Category Archives: Film & Movies

Film & Movies

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Politics, Science & Health, Web & Technology

How to stop AI deepfakes from sinking society — and science

Deceptive videos and images created using generative AI could sway elections, crash stock markets and ruin reputations. Researchers are developing methods to limit their harm.

By Nicola Jones, September 27, 2023

Illustration by Señor Salme

This June, in the political battle leading up to the 2024 US presidential primaries, a series of images were released showing Donald Trump embracing one of his former medical advisers, Anthony Fauci. In a few of the shots, Trump is captured awkwardly kissing the face of Fauci, a health official reviled by some US conservatives for promoting masking and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was obvious” that they were fakes, says Hany Farid, a computer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of many specialists who examined the pictures. On close inspection of three of the photos, Trump’s hair is strangely blurred, the text in the background is nonsensical, the arms and hands are unnaturally placed and the details of Trump’s visible ear are not right. All are hallmarks — for now — of generative artificial intelligence (AI), also called synthetic AI.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02990-y

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Politics, Travel

Site for the first atomic blast opens for one day in October – here’s how to go

By Kathleen Bangs, CNN, Updated 12:46 PM EDT, Tue September 12, 2023

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock, Tourists pose at Ground Zero, marked by a black stone obelisk, back in April 2015.

It’s one thing standing in line to watch the blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.”

It’s another thing entirely queuing up in a remote desert to experience the location of the film’s most pivotal scene.

But if you’re a fan of atomic history and can swing central New Mexico this October, your pilgrimage through the Jornada del Muerto (Dead Man’s Journey) will be so worth the effort.

Saturday, October 21, presents a rare opportunity to visit not just one but two scientifically significant and movie-famous destinations on the same day – each occupying opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Editor’s Note: One part of my screenplay-in-progress is set at the Trinity Site in New Mexico…

Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/trinity-site-open-new-mexico-oppenheimer/index.html

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Pleasures, Podcasts

Stephen King Revealed His Approach To Writing A Mystery Novel, And It’s Way More Alfred Hitchcock Than It Is Agatha Christie

He’s not interested in the “whodunit?” of it all.

By Ryan LaBee, September 10, 2023

Video: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/lq5UdPhW

From media collection…

Few names are as iconic as Stephen King when it comes to the written word. Known for his spine-tingling tales of horror and suspense, which have been adapted into countless horror movies, King has enthralled readers for decades with his unique brand of storytelling.

But in a recent interview, the master of the macabre revealed a surprising twist in his approach to writing mystery novels, and it takes a deliberate page (pun intended) straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s playbook of suspense as opposed to Agatha Christie’s guide.

The renowned author of Salem’s Lot is currently promoting his latest novel, Holly, which reintroduces his beloved character from Mr. Mercedes. It’s a gripping story about a mass murderer plowing a Mercedes-Benz through a crowd at a job fair. During an interview on The Book Review Podcast, the horror author shared his approach to crafting mysteries, emphasizing his preference for the suspenseful style of Alfred Hitchcock over the intricate whodunits often associated with Agatha Christie.

Source: https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/stephen-king-revealed-approach-to-writing-mystery-novel-way-more-alfred-hitchcock-than-agatha-christie

Arts & Humanities, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Pleasures, Science & Health, Television

65 Years Ago, an Iconic Sci-Fi Monster Movie Imitated a Bizarre Real-Life Species | Inverse

Recent evidence showing that slime mold can react to its environment and even find the best ways toward food.

by Elana Spivack, Sep. 1, 2023

From article…

Sixty-five years ago this month, an iconic horror movie made a star out of Steve McQueen and showed disappointingly little of its titular character.

That movie, The Blob, involves a goo that crashes down to Earth, and McQueen as a tough teen who tries to warn others of the encroaching sentient slime. (And it features plenty of outdated gender problems, like teen girls who don’t speak unless they’re talking about a puppy or their baby brother, because women are only useful for their maternal instincts.)

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…

Source: https://www.inverse.com/science/the-blob-slime-molds-reel-science

Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Science & Health, Times They Are A-Changing, Web & Technology

5,000 Planets :)

5,000 Planets, StarDate: August 28, 2023

[NASA/JPL/Caltech][AUDIO: exoplanet sonification]

Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets in other star systems, most of them found by the Kepler space telescope. This graphic provides an overview of the types of worlds discoverd so far. [NASA/JPL/Caltech]

Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets in other star systems, most of them found by the Kepler space telescope. This graphic provides an overview of the types of worlds discovered so far.

That sound represents the first confirmed exoplanets — planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. At the end of 1992, only two such planets were known — orbiting the dead heart of an exploded star.

The first planets orbiting a star similar to the Sun were announced in 1995. By last spring, the number had passed 5,000, with thousands more possible planets awaiting confirmation. NASA put together an audio track as a timeline of all the discoveries. Each note represents a confirmed planet, with the pitch representing the planet’s distance from its star.

5,000 Planets | StarDate Online

Source: https://stardate.org/radio/program/2023-08-28

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Pleasures, Politics, Television, Times They Are A-Changing

#WGAStrong: Why Readers Should Care About the Writers Strike

#WGAStrong: Why Readers Should Care About the Writers Strike

By Susie Dumond Aug 8, 2023

On Thursday, short of a surprising announcement, the Writers Guild of America’s strike will reach its 100th day. That’s over three months that screenwriters have spent picketing the major studios for fair pay, improved working conditions, regulations on use of artificial intelligence (AI), and more.

The writer’s strike, combined with the SAG-AFTRA actors strike, has brought the vast majority of TV and film projects to a halt. “Who cares?” I hear some of you curmudgeonly readers saying. “I don’t need TV and movies. I’ve got books.” Actually, there’s more at stake in this strike than when fall TV shows will return. Below is a guide to the strike for book lovers, including why it might impact publishing and authors, and information on how to support the striking writers.

The Basics of the WGA Strike

After weeks of unfruitful negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on the Minimum Basic Agreement for writers, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) declared a strike on May 2, 2023. WGA members and non-members are instructed to cease any and all writing projects with member studios of the AMPTP, including powerhouse producers like Sony, Universal, Paramount, Disney, and Warner Bros., as well as any other studios that participate in the Minimum Basic Agreement.

As the strike approaches the 100-day mark, no clear progress has been made on finding agreeable terms. Representatives of the WGA negotiating committee met with AMPTP president Carol Lombardini on Friday, August 4, in a confidential sidebar to discuss resuming negotiations. Before the meeting even occurred, however, the WGA sent a message to its members about the AMPTP’s “calculated misinformation” about the meeting.

Source: https://bookriot.com/why-readers-should-care-about-the-writers-strike/