83. Better than a Happy Meal
I.
The video below is fantastic. It really is. I love stepping down strange rabbit holes and am incredibly jealous of the one Cabel Sasser (creator of Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, among others) fell down.
When he walked into a McDonald’s in Washington, he found a mural there that was far better than it ought to be. Signed with the artist’s name: Wes Cook. An unknown artist who also designed costumes for puppets in children’s programmes and sets for theme parks and restaurants.
It’s a good story and it has resulted in a new online archive featuring scans of work that was almost lost. I’m glad Sasser walked into that McDonald’s, so that Cook can be posthumously put in the spotlight.
---II.
And the Nobel Prize goes to… artificial intelligence. Scientists John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton won the Nobel Prize for laying the foundations for what we now know as artificial intelligence.
Prize winner Hinton in particular is worth mentioning. He is known as ‘the godfather of artificial intelligence’. It was therefore surprising that he resigned from Google last year because he is concerned about the rapid development of the technology. Since then, he has described AI as a direct threat to humanity. “Millions of jobs could be lost and elections could be influenced by fake videos,” he recently told Der Spiegel. “This type of AI makes it possible to carry out much more sophisticated cyberattacks and to develop highly efficient, malicious viruses for biological warfare.”
Nevertheless, the 75-year-old scientist has no regrets that laying the foundations for AI was his life’s work. Hinton says he always believed his work would contribute to a better world. “But the consequences were unpredictable; the knowledge was lacking. That’s how it was for me. It wasn’t until 2023 that I realised how quickly the technology was developing and how catastrophic it might become.”
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is also linked to AI. It goes to two researchers from Google DeepMind and a biochemist who together devised a technique to unravel the structure of proteins. Scientists had been trying to crack the code for decades, but with the help of AI, they have finally succeeded.
That’s putting AI to use in a brilliant way.
III.
I’ve played some amazing games in virtual reality. Tetris Effect, Rez Infinite, Thumper, Beat Saber. Yet my love for VR never really took off. This week I dug my Quest 3 headset out of the cupboard again to give it another go. An interactive film caught my eye: Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom.
Gundam is fantastic. When I used to watch the Gundam Wing anime series on TV on Saturday mornings as a child, a whole new world opened up to me. The opening sequence alone. Teenagers piloted enormous fighting robots. The political storyline went a bit over my head at the time. But the sounds of mechs battling each other with lightsabres and laser beams were a real treat. Clang! Zzzzzing!
In theory, my childhood dream of piloting a Gundam myself could come true in this VR adventure, where you watch from the cockpit. You’re expected to pull a few levers yourself to fight. A bit clunky, but it’s still pretty cool. Just like the moment you first enter a hangar where the giant robots are standing by for a mission. The sense of scale really comes across in VR.
If you look a bit closer, the reality is a bit of a let-down. The presentation of the story feels detached, which is a shame for a VR film you’re actually inside. You don’t view most scenes from the protagonist’s perspective, but from a fixed camera angle. You can’t move, only look around. There’s too little happening to keep it engaging, though the film does have its moments.
This wasn’t quite it, but I’m still hoping for the ultimate Gundam VR spectacle.
---IV.
And now for this week’s Halloween film corner.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a film about two coroners (Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch) who, one evening, receive a body with which something strange is going on. During their autopsy (don’t be put off by the rather gory cutting), all sorts of strange things suddenly start happening. A surprising film that not enough people are talking about.
Saul Bass is a well-known graphic designer. Among other things, he created the posters for *[The Shining](https://www.tordoff.com/shop/p/the-shining-saul-bass-poster)* and *[Vertigo](https://www.rockpaperfilm.com/artworks/categories/19/9507-saul-bass-vertigo-1958/)* and created [the opening sequence for ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj6aBuC1Lb8)*[Psycho](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj6aBuC1Lb8)*. Bass also directed a film himself: *Phase IV*. In it, something happens in the universe that causes the intelligence of ants on Earth to develop at lightning speed. They build strange structures and pose a threat to humanity. Bass filmed the insects in close-up and, strangely enough, manages to give them a storyline. It is a bizarre and detached film that looks stunning. I couldn’t resist and ended up watching another part of *Final Destination*. The second film in the series begins with a brilliant scene on the motorway, cleverly introducing all sorts of characters who later perish in a pile-up. At least, that’s what would have happened had the protagonist, Kimberly, not intervened. But Death doesn’t like it when someone thwarts his plans, so the survivors’ lives are far from safe. It’s an incredible B-movie, but I found this instalment more entertaining than the first. ---PS.
Forget Wordle and Connections. Gisnep is my new favourite daily puzzle. You see a crossword-style grid and above each column are letters that need to go somewhere in the squares below. This way you make words that together form a quote from a book. Here’s the full explanation from creator David Friedman (from the excellent blog Ironic Sans).
There’s an app for that! It used to be a wonderful thing, but now your phone is flooded with apps you hardly ever use. Please, writes The Atlantic, don’t make me download yet another app.
I haven’t seen it yet, but the acclaimed filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt has released a new short film, and that’s always cause for celebration. Judging by the trailer and the description, this looks set to be another absurd film: A musical odyssey about the retreat of humanity into itself. Available to watch for four and a half euros on Vimeo.
---I’m watching Kaos on Netflix and thoroughly enjoying it. Jeff Goldblum as a modern-day Zeus – what more could you want? Unfortunately, Netflix always wants more (money and viewers) and has already cancelled the second season. What on earth are we doing here, wonders Aftermath.
The first proper trailer for A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. I just hope the film turns out well; it won’t be released in the Netherlands until February next year.
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