One of Your Editor's biggest gripes these days concerns these over-described nuisance videos on Youtube Shorts. Often narrated by AI – detectable by the occasional interjection of a totally mispronounced word because AI can't sort homophones – these videos are obviously scripted by people who are convinced we can't interpret what we see in front of us unless they explain the story in voiceover. For these compulsive narrators, two things are important: stretching the description out as long as possible, and telling us how to feel about it all. Nobody ever does anything: they do it carefully. If they open a parcel or letter, they do it 'excitedly'. If the price of adverbs goes up, it's because they've cornered the market.
An antidote to all this mad description can be found in our pages. First, we have videos that are self-explanatory. Sure, the crow may be 'excitedly' annoying the gull. But Sasha doesn't bother to tell you that. At h2g2, we trust you to figure it out yourself.
Second, we have the Suzy Q travel photogs. They pop things onto social media or drop them in my inbox and expect me to figure it out. So far this month, I've determined that FWR is, or was, on Cyprus, having just missed Robbie Stamp, who told me that's where he was. Paigetheoracle is currently in the Hebrides, as I've figured out by looking up all sorts of things. You'll be seeing photos from them this week and next week, for sure.
Caiman Raptor Elk was definitely home when he took this week's bird photos. You'll enjoy them – especially if, like me, you don't see birds like this in your neighbourhood. Tavaron, SashaQ, and Willem and I weigh in from our respective necks of the woods, all of which are exotic to somebody.
And all without telling you how to emote about it. Or breaking the 'action' down into slo-mo. Just a bit of necessary background: who, what, where, when. The why is usually up to you.
Speaking of 'why', don't miss this week's thoroughly satisfactory conclusion to Bluebottle's epic graphic saga, 'The Church Fête'. For those of you who are used to streaming series, who always wait until the end to make sure it wasn't cancelled: now is the time to start reading it in the archives. The rest of us will be looking forward to next week, when the fête will be replaced with something even more inexplicable.
From north to south, from east to west, there's lots of this planet to look at – plus humour and imagination. There's even a short story by SashaQ. Trigger warning: cannibalism? Well, you decide.
Share and enjoy, froods. And have the best week possible. The Vogons may be on their way, but we're still busy sending our best intellectual product to the fiddler's greens of our choice.
Dmitri Gheorgheni
|
Why should you buy
h2g2 fiction? | Proceeds go to site upkeep. | Plus, they're fun to read.
And make great gifts. | Click the pics for details. |
Quote of the Week:
I've got graves to dance on that haven't been dug yet.
– Matt Ramsey, famous kitten-rescuer
|
