8 h. ago AI has created a new breed of cat video: addictive, disturbing and nauseatingly quick soap operas

Mostly soundtracked by cats meowing a Billie Eilish song, these AI-generated fantastias tell tales of cheating, revenge and violence – and are being watched by millionsAt the (tail) end of 2024, Billie Eilish sat cross-legged on stage and began to miaow. Her fans erupted in harmony, each belting out an off-key miaow of their own. She knows, they realised! This is because Eilish’s Oscar-winning track What Was I Made For? – a lachrymose Barbie cut lamenting adulthood’s entailing ennui – has become the default soundtrack for a new breed of cat video.You may recognise it: the song often plays over the top of these AI-generated fantasias featuring a cartoonishly fat cat or an equally buff feline with a suspiciously veiny human body. The cat cheats on her lover, falls pregnant or seeks revenge in a weirdly condensed soap opera. And like all soap operas, these videos are extremely addictive. Continue reading...

Culture

37 h. ago How to 'instantly' kill fruit flies using items you already have in your kitchen

Fruit flies can be a nuisance at this time of year, as they love to feast on fruit left out in bowls on our kitchen counters, and the warm weather creates the perfect environment for them to breed

Events

3 d. ago Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis is confirmed as the 12th celebrity to join Strictly Come Dancing's star

The soap opera legend, 66, will be taking to the dance floor for the BBC competition alongside a whole host of celebrities after filming his final episode of Neighbours last month.

Culture

4 d. ago Monstering the Rocketman review – Elton aims for the Sun in skewering of 80s tabloids

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghHeadlines punctuate Henry Naylor’s play about the newspaper’s campaign against Elton John and the multiple lawsuits launched by the singerHenry Naylor started out in comedy but the lines that get the biggest laughs in Monstering the Rocketman are not his. That credit goes to the subeditors on the Sun whose talent for writing headlines, as crass as they were inspired, was second to none. In their 1980s heyday, when the tabloid’s circulation soared close to 4m, they could sum up their readers’ belligerent mood with a “Gotcha” or just make them laugh.You might wince at a bottom-related soap-opera story headlined “Rear Enders” or, in the 1990s, George Michael being stung with “Zip Me Up Before You Go Go”, but you can only admire their panache. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago David Squires on the Premier League soap opera’s grand return

Our cartoonist on the wacky plotlines and big characters to look out for as the new season beginsBuy one of David’s cartoon in our Print ShopDavid’s latest book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Cat soap operas and babies trapped in space: the ‘AI slop’ taking over YouTube

Nearly one in 10 of the fastest growing channels globally consist of mass-produced, surreal AI-generated videosBabies trapped in space, zombie football stars and cat soap operas: welcome to YouTube in the era of AI video.Nearly one in 10 of the fastest growing YouTube channels globally are showing AI-generated content only, as breakthroughs in the technology spur a flood of artificial content.Super Cat League (3.9 million subscribers)বজল মিয়া 767k (2 million subscribers – this account has since been closed)LSB POWER GAMING (1.7 million subscribers)Amite Now Here (1.4 million subscribers)Starway (2.8 million subscribers)AmyyRoblox (2.4 million subscribers)Again Raz Vai (1.8 million subscribers)Cuentos Facinantes (4.8 million subscribers)MIRANHAINSANO (4.9 million subscribers) Continue reading...

Technology

2 w. ago Coronation Street wedding spoilers in 13 pictures as Bernie collapses on big day

Another Coronation Street wedding day arrives next week in Weatherfield and fans of the ITV soap opera can expect plenty of drama and also another marriage proposal

Politics

2 w. ago From Zooey Deschanel to Captain Kirk doing Dylan: the best songs by actors, ranked!

As Margaret Qualley moves into music, we rate 20 tracks by stars of film and TV, with Ryan Gosling doing ghost-rock and Jamie Foxx bringing the funkIt perhaps stretches the definition of “actor”: Parker starred in a soap opera, but was better known as pornographic actor Wade Nichols. However, Like an Eagle is incredible, a soaring, euphoric mid-tempo disco epic produced by his then-partner, Jacques Morali – and infinitely cooler than Morali’s biggest successes with Village People – so let’s bend the rules. Continue reading...

Culture