Boing Boing, October 2, 2024
All our articles from the last 24 hours in one long post
Forget goat yoga, now you can ssssstretch with pythons
Allan Rose Hill / 11:24 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
image: LXRYOGA
With goat yoga having gone mainstream, you can now do downward dog with a python. LXRYOGA in Orange County outside of Los Angeles offers yoga classes with pythons. Studio owners Tess and Huy Cao keep a dozen of the animals at the studio. Students select a crystal at random—each snake is named for one.
SFGate's Paul Mejia slithered into a class:
Eventually we make our way to a standing position at the top of the mat, and Tess tells me to put my hands together as if in prayer. She then gently places Pyrite in between my thumb and my index finger, instructing me to then hold the snake near the middle of her body rather than her neck. The snake is both lighter and heavier than I expected: She only weighs about 5 pounds, but feels dense depending on which pose is happening at any given moment[…]
Compared to other classes I've taken, I'm struck by the mental gymnastics of the snake yoga experience: By virtue of holding a living being in my hands, and trying to be mindful of making sure she's supported there, I find that my mind drifts less towards day-to-day worries and existential thoughts, which can sometimes happen when you're engaging in yoga — where you are very much in your head. Tess says that's part of the intention of snake yoga.
"You really have to stay in tune with staying safe, keeping the animal safe," she says.
Previously:
• Italy bans puppy yoga
• These capybara yoga classes will make all of your dreams come true
Texas man wastes $4k smashing a Taylor Swift "themed" guitar
Jennifer Sandlin / 9:19 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
Taylor Swift.
A North Texas man recently spent $4000 on a guitar he believed was signed by Taylor Swift at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas, and then immediately destroyed it with a hammer. Sounds like the guitar was an imposter.
the white-haired man is seen grabbing the guitar and repeatedly hitting it with a hammer while the crowd cheers. He then looked as though he was about to smash it on the ground, before the audition's host stopped him.
The annual Ellis County WildGame Dinner is a "non-profit organization that raises money to benefit youth agricultural education" in Ellis County, per the organization's website. Swift has yet to publicly respond to the video, and Billboard has reached out to the superstar's team for comment.
In a clip of the event shared on YouTube by WFAA News shared the clip on their YouTube page, with this text:
A North Texas man is going viral for taking a hammer to a guitar signed by Taylor Swift. A video that's now been reposted across several social media platforms shows a North Texas man grabbing a guitar decorated in the style of the superstar's Eras Tour and smashing it with a hammer that was handed to him by one of the men helping the auctioneer. "I see the guy grab a hammer off the stage," JD Cobb, who shot the video told WFAA. " When I started video-ing it, I thought it was a joke." Cobb shot the video at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas, Saturday night. A spokesperson with the event confirmed to WFAA that the guitar was signed by Swift, and the man bought the guitar for around $4,000. The spokesperson claimed there was no malice behind the smashing, though he did hint at the fact it had something to do with Swift's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. They also confirmed that Taylor Swift has never used the guitar. "It has been surprising to me how big of a deal people are making it out to be. It wasn't meant to be mean or malicious," Ellis County Wild Game spokesperson Craig Meier told WFAA. "He was just making a lighthearted statement showing disapproval of people in the entertainment industry trying to influence politics."
In the video you can hear the crowd hooting and hollering in support of the man when he smashes the guitar. However, sources "close to Taylor Swift" state the guitar was not signed by her and would have had papers if it were real. There is merely a guitar pretending to be signed by Taylor.
The guitar supposedly signed by Taylor Swift that was sold for $4,000 to a Texas man who immediately smashed it with a hammer wasn't authentic, a source close to Swift's merch company told HuffPost on Tuesday.
The source said an authentic Swift-signed guitar would have come with a certificate of authenticity, which Swift's team doesn't believe the auctioned guitar has. In any case, they said, Swift didn't sign it.
Previously:
• Trump's Minister of Efficiency, Leon Musk sends a gross message to Taylor Swift
Every day should be raccoon appreciation day
Jennifer Sandlin / 9:14 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
Ninoo/shutterstock.com
October 1 was officially "International Raccoon Appreciation Day," for those of you who love to love the adorable trash panda. Around here, honestly, every day is raccoon appreciation day, so it's an "International Day" I can genuinely get behind.
National Day Calendar explains the origins of the day:
In 2002, a young girl in California wanted to highlight the good points about the raccoon instead of the bad ones. She wanted the world to know that raccoons have an important part in our ecosystem. For these reasons, she began International Raccoon Appreciation Day.
They also provide some tips about how to celebrate:
On this day, many zoos and wildlife groups have special raccoon exhibits and do educational presentations on this nocturnal animal. Going on nature walks and donating to local wildlife rescue organizations are other ways this day is celebrated. To participate:
Go to your local zoo and check out the raccoon exhibit.
Read a book to your kids that features raccoons, such as "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn or "Raccoon on the Moon" by Russell Punter.
Watch a movie with raccoon characters, such as "Over the Hedge," "The Nut Job," or "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Gather with friends and come up with ways that raccoons are good animals instead of nuisances.
Post a picture or video of a raccoon on social media and share it with #RaccoonAppreciationDay.
Me? I just watched raccoon videos on YouTube and Instagram all day, just like every other day. I hope you celebrated nature's bandit in true trash fashion!
Previously:
• Watch this sleepy raccoon yawning, stretching, and settling in for the night
AI artist appeals denial of copyright protection
Rob Beschizza / 9:09 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
Theater Operale De Speciale De Royale with Cheese
Jason M. Allen's "Theatre D'Opera Spatial" won an art competition at the 2022 Colorado State Fair, but the work was subsequently denied copyright protection due to his use of AI software to generate it and his unwillingness to disclaim that contribution to the whole. He is appealing that ruling, reports CPR News's Eden Lane.
Allen's attorney, Tamara Pester, distinguished Allen's case from the precedent-setting Thaler v. Perlmutter, a 2023 case where The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Copyright Office's decision to deny Stephen Thaler copyright for his AI-generated visual work "A Recent Entrance to Paradise." Thaler had claimed the work was created autonomously using an AI algorithm called "Creativity Machine." The copyright office cited a lack of human authorship when rejecting his request in 2019.
"In our case, Jason had an extensive dialogue with the AI tool, Midjourney, to create his work, and we listed him as the author," Pester said. She argued the Copyright Office's decision "raises profound questions about the role of AI in the creative process and the nature of creativity itself."
It's a good time to re-evaulate the work now we're a few more MJ generations in.
The positive: there's a certain charm now to that early-AI style, a science-fantasy dreamworld full of mystic light and impressionistic detail. Here is a slopcore aesthetic ready to be reappropriated.
The negative: those elements are now the stigmata of an old version of Midjourney's generative model. The surrealism is just the machine's nescience of how the world is structured and how things in it connect to one another. The detail is stastistical shine hiding its ignorance of form. Any prompt jockey could do it.
Here's the text of the Copyright Review Board's denial. The key line: "Because Mr. Allen is unwilling to disclaim the AI-generated material, the Work cannot be registered as submitted."
Though the board already made the point that the artist's own modifications to the AI-generated work do warrant copyright protection, well, here's the image Allen says Midjourney generated. Consider the meticulous painting skills that would be required to add detail in precisely the same style as the AI model that was used instead only to generate a blurry underpainting.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now a video game
Gail Sherman / 8:56 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
If you have ever thought, "I wish I could play as an 8-bit version of Janet Weiss or Brad Majors," you are in luck. You can "Jump to the left and dodge to the right" in the upcoming video game adaptation of everyone's favorite midnight movie.
"'The Rocky Horror Show' is a unique experience that transcends traditional entertainment, and we wanted to bring that magic to gamers — whether they're already fans of the IP or discovering it for the first time," producer Joshua Viola said in a Thursday statement. "For those familiar with 'Rocky Horror,' they'll get to relive it in a fresh, exciting way. For newcomers, it's an unforgettable introduction to a cult classic, delivered with a twist only a video game can provide."
Playing the game without seeing the movie first seems like it would be a very confusing experience. It's a little disappointing that this is a platformer. The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a 90s Lucasarts point-and-click game would be, well, astounding. However, I am 100% on board with the chiptune version of the soundtrack.
As a reminder, Tim Curry is a legend.
Previously: For the last 54 weeks, The Rocky Horror Picture Show played in this empty theater every Saturday night
Tom the Dancing Bug: "Hey, Ladies! Trump will be your protector!"
Ruben Bolling / 8:00 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
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Toilet paper buying panic recommences as dockworkers strike
Rob Beschizza / 7:54 am PT Wed Oct 2, 2024
Boing Boing/MidJourney
We are doing what we do best when something threatens the consumer supply chain: rushing to buy mountains of toilet paper.