Theodore Jerome Cohen's Blog, page 2
July 25, 2023
June 24, 2023
March 13, 2023
More thoughts regarding chatGPT and AI Systems
Several years ago, I penned a Young Adult novel titled The Hypnotist that, among other things, is in the English curriculum at Neshaminy High School. Among other interesting aspects of the novel is a tarot card reading on the young female one warm, humid Louisiana afternoon. This is described in Chapter 13 below. The essence of the reading is as follows:
The person who is going to read the young woman’s fortune has dealt her five cards:
Present Position: The High Priestess.
Present Desires. Strength.
The Unexpected. The Devil.
The Immediate Future: The Moon
The Outcome: Death
You can read below how the reading evolves.
At the end of the story, I have posted what the artificial intelligent (AI) system chatGPT created using the same five cards. It took less than 30 seconds for the system to produce what you will see. Imagine my having this information while I was writing the novel so that it could be used as the basis for this chapter. Is it any wonder educators and others are so worried about this capability and its use to cheat by students and professionals alike.
Here's Chapter 13 of the novel to give you a baseline:
Chapter 13
Spring afternoons in Lafayette, Louisiana, tend to be warm and humid, and Tuesday was no exception. Students’ minds appeared to be on anything but their studies and homework. “Let’s go for a ride,” Tom called to Amanda as they met in the parking lot after school for what, up until a moment earlier, would have been a 20-minute ride home.
“Sure,” she replied, taking her cell phone out of her backpack. “Just let me tell my grandmother we’re going to be a little late.” With that she made a quick call home.
“Anyplace in particular you have in mind?” she asked, as he drove out of the school parking lot.
“Oh, I thought we’d take a hop down to Bayou Vermilion. It’s to the south of us.”
“I love the area,” Amanda gushed, “with all those old plantations and moss-covered trees—it’s just like it must have been during the Civil War.”
They took the road south, venturing into one of the oldest parts of Lafayette Parish. With the car radio set to New Orleans’s classical rock station BAYOU 95.7, the teenagers ‘rocked out’ to the strains of Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, and KISS. “I wonder what Dr. Ferrari listens to when he’s driving to and from school?” asked Amanda.
“Well, he’s not much older than we are, you know . . . maybe nine or ten years, tops. My guess is he loves these old artists just like we do. Besides, everyone has to let their hair down once in a while!”
Van Halen’s Runnin' with the Devil was playing on the radio as they continued down the road. Tom turned the volume up and emphasized the base. Amanda started waving her arms back and forth and snapping her fingers in time with the music.
Tom chucked to himself. Life is anything but simple, Amanda, he thought, listening to the words of the song. Late the previous evening he had checked the story of Lia and her death at the hands of Miss LaLaurie. As he expected, it was true. All of it. Every single word. Amanda really outdid herself on this one, he thought. Even her story about the cook checked . . . the cook who was chained to her stove and who, in a failed attempt to commit suicide, set fire to the kitchen. You win, Amanda, he thought. There really was such a person as Miss LaLaurie. Her full name was just as Amanda had said, Marie Delphine LaLaurie. She was a Louisiana-born Creole socialite who, as a serial killer in the 1830s, tortured and murdered her slaves. Her Royal Street mansion was the site of Lia’s death, just as Amanda had described it under hypnosis.
And the fire? It occurred on April 10, 1834, and led to the discovery of bound slaves in the attic, all of whom showed signs of torture. Fortunately for her, LaLaurie escaped to Paris, where it is thought she died. Anyone could have found this information, Tom thought. But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of similar stories. Why did she use this particular story? Nothing made sense. He had gone over everything they talked about in both sessions, over and over again. There were a million ways for her to play the game, he thought. She could have been almost anyone. Why choose a prostitute-turned-madam on one hand and a slave on the other, both from the New Orleans area?
He could not shake the feeling he had been ‘had.’ Yet, there was a little voice in the back of his head that kept asking, Could it be true? Did she really live those lives?
The strains of Van Halen’s Runnin' with the Devil had just died away into silence when Amanda suddenly shouted “Stop!”
Tom attempted to bring the car to an abrupt halt, causing the wheels to lose traction on the damp road surface, which, in turn, almost sent the car careening into the ditch. Startled, he turned and looked at her. “What happened? Did I hit something?” He craned his neck to see if perhaps he had hit a squirrel or some other small animal.
Amanda was shaking.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He saw a strange look in her eyes. “All of a sudden I had the strangest feeling, like I’ve been here before . . . on this road, in front of this house.”
“You probably have. After all the time you and your mother have been living in Lafayette, I’d be surprised if your grandparents haven’t driven you through most of Bayou Vermilion.”
“They have. But I’ve never been down this road before. And I can tell you with absolute certainty I’ve never seen this house. Still, for some strange reason, it seems as familiar to me as the one I live in now or the apartment building on 88th Street we used to live in on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I can almost tell you what it looks like inside, it’s that vivid in my mind’s eye. This is weird, Tom.”
Oh boy, here we go again, he thought. It’s bad enough she’s jerked me around in two make-believe hypnosis sessions at school, but now she’s taking me on a real ride without even pretending to be in a trance. What color is the sky in her world, anyway?
The sign on the fence at the entrance read Psychic Readings. Beyond it was a rutted, stone-covered drive overshadowed by large, moss-covered, old-growth oaks that judging by their height and girth were well over 100 years of age, many no doubt approaching 150. The antebellum mansion at the end of the drive was, like the roadway itself, badly in need of repair as was the yard, which was totally devoid of grass and covered with all manner of objects, including rusted automobile parts, some dating to the 1930s.
“I want to go inside,” Amanda insisted. “I must go inside!”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” she said. “It’s almost as if I’m being pulled into the house. I know it sounds strange, but you’ve got to believe me, Tom. Something about this place gives me the creeps but at the same time makes me feel as if I’ve been here before and should go in now.”
Tom put the car in Reverse, backed up, and then, with the car in Drive, turned onto the road leading to the mansion and drove to the building, which fronted on a circular drive. A large black Labrador, which had been sleeping on the front steps, rose and, wagging its tail, approached Tom as the couple walked to the entrance.
“What is it about you and dogs?” Amanda joked nervously. “They must know you’re an easy ‘mark’ for food.”
Tom and Amanda were just about to knock on the large front door when it opened and a woman dressed as a gypsy appeared. “My name is Madam Zu-Zu. You are here for a psychic reading, are you not? Please come in.”
Tom and Amanda looked at each other and shrugged. At this point there was no turning back. They followed Madam Zu-Zu into the entrance hall. Instantly the air turned cold and stale. Sunlit shafts of dust-filled light that beamed down on them from windows on the second floor were the only sources of illumination in the large entryway. “Please follow me,” said the gypsy.
She led them into a parlor on the right side of the hall. It contained a large, circular, cloth-covered table and six chairs. “Please sit over there,” she commanded, pointing to two chairs opposite where she would sit. Amanda took a seat to the right of Tom, who held the chair for her.
“I normally charge $50 for a reading, but because this is your first time, the charge will be only $25.”
She stood and waited.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Tom when he realized he was going to have to pay. He reached into his left rear pants pocket for his wallet and gave the woman $25, which she stuck down her blouse. Then she turned, went around the table, and took her seat opposite them.
“And who is asking for this reading?” she asked.
Amanda slowly and somewhat hesitantly raised her right hand. Madam Zu-Zu nodded. Then she picked up her deck of 22 major arcana tarot cards] and shuffled them over and over again with her eyes closed as she hummed softly to herself. After what seemed like an eternity—but what in reality was not more than a minute or two—she stopped, put the cards in front of Tom, and asked him to cut the deck, which he did. Then she dealt five cards face down on the table in the form of a horseshoe. Madam Zu-Zu explained that from her vantage point, the five cards represented, in order from left to right, Amanda’s Present Position, Present Desires, the Unexpected, the Immediate Future, and the Outcome.
Pulling back the sleeves on her blouse, she slowly turned over the first card representing Amanda’s Present Position. It was The High Priestess.
Madam Zu-Zu nodded. “I see a confused woman in front of me, one who has an unconscious awareness of something she can’t explain . . . a mystery unsolved . . . who, by her own intuition, and trusting her inner voice, has come to Madam Zu-Zu to help her sense the secret and hidden . . . to know what is being concealed from her. You are being called upon to go deeper. There is something beyond the obvious awaiting you, but at this point it is not clear, from the many possibilities, what you can or must do.”
Amanda turned to look at Tom, who shrugged his shoulders. To Amanda, it appeared what Madam Zu-Zu had said made some sense, albeit of a general nature. After all, they were sitting in her parlor for exactly the reason she had stated . . . an unconscious awareness of something she could not explain. Was this just by chance, a mere flip of the coin, the draw of the cards? Who knew?
Madam Zu-Zu turned over the second card, which was to represent Present Desires. It was Strength.
“Ah yes,” Madam Zu-Zu proclaimed, “how fitting this should follow The High Priestess. You must show unshakeable resolve. Be a rock! The task ahead will be frustrating, and it will require time and patience. Look at the card. See the lion being tamed by the hand of the woman. This will be you, finding strength, even in the most difficult moments . . . moments that will test every ounce of inner strength you possess.”
Amanda reached to her left and grabbed hold of Tom’s hand. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all,” she whispered. “This is really beginning to scare me.”
Tom leaned over and whispered in Amanda’s ear. “Come on, let’s leave. This is a bunch of crap. Anyone can buy a set of tarot cards and a book, memorize what the cards stand for, mix and match interpretations, and voilà, create a story. We could come back tomorrow and the results would be entirely different. And besides, what she’s said is totally generic. There hasn’t been one thing, not one thing, she’s said that’s specific to you, to anyone you know, to any situation in which you’re involved, or to anything—PERIOD.”
“Oh yeah, then how do you explain her saying I was here to clear up the confusion in my mind?” Amanda whispered back. “Or that I was here to expose what is hidden?”
“Well, why would anyone come to a psychic? Duh!”
Madam Zu-Zu cleared her throat, indicating they were wasting her time. Tom and Amanda immediately turned their attention back to the table, where the psychic turned over the third card representing the Unexpected. It was The Devil.
“Oh my, this is very bad,” Madam Zu-Zu intoned. “You will be tied down, lose your independence. Someone else will be in control. Be careful of being taken in by appearances. The future is bleak.”
Tom leaned over to Amanda, whose hand he felt had started to shake, and, cupping his hand over her ear, whispered, “If you want to leave now, just say the word.”
She did not answer him, but squeezed his hand tighter and shook her head ‘no.’
Madam Zu-Zu reached for the fourth card, the one representing the Immediate Future. As she turned it over they saw The Moon. “Ah yes, the realm of the unknown.” She nodded. “I expected it to appear, given what we already have seen. It is a harbinger of vivid dreams and visions, the release of inner demons. Be prepared to plumb your subconscious, to face the bizarre and outlandish in ways that leave you so confused and bewildered you will become disoriented and have trouble separating fact from fiction. Be careful, however, for The Moon can lead you astray with deceptions and false ideas. What is real? What is fantasy? The path you must follow is unclear, as is the clarity of your purpose in life.”
Tom and Amanda looked at each other. From the look on Tom’s face, it appeared Amanda was squeezing his hand so tightly is might actually have been hurting him. But she refused to leave the table, waiting for the last and final card, one she only could have dreaded, given what she already had been told.
Now Madam Zu-Zu extended her hand to the fifth and final card, the one representing the Outcome. Slowly she turned the card on its back, revealing Death.
Amanda put her hands to her mouth and gasped.
“Be not afraid, my dear. Death can have many meanings. The card is telling me you will bring something to a close, you will go through something that cannot be avoided. It is a matter of riding your fate and accepting what is inevitable in all human endeavors. The events you are about to face are inescapable, the forces inexorable, and you will transition to a new state.”
By now Amanda’s entire body was trembling. It was as if someone had pronounced a death sentence upon her, giving her everything but the date of her execution. She rose and ran from the mansion with Tom in hot pursuit.
They barely spoke during the trip back to Amanda’s house. Her fleeting “I’ve got to run” when he dropped her off appeared to unnerve him as, in retrospect, did the entire session with Madam Zu-Zu. I wish we’d never taken a ride this afternoon, he thought as he pulled away from the curb.
Prompt for chatGPT AI Session
Provide a 1000-word tarot card reading by a gypsy for a young woman who has been dealt the following five cards:
Present Position: The High Priestess.
Present Desires. Strength.
The Unexpected. The Devil.
The Immediate Future: The Moon.
The Outcome: Death.
Greetings young lady, welcome to my tent. I see that you have been dealt an interesting spread of cards today. Let us delve into their meanings and explore the insights they offer.
The High Priestess in your present position suggests that you are someone who values intuition, introspection, and inner wisdom. You are likely to be in tune with your subconscious mind, and perhaps even psychic in nature. You may also be drawn to the mysteries of the universe, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge.
Your present desires are represented by the Strength card. This card speaks to your need for courage, confidence, and inner fortitude. You may be facing a challenge or obstacle that requires you to dig deep within yourself and find the strength to overcome it. This card also suggests that you have a strong will and the ability to harness your passions and emotions.
The unexpected card in your spread is The Devil. This card can be interpreted in different ways, but generally, it signifies temptation, addiction, and materialism. It suggests that you may be dealing with an unhealthy habit or addiction that is holding you back from achieving your goals. Alternatively, it could represent a person or situation that is toxic or draining in your life.
Moving on to your immediate future, we have The Moon. This card is associated with emotions, intuition, and the subconscious mind. It suggests that you may be going through a period of uncertainty or confusion, and that your intuition will be your best guide during this time. The Moon can also indicate a need for reflection and introspection, as you navigate the waters of your own psyche.
Finally, we come to the outcome of your spread, which is represented by Death. This card can be alarming at first, but it is important to remember that in tarot, Death does not necessarily mean physical death. Rather, it signifies a major transformation or change in your life, which may be painful or difficult but ultimately necessary for growth and renewal. This card can be seen as a symbol of letting go of old patterns, habits, and beliefs that no longer serve you, and embracing new beginnings.
So, what do these cards tell us about your situation? It seems that you are someone who values intuition and inner strength, but you may be grappling with a challenge or temptation that is hindering your progress. The Moon in your immediate future suggests that you may be facing a period of uncertainty or confusion, but you have the tools to navigate it successfully. The outcome of your spread, Death, suggests that a major transformation is on the horizon, one that will require you to let go of old patterns and embrace new beginnings.
Overall, this spread encourages you to trust your inner wisdom, find the strength to overcome challenges, and embrace change as a necessary part of growth.
Remember, the cards do not dictate your fate, but rather offer guidance and insights that can help you make informed decisions and navigate life's twists and turns. Best of luck to you on your journey!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The last word: I’m sure you noticed some similarities between the reading I provided in my novel (which, by the way, was written using the pen name Alyssa Devine) and the reading created by chatGPT. The reason may be (most probably is), we both were “trained” by Joan Bunning’s using her Website on Tarot card readings: Learning the Tarot. Her assistance was invaluable to me and provided an exceptional depth of insight into the art. I gave her credit in the Acknowledgements of my novel. No such attribution (if her information was used) appeared in the output of the chatGPT reading, raising ethical questions related to Ms. Bunning’s copyrights.
Readers interested in Tarot are encouraged to visit Ms. Bunning at http://www.learntarot.com/top.htm.
Ted
The person who is going to read the young woman’s fortune has dealt her five cards:
Present Position: The High Priestess.
Present Desires. Strength.
The Unexpected. The Devil.
The Immediate Future: The Moon
The Outcome: Death
You can read below how the reading evolves.
At the end of the story, I have posted what the artificial intelligent (AI) system chatGPT created using the same five cards. It took less than 30 seconds for the system to produce what you will see. Imagine my having this information while I was writing the novel so that it could be used as the basis for this chapter. Is it any wonder educators and others are so worried about this capability and its use to cheat by students and professionals alike.
Here's Chapter 13 of the novel to give you a baseline:
Chapter 13
Spring afternoons in Lafayette, Louisiana, tend to be warm and humid, and Tuesday was no exception. Students’ minds appeared to be on anything but their studies and homework. “Let’s go for a ride,” Tom called to Amanda as they met in the parking lot after school for what, up until a moment earlier, would have been a 20-minute ride home.
“Sure,” she replied, taking her cell phone out of her backpack. “Just let me tell my grandmother we’re going to be a little late.” With that she made a quick call home.
“Anyplace in particular you have in mind?” she asked, as he drove out of the school parking lot.
“Oh, I thought we’d take a hop down to Bayou Vermilion. It’s to the south of us.”
“I love the area,” Amanda gushed, “with all those old plantations and moss-covered trees—it’s just like it must have been during the Civil War.”
They took the road south, venturing into one of the oldest parts of Lafayette Parish. With the car radio set to New Orleans’s classical rock station BAYOU 95.7, the teenagers ‘rocked out’ to the strains of Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, and KISS. “I wonder what Dr. Ferrari listens to when he’s driving to and from school?” asked Amanda.
“Well, he’s not much older than we are, you know . . . maybe nine or ten years, tops. My guess is he loves these old artists just like we do. Besides, everyone has to let their hair down once in a while!”
Van Halen’s Runnin' with the Devil was playing on the radio as they continued down the road. Tom turned the volume up and emphasized the base. Amanda started waving her arms back and forth and snapping her fingers in time with the music.
Tom chucked to himself. Life is anything but simple, Amanda, he thought, listening to the words of the song. Late the previous evening he had checked the story of Lia and her death at the hands of Miss LaLaurie. As he expected, it was true. All of it. Every single word. Amanda really outdid herself on this one, he thought. Even her story about the cook checked . . . the cook who was chained to her stove and who, in a failed attempt to commit suicide, set fire to the kitchen. You win, Amanda, he thought. There really was such a person as Miss LaLaurie. Her full name was just as Amanda had said, Marie Delphine LaLaurie. She was a Louisiana-born Creole socialite who, as a serial killer in the 1830s, tortured and murdered her slaves. Her Royal Street mansion was the site of Lia’s death, just as Amanda had described it under hypnosis.
And the fire? It occurred on April 10, 1834, and led to the discovery of bound slaves in the attic, all of whom showed signs of torture. Fortunately for her, LaLaurie escaped to Paris, where it is thought she died. Anyone could have found this information, Tom thought. But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of similar stories. Why did she use this particular story? Nothing made sense. He had gone over everything they talked about in both sessions, over and over again. There were a million ways for her to play the game, he thought. She could have been almost anyone. Why choose a prostitute-turned-madam on one hand and a slave on the other, both from the New Orleans area?
He could not shake the feeling he had been ‘had.’ Yet, there was a little voice in the back of his head that kept asking, Could it be true? Did she really live those lives?
The strains of Van Halen’s Runnin' with the Devil had just died away into silence when Amanda suddenly shouted “Stop!”
Tom attempted to bring the car to an abrupt halt, causing the wheels to lose traction on the damp road surface, which, in turn, almost sent the car careening into the ditch. Startled, he turned and looked at her. “What happened? Did I hit something?” He craned his neck to see if perhaps he had hit a squirrel or some other small animal.
Amanda was shaking.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He saw a strange look in her eyes. “All of a sudden I had the strangest feeling, like I’ve been here before . . . on this road, in front of this house.”
“You probably have. After all the time you and your mother have been living in Lafayette, I’d be surprised if your grandparents haven’t driven you through most of Bayou Vermilion.”
“They have. But I’ve never been down this road before. And I can tell you with absolute certainty I’ve never seen this house. Still, for some strange reason, it seems as familiar to me as the one I live in now or the apartment building on 88th Street we used to live in on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I can almost tell you what it looks like inside, it’s that vivid in my mind’s eye. This is weird, Tom.”
Oh boy, here we go again, he thought. It’s bad enough she’s jerked me around in two make-believe hypnosis sessions at school, but now she’s taking me on a real ride without even pretending to be in a trance. What color is the sky in her world, anyway?
The sign on the fence at the entrance read Psychic Readings. Beyond it was a rutted, stone-covered drive overshadowed by large, moss-covered, old-growth oaks that judging by their height and girth were well over 100 years of age, many no doubt approaching 150. The antebellum mansion at the end of the drive was, like the roadway itself, badly in need of repair as was the yard, which was totally devoid of grass and covered with all manner of objects, including rusted automobile parts, some dating to the 1930s.
“I want to go inside,” Amanda insisted. “I must go inside!”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” she said. “It’s almost as if I’m being pulled into the house. I know it sounds strange, but you’ve got to believe me, Tom. Something about this place gives me the creeps but at the same time makes me feel as if I’ve been here before and should go in now.”
Tom put the car in Reverse, backed up, and then, with the car in Drive, turned onto the road leading to the mansion and drove to the building, which fronted on a circular drive. A large black Labrador, which had been sleeping on the front steps, rose and, wagging its tail, approached Tom as the couple walked to the entrance.
“What is it about you and dogs?” Amanda joked nervously. “They must know you’re an easy ‘mark’ for food.”
Tom and Amanda were just about to knock on the large front door when it opened and a woman dressed as a gypsy appeared. “My name is Madam Zu-Zu. You are here for a psychic reading, are you not? Please come in.”
Tom and Amanda looked at each other and shrugged. At this point there was no turning back. They followed Madam Zu-Zu into the entrance hall. Instantly the air turned cold and stale. Sunlit shafts of dust-filled light that beamed down on them from windows on the second floor were the only sources of illumination in the large entryway. “Please follow me,” said the gypsy.
She led them into a parlor on the right side of the hall. It contained a large, circular, cloth-covered table and six chairs. “Please sit over there,” she commanded, pointing to two chairs opposite where she would sit. Amanda took a seat to the right of Tom, who held the chair for her.
“I normally charge $50 for a reading, but because this is your first time, the charge will be only $25.”
She stood and waited.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Tom when he realized he was going to have to pay. He reached into his left rear pants pocket for his wallet and gave the woman $25, which she stuck down her blouse. Then she turned, went around the table, and took her seat opposite them.
“And who is asking for this reading?” she asked.
Amanda slowly and somewhat hesitantly raised her right hand. Madam Zu-Zu nodded. Then she picked up her deck of 22 major arcana tarot cards] and shuffled them over and over again with her eyes closed as she hummed softly to herself. After what seemed like an eternity—but what in reality was not more than a minute or two—she stopped, put the cards in front of Tom, and asked him to cut the deck, which he did. Then she dealt five cards face down on the table in the form of a horseshoe. Madam Zu-Zu explained that from her vantage point, the five cards represented, in order from left to right, Amanda’s Present Position, Present Desires, the Unexpected, the Immediate Future, and the Outcome.
Pulling back the sleeves on her blouse, she slowly turned over the first card representing Amanda’s Present Position. It was The High Priestess.
Madam Zu-Zu nodded. “I see a confused woman in front of me, one who has an unconscious awareness of something she can’t explain . . . a mystery unsolved . . . who, by her own intuition, and trusting her inner voice, has come to Madam Zu-Zu to help her sense the secret and hidden . . . to know what is being concealed from her. You are being called upon to go deeper. There is something beyond the obvious awaiting you, but at this point it is not clear, from the many possibilities, what you can or must do.”
Amanda turned to look at Tom, who shrugged his shoulders. To Amanda, it appeared what Madam Zu-Zu had said made some sense, albeit of a general nature. After all, they were sitting in her parlor for exactly the reason she had stated . . . an unconscious awareness of something she could not explain. Was this just by chance, a mere flip of the coin, the draw of the cards? Who knew?
Madam Zu-Zu turned over the second card, which was to represent Present Desires. It was Strength.
“Ah yes,” Madam Zu-Zu proclaimed, “how fitting this should follow The High Priestess. You must show unshakeable resolve. Be a rock! The task ahead will be frustrating, and it will require time and patience. Look at the card. See the lion being tamed by the hand of the woman. This will be you, finding strength, even in the most difficult moments . . . moments that will test every ounce of inner strength you possess.”
Amanda reached to her left and grabbed hold of Tom’s hand. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all,” she whispered. “This is really beginning to scare me.”
Tom leaned over and whispered in Amanda’s ear. “Come on, let’s leave. This is a bunch of crap. Anyone can buy a set of tarot cards and a book, memorize what the cards stand for, mix and match interpretations, and voilà, create a story. We could come back tomorrow and the results would be entirely different. And besides, what she’s said is totally generic. There hasn’t been one thing, not one thing, she’s said that’s specific to you, to anyone you know, to any situation in which you’re involved, or to anything—PERIOD.”
“Oh yeah, then how do you explain her saying I was here to clear up the confusion in my mind?” Amanda whispered back. “Or that I was here to expose what is hidden?”
“Well, why would anyone come to a psychic? Duh!”
Madam Zu-Zu cleared her throat, indicating they were wasting her time. Tom and Amanda immediately turned their attention back to the table, where the psychic turned over the third card representing the Unexpected. It was The Devil.
“Oh my, this is very bad,” Madam Zu-Zu intoned. “You will be tied down, lose your independence. Someone else will be in control. Be careful of being taken in by appearances. The future is bleak.”
Tom leaned over to Amanda, whose hand he felt had started to shake, and, cupping his hand over her ear, whispered, “If you want to leave now, just say the word.”
She did not answer him, but squeezed his hand tighter and shook her head ‘no.’
Madam Zu-Zu reached for the fourth card, the one representing the Immediate Future. As she turned it over they saw The Moon. “Ah yes, the realm of the unknown.” She nodded. “I expected it to appear, given what we already have seen. It is a harbinger of vivid dreams and visions, the release of inner demons. Be prepared to plumb your subconscious, to face the bizarre and outlandish in ways that leave you so confused and bewildered you will become disoriented and have trouble separating fact from fiction. Be careful, however, for The Moon can lead you astray with deceptions and false ideas. What is real? What is fantasy? The path you must follow is unclear, as is the clarity of your purpose in life.”
Tom and Amanda looked at each other. From the look on Tom’s face, it appeared Amanda was squeezing his hand so tightly is might actually have been hurting him. But she refused to leave the table, waiting for the last and final card, one she only could have dreaded, given what she already had been told.
Now Madam Zu-Zu extended her hand to the fifth and final card, the one representing the Outcome. Slowly she turned the card on its back, revealing Death.
Amanda put her hands to her mouth and gasped.
“Be not afraid, my dear. Death can have many meanings. The card is telling me you will bring something to a close, you will go through something that cannot be avoided. It is a matter of riding your fate and accepting what is inevitable in all human endeavors. The events you are about to face are inescapable, the forces inexorable, and you will transition to a new state.”
By now Amanda’s entire body was trembling. It was as if someone had pronounced a death sentence upon her, giving her everything but the date of her execution. She rose and ran from the mansion with Tom in hot pursuit.
They barely spoke during the trip back to Amanda’s house. Her fleeting “I’ve got to run” when he dropped her off appeared to unnerve him as, in retrospect, did the entire session with Madam Zu-Zu. I wish we’d never taken a ride this afternoon, he thought as he pulled away from the curb.
Prompt for chatGPT AI Session
Provide a 1000-word tarot card reading by a gypsy for a young woman who has been dealt the following five cards:
Present Position: The High Priestess.
Present Desires. Strength.
The Unexpected. The Devil.
The Immediate Future: The Moon.
The Outcome: Death.
Greetings young lady, welcome to my tent. I see that you have been dealt an interesting spread of cards today. Let us delve into their meanings and explore the insights they offer.
The High Priestess in your present position suggests that you are someone who values intuition, introspection, and inner wisdom. You are likely to be in tune with your subconscious mind, and perhaps even psychic in nature. You may also be drawn to the mysteries of the universe, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge.
Your present desires are represented by the Strength card. This card speaks to your need for courage, confidence, and inner fortitude. You may be facing a challenge or obstacle that requires you to dig deep within yourself and find the strength to overcome it. This card also suggests that you have a strong will and the ability to harness your passions and emotions.
The unexpected card in your spread is The Devil. This card can be interpreted in different ways, but generally, it signifies temptation, addiction, and materialism. It suggests that you may be dealing with an unhealthy habit or addiction that is holding you back from achieving your goals. Alternatively, it could represent a person or situation that is toxic or draining in your life.
Moving on to your immediate future, we have The Moon. This card is associated with emotions, intuition, and the subconscious mind. It suggests that you may be going through a period of uncertainty or confusion, and that your intuition will be your best guide during this time. The Moon can also indicate a need for reflection and introspection, as you navigate the waters of your own psyche.
Finally, we come to the outcome of your spread, which is represented by Death. This card can be alarming at first, but it is important to remember that in tarot, Death does not necessarily mean physical death. Rather, it signifies a major transformation or change in your life, which may be painful or difficult but ultimately necessary for growth and renewal. This card can be seen as a symbol of letting go of old patterns, habits, and beliefs that no longer serve you, and embracing new beginnings.
So, what do these cards tell us about your situation? It seems that you are someone who values intuition and inner strength, but you may be grappling with a challenge or temptation that is hindering your progress. The Moon in your immediate future suggests that you may be facing a period of uncertainty or confusion, but you have the tools to navigate it successfully. The outcome of your spread, Death, suggests that a major transformation is on the horizon, one that will require you to let go of old patterns and embrace new beginnings.
Overall, this spread encourages you to trust your inner wisdom, find the strength to overcome challenges, and embrace change as a necessary part of growth.
Remember, the cards do not dictate your fate, but rather offer guidance and insights that can help you make informed decisions and navigate life's twists and turns. Best of luck to you on your journey!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The last word: I’m sure you noticed some similarities between the reading I provided in my novel (which, by the way, was written using the pen name Alyssa Devine) and the reading created by chatGPT. The reason may be (most probably is), we both were “trained” by Joan Bunning’s using her Website on Tarot card readings: Learning the Tarot. Her assistance was invaluable to me and provided an exceptional depth of insight into the art. I gave her credit in the Acknowledgements of my novel. No such attribution (if her information was used) appeared in the output of the chatGPT reading, raising ethical questions related to Ms. Bunning’s copyrights.
Readers interested in Tarot are encouraged to visit Ms. Bunning at http://www.learntarot.com/top.htm.
Ted
February 28, 2023
Martelli, NYPD: A Collection of Excerpts from the Detective Louis “Lou” Martelli, NYPD, Mystery/Thriller Series, live" on February 28, 2023
This is to announce the release of a new short story anthology, this one devoted to our Men and Women in Blue: Martelli, NYPD: A Collection of Excerpts from the Detective Louis “Lou” Martelli, NYPD, Mystery/Thriller Series
by Theodore Jerome Cohen.
People simply can’t get enough of the short stories and flash fiction from the creative mind of Theodore Jerome Cohen. What surprises many are the photographic prompts he uses as inspiration for his tales . . . stories that span the spectrum of genres from romance to murder mysteries, and from historical fiction to the paranormal.
Beginning in 2010, and for five years thereafter, the author penned several books, six to be exact, which are referred to as the Detective Louis “Lou” Martelli, NYPD, mystery/thriller series. They feature, as the protagonist, a veteran of the first Iraqi War who lost a leg when the Black Hawk helicopter on which he was the crew chief was shot down during the assault on that nation’s capital. Under a special dispensation given to him by the mayor of New York City, and because his father had been a former street cop, Martelli was allowed to “sit” the exam for detective, which he passed. We first encounter him as a homicide detective investigating the horrific death of a Wall Street analyst, whose severed head is found spiked to the Wall Street Bull in New York’s Financial District. Other books in the series explore homicides tied to the financial collapse of 2008, corruption in New York City, real-life vampire cults, teen suicide. New York political corruption, and a New York mob’s efforts to take over the trash hauling and recycling business in Lancaster, Pennsylvania . . . all stories based on real-life, so much so that some readers have difficulty separating fact from fiction!
When talking to readers, Cohen is often asked: “Why do you use photographic prompts when you write short stories and flash fiction?” His response can be found in the words of Larry Sultan, an American photographer from the San Fernando Valley in California: “Photography is there to construct the idea of us as a great family and we go on vacations and take these pictures and then we look at them later and we say, ‘Isn't this a great family?' So photography is instrumental in creating family not only as a memento, a souvenir, but also a kind of mythology.” Said Cohen: “Beyond the physical, however, lie our memories and in them, the pictures stored in our minds’ eyes. As writers, aren’t these memories—both the physical and the ‘mementos of the mind’—the essence of our works, the prompts we use to spin words and phrases into literary tapestries our readers can use to discover something about life, a bit about us, perhaps, and, in the process, maybe even a little about themselves?”
I hope you enjoy this anthology and would love to hear what you think of the stories. You can write to me via my Website. And, as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms!
You’ll find Martelli, NYPD on Amazon.com at the URL below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX4S3KQ2
If you’d like to read one of the stories in Martelli, NYPD, visit the book’s Webpage on my Website, and click on the hotlink for “View an Excerpt.” There, you’ll find an unusual story about a teenager and her family who seemingly vanished into thin air.
https://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com
February 11, 2023
Mementos: A Unique Collection of Short Stories & Flash Fiction - Book 6—"live" on February 11, 2023
This is to announce the release of the sixth book in the Mementos Anthologies series, Mementos: A Unique Collection of Short Stories & Flash Fiction - Book 6 , by Theodore Jerome Cohen.
People simply can’t get enough of the short stories and flash fiction from the creative mind of Theodore Jerome Cohen. What surprises many are the photographic prompts he uses as inspiration for his tales . . . stories that span the spectrum of genres from romance to murder mysteries, and from historical fiction to the paranormal.
When talking to readers, he is often asked: “Why do you use photographic prompts when you write short stories and flash fiction?” His response can be found in the words of Larry Sultan, an American photographer from the San Fernando Valley in California: “Photography is there to construct the idea of us as a great family and we go on vacations and take these pictures and then we look at them later and we say, ‘Isn't this a great family?' So photography is instrumental in creating family not only as a memento, a souvenir, but also a kind of mythology.” Said Cohen: “Beyond the physical, however, lie our memories and in them, the pictures stored in our minds’ eyes. As writers, aren’t these memories—both the physical and the ‘mementos of the mind’—the essence of our works, the prompts we use to spin words and phrases into literary tapestries our readers can use to discover something about life, a bit about us, perhaps, and, in the process, maybe even a little about themselves?”
In this volume, you’ll find a story about a long funeral procession, comprising some 100 cars and motorcycles, the latter mostly big Harley-Davidson touring models. Who could their drivers possibly have been honoring? And what was the captain of the ocean-going freighter Duchess of Montrose, which was tied up in Porto Grande Bay, Cape Verde Islands, thinking as he watched a storm approaching that already had dropped his barometer to levels seen only in the strongest of hurricanes? In short (pun intended), there is something in this book for almost every genre and taste.
I hope you enjoy all of these anthologies and would love to hear what you think of the stories. You can write to me via my Website. And, as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms!
You’ll find Book 6 on Amazon.com at the URL below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVJD1DML
If you’d like to read one of the stories in Book 6, visit the book’s Webpage on my Website, and click on the hotlink for “View an Excerpt.” There, you’ll find an unusual story about memories from a time at the beach.
https://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com
January 30, 2023
How Much of a Threat are the New AI Text Generators?
You’d have to be living under a rock not to know, by now, AI text generators are the talk of the town. Principal among them is a model called ChatGPT from Open AI. Here’s how the developer describes their product:
“We’ve trained a model called ChatGPT which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.”
You can learn more about the model here:
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/
It’s also possible to try it, but more about that below (along with an example).
What appears to have many in the educational and literary fields upset is the possibility that soon (if not now!), we will be reading stories, novels, plays, and other documents that are not generated by human authors, but instead, by computers using these new AI text-generation models. Consider the educator, who now has no idea whether the Senior Theme he or she is reading on a college application was actually written by the student applying for admission . . . or whether the academic or government grant application under review actually was written by the scientist whose name appears on the bottom line. How about the stories we read in our daily newspapers or weekly/monthly magazines? Are they human-generated or the product of a computer? And if the latter, what can be said about the veracity of the claims, facts, and/or assertions made?! Overall, what are we to believe going forward. Who are we to believe?
The field of AI is nothing new. The whole concept revolves around this question: can computers think? Alan Turing, who is credited with breaking the encoded messages enabled by the Nazi’s Enigma Machine in WWII, even proposed what generally is known as The Turing Test. The test, originally called the ‘imitation game’ by Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. You can read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_...
My first encounter with AI was in In the fall of 1977, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80 for $599 in the summer of that year, and a co-worker, who reviewed PCs for various magazines at the time, was sent one of these systems to tender his opinion. It was a meager system by today’s standards, to be sure: according to Radio Shack, the offering included a BASIC language interpreter, four kilobytes of RAM, a Zilog Z80 processor at 1.77 megahertz, a twelve-inch video monitor, a cassette recorder, a power supply, and a cassette tape containing the games Blackjack and Backgammon.
But it was enough for us to create a small program that produced haikus, a short form of Japanese poetry. For example:
“A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai
I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms.
What my co-worker and I did, then, was to create five haikus using the TRS-80 and to mix them with five haikus written by human beings. The ten then were Xeroxed and handed to students in my youngest daughter’s grade school class. The students were asked to decide which ones were real and which ones were computer-generated. None got them all correct. The best score was six out of ten. I have to admit, some of the PC-generated haikus were stunning!
The field of AI advanced rapidly in an extremely short period of time from that point on. In fact, I led a team of programmers who successfully developed the first large-scale AI application for the US Navy as part of our work for the In-Service Engineering Agent-Aegis, Webster, Field, St. Inigoes, Maryland, 40 years ago this year. The program significantly enhanced the ability of US Forces—US Navy, Army, Air Force, Special Forces, and Coast Guard—to create effective communications plans by optimizing interoperability. It did so by taking into account the communication capabilities of the individual units scheduled to participate in any given action.
So, on to something more current: my test of ChatGPT,
Just to put a toe in the water with the model, I decided to “play it” against myself using the latest flash fiction challenge from Indies Unlimited. The photo prompt (copyright by K.S. Brooks) this week is shown below:
“Hide in Plain Sight”
Below is the story I created for submission. I already won a Weekly competition for the month of January, 2023, so the story below was submitted only for the Monthly Editors’ Choice competition.
“Well, Dean certainly has chutzpah, I’ll give him that,” Heather whispered under her breath as she and Sally watched him hug his old flame, Lorraine, outside the Saddle-Up Bar and Grill before the big game was about to begin Sunday afternoon.
“The guy’s got a real ‘set’ on him, all right,” Sally deadpanned.
“Oh, yeah. And to think he had the gall to accuse of her of cheatin’ on him last weekend when he got hammered, stumbled all himself like a stupid oaf, spilled beer on her, and, after passing out in her arms, left her standing alone on the dance floor in front of everyone.”
“What I really loved was the part where he finally sobered a bit later that night and ranted about her letting Rod drive her home.”
“You mean that little scene where he grunted at her: ‘You really shud go home wid da guy who brung you to da dance,’ ” Heather chuckled, aping Brian by swinging her arms from side to side, moving her shoulders up and down, and speaking in a low, street-slang voice.
The women laughed so hard they almost blew beer out their noses.
“It’s not funny,” Sally finally said, wiping tears from her eyes. “But hey, if you can’t have a little fun at a friend’s expense, who can you abuse?”
Now, here’s the story generated by ChatGPT…no fancy instructions, simply a straight-forward description of the photo prompt and a requirement that the ending have a “twist.”
Instructions: Write a short story of not more than 250 words about a man dressed in a gorilla costume embracing a girl in front of a tavern with a crowd around them. There must be a "twist" at the end.
It was a cold winter night and a young man dressed in a gorilla costume had just emerged from a tavern. The crowd around him was large and curious, though none could guess the man's intentions. The man strolled towards a young woman who had been standing in the street, watching the commotion from a distance. When he reached her, he slowly opened his arms and embraced her. The crowd gasped in surprise and some started to whisper about the couple. The man and woman stood there for what felt like an eternity, embraced in a silent hug. The tension in the air was palpable as the crowd watched in awe. When the man finally let go, the woman turned around to face the crowd with tears in her eyes. In a trembling voice, she announced that the man in the gorilla costume was her long lost brother. They had been separated when they were children and this was the first time they had seen each other in years. The crowd was stunned. They had expected a different kind of twist, but this one was even more powerful. Tears of joy and surprise filled the streets as the siblings reunited. The man in the gorilla costume had succeeded in his mission. He had found his sister and brought [to her and the gathered crowd something beyond anything expected during the joyous days leading to Christmas.]
For some reason, ChatGPT did not complete the story (the portion shown in square brackets). Regardless, for an effort that took less than a minute to specify, I posit it certainly would have met the requirements at the 9th grade high school level.
Oh oh…I’m not sure how educators and others are going to handle the problems such AI text generators present. One solution, at least at the grade and high school levels, is to require hand-written essays and themes (vs. computer-generated copy). Beyond that, there is a burgeoning field in the area of determining what is real (versus determining what is fake) … an area that already is showing promise.
Watch this space.
“We’ve trained a model called ChatGPT which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.”
You can learn more about the model here:
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/
It’s also possible to try it, but more about that below (along with an example).
What appears to have many in the educational and literary fields upset is the possibility that soon (if not now!), we will be reading stories, novels, plays, and other documents that are not generated by human authors, but instead, by computers using these new AI text-generation models. Consider the educator, who now has no idea whether the Senior Theme he or she is reading on a college application was actually written by the student applying for admission . . . or whether the academic or government grant application under review actually was written by the scientist whose name appears on the bottom line. How about the stories we read in our daily newspapers or weekly/monthly magazines? Are they human-generated or the product of a computer? And if the latter, what can be said about the veracity of the claims, facts, and/or assertions made?! Overall, what are we to believe going forward. Who are we to believe?
The field of AI is nothing new. The whole concept revolves around this question: can computers think? Alan Turing, who is credited with breaking the encoded messages enabled by the Nazi’s Enigma Machine in WWII, even proposed what generally is known as The Turing Test. The test, originally called the ‘imitation game’ by Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. You can read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_...
My first encounter with AI was in In the fall of 1977, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80 for $599 in the summer of that year, and a co-worker, who reviewed PCs for various magazines at the time, was sent one of these systems to tender his opinion. It was a meager system by today’s standards, to be sure: according to Radio Shack, the offering included a BASIC language interpreter, four kilobytes of RAM, a Zilog Z80 processor at 1.77 megahertz, a twelve-inch video monitor, a cassette recorder, a power supply, and a cassette tape containing the games Blackjack and Backgammon.
But it was enough for us to create a small program that produced haikus, a short form of Japanese poetry. For example:
“A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai
I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms.
What my co-worker and I did, then, was to create five haikus using the TRS-80 and to mix them with five haikus written by human beings. The ten then were Xeroxed and handed to students in my youngest daughter’s grade school class. The students were asked to decide which ones were real and which ones were computer-generated. None got them all correct. The best score was six out of ten. I have to admit, some of the PC-generated haikus were stunning!
The field of AI advanced rapidly in an extremely short period of time from that point on. In fact, I led a team of programmers who successfully developed the first large-scale AI application for the US Navy as part of our work for the In-Service Engineering Agent-Aegis, Webster, Field, St. Inigoes, Maryland, 40 years ago this year. The program significantly enhanced the ability of US Forces—US Navy, Army, Air Force, Special Forces, and Coast Guard—to create effective communications plans by optimizing interoperability. It did so by taking into account the communication capabilities of the individual units scheduled to participate in any given action.
So, on to something more current: my test of ChatGPT,
Just to put a toe in the water with the model, I decided to “play it” against myself using the latest flash fiction challenge from Indies Unlimited. The photo prompt (copyright by K.S. Brooks) this week is shown below:
“Hide in Plain Sight”
Below is the story I created for submission. I already won a Weekly competition for the month of January, 2023, so the story below was submitted only for the Monthly Editors’ Choice competition.
“Well, Dean certainly has chutzpah, I’ll give him that,” Heather whispered under her breath as she and Sally watched him hug his old flame, Lorraine, outside the Saddle-Up Bar and Grill before the big game was about to begin Sunday afternoon.
“The guy’s got a real ‘set’ on him, all right,” Sally deadpanned.
“Oh, yeah. And to think he had the gall to accuse of her of cheatin’ on him last weekend when he got hammered, stumbled all himself like a stupid oaf, spilled beer on her, and, after passing out in her arms, left her standing alone on the dance floor in front of everyone.”
“What I really loved was the part where he finally sobered a bit later that night and ranted about her letting Rod drive her home.”
“You mean that little scene where he grunted at her: ‘You really shud go home wid da guy who brung you to da dance,’ ” Heather chuckled, aping Brian by swinging her arms from side to side, moving her shoulders up and down, and speaking in a low, street-slang voice.
The women laughed so hard they almost blew beer out their noses.
“It’s not funny,” Sally finally said, wiping tears from her eyes. “But hey, if you can’t have a little fun at a friend’s expense, who can you abuse?”
Now, here’s the story generated by ChatGPT…no fancy instructions, simply a straight-forward description of the photo prompt and a requirement that the ending have a “twist.”
Instructions: Write a short story of not more than 250 words about a man dressed in a gorilla costume embracing a girl in front of a tavern with a crowd around them. There must be a "twist" at the end.
It was a cold winter night and a young man dressed in a gorilla costume had just emerged from a tavern. The crowd around him was large and curious, though none could guess the man's intentions. The man strolled towards a young woman who had been standing in the street, watching the commotion from a distance. When he reached her, he slowly opened his arms and embraced her. The crowd gasped in surprise and some started to whisper about the couple. The man and woman stood there for what felt like an eternity, embraced in a silent hug. The tension in the air was palpable as the crowd watched in awe. When the man finally let go, the woman turned around to face the crowd with tears in her eyes. In a trembling voice, she announced that the man in the gorilla costume was her long lost brother. They had been separated when they were children and this was the first time they had seen each other in years. The crowd was stunned. They had expected a different kind of twist, but this one was even more powerful. Tears of joy and surprise filled the streets as the siblings reunited. The man in the gorilla costume had succeeded in his mission. He had found his sister and brought [to her and the gathered crowd something beyond anything expected during the joyous days leading to Christmas.]
For some reason, ChatGPT did not complete the story (the portion shown in square brackets). Regardless, for an effort that took less than a minute to specify, I posit it certainly would have met the requirements at the 9th grade high school level.
Oh oh…I’m not sure how educators and others are going to handle the problems such AI text generators present. One solution, at least at the grade and high school levels, is to require hand-written essays and themes (vs. computer-generated copy). Beyond that, there is a burgeoning field in the area of determining what is real (versus determining what is fake) … an area that already is showing promise.
Watch this space.
December 20, 2022
Bobish: A book review
This poetic tour de force by Magdalena Ball is more than an historical verse memoir of her great-grandmother Rebecca Lieberman; it is reverent, loving homage to a woman who, in fact, represents millions upon millions of Jewish men and women forced from their homes by their oppressors, eventually to wash up on the shores of America in the great emigration from Europe than began in the middle of the 19th century.
How stunning is Ball’s ability to capture both the fears and the hopes of Rebecca, who, destitute, faced not only with being stripped of her humanity, but of her name as well. (Did you ever wonder why there are so many Cohens and Levys in the United States?)
Not even the smallest detail escapes Ball’s all-knowing pen. Something as small has how her mother combed here hear before her departure for America is captured in this tender passage:
“her mother pushed back her hair
the day she left
a barely exhaled puff into the air
travelling on that endless railway car across time
slowly burning, dawn breaking behind a shadow”
These words were particularly meaningful to me, My great-grandmother, Blume Levy, had her hair cut extremely short prior to her departure for America in 1865 so as to make it easier for her father, Abraham, to pass her off as a young man on the voyage, thus protecting her from the gangs that roamed about their ship.
For countless reasons it’s a tragedy Rebecca Lieberman’s story is the story of Ball’s and my Jewish ancestors’ history:
“The history of my family is
the history of breezes.
And the exodus, the getaway:
my grandfathers, one carrying
a barber pole, the other
a tailor’s needle.” *
But the miracle of the exodus is, when you think about it, how the decision by one person, in this case Rebecca Lieberman—Bobish—to leave everything behind and emigrate to America changed the lives of so many who followed in her footsteps, especially those to whom she gave life.
*“History of the Invisible” from The Missing Jew, Time Being Books: St. Louis, Missouri, 1992, p. 17
https://www.amazon.com/Bobish-Magdale...
How stunning is Ball’s ability to capture both the fears and the hopes of Rebecca, who, destitute, faced not only with being stripped of her humanity, but of her name as well. (Did you ever wonder why there are so many Cohens and Levys in the United States?)
Not even the smallest detail escapes Ball’s all-knowing pen. Something as small has how her mother combed here hear before her departure for America is captured in this tender passage:
“her mother pushed back her hair
the day she left
a barely exhaled puff into the air
travelling on that endless railway car across time
slowly burning, dawn breaking behind a shadow”
These words were particularly meaningful to me, My great-grandmother, Blume Levy, had her hair cut extremely short prior to her departure for America in 1865 so as to make it easier for her father, Abraham, to pass her off as a young man on the voyage, thus protecting her from the gangs that roamed about their ship.
For countless reasons it’s a tragedy Rebecca Lieberman’s story is the story of Ball’s and my Jewish ancestors’ history:
“The history of my family is
the history of breezes.
And the exodus, the getaway:
my grandfathers, one carrying
a barber pole, the other
a tailor’s needle.” *
But the miracle of the exodus is, when you think about it, how the decision by one person, in this case Rebecca Lieberman—Bobish—to leave everything behind and emigrate to America changed the lives of so many who followed in her footsteps, especially those to whom she gave life.
*“History of the Invisible” from The Missing Jew, Time Being Books: St. Louis, Missouri, 1992, p. 17
https://www.amazon.com/Bobish-Magdale...
September 19, 2022
Author scam...Part 2...
Well, here's the follow-up (foul-up) from those trying to scam me by offering to take my book Full Circle to the Silver Screen. The email I received this evening (9/19/2022) was in Spanish, but I'll save you the trouble of having to translate it and give you the English version below.
Be aware that this is simply one of many scams you'll see these days. There are hundreds of ways to separate you from your money. Believe me when I tell you the odds of getting your indie book made into a movie are a million times less than getting struck by lightning (a million times less than one in a million!)
Ted
From: Alfonso Cuaron
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2022 5:46 PM
To: Ted Cohen
Subject: Re: Full Circle l Project Movie Deal
This is a guaranteed film, however we will not ask you for money if you have the material. Actually, we're going to pay you for the rights to your movie.
We received your material in June of last year. His book has been the subject of many reviews by our boards and executives. It took us several months before we decided to work with you. We select titles, create profiles and do not work with random authors.
Out of over 200 books that were reviewed, only 10 books passed the review and your book made my top 5 list.
I just want to make sure this is the correct fit, Do you still keep 100% of the rights to the book? Did someone tell you that your book is good for the movies? From your own perspective, why should I choose your book over the others? What makes your book special or unique?
Definitely! That's why I got a good recommendation from the board of editors and was told that your book is adapted to international cinema. His book received favorable reviews from Netflix.
Before the movie company will turn your book into a movie, we need a standard Hollywood script and movie trailer.
Do you have these materials ready?
Do you know the movie scripts? Right?
The script is the main requirement, this is the model of the film, it is the common ground that everyone in the film will work with from the beginning to the end of the production. It tells the complete story and contains all the action of the film and all the dialogue of each character.
We directors don't read books or manuscripts, we just read scripts.
Once the film company acquires the rights to your film, they will pay you to advance royalties ($400K - $2M). Usually 3% of the movie budget is the royalty part. Just like the last project I ran has a $41 million budget, our author partner gets a $1.2 million royalty. The bigger the budget we get, the bigger the royalty check. You understand me? Right? Excellent! Not to mention another 1% film gross once the movie is in theaters and available on TV channels.
Turning a story into a movie is really expensive, it will cost you an arm and a leg! Movie material usually costs $500,000 for an autobiography, other genres like science fiction even cost a million dollars just for a movie script. I have been in the film industry for over 20 years and can recommend a few film agencies that will help create Hollywood standard scripts at a very low cost, as little as $110,000, but will never compromise on the quality of the material.
I know that $110,000 is a huge amount to invest, but I can find a movie investor to help you finance at least 70% of the cost of your movie project. That means the investor can cover up to $77K and you will only handle the remaining 30%. The investor will usually get 20% of your royalty check. This means that if his royalty is $1 million, you will get 20% of it. ($200K to investor - author gets $800k) is a fair deal, right?
Netflix is looking for unique stories like yours that they can use for entertainment. This is a guaranteed movie in 2026.
Let me know your opinion on whether I will include your title for the 2026 movies as I have 3 other clients who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity!
Seize the moment because some opportunities don't come twice.
Welcome to Hollywood! For your success,
Alfonso Cuaron
Be aware that this is simply one of many scams you'll see these days. There are hundreds of ways to separate you from your money. Believe me when I tell you the odds of getting your indie book made into a movie are a million times less than getting struck by lightning (a million times less than one in a million!)
Ted
From: Alfonso Cuaron
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2022 5:46 PM
To: Ted Cohen
Subject: Re: Full Circle l Project Movie Deal
This is a guaranteed film, however we will not ask you for money if you have the material. Actually, we're going to pay you for the rights to your movie.
We received your material in June of last year. His book has been the subject of many reviews by our boards and executives. It took us several months before we decided to work with you. We select titles, create profiles and do not work with random authors.
Out of over 200 books that were reviewed, only 10 books passed the review and your book made my top 5 list.
I just want to make sure this is the correct fit, Do you still keep 100% of the rights to the book? Did someone tell you that your book is good for the movies? From your own perspective, why should I choose your book over the others? What makes your book special or unique?
Definitely! That's why I got a good recommendation from the board of editors and was told that your book is adapted to international cinema. His book received favorable reviews from Netflix.
Before the movie company will turn your book into a movie, we need a standard Hollywood script and movie trailer.
Do you have these materials ready?
Do you know the movie scripts? Right?
The script is the main requirement, this is the model of the film, it is the common ground that everyone in the film will work with from the beginning to the end of the production. It tells the complete story and contains all the action of the film and all the dialogue of each character.
We directors don't read books or manuscripts, we just read scripts.
Once the film company acquires the rights to your film, they will pay you to advance royalties ($400K - $2M). Usually 3% of the movie budget is the royalty part. Just like the last project I ran has a $41 million budget, our author partner gets a $1.2 million royalty. The bigger the budget we get, the bigger the royalty check. You understand me? Right? Excellent! Not to mention another 1% film gross once the movie is in theaters and available on TV channels.
Turning a story into a movie is really expensive, it will cost you an arm and a leg! Movie material usually costs $500,000 for an autobiography, other genres like science fiction even cost a million dollars just for a movie script. I have been in the film industry for over 20 years and can recommend a few film agencies that will help create Hollywood standard scripts at a very low cost, as little as $110,000, but will never compromise on the quality of the material.
I know that $110,000 is a huge amount to invest, but I can find a movie investor to help you finance at least 70% of the cost of your movie project. That means the investor can cover up to $77K and you will only handle the remaining 30%. The investor will usually get 20% of your royalty check. This means that if his royalty is $1 million, you will get 20% of it. ($200K to investor - author gets $800k) is a fair deal, right?
Netflix is looking for unique stories like yours that they can use for entertainment. This is a guaranteed movie in 2026.
Let me know your opinion on whether I will include your title for the 2026 movies as I have 3 other clients who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity!
Seize the moment because some opportunities don't come twice.
Welcome to Hollywood! For your success,
Alfonso Cuaron
September 17, 2022
Too good to be true: yet another scam
Yesterday, September 17, 2022, I received the following e-mail:
Dear Theodore Cohen,
I hope this email finds you well!
This is Alfonso Cuaron, I am a Mexican Film Director of the Movie "Gravity and Great Expectations".
Your book "Full Circle" reached my office and it was recommended by Hollywood Movie Agents that this material suits International Film this coming 2025-2026
We have seen great potential with your masterpiece to be an asset in the Hollywood market. We’ve been in the film industry for more than 20 years and we have a strong connection ins and outs of the arena, our partner film production companies like Warner Bros. Pictures, Lionsgate, Searchlight, Paramount, and Netflix are looking for unique stories like yours that we can use for entertainment. We are willing to buy your movie rights if you qualify.
We hope to conduct a further judgment to formulate a movie project for us to finance. You can reach me at my personal number 1-201 204 9003. You may also respond to this email with your contact details and a convenient time to call.
We look forward to working with you soon.
Best regards,
Alfonso Cuaron
Mexican Film Director | Netflix Director
9945 Beverly Grove Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 1 (201) 204-9003
Email: a.cuaron1961@gmail.com
Now, I have to tell you … anyone who knows who Alfonso Cuaron is would be most surprised by this turn of events. For those of you who do NOT know of this man, see the URL below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso...
“Alfonso Cuarón Orozco (US: born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama A Little Princess (1995), the romantic drama Great Expectations (1998), the coming of age road film Y tu mamá también (2001), the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and the science fiction films Children of Men (2006) and Gravity (2013), and the semi-autobiographical drama Roma (2018), as well as the 2009 short I Am Autism.”
Now, I have to say, why would a man of this stature be interested in one of my writings. And besides, the e-mail looked less than professional (the syntax was poor) and the telephone number given was for a phone in New Jersey (201 area code (I doubt he uses a cell phone for business)).
In addition, the address given was not to a commercial property, but instead, to a beautiful home in Beverly Hills, CA, selling for close to $26 million.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/99...
Topping it all off, using a database to which I have access (I used to work as a private investigator) shows no “Alfonso Cuaron” in the United States that matches the history of person we know as this film director…which should be the case, given he has made his home in London for the last several years.
But, just to see where this all leads, I sent back the following e-mail (the telephone number was not valid, according to the automated announcement I received):
Dear Mr. Cuaron,
Thank you very much for your email earlier today.
I attempted to call you several times at 1 (201) 204-9003 but was told, by automated message, that this number was not valid. Perhaps the number, as listed in your email, is off by a digit.
Regardless, I am, of course, interested in speaking with you. You may reach me at (215) 968-xxxx (landline). I am in Pennsylvania and available up to 10 pm any day of the week.
Full Circle is a fictionalized autobiography of my life as a violinist. I never played the violin as well as I did in that novel! LOL. What a thrill it would be to see that book brought to life on the silver screen, which, in truth, is an homage to my late father.
Know, too, I have written two screenplays based on mystery/thrillers I published some years ago. The first is Death by Wall Street, which is based on real corruption I uncovered in the FDA between 2007 and 2010. As a result of my investigation, I was called to New York City to brief the FBI in 2012. My agent at the time, Charlie Barrett, attempted to sell the screenplay to Hollywood in 2012, but alas, we were not successful in finding a home for the work. The treatment is attached. As well, another of my screenplays, Beware those Closest, based on my novel House of Cards, is based on the financial collapse of 2009. I’ve also attached the treatment for that screenplay. Both screenplays were edited by Howard Allen, the Script Doctor. At one time, Howard had given some thought to producing Death by Wall Street. I recently published both screenplays in paperback on Amazon, and I would be happy to send you copies via Priority Mail, if you’d like to see them. I never did develop a treatment for Full Circle.
In any event, I look forward to discussing Full Circle with you.
Respectfully,
Ted
215-968-xxxx landline
215-595-xxxx cell phone
At this writing (10:30 a.m., Saturday morning, 9/17/2022), I have yet to receive a response.
In thinking about this entire matter, it occurs to me that this is simply one more way the scammers have found a way to pray on the indie author in an attempt to separate him or her from their hard-earned royalties. Consider the following article by Victoria Strauss:
https://writerbeware.blog/2021/07/02/...
“I’ve written a number of posts about scammers impersonating literary agents and publishers. Writers should be aware that they’re also impersonating major motion picture studios.”
Now things are starting to make a little more sense. Full Circle was published by AuthorHouse. In late 2010 or thereabouts, AuthorHouse moved their publishing arm to the Philippines (Cebu City). A few years after that, apparently, some of their employees left the company, taking with them a database on their employer’s clients (that is, we authors). That’s when I started to receive phone calls from the Philippines, ostensibly from companies wanting to talk about marketing my books, creating screenplays, helping me with getting my books in front of movie producers, etc.
I suspect (but of course don’t know) the email for “Cuaron” or whoever it is was simply another in a never-ending series of attempts to lure me into wasting my money on foolish marketing ventures.
It will be interesting to see whether or not I receive a follow-up (foul up) email from these jokers. There seems to be no end to their number these days.
Watch this space.
Ted
Dear Theodore Cohen,
I hope this email finds you well!
This is Alfonso Cuaron, I am a Mexican Film Director of the Movie "Gravity and Great Expectations".
Your book "Full Circle" reached my office and it was recommended by Hollywood Movie Agents that this material suits International Film this coming 2025-2026
We have seen great potential with your masterpiece to be an asset in the Hollywood market. We’ve been in the film industry for more than 20 years and we have a strong connection ins and outs of the arena, our partner film production companies like Warner Bros. Pictures, Lionsgate, Searchlight, Paramount, and Netflix are looking for unique stories like yours that we can use for entertainment. We are willing to buy your movie rights if you qualify.
We hope to conduct a further judgment to formulate a movie project for us to finance. You can reach me at my personal number 1-201 204 9003. You may also respond to this email with your contact details and a convenient time to call.
We look forward to working with you soon.
Best regards,
Alfonso Cuaron
Mexican Film Director | Netflix Director
9945 Beverly Grove Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 1 (201) 204-9003
Email: a.cuaron1961@gmail.com
Now, I have to tell you … anyone who knows who Alfonso Cuaron is would be most surprised by this turn of events. For those of you who do NOT know of this man, see the URL below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso...
“Alfonso Cuarón Orozco (US: born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama A Little Princess (1995), the romantic drama Great Expectations (1998), the coming of age road film Y tu mamá también (2001), the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and the science fiction films Children of Men (2006) and Gravity (2013), and the semi-autobiographical drama Roma (2018), as well as the 2009 short I Am Autism.”
Now, I have to say, why would a man of this stature be interested in one of my writings. And besides, the e-mail looked less than professional (the syntax was poor) and the telephone number given was for a phone in New Jersey (201 area code (I doubt he uses a cell phone for business)).
In addition, the address given was not to a commercial property, but instead, to a beautiful home in Beverly Hills, CA, selling for close to $26 million.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/99...
Topping it all off, using a database to which I have access (I used to work as a private investigator) shows no “Alfonso Cuaron” in the United States that matches the history of person we know as this film director…which should be the case, given he has made his home in London for the last several years.
But, just to see where this all leads, I sent back the following e-mail (the telephone number was not valid, according to the automated announcement I received):
Dear Mr. Cuaron,
Thank you very much for your email earlier today.
I attempted to call you several times at 1 (201) 204-9003 but was told, by automated message, that this number was not valid. Perhaps the number, as listed in your email, is off by a digit.
Regardless, I am, of course, interested in speaking with you. You may reach me at (215) 968-xxxx (landline). I am in Pennsylvania and available up to 10 pm any day of the week.
Full Circle is a fictionalized autobiography of my life as a violinist. I never played the violin as well as I did in that novel! LOL. What a thrill it would be to see that book brought to life on the silver screen, which, in truth, is an homage to my late father.
Know, too, I have written two screenplays based on mystery/thrillers I published some years ago. The first is Death by Wall Street, which is based on real corruption I uncovered in the FDA between 2007 and 2010. As a result of my investigation, I was called to New York City to brief the FBI in 2012. My agent at the time, Charlie Barrett, attempted to sell the screenplay to Hollywood in 2012, but alas, we were not successful in finding a home for the work. The treatment is attached. As well, another of my screenplays, Beware those Closest, based on my novel House of Cards, is based on the financial collapse of 2009. I’ve also attached the treatment for that screenplay. Both screenplays were edited by Howard Allen, the Script Doctor. At one time, Howard had given some thought to producing Death by Wall Street. I recently published both screenplays in paperback on Amazon, and I would be happy to send you copies via Priority Mail, if you’d like to see them. I never did develop a treatment for Full Circle.
In any event, I look forward to discussing Full Circle with you.
Respectfully,
Ted
215-968-xxxx landline
215-595-xxxx cell phone
At this writing (10:30 a.m., Saturday morning, 9/17/2022), I have yet to receive a response.
In thinking about this entire matter, it occurs to me that this is simply one more way the scammers have found a way to pray on the indie author in an attempt to separate him or her from their hard-earned royalties. Consider the following article by Victoria Strauss:
https://writerbeware.blog/2021/07/02/...
“I’ve written a number of posts about scammers impersonating literary agents and publishers. Writers should be aware that they’re also impersonating major motion picture studios.”
Now things are starting to make a little more sense. Full Circle was published by AuthorHouse. In late 2010 or thereabouts, AuthorHouse moved their publishing arm to the Philippines (Cebu City). A few years after that, apparently, some of their employees left the company, taking with them a database on their employer’s clients (that is, we authors). That’s when I started to receive phone calls from the Philippines, ostensibly from companies wanting to talk about marketing my books, creating screenplays, helping me with getting my books in front of movie producers, etc.
I suspect (but of course don’t know) the email for “Cuaron” or whoever it is was simply another in a never-ending series of attempts to lure me into wasting my money on foolish marketing ventures.
It will be interesting to see whether or not I receive a follow-up (foul up) email from these jokers. There seems to be no end to their number these days.
Watch this space.
Ted
June 19, 2022
Mementos: A Unique Collection of Short Stories & Flash Fiction - Book 5—"live" on June 19, 2022
This is to announce the release of the fifth book in the Mementos Anthologies series, Mementos: A Unique Collection of Short Stories & Flash Fiction - Book 5 , by Theodore Jerome Cohen.
People simply can’t get enough of the short stories and flash fiction from the creative mind of Theodore Jerome Cohen. What surprises many are the photographic prompts he uses as inspiration for his tales . . . stories that span the spectrum of genres from romance to murder mysteries, and from historical fiction to the paranormal.
When talking to readers, he is often asked: “Why do you use photographic prompts when you write short stories and flash fiction?” His response can be found in the words of Larry Sultan, an American photographer from the San Fernando Valley in California: “Photography is there to construct the idea of us as a great family and we go on vacations and take these pictures and then we look at them later and we say, ‘Isn't this a great family?' So photography is instrumental in creating family not only as a memento, a souvenir, but also a kind of mythology.” Said Cohen: “Beyond the physical, however, lie our memories and in them, the pictures stored in our minds’ eyes. As writers, aren’t these memories—both the physical and the ‘mementos of the mind’—the essence of our works, the prompts we use to spin words and phrases into literary tapestries our readers can use to discover something about life, a bit about us, perhaps, and, in the process, maybe even a little about themselves?”
In this volume, you’ll find a story about a long funeral procession, comprising some 100 cars and motorcycles, the latter mostly big Harley-Davidson touring models. Who could their drivers possibly have been honoring? And what was the captain of the ocean-going freighter Duchess of Montrose, which was tied up in Porto Grande Bay, Cape Verde Islands, thinking as he watched a storm approaching that already had dropped his barometer to levels seen only in the strongest of hurricanes? In short (pun intended), there is something in this book for almost every genre and taste.
I hope you enjoy all of these anthologies and would love to hear what you think of the stories. You can write to me via my Website. And, as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms!
You’ll find Book 5 on Amazon.com at the URL below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4HJ4RQ4
If you’d like to read one of the stories in Book 5, visit the book’s Webpage on my Website, and click on the hotlink for “View an Excerpt.” There, you’ll find an unusual story about an airman’s homecoming from WWII.
https://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com
