36. The Jeff Bezos rowing boat
I.
The YouTube algorithm suggested the video Jeff Bezos Rowing Boat. In the image, it looks like an NFT, but no, this is actually a rowing boat that resembles the face of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. It’s the best video I’ve seen in a long time.
This creator, who works under the alias Bobby Fingers, is first and foremost a craftsman. The video might look like a meme, and it is, but it’s far better made than necessary. This model and prosthetics maker clearly has years of experience. The making-of process for this Jeff Bezos boat is worth watching in its own right.
But then it turns out Bobby Fingers also has a tremendous talent for deadpan humour and simply the knack for making high-quality videos. This is only his fourth full-length YouTube video, following clips in which he creates dioramas of the arrest of a drunk Mel Gibson, a Steven Seagal headlock and Michael Jackson with burnt hair. I couldn’t click ‘subscribe’ fast enough.
---II.
The wildest rollercoaster ride in the tech industry can be found at OpenAI: as the creator of ChatGPT, it is one of the most exciting companies of the moment. On Friday evening, founder and CEO Sam Altman was sacked. With harsh words from the board, which said it “no longer had confidence in his ability to lead OpenAI”.
No one saw it coming, not even Altman himself. As recently as last week, he was still speaking on behalf of OpenAI at various events. Until he was called up on Friday to log into a Google Meet at a moment’s notice. There he found the entire board, minus co-founder Greg Brockman. During that call, Altman was told he had been sacked and that the company would be making this public shortly.
Not long after, Brockman was invited to a board meeting, where he was informed of the coup. This apparently did not go down well: Brockman resigned from the board. “Based on today’s news, I’m stepping down,” he wrote on X. Altman and Brockman spoke immediately with investors and friends and were planning to start a new company.
Reactions within OpenAI to the departure of the two co-founders were reportedly shocked. A number of employees are said to have expressed their intention to follow Altman and Brockman if they were to set up a new company. That would have caused a great deal of chaos at OpenAI.
And then came a new plot twist. OpenAI’s board is reportedly back in talks with Altman and Brockman, following pressure from investors. “Sam Altman returning to OpenAI after just one day reminds me of Steve Jobs returning to Apple after 12 years, but for the TikTok generation,” I read on X.
Altman has now been temporarily succeeded by Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati. It is all the more striking that she sent Altman a heart on X after he, in response to all the support from the company, wrote: “I love the OpenAI team so much”.
At the moment, it is completely unclear who belongs to which camp in this tech drama (even within OpenAI), what exactly happened and how things should proceed from here. In short: a real treat!
III.
I’ve been hooked on Cat Power Sings Dylan this week. Singer Cat Power recreates the legendary Bob Dylan performance that became known as the Royal Albert Hall Concert. That concert actually took place in 1966 at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, but early bootlegs had the wrong title, which is why we all now think it was at the Royal Albert Hall.
This was the concert where, after an acoustic first half, Dylan brought on a band for an electric second half. This earned him the wrath of the audience. They thought he was a traitor, a sell-out. One of them shouted “Judas”, to which Dylan replied: “I don’t believe you”. He then asked his band to play Like a Rolling Stone “fucking loud”.
It’s not that easy to make a good cover album. But Cat Power has succeeded. She makes Dylan’s songs her own, but doesn’t stray too far from the originals. She follows the same setlist as Dylan did in Manchester in 1966, but recorded the songs at the Royal Albert Hall. For a live audience. One of the audience members was a bit too quick off the mark with his “Judas”, which on this album can be heard before Ballad of a Thin Man. “Jesus,” replies Cat Power.
---IV.
Seville is a beautiful city, especially at this time of year. 24 degrees and sunshine is perfect for wandering from one terrace to the next. The choice of tapas is so vast that you have to look hard to find the same thing twice. And everything tastes good, but some things taste even better. The barbecued Iberico pork brioche at Catalina La Barra. Or the oxtail on focaccia at El Pasaje.
Be sure to pop into Plaza de España, if only because a scene from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones was filmed there. Who knows, you might bump into Eugene Levy (American Pie, Schitt’s Creek) twice in the city, as he’s filming his new travel series The Reluctant Traveller there. And if you get the chance: go to Sevilla FC when they play the derby against Real Betis.
A short photo series from last weekend.
PS.
The new album by The Smile (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner) is due out on 24 January 2024. Two months later, the band will be playing at AFAS Live. That’s one of those things you can cling to during the dark months. There’s also a new track out already, Wall Of Eyes, with a video by director Paul Thomas Anderson.
---The last Outkast album was released in 2006. After 17 years, Andre 3000 is back with a new solo album: New Blue Sun. Not hip-hop, but meditative music featuring a flute. He wouldn’t know what to rap about at his age, says Andre 3000 in a candid and entertaining conversation with GQ. Or, as the title of the first track on the album goes: I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time. A successful experiment, as far as I’m concerned.
---Sometimes you only know you want something when you see it. The trailer for Pokémon Congierge looks like a wonderful stop-motion holiday. Coming to Netflix at the end of December.
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