Sat in the cinema at the end of a movie. Or is it? In a bid to get viewers to actually look at the end credits, film makers started to put bonus material right at the end, and sometimes during the credits. Out of FOMO, a Fear Of Missing Out, viewers remain in their seats long after the movie has ended in the hope of seeing additional content, maybe a hint at a sequel or plot twist.
This time we are all rewarded and A Minecraft Movie delivers a bonus few seconds. I’m not a Minecraft player though so my kids explain it. Worth waiting ten minutes of my life for? Probably not.
Category: entertainment
Searching for the human touch
There seems to be too much AI content. It was fun and interesting at first but the algorithms watched me consume AI content and now that’s all they seem to send my way.
On Spotify I can now identify an AI-generated music track within the first few seconds of hearing the vocals. It’s like the early days of in-car navigation systems: only a few voices were available. The few variations of male and female voices offered allows you to spot the AI singer with ease. I’m now trying to train the playlist AI to not offer AI content.
On Instagram it’s getting harder to spot the AI generated images from the real. They’ve now mastered fingers and toes and general biology. You now have to look at the shadows, facial expressions, eyes, and the overall feel of the image. Does it look too glossy? If yes, is it a filter? Also look for perfection. Perfect skin tone and musculature in every pose screams fake or manipulation. It is getting harder to tell what is real. Welcome to the Matrix.
There’s even AI videos, including short films, news articles, white papers, and podcasts all generated by AI. Ok it was cool at first but I find myself having to hunt for genuine human created content. I look for typos, grammatical errors, and human prose. I actively go out of my way to avoid AI content. Enough is enough! I want to consume something real, created with passion, interest, and human creativity.
I’m searching for the human touch.
AI generated music
Spotify has been suggesting a lot of AI generated music of late and I’m getting better at spotting it. Or at least I think I am. I add what I like to my playlist.
When I hear that metallic edge that almost sounds like a distortion to the human voice, almost robotic like certain frequencies have been removed, I think that yes this is AI but I still have to check. Some artists are honest and clearly state that they used AI in its creation. Others even list the AI tools they used to create both the music, lyrics, and supporting artwork. Others you have to dig deeper. A one-person creation that features an entire band plus vocals, sometimes male and female, with amazing artwork and even a music video? AI.
There are of course negatives to AI created music. The creator may have no musical talent whatsoever. They are a master of the prompt only. You can’t see the band live as they don’t exist. Air guitar seems somewhat fake, as there is no actual guitar involved. Just a load of ones and zeroes. But if you enjoy it, what’s the harm?
What are your thoughts on AI generated music?
Cancellation
I first came across the TV show and movie cancellation culture in the early 90s. I paid for satellite TV to be installed in my bedroom and started to enjoy shows from the US that were not available on the standard channels here in the UK.
Then it happened.
A sci-fi show I was enjoying named Earth2 was cancelled. There was no ending. There would be no more episodes. Then it happened again with a crime drama and again with more shows I was enjoying.
I had access to the early internet and learned how this was a common thing over the pond. Shows being cancelled due to ratings, budgets, or actor availability.
Then they cancelled Firefly. That was just too much.
I decided that I would no longer watch a show unless there was a second season also available and a good chance more would be made.
That didn’t work.
Shows would be cancelled mid-season in season 2 or 3 etc. Often on cliffhangers leaving questions left unanswered. After all that time you had invested in watching the show you were left hanging with no conclusion, unsatisfied.
It happened to movies too.
Stories told over trilogies where only the first movie was made or the last one was never made leaving the boxset, well, not really a set.
Sometimes the producers knew it was coming and would rush to complete the series. It showed. Storylines and questions quickly tied-up in an unsatisfactory way. It felt rushed and unpolished.
It kept happening.
Decades later and it is accepted as the norm. Anything coming from over the pond will have an expiration date that may come at any time. You can wait to see if it gets finished and wait for the reviews and summaries to let you know if it ends in a satisfactory and complete way. No cliffhangers and no questions left unanswered. Then you can watch it.
If you have the patience.
Or you can take a punt and give a show a try in the hope that it doesn’t get cancelled.
Museums
I love museums.
My friends and family get bored easily when I drag them around yet another museum or art gallery. But I love them. They transport me back in time into history. They bring what I have read in books alive. I can see the objects, clothes, furniture, and rooms from different periods, cultures, and countries.
I can get lost in a museum. The bigger the better. I’ve spent many hours in the British Museum and The Louvre. I’ve stood beneath objects so big in the Cairo museum, and stared at the small Mona Lisa as tourists walk by, snap a pic, then keep on walking. Did they really see it or did their phone see it for them?
I’ve been in museums in the Americas, Australasia, Africa, and Europe. I’ve been invited into archives and restoration rooms, been to early screenings, grand openings, and closings.
I love museums.
The Net
Do you remember the Sandra Bullock movie The Net? I loved that movie when it first came out. Not for the storyline or because Ms Bullock was in it. I loved it because it showed me a possible career path that I didn’t know existed. One that I thought looked perfect to me.
You see Sandra’s character tested computer software for a living, all from the comfort of her own home. She didn’t have to deal with long commutes or co-workers. She worked freelance when she wanted for whomever she wanted. Free from office politics and office parties. Bliss!
I vaguely remember the rest of the movie. It was probably so-so. Not as good as Speed or Demolition Man (remember the seashells?). But I do remember it igniting the idea of becoming a freelance tester, a troubleshooter of software, and an ethical hacker.
It’s interesting where ideas can come from. A book, an overheard conversation, or a conspiracy movie from the 1990s.
Thanks for the career inspiration Ms Bullock!
Aimlessly surfing
There’s a kind of procrastination art to aimlessly surfing; surfing with no goal in mind, just following links and recommendations, seeing what interests you.
You may come across useful nuggets of wisdom, products you never knew existed, entertaining websites, or cats doing something unremarkable. I’m not sold on the cats thing.
Nostalgia trips await, as does losing hours watching fail videos or people are amazing videos. I personally prefer the latter as I like to look for the good in humanity rather than consuming entertainment at the expense of others, but that’s just me.
Maybe you are into ASMR or ambience videos? Study with Merve or walk through the streets of New York or Tokyo at night in the rain or even a thunderstorm. Maybe even walk through the slums of the Philippines with Larry PH, or drift BMWs through Berlin.
The internet is a vast place.You can get lost just aimlessly surfing. Lost in content and time.
What will you find today?
Lego
In my youth I saved my pocket money religiously to buy Lego. Small spaceships, cars, trucks, minifig sets. You name it, as soon as I had enough saved I would make the trip to the toyshop to purchase a set. I would assemble it straight away then throw away the box and instructions. How was I to know that vintage Lego would appreciate in value? To me I appreciated its value right there and then. I would play with it, I would collect it. I would create my play areas and feed my imagination. It was one of my favourite creative toys (Meccano being second).
Decades later and my collection of Lego remains at my parents home. It’s there for any child that visits to play with. I worked out once, just for fun, that my box of vintage Lego is worth four figures based on the sets it contains and their box-less, instruction-less value with collectors.
I have no intention of ever selling it. To me it is a means to stimulate the young mind and I am happy that it continues to do so long after I have stopped playing with it.
These days I have children of my own and they have a Lego collection far greater in size than the one I had. Of course yours truly gets the opportunity to play with it, to continue to stimulate my own mind and to create with my children.
TV and Film news before the masses
I’m often asked by friends and family how I know when a new TV show, season, or movie is coming out, as well as its UK release date, before everyone else does.
You see I’m an avid fan of certain TV shows and movies and I just have to know when the next season of my favourite show is coming out, if at all, and what my favourite actors are working on.
So I’ll let you in on a secret, how I find out before most people.
- I follow actors on Instagram. Actors love to boast about what they are working on and they leak information. Whether it’s teasers via photos or texts they can’t help themselves!
- I follow the sites run by geeks and journos that are obsessed with learning what actors and TV and film studios are up to. Sites like Geek Town.
- I have set up RSS feeds and app notifications to inform me about network and studio deals, actors contracts and coming soon notifications.
There you go. Easy! Now you too can find out when a new TV show or movie is in the works and when it is likely to be available in your area and on what platform.