Why Cohere is merging with Aleph Alpha
Why Tokyo is the most important tech destination of 2026
Why Maine’s Governor Just Killed a Pioneering Data Center Moratorium
Until yesterday, it looked like Maine would enshrine the country’s first state-level hyperscale data center moratorium into law. But late on Friday, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced she would veto the bill. Though a statement she issued claimed that she agreed a “moratorium is appropriate” in theory, Mills wrote that she would not sign the one passed by legislators in order to avoid jeopardizing a single data center being built in the town of Jay, which she said would bring 800 temporary and 100 permanent jobs to the area.
The data center industry’s lobby welcomed the move. “Enacting a statewide moratorium on data centers would have discouraged investment and sent a signal that Maine is closed for business—both for data centers and economic development projects involving other industries,” said Dan Diorio, a spokesperson for the Data Center Coalition. “Critically, it would have denied local communities the opportunity to compete for investment and jobs involving data center projects they found suitable.”
Instead, Mills ordered a study on “the potential impacts of large-scale data centers in Maine.”
Environmental advocates were less thrilled. “With this veto, Governor Mills has demonstrated a shocking disconnect with the people of Maine, their elected legislators, and a large and growing national movement against the reckless explosion of this highly problematic industry,” said Mitch Jones of Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit focused on climate and corporate accountability. “Mainers and people across the country are becoming increasingly fed up with the skyrocketing electricity rates, false jobs promises, and harmful industrialization of small-town communities that hyperscale data centers bring wherever they land.”
Rather than pause their construction altogether, Mills’ statement said she will issue an executive order to establish a council studying “the potential impacts of large-scale data centers in Maine.”
But as I reported last week, data center moratoriums are gaining public support in Maine and beyond. With Mills set to compete in a hotly-contested June Senate primary against Graham Platner, who supported the moratorium, her veto decision could become a political liability. Platner currently leads Mills in the polls by double digits.
Beyond Maine, twelve states are considering legislative moratoriums on data center construction, and dozens of municipalities have already passed such laws. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced a proposal for a nationwide moratorium in March. “A year ago, nobody was entertaining a moratorium,” says Greg LeRoy of the watchdog group Good Jobs First. “Now a fourth of the states are.”
Apps to distract you from the endless cycle of doomscrolling
Apple under Ternus: what comes next for the tech giant’s hardware strategy
India’s Snabbit seeks fresh funding at a $400M valuation, sources say
Peter Thiel Flees to Argentina
Last year, tech fascist guru Curtis Yarvin warned that Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters should prepare to flee the United States in case Democrats retake power. Now, one of Yarvin’s key followers—Palantir co-founder and Antichrist enthusiast Peter Thiel—appears to be heeding his advice.
Thiel has purchased a new mansion in an affluent section of Buenos Aires, according to the New York Post. The billionaire plans an extended stay in Argentina, according to the Buenos Aires Herald, and he met with Argentine President Javier Milei this week.
“Thiel, the 58-year-old founder of online payments processor PayPal and AI company Palantir, is reportedly planning to stay in the country for two months,” reported the Herald on April 23. “He is mostly in a US$12 million house he bought in Barrio Parque, an affluent suburb in Buenos Aires City, local media reported. Thiel and his husband, Matt Danzeisen, saw Milei in Casa Rosada at 2 p.m., together with the country’s Foreign Minister, Pablo Quirno.”
The Herald notes the German-born billionaire’s extremist politics: “The ideology he champions is called the ‘Dark Enlightenment’—a proposed alliance between autocrats and AI accelerationists to manage societies as if they were corporations.”
American tech fascists have rallied in support of Milei, a chainsaw-waving anarcho-capitalist zealot who is known for claiming to communicate with the ghost of a dead dog, as well as for imposing disastrous policies on the country’s economy. Milei claims credit for reducing inflation, but his popularity has dropped to 36% as people struggle to survive.
“[T]he drop in inflation is certainly not a victory for Argentine productivity,” writes political economist Can Cinar. “It’s a byproduct of a deliberate and engineered collapse in people’s wages. Milei hasn't fixed the engine of Argentina's economy, he has simply turned it off.”
Things are going so badly under the libertarian economist’s leadership that, late last year, the Trump administration authorized a $20 billion lifeline for Milei’s flailing administration. There was a catch, however: Trump’s offer required Argentina’s voters to support Milei’s party in the country's midterm elections (they did).
Thiel’s decision to establish a beachhead in Buenos Aires comes as Trump sinks to record-low popularity and the Republican Party heads toward a likely defeat in U.S. midterm elections. It’s the latest move for Silicon Valley's most prominent apocalypse enthusiast, who seems to be wandering the earth anxiously in search of refuge. Over the past few years, he has drifted from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Miami. His plans to create some kind of doomsday estate in New Zealand appear to have fizzled.
(Argentina has a peculiar history as a refuge for rootless fascists. After World War II, it became a primary destination for Nazi war criminals fleeing prosecution via the so-called “ratlines.”)
Thiel believes that the United States—and most nation-states—will experience a dramatic collapse in the 21st century as technological advances create widespread economic and political chaos. His beliefs were largely inspired by The Sovereign Individual: How To Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State, a 1997 book which predicted that crypto and AI would collapse the existing world order. It advised savvy investors—a new class of so-called “cognitive elites”—to prepare for this reality by acquiring extra passports and exiting the USA for remote parts of the world.
“Thinly populated regions with temperate climates, and a large endowment of arable land per head, like New Zealand and Argentina, will also enjoy a comparative advantage because they enjoy high standards of public health and are low-cost producers of foods and renewable products,” wrote James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg in The Sovereign Individual.
“A good marker for the viability of cities is whether those living at the core of the city are richer than those on its periphery,” they wrote. “Buenos Aires, London, and Paris will remain inviting places to live and do business long after the last good restaurant closes in South Bend, Louisville, and Philadelphia.”
Davidson and Rees-Mogg made many failed doomsday predictions. But this did not harm their standing with Thiel. When The Sovereign Individual was republished in 2020, he wrote the foreword. He appears to still be following the book’s advice.
“Buenos Aires is only the latest square on what amounts to a meticulously constructed global hedge,” reported the New York Post. “Thiel has spent years assembling a portfolio of residences, passports, and legal presences across multiple continents. In New Zealand, he secured citizenship—a process that drew considerable scrutiny given how rapidly it was granted—and with it, residency access across the Pacific corridor including Australia.”
In addition: “Thiel subsequently acquired a Maltese passport, granting him full freedom of movement across the European Union.”
News of Thiel’s latest home comes as Palantir faces massive public blowback for publishing a 22-point fascist manifesto. In addition, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman—a Thiel protégé who keeps promising that AI will destroy most jobs—recently had a Molotov cocktail thrown at his mansion in San Francisco.
The Sovereign Individual predicted a violent backlash against socially destructive technologies, which may explain why Thiel and his friends are so obsessed with doomsday preparations. In 2016, Altman told the New Yorker he was stockpiling guns, gold and gas masks in Big Sur, and also had plans to flee with Thiel to New Zealand.
If history is any indicator, Thiel will not find happiness in Argentina and will continue touring the globe to preach his own personal brand of apocalypse. But his decision to publicly decamp to Latin America at the height of his power suggests that he, like Yarvin, lacks confidence in the Trump regime.
The Nerd Reich Is Coming!This is only a taste of what you’ll learn in my forthcoming book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy. It details how a cult of venture capitalists—led by Thiel—are pushing a self-fulfilling prophecy of societal collapse. If you can, please pre-order it today!
Click this link to support independent bookstores and this newsletter.
Here’s what some amazing writers are saying about The Nerd Reich:
“A clear and compelling account of the threats posed by technofascism to democracies everywhere.” —Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian and author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present
“Reader take note: Gil Durán is a deep, thoughtful, and expansive observer of events that shape the current and future of our American democracy.” —George Lakoff, author of The All New Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
“Gil Durán is an essential voice on this technofascist moment—where it comes from and where we are going.” —Carole Cadwalladr, investigative journalist, The Nerve
“The Nerd Reich is a clarion warning about the rise of techno-fascist sociopaths who seek to profit off of our collective misery. In clear, compelling and meticulously-researched detail, Gil Durán sounds the alarm about this incestuous cabal of broligarchs. He brings the receipts and the righteous rage.” —Wajahat Ali, The Left Hook
Ex-AWS legend explains what enterprises need to make AI actually work
Enterprise AI projects go off the rails when companies focus on the technology instead of the people.…
Six tenants set to be displaced by new affordable housing in Downtown Santa Cruz
The Neptune Apartments on Pacific Avenue could become an eight-story apartment building. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Tenants of the Neptune Apartments in Downtown Santa Cruz could soon be the first residents displaced by the upzoning of the area. The six renters have until July 27 to leave their homes and make way for a new eight-story apartment building approved by the Santa Cruz Planning Commission this month.
“I’m super anxious because I’m old and my ability to earn more than what I’m making right now does not exist,” said Laurie Dodt, who has lived at the apartments at 407 Pacific Ave. for four years and works as a caregiver for seniors. “I don’t want to be homeless.”
Dodt, who was born in Santa Cruz and has lived here ever since, said she often thinks about the possibility of becoming homeless.
“I could be in a tent and it’s sad. It’s scary and it’s sad,” she said. “I don’t live there — in fear — but that’s the reality.”
Laurie Dodt poses for a portrait near her home at Neptune Apartments. She said she’s four years from qualifying for senior housing and expects to be offered three years of relocation assistance. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
The proposed 102-unit building from San Diego-based developer CRP Affordable Housing & Development will include all below-market-rate units and will satisfy the affordability requirements for a separate developer to build 245 market-rate apartments down the street at 201 Front St.
City rules allow the required below-market-rate units of a project to be built in a separate building. The rules also allow developers to bank any additional units beyond the required number to offset future developments’ affordability requirements.
(function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [], forms: { on: function(evt, cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt, callback: cb } ); } } } })(); Stay informed on Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues. Santa Cruz Local’s newsletter breaks down complex local topics and shows residents how to get involved. Email address:mc4wp.forms.on('subscribed', function(form) { // gtag.js if(form.id == '6954') { gtag('event', 'subscribe', {'event_category': 'newsletter_prompt', 'event_label':'top_of_story'}); } }); Leave this field empty if you're human:
“It’s nice that they build affordable housing, but then I find out they can use this building, because it’s [eight] stories, against other buildings which then can now be totally luxury apartments,” said Leonard Ross, who has lived at Neptune Apartments since 2020. “That kind of rubs me the wrong way.”
Ross said he and the other tenants are waiting to see how much relocation assistance they will be offered, and if it will be enough to stay in Santa Cruz, where last year rents were ranked as the most expensive in the U.S. by the Low Income Housing Coalition for the third year in a row.
Leonard Ross stands in front of his home. ‘It’s an old building, but it has that certain kind of style to it,’ he says of Neptune Apartments. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Paul Yale, who has lived at Neptune Apartments for more than 20 years, implored the Santa Cruz Planning Commission to not let the project, and the razing of his home, go through.
“By demolishing it, you’d pretty much be kicking me out of town,” Yale said to commissioners at the April 16 meeting. Planning commissioners approved the project unanimously, in what was essentially a formality. State housing law strips local authority to change or deny most housing proposals.
In an interview with Santa Cruz Local, Yale said he’s lived in Santa Cruz since he was a child and doesn’t know if he’ll be able to stay after he loses his home in July.
“I don’t have a credit rating because I’ve been renting for the last 20 years month-to-month,” he said, adding that he pays $1,200 for the two-bedroom apartment. “Rates for finding a new place to live are ridiculously higher than what I’m paying right now.” He said if he ends up in a studio costing $2,000, the rent would be more than half his monthly income.
The developer informed residents last year that the property would be redeveloped, Yale said, and some tenants have since left.
City rules require developers to hire an independent company to facilitate relocation of tenants and Long Beach-based real estate consulting firm Overland, Pacific & Cutler, Inc. was hired for the Neptune tenants.
In a 180-day notice to vacate dated Jan. 26 and shared with Santa Cruz Local, the company advised residents to wait until a 90-day notice is given before signing a lease or moving out. Otherwise, they may not be eligible for relocation assistance.
Paul Yale says ‘it felt terrible to be right’ when he finally got the notice he was expecting, informing tenants the building would be redeveloped. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Yale said that makes the situation more stressful, as finding adequate housing in Santa Cruz can be a lengthy and challenging ordeal.
Tenants will be guaranteed a spot in the new housing once it finishes construction, but rents for the below-market-rate apartments could be double, or even higher than what they pay at Neptune.
The expected displacement of the tenants comes just under a year after the city council approved upzoning the neighborhood. City leaders dubbed the area “SoLa” or “South of Laurel” in the process of rezoning to allow buildings up to 85 feet.
“I’ve seen the downtown plan, and there was a gray box over where I live,” Yale said, referring to the map of which blocks were to be upzoned.
Though the loss of the Neptune Apartments is a relatively small number of affordable homes compared to the 102 units set to replace them, it will serve as an important case that puts the city’s anti-displacement policies to the test.
How many of the residents land on their feet, or are forced to leave town in search of affordable rents, remains to be seen.
Anticipated rents in a proposed eight-story, below-market-rent apartment building have not yet been published. (CRP Affordable Housing & Community Development)
Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.
Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membershipThe post Six tenants set to be displaced by new affordable housing in Downtown Santa Cruz appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.
Crime crew impersonates help desk, abuses Microsoft Teams to steal your data
A previously unknown threat group using tried-and-tested social engineering tactics - Microsoft Teams chat invitations and helpdesk staff impersonation - is also using custom malware in its data-stealing attacks, according to Google's Threat Intelligence Group.…
Poisoning the Forest for the Trees
The forest floor was nothing but patches of brown. No ferns, no brush, no flowers, and definitely no wildlife. Everything was dead except for rows of hand-planted baby trees.
jQuery(document).ready(function(){prx("https:\/\/play.prx.org\/e?ge=prx_149_232a7f30-2cd8-457f-88eb-be5b30d4324a&uf=https%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.revealradio.org%2Frevealpodcast", "prx-1", "embed")});Subscribe to Mother Jones podcasts on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.
This is what reporter Nate Halverson found while mushroom foraging in the California wilderness near Lassen Peak. He would learn the area had been sprayed with the controversial weed killer glyphosate, more commonly known by its brand name, Roundup.
This week on Reveal, Halverson’s yearlong investigation reveals that the US Forest Service and timber companies are spraying glyphosate in record amounts in California’s forests in an effort to regrow timberland that’s been decimated by years of megafires.
“The wedding of the chemical industry and the Forest Service has got to be seriously and deeply looked at,” Craig Thomas, a fire restoration expert, says about the spraying. The Forest Service is “addicted to herbicide use and glyphosate, and we need to get them into rehab.”
Lachy Groom to back India startup Pronto at a $200M valuation, sources say
Ryan Coonerty holds early fundraising lead in Santa Cruz Mayor’s race
The June primary election includes races for Santa Cruz Mayor, Santa Cruz City Council and Santa Cruz County Supervisor. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local file)
SANTA CRUZ >> Those vying for a local political seat in the June 2 primary had their first campaign finance disclosure deadline Thursday, giving a first look at candidates’ coffers.
There are competitive races for Santa Cruz Mayor, Santa Cruz City Council Districts 4 and 6, and Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 4 on the June primary ballot. Other races, including Watsonville City Council, will only be on the November general election ballot.
If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in June, they are elected outright. If no candidate in a race reaches 50% approval in June, the top two vote-getters will face off in November.
(function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [], forms: { on: function(evt, cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt, callback: cb } ); } } } })(); Stay informed on Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues. Santa Cruz Local’s newsletter breaks down complex local topics and shows residents how to get involved. Email address:mc4wp.forms.on('subscribed', function(form) { // gtag.js if(form.id == '6954') { gtag('event', 'subscribe', {'event_category': 'newsletter_prompt', 'event_label':'top_of_story'}); } }); Leave this field empty if you're human: Santa Cruz Mayor
Among the five candidates running for Santa Cruz city’s four-year mayoral seat, longtime Santa Cruz politico Ryan Coonerty is leading with $55,115 raised, including a $5,000 loan. As a former city councilmember and county supervisor, Coonerty’s campaign has seen much fanfare since his entrance into the race, receiving endorsements from every sitting Santa Cruz City Councilmember.
Some have supported his campaign, including $450 from Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson’s 2024 election committee, as well as individual donations from Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and Councilmember Renee Golder, both also for $450. He’s received support from more than 200 individual donors.
Coonerty has spent about $21,116, leaving him with $33,998 on hand.
Former city councilmember Chris Krohn is trailing Coonerty with $10,652 raised, including a $5,000 loan. He’s spent $3,403, leaving him with $7,248 on hand. Krohn was recalled in 2020 over allegations of bullying and opposition to his homeless policies.
Environmental activist Gillian Greensite has raised $8,189 including a $3,500 loan, and Get the Flock Out co-founder Ami Chen Mills has raised $8,382 with a $1,718 loan. Santa Cruz Cares and Sanitation for the People co-founder Joy Schendledecker has raised $2,650 and has not taken out a loan.
Of the five Santa Cruz Mayor candidates, every one except Coonerty signed a voluntary campaign expenditure limit agreement. It limits campaign spending to roughly $40,000.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor district 4At the county level, incumbent District 4 Supervisor Felipe Hernandez faces challenges from Pajaro Valley Health Care District board chair Tony Nuñez and Youth Alliance associate director of movement building Elias Gonzales.
Despite filing for reelection and signaling his intent to run, Hernandez did not file campaign finance forms as of Friday.
Nuñez has raised $20,023 without loans, and has about $8,134 remaining on hand. He holds a substantial financial lead over Gonzales, who has raised $7,878 with a $2,000 loan and has spent about $4,567.
District 3 Supervisor Justin Cummings is running for reelection with no opponent. He has raised $4,303.
Santa Cruz City CouncilThere are two Santa Cruz City Council seats on the June ballot — District 4, where incumbent Scott Newsome is running against local paraeducator Hector Marin, and District 6, where incumbent Renee Golder is running against UC Santa Cruz student Gabriella Noack.
Both challengers did not file campaign finance forms as of Friday. Newsome has raised $7,738 in the race with a $2,000 loan, and Golder has $11,659 raised without loans.
Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.
Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membershipThe post Ryan Coonerty holds early fundraising lead in Santa Cruz Mayor’s race appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.
Steve Ballmer blasts founder he backed who pleaded guilty to fraud: ‘I was duped and feel silly’
Local groups collaborating to build sustainable tiny homes for unhoused people
An unpermitted home at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Soquel. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> A new housing project using renewable construction materials will feature six tiny homes for formerly homeless residents at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Soquel.
People First of Santa Cruz County and Just Places are partnering with the church to construct New Creation Village. Just Places is a fiscally sponsored project of People First, a local nonprofit, and describes its mission as combating homelessness and climate change by building housing with natural materials.
Just Places will develop the project, People First will act as a service provider and Mt. Calvary owns the land. Other partners and supporters are involved as well.
People transitioning out of homelessness have been living on the church’s lot in unpermitted structures built by volunteers in 2022. Evan Morrison, executive director of People First, became aware of Mt. Calvary’s unpermitted structures several years ago and said he’s been searching for more sustainable solutions. Funding for the new project is the main focus right now, he said.
(function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [], forms: { on: function(evt, cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt, callback: cb } ); } } } })(); Stay informed on Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues. Santa Cruz Local’s newsletter breaks down complex local topics and shows residents how to get involved. Email address:mc4wp.forms.on('subscribed', function(form) { // gtag.js if(form.id == '6954') { gtag('event', 'subscribe', {'event_category': 'newsletter_prompt', 'event_label':'top_of_story'}); } }); Leave this field empty if you're human:
Evan Morrison, founder and executive director of People First, works in his office in Santa Cruz on April 16. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
“If the funding comes together, it’s likely we’ll start building in May of next year,” Morrison said.
During the first of two phases of construction, six tiny homes would be built. The homes would primarily be made of strawbale and natural plaster, with solar to power the homes, and are expected to last up to 100 years. The second phase of development includes constructing up to 10 apartment units on the church property using the same sustainable building methods and will include in-unit bathrooms and kitchenettes.
The goal is to make some of the units available to those with Section 8 housing vouchers.
Kita Glass, natural builder, general contractor and owner at Buckeye Natural Builders, is one of the many partners on the project. He poses for a portrait in Santa Cruz on April 16. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Kita Glass, owner and contractor at Buckeye Natural Builders in Santa Cruz, is on the Just Places leadership team. He said when the time comes, he will be a contractor on the New Creation Village project.
“They have four cabins there that need to get replaced, and so we want to replace them with strawbale cabins that are fully contained tiny houses,” Glass said.
Strawbale also absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, which will then be stored within the building itself, Glass said.
“It’s a really easy way to store carbon, take it out of the air and put it in the building,” he said.
Pastor Stan Abraham, of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, poses for a portrait in Soquel on April 20. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
There are currently six residents living in the unpermitted structures on the church property.
Stan Abraham is the pastor at Mt. Calvary and said the church has welcomed unhoused residents to live on the 5-acre property for more than two decades. The arrangement has been a mutually positive one for both the church and unhoused people, he said, with the people living there seeing it as their home and some of the tenants being part of the congregation.
“It provides an atmosphere for them to have a resource of either counseling or spiritual care here,” Abraham said.
He said much of the congregation is made up of environmentally conscious members, and Just Place’s use of ecologically sound materials became of interest to them and gained internal support.
“We know from our congregation’s experience that providing safe and stable housing for those who so desperately need it makes a huge difference in their lives,” Abraham said of the project in a speech at a fundraiser on April 19.
To learn more about New Creation Village and register to volunteer visit Just Places.
Four unpermitted homes at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church could be replaced by permitted tiny houses built with sustainable materials. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.
Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membershipThe post Local groups collaborating to build sustainable tiny homes for unhoused people appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.
Queen of Sludge
Palantir is reportedly helping the IRS investigate financial crimes
Cohere acquires, merges with German-based startup to create a ‘transatlantic AI powerhouse’
Disney Animator Andreas Deja on MUSHKA and the Beauty of 2D Animation
Disney animated movies hold a special place in many of our hearts. They inspire hope, magic, and help us believe that our dreams are possible. But these movies would be nothing without the artists who had a hand in creating them. One such artist is renowned Disney animator Andreas Deja. You may not know his name, but you most certainly know his characters. Deja is responsible for breathing life into some of Disney’s most iconic classic villains. He has animated characters such as Scar, Gaston, Jafar, King Triton, Mama Odie, and Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. Having moved away from his days at Disney, Deja now celebrates his first independent short film, Mushka. Nerdist had the pleasure of speaking with Deja about the film, his career journey, and the beauty of 2D animation. Walt Disney Animation
Deja animated for Disney for more than 30 years. He immigrated from Germany in 1980 after finishing school. He moved to California to join the Walt Disney Studios training program and follow his dreams of becoming a Disney animator. The animator stayed with the company until 2011 to pursue independent projects instead. Deja is looked up to for his work, having brought to life several iconic characters over the years. He is a Winsor McCay Award recipient, having been recognized for his accomplishments in animation in 2007.
Nerdist: You’ve had a hand in creating countless iconic characters and villains for Disney. Do you have any favorite characters or sequences that you’ve done?
Andreas Deja: I don’t, and I think most animators will give you that answer. They were all special, and they were all important for different reasons. There are highlights. I loved to work on Scar because I worked with Jeremy Irons, who gave this amazing voice performance. Another example would be Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. I really wanted to do Lilo and not Stitch because I hadn’t done a character like Lilo. So I adored working on that character as well.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a very important film for me. Aside the fact that it was a mix of live action and animation, the animation needed to be very soft and within the style of the early Hollywood and Disney animation. We call it very squash and stretch, meaning non-realistic. When you do loose animation like that for a whole year, it changes you as an animator because you get all the stiffness out of your animation that way. It really loosened me up and helped me to produce better, more fluid animation.
Walt Disney AnimationWhat is it that got you into animation in the first place? Is it something you always knew you wanted to do, or is there something that sparked interest that for you?
Well, I always liked drawing. I can remember as far back as kindergarten that I drew comic characters, from Disney comics mostly. I saw my first Disney animated film when I was about 10 or 11—the original Jungle Book—and that was a life changer.
The whole idea of me leaving my family and friends to go to America and draw cartoons for Walt Disney, that was just not going to happen. Everybody tells you so. But l sent a letter to Disney Studios at the age of 12 or 13, and asked, “What can I do now in Germany to sometime work for you in the future?” They wrote back, and I still have that letter. They told me to draw how I see the world. Draw real things and draw them often. I took that advice really seriously and did that for years to come.
“Draw real things and draw them often.“
Andreas Deja, Disney animatorSo many of the characters that you’ve worked on have meant a great deal to people across generations. What does that mean to you as an artist to have had that lasting impact on so many people?
It happened lately that I could reflect on my career and think, “did all this really happen?” When everybody else around you keeps saying that something like that is just not going to happen, you sort of believe it. But you also think, “Well, what if it can?” When people still come up to me and say that my characters were a part of their childhood, that almost brings tears to my eyes. I didn’t expect that the movies my generation did would have this long life. We were just concerned with doing a job as good as we possibly could. It’s an amazing feeling to find out that work still matters to people.
Andreas DejaAfter gushing about classic Disney and career highlights for about ten minutes, the conversation naturally shifted to Andreas Deja’s short film, Mushka. Mushka tells the heartwarming story of a young girl who befriends an orphaned Siberian Tiger in Russia. The short film is completely hand-drawn and is about half an hour long. Deja worked on the project for roughly eight years.
I’m glad you brought up Mushka. You mentioned that it took you years to create because you drew it completely by hand. Even with a lot of animation nowadays having shifted to CG animation, why is taking something frame by frame like that a process that continues to be important to you?
It’s what I was used to. It was also the kind of filmmaking that got me to Disney. I fell head over heels with the work of Walt Disney and his animators. It was everything to me. It was my childhood and beyond. I cannot leave that alone yet. I don’t think I ever will.
When Disney said, “We aren’t going to do the hand drawn films anymore, we are going to shift to CG,” I thought, “Well, I’m not ready to do that.” I have things to express with drawings and stories to tell, so maybe I’ll put on a different hat. Maybe I’ll do my own project and I’ll be a director, producer, animator, and all of those hats. It just turned into this big adventure, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m really proud of it and I’m glad it’s out now for everybody to watch.
Mushka was your directorial debut as well, correct?
It was, and I was perfectly happy being an animator. You might’ve heard this, that people call animators actors with a pencil. We really are the actors of those specific characters. And as an actor, you’re being given an outline or storyboard, so we know what’s happening with our character. Being on my own after having done this for 30 years, I had to create my own project because nobody was giving me those scenes of work. I’ll be honest with you, it was scary at first.
Andreas DejaWas there anything specific that sparked the inspiration for why you wanted Mushka to be a tiger? Why that storyline?
I love drawing animals, and that was a big factor why I chose an animal/human story. I have some experience studying big cats from The Lion King, but I thought a tiger would be cool with stripes. I thought, okay, why don’t I pair a tiger with a little innocent girl? There could be some dynamics that I could really build a story around.
One thing I liked is how you drew Mushka with the little tuft of hair that makes an “M.” I thought that was a very cute detail.
I hope that didn’t escape most people; It was sort of a hint. That’s basically how she gets the idea to call him Mushka, which translates back to sweetheart. I wanted to show that with the “M” on his forehead.
Are there other certain stylistic choices that you try to incorporate, especially when it comes to Disney villains, in order to evoke a certain reaction with the audience?
When I come onto a movie like Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, I’m not the first artist to work on that character. Writers and concept artists have already done some rough graphic concepts, so by the time I get onto the movie and get started, I already have something to read or something to look at. I can kind of pick and choose and say, “Well, I like this. I don’t like that.”
Sometimes even a voice has been chosen. The voice gives you so much. My job is to create animation and patterns of acting that work so that the audience really believes that voice is coming out of the mouth you just drew. It has to work. Many people don’t know this. They think the voice actors come in afterwards, but it’s actually the other way around.
Andreas DejaWhen you’re listening to those voice tracks and animating a character, how much does the character evolve throughout that process?
It’s actually everything. In some cases, it went as far as the character looking like the actor. In the case of Scar, there would’ve been so many different ways to configure his face and his look. But I saw something in Jeremy Irons when I watched some of the movies he had done prior to The Lion King. There was just something in his face that was fascinating. I’m going to try and keep the dark circles under his eyes and certain mouth configurations that are unique to him. In the end, it almost became a caricature of Jeremy Irons.
We did some final voice work with him, and I had already animated the sequence where Scar is setting up Simba before the stampede on the Rock. I showed it to Jeremy Irons, and he looked at the monitor and says, “Oh my gosh, he looks like me!” and he was toucking his face. I said, “I hope that’s okay, because that was intentional.”
“Have a bit of your own soul in it.”
Andreas Deja, Disney animatorNerdist: If you could share a message to the next generation of animators who look up to you, what would that be?
Don’t be shy. “Follow your dream” is such a cliche, but it’s a real thing. If you have ambitions, if you have a passion for something, reach for the stars and reach out. Don’t wait by the phone or by your computer to be invited. Reach out to professionals that can give you advice and get informed. Educate yourself about what the industry is doing, and then work hard on your craft. If people tell you that you’re so talented, that might be true, but that’s not enough. You have to polish your craft and learn how to personally express yourself. That’s really important. Have a bit of your own soul in it. That’s a really important step.
Walt Disney AnimationNow that Mushka is finished and out to the public, what’s next for the renowned animator? He teases that there might be a few upcoming projects in the pipeline, including another animated short film. He wants to continue with hand drawn animation. In addition, Deja is working on a feature documentary film about Wolfgang Reitherman and a book about animator Milt Kahl. He plans to begin working on his second short film this fall.
You can watch Andreas Deja’s first animated short film, Mushka, on Prime Video.
The post Disney Animator Andreas Deja on MUSHKA and the Beauty of 2D Animation appeared first on Nerdist.
DeepSeek's new models are so efficient they'll run on a toaster ... by which we mean Huawei's NPUs
Chinese AI darling DeepSeek is back with a new open weights large language model that promises performance to rival the best proprietary American LLMs. Perhaps more importantly, it claims to dramatically reduce inference costs and it extends support for Huawei's Ascend family of AI accelerators.…