# simulate the physical world in motion

[edsonjnovaes]

Nova Inteligência Artificial SORA e o fim da Indústria do cinema 1.2

NOVA IA de VÍDEO da OpenAI vai acabar com a Indústria do Cinema! Nova Inteligência Artificial SORA – Danilo Gato – Inteligência Artificial. 15 fev 2024 Nova Inteligência Artificial SORA é um modelo de IA da Open AI para criação de vídeos no formato texto do vídeo que acabou de ser lançada e promete superar concorrentes de peso como Pika Labs e Runway GEN 2 para criação de vídeos com inteligência…

[hyperfixat]

hehe here's this 2k brain rot that @suiana's post gave me (permission proof - not a thief!)

i turned caelus into a they them not sorry. also if the formatting is odd, i’m on my pc and i usually use my phone so.

They’re back.  Again.  

March has to stifle the screams of anger she wants to let out as the shackles of stillness finally free her.  Like ice melting Caelus and Dan Heng begin to move around, continuing where they had left them stranded and abandoned, left to stay stagnant at their whim. 

The worse thing is that she can’t even complain, not for lack of desire to do so, no, no she physically cannot voice her complaints.  And March knows she isn't crazy, she’s caught the twinge of annoyance in Welt’s eyes when he unpaused; seen the ghost of a scowl on Seele’s face; even the carefully controlled hardened gaze of Dan Heng has cracked before.

The Trailblazer is the only one who hasn’t cracked, obediently stopping when they will them to do so, and ever so happy to come back at their will.  March wants to corner them and ask how and why, if they know what's going on, but alas: she must trot along with her friends at their wicked will.

Dan Heng doesn't know what you are, because surely you can’t be an Aeon.  Aeons don’t hold the powers you do, even if they did surely there would be some record of you in the archives, right?  No Aeon dead or alive has the ability to puppeteer humans, and it frightens him that there is something out there that is using him in such a way.  It embitters him, both the unknown surrounding them and the way he is treated; how his whole world is put on a pause while he remains aware.  Aware of how the breeze stills and the stars stop twinkling, how the world goes silent.  What could hold such power? 

A shudder runs down his spine as he follows the Trailblazer’s party.

Welt has witnessed a lot in his time.  Nothing quite like them, though.

Himeko has witnessed a lot in her time.  Nothing quite like them, though.

Bronya, Seele, Sampo, and Natasha have witnessed a lot in their time.  Nothing quite like them, though.

Yukong, Loucha, Fu Xuan, and Jing Yuan have witnessed a lot in their time.  Nothing quite like them, though.

Kafka, Blade, and Silver Wolf have witnessed a lot in their time.  Nothing quite like them, though.

The different paths they all walk may intervene, as their personalities and beliefs may differ but there is one truth they can all agree on.

They hate you.

Caelus doesn’t.  Rather, Caelus can’t help but love you; you gave them life and led them through their trials.  You keep them safe and armored. You help them find the words to face others when their mind goes blank. 

To Caelus you are the world.

The Aeons came to know of you when Dan Heng’s frantic searches focused on them for a little too long.  While he was scanning the records they saw you.  You were intriguing from the get go, a pretty thing, sitting comfortably as a figure in the sky. The Preservation and The Nihility, whose current forms allow for more ease with floating went as far as they could to reach you.

Yet you remain just out of reach of the Aeons.

The Abundance uses one of her many arms to steady herself as she crawls along the very fabrics of their reality to get a closer look at you.  And what a darling thing you are!  Excitement that she hasn’t felt in a long, long time, perhaps for the first time ever fills her up inside.  With a shaky hand, she motions for the other Aeons to take a closer look at you.

From there the… shall we say, worship, began.

Nanook, The Destruction, takes note of your fondness for certain characters, and what his darling likes, he likes, so when the Antimatter Legion he has blessed come across the ones you are fond of, their attacks are lighter and they lose his blessing temporarily.  Sure, he wished some of the gushing from beyond the sky was for him, but you so rarely see his face on the screen (only ever in the Simulated Universe you put that Caelus through) he can’t blame you.

IX, The Nihility, will not change in their ways, not even someone like you can shift the nihilism they embody, but, perhaps you don’t notice it, your teams deal better damage over time, don’t they?  Don’t take their blessings lightly, it took a lot to bring them there.

Yaoshi, perhaps makes it the most obvious (despite you never noticing), your favorite vessels get a wonderfully boosted health bar.  You never knew to question how Blade managed to get nine thousand hit points.

It’s hard to pinpoint who thought of it first, perhaps IX or Fuli, but the Aeons, the strongest Aeons, gathered to pull you down from beyond the sky.  Through a (top secret) ritual you find yourself being hurtled down like a meteor into the freezing snow of the Outlying Snow Plains. 

…

You wake to the kind face of Caelus, which is a bit odd because he’s not supposed to be so… high res.  Or real.

“Are you alright, My Lord?”  The title doesn’t immediately resonate with you, so you disregard hearing it.  When you don’t answer right away they frown in worry, hands moving to yours, gently covering them with their warmth.

“What happened?  Why am I here?”

“You fell from the sky, do you not remember?”

“No,” what sky would you have fallen from?  You tend to stay on the ground.

Caelus worries their bottom lip and helps you sit up.  “Oh.”  There’s a pause.  “Did you not mean to come here? I thought….”

“Hm?” You prod, gently encouraging them to talk.

“I thought you were coming to see me,” their face is tinged pink and facing down in their lap.  Caelus’ hands feel hot and you rush to reassure them.

“I’m glad to see you, but I don’t know how or why I’m here,” you pause, cringing internally.  “Caelus.”  Fuck, that is their name right?  No last minute changes?

Luckily their face lights up when you say it and you find yourself pressed into their soft chest, their arms around you in a bear hug. 

“You’re really them.”  A breathy, ecstatic phrase.  Their face buries into your hair and Caelus doesn’t loosen their hold until a knock at their door.

“Trailblazer!  Pompom here, requesting an update on Their Grace’s status.”  

Caelus gently detaches themself from you and opens the door to reveal the tiny rabbit-oid conductor.  Pompom bashfully rubs their hands together when they catch sight of you awake and looking at them.

“Hello, Your Grace, Pompom is glad to see you awake and healthy.”  

What a cute creature, you think.  “Thank you, Conductor Pompom.”

They let out a squeak at your words and nod.  “Pompom needs to go check in on the other passengers, but let Pompom know if you need anything, okay, Your Grace?”

“Oh, thank you Pompom.”  They hurry away, stubby feet padding quickly down the carpeted halls.  You turn your head to Caelus, “what was that about?”

“Hm?”  Their golden eyes meet yours, head tilting.

“Why did they call me those things, Your Grace?”  

“Because you are our God above Aeons.  Do you… were you somehow unaware of that?”

The words hit you like a freight train.  “No, I’m not.”  It’s all you can think to say.

Caelus sits next to you on the bed, placing a hand on your knee.  “Yes you are.  We can feel it.  You are the one that controls this world and gives us life.”

Controls this world… and gives them life… fuck, the game… you’ve been playing these sentient beings.  Your tummy hurts at the knowledge . 

“Oh, I’m— I’m sorry.”  Your eyes prick with tears, the gravity of what you’ve been doing; how you’ve dragged these people into battles for fun.  You couldn’t have know, but it doesn’t stop the guilt eating at you.

“No, no, what are you apologizing for?”  Caelus’ hands cup your face, a finger catching the tears that drip over the brim of your waterline.  Their voice drops to a whisper, “please don’t cry, My Lord.”

You suddenly feel very watched, like a million eyes are on you.  Caelus never closed his door.  You look up and catch sight of March 7th’s glare.  The intensity of it makes you flinch back, making Caelus look up, over to:

“March, don’t give them that look.”  They scold the girl, who turns the withering look to them.

“Why are you taking care of that monster?  We told you to leave them to freeze in the snow.”  The words make your heart sink.  Being on this side of such venomous words stings, especially from someone you never would have pegged to be so hateful.

Caelus bares thier teeth, a mix of offense and hurt on their face.  “And I told you I would do no such thing to our God.”

“That is no God.”  Her voice shakes as does her head, before turning around and walking away.

“Don’t listen to her.” Caelus shakes their head in disappointment. “She doesn’t understand what all you do for us.  Please don’t hold it against her.”

…

They, the Astral Express, do not like you.  Caelus and Pompom do, they hold you in reverence, which is better than how March, Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng treat you.  It’s all dirty looks and only partially veiled insults.  Caelus gets into arguments with them over you.  

You hate to think that you’re harming the friendships between them, and when you brought your concern up, Caelus dismissed you saying you are worth it all.  

Yeah, there’s that.  You’ve tried to explain that you are not God, but they won’t hear you out.  :(

It’s a perfectly normal day on the Astral Express when the Aeons come. 

Nanook is the first one to descend into the Parlor Car; Caelus and Dan Heng immediately drawing their weapons, The Destruction laughs once, eyes moving to focus solely on you.

“It’s so good to see you, My darling Lord.”  His voice is low and deep, and the gold flowing freely from the wounds (?) on his arms leaves a trail on the carpet as he approaches to kneel in front of you.  From your peripheral you see Dan Heng and Caelus share a look before lowering their respective weapons.

Nanook, you recognize him from the Simulated Universe blessings screen, grabs your hand, gracing the back of your palm with a chaste kiss.  His golden eyes peek up at you from behind long lashes.

“How has the Express been treating you?  I regret not being able to welcome you to this existence, but alas the ritual took a lot out of us…”

What.

“Oh, uh,” your eyes flicker around the cabin nervously.  “I’m doing alright, th-thanks…”

“Now, now, don’t tease the poor thing,” a beautiful woman (Aeon) walks in, one with many, many arms draped in soft looking, white cloth.  Yaoshi’s eyes soften when she meets your gaze.  “Hello, Your Grace, it’s an honor to meet you in the flesh.”

Caelus, Dan Heng, March, everyones’ (save for you and the two Aeons) bodies droop, posture faltering.  IX, The Nihility, has arrived.  An odd feeling, akin to that of a weighted blanket, is pushed onto your body.  It’s them, their astral, cosmic form much smaller than what should be made of their status, laying on your body like a boa.  They don’t speak, though you aren’t  sure they could in this form.

Yaoshi’s eyes flicker with amusement, and Nanook pulls himself up.  “The others were unable to make it, but,” her gaze chills and is directed at the crew of the Express.  “We all wish to make it known that disrespect, anything short of reverence toward Our Grace, will not be tolerated.”

Welt visibly shudders at the threat, and Himeko shares a look with Dan Heng.  They need to reflect on how they feel towards you, tha much is certain.

[canmom]

This was a fascinating video on the evolution of American acting from older, theatrical 'representational' styles to the more modern, naturalistic 'presentational' style.

A large part of it is dedicated to breaking down the history of the extremely poorly defined term 'method acting', outlining the different theories of acting of Konstantin Stanislavski with his 'System' and the interpretations put on it by his American followers such as Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler, and how they differ from the modern pop-culture conception of 'method acting'. It's fascinating stuff - I did not realise just how much Stanislavski's ideas have affected the way we think about acting, literature etc. (dude invented the word 'subtext'!).

But in Thomas Flight's view, he's bringing these up in part to deflate them - he's ultimately arguing that, instead of a specific new method of acting being introduced, it's more that the goals of acting changed as the style of film in general changed. There are many routes to a naturalistic performance, but you have to want to do that in the first place, and older films wanted a more theatrical style.

Besides just being an interesting thing to learn about lol, the big question when I look at the theory of acting is how do you apply it to animation, since that's my field lol. 'Acting' is a big part of animation, but it differs in one big way, which is that it's much slower and more deliberate. I don't want to claim that there's no intuitive aspect to it, if anything you gotta learn all the technical stuff (timing, spacing, weight, overlapping action etc.) so well that you don't have to be constantly thinking consciously about technical stuff and can focus on letting the performance flow and feel natural... but still, a lot of the ideas expressed about imagining inhabiting the scene, getting into character etc. happen at a remove from putting lines down on the paper/screen. In animation just getting to the point of 'moving like a person', the absolute baseline of real life acting, is an effort in itself!

Still, knowing about the different styles and theories of acting is helpful. What is it about a character's expression that tells us that there is something that they're not saying, and tells us to infer some particular emotional context behind their words? A lot of it has to do with 'voice acting' stuff - cadence, intonation, hesitation. Then there's the way they move, stuff like how much space they take up, how energetic they are, how much their centre of gravity moves around. The gaze, where they're looking and how their eyes move around, is a huge part of it.

A film actor probably is doing a lot of this intuitively. I'm sure there is some conscious thought about it but the link between brain and muscles is so strong that you can be moving your eyes before you've had time to fully think through 'I should look over there to communicate what's on my mind'. With an animated character, every motion requires you to think about start and end poses, what the arcs are, follow-through, how many drawings to give it, etc. etc. You're simulating the 'physics' of the animated world and trying to convey the emotion of the character all at once. But you can still absolutely have an expressive, naturalistic performance in animation - and all these extra things you control (abstraction, simplification, etc.) give you more expressive tools as well which aren't available in live action.

I'm not nearly at the technical level of drawing and animation where I can really apply all these ideas yet, but it's good to know what's on the distant mountain...

[allzelemonz]

Soft and Metal: Ramattra X Male Reader

Pronouns: None Mentioned, Reader referred to as ‘handsome’ Physical Sex: None Mentioned Rating: T/Fluff, mentions of violence Warnings: Ramattra doesn’t like humans but he loves you, omnic/human relationship, omnic kisses, injury, fluff, cuddling Summary: It’s a simple scratch to him, that doesn’t mean you’re going to ignore it.

It’s a deep scratch, one that he never expected to gain, but that large woman with the axe certainly surprised him. It… hurts. More than it should, as if the blade was made to truly injure omnics. And yet when your fingers run along the indention, he feels a kind of sparking in his gut. It comes with nearly every touch you give, so gentle and soft that he is glad he has the proper components to feel such sensation. You have been careful with him, as if he may break, and it makes him look on you fondly as you clean the so-called wound.

“There.” You mutter. “Dirt’s gone at least.”

He wishes he could smile, you would in this moment, but he settles for words. “Thank you, my dear.”

You sigh, placing a hand over the scratch on his chest, your face full of concern. “I don’t like you getting hurt.”

He puts his hand over yours, careful as always not to grip too tight. “It is a necessity.”

“I know.”

“You needn’t worry, I will always return to you.”

He relishes the smile on your face as you meet his eyes. “I know.”

Try as he may, he cannot find a flaw in you. Every inch he defines as perfection, for a human. So handsome, so strong, yet gentler than he ever expected. You are the mercy in the world he wishes to see in all of humanity, but you are only one. At the very least, he is glad you are present in his operations, he is glad you are his.

“It has been a long day.” He says, knowing you will take his meaning.

He will not tell you that he wishes to hold you, to cuddle, but you know his words too well to miss his hints. It is most nights that he wishes to do so, since he got over your possible discomfort at his less than comfortable shell. You’ve assured him he is plenty comfortable once you settle with some soft blankets, he has taken that in stride. So he will play on your need for sleep and offer rest in his security, rather than bring himself to some kind of oddly human request.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” You murmur, taking his hand with yours to pull him onto the bed. “I miss you when you’re not here.”

He settles behind you, arms enveloping you once you’ve arranged your blankets to provide a buffer for his stiff appendages. “And I you, my dear.”

You shuffle back into him, getting as close as you can and he returns to motion. Carefully, he presses his faceplate to your neck. He lets the vibrations come on strong, simulating a kiss as best he can.

[transmechanicus]

Mankind is incapable of sorcery. This is not a value judgement or an act of prideful gatekeeping, but a statement of fact. On levels genetic, morphologic, and cognitive mankind is constrained in ways that prevent their inherent biological application of magic. They lack crucial genes shielding them from the potent radiation of extradimensional forces. Their joints are too restrictive, their number of limbs too few. The spectrum of their senses is far too narrow, and rare is the human mind that can comprehend the complex underlying theorems required to do more than poorly imitate the might of sorcerers of other species. Many a human fool has sought to grasp at magic and has been twisted by bone breaking, gut wrenching gravitic forces as their flesh burns and bleeds from within.

The motions of witches and spellcasters are not entirely an act of control, but also rather the expression of self distorting and intractable forces being exerted in exchange for miracles manifested by complexity of one’s mind. This lesson was slow in taking for humans, but it was one they overcame with typical determination.

First was the creation of the psycho-frame, a device that could divert the locus of magical catalysis to an artificial point, allowing humans to cast magic through more resilient and adaptable proxy constructs. Following several centuries later was mankind’s first artificial witch, an AI synthesis of machine learning and simulated replicas of human brains.

This latter creation revolutionized human control of magic, allowing its use on a significantly expanded and coordinated scale, as well as its study and analysis by their symbiotic machine organisms for the first time. It was not long after that humans began utilizing magic as their primary means of FTL, being less resource intensive than the temporally compressed accelerators they used prior. Now every interstellar ship had a meadow of proxy sorcerers on its bow, exerting the will of a God Machine at the vessels heart, tearing open reality to carry mankind to vistas far and grand.

There upon those distant horizons they found such beauty, but in far greater frequency horrors beyond count. Beings evolved from their first fusing of cells in parts of the galaxy saturated by dimensional bleed and convinced of their cultural and biological supremacy as masters of witch physics. Cities arranged upon worlds for the conduction of sacrificial spells by entire planetary populations. Planetary bodies were torn asunder from systems away, and the flow of time upon stars and their orbits was twisted to send human populated worlds towards disaster at the will of alien cult magi. Moon sized inter-system super predators blasted lightning and neuron burning insanity at any human ship that dared enter their conception of territory, hunting mankind’s vessels like fish in a vast black sea.

There was no counter to such things, not that could be mustered quickly or reliably. Ship designs were altered from the colossal Void Arks carrying entire cities of military, governmental, and civilian crew, to stripped down Witness Frigates run only by a Demigod class AI and a brave few humans to accompany them in mankind’s efforts to chart the stars. Only when a system was thoroughly explored and catalogued directly would any further Arks be sent. So into the black were sent thousands of unblinking mechanical eyes and beating hearts.

What do you think they found?

[discordmodonsteroids]

White Fox

Information About the Unknown Girl Who Has Been Hacking Government Servers And Leaving Behind the following Logo, Animated with a Winking motion. {That’s Cute, yall got NOTHING on me~ So I’ll add a few things, not like you’ll ever catch me anyways.}

Codename: "White Fox"  

Real Name: Ekaterina Lisitsa (Екатерина «Катя» Лисица)  

{EEEEW. MY GOVERNMENT NAME. CALL ME KATYA. NOT EKATERINA.}

Name meaning:  

Katya (Катя) is a form of Ekaterina (Екатерина), which means “pure” or “innocent.”  

Lisitsa (Лисица) means “fox.”  

So, in all, her name means “pure fox.”  

{I know, right? I’m so cute, mindful and demure, right?}

Ability: "Master Mod"

Katya’s ability is known as “Master Mod,” which enables her to manipulate the “data” of reality in specific, limited ways, treating the universe as if it were a giant, immersive simulation game. While she cannot actually alter the fabric of reality itself, her ability allows her to interact with the world in unique, almost game-like methods:

1. Normal Hacking: She can hack into electronic devices and networks effortlessly, bypassing security systems, extracting or altering data, and taking control of digital systems.  

{Easy peasy. Skill issue.}

2. Inventory: Katya can store and retrieve physical objects in a kind of "pocket dimension"—a virtual inventory space she creates through her ability. This lets her summon or store items as needed, akin to a character in a game pulling items from their inventory.  

{Think Mary Poppins’ bag, but cooler. And wayyyyy more practical!}

3. Quantum Teleportation: She can instantly teleport herself or objects to random locations. She has to have physically BEEN to the place in order to teleport there.  

{Nope, can't just jump into your secret lair without an invitation. Sorry.}

4. Solid Holographic Avatar: Due to her inability to use her legs, Katya projects a solid, lifelike holographic avatar of herself to interact with the world. This avatar looks exactly like her and moves as she would if she were physically present, allowing her to navigate the real world without revealing her true self. This projection is stable and tangible, but requires her to focus and drains her mental stamina over time.  

{Skill issue, me edition.}

Reason for Paralysis:

As a child, Katya was born with a rare and debilitating condition that left her physically weak. Growing up in a twisted orphanage, she was subjected to experimental surgeries meant to "cure" her condition. The orphanage's administrators, driven by their own twisted motivations and a lack of medical expertise, performed a high-risk spinal surgery intended to improve her mobility. Unfortunately, the procedure went terribly wrong, leading to severe complications and irreversible damage to her spinal cord. Instead of gaining strength, Katya lost the use of her legs, deepening the trauma of her early life.  

{Fr tho, what were they even thinking? "YOLO, let's just wing it"?}

Additional Details:

Katya views the world as a series of levels and challenges, constantly seeking new "stages" to clear and puzzles to solve. This perspective makes her adventurous and fearless but also somewhat detached from reality. Her insecurities about being in a wheelchair make her rely heavily on her holographic avatar, which she uses to mask her true vulnerability, which only a small select few people are aware of. Though she projects confidence and independence, she feels self-conscious about her disability and tries to hide it as much as possible.  

{Daang, miss creator 😦 didn’t have to expose me like that...}

Her playful attitude and gaming-like perspective often hide her sharp mind and keen observations. While she pretends not to care about the opinions of others, she’s constantly analyzing their behaviors and thinking several steps ahead.  

{Hey, they don’t call me a fox for nothing~~}

Despite her facade of bravado and wit, Katya often wonders what life could have been like without her condition. She rarely admits it, but there’s a part of her that still clings to the hope that one day, she might walk again.  

{Yeah, yeah, I know. SOOOO Sappy. But a girl can dream, okay?}

Katya’s online (and irl) presence is a mix of snark and sincerity. She’s known for her witty tweets and relatable memes, using them as a way to cope and connect with others.  

{OOOOKAY THATS ENOUGH OF THAT!!! THIS IS NOT THERAPY.}

She’s also a fan of gaming streams and online communities, where she feels more at home and less judged. Virtual worlds are where she finds solace and escape.  

{Low-key obsessed with those fantasy RPGs. Can Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail get new updates please?? I’ve reached endgame. I’m BOORREED.}

---

OOC: she also likes to break 4th wall.

{Fourth Wall is for losers.}

—-

MOD: @onionhaseyeojin

[follows-the-bees]

OFMD filmmaking analysis!

The camerawork, cinematography, and blocking during Blackbeard and Frenchie's "impossible bird" conversation at the end of 2x1.

There is so much to discover and deep dive with the scenes between Blackbeard and Frenchie.

Since the ship does not physically move this season, the production crew had to utilize other techniques to show the rocking of the ship on the ocean. From what I've observed, the primary one for on the main deck is to move the rigging and sails like the wind is blowing through them. They also move the camera in an up-and-down or side-to-side motion to simulate the oceanic waves; that is the method they use in this scene, especially since they are on the front of the ship and no rigging can be seen.

This motion of the camera in this shot is not only used to simulate the waves, but also to show the mental state of the characters. This headspace (figuratively and literally) camera framing is used throughout the season and especially on Blackbeard in the first three episodes (as talked about in my other analysis of the "this ship is poison" scene in 2x1.)

The scene starts with an overhead establishing shot tilted to the side, making the audience already feel off-center. Frenchie crawls out of the hold - showing him lower physically than Blackbeard (I talk about this same framing and camerawork between these two in 2x2 here) and stays in front of the door- leaving him room to escape. Blackbeard stands on the opposite side of the bow, with his hand on the railing.

They then cut to a two-person frame with Blackbeard large and in focus in the foreground and Frenchie small and out of focus in the background. This closeness to Blackbeard means the audience can see every micro expression, witness the dead eyes, and hear every shuttering intake of breath and shaky speech. It is intimate and the audience can sense all the pain and discomfort Blackbeard is emoting.

The camera moves up and down as Blackbeard makes the speech about a bird who never touches ground, very clearly showing that he is that bird who never wants to land. The floating camera cuts into his forehead while he speaks because just like how Blackbeard's head is breaking the frame barrier, his mental health is broken.

As Blackbeard speaks, a heavy fog starts to roll in from the sea, surrounding him. It alludes to the fogginess of his brain/emotions as well as the shrugged on public persona of Blackbeard. He is wrapping himself in this bleak cover, but his Ed self is still hidden underneath, the fog isn't thick enough around the shroud of the Kraken persona. Like the cover of the robe or blanker fort, but the fog/Kraken smokescreen doesn't offer a comfort from the harshness of the world, instead only offering the pain and self-destruction of his inner self.

The other major shot in this scene is of Frenchie. He is center framed in a clean shot; Blackbeard doesn't dirty the shot because he isn't important here, the camera is focusing on Frenchie taking in this information, revealing his emotions and mental state, and ultimately serving as the conduit of theaudience. The framing is farther away than with Blackbeard, still a medium shot but it doesn't move to allow Frenchie's head to be cut off by the frame. The camera is moving more side-to-side motions than up and down, still offering that discomfort of the situation but it suggests a different mindset than Blackbeard. Frenchie's mind isn't broken (his spirit on the other hand) he boxes up his emotions here, so he is just taking in Blackbeard's words, just like the audience is. Listening to the contradictions and trying to find out what is really being said.

The cinematography of this scene is also something worth looking at. We have the light of the ship behind Ed, something he never turns toward or seeks out. Instead, he is looking at the vast darkness in front of him, it enshrouds him and complements his mental state. The only time he looks toward the light is at the moon when he addresses Stede-symbolizing the light in the darkness.

During this entire conversation with Frenchie, Blackbeard does not turn around to talk to him. Instead, Blackbeard's broken words and grieving are spit out into the dark abyss of the ocean in front of them, the wind carrying them back to his new first mate. Ed chose to be vulnerable with Lucius (and some of the crew - though there is an argument that most of that was in a disassociate state). He cried and let all his heartbreak and despair out in front of Lucius. Only to have to get "rid" of that vulnerability by pushing him off the ship. He doesn't turn around here because he won't let anyone else see that side of him again, won't let them leave/hurt him, won't let Frenchie see the state of his distress.

The end shot surrounds Ed in the dark blue of the sky, only the moon lighting the way as the camera pans to Stede looking up into the same night sky. The symbolism of the light in the darkness for both characters, even if their words "F you, Stede Bonnet" and "Good night, Edward Teach" evoke warring emotions.

Overall, all forms of production, from cinematography, camera framing, blocking, and especially the acting (give Taika awards for this alone - I have never seen him act like this in any other role) are used to show the mental state of the characters.

Note: I purposefully use the name Blackbeard here whenever Ed is in this mental state, though "Kraken" might be more accurate.

[zytes]

I know that the average person’s opinion of AI is in a very tumultuous spot right now - partly due to misinformation and misrepresentation of how AI systems actually function, and partly because of the genuine risk of abuse that comes with powerful new technologies being thrust into the public sector before we’ve had a chance to understand the effects; and I’m not necessarily talking about generative AI and data-scraping, although I think that conversation is also important to have right now. Additionally, the blanket term of “AI” is really very insufficient and only vaguely serves to ballpark a topic which includes many diverse areas of research - many of these developments are quite beneficial for human life, such as potentially designing new antibodies or determining where cancer cells originated within a patient that presents complications. When you hear about artificial intelligence, don’t let your mind instantly gravitate towards a specific application or interpretation of the tech - you’ll miss the most important and impactful developments.

Notably, NVIDIA is holding a keynote presentation from March 18-21st to talk about their recent developments in the field of AI - a 16 minute video summarizing the “everything-so-far” detailed in that keynote can be found here - or in the full 2 hour format here. It’s very, very jargon-y, but includes information spanning a wide range of topics: healthcare, human-like robotics, “digital-twin” simulations that mirror real-world physics and allow robots to virtually train to interact and navigate particular environments — these simulated environments are built on a system called the Omniverse, and can also be displayed to Apple Vision Pro, allowing designers to interact and navigate the virtual environments as though standing within them. Notably, they’ve also created a digital sim of our entire planet for the purpose of advanced weather forecasting. It almost feels like the plot of a science-fiction novel, and seems like a great way to get more data pertinent to the effects of global warming.

It was only a few years ago that NVIDIA pivoted from being a “GPU company” to putting a focus on developing AI-forward features and technology. A few very short years; showing accelerating rates of progress. This is whenever we began seeing things like DLSS and ray-tracing/path-tracing make their way onto NVIDIA GPUs; which all use AI-driven features in some form or another. DLSS, or Deep-Learning Super Sampling, is used to generate and interpolate between frames in a game to boost framerate, performance, visual detail, etc - basically, your system only has to actually render a handful of frames and AI generates everything between those traditionally-rendered frames, freeing up resources in your system. Many game developers are making use of DLSS to essentially bypass optimization to an increasing degree; see Remnant II as a great example of this - runs beautifully on a range of machines with DLSS on, but it runs like shit on even the beefiest machines with DLSS off; though there are some wonky cloth physics, clipping issues, and objects or textures “ghosting” whenever you’re not in-motion; all seem to be a side effect of AI-generation as the effect is visible in other games which make use of DLSS or the AMD-equivalent, FSR.

Now, NVIDIA wants to redefine what the average data center consists of internally, showing how Blackwell GPUs can be combined into racks that process information at exascale speeds — which is very, very fucking fast — speeds like that have only ever actually been achieved on some 4 or 5 machines on the planet, and I think they’ve all been quantum-based machines until now; not totally certain. The first exascale computer came into existence in 2022, called Frontier, it was deemed the fastest supercomputer in existence in June 2023 - operating at some 1.19 exaFLOPS. Notably, this computer is around 7,300 sq ft in size; reminding me of the space-race era supercomputers which were entire rooms. NVIDIA’s Blackwell DGX SuperPOD consists of around 576 GPUs and operates at 11.5 exaFLOPS, and is about the size of standard row of server racks - much smaller than an entire room, but still quite large. NVIDIA is also working with AWS to produce Project Ceiba, another supercomputer consisting of some 20,000GPUs, promising 400 exaFLOPS of AI-driven computation - it doesn’t exist yet.

To make my point, things are probably only going to get weirder from here. It may feel somewhat like living in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, only with fewer years in between each new step. Advances in generative-AI are only a very, very small part of that — and many people have already begun to bury their heads in the sand as a response to this emerging technology - citing the death of authenticity and skill among artists who choose to engage with new and emerging means of creation. Interestingly, the Industrial Revolution is what gave birth to modernism, and modern art, as well as photography, and many of the concerns around the quality of art in this coming age-of-AI and in the post-industrial 1800s largely consist of the same talking points — history is a fucking circle, etc — but historians largely agree that the outcome of the Industrial Revolution was remarkably positive for art and culture; even though it took 100 years and a world war for the changes to really become really accepted among the artists of that era. The Industrial Revolution allowed art to become detached from the aristocratic class and indirectly made art accessible for people who weren’t filthy rich or affluent - new technologies and industrialization widened the horizons for new artistic movements and cultural exchanges to occur. It also allowed capitalist exploitation to ingratiate itself into the western model of society and paved the way for destructive levels of globalization, so: win some, lose some.

It isn’t a stretch to think that AI is going to touch upon nearly every existing industry and change it in some significant way, and the events that are happening right now are the basis of those sweeping changes, and it’s all clearly moving very fast - the next level of individual creative freedom is probably only a few years away. I tend to like the idea that it may soon be possible for an individual or small team to create compelling artistic works and experiences without being at the mercy of an idiot investor or a studio or a clump of illiterate shareholders who have no real interest in the development of compelling and engaging art outside of the perceived financial value that it has once it exists.

If you’re of voting age and not paying very much attention to the climate of technology, I really recommend you start keeping an eye on the news for how these advancements are altering existing industries and systems. It’s probably going to affect everyone, and we have the ability to remain uniquely informed about the world through our existing connection with technology; something the last Industrial Revolution did not have the benefit of. If anything, you should be worried about KOSA, a proposed bill you may have heard about which would limit what you can access on the internet under the guise of making the internet more “kid-friendly and safe”, but will more than likely be used to limit what information can be accessed to only pre-approved sources - limiting access to resources for LGBTQ+ and trans youth. It will be hard to stay reliably informed in a world where any system of authority or government gets to spoon-feed you their version of world events.

[karaloza]

Legend of Zelda Theme Park - Gerudo Desert

At long last, I've found a way to add the desert to my theme park!

At the western end of the Dark World is the entrance to a sandstone canyon which meanders a bit and then debouches onto a lively bazaar. Buildings are constructed from off-white masonry contrasting with brilliantly colored fabrics and mosaics. There are numerous planters containing palm trees and cacti to help direct foot traffic as well as providing bench space and extra shade. Near the center of the plaza is a circular fountain featuring a statue of a woman wielding a sword, surrounded by more vegetation. The outside edge of the area is bounded with facades representing sand dunes, among which can be seen landmarks such as the OoT Desert Colossus and BoTW Gerudo Town. From time to time, an animated figure of a Molduga arches from one sand dune to another like a breaching whale.

Attractions

Nabooru’s Training Course: A combination maze and obstacle course—periodically, the winding corridors offer an opportunity to hone your skills as an elite bandit…but if you don’t feel up to tackling the balance beam, overhead bars, crawl net, or other physical challenge, a normal path continues alongside the obstacle. This is just the beginners’ course—from time to time, you can peek through to a more advanced course where Gerudo make trapeze-caliber leaps over jets of fire, dodge flying darts, and disable booby traps (or fail to do so!). At the end of the maze is a playground featuring more things to climb and jump in, just in case you had any excess energy left.

Gerudo Warriors’ Procession: Taking place at scheduled intervals in the bazaar, a squad of the Gerudo tribe’s most impressive warriors parade through the street to a stage where they demonstrate some of their combat skills.

Skipper’s Time-Shifted Boat Tour: Inspired by the Lanayru Sand Sea from Skyward Sword, this dark ride uses projection mapping, augmented reality goggles, and a bit of motion simulation to create the illusion of riding in a boat through a desert that has been transformed into an ancient ocean, but only in a set radius around the craft thanks to the aura of the Timeshift Stone. Fantastic corals appear and disappear, long-decayed ships spring back into operation only to wither again as the boat leaves them behind, the bleached bones of sea monsters turn into living threats until the robot guide manages to outrun them. The queue includes a few interactive “windows” where the push of a button activates a Timeshift Stone to alter a scene—a massive tree reverts to a tiny sapling in a meadow, a crumbled ruin becomes a bustling fortress in its heyday, etc.

Sand-Seal Rally Race: A high-speed ride along a figure-eight racing track, in a seal-drawn “sand sled.” Watch out when you get to the crossing point—don’t crash with another sled!

Shops

5. Silken Palace: Scarves, shawls, capelets, veils, and other free-flowing clothing and accessories made from scrumptiously colored and patterned fabrics…even sarees! Knowledgeable staff can show how to properly put on your purchases if you need help.

6. Hotel Oasis Spa Shop: A health and beauty shop featuring LoZ-inspired makeup palettes, custom-blended perfumes and colognes, bath salts, soaps, scrubs, massage oils, and other products to pamper your skin after a long day in the desert.

7. Starlight Memories: A jewelry boutique specializing in big, showy styles of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, and even diadems. Many pieces are inspired by the traditional jewelry styles of the Middle East and South Asia.

8. Sand-Seal Adoption Center: The Sand-Seal Rally Race exits through this shop specializing in plush toys of sand seals and other desert creatures both real and fanciful, with an optional “adoption ceremony” for your special new friend.

9. Miscellaneous Merchandise Booths: Small spaces leased out to small business retailers whose wares are in line with the overall “vibe” of the Bazaar.

Eateries

10. Gerudo Bistro: A café with well-shaded patio seating, featuring a menu of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern entrees and appetizers.

11. Arbiter’s Grounds: An Arabian/Persian/Turkish style coffee and tea bar, harking back to the ancient relationship with coffee enjoyed by the cultures that inspired the Gerudo. Brews are available hot, iced, flavored, even blended with ice cream for a perky smoothie. Or head next door…

12. Kara Kara Creamery: Beat the heat with frozen treats! Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, milkshakes, and smoothies are all available here, made to order. If you’re with a group, try the Seven Heroines Sundae, with seven “orbs” of different flavors reflecting the virtues prized by the Gerudo: skill, spirit, endurance, knowledge, flight, motion, and gentleness.

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

The dawn on Reach was as artificial as the concept of a normal childhood for its Spartan-II candidates. Yet, under this simulated morning light, Fred-104 was proving himself to be as real and gritty as they come. At eight years old, he was a compact bundle of determination, tearing through the obstacle course with the focus of someone who had never known cartoons and cereal Saturdays.

His next challenge? The zipline. A wire stretched between two points, seemingly innocent, but today, it was the stage for an unexpected encounter. Fred grabbed the handle and pushed off, feeling the familiar thrill of the wind against his face, the controlled fear of hurtling through the air. It was going smoothly until it wasn't.

Enter Kelly-087. If speed had a form, it would look like her—another eight-year-old missile with a mane of blue-dyed hair that seemed to mock physics itself. She was fast, faster than anyone had a right to be, and her control of the course up to this point had been impeccable. That is, until she decided that Fred's zipline ride looked too lonely to pass up.

With a whoop that was all enthusiasm and zero caution, Kelly launched herself onto the zipline, colliding with Fred in a spectacular fashion that sent them both careening off course and into the welcoming arms of a mud pit below.

The world turned into a slow-motion ballet of flailing limbs and surprised shouts before they hit the mud with a splat that would've made any cartoon proud.

"I'm so sorry!" Fred exclaimed, momentarily forgetting his Spartan-II stoicism. He scrambled to his feet, mud sliding off him in gloopy rivulets, offering a hand to Kelly. Kelly, for her part, lay in the mud, laughter bubbling out of her like a natural spring. "What for!? That was awesome!" she managed to say between giggles, her grin wide and infectious.

Fred blinked, the situation's absurdity finally hitting him. "You're not mad? I thought... Well, I thought you'd be mad."

"Why would I be mad at a free mud bath? Best part of the day!" Kelly said, accepting his hand and pulling herself up with an ease that spoke of her agility. She was a mess, covered in mud from head to toe, but she seemed to wear it like a badge of honor.

Fred couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, a sound so rare it felt foreign. "We're definitely going to pay for this, you know. Mendez is going to have our heads."

Kelly shrugged, her spirits undampened. "So we'll run extra laps. Big deal. It'll be worth it to see the look on his face when we show up like two swamp monsters."

That image, Mendez's face trying to maintain its usual stern composure at the sight of them, had Fred chuckling. "Alright, you're on. But let's make it fun. First one back to the starting line gets the other's dessert for a week."

"You're on, slowpoke!" Kelly shot back, her competitive fire ignited. They shook hands, sealing the deal in mud and spirit.

Off they sprinted, leaving behind footprints that were more sludge than sole...

Yesssss

This was adorable. Just little dorks playing in mud, going full-gremlin-mode. I loved it!

[iamhussainialvi]

💡✨ Unbelievable Ronaldo The Back-Dive Goal that Defied Reality! ⚽️🎥

📝 Title

Cristiano Ronaldo's Incredible Back-Dive Goal in AI Animation!

 

🧑‍🔬 Bio

I'm Muhammad Faisal Hussaini, an Artist

Welcome to my creative space! I'm passionate about blending art and technology to create captivating animations. My latest project showcases the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo in a jaw-dropping back-dive goal, brought to life through the magic of AI.

 

🔖 Label

AI-Generated Animation, Cristiano Ronaldo, Artistry in Motion

 

🎯 Tags

Cristiano Ronaldo, AI Animation, Soccer Goals, Sports Animation, Digital Art, Goalkeeper, Football, Animation Techniques, Creative Process, Sports Legends

 

#️⃣ Hashtags

#CristianoRonaldo #AIAnimation #FootballArt #BackDiveGoal #SoccerLegends #AnimationMagic #DigitalCreativity #SportsAnimation

 

😇 Category

Sports Animation and Digital Art

 

Detailed Description (1000 Words)

In the world of football, few names resonate as powerfully as Cristiano Ronaldo. Known for his unparalleled skills, athleticism, and dedication, Ronaldo has captivated fans worldwide with his magical moments on the pitch. In this unique AI-generated animated video, we witness an astonishing spectacle that showcases Ronaldo's expertise in a way that defies the laws of physics. This latest animation features Ronaldo executing a stunning back-dive goal, a feat that combines artistry, technology, and the spirit of football.

The Concept Behind the Animation

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed various industries, including entertainment and art. By leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, creators can now produce animations that are both realistic and imaginative. The concept of the back-dive goal was inspired by the acrobatic styles of renowned footballers, blending creativity with the essence of the sport.

Inspiration: The initial idea stemmed from Ronaldo's incredible aerial prowess and his ability to score goals that leave fans in awe.

Technology: AI tools were employed to generate fluid movements, realistic physics, and intricate details that make the animation come alive.

The Creative Process

Creating an AI-generated animation involves several steps that require both technical skills and artistic vision. Here’s a breakdown of the process:

Concept Development:

Sketching the initial ideas and poses for the animation.

Choosing the right moment in a match where a back-dive goal would be most impactful.

Modeling:

Using 3D modeling software to create a digital avatar of Ronaldo.

Ensuring that the avatar captures his likeness and distinctive playing style.

Animation:

Applying motion capture technology to simulate Ronaldo's movements accurately.

Integrating AI algorithms to enhance the realism of the back-dive action.

Rendering:

Rendering the animation to produce high-quality visuals.

Adding dynamic backgrounds that reflect a game day atmosphere.

Post-Production:

Editing the final video to ensure smooth transitions and engaging storytelling.

Incorporating sound effects that mimic the excitement of a live football match.

The Significance of the Back-Dive Goal

The back-dive goal is not just a display of technical skill; it symbolizes the art of football. It represents the moments when athletes push the boundaries of their capabilities, inspiring fans and aspiring players to dream big. Ronaldo’s iconic status makes this animation all the more significant as it highlights his influence on the sport.

Inspiration for Fans: Young athletes can learn from Ronaldo's commitment and creativity, motivating them to develop their unique styles.

Celebrating the Sport: This animation serves as a tribute to the beautiful game, showcasing how technology can enhance our appreciation of sports.

The Role of AI in Modern Animation

AI has revolutionised the animation industry, allowing artists to explore new dimensions of creativity. Here’s how AI contributes to the animation process:

Efficiency: AI tools streamline the animation workflow, reducing the time required for rendering complex movements.

Realism: Algorithms can simulate realistic physics, ensuring that the movements look natural and believable.

Creativity: AI offers artists new ways to experiment with visual styles and storytelling techniques, pushing the envelope of traditional animation.

The Journey of an Artist

As an artist, my journey has been driven by a passion for combining technology and creativity. The process of creating this animation was both challenging and rewarding. Every frame is a testament to the hard work and dedication that goes into producing captivating content.

Learning Experience: Throughout this project, I learned valuable lessons about the intricacies of animation and the potential of AI.

Community Engagement: Engaging with fellow artists and football fans during the creation process added immense value, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the AI-generated animated video of Cristiano Ronaldo executing a back-dive goal is not just an artistic achievement; it’s a celebration of football and the innovative spirit of technology. This unique blend of artistry and sport invites viewers to experience the magic of the game through a new lens.

Whether you’re a die-hard football fan or an admirer of digital art, this animation promises to captivate your imagination and leave you in awe. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

 

This comprehensive description aims to engage readers, inviting them to explore the intersection of sports and technology through the lens of creativity. By highlighting the significance of the animation and the creative process behind it, we hope to inspire and entertain a diverse audience.

🔔Subscribe & 👍Like💖 for new VIDEOS📼Every Day!��

🔗https://youtu.be/DSQ1pG31uoU

🔗https://dai.ly/x96nr8o

🔗https://cos.tv/videos/play/55943781411229696

🗺️Subscribe & 👍Like💖 for new POSTS📃Every Day!👇

🔗http://youtube.com/post/Ugkx3GQnQQlu_hXuKasd3sdUMu5rVXdD20TS?si=9kyVOUkm028rgp-V

Check out this post on Yo.Fan

🔗https://yo.fan/p/QGnrE67ZAQl

[fox-flux]

incredibly stupid physics problems

(crossposting from cohost)

i posted this in the secret fox flux $4 discord channel last night and it reveals A Problem

i mean, a problem besides the barrel's layering being kind of dubious

the pistons stop trying to extend as soon as they're blocked. and here, you may notice, the one extending left pushes the slime a little bit before giving up. this turns out to be caused by a combination of:

the piston is "moving", but it's not using the normal motion machinery (obviously), so it doesn't actually have any velocity.

when object A tries to push object B, if it determines that object B is moving away from it faster than A is moving, it doesn't bother. i don't remember what specific problem this was meant to solve, but it does make intuitive sense — if i'm pushing a boulder down a hill then it's just going to roll away from me and i am going to accomplish nothing. if i let the push happen, i'd make B move even faster (however briefly) which is silly.

as long as the slime is walking towards the piston, everything is fine. but the slime immediately notices it's blocked on one side, turns around, and starts walking the other way. now the slime has a leftwards velocity, but the piston has zero velocity, so the piston thinks the slime is speeding away from it. but that isn't happening, and the slime is still there, so the piston thinks it's now blocked and stops extending.

love it. chef kiss. pushing objects is the hardest thing in the world. anyway i guess i can think of two potential solutions here

① delete the special case for a pushee moving away. checking velocity in the middle of the (hairy) push code is already kind of weird, and it's only done for this specific case. it also shouldn't matter; even if we push something slightly this frame, if it really is moving away from us, then it should be beyond our reach next frame anyway.

i suspect this is a leftover from an older and vastly more complicated iteration of the push code that tried to conserve momentum and whatnot — in which case, doing this even for a single frame would have made A and B look like a single unit, combined their momentum, and given both the same velocity, which means B slows down. so that's bad. but that was an endless nightmare of increasingly obscure interactions so i eventually gave up and scrapped it all. the current implementation won't let you simulate newton's cradle, i guess, but that's not the kind of game this is so whatever?

on the other hand, if i'm wrong and this is still important in some exceptionally obscure case, it would be bad to remove it! exciting.

(if you're curious: what i do now is give lexy — or other push-capable actors — a maximum push mass, and then when she tries to push something, i scale her movement down proportional to how much she's pushing. for example, rubber lexy's push capacity is 8, and a wooden crate weighs 4, so she moves at half speed when pushing one crate and at zero speed when pushing two. i think if a sliding crate hits another one now, they'll both just move at the first one's original speed, but friction skids everything to a halt fast enough that it mostly doesn't come up.)

② give the piston a fake velocity to fool the check. i might want to do this anyway for stuff like climbing, where the player is moving but is considered to have zero velocity because it's being done manually. but lying like this feels like it'll come back to bite me somewhere down the line.

anyway this is just the sort of thing i bumble into occasionally. hope it's interesting. i should probably go try to fix it now

[sarasa-cat]

This is bad

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Matrix (1999)

If all movies belong somewhere on a spectrum between “Confrontational” and “Wish Fulfilment”, then The Matrix is so far on the side of power fantasies it circles back around to say something about the oppressive system that reality can be. Unmistakably 1999, extremely stylish and teeming with groundbreaking special effects, it's got dozens of quotable lines, moments, characters and action scenes. This is a movie everyone should see at least once.

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a computer programmer who moonlights as the hacker “Neo”. When he encounters the legendary Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) online, he becomes privy to a dark secret about our world. Joining a small band of rebels and told by their leader Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) that he is the prophecyzed hero they’ve been waiting for, Neo might be the only one who can save humanity from the shackles of “The Matrix” and the hidden oppressors that have us all in an elaborate cage.

Today, The Matrix is the first part of a franchise that includes several sequels, an animated anthology film, video games, and more. You probably know the film’s big secret: although initially, the film looks like it’s taking place in 1999 New York, that's a lie. This story is set at an unknown point in the future in which humanity has been enslaved. After losing the war between man and machine, everyone alive is imprisoned in a virtual world, unaware that everything around them is nothing more than signals fed through their brains. Meanwhile, their real bodies are fed intravenously and the electrical currents and heat our bodies generate power our mechanical oppressors. Woah. There’s no way you would’ve seen that coming in 1999. Even today, it’s a great premise that opens up a world of insane possibilities the film is eager to engage with when it isn't putting its focus on the action.

You see, Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) and the others know the truth - they’ve chosen the red pill and have had their eyes opened. They know the real world isn’t real at all. This allows them to “cheat” at reality. The mechanical ports in their skulls (a great bit of skin-crawling cyberpunk horror) allow them to instantly upload knowledge into their minds. One moment you’re a regular pale-faced keyboard operator. The next, you’re a superhero with an unparalelled mastery of every martial arts known to man. Is there a more fulfilling fantasy? Our heroes instantly stand out from a crowd thanks to their impossibly cool long leather coats and dark sunglasses. They effortlessly blow away their opponents with weapons they conjure out of thin air (one of the perks of living in a digital world is that you can hack it) and when the bullets run out, they pull off the kinds of punches and kicks only possible in a video game.

The Matrix excels at delivering entertaining sights and sounds, at showing the audience what it wants to see. Though unassuming, “Neo” is “the One”, a human prophesied to free humankind from the big machine that’s got us all living mundane lives. At one point or another (probably in our teenage years) we've all thought “I wish someone would tell me I'm special”. The Wachowskis have taken our deepest desires and made them physical. Neo and his brothers-in-arms look impossibly cool, they can do things no one else possibly could. They’ve woken up from the dream. Now, societal norms and rules they only followed out of obligation no longer apply. Even the laws of gravity start backing off. People dodge bullets. Their jumps, punches and kicks are shot in glorious stop-motion, allowing us to see how impossibly well-choreographed and ferocious they are. If, by the end of the movie, the hero doesn’t get the girl, I’ll eat my hat.

Perfectly embodying the oppressive simulated reality prison these rebels are fighting against is Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. He’s the kind of bad guy you can never forget. He's not a man. He's literally part of the system; a program within the Matrix that’s allowed to bend the rules of physics so he can squash any rebellion. It’s clear the actor is having the time of his life with this character. He’s cartoonish in a way but it works because the whole film is exaggerated. It wouldn't have been enough for him to have been nasty; he needed to be larger than life and smug too.

It doesn’t take long for The Matrix to get going and once the energy starts to crackle, you get non-stop bolts of lightning directly into your eyes. Is the movie deep, or is it just a steady flow of would-be religious and philosophical themes? It doesn’t matter. The expertly choreographed action scenes and dazzling special effects keep things moving. In other circumstances, the characters (who range from well-developed to mere archetypes) would feel like tools used to segway us from one scene to the next but something about the entire package makes you believe this is everything the Wachowskis have always wanted to show, fully realized. It’s a dream come true, and you can’t wait to see what’s next. (On Blu-ray, January 1, 2022)

[approximateknowledge]

the underworld is great because while it superficially seems like a generic medieval stasis fantasy setting but with system commands for a magic system, it just... well it's not stasis. or well it *was* and then the one enforcing it got dethroned

and then there's a subjective 200 year timeskip and they're in the middle of a kind of industrial revolution but the basis of the industry is just, abusing the physics engine of the simulation in controlled ways to essentially have the equivalents of perpetual motion machines

like they're actually *fully* taking advantage of the way their world works in a way that feels really believable. because to them the "physics engine of the simulation" is just... physics

and they use it to their advantage to completely ignore thermodynamics and the rocket equation

it's great!

[theuglyproject]

The Ugly Project

Over the course of my 30+ year career as a Technical & Training Representative for Hunter Engineering Company I saved pretty much everything. When I retired, I decided to check out sim-racing, which is hardware and software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. I started with iRacing, then moved to Assetto Corsa Competizione. I'm not very good, but I'm having fun.

In 2023 I found out about motion simulators, which as you may imaging, attempt to simulate the physical movement of the car being driven in the game. I can't afford to purchase one, so using YouTube for guidance, I thought I would try to make one using all of the scrap hardware I had filling up my barn.

I decided to start simple, with a rig with just one motor that simulated traction-loss. I did have to purchase some special items such as a 12VDC motor originally meant for dump truck tarp systems, an Arduino Uno, a 12 Volt power supply, things like that.

The prototype is all together now, and it does work - mostly. There is still a lot of tweaking to do regarding the control settings and programing.

I realize the captions are not going to mean much for most people, sorry.