#CBCS Signature

[jasposeyblog]

My commission of remarque and signature on ShieldMaster #2 by David Mack

[leo-and-me]

so tired of searching through the Leo and Me tag to only find posts from at least a decade ago 💀💀💀 SOMEBODY PLEASEEEE. SIGN THE PETITION OR SOMETHINGGGG.

I WANT THIS TO GET FOUND SO BADDD.

[chuuphic]

the finale of anne with an e let’s all kill ourselves

[queerly-autistic]

I've seen a lot of OFMD fans pointing at other fan campaigns recently, especially the failed campaign to save Anne with an E, and getting disheartened by what they see, and I think something that's missing in those discussions (particularly after the weirdly negative slant at the end of that Guardian article) is that not all fan campaigns are the same.

The campaigns to save shows that started out on Netflix (Warrior Nun, Sense8, Anne with an E, Shadow and Bone, etc.) are very different to what we are facing with OFMD, because Netflix is much more protective of its IP - and yes, they even hold the IP of shows that they've cancelled tightly to their chests and very rarely let them go. Some have been able to make the jump to different platforms, but not many, and it's actually pretty hard to do so (“For most shows, shopping away from Netflix is reportedly very difficult when Netflix owns the underlying IP”).

Because of this, fans of shows cancelled by Netflix are often campaigning directly for Netflix to reverse that decision, rather than campaigning to get it picked up elsewhere. Warrior Nun (I saw people panicking at the length of effort and the numbers they had to put in before they got their success) and Sense8 were both granted final films by Netflix to wrap up their stories after long-running successful fan campaigns - they were not saved by a different platform, and likely couldn't have been because of Netflix's strict grip on its IP. So comparing ourselves to fan campaigns for shows cancelled by Netflix isn't accurate or fair to us or to those other campaigns.

It's also worth pointing out that Anne with an E was a joint venture between Netflix and CBC, and that relationship appears to have fallen apart, which may have been a factor in its cancellation (see more at this tweet). This is also likely a contributing factor as to why, despite the campaign to save it being huge, it didn't get the reprieve from Netflix that other shows have received. That is baggage that OFMD simply doesn't have.

OFMD is in a very different position to many of the shows that were cancelled by Netflix and then went on to have fan campaigns around them, in that we have confirmation from HBO Max that they are happy for it to be shopped around. HBO Max is not holding a firm grip on the IP the way that Netflix does. We are able to try to find OFMD a new home. And that's a very different sort of campaign and trajectory than trying to convince the platform that cancelled us to reverse/amend their decision (I'd also argue it's slightly easier - nothing is certain, nothing is easy, but I think we have a better chance being allowed to look for someone else to pick us up rather than relying on the company that cancelled us to show us mercy).

Yes, some fan campaigns have had many more petition signatures than us (don't sniff at 80,000 signatures in two weeks, that's huge and fast), but that is only one part of the story. Petition signatures alone won't be the thing that clinches it. There are fan campaigns with hundreds of thousands of signatures that have failed, but there are also fan campaigns with way less signatures than us that have seen their show saved. There's so many elements at play, and every single one is unique. It's very tempting to play 'like for like' with these sorts of campaigns, but it's simply not a truthful reflection of the situation.

Every show is different. Every fan campaign is different.

We have every reason to be hopeful, and every reason to keep fighting. OFMD's numbers are good, it's already incredibly marketable to other streamers, and then ON TOP of that the fan reaction has been loud enough for a lot of people to take notice.

Yes, we're in a dip right now because that's what happens - every campaign has peaks and troughs because nothing sustains at the same level forever, and, again, it's only been just over two weeks and look at what we've done - but the impact we had, and the noise we made, happened at exactly the right time and kept happening for long enough to make an impression. A lot of things will be happening behind the scenes right now that we don't know about, and there's so many factors at play that we have no control over. It's a long game.

So don't look at other fan campaigns and be disheartened by what you see. Because what you see on the surface is nowhere near close to the full picture.

Even if we don't get our S3, lets celebrate the fact that we have made a huge impression, kicked up a huge stink, and been the thorn in the side of some people who absolutely fucking needed a couple of thorns in their side. And I think that's the best legacy that our rebellious little gay pirate show could possibly have.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

One of the signature peaks in the Sea to Sky corridor could soon have a not-so-new name.

The Squamish Nation is asking for Mount Garibaldi be officially recognized by its historic Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim name "Nch'ḵay̓" (in-ch-KAY), which has been used for thousands of years.

Nch'ḵay̓ means "dirty place" or "grimy one" and stems from volcanic debris in the Cheekye River that tends to make it look muddy, according to the Squamish Nation.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[mightyflamethrower]

Forget her awkward off-putting personality and her habit of speaking like a dim-witted kindergarten schoolteacher. Those are public-facing problems and public-facing problems have to be pretty extreme for them to be disqualifying. Dems stuck with Biden until he had a total debate breakdown.

Dems would like another Obama, and Kamala isn’t that, and they’d settle for a normal human being who isn’t some nightmarish hybrid of Chauncey Gardiner, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama with none of the positive aspects, and all of the negative ones, but the media and every establishment voice will spend the remaining months telling us that Kamala is the embodiment of the right side of history.

From a practical politics standpoint anyone (or almost) anyone can be turned into a viable public-facing figure with enough cultural firepower behind them. Look at what they managed to do with an obscure  Vermont socialist crank and an obnoxious Westchester hipster of Puerto Rican descent.

The real issue is that Kamala is leadership kryptonite. Her original presidential campaign dissolved into infighting between her staff and her sister. And she dropped out before she could even contest a primary.

As vice president, she not only made zero impact on anything, but her office staff abandoned ship. The only thing she made into a signature issue was opposing Israel over the war with Hamas.

That’s not a dealbreaker, but her inability to run anything is. Biden was an empty space that his staff filled. Kamala isn’t an empty space, she’s worse, like a lot of CBC members, she seems to be a bad boss with a penchant for nurturing drama around her. That wouldn’t be a first in the White House, but it’s especially damaging during a campaign.

Biden, as terrible as he was, had a circle of loyalists who served him to the bitter end. He tended to be abusive, but like every successful D.C. lifer, he had people he count on. That’s why he lasted this long even well past the point where he could meaningfully function.

Kamala does not. Her people come and go. She has few loyalists and her staff tend to wash out quickly. It’s one thing for this to be the case for female CBC house members (which it often is) but it’s a major problem for a presidential candidate running a national campaign. It means she doesn’t have meaningful support and in a business where politicians can’t do anything without loyal staffers, it’s a hole. A big one.

This isn’t something the average person cares about, but people in D.C. politics do. They see it as a serious failing that will impede her ability to succeed. It’s why they don’t think she can go the distance. And why they’re hesitant to get behind her.

[lizbethborden]

Since its release, the film continues to receive acclaim and it is regarded as a modern classic and one of the best films of all time, mainly for being a story set in 21st century Hollywood stylized as a 1950s musical film and for its distinctive visual style. In 2021, Helena Trauger of The Beacon called it the best film of the 2010s, noting that it is "one of the most creative and well-executed films that every person should attempt to watch at least once." In 2019, CBC Radio included it on its list of "the greatest romantic movies of all time." In 2022, Time Out ranked it number 79 on its list of the "100 Best Films of the 21st Century," writing "Loaded with jazzy tracks and vintage dance moves, Chazelle’s romantic romp – the winner of the Best Picture Oscar for about four seconds – is indebted to both Jacques Demy and MGM’s legendary Freed Unit, but has a signature all of its own, stopping traffic in the first glorious sequence. A tonic for 2016’s political unsightliness, the movie now feels ageless."

Do people really feel this way about La La Land? I never saw it. It has had 0 impact on the culture as far as I'm concerned.

[newsfromstolenland]

A major environmental group is calling on the federal government to block Ontario's controversial Highway 413, saying the proposed 52-kilometre motorway would be costly to taxpayers and damaging to the environment.

The David Suzuki Foundation is asking the federal minister of environment, Steven Guilbeault, to intervene and stop the project through a petition that's racked up more than 50,000 signatures.

Gideon Forman, a climate change policy analyst with the foundation, says the highway — which would run from Highway 400 in York Region to Highway 401 in Halton Region — would incentivize more fuel-burning vehicles, pave thousands of acres of farmland and hundreds of acres of Greenbelt and threaten endangered species along the route.

Full article

Tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[jessepov]

Time to get the comics ready for Dallas Fan Expo 2024 and maybe for CBCS. First up WOLVERINE 50TH ANNIVERSARY PANEL Frank Miller. Not only do I get to take a picture with him but I get one signature! Please help me chose?!?!?!?!?

[zee-man-chatter]

Normally sleepy New Brunswick is a bit of a backwater politically, but not anymore. Parents of students, like other places in the west don't want their children seeing drag queens, and don't want them exposed to gender change at young ages. And they are doing something about it now. I hope the left wake up and realize that parents want their kids to grow up with their values, not far left values.

[kogaracon]

It's time for our first guest announcement of 2023! Please give a warm Kogaracon welcome to Vincent Corazza!

Vincent will be participating in a group panel and autograph signings during the event.

Mr. Corazza has had an impressive Voice-Over career recording thousands of commercials, and being the signature voice for many major networks including CBS; FOX: NBC; TBS, and USA, as well as the CBC in Canada to name a few. Currently he is the promo voice for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Vince has played roles in numerous animated TV shows, most notably Darien Shields/Tuxedo Mask in the iconic Japanese Anime series Sailor Moon; Alden Jones on Braceface; Sam Sparks of Rescue Heroes; and Shickadance in Ace Ventura-Pet Detective, plus he’s been part of some of the most successful video game franchises of all time including Carlos Oliveira in Resident Evil 3; Zexion/Ienzo in Kingdom Hearts; and The Marquis De Lafayette in Assassins Creed III. His Narration credits are also numerous. They include James Cameron’s Last Mysteries of the Titanic, and DVD extras for Dreamworks animated Feature’s, from Bee Movie to Megamind to all the Shrek films, plus Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar, and many more.

Vince was especially honored to play JON in a Groundbreaking project called ANOMALY, the largest Graphic Novel ever created and the first to use Augmented Reality.

For more info check him out at: www.vincentcorazza.com or follow him at Vincent Corazza and www.twitter.com/vincentcorazza!

[jasposeyblog]

My acquisition of Cyborg sketch cover by Scott Ambruson was also signed by interior artist Joe Prado at Wicked Comic Con 2024 and has been slabbed by CBCS Comics

[leo-and-me]

SIGN TODAY TO HELP US GAIN TRACTION AND UNVEIL A SIGNIFICANT PART OF BOTH BRENT CARVER AND MICHAEL J FOX’S LEGACY!

Hi everyone! We have just passed 150 signatures on the LEO AND ME petition, a significant amount of signatures in only a month! We are nearly to 200, the next milestone in hopes that CBC will gain awareness of the subject.

[finlaure13]

As It Happens

Why those AI-generated portraits all over social media have artists on edge

Apps like Lensa are powered by AI trained on images by real artists — without their permission

Sheena Goodyear - CBC Radio

Posted: December 08, 2022

AI art

From left to right: A Greg Rutkowski-style image generarted by the Stable Diffusion AI, a portrait of YouTuber Casey Owen Neistat generated by the Lensa app, and a generic avatar from Lensa. (Stable Diffusion/Lexica, Lensa/Twitter)

Greg Rutkowski makes his living creating detailed fantasy art depicting epic scenes of swords and sorcery.

He labours for hours on his freelance illustrations for major gaming titles like Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Horizon: Forbidden West.

But an art generator powered by artificial intelligence can churn out a decent reproduction of his style in mere seconds.

"I was terrified that it was being made so quickly, and with really better results over time," Rutkowski told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

Rutkowski, who is based in Piensk, Poland, is one of many artists speaking out about the dangers of AI-generated art as the technology becomes more precise, accessible and popular.

These AIs are often trained on datasets, or collections, of millions of images scraped from the internet, including ones that are copyrighted or watermarked. But the artists who created them never consented for their work to be used — and they don't get a cut of the profit.

"We could say that, ethically, it's stealing," Rutkowski said.

The problem with those pretty avatars

Rutkowski's name is one of the most popular prompts on the AI art generator Stable Diffusion, which launched in August, according to Technology Review.

Stable Diffusion works like this: You type in a phrase or list of keywords describing the type of image you'd like to see, and then the AI generates an image that fits the description.

For example, you could write: "Powerful wizard battles fire-breathing dragon Greg Rutkowski" and get an illustration that, at first glance, looks like something Rutkowski drew himself.

According to the website Lexica, which tracks Stable Diffusion images and prompts, Rutkowski's name has been used as a prompt more than 93,000 times. Some of the generated images even have his signature, he said.

"I was really confused for people that were searching or exploring art and then came across images that weren't mine, but were signed by my name," he said.

Greg Rutkowski art

This is one of Greg Rutkowski's actual illustrations. He is known for his unique style of epic fantasy artwork. (Greg Rutkowski)

Enter Lensa, the app that's been taking over Facebook and Instagram feeds in recent weeks.

This photo-editing app has been on the market for some time, but has recently seen a surge in popularity when it launched a new feature powered by Stable Diffusion.

A user can upload a handful of selfies, and Lensa will generate a series of avatars in different artistic styles. For $7.99 US, you can get 50 unique portraits.

Karla Ortiz, a San Francisco-based concept artist, says people using apps like Lensa need to understand that the avatars they're getting are the product of real labour by millions of uncompensated artists.

"I think they need to understand that those images look really good because artists' work was stolen to make it good," she said.

Karla Ortiz and Greg Rutkowski

Artists Karla Ortiz and Greg Rutkowski both say their work has been used in datasets to train artificial intelligence to generate art. (Submitted by Karla Ortiz, Submitted by Greg Rutkowski)

Ortiz first noticed her work showing up in AI datasets months ago on smaller, niche software. But she says it really exploded with the launch of Stable Diffusion.

"I found a lot of my work there. Almost every artist I know who's a peer, who's a professional, who's been working for a while, whose work is recognizable, was in those datasets," she said.

"Furthermore, I started seeing that people were using our full names to generate imagery."

She says none of the companies that have used her work to train their AI models have contacted for permission. But even if she could somehow force them to extract her work from their datasets, it wouldn't really matter.

"The way that machine learning, you know, works, you can't even take it out. You can't unlearn your work once it's trained," she said.

AI dragon

This AI-generated image of a dragon uses artist Greg Rutkowski's name as a prompt. (Stable Diffusion/Lexica)

Neither Stability AI, the company that created Stable Diffusion, nor Prisma Labs, the company behind Lensa, responded to a request for comment from CBC.

Prisma Labs defended its AI art on Twitter, stating that AI-generated images "can't be described as exact replicas of any particular artwork."

"As cinema didn't kill theatre and accounting software hasn't eradicated the profession, AI won't replace artists but can become a great assisting tool," Prisma tweeted.

"We also believe that the growing accessibility of AI-powered tools would only make man-made art in its creative excellence more valued and appreciated, since any industrialization brings more value to handcrafted works."

Prisma Labs tweet

Prisma Labs, makers of Lensa, says AI will never replace human artists. (@PrismaAI/Twitter)

Is it legal?

Rutkowski and Ortiz are still considering what steps to take next. But whether they have any legal resources remains unclear.

Ken Clark, an intellectual property lawyer with Toronto-based law firm Aird and Berlis, says copyright infringement is a deeply complex subject, and the laws around it were crafted long before the proliferation of AI.

"You have to ask yourself: Who's doing the creating? Is it the person who is smart enough to create the computer software to go and analyze things … or is it the artist who you're taking these ideas from, right, in such a way that you've substantially reproduced their work?" he said.

But one thing is clear, he said. You can't copyright a "style" of work, only a piece of work itself.

Omens

Omens is an artwork by San Francisco's Karla Ortiz. (Karla Ortiz)

Daniel Anthony, a trademark and copyright lawyer with Toronto-based Smart & Biggar LLP, agrees.

"We can replace AI with a human as a thought exercise. If a human reviewed many photos and learned a style of an artist and then produced their own work from scratch in that style, it is not an infringement," he said in an email.

"Indeed, copyright is intended to inspire other creators, provided they make their own versions. Therefore, at its core, what these artist AI software does is likely not infringing."

But that doesn't mean an individual artist couldn't make a case against these companies.

"If the AI-produced work is 'changed enough' from any original source input, it will be very hard for the artist to claim infringement. However, if the AI work is substantially similar to any artists' prior work (such that it appears to be copied), then infringement may be present and legal remedies would likely be available," Anthony said.

Legal or not, it's ethically dubious, says Karina Vold, a University of Toronto associate professor who specializes in the philosophy of science and technology.

"At a minimum, companies should seek informed consent for the data that they use to train their machine learning algorithms," Vold said in an email.

"When it comes to works of art, these are not public property just because they may be publicly available online."

Artists are losing money

Ortiz, who works for big corporate clients, says she's not losing work to AI. But she says most smaller-scale artists that she knows are feeling the burn.

"I have a friend of mine from Romania. She was telling me a lot of illustrators there do a lot of work for musicians, and they're losing out now. They're cancelling commissions left and right because a lot of these musicians are just using [AI-generated art] as covers," she said.

Rutkowski says anyone who makes digital art could be impacted. Some organizations, including the San Francisco Ballet, are already using AI-generated art in their promotional materials.

"We get into this industry using our skills to sort of create better visual designs for movies, for games, for book covers," Rutkowski said. "And right now it's being replaced by AI-generated images."

Interview with Greg Rutkowski produced by Morgan Passi.

[gatsby-system-folks]

Sorry for the link blocks, I've basically given up trusting Tumblr's link embedding software. Articles to back up op.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/hoax-bomb-threats-made-dozens-polling-locations-swing-states-rcna178889

https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-statement-on-bomb-threats-to-polling-locations

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hoax-bomb-threats-us-election-1.7374600

These three are from CBC, the official FBI page, and NBC on the bomb threats.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-check-your-ballot-2024/

I couldn't find anything stating signature issues with ballots specifically, however I do not doubt op because that type of issue has been reported for elections frequently. If anyone has a specific article that would be helpful. The article I did find, from CBS, talks about other reported problems with mail-in ballots, quote: "Just this week, ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington were set ablaze, while in Miami, a stash of sealed ballots fell out of an election worker's truck, stoking concern among voters."

Edit: I found an article talking about the signature issue. I don't know why it made a pop tab of this and not the others but oh well.

So yes, please do this.

Please do this if you want a future

[laresearchette]

Thursday, October 09, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: THE HUNT FOR THE CHAMELON KILLER (AMC+) THE IMAGE OF YOU (Paramount+ Canada) REUNION (Paramount+ Canada) SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: KREEPAWAY KAMP (Paramount+ Canada)

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: CADDO LAKE (Premiering on October 11 on Crave at 9:00pm) ROLLER JAM (Premiering on October 12 on Magnolia at 8:00pm) EXPEDITION AMAZON (Premiering on October 13 on Nat Geo Canada at 10:00pm)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA NHL COAST TO COAST CITADEL: DIANA

CRAVE TV BEING A HILTON CADDO LAKE IT FOLLOWS

DISNEY + STAR ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (Season Premiere)

NETFLIX CANADA THE LIFE AND MOVIES OF ERSAN KUNERI (Season 2) (TR) LOVE IS BLIND, HABIBI (AE) OUTER BANKS (Season 4: Part 1) TOMB RAIDER: THE LEGEND OF LARA CROFT

MLB BASEBALL (SN1) 6:00pm: Guardians vs. Tigers - Game 4 (SN) 8:00pm: Yankees vs. Royals - Game 4

NHL HOCKEY (TSN2) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Bruins (TSN4) 7:00pm: Leafs vs. Devils (TSN5) 7:00pm: Panthers vs. Sens (SN360) 8:00pm: Penguins vs. Red Wings (SN360) 10:30pm: Blues vs. Sharks

WNBA BASKETBALL (TSN3) 8:00pm: Lynx vs. Liberty - Game 1

NBA BASKETBALL (SN Now) 8:00pm: Hornets vs. Grizzlies

DRAGONS' DEN (CBC) 8:00pm: A female entrepreneur swings her idea to the Dragons; two Manitoba entrepreneurs look for a safety net in the Dragons; Quebec business owners pop their idea into the Den; an Ontarian couple pitch their weightless idea.

BARGAIN BLOCK: NEW ORLEANS (HGTV Canada) 8:00pm

EXPEDITION UNKNOWN (Discovery Channel Canada) 8:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Josh is on the hunt for the lost tomb of Alexander the Great; he dives Egypt's coast, revealing ruins of Alexander's Royal Quarter; he tunnels under modern Alexandria, but a water pump malfunction puts everything at risk.

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN) 8:20pm: 49ers vs. Seahawks

MY MUM, YOUR DAD (CBC) 9:00pm: The parents take part in a workshop where they are encouraged to acknowledge resentments of the past, which some are struggling to let go of.

HOUSE OF VILLAINS (E! Canada) 9:00pm/10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Ten new reality TV villains compete for the title of America's Ultimate Supervillain and a $200,000 cash prize; they forge alliances; the first battle royale gives a villain immunity, and the first three villains are nominated for elimination.

LOST MONSTER FILES (Discovery Channel Canada) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): The team investigates a series of livestock mutilations in the Great Smoky Mountains that some link to the infamous chupacabra; using evidence journals from Sanderson's archive plus new clues, the team attempts to confront the killer canine.

NOBODY (Movie Time) 9:00pm: In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, an enraged man must save his wife and son from a dangerous adversary -- and ensure that he will never be underestimated again.

KILL VICTORIA (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm: One night, a quartet of best friends jokingly speculate on how they would kill Victoria, in order to save their best friend from making 'the worst mistake of his life' by marrying her. Things go south when the jokes become reality.

HOUSE OF ALI (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm: Ali and her team step out of their comfort zone when they are hired to take on a century-old farmhouse renovation; the homeowners chose Ali to strike a balance between old and new, and requested that she infuse her signature contemporary edge.

CANADIAN REFLECTIONS (CBC) 11:30pm: Death and the Mysteries of Raising Powerful Children; Play It Again