THE last of the crew and cast of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), internationally-awarded scoring musician Zachary M. Oliver, has officially agreed to provide the same outstanding score for OTOSOTU as he did for WINNOWING. Kudos, Zach!.

An acknowledged master of musical minimalism, Dr. Zachary M. Oliver PhD is also a distinguished educator and author. He is constantly celebrating music as one of the great achievements of humans, uniting co...

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ACTOR Daniel S. Janik will play impuned Imperax Commander Michael Mylo, Imperax Captain-Major Brit Mylo and provide the voice of Captain-Major Kyle Westbrook in the upcoming JET Progress production of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”). Michael, the disgraced captain of the Astership Twilon, which abruptly disappeared during the crucial battle of Tylog-Tyle, returns with an intriguing but potentially deadly proposal from the other side of the ...

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FIRST, let’s establish that I’m not blind lover of things electronic or digital, including AIs. I personally think that like nuclear power plants, we’ve a lot to learn about the downsides and side effects of these commonly extolled human endeavors. Still, I admit to a particular and equally peculiar character propensity I call “Toad’s Wild Ride.” I am attracted to anything and everything new, shiny and, alas, that includes things electronic and digital, including AIs like ChatGPT,...

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FIRST, I must profess that I’m anything but lonely for conversation. Between domestic life, my many friends and acquaintances, the social internet and my garden, lonely for conversation is more like begging for quiet. Still, being a former university educator, I couldn’t ignore an article in the newest edition of Science News entitled “Homework HELP? ChatGPT and other AI tools are poised to disrupt education” by Kathryn Hulick. After a somewhat obtuse read about how AI may or may not ...

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IF you find plastic/metal/code Artificial Intelligence somewhat daunting (think of the AI inside your cellular phone that translates what you say into text), then fasten your seatbelt before reading this report: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/americas/xenobots-self-replicating-robots-scn/index.html. Scientists “at at the University of Vermont, Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering said they have discovered an entirely new form of bi...

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SUBSCRIPTIONS are clearly the way the business of humanities is going. I say business, because thus far business has penetrated almost every aspect of our lives. I recall watching business invade medicine when I was in practice, attempting to turn my love of helping others to love of money. Later, I watched the same happen in education, culminating in the private “for profit” colleges and universities, where the love of truth, knowledge and wisdom languished secondary to love of money. I ...

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IT’S my pleasure to announce that I’ve finally accumulated the third SAG/AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) Union Talent Voucher required to graduate from non-union to union actor. Qualifying to join SAG/AFTRA is an important stepping stone in the life of an actor, whether one chooses to exercise the right or not. For me, it represents yet another step in my acting career.

What it’s supposed to represent is recognized acting experience a...

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“THESE are the times that try men’s souls” – Thomas Paine. Divisiveness seems everywhere, encroaching everything everywhere, and with it a kind of intolerance and negativism. It’s always been easier to berate, criticize and destroy than to support, solve. create and build, or at least so it seems to me. Little is accomplished by divisiveness and its ultimate expression in destruction and death individually, through mass shootings or nationalistic war. On the other hand, discriminati...

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LIVING in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, is like living in a suspended, sunny California day forever. At least until tomorrow, when the weatherfolk are predicting a strong bout of cold, thunderstorms, lightening, thunder, torrential rain and even icy hail, the latter God(dess) forbid. I’m trying to imagine icy roads in Honolulu, if only from momentarily road-coating hail. Actually, I can’t imagine it. The nearest thing is snow on the top of the world’s tallest volcano, Mauna Kea, or the unusual...

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I wonder what that singular word invokes for you? For me, it means sharing the spotlight with others, including my sister’s cat, “Bugs,” who just recently became a celebrity showcasing a new kind of cat food dish that she apparently endorses whole heartedly. Okay, okay. I always make it a point to share the spotlight with my dance partner and actress, Setsuko Tsuchiya, who, BTW should be back on the set with me, filming a featured “honor dance” for FINDING KATE. In the first of an a...

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LET’S face it: The split in politics that strongly divides us is being reflected in government, foreign affairs, legislation, health care, transportation and, yes, education. But what’s with the extreme splitting at the expense of the quality of our lives? I’m going to take a big leap and say it’s not really politics (the “pop” explanation) or COVID (the shot across the bow) as so many claim, but simply lack of an effective future infrastructure from which to develop. This is, in ...

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OVER the years, I’ve seen the best of ideas succeed and fail, and what I’ve learned is not only is the devil in the details, but the greatest successes doesn’t necessary follow the money.

The “devil in the details” is often more about one’s dedication and devotion to a particular effort. It’s dedication, devotion and focus that often elevates a minor project to a major success.

“Not necessarily following the money,” is another way of thinking and working “out-of-the-box....

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WHAT’S the difference between Chow Mein and Chop Suey? Gotcha there, didn’t I? So, in my world:

According to TheSpruceEats, Chow Mein, (in Mandarin “ch’ao mien” which means “stir-fried noodles”) is the more authentic of the two, having originated in Northern China. If it doesn’t contain something stir-fried along with boiled noodles, it’s not Chow Mein — https://www.thespruceeats.com/chop-suey-and-chow-mein-4077054. “Chow mein is an established recipe where noodles are ...

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I don’t usually post about topics that might simply though mention raise people’s hackles and guards. Still, it’s an interesting exercise, I believe, to wonder if domesticated animals and even possibly plants, raised to be killed (okay, “harvested” if that protects the sensibilities) and eaten know that they are being raised for such? Silly idea, or a very unpleasant thought to think about? I might have thought so, too, until I read about Hanabiko “Koko” the sign-language “tal...

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META, a reincarnation of Facebook (?), is gaining quite a bit of attention in the news these days, given that I, for one, have little idea of what it’s supposed to be. This despite engineering the first apparent META-VR sexual assault — https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61573661. Not something I personally would be proud of. In fact, it doesn’t make me all that interested in that particular META (multiverse?). There’s far too much assault and battery in the “real” world.

But th...

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IT’S said “In the Nordic countries, the Sun (Sunday) and the Moon (Monday) also became the first two days of the week, and the Roman gods became four of the Nordic gods with similarities: Mars became Tyr (Tuesday), Mercury became Odin (Wednesday), Jupiter became Thor (Thursday) and Venus became Frigg (Friday). — https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/the-names-of-the-weekdays. Okay, but Thor’s day has always been my favorite!

Not that I’m a Tho...

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ONE of the best rewards I’ve ever received as an author with Savant Books and Publications (now part of KS Media Group Inc) has been the associations I’ve built over the years with other Savant authors, one of whom is A. G. Hayes. A multi-award-winning author of nine Savant publications including the seven-book thriller Koski and Falk Secret Agent series — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086Z87Z9K — and three-book Kate Keenan Special Assignment series, CHANG THE MAGIC CAT (Aignos 2017) —...

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PLEASED as punch to hear that William Maltese’s “edge of the seat” romance, DARE TO LOVE IN OZ (Savant 2009) — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/dare-to-love-in-oz/100 or https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984117547 — available in printed, digital and audiobook versions, is now a screenplay, ready for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by KS Media Group. “Romance and adventure collide in Australia’s exotic outback as a deadly storm and a deadly killer wreak hav...

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I’VE had the unique experience of watching America transform from a nation of creative manufacturers and traders into a nation ruled almost entirely by business — an industry that neither creates nor produces, bent almost wholly on “making money” typically through management. I watched with horror the businessification, sometimes commercialization, of health care, then food production, then technology, then education, then transportation, now politics. What’s left from which to “t...

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WELL, as the real “The Last Bookstore” in Los Angeles, California states on its incredible website, “We’re not really the last bookstore – thank goodness – but we are the largest new and used bookstore in California. Plus, we’re the only one that’s 22,000 sq. feet with a record store, comic book store, 5 art studios, an epic yarn shop, a famous book tunnel, a mammoth head, and unexpected nooks of funkiness. Also we are in a hundred-year-old bank building, so we have vaults and...

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REALLY! I’ve heard enough whining from the airlines about how now that the pandemic is almost over, we need to resign ourselves to tolerating those cramped, crowded conditions that make flying an undesirable necessity. The singular value of the pandemic, in my opinion, was that it was the proverbial shot-across-the-bow about the failure of “crowd sales” and the necessity of developing “individual service.” Too expensive? Ha! I’ve heard that one before. Everything’s “too expens...

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HAVING been a traditional book publisher for almost 15 years, I’m often asked about the future of books. Are books, like vinyl records destined to be come collectable antiques, or are they momentarily paused awaiting resurrection as national infrastructures like the energy, electricity, transportation, business, shipping, the internet, each succumb to increasing criminal attack. My opin, unfortunately, is neither black nor white, nor that simple.

I’ve been acutely aware the past ten year...

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K. Simmons Productions Acquires Savant Books and Publications

Hawaii-independent film production company K. Simmons Productions announces the successful acquisition of Hawaii independent book publishing company Savant Books and Publications

By: Savant Books and Publications

HONOLULU – Jan. 9, 2022 – PRLog — On 1 January 2022, K. Simmons Productions added 120+ outstanding published titles to its current content library. “Why purchase Savant Books and Publications?” asks Kenny Simmo...

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IF there’s one thing that’s totally unscientific, it’s human behavior. Especially “leadership” behavior. I’ve seen and experienced it first hand “on the set” (see https://www.netflix.com/title/80990849 and you’ll wonder how ANY movie of value could have been made) and watched in awe and horror during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yfIoHXOO9E). So, what’s new with President Putin and the manufactured Ukraine Crises. Nothing. ...

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NOW that’s GOT to have caught your interest! In our world of increasing AI presence, is it artificial or alien or both?

Let’s start with artificial, meaning perhaps autonomous more than non-human, since currently humans write the basic code that’s used in artificial intelligence operations. Autonomous, meaning perhaps that once awakened it doesn’t need a lot of continued human input other than to reboot or fix erroneous code.

Now let’s tackle alien, meaning here not necessarily fr...

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YEAH, well, you remember Schroedinger’s Cat? A cat is trapped in a box with a tiny bit of radioactive substance. When the radioactive substance decays past a certain point, causes a poison to be released that kills the cat. At any one moment in time, the cat may be alive or dead. So, is it alive or dead? Well, I figure it’s the same with the AI in my computers (especially the one inhabiting my smart phone). At any point in time a random error may occur within the AI’s programming, rende...

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SOME years ago, I was fortunate to meet Yuri Denisyuk during a diplomatic trip to the former USSR. Yes, I was then working for the United States National Academy of Science/National Research Council as a Senior Research Fellow detailed to NASA. In that capacity and as a member of a People-to-People delegation, I met Yuri in his laboratory in St. Petersburg where we discussed the use of normal light holograms (for which he was famous) in analyzing the effects of micrometeorites on spacecraft �...

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WONDERING about the first word, “editing,” instead of “tripping?” Well, yes, I am an amateur ballroom and latin DanceSport competitor, but with dance competitions and dancing in general most on hold till COVID runs it’s course, I’ve been working hard with Savant author Vern Turner (https://www.amazon.com/Vernon-Turner/e/B089Y14KZY) to edit his recently accepted manuscript entitled THE IMMIGRANT’S GRANDSON. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to keep up my own authoring s...

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So Sunday, this author became an actor as well an author, having been shot 100 times on-location in the filming of the K. Simmons Productions' (https://kspllc.media) The STATIC Movie. Went splendidly, though my voice was tired and I was very thirsty that night. With 5 shots left to go at this location, we’ll be back on location this coming Sunday  6 June 2021 to shoot the last scenes, mostly technically difficult ones, like me tossing back a shot of whiskey recorded from above!

Interested?...

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I’VE been wondering lately what is it that makes morality so important, perhaps even essential, to humans, but not as far as we know, to other animals? It’s always been my opinion that morality is a sort of mental barbed-wire fence to keep what I consider the eighth deadly sin, hubris, in check, though hubris is commonly regarded as synonymous the first deadly sin, pride. Personally and as an author, I make a distinction between the two, pride being about about unnatural self-aggrandizeme...

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IN a recent 30 April 2021 CNN opinion article by Chandran Nair entitled “The Covid disaster in India shows that the future is biological, not digital” that little artificial mole I mentioned in yesterday’s post abruptly reared it’s legs! Nair aptly places emphasis on the importance of preparing for COVID-20, -21, -22 and so on, rather than depending solely on technology to protect us. In my world, I took this as a call for fundamental infrastructure change. Be it government, ethics, f...

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Now there's a question worthy of asking. It's not hard to agree that education today is "in trouble." But how could one begin to "fix" it?

Well, I hate to have to suggest it, but "Read my book!" -- UNLOCK THE GENIUS WITHIN (Rowman and Littlefield Education 2015). It's not about more money, or better equipment, or harder tests. It's about critically examining the very foundations of education today. For example, distance learning was always a sign of a second class college or university, or wor...
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The fourth of July is when everyone American celebrates the birth of the United States of America, right? Maybe. But I've always believed that it's the day when the world celebrates MY birthday, replete with fireworks. Like Yankee Doodle Dandy, I've always been a firecracker, and I guess I will be until I pass from this crazy world. In the meantime, I bring that energy into "thinking outside the box" in everything I do. 


Take education, for instance. A university professor for over 40 years, I...
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Let's get something straight right from the beginning. Much of today's stated ideas regarding "investment" is simply gambling.

In my mind -- and admittedly it's an old (and hopefully wiser) one -- gambling is about risking everything for an uncertain return. Few would disagree. But today's idea of "investment" is that any "fees" as well as any "principal" initially put up is liable to loss; in many instances the "investor" can even incur debt! What an "investment" means to me, is that any and...
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Today was Thanksgiving -- a day to be thankful to Native Americans who saved the European immigrants from extinction in the New World. A time to be thankful for all we as Americans are blessed: Freedom, Choice, Security, Happiness and the opportunity of having my books and poems published! I hope you will join me in thanks by checking out my latest books:

Multi-Award-winning author of

     THE TURTLE DANCES (Savant 2013)

          http://www.amazon.com//dp/0988664011

     A WHALE’S TALE (Sav...

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There's an increasing amount of confusion these days about what education is and isn't. It's hard to separate the fact from "fake news." But there's a couple of "facts" that can be relied on, even in these changing times:

First, there's a big difference from the business of education (involved in the selling of products) and the provision of education (involved in the service of educating learners). The former deals in money; the latter in truth. These days, educational institutions are sorely...
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Last week I was talking with readers to see what they read for Halloween. I got good feedback from:

1. A lawyer and his daughter who both liked William Maltese's WILLIAM MALTESE'S FLICKER (Savant 2010);
2. A retiree who passed out Halloween treats inbetween chapter of Richardo Felix Rodriques' THE SURREAL ADVENTURES OF DR. MINGUS (Aignos 2014);
3. A teen who had everything good to say about A. G. Haye's CHANG THE MAGIC CAT (Aignos 2017);
4. A witch, who, was, well, witchy about everything, includ...
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Well, I'm back on my academic soapbox again, and this issue, in particular, is one close to my academic heart. Something happened -- subtly shifted -- in the 1960's with the advent of computing and the widespread application of statistics as a way to "prove" that something is valid ("true"). Stress within academic institutions, especially "higher" learning institutions, began shifting towards acquiring a working memory of data (raw numbers) and information (numbers with attached units, e.g. d...
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I'm often asked where in the great scheme of things educational I think our current American system of education falls.  On the surface it seems like an easy question that begs a simple "rank" answer.  Think about it awhile, however, and both the question and any answer that might result become complexly rank.  As an academician, I value clearity, completeness and conciseness, in that order, so, I have decided to take on this "simple" question as the topic of today's entry. 

Hold your nose!  ...
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