“We risk being the first people in history to have been able to make their illusions so vivid, so persuasive, so ‘realistic’ that they can live in them.” (p.186) Daniel J. Boorstin made that prophetic statement in his classic The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1961). Ken Auletta, who wrote best sellers like Three Blind Mice (1991) and GOOGLED (2009), returns with Frenemies (2018). Auletta has followed the advertising industry for decades and delivers a nice history of ads along with an analysis of what today’s social media and technology are doing to us.

Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, invented public relations. Bernays wrote, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” (p. 28) So true!

Auletta shows how advertising and messaging changed from the Mad Men and Don Draper days to today’s data driven world. Auletta points out that AMAZON’s Alexa and GOOGLE’s Home monitor millions of people daily. FACEBOOK collects data from pharmacy records, store loyal cards, voter registration, mortgages, pay stubs, etc. (p. 159) GOOGLE collects data from its 3.5 billion daily searches, YouTube usage, and its About Me page offering advertisers your date of birth, phone number, where you work, mailing address, education level, where you’ve traveled, your nickname, photo, and email addresses (p. 159). AMAZON, of course, tracks everything you look at and buy on their web site.

Frenemies is a cautionary book. We’ve seen massive data breaches, stolen identities, and polling data shared with the Russians. More trouble ahead. Have you been hacked? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 1
1 The “Perfect Storm” 7
2 “Change Sucks” 27
3 Good-bye, Don Draper 39
4 The Matchmaker 51
5 Anxious Clients 75
6 “Same Height as Napoleon” 99
7 Frenemies 119
8 The Rise of Media Agencies 139
9 The Privacy Time Bomb 155
10 The Consumer as Frenemy 171
11 Can Old Media Be New? 187
12 More Frenemies 205
13 Marketing Yak-Yaks and Mounting Fear 223
14 The Client Jury Reaches Its Verdict 239
15 Cannes Takes Center Stage 247
16 Mad Men to Math Men 261
17 Dinosaurs or Cockroaches? 279
18 Good-bye Old Advertising Axioms 293
19 “No Rearview Mirror” 317
Acknowledgments 341
Bibliography 344
Index 346

Genevieve Cogman’s fifth novel in her Invisible Library series features a murder mystery. The dragons (who represent Order) and the Fae (who represent Chaos) are engaged in a peace conference. But, obviously, someone doesn’t want the treaty to be signed. A member of the dragon delegation is found stabbed to death and Librarian Irene Winters becomes part of the investigation team. The team includes Peregrine Vale (a Sherlock Homes clone), Mu Dan (representing the dragons), and Lord Silver (representing the Fae). Cogman’s plot provides plenty of red herrings, but none as spectacular as the Blood Countess, a deadly Fae with impressive powers.

These Invisible Library volumes are pure fluff pleasure reading. I enjoy the characters and the wild situations Cogman swirls around them. Fun reading! GRADE: B

Last week on the LIFETIME channel, a six-episode series on the sexual-abuse allegations against R&B singer R. Kelly caused a firestorm of debate on social media. LIFETIME, mostly known for melodramatic TV movies featuring women in peril, surprised everyone with this series that scrutinized R. Kelly’s past associations with women.

Usually, the average nightly audience for a LIFETIME program is 3.5 million viewers. The Surviving R. Kelly series reached 20 million viewers! According to the early episodes, R. Kelly lured young women, some minors, into abusive sexual relationships by promising the women “a start in the music business.” R. Kelly is a 3-time Grammy Award winner with more than 20 platinum records. But stories about R. Kelly’s relationships with woman have dogged the singer for years. Kelly married his musical protege, Aaliyah, in 1994–when Aaliyah was just 15 (Kelly was 27 at the time). Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.

Steven Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, calls the series as “a one-sided presentation featuring a bunch of disgruntled former lovers, groupies, and former friends…. It’s a hit piece strictly for ratings.”

Lady Gaga, Common, and Chance the Rapper have expressed support for the women protesting R. Kelly’s alleged sexual abuse. I found the series compelling. What do you think? GRADE: B+

One thing leads to another.

Diane noticed we didn’t have our furnace filter changed in 2018. So I called our Heating/Cooling guys and they sent Andrew out. Andrew is a eager and friendly thirty-something. He changed the furnace filter, cleaned the HEIL 10-year-old unit, and then said, “I think your furnace motor is dying.” Sure enough, I’d heard a growing whine from the furnace over the past couple of months. “Better install a new one,” I replied. And, while I had Andrew checking things out, I asked, “Could you check my hot water tank?”

Last week I spoke with Art Scott on his Birthday. He told me his three-month old hot water tank failed and he needed to buy another one. Andrew checked our hot water tank and said, “You had this installed in 1997! These A.O. Smith hot water tanks usually only last for 10 years. You’ve on Year 22!”

A quick consultation with Diane produced the decision: let’s get a new hot water tank before this one failed. Andrew returned the next day with a Bradford White hot water tank. I had labored mightily to clear a path amid the boxes of books for Andrew and the new hot water tank. Andrew commented, “You did a lot of work!” A couple hours later, the new Bradford White hot water tank was heating up and the old A.O. Smith hot water tank was gone. I asked Andrew why they switched from A.O. Scott to Bradford White. “We had nothing but problems with A.O, Smith’s Customer Service and their policies. It was hard to get them to honor their Warranties. Bradford White, on the other hand, is easy to work with.”

I checked consumer reviews of A. O. Smith’s products online and Andrew was right: Plenty of complaints! You can check those out here.

So we started out with just having a new furnace filter installed. That led to a new furnace motor. And a new hot water tank. We stimulated the Economy to the tune of about $1,500! Have you had any hot water tank problems?

As a Buffalo Bills fan, I’m all in on the LA Chargers defeating the New England Patriots today. But Vegas says the Patriots will win by at least 4 points. The weather will be cold with no blizzards in sight. Deb and her family will be rooting for the Saints to beat the surprising Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints are 8-point favorites. Let’s hope this game doesn’t come down to the kicker! Which teams do you think will win today?

The Kansas City Chiefs are favored by 5 and 1/2 points over the Indianapolis Colts. But, the Colts with Andrew Luck have proven to be a dangerous team. This game could go either way. I like both the Chiefs with incredible rookie QB Patrick Mahomes and the Colts with former Buffalo Bills QB Frank Reich as Head Coach. I’ll be rooting for both teams.

The LA Rams are favored by 7 points over the Dallas Cowboys. I’ve heard “experts” on ESPN make the case that the Cowboys could defeat the Rams, but I think they just drank the Kool-Aide. I’m going with the Rams in this one. Which teams will you be cheering for?

I’ve been reading a lot of retro Science Fiction recently. After Christmas, I was rooting around in my basement when I unearthed Damon Knight’s entertaining and informative Science Fiction of the Thirties. Damon Knight picked an interesting mix of stories and then wrote some brilliant introductions to the stories and the writers who composed them. I enjoyed Murray Leinster’s “The Fifth-Dimension Catapult” and “The Battery of Hate” by John W. Campbell, Jr. from The Early Years section. I was impressed by “The Last Man” by Frank Belknap Long and “The Mad Moon” by Stanley G. Weinbaum from The Middle Years. And I especially liked “Pithecanthropus Rejectus” by Manly Wade Wellman and “The Merman” by L. Sprague de Camp from The End of the Thirties. If you’re looking for a collection of somewhat dated, but still lively Science Fiction stories from a decade where SF really evolved, I recommend Damon Knight’s Science Fiction of the Thirties. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
“Foreword” (Damon Knight) xi
“The Early Years” (Damon Knight) 1
“Out Around Rigel” (Astounding Stories, December 1931) (Robert H. Wilson) 7
“The Fifth-Dimension Catapult” (Astounding Stories of Super-Science, January 1931) (Murray Leinster) 28
“Into the Meteorite Orbit” (Amazing Stories, December 1933) (Frank K. Kelly) 85
“The Battery of Hate” (Amazing Stories, November 1933) (John W. Campbell, Jr.). 115
“The Middle Period” (Damon Knight) 153
“The Wall” (Astounding Stories, May 1934) (Howard W. Graham) 157
“The Lost Language” (Amazing Stories, January 1934) (David H. Keller) 173
“The Last Men” (Astounding Stories, August 1934) (Frank Belknap Long, Jr.) 185
“The Other” (Astounding Stories, December 1934) (Howard W. Graham) 195
“The Mad Moon” (Astounding Stories, December 1935) (Stanley G. Weinbaum) 210
“Davey Jones’ Ambassador” (Astounding Stories, December 1935) (Raymond Z. Gallun) 234
“Alas, All Thinking” (Astounding Stories, June 1935) (Harry Bates) 269
“The Time Decelerator” (Astounding Stories, July 1936) (A. Macfadyen, Jr.) 307
“The Council of Drones” (Amazing Stories, October 1936) (William K. Sonnemann) 323
“The End” (Damon Knight) 363
“Seeker of Tomorrow” (Astounding Stories, July 1937) (Eric Frank Russell and Leslie T. Johnson) 367
“Hyperpilosity” (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1938) (L. Sprague de Camp) 409
“Pithecanthropus Rejectus” (Astounding Stories, January 1938) (Manly Wade Wellman) 423
“The Merman” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1938) (L. Sprague de Camp) 435
“The Day Is Done” (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1939) (Lester del Rey) 451
“Bibliography” 465

For most of the 20th Century, John O’Hara was considered one of the best short story writers in the world. O’Hara tried his hand at novels, with mixed results. His first novel, Appointment in Samarra (1934), a story of destiny and tragedy, remains one of O’Hara’s most popular books. Butterfield 8 (1935) explores the speakeasy world of a hedonistic Manhattan. Gloria Wandrous, based on a woman O’Hara knew, lives in a world of alcohol and sex. In 1960, a greatly “modified” version of Butterfield 8 earned Elizabeth Taylor her first Academy Award,

Hope of Heaven (1938) is set in Los Angeles and centers around a relationship between Peggy Henderson, a young leftist woman working at a bookstore, and Jim Malloy, a world-weary screenwriter. struggling to make it in Hollywood. In Pal Joey (1940), a novel in the form of fourteen interconnected stories, O’Hara’s mastery of the short story comes into play to create one of his most powerful works. This novel was also the basis for the Rodgers & Hart musical. These four novels, flaws and all, are worth reading. Are you a John O’Hara fan? GRADE: B+

It took us a while to catch up with Ralph Breaks the Internet but with the Holidays over and the kids back to school, Diane and I enjoyed what amounted to a Private Screening when we attended a matinee showing. We liked the 2012 Wreck-It Ralph animated movie featuring 1980s arcade games with their wacky characters. Director and co-writer Rich Moore cleverly created Ralph (John C. Reilly) a “Bad Guy” in a video game who was actually a pretty good guy outside his game. In this sequel, Ralph is happy with his life, but his best friend, racer Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), is bored by her Candy Rush game. When their arcade gets a WI-FI connection, Ralph and Vanellope discover the Internet.

Unlike Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn’t really have a villain. Most of the mischief is caused by Ralph himself as he tries not to lose his best friend to a Grand Theft Auto clone game called Slaughter Race featuring the beautiful and skillful Shank (Gal Gadot). For a kids movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet deals with the risks of online shopping, pop-up ads, viruses, and the Dark Web in a surprisingly sophisticated fashion. There’s a lot going on in this movie. Most of it is fun. GRADE: A-