for her ill mother while starting an intense affair, makes use of “The Tale of Genji,” the 11th-century Japanese classic

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez A writer in the Dominican Republic buries her work — in the dirt, not in drawers — in this fantastical novel by the beloved author of “In the Time of the Butterflies” • The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo Bardugo leaves the fantastical Yale campus of her last two bestsellers (“Ninth House” and “Hell Bent”) for a story set during Spain’s Golden Age — but the fantastical elements (as the title suggests) remain • Lucky by Jane Smiley Smiley’s new novel tells the story of a folk singer in the vein of Joan Baez and comes with a cover design beautifully redolent of a 1970s album • Reboot by Justin Taylor Taylor’s latest is a satire of Hollywood and online culture in which a former child actor is desperate to recapture his glory days

Long Island by Colm Tóibín A sequel to the author’s “Brooklyn” (2009), which was made into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan as Eilis Lacey • The Second Coming by Garth Risk Hallberg The writer who made headlines for the ambition of (and the size of the paycheck for) his debut, “City on Fire” (2015), is back with this aptly titled follow-up about a teenage girl reunited with her troubled father • This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud Based partly on her own family’s history, the latest by Messud (“The Emperor’s Children”) is an epic that spans seven decades, beginning in 1940 • You Like It Darker by Stephen King A new collection of 12 stories, many never before published • Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan More globe-trotting high jinks among the wealthy from the author of “Crazy Rich Asians” • All Fours by Miranda July The singular filmmaker and author returns with the story of a 45-year-old artist looking to reinvent herself

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry The author of “The Essex Serpent” again explores the subjects of science and religion in this story about two friends whose lives become entwined with that of a long-ago astronomer • Godwin by Joseph O’Neill O’Neill’s award-winning “Netherland” (2008) centered on the culture of cricket in New York. “Godwin” is about two half-brothers and one talented soccer prospect. • Bear by Julia Phillips A fable-like novel about two sisters on an island in the Pacific Northwest is the follow-up to Phillips’s acclaimed debut, “Disappearing Earth” • Fire Exit by Morgan Talty Like his collection of short stories, “Night of the Living Rez,” Talty’s first novel is set around Maine’s Penobscot Reservation, where a man weighs whether to reveal a long-held secret

Colored Television by Danzy Senna Senna (“Caucasia,” “New People”) returns with a novel about a struggling writer who goes to Hollywood to work on “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies” • Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner The author of “Fleishman Is in Trouble” follows up that smash debut with four eventful decades in the life of a suburban family • Someone Like Us by Dinaw Mengestu After the son of Ethiopian immigrants returns to the D.C. community where he was raised, a sudden death sets him digging into his family’s history • The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry The Irish novelist sets his fiction in America for the first time with this story of a love affair in 19th-century Montana

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich A love story set against the backdrop of the sugar beet industry, Erdrich’s latest stands alone but can also be read as a sequel to “The Beet Queen” (1986) • The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts by Louis Bayard In his new novel, Bayard (“The Pale Blue Eye,” “Jackie & Me”) turns his historical gimlet eye on the life and family of Oscar Wilde • Entitlement by Rumaan Alam Ideals and power go under the microscope in this novel about a 33-year-old Black woman working to help an 83-year-old White billionaire give away his fortune • The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk The Nobel winner’s work continues to arrive in English with this translation of a sanitarium-set novel with echoes of Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain”

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami The latest novel by the global star rewrites and (vastly) expands a short story of the same name that he published more than 40 years ago

Memoir & Biography

If you liked “Stay True,” by Hua Hsu, read “Grief Is for People,” by Sloane Crosley (Feb. 27)

Sloane Crosley is well known for her collections of humorous essays, starting with “I Was Told There’d Be Cake,” and two novels (most recently “Cult Classic”). In her first full-length memoir, she writes about her friendship with Russell Perreault, a longtime publicist at Vintage Books who was Crosley’s boss and mentor in the business as well as her dear friend. Perreault killed himself in 2019, soon after Crosley’s apartment was burglarized. The book maintains Crosley’s signature wit while anatomizing grief, fear, the complexity of people and a changing publishing industry.

If you liked “Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art,” by Mary Gabriel, read “Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring,” by Brad Gooch (March 5)

“Even more extremely than his own model as a living artist, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring occupied a space both in high fine art culture and low demotic street art,” Brad Gooch writes in the prologue to “Radiant.” Gooch, who has written previous acclaimed biographies of writers Flannery O’Connor and Frank O’Hara, was granted access to the archive of the graffiti and pop artist for this project. Between arriving in New York in 1978 and his premature death from AIDS in 1990, at 31, Haring went from a subway sensation whose work visually defined the 1980s New York scene to worldwide fame.

If you liked “Just Kids,” by Patti Smith, read “Rebel Girl,” by Kathleen Hanna (May 14)

As the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill in the 1990s, Kathleen Hanna was the face of the riot grrrl movement, a potent mix of punk rock and feminist activism. In her first memoir (her life was the subject of a 2013 documentary), Hanna recounts her difficult childhood; the music scene in Olympia, Wash., where Bikini Kill was born; her friendships with Kurt Cobain, Kim Gordon and others; her marriage to Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) of the Beastie Boys; and her critique of the riot grrrl culture in its later years.

More memoir and biography coming in 2024

Splinters by Leslie Jamison The author of “The Empathy Exams” and “The Recovering” writes about life after the birth of her daughter and the end of her marriage • Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon with Kim Green A refugee who barely survived Pol Pot’s genocide writes about her harrowing experiences and the importance of food to her family and country • I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition by Lucy Sante The acclaimed cultural critic writes about her life as a writer and transitioning at age 66 • But You Don’t Look Arab: And Other Tales of Unbelonging by Hala Gorani An NBC news correspondent and former CNN anchor writes about her eventful career and her life as the daughter of Syrian immigrants

There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib Poet, essayist and cultural critic Abdurraqib writes a complicated ode to his hometown, Columbus, Ohio, and a sport he loves • Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare This life of the creator of James Bond says there’s much more to understanding him than 007 • Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, a Daughter’s Story by Kristine S. Ervin Ervin was 8 when her mother was abducted and murdered in Oklahoma, and in this memoir she wrestles with the aftermath and recounts the long search for the killers • Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History by Margaret Juhae Lee As Lee grew up in Houston, the life of her Korean grandfather, who had died in 1936, was shrouded by secrecy • Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson by James Marcus A critic and essayist makes the case for Emerson’s complexity and relevance • The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul The drag superstar writes about his difficult childhood in San Diego, his early creative years and his personal relationships • Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O’Brien This promises to be the definitive biography of Rose, who remains integral to the story of baseball and anathema to many of those charged with telling it

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie Rushdie’s account of being attacked and nearly killed while onstage in 2022 is one of the year’s most anticipated memoirs • The Wives by Simone Gorrindo A memoir that doubles as a group portrait of women in Georgia whose military husbands have been deployed • Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save an Old Science by Erin Zimmerman An evolutionary biologist turned writer and illustrator writes about science and motherhood in this debut memoir • The Chain: Love, Betrayal, and the Sisterhood That Heals Us by Chimene Suleyman The author recalls her relationship with a pathological liar and the damage he did to her and other women • A Life Impossible: Living With ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence by Steve Gleason with Jeff Duncan The former NFL safety, who has been living with ALS since 2011, writes about his years with the disease

Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller In the spirit of recent attempts to make up for unfair treatment of celebrity women, Beller’s book seeks the “real person behind the tabloid headlines and media frenzy” • And Then? And Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket The man behind the wildly popular A Series of Unfortunate Events books writes candidly about his life and offers his thoughts about creativity • Fi: A Memoir by Alexandra Fuller The author of “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” writes about the sudden and upending death of her 21-year-old son

1974: A Personal History by Francine Prose In her first memoir, the acclaimed novelist remembers her time in San Francisco during a tumultuous year in American life

Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot A major new biography of the 40th American president, by the historian and Washington Post columnist

History, Politics & Current Events

If you liked “King: A Life,” by Jonathan Eig, read “John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community,” by Raymond Arsenault (Jan. 16)

It’s hard to list many Americans with as broad a footprint in the 20th century as John Lewis. The longtime congressman from Georgia, who died at 80 in 2020, was born into poverty in rural Alabama. He became one of the pillars of the civil rights movement, marching on the Edmund Pettus Bridge at Selma on Bloody Sunday in 1965 and speaking at the March on Washington in 1963, where his mentor, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. He staunchly advocated nonviolence while exhibiting great physical courage in the face of many assaults. Raymond Arsenault writes in a preface to this new biography that he greatly admires his subject, whom he knew personally; but given how often Lewis was called “saintly,” the author’s goal was to “avoid hagiography and hero worship.”

If you liked “The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War,” by Chad L. Williams, read “Muse of Fire: World War I as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets,” by Michael Korda (April 23)

The British poets who captured the horrors of World War I in verse unsurprisingly attract the interest of fellow writers. The novelist Pat Barker made one of those poets, Siegfried Sassoon, a key part of her lauded Regeneration trilogy. In “Muse of Fire,” Michael Korda, a biographer, memoirist and former head of the publisher Simon & Schuster, follows the larger arc of the war through the stories of Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen and others.

If you liked “The Sixth Extinction,” by Elizabeth Kolbert, read “We Loved It All: A Memory of Life,” by Lydia Millet (April 2)

Lydia Millet’s acclaimed fiction has often been interested in nature, but her recent novels (“A Children’s Bible,” “Dinosaurs”) have had an especially urgent tone in the face of environmental disaster. In addition to her output as an author, for many years she has worked at the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson. Her first work of nonfiction perhaps unsurprisingly takes the subject head-on, combining memoir and nature writing to emphasize how crucial it is for humans to feel connected to the life forms with which we share the planet.

If you liked “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,” by David Grann, read “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War,” by Erik Larson (April 30)

Ever since his mega-bestseller “The Devil in the White City” (2003), Erik Larson has been among the most popular of popular historians. His new book is about a brief but most consequential moment in U.S. history: the time between Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in April 1861. Last fall, Larson told the Associated Press that his work on the book took on added urgency for him after the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the Capitol. “It was the weirdest thing watching this unfold on TV, because the documents I was going through could have been written today,” he said. “Lincoln’s primary concern had been about whether the electoral vote count would be disturbed, and then came the grave concern about the inauguration. It all has very contemporary resonance.”

In addition to its compact size and powerful suction, a magic bag vacuum offers convenience to its users. It typically comes with a long cord or a rechargeable battery, allowing for unrestricted movement while vacuuming. Some models also have additional attachments, such as crevice tools and upholstery brushes, for more thorough cleaning. It is important to note that a magic bag vacuum may have a smaller dirt capacity compared to traditional vacuum cleaners. However, this disadvantage is compensated by the ability to compress the dirt into the bag, extending the cleaning time before needing to empty it. In conclusion, a magic bag vacuum is a portable and efficient cleaning tool that offers convenience and powerful suction. Its compact size and ability to compress dirt into a bag make it a popular choice for those looking for a hassle-free cleaning experience. Whether used for regular household cleaning or on-the-go maintenance, a magic bag vacuum is a practical solution for keeping your living spaces clean and tidy..

Reviews for "The Evolution of Vacuum Cleaners: Why the Magic Bag Vacuum Stands Out"

- Sarah - 1 star - The Magic Bag vacuum is a complete waste of money. It has very weak suction and barely picks up any dirt or debris. I have to go over the same area multiple times just to get anything clean. Additionally, the build quality is terrible. The hose keeps coming loose and the attachments are flimsy and easily break. I would not recommend this vacuum to anyone.

- John - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with the Magic Bag vacuum. It claims to have powerful suction, but in reality, it couldn't even pick up crumbs from my carpets. The design is also very inconvenient. The bag is a hassle to replace and the cleaning attachments are poorly designed. The overall performance and functionality of this vacuum are below average, and I wouldn't purchase it again.

- Emily - 1 star - The Magic Bag vacuum is a complete letdown. It barely suctions up anything and leaves behind a significant amount of dirt and debris. The bags are also quite expensive and need frequent replacement. The overall quality of the vacuum feels cheap and flimsy. I would strongly advise against buying this vacuum if you are looking for something reliable and efficient. There are much better options available on the market.

Why the Magic Bag Vacuum Is a Must-Have Appliance for Every Household