The Post Years.
My contributions to the Athens newspaper
My contributions to the Athens newspaper
Ace Florian | March 7, 2025 | 12:00am EST
If you have scrolled on TikTok within the last month, there is a chance you have come across at least one of the many bizarre history videos created solely from artificial intelligence that have flooded the platform.
The trend came out of nowhere just a month ago and has seemingly taken the internet by storm, proving to be popular for the creators behind the easy-made content.
The basis of each TikTok consists of a point of view that puts you in the eyes of a citizen or well-known figure from a significant period. The videos have completely generated AI graphics and act as a virtual tour of times long ago. Most popularly, the format has you “waking up” as this person, yawning and looking around as you go through a day in the time period.
The videos can be a treat for any person interested in history who wishes they could wander around in times they read about in history class. With that, it is easy to understand the success of these TikTok videos.
Many people have an innate curiosity about times long before now, and these AI videos are a rather clear visualization of our prior knowledge that lets the mind wander.
The TikTok account that kicked off this trend was TimeTravellerPOV, and it began posting these AI history videos in late January. Before adopting the point of view format, these TikToks included AI-generated “vlogs” in periods such as 79 CE Pompeii, London in the 1800s, and the U.S. Industrial Revolution.
These early videos garnered a fair amount of views, but it was not until mid-February that the format exclusively became POV with the semi-viral video titled “POV: You Wake Up in The Prehistoric Era.”
New TikToks from the account were being pumped out daily, virality skyrocketed and the account ended up with over 500,000 followers as time progressed. It seems like this trend was the new “it” for content creators could be a guaranteed 1 million views per video.
After seeing the virality of such a concept, any AI enthusiast could hop on at ease as AI generation is just a few simple clicks. Throughout February, “copycat” accounts began popping up and added to the never-ending content stream.
TikTok user’s For You pages began getting filled with videos from the likes of The_POV_Lab, SalvagedHistoryAI, Histairy_Films and ImpossibleAICinema. All of these accounts have gained between 100,000-800,000 followers within the last 30 days.
With any trend, especially one that has anything to do with generative AI, it seems as though any short-form content platform gets saturated overnight with videos following it. The phenomenon has been seen countless times in previous years from text-to-speech Reddit stories fit with AI captions, loads of AI reaction content to most notably, “(piece of media) if it was dark fantasy” prompts.
The new AI history trend is no different as the TikToks are severely easy to generate, and many creators can see this as an opportunity to gain more views. However, it can naturally end up inflating the timelines for site users for about a month.
These videos can also have inaccuracies both historically and physically. The issue of AI generation itself is also contentious. AI is notorious for countless bugs, anatomical inaccuracies and the infamous glossy look that can disjoint an entire video.
In these TikTok videos, characters seem to float through the glamour versions of dark periods in world history fit with six to nine fingers, fever-dream motions and nauseating sound effects.
With that, users wonder what trend will come around in months to come to take the internet by storm. As AI progresses at rapid speed, enthusiasts can also look forward to a possible future where these ideas can flourish in more detail and accuracy, providing more realistic depictions of the past.
Ace Florian | February 18, 2025 | 12:00am EST
In 2021, Athens’ very own alternative outfit, The Laughing Chimes, released their debut effort, “In This Town.” The album was solid, rooting back to the old roots of jangle-pop bands such as R.E.M and Pavement. Since then, the band has played shows tirelessly across the stretches of Ohio and beyond. Occasionally, new singles would sprinkle onto the band’s discography and teased a new, darker sound.
Fans no longer have to wait as The Laughing Chimes have released their tightly conceptual sophomore album, “Whispers in the Speech Machine.” The album, which dropped Jan. 31, oozes with ambition and passion.
The album begins with “Atrophy,” an amazing tone-setter. The catchy main riff introduces listeners to all the reverb and jangle fans know and love. Frontman Evan Seurkamp’s echo-infused vocals are the cherries on top.
The vocals recall the love-stuck demeanor of early ‘90s acts such as The Smiths, The Cure and Guided by Voices. All are inspirations for the band, according to an interview the Chimes did with ACRN.
“He Never Finished The Thought” draws the familiar trademarks of shoegaze acts yet turns the cliches around with a groovier sonic twist. The band teased they were going into a darker sound with the 2023 release, “A Promise to Keep.”
The song was a great early introduction to the Chimes’ public reinvention of their own sound, evolving to the goth aesthetics of The Cure, both musically and fashionably as well.
The album slows down for a deep breath with “Country Eidolism,” which completely solidifies the moody switch between albums. The song is fit with all heartfelt vocals and somber instrumentation that can most certainly make listeners shed a tear.
The track is continued by the equally tear-jerking “Cats Go Car Watching,” which is most definitely a high point on the album. It showcases a heartfelt guitar solo mixed beautifully with the soft, jangly riffs in the background. Each adds a layer of fluff for the inevitable replay of the song if a listener failed to catch it.
The end of the brief 28-minute album is marked with the last three songs: “High Beams,” “Fluorescent Minds” and “Mudhouse Mansion.” Each song continues to raise the bar one after the other.
The latter half of the album rides the high of the insane pedal configurations, fizzy bass tones and precise drumming. The vocals throughout are also very diverse as different singing styles are established across the three. The diversity of styles provides excitement and change that does create a listener burnout, providing fresh-enough changes yet still feeling closely tight in vision
The Laughing Chimes have come out with an amazingly crafted album for all the indie-heads getting over a breakup. The band reminisces over previous-century genres and stitches each together with ease. Comparing this album to the band’s debut, The Laughing Chimes are coming together musically, leaving fans anticipating whatever ambitious project comes next.
Ace Florian | February 10, 2025 | 12:00am EST
The three-episode premiere of the incredibly gruesome yet entertaining “Invincible” Season 3 crash-landed on Amazon Prime Video Feb. 6.
The episodes deliver many heart-racing moments, leaving fans’ mouths agape and keeping their fingers on the rewind button. As the story unfolds, things heat up with great animation and the show’s best storytelling so far.
Episode 1: “You’re Not Laughing Now”
After viewers were hit with Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) revealing he may have remorse for attempting to enslave the Earth in Season 2’s finale, the plot continues to thicken in the background.
Currently, Omni-Man and our favorite one-eyed Allen the Alien (Seth Rogan) are still locked up in Viltrumite prison. The two are plotting an escape and developing an unlikely friendship. The intrigue in these story beats provides an exciting look into how things are building toward the inevitable war between the Viltrumites and the Coalition of Planets.
In the meantime, things get hot on Earth as fans remain on the edge of their seats regarding Atom Eve and Mark Grayson’s love for each other. Mark (Steven Yeun) fiddles around professing his love for Eve (Gillian Jacobs) after a Season 2 visit from a 40-year-old version of her begged him to stop leading her on.
The romantic tension unfortunately gets sidetracked by the beloved recurring character Doc Seismic (Chris Diamantopoulos), who kidnaps every superhero in America except Mark and Eve. While the two almost become defeated, Mark and Eve get saved by some unwanted and morally questionable visitors.
Mark then has words for his boss Cecil (Walton Goggins), who deployed these creatures. The episode serves as an amazing start for a season assured to be entertaining, witty and serious as events unfold into chaos.
Episode 2: “A Deal with the Devil”
“A Deal with the Devil” focuses on the backstory of the hardened Cecil Stedman. Viewers get insight and context into his mindset of not punishing superheroes who kill, instead reforming them into those who protect the earth for the Global Defense Agency.
Cecil’s story of rising to his current position runs simultaneously with the heated debate between Mark and Cecil after a disagreement in morals. Even though those cyborgs are rather ethically concerning, the argument climatically ends with Mark cutting ties with the GDA while threatening Cecil if he comes near his family.
The fight prompts more than half the show’s main super team, The Guardians of The Globe, to also break apart and leaves only a few core members left in the GDA. The inward tension among all the heroes creates a level of unease when it comes to future threats coming to Earth.
With no clear protective team or individual to help the Earth defend itself, viewers will have to patiently wait to see how the story unfolds and if the characters can pull it together.
Episode 3: “You Want a Real Costume, Right?”
The last episode was a hard hitter the second it began. Season three’s themes have mostly been a question of morality, redemption and loyalty among heroes, villains and humans.
The themes run prominent during the silent episode opening detailing a superpowered couple suffering financially and contemplating thievery to get by. Upon settling for one last heist, Invincible and his new partner defeat the couple.
The scene adds backstory to the background plot of the superpowered criminal underground, and many of these villains support their families through this lifestyle as a last resort. The scene also makes viewers think and question their morals while watching it while also providing for some great storytelling.
Morals are again in question because Mark’s physically 12-year-old half-brother, the eager Oliver (Lincoln Bodin), saves the day despite their mother’s concerns.
Oliver ends up gruesomely destroying the Mauler Twins, a pair of recurring villains throughout the series who have cloned themselves each time one of them dies. However, this time, Oliver kills both Maulers with little emotion nor remorse for the events happening.
Mark, who is a “thou shalt not kill” kind of hero, immediately has problems with this and compares him to their genocidal father. The comparison, combined with the end-credit cliffhanger of a mysterious stranger surveilling the Graysons in Oliver’s room, creates amazing intrigue for the upcoming episodes.
Fans are itching for the next episode to come out sooner. However, eager watchers can look for Invincible Season 3 to air weekly on Thursdays on Prime Video.