Category: Images

Kermit vs DALL·E

A still of Kermit The Frog in Spirited Away
A still of Kermit The Frog in The Grand Budapest Hotel
A still of Kermit The Frog in Eraserhead
A still of Kermit The Frog in Bojack Horseman

DALL·E is an AI system that can create images and art from a written description using natural language.

It’s in limited access right now, but Twitter user @HvnsLstAngel recently posted a full thread of DALL·E injecting Kermit into the art styles of various TV, film and other media. The results are equal parts impressive, bewildering, hilarious and intriguing.

More DALL·E:

DALL·E 2 Explained (YouTube)

MKBHD tests DALL·E 2 (YouTube)

DALL-E 2 Creates Incredible Images—and Biased Ones You Don’t See (Wired)

#dalle on Twitter.

700 Sharks In The Dark

A single shark is too clumsy to catch even a somnolent grouper. A pack of them is more likely to flush the fish from its hiding place and encircle it. Then they tear it apart. Seen live, the attack is a frenzy that explodes before us. Only later, thanks to a special camera that captures a thousand images a second, are we able to watch the sharks in slow motion and appreciate their efficiency and precision.

Incredible pictures and story from Laurent Ballesta and his team.

Red Dead 4K: The Redemptioning

In the midst of announcing a massive drop of backwards compatible and enhanced games, Microsoft released a 500MB update to Red Dead Redemption enabling 4K on the world’s most powerful console.

Yes, this is a 4K screencap of a 2010 console game.

This. Is. Fucking. Amazing.

Most observers reckoned 4K for RDR would never come due to the engineering of the game – many thought the resolution was baked-in for performance reasons. But it seems the Back Compat team at Microsoft are wizards indeed.

So how does it look?

Stunning.

I mean, it’s ridiculous how good it looks. The 360 version (which is also what ran on the initial Back Compat version) was noticeably blurry and shimmery, especially in motion. It still looked great though, and you did get the impression that R* had put a lot more under the hood than the hardware was capable of displaying. And now we know that’s the case.

The result is that Read Dead Redemption is now – again – a joy to play.

More Red Dead:

Finding John Marsden – A wonderful short doc from Polygon about Rob Weithoff, the voice of John Marsden

In depth review (thinreaper) – One of the best game reviews/critiques I’ve ever invested an hour and a half in

Atari VCS

The “VCS” stands for Very Cool and Sexy, surely.

Worth it, just for the looks?

I have a real affinity for this 2600 retro styling – it was the first gaming machine I ever owned (the Jr to be specific). Months and months of mindlessly delivering leaflets around the neighbourhood was all worth it!

And yes, in case you were wondering, I achieved ‘Neo at the end of the Matrix’ level zen-skills at Enduro.

The Atari VCS will be available later this year for between $250-300. That seems expensive.

Citizen scientists discovered a new aurora. They called it “Steve”.

Steve, left. (Krista Trinder)

The Atlantic:

This new feature differs from the long-studied “classical” aurora in several ways. It can be seen from much closer to the equator than its more famous twin, and it emanates from a spot twice as high in the sky. It was also first described and studied not by cultivated researchers—like those who coined the moniker aurora borealis—but by devoted amateurs. They were among the first to photograph the ethereal streak of purple light, and they were the first to give it a name.

That name is Steve.

Hobo Nickels

What’s a hobo nickel? I’m glad you asked!

“The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of small-denomination coins, essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The nickel, because of its size, thickness, and relative softness, was a favoured coin for this purpose.” – Wikipedia

Hobo nickel Google image gallery
Hobo Nickel on Wikipedia
hobonickelart.com

Via David Archer

Related #longread: Twilight Of The Hobos (Buzzfeed):

Minnesota Jim, meanwhile, seems a little confused by the proceedings. His victory seemed, at least in part, based on his age. At 83, he’s one of the few surviving bridgers — hoboes that rode on both steam- and diesel-powered trains during their time — and winning seemed to be a kind of lifetime achievement award. But he cautiously told the local paper that kids today shouldn’t ride the rails. “The trains show no mercy.”