Robot Jazz

  Eddie Muller, the "Czar of Noir", once opined that peak American culture occurred in the 1950s.  For all the failings of America during those early post-war years, it is hard to argue with that take. Not only was it the latter portion of the "Golden Era" for Hollywood, but it was also considered a golden era for science fiction. It was during this time that such greats as Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Alfred Bester, and the visionary editors of Galaxy Magazine,  who pushed the genre toward psychological and sociological storytelling, came into their own.  Even radio, the then-dominant entertainment format, got in on the sci-fi act with such wonderful programs as X Minus One and Exploring Tomorrow .  You can still listen to many of them today . These radio series can be an excellent ‘deep core’ survey of the genre, covering tonally diverse classics from Tom Godwin’s heartbreaking hard‑sci‑fi tale The Cold Equations to Robert Sheckley’s lighter, satirical T...

  >10 Print "I am a sucker" Things are not going well in Trump land. Like with any grift, eventually, the mark's patience wears thin and begins to demand results.  That is usually when the grift starts to crumble, forcing the conman to fall back from prevarication to prevarication until, ultimately, he is forced to take the money and run.  Such is the case with Trump. Have you seen Trump's recent polling? It is awful and reflects a wholesale rejection of the first one hundred days of this regime. When looking at these numbers, remember that this is supposed to be the "honeymoon" period for a new administration when the American people are most tolerant.  Here are some snapshots from today's New Zork Times : It's not often that an American president is described as "chaotic" and "scary," but these terms seem to apply to the Trump regime. (Only a MAGA jackass would call it "exciting".) But it gets worse. On an issue bre...