Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters, and — as alluded to earlier — remove watermarks from existing photos. - TechCrunch
"The solid bronze severed head of Melbourne’s decapitated King George V statue was reported to have briefly reappeared in public, gracing the stage during a performance by Irish rap group Kneecap.” - Irish Times
"'Creating is my way of life; perhaps it’s a form of self-defense. Sculpting is healing, a form of struggle, and therapy all at once,’ Meliksetyan explained. So long as he draws breath, Meliksetyan has never considered abandoning his art.” - Hyperallergic
According to the NYT, all is well: “The expansion is about as sensitive and deft as one could hope for. At moments, as in a voluptuous new marble staircase and airy auditorium, it approximates poetry.” - The New York Times
“Throughout the years, we've certainly had vocal audience members or community members who've questioned some programming choices. … But what we have never encountered is elected officials trying to dictate what we should and should not be showing.” - NPR
Movies, music, cats, and … football. “I’ve supported Arsenal for nearly all of my life, since I was 4. I try to go several times a year to Emirates Stadium. There’s often moments of crushing disappointment that you become very familiar with.” - The New York Times
Translators, photographers, illustrators: all are suffering, thoroughly. But some still say they use ChatGPT to help with work - and to help with personal tasks as well. - The Observer (UK)
“The performance was both a gesture of support and a spiritual offering. One dancer described the event as a way to send energy and love to the Pope through movement. An actor who joined the gathering said the experience deepened his sense of faith and human connection.” - Reuters (Yahoo)
Joe Russo, director of Avengers: Endgame and some other things you might have heard of or seen in the company of many other people, said, “Popular films were winning Oscars before the mid ’90s, then Weinstein started mudslinging campaigns.” - Variety
"I was conscious ... that I was part of a collectively realised beauty. And that it was as that beauty fell in plaintive harmony on those two words – wept and remember – that I felt the sweetness of living being restored to a memory.” - The Guardian (UK)
“The cost of fighting lawsuits and responding to an influx of inquiries during the coronavirus pandemic — when hundreds of people believed they had found an original van Gogh ... — has made the museum increasingly resistant to authentication requests.” - The New York Times
“Amazon is forcing Echo users to make a couple of tough decisions: Grant Amazon access to recordings of everything you say to Alexa or stop using an Echo; let Amazon save voice recordings and have employees listen to them or lose a feature set to become more advanced.” - ArsTechnica
The Board, which has been purged and replaced by Trump loyalists, will take up a resolution that says, "The committee will recommend a slate of honorees to the Kennedy Center’s president for approval.” And we know who that is. - The New York Times
Classic Looney Tunes show are now gone from Warner Bros’ Max, though some remain on Warner Bros’ channels for kids. But otherwise, that’s all, folks. - Vulture
