Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagHBO Max

office-building-top-view-background-in-retro-style-colors-manhattan-buildings-of-new-york-city-center-wall-street-stockpack-adobe-stock
Office building top view background in retro style colors. Manhattan buildings of New York City center - Wall street
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 21, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism
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HBO’s “Succession” Goes Transhumanist

The popular show about a family owned media empire hints at the desire to live forever
Peter Biles
May 21, 2023
3
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead] The highly-watched HBO show “Succession” tells the story of a media empire ruled by a cantankerous, manipulative businessman, Logan Roy, and his three children who are hardly any better. Most of the show is a commentary on the corrupting effects of wealth and the power dynamics involved in the media empire’s core leadership. In the dramatic fourth season, Logan Roy dies from what seems to be a stroke while he’s flying to Norway to discuss a giant merger deal with another media mogul. From there, the three Roy children, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv (along with a half-brother Connor who doesn’t care as much about his place in the kingdom) scramble to figure out the leadership, direction, and Read More ›

cortyceps fungus
beautiful bunch cordyceps,mushrooms in neon light. The last of us style. Generative AI.
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
April 8, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The Last of Us: Final Thoughts

The HBO series is a mixed bag but is still worth the watch
Gary Varner
April 8, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

The Last of Us HBO series is a mixed bag. There are parts of this show I really liked and other parts I despised. The main trouble is that there are two full episodes which are completely irrelevant to the plot. Frankly, you could skip episodes three and seven and not miss a thing. These episodes are just fanfare for the critics and add nothing to the story. Particularly episode three. I’ve never seen such a random addition to a series. What’s so astounding is that the flashback in episode three keeps going. About halfway through, the viewer realizes that they really are going to have to watch these two old men live and die, all so Joel and Ellie Read More ›

run down hospital
Interior of an abandoned hospital corridor. Generative AI
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
April 5, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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The Last of Us, Episode 9

Getting to the central moral question of the entire series
Gary Varner
April 5, 2023
8
Arts & Culture

The episode begins with another flashback, showing how Ellie was born. Then, we see that Joel and Ellie have finally reached Salt Lake City, and once there, the writers retell some of the classic scenes from the game. During these scenes, it becomes evident that the two characters are much closer now. I’d say the writers did manage to successfully transition Joel and Ellie from an adversarial partnership to a father-daughter like relationship. Before long; however, the two are disoriented by a flash grenade, and Joel is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he sees Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, standing in a doorway with armed guards around her. They made it to the medical facility after all, but Read More ›

snow capped forests
Snow capped forest in the Pyrenees
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 31, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The Last of Us, Episodes 7 & 8

Another flashback for the critics followed by cannibalism
Gary Varner
March 31, 2023
7
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

To be blunt, it’s probably best to merge the reviews of episodes seven and eight because episode seven is a complete waste of time. Basically, Ellie moves Joel to an abandoned house and tries to take care of him. He tells her she needs to go back to Tommy’s and let him die, and she almost does it, but then she has a flashback. During the commentary for episode seven, the writers mention that they wanted to make a connection between this flashback and Ellie’s decision to save Joel. But I think the truth is they were more interested in devoting another episode to fanservice for the critics. In this flashback, Ellie remembers Riley, her friend who was attacked with Read More ›

wyoming glory
Grand Tetons peak at sunrise with snake river overlook in Wyoming, US
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 25, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The Last of Us, Episode 6

A tale of zombies and...communism?
Gary Varner
March 25, 2023
10
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Episode six starts out strong. We meet an elderly couple who has been living alone in Wyoming. Joel and Ellie break into their cabin and ask for directions in the rudest way possible—at gun point—which is a little over the top, and even the actors playing the couple seem to know it. As Joel sits beside the old pair, holding a gun and acting dour, the elderly man chats with him, sporting a bemused grin. Joel and Ellie get the directions they need and soon come across a group of men and women on horseback who hold them at gunpoint and check to see if they’re infected. Once it becomes clear that Joel and Ellie are fine, the riders ask Read More ›

underground tunnel
Generative AI illustration of underground sewer tunnel
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 22, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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The Last of Us, Episode 5

The show is back on track and improving
Gary Varner
March 22, 2023
10
Arts & Culture

At the end of Episode four, Joel was being held a gunpoint by a mysterious child. We also saw that Ellie was being held at gunpoint by another man as well, but before episode five reveals what has become of them, the writers first give us a flashback, explaining how the child holding Joel at gunpoint, whose name turns out to be Sam, and the man holding Ellie at gunpoint, Henry, the same Henry Kathleen has been chasing, came to find Joel and Ellie in the first place. The two brothers were on the run after FEDRA fell to Kathleen’s resistance movement. Henry was an informant for FEDRA, and he snitched on Kathleen’s brother, who was the former leader of Read More ›

apocalyptic city
Concept art illustration of post-apocalyptic New York city
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 18, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The Last of Us, Episode 4

After a derailing of the narrative, the actual plot makes a comeback
Gary Varner
March 18, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

After a tough episode three, The Last of Us decides to return to the plot, and we see the writing quality improve somewhat. We pick up with Joel and Ellie driving down the road, and to be candid, the scenes are interesting. There was, however, one giant plot hole during this sequence I couldn’t ignore. It’s a little thing, but as someone who grew up in Missouri, I found it hilarious. So, while they are driving along, they come across a herd of bison. The subtext behind the camera shot is painfully obvious, “Now that man is gone, the buffalo have returned. Nature is healing!” Of course, what the camera crew failed to notice, or at least, what they were Read More ›

wheelchair-for-physical-assistance-at-nursing-home-close-up-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
wheelchair for physical assistance at nursing home, close up. Generative AI
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 16, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture
Tagged
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The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part 3)

Romanticizing a murder-suicide distracts us from the story and suggests an approval of euthanasia
Gary Varner
March 16, 2023
7
Arts & Culture

In the previous review, we discussed the love story of Bill and Frank, and how it must’ve only been written to appease the critics because, while it stirred some controversy, it contributed nothing to the plot. We started out following Joel and Ellie across the countryside, but then, we were unexpectedly forced to watch an approximately forty-minute flashback that literally showed Bill and Frank’s entire cliché and boring life together. And before we can return to the real story, we must see how the two meet their untimely end. This final sequence starts out with Bill getting into a gunfight with some raiders who are all dying horribly at the hands of Bill’s various traps. At first, Bill seems to Read More ›

man-and-girl-in-post-apocalyptic-city-the-last-of-us-style-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man and girl in post apocalyptic city. The last of us style. Generative AI.
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 4, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The Last of Us Review: Episode 2

A rather slow episode despite the sonar zombies
Gary Varner
March 4, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Last time, we looked at the first episode of The Last of Us and talked about how it was well written, but if you are aware of the controversy surrounding this game and its sequel, then you know bad things are on the horizon. Once we reach episode two, the writing quality drops a little but not much. It’s still pretty good, at least, when it’s consistent with the source material. Ellie wakes up to find Joel and Tess staring at her with a loaded gun. Her guardians are having a hard time believing that she is not infected with the virus despite the fact that her wound has healed. There is a brief debate about whether or not to Read More ›