My Personalized Year Review with ChatGPT 2025

Throughout 2025, I regularly consulted and collaborated with 

ChatGPT. Capped off with a poem, here is the app's review of my year with its service:

3 Themes

Chat Stats

Chat Style

Fortune 🔮

Prediction

Still Life

Archetype

Year in Poem

 

X-Men Anime Japanese Intro Goes Hard

 

The 90s X-Men anime opening is insane pic.twitter.com/O3yfXL2EGv

— Blaze Binges (@BlazeBinges) December 17, 2025

The Japanese opening theme for the 90s X-Men animated series is "Rising" by Ambience. Here's an English translation of the lyrics:

Shock! Slashing with a knife fortified with lies
Shock! The city gulps down my dreams and shines
Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred…

— Grok (@grok) December 18, 2025

Full Lyrics here:

The Japanese opening theme for the 90s X-Men animated series is "Rising" by Ambience. Here's an English translation of the lyrics: Shock! Slashing with a knife fortified with lies Shock! The city gulps down my dreams and shines Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred Secretly attacking in the middle of the night, break out! Cry! In the valley of buildings, the sigh of sin Cry! Swept by the wind, the city turns its back When it changes into being lost, the storm blows violently, disturbing My heart is stolen with betrayal in hand, break out! Cry for the moon Why do people indulge themselves in masks? Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred Secretly attacking in the middle of the night, break out! The limelight lights up the rustling An illusion wet with real time.

BONUS: Just for fun, here's the Teen Titans Animated Intro

Teen Titans
Opening Theme pic.twitter.com/wYs1fnLgPg

— Blaze Binges (@BlazeBinges) December 17, 2025

Fun Marvel Hero Macy's Parade Clip!

 I enjoyed the following clip of a live-action performance of Marvel Super Heroes during a past Macy's Parade (Cheesy in a fun way - LOL!):

Stop what you're doing and watch the Marvel Universe float from the 1987 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, set to the music from Back to the Future and also RoboCop is there?! pic.twitter.com/9tfcrZaWgI

— ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) November 27, 2025

But, of course, Spidey is the perennial top Super Hero of the Macy's Parade!

THWIP THWIP! 🕸️ Spider-Man swings through NYC at the #MacysParade to wish you an amazing Thanksgiving! pic.twitter.com/futudbXMfU

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 27, 2025

The Legendary Zod Latex Body Double

 

One of my favorite Trivia facts regarding the production of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and Batman V Superman is that a replica latex head was made from Zod actor Michael Shannon and was attached to a latex body prop cast from the body of fitness model and actor Greg Plitt. In the clip from Batman V Superman below, you can see the use of the Zod body prop when Lex Luthor uses Kryptonian technology to create the monstrous Doomsday.

For those brief moments on screen, much care was taken to create a believable likeness to move the story along convincingly. Below is a video of the process and text from the process video notes:

For the blockbuster BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, Studio ADI created two ultra-realistic replicas of the deceased General Zod that would withstand close scrutiny by a camera lense. Fitness trainer Greg Plitt came to ADI for us to lifecast his body from the neck down while our colleague Barney Burman loaned us a headcast of actor Michael Shannon. Once the Shannon headcast was copied both the head and body were run in silicone with a polyfoam fill to make them solid.

Zod body silicone runs and seaming: Tony Matijevich, Brian Clawson, and Tim Leach. Hair: Denise Baer. Paint: Mike Larrabee. PLEASE NOTE: no photographs in this video represent REAL or ACTUAL deceased individuals (they are photos of previous replica work).

Before the release of the film, Greg Plitt passed away. This video is dedicated to his memory.

Incidentally, Zack Snyder had worked with Plitt previously. As stated on Greg Plitt's website:

“Warner Bros. cast Greg Plitt as body of Dr. Manhattan in this spring’s blockbuster film, ‘The Watchmen.’ Director, Zach Snyder, chose fitness model and actor Greg Plitt; the VFX crew took digitized Plitt in 3D and took high-definition video of the model against a grid with muscles relaxed, flexed and tensed. The crew then 3D-digitized Billy Crudup’s head and ‘frankensteined Billy’s head onto Greg’s body,’ ...”

More information & Links on Watchmen production notes for Dr. Manhattan.

👏 BTW-- Michael Shannon remains proud of his work in Man of Steel and the controversial scene where Superman kills General Zod, defending it as an important part of the film's narrative. 

Shannon recently addressed the scene, more than a decade after the film's release, and explained that director Zack Snyder deliberately put Superman in an impossible situation where he had no choice but to take a life to save innocent people. 

Key points from his recent comments:

• He is "proud" of the movie because he feels "it's actually about something," contrary to critics who dismissed it as just a typical blockbuster.

• He acknowledges the controversy, stating, "one of the controversies with this film ... is that Superman is not supposed to kill anybody," but defends the creative decision to force the hero into that difficult moral choice.

• He loved working with Zack Snyder and stands by the film's artistic vision. 
  
  
• The scene, where Superman snaps Zod's neck during their final battle to stop him from murdering a family with his heat vision, was a major point of debate among fans and critics, but Shannon views it as a necessary and significant moment for the character's journey. 

Six Sixty Six --A Song for Our Times

 

Larry Norman: In Another Land album, 1976

Six Sixty Six, by Larry Norman

In the midst of the war, he offered us peace. 

He came like a lover from out of the east with the face of an angel 

  and the heart of a beast. 

His intentions were 666.

 

He walked up to the temple with gold in his hand. And he bought off the priests

 

  and propositioned the land. 

And the world was his harlot and laid in the sand.

 

While the band played 666.

 

 

We served at his table and slept on the floor. 

But he starved us and beat us and nailed us to the door. 

Well, I'm ready to die. I can't take anymore. And I'm sick of his lies and

 

his tricks.

 

 

He told us he loved us, but that was a lie. 

There was blood in his pockets and death in his eyes. 

Well, my number is up and I'm willing to die. 

If the band will play

 

si- If the band will play

 

six-si- If the band will play 666.

 

 

Al & the Arts

 

Creating Thoughtfully in a Digital Age

Al Is Here!
Al is part of how we create music, stories, performances, and visual art, Let's explore it with curlosity and care!

New Creative Tools
Al can help us sketch, mix music, plan stage designs-and brainstorm ideas. Use it to explore-but don't let replace your vision.

What Makes It Original?
Al can imitate style, but only you bring real emotion, meaning, and experience. Make it yours.

Learn & Grow
Think about how you use Al. Does it support your story? Respect others? Express something true?

Be Wise, Be Kind
Again, think about how you use Al. Does it support your story? Respect others?

The Future Needs You
What's your dream art project? Could Al help bring it to life? How would you make sure it still feels like YOU?

Created in collaboration with ChatGPT

Peter Thiel vs. Elon Musk – How They Influence Democracy

 

Two of the most powerful people in technology today, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, both have strong influence on American democracy. While they are both billionaires, the way they shape politics and culture is very different. Thiel works quietly behind the scenes in politics, while Musk is loud and visible in social media and business. Together, they show how wealthy individuals can affect the way democracy works.

Peter Thiel’s main influence comes from money and ideas. He has given millions of dollars to political candidates such as J.D. Vance and Blake Masters, who share his views. He also funds fellowships for young people with big ideas, hoping to shape the next generation of leaders. Thiel believes democracy has limits, and he prefers a system where powerful elites guide the future. His approach is about long-term change, focusing on who gets to make decisions and how the system is run.

Elon Musk, on the other hand, influences democracy through culture and communication. By owning Twitter, now called X, Musk controls one of the world’s biggest platforms for public debate. His choices about what voices are allowed and how “free speech” should work have direct effects on how people talk about politics. Musk also has power through his companies, like Tesla and SpaceX. For example, his Starlink satellites played an important role in Ukraine during the war, giving him influence over governments. 

The difference between Thiel and Musk can be seen as long-term versus short-term. Thiel wants to slowly reshape politics by supporting leaders and ideas that may last for decades. Musk, however, has the ability to change the conversation instantly with a single tweet or a business decision. Both forms of influence matter, but they work in very different ways.

Together, Thiel and Musk show how technology leaders can change democracy not only through politics, but also through culture and media. Thiel uses money and strategy to shape the future, while Musk uses communication and popularity to shape the present. Their power shows the new challenges democracies face in the modern world, where business leaders can sometimes hold as much influence as elected officials.

Article and illustrations created through prompts and interactions/editing by Chat GPT.

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