It is October 13th, which means it is Ada Lovelace Day, the woman who invented computer programming in the early 1800s. There are quite a few postings on Twitter celebrating the women of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), along with radio and TV programs like this one from the BBC.
My first choice for this weekend has to be Goosebumps, with Jack Black representing R.L. Stine; I think this one is going to be a serious hoot. If you are looking for a more serious thriller this Halloween season then Crimson Peak might be just the ticket for you. Finally, as a Spy fan I have to admit I am excited to see what they do with Bridge of Spies, staring Tom Hanks as the lawyer who had to try to negotiate the release of the pilot of the U2 plane shot down over Russia.
Movies brings the Disney treat Tomorrowland, about the future I always wanted to be a part of, and why we didn’t get it after all. It includes some excellent Tesla references and associations from a secret history of the world, and some great special effects delivered in a non-stop roller coaster ride of a movie. Also this week San Andreas destroys a major California city for your viewing enjoyment. I was pretty much done with disaster movies around the time of The Towering Inferno, but it still counts as genre since it is a fictional story based on scientific facts. Even though it isn’t new, it is worth mentioning that the Disney animated classic Aladdin will be available in the Blu-Ray format for what may be the first time.
TV has The 100: Season 2, continuing the story of the outcasts sent back to Earth to see if the planet had healed enough to support life. Wayward Pines: The Complete First Season is the surreal story that seems to have been lifted directly out of Twin Peaks, or certainly inspired by it, or so it seems to me.
Anime is led off by Ghost in the Shell, Arise: Borders 3 and 4, finishing up the prequel stories telling us how the team got together and what they were up to before. Cyborg and hacker Motoko Kusanagi gathered them and forged them into the most unique police unit Tokyo had ever seen. In Beyond the Boundary: Complete Collection a woman with powers who is the last surviving member of her clan teams up with a half human/half youmu boy to save those who have no other hope. Finally Samurai Jam: Bakumatsu Rock tells the story of government suppression of Rock and Roll in 1800s Japan, and the six string Samurai who’s only goal was to be a rock star.
Nothing I can say will help you understand how amazing this band is live unless you have seen them for yourself, but at least a few of the videos should give you the general idea. The first one on tonight’s group is The Way Back, the Japanese Version this time. The next is C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h., and the one after that is from their A-Sketch days, Liar. I heard that when they signed with Warner they cut a deal so all their A-Sketch tunes had the rights grandfathered back to that distributor; if true, that indicates an ethical attitude pretty much unmatched these days, and I like it. Finally, the track they still play as their closing song, even after the last decade of changes; No Scared! I will do my best to stop ranting and raving about them now, but I suspect I will not quite succeed. Because they really are that amazing live and in person, as I learned myself this past Tuesday when they played in my town; enjoy!
Bite size Anime (in the 5 to 10 minute long range) is fun when you don’t feel like giving up half an hour but still want to watch a little something, and this season we have several. Miss Monochrome is an android (the humanoid robot, not the operating system) who wants to be a Pop Idol, in a show that pokes fun at the entire Idol business model. About half of each 7 minute episode is Vocaloid-sounding music performed by singer and voice actress Yui Horie, so you don’t end up needing to burn too many brain cells to follow the story line. They are calling this the 3rd series, but only if you count the singer’s Secret Mission Tour in 2012 where the character was first introduced as a series. I do find it somewhat amusing that the android’s house pet is a Roomba. The other short story series this season I am watching is Hackadoll the Animation, about three personal entertainment AIs who don’t have a clue. Their assigned goal is to to improve the efficiency of their clients by filtering the sea of information into the bits important to their human, but these three have no idea how to go about the task. I am sure it will be no surprise that this one is a comedy. So far I only have a single episode of either to base an opinion on, but they both have the potential to entertain if they are done right.
These are the Top Art Submissions for September 2015 from Daz Studio, and they are all quite well done. For those of you who have not been playing with it, it is an excellent and free 3D modeling and animation program which is integrated pretty closely with Poser. Meaning you can not only share a lot of the same resources between the two environments (including everything you create yourself), but also that any skill set you learn in one program is directly applicable to the other. Take a look at this trailer to give you an idea of what is possible, and see if you don’t feel the urge to try to create a little something of your own.