Böcker av Harriet Kocher Lewis

As a popular pastime on the American frontier, horse racing could always draw a crowd to admire and bet on horseflesh. Realizing its appeal, boosters of the nascent West Texas community of San Angelo used horse racing to attract investors and settlers and to distance themselves from competing communities in the Concho Valley. Betting on Horses: Racing as an Economic Development Tool in Frontier West Texas, 1886-1896, explores how San Angelo promoters incorporated racing into their boosterism, sending local horses across the nation and broadening the community's national exposure and reputation. Betting on Horses is the story of one frontier town's efforts to survive and thrive as it vied with competitors for the telegraph, for the railroad, for exposure that would attract investors and for its long-term survival. Too, it's the story of Concho Valley racehorses like Belle P, Get There, Hal Fisher and Viola Belle, who raced on tracks from San Francisco to New York and from Chicago to New Orleans. Most famous of all the San Angelo racers was Charley Wilson, the star-crossed chestnut with the gigantic stride that beat fabled California mare Geraldine in two out of three races but was later tarnished in a cheating scandal. Betting on Horses offers a fresh look at the role of horses in frontier life and boosterism.

Jokes from a Humorless Machine: A Comedic Romp through Artificial Intelligence explores whether AI, specifically ChatGPT, has enough of a sense of humor to create jokes that will tickle the funny bone of contemporary Americans. Through a series of prompts, the authors ask ChatGPT to develop jokes on classic themes as well as contemporary issues with surprising results, all demonstrating AI's sense of humor as shaped by its algorithmic woke sensibilities. Preston Lewis, an award-winning humorist, and Harriet Kocher Lewis, his award-winning editor, challenge ChatGPT to humor them with a series of prompts to develop jokes on classic themes like knock-knock, yo mama, three fellows enter a bar and the reason the chicken crossed the road. Then the authors move on to more contemporary issues like politics, politicians and gender identify, challenging ChatGPT to find humor in modern culture. Finally, the authors seek from ChatGPT observations on contemporary culture in the style of several American humorists and more recent comedians. In the process, the authors not only touch on the history of classic comedic memes but also discover biases in the resulting AI output. Are the jokes sensitive? Absolutely! Are they politically correct? Without a doubt! Are the jokes funny? The reader will decide. Jokes from a Humorless Machine is the second book in the authors' Magic Machine Series. Their surprising initial offering on artificial intelligence-Devotionals from a Soulless Machine-provided a sensitive look at ChatGPT's take on the Bible.