What we’re watching: ‘Nomadland’ to Queen Latifah’s ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘Outlander’ stars in kilts Michael Phillips, Nina Metz, Tracy Swartz, Darcel Rockett, Scott L. Powers and Lauren Hill, Chicago Tribune
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“Nomadland”
It’s a singular experience, watching Chloé Zhao’s film “Nomadland” a drama about a woman rerouting her life in far-flung directions, in the wake of the 2008 economic meltdown from the vantage point of our own crises today. It’s a fine and bittersweet beauty in any case. Frances McDormand plays a woman living off the grid, as one of the American West’s nomadic travelers, following the jobs, making friends where she can, getting a little closer to herself. Zhao’s previous film, “The Rider,” is amazing; by contrast, “Nomadland” has its m
What trashy novels taught me about life
‘These books are “women’s fiction”, frivolous works, not the sort of thing a serious reader should bother with. Those critics are wrong.’ Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer
‘These books are “women’s fiction”, frivolous works, not the sort of thing a serious reader should bother with. Those critics are wrong.’ Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer
They’re derided as being frothy thrillers bursting with sex and shopping. But for Sarah Hughes, these so-called ‘bonkbusters’ are filled with words of wisdom about friendship and feminism
Sun 31 Jan 2021 05.00 EST
It was the covers that first drew me in. Four children staring out in fear seemingly trapped behind a window, someone somewhere clearly wishing them harm; a girl with long hair in a Victorian nightdress menaced by a giant red and green plant.
The new concept could simulate human conversations with dead loved ones based on their technology habits
22nd January 2021
Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson in Black Mirror episode Be Right Back (2013). Credit: Alamy Stock Photo.
Microsoft have created a patent that allows the tech giant to create an AI-assisted chatbot using the personal information of deceased people.
The bot, based on the âimages, voice data, social media posts, electronic messagesâ and more, would facilitate a simulated human conversation with usersâ dead loved ones.
âThe specific person [represented in the bot] may correspond to a past or present entity (or a version thereof), such as a friend, a relative, an acquaintance, a celebrity, a fictional character, a historical figure, a random entity etcâ, a statement on the new patent says.