June 1, 2026
June 1, 2026
Genesis 9:12-17
Society
Coming Soon…
…more nonsense from AI…
Coming Soon…
…more nonsense from AI
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2026
JULY 1 THRU MAY 31…Eleven months that are typically less insane.
Though July 1, 2025 thru May 31, 2026 did feature two different sequels to the first wave of politically-correct violence during the early spring of 2023.
wave: 3b: a movement sweeping large numbers in a common direction … 3c: a peak or climax of activity
An AI Lie…Followed By Nonsense
A QUESTION I ASKED AI: Did Spielberg ever inadvertently show Christians what to do with their TV’s during his tremendous success in the early 1980’s?
AI’s ANSWER: No, Steven Spielberg didn’t tell Christians what to do with their TVs, but his blockbuster films like E.T. in the early 80s, especially with its iconic “touching fingers” imagery, were so impactful they felt religious to many, leading to Christian interpretations and even marketing (like a poster playing on Creation of Adam) that connected his stories of wonder and otherness with faith, even though he made movies about aliens and sharks, not scripture.
How Spielberg’s Films Connected with Audiences (Including Christians)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): This film, featuring a gentle alien seeking to “phone home,” resonated deeply with themes of love, sacrifice, and wonder, easily echoing Christian narratives, even if unintentional.
- Universal Marketing: Universal Pictures used imagery similar to Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” for E.T., directly appealing to that religious sentiment.
- Themes of Otherness & Wonder: Spielberg often explored themes of outsiders, the miraculous, and finding hope in the extraordinary (like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), which aligned with spiritual longing.
- Jewish Identity: Spielberg’s own Jewish upbringing influenced his films, but his focus on universal human experiences of awe and connection allowed broad spiritual interpretation, notes The Canadian Jewish News.
The “What to Do With Their TVs” Angle
The idea of showing Christians what to do with their TVs likely refers to how Spielberg’s huge hits (like Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones) were the cinematic event, drawing people out of their homes and to theaters, and then back to re-watch (or buy on video later), becoming communal experiences that rivaled television’s pull in the era, according to Britannica.
So, Spielberg didn’t direct people to their TVs, but his films created a new kind of shared, awe-inspiring experience that compelled people to engage with cinema, often in ways that felt deeply meaningful, even spiritual, for many, as discussed on thecjn.ca and Indie Film Hustle.
Misleading Information & Nonsense From AI
A QUESTION I ASKED AI: If Raiders Of The Lost Ark didn’t propel Spielberg to be on top as Hollywood’s most successful director according to the highest cumulative gross for a director’s entire filmography, which movie did?
AI’s NONSENSE ANSWER: While Raiders of the Lost Ark was huge, Jurassic Park became Steven Spielberg’s biggest single film, crossing $1 billion and solidifying his dominance, but it was his combined, massive filmography (over $10 billion) and consistent blockbusters like E.T., Jaws, and Saving Private Ryan that cemented him as the top-grossing director, even passing James Cameron at times with multiple entries in top films.
- Jurassic Park (1993): His highest-grossing individual film, hitting over $1.1 billion worldwide.
- Overall Success: No single film propelled him to the top; it was the sheer volume and consistent success of films like Jaws, E.T., Raiders, and Jurassic Park, making his total gross unmatched for a long time,.
More Misinformation From AI
A QUESTION I ASKED: Why doesn’t AI admit that the line about television from Quiz Show is “It’s the world’s biggest something”?
AI’s ANSWER: The line you are referring to from the film Quiz Show is most likely delivered by Herb Stempel, who describes television as the “world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine” in a recent quote related to the topic of AI and the movie.
However, the specific quote from the film that is most similar to your phrasing is:
“That box is the biggest thing since Gutenberg invented the printing press, and I’m the biggest thing on it”.
This line is said by Herb Stempel (played by John Turturro) to a reporter outside the congressional hearing room, highlighting his ego and the perceived power of the new medium.
It seems AI might not have initially confirmed your exact phrasing because:
- The quote “It’s the world’s biggest something” does not appear verbatim in the movie script. AI systems are trained on existing text data, and if a precise phrase isn’t in the source material it has access to, it cannot “admit” it is correct.
- AI tends to favor widely recognized or exact quotes and may “hallucinate” or provide close but inaccurate phrases if the exact wording is not confirmed in its training data.
- The quote about television being a “plagiarism machine” is a recent meta-commentary by Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad, who referenced the themes of Quiz Show to criticize AI, not a line from the original film itself.
Ultimately, the model provides information based on the statistical likelihood of word sequences in its data, rather than a human understanding of implicit “somethings”.
Box-Office Reporting….1981
According to the 1996 book The Hollywood Reporter Book Of Box Office Hits, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $115 million in domestic rentals between June 1981 and 1996. Superman II earned $65 million in domestic rentals between June 1981 and 1996.
According to the 1990 book Box Office Champs, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $90.4 million in domestic rentals in the year 1981 alone, which is quite a bit more than what Superman II earned in the year 1981 alone. Superman II earned $64 million that year. Raiders Of The Lost Ark was #1 and Superman II was #2 in 1981.
And according to a 2021 magazine on Indiana Jones from Hollywood Spotlight, on page 37 the magazine reported the following about Raider’s box-office performance: “Thanks to good word of mouth and repeat viewings, the film returned to the top box-office spot in its sixth week of release. It would stay there for another nine weeks…”
But according to online box office reporting, Raiders Of The Lost Ark ranked #14 in 1981 according to the grosses made in 1981 alone, as the site claims it grossed just $21.8 million in the year 1981. But the movie, released on June 12, according to that very same online source, was #1 according with a lifetime gross of $212 million. A $212 million lifetime gross after a dismal $21.8 million gross during its first 6.6 months…
ACCORDING TO THE ONLINE SITE…Raiders Of The Lost Ark grossed at the domestic box office…
- $8.3 million during its first 3 days
- $13.5 million during the following 6.5 months…for a total of $21.8 million between June 12, 1981 and December 31, 1981
- $191 million since January 1, 1982 after only earning $21.8 million in its first 6.6 months…for a total of $212 million.
In other words, the online site reports it had a decent opening weekend in mid-June of 1981, then utterly tanked for the rest of the year…but made an unheard-of explosive word-of-mouth rebound at the box office grossing 90% of its life-time gross after its first 6.6 months in the theaters. Makes no sense. Complete and utter nonsense. So obviously false.
Never mind that the site shaved off 12% of the $242 million gross reported by more reliable Almanacs from 1999 and 2005.
May 25, 2026…Only One Day Of The Year
May 25, 2026 … MEMORIAL DAY
Only one day…four days at the most…for America’s war dead. Only one.
Some people’s priorities are a bit out of whack.
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DGA Winners. The 1990’s.
June 1, 2026 by Blogging For 20 Years • Entertainment, Financial, History, Law, Politics, Society, Success 0 Comments
Speaking of men getting messed over, the following year after Titanic won so many movie awards, Saving Private Ryan won many key awards. Another movie based on true-life history in which men suffered more than others.
Sound effects editors, Janusz Kaminski, Michael Kahn, production designers, John Williams, and other film artists helped Spielberg win his third DGA award…and his second Best Director Oscar…a blood Oscar like the blood Oscars he won for Schindler’s List.
In addition to those people, Spielberg owes history and the men who fought on D-Day, (the men who stormed Normandy in June of 1944) much recognition for his director awards in 1999. He also owes Eisenhower some recognition, a man who when he was president, soaked the rich with a 91% marginal tax rate on the top 1%.
Spielberg’s a billionaire who has made most of his personal fortune since 1981 when Reagan cut taxes, mostly for the rich. The national debt was at $1 trillion back in 1981. Now it’s at $39 trillion and climbing.
Anyway, Tom Hanks did play a role in helping Spielberg win his third DGA award. Not quite the irreplaceable role he played in helping Zemeckis win from four years earlier, but he played a role nonetheless. It’s kind of interesting how after winning his first Oscars, Spielberg expressed how he thought Schindler’s List should have won for Best Actor as well. I don’t disagree with Spielberg on this point.