It’s time for another COOL THINGS edition! It’s hard to believe the weather is turning so fast. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? Something like that anyway. I’ve got a round up of some neato things for you to look at as usual, so let’s get right into it.
Automated face redaction at DFACE
This is little piece of software can be useful. If you need to redact faces from an image, you upload it to DFACE and let the algorithm block out anything it pattern-recognizes as a face. While I would definitely urge people to be careful uploading photos anywhere, especially if they have sensitive face content in them, it can help recognize faces when you might not have realized there were any. Mainly, I was cackling when the statue face in the building facade was redacted on the sample image.
Jack Phantom and The Exquisite Corpse Cabaret
Sometimes I post on Bluesky and ask people what cool things they’re doing (or that they’ve found), and Jack Phantom replied when I asked. Man, what a find. If you like Bohren & der Club of Gore and that moody, melodic type of dark jazz, you’ll be into Jack Phantom’s stuff. He specifically linked to a 12” blue vinyl he has for sale stating it’s perfect for “a rainy day” (I agree!) but you can also check out Jack Phantom’s music on YouTube and more.
“The Switch” – Real-world magic in animation
I found this incredible. This animator talks about a simple concept he calls “the switch” where animators use motion and speed to build up momentum and allow a transition to happen between frames without drawing all kinds of complex frames in between. I’m definitely gonna use this one next time I have to do an animation like this.
Knights of Guinevere: Pilot
It’s everywhere. I mean it. Like KPop Demon Hunters, this thing is all over the internet with fanart and more. Okay, I finally caved and watched it. And it’s cool. Basically, it’s a sci-fi/fantasy story about a robot princess who is trapped by capitalism and greed and desperately needs rescuing. If you want more, the creators need help getting it greenlit for more! Watch the pilot now on YouTube.
Why AI Slop is Killing YouTube, YouTube Channels, and YouTube Creators
Shhhhhh just watch the video.
Real world data about colors and movie posters
This is super interesting. Stephen Follows uses data to look at movie poster color trends and make determinations about what colors are most commonly used in movie posters (and why). It also shows the trend of decreasing the amount of color in movie posters over time. I know it surprised me to find that the second most popular color for movie posters was orange (though I would argue many of his samples are yellow and not orange).
Introducing: Salem Frights
You may have heard of Salem Lights (it’s my yearly Salem, NH holiday lights map), now get ready for Salem Frights! I’ve teamed up with the recreation department to provide this homeowner-approved map listing of Salem, NH halloween displays you can visit. Homeowners are encouraged to submit their displays! After this, the Salem Lights map will be back up – and on its own new dedicated site.
HBO Logo mistake… But not the original!
The HBO logo might have a mistake or two in it, but the original logo designer did not make that mistake. Riveting Instagram reel here (no really, it was super fascinating) about the OP’s findings of “a mistake” in the HBO logo and the original designer’s take about it!
The Book Bazaar is coming in just a month!
Love books and want to support indie authors? You should subscribe to The Book Bazaar, for sure! 20+ projects will be trying to fund an indie print run of their books, audiobooks, ebooks, poetry books, art books, and more. Get on the ground floor (maybe even get your name printed in some!) and support these indies. You never know, you might find your new favorite author amidst them!