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Simon Groth

@simongroth.com

1.4K followers 980 following 590 posts

Curious writer. ‘Heartwarmingly blunt.’ New book ‘Ephemeral City’ is available now. Stories and ephemera published in a box that can be read in any order you like. simongroth.com

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 12d

An elaborately constructed book in a box filled with stories and ephemera? In this economy? Fear not. @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social has discounted the boxed edition of Ephemeral City to A$45 (pp) for a limited time. If you’ve been on the fence, now's your chance. www.simongroth.com/shop/ephemer...

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 3h

“Current architectures of LLMs cannot imagine, but they can sequence … For the same reason that a dog can go to church but a dog cannot be Catholic, an LLM can have a conversation but cannot participate in the conversation.”

Eryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 12h

I've been re-acquainting myself with NNs, transformers and LLMs this week, so these are early thoughts. But I am starting to think about language without the capacity to imagine language, i.e., an LLM unable to imagine itself participating in language. mail.cyberneticforests.com/what-machine...

What Machines Don't Know

Imagining Language Without Imagination It's important to acknowledge that Large Language Models are complex. There's an oversimplified binary in online chatter between the dismissive characterizatio...

mail.cyberneticforests.com

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 15h

Todos somos la morsa, si lo piensas.

El disco de Los Beatles, Yo soy la morsa (con el titulo en español).

Reposted by Simon Groth

Michael Stipe @michaelstipe.bsky.social · 17h

and I feel fine

jamma10.bsky.social @jamma10.bsky.social · 2d

Toilet, Bristol UK circa 2015

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 17h

Another year, another flood. The story 'Frangipani' takes place in 1974. A story of heartbreak and loss, it suggested Ringo’s *massive* 1973 hit. Picture my character Adeline, sitting on her verandah, waiting for the daughter who will never return, while this song about grief plays over the radio.

Ringo Starr - Photograph (1973)

YouTube video by auguzto777

youtu.be

Reposted by Simon Groth

Steven C @stevenc63.bsky.social · 1d

The worst book I ever read …

oldgodsmadenew.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-n...

My Night In With Nick Kent (or The Worst Book I've Ever Read)

27 March 2010 I have read Nick Kent's 'Apathy For The Devil', so you don't have to. You can thank me later, or send donations in lie...

oldgodsmadenew.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 2d

Just been reminded of a colloquial Colombian phrase for when someone is lost or confused that goes mas enredado que un pulpo aplaudiendo. It means “more tangled up than a clapping octopus.”

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 1d

This is our dog Nutmeg.

She will be 12 this month. She lost her eyesight gradually a couple of years ago. We knew she had cataracts from her milky eyes, but one day we realised they had got pretty bad. (How we realised how bad they had got is another story I will post on here at some point).

Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 1d

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 1d

Anyone growing up in Brisbane in the eighties couldn’t escape the schmaltz of 'Love You, Brisbane', used as a station ident for Channel 7. Here, it's recast with speed, volume, and arch irony. Perfect for 'Rosaries', a story set against the collapse of a smug and thoroughly corrupted police state.

LOVE YOU BRISBANE - JJ SPEEDBALL ( UNOFFICIAL 2032 BRISBANE OLYMPIC GAMES ANTHEM)

LOVE YOU BRISBANE originally written by Lawrence Stone. This song recorded by Liam Kriz. Lead Vocals - JJ Speedball Female Vocal - Natasha Doherty, Jodie Maloney Guitars - Randy Rosello Bass - Ray Osro Drums - Tommy Kreeper JJ SPEEDBALL is a long standing Brisbane performer. Starting out in Brisbane's punk rock scene of the early nineties, JJ graduated to national and international touring with various bands. He has been a constant performer over five decades. JJ SPEEDBALL has written over 300 songs with many songs referencing Brisbane, the city he still calls home. https://www.facebook.com/jj.speedball/ NEW ALBUM on bandcamp and Spotify. Instagram - jjspeedballrocks JJ SPEEBALL PLAYING THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE CAVE INN - BRISBANE !!! AUGUST 3RD, 2024 !!! 47 BALACLAVA STREET WOOLLOONGABBA - 7 - 10.30 PM !! $10 CASH DONATION !!! ALSO PLAYING SHANDY AND SQUARE TUGS !!!

v8k6.engage.squarespace-mail.com

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 1d

Harper says hello.

My greyhound Harper on a couch (her natural habitat) resting her front paws and chin on the armrest like the goodest girl. It’s a shame the sunlight is further down on her back, pulling focus away from her face but you gotta get the shot while it’s there. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Reposted by Simon Groth

Kaz Cooke @kazcooke.bsky.social · 2d

Marina Hyde nails the AI bosses' brazen theft of work that legally belongs to its creators. The tech bros say their industry will collapse without stealing our stuff - it's that valuable. But also so unimportant & worthless they won't pay for it or ask consent.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It’s Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? | Marina Hyde

His AI video generator Sora 2 has been reviled for pinching the work of others. One giant leap for Sam: for everyone else, not so much, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

www.theguardian.com

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 2d

This is embarrassing and these people should be embarrassed for peddling this pearl clutching bullshit.

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d

“In September, scientists at Stanford reported they had used A.I. to design a virus for the first time.”

Opinion | The A.I. Prompt That Could End the World

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Simon Groth

gilberts1950.bsky.social @gilberts1950.bsky.social · 2d

László Krasznahorkai's English-language reputation has been built through the work of his key translators, George Szirtes and Ottilie Mulzet and John Batki.

So let's praise them too!

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 2d

The flood.

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 2d

Gifted is the most historically recent story. Set during the flooding of the Brisbane River in 2011, it centres on a lost child in a fantastic world of her own making. This song by Arcade Fire from a few years earlier seems apropos. (Also I’m a sucker for songs with a gradually rising tempo.)

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

YouTube video by Merge Records on YouTube

youtu.be

Reposted by Simon Groth

Jillian Reilly @jillianreilly.bsky.social · 3d

"We'd like to wish you all what you would wish yourself"
youtu.be/0svrEpittNs?...

George Harrison 'It's Johnny's Birthday' (Official Video)

YouTube video by George Harrison

youtu.be

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 3d

The final scene of the story Battle takes place in the heart of the city as spontaneous celebrations break out at news that the war is over. At one point, a group of women break into the song ‘Wonder When My Baby’s Coming Home’, a detail lifted directly from contemporary reports.

Wonder When My Baby's Coming Home ~ Jimmy Dorsey & Orchestra (1942)

YouTube video by MrRJDB1969

youtu.be

Reposted by Simon Groth

Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 3d

Never forget that Australia went to war with emus in 1932 and the emus won

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 4d

For most of that night they would have jitterbugged to hot jazz, but I chose to fast forward to the end of the night. I was surprised to find this song by Thelonius Monk was a hit in Australia and I can picture Frank and Margaret in each other’s arms with this playing as the place winds down.

'Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk (1947)

YouTube video by djbuddylovecooljazz

youtu.be

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 4d

Scenes from the story Battle take place at the Trocadero, a dance hall frequented by Australian and American military stationed in Brisbane in 1942. There we find my characters Frank and Margaret falling for each other as they dance awkwardly together.

The Trocadero Dansant Dancehall on Melbourne Street, South Brisbane, probably late 1920s. Don’t look for it; it’s not there anymore.

A rare view at the Troc’s interior looking back from the stage. A huge class of debutantes and officials occupy the dancefloor in rows while the shadows of onlookers can be seen in the balconies.

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 5d

Back in the day people used to have a slide at the end of their presentations saying "and that's how the brain works" as an inside joke about Hinton since he was known to talk confidently out of his ass.

Now, the Nobel committee brought this upon us like they give the peace prize to genociders.

⚡️🌙 @dystopiabreaker.xyz · 7d

anyway, here is 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Geoffrey Hinton discussing what we know about large AI models on 60 Minutes.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 5d

I was reading about how the keyboard was a heavily modified clavioline, a bit of one off sound.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 5d

On a personal note, this is one of the songs my dad transferred to tape from his old 45s. Those tapes—stacked with hits and obscurities from the late 50s and early 60s—were the inescapable sound of my childhood weekends.

A Panasonic portable tape player with built in mono speaker.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 5d

The story Heavens is set in mid-1961 in the shadow of the space race and anti-communist paranoia. This song is a massive hit from that year, complete with a spacey-toned keyboard solo, anticipating by more than a year the more overtly spacey ‘Telstar’ by the Tornadoes.

Runaway

YouTube video by Del Shannon - Topic

youtu.be

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 5d

You’ve got it. My copy of Wreck this Book is so tightly bound it is in fact hard to wreck. And I’m realising in real time the hypocrisy of saying that when I did this to my own book. 🤔

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · Sep 14

My book Ephemeral City is a box of stories and ephemera that can be read in any order. It’s also published in paperback for the normies, though with a little effort, that too can be read in any order.

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 6d

Keri Smith's books are fun, but it's frustrating publishers keep using perfect binding for them.