The Message - Ta-Nahisi Coates I need to read more of this fellow. He makes you think (mostly social justice issues) and reminds me somewhat of reading Henry David Thoreau, who got me thinking many years ago. Faust Part 1 & 2 - Goethe While I was listening to it I found it entertaining and profound ...

Camus, The Stranger Pretty sure this is a deep, albeit brief book told in the first person. The protagonist is an ordinary, but alienated French guy in Tangiers (?). Think Casablanca for setting. Through a very short series of questionable choices, he becomes the main character in a court drama on t...

I drove by a protest of 50-100 people in my little town of 8000. I had to slow down to read their signs to know whether to wave at them or flip them off. Turned out to be one of many protests nationwide. Had to go home to unload the groceries and do a quick read up on what was going on. I put on a d...

And he attributes his "intelligence" to ketamine, which might as well be mania. I found an article that focuses on him: Ketamine, Dementia, and Intelligence - Can Ketamine Make You Smarter? https://www.clarus-health.com/blog/ketamine-dementia-and-intelligence---can-ketamine-make-you-smarter Not to ...

So the optimistic view - AIs save the world. Case in point, protein folding. From 120,000 identified protein structures to 200,000,000 in a brief time, thanks to AI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_fHJIYENdI The final quote of the video is "This sounds like an amazing future, as long as the AI doe...

I was thinking of getting Kid A already, so I'll give it shot.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Beatles
Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chile Peppers
Time - Electric Light Orchestra
The Unicorn - Irish Rovers

The world is increasingly resembling a sci-fi dystopia. Given the winner in our recent election, I nominate the movie 'Idiocracy.' There have always been people who are bad with words, and bad at thinking, and also, hey, kind of fucking stupid, but now they have something they can use for literally...

Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut The protagonist is a Nazi war criminal (he worked for Goebbels and famous for his blistering antisemitic radio broadcasts) on trial in Israel in the early 60s. The twist? He was working for the Americans the entire time. Being Vonnegut, the retelling takes many curious t...

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Sci-Fi about the fate of humanity featuring sentient spiders. The ending was chef's kiss. Outstanding. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Sci-Fi about the fate of humanity featuring alien lifeform that breathes ammonia. Very good. Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacha...

I commented on an AI generated youtube book review and realized I really was just talking to myself.