On this record 43rd day of the government shutdown,  the House, after a 54-day recess, will finally vote to restart .  President Donald Trump will sign this legislation. However, this  Epstein matter has returned . Sure Trump knew about Epstein and underage girls,  but did The Donald also participate? It was in Trump's first term that this brouhaha gained notice, and you would think that any documents of his involvement were deleted then. So any demands for more details from the White House now, as is being demanded by Democrats, will not provide any condemning information.  But why, then, is this being withheld? Then again,  maybe Elon Musk found something,  or the Biden administration somehow snuck away incriminating evidence. I asked Google AI to count the number of Epstein "survivors," and the feedback was more than 1000.  However, the  Miami Herald  only identified around 80 underage victims between 2001 and 2006.  These surviv...

Would you believe it was 1863 when 27-year old novelist  Samuel Butler,  in an essay on Darwin Among the Machines, expressed serious concern that highly advanced machines might pose existential risks to humanity? The upshot is simply a question of time, but that the time will come when the machines will hold the real supremacy over the world and its inhabitants is what no person of a truly philosophic mind can for a moment question . In 1920, a play,  R.U.R . ( Rossum's Universal Robots ), by Czech author Karel Čapek, coined the term  robot .  They began to replace human workers, leading to a violent revolt against their  Homo sapien  masters.  Fritz Lang's 1927 film,  Metropolis , had humanoid robots fighting the capitalist oligarchy.  Click on that link to watch the entire 2 hour 29 minute production.  Fine quality, silent, of course, but with good audio sounds.  Portions of the original were lost, and only in 2008 found....

Have you noticed that films these days don't say  The End  at the the end?  This  turnover happened  in the 1970's.  Now, there is a rolling credit list for grips, gaffers, etc.  One annoyance I have, though, is that all those production companies want to feature themselves at the beginning, taking up so much time.  Also, have you noticed how many producers there are on each movie? Then there is the end to your life.  For many, this termination is just the beginning of a better existence in Heaven, or the equivalent.  And, boy, do Muslim male martyrs have a surprise coming:   not 72 virgins, but 72 sweet white raisins .  Not to say that other religions also will not be disappointed.  What you are promised has not actually been verified. For me, the end will be nothingness or total blackness or utter gloom.  Now and then I convince myself that it will be eternal peace.  The plus side going for people of faith...