Latest news with #Pika
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
'My friend named daughter after a food and baby's nickname is even worse'
Choosing a baby name isn't always easy, especially when you consider your family and friends' opinions on your favourite monikers. But one woman has become a laughing stock among her friends after announcing her daughter's unusual name at her gender reveal party, reports The Mirror. Taking to Reddit to share her shock, a friend said: "One of my parents' friends are pregnant and just had their baby shower. I attended and after the gender reveal (it's a girl), the name was announced: Paprika - like the spice. "They said that they did this so that they could call her Pika, like Pikachu. The baby shower was Pokemon themed. "Their family was visibly confused and didn't know how to react." Wanting to hear other people's thoughts on the name, she shared it on Reddit's tragedeigh thread, a group created to share names that have been "deliberately misspelled or completely made up to appear more unique than they actually are". Commenting on the moniker, one user said: "Wouldn't people end up calling her Prika or Rika? They like Pika but chose a longer name that they will shorten and drop a middle letter. But not the longer name from which they got Pika. It all makes sense!" Another user added: "At least they spelled it correctly." A third user said: "Name reveal is a terrible idea. If you meet a baby and the baby is introduced, you can react about how cute the baby is, who they look like, or whatever. "If you're told a baby has been born, you can react with interest about all sorts of things. But with a big Name Reveal, you're going to be expected to react to the name specifically, which is awkward if you don't love it." Another user said: "My neighbour's yappy Maltese is named Pika(chu)." One more user added: "As a long time Pokémon fan, this is absolutely ridiculous." Another user said: "If I was that baby honestly I'd rather be named Paprika rather than literal Pikachu. Not a good name, but we have literal food names playing in the playground. It's not the worst." A final user said: "It's legal to name the kid Pikachu, why not?" While it's not illegal to name your child after a Pokémon in the UK or Ireland, there's an ever-growing list of banned monikers worldwide. In Sweden, in 1996, a family wanted to name their child 'Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116'. However, unsurprisingly, this was not approved by the government despite the family's insistence that it's pronounced Albin. When the name was rejected, the family tried to name their son A instead - again pronounced Albin - but this was also turned down. In the end, they ended up calling him Albin, pronounced as such. In Japan, a couple sparked controversy after attempting to name their son Akuma, which means devil. In 1994, the father explained how he chose the name because he wanted his son to stand out in life with an unforgettable moniker, making him appear powerful. The family faced a legal battle to keep it but ended up backing down and changing their son's name.
United News of India
4 days ago
- United News of India
J&K: SFs recover arms, ammo from hideout in Rajouri
Jammu, June 14 (UNI) Security forces on Saturday busted a terrorist hideout in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said that during routine searches, security forces busted a hideout in Thanamandi area. They said that the joint team of police, SOG and army recovered 48 rounds of Pika gun, give pistol rounds, AK-47 round, IED material, a t-shirt and a tear gas from the hideout. UNI VBH GNK
Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'My friend named daughter after a food and baby's nickname is even worse'
A woman has shared her shock after hearing what her friend is naming her newborn daughter, as she explains how her entire family reacted to the news at the child's gender reveal party Choosing a baby name isn't always easy, especially when you consider your family and friends' opinions on your favourite monikers. But one woman has become a laughing stock among her friends after announcing her daughter's unusual moniker at her gender reveal party. Taking to Reddit to share her shock over the name, a friend said: "My one of my parents friends are pregnant and just had their baby shower. I attended and after the gender reveal (it's a girl), the name was announced: Paprika - like the spice. "They said that they did this so that they could call her Pika, like Pikachu. The baby shower was Pokemon themed. "Their family was visibly confused and didn't know how to react." Wanting to hear other peoples' thought on the name, she shared it on Reddit's tragedeigh thread, a group created to share names that have been "deliberately misspelled or completely made up to appear more unique than they actually are". Commenting on the moniker, one user said: "Wouldn't people end up calling her Prika or Rika? They like Pika but chose a longer name that they will shorten and drop a middle letter. But not the longer name from which they got Pika. It all makes sense!" Another user added: "At least the spelled it correctly." A third user said: "Name reveal is a terrible idea. If you meet a baby and the baby is introduced, you can react about how cute the baby is, who they look like, or whatever. "If you're told a baby has been born, you can react with interest about all sorts of things. But with a big Name Reveal, you're going to be expected to react to the name specifically, which is awkward if you don't love it." Another user said: "My neighbour's yappy Maltese is named Pika(chu)." One more user added: "As a long time Pokémon fan, this is absolutely ridiculous." Another user said: "If I was that baby honestly I'd rather be named Paprika rather than literal Pikachu. Not a good name, but we have literal food names playing in the playground. It's not the worst." A final user said: "It's legal to name the kid Pikachu, why not?" While it's not illegal to name your child after a Pokémon in the UK, there's an every growing list of banned monikers worldwide. In Sweden, in 1996, a family wanted to name their child 'Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116'. However, unsurprisingly, this was not approved by the government despite the family's insistence that it's pronounced Albin. When the name was rejected, the family tried to name their son A instead - again pronounced Albin - but this was also turned down. In the end, they ended up calling him Albin, pronounced as such. In Japan, a couple sparked controversary after attempting to name their son Akuma, which means devil. In 1994, the father explained how he chose the name because he wanted his son to stand out in life with an unforgettable moniker, making him appear powerful. The family faced a legal battle to keep the name but ended up backing down and changing their son's moniker.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tokyo E-Prix 2025: Nico Mueller, David Beckmann unleash Pikachu power in Japan, go-kart on streets — watch videos
Image credit: Instagram Andretti driver Nico Mueller and Cupra Kiro driver David Beckmann tried go-karting in the streets of Japan before hitting the track for the Tokyo E-Prix. The Formula E drivers dressed up in bright yellow Pikachu costumes and had a blast racing on the streets in go-karts. The videos of them go-karting as Pikachus are enough to hint at how much fun the two are having in Japan. Nico Mueller, David Beckmann have some fun in Tokyo The video of Nico Mueller and David Beckmann go-karting in Japan was shared by Andretti on Instagram. The video was shared with the caption: 'Unleashing Pika power on the streets of Tokyo.' The Instagram account of FIA dropped a comment on the post, 'Serving looks @ @david_beckmann.' Fans loved the funny video, as the two Formula E drivers looked hilarious in their Pikachu costumes. A fan came up with a new name for Nico Mueller, writing, 'Nicachu looks cute there.' Another said, 'Petition to make Tokyo a triple header, 2 E-Prixs and this Pikachu go-kart street race.' One more commented, 'Not blending in with the crowd as well this week, Nico.' Another video featuring Nico alone was shared by Andretti with the caption: 'Nico Mueller core.' It shows Mueller doing funny gimmicks while go-karting. A fan commented on the video, 'It's Nico's world and we're just living in it.' Beckmann also shared pictures from the go-karting session on Instagram and wrote, 'Tokyo unlocked a wild Pikachu.' Dan Ticktum asked in the comments section, 'Is that gen4?' Beckmann responded to him saying, 'yea, we were lucky testing the prototype.' Mueller is currently in 14th position in the Formula E Driver Standings. Beckmann is in last place on the list. The drivers will now be taking part in the Round 8 and Round 9 Formula E races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Also Read: Tokyo E-Prix 2025: Norman Nato tops First Free Practice, Taylor Barnard suffers a crash This is the second season of the Tokyo E-Prix. The Gen3 Evo cars will be racing at the Tokyo Street Circuit in the Tokyo double-header. The Formula E season has many more races to go until the 2025 season comes to an end in July.
Mint
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Smalltown content creators can now play in the big leagues. All they need is AI.
Smalltown content creators without access to fancy equipment or studios are finding they can level up with their fully equipped big city rivals simply by using the right artificial intelligence tools. Pocket FM, Kuku FM and other similar platforms streaming user-generated content are going beyond their role as distributors to equip creators with tools to write crisper narratives, polish their audio and video, and help their posts appear more professional so as to lure paying customers. 'We are building custom GPT's (generative pre-trained transformers) to put current and past data together to decide which ad or stories will perform better or what our consumers will prefer," said a spokesperson for Kuku FM, an audio entertainment platform. 'We use AI for generating scripts, thumb stops, etc., and then the GPT tells us what will work and what won't." Kuku FM's AI model also helps content creators increase their output 'by five times, which means we can test more stories, scripts, concepts, or ideas," the spokesperson added. Essentially, AI opens up opportunities for creators who may not have access to professional tools such as recording studios, said Dipankar Mukherjee, co-founder, StudioBlo, an AI-powered content studio. StudioBlo works with filmmakers, brands, musicians and others to create content using AI. It recently launched a music video starring actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who sang for the video but didn't have to shoot for it as his images were generated by AI. The video has so far attracted more than 500,000 views on YouTube. To be sure, several AI platforms offer only a few basic features for free, requiring users to pay for more advanced tools. Besides, while AI can help improve production quality and output, content creators still need to work on the storytelling and audience engagement. Also read | These small towns are turning into growth engines for live events How Dhananjay Bhosale uses AI Dhananjay Bhosale, who posts content on technology-related hacks and tips on Instagram and YouTube, is seeing a massive shift in how content is being created, chiefly because of how AI is being integrated across the workflow. 'In my own work, we have started building smart, semi-automated pipelines that cut down repetitive tasks. That frees up time and budget to work on more projects, which means more opportunities for editors, illustrators, sound designers, and collaborators across the board," said Bhosale, who has nearly 620,000 followers on Instagram and more than 450,000 on YouTube. 'What used to take a full team and days of effort can now often be done by a single creator using AI tools. Whether it's writing scripts, doing voice overs, editing, or even animation and VFX (visual effects)—AI is speeding up the process across the board." Bhosale added that media and entertainment companies are building content workflows around tools like ChatGPT for ideation, Pika and Runway for video creation, and ElevenLabs for realistic voiceovers. 'These tools don't just save time, they have made it possible for people who have never used professional software to jump in and create studio-level content," Bhosale added. 'We are at a point where it's less about having expensive gear or a big production crew and more about having an idea and knowing how to use the right tools to bring it to life." Also read | The rise of Hollywood-style cinematic universes in southern films Not just a streaming platform With AI being integrated into content creations, new-age media and entertainment companies are evolving so they are no longer just content distributors but also enablers for a whole new generation of creators. Pocket Entertainment, which runs audio streaming platform Pocket FM, has partnered with ElevenLabs to launch a feature called AI Audio Series, which lets writers turn their text stories into high-quality audio with custom voices and background music. 'On Pocket Toons (the company's webcomics app), we have introduced Blaze!, our AI-powered comic studio, which helps writers turn their scripts into professional-quality comics in minutes. It handles everything from illustration to styling, allowing creators to focus on storytelling," said Prateek Dixit, co-founder and chief technology officer. 'We are also building advanced AI tools to adapt stories for different languages and cultures, ensuring that each version feels authentic to local audiences," he added. Munish Vaid, vice-president, Primus Partners, a management consultancy, said there has been a surge in demand for AI-generated special effects, characters, and set designs—which can drastically reduce production costs while enhancing visual richness. Production budgets can be slashed by 30-40% by using AI to generate visuals instead of traveling to locations or employing foreign crew for shoots, Industry experts said. But while AI tools are easily accessible, studios still need adequately trained designers and professionals to supervise and control use. As a result, according to the experts, the industry is seeing a rise in demand for AI editors, prompt engineers, voice coaches, and localisation experts. Also read | OTT Platforms Pivot: Short, sweet shows slowly replacing long, dark dramas The rise of smalltown studios Content studios are also emerging across tier-two and tier-three towns, where creators are tapping into local stories and leveraging AI to go national or global. Actor Ajay Devgn and filmmaker Dil Raju recently announced AI ventures, which could also open up opportunities for smalltown professionals to find work in the film and entertainment industry. Rahul Regulapati, founder, Galleri5, a platform for AI-powered marketing solutions, said the quality of content has improved significantly with AI, reducing barriers for the creator economy that earlier struggled with no access to professional infrastructure, including studios. 'With AI, content creation has become more accessible. Even individuals without formal training can now deliver affordable and efficient services," said Chandrashekhar Mantha, partner, media and entertainment sector leader, Deloitte India. 'New-age media and entertainment companies are embracing AI across every stage of the content lifecycle—ideation, creation, editing, and marketing," Mantha added. 'The growing suite of AI tools is making it possible to produce content faster, at lower costs, and with higher production quality." Also read | Why star-powered movies have OTT handprints all over them
