Pitch perfect They gathered in the great new atrium built for its intimidating spatial monumentalism as befits a space-conquering civilization. But it had also been built for its acoustics. There was nowhere inside the atrium where you could not hear perfectly what the speaker had to say. It had been…

Or am I not? In recent months there has been, not a ‘dizzying flurry’ of ‘developments in AI’ as stated by Eric Schwitzgebel and Henry Shevlin in the op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Opinion: Is it time to start considering personhood rights for AI chatbots? Even a couple of years ago, the idea that artificial intelligence might be conscious and capable of subjective…www.latimes.com but there has been more like a tsunami of claims and predictions regarding the development of…

I Considered Suicide 16 Years Ago. — “But in the end, one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.” ― Albert Camus I have only —WTF, ‘only’ ?!— thought to take my own life once before. I was facing divorce and I truly felt as if my whole world had collapsed to pointlessness right before…

The blood sacrifice of Edvard Munch “No one but a woman can help a man when he is in trouble of the heart.” ― Bram Stoker, Dracula I cannot paint that scene so best if I describe it to you with the minds-I of my own experience; that imperfect mimesis…

Depeche Mode brings fire and light into the darkness — “’Cause people are good Whisper it under your breath People are good Keep fooling yourself” — People Are Good (2023), Depeche Mode So it's out today the latest album by Depeche Mode. A new Depeche Mode album? I am in Heaven. But it's a dark Heaven. Yes. …

Beautiful but its timidity is overwhelming Tomorrow in Balm Green Gardens in Sheffield in the North of England a steel Willow tree designed by George King will be unveiled by Sheffield Council as its memorial to the dead from Covid-19 in Sheffield and those that died trying to prevent their…

A boiling Hot War — So President Xi arrives in Moscow undoubtedly to show solidarity with President Putin. It is a huge statement in realpolitik terms. It not only confirms that China and Xi are prepared to stand with Putin over the war in Ukraine but are prepared to stand with him and Russia in…

Jaw-Jaw not War-War I predicted that All Quiet on the Western Front would win Best Film 2023. But I was wrong. I have been wrong before. It has happened. I admit I got the call wrong. It was won by some film about parallel universes starring a quite beautiful older…

The Devil is always in the detail — Part 1 I had known Marc for a very long time on and off — probably more off than on — in the last few years as he went from a friend I knew writing on an American publication for a decent few dollars on a monthly basis to a literary superstar…