This video is a very good explanation of the most dangerous virus released so far. The sad part is, your tax dollars may have paid for it, depending on where you live. And if you do live there, don’t be surprised when it comes home to roost, as all such things do. Having a good way to leave the planet might be useful when that happens, so hopefully any government that would build and unleash such a thing would be funding its space program well into the future, to protect its citizens.
There have never been that many moments of actual footage of Jupiter videos or individual photos of the planet, because no physical camera has ever returned from there for us to develop the film. But this compilation of digital images returned to Earth over the last handful of decades and assembled by some of the more skillful editors at NASA gives you a taste of what is going on out there, and I for one would love to get a closer look.
Nothing of interest coming out this week, so it is a good time to catch up on something previously released you might have missed. I will be seeing Hugo myself, since life was a bit too hectic to catch it this past weekend what with the holiday and all.
There are several interesting movies this time around, starting with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a twisted little comedy starring Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk. Every variation of a Deliverance movie you have ever seen, with the twist that the Good Ole Boys are under attack by suicidal yuppies. The other quality movie for the week is Another Earth. Having a duplicate planet Earth orbiting on the other side of the sun has been done before in 1969’s Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, but this time the premise is used to explore interpersonal relationships rather than political ones. It’s theatrical run was extremely limited, so for some this will be the first chance to see it.
If there is a western animation series this week, it snuck right past me. There are a few Eastern animation series, including One Piece: Collection 3, continuing the story of the Straw Hats as the rescue a little girl and her dragon companion. Also released, Star Driver Part 1, where would-be giant mecha riders battle shrine maidens for power. Another new title is Chaos;Head, where a caffeine-addicted gamer suddenly becomes identified as a schizophrenic murder suspect, as his life falls apart overnight. If you are a fan of Welcome To The NHK you will not want to miss this one, and you can watch the first several episodes online at that link.
There is also a stand alone movie this week called Loups=Garous, about life in a world where a virus has wiped out a major percentage of the human race. The survivors communicate online and avoid physical contact, but a group of girls seeking contact must solve a series of murders before they become the victims. SCANDAL does the music for this one, which means at the minimum I have to have the soundtrack, since they are one of my favorite J-Rock bands. They animate up pretty good too.
Did you know that in 1969, Salvador Dali did a series of illustrations for that surreal classic, Alice in Wonderland? It is true, and the book itself is not cheap; the second video tells you how to identify it, so you don’t waste your $30K to $60K (depending on where you find a copy). The final video segment is from the 1933 version of Alice, with W.C. Fields and quite a few other folks you should have no problem recognizing.
