Coming Like a Freight Train
Ars Technica published an article this morning with AI voice demos from Sesame. It's here: Eerily realistic AI voice demo sparks amazement and discomfort online.
If you can tell the voices in the two samples aren't human, I'd be surprised. I can't. The second example is two persons conversing, one of which is AI. I couldn't tell them apart.
I discussed this with DQ Film Advisor and Greatest Guy in the World Ben Ormand, and he agrees that the samples are incredible. He sees all of this coming to Hollywood, along with AI video creation, but when he tries to explain, no one is listening.
It's coming very, very quickly.
The example he used was a group of outsiders making a film with a 500k budget that looks like it cost 150M to make. When that happens, people will finally understand, he said.
If what he mentioned sounds impossible, maybe it is, at least today. But fully creating a feature-length film with AI In 2-3 years? Maybe. In 5 years? Almost certainly.
One of my challenges this year is to stay briefed on what's happening in this field and to become proficient with the tools. It all sounds arcane, at first, but it's going to a primary driver of creativity going forward, whether we want it to or not, and I don't want to get behind.
Book Update
I'm now about 2/3 of the way through the second section of the book. The writing isn't final, but it's within one or two drafts, so it's well along. I'm more efficient this time.
The last third of this section, plus the last section, are going to require a bit of rewriting to fill in holes in the narrative. It's all problem-solving at this point, though, and I understand what needs to be done.
I'm becoming more confident that this will be ready by the end of 2026. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think.
Best Picture Nominees 2025
We've seen four of them so far, and here are some thoughts.
The Nickel Boys is so brilliant and transcendent that of course it didn't win. A staggering adaptation of an equally brilliant book. It manages to be both lyrical and incredibly uncomfortable at the same time. When has anyone ever managed to do that? Also, if you haven't read the book, please do. Colson Whitehead is a ridiculous, fantastic writer.
Anora was a worthy Best Picture winner (if the Nickel Boys couldn't win), and Mikey Madison was an even more deserving Best Actress winner. She was riveting. This movie is so darkly funny that it can be a bit of an adjustment, at first, but it was a brilliant script.
Emilia Perez is a level below the previous two, but still very, very good. It's a musical, but the film itself tells a story that might have been better served without the musical numbers (even though they're very clever).
The Substance is a campy B-movie with no original ideas whatsoever and it's a crime it was nominated instead of far more deserving movies (like A Real Pain). This movie is two hours and twenty minutes of cymbals clashing together. It's a quilt of ideas taken from far better films with body horror thrown in. The entire script reads like it was written by AI after feeding in every cynical popularity algorithm currently existing in cinema.
Not that I have a strong opinion about it or anything.
The Varsity Match (part four)
Pandemonium.
Eli 23.6 was one of the first players to reach the shooter after the score. He's flying. Everyone in the stands was screaming their heads off, except for the fifty or so Cambridge fans.
It's one of the greatest celebrations I've ever seen, with the most dramatic finish imaginable. I've only seen that ending once in over forty years of watching hockey.
Soon, a Cambridge player will skate out and shout at the refs and be summarily ejected. Hard feelings, and I can understand. Those players gave everything they had, too. They were gutted.
The players skated around the rink to thank the crowd, and as Eli skated by, I recognize the look on his face. It's joy.
He's been playing hockey for fifteen years. Now he'd done the one thing left he said was missing in his career--win the Rivalry Match.
Eli was named game MVP, and his name will be engraved on the platter along with other players who had their moment in this special game.
We talked briefly after the game, but had a much longer call the next day. I asked him what it felt like to have that career-defining moment in the biggest game.
His answer surprised me. The first two words he said were "enormous gratitude." Only a few players in any sport ever get to experience what he did, he said, no matter how many years they play. And if the hockey gods hadn't been looking out for him in overtime, he wouldn't have experienced it, either. And he said long after he's forgotten every other game he ever played, he'll remember this one.
Down four skaters, including their best player, everyone gave everything they had. Eli told me their best defenseman played FORTY-FIVE MINUTES of a sixty-five minute game. It's inconceivable, but that's what it took. He couldn't have had that moment without them.
This might be the last time I tell one of his hockey stories. It might be his last season. I feel so lucky that I got to tell one more, though. Especially this one.
The Varsity Match (part three)
The live feed of the game didn't work, but Eli 23.6 was able to send me links to several Twitch videos (with awful audio quality because the crowd was so loud it overwhelmed the microphone levels), so I was able to watch everything except the first half of the second period.
What I'm about to tell you is a combination of what I saw and what Eli told me.
The capacity of the rink is 1,025, and it was full. Stuffed. And the crowd was deafening, right from the start.
Cambridge came out with a huge bust of energy. They had twelve shots in the first ten minutes, and Oxford had trouble clearing the puck. They weren't scoring, though, and seven minutes into the period, the Blues had a chance and scored.
It was already clear that Oxford was going to be doing a lot of double-shifting during this game. I kept seeing lots of the same players on the ice.
At the end of the first period, it was 1-0 Oxford, even though they'd been outshot 20-8. They weren't taking penalties, though, which was key, because Cambridge's power play is dangerous.
Less than a minute into the second period, Cambridge scored on a back door play after the defenseman lost the forward and Eli couldn't get over in time.
1-1.
Cambridge kept peppering Eli with shots, but they weren't scoring, and with nine minutes left in the period, Oxford scored again. Suddenly, they were up 2-1.
Right after this, I was able to start watching the game again, and guys were clearly already exhausted. They couldn't skate with Cambridge, but they were doing everything else, including diving to block shots. I have so much respect for these guys and how hard they played.
They hung on to the end of the period. Oxford 2-1.
Total shots at that point were 41-16.
Eli wasn't making any spectacular saves, but then, he almost never does. He was just in the right place, making the right decisions, and anticipating the play before it happened. His best games almost look boring because he sucks all of the air out of the rink.
The third period began, and Oxford had shut it down offensively, just sinking in to defend. This is hard to do for an entire period, and Cambridge was firing shot after shot.
It looked like the Blues were going to pull it off, though.
With four minutes left, there were offsetting minors, and it was four-on-four hockey for two minutes. Until Oxford took another penalty thirty-nine seconds later.
Suddenly Cambridge had a four-on-three for over a minute.
The penalties weren't stupid or sloppy. Guys were utterly exhausted and hanging on with everything they had. Their feet just wouldn't move anymore.
With two minutes left, Cambridge ran the back door play again. Eli was just sitting there, waiting for it, but the shooter put it over his shoulder into a tiny spot in the corner of the net.
Just like that, the game was tied.
Within a minute, they came down again, and a Cambridge player snapped a wrist shot that was going in, but Eli was somehow able to deflect it with his glove and it went over the crossbar.
In the next two minutes, Cambridge took a penalty (briefly giving Oxford a power play, then Oxford took one a minute later.
After 60 minutes, it was still tied.
Oxford had been outshot 65-22, but they were giving it everything they had, and they still had a chance.
I should mention here that goalies rarely win these kinds of games. They might have a brilliant performance, but it's just not the kind of game you win.
I should also mention that one of the quirks of the rulebook for the Varsity Match is that no overtime format is specified. Cambridge lobbied for a full, twenty-minute overtime period, which would have been disastrous, because they had more skaters and were fresher. Oxford successfully lobbied for the standard five-minute overtime period.
Overtime began.
Cambridge started on the power play and took several dangerous shots that Eli handled. Then the puck wound up on a Cambridge player's stick right in front of the net and he slid it it along the ice.
Eli looked behind him because he was a split-second late to go down and thought the puck went in. He'd played a brilliant game, but they had lost.
Then the Hockey Gods intervened. It was trapped in his equipment. No goal.
With a minute left in overtime, the game was headed to a shootout.
Cambridge was still hammering away in the Oxford zone as the clock ran down. With less than ten seconds, they had a shot blocked, the puck took a weird bounce, and suddenly Oxford had a two-on-one out of nowhere, with a clear path to the goal. Another Cambridge player rushed to get back and hooked the Oxford skater bearing down on net.
Time expired.
The referee had their hand up, signaling a penalty. It didn't mean much, because a two-minute penalty at that point was meaningless. The game was going to a shootout.
Then the referees huddled together.
After a conference that lasted almost a minute, they signaled for a penalty shot.
This would be an untimed penalty shot, because even though they had signaled for a penalty during overtime, it wouldn't be called until Cambridge touched the puck or time expired, which it did. It's one of the rarest things that can happen in a game.
Chaos.
The crowd was losing its mind for about the fiftieth time. Every player on the team had given everything they had, and now they had a chance to win without going to a shootout.
What followed was the longest penalty shot in history, as the Oxford skater lazily went almost all the way to the left boards before heading back toward the net. This is usually disastrous, because it cuts off the shooter's angle. He deked a shot, then skated right in until he could almost touch the goalie and tried a shot through the five-hole.
Even the shooter didn't think it went in, at first. Until the referee raised their arm. Game.
Final shot total: Cambridge 69, Oxford 25. Final score: Oxford 3, Cambridge 2.
I'll talk about the post-match scene tomorrow, but fair to say, it was pandemonium. Until then, the scoresheet:
The Varsity Match (part two)
The University of Oxford was founded in 1096. Historically, it was a period known as the High Middle Ages.
The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, by a group of disgruntled scholars from Oxford.
Thus, the rivalry began immediately, and continues, unabated, 816 years later.
For your reference, it is a rivalry every bit as intense as Alabama-Auburn, Michigan-Ohio St., or Oklahoma-Texas. Heated doesn't describe it adequately. Grudges emerge and fester for decades if not centuries.
That's the background.
Oxford went to Cambridge eight days before the Rivalry Match with the conference title on the line. They needed to at least tie to win their conference. Cambridge, in this era, always has a deeper and more talented team. This was true this year as well.
However, this Oxford team has a quality. They play hard. They give absolutely everything they have. In short, they're dogs, which is a high compliment.
Down 2-1 going into the 3rd period, they pulled out one of the grittiest wins Eli said he'd ever seen. Tied it at 2-2 midway through the third, then scored again 5 seconds later. They added an empty netter for a 4-2 win.
Eli 23.6 faced 45 shots, according to the scoresheet.
I talked to him the day after and he said everyone was exhausted. It was the ultimate effort, and now they had to turn around and face Cambridge again eight days later for much higher stakes.
That's what rivalries do. They drain everything you have.
There are special rules for the Varsity Match because it's not part of the conference. It predates the conference by over a century, in fact, and one of the specifications in the lengthy rule book is that all players must be matriculating students--i.e., no year abroad students or visiting scholars.
What this meant is that Oxford would be down three players who all played on the top two lines.
The morning of the match, Eli messaged me that their best player was so sick he was in the hospital. Norovirus, or something adjacent. Now they were down four players, including their best forward.
Tt was going to be a tough night.
I sent him a message telling him I was happy that he knew how to battle, but I was even happier that he enjoyed the battle. Go out and battle and be happy.
That's one of the many things he taught me: it's not enough to battle. You have to embrace the battle.
There was supposed to be a live feed of the game, but it wasn't working and never came online. And the game started over an hour late, so it was a long wait to find out what happened.
This is what happened.
[Okay, I'm still really ill, plus I added a corneal abrasion today, so I'm going to tell the rest tomorrow. And I'm also enjoying dragging it out a little.]
The Varsity Match
The first edition of the annual Oxford-Cambridge ice hockey rivalry, known as the "Varsity Match," was played in 1885.
From 1913 forward, the only years the game wasn't played were due to two World Wars.
This year was the 108th time the Rivalry Game had been played.
Oxford and Cambridge now play additional two times a year, in a home-away format for conference play. These games, however, pale in significance to the Varsity Match. Actually, every single other game combined is less important in total than the Varsity Match.
Three years ago, at Cambridge, Eli 23.6 made 59 saves, but his team lost 3-2. Last year, at Cambridge, they lost 6-1 (I don't know the shot total, but it was high), bringing the streak of Varsity Matches Cambridge had won consecutively to seven.
The Varsity Match of 2025 was played on Sunday. It was the most dramatic finish in the history of the rivalry.
I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Streak Over
I haven't been sick in almost five years.
Three days with two small children, though? Guaranteed infection. I'm going down, as they say, and so is C.
It's better to be sick with someone, though. No complaints.
It's not COVID, apparently, just some random mutant plague we've contracted. I've managed to be productive, though, and this is the last thing I'm doing before I turn my brain off for the rest of the day (reading this, you may argue I've already turned it off).
The only disappointing aspect of the day is that Mohammed Amer ("Mo" on Netflix and also a fine comedian) is in GR tonight and we had tickets, which have now been given away. A necessary sacrifice, given our current condition.
Queens
I went to New York City in 1980, staying overnight in Manhattan enroute to Massachusetts for a job as a summer camp counselor. I don't know why I stayed overnight, exactly, but it was a residence, and the camp paid for it.
I hadn't been back since then. Until last weekend, I went to Queens to meet C's other daughter/son-in-law/grandchildren.
Queens wasn't I expected. It was dense (which I did expect), but it felt much less like part of a huge city and more its own neighborhood, particularly the little area I was in. We walked it all on Monday, just before we left to go back to Grand (Gray) Rapids.
The sun was shining, and it was cold and and incredibly windy. The sting on your face when you turned a corner was real. We walked to the grocery story and a fruit market and it was all so genial. The fruit market also had cheaper fruit and vegetables than Grand Rapids, and the fruit was ripe, too.
There's a strange Midwestern thing where fruit is never ripe. The fruit in stores has been picked long before it's ripe because it will stay sellable longer, but that also means it tastes lousy.
Not in Queens, though. It was all beautiful.
I particularly enjoyed seeing how everyone was different. Down a single street, you might hear people speaking four different languages, and there were so many styles of dress and culture. Uniqueness (in any way) is not a strong suit of Grand Rapids, or the Midwest in particular.
The grandchildren are two (almost three) and four months old. This means every day starts at 5:30 a.m. My favorite moment was at 6 a.m. one morning when the infant was yelling his head off and the two-year-old was running back and forth down the hall shouting "Tai chi! Tai chi!"
That one moment made the whole trip worth it.
Another Generation (Writing)
I went to Queens for the weekend. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Eli 23.6. sent me a short piece he's working on for the Oxford Review of Something or Other. I enjoy editing his work because I understand, and I can usually tease out the heart of what he's writing, sometimes before he sees it himself. Plus the editing process is so rewarding. It makes you defend what you believe to be important and why.
Writing creatively is exhilarating for him compared to academic writing, and it's thrilling for me to see how much he loves it and how committed he is to acquiring skills and developing. The calls when we talk about writing are so memorable, and it helps me be more excited about my own writing, because getting up every morning and working on a novel can be such a slog.
I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes an academic with an enormous amount of creative writing as a side hustle. I want to be around for as long as I can to see what happens.
