Image courtesy of 'The Kardashians' from Hulu

Entertainment

Weekly roundup: The Kardashians season 3 drops and Neuralink brain implant approved for human trials

By SCREENSHOT

May 26, 2023

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It’s that magical time of year again, when the sun’s beginning to peek out, we’ve all attached ourselves to an IV of Pimm’s and Aperol, and the quality of reality TV is at an all-time high. On 25 May 2023, just as we were starting to recover from the last episode of Vanderpump Rules, Disney+ dropped the first episode for season three of none other than The Kardashians.

This new season has already kicked off in style with a completely epic roller rink-style intro sequence and 60 minutes worth of top tier Kardashian shenanigans. We got to see some OG Kourtney and Khloe time, we saw the first glimpses of Khloe dealing with a potential skin cancer scare, and we got to enjoy Scott Disick doing what he does best, making fun of the family and waltzing about the place like the true icon that he is.

In a recent interview with SPIN, artist Noel Gallagher spoke about the recent Oasis album which went viral online after having been created solely through the use of artificial intelligence.

The album, titled AISIS, was made using original recordings by the British band Breezer, who replaced their singer’s vocals with an AI-generated version of Noel’s brother and former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher’s voice, who later approved of the project. Noel on the other hand, isn’t as big of a fan.

“[It’s] fucking embarrassing. I just think people clearly have too much time and money on their hands if they’re fucking around with that for a laugh. I mean, who wants to fucking hear Ringo Starr singing ‘She’s Electric’ and Freddie Mercury singing ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger?’ Life’s too short for that shit,” the musician stated.

Continuing, Gallagher claimed: “AI will be the final nail in the coffin of music. I’m sure that the major record labels are now working on the technology to copyright it and machines will write music. Why hire a songwriter when you can own a machine to do it? Then Harry Styles can pump out Harry Styles music for the rest of his fucking life.”

Everyone’s favourite corporate media fever dream is sadly coming to an end. After four seasons of suits, private jets, the disgusting brothers, toxic family dramas, and excessive wealth that seems to just pour out of every character on screen, Waystar Royco is about to close its doors forever.

For anyone who’s been sucked into the Succession-obsession over the past few years, you’ll know how sad it is to wave goodbye to some of the best written on-screen characters in all of TV history. Who could ever top the sheer complexities of Roman Roy? Or deliver as cringeworthy of a rap scene as Kendall Roy? Don’t even get me started on Shiv Roy—a true queen who I’ll cherish forever.

But the real question is, who is actually going to become Logan’s successor? With only one episode left, fans are still completely clueless as to who is going to come out on top. Well, at least we don’t have long to wait, the season finale will air on Sunday 28 May (that’s Monday 29 May for all us Brits).

According to Mashable, Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink has recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the launch of its first clinical study in humans.

Commenting on the approval, the official Neuralink account tweeted on 25 May 2023: “This is the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA and represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people.”

One of the alleged benefits of the Neuralink implant is that it aims to develop devices that will let people control computers with their brain, as well as restore vision or mobility in people with disabilities. Understandably, this project has also seen a lot of resistance and there still remains to be quite a lot of fear regarding its applications. One recent scandal involved the alleged abuse of a number of monkey test subjects who’d been involved in the animal trials.

There is not yet any further information about when human trials may begin.

If only every air steward took their jobs as seriously as this icon does. Get me on a JetBlue flight ASAP just so I can watch this sequence go down in person:

Image courtesy of Keith Urban from Instagram

Entertainment

SCREENSHOT weekly roundup: Keith Urban makes Phoebe Bridgers’ hit list and the Irish win big

By SCREENSHOT

May 19, 2023

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Keith Urban, aka country music star and the world’s biggest fan of hair straighteners, recently hard launched secret couple Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham at a Taylor Swift concert. On 16 May 2023, Urban and wife Nicole Kidman took a video of themselves dancing and singing along at the Swift ‘Eras’ concert in Philadelphia.

What might’ve appeared to be a seemingly sweet clip of the loved-up pair enjoying themselves quickly shifted into an internet sensation—one that gen Zers will be likely obsessing over for at least three to five working days. In the background of the video, eagle-eyed netizens spotted none other than Bridgers and Burnham engaged in what can only be described as a passionate make-out sesh.

While the pair had been previously romantically linked, nothing had been confirmed. That was until Urban decided to share their love with the entire world… Oops.

According to the BBC, Facebook parent company Meta has begun rolling out a paid verification service in the UK. Similar to Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue, the service gives Facebook and Instagram users a blue tick for ‘only’ £9.99 a month.

Anyone who applies for the verification service must be 18 years old or over and must have a government ID. I don’t know about you, but the idea of being ‘Meta verified’ doesn’t sound all too appealing to me.

The decision for these platforms to introduce more tiered payment options reiterates the financial struggles which have faced the tech industry over the past few years. Google layed off 12,000 employees at the beginning of 2023, and was followed by similar companies such as Spotify, Amazon and Microsoft.

During the 2023 BAFTAs, one thing became abundantly clear, recognition of Irish talent (both off-screen and on) has skyrocketed recently. At this year’s awards, six Irish stars were nominated within the acting categories, and blockbuster The Banshees of Inisherin was also up for Best Film.

In fact, all award season, including during the Golden Globes and the Oscars, Irish films and acting talent have been at the forefront. Derry Girls star and Northern Irish actor Jamie-Lee O’Donnell spoke on the red carpet at the BAFTAs about the recent uptake in recognition: “I think it’s always had the talent, it’s just getting the recognition now. I think Ireland in general, you’re seeing it all over the world now where there’s a lot of Irish talent both in front of the camera and behind. I think it’d be hard to find an Irish family that doesn’t have somebody who is a good singer or a good dancer or has good craic.”

On Monday 15 May, Home Secretary Suella Braverman attended the National Conservatism conference in London and delivered an overtly offensive speech regarding immigration in the UK. Within her address, Braverman insisted that it is “not racist” to want border controls, told the audience that we “must not forget how to do things for ourselves,” and that white people should feel no guilt for the crimes committed by other white people in the past.

In effect, the politician is practically implying that in no way, shape, or form should present day white individuals take any responsibility, or even acknowledge, the extensive history the UK has in regard to upholding and sustaining institutionalised racism and societal racism. The idea of acknowledging white privilege has always been a problem for those on the right, so is anyone truly surprised by these statements?

It’s also unsurprising that Braverman went on to note that those on the left “are ashamed of our history and embarrassed by the sentiments and desires expressed by the British public,” as reported by The Guardian.

The only small piece of pleasure any of us can take from this speech was the fact that Braverman was disrupted and heckled by a group of protestors from activist group Extinction Rebellion.

While I would love to simply drop the infamous Urban hard launch TikTok in here for viral social media post of the week, that would technically be cheating. So, instead, here’s a stunning video of Halle Berry at the The Little Mermaid premiere in London.