‘Arts’ Archives
On A.I. And Film and Television
Written/Compiled by HOWARD MCQUITTER II This science fiction film was written and directed by Steven Spielberg based on a 1969 screen story by Ian Watson who adapted the short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures On the horizon--if not even closer--is what has become known as artificial intelligence, or "AI", is being met by the public in the United States and abroad with various degrees of apprehension and appreciation. At my age of 78, I've lived through the marketplace of wonderful technologies, e.g. transistors, satellites, microwave ovens, three-point seat belts, velcro, lasers, VCRs, color televisions, polio vaccines, organ transplants, improvements in remissions for childhood leukemia, computers, cellphones, vaccines for measles and mumps, and more. Now I and the world are faced with the international use of AI from billionaire Bill Gates' article, "The turbulent AI era is here”. The [...]
The Scent of the Ballot
The Inescapable Legacy: GOP Candidates Struggle to Distance Themselves from Trump By Brad Trom A decade of leaning, of holding the nose, Of bathing in sulfur where loyalty grows. They welcomed the spray for the favor it brought, Content with the aura and power they sought. Now polls start to sink and the autumn winds blow, And candidates scramble to bury the show. They scrub at their websites, erase all the names, And silence the echoes of previous flames. They think a quick rinse or a profile update Can wash off the marc they wore to the gate. They hide the red caps as the midterms draw near, And whisper new slogans to mask the fear. The Records Remain: A ninety-percent vote for the agenda stays true. The Residue Shows: No ad can erase what the past brought to view. The Verdict: When voters look close at the grocery and pump, They’ll trace every thiol right back to Trump.
By Any Means (2026)
from the series Movie Corner… 3.5 Stars Out of Five Howard McQuitter II Period Piece/ Political Thriller/ Action/ True Crime Paramount Pictures By HOWARD MCQUITTER II As the summer comes to an end along with the summer blockbusters (The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, etc.) there's usually a hiatus between the summer blockbusters and the upcoming films with Oscar aspirations. However, early in September I decided to see By Any Means, directed by Elegance Bratton (The Inspection - 2022), a film set in 1966 in the heart of the Civil Rights struggle in the volatile state of Mississippi where murders, beatings and expulsions of Blacks and sympathetic whites occurred with the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. The film leads its audience to Mississippi NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer, promoter of voting rights for Blacks, who is murdered by Ku Klux Klan members. What's fresh in the minds of Black people is the murders of three civil rights workers: James Chaney, [...]
