A.I. Literature

 Being a creative professional, I feel (& hope) that my graphic design skills aren't replaceable by computer algorithm in the near future. 

The Monkey Buddha Archives:
A.I. Logo Design

However, I see the various ways that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to for creative applications and know that it is only a matter of time before there is serious competition from computer-driven solutions to literary and artistic endeavors.

Writing & literature is one area where A.I. is making noticeable progression. I came across this article that was composed using OpenAI language generator, in which a prompt is given & the computer creates text. In this case, the prompt was "Focus on why humans have nothing to fear from AI".

The Guardian:
A robot wrote this entire article. Are you scared yet, human?

 

After seeing this article, I then saw this website called Shortly, in which you start a story or essay and the A.I. generates more content.

www.shortlyread.com

I started a story about my son Paul Giuseppe, & the website produced a coherent and interesting continuation of the text. 

It was pretty amazing, actually, and offers a glimpse at the creative power that machine learning will contribute to culture. (I was about to write "..contribute to human culture", but I don't think culture is solely a product of the human mind anymore...)

Molecular Landscapes of a Cell

ArtStation Link

Cellular Landscape Cross-section Through a Eukaryotic Cell,
by Evan Ingersoll & Gael McGill  

I saw the above image & was mesmerized by the complexity and intricate beauty of this representation of a tiny cross section of a single cell.

Being a visual artist, these kind of informational tools are much more effective to me than descriptions or formulas. The creation of this visualization is almost as impressive as the biological system itself.

I've posted about 3D renderings of cellular biology before, and it never ceases to amaze me that all this is going on in every one of the trillions of cells in each multicellular life form. The really amazing thing is that, per the creator's description, this is not even as dense as the real cell & its components!

To sit and really ponder the infinite array of interconnected systems making up our body at all scales is to eventually have the mind drop away, & be faced with the stark reality that "Reality" is imponderable in its totality.

On the ArtStation page, there is a link to a website (see below) with interactive images in which you can isolate the various components & proteins in the imagery. This is really interesting, and allows exploration of these fascinating mind-bending visuals.

Digizyme - Knowledge Through Visual Science
Molecular Landscapes

Black & White Furry Moth

 This moth with a cool black & white pattern landed on our kitchen table, so I grabbed my macro lens to get some closeup shots. 

 Nature Photography
by Paul Micarelli 

Some of the detail was awesome, like the structure of the antennae & the fuzzy texture that looked like it was wearing a fancy fur coat!

"SPACE" - 'Thinking Aloud' with 2 Paul Micarelli's

 *Originally posted to the Conscious Living for You blog 

 

 "SPACE" - 'Thinking Aloud' with 2 Paul Micarelli's 

10-14-20 

 

Paul Micarelli & son Paul Giuseppe take a walk and talk about interesting topics. 🤔💡👶🏻 

 

***Please LIKE & SHARE, Thank You!*** 

 

More info at: http://www.ConsciousLivingForYOU.net

The Tremendously Classy Trump Presidency

Well, Joe Biden has been elected to take the place of Donald Trump, the living embodiment of humanity's worst qualities. Although it was always clear that Trump would never leave the office quietly or easily, at some point his sorry ass has got to go...

I haven't posted a lot about politics during Trump's term, mostly because every damn day there has been some new outrage or absurdity coming from the malignant-narcissist-in-chief. I barely have time to post now that I have an infant, & it's totally impossible to keep up with the stream of corruption & incompetence coming from this administration.

Anyway, looking back at the insanity of the last 4 years, it's hard to pick the most ridiculous moments. I decided to narrow down 2 of my Most Tremendously Classy Trump White House Moments™:

1: Serving McDonalds fast food to college athletes, framed by golden candelabras & with Abe Lincoln looking on utterly perplexed:

 

2: After Ivanka got called out on social media for promoting a can of Goya products, President Trump posed at The Resolute Desk, looking like the complete turd that he is, with a bunch of fucking beans:

Many people cannot wait until the day we never have to hear about this fascist, idiotic, cartoon
character of a person  again. Until then, I'm sure he'll continue bringing attention to himself in the worst ways possible.

A Monkey Buddha Family Halloween

 This was the first Halloween for my son Paul Giuseppe Micarelli. My mother-in-law brought Paulie a monkey costume, so I thought it would be fun for me & my wife Loretta to dress like a monkey family.

I originally wanted to wear robes & be "Monkey Buddhas", but it's hard enough trying to get things together with an infant! So, we were a plain-clothes Monkey Buddha family. 

Since he's still a baby & we weren't interested in pandemic trick-or-treating, we individually visited his grandparents and one of our friend couples. It was a lot of fun & we look forward to a more conventional Halloween when he's older.