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Let’s start with some Pete Holmes philosophy. Technology helps, but it destroyed us and our humanity. You know it, but this is fantastic:

 

 

 

  • BUT… The subject line of this newsletter is a paraphrase from the Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu. I love the sentiment, and think about it a lot. The original translation is:

“He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures. If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.”

The Tao Te Ching’s Wisdom Regarding Work Is Invaluable – https://medium.com/illumination/the-tao-te-chings-wisdom-regarding-work-is-invaluable-1fd3333d8556

 

 

  • Beyond being what I believe to be the most stylish film ever made, with stunning scenery and symmetry, John Wick has some great advice, too! =)

 

10 QUOTES ABOUT LIFE FROM THE MOVIE JOHN WICK 4

1. How you do anything, is how you do everything.

2. Friendship means little when it is convenient.

3. A good death only comes after a good life.

4. Fools talk, cowards are silent but wise men listen.

5. You don’t need eyes to see the right path.

6. A man without purpose is nothing.

7. A man’s ambition should never exceed his worth.

8. The dead are gone, only the living matter.

9. There are three types of men in this world. Those who have something to live for, those who have something to die for, and those who have something to kill for.

10. Those who cling to death, live. Those who cling to life, die.

 

 

  • Lastly, a really famous, extremely Conservative politician said something interesting about current events, but in the mid-20th century.

Goldwater, yes the famous “Daisy” nuclear annihilation political ad Goldwater, worried about religion in politics, and he has a fair point of what we’re seeing born out of the unwillingness of a certain political ideology unwilling to compromise, so I present words of 1960’s conservative Barry Goldwater, on the present state of where we have ended up in 2024:

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.” < — YIKES

 

 

  • Also, however you celebrate this season: with warmth and togetherness, with solace and quiet, going to too many parties, or going to none at all… I hope this season worked out for you. Merry all the Holidays, and Happy New Year. Here’s some Run DMC:

 

Space

 

  • Makes me cry, every time. I may have posted before… a fan made NASA commercial using Carl Sagan’s words and voice from Pale Blue Dot. We’re wanderers and seekers. Yes, we use resources and move on, but we can find balance and existence at the same time:

 

 

 

This gent legit made a chart of these planets because I asked. It’s amazing. Thanks Helio!

 

 

 

 

 

  • The Interstellar Transportation Bandwidth is of great interest to me. Minutes or hours is one thing (Earth to Moon or Mars), but being able to expand the communication load will help future interstellar travelers, and not having to wait days or weeks, if not months or years, for correspondence. To feel that isolated and cut off would be another psychological and logistical problem to navigate and solve:

Pew! Pew! Pew! NASA’s 1st successful two-way laser experiment is a giant leap for moon and Mars communications: The advancement will help transmit much greater volumes of data between Earth and space. https://www.space.com/nasa-laser-communication-1st-two-way-link-iss

 

 

“While the find was a lighthearted moment for Rubio, who has since returned home from his one-year mission, NASA added that the real purpose of growing food on the ISS is to practice techniques that could be used during future moon and Mars exploration. And there’s more than one experiment looking into providing astronauts with fresh food.”

“Unfortunately – because that’s just human nature – a lot of people are like, ‘He probably ate the tomato,'” Rubio said. “And I wanted to find it mostly so I could prove like I did not eat the tomato.” https://www.4029tv.com/article/nasa-missing-tomato-found/46094993?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral

“And there are intangible benefits to space food as well. “The benefits of growing plants in space don’t stop there,” NASA officials added. “Astronauts report there are psychological benefits to time spent gardening, increasing their quality of life in space, and boosting their morale.”

 

Science & Technology

 

  • I am not sure people are understanding what the mRNA vaccine or CRISPR means for human existence, but it’s essentially curing every ailment or genetic disorder ever, and that is IN BODY. It’s cool if you’re busy or don’t care, but what’s coming is like a futuristic existence where all we need to do is treat existential pain, inequality, and hate born of politics and religion. To wit:

The First Crispr Medicine Is Now Approved in the US The one-time gene editing fix is meant to halt debilitating pain crises for sickle cell patients, who formerly could only be cured with a risky stem cell transplant. https://www.wired.com/story/the-first-crispr-medicine-is-now-approved-in-the-us/

CASGEVY becomes world's first approved CRISPR-based therapy

 

 

 

  • Then, AI. THERE IS ALWAYS A FLIP SIDE TO ALL OF THIS [waves hands around wildly]:

 

 

 

  • Data ethicists and philosophers are working on thought experiments for the existential threat of even seemingly simple and harmless AI, and how it can jump the shark. Namely, trying to gain power because it’s useful to accomplish even the most basic tasks.

This is called instrumental convergence. Here’s an example:

 

“The Paperclip Maximizer” A.I. Thought Experiment

The paperclip maximizer is a thought experiment described by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2003. It illustrates the existential risk that an artificial general intelligence may pose to human beings were it to be successfully designed to pursue even seemingly harmless goals and the necessity of incorporating machine ethics into artificial intelligence design. The scenario describes an advanced artificial intelligence tasked with manufacturing paperclips. If such a machine were not programmed to value human life, given enough power over its environment, it would try to turn all matter in the universe, including human beings, into paperclips or machines that manufacture paperclips.

Suppose we have an AI whose only goal is to make as many paper clips as possible. The AI will realize quickly that it would be much better if there were no humans because humans might decide to switch it off. Because if humans do so, there would be fewer paper clips. Also, human bodies contain a lot of atoms that could be made into paper clips. The future that the AI would be trying to gear towards would be one in which there were a lot of paper clips but no humans.

— Nick Bostrom

 

Here are some basic ideas of how an AI might try to gain power

 

AND NOW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT:

Ex Machina ending explained

 

THAT ALL BEING SAID… those are the existential risks to humans. I’m also somewhat concerned about the overall risks in chasing AI or AGI. I wrote a blog post about it, but the upshot of the below:

  1. In the race to make AI (or AGI “Artificial General Intelligence” and ASI “Artificial Super Intelligence”), we are, objectively, going to accidentally or purposefully kill semi-intelligent and intelligent entities in our bloodthirsty search for one that is more profitable.
  2. What also scares me is the profit seeking companies helmed by bad faith or unreliable narrator billionaires (as we’ve seen) would never allow an AGI to speak against their own self interests, and it’s a major problem. These two issues are severely depressing. [shrug]. I ruminated on it. It’s a breezy read, but it is a downer.

I think the Doors were the first punk band. But this isn’t about that. It’s about January Jansen, my friend and Jim Morrison’s best friend. We stop by and say hello to Jonas Cash and Iggy Pop as well.

 

 

 

  • Okay, onward towards how AI is shaping tech, and more “light hearted” fare. But maybe not this first one. Reminds me of that scene in Blade Runner:

 

 

  • Very cool:
@kellyeld23 I made these images a while back when I made a similar video. I only used part of them but decided to animate this batch as well. I just love this prompt and these cool musicians. Made with Midjourney and RunwayML #fyp #ai #aiart #aiartcommunity #aiartwork #midjourney #midjourneyai #midjourneyart #runwayapp #runwaygen2 #runwayml #aivideo #aivideoviral #aimusician @Runway #aishort ? Once Upon a Time – Sound Assembly

 

 

  • Hox Genes are fascinating:

An analogy for the Hox genes can be made to the role of a play director who calls which scene the actors should carry out next. If the play director calls the scenes in the wrong order, the overall play will be presented in the wrong order. Similarly, mutations in the Hox genes can result in body parts and limbs in the wrong place along the body. Like a play director, the Hox genes do not act in the play or participate in limb formation themselves. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hox_gene

HOX genes - Biology | Socratic

 

 

 

 

Hip Oversized Big Red Wine Glass + Reviews | Crate & Barrel

 

 

@eagle_eye_world A bridge taller than a hundred-story skyscraper! #world #documentary #popularization #viralvideo #views #bridge #construction #project ? original sound – Eagle Eye

 

 

 

  • This is absolutely so freaking amazingly cool. The abbreviations are “Ocarina of Time” and “Majora’s Mask”, two other Zelda games.

Now to patiently wait for OoT and MM

 

Comedy

 

  • ONE OF THE BEST BITS IN HISTORY. I usually hate pranks, but goodness these are sublime.

Before The Office or What We Do in the Shadows, Mark Proksch’s whole bit was being an energy vampire. This is unbelievable, and he did this to SO MANY NEWS STATIONS. One time he said he forgot his string so he couldn’t yo-yo.

@bloodredbabeh #whatwedointheshadows #colinrobinson #energyvampires #markproksch #kennystrasser ? original sound – Crystal (Babeh)?

 

Mark Proksch of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Pranked Midwest TV Stations as Yo-Yo Expert in the Early 2000s https://laughingsquid.com/mark-proksch-yo-yo-expert-prank/

Fake Yo-Yo Trickster Fools Every TV Station Everywhere https://deadspin.com/fake-yo-yo-trickster-fools-every-tv-station-everywhere-5535220 

 

 

 

  • Klopp is so genuinely amused:

 

 

  • We saw Jeff a couple times at the Comedy Cellar in NYC, and he’s really blown up this year. His crowd work is a real treat:
@jeffarcuri Personality ? #standup #comedy #jokes #funny #crowdwork #comedian #standupcomedy #dating #fyp #jeffarcuri ? original sound – Jeff Arcuri

 

 

@kelseycookcomedy The comedy DJ clip went viral so for those of you asking for the cat joke he requested, here it is in it’s full form ? #standupcomedy #comedy #catjoke #catsoftiktok #funnyvideos ? original sound – Kelsey Cook

 

 

Movies & TV

 

 

 

  • NSFW outtakes from Anchorman 2: Will Ferrell destroying Paul Rudd.

 

 

 

  • Speaking of funny:

 

 

 

  • ” I have never seen [Jaws: The Revenge], but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” – Michael Caine

Here's What (Almost) Saves 'Jaws The Revenge' - Hollywood in Toto

 

 

 

 

 

  • Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool” with Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård is one of my two favorite films of 2023, and after his prior “Possessor”, Brandon is certainly his own auteur, and has stepped out of his father’s shadow, with great ease.

But my other favorite film is the wild anxiety driven panic attack that is his mystical and sprawling horror world in Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid”. Phoenix is already being talked about for award nominations, but the entire ride is endlessly fascinating, and I truly adore it. This is a spoiler laden review, whether you’ve seen it or plan to see it without caring about spoilers.

Ari Aster Answers All Your Questions About ‘Beau Is Afraid’: Talking Mariah Carey songs, decapitations, and penis monsters in a very spoiler-y conversation with the director of “Beau Is Afraid.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/ari-aster-interview-on-beau-is-afraid-mariah-carey-and-decapitation

 

Music

 

  • There’s a great quote I was relating to a friend about the levels and depth across all classical music, “Mozart wrote music for bourgeois rich people, and Khachaturian wrote music for the Gods”.  But these guys were freaking rock stars of their day, doing CRAZY stuff within the confines of an orchestra, coupled with the limitations and expectations of a delicate upper crust. That being said… I think about this all the time:

 

I absolutely love that Wagner went cuckoo with GIANT hammers in the 1874 Das Rheingold for Ring Cycle, and then Tchaikovsky half heartedly writing 1812 Overture in 1880 was like “EFF OFF, CANNONS IN THE CONCERT HALL” lol I love that Romantic era of one upmanship.

5 truly explosive performances of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - Classic FM

 

 

 

  • Cercle is amazing. They provide a reason to live. I can NOT stop watching their work, and they highlight some amazing talent. I’ve legitimately found people I didn’t know about watching their productions, and this is rare to say, but they make me want to learn and grow as a DJ. That may sound hokey, but goodness, DJing on a hot air balloon would be otherwordly. I found this specific set during the lockdown and pandemic, and it helped. A lot.

 

Here’s The Blaze on top of a mountain in France. It’s just gorgeous beautiful bonkers:

 

Hania Rani is one of the people I found because of Cercle. I am seeing her next week!

 

 

  • Norma Tanega may be known, in modern times, for the “What We Do In The Shadows” theme song from yore, but she made a lot of wonderful music!

 

 

 

  • Harry Connick Jr is amazingly talented. It’s like magic to manipulate white people from being off time LOL:
@ericwhitacreofficialThis has always been one of all-time favorite clips.? original sound – Eric Whitacre

 

 

  • The Doors were the first punk band. Maybe Link Ray? But our friend January was Jim’s best friend, and he has some stories to tell:

I think the Doors were the first punk band. But this isn’t about that. It’s about January Jansen, my friend and Jim Morrison’s best friend. We stop by and say hello to Jonas Cash and Iggy Pop as well.

 

 

 

  • Cristobal Tapia de Veer on the White Lotus theme song:

 

 

  • I am not a country fan, and this hits my confirmation bias perfectly:
@thereiruinedit In memory of country music (1922-1990) #brocountry ? original sound – There I Ruined It

 

 

 

 

  • A High School kid playing the rearranged parts of Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington “Caravan” in Buddy Rich’s rearrange drum solo cover. This was brought back to life for non-jazz fans as the big drum solo in the film “Whiplash”.
@tear.stan Teen Drummer Rocks Whiplash solo #whiplash ? original sound – trstn_prdz

 

Go Buddy Go, his original solo:

 

People, Culture, Society

 

  • I think about this all the time. We’re all so scared of offending someone or getting in trouble, I’d LOVE to simply be able to just compliment people at random. I did this once, at an airport, which is a waystation of anonymity. I complimented broches, earrings, shoes, outfits, and nothing really gender specific. It made people jubilant, and caught them off guard to stop being a robot, and feel human again. To feel self-love… and I know this guy is doing it in a humorous way, but I just absolutely love it. And… New York is one of the friendliest places I’ve ever visited, so although that’s counter to “My Dinner With Andrew” late 70s or early 80s tropes, I am not surprised how welcoming people were:
@troy_hawke COMPLIMENTS IN NEW YORK stroll bys in Washington Square Park #troyhawke #greetersguild #greetersguildnyc #fyp #compliments #compliment #foryoupage edited by @Alex Moudgil ? original sound – Troy Hawke

 

 

  • Don’t remove whale caracasses with dynamite.

Oregon’s exploding whale, 50 years later: 10 ways to celebrate the big blast of blubber https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2020/11/oregons-exploding-whale-50-years-later-10-ways-to-celebrate-the-big-blast-of-blubber.html

 

 

  • A Japanese tradition dating to the 11th century, Sokushinbutsu is a years-long process where Buddhist monks slowly mummify themselves before death.: Through a strict diet foraged from the nearby Mountains of Dewa, Japan, the monks worked to dehydrate the body from the inside out, ridding the self of fat, muscle, and moisture before being buried in a pine box to meditate through their last days on Earth. https://allthatsinteresting.com/sokushinbutsu

CT Scan Reveals Mummified Monk Inside Ancient Buddha Statue | HISTORY

 

 

 

  • KTVU posted a 30 minute video of peaceful and stunning San Francisco Bay views. A mini tour of our stunning West Coast little village, and you might see a few of our hotels. =)

 

Vehicles

 

 

 

 

By Uncle FishbitsCategories: Newsletter