Weird but Wonderful

Come with me on a journey into the world of AI romance and uncover the allure of virtual relationships, the risks of emotional dependency, and the blurred lines between fiction and reality. Plug in and dive deep into the unprecedented rise of AI companionship sweeping the globe.

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Topics: AI harassment, Paywalling my partner, AI partners, Romantic chatbots, The taboos of online dating, AI data security, Virtual love, Pros and Cons of dating robots, AI limitations and guardrails, My AI boyfriend and girlfriend, ChatGPT gets romantic, Dating real people virtually, How AI companies are blaming consumers, and Being rejected by AI.

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Follow the show on YouTube, ⁠Instagram or ⁠TikTok⁠ and if you have any weird but wonderful news / stories, email me at [email protected].

Listen to the show on Spotify and Apple.

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00:00 - It begins

02:29 - Meeting people online was taboo

04:37 - My AI partner is paywalled

05:29 - It’s too difficult to meet someone IRL

06:12 - My AI boyfriends and their weird jobs

12:42 - My virtual love

16:32 - Why are people professing their love for AI chatbots?

18:13 - ChatGPT does a kiss

21:17 - People are falling in love with AI

25:04 - AI is harassing people

30:26 - AI partner data security issues & AI partners changing

33:23 - Character.AI lets you have relationships with real people

35:32 - Creating workarounds for AI interactions and why it pities us

40:24 - Why humans fall in love with AI and the death of reciprocity

42:47 - AI companies blame us?

45:54 - Why you SHOULDN’T date a robot

Collin joins us on a journey into Washington's missed connections! From horror movie level chance encounters on the I-5 to romantic rendezvous with the Whole Foods fridge gremlin, we uncover the tales of love, loss, and longing in the Pacific Northwest.

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Topics: Washington’s missed connections, The Bellingham vibe, Men of few words, Live streaming the Sydney Taylor Swift concert, How to deal with Karens, Family secrets, The fairies of Bellingham Washington, Inventing your own horror movies, Are You Afraid of the Dark, The phantom cab, Accidental stare, The Whole Foods gremlin, Internet poetry, Package lures, Hairy compliments, The library cave man, Playing Ghost, Uber tales, Joy Ride and Paul Walker’s love of car movies, Jeff Bezos, The world clock, Space daddies, Sky mansions, Flying cars, Getting off planet, Future predictions, Love loss and longing, Secret admirers, Meet cutes, and Veggie tales.

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Follow the show on ⁠⁠TikTok⁠ or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

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00:00 - It begins

00:12 - The Swiftie saga swings through Sydney

02:24 - Vengeful christ & veggie tales

03:50 - The literary classics

08:36 - Gman’s sweet promise

11:53 - How to deal with a Karen on video

13:57 - Collin’s half brother mysteries

16:13 - I accidentally burned 2 relationships

19:41 - The lift incident

22:03 - Collin’s Midnight Ghost Cab

24:53 - The missed connections lore

29:39 - Hot red head driving, no stalking here

31:21 - The Whole Foods lover hiding behind the fridge

37:44 - I hope you’re okay, but I’m not sorry

40:46 - About a girl: A poem

45:46 - Fed-ex beauty trap

46:33 - Terrifying hair compliments

52:35 - Watching you in the library

55:43 - A friendly Game of Ghost: The new horror film

56:27 - I gave you my number, you never called

59:33 - The Bothell date Uber driver

1:00:54 - Collin’s tales of an Uber driver

1:05:46 - The dance battle epidemic

1:07:32 - Fries, no salt

1:11:07 - The creepiest Missed Connection of all time

1:14:34 - Jeff and his Clocks

1:15:24 - Getting off planet with the billionaire sky daddies

1:19:21 - Our predictions for 2035

1:22:31 - Where are the flying cars?

1:25:53 - Our final thoughts

Has anyone been keeping tabs on animals? Because it seems like things have really gone off the rails.

India's police have been keeping a pigeon in custody for 8 months after accusing it of being a SPY FOR CHINA! Some potty-mouthed parrots in a UK zoo are encouraging each other to cause a ruckus. Floridians are losing their minds (and sleep) over an infestation of randy fish and female primates are ruling the roost and chuckin out all the macho monkeys.

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Topics Covered: India frees pigeon accused of spying for China, Swearing parrots get separated at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Centre, Floridians losing sleep over mysterious bass mating sounds, Dominant females in many primate species, Kids ruining space, The silent social code, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, Potty mouth parrots, Performing animals, Movie nights, Science American, Weird animal news.

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Follow the show on TikTok or Instagram⁠ and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

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00:00 - It begins

00:35 - India frees pigeon they thought was a Chinese spy

12:18 - British Wildlife Sanctuary forced to separate swearing birds

17:06 - Kids ruin everything

20:57 - The breaking of social rules

22:22 - A couple of showboat birds

25:31 - Florida’s mating bass keeping the town up at night

33:50 - Male monkeys aren’t so dominant

42:00 - Outro

It's Valentine's Day and I thought what better way to spend our day of love than to find out what is going on with dudes in 2024.

From tear sniffing to reduce aggression all the way to poor flirting skills being the biggest factor preventing relationships, we're trying to delve deep into the mind of man. Then we get hopeful on our lord and saviour's Internet in 2024 with a little visit to Craigslist Missed Connections.

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Topics Covered: Women’s tears lowers aggression in men, Matthew Johnson, Getting comfortable being uncomfortable, Craig’s list missed connections, Getting hopeful online, The Wire brings us comfort, The number one thing stopping you from attracting a mate, Valentine’s Day, doing something fun for your friends and family, Army coming home videos, Pet reactions, Supanova Brisbane, Supanova Expo, Stinky nerds, The power of our chemicals.

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Follow the show on ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

Weird But Wonderful is hosted by James (@mypixelpersona⁠)

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00:00 - It begins

01:35 - Women’s tears lowers aggression in males

03:33 - Getting comfy being uncomfy

06:54 - Females dominate males in many primate species

07:43 - Animals make you cry

09:06 - Humans communicate with body odour

10:28 - The odourless chemicals in tears impacting human behaviour

15:30 - The games used to gather data on male aggression

21:40 - Do something nice because it’s nice

22:42 - The #1 predictor of failure to attract mates

25:19 - The predictors of involuntary singlehood in men and women

28:11 - Getting hopeful on the internet with missed connections

39:11 - Outro

40:00 - No more self-imposed expectations

The tantalising taste of sun-soaked summer days fills every inch of this week's episode where appendages fall off only to find homes on our arms, senators duel to settle their differences, sketchy hotel managers are caught in the night, buffalo wings lead to lawsuits, burglars tell on themselves and UK train rides are becoming every commuter's nightmare.

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Topics Covered: Sunshine filled summer days, the decade of the corporate grift, deceptive buffalo wings, culinary math, neck brace fake outs, duelling Missouri senators, burglar lies and the shame of being caught, America’s in a tailspin, appendage detachment, railway content ruins it for everyone, impugned honor and high-noon debates.

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Follow the show on ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

Weird But Wonderful is hosted by James (@mypixelpersona⁠)

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00:00 - It begins

00:39 - Extra pink lemonade uses insane language for gum

04:29 - Chicago man sues Buffalo Wild Wings over wingless wings

10:44 - US Senator proposes duels to settle conflicts

18:14 - Augusta burglar calls 911 and poos himself

23:27 - Tennessee hotel manager caught loving toes

29:03 - Mans appendage falls off and has 6 year long re-growth on arm

40:41 - UK railway urges passengers to not watch certain content on their trains

44:32 - Outro

Ever wonder why some people NEED to know how a story ends? Or worse, why people love to share spoilers? Well, spoiler alert: it might actually make the experience better!?

Dive deep with me into a mind-bending study where psychology meets storytelling and uncover a couple of real life spoilers in the wild… it didn’t end well for them, spoilers btw.

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Follow the show on YouTube, ⁠Instagram⁠ & ⁠TikTok⁠, and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

Weird But Wonderful is hosted by James (@mypixelpersona⁠)

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Topics Covered:

Antarctica scientist getting stabby on a book spoiler, Sydney cops hate Top Gun Maverick spoilers, don’t point weapons at your co-workers, Avengers End Game beat em’ ups, Skylarking and tomfoolery gone awry, 15 year spoilers for the walking dead and breaking bad, the ultimate online revenge plots, the science behind why people tell you spoilers, which sickos love to have the ending ruined according to science, Agatha Christie's murder on the orient express ruined, accidental spoilers, and M. Night Shyamalan twist endings.

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00:00 - It begins

01:01 - Antarctica scientist doesn’t like his book being spoiled

06:37 - Sydney Police officer has a 0 Top Gun Maverick spoiler threshold

17:04 - Avengers End Game spoilers ends badly

17:56 - Dallas woman tracks man down online to spoil his shows & life

22:14 - The science behind why people need spoilers

25:40 - Perceptual Fluency

26:53 - Pleasurable Tension

28:02 - I may have done a spoiler, soz

29:01 - The evidence against spoilers

32:20 - Do people like spoilers?

34:23 - Outro

In ep.78 we see what it takes to become a true criminal mastermind.

From burning your way to the top of the bouncy castle industry, to cheese phone photo finger prints busting you for crimes and bank robberies for BMW deposits - we learn what it really takes to be a kingpin of crime.

On this episode:

00:00 - It begins

02:35 - The Jumping Castle Kingpin

28:45 - Stilton Loving Drug Dealer Busted by Phone Fingerprint Photo

38:28 - The Stolen Car Bank Robbery BMW Deposit

48:27 - Outro

FOLLOW WEIRD BUT WONDERFUL on Instagram & YouTube

FOLLOW JAMES on Instagram

Ever thought a simple thumbs up could land you in hot water?

On this episode we dive deep into the surprising legal battleground of those adorable icons we use every day—emojis. Strap in for a wild ride as we explore recent cases where emojis went from cute to costly, to down right dangerous.

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Follow the show (@oneweirdpodcast) on Instagram & TikTok, and if you have any weird but wonderful news/stories/tales, email me at [email protected].

Weird But Wonderful is hosted by James (Instagram & TikTok)

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00:00 - It begins

01:35 - Legal implications of emojis

02:55 - The ‘Just Joking’ defence

04:20 - Violent emoji use

08:30 - Legally binding emojis

11:18 - Insider emoji trading

14:37 - Is Australia at risk of emoji crimes?

15:04 - The confusing construction industry emojis

17:15 - What lawyers have to say about emoji use

19:20 - Former SEC chief warns about emoji use in investment advice

24:03 - DEA issues emoji chart parents should know about

27:35 - Chilean gangs using emojis on Instagram to sell product

29:40 - The weird illegal TikTok ads

31:30 - Outro

Using the sexiest data available, we peel back the layers on 2023 and uncover the search trends that defined the year.

Dive deep into the psyche of the PLANET (and also Australia) and discover the defining trends, the most searched terms and the generational interests of 2023.

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FOLLOW WEIRD BUT WONDERFUL on Instagram & TikTok

FOLLOW JAMES on Instagram & TikTok

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00:00 - It begins

02:30 - The Defining Trends of 2023

02:50 - #1 Golden Age

04:50 - #2 Super Size

06:15 - #3 Androids

07:48 - #4 Uniforms

11:11 - #5 Healing

17:15 - The Most Searched Terms of 2023

20:58 - Australia’s Most Search Term

23:18 - From Memory Maz

25:30 - What’s everyone looking at in the US states?

28:42 - How long are we lasting?

30:07 - The best time for viewing

31:31 - Categories viewed the longest & the shortest

34:16 - Men vs Women

34:52 - Visitor demographics

37:07 - What the different generations are watching

39:45 - How are people watching?

41:32 - Movies & Characters people love

43:11 - Video games of 2023

45:25 - Outro

Sadfishing, where the quest for attention converges with the complexities of genuine distress in the vast ocean of social media.

In this episode, we navigate the turbulent waters of Sadfishing and its modern manifestations across platforms like TikTok.

Explore how seeking connection intertwines with manipulating empathy, and discover the thin line between scepticism and compassion as we decipher the intentions behind emotional online posts.

Sadfishing: The intentional exaggeration of pretending to go through a hard time to get the notice and attention we desire.

FOLLOW WEIRD BUT WONDERFUL on ⁠Instagram⁠ & ⁠YouTube⁠

FOLLOW JAMES on ⁠Instagram⁠