#Industry Conferences

[howdoesone]

How does one stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in consulting?

As a consultant, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in your industry is crucial to your success. New technologies, business practices, and market trends are constantly emerging, and it’s essential to stay informed to offer your clients the best possible advice and services. In this article, we’ll explore some strategies to help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends…

[pinklotushere]

Gotham’s Most Insane Love Triangle (That’s Not Even a Triangle)

Tim Drake has had enough.

Not of being Red Robin—no, he signed up for that nightmare. But of this absolute clown of a villain who has decided to make his civilian life hell. The dude isn’t even a real villain, just some rich, eccentric, probably-a-little-deranged Gotham socialite with too much free time and very questionable taste in romance.

He has been through a lot in his life.

He’s fought assassins, taken down crime lords, and survived the literal Lazarus Pit. But none of that prepared him for this.

Because, apparently, being a billionaire CEO means attracting a very specific brand of problem—namely, a very rich, very persistent, very theatrical stalker-suitor who has decided that Tim is their one true love.

And the worst part? They have no idea he’s Red Robin. They just think Tim Drake, boring businessman, is the ideal romantic partner.

Tim has tried to get rid of them. He’s shut down their advances, ignored their ridiculous gifts (including a whole building—seriously, what was that?), and even considered faking his own death. (Bruce did it like six times. It’s an option.)

Nothing worked.

the courtship? Is aggressive.

Think:

• Giant, embarrassing billboards with love poems that definitely sound like they were written by someone’s AI assistant.

• Dramatic, unsolicited “gifts” (one time, it was a tiger. A real one. In his office. He had to call Damian to get it out).

• Showing up at his press conferences to declare their love, completely derailing everything ("I AM WOOING YOU, TIMOTHY! SAY YES TO DESTINY!" "Sir, this is an earnings call—")

So, in a moment of desperation (and supreme bad decision-making), Tim panicked and told the press that he was already in a relationship.

With both Superboy and Wraith.

Because Tim Drake does not do things halfway.

(Kon does not hesitate. The second Tim says, “Hey, will you pretend to date me?” Kon’s already slinging an arm around his shoulders, grinning, and saying, “Obviously, babe.”

And, okay, maybe he’s having too much fun with it. Maybe Tim gives one kiss on the cheek in public, and suddenly Kon’s cranking the PDA up to 11.

Tim swears Kon is just doing this to annoy him. (Spoiler: He is. And also because he’s in love. But mostly to annoy him.)

Dani has no idea what’s going on. One day, she’s just vibing, and the next, Tim is begging her to be his fake girlfriend in his civilian life while also fake-dating Superboy in his hero life.

“So you’re publicly dating both of us?” she asks. “Yes,” Tim says, exhausted. “At the same time?” “Yes.” "Love that. Love the drama. I’m in.”)

And that’s how he ended up in a very public, very fake, and very annoying love triangle where he is “dating” two of his best friends.

Which prompted the start of plan : get rid of creepy guy

—

Step One: Make the Villain Regret Their Life Choices

If Tim thought this was going to be a subtle plan, Kon and Dani immediately proved him wrong.

Kon goes full Superboy mode. Dramatic rescues? Check. Carrying Tim around way too much? Check. Way too many kisses on the cheek? Check.

Dani (Wraith) is the wildcard. She literally picks Tim up in public like he’s a prize, occasionally phases through walls to randomly show up at his meetings, and once materialized into existence just to kiss Tim’s forehead in front of the press.

Tim cannot do anything about it. Because if he protests, the villain wins. And also because, unfortunately, he kinda likes it.

The villain loves this. It becomes a challenge. They start sending hate letters to Superboy, promising to “win” Tim’s heart from him.

Kon gets way too competitive about it. (“I dare you to try, buddy.” “KON, STOP ENCOURAGING THEM—”)

The media loses their minds. Suddenly, “Tim Drake’s Shocking Super Love Triangle” is trending.

Bart starts a betting pool on whether Tim actually survives this ordeal. Cassie is taking bets on when the fake relationship stops being fake. ("Wait, you all think this is fake?"—Cass, genuinely confused.)

—

Step Two: Turn the Public Against the Villain

The villain’s new strategies are straight out of a soap opera.

They show up at Tim’s press conferences, interrupting him mid-sentence.

( “Timothy! You don’t have to settle! You deserve true love!”

Tim: "I deserve peace.")

They try to out-romance Kon and Dani by sending ridiculous gifts.

• Kon: "Oh, you sent him roses? That’s cute. I carried him to France for pastries this morning."

• Dani: "I made him a custom necklace out of ectoplasm. It glows when he’s in danger. What did you do?"

Tim is so tired.

So, so tired.

For weeks, he's been playing damage control while Gotham's most deranged suitor escalates his antics. What started as embarrassing billboards and ridiculous gifts has somehow escalated into a full-blown public stunt designed to "prove" their love.

The disaster of the day?

A flash marriage proposal.

Tim barely has time to process what's happening before an entire choir descends on him in the middle of a press conference. They begin singing a dramatic, original ballad about love and destiny while the villain (dressed in a tuxedo and cape, because of course they are) strides forward. With an engagement ring, the size of Tim’s suffering.

"Timothy!" they declare, their voices booming through a hidden microphone, because this is obviously being broadcast. "I've waited long enough! Accept my love! Marry me and together we will dominate Gotham's social scene as the couple of the century!"

Tim's eyes twitch. He's two seconds away from making this a Red Robin problem.

fortunately for everyone involved, Kon and Dani have zero chill.

Kon lands from the sky, draping an arm around Tim with the most obnoxiously smug grin imaginable. “Oh, wow. A public proposal? That’s adorable. Almost as adorable as the six months I’ve already spent dating this guy.”

Then he just kisses Tim’s temple like it’s nothing.

Before Tim can recover (he absolutely did not freeze), Dani materializes next to him, grabs Tim like a princess, and kisses the other side of his face.

Timothy Jackson drake-Wayne did not squeak. What?

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she sighs.

And that is the moment the villain realizes they have lost.

Because Gotham? Gotham loves drama. And right now, the story isn’t “Determined Suitor Wins Over Tim Drake��—it’s “Homewrecker Tries to Steal Gotham’s Most Beloved Power Couples” (because, yes, the media still refuses to acknowledge this is a throuple).

The crowd turns on the villain.

• “You’re breaking them up? Boo.”

• “Have you seen the way Superboy looks at him?”

• “Sir, how do you respond to the allegations that you are a clown?”

#TimsuperWraith4Ever trends within minutes.

And the villain, realizing they are rapidly losing public favor, does the only thing they can do—

They flee

(“…Well,” they say, trying to regain some dignity. “I can tell when I’m in over my head.”

(They can’t.)

“I’m going to retreat—for now.”

(They're not coming back.)

And then, with a dramatic wave of their capes, they run away.)

Tim is still being held.

By both of them.

In front of every reporter in Gotham.

Kon, still smiling, pulls Tim even closer to him. "So, babe, how about we go celebrate our victory?"

Dani smiles. "Ooh, yeah. I'm thinking date night."

Tim, who physically can't escape, groans. "I hate you both."

Neither of them let go.

And, okay, maybe he doesn't really mind .

—

Step Three: Realize You’re the Only One Still Pretending

Later, after the chaos dies down and Tim finally gets a second to himself, he turns to Kon and Dani with a sigh.

“Well,” he says. “That was exhausting, but at least it’s over.”

Kon raises an eyebrow. “Over?”

Tim frowns. “Yeah. The villain’s gone, so… y’know. We can drop the act now.”

There’s a long silence.

Then Dani just… tilts her head. “Wait. You think this is fake?”

Tim stares. “What.”

Kon grins. “Oh, babe. You really thought we were faking?”

Tim.exe has stopped working.

Because, oh no, he did think this was fake. But now Kon is looking at him like he’s an idiot, and Dani is smirking like she knew all along, and—

Oh.

Oh, he’s so dumb.

Because this entire time, they weren’t playing a role. They were just—being them. Touchy, affectionate, protective—except now, they had an excuse to be obvious about it.

Tim buries his face in his hands. “Oh my god.”

Dani pats his head. “You’ll get there, babe.”

Kon leans down, kissing the top of his head. “Take your time.”

Tim groans.

(But maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t mind so much.)

—

Bonus: Cassie & Bart, Watching From Afar :

Bart: “You think Tim actually figured it out?”

Cassie : "probably. It was fun watching him suffer"

[scarefox]

NOT ANOTHERONE 💀🙈

[cnladies]

NI NI 倪妮 in Georges Hobeika 2025 Spring/Summer Haute Couture | 1st China TV Drama Production Industry Conference Ceremony

Ni Ni: more photos here China TV Drama Production Industry Conference: more photos here

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

why they playing “sink the bismarck” between c-tier radio country at the work function

[ohumrak]

Ni Ni 倪妮 | 1st China TV Drama Production Industry conference - part 1 [2025.02.21]

[norfkid]

love coming across some absolute divas in this delegate acquisition job. oh i’m so sorry you have to answer some mandatory questions about your organisation’s use and integration of ai, data & cybersecurity on the registration form for the ai, data & cybersecurity conference um ???

[jcmarchi]

OpenAI launches Sora: AI video generator now public

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/openai-launches-sora-ai-video-generator-now-public/

OpenAI launches Sora: AI video generator now public

OpenAI has made its artificial intelligence video generator, Sora, available to the general public in the US, following an initial limited release to certain artists, filmmakers, and safety testers.

Introduced in February, the tool faced overwhelming demand on its launch day, temporarily halting new sign-ups due to high website traffic.

Changing video creation with text-to-video creation

The text-to-video generator enables the creation of video clips from written prompts. OpenAI’s website showcases an example: a serene depiction of woolly mammoths traversing a desert landscape.

In a recent blog post, OpenAI expressed its aspiration for Sora to foster innovative creativity and narrative expansion through advanced video storytelling.

The company, also behind the widely used ChatGPT, continues to expand its repertoire in generative AI, including voice cloning and integrating its image generator, Dall-E, with ChatGPT.

Supported by Microsoft, OpenAI is now a leading force in the AI sector, with a valuation nearing $160 billion.

Before public access, technology reviewer Marques Brownlee previewed Sora, finding it simultaneously unsettling and impressive. He noted particular prowess in rendering landscapes despite some inaccuracies in physical representation. Early access filmmakers reported occasional odd visual errors.

What you can expect with Sora

Output options. Generate videos up to 20 seconds long in various aspect ratios. The new ‘Turbo’ model speeds up generation times significantly.

Web platform. Organize and view your creations, explore prompts from other users, and discover featured content for inspiration.

Creative tools. Leverage advanced tools like Remix for scene editing, Storyboard for stitching multiple outputs, Blend, Loop, and Style presets to enhance your creations.

Availability. Sora is now accessible to ChatGPT subscribers. For $200/month, the Pro plan unlocks unlimited generations, higher resolution outputs, and watermark removal.

Content restrictions. OpenAI is limiting uploads involving real people, minors, or copyrighted materials. Initially, only a select group of users will have permission to upload real people as input.

Territorial rollout. Due to regulatory concerns, the rollout will exclude the EU, UK, and other specific regions.

Navigating regulations and controversies

It maintains restricted access in those regions as OpenAI navigates regulatory landscapes, including the UK’s Online Safety Act, the EU’s Digital Services Act, and GDPR.

Controversies have also surfaced, such as a temporary shutdown caused by artists exploiting a loophole to protest against potential negative impacts on their professions. These artists accused OpenAI of glossing over these concerns by leveraging their creativity to enhance the product’s image.

Despite advancements, generative AI technologies like Sora are susceptible to generating erroneous or plagiarized content. This has raised alarms about potential misuse for creating deceptive media, including deepfakes.

OpenAI has committed to taking precautions with Sora, including restrictions on depicting specific individuals and explicit content. These measures aim to mitigate misuse while providing access to subscribers in the US and several other countries, excluding the UK and Europe.

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[ruthiesrambles2]

Conference day means social anxiety but also TRAIN 🚂

Choo choo motherfuckers I'm a high powered corporate person now *masking a panic attack that's going to take at least a month to recover from*

[pynkhues]

AMC said themselves, they don't want to make something for everyone, but rather shows that are everything for someone

Oooh where did they say this? Because a) I love that as an ethos and b) IWTV is EVERYTHING for quite a few people, so it definitely fits that bill. Rolin said that to a fan on camera, I remember, that he's never had the experience of knowing that for a small portion of the world's population, they are making *the* show

I think it's actually a Rolin interview where he says that specifically is AMC's approach, and I can't find that exact interview now (typical, haha), but Dan McDermott who's Head of Original Programming at AMC did say basically the same thing in an interview with Vulture back in 2021:

We’re not all things to all people. We’re more about super-serving specific audiences [with] content that they already have a demonstrated affinity for. To use retail as an analogy, there are big box stores out there that the whole family can walk into and everybody can get something for themselves. And then there are more highly curated boutiques, whether it’s Nike or Lululemon or a Gucci, that are all about craftsmanship and bespoke, highly curated offerings. We clearly are in the latter category, and we think that’s our advantage. We’re not competing with the Netflixes and the Disney Pluses and the Amazons. They’re in an arms race to find mega-ginormous content that they can spend a fortune on. That’s not our business.

The whole interview is actually an interesting read though in how AMC is thinking strategically, if you're interested in that sort of thing, haha.

[scarefox]

[cnladies]

NI NI 倪妮 | 1st China TV Drama Production Industry Conference Ceremony

Ni Ni: more photos here China TV Drama Production Industry Conference: more photos here

[llycaons]

every time modern AU wwx talks about how horrible foster care is I'm like I don't want to downplay that but at least it wasn't wandering the streets alone age 5 being attacked by wild dogs

[temtamoo]

"You are all invited to join an Artist vs. AI competition-!" I would rather shit in my hands and clap ❤️

[thelooniemoonie]

There's a weird irony in attending your first conference and one of the speakers is a director of a utilities company that you're a customer of