Saturday, February 04, 2023

Language of Teeth-grindingly awful

 

Language of Loss


Gawker Is Closing Down.  Yes, Again.

"Gawker, the snarky pop-culture site rebooted in mid-2021, is shutting down — for a second time, with the CEO of parent company Bustle Digital Group citing the need to prioritize 'better-monetizing sites.' ... The original Gawker went dormant in 2016 ... after losing a legal battle with wrestler Hulk Hogan." - Variety


What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life The Atlantic – “The Harvard Study of Adult Development has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. The question is, how does a person nurture those deep relationships? 




Teeth-grindingly awful

Another nail in the coffin. Google’s MusicLM generates relatively convincing audio from text descriptions (via MeFi and MusicRadar). You know the kind of thing it’ll be used for: ‘Hans Zimmer-style epic soundtrack’, ‘romantic music for a beachside sunset’, ‘horror movie atmosphere’. Commercial composers can join the queue behind copywriters and artists / see also How to Spot AI-Generated Art, According to Artists.

//

In Battersea, Owen Hatherley takes a turn around London’s latest over-polished piece of privatised heritage, ‘a chaos of luxury investment vehicles’ / Hookland, ‘High Weirdness from the Lost County of England’ / a collection of London Housing Architects / the Boden Fortress in Sweden / ChronoPhoto, fun game (via A href=”https://b3ta.com/”>b3ta) / a good eye and ear at work at Visual Atelier 8 / Geometric Primes, beautiful design work / a collection of vintage posters.

//

Things You Can Buy suggests you take Perambulation #19, Maze Hill to Deptford, South London / staying South London, hopefully this slice of urban greenery is now preservedGorne Wood, ‘the closest Ancient Woodland to the City of London’ / related, Five Forests in Literature (at the excellent Peter Harrington Journal). 

//

A very complicated house? For sale at Savills – feels strangely sterile / Lautner for sale / Eton and all the murder / everyone dunks on the Rezvani Vengeance, also discussed, amusingly, at MeFi. See this Axios story on the evolution of the Ford pick-up truck / the Wonders of Street View (via Kottke) / the story of Where is my mind? / the amazing Open ReelEnsemble / cinematic music by Forest Little / post-rockery from Norway’s Liongeist.