The Final Beatles Song, A New Ducking iPhone Update, The Architects of Wikipedia, etc.
In which we also look at miniatures used in film, photos of birds, terrestrial radio, you know, the usual.
🍨 Happy Sunday!
🧠 Your brain has tricked you into thinking everything is worse. “We first collected 235 surveys with over 574,000 responses total and found that, overwhelmingly, people believe that humans are less kind, honest, ethical and moral today than they were in the past. People have believed in this moral decline at least since pollsters started asking about it in 1949, they believe it in every single country that has ever been surveyed (59 and counting), they believe that it’s been happening their whole lives and they believe it’s still happening today. Respondents of all sorts — young and old, liberal and conservative, white and Black — consistently agreed: the golden age of human kindness is long gone.
We also found strong evidence that people are wrong about this decline.”
🎬 An excellent video on how miniatures are used in film, somewhat focusing on the work of Wes Anderson. “In the 2020s, our computer technology is better than ever. And yet, even today, miniatures still get used. Just look at The Mandalorian, Blade Runner 2049, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, and more.”
🎞 Studio Ghibli will release Hayao Miyazaki’s final film with “no trailers or promotion.” “Deep down, I think this is what moviegoers latently desire.”
🎶 Paul McCartney has announced the final Beatles song will be coming soon, thanks to AI technology. “Fans speculate that the recording in question will be Lennon’s 1978 song ‘Now and Then,’ long a potential Beatles reunion track, as The Guardian notes. It is one of several cassette demos that Lennon recorded shortly before his death in 1980, labeled ‘For Paul,’ but an electrical buzz made sampling that recording impractical before modern AI software. The surviving Beatles tried to complete the track in the mid-1990s but gave up when George Harrison called it “‘fucking rubbish.’”
I’m curious (sincerely hoping) they at least worked on this enough in the 90s to have recorded at least Harrison’s guitar, if not harmonies as well.
📻 Why do all radio stations sound the same? I will avoid my cynical thoughts, and share this. “The short answer is consolidation caused by deregulation but the longer answer is worth watching. And if you want more information, Edwards' list of sources in the video description is pretty extensive.” The past two months I’ve been listening a bit to XM Radio via a free trial that came with my new car and outside of a few stations that just sound like shuffling an artist’s discography on Spotify, there’s a lot of similarity to the traditional broadcasting stations.
🕊 As Colossal points out, this year’s Audubon Photography Awards zeros in on the threats facing avian life from climate change. “About two-thirds, or 389 species, of birds native to North America are at risk of extinction due to the effects of the climate crisis.” Still, some lovely photography of nature at its finest. “Selected from 2,200 entries, the winners of the 2023 contest spotlight a mix of avian antics. A rock pigeon sweetly grooms a mate, a reddish egret snaps up a tiny fish, and a chinstrap penguin dive into frigid Antarctic waters. While not all species photographed are in immediate danger, the images together showcase birds’ vast diversity and its potential loss amid climate disaster.”
🦀 Ya can’t get rid of crabs.
🤬 Apple knows you didn’t mean to say “ducking.” From the New York Times: “Apple on Monday announced an updated autocorrect function that aims to more accurately reflect users’ intended word choices, pleasing customers whose attempts to swear in texts have long been replaced with ‘duck’ or ‘ducking’ (and freeing innocent waterfowl from their unfortunate association with an obscenity).
‘In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too,’ said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president for software engineering.”
👩💻 Wikipedia is comprised of almost six million articles which have been edited by over 100,000 people. Meet the site’s tireless architects. “The internet, once a fledgling network of limited possibilities, has blossomed into an all-encompassing tapestry of knowledge so big that it would take an individual approximately 57 years nonstop to visit every single webpage.”
⚾️ Between the Marlins’ Luis Arráez potentially batting .400 this year and Shohei Ohtani being both the current home run leader and one of the league’s best pitchers (dude struck out a dozen batters just a few nights ago), MLB is looking great this season.
✌️Deuces. Have a great week and remember to Keep the Hoping Machine running.
Love,
Luke
