Screen problems - black screen and lock-up (plus HDMI issues)

Hi, I'm not sure if these are related to the same fundamental issue, but they are both serious problems that need resolution.
I have a new mid-2012 MBPretina.  I am on all the latest updates (10.8.2).
The first problem is the most recent, and the most serious problem.  Since I updated the Java a couple of days ago I've been experiencing random black screens and lock-ups.  Essentially, what happens is that sometimes when I perform an action (opening an app, clicking a link on a webpage, performing other kinds of in-app actions, etc.) the computer screen will go black.  About half the time I can, through my own memory, try keyboard combinations to quit or force quit the most recently used app (the one where the action was just performed), and I will get some glimpse of the underlying apps, while the menubar and other areas will remain black until I move a window on top of the black space.  Sometimes no key combinations work and I am forced to perform a hard restart with the power button.  This is a serious issue, obviously, since I will lose current work/progress in my apps.  I'm not sure if this is because of the new Java update, or has to do with something else, but it started happening shortly thereafter, over the last 2 days.  I work most of my waking day on my laptop, and this "black screen of death" has happened about 5 or 6 times a day.
The second problem I have been experiencing since I starting using my MBPr with external HDMI displays in August/September.  The problem is that I will plug the MBPr into an HDMI display, the screen will temporaliy go black, and then bring me to the login screen (as if it's crashing, albeit softly).  This happens about 1 out of 4 times nowadays.
How can I fix these problems, especially the first?

UPDATE:
Clearly there's a problem because a third of the way through a clean reinstallation from scratch it black screened again. Hmmmm.
Now this is not good. Problem is I can't rule out potential updates from Apple that might have caused this either.
The search for solutions continues.

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