So much for “graphic novels”

 art, awesomeness, Crazy, Hmm..., science, science fiction, youtube  No Responses »
Sep 252022
 

Well, in a way. In the way of “I need to hire at great cost artists to illustrate my graphic novel.” AI has now reached the point where a creditable graphic novel can be put together based purely on a long series of text prompts, using a consistent set of characters based on as few as five photos of an actual individual. You want the graphic novel version of “The Hobbit” starring Humphrey Bogart as Bilbo and Dom Deluise at Gandalf, done in the art style of HR Giger? Comin’ right up. “At The Mountains of Madness” starring Burt Reynolds and Gene Wilder, in the art style of Salvador Dali? No sweat. Any story ever, starring the Playboy Bunnies of 1972?  On it. It’s not perfect… it seems to have a serious problem understanding hands and fingers, and there seem to be inconsistencies in shot to shot with costumes and such. But, dayum, this makes art *easy.*

 

This is honestly kinda startling. If I was a book/magazine cover artist… I’d be looking into exciting new career opportunities in the food service or housekeeping industries, cuz they’re gonna lose a *lot* of business. This could replace the standard storyboard for moviemaking. AI generated video won’t be far behind.

 Posted by at 10:44 pm

“Final Space” gets memory holed

 AARRRGH, art, Crazy, Gah., news, science fiction, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Sep 252022
 

I sang the praises of the animated Series “Final Space,” a sci-fi comedy that heavily leaned into cosmic horror. I *really* liked it. Sadly, it was cancelled after only three seasons, in the middle of its story. But worse: it has now been pulled from all platforms as a tax writeoff. Unless you somehow saved copies of the episodes (Seasons 1 and 2 were released on Blu Ray – no longer available – but Season 3 never was), you will never be able to see it ever again, outside of pirating platforms. Were it not for clips on YouTube, it would be as if the show was a Mandela Effect.

‘Final Space’ to Be Pulled From All Platforms as Warner Bros Discovery’s Tax Write-Off Casualty

A good argument for physical media.

If nothing else, “Final Space” gave the world a moment that ranks up there with the end of “Jurassic Bark.”

 Posted by at 6:00 pm

Now that’s just STOOOOPID

 AARRRGH, Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., news, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Sep 252022
 

The Fort Lupton, Colorado, police arrested a woman for a road rage incident. In the process of this, they handcuffed her and locked her in a police cruiser. So far, so good. But here’s where the stupidity cranks up to 11: the cruiser was parked on train tracks. And wouldn’t you know it, here comes a train…

The suspect has survived, though unsurprisingly injured. I foresee a whole slew of lawsuits.

 Posted by at 3:30 am

Argument against Monarchy

 blather, history, Hmm..., news, politics, youtube  No Responses »
Sep 242022
 

As an American, my opinion on the British monarchy this:

I Don’t Care.

It’s profoundly silly, terribly obsolete, fundamentally useless and wasteful. But if the Brits want it… shrug, that’s on them, nothing to do with me.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not like the point of view of rabid pro-abortionists who shriek that men, who cannot get pregnant (transphobia!!!), are not to have opinions on abortion, up to and including not having opinions on how thrilled they are that their own offspring are being summarily and unilaterally exterminated. If another American wants to rail against monarchies… great. If another American *wants* a monarchy, or thinks the British version is just neato-keen… they are allowed to have that clearly wrong opinion. The only time *my* own blood gets hepped up regarding monarchy is when the idea is floated that *I* should subject myself to such a system. If the Queen or her idiot mutant son Charles tried to sail to these shores and restore their hold on American… well, them’s fightin’ words. Similarly with American celebrities, talking heads or politicians want Americans to be subjects to a system that is monarchy in name only, with fundamental rights being yoinked at the whim of some doddering old fool.

But hey, back to the Brits. The last few weeks have seen a *lot* of performative grief out of the UK, with quite a number of very bizarre arrests. Honestly, the Queen was 96 years old… her death was not some shocking tragedy. Dying is what people in their late 90’s *do.* And further, this seems like a lot of effort to go to to pretend to give a damn about British history and tradition when British history and tradition are being torn down across the board. A series of mass deportations of foreign-born criminals, rape gangs, rioters, trouble makers of all kinds would go a hell of a lot farther in demonstrating an actual interest in preserving Britain than shutting down businesses and pretending to be grief-stricken for weeks on end. Whether the British monarchy survives the next few generations is a hell of a lot less important of a question than whether *Britain* survives the next few generations.

The British feller below is in the “end the Monarchy” camp, and he makes a number of valid arguments.

 Posted by at 4:11 pm

AI-generated alternate history automobiles

 art, awesomeness, Hmm..., science, science fiction  No Responses »
Sep 232022
 

And now AI software can show you cars that never were. The images produced are all flawed in some way… some slight, others rather blatantly; and some of the cars are downright goofy, like the 1970 Model T. But still, a lot of them are not half bad extrapolations of what might have been.

What If: AI Generated Cars That Never Were

1940 Chevrolet Corvette. Note weirdness with the grill and the soft top. But other than those… this is a creditable design.

 

Curiously, no late-model Deloreans on display. I want to see the 2015 edition.

 

 

 

 Posted by at 7:28 am

US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol 1: previews and signed copies

 aircraft, APR, awesomeness, Book 3, books, drawings, history, news, projects, US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol 1  No Responses »
Sep 222022
 

It’s my understanding that my next bookazine should be printed within a week or so. So I think I can post a few teaser images (screenshotted from the penultimate digital proof) to get the idea across (if you don’t see images below, it’s probably because either your adblocker is overly enthusiastic or the APR website is blocked for some reason):

If you would like to order a copy, there are three main routes:

1) For those in Europe, by far the best approach will likely be by ordering directly through Mortons, link HERE, or on bookstore shelves.

2) For those in the US, the less expensive approach will *probably* be through Amazon (link HERE, though still preliminary), though probably taking longer than directly from Mortons, and the possibility of finding them on bookstore shelves.

3) For those who want the Extra Special Edition and say “damn the schedule and never mind the cost,” I will *probably* have a few signed copies available. As with my prior two books, these will have an additional pair of 18X24-inch prints of diagrams from the book. These will *probably* run about $25, including shipping to the US (if you want them shipped out of the US, the shipping prices gets ludicrous… don’t blame me). They’ll be signed and dated and numbered in order of receipts. If you would be interested in this version, send me an email so I can make sure I have enough on hand for that. My email:

 

 

 Posted by at 8:32 pm
 Older Entries  Newer Entries