AI Outtakes, Vol. 9

I'm writing AI Outtakes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Just because of the way social networks work I'm guessing most of you, the readers, live here or have been here, but for the benefit of those who haven't, the best way I can describe Pittsburgh is, it's a 'big little city'.

It has a population of about 300,000, which is right in that sweet spot where there's a good chance that if there's someone you pass on the street, meet at a party, happens to be next to you at a painting class, etc., there's a decent chance you either know them, or know at least one person who knows them.

The way I've described it for a few years now is, "Pittsburgh is a one-Kevin-Bacon town". If you don't know about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, ask someone who's eligible for the Shingles vaccine to explain it. In the Pittsburgh sense, if you meet someone you are either directly connected to them or you have at least one mutual friend.

So for this week's AI Outtakes I thought it would be fun to show Kevin Bacon in situations that Pittsburgh is known for. Enjoy!

photo of kevin bacon, at a steel mill, working hard

For those who are not aware, Pittsburgh is very much an (American) football town. There's a tradition of Steelers fans waving a yellow rally towel called a Terrible Towel at games (and at home and sometimes just around town). I'm sure generative AI does not know what a Terrible Towel is, but maybe we can get close?

photo of kevin bacon, at a pittsburgh steelers football game, in the stands, holding a yellow towel over his head

There's a (relatively) famous 80s movie called Flashdance that's set in Pittsburgh. It's notable for one specific scene, where the lead is dancing on stage and leans over a chair and is drenched by water:

I wonder how close we can get to recreating this scene with Kevin Bacon?

photo of a young kevin bacon, on stage overhead spotlight, reclining on a wooden chair, drops of water pouring down from above

Another thing Pittsburgh is famous for is ketchup, specifically Heinz (the company until recently held the naming rights to the football stadium). Surely we can get Kevin Bacon and ketchup in an image.

photo of kevin bacon, at a diner, eating a hamburger and fries, holding a bottle of ketchup

Switching briefly back to the football theme, there's an iconic cover of Sports Illustrated featuring Jack Lambert, who played for the Steelers and is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Maybe we can recreate this photo with generative AI!

photo of young kevin bacon, wearing a black football helmet, missing his front teeth

Pittsburgh used to be known for coal mining and it's still a significant part of the regional economy. So to honor that past, let's see if we can get a photo of Kevin Bacon from that era.

photo of kevin bacon, working in a coal mine, grainy, black and white, 1920s photo

We've covered a number of famous Pittsburgh themes, but what about famous Pittsburgh celebrities?

photo of young kevin bacon and andy warhol smiling

Okay so maybe it has a tough time with rendering Andy Warhol the person. Can we get it to generate Kevin Bacon in the style of Warhol's art?

8k portrait of kevin bacon in the style of andy warhol's shot marilyns, four squares different colors

Let's see how well generative AI knows Mr. Rogers!

photo of young kevin bacon and Mr. Rogers smiling

What about some other celebrities from Pittsburgh?

photo of kevin bacon, michael keaton, smiling

photo of kevin bacon and jeff goldblum, smiling

Okay, back to some Pittsburgh traditions.

photo of kevin bacon, scared, riding a crowded roller coaster, at Kennywood amusement park

Pittsburgh has some... unusual food traditions. You might be aware of Pittsburgh's signature sandwich, which includes french fries in the sandwich rather than as a side. And a Pittsburgh salad is notable for having french fries on top.

You can probably guess where this is going.

photo of kevin bacon with a bowl of french fries on his head

Pittsburgh's other food tradition involves cookies. Specifically, it's a tradition at weddings in the area to include a table stocked with a variety of cookies, typically baked by family members.

photo of kevin bacon, at a wedding, standing in front of a table full of different kinds of cookies, wedding guests in the background

Pittsburgh's other cookie tradition comes from a regional chain of restaurants called Eat 'N Park. They sell frosted sugar cookies by the dozen, and each cookie has a frosted smiley face on it:

I'm sure we can get an image of Kevin with a cookie like this, right?

photo of kevin bacon, about to eat a large sugar cookie, white frosting with a smiley face decoration

That's it for this week! I hope you've had fun watching Kevin Bacon enjoy Pittsburgh traditions. Until next week!

photo of kevin bacon, waving goodbye, pittsburgh skyline in the background