On The Road With Al and Ivy: Blog

SEPT. 2023 ISSUE: How Will A.I. Change Art? Part 1-3 Preview: Second Edition of "Knee Deep In Glory" Preview: On The Road With Al & Ivy: The Journal Entries (2016-2018) Note: This series is published as The Space Age Oracle on X Part 1: How Will A.I. Change Art? The legal battles raging between Hollywood and upper-level writers and artists are a different battle than what you and I are probably concerned with. Whether or not they get compensation isn't going to benefit most of the artistic community selling stuff on Etsy or eBay, indie music, etc. For example, do you want a new front room? Don't hire a designer; have the A.I. program give you hundreds of ideas within the budget and where to get the items (or even order for you). Are you a young filmmaker who needs a soundtrack? Just feed the program your script (written by A.I.) and have it create the perfect music. Now the Talking Heads of Tech will thump their chests and proclaim that the software will have pro...

The Space Age Oracle: Cancel Culture And Witch Trials Part 2  (Note: Essay could contain triggers for some) There's been a controversy on TikTok and other media about a woman who made a video about being assaulted with a brick by a man because she refused to give her phone number, adding that a group of men stood by and watched without intervening. That's a story where details are still coming out, with many different views, so I won't try to summarize those. Those interested should research it, see the wide range of opinions, and decide for yourself.  However, I refer to it later in this essay because it's a good example of the difference between the legal system and social justice, which always contains the seeds of cancel culture. The Internet didn't create cancel culture; it's always been around. All it's done is expand peer, village, or community control to a broader audience of like-minded people. The social sphere is rarely controlled by law because ...

  New Vella Series: Literature's Greatest Hits I'm giving this a low key start, with two free episodes loaded. One is a combination of essays about Hermann Hesse and Marcel Proust, featuring a comparison of a tech outlook and human inspiration. The second is the full version of an examination of Tom Wolfe's opening chapter for Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and writers can learn from it. Future episodes will examine English translations of Native American literature and stories, where free form novels really came from, and other topics. These are free so please check these essays out. - Al Handa https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B0CGMG4HRY # LiteraturePosts # Proust # tomwolfe # hermannhesse #steppenwolf # electrickoolaidacidtest

- How Will A.I. Really Change Art? Part One - At The Movies: Cromwell (1970) And The Nature Of Violent Revolutions -  How To Find The Perfect Headphones - Part 1 -  The National instrument of Madagascar  How Will A.I. Really Change Art? Part One Note: This was hoping to be another Vella nonfiction book but I decided to run a few of the pieces here then continue it in the Subscriber section. The legal battles raging between Hollywood and upper-level writers and artists are a different battle than what you and I are probably concerned with.  Whether or not they get compensation isn't going to benefit most of the artistic community selling stuff on Etsy or eBay, indie music, etc. For example, do you want a new front room? Don't hire a designer; have the A.I. program give you hundreds of ideas within the budget and where to get the items (or even order for you). Are you a young filmmaker who needs a soundtrack? Just feed the program your script (written by A.I.) and have...

How To Find The Perfect Headphones - Part 1 Note: This is a revision of a Delta Snake Review Consumer Electronics series that ran this year. Headphones come in all shapes and sizes now, so you might find it interesting to know the difference between “bone conducting, “over ear,” “helmet speaker,” “air buds,” and so on. How To Find The Perfect Headphones - Part 1 Sample description: The right pair of headphones will enrich your musical listening experience and lead to endless rediscovery of heretofore buried joy in your beloved music collection. As you can see, reviews aren't just reviews. You must consider who the writer is, what they know, their agenda, and from what personal experience the information comes from (if any). This guide should be useful for finding the right pair of headphones. It may just cause more confusion, but if so, as a dedicated Blogger, you can trust that I'll feel bad about it and not remind people that there's a First Amendment. I think the best w...

“…in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting ‘Off with his head!’ or ‘Off with her head!’ about once in a minute. Alice began to feel very uneasy: to be sure, she had not as yet had any dispute with the Queen, but she knew that it might happen any minute, ‘and then,’ thought she, ‘what would become of me? They’re dreadfully fond of beheading people here; the great wonder is, that there’s any one left alive!’” -Lewis Carroll (Alice In Wonderland) On The Road With Al & Ivy: Cancel Culture And Witch Trials—excerpt of Part 1. My treatment of the subject of Cancel Culture and Witch Trials will be in the realm of occasionally satiric literary meditation or social commentary.  As a result, I'll try to walk the fine line between observation and conclusion and try to stay on the main point that these two subjects result from a root cause. I've read opinions on the subject and feel that most are true. Canceling occurs in various si...

“All that Mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books. They are the chosen possession of men.” - Thomas Carlyle (Heroes, Hero-Worship And The Heroic In History - 1841) THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC I recently watched the 1928 film, The Passion Of Joan Of Arc. I first saw it in 1994 on DVD that featured a new oratorio composed by Richard Einhorn called "Voices Of Light" and performed by Anonymous 4 (a group) and various soloists.  The film is making the rounds on sites like Freevee (free with commercials), and after viewing the beginning, I was drawn in by Maria Falconetti's shattering portrayal of The Maid. By coincidence, I was rereading W.P. Barrett's 1932 translation of the French and Latin transcripts of Jeanne D'Arc'd trial for heresy and apostasy. The movie simplifies the trial for dramatic reasons. However, what is remarkable is that she was tried by a group of sixty French politicians, lawyers, an...