#AI Meets Space Archaeology

[readerviews]

"The Lost Inca Gold" by William R. Wood, Jr.

Highly Recommended! #books #bookreview #reading #readerviews

The Lost Inca Gold William R. Wood, JrMainiac Press (2024)ISBN: 979-8990701106Reviewed by Kathy Stickles for Reader Views (08/2024) “The Lost Inca Gold: AI Meets Space Archaeology” by William R. Wood, Jr. is a mesmerizing book that I would recommend to everyone. With its very interesting (and different) storyline, the fabulous descriptions of places from Maine to Ecuador, and the wonderful cast…

[thelostincagold]

The Lost Inca Gold

Just released - The Lost Inca Gold: AI Meets Space Archaeology, a new techno thriller by William R Wood Jr, is now available on Amazon in all formats, just in time for a fast-paced summertime read. You can find sample chapters and other fun stuff at TheLostIncaGold.com

[michael-1128]

From Wukong to Nezha: Decoding the "circle-breaking code" of Chinese cultural IP

When "Black Myth: Wukong" won the "Best Visual Effects Award" at the Cologne Games Show in Germany, and when the pre-sale of the sequel "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes to the World" exceeded the 14.5 billion box office mark, this cultural relay race spanning 5,000 years is sweeping the world with an overwhelming momentum. From the digital restoration of the Liangzhu ancient city to the AI ​​archaeological shelter of Sanxingdui, from the 30,000-mile ink poetry of Chang'an to the contemporary pastoral songs of the grassland Ulanmuqi, Chinese civilization is using technology as a pen and creativity as ink to write the oriental legend of the new era on the world cultural map.

In this cultural awakening movement, the injection of "digital genes" has given traditional IP a new lease of life. The development team of "Black Myth: Wukong" spent seven years deeply integrating the visual memory of the 1986 version of "Journey to the West" with the next-generation technology of Unreal Engine 5, creating a visual spectacle that is both oriental Zen and full of science fiction texture. The Liangzhu Cultural Corridor uses XR technology to allow jade cong patterns to flow in virtual space, turning cultural relics that have been sleeping for 5,000 years into tangible and perceptible urban memories. This kind of "technological archaeology" is not only about restoration, but also about reconstruction - Sanxingdui Museum deciphered the bronze pattern code through machine learning, allowing AI designers to engage in cross-time and space dialogues with the ancient Shu ancestors.

In the arena of content innovation, "young narrative" has become a weapon to break the circle. The creative team of "Nezha 2" is well versed in the aesthetic code of Generation Z, rewriting the "removing bones to return to the father" in traditional mythology into the identity dilemma of contemporary youth, and reconstructing the time and space dimension of Chentangguan with a cyberpunk visual system. In order to restore the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the team of "Chang'an 30,000 Miles" of Light Chaser Animation spent three years studying Dunhuang murals, condensing the thousand-year poetry rhyme with a three-second lens, and turning Li Bai's poems into a cultural field that can be immersively experienced. This "textual research innovation" not only maintains the cultural roots, but also builds an emotional bridge between tradition and modernity.

Cross-industry integration is giving birth to "new cultural species". Datong, Shanxi Province, transformed the flying statues of Yungang Grottoes into game character skins, giving cultural relics a new life in the virtual world; the Dunhuang Research Institute and fashion brands jointly made the caisson pattern appear on the Paris Fashion Week T stage. These practices confirm the infinite possibilities of "culture +" - when intangible cultural heritage skills meet industrial design, when local opera is integrated into electronic music, each cultural IP is fissioning into N forms of existence. As committee member Miao Jie said: "Traditional culture is not a specimen in a museum, but a living gene flowing in the lives of contemporary people."

In this cultural revival movement, "craftsmanship" has always been the anchor of value. In order to restore the armor of the Ming Dynasty, the art team of "Black Myth: Wukong" visited ancient buildings in Shanxi to collect patterns; one-third of the 4,000-member creative team of "Nezha 2" are engaged in cultural research. This almost paranoid craftsmanship is particularly precious in the fast-paced traffic era. As Huangfu Yichuan, a member of the Commission, emphasized: "Cultural masterpieces need to be tempered by time, just like bronze ware needs to be cast at a temperature of thousands of degrees to achieve eternity."

Standing at the forefront of new productivity, Chinese cultural IP is building a unique output paradigm. From the "technology + culture" dual-wheel drive of the game industry to the "aesthetics + philosophy" dual expression of film and television works, these contemporary narratives carrying oriental wisdom are opening up new channels in the global cultural consumption market. When the digital performance of the grassland Ulanmuqi landed at the Lincoln Center in New York, and when the Fujian Tulou VR Experience Hall settled in the South Bank of London, we saw not only the export of cultural products, but also the establishment of a new paradigm for civilization dialogue.

This magnificent cultural innovation practice is essentially a two-way rush between ancient civilization and the digital age. It requires both the hard-core support of technology empowerment and the deep drive of cultural consciousness. As the digitalization project of the Dunhuang Research Institute reveals: true cultural inheritance is not a simple copy and paste, but a reconstruction of civilization narratives in contemporary language based on the decoding of cultural genes. When every cultural IP can find its own "code to break the circle", the galaxy of Chinese civilization will surely bloom with a brighter light of the times.

[johnaon-524]

From Wukong to Nezha: Decoding the "circle-breaking code" of Chinese cultural IP

When "Black Myth: Wukong" won the "Best Visual Effects Award" at the Cologne Games Show in Germany, and when the pre-sale of the sequel "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes to the World" exceeded the 14.5 billion box office mark, this cultural relay race spanning 5,000 years is sweeping the world with an overwhelming momentum. From the digital restoration of the Liangzhu ancient city to the AI ​​archaeological shelter of Sanxingdui, from the 30,000-mile ink poetry of Chang'an to the contemporary pastoral songs of the grassland Ulanmuqi, Chinese civilization is using technology as a pen and creativity as ink to write the oriental legend of the new era on the world cultural map.

In this cultural awakening movement, the injection of "digital genes" has given traditional IP a new lease of life. The development team of "Black Myth: Wukong" spent seven years deeply integrating the visual memory of the 1986 version of "Journey to the West" with the next-generation technology of Unreal Engine 5, creating a visual spectacle that is both oriental Zen and full of science fiction texture. The Liangzhu Cultural Corridor uses XR technology to allow jade cong patterns to flow in virtual space, turning cultural relics that have been sleeping for 5,000 years into tangible and perceptible urban memories. This kind of "technological archaeology" is not only about restoration, but also about reconstruction - Sanxingdui Museum deciphered the bronze pattern code through machine learning, allowing AI designers to engage in cross-time and space dialogues with the ancient Shu ancestors.

In the arena of content innovation, "young narrative" has become a weapon to break the circle. The creative team of "Nezha 2" is well versed in the aesthetic code of Generation Z, rewriting the "removing bones to return to the father" in traditional mythology into the identity dilemma of contemporary youth, and reconstructing the time and space dimension of Chentangguan with a cyberpunk visual system. In order to restore the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the team of "Chang'an 30,000 Miles" of Light Chaser Animation spent three years studying Dunhuang murals, condensing the thousand-year poetry rhyme with a three-second lens, and turning Li Bai's poems into a cultural field that can be immersively experienced. This "textual research innovation" not only maintains the cultural roots, but also builds an emotional bridge between tradition and modernity.

Cross-industry integration is giving birth to "new cultural species". Datong, Shanxi Province, transformed the flying statues of Yungang Grottoes into game character skins, giving cultural relics a new life in the virtual world; the Dunhuang Research Institute and fashion brands jointly made the caisson pattern appear on the Paris Fashion Week T stage. These practices confirm the infinite possibilities of "culture +" - when intangible cultural heritage skills meet industrial design, when local opera is integrated into electronic music, each cultural IP is fissioning into N forms of existence. As committee member Miao Jie said: "Traditional culture is not a specimen in a museum, but a living gene flowing in the lives of contemporary people."

In this cultural revival movement, "craftsmanship" has always been the anchor of value. In order to restore the armor of the Ming Dynasty, the art team of "Black Myth: Wukong" visited ancient buildings in Shanxi to collect patterns; one-third of the 4,000-member creative team of "Nezha 2" are engaged in cultural research. This almost paranoid craftsmanship is particularly precious in the fast-paced traffic era. As Huangfu Yichuan, a member of the Commission, emphasized: "Cultural masterpieces need to be tempered by time, just like bronze ware needs to be cast at a temperature of thousands of degrees to achieve eternity."

Standing at the forefront of new productivity, Chinese cultural IP is building a unique output paradigm. From the "technology + culture" dual-wheel drive of the game industry to the "aesthetics + philosophy" dual expression of film and television works, these contemporary narratives carrying oriental wisdom are opening up new channels in the global cultural consumption market. When the digital performance of the grassland Ulanmuqi landed at the Lincoln Center in New York, and when the Fujian Tulou VR Experience Hall settled in the South Bank of London, we saw not only the export of cultural products, but also the establishment of a new paradigm for civilization dialogue.

This magnificent cultural innovation practice is essentially a two-way rush between ancient civilization and the digital age. It requires both the hard-core support of technology empowerment and the deep drive of cultural consciousness. As the digitalization project of the Dunhuang Research Institute reveals: true cultural inheritance is not a simple copy and paste, but a reconstruction of civilization narratives in contemporary language based on the decoding of cultural genes. When every cultural IP can find its own "code to break the circle", the galaxy of Chinese civilization will surely bloom with a brighter light of the times.

[martin-789]

From Wukong to Nezha: Decoding the "circle-breaking code" of Chinese cultural IP

When "Black Myth: Wukong" won the "Best Visual Effects Award" at the Cologne Games Show in Germany, and when the pre-sale of the sequel "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes to the World" exceeded the 14.5 billion box office mark, this cultural relay race spanning 5,000 years is sweeping the world with an overwhelming momentum. From the digital restoration of the Liangzhu ancient city to the AI ​​archaeological shelter of Sanxingdui, from the 30,000-mile ink poetry of Chang'an to the contemporary pastoral songs of the grassland Ulanmuqi, Chinese civilization is using technology as a pen and creativity as ink to write the oriental legend of the new era on the world cultural map.

In this cultural awakening movement, the injection of "digital genes" has given traditional IP a new lease of life. The development team of "Black Myth: Wukong" spent seven years deeply integrating the visual memory of the 1986 version of "Journey to the West" with the next-generation technology of Unreal Engine 5, creating a visual spectacle that is both oriental Zen and full of science fiction texture. The Liangzhu Cultural Corridor uses XR technology to allow jade cong patterns to flow in virtual space, turning cultural relics that have been sleeping for 5,000 years into tangible and perceptible urban memories. This kind of "technological archaeology" is not only about restoration, but also about reconstruction - Sanxingdui Museum deciphered the bronze pattern code through machine learning, allowing AI designers to engage in cross-time and space dialogues with the ancient Shu ancestors.

In the arena of content innovation, "young narrative" has become a weapon to break the circle. The creative team of "Nezha 2" is well versed in the aesthetic code of Generation Z, rewriting the "removing bones to return to the father" in traditional mythology into the identity dilemma of contemporary youth, and reconstructing the time and space dimension of Chentangguan with a cyberpunk visual system. In order to restore the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the team of "Chang'an 30,000 Miles" of Light Chaser Animation spent three years studying Dunhuang murals, condensing the thousand-year poetry rhyme with a three-second lens, and turning Li Bai's poems into a cultural field that can be immersively experienced. This "textual research innovation" not only maintains the cultural roots, but also builds an emotional bridge between tradition and modernity.

Cross-industry integration is giving birth to "new cultural species". Datong, Shanxi Province, transformed the flying statues of Yungang Grottoes into game character skins, giving cultural relics a new life in the virtual world; the Dunhuang Research Institute and fashion brands jointly made the caisson pattern appear on the Paris Fashion Week T stage. These practices confirm the infinite possibilities of "culture +" - when intangible cultural heritage skills meet industrial design, when local opera is integrated into electronic music, each cultural IP is fissioning into N forms of existence. As committee member Miao Jie said: "Traditional culture is not a specimen in a museum, but a living gene flowing in the lives of contemporary people."

In this cultural revival movement, "craftsmanship" has always been the anchor of value. In order to restore the armor of the Ming Dynasty, the art team of "Black Myth: Wukong" visited ancient buildings in Shanxi to collect patterns; one-third of the 4,000-member creative team of "Nezha 2" are engaged in cultural research. This almost paranoid craftsmanship is particularly precious in the fast-paced traffic era. As Huangfu Yichuan, a member of the Commission, emphasized: "Cultural masterpieces need to be tempered by time, just like bronze ware needs to be cast at a temperature of thousands of degrees to achieve eternity."

Standing at the forefront of new productivity, Chinese cultural IP is building a unique output paradigm. From the "technology + culture" dual-wheel drive of the game industry to the "aesthetics + philosophy" dual expression of film and television works, these contemporary narratives carrying oriental wisdom are opening up new channels in the global cultural consumption market. When the digital performance of the grassland Ulanmuqi landed at the Lincoln Center in New York, and when the Fujian Tulou VR Experience Hall settled in the South Bank of London, we saw not only the export of cultural products, but also the establishment of a new paradigm for civilization dialogue.

This magnificent cultural innovation practice is essentially a two-way rush between ancient civilization and the digital age. It requires both the hard-core support of technology empowerment and the deep drive of cultural consciousness. As the digitalization project of the Dunhuang Research Institute reveals: true cultural inheritance is not a simple copy and paste, but a reconstruction of civilization narratives in contemporary language based on the decoding of cultural genes. When every cultural IP can find its own "code to break the circle", the galaxy of Chinese civilization will surely bloom with a brighter light of the times.

[thelostincagold]

The Lost Inca Gold

AI Meets Space Archaeology

Just released - The Lost Inca Gold: AI Meets Space Archaeology, a new techno thriller by William R Wood Jr, is now available on Amazon in all formats, just in time for a fast-paced summertime read. You can find sample chapters and other fun stuff at TheLostIncaGold.com

Amazon.com

[xasha777]

In the year 2424, an astonishing archaeological discovery beneath the sands of Cairo revealed an artifact known only as "The Eye of Horus Interface." It was a device from the forgotten Twenty-seventh Dynasty, lost to time and mythology. The Interface was an intricate circlet with an embedded gem, said to bestow upon the wearer visions of both the past and the future.

Ling Xi, a renowned cyber-archaeologist with a specialty in ancient technologies, was granted the honor of testing the Interface. With hair like silver strands woven into the night sky and eyes as deep as the cosmos, Ling was the epitome of human advancement, a fusion of beauty and intellect.

The moment she donned the Interface, her reality fractured, and she was thrown into a torrent of time, where the past and future melded. The Interface integrated with her neural network, overlaying her vision with holographic glyphs and streaming data that only she could decipher.

Visions of the past showed the Twenty-seventh Dynasty in all its splendor, ruled by Pharaohs who wielded technologies far beyond their time. They had harnessed the power of the stars, drawn from cosmic rivers of energy that flowed through the universe. The dynasty's fall was not due to conquest but a cosmic event, an asteroid that the ancient Egyptians had calculated and recorded but were powerless to prevent.

In the present, the Interface revealed that the asteroid was returning, set on a collision course with Earth once again. The secret to diverting it lay in the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, encoded within the Interface itself.

Ling Xi became humanity's beacon of hope. With the Interface, she guided the Earth's greatest minds in constructing a defense system based on the ancient technology. It was a fusion of past and future: hieroglyphics and quantum algorithms, obelisks and AI cores, the mythic and the scientific intertwined.

As the fateful day approached, the world watched, hearts beating as one. Ling Xi stood at the heart of the control room, her hand poised above a console that gleamed with symbols of a time long gone. With a deep breath, she initiated the sequence.

A web of light surged from the ancient obelisks, now retrofitted into colossal energy conductors. They reached into space, meeting the asteroid with a force field of incredible power. The celestial invader, just as it did in the past, changed course, diverted by the ingenuity of a civilization reborn from its own ashes.

The Interface had not only saved the present; it had united it with the past, teaching humanity that history is not just to be studied but learned from, and that even the lost Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt still had wonders to contribute to the future. And Ling Xi, with her otherworldly grace and intellect, stood as the embodiment of this eternal connection, a sentinel at the gates of time, ever vigilant, ever learning, ever ready to defend the saga of humanity.

[heavenlyhoundoom]

AI helped me come up with an animal crossing theme park.

Of course! Imagine a whimsical Animal Crossing-themed theme park called "Animal Village Park." Here's a glimpse of what it could include:

Mayor's Welcome Plaza: A grand entrance resembling the Welcome Plaza in the game, with Isabelle greeting visitors and providing information about the park.

Villager Village: A section with colorful, cute houses representing different Animal Crossing villagers. Visitors can tour the houses and meet costumed characters resembling the villagers.

Nook's Market & Shopping District: An area mimicking the in-game shops where visitors can buy Animal Crossing merchandise and unique items.

Fishing Pier & Bug Catching Garden: An interactive zone where visitors can try fishing and bug catching, just like in the game.

Fossil Dig Site: A mini archaeological dig site where visitors can "unearth" replica fossils similar to those found in the museum in Animal Crossing.

Orchard and Flower Fields: Lush gardens filled with various fruits, flowers, and trees, allowing visitors to enjoy a leisurely stroll and pick virtual fruits.

KK Slider's Music Stage: A stage for live performances featuring songs by KK Slider and other characters from the game.

Turnip Stock Market: A playful area inspired by the turnip market, where visitors can participate in fun trading games and activities.

Island Adventure Zone: An outdoor adventure zone with activities like rock climbing, zip-lining, and obstacle courses, inspired by island exploration in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Seasonal Events Pavilion: A flexible event space that hosts seasonal-themed events, like Cherry Blossom Festival, Bug-Off, Fishing Tourney, and more.

Museum Experience: A replica museum featuring sections for fossils, insects, fish, and artwork, offering an educational yet entertaining experience.

Tom Nook's Creative Workshop: A workshop area where visitors can participate in arts and crafts inspired by Animal Crossing, like DIY crafting and painting.

The Roost Café: A cozy café where visitors can enjoy coffee and pastries, inspired by Brewster's café in the game.

Resetti's Underground Adventure: An interactive maze or ride inspired by Mr. Resetti's character and his underground hideout.

Animal Village Park would capture the charm and magic of the Animal Crossing world, offering a delightful and immersive experience for fans of all ages!

[abr]

We combed through every team name in Major League Baseball and came up with something to be offended by. Time to be better. You're welcome. Atlanta Braves - Bravery is offensive and reckless-- especially during a pandemic. Baseball isn't brave. Do you know what's brave? Wearing a mask. Miami Marlins - As always, marlins get all the attention while squid and tuna populations remain marginalized and invisible. New York Mets - The proper present-tense form is "meets." Philadelphia Phillies - The Liberty Bell logo has to go.  Washington Nationals - Nationals sounds an awful lot like "white nationalists" to us. Chicago Cubs - Bears are noble creatures and have NOT given their consent to be your mascot. Cincinnati Reds - Red is the color of MAGA hats. Milwaukee Brewers - Offensive to those struggling with alcohol addiction-- or gluten intolerance. Pittsburgh Pirates - Stealing music is not OK. You wouldn't download a car, would you? St. Louis Cardinals - Offensive to those oppressed by the Catholic Church. Arizona Diamondbacks - Snakes are triggering to many archaeology professors. Colorado Rockies - Rocky Balboa was an Italian-American immigrant who worked hard and became successful—which plays into right-wing tropes about "picking yourself up by your bootstraps." Not ok. Los Angeles Dodgers - Trump was a draft dodger and to think that a team would name themselves after him is frankly disgusting. San Diego Padres - Gendered and Catholic. Just like in baseball, two strikes and you're out. San Francisco Giants - Offensive to the differently heighted. Baltimore Orioles - The name's OK but the team is pretty offensive to the idea of baseball in general. Boston Red Sox - No one needs yet another reason to hate the Red Sox. New York Yankees - No one needs yet another reason to hate the Yankees. Tampa Bay Rays - Florida. Toronto Blue Jays - Blue is a reference to the police, which should be defunded. #DefundTheBlueJays Chicago White Sox - White socks worn with sandals are offensive to the human race. Cleveland Guardians - Appropriates the culture of the Guardians of the Galaxy, an oppressed group of illegal aliens. Detroit Tigers - "Tiger" is the catchphrase of Sagat, an oppressed Thai MMA fighter. Kansas City Royals - Not offensive, just reminds us of that annoying Lorde song. Minnesota Twins - Twins evokes the number "two," a painful reminder of the gender binary. Houston Astros - We don't need to be honoring space travel when there are plenty of problems on earth to worry about. Los Angeles Angels - Offensive to atheists. Oakland Athletics - Offensive to couch potatoes. Seattle Mariners - Offensive to old sailors ranting to random wedding guests about their wild sea voyages. Texas Rangers - Texas? REEEEEEEEEEEEEE

https://babylonbee.com/news/all-30-mlb-team-names-are-incredibly-racist-heres-whats-wrong-with-each-of-them

Anche da noi dovrebbero adeguare i nomi delle squadre alle nuove sensibilità: 

- Juventus: offensivo per i diversamente agé; per stare sul latino propongo un più ecumenico “COMMUNIS”, l’aggiunta al motto olimpico fatta dal Cio per Tokio, che poi gli manca solo la emme finale. 

- Milan: offensivo per i non leghisti non dialettofoni non inglish:  al limite van bene i più inclusivi “Malano” o “ Mi-lan-ni-hao”. 

-Inter: inappropriato e ambiguo, meglio sarebbe un più diretto “TRANS”. 

- tutte le altre: puro localismo retrivo, non inclusivo. Copiare prego ATALANTA o SPAL, stando però attente; la prima può indurre problemi ai monoteisti duri e puri, meglio sarebbe evolverla a DEANATURA o VERITA’SCIENTIFICA, mentre la Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor è ok in linea di principio, basterebbe solo un leggero adeguamento, tipo Società Poliamorosa Ars et Labor. 

[bran-writes]

AK Character Profile: Lori

Lori Elain Fowler

28 years old

Born February 6th, 2012

White

Straight

Lori Fowler was born to cattle farmers in Wyoming, Lori Fowler grew up as a curious, intuitive girl under her parents’ guidance. At the age of 6 she discovered her fascination with archaeology and paleontology. Like most children, she was fascinated in dinosaurs. It wasn’t until middle school did her awe and wonder at robotics translate over and consume her every fantasy.

A lover of sci-fi, space adventures and cool robots, Lori’s childhood and early teenage years were full of stories and drawing she’d done, inspired by science and technology. It eventually came to the point where he parents would read those stories and talk about their favorite parts around the dinner table. Lori’s older brother, Mac, was a talented young violinist and would often write pieces to play while Lori read her stories out loud to family gatherings during the holidays.

When Lori came home from her freshman year of high school with a Bergeron Robotics pamphlet and custom rover guide, Pete jumped at the opportunity(and her vibrant enthusiasm) to help his daughter realize her path. They cleared out one of the older, unused sheds on the farm and started gathering/ordering materials for Lori to construct into her own cleaning bot.

When Mac went to college, she converted his room to a small workshop as well, drawing up designs and schematics for ideas she had. It was no surprise to anyone that she was making a bee-line for a career in robotics. When it came time for her to fly the coop, she had several university offers and struck out from home.

While at college, Lori met Miles Sutter and while he was two years her junior, the two got a long pretty well. However a relationship didn’t start until after she graduated and bumped into Miles again in Three Pines. That was right after she met Sam Bergeron.

As the story goes, Lori attended her class’s graduation with brimming hope and a sigh of relief. She wasn’t even thinking about a job at that moment, but found Sam waiting for her, with her parents, outside the ceremony hall. Unbeknownst to Lori(as well as many others) Sam had kept an eye on her entire class and zeroed in on her for hiring at his company along with 3 others. He offered to move them out to Three Pines and gave them jobs just as the new Bergeron Robotics compound was nearing completion. Without hesitation(even though her parents were silently screaming in victory) Lori said yes/

Since working at BRHQ, Lori has been adopted as Sam’s protege, taking part directly in high level meetings and decisions made by Sam. She has his ear and his express instruction to call him on any missteps. The two have a mother/daughter relationship not unlike she has with Pete.

Under Sam’s mentorship and employment, Lori has designed 3 out of Bergeron’s 12 robot lines, including the search and rescue rovers and the Centaurian line of oceanic explorers. Her most recent contributions, however, are to the overall design of Bergeron Robotics’ Companion Frame line. The Companion Initiative will be the first time advanced, personalized AI will be installed into robots and sold to the consumer.

Resourceful, forward thinking and meticulous, Lori has become a staple at the company. Being prepped and trained on how to run the company is no accident and it’s becoming clearer by the day(even though Sam won’t openly admit it) that Lori is the prime candidate to lead BR upon Sam’s retirement. She’s proven herself to not only Sam but the people under her to be reliable and easy to approach as well as very goal oriented.

Tag List:

@remi-writes-sometimes​ @writerinafury​ @the-violet-writer​ @anomaly00​ @writinglyra​ @linariouswrites​ @drabbleitout​ @carmina-solis​

[cross-border-communications]

Meet the Night of Museums 2019 in Rome, projects wanted.

Image Trajan's Market - credit: Marketing del Territorio

Museums in the City. The Art of Being Lively.

Rome's city-run museums and archaeological sites open their doors for free on the occasion of the Notte dei Musei 2019 on Sunday 18th May 2019.

The public notice issued by Zètema Progetto Cultura to select proposals for cultural entertainment and live shows on the Night of Museums in the Capital is online.  

The 2019 edition of the "Notte dei Musei" event is back in Rome on Saturday 18th May. The event will take place simultaneously in thirty European countries. Visitors will have access to attend a rich program of temporary and permanent exhibitions, concerts, live performances hosted in unusual and fascinating cultural spaces and museums extraordinarily open at night.

Attendees will fully enjoy the art of the Eternal City, paying a token entrance fee of only 1 euro (unless otherwise indicated).  

The entry will be free of charge for holders of the MIC card, enabling unmetered access for 12 months in museums and major cultural sites of Rome. Get one! Zètema Progetto Cultura  

Among the civic museums involved open to the public from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. :

Musei Capitolini, Centrale Montemartini, Museo dell’Ara Pacis, Museo di Roma Palazzo Braschi, Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Mercati di Traiano, il Museo dei Fori Imperiali (Trajan's Markets & Imperial Forum Museum) and Musei di Villa Torlonia.  

Bodies, Associations, Businesses or other subjects holders of VAT registration and have ongoing and prominent activities in the field of culture and entertainment, may submit projects, under the required standards for selection, not later than 12, on 3rd May 2019.

To participate and details click on: Competitive notice 

The event is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Crescita culturale – Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, coordination, and organization by Zètema Progetto Cultura. 

Booking is not required.  

📸 Photo credit Notte dei Musei in Comune Roma 2018 - @ellapink19 

Article initially published by Debora Calomino in Marketing del Territorio - Cercasi progetti per la Notte dei Musei 2019 a Roma   

[archivistofnerddom]

TANIS has gone seriously downhill after I made this post. Only listen if you enjoy nonsensical plots that never resolve and drag on for far too long.

More actually good podscasts to listen to:

The Alexandria Archives (college radio station from a small town college campus on the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp; Lovecraftian horror meets Dungeons and Dragons)

The White Vault (recovered tapes and materials of a repair team sent to a research station on Svalbard, followed by the same collected from an archaeological survey team sent to the Patagonian Ice Fields)

Girl in Space (a girl, her goat, a malfunctioning AI, and tasty, tasty cheese in a failing ship in orbit around a distant star have to combat corporate ownership and fleet intimidation)

Ars Paradoxica (a woman from 20XX accidentally invents time travel and winds up in 1943; she gets shanghaied to work for shady government organizations during WW2 and the Cold War; conspiracy abounds)

Uncanny County (stories from a strange county where life is a bit off and the deputy always seems to die on his first day of work)

Mirrors (three women are connected across time by strange otherworldly beings and have to face off against secret organizations working to harness their powers)

If you liked Netflix’s Stranger Things, here are some podcasts you might enjoy:

Welcome to Night Vale (the community news of a small city in the American Southwest where all conspiracy theories are true and a part of every day life; BONUS - canon interracial gay couple as the main couple)

The Message (70-year-old message from outer space, cryptology, things are not as they seem)

Limetown (everyone in small town disappears and no one knows what happened to them; follow an intrepid journalist as she investigates)

The Black Tapes (sister show to TANIS; demons, investigation into the unexplainable, asshole Alpha Skeptic, and the journalist who tries to sort this all out)

TANIS (sister show to The Black Tapes; conspiracy, truth, and the investigation of what Tanis really is, plus an “information specialist” named Meerkatnip)

Archive 81 (found footage audio series where nothing is quite as it seems and there’s a building that isn’t exactly right)

Alice Isn’t Dead (from the people behind WtNV, a truck driver tries to find her missing wife and she runs into a lot of conspiracies along the way)

Within the Wires (again, from the people who brought you WtNV, instructional audio guides that slowly reveal a personal story and the revelation that the world the podcast is set in is that great)

The Bright Session (imagine what it would be like if the X-Men went to therapy)

The Behemoth (a girl and her monster walk across America)

Wolf 359 (the absurd misadventures of a small band of eccentric characters on board the Hephaestus Station in orbit around the dwarf star, Wolf 359, where it’s all fun and games until it’s not and the Blessed Eternal just wants a night light)

[brigdh]

Reading Definitely Not Wednesday

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. A space opera set in the relatively near future. Humans have colonized Mars and the asteroid belt, and a few scattered populations make due on the moons of planets further out. There is, however, no faster-than-light travel, no contact with any solar system beyond our own, no sentient AIs, and no aliens. A major theme of the book is the culture clash between those who live on Earth or Mars – the superpowers of this future – and those who live in the Belt, where mining is the preeminent economy and life is the hardscrabble sort where even water and oxygen have to be imported, never mind concepts like justice and equality. Different characters move from one place to the other or switch allegiances, but their origins are as baked in as we would regard ethnicity or nationality. As one character puts it, "A childhood spent in gravity shaped the way he saw things forever." Corey (who is actually two separate dudes writing under a penname) does a wonderful job of fleshing out the background worldbuilding. I loved references to fungal-culture whiskey, Bhangra as the default elevator muzak, hand gestures exaggerated to be seen through a spacesuit, and largely unintelligible localized slang (“Bomie vacuate like losing air,” the girl said with a chuckle. “Bang-head hops, kennis tu?” / “Ken,” Miller said. /“Now, all new bladeboys. Overhead. I’m out.”). It feels like a more detailed world than a lot of sci-fi does. Which is good, because the characters are not all that compelling. The two POVs are Jim Holden and Detective Miller. Holden is the second-in-command on an unimportant spaceship that works as a freight hauler, moving ice back and forth between the Belt and Saturn. Things change dramatically when a mysterious someone attacks their ship and kills everyone except for Holden and a few others, and he finds himself centrally involved in the runup to war. He has the most generic action-movie-hero personality I can imagine, with no discernable characteristics except 'idealistic' (and I really only know that because other people keep telling him he is), kinda nervous about being suddenly thrust into command but doing a good job, a womanizer (but see, it's okay because he just keeps genuinely falling in love with so many women!), and earnest. He's fine. He's not even objectionable, just incredibly boring. He comes with a crew of entirely indistinguishable followers that I couldn't keep straight, but that's all right because most of them get killed off so I no longer had to try to remember who was who. He also develops a romance that is 100% unbelievable, but I suppose that's what action-movie-heroes do, so who's even surprised. Miller is a detective on Ceres, the largest city in the Belt, who's been hired by a rich family to track down their anarchist, slumming daughter. Miller is an incredibly cliche noir protagonist - alcoholic, divorced, not as good as he used to be, cynical, a little bit corrupt but underneath it all he still remembers his good intentions – but at least that means he has more of a personality than Jim, even if it's a personality you've seen a thousand times before. On the other hand, Miller becomes obsessed with this dead/missing girl in a way that is painfully stereotypical Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Two things kept this from ruining Leviathan Wakes for me. One, Miller is at least somewhat self-aware about it: This was why he had searched for her. Julie had become the part of him that was capable of human feeling. The symbol of what he could have been if he hadn’t been this. There was no reason to think his imagined Julie had anything in common with the real woman. Meeting her would have been a disappointment for them both. And two, there's a twist near the end that allows Julie to finally have her own voice in the text, and not exist solely as Miller's imagined dependance on her. It takes almost half the book for Miller and Holden to finally cross paths, at which point the missing-girl mystery and the war plot combine and take a twist for a direction I DID NOT SEE COMING. I am ambivalent on whether to spoil this; on the one hand, I read it unprepared and it was incredibly awesome to experience it that way. On the other hand, I suspect this is information that will be a determining factor for many people on whether they want to read it or not. So: halfway through, Leviathan Wakes takes a wild jump and becomes about a zombie outbreak. I would not have previously thought that 'space opera' and 'zombie apocalypse' are two genres that should be combined, but the tension and excitement skyrocket once the book takes this turn, transforming it from average quality to 'I CANNOT STOP READING, MUST FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT'. So, good choice! The sequence with Miller and Holden trapped on a small space station trying to sneak their way past zombie hordes is one of the most thrilling I've read in ages. Leviathan Wakes is the first book in a series (apparently it was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but there's currently eight books out with at least one more planned, along with a batch of short stories) and has also become a show on the Syfy network that I haven't seen. I feel like I've spent a lot of this review complaining, but honestly I mostly enjoyed the book and am planning to read the sequels. The fact that people seem to like the characters from future books more than these ones certainly doesn't hurt! Pig/Pork: Archaeology, Zoology and Edibility by Pia Spry-Marques. A nonfiction book about everything remotely related to the farming and eating of pigs. I expected from the subtitle and the author's personal background that archaeology would be the main focus, but it turns out that's really only the first two chapters, which cover the Paleolithic hunting of wild boar and the original domestication of pigs. The other chapters turn to topics as diverse as experiments on feeding farmed pigs leftovers from restaurants, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a special Spanish ham called ibérico de bellota which can only be fed acorns, genetically modifiying pigs so their manure would contain less phosporus, sunburn in pigs, minature pet pigs, organ donation between humans and pigs, the terrifying tapeworms to be acquired from eating raw pork, why pork is a 'white' meat, how to make sausages, theories on why pork is neither halal nor kosher, the use of an enzyme from pig pancreases in wine production, EU food-safety regulations on traditional pork dishes, Cuba's 'Bay of Pigs', the Pig War between the US and Canada in 1859, and Oliver Cromwell's favorite pig breed. Basically if it has the remotest connection to the title, Spry-Marques has included it. She even includes recipes for each chapter, though some of them are clearly more for amusement than actual consumption – I can't imagine anyone having just finished a chapter on how eating raw pork will give you cysts in your brain is eager to try figatellu, a type of uncooked sausage from France. And it would take a braver foodie than me to taste "Asian-inspired pork uterus with green onion and ginger". In fact, as is probably not surprising for any book which touches on factory farming however briefly, you will probably come away not wanting to eat pork at all for a while. Spry-Marques's writing is breezy and conversational, which kept me turning the pages even when the structure was a bit scattered. I wish it were more focused, but it's a great book for anyone who enjoys popular science, history, or food writing. I read this as an ARC via NetGalley. Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope. A YA fantasy novel with some unusual elements. Rather than being set in vaguely medieval England or a dystopian sci-fi future, we're in a country where the technology seems to be around 1900: cars and electric lights exist, but they're restricted to rich cities, and someone coming from rural poverty might well have never seen either. Magic exists, but comes from one's heritage; you're either born with it or not. In Elsira, where our story is set, it's rare to the point of nonexistence. Our heroine Jasminda, however, does have magic, due to her father having been a refugee from the neighboring country of Lagrimar, where magic is common. Elsira and Lagrimar have been constantly at war for hundreds of years, but are separated by a magical Barrier which allows no one to pass through, except on rare occasions when a temporary breach happens and violence erupts. Elsirans are light-skinned and Lagrimari are dark-skinned, so Jasminda has dealt with fairly severe racism throughout her life. The story starts when Jasminda runs across Jack, a Elsiran soldier just back from spying in Lagrimar who has super important information that must get back to the capital as soon as possible; unfortunately Jack has just been shot and is closely pursued by a troop of Lagrimari soldiers. Jasminda and Jack team up, fall in love, and try to prevent the coming outbreak of war. The most revealing thing I can say about Song of Blood & Stone is that it's very, very YA. (As you could probably guess, what with its title that fits exactly into the pattern of the 'YA title' meme currently going around tumblr.) Almost everything that happens is easily predictable from the back cover (Jack's long-withheld backstory is clearly supposed to be a shocking twist, but it's obvious from the moment he appears), the prose is mediocre but fine, good and bad guys are clearly signalled, the real world parallels (racism, treatment of refugees, domestic abuse) are good-hearted but extremely Social Justice 101. On the plus side, the beginning was the worst part and it got better and better as it went along; several developments near the very end were so interesting that I'm tempted to read the sequel, despite my initial boredom. Overall it's not a bad book, but I'd only recommend it to people who are extremely affectionate of the most repetitive tropes of the YA genre. I read this as an ARC from a GoodReads giveaway.

[DW link for easier commenting]

[holopundits]

Top Virtual Reality Trends for 2019

Thanks to more affordable hardware, faster Internet speeds, and a receptive user - Virtual reality technology has experienced continued development over the past 5 years. A significant amount of virtual reality apps have mushroomed in the market with applications ranging from education to marketing to entertainment.

What was considered a non-mainstream technology is now blurring the barriers that separate fiction from reality for providing superior user experience. According to Statista Research, the Global Augmented and Virtual Reality Market is estimated at 16.8 billion USD in 2019. One of the main hurdles in the rapid adoption of virtual reality technology was the cost of supporting hardware. With the prices of VR hardware dropping, there is an increased adoption of this technology. Virtual reality companies have expanded their product scope beyond gaming and entertainment industries to include marketing, education, real estate, and training.

The year 2018 was a progressive year for Virtual and Augmented reality in terms of increased market adoption and scope of VR solutions. Mixed reality (AR+VR) had dominated the technology market growth in 2018. Smartphone integrated VR gaming applications are expected to drive the gaming market in the future. Leading smartphone giants like Samsung and HTC have already introduced VR headsets like Samsung Gear VR, and HTC VIVE for superior user experience.

Diverse Applications of Virtual Reality

What was once considered as a gaming technology has expanded its scope into diverse industries. Virtual reality is essentially an immersive world created by a computer. The application of VR technology has aggressively increased over the past decade into industries like space research, military training, education and learning, and medical imaging.

Virtual reality can be used to train and develop skills without the risk of real-life situations like military or space training. People who undergo virtual reality training are not exposed to the risk of failing and inviting physical harm from hazardous environments. In medical science, virtual reality can be used for training students on complex surgeries or understanding the intricacies of human anatomy. Other areas where virtual reality can be used include space research, robotics, entertainment, archaeology, and more.

Top Virtual Reality Trends to Watch Out For

1)Standalone VR Devices: The top trend in the VR space is the increased sophistication of standalone VR hardware. Hardware that supports VR technology will no longer be clunky or cumbersome; 2019 will see VR hardware that is more portable and powerful. The new generation headsets will improve the user experience by roping in features like increased filed-of-view and eyeball-tracking.

2)Integration with Artificial Intelligence: This year will see AR and VR apps that are increasingly smart and cognitive by weaving artificial intelligence into their development. VR apps are likely to include voice control that stems from AI and natural language processing. Gaming in VR will also get more challenging as the opponent will react and adapt to individual play styles.

3)Application in training and teaching: Virtual reality will see more use cases in education and training in 2019. A VR environment will allow students to practice anything from construction to flight to surgery without any risks involved in real-world training.

4)VR in Social Collaboration: Virtual reality is vital for building shared online environments. Facebook had purchased Oculus in 2016 and is likely to bring out a VR Spaces Platform that allows users to meet and socialize virtually.

Given the trends of virtual reality development in 2019, we can safely conclude that this technology is here to stay. Further sophistication of the standalone VR hardware will increase its adaptability in diverse industries.

Future of Virtual Reality

The Global VR market is expected to reach a whopping 26.89 billion USD by 2022 at a growth rate of CAGR 54.01 between 2017 and 2022 according to Zion Market Research. The emergence of virtual theme arcades and amusement parks is going to be one of the strong growth areas for virtual reality technology development. Not just in entertainment, VR enhances the safety of the trainees by training them in a virtual environment minus the physical danger in real-world environments. VR can be highly useful in education by enabling better understanding and knowledge retention.

HoloPundits is a pioneering VR company that creates innovative VR, AR, and XR solutions for diverse industries. To know more about our VR solutions, visit https://www.holopundits.com/custom-solutions/vr-app-development.html today.

[tessatechaitea]

Wonder Woman #18

That skirt's a little short, Rucka. I'm beginning to think maybe you just had a problem, specifically, with Frank Cho.

Is Barbara Ann allowed to discover the Norse Gods or will Marvels' lawyers start getting antsy?

I guess this is where Barbara Ann flies off into the exciting world of fictional archaeology and comes home as a cheetah. Because the gods are jerks! Veronica's daughter Izzy is still a faceless husk. I guess she hasn't died from starvation yet even though it's been a year since The Phobros interfered with her life. Now she's opted to fund Barbara Ann Minerva's research into finding old gods. Mainly the one named Urzakatakaraka or whatever. I don't have enough brain space left to remember the names of sexist gods! Knowing Yahweh is already one too many! To make sure Wonder Woman is too busy to save Barbara Ann before she can become Cheetah, Doctor Cyber hacks the world, causing all kinds of problems that are too low level for Superman to deal with but right up Wonder Woman's alley!

This is why I only use the Fremont Bridge (which is my favorite bridge because it reminds me of something out of Astro City)!

Barbara Ann winds up turning into Cheetah in what is now the only canonical way ever because Greg Rucka said so. Barbara Ann, now Cheetah, decides Wonder Woman isn't her friend anymore because she believes she lied about rescuing her. That's always a good way to turn a friend into an enemy. Just have them believe their friend lied without taking the time to figure out if the lie was really just some other kind of misunderstanding. I mean, why think, "My friend would never have betrayed me like this! I should get to the bottom of this!" when it's so much easier to think "Fucking cunt! I'll kill her!"? The Ranking! No change. Don't you just love revisiting the origin story of a superhero every few years?! Especially when the new origin takes well over twenty issues to tell? Are you enraptured?! Well good for you! Because I'm still bored.

[whifferdills]

orelseatlastsheunderstoodit replied to your post “i am begrudgingly impressed at how TJLC’rs turned fandom into a...”

ARG?

Alternate Reality Game. essentially, it’s an interactive narrative that takes place across a variety of mediums (including phonecalls, letters, and physical real life) that invites a community to collaborate on solving puzzles in order to unlock the next section of story. From Wikipedia:

Storytelling as archaeology. Instead of presenting a chronologically unified, coherent narrative, designers scatter pieces of the story across the Internet and other media, allowing players to reassemble it, supply connective tissue and determine what it means.

Platformless narrative. Stories are not bound to a single medium, but exist independently and use whatever media is available to make itself heard.

Designing for a hive mind. While it might be possible to follow games individually, designs are directed at a collective of players that share information and solutions almost instantly, and incorporate individuals possessing almost every conceivable area of expertise. While games might initially attract a small group of participants, as the participants come across new challenges they try to find others with the knowledge needed to overcome an obstacle.

A whisper is sometimes louder than a shout. Rather than openly promoting games and trying to attract participation by "pushing" it toward potential players, designers attempt to "pull" players to the story by engaging in over-the-top secrecy, have elements of the game "warn" players away from them, and eschew traditional marketing channels. Designers do not communicate about the game with players or press while it is in play.

The "this is not a game" (TINAG) aesthetic. ARGs themselves do not acknowledge that they are games. They do not have an acknowledged ruleset for players; as in real-life, they determine the "rules" either through trial and error or by setting their own boundaries. Narratives present a fully realized world: any phone number or email address mentioned works, and any website acknowledged exists. Games take place in real time and are not replayable. Characters function like real people, not game pieces, respond authentically, and are controlled by real people, not by computer AI. Some events involve meetings or live phone calls between players and actors.

Real life as a medium. Games use players' lives as a platform. Players are not required to build a character or role-play being someone other than themselves. They might unexpectedly overcome a challenge for the community simply because of the real-life knowledge and background they possessed. Participants are constantly on the lookout for clues embedded in everyday life.

Collaborative storytelling. While the puppetmasters control most of the story, they incorporate player content and respond to players' actions, analysis and speculation by adapting the narrative and intentionally leave "white space" for the players to fill in.

Not a hoax. While the TINAG aesthetic might seem on the surface to be an attempt to make something indistinguishable from real life, there are both subtle and overt metacommunications in place to reveal a game's framework and most of its boundaries.

aside from that last bulletpoint and the fact that Mofftiss aren’t actual puppet-masters, TJLC is essentially an accidental ARG.