[continued from previous message]   
      
           --Overly Simplified: While the accessibility of the writing   
   is a strength, some readers with a deeper interest in physics may   
   feel that the book doesn't dive deeply enough into the technical   
   aspects of field theory, especially in the context of quantum   
   fields.   
      
   If you're looking for a clear, engaging, and thought-provoking   
   introduction to the most important concepts in modern physics, THE   
   BIGGEST IDEAS IN THE UNIVERSE is an excellent choice. It provides   
   a high-level overview of quantum mechanics and field theory in a   
   way that anyone can follow, while still sparking interest in   
   deeper study. Sean Carroll has a knack for making abstract   
   scientific ideas feel accessible, and this book is a perfect entry   
   point for anyone curious about the fundamental nature of reality.   
   [-gf]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: THE AMATEUR (film review by Art Stadlin)   
      
   THE AMATEUR is a revenge story of a CIA technical data analyst,   
   with an IQ of 170, who is determined to find and kill the four   
   international terrorists who killed his wife.  She happened to be   
   on a trip to London and by bad luck was in the wrong place at the   
   wrong time.  At the same time, our lead character, the data   
   analyst (Rami Malek), uncovers rogue operations within the CIA   
   that are being covered up.  As it turns out, the terrorist bad   
   guys are actually under a rogue contract with the analyst's boss   
   at CIA.   
      
   Since a "computer nerd" data scientist is not adept at going on   
   clandestine missions in the field, he needs to learn the ropes,   
   quickly.  He is assigned to an old hand, a crusty old but lovable   
   Laurence Fishburne.  In the end, they both conclude that our   
   analyst does not have the personality to be a cold-blooded   
   up-close-and-personal killer.  But there are other, more technical   
   ways to kill, which makes THE AMATEUR different than DEATH WISH or   
   other revenge flicks that rely on firearms.   
      
   The movie takes place at CIA headquarters, and also lots of scenes   
   in London, Paris, Madrid, and eastern Europe.  My wife says some   
   of the scenes were actually not filmed in the city we are told to   
   believe in the story.  By the way, I found the technical details   
   to be realistic.  Perhaps leading-edge, or even just on-the-edge   
   (like the glass swimming pool scene).  However, I did not find the   
   need to suspend my training as an electrical engineer to   
   appreciate the technical details and special effects.   
      
   Overall it's a swift ride.  No long, dull sequences to fill time.   
   I found it totally engaging.  There is a very happy surprise at   
   the end, which I won't spoil for you.  I like revenge movies and   
   this one is a good one.  I'd score it a 5 out of 5.  I will   
   definitely want to watch it again when it comes on TV, as I'm sure   
   there are some details I missed the first time.   
      
   Oh, we went to a weekday matinee showing at a multiplex in   
   Orlando.  Two tickets were $26.  Parking was $12.  With a bucket   
   of popcorn and two drinks, our movie experience cost $64.  That   
   kind of cost will scare away lots of customers, which is probably   
   why there was only one other viewer besides my wife and I.  The   
   recliner seating was clean and very comfortable.  All that said,   
   it was a fun experience while on vacation, but we'll look for a   
   different movie house next time we visit Orlando.  [-as]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: Opera (letter of comment by Scott Dorsey)   
      
   In response to Gary McGath's comments on opera in the 04/18/25   
   issue of the MT VOID, Scott Dorsey writes:   
      
   [Gary writes,] "I recently heard of a production of FIDELIO where   
   Leonore, who is a woman disguised as a man until the final scene,   
   was played by a woman who was eight months' pregnant."  [-gmg]   
      
   Opera is often very silly and is an abstract art form even by the   
   standards of the theatre where animals are frequently performed by   
   humans in costume and boys play womens' roles and vice-versa.   
      
   But ... I could easily see Falstaff played by a women who was   
   eight months' pregnant.  [-sd]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)   
      
   As part of my latest haul of Roman history books, I read SICK   
   CAESARS: MADNESS AND MALADY IN ANCIENT ROME by Michael Grant   
   (Barnes & Noble, ISBN 978-0-7807-4136-8).  The publisher should   
   have been a clue; this is not exactly a scholarly work, even   
   though Grant was a well-known classicist.   
      
   For starters, it is short--even shorter than it appears.  It is   
   178 pages long.  Sixteen pages are a double-spaced index, four are   
   a double-spaced list of emperors (up to Constantine), and five are   
   genealogical tables.  There are twenty-two pages of photos of   
   statues or busts of the emperors covered, with a brief precis for   
   each, and ten pages of maps of questionable relevance.  Of actual   
   text, we are given only ninety-four pages, and much of that is   
   repetitious, with Grant quoting various ancient sources (and   
   modern historians, including much quoting from Grant's other   
   works) who often say the same things about a given emperor's   
   maladies.   
      
   And at the end of the day, Grant often concludes that we cannot   
   determine what the maladies were, or whether some of the emperors   
   were mad or just bad.  Occasionally Grant will make a   
   semi-definite statement, such as that smallpox probably didn't   
   exist in the Roman Empire, since no descriptions or   
   representations of the distinctive pockmarks exist.   
      
   And this is even talking about the fact that Grant considers a   
   belief in astrology and in the predictive power of dreams as   
   "maladies" or "sicknesses", not to mention that he also considered   
   Elagabalus' "passive homosexuality" as a form of "ill-health".   
   (Note: the book was written in 2000, so it's not as if it was from   
   before Stonewall et al.)  Apparently the astrology thing was a   
   hobbyhorse of Grant's; one might presume the homosexuality thing   
   was also.  And in with the dreams he includes Constantine's dream   
   before the battle of the Milvian Bridge so one could claim he has   
   a touch of an anti-Christian bias as well.   
      
   The whole book seems more aimed at a high school audience, or   
   adults not looking for tremendous depth.  I keep thinking of how   
   Isaac Asimov tended to write books popularizing science without   
   requiring a lot of effort on the part of the reader, and this may   
   be its analogue in the Classical world.  But at least Asimov wrote   
   his books rather than cobbled together a lot of repetitive quotes.   
   And the anti-gay aspect makes it impossible for me to recommend   
   at all.  [-ecl]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
                                        Evelyn C. Leeper   
                                        evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com   
      
      
              More than one newspaper has been ruined by the brilliant   
              writer in the editor's chair.   
                                              --Lord Camrose   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)