First Paragraph

 This is the story of a group of extraordinary individuals, a constellation of talent in eighteenth-century London that was known simply as the Club. Though not a large group, its members made brilliant contributions to our culture that are still celebrated today. But there was another, perhaps even more important, requirement for Club membership: you had to be good company - ready to talk, laugh, drink, eat, and argue until late into the night at the weekly meetings at the Turk's Head Tavern. Unlike some later clubs, it had no premises of its own, but met in an ordinary London pub.

- From The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age by Leo Damrosch

Black-and-White Films Flashback

 

What Would You Have Told Pontius Pilate?

If I were still teaching ethics workshops, I would, despite my obvious bias, add "Pilate's Magician" to the reading list and ask, "What should the Roman lawyer have told Pontius Pilate?"

Hmm

 

The Most Mysterious Cruise Line Out There

The most mysterious cruise line out there may not be a cruise line at all.

It's Artificial Intelligence.

AI touts the equivalent of exciting experiences and smooth waters, but its advocates get vague when you ask for a detailed description of the final destination.

This doesn't mean that there will never be a satisfactory description. It simply means that the current description is one we've often seen:

TO BE DETERMINED.

Stay within sight of shore.

[Photo by Peter Hansen at Unsplash]

Boo

 

The Fool's Prayer

Back by popular demand.

[Photo by aceofnet at Unsplash]

Just Added to My Stack

 

"Forming Souls in an AI Future"

I highly recommend this. Very thought-provoking.

Keep in Mind

 “Don't listen to those who say, you are taking too big a chance. Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most important, don't listen when the little voice of fear inside you rears its ugly head and says 'They are all smarter than you out there. They're more talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier, and they have connections.' I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you'll be a person worthy of your own respect.”

― Neil Simon