The Writer's Life 9/14 - Directions

Here's something unexpected from the world of classical music - a robot conductor, which was used in concert by Andrea Bocelli. YuMi, whose name is derived from the phrase 'you and me,' was taught its movements by conductor Andrea Colombani. He held its arms in rehearsals so the computer could memorize the correct gestures. Training it to perform six minutes of music took 17 hours of work. The aria was Giuseppe Verdi's La Donna E' Mobile from Rigoletto. Of course, the traditional vitality of a human conductor keeping tempo with the whole body, the  breathing, is missing from the bot's technique. Bocelli had to remember the tempo it had been taught down to the second. Any unscheduled increase or decrease would have been disastrous for the visually impaired singer, as he had no way to get the conductor to follow his lead. I have no idea how he does it when a human is conducting. I suspect this was a gimmick to attract the young to classical music. I doubt it would ever become permanent practice. Here's a pic from dailymail.com, where I got the info:

From the NY Post, in my own words: Two ex-Google employees are trying to break into the convenience store industry in a unique way. Their start-up, named Bodega, has installed over 50 five-foot-wide pantry boxes filled with non-perishable items shoppers would normally pick up at a store.A person uses an app that charges a credit card when something is removed from the box. Security cameras are in place to  discourage theft. An employee restocks as items are purchased. It uses AI to constantly reassess the 100 most-needed items of a community. The company has been testing the concept in gyms, apartment lobbies and offices. Naturally, this does not sit well with shopkeepers, who fear being driven out of business. Many claim it is desecration for the company to call itself Bodega. Here's a pic:

For the first time ever USA debt has surpassed $20 trillion, testament to the travesty that is congress. President Trump has suggested the debt ceiling be scrapped. Hasn't it already? What purpose does it serve if the slimes keep raising it every time they go on another spending jag? It has done nothing to curb the reprobates from squandering the taxpayers' money.

RIP Frank Vincent, 78. No one played the role of screen wise guy better than he. Born in Massachusetts, raised in Jersey, he will always be remembered for his roles in Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), where his characters butted heads with those of Joe Pesci. There are 81 titles listed under his name at IMDb. The greater majority of the characters' names end in a vowel. He did 31 episodes of The Sopranos. According to his bio, he was a talented drummer, and played on recordings by Trini Lopez, Del Shannon and Paul Anka. Well done, sir. "Go home and get your shine box."

I was curious as to how many books were on display. I counted more than 250, each eminently marketable. Not one sold. I gave away four, a large print book to Madeline, whose eyesight is failing, Hollywood Divorces by Jackie Collins to Herbie, who has donated many popular novels, and The Majority Rules by Eugene Sullivan and The Madness of Love by Katharine Davies, in which Shakespeare is a character, both of which I left in the lobby of our building. My thanks also to the local businessman who donated about ten books, equally divided between fiction and non.

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