Second Foundation
{5/5} “If a sizable group of human beings learned of key details of the Plan, their actions would be governed by that knowledge and would no longer be random in the meaning of the axioms of Psychohistory. In other words, they would no longer be perfectly predictable.” Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov, published in 1953 […]
Foundation and Empire
{4.5/5} “Psycho-history… proved itself the most powerful instrument ever invented for the study of humanity. Without pretending to predict the actions of individual humans, it formulated definite laws capable of mathematical analysis and extrapolation to govern and predict the mass action of human groups.” Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov, published in 1952 The Empire […]
Murder on the Orient Express
{4/5} “I can only see the world as it should be. And when it is not, the imperfection stands out like the nose in the middle of the face. It makes most of life unbearable, but it is useful in the detection of crime.” Murder on the Orient Express, released in 2017 Famous detective Hercule […]
DaCapo Chamber Choir’s “Reincarnations”
I attended the DaCapo Chamber Choir’s concert titled “Reincarnations.” Leonard Enns, conductor of the choir, says the concert “touches on reasons for hope, and on the possibility of transformation where fatigue, bitterness and despair may have set in. Love and beauty remain eternal themes. In the presence of such an eternity, as expressed in our […]
Foundation
{4.5/5} “We are at a delicate moment in history. The huge, onrushing mass of events must be deflected just a little — just a little. It cannot be much, but it may be enough to remove twenty-nine thousand years of misery from human history.” Foundation by Isaac Asimov, published in 1951 Hari Seldon, using the […]
Pitch Perfect 3
{4.5/5} “‘Well, I just got kicked out of flight school for killing 300 fake people.’ ‘I hate fake people.’” Pitch Perfect 3, released in 2017 The Bellas who have graduated all have disappointing jobs. They get back together to sing at a USO tour in Europe. It turns out to be a competition — the […]
The Medusa Chronicles
{4.5/5} “We’re both in the same boat, aren’t we? Both having lived long enough to become more than a little embarrassing to our peers. Me because I’ve shown a touch too much sympathy for Machines over the years, you maybe because you’ve spent much too long in the presence of ideological contaminants like me.” The […]
Black Panther
{4.5/5} “Like an antelope in headlights.” Black Panther, released in 2018 T’Challa, King of Wakanda, is also the Black Panther. Their country keeps their vibranium-based technology a secret from the rest of the world. T’Challa is upset to discover that his father killed his uncle — and left his cousin behind. Then his cousin shows […]
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
{5/5} “Guess it ain’t self explanatory, then.” Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, released in 2017 Mildred’s daughter was raped and killed a year ago, and the police haven’t arrested anyone. In utter frustration, she rents 3 billboards that highlight the fact that the police, and specifically Chief Willoughby, haven’t arrested anyone. She even gets on […]
Ysabel
{4.5/5} “You were sitting where you could grab a Coke from the fridge and listen to U2 on your headphones, and then you were in a place where a bull had just been sacrificed and a man had drunk its blood and summoned a woman to life, between fires.” Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay, published […]