[nonostantement #104] - sleeper trains / piano & elephant / palmer luckey
Welcome to nonostantement: a random newsletter that gives you personal recommendations of cool stuff.
#TECH
StyleGAN2: Near-Perfect Human Face Synthesis...and More
"Face-synthesizing algorithms often struggle with facial details like eyes and teeth. [...] A new algorithm, StyleGAN2, fixes this problem and produces 'eye-poppingly detailed and correct images'" It can also generate never-before-seen cars, churches, and animals."Jimmy Iovine Knows Music and Tech. Here’s Why He’s Worried.
"The record executive who made the leap to Silicon Valley looks back on the decade in the music business, and sees a major problem on the horizon."Could sleeper trains replace international air travel?
"Flight shame – or 'flygskam' – has gripped many regular flyers with a sense of unease about the aviation industry, which consumes five million barrels of oil a day and is predicted to account for around 22% of global carbon emissions by 2050."For Spotify, music might not actually be the key to success
"Spotify's content chief, Dawn Ostroff, is leading the music behemoth into an entirely new area that's all about words, not riffs: podcasts."A Major but Little-Known Supporter of Climate Denial: Freight Railroads
"For nearly 30 years, America’s four biggest rail companies—which move the majority of the country’s coal—have spent millions to deny climate science and block climate policy."
#PEOPLE
[In Spanish] [Video] - Carne de Satan minidocumental 720p
"una vreve parte de nuestro dia a dia. musicos rockeros, terapeutas y parapsicologos."[Video] - Beethoven “Moonlight Sonata” for Old Elephant
"Mongkol is a 61-year-old former logging elephant. His captive-held life was spent hauling trees in the Thai forest. His body shape is deformed through hard labor, he lost his right eye and tusk in this brutal logging practice. Mongkol was rescued and brought to Elephants World to spend the rest of his days relaxing peacefully in freedom by the River Kwai. I discovered Mongkol is an extremely gentle, sensitive elephant who enjoys music, especially this slow movement by Beethoven which I play to him occasionally in the day and night."@eva.stories
"Based on a true story - In memory of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust"[Video] - High 5 - Late 80s skateboarding - Tony Hawk at Fallbrook
"In this segment it's Tony Hawk skating his private vert-spined-to-bowl ramp in Fallbrook, plus a look at his fancy gadgets."[Video] - Heroin Commuters: Swedish Drug Users are Migrating to Denmark
What happens when neighbouring countries have completely different drug policies? While Sweden rigidly sticks to its zero tolerance laws, liberal Denmark introduced drug consumption rooms (DCRs) in 2012, with special areas surrounding them where you won’t get arrested for drug possession if it’s for personal use."
#ART
How Gagosian grew digital sales 350% with one great idea
"The legendary gallery is betting big on digital viewing platforms to attract new buyers and sell high-priced art works internationally."The Art Of Computer Designing: A Black and White Approach
"The computer is a magic box. Many graphic images are hidden inside it. This book is a beginner's introduction to calling forth these images as author Sato shows how to create figures with basic shapes - i.e., lines, arcs, squares and circles - and does so simply, clearly, and above all very logically. This is an everyday guide to computer illustrating, a collection of design ideas and a compendium of Mr. Sato's own computer art works."How Gay Art Survives in Beijing, as Censors Tighten Grip
"An art gallery in China’s capital provides a lens into the city’s quietly present gay community."
#WEIRD
#THEDARKSIDE
The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It
"A little-known start-up helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images — and 'might lead to a dystopian future or something,' a backer says."If this era of automation mirrors the past, we’re in trouble
"The case against the flawed argument that automation won’t be so bad"[Video] - Tech’s Most Controversial Startup Makes Drone-Killing Robots
"Founded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel, Anduril is rekindling the connection between the American military and Silicon Valley."[Video] - Anduril: The Startup Building Surveillance Systems & Drone-Smashers For The Military | NBC News Now
"Palmer Luckey’s defense technology startup, Anduril Industries, is developing products he says the United States needs as a matter of national security. Anduril has already built surveillance systems for military and defense agencies and is now adding a drone-destroying capability to its product line. The company recently secured a contract to deploy its interceptor system in conflict zones overseas. But all of this makes Anduril, and Luckey, highly unusual in the tech industry, which has seen workers openly rebel against any work that would give surveillance capabilities to law enforcement or the military."This New Facebook Tool Reveals How You Are Being Tracked Online
"[...] And if you really don’t want to delete your Facebook account, it makes sense to at least remove your mobile app. Your mobile goes everywhere with you, and it’s better that Facebook remains at home if possible."Finland is winning the war on fake news. What it’s learned may be crucial to Western democracy
"Finland has faced down Kremlin-backed propaganda campaigns ever since it declared independence from Russia 101 years ago. But in 2014, after Moscow annexed Crimea and backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, it became obvious that the battlefield had shifted: information warfare was moving online."The Apps on My Phone Are Stalking Me
"I discovered that we’re building a digital surveillance state much like the one in China."Algorithms can now detect your heart rate and stress levels over video chat
"The technology can identify your pulse using slight changes in the color of your face—and could usher in the ubiquity of telehealth services."
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