A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Since 2010, the Marche du Nain Rouge has drawn thousands of people to Midtown Detroit each year in a vibrant celebration of community.
I started this blog in 2011, but it took me until 2013 to begin covering the Marche du Nain Rouge. That written, I've been blogging about it long enough that I can say I'm an early adopter.
A festival where creativity wins and the evil spirits are chased away.
I can imagine the after parties. That way, I don't have to attend!
Both of these videos assume some knowledge of the Nain Rouge. I'm sharing Halloween Cocktails 2025: The Lore of the Nain Rouge both to get my new readers up to speed and because I can't resist a good, or at least competent, cocktail recipe video that includes supernatural lore.
Happy Halloween, friends! The lore we are bringing you this wonderful Halloween weekend is based around a Detroit legend known as the Nain Rouge...
I wonder if any of today's after parties are serving one or more of these drinks. Whether or not, drink responsibly!
That's a wrap for today's post. I might observe World Water Day late, or skip it until next year. Stay tuned to find out.
In Irish folklore, Cú Chulainn was one of the greatest warriors ever to live. From his first battle against a vicious hound at the age of 6 to his last against an entire army just two decades later, Cú Chulainn lived a legendary, but short life. Some might call him a tragic hero, but is it tragic to get everything you ever wanted?
No, Dr. Moiya McTier, it's not really tragic. Cursed and blessed at the same time, maybe, but not any more tragic than the story of El Cid, which the ending reminds me of.
The Blood Of Cu Chulainn Official Music Video by Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna...
The Blood of Cu Chulainn has become known as the Theme to The Boondock Saints films, but was first released on Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna's 1998 album, A Celtic Romance: Legend of Liadain and Curithir.
I couldn't resist the music, animals, and landscapes, although as a biologist and geologist, I could tell that many of the latter are not Irish. No matter, they're pretty and fit the music.
Get ready to celebrate ST. PATRICK’S Day with the most viral green cocktails!
These drinks are festive, fun, creamy, and refreshing — perfect for your St. Patrick’s Day party. Whether you’re hosting friends or celebrating at home, these cocktails will bring the luck of the Irish straight to your glass!
He's not Tipsy Bartender, but he said "And there you have it" to make up for it.
That's a wrap for today's holiday. Stay tuned for an educational post I can share next month.
Just like it did at the Critics Choice Awards, One Battle After Another leads Best Adapted Screenplay as the choice of 81.8% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 90.3% of users. Hamnet sits in second as the selection of the remaining 18.2% of experts and 33.3% of editors plus 6.9% of users. Frankenstein follows far behind with 1.1% of users, then Train Dreams with 1.0% user support, and Bugonia last with 0.7% of users. This looks a lot like the odds for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Critics Choice Awards.
One Battle After Another still leads as the choice of every editor, 81.3% of experts, and 90.9% of users. The experts and users are moving in opposite directions. The remaining experts are now split between Hamnet and Train Dreams with 12.5% and 6.3% expert expectations of winning, respectively. Hamnet is now the pick of 6.5% of users, followed by No Other Choice, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and Train Dreams follow with 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.4%, and 0.3% of users supporting each, respectively.
The field is the same except for No Other Choice dropping out because of the field being trimmed from six to five.* Gold Derby thinks the results will be the same, too, with One Battle After Another winning. Since Critics Choice didn't upload the acceptance speech to its YouTube channel, I'm sharing the graphic from its Twitter/X account instead.
Congratulations for this award and the next one, Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes.
Here, the leading nominees for adapted and original screenplays are contending with each other and One Battle After Another is Gold Derby's choice to win over Sinners with the former in first as the choice of 72.7% of experts, 50.0% of editors, and 66.1% of users and the latter in third as the selection of 9.1% of experts, 16.7% of editors, and 9.5% of users. Second place? It Was Just an Accident, picked by 18.2% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 17.8% of users. It's also the leading nominee for Best Non-English Film over Sentimental Value, which has user support of 3.4% for Best Film Screenplay. Hamnet and Marty Supreme trail as the choices of 2.1% and 1.0% of users.
Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Best Screenplay – Motion Picture award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
According to Gold Derby, Anderson should prepare to give three speeches on March 15th (Beware the Ides of March!), as he is favored to win Best Director and Best Motion Picture along with the rest of the producers as well as Best Adapted Screenplay. After 14 Oscar nominations, he's on track to finally win three, which Gold Derby thinks will be the majority of the Oscars won by One Battle After Another; the others predicted are Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor and Best Editing.
Follow over the jump for the nominees for Best Original Screenplay and their odds.
“One Battle After Another” won Best Picture, while “Frankenstein” and “Sinners” garnered the most wins in the film categories, with both films taking home four trophies each. “Frankenstein” won Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi, Best Production Design for Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, Best Costume Design for Kate Hawley, and Best Hair and Makeup for Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey. “Sinners” won Best Young Actor/Actress for Miles Caton, Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler, Best Casting and Ensemble for Francine Maisler, and Best Score for Ludwig Göransson. In addition to Best Picture, “One Battle After Another” filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson took home trophies for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Zach Cregger – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (A24)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Gold Derby's prognosticators think this category is one of Sinners' best chances to win a Critics Choice Award, along with Best Young Actor or Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Score, all categories where it's first on the leaderboard.
When I wrote the above, the Gold Derby odds had One Battle After Another leading Best Casting and Ensemble. By the time of the ceremony, Sinners snuck into the lead as the choice of 62.5% of experts, 44.4% of editors, and 52.7% of users, passing One Battle After Another with the votes of 37.5% of experts, 55.6% of editors, and 44.4% of users, while Sinners still led Best Cinematography ahead of Train Dreams, so Gold Derby expected Sinners to win five awards. It earned four, so not bad, both for Sinners and for Gold Derby. Speaking of whom, I reproduced Gold Derby's predictions for Best Original Screenplay.
Ryan Coogler is the choice of every expert, 88.9% of editors, and 89.8% of users. The editors and users disagree on the rest, as 11.1% of editors picked Sorry, Baby, a shift from Marty Supreme on Friday, for but only 0.6% of users, ranking it fifth by Gold Derby's algorithm. The users rank Sentimental Value, Weapons, and Marty Supreme higher with 6.1%, 2.0%, and 1.0% selecting them, respectively. Just 0.4% are behind Jay Kelly.
Gold Derby was right about this category. Congratulations to Ryan Coogler! Unfortunately, Critics Choice only uploaded Miles Caton's acceptance speech; the acceptance speeches for Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Casting and Ensemble are not on the Critics Choice YouTube channel. As consolation, I'm embedding Ryan Coogler is honored with the Directors Award for "Sinners" at the Critics Choice Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.
Congratulations to Coogler, Caton, the rest of the cast, Francine Maisler, and Ludwig Göransson for their Critics Choice Awards! May they foreshadow many nominations at the Oscars and Saturn Awards!
Sinners accepts the Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Congratulations to Sinners on winning and beating Avatar: Fire and Ash, Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, Weapons, KPop Demon Hunters, F1, and Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning, all movies I expect to see nominated at the Saturn Awards. If all of them earn nominations at the Academy Awards, I would be mildly and pleasantly surprised.
Unlike the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes uploaded the videos for Best Score to its YouTube channel. That only partially makes up for the award being presented during a commercial break, so the people at home watching on CBS missed it. Hmph! That out of the way, watch as Ludwig Göransson Wins Best Score Motion Picture | 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Ludwig Göransson accepts the Best Score Motion Picture award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
On the one hand, CBS viewers didn't see this speech. On the other, it wasn't rushed because of time. I suppose that balanced out.
“Smokestack Twins” from Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score) | Music by Ludwig Göransson
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for the rest of the diverse winners at the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards tomorrow as the Sunday entertainment feature as I continue to celebrate MLK Day weekend.
Previous posts about the 2025 Critics Choice Awards
I enjoyed Dr. Z connecting this monster to both the Winter Solstice and to other European Christmas monsters, including Krampus, who has a video of his own. I'm an environmentalist, so I don't just recycle, I conserve my resources. I'm saving that episode of Monstrum for a future Yule.
You better watch out, you better not cry, and you certainly must behave—or else face the brutal beating of the Krampus. Why does this demonic, horned Yuletide monster exist? This episode looks at the historical origins of Krampus in the winter festivals of the Alpine region, challenging the false claim that this monster came from pagan tradition, and traces its renewed popularity across the globe.
On December 5th, adults celebrating Krampusnacht seek to punish misbehaving children. This not-so-jolly holiday is also referred to as Krampus Night.
Most people associate the holiday season with lots of cheer, merriment, and joy. However, there is one traditional holiday during this time of the year that doesn’t sound so fun. In fact, it seems a little scary. It’s actually more Halloween-like than Christmassy.
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for their work on quantum mechanics that is paving the way for a new generation of very powerful computers.
"There is no advanced technology used today that does not rely on quantum mechanics, including mobile phones, cameras... and fibre optic cables," said the Nobel committee.
The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
The three winners will share prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor (£872,000).
Yay, three physicists from the University of California, even if they aren't from my undergraduate alma mater, UCLA!
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi "for the development of metal–organic frameworks." The new type of molecular architecture developed by the group allows for "large cavities in which molecules can flow in and out. Researchers have used them to harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen," according to the award-giving body. Their research could provide solutions for combatting climate change.
"A small amount of such material can be almost like Hermione's handbag in Harry Potter. It can store huge amounts of gas in a tiny volume," Heiner Linke, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said during a press conference.
The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their work on the functioning of the human immune system.
The award, announced by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute on Monday, will be presented to the trio in December for “their groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body”.
The research “relates to how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight all imaginable microbes and still avoid autoimmune disease”, said Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a rheumatology professor at the Karolinska Institute.
The prize of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.17m) is to be shared equally between Brunkow and Ramsdell, both 64, of the United States and Japan’s Sakaguchi, 74.
The king of Sweden will also present them with gold medals.
Al Jazeera’s Paul Rhys reports from Stockholm.
This advancement could help me personally, as I am a cancer survivor and Type I diabetic, an autoimmune disease. May I live long enough for the science to advance enough to improve my condition.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, has been called “America’s First Ghost story." It is, perhaps, the story that most represents the Halloween season. But it also works in a lot of history, history that deserves to be remembered.
My takeaway was that, while there was plenty of life influencing art, including several things I learned, the story is so powerful that it influenced life, as North Tarrytown renamed itself as Sleepy Hollow and lots of local lore inspired by the story as much or more as the other way around.
Headless Horseman is the perfect drink for this Halloween season. Mixing Pumpkin flavor and some sweet sweet chocolate. Each day we are creating a new drink for 31 days of Halloween inspired by iconic characters that go bump in the night.
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
2 oz. pumpkin beer
2 oz. creme de cacao
2 oz. coffee liqueur
1 oz. vodka
moonshine
INSTRUCTIONS
Add creme de cacao, kahlua, and vodka to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously.
Strain over ice into a tall glass.
Pour pumpkin beer into a shot glass.
Layar Bacardi 151 on top of the shot glass.
Place the shot on top of the glass.
Light it on fire.
Drink responsibly and stay tuned for more Halloween posts through the end of the month plus a bonus Day of the Dead entry. Trick or treat!
Robert is right; the original version of the riddle game in The Hobbit makes no sense given the powers and history of The One Ring and Gollum's relationship with it in The Lord of the Rings. The new version sets up the sequels. More interestingly, the original tale remains in The Fellowship of the Ring as a cover story, even after it has been replaced in the new editions of The Hobbit. I respect that clever use of the retcon. I also didn't know any of this before I watched Robert's video, so I learned something new. It's always a good day when I learn something new.
Ever wonder why fall feels so different from spring even though they're both equinoxes? Meteorologist Evan Chickvara reveals the science behind why identical daylight hours create completely different weather patterns.
Evan Chickvara does a good job of explaining why temperature lags behind hours of daylight. It takes even longer for water to warm up and cool down than ground, so seasons are even more delayed in Michigan and other parts of the Great Lakes states.
Two times a year, the sunrise and sunset perfectly align with some streets in the heart of Chicago, putting on a show between the skyscrapers. The fall equinox episode of “Chicagohenge” is about to happen, but will the weather mess up the view?
Detroit also has a lot of east-west streets, so we would see the Sun rise and set down our major streets as well, but it's raining here now, so not today. Darn.
English has unusual linguistic features most other languages don't! These skills really make English unique compared to other languages around the world.
Other languages have unique features that English just doesn't have access to. So, English, why don't you level up your skills with these linguistic tricks from around the world?
Here's Josh R's partial list.
I expressed my gratitude about something Josh R didn't list.
I'm glad you didn't mention gender for nouns or number for articles and adjectives in addition to nouns and verbs. The former can be arbitrary and not necessarily improving understanding and the latter would be redundant.
On the other hand, I think English could use a standard second person plural. Because I live near Detroit, I use y'all, but there are other ways of saying it. What do you use?
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the relevant top post for today.
Lore of the ghostly whale skeleton, Bake-kujira, brings an ominous twist to stories of the revered marine giants in Japan. The entity is an omen of misfortune that emerged during the rise of industrial whaling in the 20th century. Is it a simple ghost story, or a warning of ecological collapse? And is Bake-kujira’s legend as relevant now as ever?
One of the projects I'm considering pursuing in my retirement is a horror mystery series set in Oakland County. I thought I would ignore the Nain Rouge because it was concerned with Detroit proper, not the suburbs. Hearing that the Nain Rouge protects the suburbs as well as the city means that I might have to incorporate the imp in my stories. Hmm. Maybe in the sequel. I have another supernatural entity planned to bedevil my protagonists in the first collection of tales.
In 1927 excavations for a new schoolhouse in Oscoda turned up a Late Pleistocene fossil rib that may have belonged to a bowhead whale of the genus Balaena. The specimen is now catalogued as UMMP 11008.[15] 1930 saw Hussey publish the first scientific paper on the Michiganian whale fossils curated by the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology.
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The 1950s saw paleontological attention return to Michigan's whale fossils. In 1953, Handley tentatively referred the rib discovered in Oscoda during the 1927 schoolhouse excavation to the genus Balaena.[15] He also reported the discovery of an Arkonan-aged[clarification needed (possibly referring to Thedford-Arkona region)] rorqual rib of the genus Balaenoptera. The fossil had been discovered upright in the sand during the excavation of a cellar in Genesee County.[18] Handley also reported the discovery of another walrus fossil, a skull catalogued as UMMP 32453 found in a Mackinac Island gravel deposit.[13] Handley also reported the discovery of sperm whale ribs and a vertebra from Lenawee County.
While I've read at least one author explain these findings as the result of early Native Americans transporting them from the coast, I think it's just as likely, if not more so, that the whales swam up the early Mississippi or St. Laurence into the forerunners of the Great Lakes. Whales swim into rivers from time to time, and it usually ends poorly for them.
Last week the results of study found the township bones were baleen whale vertebrae and radiocarbon dated the age at 220 +/- 30 BP (Before Present), as such, it is similar to a previous date of 190 years old for a sperm whale bone found in Michigan. The baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea. The report also included that all the dated whale bones found to date from Michigan are far too young for whales to have entered the Great Lakes. Bones of a sperm whale, finback whale, and a right whale where reported found in Michigan were dated between 190 and 810 years old,
John Zawiskie, the Curator of Earth and Life Sciences at Cranbrook Institute of Science commented on the results of the whale bone discovery.
“Whales could only have entered the Great Lakes when the sea level was higher during glacial and post-glacial times more than 10,000 years ago,” said Zawiskie. “The whales are all too young – the oldest are only 800 years old.”
Why the bones were found in the township is uncertain, however one suggestion is that the bones may have been brought to Michigan by Hopewell culture people from the Atlantic coast, or maybe even a long running elaborate hoax, where someone else placed the whale bones on the landscape.
“The Hopewell people lived on the Atlantic Coast and they may have brought the whale bones to Michigan as they brought many shells and other marine items with them,” added Zawiskie. “It is unlikely that the Hopewell people scattered whale bones across Michigan and of course the recent find is only 220 years old – the other whale ages range from 190 to 800 years old.”
Darn. On the other hand, these findings make it more likely for whale spirits to haunt Michigan, not less, as they've been moved relatively recently. Just the same, I think I might refer to the legend of Bake-kujira, but choose another angry animal apparition for my antagonist, like a mammoth or mastodon. Time to look for African and south Asian stories of ghost elephants as inspiration.
Enough weirdness. I already have more conventional videos for tomorrow's celebration of Earth Day. Stay tuned.
Eight of Gold Derby's editors, including Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen, picked Anora, while one each chose A Real Pain, The Brutalist, and Conclave. Gold Derby's experts generally agree, with 18 of the 32 judging Anora the best, followed by eight choosing Conclave, five picking A Real Pain, and one standing out for The Substance. Seventeen of the site's top 24 users agree with Anora, followed by four for Conclave and three voting for The Substance. The users apparently don't like A Real Pain.
A Real Pain Jesse Eisenberg Anora
Sean Baker The Brutalist
Brady Corbet
Mona Fastvold Conclave
Peter Straughan Emilia Pérez
Jacques Audiard The Substance
Coralie Fargeat
Eight of Gold Derby's editors, including Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen, picked Anora, while one each chose A Real Pain, The Brutalist, and Conclave. Gold Derby's experts generally agree, with 18 of the 32 judging Anora the best, followed by eight choosing Conclave, five picking A Real Pain, and one standing out for The Substance. Seventeen of the site's top 24 users agree with Anora, followed by four for Conclave and three voting for The Substance. The users apparently don't like A Real Pain. As consolation, I'm sharing Joyce Eng eliciting Jesse Eisenberg's 'great ambivalence' about his own pain inspired 'A Real Pain'.
Jesse Eisenberg's 'great ambivalence' about his own pain inspired 'A Real Pain.' The Oscar nominee explains how he overcame writer's block, casting Kieran Culkin, and more. Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng hosts this webchat.
After watching this interview, I've decided I like Eisenberg better as a writer than as an actor. I think he still deserves his Razzie for playing Lex Luthor.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was worse than Leto as Joker...My wife and I agreed he wasn't Lex Luthor, who should be colder and more openly calculating, but a more organized version of The Joker who had a goal beyond "watching the world burn."
That performance did not make my memory of Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network a happier one. Maybe A Real Pain might change that.
I'm going to agree with the prognosticators at Gold Derby that Anora will win tonight. Follow over the jump to see if they think it will repeat for Best Original Screenplay at the Critics Choice Awards next week.
The Greek Christmas monster Kallikantzaros is a mischievous, goblin-like creature that emerges during the 12 days of Christmas to wreak havoc—peeing in food, draining life force, and even feasting on flesh. Rooted in ancient Greek traditions, this wild legend makes the holidays just a little bit creepier!
I appreciate this episode of Monstrum for no other reason than Dr. Z using an obscure creature from Grimm to make a point. That was a fun show that made its own point that Portland was so weird and charming that fairy tale monsters could be running around in the city and no one would notice. Also, I hadn't heard of Kallikantzaros before I watched this video, so I learned something new. It's always a good day when I learn something new.
Some people are calling Elon Musk "president" after President-elect Trump followed Musk's lead in coming out against the House Republicans’ spending bill, the first severe human case of bird flu has been reported in the U.S., and Stephen takes a look at some of the world's strangest Christmas traditions.
I think Elon Musk, convictedcriminalDonald Trump, and the bird flu outbreak are more scary than either the Yule Cat or Mari Lwyd. Like Stephen, I'll have something new to say about all of them plus the drones in the new year, because I'm in holiday and year-end retrospective mode until January 3, 2025. Stay tuned.
On December 10th, Nobel Prize Day recognizes the annual award established by Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel signed his third and last will at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on November 27, 1895. When it was opened and read after his death, the will caused a lot of controversy both in Sweden and internationally, as Nobel had left much of his wealth to establish a prize. His family opposed creating the Nobel Prize, and the prize awarders he named refused to do what he had requested in his will. It was five years before the first Nobel Prize could be awarded in 1901.
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At the age of 17, Swedish Alfred Nobel spoke five languages fluently and became an inventor and businessman. At the time of his death on 10 December 1896, he had 355 patents worldwide – one of them was the patent on dynamite. Furthermore, he had started 87 companies all over the world. In his will, Nobel directed his enormous fortune to be used to establish prizes to award those who had done their best to benefit humankind. Each prize would recognize the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. In 1901, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the first prizes five years after Nobel's death. The committee added another prize in 1969: "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel."
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Each year on 10 December, a ceremony is held in Stockholm, Sweden on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. In 1901, the committee kept the first winners secret until the 10 December ceremony. Since then, the committee announces the Nobel Laureates in October each year. In December, they gather in Stockholm for the ceremony and receive their prizes from the Swedish King. The winners receive a Nobel diploma, a medal, and 10 million Swedish crowns per prize. All Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, with the exception of the Peace Prize. The recipient of the Peace Prize receives the award in Oslo, Norway. (When Alfred Nobel was alive, Norway and Sweden were united under one monarch. In 1905, Norway became an independent kingdom with its own king.)
The prestigious Nobel Awards for the year 2024, were announced last week. As Artificial Intelligence takes the centre stage across the globe, the 2024 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to two AI & ANN researchers/experts.
Along with that, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to an organisation of survivors of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings, highlighting the need for disarmament.
The duo — John Hopfield from Princeton University, United States and Geoffrey Hinton from the University of Toronto, Canada — have been awarded for the “foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence and artificial neural network (ANN) — a machine learning programme designed to mimic the brain. The duo were awarded for laying the groundwork for machine learning in the 1980s which served as a prototype for the present-day advancements in artificial intelligence.
Hopfield and Hinton weren't the only winners recognized for using AI in their research.
Three scientists share the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on proteins, the molecules that drive chemical reactions and perform essential functions.
Demis Hassabis and John M Jumper from Google DeepMind have been awarded the prize for using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the three-dimensional (3D) structure of almost all known proteins.
Meanwhile, David Baker from the University of Washington has been honoured for designing a new protein that does not exist in nature.
The 2024 Nobel Prizes in the sciences have recognised groundbreaking research spanning artificial intelligence, gene regulation, and protein structures.
In this video, we will look at the recipients and their contributions.
That's it for this year's winners. I plan on examining the IgNobel Prize winners on April Fools Day. In the meantime, stay tuned for more SaturnAwardscoverage tomorrow.
You're walking home, a little tipsy, guided only by the moonlight. Suddenly, you sense something watching you: an unnervingly large owl with a human face! This is La Lechuza, a malevolent witch-owl from Tejano and Mexican folklore.
After watching 'The 10 Unspoken Rules of Slasher Movies, Explained' by PBS Storied, where the villains are evil humans, but generally not supernatural monsters, I was glad to return to actual monsters from folklore instead of entertainment for today. I'm also glad Dr. Zarka created a second video about Mexican monsters during the past year so I could use it today. Here's to her and the team at Monstrum on PBS Storied uploading a third video about Mexico for next year's entry!
I didn't find an appropriate drink video for today from Secret of the Booze, but CBS Detroit uploaded Day of the Dead cocktails with Shankar Distillers earlier today. Since my blog is based in Metro Detroit and I enjoy sharing local content, I couldn't resist.
Michigan-based Shankar Distillers has several Day of the Dead cocktail recipes.
I appreciated the decorations that made the table look like an ofrenda. I also now understand why, when I searched YouTube for Day of the Dead cocktails, I retrieved videos for palomas. That was the cocktail made in this video.
So ends this year's spooky season. Stay tuned for non-holiday programming tomorrow. In the meantime, drink responsibly.
“Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus” created what has become one of the most recognized icons of horror fiction, but behind fiction there is always a bit of fact, and Frankenstein’s monster was truly a creature of its time.
I'm familiar with the story of how Mary Shelley created the story of Frankenstein and his creature. An ex-girlfriend of mine — not the oneI usuallymention — and I watched the movie Gothic on a date. It told the tale of the Shelleys, Lord Byron, and Dr. Polidori telling their "ghost stories." My take is that it was worth watching once, as I think the topic worth exploring, but I found it a bit too silly in spots to be taken seriously as an art film. Pity.
That Frankenstein is considered to be the first work of science fiction means that horror is its sister genre, not fantasy, as the movie and television versions of Frankenstein are portrayed as horror...Just the same, this video is very much about how science fiction reflects the anxieties of its time...
That Polidori's The Vampyre is considered the first piece of vampire fiction and shares a "birthday" with Frankenstein just cements the sibling relationship between science fiction and horror.
Splash of blue lightning (blue raspberry mix)
1 cup lemonade
1 oz vodka
2 oz. Pineapple rum
2 oz. melon liqueur
Muddle ¼ orange
I found the laboratory glassware, lab coat, and dry ice to be the perfect details to convey the scientific inspiration for the story. Also, drink responsibly!
Today's topic reminds me of last year's Monstrum on 'The Golden Age of Movie Monsters' for Halloween, which features Frankenstein's monster. I plan on sharing this year's Halloween episode tomorrow for the Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for that and more Halloween posts through the end of the month plus a bonus Day of the Dead entry. Trick or treat!
OooOOooOooOOOoo Pirates is very hands off in it's storytelling method OooOOOooOOOooo spooky. And to be honest, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. What are the best ways this ride TELLS you a story without TELLING you a story?
Since he appeared in the video, I'm closing with a meme for the holiday featuring Jack Sparrow.
That's a wrap for today's post celebrating pirates in entertainment. Stay tuned for an entry that will be good to share in October, like Emmy Award winners. More entertainment!
The giant logger supposedly dug Puget Sound and built Mount Rainier with the dirt.
It doesn't matter to me whether Paul Bunyan began as folklore or "fakelore." The United States is a relatively young country with a strong commercial culture, so our mass culture has been shaped by commerce, including publishing, advertising, and public relations. This includes our folk heroes, like Paul Bunyan, John Henry (shown in the video as a fellow labor hero), and Pecos Bill (not mentioned).
Speaking of not being mentioned, neither of the above videos includes Michigan's role in the Paul Bunyan story, although the National Day Calendar website does.
First appearing in print in 1906, in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray, Bunyan’s character originated in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada.
The only thing missing is the Paul Bunyan trophy for the winner of the Michigan-MSU football game to make the record complete.
Stay tuned for another post I can share in July tomorrow followed by InternationalAsteroidDay, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.
Happy Throwback Thursday! I'm celebrating by featuring an older video that I should have used years ago, but which happens to fit one of the top posts from the back catalog that doesn't fit any of the established themes I plan on using, It's Lit! on PBS Voices exploring The Evolution of Science Fiction (Feat. Lindsay Ellis).
Stories, tales, and myths from all around the world posing speculative questions around technologies have existed long before Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert, from the time-traveling Japanese fairy tale "Urashima Taro” to some of the speculative elements of 1001 Arabian Nights. But there are a few eras that begin to shape what we’ve come to know as science fiction today.
That Frankenstein is considered to be the first work of science fiction means that horror is its sister genre, not fantasy, as the movie and television versions of Frankenstein are portrayed as horror. This reminds me of what I wrote most recently about M3GAN and Prey at the Saturn Awards; "if the terror is technological, not supernatural, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films considers it science fiction, not horror." Now I wonder how the Saturn Awards would classify a new movie or TV show about Frankenstein. Hmm.
Just the same, this video is very much about how science fiction reflects the anxieties of its time, which happens to be the featured post from the back catalog in today's retrospective. Follow over the jump.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman received the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work on the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. The two found a way to create a vaccine that would get past the body’s defenses but still prompt the immune system to make antibodies to fight the disease. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell shares more.
