If you like The Twilight Zone you’ll enjoy Black Mirror. The Sixth Season just started streaming on Netflix with the first episode, “Joan is Awful.” Joan, a CFO at a large corporation, finds her life depicted on a streaming service called Streamberry (with graphics that look a lot like Netflix) in TV program called “Joan is Awful” starring Selma Hayek as Joan. Joan’s life takes some terrible turns and soon Joan meets with her lawyer to try to stop Streamberry from showing her life on TV for the world to watch.

Yes, this is weird but things start to get a lot weirder when Selma Hayek shows up at Joan’s door. I’ll be watching the other four episodes available now on Netflix. GRADE: A

“But a future in which AI systems entirely took over war fighting responsibilities and the only human role was to authorize an AI to initiate conflict might fundamentally change the nature of war. Humans might still be victims of war, suffering AI-directed attacks. But they would no longer be agents of war engaged in the fighting.” (p. 281)

Paul Scharre is a former U.S. Army Ranger and now vice president at the Center for New American Security. He has extensive Artificial Intelligent experience with his time at the Pentagon. Scharre cites actual AI vs. U.S. pilots in dog-fights when the AI systems accelerated their planes to G-Force levels where human pilots would pass out. Scharre has also witnessed robots that he thinks will be the next advance in Army soldiers.

Scharre documents current AI competition between the U.S. and China and Russia. Here are a couple of disturbing quotes:

“Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the salter of the world.” –Russian President Vladimir Putin

“Science and technology has become the main battleground of global power rivalry.” –Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping

Four Battlegrounds presents the present AI research as a new Industrial Revolution that will change everything. If you want to see what your Future is likely to change into, Four Battlegrounds is your window into a troubled tomorrow. Are you as concerned about AI as I am? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS — xiii

PREFACE — xv

INTRODUCTION — 1

PART I : POWER

1. The new oil — 11
2. Data — 18
3. Compute — 25
4. Talent — 30
5. Institutions — 35

PART II: COMPETITION

6. A winning hand — 43

7. Maven — 52

8. Revolt — 60

9. Sputnik moment — 68

PART III: REPRESSION

10. Terror — 79

11. Sharp eyes — 84

12. A better world — 91

13. Panopticon — 97

14. Dystopia — 105

PART IV: TRUTH

15. Disinformation — 117

16. Synthetic reality — 127

17. Transformation — 135

18. Bot wars — 141

PART V: RIFT

19. Fusion — 155

20. Harmony — 169

21. Stranglehold — 178

PART VI: REVOLUTION

22. Robotics row — 191

23. Project Voltron — 195

24. Foundation — 200

25. The wrong kind of lethality — 209

26. Jedi — 214

27. Disruption — 219

PART VII: ALCHEMY

28. Control — 229

29. Poison — 238

39. Trust — 249

40. Race to the bottom — 254

PART VIII: FIRE

32. Alien intelligence — 263

33. Battlefield singularity — 276

34. Restraint — 286

35. The future of AI — 294

CONCLUSION — 302

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 307

Abbreviations — 310

NOTES — 314

INDEX — 457

You might remember actor Stephen Fry from Jeeves and Wooster and he was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. Fry also hosted over 180 episodes of QI and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. But Stephen Fry also has an obsession: he loves Greek Mythology. Troy is Fry’s third book retelling (and “reimagining”) Greek Myths. In 2017 Fry published Mythos. In 2018 he published Heroes. Troy came out in 2021.

I thought I was fairly well versed in the Trojan War. But I was wrong. Stephen Fry supplies dozens of backstories of the major and minor characters. I had no idea the critical role Sinon played in convincing the Trojans that the Greeks departed and left the Trojan Horse as a gift to the Gods. And, I had no idea the Trojans had to dismantle the upper portion of their gate in order to bring the giant Trojan Horse into their city.

While the Trojans debated whether to bring the Trojan Horse into Troy, Cassandra pleaded with Priam and Paris and the rest of the Trojan brain trust to burn the Greek’s “gift.” “It’s a trick!” Cassandra insisted. But, of course, Apollo’s curse that no one would ever believe Cassandra’s prophecies (which were all true!) was on full display here.

If you’re a fan of Greek Mythology, you’ll love Stephen Fry’s Troy. GRADE: A

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Mickey 7 (you can read my review here), so I also read the sequel, Antimatter Blues (2023). Both books are set on a hostile planet where a human colony is struggling to survive. Mickey Barnes, who volunteered to be an Expendable (a person who willingly undertakes dangerous missions–and is resurrected if killed). In Mickey 7 Barnes has to deal with the aliens who could destroy the colony and his inadvertent doppelgänger.

Antimatter Blues takes place two years later with the colony facing a dire problem: they are running out of antimatter which fuels their power system and is necessary to generate food. The only answer is to retrieve the antimatter bomb Mickey 7 hid outside the colony and use it to generate power. But, when Mickey 7 searches for the antimatter bomb, it is gone.

That leads Mickey 7, his girl friend Nasha, and his pilot friend, Berto, and a small contingent of soldiers to attempt to regain the antimatter bomb that is now in the hands of the aliens. I’m enjoying the Mickey 7 series and I think you would, too. GRADE: B

Diane and I attended Musical Faire to see Sondheim On Sondheim in a cabaret setting with about a 100 other music fans. Sondheim On Sondheim features six singers–three men and three women–who sing Sondheim’s Broadway songs. If you notice the video screens in the photo above with the columns, Stephen Sondheim sometimes shows up during the performances–sometimes before the song, sometimes after the song–and explains how he wrote the song.

My favorite Stephen Sondheim song is “Send in the Clowns.” I’m sure Jackie and Jeff Meyerson have seen way more Sondheim shows on Broadway than Diane and I have. But Katie just saw Sweeny Todd on Broadway last month and loved it. Sondheim songs still are performed and enjoyed years after the shows they appeared in have gone away (temporarily). Are you a fan of Stephen Sondheim songs? Do you have a favorite? GRADE: A

I’m a great fan of Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. But West was also a Deep Thinker when it came to Literature. In The Court and the Castle (1957) West tackles a number of literary topics. The main one–which would interest Dan Stumpf–deals with the “problems” in Hamlet.

West makes it clear she considers Hamlet a stone-cold killer. Hamlet kills Polonius (it was an accident, but Hamlet shows little remorse) and later in the play forges a letter that will send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths. But Hamlet’s mission to kill Claudius–the man who murdered Hamlet’s father–faces delay after delay.

Rebecca West moves on to analyze Jane Austen, the Brontes, Henry Fielding, Thackeray, Henry James, Anthony Trollope, Ibsen, Meredith, Shaw, Wells, Galsworthy, and Hardy in Part Two.

Part Three transitions from Henry James to Kipling, Lawrence, Proust, and Kafka. I was impressed by the variety of West’s reading and her original insights into the works and writers she examines. If you’re looking for wide-ranging and lucid essays that bring sensibility and a skeptical temperament to literature, The Court and the Castle provides graceful and gracious entertainment to tickle your brain! GRADE: A–

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PART ONE: THE COURT OF KINGS — 1

1. Was Hamlet without Will? — 3
2. The Nature of Will — 18
3. The Will of Kings — 33
4. The Will of Usurpers — 43
5. The Unresolved Historical Argument — 59
6. The Resolved Theological Argument — 68
7. The Moral Reason for Misreading Hamlet — 72
8. The Historical Reason for Misreading Hamlet — 89

PART TWO: THE CROWED COURT — 85

1. The Great Optimist — 87
2. Optimism and Comprise — 103
3. A Nineteenth-Century Bureaucrat — 133
4. The Convention of Dissent — 165

PART THREE: THE CASTLE OF GOD — 201

1. Nonconformist Assenters and Independent Introverts — 203
2. Loose Metaphysician and Strict Moralist — 224
3. The Dissolution of the Court — 247
4. The Twentieth-Century Bureaucrat — 279

INDEX — 309

I was an early fan of Meat Loaf’s bombastic productions of Jim Steinman’s operatic songs. You’ll hear a lot of that music on The Very Best of Meat Loaf (2012). You won’t hear as much on Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006) because only a few of the songs involved Steinman. Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose was released 2006, 29 years after Bat Out of Hell (1977), and 13 years after Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993).

I didn’t know I owned Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose until I stumbled across it while searching for something else. I listened to it, and came away somewhat disappointed. Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose has only a little of the magic of Meat Loaf’s earlier albums–provided, I suspect, by Jim Steinman’s unique musical sensibilities. I did enjoy the duets on Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose: Meat Loaf and Maron Raven on “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” (a Jim Steinman song), “What About Love?” with Meat Loaf and Patti Russo, and “The Fire Ain’t What It Used to Be,” (another Jim Steinman song) with Meat Loaf and Jennifer Hudson. Yes, there’s some symphonic excess but that goes with the territory with Meat Loaf and Steinman.

Sadly, Jim Steinman died in 2021 and Meat Loaf died in 2022. They made some very unusual music together. Are you a Meat Loaf fan? Any favorites here?

The Very Best of Meat Loaf: GRADE: A

Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose: GRADE: C

The Very Best of Meat Loaf TRACK LIST:

1		Paradise By The Dashboard Light (from BAT OUT OF HELL)	8:28
2		Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad (from BAT OUT OF HELL)	5:24
3		Hot Patootie–Bless My Soul (ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW SOUNDTRACK)	3:04
4		I’m Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us (from DEAD RINGER)	7:06
5		Dead Ringer For Love (from DEAD RINGER)	4:20
6		Midnight At The Lost And Found (from MIDNIGHT AT THE LOST AND FOUND)	3:29
7		Modern Girl (from BAD ATTITUDE)	4:27
8		You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) – Live (LIVE AT WEMBLEY PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED IN THE U.S.)	7:48
9		Bat Out Of Hell – Live (LIVE AT WEMBLEY PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED IN THE U.S.)	10:28
10		I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) – Radio Edit (from BAT OUT OF HELL II: BACK INTO HELL)	5:22
11		Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through (from BAT OUT OF HELL II: BACK INTO HELL)	5:50
12		I’d Lie For You (And That’s The Truth) (from WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD)	6:40
13		All Of Me (from HELL IN A HANDBASKET)	5:17

Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose TRACK LIST:

Meat Loaf–	The Monster Is Loose	7:12
	Meat Loaf–	Blind As A Bat	5:51
	Meat Loaf Featuring Marion Raven–	It’s All Coming Back To Me Now	6:05
	Meat Loaf–	Bad For Good	7:32
	Meat Loaf–	Cry Over Me	4:38
	Meat Loaf–	In The Land Of The Pig, The Butcher Is King	5:30
	Meat Loaf–	Monstro	1:38
	Meat Loaf–	Alive	4:22
	Meat Loaf–	If God Could Talk	3:45
	Meat Loaf–	If It Ain’t Broke Break It	4:49
	Meat Loaf Featuring Patti Russo–	What About Love	6:04
	Meat Loaf–	Seize The Night	9:46
	Meat Loaf Featuring Jennifer Hudson–	The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be	7:53
	Meat Loaf–	Cry To Heaven	2:24

Recently, Jeff Smith mentioned that one of his favorite mystery writers was Ann Cleeves. Then, the other day Jeff Meyerson sent me a link to an Ann Cleeves short story, “Missing in the Snow” (you can read the short story here).

I enjoyed this domestic mystery story where a search for a missing person produces some startling results. Are you a fan of Ann Cleeves? GRADE: B

“The truth is never pure and rarely simple.” That truism permeates Oscar Wilde’s classic, The Importance of Being Earnest. Diane and I drove into the heart of Buffalo to view this play at the Irish Classical Theater Company’s wonderful venue. It was a “masked” performance so all the audience wore face coverings.

The play concerns two Victorian gents who are friends who share a tendency to fabricate. Algernon Moncrieff (Ben Michael Moran), who says that truth is never pure and rarely simple, has invented a sick friend named “Bunbury” who he has to visit occasionally in the country (which gets him out of social occasions in London that he disdains). Algernon’s friend John Worthing (Josh Wilde) has invented a rascal of a brother named “Ernst” which allows him an excuse to leave the country and go the London.

Both men fall in love with women who share a similar passion: they want to fall in love with a man named “Ernst.” Melinda Capeles as Gwendolen and Renee Landrigan as Cecily are both dazzling as the love interests. Chris Kelly (no relation) is convincing as the formidable Lady Bracknell, mother to Gwendolen and the key to everyone’s possible happiness. This is a great play that in this case was very well acted. Are you an Oscar Wilde fan? GRADE: A

Megan Abbott foreshadows the extreme events in Beware the Woman when her main character Jacy thinks about a reoccurring dream she’s had since childhood featuring Captain Murderer. A very pregnant Jacy and her husband Jed travel to the isolated Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As soon as you read the word no Wi-Fi and no cell bars you just know Something is Going to Go Very Wrong.

And you would be right. Jacy has a health scare. Of course, being in the middle of Nowhere means very few medical options. Fortunately, Jed’s father, Doctor Ash, is there to provide medical assistance. But, Jacy senses Something Isn’t Right.

Family secrets, amped up tension, Jacy’s suspicions, and the extreme isolation all come together in a shattering conclusion. Megan’s new novel will have you losing sleep because you can’t put down Beware the Woman and then you’ll be losing sleep after you finish its haunting ending! GRADE: A