Dave's Fiction Warehouse

Really, he’s fine. “One of life’s most unappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter.” – Sen. Mitch McConnell. T hat may be true. It may also be true that some people have more of this talent than others. Mitch McConnell isn’t one of them.  Last March, McConnell was hospitalized after falling down at a fundraiser where there were no stairs in the immediate vicinity.   In July, he froze up at the podium while concerned aides had to restrain themselves from slapping him back to sentience.  In August, Mitch again went blank at the lectern, staring into infinity like a Disney robot on the fritz. If McConnell had a talent for knowing when to shuffle off to Louisville, he’s kept it pretty well hidden. Only now is he ready to throw in the towel. And really, not even now: He’ll still be minority leader until the election, and he’ll still be a senator until his term ends in 2027. It’ll be interesting to see how many falls and fugue states ...

That’s me on the left. G ood evening and welcome to the 2024 Oscar Rundown for Older Viewers Who Could Not Be Bothered to See Very Many of the Nominated Films.  Actually, only four: “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “The Holdovers.” All were pretty cheap to stream and these days I much prefer the comfort of my living room to any multiplex on the planet. Also, I find the closed captions on my medium-size Samsung work pretty well. That’s not always the case in theaters. Anyway, the envelopes please: Least favorite: “Oppenheimer.” The part with the Trinity test was great; the rest of the film was way too talky.  Most favorite: “The Holdovers” – Funny, poignant and unpredictable. Paul Giamatti. You should check it out. Least memorable: “Barbie.” Fun while it lasted, but really it’s just a cartoon with a fairly simplistic message.  Most memorable: “Killers of the Flower Moon.”  Kind of like “Schindler’s List” in that it’s pretty long and you can...

E verything being written about AI (artificial intelligence) will probably seem quaint and stupid a year from now. Especially everything written on this site, which is generated entirely with NaGDoI (not a great deal of intelligence). Still, allow me to blather.  First, it’s already everywhere. All of us are already interacting with AI every single day, mostly without being explicitly aware of it. This morning, for example, I was scanning my Google news feed and was struck by how many of the “news” cards were in fact listicles – you know, those irresistible rabbit holes with titles like “10 Best Places for Serial Killers to Retire,” or “Seven Signs You May Have Diarrhea.” The one I caught myself reading today was “9 Divisive Seasons of Great TV Shows That Are Worth Rewatching Today.” The TV shows listed were not particularly great, and the reasons they should be rewatched were not wholly convincing. Oddly generic, in fact. Almost as if – and bear with me here – someone had been tas...