Latest news with #WilliamShakespeare
Engadget
7 hours ago
- Engadget
Google adds Video Overviews to NotebookLM
NotebookLM, the Google research tool that gained notoriety for its AI-generated podcasts, is introducing a feature called Video Overviews. As the name suggests, this tool automatically creates videos on requested topics and pulls data from a user's uploaded images, diagrams, quotes and documents. It's rolling out right now, but there are some caveats. These overviews are only available in English, though Google says more languages are on the way. Also, the tool doesn't make videos in a conventional sense. It creates slideshows with narration. Despite this limitation, the company says the feature is "uniquely effective for explaining data, demonstrating processes and making abstract concepts more tangible." Google also says it'll be expanding the toolset in the future, so it won't always be just a slideshow machine. Video Overviews do currently offer some handy playback options. There's the ability to skip back and forth by 10 seconds and adjust the playback speed. The company is also updating NotebookLM's Studio tab. It's getting a visual refresh, which rolls out "over the next few weeks" to all users. Google has certainly been busy iterating on the platform these past few months. It released an official NotebookLM app back in May and began offering curated "featured notebooks" earlier this month. This lets users experiment with the platform with pre-approved topics like William Shakespeare, so newbies won't have to actually upload anything. Audio-only overviews are also now available in over 50 languages.
The Herald Scotland
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Tips for 12 Edinburgh Festival shows outwith the city centre
However it is still possible to experience the best of the festivals off the beaten track, as well as discover hidden gems and lesser-known venues. Here are some of the best places to take in the festivals well away from the city centre. Jupiter Artland There's nowhere in Scotland quite like the award-winning sculpture gardens and art attraction Jupiter Artland. Founded in 2009 by art collectors Robert and Nicky Wilson, the attraction features more than 30 permanent site-specific works by artists including Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Phyllida Barlow, Anish Kapoor, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Marc Quinn and Andy Goldsworthy. A highlight of recent summers at the site has been Jupiter Rising, which offers the chance to explore the site and its latest exhibitions after dark. Ticketholders will also be able to enjoy experimental music, poetry, performances and late-night DJ sets outdoors, with this year's line-up featuring club night Ponyboy, singer-songwriter Roxanne Tataei, artist and DJ Taahliah, dancer and choreographer Florence Peake, and author Sacha Coward. A radical retelling of the William Shakespeare play As You Like It will be staged at the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside as part of thr Edinburgh International Festival. (Image: Dahlia Katz) Church Hill Theatre The long-time home of many of Edinburgh's amateur theatre companies has also regularly featured in the Edinburgh International Festival's line-up. Handily placed for the many cafes, bars and restaurants in Bruntsfield and Morningside, the venue will be playing host to two of the EIF's main theatre productions. Cutting the Tightrope will feature a series of short plays short plays exploring the power of the arts in global conflicts, political resistance and displays of artistic freedom. William Shakespeare's play As You Like It will also under a radical reimagining for an adaptation which is said to be 'unafraid to confront the thorny truths of our time.' Performance artist Linder Sterling will be staging a special show partly inspired by Sir Walter Scott at the Royal Botanic Garden as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. (Image: Ross Fraser McLean) Royal Botanic Garden Arguably the most idyllic oasis within easy reach of the city centre, the Royal Botanic Garden is far from a culture-free attraction. The garden is playing host to the first ever retrospective exhibition in Scotland devoted to the trailblazing feminist photographer and performance artist Linder Sterling, which spans 50 years, back to her student years in Manchester. The former frontwoman of the Manchester post-punk band Ludus will be opening this year's Edinburgh Art Festival on August 7 with a special performance inspired by the Scottish writer Walter Scott's early definition of 'glamour,' while the feminist collective Femmergy lined up to perform at the official launch party in the nearby Grange cricket club. The garden will also be hosting Botanic Lates, a festival event offering rare night-time entry to the attraction, which will feature exclusive access to the exhibition, live music, and pop-up bars and food stalls. Harpist Esther Swift will be part of the Bellfield Brewery's Fringe line-up. Bellfield Brewery More than 500 Fringe shows have been announced since the official programme was announced at the start of the June. One of the most intriguing new elements is the Taproom Sessions, a new series of events at the Bellfield Brewery and Taproom in the Abbeyhill area. Two cornerstones of Edinburgh's year-round cultural life, the Hidden Door festival and music promoters Soundhouse, previous collaborators with the brewery, have joined forces on a programme which will encompass live music, spoken word and film. Billed as 'a grassroots alternative to the city centre mayhem,' the Taproom Sessions programme will feature jazz stars Graeme Stephen and the Phil Bancroft Trio, singer-songwriters Kate Young, Cahalen Morrison and Adam Holmes, harpist Esther Swift, and poets Iona Lee and Kate Ailes. The seaside town of North Berwick is transformed by the Fringe by the Sea event in Berwick Fringe by the Sea was originally envisaged as an event that would offer the prospect of a day trip to the seaside town as an alternative to the hustle and bustle of the historic heart of Edinburgh. Now it is firmly established in its own right as one of the biggest and best of Scotland's summer festivals, transforming The Lodge Grounds into the main hub for North Berwick's annual event. It has previously secured acts as varied as Del Amitri, Travis, Texas, Sister Sledge, The Jacksons, Richard E Grant, Frankie Boyle and Alexander McCall Smith, and sold more than 86,000 tickets last year. This year's line-up includes live music from Air, Ezra Collective, Hamish Hawk, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Bluebells and Eddi Reader, as well as appearances from Judy Murray, Irvine Welsh, Vic Reeves, Ruby Wax and Flawless. Lego artist Warren Elsmore will be creating a new exhibition made entirely from Lego bricks for this year's Fringe. Picture: Neil Hanna Granton Long-held ambitions for the former industrial area on Edinburgh's waterfront to be transformed into a new cultural quarter for the city have finally been taking shape in recent months. The former gas holder, the most distinctive landmark in Granton, has become home to a new public park, close to where a former railway station has become home to artists and creative industry workers. A few minutes walk away, on West Shore Road, The Pitt has become a major new food, drink and cultural destination since it opened in December thanks to its bars, food stalls and event spaces. It will also become a Fringe venue for the first time when it plays host to Brick Journeys, an exhibition built by artist Warren Elsmore entirely from Lego bricks which celebrates how humans have travelled, from planes and trains to hot air balloons. The FirstStage Studios complex in Leith will be opened to the public for the Edinburgh Art Festival. (Image: Liam Anderstrem) FirstStage Studios It is more than five years since a former wave power plant on the outskirts of Leith Docks was turned into Edinburgh's first full-time film studio. Industry giants Amazon, Sony and Netflix have all used the vast warehouse complex since then, for shows including The Rig, Outlander and - most recently - Dept Q, the new Edinburgh-set crime thriller starring series adapted from the novels of Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. However the festival season will open the building up for rare public access for a spectacular one-off event. Former world champion gymnast Lewis Walker, who now works across multiple dance, theatre, film, fashion and music projects, will be bringing the Edinburgh Art Festival to a close. Co-commissioned with the Serpentine Galleries in London, the show is expected to explore the human search for authenticity in a world built on repetition. Citadel Youth Centre If you're looking for a good local project to support at this year's Fringe look no further than the long-running youth project. It will be entering the Fringe fray for the first time with two fundraisers for its work with young people and families in Leith. The first, Punchline on Leith on August 6, will feature a surprise line-up of Fringe favourites and rising stars, as well as a raffle of works of art donated by the comics Joe Lycett and Phill Jupitus. Storm in the Citadel, on August 7, will serve up three garage punk bands – local favourites The Bad Moods and The Screamin' Kick, along with Spanish stars Los Retumbes. Portobello Town Hall One of the most under-used venues in the city will finally be playing a major part in the Fringe when it a hosts a four-day festival of Palestinian art and culture. Running from August 12-15, the programme will feature theatre, dance, comedy, storytelling, music and poetry performances, as well as panel discussions and talks with artists. The Creative Scotland-backed project involves writers, dancers, theatre-makers, publishers and producers based in Scotland who have worked regularly in Palestine and the Middle East for decades. A crowdfunding campaign raised £40,000 from more than 430 supporters. Leith Depot The grassroots culture powerhouse of Leith Walk is well worth a trip across town at any time of year and it's no different in August. A major new addition to its Fringe offering is a series of music and in-conversation events hosted by BBC broadcaster Vic Galloway. Musical guests lined up so far include Haiver, Constant Follower, Siobhan Wilson, Broken Chanter, Adam Ross, Gillian Fleetwood and Rick Redbeard. Other festival highlights include Riot Reveals Cabaret, a show expected to feature burlesque, comedy, magic, drag and live music, a performance showcasing the 'radical subversive poetry' of Robert Burns, and Karaokekarma, a play set in a karaoke booth. Hibernian Supporters Club While Oasis and AC/DC will be filling the home of Scottish rugby over four nights in August, a social club a stone's throw away from Easter Road, the home of 'The Hibees,' will be turned into a Fringe venue to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the club. It will play host to 1902, the story of the club's famous bid to claim glory in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final to bring an end to the club's trophy drought, told through the experiences of four friends desperate to see their team at Hampden. Nathan Scott-Dunn's play lifts the lid on the bravado of the fans in a story which is said to have been built on the 'passion, humour and resilience of working-class people. The Bowlers Rest Tucked away off the main tourist trail in Leith, The Bowlers Rest on Mitchell Street is nonetheless one of the easiest Fringe venues to reach from a tram stop in the city. The pub has become increasingly well-known of late for its jam sessions and intimate live music gigs. Now it will be playing host to a South African film and TV actor's one-man play. Sean Higgs' show will explore the unravelling of a white South African man who is forced to survive as a beggar in a black township. To purchase tickets for the Fringe, please click here
India Today
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Delhi woman sculpts Shakespeare, and Reddit can't stop applauding
A Delhi woman's post on Reddit, featuring a sculpture of William Shakespeare she made by hand, has impressed social media post appeared on Reddit's 'r/Delhi' forum with the caption, 'A sculpture I am currently making of William Shakespeare.' The images showed a nearly finished bust of the British playwright, sculpted by Vidhika Roy, who was also seen posing beside it in one of the Along with Shakespeare, the post also included larger shots of the workspace featuring other clay sculptures, including one of Lord Buddha and another of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, India's former a look at the viral Reddit post here: Reddit users soon flooded the comments section. 'Wow, how did you sculpt the girl? That is marvellous,' a user said, while another wrote, 'Sis, shame on you for making us feel talentless.'Several users were curious about her materials. 'OP, you are damn talented. If you don't mind, could you tell me where you source your sculpting clay from?' a user asked. Vidhika replied, 'You can get it online, but it gets pricey. I got it from a local potter nearby.'Another user asked if she was studying sculpture. She reacted, 'I'm pursuing a Bachelor's in Fine Arts in painting. I also do sculpture at home as a hobby during semester breaks.'One of the users noticed the variety in her work: 'APJ Abdul Kalam ji also spotted.'With talent and humility in equal measure, Vidhika Roy's post left Reddit genuinely impressed.- EndsMust Watch
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Review: Romeo and Juliet, Auckland Theatre Company
The majority of us have likely seen some version of Romeo and Juliet in our lifetime. From cinema to high school drama classes, whether it's a straight presentation of the original text, or a modern adaptation, or a West Side Story -esque reimagining, William Shakespeare's most accessible work is one we
Malaysiakini
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Ramasamy quotes Shakespeare amid horoscopic 'Turun Anwar' warning
Amid a horoscope warning urging Indians not to turn up for the 'Turun Anwar' rally slated on July 26, Urimai chairperson P Ramasamy quotes William Shakespeare to remind the community of the power of determining one's own fate. 'To invoke some Hindu mythological mumbo jumbo to prevent the participation of Indians in the July 26 rally for Anwar to step down is a mischievous thing to do.
