Centroids:
Just thought of another sure fire idea to create a viral video.
Here it is despite the fact that, in all probability, no-one here will
show the least interest. Too bad. A genuinely viral video would generate
valuable publicity worth a lot of money, is one way to put it. It would help
RC.org
gain visibility, "put us on the map," so to speak.
This could also be fun.
Admittedly there should be some sort of built-in sense of purpose,
a clear connection to Radical Centrism, but beyond that all sorts of things
might
become possible.
BTW, if anyone would like to work with me on this idea, "off list" from RC.org
that would be perfectly OK with me. Centroids is good for some stuff, indeed,
it can be very good, but for other stuff, well, never mind.........
The idea is simple: Record bizarre responses to various questions posed to
Alexa
or Siri or Google Assistant or Echo Dot or whatever new system comes along.
To be sure, this has already been done on late night TV comedy shows. But it
has been hit or miss and once the novelty of the approach has been used up
the stand-up comedians move on to other stuff. But how about
a bloopers of the week or bloopers of the day video show?
I mean, some of this stuff is hilarious.
Two approaches come to mind:
After the show has been launched so that people understand what
this is all about, have anyone interested send in their favorite
dumb things said by Alexa or Siri or Echo, etc.
The other approach is to think up questions that Alexa or Siri, etc,
are bound to screw up hopelessly.
Of course, I do tend to live in my own special universe so the kinds of
questions
I might ask might not only mystify Alexa or Siri, they could well befuddle
average men or women. Still, maybe its worth a try...
"Alexa, what is the best recording of Jannequin's Le chant des oiseaux that has
a
good size chorus, not the kind of ensemble that pre-Baroque purists demand
with just a few singers?"
Of course, thinking about it, my questions could be so obscure to most people
that at least some listeners might tune in just to see if they can guess what
in hell
I could possibly mean. But let's set that aside for the moment.
This idea occurred to me while reading Judith Shulevitz's article in The
Atlantic
for November 2018. Shuelvitz complained that every time she asks Alexa
to play some Beethoven, Alexa plays "Eleanor Rigby every time."
This, for me, would be good enough reason to drown Alexa in the bathtub.
Not that I like to brag, but in this case indulge me. Over the years, decades,
I have collected hundreds of CDs and most of them, say 80%, consist
of the creme of Classical music, nearly all of the standard repertoire
plus various favorites that are somewhat obscure, like Mussorgsky's
original version of Night on Bald Mountain.
Which is to say that Eleanor Rigby, when I was expecting, say,
Von Karajan's interpretation of "the 9th," is something that would
make me really angry.
Especially since -if Alexa is clueless about anything except pop culture-
there is a fun song from way back when that can be a tonic under certain
circumstances, namely, "Roll Over Beethoven."
But let us turn to another topic.
Suppose you were to ask Alexa (or Siri or Echo, or etc) what Clement of
Alexandria
thought about Zoroastrianism. As a wild guess, "her" answer either would be
ridiculous "baby stuff" that means practically nothing to anyone who is
interested
in 2nd century AD history, or it would be garbage (as in "GIGO").
All right, maybe we should lighten up a bit. Here is a question that is
guaranteed
to evoke "widespread" interest (so to speak)......
Alexa, what are the words for "vagina" in the 25 most popular languages of
Earth?
Don't tell me you aren't curious. :-)
There are many other questions to ask this ethereal "female." Or to ask Siri,
etc.
Such as:
How many statues and paintings of female nudes are in the Louvre?
" " "
British Museum?
" " "
Chicago Art Institute?
Heck, I can dream up questions like these, wholesale.
If this should have a Radical Centrist theme maybe Alexa could be asked:
What Independent political candidates have a reasonable chance to be elected in
2020?
Or
Are there any Radical Centrist political movements that seem viable for the
near future,
say the next ten years?
In so many words, the possibilities are endless and really should have mass
appeal.
Anyone interested?
Billy
--
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Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
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