The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowledged the existence of generative AI yesterday in new rule changes for its annual Oscars awards ceremony. Rather than dictate its use or require disclosures, the Academy simply says using AI doesn’t, on its own, hurt a movie’s chances — but that how it’s used could.

That seems fair.

The Brutalist used AI to improve Hungarian accents, which seems a reasonable use for it. They also used it to generate photographs of fictional buildings, which has done someone out of a job. However, someone else has to come up with the prompts and sift through the results, it just feels a bit… Cheap? Low effort?

I hear there will be a new cartoon out soon about it called Gendercats.

I live in hope that this will kickstart a solar panel industry here, rather than us just finding a developing country with cheap labour and lax laws.

Following the ruling, J.K. Rowling, the world’s richest author and perhaps its most prominent transphobe, tweeted a photo of herself enjoying a cigar and a bourbon on her $15 million superyacht, toasting what she called “TERF VE Day,” in reference to the acronym “trans-exclusionary radical feminism” and the surrender of German military operations that heralded “Victory in Europe” 80 years ago. “I love it when a plan comes together,” Rowling added.

She’s become a Bond villain.

Astonishingly, the ruling specifies that what it calls “women living in the male gender”—i.e., trans men, and cis women whose appearance is deemed masculine—“could also be excluded” alongside cis men, from women’s spaces. “Not being allowed into the mens by rule does not mean you have the right to go into the ladies,” clarified the leading anti-trans campaigner Maya Forstater; “That may seem unfair, but these are life choices people make. If you make extreme efforts to look like a man don’t be surprised if you are denied entrance to ladies.” Forstater’s comments underscore the ultimate goal of TERFs and other transphobes: to expunge trans people from public life.

The mask slips there. Even amongst TERFs that has to be a minority opinion (right? Right?) as everyone has the right to go to the toilet, but it does demonstrate that some don’t see this ruling as an end point but just a foot in the door. One of my arguments against the ruling (or the misinterpretation of it) was that trans men will be forced into women’s toilets, changing rooms, etc and this would underline the absurdity of all of this and lead to push back against it, but it seems like some TERFs are already planning for that eventuality.

And, again, who do they expect to police this? I spoke to the landlord of my local and he is pretty clear that everyone should use the toilet that best corresponds to the gender you look like, not necessarily from some high moral ground but because it causes the least fuss and bother.

Sheep and syphilis… 🤔

We are subjects in a feudal constitutional monarchy. We can reform the House of Lords (I favour sortition) but the whole system is broken.

This will be a welcome move if it let’s people get better control of their energy. I think someone has posted on here about their smart home setup that allows them to monitor their green energy production and usage.

My previous house was a Victorian semi that had cavity walls. I phoned up about a green grant to get it done (as people two doors down had) and they wouldn’t believe me until they checked Google Earth. Had it surveyed and it would have needed a lot of preparation work to get into a condition that it could have been insulated. Ended moving and I am unsure what the new owners have done on that front - not flash enough to make their Instagram account about renovating the house which I have been advised not to read as they are horrible people with bad taste. Although I get the gist as it often gets commented on at parties, especially as a friend’s brother-in-law did the bathrooms.

Glad I locked in a 18 month energy deal but I am wondering if I should have gone for 2 years.

there are also online tutorials which have prompted amateurs to carry out DIY interventions, with disastrous consequences.

You really can learn anything on YouTube.

The SC ruling didn’t even say that trans people had to be excluded from single-sex spaces, only that they could.

This is Lord Sumption’s take on it and he reckons the ruling has been misinterpreted. As a former Supreme Court judge, I’m happy to go along with that as he is an expert on interpreting and writing such judgements.

The speed with which some people have jumped on this and given their own, apparently wrong, reading of the law is worrying. Especially as one of them is Baroness Falkner who is threatening to write up “guidance” based on her misunderstanding of the judgement. Almost seems… opportunistic.

And who is going to police this?

My understanding is that it isn’t illegal for anyone to use any toilet and it is down to the establishment to decide who can go in what toilet. I’ve definitely been to theatres were women take over one of the gents. Also the gents in The Philharmonic pub in the middle of Liverpool is so splendid you can ask to be shown around no matter what you sex. I often lock both sets of toilets in my local if we have a late drink and that involves a quick check to make sure they are empty.

As one studio after another began clamoring to pay Sinners’s $90 million-ish asking price, the director’s agents at WME notified them of a few strings attached. Coogler would retain final cut (a creative dispensation reserved for the industry’s crème de la crème), command first-dollar gross (that is, a percentage of box-office revenue beginning from the movie’s theatrical opening rather than waiting for the studio to turn a profit), and, most contentiously, 25 years after its release, ownership of Sinners would revert to the director.

And they say it like this is A Bad Thing, creators should have more control over the things they make - Hollywood shafting people just makes everything worse. The studios are still going to make plenty of money.

Yeah, I’ve cut out added sugar apart from special occasions but I’d still pick up something for family or friends (Malteaster bunnies or white chocolate and raspberry eggs have been popular in the past) but I haven’t seen anything that didn’t look like a standard chocolate brand trying a rip-off egg with underwhelming contents. I might look a bit harder tomorrow but I can’t see myself getting anything this year.

What I have noticed is an attempt to sell seasonal tatt as they do at Halloween and Christmas - I’ve even seen “Easter bunny please stop here” signs and lawn decorations that seem an increasing trend.

Not me.

Not as far as I’m aware - The Guardian says it was only officers who trans women with a GRC who were allowed to search those AFAB. So officers couldn’t pick and chose to suit them.

The BTP jumped on this almost instantly as they’d been under fire because trans women on the force could strip search those AFAB.

I’m waiting for next shoe to drop when someone AFAB complains because they get strip searched by a big hairy bloke because he was also AFAB. At no point does anyone seem to have considered the effect this law will have on trans men now having to go into women-only spaces. I don’t think JK Rowling cares about the messy fallout from her War on Trans Women.

Turkey is also in Europe. Partly.

I’d guess that, while this is heading to the cinema, Amazon would be looking to start a TV series too.

I’m just miffed they don’t still have the print for sale. Still I will own that Dad’s Army of Darkness t-shirt one day.