Portland, Oregon, is known for many things – its many bridges, the International Rose Test Garden, literary greats like Ursula K. Le Guin and Chuck Pahlaniuk, craft beer, indie music, comics publishers, craft beer… It’s easy to become blissfully lost in “Beervana.” Before we do, we had better share our... Read more
When Sam Altman, CEO of the company behind ChatGPT, gave Congressional testimony about the dangers of AI, many believed Altman had genuinely altruistic intentions. More cynically, we wondered if Altman was embarking on a preemptive apology tour, aiming to foster good will before damning revelations about his company could come... Read more
In June 2023, WesternRus announced to customers with regret that it would have to suspend its piracy operation. Given that WesternRus had profited handsomely from selling films – without bearing any costs of making them – what could possibly explain its sudden demise? According to WesternRus, its profitability had been... Read more
In December 2022, Google initiated “code red.” Fucking finally! This meant that Google was mobilizing its hordes to protect user privacy, restore compliance with antitrust laws, and disentangle its ad revenue machine from profiting from massive criminal enterprises. Right? Wrong. Google invoked “code red” to announce a completely different priority.... Read more
The 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will take place from September 7-17, 2023. As usual, an eager audience will gather for numerous screenings, including premieres of films from countries around the world. Here’s everything you need to know to enjoy the festival. Honorees Recipients of TIFF Tribute Awards are... Read more
The Venice International Film Festival will take place from August 30-September 9, 2023. Last year, for the 79th festival, we rounded up favorite spots around Venice. Now, we’re celebrating the festival’s 80th birthday with a preview of honorees, jury members, and films. We would still urge you to book a... Read more
Films, music videos, and commercials are part of our everyday lives, but most people would be surprised about the amount of effort that goes into making them. Filmmaking requires hard work from many dedicated workers with a wide variety of creative backgrounds. For director Gev Miron, it’s this process that... Read more
Newly (and hastily) augmented with generative AI, Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, has been normalizing piracy, drumming up business for piracy rings, and instructing internet users how to access piracy sites in countries where they have been blocked pursuant to court orders. We’re used to such asshattery from Google and Facebook... Read more
Four cowboys rein in their horses to stare at a Prada women’s shoe store that stands, improbably, in the middle of the Texas desert. That sentence doesn’t describe a scene from a weird Western. It describes a photograph taken in a real town, home to a delightfully quirky, artsy community... Read more
Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, it seems like everyone has been talking, pontificating, or simply ranting about artificial intelligence. Many people believe AI is poised to change the planet in the next several years – maybe, some say, by eliminating our species. Even some of the AI developers... Read more