Acoustic Shadows (plus music)

Here is another mix (pun intended!) of AI and digital experimentation. First, I pasted my poem "acoustic shadows" into a basic text editor. Here is the poem's full text: Acoustic Shadows When Grant squeezed Vicksburg the siege outlasted trees, the Mississippi men burrowed into bluffs, even the river itself. Spectators huddled on the hilltops, Sunday … Continue reading Acoustic Shadows (plus music)

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

Tonight I dared something simultaneously terrifying, thrilling, and necessary. I passengered my way through my older daughter's first night-driving experience. During this Melvillian journey, I semi-tricked her into driving on the highway for the first time--one lane only, for one mile, for one exit back home. I then made her a quesadilla while she beamed … Continue reading I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

When the Bot is Just Better

As I continue to play with AI-generated images, text, and voice I thought I would put my own work to the test. Spoiler: the bot is better than me. The experiment: I took the first half or so of my poem "Argus" (full original reprinted below) and dropped as much as was allowed into Writesonic, … Continue reading When the Bot is Just Better

Midjourney and Concussion Protocol

I attended an NFL football game this past weekend, the timing of which fit right alongside successive head injuries to football professional Tua Tagovailoa. I did not watch or see video of those collisions, but the amount of passionate writing generated around this as a cultural moment is pretty startling. Several issues relevant to our … Continue reading Midjourney and Concussion Protocol

The Platinum Hit Wheelbarrow

Since I am playing with AI interfaces and algorithms, I figured why not add some AI-generated text and poetry to the mix? Once again using William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow" as a prompt, I asked Writesonic to generate song lyrics using the poem's text as the first verse. The result is below, with my … Continue reading The Platinum Hit Wheelbarrow

The Washington Post Reads My Mind

In a moment of perfect timing, The Washington Post just published an article titled "An AI that creates images from prompts worries researchers. And now anyone can use it." An alternate headline reads, "AI can now create any image in seconds, bringing wonder and danger." The article focuses on the three AI art generators I … Continue reading The Washington Post Reads My Mind

The Algoroad Not Taken

What is the most quoted work of American poetry? Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." And it turns out the road most taken leads to misreading the poem, and thus the poem's final three lines have been offered up daily, somewhere, as a cosmic "go get 'em!" Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- … Continue reading The Algoroad Not Taken

Light & Music

Last evening I was privileged to be part of a Weidner Philharmonic Orchestra event held at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts (the place is dazzling). The event was called "Women's Work," and the orchestra played four separate pieces by women composers. Interloper that I am, I was asked to be a small part … Continue reading Light & Music

Fire & Ice

If sticking with poetry as prompts for AI art generation, I wanted to see how the various algorithms would handle shaply contrasting words, images, and concepts. "Fire" and "ice" fit the bill perfectly. Enter the dragon, Robert Frost: Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of … Continue reading Fire & Ice