Strange Weather Stranger Month

Audio Blog

〰️

Audio Blog 〰️

You ever have one of those months where every little thing seemed a bit off? That was pretty much the past month I experienced! The good news is that I’m alive and well and moving on. The bad news is because I was preoccupied with so much “odd” stuff, I didn’t have time to devote to finding anything new to talk about. In any case expect a lot of rehashed recommendations this month. I mean it’s not much different than my usual stuff admittingly, but it’s definitely more non-sequitur than I would like.

As someone who resides in California, I was a part of the great “hurriquake” that literally lasted one day. I’m not here to say that there wasn’t damage done and some folks seriously got impacted by the event… but I’m also saying this weather event was pretty overblown in the news the world over. Someone gave me a great metaphor for southern California in regard to rain, as it was kind of similar to a man who hadn’t taken a shower in a year and then did so. It’s certainly a notable event, but it’s also not really that groundbreaking in context to extreme weather in other parts of the world. Either way, I got quite a bit of rain in my area and some trees lost a third of their branches. But that’s it! Ironically enough, the week right after we got a heat wave that dried everything out. Such is life.

I’ve said this in the past, but WHANG is literally everything in a YouTube channel I always wanted to be if I had talent, success, drive and luck. I just wanted to re-recommend the content since it’s great to go down these strange internet rabbit holes that take life a little bit less serious. Given how strange things have been lately in my neck of the woods, it’s almost cathartic seeing my life largely still mundane and boring in comparison to the stories he talks about. If you’re expecting a lot of drama and memes from his videos; you’ll probably be disappointed. He actually approaches the strangeness in a levelheaded way. A good channel for “boomers” trying to keep their head above water culturally, I guess.

One of the biggest games to be released this year is Starfield and it really needs no introduction at all. I’m only bringing it up on my blog for metrics (every little bit helps) and also to remind common plebs out there (like myself) that the game will be available to play on September 6th 2023 globally. Every influencer under the sun and rich person will have access to the game starting September 1st; so be weary of spoilers and gameplay footage if you want the “naked” experience of going into the game blind. By the time you read this blog, official reviews should be plastered all over the internet.

I think I’m not alone to say that the recent inflated prices of absolutely everything as of late is quite concerning. My wife and I were going over our monthly expenses on what we were spending on, and we took a moment to humorously look back at what we used to spend on when we were younger. Of such things were anime figurines. That’s not to say that we don’t continue to spend on such things and hobbies, but we definitely don’t spend as much as we used to. What caught me off guard in doing some surface level research on recent figures is that their quality and price has gone up exponentially. I remember clearly buying figures “back in the day” for about $70 ~ $120 max. We’re talking shipped to my door prices too, not just sticker. So seeing inflation take its toll alongside the dramatic increase in workmanship in newer releases really makes me want to get back into the hobby one day… that is of course if I can get a winning lottery ticket. Just for those unaware, a regular “burger combo” here in California averages $10.

Artist is FiRez

This month’s artist of the month is FiRez. I made a blurb a few months ago about how AI art isn’t really “quite there” yet since it too heavily relies on human feedback rather than organic creativity. FiRez style is exactly what I enjoy in good o’l fashioned human talent. Please check out his Patreon and support him if you like his work; he also has a lot of public samples on his DeviantArt.

It's Hot And Random

Audio Blog

〰️

Audio Blog 〰️

I’m in the middle of a random heatwave right now in California, so the topics this month are going to be random as well for the heck of it! As always, the videos below are going to be mostly via YouTube so if you have trouble watching it from your region of the world; please look into a VPN on accessing the content. I have no sponsorships from anyone so use whatever works.

I made a vow and promise in 2023 that I wasn’t going to bitch much about YouTube this year. I’m upholding that rule, so let’s make this brief. YouTube sent me another cryptic notice about community standards WITHOUT specifically stating any particular rule I broke or have broken. This is a running theme with YouTube and folks who tow the line like myself but don’t go out of their way to break the rules. In essence, YouTube is trying to muscle me off the platform but taking away my ability to do certain things piece by piece. Even more questionable is that they want me to “verify” my identity to re-enable or grant special features, which seems like a super passive-aggressive way of trying to blackmail me with my own personal information. If someone really didn’t like me right now for example, worst case scenario they would be directed to my website. If I “verified” myself to YouTube, there would be a lot more private information they have. To close this out, I want to remind everyone that I have never intended to make or have made a single cent from my YouTube channel (and at this point probably never will). I hope the few folks that read this remember the Kickstarer I attempted last year in November moving forward, and why I would really like this site to explode in content and ability if possible.

Final Fantasy is one of the most known jRPG franchises across the entire planet. So it’s no surprise that a lot of folks have different opinions on which one is the best, the most memorable, and the most deserving of praise. But did you know all the little details about the game(s) and its fandom? Probably not, so the above 6 hour video will deep dive you into some of the most iconic games of the series to date. For the boomers out there, it will probably invoke some good nostalgia while the younger generation might be inspired to check out what all the fuss is about.

During my physical rehab the last 2 months, I had a lot of time on my hands to revisit some of my older hobbies I had back when I was in college. One of these hobbies was making miniatures and associated themed scenery. Back then DIY kits were really cheap, and the materials you needed were strictly up to you. Kits were basically a set of detailed instructions on “what to do” with suggestions on what materials you could use and how to create certain effects. Nowadays things have become a lot easier (but still challenging) to make these little miniature sets, so I thought I would link you some relaxing videos of folks who are really good at building these things. The BJD bunny girls are extra cool and related to miniatures, since they adhere to the 1/12 scale standard. I’ll probably deep dive into this topic one day when I have the time or the platform to do so, but in any case I hope you find it somewhat interesting nonetheless.

Going to give a well deserved throwback to my boy EmpLemon and his thought provoking videos. I don’t want to add too many words to explain this video because I think it explains itself. If you typically skim by most of my content (or are new to the site), I highly recommend you watch this video above all else in this month’s update because it hits home the most for me and possibly you as well. It’s the type of pop-culture philosophy that I try to spread on my toast every morning.

Starfield technically releases in September, but because it’s one of the biggest game announcements for the entire year I think it’s worth mentioning now a month away. I’m a long time Bethesda fan due to the open world nature of their games and the modding communities that always form around them. Once modding becomes mature for a certain game, you can literally gets hundreds of hours of additional content. In any case I look forward to a ton of bugs and user frustration on Day 1 launch of Starfield alongside everyone else. It wouldn’t be a Bethesda game after all if I didn’t have a ton of glitches at launch, but that adds to the charm in my opinion!

I know that a lot of my long time followers from YouTube are always looking for new games to play. I just want to throw it out there that times are changing rapidly, and that some new games (that would of been on mobile normally) are now coming out on the PC platform first before going over to mobile. There are always new things to test, and you don’t have to wait for me to try them out. Especially if they’re the “free to play” variety and often times in a different language. Although the game above “White Clothes” is not a dedicated lewd game (what I usually look for), it is obviously booba focused enough where I gave it a shot. And although I had no idea what was going on, the fact that the entire game is free (literally - it’s not a gacha) on Steam is quite amazing.

Artist is coa (u6u612)

Artist of the month is coa (u6u612)! A tribute to one of the characters from Destiny Child which announced its closure date for September 2023. You can read more details about in the Mini News section on my site. Moving forward from this point on, make a habit of bookmarking the Mini News section as I might be a lot more active there because of the recent YouTube debacle. If I see the visitors go up, I’ll probably start being a lot more active. Better yet, I have (almost) complete creative control, so you’ll know it’ll be good. See you next month, stay safe!

Back To Normal

Audio Blog

〰️

Audio Blog 〰️

It’s MURICA’s birthday month, so starting off with some patriotic cheesecake is the order of the day! Also feels good to be back to my normal topics again after a long couple of weeks dealing with various personal health issues. Upward and onward with July’s update and a quick reminder to check out my mini news section for those of you who visit the site infrequently. (Video credit to DivideByeZer0)

Artist is makinosaka

So we’re going to start things off a little differently this month by talking about all the gaming news first than the “normie” stuff afterward. Thanks to a YouTube follower of mine @henriq1166, he let me know that Brown Dust 2 went into official release recently and that the game is available to play globally. I personally find the game to be of excellent production qualities but unfortunately not my particular cup of tea. But I want to strictly point out that this is my personal opinion and not a demerit to the quality of the game itself. I feel folks looking for a jrpg / srpg game will have a lot to like about BD2 so I advise you check it out. The above video by IWinToLose Gaming does a pretty good job summarizing BD2 and should allow you to make a decision whether or not the game is something you might like.

I’m a long time Yakuza fanboy, so my ears perked up quite a bit when it was announced that a new game in the series would be releasing this year on November 9th. On top of that another game will come out afterward early next year, date to be determined. You can jump into the series right now if you haven’t done so already since there are so many sales and promotions for the remastered releases as well as the newer titles. If you have Xbox game pass, you can play all of it for “free”, while the rest of you can snag the entire collection cheapy from other places like GoG.

Let’s slide right back into the normie stuff now with a video that is 18 hours long! I came across Plainly Difficult during my rehabilitation period recently. I had a lot of time on my hands and didn’t have a lot of things to watch, so I was lucky enough to find his channel chock full of interesting stories throughout the world that involved the usual expectation of mankind. Although I don’t like adding negative stuff on my blog for the sake of it (cause there’s so much of it already out there), I do find these videos to be done in a tasteful and non-sensationalized manner. I hope you like the content as much as I did, especially since I don’t want any of us to suffer from the “Ostrich Effect” by avoiding negative news on purpose.

Take it from someone who has been in physical rehabilitation for the last couple of weeks; it sucks being trapped indoors all day long. Unless you found 2020 to be the most exciting year of your life, chances are going outside to do stuff is probably a lot better. Even as a middle-aged gamer and internet nerd, I tend to yearn for some fresh air and some really bad food from time to time. So, I just wanted to remind all of you that summer (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is upon us soon. Get your butt out of the chair and go do something while the weather is good and your health allows you to!

Artist is Mirco Cabbia (Sciamano240)

Artist of the month is Mirco Cabbia! If you didn’t read last month's blog (shame on you!) basically, Mirco is the type of artist that most AI algorithms will base their designs off of to some degree. If you look though his portfolio of work, you’ll notice the dynamic nature of the poses of the characters is still a lot better than most “static” poses that AI tends to favor (at least for now). In any case, check him out if you want a lot of eye candy and exceptionally well done art. And that wraps up July 2023! Hope you’re all doing well, and don’t forget to enjoy summer now that it’s here.

AI Won't Save My Vision

Audio Blog

〰️

Audio Blog 〰️

Just a warning that this month’s blog is going to be really weird and rambly. It will be a heavy op-ed on AI as well a deep dive into my personal life as of late. I’ll try my best to weave the two subjects into something interesting so that it doesn’t come off in any way to be self serving or boring as a whole. And of course, we’ll end the blog with some lewd stuff cause it’s me after all and a clear sign a bot didn’t write everything!

In the last couple of months, I’ve done my best to dodge the topic of AI on every website and news post I’ve come across. It’s not that I have no interest in the subject, but the conversation has not been really in depth on the material except sensational headlines and short audio clips. This is worsened by the fact that the people who speak loudest on the subject have absolutely no clue how it works. The above video from Mentour Now! is a rare level headed view on AI “in general” and what it really is in its current state and implementation. In my interest circles (namely pop culture and video games), AI has been “downgraded” to nothing more than a tool used to make “copy cat” art. It also has the time to write strange articles mimicking objectively horrible mainstream video game aggregator pages. It’s a shitty narrow view of what AI really is, but it’s the rhetoric of Discord and social media; hence my avoidance on the subject as much as possible until now.

Artist is FaeJunkie

I implore you to listen to the audio portion of the blog to fully get all the nuance I’m about to drop about AI as it stands in the art world. In this written portion, I’m going to grossly oversimplify my points as much as possible. AI art generation as it stands is doing its best to use pre-established inputs to make an amalgamation of outputs that suit a criteria base. In essence, AI art at the moment is like a human cosplayer. AI is doing its best to resemble a particular character / subject with whatever conditions its restrained to and resources (inputs) available. Human cosplayers are no different in the same context, as they work within the boundaries of what they have available to them (resources and talent) in order to mimic someone (or something) from a fictitious environment. Basically nothing is created from nothing, but something is created from something else. I hope this extremely limited example makes sense and that AI isn’t stealing anyone’s art; it’s human beings telling it to mimic (or steal) something else because it’s already there (the concept). The above two pictures are what people consider to be generated “normally”, as the Gardevoir drawn by Faejunkie is a heavily anthromorphized Pokemon wearing skimpy armor. The cosplayer (source unknown since it’s public domain on pixabay) is an actual photo taken of an actual human being.

From Twitter User @ryyyyyyyo

The picture above is recent and is entirely generated by an AI. The AI was told to draw an “Otaku Circle Princess”, a concept so foreign and meme like that any non-Japanese English speaker in the world would have absolutely no reference about. Neither did the AI that was asked to draw it too. So using what information it could gather about Otakus, Circles, Princesses, and similar group photos of actual people; it did its best. Naturally you have a bunch of errors right off the bat that is typical of AI drawings. The lighting (and cast shadows) are all wrong or off. The lighting intensity is different across the individuals in the scene as well as the background. Background shapes and figures are obviously off (check out the car in the backdrop). And of course the additional digits on any hands in the photo are pretty evident. But all of that really isn’t the point I’m trying to convey. What I am trying to convey is that the AI is doing its best to draw something “we” like and is familiar to other reference points. I’ll list what the AI did that you probably didn’t know

• Everyone is drawn to be blemish free

• Everyone is relatively attractive and youthful

• All standing positions are modeled after real photos of people standing for a picture

• The background is a 1:1 copy of a photo that exists, but is not in itself a real place

• There are thousands of photos of 6 people standing like this; AI just copied the positions

• Otaku is a Japanese term. AI uses models that mostly look Korean because K-pop is popular

• Otaku personality is not taken into consideration for the fashion choices used for clothing

• AI always uses metrics to make its decisions on what people like rather that what is accurate

• Dozens if not hundreds of people critiqued previous attempts to do the very same thing

• After enough people giving feedback, AI will eventually “accurately” draw an OCP by the standards given by people

• AI is only as accurate is what is people say it is. If everyone said the color of a strawberry is neon purple, it would only draw strawberries as neon purple

Artist is Kaki Man

At the end of the day, AI is extremely dependent on the feedback we give it. And the most important thing to note is that many of us who appreciate art (in whatever form it comes in) are not ourselves artists. So there’s a clear distinction to be made that the end product is often times “good enough” for those who don’t have a critical eye or have reference points to draw upon. What I’m getting at is that we like what we like, and there are numerous things out there we didn’t realize the source material to (nor care of) its roots. AI itself is no different, in it cares not what it draws for accuracy. It draws because people want it to draw something they like. And it will only be as creative as the people who it references.

This next portion of the blog is completely skippable if you don’t care, as it’s a personal update on my overall health as of late. I highly advise you all listen to the accompanying separate audio blog in regards to this as I explain in great detail what I’ve been going through the last couple of months. For the written portion of course, I’ll be as brief and drama free as possible. My eyesight is failing me, particularly in my right eye in which I have been diagnosed with Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO). My right eye has non-diabetic macular edema and has a high chance of being permanent for the rest of my life. Treatment (that I’m on) is really meant to stop any further degradation and “stabilize” what good vision I have. The picture above is a mini-example of what my vision looks like in my right eye. The center panel is my current state, while the right panel is what may happen if I didn’t pursue treatment as I did.

I want to make clear I do not want my condition to be some sort of excuse for pity or attention. My condition is really just an example I want to use to help motivate others (like yourself) not to procrastinate in life. The above video is a good academic presentation about the harm of putting things off. I can’t stress enough that life can change at any time with any warning to anyone. It is why I try my best to avoid drama whenever possible on my blogs because the little time I have every day can be afforded to things I enjoy. I can’t fathom the notion that anyone would dedicate any of their time to negativity and wallowing in it, when the clock is ticking down for all of us the moment we’re born. So I’m encouraging you from this point forward for the rest of your days; start living life and doing the things you’ve been putting off. Take it from someone who has 90% of their vision left now, you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow for good or ill. So the present is no better time to get things done.

Artist is Cho!Cho!

That ends this month’s rather strange (but hopefully interesting) update! The artist of the month is Cho!Cho! and the lovely Eternity from Last Origin. Also a reminder that June marks the beginning of the warmer months here in the northern hemisphere; so get out there and start enjoying some sunlight!