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Pecs, Pies And Videotape: Confessions Of An '80s Video Junkie
April 30, 2017 May 1, 2017 mlbradford Carnage, comics, Dinosaurs, Dystopian World, Movies, Nostalgia, Quest, science fiction, Stuff that Matters, Technology, Videos	Bradscribe, history, movies, pies, popcorn, science, science fiction, spaceships, Star Wars, technology, video rentals, videos
Slap It In The VCR And They Will Come…
WARNING: Contains strong violence, some mild language and scenes of a dodgy sexual nature
"Lay me place and bake me pie, I'm starving for me gravy" – David Bowie.
Know you now of days long past.
A time when the world was young, when video recorders thrived;
the worldwide web but a twinkle in its inventor's eye,
and wild adventure was fore'er in the offing…
What better way to spend this Bank Holiday Weekend than traipse through the Mall of Nostalgia?!
My life changed forever in mid-August 1984, when we acquired our very first video cassette recorder: VHS you understand (the cool one); the sole kid who often touted the "merits" of Betamax would invariably get beaten to a pulp by the bigger boys.
From that hallowed point onwards, life revolved (spooled?) around tapes: tapes of action movies, tapes of TV comedy shows, tapes of planes, trains and automobiles for Dad, and ballet for Mum, tapes of this an' tapes of t(h)at. Back then, you see, being able to watch a TV programme a day, a week – or months(!) – after its broadcast date shouted sheer genius!
And don't forget the pies…
Possibly the main reason why best school-buddies: Ed and Boz dropped by my gaff at weekends, and during holidays, involved the double fix of excellent videos and scrumptious pies! In those days, our considerable larder came ram-packed with meaty goodness: steak and kidney, minced beef and onion… but one couldn't stomach cheese and mushroom – still can't. All supplemented by a kitchen drawer overflowing with potato chips of every possible flavour!
Probably the coolest addition to the high street was the video rental store. Our local awemonger: Video Stop received frequent visits by yours truly. Don't regret admitting that more time was spent in there browsing around its ram-packed shelves than in the school library…
If you – like me – are a child of the 80s, then you will know all-too-perfectly-well what this blogger is blatherin' on about.
"Don't insult my intelligence! Please, don't make me kill you… It will spoil all my fun" – Diana.
For weeks, the latest sci-fi TV sensation from the States had been advertised.
Just known as V – Earth's first encounter with extraterrestrial visitors! Arriving in fifty motherships, they seek water and resources to save their dying planet, and in return they will bestow upon us all the fruits of their knowledge. TV cameraman Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) stows away aboard the LA mothership and discovers the shocking truth: they are reptilian invaders come to collect humans as food!
The original 2-part opener thrilled me and Ed on the Monday and Tuesday nights respectively. As it went out @ 10:30pm, Dad stuck around to check its suitability for us; he got swept along qith the engrossing drama and SF thrills, and – seeing how enraptured we younglings clearly were, he went out to purchase a VCR on the Wednesday morning.
Way ta go, Daddio!
For that night, the 3- part series: V – The Final Battle began, and the whole caboodle got so much better.
Marc Singer was a revelation. Or – more precisely – his pecs motivated me to build upon my embarrassingly weedy frame and maybe – just maybe – rather than beat me up in the playground, the girls would instead start to respect and, perhaps, fancy me…
Another main reason to watch V, of course, was Jane Badler as scheming scientist: Diana – hotter than a pie that'd just come outta the oven.
'Tis a pity she's a lizard…
Really, we could not move on without mentioning one of the ultimate SF badasses:Ham Tyler. He holds a reserved place in Brad's Badass Brigade. Take a butcher's @ this classic scene and you'll see why:
"Now that's a waste of good luggage" – Ham Tyler.
"Just give me some meat an' a bowl a' noodles, and make it snappy!" – Hsiao Feng.
Back in the day, you could, inevitably, get titles so indescribably bizarre.
Take – for instance – Time Slip aka GI Samurai: a madcap Jap piece a' crap. Caught in a sinister storm, an army division is hurled back to the Samurai Era. In the batshit-bonkers carnage that ensues, their tank fires on cavalry charges and all Sonny Chiba (yes! for it is he!) can do is watch his men wiped out by wave upon wave of arrows…
Most of the titles on offer in Video Stop seemed to be rip-offs of either Alien or Mad Max. The latter – fantastically awful titles that had more cheese than, well, a cheese pie – already received somewhat "fervent" attention in this Post.
If a rental proved too turgid to sit through, one constantly-reliable go-to could always be slapped back in the VCR.
Beach Of The War Gods – directed, and starring, that great Taiwanese action-star: "Jimmy" Wang Yu (yes! the one and only!) – is a gloriously hard and funky epic from the legendary Golden Harvest stable. During the 16th century, the Japanese laid siege to the Chinese coastline: killing, looting, burning and other frightful deeds. The petrified plebs of the Windy City dread imminent attack until-!
The Stranger moseys on in…
He persuades Iron Man (yes! Iron Man!) and Brother Li Love (a moody paleface with twenty daggers strapped onto his tunic) to aid him in leading the locals to fight off the Jap hordes.
As to be expected, the dubbing is hilarious, the foley artist is having a gas, and the surf guitar (yes! surf guitar!) soundtrack is outta sight, man!
The climactic battle – hackin'-an'-a-slashin' through the city streets – is faster and more furious than your average Chinese flick, featuring scintillating choreography, and it just keeps on going and going!
…And going!
But the very first bout a' blade-battering – when Hsiao Feng Two-Blades kicks off! – is particular gobsmacking. To me, this scene will ALWAYS be a frenetic fave and as-cool-as-fudge:
"Anything you say can and will be held against you…in the court of Robocop" – Jerry.
ALIEN BODIES…
One classic film that constantly eluded me was the original Alien. Although one unforgettable day did come mighty close to changing that…
The box read: "Alien: Starring Tom Skerritt" written in black felt tip. Aha, that's the bunny! methinks, me quest is over!
Sure enough, Ed and Boz stopped what they were doing and pedalled frantically over to my gaff. Ed had the king-size steak and kidney, Boz tucked in (rather unbelievably) to the cheese and mushroom, while Brad had the beef and onion. Three chip packets rustled in unison as the video started playing. Hmm, no 20th Century Fox logo; funny, not even those iconic credits came on neither…
Strangely, the screen opened, NOT on the dark, foreboding world of LV426, but in a brightly-lt bedroom. On a huge double-bed reclined three young women, with barely one bikini between them.
We gawped in horror as they proceeded to do something unmentionable. With a light bulb…
Searing into my soul, Boz fixed me with his most intense where-the-fudge-is-Tom-Skerritt?! stare: "Jeez, Brad! Ya tryin' ta corrupt us, fella?!" he blurted. "This must be one of dem Video Nasties that Mrs. Shufflebottom warned us about in class last week! Fer pity's sake, mate, put Beach Of The War Gods on again, willya?!"
"BLAZES!" yelled Ed, almost spitting his pie out. "I can 'ear yer Dad comin' up the hallway! Eject, fella! EJECT!!"
The jittery vid-jockey lunged towards his VCR, an itchy finger quivering over the Eject button.
The bally thing!
It clicked; it whirred. The picture took FOREVER to switch off.
The tape chugged out, just as Dad marched in. To pick up a pencil…
Remember only too well THAT looong, wretched slog back to Video Stop. Too embarrassed to glance at other passers-by – felt like they were staring at me with utter disgust.
Honestly!
A boy of my age…
Carrying SUCH SMUT through a densely populated area…
Too timid to look the video store worker in the eye and hand over THAT TAPE Or have the nerve to inform him that this was definitely NOT the version "directed" by Ridley Scott…
Imagine my utter relief to find, upon arrival, the lad-in-charge had popped out for a pie! The offending article could simply be dropped in the Returns box. Huzzah, my anonymity – not to mention my dignity! – remained intact! To be on the safe side, managed to avoid the store for a WHOLE WEEK so they wouldn't be able to trace me back to that… that ghastly horridness.
Of course, the three amigos never spoke about it…
Don't think any of us dared go near another Tom Skerritt movie…
"Okay, who ordered the Burly Beef?" – Sarah Connor.
My dear father and the joy of video rentals granted one of the most memorable birthdays of this boy's life. Inevitably, Ed and Boz came round for my 14th – with cards and gifts (tapes, obviously).
And lo!
It came to pass that Dad had got me a swell gift – he'd sneaked out and rented a video! (blub)
The cover alone was ultracool – a futuristic dude holding a groovy shoo'er, but sporting the MOST IMPECCABLE PECS! Suddenly, such good vibes emanated from this tape…
Two groovy fellas travel back in time to Los Angeles to hook up with the same clumsy waitress. And then the big guy gets blasted away. Uff, so what…? But then – SWEET BABY JESUS! – he only gets up and spends the rest of the movie chasing the other two across LA! Turns out that he – ha! get this: happens to be a cyborg, sent back to terminate that po' woman presumably before she can do any more damage to that Diner.
It's the most ridiculous thing, but pulled off with such great gusto; the action is top-notch, while the pace? Relentless! You know its title; it's become one of THE iconic SF greats of the 80s – and deservedly so.
Dad was absolutely delighted to see me so happy, and – bless 'im – only rented ANOTHER video!
He felt chuffed to bits, convinced that he'd got THE PRIZE. As you well know, Aliens is the sequel to the film that would, eventually, take another THREE YEARS to reach my Christmas stocking…
The awesome merits of Aliens appeared not so long ago in this Post.
But what turned out to be really mind-blowing? Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) is also a stalwart member of the the Badass Brigade – Hey! This is turning into quite a nifty reunion! Plus, Biehn had already showed off his pecs in that other Movie of the Day!
A Michael Biehn double-bill – the perfect birthday present for anyone!
GOD BLESS MICHAEL BIEHN.
"You could warn them… if only you spoke Hovitos!" – Dr. Rene Belloq.
"Yo, fella, save the BEST till last."
The BIGGEST movie of Summer '84 had to be something called: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Knew that it was an old-fashioned action/adventure movie, but that was all. Until Ed clarified that it was actually a sequel to a blockbuster that caused a sensation back in '81: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Not only promising the ultimate pie-eating experience, we reckon this was our VERY FIRST rental. Whoa, what a visual feast to get the ball – or, in this case, boulder – rolling!
Raiders is a MASTERPIECE; yes, yes, Brad concedes – it IS BETTER than Beach Of The War Gods…
Here is one of its undisputed highlights – one of the finest action sequences EVER produced. John Williams excelled himself here. On my all-time chart, his pieces that give me goosebumps include: The Imperial March; the Tattooine Theme, and the sequence that begins here @ 1:54
Best moment? 4:38 – ha ha!
Let's go!:
"Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?" – Indiana Jones.
That, my fellow thrill-seekers, wraps it up for this May Day Weekend.
Since our TV set switched to a digital network, access to our video channel has become a bugger to fix; mould has damaged some of the tapes; Video Stop vanished long ago – the unit is now a softcore hardware store; those friends are long gone; Brad himself is still chooglin'.
However: "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage" – his teeth are worn and bent; his hair is thinning like no tomorrow; and he doesn't seem to remember ever owning a droid…
But his pecs are – by Jove! – still as firm and pliant as ever!
HUZZAH!
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: A Bradscribe Review
December 17, 2016 December 17, 2016 mlbradford Carnage, Darth Vader, Empires, Frickin' Quarnex Battery, Magic, Movie Icon, Movies, Music, Nostalgia, Quest, Robots, science fiction, Space Flight, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters, Technology, What Is Real?	alien worlds, aliens, Ben Mendelsohn, Bradscribe, criticism, Darth Vader, droids, Felicity Jones, history, Jyn Erso, language, Mads Mikkelsen, movie-making, popcorn, rayguns, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, science fiction, script, spaceships, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode VII, technology, time, visual effects
State Your Elation For The Record:
This Rogue Is The One To Rave About!
"The first thing that you have to do is get over the fact that you're doing a scene with Darth Vader. That took me a little while, because I'm a first-generation fanboy" – Ben Mendelsohn.
One of the many disappointments with Star wars Episode III is that it denied our chance to see how the Rebel spies stole the Death Star plans.
For TOO LONG has yours truly revelled in the intrigue induced by the legendary scrawl:
…and wondered how that premise would… (eventually?) make such a great movie…
And here it is! It only took three and a half decades for delivery.
Like the seemingly impossible mission for which this ragtag band a' rebels volunteer, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story defies the odds to present such a welcome addition to the galaxy's greatest saga.
Well! Where do we begin?!
A big fist-pump to this band of lovable rogues. They represent a superior Suicide Squad: more thrilling and thankfully less puerile. We do end up caring about their fate, which seemed to be the ultimate challenge here.
Quite frankly, Felicity Jones is a revelation as Jyn, galactic tearaway and daughter of Galen Erso, the reluctant creator of the Empire's new superweapon. Admittedly, Jones looks an unlikely action star, but she pulls it off with aplomb.
By far the best of the main bunch are Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen – still can't believe he fits so well in this galaxy!) and Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang) – the fighters from Jedha.
Love the relationship between Cassian and Kaytoo, although this charming lil plot device was crying out for further attention and development. Considering what an obvious win the reprogrammed Imperial droid turned out to be, he deserved greater opportunities to scene-steal. (If they couldn't grant him more lines, at least give him that blaster!).
Still reckon that Diego Luna makes a way cooler Star Wars name than Cassian Andor…
"That's right, I'm playing the male lead! I didn't really think that would be such a big deal…" – Felicity Jones.
The main problem with SF these days is that sfx have reached such stupendous levels, other elements such as plot and character development sometimes tend to fail in comparison. But Rogue One overrides that problem – all elements fuse reasonably well to produce something that is undeniably enjoyable.
Here, the effects are suitably grandiose and awe-inspiring, from the graceful flights of the supersleek spacecraft(s) to the simply stunning vistas of Jedha and Mauritiuis – (sorry!) Scarif.
What about the aliens?
Sorely underused – a personal gripe. For my Rough Guide, quite tactfully, details relating to Pao and Bishan were dropped. Naturally assuming that they might not receive too much screen-time, they didn't even get a word in – not even an indecipherable one! Between them!
"I'd have loved to have taken a Stormtrooper outfit but we weren't meant to take anything. I got away with a couple of small things but I can't tell you what" – Mads Mikkelsen.
Of the Imperial personnel, Ben Mendelsohn is particularly impressive as Director Orson Krennic.
It was wonderful to see that well-known (well-despised?) officer from A New Hope make a dramatic reappearance. Was expecting to burst into tears upon catching sight of this beloved actor, but, just when you think how sophisticated CGI has become – let's face it – he doesn't look natural! No real presence = no credible menace. Moreover, they did not get the voice right!
But what about Vader?!
Surely, this film could never have worked without everyone's fave Sith Lord. The build-up to his long-waited "return" is tense; his first scene (shared with Krennic) presents him in typically moody and magnificent mode.
His second scene?
Deep breath: WHOA! He REALLY gets busy – showing a Dark Side darker than anyone had ever expected! This is REVENGE of the Sith right here!
Aren't we so grateful that James Earl Jones could lend his esteemed vocal talents to Star Wars once more!
Sadly, however, the rest of the Imperial Officers are just anonymous.
Is it possible to have a Star wars movie without a John Williams score? Some fans may argue that Rogue One does not feel right, precisely because of that vital exclusion. The music here is rousing enough, especially the mystic twang played when the proceedings reach Jedha.
As these rogues are rougher, the action more gritty, the dogfights more spectacular, for me, Rogue One is bigger and better than The Force Awakens.
There have been a few five-star reviews appearing in the last two days. Obviously, those critics have enjoyed the exhilarating ride that uberfan Gareth Edwards (the force is strong with him!) has concocted here, but, to be fair, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story falls short of the brilliant standard of The Empire Strikes Back – a veritable 5* package if ever there was one.
The power of what we are dealing with here may be immeasurable to some, but this first-generation fanboy is pleased (relieved!) to bestow upon it a solid:
"For my 30th birthday, we visited the Skywalker home in Tunisia. I stood at the same spot where Luke watched the sunset. My girlfriend said: "For your 40th birthday, you won't be able to top this!" For my 40th birthday, I was directing Rogue One…" – Gareth Edwards.
Star Wars Prequel Blog-a-thon: Attack Of The Clones [Week 2]
February 3, 2016 February 3, 2016 mlbradford Movies, science fiction, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters	Anakin Skywalker, Bradscribe, Christopher Lee, Count Dooku, criticism, George Lucas, Jango Fett, movie-making, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, popcorn, science fiction, script, Slave 1, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
Star Bores Episode II: Attack Of The Inanities.
There is unrest in my brain. Several thousand cells have declared their intentions to rebel against the prospect of having to sit through this tripe a second time…
"I have a bad feeling about this…" – Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Greetings, my young padawan!
Here we are again, in collaboration with boxofficebuzz, on the Star Wars prequel trilogy blog-a-thon.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones is an absolutely marvellous piece of work.
Against all odds, it managed to be EVEN MORE DETESTABLE THAN THE PHANTOM MENACE. Which, unbelievably, is quite a feat.
Unfortunately, in my time, too many trips to the cinema turned out to be lousy and ultimately wasted days out, but, without a doubt – and, by Jove, it pains me to say this – Attack Of The Clones is one of the MOST UNDERWHELMING SF MOVIES EVER.
So we were promised far less of that annoying Gungan – so what? We were lumbered with an even greater diverse range of crud to seriously spoil our already somewhat lessened expectations…
And they made that Gungan a Senator…
Rather than suffer through that great disturbance of a movie all over again, a few scenes were selected. What's it like going through this material 14 years later?
What Works (This Is Going To Be Tough):
"You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith! …It may be difficult to secure your release…" – Count Dooku.
First, and foremost:
If anyone could bring the required menace the Dark Side deserves, then it was the Master of Horror himself. His voice alone is tinged with "Sith Lord." But would the character have been named "Count" if anyone other than Lee had played him…?
However, there is just one quibble that annoys me: just think of the terrifying names of some of the characters this late legend has played: Dracula! Scaramanga! Saruman! Dooku! Dooku…?! Get outta here: always sounds more like a puppet on a daytime kids TV show…
"You wanna buy some death-sticks?"
"You don't want to sell me death sticks."
"Ah, I don't want to sell you death sticks."
"You want to go home and rethink your life."
"I want to go home and rethink my life."
At this point, numb with boredom, yours truly felt like having a good chortle. As it had been so long since having a good laugh, thought it best to exercise the necessary muscles, just to see if they still worked…
The lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan/Anakin/Yoda and Count Dooku:
Distinctly remember the groovy lighting effects as Anakin fought Dooku alone in the darkness. When Yoda hobbles in, his saber flies into his hand and then – whoa! – see the pesky Little Big-Ears GO! Whoo-hoo!
That got the biggest laugh in the cinema! Come to think of it – the only laugh…
Jango Fett does his blaster twirl:
The only highlight of the Geonosis arena sequence. Nice touch…
Slave 1 chasing Obi-Wan through the asteroid field:
Trying to select the outstanding scene from this Episode – believe me, it was such a struggle. This was the first that sprang back to mind. One of the very few scenes to catch my sagging interest on that fateful sole viewing, it was amazing to see Slave 1 again and get some well-deserved action. Other than spectacular visuals – what is most impressive about this sequence are the sound effects, particularly those seismic charges. Oof, Brad digs a good seismic charge.
But hey, just this once, let's overlook that problem of having sound effects in space at all…
Stand by!
What Doesn't Work (How Much Time Have You Got?):
"If you are suffering as much as I am, please, tell me" – Anakin Skywalker.
Let's deal with the main offender straight away:
Hayden Christensen: And you thought Jake Lloyd was bad…
The inner torment, the struggle to suppress conflicted emotions, the lure of the Dark Side calls for deep, insightful drama, tackled by a fine young actor. Shame this production could produce neither…
Natalie bloody Portman: (aargh! yet again!):
She turned out to be just as awful as you can imagine. This time, her "acting" (if you can call it that!) is more annoying than the script. How Padme still wants to have younglings with that whining, petulant whelp is one of modern cinema's inexplicable quandaries…
That chase on Coruscant: guaranteed to give me a migraine just thinking about it…
The worst scene ever featuring Obi-Wan is when – extremely against character – he leaps through a window, somehow grabs onto a probe and gets whisked through the busy sky-lanes of city-planet Coruscant. There then follows a quite ridiculous chase for a bounty hunter (other than Jango Fett); Anathema – ha ha! sorry! – Anakin just drops out of the speeder and – through thousands of other crafts whizzing by – somehow manages to land on precisely the one (eureka!) in which the shape-shifter is in (bollocks). It binds us, it penetrates us, etc. but no use of the Force can – and should – ensure such error-free reckless daredevil antics. Suspension of disbelief, my eye…
"I hate it when he does that," Obi-Wan complains. Funnily enough, so does Brad…
Which brings us neatly to:
The Obi-Wan/Anakin "friendship":
Constant bickering, complaining, disagreements, and so on and and so on – sorry, but what "friendship"?! Here, their incessant uneasy and turgid interaction provides anything but compelling viewing. At one point, Obi-Wan makes a remark about "falling into that nest of Gundarks." Yeah, why couldn't we watch that instead? Sounds infinitely more intriguing than the drivel we had to sit through…
Whenever hearing Alec Guinness say: "And he was a good friend," all one can do now is cringe…
"We'll have to try something more subtle this time…" – Jango Fett.
Obi-Wan's fight with Jango Fett: Should be in the What Works column – but, hey! – isn't…
Was really looking forward to this – a classic showdown between two of the saga's greatest assets! In the end, however, it turned out to be flat and forgettable. This serves as a sad reminder that whatever talents Lucas had as a Director, they had well and truly dried up by this time. Also, his writing here was particularly poor, most notably in:
The "romance":
Such a catastrophic failure, considering how pivotal the love between Anakin and Padme is supposed to be at this stage in the saga. Banal dialogue and atrocious acting merge to create such mediocre viewing, it's almost painful. Add that awful WTF moment in which Anakin tries balancing on the back of some wild quadroped-thing and the psychological damage cannot be undone…
What a waste, considering how epic John Williams' sweeping score: Across The Stars (Anakin and Padme's Theme) turned out to be.
"Kin chasa du Jedi. No bata tu tu" – Watto.
THIS THING!!
Whatever it is, this ugly brute symbolises the tedium of the whole Geonosis arena sequence – quite possibly the most un-Star Wars scene imaginable. Did anyone thrill to the sight of (ahem) Padme riding some giant lizard, pulling along a wheelless chariot in which her beloved is fending off insectoids with his lightsaber? Ha, thought not…
The Battle of Geonosis:
This should have been awesome, but instead – addled with copious dollops of CGI – it looks shallow, too artificial – nothing more than a video game. Sure, we get to see other Jedis, but really, blink and you miss them; they show up merely to promote their own individual action figure (methinks somewhat cynically). Considering the substantial budget, the field of marauding battle-droids and sci-fi war machines look decidedly amateurish and anything but exciting.
Last, and by all means least…
The script: Let's get this out of the way…
It is appalling how this damning fault from the first Episode was never rectified and allowed to grind on, ruining this second instalment as well. The "story," perhaps easier to follow than its predecessor, still fails to engage. It's not helped in any way by the stream of incomprehensible events that litter the screen.
Where was Lawrence Kasdan when we needed him?!
We will stagger regardless to the third and – thankfully – final episode in this shoddy trilogy in the next Post ("He doesn't seem to take a hint this guy!").
Hopefully, my life, limbs – and sanity – will still be intact once this challenge is done.
May The Force Make It All Go Away…
Star Wars Prequel Blog-a-thon: The Phantom Menace [Week 1]
January 27, 2016 January 28, 2016 mlbradford Bounty Hunters, History, Movies, science fiction, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters	alien worlds, Bradscribe, criticism, droids, history, Luke Skywalker, movie-making, movies, popcorn, rayguns, research, science fiction, script, spaceships, Star Wars, technology, visual effects
Star Bores I: A Spent Force…
"I'm sure this one will do fine…" – George Lucas.
Always gratifying to expunge one's demons, so they say. So it is with the wretched Star Wars prequel trilogy.
As part of a blog-a-thon devised by Ashley over at boxofficebuzz, these much-maligned prequels have come under scrutiny, and she gladly accepted my participation.
Back in 1999, the hype for a BRAND NEW STAR WARS MOVIE(!) was phenomenal. George Lucas was ready to come out of his directorial hiatus and tell us how Anakin Skywalker – the Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and became Darth Vader. So, what did Brad make of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?
Let's just say it was a trip to the cinema he will NEVER forget…
This Post follows boxofficebuzz's What works/What doesn't work format, although – let's face it – the latter is going to be a significantly longer section…
"I was apprenticed to the most powerful being in the galaxy once. I was destined to become… so much more" – Darth Maul.
Darth Maul: by far the standout element of Episode I.
As a fan of aliens/villains in hooded cloaks, it's difficult not to be mesmerised by the spectacular choreography of Ray Park. The extraordinary makeup is both devilish and distinctive. And hell, he's everyone's fave Dathomirian Zabrak 'cos of his supercool dual-bladed sabrestaff. Strangely enough, this Sith apprentice was the very first aspect of preview images to catch my attention. Remember thinking at the time: we're in for one helluva good cinema trip…
Rather than inevitably load up that lightsaber duel scene itself – still amazing after 17 years – this featurette is worth a look:
The Pod Race
Admittedly, this was fun the first time we watched, and the only sequence not including Darth Maul worth extra viewing. Sebulba is a particularly dastardly figure, and the ensuing carnage makes for compelling viewing. Obsessed with Tatooine's Tusken Raiders, watching them twenty years later taking pot-shots at the pods was a joy. But please, leave out the two-headed commentator (speaking English?!)
John Williams triumphs with the music score. As always.
Undoubtedly the most outstanding track here is Duel of the Fates. Could you imagine the lightsaber battle without it?
"How does it feel to see my designs out in the world? All you can do is sit back and watch in amazement" – Iain McCaig.
The conceptual designs of Iain McCaig:
One of my favourite SF/fantasy artists is Iain McCaig. It was a really exciting day when news broke that he was working on Star Wars: Episode I. He was the artist solely responsible for creating the terrifying look of Darth Maul, and designing the outlandish costumes worn by Queen Amidala.
Although some of his concepts – such as the most reviled alien in the universe – did not make the transition to the big screen so well, his exceptional artistic contribution should be honoured as one of the prequel trilogy's scant saving graces.
The J-type 327 Nubian Royal Starship:
Super-sleek, covered in chromium, this vessel carries more class and sophistication than any of the dialogue or acting. Such a wonderful design, it does not belong in such a below-average blockbuster.
"Phantom Menace is, ultimately, so extraordinarily objectionable… Nothing has the right to bore and disappoint us this much" – Peter Bradshaw.
What doesn't work (where do we begin?!):
At the beginning, of course…
The beginning: is so lame and monotonous.
"Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute."
Really? Who gives a monkeys? Suddenly, John Williams' oh-so-familiar perpetually-stirring theme tune feels incongruous when set to this mind-numbing scrawl. Honestly, this is the intro to a NINE-PART SAGA, and that is the best you can come up with, George?! Remember the opening scene of Episode IV? Yeah! NOW THAT is how you begin a blockbuster!
The taxation of trade routes:
How was this needless attention to economics and politics supposed to engage with the infant cinema-goers?
The script: NONE OF THIS RUBBISH MAKES ANY SENSE.
More than the original trilogy, the inanity of the dialogue is called into question; you can't call any of these figures "characters" because they are never fleshed out/explained. There is no reason/motivation for these figures to stick together, just as there is no reason/motivation for them to travel from one side of the set/planet to the other and – most of all – there is zero character development, so nobody comes out alive (literally).
The CGbloomin'I
Those aliens aren't real; that droid army certainly isn't real; fx over here – fx over there – fx every-frickin'-where. And it's all so tediously obvious. Thus, the screen is beset with absolutely no sense of wonder. And the magic – that endeared the original trilogy to millions – is depressingly absent. Look, George, it would have been a whole lot easier melting my retinas staring at a video game for 133 minutes instead…
And while we're on the subject:
That droid army: What a bunch of fragile, useless, near-sighted scrap piles!
It's far too easy to destroy them. The old phrase: "Could knock them down with a feather" could not be more apt. Nothing to fear then, especially during:
The Battle of Naboo:
As a fan of SF battlefields, this should have rocked. Instead, the droids – and their battle-tanks – are assembling on the opposite hill – so what? Everybody has seen how ineffective they are – therefore there is no tension, no trepidation for the battle to come; as for the Gungans, by this point, everyone in the cinema is rooting against them, so it's such a wasted opportunity. Again, more worthless CGI to sit – and yawn – through. Speaking of yawning…
Natalie Portman: seems to be a byword for lousy acting.
Cringing in my cinema seat thinking with dread: Shit! We haven't got to put up with her in the next two episodes, have we…?
Qui Gon Jinn:
Apart from sounding like he was named afer a bottle of Korean alcohol, WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?! The original trilogy was quite specific: Yoda trained Obi Wan. So to learn that this "Qui Gon" fella was not only training the young Obi Wan, but ready to train Anakin as well, annoyed me immensely – 'twas an affront to my supposed status as All-Knowing Star Wars Honcho. Without any character development whatsoever, there is absolutely no audience reaction to his death.
So long, Qui Gon – didn't know/care much for ya anyway.
Liam Neeson obviously signed up under the impression that he was going to be part of something special… as did:
Celia Imrie: What was she doing?!
She's one of the finest TV actors in the UK, so upon discovering she was to join the Ep I cast, it seemed perfectly logical that she would be playing Anakin's mum, thus providing the right gravitas and emotional intensity required – but no. Bloody typical: overwhelmed to be involved with Star Wars she wrangled her way to big screen mediocrity by appearing instead as one of the fighter pilots. Honestly, her gain was everybody's loss…
Ewan McGregor: He does NOT save this movie, despite so many protestations to the contrary.
He just sleepwalks and drones his way through, only "coming to life" during that confrontation with Darth Maul. And cut that lame pony-tail off! Bad, padawan, bad! And hey! He's responsible for the oh-not-so-cool:
Death of Darth Maul:
Why kill off the coolest asset of the trilogy in the first Episode?! Maul's duel with Qui Gon on Tatooine ended with the latter jumping onto that sleek chromium ship. It would have been really clever to end the Obi-Wan/Maul saber-scrap in a similar fashion, with the Sith somersaulting onto an escape ship, leaving the Jedi to watch helplessly as it blasts high into the sky, knowing that this Sith must be hunted down in the next episode... But then again, no one listens to a word Brad says… hello?
Last, and by all means least:
THAT ALIEN WE ALL ABHOR!
Don't need to mention the lanky, goofy one by name – everyone knows who it is, and enough antipathy has been hurled in his direction since 1999. There is just one more thing to add here: was this figure deliberately intended to look, sound, move and act as derisory as he did? If so, WHY?!
Having blotted out this confusing but colourful mess of a movie from my mind, it was hoped that this would be a mere unforseen one-off misstep, and George would get his mojo back in order to deliver a darker, more dramatic, Episode II.
Besides, the signs were favourable: we were promised less of the lanky, goofy one; the legend that was Christopher Lee was rumoured to appear(!) and the return of Boba Fett looked more likely than ever.
Really, how could it possibly go wrong?
They couldn't fuck it up a second time!
…Could they?
Rey Of Light: Who's That Girl?
December 22, 2015 December 23, 2015 mlbradford Movies, science fiction, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters	alien worlds, bb8, books, Bradscribe, criticism, Daisy Ridley, Jakku, lightsabre, Luke Skywalker, Maz Kanata, movie-making, Rey., science fiction, spaceships, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode VII, technology, visual effects
The Scribe Scrutinizes The Scavenger
"People are getting tattoos! Of my face! Already! It seems insane to me" – Daisy Ridley.
"…The movie has a major problem in this central character. [Daisy] Ridley can barely act at all."
Eh? Come again?
"Her facial expressions are limited and repetitive, her interactions with her fellow stars unconvincing, her physical repertoire – running, fighting, shooting – awkward…"
So writes the obviously disgruntled film critic for the London Evening Standard who – like just about everybody else – awarded it four stars. Everybody knew that Star Wars: The Force Awakens was going to obliterate box office records around the world; some fans fretted over whether it would fail to satisfy their expectations; but hardly anyone – after this weekend – is none the wiser as to who Rey, the staff-wielding scavenger, really is.
Finding out about Daisy Ridley is easy.
This 23-year-old Londoner – whose previous appearances include just bit parts in UK TV dramas such as Mr. Selfridge and Casualty – may have seemed like an ordinary bookworm and "Speed Garage enthusiast" up until last week, but now, of course, she has suddenly become one of the most famous women in the world. Also, she swears like a Stormtrooper, which makes her a natural successor to Carrie Fisher.
By the way, major plot points will be included; but seeing how the latest widespread box office records indicate that everyone in the US, UK and the Outer Rim Territories have seen the movie, there is no longer any need to worry about dropping spoilers.
As my review pointed out, The Force Awakens is an undeniably exciting spectacle, and yet – as the days go by – key plot points and a rising pile of questions just baffle me even more, making me reconsider whether it is an episode to embrace wholeheartedly.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do: who is Rey?
"Well, Rey starts alone – and I did not mean 'Solo' when I said 'solitary'," she laughs.
"I said: 'Don't go through the crew like wildfire.' I also told her not to take any advice from me" – Carrie Fisher.
"You start thinking: give her time, she'll loosen up, it'll get better. It never does."
Grief, this fella's starting to annoy me…
"And she's the heroine, the very heart of the film. So that doesn't work."
Yes, it does, dullard! Just take a look at all the other reviews: Ridley has instantly won over critics and fans alike. From the first few (captivating) moments we saw Rey, she was intriguing – we wanted to know her story, especially as her surname has been deliberately withheld.
"People naturally assume that I am Han and Leia's daughter," Ridley has remarked, which – the more you read it – seems to imply that it is a misleading assumption…
In the movie, SF's most famous couple fret over their son, now ensconced in the First Order; tellingly, neither of them acknowledge Rey in any way to suggest that she is their child as well. Instead, should we be looking to the other Skywalker to discover her parentage?
As the film progresses, it is quite evident that there is more to this mere "scavenger" than meets the eye… Her skills are apparently limitless: just for starters she can climb (and rappel); not only can she pilot a ship, she can fix it as well! The most obvious giveaway that she is Han's daughter is that she's good with a blaster, but – hang on – on the other hand, she defeats Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel and plays a faultless Jedi mind-trick on poor, unsuspecting Stormtrooper TK007 😉 which would suggest that she's Luke's girl…
"The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in" – Maz Kanata.
Look at one of the movie's best moments: Kylo Ren tries to summon Luke's lightsaber – incidentally, how on Earth Takodana did such a revered artefact come into Maz Kanata's possession? – but it whisks straight past him and into the hands of Rey. As the script notes reveal, Anakin/Luke's lightsaber: "calls out to [Rey] wanting her to become its new master."
Moreover, that beloved overweight glob of grease: R2-D2 only powers up once Rey arrives at the Resistance base…
Expect Luke's monologue from the second trailer (unused in the film, did you notice?) – most likely spoken to Rey – to form a vital crux of Episode VIII's dialogue…
Ridley's resistance to the media mind-probe these past few weeks has been particularly strong. She just emits that huge, full-beam, brilliant-white grin: "Is she an orphan? Who's to say?"
[cue coquettish wink]
"[Rey] is an ordinary girl, in extraordinary circumstances" – J. J. Abrams.
"This was the first day! And I honestly wanted to die. I thought I was gonna cry, I couldn't breathe."
Why?! What happened?
"JJ probably doesn't remember telling me that my performance was wooden," Ridley explains. "And there was so many crew there… It was so hot… It was… awful."
No worries: overall, she did a great job: "My experience has been incredible. I've felt supported and respected the whole way through."
Seeing how it took only seven months and five auditions to win the role of the newest New Hope, it's only fair that Daisy should get the final say:
"First and foremost for me, I want people to enjoy the film and think that I did a good job…"
Absolutely: "you have that power too."
"Beyond that, I don't know… When I actually first heard about the job, it was months before I auditioned. And I got a funny feeling in my body."
Ha, pun intended?
"It felt like the whole time – even though I thought I was doing a shit job in the auditions – there was something pushing me on, telling me this was going to happen. So it kinda feels like the wheels continue to turn."
The first spinoff: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, currently in production, is set to hit theaters on 16 December, 2016;
Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII is slated for release on 26 May, 2017;
Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo Movie arrives on 25 May, 2018;
Star Wars: Episode IX opens sometime in 2019;
Lucasfilm is also developing a Third Star Wars Spin-Off Movie, which is presumably set for release in 2020.
"Classified? Me too…" – Rey ___??
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Bradscribe Review
December 19, 2015 December 19, 2015 mlbradford History, Magic, Movie Icon, Movies, Nostalgia, science fiction, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters	alien worlds, Andy Serkis, bb8, Bradscribe, Carrie Fisher, coffee, Daisy Ridley, droids, General Leia Organa, Han Solo, Harrison Ford, history, Jakku, Luke Skywalker, movie-making, Oscar Isaac, Poe Dameron, popcorn, rayguns, Rey., science, science fiction, spaceships, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode VII, stars, time, visual effects
Episode VII: Luke Skywalker has vanished…
"The idea of being involved in it frankly felt dangerous" – J. J. Abrams.
"Come on, baby, don't let me down!" growls everyone's favourite nerfherder during one of the many exhilarating moments in this record-smashing latest installment of the galaxy's greatest saga. This perfectly sums up the expectations – not just of my humble self – but millions of fans as the weeks, then days, till release were agonisingly counted down.
No worries; fortunately for all of us, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a triumph, and deservedly so. J. J. Abrams has crafted a superior space fantasy, offering so much more than just a fanboy pastiche – embellishing this blockbuster with plenty of brand new and intriguing delights, forging the franchise in a bold and promising direction. Give him a film project with 'Star' in the title and – yay – he will work wonders…
"I'll tighten those restraints, scavenger scum" – Daniel Craig. 😉
"People were like: 'Oh my God, you're Rey Solo' – this is what people do, they just assume I'm Han Solo's daughter, it's not even a question any more" – Daisy Ridley.
It's fantastic to see the new generation of Wars stars: Ridley, Isaac and Boyega – and, what the heck, BB8 as well – establish themselves firmly and convincingly in this beloved galaxy.
As the central character, newcomer Daisy Ridley more than holds her own as the resilient Rey. Most curiously, when we first see her, she is merely a scavenger, searching for scrap from the now-legendary Battle of Jakku (and selling it to Simon Pegg! 😉 and – bizarrely – squatting in the shell of a fallen AT-AT. Pretty soon, she's – what the-?! – not only flying the Millennium Falcon, but perfectly adept at the Ways of the Force. Blimey, Charley! She's just too good to be true…
In Finn (John Boyega), we have a completely different type of character: a stormtrooper who – after a change of conscience – wants to defect to the Resistance. Through a compelling plot development, he helps the escape of star-pilot: Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The time is right for Star Wars to have a new cocky young flyboy, and Dameron certainly makes the grade.
Must – at this point – express what a delight it was, at last, to meet the wonderful, yet enigmatic, Maz Kanata. She reminded me a lot of the old dears who sell jasmine garlands in downtown Bangkok. Her "castle" is the sort of blissed-out, rad dive this blogger would have loved to frequent during his college days.
"I feel there's a recklessness about him that's maybe not normally associated with the Dark Side. You normally think of order, and structure… he's just a little bit more unpolished" – Adam Driver.
For me, by far the best, most tantalising new addition to the cast is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). He not only looks right, but – by Jove! – he sounds menacing enough. Black-robed and badass: that's how we dig it around here! Could it get any better?
In time-honoured tradition of Star Wars – with his ragged crossbeam lightsabre and disconcerting mask – he has captivated and freaked out the entire fanbase in equal measure.
Hey, don't mean to brag, but his true identity was sussed on this blog months ago. And what he does towards the end of this episode – with Rey, Finn and Chewie looking on in horror – actually came as NO surprise. At all.
Before moving on: let it be known that Supreme Leader Snoke was superb and sufficiently sinister – another unforgettable contribution from Andy Serkis.
"I didn't have the imagination to recognise the future potential for the character. I was only going to do three of them, so I wanted to use the character to supply some bass notes, some gravitas" – Harrison Ford.
It was just amazing to see that wondrous piece of junk – not Han Solo, ha ha! – but his eternally supercool Corellian freighter which – inexplicably – just happens to be standing neglected on Jakku AND in the exact area from which Rey and Finn must make their escape?! How opportune…
There is no dramatic build-up to the entrance of Han and Chewie together, but the lump in the throat is still inevitable. Funnily enough, after all these years, Han is STILL moody and obsessive over the Millennium Falcon, forever quick to remind anybody that it's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 14 – sorry! – 12 parsecs.
But when General Leia first steps into view after 32 years, quite frankly my tear-ducts burst. SO GOOD to see Carrie Fisher in a Star Wars movie again.
As a HUGE fan of the X-wing Fighter – it was, after all, my very first Star Wars toy – the sensational sequence featuring a whole squadron of them skimming the surface of that lake was irresistibly stupendous. The ensuing dogfight offered an enticing spectacle. This movie also honoured one of this franchise's more stirring trademarks: TIE fighters chasing our heroes through ever-narrowing tunnels of vast installations.
Just can't get enough of that wrecked Star Destroyer embedded in the sands of Jakku.
Impressive. Most impressive.
"In the street, they call out: 'Hey, Princess!' which makes me feel like a poodle" – Carrie Fisher.
Yes, there are a few quibbles:
Having been enthralled at the prospect of Captain Phasma: a female stormtrooper, we looked forward to finding out what she would do. Bah! A couple of forgettable lines and nothing else – hardly seems worth the bother…
Been waiting on tenterhooks to hear the new score by legendary composer John Williams. Don't know about you, but there were no discernible epic tunes here.
The movie ends on Skellig Michael, a World Heritage site off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. That's the problem: without any CG tinkering whatsoever, it looks exactly like it was filmed… off the coast of County Kerry, and NOT in a galaxy far, far away…
Seeing Joseph Gordon-frickin'-Levitt all greened-up, supposedly as Yoda? (!) at the Hollywood premiere on Monday night. Jeez, what a prat…
Let's not deny it: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a successful re-engagement with the myth and magic that has made this the best-loved and most durable franchise.
Despite being several notches down from the glorious masterpiece that was The Empire Strikes Back, this is still a Magnificent Seventh Episode in its own right.
And – oh yes – the Force IS strong with this one!
Any scum and villainy who dare swipe any of this stuff for their own nefarious ends shall be cut down by my crossbeam lightsabre!
Grumble, grumble, disturbing lack of faith, etc, etc.
100th Post! Full Circle: "There's Something Familiar About This Place"
December 15, 2015 December 15, 2015 mlbradford Movies, Science, science fiction, Star Wars, Stuff that Matters	Bradscribe, coffee, Dark Side, Darth Vader, history, Kylo Ren, movie-making, research, science fiction, spaceships, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode VII, technology, The Empire Strikes Back, The Force, visual effects
What Can We Expect When The Force Awakens This Thursday?
"The secrecy has been beyond ludicrous. For heaven's sake, it's a movie. When I got the script it was typed in black on paper of the deepest red so you couldn't photocopy it…" – Anthony Daniels.
It's May 1980.
A new Star Wars movie is just DAYS away.
An all-consuming swirl of excitement and curiosity warps my infant mind. 'CAN'T WAIT!!' is the only – albeit frantic – message my brain will process. It's impossible to do anything else. How can a second Star Wars movie hope to be (half) as good as the one all of us at school know and love?!
At the cinema, once the Battle of Hoth gets spectacularly under way, all our expectations are met. And then some, as we are thrilled by the AT-ATs, giggle at Yoda (before realising how powerful he was) and gawp at the climactic lightsabre duel. My generation cannot believe their eyes! Or their luck.
(Fortunately, Dad took me to the cinema five times to help satisfy my cravings for fun, frills, fx and Fett. Actually, we managed to see The Empire Strikes Back only three times, including the much-heralded double-bill – the infamous FULL HOUSE sign was strategically placed outside the main doors twice).
This is not just a smash-hit movie, but a monumental phenomenon! No other movie matters.
Now that the release of the Most Anticipated Movie of the Decade is imminent, there is an eerie sense of deja vu – the fanfare is cranked up to maximum; the teensiest gobbets of information are trundled out; photos of the stars suddenly become ubiquitous across all media; and – oh yes – the merchandise is being trundled out ad infinitum. Honestly, it feels like 1980 all over again.
"I sense something. The presence I have not felt since…"
"If you are telling a continuous story, as we are, then all the episodes have to fit together to form a cohesive piece, and this middle act – The Empire Strikes Back – has to be a slower and more sombre piece in a way…" – Gary Kurtz.
"It is a dark time for the Rebellion," so began the legendary scrawl for Episiode V. "Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and-"
And you're thinking: Hang on! Major Bummer! What – and how much(!) – did we miss?! One minute our heroes are receiving medals and the next… they're hiding in an igloo on one forlorn side of the galaxy(!) How did that happen?! This infant – and millions of others of course – demanded a full report. It felt like we had got into the cinema way too late…
"There's been an Awakening. Have you felt it?"
Yeah, fella, but – yet again – we feel as though we've joined this brand new Episode way too late. Not only have thirty years passed since we last saw our happy heroes in the forest of Endor, but thirty years have passed in this galaxy. In that time, the apparently epic Battle of Jakku was waged, the remnants of the Empire reformed – relatively swiftly – into the First Order i.e. it's a dark time for the rebellion (now the "Resistance") once more. So, that party with the Ewoks was all for nothing…
One of the more enigmatic figures to emerge has been Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). He's not a Sith, but affiliated with a mysterious sect known as the Order of Ren. Ever since we first glimpsed him staggering through a snow-covered forest energising his fearsome, yet crude, red cross-guard lightsabre, SW fans have speculated who he might be, especially since seeing Vader's battered helmet in his possession.
The most telling fact is that he works for a character known as Supreme Leader Snoke: "who is a powerful figure on the dark side of the Force," yet to be revealed, but we know it will be the latest motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis (a personal fave at this blog), responsible for providing the sinister narration for SW:VII's first trailer.
As a supercool bonus: we have the chrome-clad Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) to savour as well! And watch out for Maz Kanata, (another CGI character played by Lupita Nyong'o): "a pirate who dwells in a castle populated by all manner of aliens and assorted scum."
Some intriguing aspects to look forward to…
"I went up to Skywalker Ranch and they told me they were gonna do more Star Wars movies… So here I am. I got to write for Harrison Ford again after 30 years…" – Lawrence Kasdan.
Inevitably, the background story of Anakin Skywalker – the Jedi who became a Sith Lord – received the prequel trilogy treatment. Naturally, as one of the original fans, there was a certain curiosity to find out how it all came together. But, oh boy… Talk about having a bad feeling…
There was absolutely no way multitudes of heartbroken fans like us could unlearn the travesty we learned back in 1999. Moreover, in 2002, Episode II did NOT correct the ills of its forebear: no! It succeeded in being an even more painful experience to endure.
This time, though, with reliable Star Wars aficianado JJ Abrams at the helm, particular attention to the visuals – and the script (so glad to see Lawrence Kasdan back onboard) – has been honoured; so far, the clips and stills look impressive – most promisingly, a return to the more practical special effects we know and love is assured.
The first trailer was good, but it wasn't until the second trailer when my eyes widened – and my jaw dropped – as the camera panned along to this shot:
At this point came the realization that something quite special was in the works. Maybe, just maybe, the old magic will be invoked. And why not now? After all, 2015 has been the Year of Nostalgia; with dinosaurs and Terminators making a comeback, it seems fitting that we should be treated to the (ahem) return of the Jedi.
So, huzzah, 35 years later, we have come full circle. Not surprisingly, advance ticket sales have broken all records. It would be amusing – not to mention, astounding – to learn that my ol' popcorn parlour has had to dust down its FULL HOUSE sign…
For me, the excitement felt yesteryear may have faded – the memories of those wretched prequels still gnaw at my advancing cranium – but an unashamed desire to find out how the saga that not only captivated but redefined popular culture continues has shone through.
At least, we all feel more confident now than we ever did back in 1999. And 2002 for that matter…
It's December 2015.
No other movie matters…
Yay! Made it to the Big 1-0-0! Couldn't be happier!
Believe it or not: this is actually the first time that this blog has appeared during the month of December. The last two years the coming of December meant recharging my batteries over the festive period, but now – especially after having struggled through a rather uncompromising and uncreative November – the need to carry on writing grips me more than ever.
It would be nice to take this opp to express how awesome it's been to meet so many other amazing bloggers on my wild yet wonderful jaunt through the blogosphere these past two years.
Honestly, this blog would not/could not have made it this far without all your support.
So, what should we do next?
Something good?
Something Brad?
Bit of both…?
A bit of both!
Bradscribe will return.
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UVB76 – SG1: Manic Music Monday
Magic Sword – In The Face Of Evil: MARVEL Music Monday
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Senior writer Doug Smith scouts Los Angeles for the ragged edges where public policy meets real people, combining data analysis and gumshoe reporting to tell L.A. stories through his 45 years of experience covering the city. As past database editor from 2004 through 2015, he hunted down and analyzed data for news and investigative projects. Besides "Grading the Teachers," he contributed to investigations of construction abuse in the community college system and the rising toll of prescription drug overdoses. Smith has been at The Times since 1970, covering local and state government, criminal justice, politics and education. He was the lead writer for Times' coverage of the infamous North Hollywood shootout, winner of a 1997 Pulitzer Prize. Between 2005 and 2008, Smith made five trips to Iraq on loan to our foreign desk.
L.A. County is seeing so much success with a program that diverts inmates who are mentally ill and homeless into housing that researchers say it should be expanded. A new study found the program could break the well-worn cycle of homelessness, incarceration and return to homelessness.
More than two years after Los Angeles voters approved a bond measure to help produce 10,000 new housing units for homeless people within a decade, there is reason for optimism about meeting that goal, but hurdles remain.
A million California buildings face wildfire risk. 'Extraordinary steps' are needed to protect them.


This selection of poems and songs has been compiled from the following CDs — SSCD 026: Poems of William Soutar (Scotsoun Makars Series) with introduction and assessment by Alexander Scott, SSCD 033: The Works of William Soutar in Poem, Riddle and Song and SSCD 083: Merry Matanzie, a selection compiled and read by Alex McCrindle with comment by W R Aitken and memoir by Alex Galloway.
All poems on this CD (except * from Seeds in the Wind by William Soutar) are to be found in Poems of William Soutar — A New Selection, edited by W R Aitken with Introductory Essay by Professor Douglas Gifford and published by Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh.
Frontispiece taken from the Bust of William Soutar by Benno Schotz, RSA, presented to and on display in the Perth Museum and Art Gallery. Reproduced here with their kind permission.
Permission to reproduce William Soutar's work has been kindly granted by The Trustees of The National Library of Scotland.


It can also be used to provide heat, or used as a method of keeping time.
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax or another flammable solid substance such as tallow that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance.
As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle becomes shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame.
For a candle to burn, a heat source (commonly a naked flame) is used to light the candles wick, which melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel (the wax). Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to ignite and form a constant flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel; the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action; the liquefied fuel finally vaporizes to burn within the candle's flame.


101 authentic sounds of London, the wonderful, vibrant capital of England.
Featuring crowd sounds, traffic, general ambience, underground / tube, church bells, emergency and much more, this library is the perfect backdrop to any film / theatre project in need of that lively, living city sound. Detailed Soundminer metadata is included.


text:
"""
Command line argument parsing

"""
import argparse

def name(value):
    """A string providing an override of the name of the application from what
    is obtained from sys.argv[0].
    (default: sys.argv[0])

    :param str value: Name value

    """
    global _parser
    _parser.name = value

def description(value):
    """A string providing a description of the application
    (default: none)

    :param str value: Description value

    """
    global _parser
    _parser.description = value

def epilog(value):
    """Text to display after the description of the arguments
    (default: none)

    :param str value: Epilog value

    """
    global _parser
    _parser.epilog = value

def usage(value):
    """The string describing the program usage
    (default: generated from arguments added to parser)

    :param str value: Usage value

    """
    global _parser
    _parser.usage = value

def get():
    """Return the handle to the argument parser.

    :rtype: argparse.ArgumentParser

    """
    return _parser

def _add_default_arguments(parser):
    """Add the default arguments to the parser.

    :param argparse.ArgumentParser parser: The argument parser

    """
    parser.add_argument('-c', '--config', action='store', dest='config',
                        help='Path to the configuration file')
    parser.add_argument('-f', '--foreground', action='store_true', dest='foreground',
                        help='Run the application interactively')

def parse():
    """Parse the command line arguments and return the result

    :rtype: argparse.Namespace

    """
    global _parser
    return _parser.parse_args()

_parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
_add_default_arguments(_parser)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Listing of the best Award Winning Tamil Movies available to stream online. Komparify helps you discover enjoy the top, legal Award Winning Tamil Movies trending Indian entertainment legally streaming free online in HD. The best Award Winning Tamil Movies are Joker, Visaaranai, Bahubali: The Beginning, Kaaka Muttai, Jigarthanda.


text:
#ifndef CPL_ILI2READER_H_INCLUDED
#define CPL_ILI2READER_H_INCLUDED

// This works around problems with math.h on some platforms #defining INFINITY
#ifdef INFINITY
#undef  INFINITY
#define INFINITY INFINITY_XERCES
#endif

#include "imdreader.h"
#include <list>

class CPL_DLL IILI2Reader
{
public:
    virtual     ~IILI2Reader();

    virtual void SetSourceFile( const char *pszFilename ) = 0;

    virtual int  ReadModel( ImdReader *poImdReader, const char *modelFilename ) = 0;
    virtual int  SaveClasses( const char *pszFilename ) = 0;

    virtual std::list<OGRLayer *> GetLayers() = 0;
    virtual int GetLayerCount() = 0;
};

IILI2Reader *CreateILI2Reader();
void DestroyILI2Reader(IILI2Reader* reader);

#endif


Located in downtown Waterloo beside the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, as well as other area museums, sports arenas, dining and nightlife. The Courtyard offers 4,500 square feet of flexible function space in addition to a pre-function area. 166 rooms.


text:
és un escalador espanyol, el primer campió olímpic en escalada.

Nascut en una família d'escaladors, Ginés va començar a practicar escalada als 4 anys. Actualment, s'entrena al Centre d'Alt Rendiment de Sant Cugat del Vallès.

Va guanyar diverses competicions, entre les quals en el Campionat Europeu d'Escalada de 2019, en la prova de dificultat, en el que va quedar subcampió. En els Jocs Olímpics de Tòquio 2020, on per primera vegada l'escalada ha estat esport olímpic, ha aconseguit la medalla d'or en la prova combinada. Després d'arribar a la final va quedar primer en la prova de velocitat, setè en la de bloc i quart en la de dificultat.

Referències

Esportistes de Càceres
Escaladors
Medallistes espanyols als Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 2020
Naixements del 1998

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Well, I think I am seeing signs that assure me of the truth of my suspicion that I'm not allowed to be popular.
Two days ago I put up a video on Youtube. I advertised the video on Twitter, attaining over 70 (SEVENTY) clicks from twitter users on my ad. As of now, a day later after I stopped the ad, Youtube reports only 10 (TEN) video views.
It's kind of upsetting that I would spend over $30 to advertise, and I get all these clicks (causing me to spend money) but the people who clicked couldn't even be bothered to actually WATCH the video.
Anyway, it's just kind of disappointing. I spent over $30 for over 70 clicks on twitter, and the vast majority of those people apparently never even watched what I was advertising.
I guess I'm actually just not allowed to be popular.
As for my 3rd video game, well, I'm making progress. It's mostly a learning experience, when I'm trying to find solutions to the things I want to do, the solution is often pretty simple, but it takes me forever to figure it out. I guess this is what I get for dropping out of University.
On the other hand, using Unity 3D makes developing this game a tonne easier than writing a 3d game engine by myself. I did buy a book to learn OpenGL for Android --- I read it, I understood a little bit, but after I started that project it became clear it was gonna take a long time to make it work, and I wasn't sure I had the brain power to do it. So, Unity 3d is just a great and wonderful solution that makes it a lot easier. Yay.


text:
Searching for a microscopic E.T.
By Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
July 20, 2000 | BOULDER, COLO.
Norman Pace strides across his office and returns with a small rock plucked from the frigid wastes of Antarctica. The University of Colorado biologist, who is credited with finding organic life in some of the harshest places on Earth, turns the stone in his hand and says, "A fundamental question is whether there is photosynthesis going on, on the surface of Mars," itself a frosty wasteland.
"If there is life on Mars, this is what you're going to see," says Dr. Pace, pointing to a colored layer in the rock, once home to millions of microorganisms.
Speculation about life beyond Earth has been fueled in recent years by the Galileo spacecraft's detailed images of Jupiter's icy moon Europa and by microscopic lumps on a meteorite, interpreted by some scientists as fossilized evidence of past microbial life on Mars.
In late June, planetary scientists displayed detailed Mars Global Surveyor photos of the red planet suggesting that water - either as a liquid, ice, or a mixture of ice and carbon dioxide - has carved channels into the sides of Martian craters and canyons within the past 1 million to 2 million years. If the results hold up, they would suggest that large amounts of water - critical for organic life - might still lie near the Martian surface.
And if life on Mars proves a bust, try Europa. In April, Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, described at meeting of astrobiologists how recent images of Europa, combined with computer simulations, indicate that tidal forces acting on the moon raise the ridges seen on the icy crust by "pumping fluid and slush to the surface on a daily basis," in the process forming "a variety of habitable environments."
Many of these announcements are as much products of "spin" by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as they are of science, according to Pace, a co-investigator at the university's Astrobiology Institute and a member of the National Academy of Science's Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life.
But, he adds, the science of astrobiology is advancing - driven by an increasing appreciation of the diversity of habitats on Earth. "Over the past 20 years, and particularly in the past 10 years, it has become evident that life is rich in many places we once thought to be sterile," he explains in an interview. "Wherever conditions are appropriate, life can make it, potentially."
Those conditions, he says, include temperatures that can range from minus 58 degrees F. to 248 degrees F., and liquid water, because "water enters into many, perhaps most, biological reactions," he says. Water either is split to condense molecules or is introduced to break down molecules. "Beyond that, you need thermodynamics: You've got to have something to eat, and you've got to have something to breathe. Life is in the business of capturing energy and transferring that energy into chemistry."
For a walk on the wild side, he suggests microorganisms associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents, found along ridges where magma wells up from Earth's mantle to form new crust.
In the faults and fissures where seawater circulates, "What is there to eat? You have hydrogen," he says, describing how hydrogen mixes with sulfides in seawater to form hydrogen sulfide. "Many organisms can breathe oxygen from seawater and eat hydrogen sulfide." Others eat hydrogen and breathe carbon dioxide.
"This is the world of hydrogen-driven chemistry, not carbon-driven chemistry like we are," Pace says. "When you begin to think in these terms, and when you look around the planet and see where life is, these aren't extremes; they're just another way of doing things."
Now shift to Mars. While the planet has no plate tectonics, Pace says, there is water in the rock and soil that overlays Martian bedrock. Moreover, the planet has vast shield volcanoes. "That means that somewhere down there, there's a magma dome," a source of energy. "You're going to have hydrogen, you're going to have carbon dioxide. You're going to have all the stuff that life needs, in principle."
Teasing out data relevant to the question of life on Mars will be hard, Pace says. Despite its Mars exploration program, NASA doesn't have missions on its agenda that he sees as cutting to the chase.
One such effort, he says, should include a mapping satellite that could spot features as small as a yard across - perhaps down to 8 inches - and whose camera could be steered more widely than the camera on the Mars Global Surveyor now orbiting Mars. The imaging technology exists, he says, but it resides with the US military.
With that level of resolution, he says, it's feasible to design instruments that can scan the surface at wavelengths of light suited to picking up telltale signs of microbial pigments. Such surveys could then give researchers the "targets" they need to send penetrators into the surface.
Pace acknowledges that NASA's Mars program is "doing important things." But the Mars Global Surveyor was "kludged together" and is underfunded, he says, adding that the International Space Station is diverting money from the program.
NASA's "virtual" Astrobiology Institute, which sponsors programs at 11 NASA centers and universities, including the University of Colorado, is funded at about $11 million a year, Pace notes - not enough to support the new faculty and new courses NASA wants at existing institutes, let alone the three new ones the agency is seeking.
As for the Mars program, "the bottom line is that the program is capped at $550 million a year for the next decade. Half a billion dollars is not small fries," Pace says. "It's just not enough."
With latest mission proposal, NASA hopes to find life on Europa
Could Europa's ocean be a hotspot for life? Here's why.
Why NASA is so interested in Jupiter's frozen moon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Southern Railway 4-6-2 (Class Ps4)
Southern Railway's Ps4 class has often been called one of the most beautiful Pacifics ever constructed featuring a long, graceful boiler, large drivers, and handsome livery of Virginia Green with white and gold trim adorning various aspects of the locomotives.
This was all accomplished years before the idea of streamlining became a popular concept and steamers. Prior to the 1930's, the industry paid little attention to the idea of dressing their trains in vibrant colors, let alone adorning them in a sleek appearance.
During that era they were viewed only as utilitarian; most locomotives were black and cars drab, "Pullman Green," brown, or some other dull pigment.
A few railroads, like the Baltimore & Ohio and Southern, went against the grain which led to the Ps4 variant. Thankfully, for history's sake and the railfan community, the Southern recognized the significance of its Ps4 class and donated one to the Smithsonian Institution in 1961. You can still see her on display it continues to be displayed to this day.
A present-day view of Southern Railway 4-6-2 #1401 (Ps4) on display at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. Author's photo.
Southern's Ps4 was not the company's only group of 4-6-2s, actually very far from it. After the Chesapeake & Ohio put into service the first Pacific in 1902 the Southern was not far behind.
Just a few years later in 1905 it began operating its own design, listed as Class P. Short for Pacific, many railroads utilized a similar classification to designate its 4-6-2s. The wheel arrangement was also commonly used in passenger service.
On the Southern, this was no different where six large drivers provided sufficient power and speed during the early 20th century. Interestingly, in 1906 the railroad also acquired a handful for freight service.
In the end the Southern purchased there different batches of Pacific's which were assigned within the P class. The later variants were out-shopped through 1910 with six stenciled for subsidiary Georgia, Southern & Florida Railway.
Like many railroads, Southern opted to use its own whistle for much of its steam locomotive fleet. Its passenger variants, in particular the Ps4 class, used a long-bell 3-chime designed by the railroad. #1401 on display at the Smithsonian still features this whistle.
These early Pacifics were built by a combination of manufacturers including Baldwin and the American Locomotive Company's (Alco) Richmond plant, totaling 72 units in all.
Between 1911 and 1914 the locomotives were rebuilt with superheaters and other upgrades, and were reclassified as Ps-2. Interestingly, the Ps4 class was the final batch of Pacifics the Southern owned and spanned nearly 10 years from the railroad's last order of 4-6-2s.
For instance, between 1905 and 1914 the company purchased or reclassified a total of seven different batches of Pacifics which included Class P, P-1, Ps-2, H/H1, H-1/Ps, H/H-2, and H/Ps-3. The Ps4 was not built until 1923 with most manufactured by Alco's Schenectady and Richmond plants.
These totaled 23 units (#1366-1392) and three years later in 1926 the railroad ordered 20 additional examples, which also came from Alco.
Southern Railway 4-6-2 #1396 (Ps-4) in a publicity photo at Alexandria, Virginia, circa 1926 soon before the Pacific entered service. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
It was the arrival of the first batch that the world was exposed to the Southern's unveiling of elegant Virginia green. The livery was inspired from British railways, which were well-known for very elegant schemes adorning their locomotives.
While the Pacifics were draped mostly in deep green they also received gold and white pinstriping with white-wall wheels. Like the Baltimore & Ohio's magnificent EM-1 locomotive class the Ps4s did not have a considerably long lifespan for a steam locomotive.
These were the only 4-6-2s, and only steamers within the Southern's entire fleet, to receive this special livery to haul the company's premier passenger runs of the period such as the Crescent.
Wheel Arrangement: 4-6-2
Builder: American Locomotive Company (Alco)
Original Year of Construction: 1926
Cylinders(2): 27" x 28"
Boiler Pressure: 200 PSI
Driver Diameter: 73 Inches
Whistle: Southern Long-Bell 3-Chime
Tractive Effort: 47,535 Pounds
Weight on Drivers: 182,000 Pounds
Locomotive Weight: 304,000 Pounds
An undated photo of Southern Railway 4-6-2 #1398 (Ps-4) but likely taken around 1926 when the Pacific was outshopped.
After Alco delivered the last Ps4s in the late 1920s they survived less than thirty years before being retired in 1952 and replaced by the Electro-Motive Division's (EMD) E7 diesel-electrics to pull the Southern's premier passenger trains.
In regular service the Pacifics performed admirably with the job they were tasked. Sporting driving wheels of 73 inches they were capable of speeds approaching 80 mph with nearly 1,000 tons in tow on level track and regularly cruised the Southern's Charlotte Division (between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta) main line at nearly 60 mph.
Finally, one Ps4, #1380, received streamlining and a special version of the Virginia green livery to power its new Southerner in 1941 between New York and New Orleans.
Thanks to the Southern's recognition of its history the railroad not only spared #1401 (among the last it purchased) but gave the locomotive a full cosmetic restoration in the late fall of 1961 before donating it to the Smithsonian. The new museum, where the Pacific is now on display, was completed and opened to the public in January of 1964.
Ps4 (4-6-2)


Huawei managed to squeak past Apple last year to become the world's second largest smartphone maker, thanks to huge success in Asia and Europe. However, the US market remains a tough nut to crack. After AT&T and Verizon backed out of deals to sell the company's Mate 10 Pro flagship smartphone, Huawei is reportedly getting some more bad news. Electronics retailer Best Buy may be ending sales of the company's unlocked phones.
The Mate 10 Pro was designed to compete directly with the latest phones from Samsung and Apple, but American consumers are largely unaware of Huawei as a brand. The carrier deals early this year were supposed to be the start of a major expansion for the company. AT&T is said to have walked away at the last minute after getting pressure from the US government, which expressed concern over Huawei's association with the Chinese government.
That left Huawei with no choice but to sell the Mate 10 Pro as an unlocked phone in the US. That's what it did for several recent devices, and it failed to make much of an impact. Even though unlocked phones offer more freedom and faster updates, most American consumers get their smartphones direct from carriers because it's easier than buying them elsewhere. If you can't sell on a carrier, having your phone in retail stores is better than nothing. Now, Huawei might not even have that.
According to Reuters, Best Buy has stopped purchasing new stock from Huawei. It will sell through what it has, and they will be the end of its retail relationship with the Chinese phone maker. Neither Best Buy nor Huawei would comment on the record about this situation, but Reuters cites sources with knowledge of the matter.
Best Buy currently sells the Huawei Mate 10 Pro for $800 (on sale for $100 off currently) and the Mate SE for $250. It also lists a few phones from Huawei's Honor sub-brand. Presumably, all these devices will go away if Best Buy follows through.
We don't know why Best Buy would drop Huawei. There's some speculation it could be thanks to Huawei's social media account attempting to stuff the Mate 10 Pro listing with fake reviews. It's also possible the Mate 10 Pro simply isn't selling well enough to continue stocking it. In addition, there's an outside chance someone in the government is pushing Best Buy to stop selling Huawei phones.
Without Best Buy, Huawei's retail operations in the US will be limited to Amazon, Newegg, and B&H — none of which have real-world retail operations.


Rob Vonk free software, can you help?
The success of EasyMTU and Diskcat is growing over my head right now. It results in traffic jams with people who wants to download my free software. That's why I'm looking for some people who wants to mirror my site. Be sure that you have enough bandwith because a lot of people are downloading my software at the moment. Free sites like Tripod, Geocities, Webjump, xoom, freespace etc. just aren't fast/stable enough.
It would be really cool if someone could offer me my own domain in trade of some advertising on my page. All my software is free and always will be free. That's why I can't pay for a domain.
The name must be original. No other diskcatalog program can have the same name.
If you search for the name with Altavista, there shouldn't be much hits so the program is found easily.
The name must say something about the use of the program.
The last thing you can help me with is developing new realeases of the easy skin generator. I'm looking for a delphi programmer who can continue developing the program. I really don't have the time for it. I'll give away the source to any (non comercial) developer who can give some of his program examples so that I can see that it is in good hands.


Images via Weibo and thanks to FlapJack for giving us the heads up.
Finally getting somewhere.. Looks awesome.!!
Has my blood pumping now, please hurry up and finish him.
are they going to send mini Shockwave with it? Or was that another company making that figure?
Donde puedo comprar estas figuras? Somewhere i can buy this piece?
Can't wait! I got my vortex the other day and now am just waiting on this!!


The Borisov Arena is approximately a 90minute drive from Minsk city centre. The Arsenal Belarus supporters club arranged for a social meeting point near to where Arsenal had laid on free coaches to take supporters to the ground. These were not wheelchair accessible so I had to drag myself up the coach steps and sit in the front seats. Arriving at the stadium in the middle of a forest, the outside of the ground resembles a steel ladybird.
The coaches parked immediately outside the ground, and I waited until the majority had headed to the turnstiles before descending the steps.
Our tickets were arranged through Arsenal and were complimentary however we never actually received a ticket. Arsenal officials called the BATE Borisov supporters liaison officer who collected me from the away end and escorted me through to a large gate at the other end of the stadium.
Having entered through the gate there were 2 disabled toilets on the right hand side which were welcome having been on the coach for so long.
You are then at pitchside and have to wheel alongside the pitch (on astro turf material) to a steel ramp and platform for wheelchair users. We were positioned on the second of four on each side of the ground, and were midway between penalty area and the half way line. We were some distance from the Arsenal fans, which was disappointing as we could see a platform empty near to them. The view was good: we could see the touchline over the larger advertising hording.
As mentioned above the disabled toilets were immediately next to the entrance. I couldn't find any refreshment kiosk, however a gentleman came around and handed out essentially a packed lunch to everyone: my contained 2 small rolls, a chocolate bar and a bottle of water.
We were not kept in, while the majority of Arsenal fans were. I had chance to visit the BATE Borisov club shop while I waited for my friends to exit from their section, before boarding the coaches again to head back to Minsk.


A Year of Flowers is my special art project for 2015. I'll be making one flower every week for the whole year and sharing it on my blog. Those are the only project guidelines…it could be a simple ink drawing of a single flower or a complete watercolor garden painting. Or maybe Lupita with a flower in her hair. We'll see what the year brings!
Be sure to check back each week for an updated photo gallery (see below). Art prints & cards of each week's flower designs are now for sale in my online art shop.


This is part two of a five-part series about Starship design in Star Trek Online with Thomas Marrone (@thomasthecat, @Cryptic_TtC) . Last weeks entry can be found here.
Thomas joined Cryptic in 2010 as a web designer working for Cryptic and Atari. He moved over to STO in early 2011 as a UI artist and in November of last year moved over to ships full-time. Check out his portfolio, Tumblr, and many DeviantArt examples.
In the community Thomas is well-known for his updates to classic canon Star Trek Online models, much of it done on his own time. For many of us it's the kind of improvement we look forward to, adding new life to classic designs, or a new generation of that model. Today we got the official confirmation of the T6- Yamamoto Dreadnought.
Q3.1: Are they hands on, or is it more of a process where you're left on your own?
Well, it being my job helps! But seriously, I think everyone understands how cool it is that they get to make 3D spaceships all day. When you're building the final 3D model, much of the "hard" work has been done – you just need to execute the vision that everyone has agreed on. There are plenty of places where you can add your own take on the concept, but in general at that point you are a construction worker following a blueprint.
When you are actually designing the look of the ship, that can be challenging because there is nothing more intimidating to an artist than a blank piece of paper. It's one of the reasons we work so hard early on to discuss the references and influences we like, so that we have a strong foundation to develop the concept of the ship and feel solid in the direction we take the design.
Q3.2: Do you listen to certain music or tv episodes to get in the mood?
It depends on the type of work I'm doing, and I'm sure the answer for this is very individual to the artist. Myself, I like to listen to movie scores because they're often inspiring. Or, I might be binging on a show I've seen many times before like Star Trek or the West Wing and might have that on as background noise. But I never watch anything I haven't seen before as that can be too distracting.
Q3.3: Are you more of a clinical designer, drawing from physical examples to produce a design?
We always look at our reference for general inspiration, but mostly the types of things we are working with are based in speculative fiction so our best examples are the physical and CG models used in the shows. Those can come in handy for certain, but since we are creating entirely new shapes it's hard to rely exclusively on physical examples.
Q4: Tools – for the 2D phase of the design what tools do you use, and why?
We use Photoshop CS6 and either a Cintiq or Intuos WACOM tablet. The Tablets let us "draw" directly into a digital file in Photoshop, which lets us have total control over the image. In Photoshop we can use layers to quickly iterate on ideas or different blending modes to achieve various effects while we are coloring the art. It's an essential tool to quickly and expertly generate the concept art we need to use as reference when we are building the final model.
Yes, this weeks entry is shorter compared to the others. Not to worry, much more is on the way!
If you've read this far, you are also know that we're giving away some cool ships and Zen at the end of this blog series on October 30th 2015. Full contest rules can be found here. We're accepting entries after we post each blog for 24 hours only.
Question One: Where does the best reference material for #STO starships come from?
Question Two: What's your favorite STF (active or inactive)?


text:
Q: How to kill application process? In my Xamarin.Android application, I have code that handles restoring state after process death (when the OS kills the application to free memory). I want to test this code but I do not know how to simulate when my application process gets killed. I am trying to do it through the terminal. From my platform-tools folder:
drake@Drakes-MacBook-Pro platform-tools % ./adb shell
generic_x86:/ $ am kill com.mycompany.myapp

But this is not working. And I think it is because it is not targeting the OS in my emulator. I was expecting to see "Pixel_C_API_30" instead of "generic_x86". I am on a Mac.

A: You can use the adb device command to list the device.
If you have multiple devices, you can use -s to specify the device XXX like this: adb -s XXX shell

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Rumored earlier this month, Samsung now has a firmware update for last year's Galaxy Gear smartwatch that replaces the Android software with Samsung's own Tizen. Sam Mobile reported the news on Friday, saying the update will bring longer battery life, voice commands for the camera and a music player app to the Galaxy Gear. After the update, currently available as a download, the Gear will look and behave far more like the newer Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches. The change won't likely impact Google(s goog), which has its own Android Wear smartwatches due out next month from other hardware partners.


Federal prosecutors had alleged that between 2011 and 2013, Christopher Goff, an account manager for Mobile Messenger, a U.S. aggregation company in the mobile phone industry, engaged in an auto-subscribing scheme that placed unauthorized text-messaging charges on their cell phone bills. In or about 2010, Lin Miao, CEO of Tatto, and others built a computer program that could spoof the required consumer authorizations for premium text messaging services. In 2011, Miao met with Goff and asked him to provide large batches of phone numbers from Mobile Messenger's databases in exchange for payment. In total, Miao and Tatto took more than $50 million from consumers via the scheme, of which Goff received over $350,000. Goff pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and he was sentenced to 30-months in prison plus two years of supervised released and ordered to forfeit $352,799.56. To date, Andrew Bachman, Miao, Michael Pajaczkowski, Erdolo Eromo, Jonathan Murad, Francis Assifuah, and Jason Lee have pled guilty in connection with their participation in the fraud. Two additional defendants, Fraser Thompson and Darcy Wedd, were convicted following three-week jury trials.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Rabobank National Association (Rabobank),a California subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A., operated branches in Imperial County, California that were heavily dependent on cash sourced from Mexico. Prosecutors asserted that the bank knew this Mexican cash was likely tied to narcotics trafficking and organized crime. Rabobank allegedly continued soliciting cash-intensive customers from Mexico, while failing to employ appropriate BSA/AML policies and procedures to address the heightened risk, until approximately May 2013, when Rabobank placed a moratorium on originating new account relationships for Mexico-based businesses entities. Rabobank, through at least three executives, knowingly obstructed the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC's") 2012 examination by responding to the OCC's February 2013 initial report of examination with false and misleading information about the state of Rabobank's BSA/AML program and by making false and misleading statements to the OCC regarding the existence of reports developed by a third-party consultant that described the deficiencies and resulting ineffectiveness of Rabobank's BSA/AML program. In furtherance of the scheme to defraud the OCC, Rabobank also demoted or terminated two RNA employees who provided information to the OCC regarding Rabobank's BSA/AML deficiencies. Rabobank plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to corruptly obstruct an examination of a financial institution, and the bank was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California for impairing, impeding and obstructing its primary regulator, the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC), by concealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) program and for obstructing the OCC's examination of Rabobank. Rabobank was sentenced to a two-year term of probation, and ordered to pay the statutory maximum fine of $500,000. Additionally, as part of its guilty plea, Rabobank forfeited $368,701,259 to the United States as a result of allowing illicit funds to be processed through the bank.
Regardless of the business that you're in, if you have clients, they can and do die. Sometimes you are prepared for a customer's demise because they have been in failing health. Sometimes it's an unexpected accident or medical event. When a customer dies, businesses servicing such deceased parties typically have many policies and procedures that kick in -- some designed to protect the business and others to protect the interest of the deceased. Despite the best of plans and intentions, the protocols in place to address a customer's death don't always stand up to the demands of the customer's heirs (purported or otherwise) or the best-intentions of those with whom the deceased had business dealings. In a recent FINRA regulatory settlement, we come across the post-mortem conduct of a stockbroker who didn't yet know that his customer had died.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, Todd David Alpert consented to the entry of a judgment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that permanently enjoins him from future violations of the Securities Exchange Act, and orders him to pay disgorgement of his profits of $43,873 disgorgement plus $1,627 interest and to pay a $43,873 civil penalty. The SEC had alleged in a Complaint that Alpert, who worked as a security guard at the home of an H.J. Heinz Company board member, misappropriated material nonpublic information concerning Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. and 3G Capital Partners Ltd. pending acquisition of Heinz. Alpert purportedly purchased 1,000 shares and 30 call options in Heinz and reaped about a $44,000 profit.


Hamilton Fringe Festival 2018 – D.I.V.O.R.C.E, The Home Game!
Award Winning comedian Dylan Stewart bring you DIVORCE, the Home Game!
After 10 years of happily (?) married life he and his wife Jen play a unique game to keep Jen on her toes, and Dylan behaving.
Plus one lucky couple from the audience will join him on stage to play DIVORCE, the Game Show!


text:
Data Synthesis (Meta-Analysis)
There are many software programs for managing references. See for example, Comparison of Reference Management Software. Each has strengths and limitations. Some are web-based and others must be installed. Prices vary from free and open source to at-cost and commercial. We list only a few of the most commonly used below.
Articles about Data Synthesis
Bax, L., Ly-Mee, Y., Ikeda, N., & Moons, K. G. (2007). A systematic comparison of software dedicated to meta-analysis of causal studies. BMC Med Res Methodol, 7(40). doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-7-40.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Kirkham, J., Dwan, K., Kramer, S., Green, S., & Forbes, A. (2014). Bias due to selective inclusion and reporting of outcomes and analyses in systematic reviews of randomised trials of healthcare interventions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 10.
Tools for Data Synthesis
RevMan: RevMan is software designed for preparing and maintaining Cochrane Reviews. It provides a template for organizing the review and allows for electronic submission to Archie, the Cochrane Information Management System. Most importantly, however, it supports the conduct of meta-analyses and the graphical presentation of results using forest plots.
OpenMeta[Analyst]: OpenMeta[Analyst] is an open source software program that performs meta-analyses of binary, continuous, and diagnostic data. Developed by the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Brown University. Available free of charge.
Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA): CMA supports the computation of effect sizes for binary, continuous, correlational data. It is developed by Biostat, Inc. Academic pricing is $295 for one year.
Metafor package in R: The metafor package is a free and open-source add-on for conducting meta-analyses with the statistical software environment R.
Guide to downloading R and RStudio:
https://courses.edx.org/courses/UTAustinX/UT.7.01x/3T2014/56c5437b88fa43cf828bff5371c6a924/
Resources for metaphor:
https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/metafor/metafor.pdf
http://brieger.esalq.usp.br/CRAN/web/packages/metafor/vignettes/metafor.pdf
Back to: Resources for Conducting Systematic Reviews
Registering the Review
Conducting a Search
Inclusion/Exclusion Process
Extraction of Key Information
Grading the Quality of Evidence
Writing the Review
Informational Resources & Guides