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yewknee
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An internet waystation.

it me - michael eades

👋 Hi, I'm Michael Eades; a long time Internet dweller, design dabbler, dangerously amateur developer, online social experimenter and frequent curator.

Currently working as VP of Product at Smarter Apps. I also keep the lights on at a boutique record label called yk records, a podcast network called We Own This Town and a t-shirt shop called Nashville Galaxy. Previously, I built things for Vimeo OTT, VHX, KNI and Spongebath Records.

This site is an archive of ephemera I find entertaining; tweets, videos, random links, galleries of images.

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find me elsewhere

 

contact

Reach out via threads or good ole email if you have anything to discuss. I do my best to reply in a timely manner.

for the record: "yewknee" is a nonsensical word with no literal meaning but a unsurprisingly nerdy etymology. It is pronounced, "yoo • knee."

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ongoing projects

yk Records →
started in 2009 as a conduit for music that friends had no plans on releasing. now it's a full fledged boutique label focused on releasing quality music from a variety of styles. you know, like a label does. Here's a sampler on Soundcloud and a different one on Spotify. Options.

We Own This Town →
Originally a Nashville area music blog, this site has grown into a full blown podcast network as of 2018. It's an attempt to bring together creative folks about a variety of interesting topics.

I host this show all about Nashville local music outside the expectations of the city. I'm biased but all the shows are good.

Nashville Galaxy →
An online t-shirt shop featuring beloved and defunct Nashville area businesses. Very niche audience on this one but I tend to think niche is good.

some noteworthy other things

Chris Gaines: The Podcast →
published along with co-host Ashley Spurgeon; a limited series podcast that takes an absurdly researched deep dive into the time that Garth Brooks took on a fictional personality named Chris Gaines.

Garth Brooks Chris Gaines Countdown →
to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the time Garth Brooks took on the fictional personality Chris Gaines and appeared on Saturday Night Live in character, I GIF'ed the entire episode. It's a lot of GIFs; please use them.

Whiskerino →
a social network built around communal beard growing for four months. yes, it was as weird as it sounds but equally fascinating and enjoyable.

Moustache May →
an offshoot of the beard growing contest mentioned above. equal amounts of oddball fun but only a month long.

Summer Mix Series →
before all music was streaming everywhere, Internet music fans would swap zip files of music. it was truly a strange and wonderful time.

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Sora and the Future of Filmmaking

Really nice read from Chain of Thought on How Sora Works and the Future of Filmmaking. Those are two enormous topics but the piece keeps it simple. The first half is a relatively layman's explanation of how OpenAI's Sora is getting the kind of results it is getting. I don't say "layman" in a demeaning way, it's literally the only way I can understand these concepts - so I appreciate it even if it is overly simplified and leaving a lot out.

The second half deals with how technology and filmmaking have such a turbulent relationship. It's hard to articulate but technology lowers the barrier to entry, a great thing for folks looking to be creative but not so great for an industry known for gatekeeping.

Generally speaking, I love the idea of lowering the barrier to entry to any creative endeavor. That Glif Extension that lets you create any image in any specific style? Great! ElevenLabs letting you submit your voice for emulation and getting paid when someone uses it? Wonderful. Sora letting you create consistent film characters in whatever world you want? Should be great! I don't think any of it supercedes the need for story, art direction and human decision making. I also don't think we're going to be generating sitcoms for individuals - that's taking the microculture war too far!

This is just a simple blog post to steer you towards something to ponder. It's certainly a topic worthy of it.
Tue. February 20th, 2024, 7:51am

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