Definitely! Also a big The Thing fan here, and I was excited when I learned that it was based on a short story! Always wanted to read it, but only now had the chance to. So glad I did it, too! :D
I'm glad I got to hear this one. One thing they didn't bring up because they might've not known yet but polar fish and most notably the wood frog have a natural antifreeze in their cells, animal cells (even a fish's) can't fully freeze without damage.
True, there's more than enough ways that something that's semi-sentient like the Thing would be able to use to make it's way from the Antarctic Continent. One thing I always liked about The Thing (movie) and now this, is the speculation of how an alien life-form that doesn't behold itself to our known bio-chemistry could spread. Even in an isolated setting like a polar region, there's still so many variables that we don't readily think of.
@MiniatureMythos I've just recently got into audio books, this is a channel I will be revisiting for sure. The version of Salem's Lot I was listening to wasn't that good to be honest, I prefer it when there's only one person doing all the voices otherwise it's just like a movie or tv show without the pictures lol.
You're more than welcome to check out everything I have on the channel. Although I must warn you that the quality of the audiobooks might drop the further back you go. I've learned a lot over the last year that I've been doing this and I've only just started to really hit my stride with these :) Hope you can find stuff to enjoy!
I know exactly which channel you're talking about...tried to listen to the Lot as well and one other story but the ads were too much. I get everyone needs to get paid but it's hard to get into a story when you have to skip scammy stimulus and insurance adverts. 😅
Great reading! Only get rid of the AI plastic "graphics" even simple hand drawings are better and have more style then this all the same looking generated stuff.
AI. So that’s how it’s done. I have listened to hundreds of readings and this is up there with Jeff Harding (Reacher), Timothy West (Flashman) and Patrick Tull) (Jack Aubrey).
That is some very high praise! And while I appreciate the thought, I don't think I can (ever) rank among those great actors and narrators. I'm just a fan reading stories that he likes on TH-cam...
@@ferdockm I have been playing with the idea of doing Edgar Rice Burroughs´ "The Land That Time Forgot"... so maybe that´ll be one in the upcoming weeks
Why are you crediting John Carpenter's film alone? Carpenter's Thing was preceded by 1951's The Thing From Another World. As good as Carpenter's remake was it was not the first and Carpenter's film borrowed much from the original. Give credit where it's due.
Thanks for voicing your opinion. I'm glad you can value the reading on its own :) And the AI art... I only use the AI art because I'm currently not within means to pay an artist for their time and effort to provide me with actual art. Already in talks with someone to get at least my thumbnails done by a real artist...
@@MiniatureMythosI think the concern is someone else can get your voice and make ai generated readings of ai generated stories, so we end up in this morbid wasteland devoid of any human imput. We all just sit there consuming the regurgitated stolen effort of human creativity.
That is unfortunately true... I've thought about that before. That someone could just use my readings to train an AI model somewhere down the line to sound like me. Incidentally, I've just listened to a podcast about 'The Death of the Internet'. You know, the theory where most of the interactions on the internet have devolved into bots reacting to bots reacting to content made by bots reacting to bots, without a human in sight. But I think that, as long as I use my real voice, and feature stories written by real people and music made by real people, and I get comments from real people, it's not all too morbid of a wasteland just yet, right? If we can continue to value the human effort put into projects on a higher level than the AI that's used, we will be fine.
Excellent reading! But execrable art (to be expected from AI-generation) that distracts from your reading with how stupid and hideous it looks. It would've honstly been better just to put a single image made by an actual person--or even just the title in plain text--rather than have this slideshow of shit.
Thanks for providing some feedback. I personally don’t mind the shittiness of the AI-images, as I don’t hold AI in high regard myself and I don’t suspect it will ever be good enough to replace humans anyway. What it creates is not ‘art’ and never will be, so I don’t tend to take it too seriously. Honestly, I am just amused by what a language model or image generator interprets from the texts that I put in there. I have noticed however, that most people don’t share that opinion, and believe that my videos are either ‘lazy’, ‘soulless’ or ‘theft’ because of my use/presentation of AI. My videos aren’t meant to present AI as anything but window dressing. AI is a tool I use, just as I use my mic to record or a hammer to nail something to a wall. However, I do admit that I started using AI because I was afraid my narration/voice wouldn’t be ‘adequate’ enough to carry my videos. And that I’d need some visual element to go along with them, just to provide a whole package. Turns out you are one of the few people who have lately told me that my narration does stand on its own, and I don’t need the AI pictures to support it. That a single still image would do. Now that I know that my narration is the thing most people focus on, and the AI is either something people like, don’t care about, or absolutely hate… it might be best to cut that part out. In addition, I’m getting pretty weary of people (not you) attacking me for something I don’t value that much in my videos, while ignoring/dismissing what I value the most, i.e. the narration, like I don’t have feelings or I’m not human at all.
@@MiniatureMythos For whatever my opinion is worth (some rando on the internet), I'd say that sounds like a prudent course of action. Sorta like a business deciding to change the package of a product after numerous reviews say the product is good but the package looks terrible. For better or worse, people do tend to judge the (audio)book by its cover (ba-dum cheee!). So it doesn't entirely surprise me that some have, upon seeing AI-generated images, assumed the voice might be AI-generated, too. Heck, the only reason I bothered to listen long enough to ascertain that yours isn't AI was because I've been meaning to listen to "Who Goes There?" for a while, and hadn't had much luck finding it. Normally, I click "Not Interested" on anything with an AI-image simply as a matter of form. Besides which, I imagine most people are like me with audiobooks: We put one on to listen to it while doing other things with our hands (driving, knitting, chores, games like Solitaire, etc.), so any visual element is, at best, extraneous. Makes it seem to me like you personally have nothing to lose by letting your voice (which is deep and resonant) stand on its own.
I'm sorry that's the first reaction my channel/video elicits. I hope you can look past the AI window-dressing that I did and see/hear the voice-acting/narrating that I've done as far more valuable and telling of this channel :)
Hey there, thanks for taking the time to voice your opinion. Like I've said in comments before, on my Conan audiobooks, if I were to use existing stuff like art or real photos, they'll still be owned by someone and subject to copyright laws. And I can't go out and make my own photos of a 1920's Antarctic base camp, since that's rather far-off and a hundred years in the past... I'm also a very small channel doing this for the love of the stories that I read. I don't get a lot of revenue from this. I'm essentially also an 'artist', but with my 'art' being my voice(-acting), and I'm just doing this trying to get the break in my 'art career' that I'm looking for. I have reached out to artists, both personal friends of mine and artists on DeviantArt, and noticed that 1. I can't pay them what their work is worth, and 2. They can't provide art at the speed that I currently need it. I'm currently waiting on an artist to free up some of their time to start handling the Thumbnail art at least, as that could be paid for and delivered on a weekly basis. I have done research and weighed my options for creating these videos. And, regrettably, I had to decide to use an AI image generator to prevent people from staring at a black screen or a single image for the entire duration. However, I'd like to point out that, while I do support your view on AI and that using real photos or paying an artist would be better... I also believe that my hours and hours of recording my voice, reading these stories, editing them down, going out to pay the rights to use the background music in these videos, shows that it's not for a lack of effort. Like any starting artist, I'm doing all of this besides my full-time job and responsibilities in my life. I'm trying to make up for the fact that I use AI by also supporting small authors that agree to have their books read by me. If I were a content farm, with scripts written by AI, narrated by AI, with images by AI, editing by AI, and music by AI, then you'd be 200% correct in your statement. But right now, because of your lack of empathy and knee-jerk reaction... I kinda feel unjustly attacked. And, seeing how you've linked your (admittedly rather old) DeviantArt account in your profile, and it states there that you would have liked to draw Conan the Barbarian art, you might also have lost a potential customer... If you were to have asked me "Hey, I noticed you use AI-art, are you open to having an artist make you real art? I myself like Conan the Barbarian and I've noticed you've done stories on him on your channel before.", I would have gladly talked to you about that and maybe even got you or someone like you to do those thumbnails at least. But now, it just comes across as attacking someone small who just tries to make do with the few things he has to do wrong that he can't change, while doing all the other things right.
@@MiniatureMythos Absolutely well said. I've been a ink artist for over 20 years now and there is most absolutely a place for AI art to be used to brilliant effect, for the exact reasons listed above. Except for the last thinking that you're wrong for using it to begin with. Everyone has their opinions on ai but in the scheme of things there are many ways to protect the process of your works through sheer literal (and can even be lazily done) documentation. It takes seconds and should absolutely become a part of the progress. If only even for posterity beyond your lifespan in the digital age, because it's all there yanno?Your process is nigh immortal which I personally think is pretty cool. ☺️ There is of course the lazy mass produced cheap garbage product websites, the like farmers, attention seekers, the ones using it for evil crap. It any genuine institute or critic or even a local silkscreen printer could take a moment to look at even phone pictures taken documenting the process of digital media along with the scanning of traditional art there would be the market for traditional artists in any line of work. It's a bit sad in terms of grifters but literally what thing in the world can say they alone have no cons, grifts or thefts? Look at this gorgeous picture this dude made. It didn't exist in this way ever. It drew upon billions of instances of the past to perfectly set the scene for a fantastically produced reading. This man has worked so hard for his craft and it's a complete shame that he can think it's wrong to use. The fact that he wants to commission art from people is a credit he deserves. But this artwork , because it IS a creation of art because it's paired WITH the art, deserved it now. The support this guy deserves generates the support he can give to others. He added extra flavour to the sauce. The use of complimentary generated art is not only a brilliant supplement to media but it's leading to different genres that creators can use. This is a new horizon and it's okay to be cautious but never okay to dismiss it completely. Minotaur man, I absolutely loved your reading. And it would be just as good without but that pictures frigging dope and compliments it so well. ❤️
Anyone who hasn't read this should.
It's a great story.
Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised by it and how well it held up as a story!
I would but i cant read. That’s why i have to listen…
Glad to be of service then! :D
The "Thing" in an audio book. Love it
For anyone who loved this one, check out 'In Amundsen's Tent" by John M. Leahy. Also an inspiration for The Thing. ❤
Atmospheric to the max dude! Fantastic reading. ❤
Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it!
wow! Such a great story. Im a huge fan of The Thing, but was not aware of this story. Thank you!
Definitely! Also a big The Thing fan here, and I was excited when I learned that it was based on a short story! Always wanted to read it, but only now had the chance to. So glad I did it, too! :D
@@MiniatureMythos Thank you so much for this one.
Great video. Keep up the amazing work. ❤❤❤
Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed it
Massive thanks.
You're welcome!
I'm glad I got to hear this one. One thing they didn't bring up because they might've not known yet but polar fish and most notably the wood frog have a natural antifreeze in their cells, animal cells (even a fish's) can't fully freeze without damage.
True, there's more than enough ways that something that's semi-sentient like the Thing would be able to use to make it's way from the Antarctic Continent. One thing I always liked about The Thing (movie) and now this, is the speculation of how an alien life-form that doesn't behold itself to our known bio-chemistry could spread. Even in an isolated setting like a polar region, there's still so many variables that we don't readily think of.
I'm hear after giving up listening to Salems Lot on a different channel, far too many adverts. This is much much better 👍
Thanks for giving my channel a chance! Maybe one day I'll do Salem's Lot as well, and you can continue on with the story :D
@MiniatureMythos I've just recently got into audio books, this is a channel I will be revisiting for sure. The version of Salem's Lot I was listening to wasn't that good to be honest, I prefer it when there's only one person doing all the voices otherwise it's just like a movie or tv show without the pictures lol.
You're more than welcome to check out everything I have on the channel. Although I must warn you that the quality of the audiobooks might drop the further back you go. I've learned a lot over the last year that I've been doing this and I've only just started to really hit my stride with these :) Hope you can find stuff to enjoy!
Me too lol
I know exactly which channel you're talking about...tried to listen to the Lot as well and one other story but the ads were too much. I get everyone needs to get paid but it's hard to get into a story when you have to skip scammy stimulus and insurance adverts. 😅
Read it first and then watch John Carpenters The Thing. It definately does it justice! 💌
Great synopsis! You've got a new subscriber.
Ai or not, I think the graphics look awesome.
At 53:30..the little dog on a leash in the front😂😂
Great reading! Only get rid of the AI plastic "graphics" even simple hand drawings are better and have more style then this all the same looking generated stuff.
AI. So that’s how it’s done. I have listened to hundreds of readings and this is up there with Jeff Harding (Reacher), Timothy West (Flashman) and Patrick Tull) (Jack Aubrey).
That is some very high praise! And while I appreciate the thought, I don't think I can (ever) rank among those great actors and narrators. I'm just a fan reading stories that he likes on TH-cam...
HG Wells or Jules Verne next? Maybe Edgar Rice Burroughs or Rudyard Kipling?
@@ferdockm I have been playing with the idea of doing Edgar Rice Burroughs´ "The Land That Time Forgot"... so maybe that´ll be one in the upcoming weeks
Cool. What about a Tarzan series? Those are great stories.
I'll definitely take a look!
Sounds like the thing
This is the 1938 short story that the 'The Thing' movie from 1982 would be based on.
@MiniatureMythos I knew it was similar great story
It is. You're correct
Published in 1938, this is exactly the inspiration for The Thing
Really good voice actor!
Thank you! Really appreciate you taking the time to tell me that ^^
Wonderful reading!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😀
Sounds like my ex-wife Victoria T. Milonas.
Gold😂😂
Tuesday
Why are you crediting John Carpenter's film alone? Carpenter's Thing was preceded by 1951's The Thing From Another World. As good as Carpenter's remake was it was not the first and Carpenter's film borrowed much from the original. Give credit where it's due.
You´re completely correct and I have corrected my description accordingly. Thank you for the feedback!
23:17 "thaued" out WTF? Is this AI reading? 👎
@@Welther47 No, it´s not AI. That´s just me not being a native English speaker and not having a lot of practice using the word ´thawed´.
@@MiniatureMythos OK. Fair enough. There are just so many AI narrated audiobooks now, you will excuse me for being suspicious.
Love the reading, hate ai art
Thanks for voicing your opinion. I'm glad you can value the reading on its own :)
And the AI art... I only use the AI art because I'm currently not within means to pay an artist for their time and effort to provide me with actual art. Already in talks with someone to get at least my thumbnails done by a real artist...
@@MiniatureMythosI think the concern is someone else can get your voice and make ai generated readings of ai generated stories, so we end up in this morbid wasteland devoid of any human imput. We all just sit there consuming the regurgitated stolen effort of human creativity.
That is unfortunately true... I've thought about that before. That someone could just use my readings to train an AI model somewhere down the line to sound like me.
Incidentally, I've just listened to a podcast about 'The Death of the Internet'. You know, the theory where most of the interactions on the internet have devolved into bots reacting to bots reacting to content made by bots reacting to bots, without a human in sight.
But I think that, as long as I use my real voice, and feature stories written by real people and music made by real people, and I get comments from real people, it's not all too morbid of a wasteland just yet, right? If we can continue to value the human effort put into projects on a higher level than the AI that's used, we will be fine.
I think the problem is, when ai is used there is no human effort. You're no longer an artist, you're now the client.
Excellent reading! But execrable art (to be expected from AI-generation) that distracts from your reading with how stupid and hideous it looks.
It would've honstly been better just to put a single image made by an actual person--or even just the title in plain text--rather than have this slideshow of shit.
Thanks for providing some feedback.
I personally don’t mind the shittiness of the AI-images, as I don’t hold AI in high regard myself and I don’t suspect it will ever be good enough to replace humans anyway. What it creates is not ‘art’ and never will be, so I don’t tend to take it too seriously. Honestly, I am just amused by what a language model or image generator interprets from the texts that I put in there.
I have noticed however, that most people don’t share that opinion, and believe that my videos are either ‘lazy’, ‘soulless’ or ‘theft’ because of my use/presentation of AI. My videos aren’t meant to present AI as anything but window dressing. AI is a tool I use, just as I use my mic to record or a hammer to nail something to a wall.
However, I do admit that I started using AI because I was afraid my narration/voice wouldn’t be ‘adequate’ enough to carry my videos. And that I’d need some visual element to go along with them, just to provide a whole package.
Turns out you are one of the few people who have lately told me that my narration does stand on its own, and I don’t need the AI pictures to support it. That a single still image would do. Now that I know that my narration is the thing most people focus on, and the AI is either something people like, don’t care about, or absolutely hate… it might be best to cut that part out.
In addition, I’m getting pretty weary of people (not you) attacking me for something I don’t value that much in my videos, while ignoring/dismissing what I value the most, i.e. the narration, like I don’t have feelings or I’m not human at all.
@@MiniatureMythos For whatever my opinion is worth (some rando on the internet), I'd say that sounds like a prudent course of action. Sorta like a business deciding to change the package of a product after numerous reviews say the product is good but the package looks terrible.
For better or worse, people do tend to judge the (audio)book by its cover (ba-dum cheee!). So it doesn't entirely surprise me that some have, upon seeing AI-generated images, assumed the voice might be AI-generated, too. Heck, the only reason I bothered to listen long enough to ascertain that yours isn't AI was because I've been meaning to listen to "Who Goes There?" for a while, and hadn't had much luck finding it. Normally, I click "Not Interested" on anything with an AI-image simply as a matter of form.
Besides which, I imagine most people are like me with audiobooks: We put one on to listen to it while doing other things with our hands (driving, knitting, chores, games like Solitaire, etc.), so any visual element is, at best, extraneous. Makes it seem to me like you personally have nothing to lose by letting your voice (which is deep and resonant) stand on its own.
Eww ai
I'm sorry that's the first reaction my channel/video elicits.
I hope you can look past the AI window-dressing that I did and see/hear the voice-acting/narrating that I've done as far more valuable and telling of this channel :)
Ai is theft and shows lack of effort. I would recommend using real photos or reaching out to an artist
Hey there, thanks for taking the time to voice your opinion.
Like I've said in comments before, on my Conan audiobooks, if I were to use existing stuff like art or real photos, they'll still be owned by someone and subject to copyright laws. And I can't go out and make my own photos of a 1920's Antarctic base camp, since that's rather far-off and a hundred years in the past...
I'm also a very small channel doing this for the love of the stories that I read. I don't get a lot of revenue from this. I'm essentially also an 'artist', but with my 'art' being my voice(-acting), and I'm just doing this trying to get the break in my 'art career' that I'm looking for. I have reached out to artists, both personal friends of mine and artists on DeviantArt, and noticed that 1. I can't pay them what their work is worth, and 2. They can't provide art at the speed that I currently need it. I'm currently waiting on an artist to free up some of their time to start handling the Thumbnail art at least, as that could be paid for and delivered on a weekly basis.
I have done research and weighed my options for creating these videos. And, regrettably, I had to decide to use an AI image generator to prevent people from staring at a black screen or a single image for the entire duration.
However, I'd like to point out that, while I do support your view on AI and that using real photos or paying an artist would be better... I also believe that my hours and hours of recording my voice, reading these stories, editing them down, going out to pay the rights to use the background music in these videos, shows that it's not for a lack of effort. Like any starting artist, I'm doing all of this besides my full-time job and responsibilities in my life. I'm trying to make up for the fact that I use AI by also supporting small authors that agree to have their books read by me.
If I were a content farm, with scripts written by AI, narrated by AI, with images by AI, editing by AI, and music by AI, then you'd be 200% correct in your statement.
But right now, because of your lack of empathy and knee-jerk reaction... I kinda feel unjustly attacked. And, seeing how you've linked your (admittedly rather old) DeviantArt account in your profile, and it states there that you would have liked to draw Conan the Barbarian art, you might also have lost a potential customer... If you were to have asked me "Hey, I noticed you use AI-art, are you open to having an artist make you real art? I myself like Conan the Barbarian and I've noticed you've done stories on him on your channel before.", I would have gladly talked to you about that and maybe even got you or someone like you to do those thumbnails at least. But now, it just comes across as attacking someone small who just tries to make do with the few things he has to do wrong that he can't change, while doing all the other things right.
@@MiniatureMythos Absolutely well said. I've been a ink artist for over 20 years now and there is most absolutely a place for AI art to be used to brilliant effect, for the exact reasons listed above. Except for the last thinking that you're wrong for using it to begin with. Everyone has their opinions on ai but in the scheme of things there are many ways to protect the process of your works through sheer literal (and can even be lazily done) documentation. It takes seconds and should absolutely become a part of the progress. If only even for posterity beyond your lifespan in the digital age, because it's all there yanno?Your process is nigh immortal which I personally think is pretty cool. ☺️
There is of course the lazy mass produced cheap garbage product websites, the like farmers, attention seekers, the ones using it for evil crap. It any genuine institute or critic or even a local silkscreen printer could take a moment to look at even phone pictures taken documenting the process of digital media along with the scanning of traditional art there would be the market for traditional artists in any line of work. It's a bit sad in terms of grifters but literally what thing in the world can say they alone have no cons, grifts or thefts?
Look at this gorgeous picture this dude made. It didn't exist in this way ever. It drew upon billions of instances of the past to perfectly set the scene for a fantastically produced reading. This man has worked so hard for his craft and it's a complete shame that he can think it's wrong to use. The fact that he wants to commission art from people is a credit he deserves. But this artwork , because it IS a creation of art because it's paired WITH the art, deserved it now. The support this guy deserves generates the support he can give to others. He added extra flavour to the sauce.
The use of complimentary generated art is not only a brilliant supplement to media but it's leading to different genres that creators can use. This is a new horizon and it's okay to be cautious but never okay to dismiss it completely.
Minotaur man, I absolutely loved your reading. And it would be just as good without but that pictures frigging dope and compliments it so well. ❤️
HATE SCIENTIST