How to prove you are not AI

This is the first time I’m hearing of NotebookLM from Google and it is kind of mindblowing. Somehow I had completely missed this announcement from Google about a research tool that can literally generate a very convincing “podcast” about the topic you are researching. Set aside for a second that NotebookLM seems to be a great way to organize ideas and sources, the really crazy thing here is how it can “read” and utilize those sources to create wholly new content that is audibly on par with an actual human.

Remembering Brazenhead Books

Wow. This just really brought me back to the mid 2010s era of exploring NYC.

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Brazenhead Books a long time ago. The pseudo-bookstore, illegally run from inside an apartment owned by Michael Seidenberg on East 84th St. You would go to an unassuming normal NYC apartment building, take the elevator up, and enter a slightly cracked door in a hallway to the sights of books stacked at every turn. It was just wonderful.

Michael was often there co-leading a talk or a discussion, but also acting as the sole employee and cashier. Books had prices, but they were never set in stone. His apartment was one of the most unique book stores I’ve ever been to. It was eventually shut down and Michael “retired” elsewhere and eventually passed away in 2019.

Sean Baker visits FotoKem

Check out this great video of director Sean Baker visiting FotoKem to make a 35mm print made for theaters of his movie Anora.

Documentary about the building of Lincoln Center

A slightly rosier retelling of the destruction of a community to build today’s Lincoln Center. The archive footage is maybe some of the only existing video of what was formerly San Juan Hill.

Editing Severance

Having your assistant compile every multi-cam shot into a single scrubbable video is one of the best tips I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of anybody doing this!

What We’ve Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms

I’ve had a pretty grim feeling about the United States lately and reading this book certainly does not make it better. I just finished What We’ve Become by Jonathan M. Metzl which frames the US gun debate and culture through the lens of the 2018 mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House.

Nearly every chapter of this book is just a heartbreaking peek into the ripple effects of guns in our lives; The lives lost, the families ruined, and the incredible inaction taking place at every government level to curb mass shootings in the United States.

The situation since this book was published has only seemed to get worse in my opinion. Just a truly sad look at the state of the country in contrast to the efforts of other power-nations curbing this threat of guns.

What happened to Six Flags New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

After 20 years, the Six Flags New Orleans location that has pretty much been abandoned since Hurricane Katrina is finally coming down. Earlier this year, crews began to dismantle and demolish what was left of the facility. Here’s a trip with VICE to the spot before it was torn down.

A mechanical keyboard with a word counter

Just came across the Freewrite Wordrunner, a mechanical keyboard with a built-in word counter that doesn’t stop counting even when the keyboard isn’t connected to a computer.

You can pre-order it here.