#i think its hilarious that i gained a new power (digital art) and THAT was one of the first things i decided to do with it tho

[blueskittlesart]

your furry gravity falls art is still better than twink sexyman human bill cipher, the pines twins would have loved you’re eleven year old furry fanart

this tbh also i think dipper was definitely a closet furry at one point in his life. eleven year old me knew exactly what was going on there

[inventors-fair]

Shining Stars

So, this contest got pretty wacky and wild. There were a lot of people experimenting with what Characteristic Defining Abilities (or CDAs) could do to a card. I think a lot of people were trying to go as far from the norm as possible without going over, like some card designer’s version of price is right. While I did encourage and appreciate creativity, I wish I had seen a few more people playing it safe and putting new abilities on existing star cards.

But enough of me rambling, let’s get to me talking! If you’re looking for your card, they are sorted top to bottom alphabetically by the name of the entrant. If you were a winner or runner-up, your commentary was on the post marking you as such.

@antmations​ - Keldon Lightning-Slinger

I like what the star does here. If they’re your only shaman (somehow), it’s an aggressive 3/1 that can get in for damage. If you have a board of shamans, it gains enough toughness to be a defensive wall while you use its ability to start controlling the board. As effectively as you used the star, though, the card has two big issue. The smaller issue is that the card doesn’t really seem green at all, but I can understand how the set as a whole would need it to be green to cement the archetype in two colors and encourage splashing. The bigger issue is that the ability is ridiculously strong. Most cards that can repeatably do 3 damage to creatures are either mythics, 6+ mana, or both. At a minimum I think it needs a mana cost or needs to tap itself. As it is now, your opponent can’t play a creature with <4 toughness as long as you have two shamans, and if you have four shamans they’re practically hard locked from playing creatures.

@arakis-selfinsert​ - Krark, Thumbless Gambler

You’ve mentioned that the star is really more of a way to track the activated ability than anything, and I respect that. In silver-bordered land, I also don’t mind as much that one bonesplitter massively changes this guy’s math, because it’s all just coin flips anyway. Also, this card doesn’t NEED to be silver-bordered, since black-border has coin flips, but I doubt this would see print there, so I appreciate the fact you did it preemptively. I will warn you though, I don’t like the last ability. Not only is it fairly weak, it’s really slow and tedious to actually perform, and the phrasing means that all of the damage will go to one target that is picked before you flip the first coin. I don’t blame you for missing that interaction, the rules are pretty awkward when it comes to targeting mid-ability. There’s a reason Karplusan Minotaur and the Battlebond coin-flip guys are phrased the way they are.

charmera - Candle-Wrought Caretaker

I was scared at first when I saw the art the fact that it was a two mana 4 power haste creature, but then I realized it has both a skaab-style additional cost (even if not phrased as one, though it probably should be) and a magmaroth-style shrinking effect. Even so, I think 2 mana is just way too cheap for this kind of effect on such an efficient body. That said, I really like the design of the card, and I love the way it interweaves the downside and upside, and how it has an Endless Horizons type risk where if it dies before it does anything you’re out some important resources. I really like the card, but I wish it cost a bit more mana or was a little less aggressive in some way.

@corporalotherbear​ - Treasure Golem

Seeing this card in the discord made me change my example card, because it looked almost exactly like this, except it was a little cheaper, made one treasure, and counted all artifacts. So that’s a good sign! I like how you make it count itself, and in doing so turn it into a treasure, which seems cool and silly to me. I think this card does have two big issue, though: first, it’s colorless ramp, letting you go from 5 mana on turn 5 to 10 mana on turn two in any color. It’s not too much worse than composite golem or gilded lotus, but it could wreak havoc in some formats. Second, and this is what I was going to bring up in my example, treasures are very fickle. This creature wants you to make a bunch of treasures in your precombat main phase so you can attack with a big creature. However, if it gets blocked, you’e put in a really awkward situation in your second main phase. If you sac too many tokens, your golem will die from the damage marked on it. If you mis-tap mana on a digital client, your golem will die and it won’t let you undo. I think this card is really cool but I worry it might be asking a bit too much from the player.

@dubudder - Chandra’s Firemaw

It takes a little more work than I wish was necessary to play this over spark elemental. I like how the last ability combos with ball lightning effects, but I think most decks playing cards like that are going to have pretty empty boards. I’d really need to know what kind of support this card was getting in the set to know how playable it was. I think the card is a good design, but I think it could afford to be pushed just a little more compared to recent cards.

@demimonde-semigoddess​ - Erupting Wurm 

Wood Elemental… is that you? All joking aside, this card is… weird. I think the two directions to go with this card are either A) ramp a bunch then play this as a massive creature or B) use this to bounce a few lands so you can get more landfall triggers. I think the first version is going to be pretty rare, considering devastating summons doesn’t see much play and would usually be the better card compared to the wurm. The second version, bouncing 2-4 lands, might be nice in decks running llanowar scouts or Azusas, and especially as a flash reach creature to block with. It’s a pretty fringe use card, but not every card needs a perfect home, and I wouldn’t mind this card existing out there in the card pool. You’re also one of the only people to enter a card with a set it and forget it star card, so good for you! That said, if printed it’d probably just use +1/+1 counters.

@dimestoretajic​ - Riodan, Nature’s Watcher

Not much to say about this guy. I like his simplicity, I like how trample is green, crusader text is white, and countering is blue, but they all work with each other very well. He’s also got a crossbow, which is playing to the judge but you didn’t know that. The closest thing I have to a complaint with this guy is that he protects your other creatures even though it seems like he’d be the main target most of the time anyway. Having him and Shalai out seems hilarious though. He’s just a solid dude.

@dont-wanna-wanga​ - Extended Ego

I love how much care was put into this card to make it go in the deck that would use it. It needs to go in a deck that keeps cards in hand, which are usually defensive, so it’s a flying defender. It’s also one mana because most control decks need their defenses early, or to leave up mana in the late game. I’m also glad you let players take it back if they accidentally play it after topdecking or get hit with discard. My only gripe is that I wish the death effect were a trigger not a replacement effect, just because it seems like it should be. I also wish the cycling cost were a little higher, since it seems like it’s there mostly to give it a use if you topdeck it, and it might be a touch too strong otherwise.

@driftingthruthecosmos​ - Mura, the Discerning

An enchantment god that isn’t and enchantment creature. Neat. So this card is based all around enchantments, and being black-white, it cares about them in graveyards as well as in play. I think enchantments is a great thing to track since they are on the board and a lot of enchantment decks need good win-cons, and an indestructible */2 is a good way to get the job done. I don’t understand the combat condition, though. All of the Amonkhet gods had activated abilities that let them trigger attack in some way or another, but yours is about what to do after you trigger it. There aren’t a lot of easy ways to get enchantments to enter graveyards, especially pre-combat (since auras and enchantment creatures can die in combat), and I think the card is just weak enough that it’s hard to justify building around. If she were just a mana cheaper I think she’d be great, and if she had a way to sac enchantments she’d be amazing, but even as is I think she’s very good.

@fractured-infinity​ - Verdant Necrophage

This is one of the first cards that count counters on both sides that I really like. It still encourages filling your deck with -1/-1 counter creatures like channeler initiate, but its focus is on your opponents creatures. Thanks to how -1/-1 counters work, there will never be too high an amount on the board so it won’t be too hard to count, and when it goes down it’s usually from something dying so it’s all upside. I like how you got around the 0 toughness issue by putting -1/-1 counters on non-creatures on cast. It effectively acts like +1/+1 counters but could have fringe benefits being thrown on enemy creature lands or guardian idols. Giving two -1/-1 counters to anything on cast / every turn would normally be way too strong, so the non-creature rider is a clever way around that. It’s also a great way to dodge the 0 toughness issue, and has some fringe use against manlands and guardian idol type cards.

@ghost31415926535 - Apex Hydra

What a big hydra! I like how the base rate is effectively just a hydra with 2*X P/T, which is pretty good. With even some moderate building around this guy gets really big and strong. Normally I’d say counting counter on creatures including itself can make for some difficult math, but the fact that it’s just a vanilla creature otherwise helps keep it from coming up too often. I don’t know why you let it count your opponents’ counters, though, that seems like it won’t come up often but will get awkward when it does. Still, I really like the design.

@gollumni​ - Cymede, Claimed by Keranos

Hey, it’s what happened to Cymede! I like the continuation of the demigod cycle, with the implication that there is one for every two color combination. Devotion to two colors might be a little strong, considering Anax already sees play for practically being a vanilla creature, but it’s forgivable. That activated ability also looks like it could be really really strong in the right deck, though it’s awkward that it is at odds with Cymede herself, who much prefers permanents. Also, neither of these colors should be caring about enchantments in graveyard, even if it is Theros. The cards a bit mixed, but I really like it and I’m happy you picked up a trend and worked with it.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ - Towering Brontodon

What a monster he is! Reach and vigilance make this a great defensive creature while slowly accumulating advantage by dropping lands into play. However, players having extra lands in hand after they hit 7 mana is rare, and can make them feel like they’re wasting an ability. I think this card really needed some way to encourage that last ability to become relevant, either by somehow drawing cards or maybe having an ability that bounces lands to your hand. The dino is nice, and it’s big, but I don’t think anyone would be excited to see this in a booster pack.

@joecurryat​ - Tuali, Attuned with the Horde

So it’s a Heedless One but you get to choose the creature type. That sounds like a great deal, but I’ve got two gripes. First, this card essentially makes you discard a card when you play it, and worse yet a creature. It would need pretty good stats to make up for that. Second, it’s not very strong. Unless you have a massive board of creatures, this probably won’t even be a 5/5 most of the time, and if you’re playing it in a tribal deck, it would usually be better just to play a card of that tribe. At 5 mana, this card is just too much for too little. Maybe with some keywords or another zone to imprint from it might be more playable.

@jsands84​ - Kyuss, the Worm that Walks

Ah yes, eminence, the ability that everyone loves. I love the clear top-down design of this card, and the -1/-1 counter synergy is a cool build-around theme for a worm deck. This card has a lot of overlap with Hapatra as a -1/-1 commander, but the eminence ability pulls it far ahead. Too far ahead if you ask me. A lot of commander players consider eminence a mistake, and a free 1/1 every turn no questions asked is too strong, and making one on every player’s turn is ludicrously broken. A commander deck with Kyuss, 50 swamps, and 50 forests could win a surprising amount of games.

@kavinika​ - Eldrazi Gravelurker

Goyf got Eldrazi’d. While I’m not a huge fan of interacting too much with the exile zone, I think this might be the best way to do it. Making it count exile instead of graveyards fix a lot of issues with lhurgoyf; mainly that the graveyard is so volatile. I also like the ability, giving it some corner cases uses but also letting it interact with itself. I do worry that the card might be a bit too powerful, seeing that it counts ALL cards in ALL exile zones, meaning this could be a 4 mana 10/11 with upside in any color. I still think this would be a great fit for a set aimed at modern.

@legs-diamond​ - Spellbane Blockade

Someone wanted to get wacky! Good job figuring out just about the only way to make a card like this work. I like how, if you put a lot of work into getting a lot of spells on the stack, it limits your mana enough that you can’t just spam the ability and murder everyone. My big issue with this card is that it really doesn’t want to be a star card. If it had said RR: deal damage to any target equal to the number of spells on the stack, it would better serve its supposed function. As it is, slapping a bonesplitter on it just seems so much easier. At uncommon, one +1/+1 counter and waiting for your opponent to cast a spell just lets you pick off everything for little to no investment. I really appreciate you shooting for the moon, but I think you may have shot too far.

mardu-lesbian - Yarr-Harmogoyf

Great name, great creature type. So, let me get this out of the way: the adventure is way too strong. It’s Role Reversal with a free Misguided Rage tacked on and no card type restrictions. The creature half by comparison is just tacked on, and I suspect won’t usually be larger than a 5/5 unless you are already handily winning the game. I also think this isn’t a very good star card, and would probably be better off as just saying “this gets +X/+X” but I know this was a tough contest and you wanted to make to work. I think if you would have swapped the mana costs and dropped the 2s in place of the goyf’s traditional */*+1 this would have been a much more solidly designed card. And no matter what, this card is probably the entry that made me smile the most.

@milkandraspberry​ - Orphanage Watchdog

Good boy, friend of the children. I appreciate the attempt to stop the card from bugging out, though hopefully no one plays sakshima the imposter on it. I love the flavor and the cool effect. I think you could have made it a mana or two cheaper, though, considering it’s worse than crusader of Odric 90% of the time, I’d also be worried about this card dying as soon as it enters play. There’s also going to be awkwardness with it being pumped by your opponents creatures, meaning killing then will shrink your dog. I think this card would be really cool if only it’s power or toughness changed, and it checked creatures for the other stat. You were sadly one of the only people to submit a P/T card before the ask came in about the rules not allowing it.

@nine-effing-hells​ - Vengeance

Wow this card packs a wallop! So all you have to do is lose 10 life all at once and you get a 10/10+ with haste for two mana? Well, that actually doesn’t seem that bad. It can always just be chumped, and you are now at half your life or less. Still, it’s got fling and warstorm surge value. This is a really hard card for me to judge, because it’s sort of a death’s shadow for twice as much mana but with +7/+7, but it’s also sometimes a 7 mana 0/0. It also seems off color, since white usually wants your life high, not low. I think only the most dedicated of Jennies would try and make this card work.

@real-aspen-hours​ - Omnath, Hammer of Life

I like the throwback to classic Omnath, back when he had weird cool abilities instead of generic ones. That said, this card’s got issues. This star can get really high really quickly, and has some very unintuitive interactions with effects like prophetic prism. I also think the mana ability, while nice, is not really needed, since every player is already going to have a way to “turn on” the stars. I like what you were going for, but I think you picked something a little too challenging to keep track of and a little too easy to go off the rails with.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ - Eminent Belphagor

Grave Pact as a flyer with upside. I don’t see why not. A unique star value, to be sure, and I think the card does well to support it. At first the “dies” trigger instead of “is sacrifice” trigger seemed odd to me, since any death triggers the grave pact but only sacrifices change the power, but I can understand it as a way to push the card’s power a little. As much as I like the card, I think the mix of counting your creatures dying versus any creature sacrificing makes the card a little too hard to track, and the fact that it is generically good means it will go in decks that aren’t focused enough on sacrificing to keep track of the number normally. A high pick for most unique star value.

@shakeszx - Knowledge Piercer

I started reading the card and got scared but by the time I got to the end I was impressed. This is a really cool Viashino Sandstalker type ability that just gets bigger and bigger and can be a heavy hitter in the right decks. I think that this card might have a few tracking issues, since a player might draw into it in the middle of their turn, and be confused because they can’t remember how many cards they’ve drawn already. It shouldn’t be too bad, because those cards have got to have gone somewhere, but brainstorms and X costs draw spells can make this really difficult in the decks that need it most. However, I think this one is possibly the most helped by digital formats, since it’s almost closer to a burn spell than a creature, so you don’t really need to know the number, you just want it to be big. There’s also already some precedent, if small, to count card draws because of thundering djinn and thought sponge. I like the card, and could see it being printed and played.

@shandylamb​ - Daghatar, Eternal

I still have my daghatar EDH deck, for some reason, so I’m glad to see some abzan rep. There’s a couple of errors in the formatting (“are each equal” not “is equal”, capitalizing the keywards), but I like what you went for. I think you could have been fine doubling his P/T, considering he’s starting as a 2 mana 1/1 and then a 4 mana 2/2, but he makes up for his small size with his very good activated ability, which is a good way to incorporate his green color identity. I’m a little worried about how he will play, though, since most players will end up putting a die on him when he enters so they know his P/T, then might end up putting counters on him and lose count.

@snugz​ - Realmbreaker Demon

Having to sink 29 mana into a creature just to have it turn into a 5/5 flampler doesn’t seem worth it, especially when it starts as just a vanilla 4/4. Having to spend 54 mana to make it a Marit Lage also seems not worth it. If the level up cost were, say 1BB, I think this card could be really cool. I think it’s cool that the stars let you keep using level up as a sort of Carnivorous Moss Beast ability. I like how you accepted the challenge, I just wish you would have pushed the card a little more.

@socialpoison​ - Lurking Replacer

So, that last ability is clearly the focus here, and buy is it weird one. I like how it plays into the first two abilities, and in general I think it’s a cool effect. I will say it’s not clear to me where this card goes. In theory the star would like it to go in mill decks, but the unblockability makes me think tempo decks, and the last ability makes me think… control decks? I don’t know, it’s hard for me to figure out where that ability goes. I like the card, and the flavor is crazy good, but I just don’t know what to do with it.

@starch255​ - Spirit of Vigor

I figured I’d see a card like this, and you did it in a really cool way. I like how you recognized that a lot of lifegain comes from lifelink, and tried to adjust for that with the ability that I THINK works. Granting first strike is different than a lot of other keywords because there is exactly one point in the turn phase where it is checked. I think it’s one of the only reasons Kwende works. Anyway, the card is cool! I honestly wouldn’t have minded if you just used last strike, but calling out lifelink at least makes deckbuilding with this card clever. And it needs to be, because this might be the most difficult star to track (that doesn’t break the rules) of all the cards entered this week. Life gain regularly happens in almost every phase of the game, and so does life loss, making it insanely hard to remember how much life you’ve gained over the course of a single turn. I still really like the card, but I don’t think it would ever see print.

@teaxch​ -  Spirit of Discovery

Keyword stone soup. You get a bunch of abilities on your 5/5 but only if you put in the work. You listed Matca Raiders and Tek, but this also gives me a strong chromanticore and woodland wanderer vibe. I think this is a solid card that’s very easy to track and is fun to play and likes being put in the right deck. That said, a 5/5 for 4 with a bunch of keywords is just not that exciting. It will either die to removal immediately or run away with the game, but that’s just what green does nowadays so who am I to say.

@tmstage​ - Fiery Orator

This is a fun, very strong card. A couple slower burn decks might run this as a finisher, and in standard this could wreak havoc. I just don’t think there’s any easy way to track this card’s power. It counts all damage to players, planeswalker, and creatures, no matter how much and whenever it happens, which is going to be an absolute pain if you’re playing anything but the most straightforward of burn decks. I also think this card might just be too strong. Compared to war elemental, it trades off the sacrifice downside with having the power be temporary instead of permanent, but also gains trample and a lot of toughness and triggering off of ALL damage, even to you. Maybe I’m overselling this card, but I think at a minimum it would just be unfun to play against and linear when you are playing it yourself.

@wolkemesser​ - The Marovore

So, I’m pretty sure, as discussed in an ask on Tuesday, that this doesn’t work within the rules. The stars are there for humans playing the game: once they’re in the game, the stars essentially stop existing and the P/Ts are just what they are. Ignoring that, I appreciate that you put effort into turning the contest on its head. I think this could be a fun build around commander. “Draw a card when you do thing” is a tried and true commander formula, and the surveil rider is a cool way to make the card work with your theme. I think it may be a little basic, but I could see it being a fun card if the rules allowed it. Also, I like the name.

-

And I think that’s everyone! Thank you all once again for participating in the fair, I think everyone did a great job. It was fun running the fair for a week, hopefully it won’t be the last time.

-Mod @mistershinyobject​ signing off, for real this time

[aion-rsa]

The Righteous Gemstones Find GODD In Season 2

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Midway through the first episode of The Righteous Gemstones season 2, the Gemstone family preaches to a packed congregation at their megachurch, as they often do. The tone, however, feels a little different this time around.

“The Book of Matthew tells of nation rising against nation – a time of famines, pestilence, and earthquakes. Sound familiar?” patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) asks the crowd with a wink.

“Are you saying people need Jesus’s love now more than ever?” prodigal son Kelvin (Adam DeVine) responds, emerging from the crowd in trademarked ripped jeans. 

“Oh, we always need Jesus’s love, but especially now,” eldest son Jesse (Danny McBride) replies. 

For a moment, The Righteous Gemstones feels primed to do something unheard of for a comedy created by Danny McBride (who, along with frequent collaborators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green, also created the HBO series Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals). It seems as though the show is going to have its characters acknowledge current events, learn from them, and perhaps even grow from them, even if it’s in a cynical way to gain more tithe money. 

But instead of mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, or political instability, the Gemstones power through with what they really want to sell: GODD…or the streaming service known as “Gemstones on Digital Demand.” 

“It is time to stop the filth coming out of Hollywood. If they are gonna fill the airwaves 24/7 with that garbage, we gon’ do the same thing,” Jesse yells to the cheering crowd. 

The Righteous Gemstones season 2 is more of the same blend of insular idiosyncratic comedy and occasional poignant family drama that season 1 was…and thank God (or GODD) it is. Aside from one hilarious reference to COVID late in the season, no famines, pestilences, or earthquakes play a role in this second go-around for the Gemstone family. The Righteous Gemstones’ world is The Righteous Gemstones’ world, and the show is once again happy to invite you into it.

“To (the writers’) credit, we could have gone another way and really dove in deep on COVID,” DeVine tells Den of Geek. “But I think people are so sick of thinking about it. There’s still a death toll when you watch the news.”

According to executive producer and director David Gordon Green, ignoring the larger issues of the day is perfectly in line with the Gemstone family’s opulent lifestyle.

“These characters would have to somewhat acknowledge the world around them but there’s an entitlement and a self-absorbed quality that works organically to who we’re talking about,” he says. “The broad strokes of what’s going on on the Earth are not on their minds so much as opportunities of wealth.”

Opportunities of wealth abound for the Gemstones in season 2. Jesse and his wife Amber (Cassidy Freeman) have their family whole again, now that their own prodigal son Gideon (Skyler Gisondo) has returned home. Instead of quality family time, however, they’re right onto the next money-making scheme, which comes in the form of Lyle and Lindy Lisson (played by Eric Andre and Jessica Lowe), operators of a Gemstones-style megachurch in Texas.

For Jesse and Amber, the Lissons represent the chance to get in on the ground floor of the massive Christian-themed vacation timeshare Zion’s Landing…but also the opportunity to hang out with a fellow power couple. For McBride and the rest of the Gemstones team, introducing the Lissons also means getting to cast comedy legend Eric Andre of The Eric Andre Show, who very rarely acts in projects in which he doesn’t have a hand in behind the camera.

“It’s my first time scripted-acting in something I gave a shit about,” Andre says. “I’d rather be on both sides of the camera or just behind it. But these guys are so smart and talented and have such a nuanced perspective and point of view that I’ll do anything they do. They’re one of the few companies I trust. I think they make state of the art comedy.”

“I’ve been a fan of Eric Andre’s for a while,” McBride adds. “He’s such a lunatic and he’s so fucking funny. When we were trying to cast this role and think about who would bring this to life, the idea came about Eric. I think he brought such a cool energy to this. Jessica (Lowe) is so funny as well. Every time she was onscreen she had a special hot sauce she could throw on things to just elevate it.”

Eric Andre isn’t the only fresh face on the Gemstones set for season 2, in fact he’s not even the only new Eric. Season 2 delves deeper into the backstory of the all-powerful Eli Gemstone. A big part of that backstory is Junior, an unwelcome blast from Eli’s past played by Eric Roberts. The Mississippi-born Roberts has as expansive an IMDb credits page as anyone, but had somehow not yet acted opposite of the equally omniscient John Goodman. 

“He’s such a kind, generous actor. I can’t go on about him because it will sound fake if I do – it’s so overly effusive,” Roberts says. “He is the kindest, most prepared, funny, sweet, patient guy I’ve ever been on a set with. I’m just in love with him!”

Roberts was so eager to get in on the Gemstones world that he submitted “10 or 12” takes of the provided audition scene to producers to nab the role. As an actor with deep ties to the South, he felt quite attached to both the Memphis hustler Junior, and the outsized version of the region that the show has created. 

“What they’ve done is they’ve taken the South extremities and made them mainstream in the story. They’re so much fun to wallow in because they’re true. They make people laugh because they identify with it,” he says.

Those South extremities include exploring Eli’s previous life as a successful professional wrestler in late 1960s Memphis. And yes, that does mean that The Righteous Gemstones season 2 comes along with another fifth episode flashback “interlude”.

“It’s a great way to build a bigger depth to where these people come from,” McBride says. “Having flashbacks and interludes helps us get a sense of how (matriarch) Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles) was the heart of the Gemstones before her passing and everything went crazy. You see the seeds of a young Jesse, and Kelvin, and Judy. Both of the times we’ve done it, there is an emotional quality that I really respond to.”

There’s a lot going on in The Righteous Gemstones season 2. There’s barely even time to touch upon the introduction of Jason Schwartzmann as a nosy journalist, Kelvin’s “God Squad” of “muscular boys”, another murder mystery, and a heaping dose of Uncle Baby Billy Freeman (Walton Goggins) among the season’s nine episodes. Through it all, however, Gemstones remains its charming, bizarre self. And that’s because, despite the absurdity around the edges, it understands the core principle of the family’s success: all that singing and dancing. 

The Righteous Gemstones first season was highlighted by “Misbehavin’”, an absolute banger of a gospel tune from Aimee-Lee and Baby Billy Freeman from the aforementioned interlude episode. 

According to the cast, season 2 has a handful of musical earworm candidates of its own. 

“I feel like once a month I thought ‘well that’s going to be stuck in my head forever,’” BJ actor Tim Baltz says. “Misbehavin’ wasn’t a one off thing. There are like five or six this year. Everyone wrote their asses off. There’s going to be a hell of an EP to put out at some point.” 

Production on The Righteous Gemstones gets only two weeks of shooting availability at North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center that doubles as the Gemstones’ concert hall-sized church. All the religious and musical fervor that viewers see onscreen is packed into a fortnight of kinetic energy for the actors, hammering home why the fictional Gemstones would be so successful in the first place. 

“John (Goodman) preaching is John preaching. I’m believing every word he’s saying,” Amber actress Cassidy Freeman says. “If this were real, of course you’d be pulled into it. I think church at its core, before any of it gets political or weird, is about community. And if that community is a rock show every Sunday? Badass.”

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The Righteous Gemstones season 2’s first two episodes premiere Sunday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.

The post The Righteous Gemstones Find GODD In Season 2 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[ladystylestores]

Dispatches From Digital London Fashion Week, Day One – WWD

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LONDON — There was a multicultural feel to the first all-digital London Fashion Week, a three-day showcase that started on Friday, with designers from this bubbling melting pot of a city showcasing projects, discussing their thoughts about lockdown, and engaging with the public here and around the world.

It was more about conversations and ideas than clothes. There wasn’t much in the way of newness and the excitement and anticipation of watching a show was absent, in place of pre-recorded lo-fi videos. For the first time, the public could watch everything — and can continue to watch as the content will remain on the dedicated site in the coming months.

Daniel Fletcher was an exception, managing to build his own momentum and draw a robust audience. He was interviewed on Instagram Live by friend and journalist Naomi Pike as he launched his see-now-buy-now fall 2020 collection, and there was a freshness and spontaneity to the segment.

The chat was candid and lighthearted, with the up-and-coming designer speaking about everything from his love of karaoke, to interning for Victoria Beckham to making an “awkward but hilarious” flash appearance in the “73 questions” video Beckham was filming for Vogue at the time.

He also answered plenty of career-related questions to the more than 300 fans who tuned in live from across the globe. Viewers from Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Turkey and Kuwait sent Fletcher star-eyed emojis and declarations of love — a testament to his growing international audience following his Netflix fashion reality show and the reach a brand can achieve outside the catwalk.

He also spoke about how he gained recognition dressing Harry Styles, his ambitions to open a store in the near future to be closer to his community and the importance of staying agile.

Daniel Fletcher, fall 2020 preview.  Francisco Gomez de Villaboa / WWD

“We’ve done shows, presentations, films before. Having variety allows you to engage with different people,” said the designer. “Some of my favorite seasons were the early ones where we had no money and I was up all night sewing the collection by myself.”

Around 250 Instagram users tuned in to watch Hussein Chalayan share his thoughts about COVID-19, the fashion system and well-being. In conversation with the Norwegian publisher Elise by Olsen, the designer said lockdown has been both a claustrophobic and liberating experience. He said it gave him the time to slow down, cook more, reassess his archive and think about the future.

“The speed of fashion is disgusting,” said the designer, adding that he has stopped the production of his fall collection, and sampling for spring 2021. Instead, he is focusing on existing inventory, remerchandising items in a pan-seasonal way, and reissuing a few classic designs from his archive.

He also shared personal experience dealing with racism in the U.K. “If you have a funny name, you had it in school,” he said. He also suggested that the industry should value talent based on merit, rely less on nepotism, and approach sustainability, not from a production point of view, but from idea development, and think of prolonging the life of a garment from the beginning.

Marques’ Almeida released a heartwarming documentary about the birth of its new line ReMade, which includes new and classic designs made exclusively from deadstock and recycled fabrics.

Marques’ Almeida ReMade capsule.  Courtesy Photo

The film showcased intimate moments of the family working together in their studio in Portugal. When Paulo Almeida was doing the fitting with the model, Marta Marques would entertain their young son, while giving advice. Each piece from the collection will only be made when it is preordered from its web site. By doing so, the brand said it can reduce waste, offer flexibility with design, and increase rarity for the customer.

Marques said they made the collection for their children. She said in the film that “doing things differently is not just about the environment, it’s about questioning the system and why you keep going in a little hamster wheel. Just doing more and more collections, and producing more and more waste? You don’t always have to do that. That’s something we recognized recently, having a family, it becomes a priority, and your idea of success doesn’t mean doing more, it can mean doing something that’s meaningful.”

The showcase began with the poet James Massiah reciting a work called “Clio Corset” that the British Fashion Council had commissioned. “Let’s throw a party or two, throw some gladrags on. In your Clio Corset, me in Bianca Saunders, looking anything but shy,” he recited against the backdrop of a lush garden blooming with purple and orange flowers.

Priya Ahluwalia staged a virtual-reality-enhanced exhibition of photographs from her new book, “Jalebi.” The photos, shot by Laurence Ellis, trace strands of the designer’s work and what it means to be a young mixed-heritage person living in modern Britain.

Images from “Jalebi.” 

The men’s wear designer and LVMH Prize winner is of dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and has a master of arts in men’s wear from the University of Westminster. She said she wanted to represent “the beauty of diversity and how immigration enriches lives and community.”

Nicholas Daley premiered a short behind-the-scenes film of his fall 2020 collection called “The Abstract Truth,” while Lou Dalton talked about her creative process, the challenges of lockdown, and working with collaborators, including the photographer Mark Neville.

Designer Robyn Lynch shared a “home movie” to present a capsule collection of one-off deadstock pieces he created while in isolation, using materials left over in his home studio as well as donations from the cycling label Rapha.

Lynch shared heartwarming moments from his street, of neighbors clapping for health-care workers and friends calling him on Zoom.

Later in the day the mood felt heavier, almost post-apocalyptic, when the University of Westminster’s class of 2020 presented their graduate collections via video. Before the virtual presentations started, the students shared a powerful message calling out the lack of Black, Asian and minority ethnic educators in the current system and demanding anti-racist education.

University of Westminster student Halima Edward’s work. 

“Fashion education needs a reform. It needs to commit to introducing contextualized cultural learning objectives to inform the future cohorts entering the industry,” wrote the students.

They distilled their work into a few seconds each, with some choosing to dance in front of the camera modeling their clothes, while others shared clips of themselves hand-embroidering their designs or talking through their processes.

Halina Edwards, a Black student, spoke about using clothing, textiles or ‘zines as a vehicle for telling the stories of her culture and eradicating prejudice. One of her peers, who identified as a queer, white male designer, chose to forego presenting his collection in order to make space for a short pause and reflect on how “everyone can commit to an anti-racist future.”

Photos from Priya Ahluwalia’s “Jalebi” book.  Courtesy Photo

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Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/19

Black Clover, Vol. 17 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As predicted, friends are fighting friends in this one, as a good deal of the cast have been Possessed By Elves. Not Asta, of course; he’s our hero. But Yuno seems to be affected… except he proves to be the only one with the mental strength to throw it off. I’d roll my eyes at this if it weren’t Black Clover, a series that runs on clichés. Speaking of which, remember that nun from chapter one? The one Asta is theoretically still in love with? She returns here as the villains go after the orphanage, allowing Asta and Yuno to return and show off how much they’ve grown. Black Clover loves to run on things we’ve seen before, but this volume may have had a bit TOO much of that, as it was unsurprising. But still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – I will admit, this series is going to live or die on how far it takes the teacher student romance—I don’t THINK it’s endgame, but as with most shoujo it’s hard to make sure. (Shonen romances are nice enough to telegraph the winner in the first chapter.) It’s well-crafted, and the author seems to be aware of the issues it involves, but we shall see. Till then, I do enjoy the kids hanging out with each other, particularly when Suzume manages to be so sleepy during a study break that Yuyuya’s mask slips off and she starts berating her in front of everyone—though the masochistic guys she then starts to attract are less welcome. I enjoy the sense of humor and characters in this, despite some issues. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | VIZ Media – Daytime Shooting Star continues to be far better than it seems like it’s going to be, with a student-teacher romance at its core. The important factor, of course, is that Suzune’s love for Shishio is unrequited, though he does finally become aware of it at the end of this volume. One thing I really love is that there’s drama—Suzune has made friends with Yuyuka (who has a subplot of her own in which she slips up and shows her true belligerent self and gains some masochistic devotees as a result) and is attempting to shield her from the knowledge that the boy Yuyuka likes (Mamura) instead likes Suzune—but no cartoonish, over-the-top villains. There’s just complicated circumstances and likable characters and it’s all really great. I hope it doesn’t spoil it all by doing something stupid like hooking up Suzune and Shishio, at least while she’s still a student. – Michelle Smith

Emanon, Vol. 2: Emanon Wanderer, Part One | By Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsurata | Dark Horse Comics – This is two large short stories continuing the story of a young woman who has memories going back to the dawn of time. We get a better understanding of what happens when she moves from mother to daughter, and what happens to the mother—it’s disturbing and a bit terrifying, no surprises there. The current Emanon also has a twin brother, something that’s never happened before, and their reunion is as awkward as you can imagine. As for the first story, boy howdy that is a lot of nudity. It’s absolutely gorgeous—the art alone is worth buying this for. But boy howdy, that is an AWFUL lot of nudity. Interested to see where this goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 11 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – This volume gives us the Golden Kamuy equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde in two lovers, now reunited after he gets out of prison, who love to make love and also love to kill people. Naturally, they run afoul of the 7th Division, but the action sequences are absolute gold. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and company are running into a new outlaw running around defiling animals. Biblically. If you’re the sort to be bothered by a two-page spread of a man screwing a deer… well, you likely stopped reading Golden Kamuy long ago, but I feel I should give the warning anyway. It’s also sort of hilarious, like a lot of Golden Kamuy‘s grossest moments. Even for a series that runs on pure “what the hell?” this volume was pretty bonkers. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 3 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – Even when our lead couple have successfully coupled, there’s still intrigue. Zenjiro NOT taking a second lover is proving to be, you’ll pardon me, a royal pain, and his pretense (which is somewhat true) that he’s so gaga over Aura that he can’t even look at another woman will only take him so far. Worse, once Aura’s pregnancy gets out, it turns out that Zenjiro’s ancestors may actually ALSO be from this world, which means trouble if the two magical powers combine in their child. Fortunately, our hero is also really good at contractual language, something we rarely see in an isekai. I’ll be honest, this is a LOT more interesting than I was ever expecting. I want more. – Sean Gaffney

Queen Bee, Vol. 1 | By Shizuru Seino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I read Seino’s Girl Got Game back in the day, but truth be told, I didn’t like it very much. Queen Bee is definitely an improvement, though I continue to not love Seino-sensei’s approach to zany comedy. (I just think too hard about where random chainsaws came from, for example.) Anyway, the premise here is that Mihane Hirata is an aggressive girl with a scary face who’s in love with the class prince, Toma. He thinks she’s interesting and wants to get to know her, but doesn’t want her for a girlfriend. What I didn’t like was all the background characters who keep popping up to comment about how hideous Mihane is, but what I do like is both Mihane’s self-loathing and Toma’s insistence that she should just be herself. If this were longer, I might pass, but as it’s complete in three volumes, I will probably finish reading it. – Michelle Smith

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, Vol. 1 | By Take| Seven Seas – Given the titular heroine, all puns intended, and the fact that the book literally has a raised cover so you can see her boobs stick out, you would think this would in fact be pretty lewd. It’s not. Aside from one or two accidental gropes and a brief shot of Uzaki in the shower, this is not a title about boobs. What is it? Well, picture Teasing Master Takagi-san if she were actually bad at it. Uzaki really likes her sempai and wants to hang out with him all the time. He finds her overeager personality and ludicrous breasts to be rather exhausting, but doesn’t dislike her per se, so they do in fact hang out a lot. Slice-of-life then occurs. If you like that sort of manga, and can tolerate the breasts, this is worth a look. – Sean Gaffney

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | Viz Media – One of the manga debuts that I was most looking forward to this year was The Way of the Househusband. The premise is simple enough—a legendary yakuza boss known as The Immortal Dragon has left the underworld behind and now lives a his life as a stay-at-home spouse—but Oono’s execution is brilliant. The intensity, fervor, and complete earnestness of this former yakuza in his approach to household chores, shopping, and all the rest is magnificent to behold. I would certainly be interested in learning more about The Immortal Dragon’s wife and the story behind them settling down into marital bliss, but even if that is never more than hinted at, I expect The Way of the Househusband will continue to be immensely satisfying and ridiculous in the best sort of ways. I was not at all disappointed by the first volume and am eagerly awaiting future installments. – Ash Brown

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | VIZ Media – Tatsu used to be a revered yakuza known as “The Immortal Dragon,” but now he’s given up that life to pursue happy domesticity. Seldom has a series won my heart so quickly. It actually wasn’t the “cozy yakuza comedy” aspect, though that offers plenty of amusing scenarios, from Tatsu thoroughly intimidating an unscrupulous door-to-door salesman to drafting rival thugs to help him at a bargain sale to taking cooking lessons with a bunch of ladies to exclaiming “hot damn” over a great deal on cabbage. No, it was the cat, curiously sauntering into the background to survey the goings-on. The kitty has the best reactions (and some bonus chapters of his own). Tatsu’s career-woman/otaku wife Miku is great, too, and I look forward to the story of how they met. This short volume goes by swiftly, but it is quite the treat. – Michelle Smith

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love? Vol. 1 | By Nekomata Nuko and teffish| Sol Press – This book is like just eating pure sugar from the bag. For once the demon lord is the one summoned to another world. He’s fine with that, as a) everyone hated and misunderstood him in his own world, and b) his summoner is a hot young woman raising two cute orphan children. He’s nice. She’s nice. The kids are nice. Even the tsundere kid is really nice. There is an evil lord and his evil assistant, and they are the standard “I have no redeeming features” brand of evil, but you get the sense they were put in by editorial decree. The author just likes writing sweet married life scenes. I don’t know whether this deserves more volumes, but it was pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 3 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – It’s titles like these that make you realize the sorts of things Harry Potter didn’t do. After resolving the cliffhanger of the previous volume, Coco continues to learn how to be a witch, helped by a young man in a potions workshop who can’t see colors, which makes it hard to, well, tell potions apart, as absentminded folks don’t really label them well. He’s a smart cookie, though, and shows her a shortcut that might help save her mother. Meanwhile, a lot of forces are making things more difficult for her—both actual antagonists, giving her secret powerful ink, or her own teacher, who may be more of a smiling villain than anything else. One of the best new titles this year. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[mrmichaelchadler]

Home Entertainment Consumer Guide: July 5, 2018

10 NEW TO NETFLIX

"Certain Women" "Finding Neverland" "Happy Gilmore" "Interview with the Vampire" "Jurassic Park" "Mohawk" "Real Genius" "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" "Tarzan" "Troy"

7 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD

"Beirut"

The versatile Brad Anderson brings his skill with genre to what could be called the old-fashioned '80s spy drama. Movies like this Jon Hamm vehicle used to be far more common before everything was CGI-heavy and the world was ruled by franchises. There's a throwback appeal to this story of a traumatized government diplomat brought back to Beirut after the death of his wife. It's an imperfect film but its qualities were overshadowed by the controversy surrounding its preview. Overall, it's a solid rental on a hot summer night. 

Buy it here 

Special Features The Story Behind Beirut - Featurette Sandy Crowder - Behind the scenes with Rosamund Pike Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles for the main feature

"Blockers"

SXSW audiences really took to this raunchy comedy about three parents trying to find their daughters on the Prom Night on which they're convinced their offspring are going to lose their virginity. I've rarely heard an audience laugh harder than at its world premiere. It's the kind of movie that works well with a crowd and maybe after everyone has had a few Southern craft beers. Like so many modern comedies, it's way too long, but it works because of how committed and talented its ensemble is, particularly its younger actors. Comedies and action movies always do well on DVD and I expect people to be happy when they find this one. Maybe not SXSW Happy, but happy enough.

Buy it here 

Special Features Audio commentary by director Kay Cannon Deleted Scenes Gag Reel – The entire cast contributes to these on-set flubs. Line-O-Rama – The laughs continue after the take! Rescue Mission – Being a parent isn't easy, as Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, and John Cena make abundantly clear. Hear them and director Kay Cannon discuss parental mistakes and lessons learned. They even top it off with a good old-fashioned car explosion! Prom Night – Filmmakers and cast discuss how they achieved the perfect prom look and also share some of their own personal prom stories. The History of Sex with Ike Barinholtz – Ike Barinholtz explains the origins of human sexuality and its evolution through time. John Cena's Prom Survival Kit for Parents – John Cena shows off a survival kit filled with items that will help parents survive the most stressful time of year - prom season! Chug! Chug! Chug! – The film introduced the world to the concept of "butt chugging." Hear cast, crew, and butt-chugger John Cena discuss how they handled this standout scene. Puke-a-Palooza – One memorable scene involves copious amounts of projectile vomit. See what cast, filmmakers, and crew went through to make sure the puke was as authentic as possible.

"The Endless"

Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are two of my favorite young filmmakers, finding ways to inject genre formulas with personal, human storytelling. If you haven't seen "Spring" yet, do so first, and then graduate to this fantastic movie about a pair of brothers (played by the filmmakers) returning to the doomsday cult they escaped from years earlier. To say there's more going on back where they came from would be an understatement, but the less you know about precisely where this movie is going, the better. Just trust me. You want to see this one. It's one of the best movies so far in 2018.

Buy it here 

Special Features Audio Commentary with Directors & Producer Making Of Behind the Scenes Deleted Scenes VFX Breakdown "Ridiculous Extras" Trailers Extended Bonus Features

"Female Trouble" (Criterion)

For some reason, I never though Criterion would take to John Waters. Sure, they've embraced a few counterculture filmmakers in the past, but Criterion was always the collection of renowned, household names like Kurosawa, Bergman, Renoir, Truffaut, etc. It wasn't the place for the Baltimore troublemaker who made a drag queen named Divine into a household name. And yet here we are with the still-shocking "Female Trouble," and it's a release loaded with new material, including interviews with a large number of the Waters crew. Waters was always a filmmaker that I admired more than loved. He was the guy willing to do anything to express his art, and I'm always a fan of those filmmakers, even if his brand of humor was never exactly my own. If you are a Waters fan, this is a great release for you. 

Buy it here 

Special Features New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Waters New conversation between Waters and critic Dennis Lim New and archival interviews with cast and crew members Mink Stole, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, Hilary Taylor, and Van Smith Interview from 1975 featuring Waters and cast members Divine, Stole, and David Lochary Deleted scenes and alternate takes Rare on-set footage PLUS: An essay by film critic Ed Halter

"Love, Simon"

Name the last great dramedy about teenagers. Most movies about teenagers betray the fact that they were clearly written by adults who barely remember the hazy, confusing days of teenage love. There's something so refreshingly truthful about this delightful and moving story of a young man coming to terms with coming out. It's funny, sweet, and really well made, featuring a star-turn leading performance by Nick Robinson. Some of the subplots don't quite work, but the story that not everyone is exactly what even their friends think they are is timeless. And I could watch Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel play parents in just about any teen comedy. This is one of the most surprisingly enjoyable and moving films of 2018 so far. It's a really hard movie to hate.

Buy it here 

Special Features Deleted Scenes The Adaptation The Squad #FirstLoveStoryContest Winner Dear Georgia Dear Atlanta Audio Commentary by Director Greg Berlanti, Producer Isaac Klausner and Co-Screenwriter Isaac Aptaker Gallery

"The Virgin Spring" (Criterion)

Ang Lee, in one of the few special features on this excellent release for this wildly influential Ingmar Bergman film, says that the film changed him because it was "So quiet and so serene, and yet so violent." It sounds so simple and yet this is at the heart of why "Virgin Spring" works so well. It's an incredibly violent film, especially for 1960, but there's something hauntingly beautiful about it too. I wish the special features were a little heartier, especially the Lee interview. He speaks of how Bergman shot some of the final scenes of the film and how Lee has stolen those shots in his films. I love that kind of stuff and could listen to it all day. As for the movie itself, it will never lose its power. It's simply one of the best films ever made. 

Buy it here 

Special Features New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray Audio commentary from 2005 by Ingmar Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene Interviews from 2005 with actors Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson Introduction by filmmaker Ang Lee from 2005 Audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Bergman Alternate English-dubbed soundtrack PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isaksson and the medieval ballad on which the film is based

"A Wrinkle in Time"

Ava Duvernay's blockbuster became one of the talking points of cinema in 2018 for some of the wrong reasons. First, there was the story that it bombed because of its relative box office failure compared to expectations for the Disney brand. And yet I've heard from so many people for whom this was a moving, important experience. So while the box office may be disappointing, that certainly shouldn't be the end of the story. In fact, the film gained new life recently when it was used as a talking point for why we need more female and people of color voices in criticism. In all of this, I feel like I sometimes read more about the reaction to "A Wrinkle in Time" than about the film itself. For me, finally catching up with it, I was startled by how much of its emotion it wears on its sleeve. It is a deeply un-cynical film, a movie that wholeheartedly beleieves in grand emotions that tie the universe together. There are parts that don't work, but the sum is greater than those parts, and it's rare to see a filmmaker's heart in every frame of a major blockbuster. You can certainly see it here if you're willing to look. 

Buy it here 

Special Features A Journey Through Time Deleted Scenes (with optional director audio commentary) Audio Commentary Bloopers Original Songs/Music Videos

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Artificial Intelligence: Out of the futurists’ lab!

Artificial Intelligence: Out of the futurists’ lab!

Kathryn Hume, President, Fast Forward Labs, talked about the future of artificial intelligence, the ways in which it’s impacting enterprise operations like security.

Let’s talk about the future of artificial intelligence, the ways in which it’s impacting enterprise operations like security say we’ve seen IBM Jeopardy – IBM put out the Watson – the Watson tool that beat Jeopardy in 2013. Shift to 2016.

We’ve seen Google DeepMind build AlphaGo which is a tool using a technique called reinforcement learning, a set of artificial intelligence algorithms that put in position a system of rewards to train systems to excel at a particular task – beat Lee Sedol who is the leading Go champion at this game.

Executives say, interesting that DeepMind can do this but what does this mean for my Churn analysis? What does this mean for my ability to optimise marketing programs? What does this mean for my ability to protect my networks? The answer is, it’s a really hard question to solve. It’s not trivial. It’s very hard to go from that particular original fable use case of the gold to find the actual yield in the crops that will come from these applications. So the question that I’d like to pose is, where is this land? How do we find it?

Since we’re in Silicon Valley one of my mentors is a man names Geoffrey Moore who in the 1990s wrote a book called Crossing the Chasm – bible of marketing theory and how technologies move across their adoption life cycle. Right now in the AI space we’re in that very early part of the distribution curve.

We’re working with the early adopters. We’re building out vertically specifically applications that are the early instances of what this might become but don’t yet foretell large wide scale adoptions in the pragmatic larger marketplace that’s actually going to have the larger impact of these technologies across the industry.

So early apps aren’t always the killer apps. DeepMind winning Go isn’t necessarily the application of reinforcement learning that’s going to really transform inventory and supply management. But it’s possible for us not to predict exactly what those killer apps are but to hone our skills to recognise and pivot our strategy when they occur.

So for the rest of the talk I’d like to just give two examples of where we’re already seeing this occur in the artificial intelligence space, to give some insight into where we think the space might evolve in the future. Fast Forward Labs, at my company we study technologies that are on the threshold of shifting from the academic sphere into wide commercial adoption and applicability.

We educate our customers as to how they can apply them in their own business processes and business environments by building out prototypes with reports that explain what these tools are and what one can practically do with them and then advising them on where they can be applied in their individual environments. Our first work was on a technique called natural language generation.

I’m sure everybody has heard of natural language processing which is starting with lots of unstructured text that humans write. It’s messy. It’s not amenable to the numbers and digits that computers work with. So these techniques are focused on putting structure into unstructured text. Natural language generation is the opposite.

We start with structured text – not text, excuse me – structured fields like an Excel spreadsheet that has rows and columns with data entries inside of it, and then automatically write articles that use qualitative language to communicate those quantitative insights. When this application – when this set of technologies was first released to the market we thought that the killer app was going to be in automated journalism.

I’m sure you’ve seen in Forbes and the Associated Press articles that are written by computers that describe sports performance, weather reports, company earnings reports, lots of descriptive, non-interpretive, relatively repetitive type reporting. That was the focus of this technology when it first came to the market.

Since that time Automated Insights and Narrative Science who are two of the key players in this space have realised that the real value of this tool is not in journalism per se but rather in narrative applications of business intelligence. Taking the mess of numbers that exist in data warehouses there was a first generation of tools like Click and Tableau that would provide nice visual interfaces to provide charts and graphs to executives.

They said that’s not clean enough. We want it even simpler. We want it in human language where we can very quickly have insights into how our business is performing. We started off with gold – automated journalism – and shifted into something relatively more prosaic, right, narrative business intelligence but that has really had a yield for business. The second technique we’ve seen evolve is in the space of deep learning.

It’s very hot right now. Most of the time when we talk about artificial intelligence we are referring to these artificial neural networks that are powering a lot of new applications and capabilities. We did a report focused on using these techniques to automatically discern the objects that are in images. So the application you see there, hook up to your Instagram feed and it will classify and reorder your pictures according to the objects that are in them.

Just as a funny side note these systems – we’re going to talk a little bit later about supervised versus unsupervised learning. So they’re supervised. They have to start with a training data set in order to get a vision – what their vision of the world might look like so that they can perform. My colleague, Hilary Mason, likes to take pictures of the New York City subway system on her way to work.

The training data set that we used for this tool had no images of subways in it. So it used to classify all of these gates as correctional institutions, as prisons, which both tells us about the limitations of the tools and also give some insight into why New Yorkers have their temperament when they go to work in the morning.

We start off with fun applications to classify images. Who cares? Where is the crop? A couple of cool things I’ve seen on the market come out since we worked on this project, one is applying – this is coming out of the artistic world – there’s a technique called style transfers where artists start with famous paintings like the Starry Night from Van Gogh, abstract out the style and then enable people to go through their Facebook page and turn their selfies into works of art imitating the grand masters. This is actually using the same set of techniques that enable us to see objects and images also enable us to abstract out the style and graft it onto other images. So this is an app called [Picasso] from a start-up out of St Louis.

With a little bit more gravitas and enterprise importance a set of start-ups, one based in Silicon Valley called Orbital Insight that’s taking satellite data available from a whole host of new small satellite providers and enabling us to use these convolutional neural net deep learning techniques to gain insights into macroeconomic activity where the data was not formerly available.

The image on the right is a picture of shadows from buildings in Shanghai that hedge funds are using as a proxy to try to get an estimate of macro-economic activity going on in areas where there is not traditional market and pricing data. The third application, my personal favourite, comes from a San Francisco start-up called Enlitic that’s using deep learning image technology to automate radiology to examine chest x-rays.

Stunningly they are getting the speed of their system able to complete the work that a typical radiologist would complete in one month, in 104 seconds. So it really could have massive impact on work flows, the way in which hospitals are managing their work force in the future. Final example – and its transition into the presentation from Cylance – comes from the world of text. We did a report using deep learning techniques, a slightly different style than those used to process images, to automatically summarise text.

The application here we start with an input data set, say a relatively long article in the New Yorker or the Atlantic magazines here in the US. We build a model of the meaning of the article and then use that to select out the sentences we think best represent the meaning of the article as a whole. So to shift around the goal here is not to absolutely revolutionise journalism but to shift around the reading experience so that users can start with the skimmed main points of the article and then read the entire article at will if it suits their purposes.

What’s interesting here is we shift – once again gold to yield and crop – is that we were focusing our models on aspects of text that are relevant to summarise, relevant to the human reader. Stuart and his team at Cylance are adding in additional features from text to discern whether or not incoming data is malicious or not.

So same sort of technique, just shifted to a slightly different use case. The moral of the story I think going back to The Tortoise and the Hare one of my favourite Aesop fables I’m sure everybody knows of, is that we’re at the beginning. We really are at the beginning of this.

We are not really sure where things are going to pan out and how they’re going to pan out. But there is massive opportunity if we stop paying attention to the hype and really focus on the discrete applications and use cases that are going to be available on the early market. (Courtesy: NetEvents)

Source:: http://indiatelecomnews.com/artificial-intelligence-out-of-the-futurists-lab/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=artificial-intelligence-out-of-the-futurists-lab

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