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Tag Archive: James Cameron
Still in theaters–Terminator: Dark Fate succeeds with return of two of sci-fi's greatest characters
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A new cyborg, old heroes, a new fate, and another revised timeline. It must be a new Terminator movie. If you're in the mood for science fiction nostalgia with a new twist this month, Terminator: Dark Fate is still in theaters and it's one of those films meant for a big screen. If you haven't seen it yet, it's also coming to all home video and streaming formats next month and is now available for pre-order here at Amazon. Featuring the return of two of science fiction's greatest movie icons, Arnold Schwarzenegger′s original cyborg Terminator and the woman who would save 3 billion lives, Linda Hamilton′s Sarah Connor, Terminator: Dark Fate is a worthy addition to one of sci-fi's biggest and best franchises up there with Doctor Who, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Alien, Star Trek, and Predator.
It turns out skipping over the third (Terminator: Rise of the Machines), fourth (Terminator: Salvation), and fifth (Terminator: Genisys) movies didn't really matter all that much. Skynet kept sending Terminators back in time, and when a new hero sees another new hero in the future, you get the feeling the timeline has been visited and revisited many more times. In many ways it's ideal for a series–you'll never really arrive at an ending. When the timeline is revised again in a spectacular opening that de-ages Schwarzenegger and Hamilton (the best de-aging CGI on film this year), you just jump on and enjoy the ride. We meet a new time traveler named Grace, played by Blade Runner 2049's Mackenzie Davis, a tough, tall-statured cybernetic human who returns to the present to save a young Mexican woman named Dani (played by Natalia Reyes), who has a potentially important future. Dani is pursued by yet another updated Terminator, an REV-9 model played by Gabriel Luna (Ghost Rider in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), who can split into two and reabsorb himself Robert Patrick/T2-style to and from a metalized slime state.
What makes a great entry in a Terminator movie, or for that matter, any movie? That right combination of humor and action. For me in these films it's how they use Schwarzenegger′s strengths as an actor. So the weakest film was where he was absent from acting (governing California)–during Terminator: Salvation–which was also the film with no humor, darker than the others, entirely set in the grim post-apocalypse future. I prefer Arnold as the Terminator, since no matter who is writing for him he delivers the best lines–writers always seem to know exactly how to get the best from him. So long as Arnold is around, we'll have a Terminator franchise, and after that, who cares about the series anymore? Deadpool director Tim Miller combining with producer James Cameron to bring these actors and characters back together in Terminator: Dark Fate was always going to be a great idea.
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, borgs, cyborgs, Gabriel Luna, James Cameron, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Sarah Connor, Terminator, Terminator Genisys, Terminator: Dark Fate, Terminator: Dark Fate movie review, Tim Miller
Terminator: Dark Fate–Paramount teases "day after Judgment Day" with new trailer, poster, and more
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Welcome to the day after Judgment Day.
It's been 35 years since we first heard the message from Kyle Reese given to Sarah Connor, "There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." Producer James Cameron is back in the franchise for the first time since Terminator 2, with Tim Miller (Deadpool) directing the November release Terminator: Dark Fate. This time we're told audiences are supposed to ignore everything that came after Terminator 2, and substitute this next chapter, similar to the "picture hopping" the Halloween movie franchise has become known for. The original Sarah Connor is back with Linda Hamilton reprising her role also like Jamie Lee Curtis has done for Halloween. (Although this is only Hamilton's third movie as Connor, compared to Curtis logging four leading performances as Halloween's Laurie Strode plus two more in the works–not that we're keeping score).
The CGI-heavy action sequences we've seen so far look closer to the original film The Terminator than Cameron's groundbreaking effects on Terminator 2: Judgment Day–we're not sure that is what audiences were hoping for. Newcomer to the series Mackenzie Davis is "almost human," and Gabriel Luna plays a villain, making them the faces of the next Terminators, following in the footsteps of Jason Patrick, Kristanna Loken, Byung-Hun Lee, and Jason Clarke. And, best of all, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back, as promised. Although it's difficult not to cringe when Hamilton says she hasn't seen Davis's kind of Terminator before, since audiences have, with Loken's great Terminatrix in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Wouldn't it be great if they just brought back Michael Biehn as a parallel timeline Kyle Reese? The studio has announced Edward Furlong returning as John Connor, so anything is possible with Cameron and Miller here.
First here's the new poster, followed by the brand new trailer just released, and seven additional teaser reels released yesterday, August 29, the franchise's "Judgment Day"–
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Gabriel Luna, James Cameron, Kristanna Loken, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Michael Biehn, Ngila Dickson, Paramount Pictures, Terminator, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Enemy of My Enemy, Tim Miller, Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL
First look–Blade Runner gets its first movie tie-in series and a perfect first chapter
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It's what Blade Runner fans have been waiting for, and if your appetite was whetted by the movie Blade Runner 2049, then you're going to want to check our the next era of Blade Runner stories as Titan Comics goes back to a parallel Earth future in Blade Runner 2019. The future is now. It's been worth the wait, as the new story looks and feels like we're back inside Philip K. Dick's original vision in his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the neo-noir city of Los Angeles, 2019, Ash, a veteran Blade Runner, is working the kidnapping of a billionaire's wife and child. Is the CEO of the new Canaan Corporation any better than those behind the Tyrell Corporation? Written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049), with co-writer Mike Johnson (Supergirl, Star Trek), get ready for Blade Runner to experience the treatment we've seen in recent years for franchises like Firefly, Planet of the Apes, and Alien, as another new world of science fiction storytelling opens up. Green and Johnson have written a perfect first chapter.
This very first original, in-canon story set in the Blade Runner universe is illustrated by Andres Guinaldo (Justice League Dark, Captain America) with brilliant color work by Marco Lesko. You're going to see something surprising in Guinaldo's artwork–not only is this the world of Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, and Syd Mead′s neo-noir future, readers will see influences from cyberpunk and tech-noir classics like John Carpenter′s Escape from New York, Luc Besson′s The Fifth Element and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Neill Blomkamp′s Elysium, James Cameron′s The Terminator and Aliens, Robert Rodriguez′s Alita: Battle Angel, and the other futureworlds adapted to film from Philip K. Dick′s stories. It all probably comes down to the versatility, breadth, and influence of concept artist Syd Mead, but the creators do give due credit to Dick, Scott, Hampton Fancher, David Peoples, Michael Deeley–and Mead–for the look and feel of their new story.
The first issue arrives next Wednesday, and you can pick from four cover options, from Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, Andreas Guinaldo, John Royle, and an original concept piece by Syd Mead.
Check out our sneak preview of the first issue of Blade Runner 2019, courtesy of Titan Comics, plus a new trailer for the series released just today:
Tags: Aliens, Alita: Battle Angel, Andres Guinaldo, Blade Runner 2019, Blade Runner 2019 preview, Blade Runner 2019 review, cyberpunk, David Peoples, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Elysium, future noir, Hampton Fancher, James Cameron, John Carpenter, Luc Besson, Marco Lesko, Michael Deeley, Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Neill Blomkamp, Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, Robert Rodriguez, Syd Mead, tech-noir, The Fifth Element, The Terminator, Titan Comics, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Terminator: Dark Fate–Schwarzenegger and Hamilton are back in first trailer, with some new faces
In 1984 The Terminator introduced us to Linda Hamilton′s young Sarah Connor and her first encounter with Arnold Schwarzenegger′s now classic T-800 "Terminator" cyborg. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, director James Cameron amped up Hamilton's role, resulting in arguably the best female character in all of science fiction movies (in a close heat with Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley in Aliens, also from Cameron), while making Arnold's T-800 a good guy. In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, we watched Sarah's son John Connor (played by Nick Stahl) and his future wife (played by Claire Danes) as they approached Judgment Day–the day of the technological apocalpyse. In the fourth film Terminator: Salvation, audiences saw an older John Connor (Christian Bale) fighting the machines after the series' Judgment Day, along with a young Kyle Reese played by Anton Yelchin, recounting the origins of the T-800 Arnold would embody later in the timeline. With Terminator: Genisys, John (next played by Jason Clarke) and Kyle (played by Jai Courtney) arrive at the future point where humans travel back in time to prevent Skynet, and in that timeline John encounters his own problems, and Kyle returns to a modified version of the past where Sarah (played by Solo: A Star Wars Story and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke) is working with a T-800 (again played by Arnold, and again as a good guy) to prevent the Skynet future apocalypse from happening.
It's now 35 years since we first heard the message from Kyle Reese given to Sarah Connor, "There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." Producer James Cameron is back, with Tim Miller (Deadpool) directing the autumn theatrical release Terminator: Dark Fate. This time we're told audiences are supposed to ignore everything that came after Terminator 2, and substitute this next chapter, similar to the "picture hopping" the Halloween movie franchise has become known for. The original Sarah Connor is back battling a Terminator. Newcomer to the series, Mackenzie Davis is one, "almost human." And Gabriel Luna plays another, making them the faces of the next Terminators, following in the footsteps of Arnold, Jason Patrick, Kristanna Loken, Byung-Hun Lee, and Jason Clarke.
Check out this new poster for the film and the first trailer for the sixth Terminator flick, Terminator: Dark Fate:
Tags: 35th anniversary The Terminator, Anton Yelchin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Byung-hun Lee, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Emilia Clarke, Gabriel Luna, Jai Courtney, James Cameron, Jason Clarke, Junkie XL, Kristanna Loken, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Michael Biehn, Ngila Dickson, Nick Stahl, Robert Patrick, Sandrine Holt, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator movies, Tim Miller, Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL
Alita: Battle Angel–Behind the scenes book looks behind the vision of Rodriguez and Cameron
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A behind the scenes book for a 2019 movie, which consists of a third or more of its images from 2005? As fascinating as the special effects developed for the film, the history of the movie merits its own book, and it gets it in Abbie Bernstein's Alita: Battle Angel–The Art and Making of the Movie, now out from Titan Books. It turns out executive producer James Cameron and artists were working on the pre-production of Alita: Battle Angel during the development of his film Avatar. According to interviews with Cameron and Alita director Robert Rodriguez, in the early 2000s the technology was not yet advanced to deliver what they wanted for their adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's manga novel. But now that it's arrived, fans of the film can trace its development over the past 15 years.
Alita: Battle Angel–The Art and Making of the Movie is filled with concept art, split between 2005 digital ideas in advance of knowing what actors might be cast and final characters developed, and a renewed look at the project as it began to get fully underway only a few years ago. Key interviews with Rodriguez, Cameron, producer Jon Landau, production designers Caylah Eddleblute and Steve Joyner, art director Todd Holland, visual effects supervisors Richard Hollander and Eric Saindon, costume designer Nina Proctor, Weta Digital's Joe Letteri, and others tell the story–a marriage of practical effects and CGI. In fact the commenters almost seem to have a battle between those responsible between the practical effects and CGI–all with an eye toward realism. The most interesting aspects of the discussion are the incorporation of Alita star Rosa Salazar's motion capture (or per Rodriguez, "performance capture" since motion doesn't include the "emotion" element required to make a story come together) with Proctor's real-world costumes, and the CGI layering that ends up as the final image that made it to the screen.
No doubt a highlight of the film and of the book are detailed images of Alita's cyborg body shell, as created by the character of Dr. Ido in the film. In real life it looks incredibly porcelain, but the artists discuss how the body and all the components of the film were actually fabricated. The commenters don't reference their inspirations for the look of the Iron City in the film or its cyborg inhabitants, but fans of the genre will no doubt see the influences–from the borg designs to story elements–from films including Chappie, Elysium, District 9, Ex Machina, Ghost in the Shell, Mad Max: Fury Road, Cameron's The Terminator, and even the light cycles of Tron. Readers will learn more about the science behind the cyborgs in the film–how Cameron and others estimated weights of body parts, including Alita's removable metal heart, as an example–all needed for 3D and CGI work and viewer believability.
Take a look inside Alita: Battle Angel–The Art and Making of the Movie courtesy of the publisher:
Tags: Abbie Bernstein, Alex Toader, Alita: Battle Angel--The Art and Making of the Movie, Alita: Battle Angel--The Art and Making of the Movie book review, Annis Naeem, Ben Procter, borgs, Caylah Eddleblute, Chappie, Chris Olivia, cybernetics, cyborgs, Dawn Brown, Deborah Scott, District 9, Dylan Cole, Ellen Lampl, Elysium, Eric Saindon, Ex Machina, Fausto De Martini, Feng Zhu, Ghost in the Shell, James Cameron, James Chung, James Clyne, Joe Letteri, Joe Peterson, John Park, Jonathan Bach, Jonathan Berube, Joseph C. Pepe, Joseph Hiura, Keith Christensen, Khang Le, Kit Casati, KNB FX, Lightstorm, Mad Max: Fury Road, Marc Baird, Mark Goerner, Martin Laing, Michael Broom, Nina Proctor, Richard Hollander, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Simons, Saiful Haque, Sarah King, Scott Lukowski, Shane Baxley, Stephan Martiniere, Steve Joyner, Steven Messing, The Terminator, Todd Holland, Tron, Tully Summers, Vitaly Bulgarov, Weta Digital
Delve deeper into the world of Alita: Battle Angel in Dr. Ido's Journal
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We have a review of the first of three tie-in books to the new Robert Rodriguez film Alita: Battle Angel coming your way. Alita: Battle Angel should appeal to any fan of cyborgs–the story as envisioned by James Cameron was a pet project of the director for several years, one he'd picked up from Guillermo del Toro. When Cameron decided to pursue management of his several Avatar sequels directly and finally handed over the project to Rodriguez he did so with more than 600 pages of notes he'd prepared. The film is an adaptation of the manga Battle Angel: Alita by Yukito Kishiro, a story about self-discovery and empowerment via a centuries-old human brain that finds its way into the cybernetic body of a young girl. A part-time doctor, part-time bounty hunter, Doctor Ido, played in the film by two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, takes center stage in Alita: Battle Angel–Doctor Ido's Journal, the new release by writer Nick Aires for Titan Books.
After losing his human daughter's struggle to live, the Dr. Frankenstein-inspired Dr. Ido finds the "core" of a cyborg in a scrapyard with a surviving, living human brain. He uses the prosthetics and futuristic body parts he'd designed for his daughter to rebuild a new girl, quasi-Pinocchio style, naming her Alita after his daughter. The sci-fi story follows Alita as she tries to learn about her past and survive in a dystopian world that mixes inspirations from John Carpenter, Ridley Scott, Neill Blomkamp, and George Miller. The visions of each of these directors' best futuristic films comes through in Doctor Ido's Journal, an in-universe document which reprints concept art, sketches, and photographs from the film, combining them with a diary entry narrative written by Aires in the place of Dr. Ido. Doctor Ido's Journal will be familiar to fans of Aires' past in-universe books, including Oliver Queen's Dossier, S.T.A.R. Labs: Cisco Ramon's Journal, and Arrow: Heroes and Villains and works by others reviewed here, including Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report, The Book of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual, and the Batman v Superman Tech Manual. Fans will first find a cleverly designed flex-cover that mimics metal (a great design effect that would make for an attractive blank journal), followed by pages of dense notebook entries that track the action of the film, all from Dr. Ido's perspective.
The artwork is exceptional, vivid engineering-level drawings like those found in Mark Salisbury's Elysium: The Art of the Film, reviewed here at borg, and the combination of horror and beauty found in production artists Dan Hallett and Matt Hatton's elaborate designs in Alien: Covenant: David's Drawings, reviewed here (it's worth noting the Weta Digital created much of the designs for both Alita: Battle Angel and Elysium, and the similarly realized scrap-metal worlds of Blomkamp's District 9 and CHAPPIE). At times the gear-heavy animatronics inside the cyborgs echo the real-world 19th century automaton past of these creations, making these modern borgs into something that feels almost steampunk.
Here are some preview pages from Alita: Battle Angel–Doctor Ido's Journal courtesy of the publisher:
Tags: Alien Covenant: David's Drawings, Alita Battle Angel Doctor Ido's Journal, Alita Battle Angel Doctor Ido's Journal book review, Alita: Battle Angel, animatronics, automatons, Battle Angel Alita, borgs, Christoph Waltz, concept art, cybernetic technology, cyborgs, Elysium: The Art of the Film, Frankenstein, futurism, games of the future, George Miller, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, John Carpenter, manga, Motorball, Neill Blomkamp, Nick Aires, Pinocchio, Ridley Scott, Robert Rodriguez, steampunk, Titan Books, Weta Digital, Yukito Kishiro
borg Hall of Fame 2018
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It's been another long year of great entertainment. Before we wrap our coverage of 2018, it's time for the sixth annual round of new honorees for the borg Hall of Fame. We have plenty of honorees from 2018 films and television, plus many from past years, and a peek at some from the future – 40 in all. You can always check out the updated borg Hall of Fame on our home page under "Know your borg."
Some reminders about criteria. Borgs have technology integrated with biology. Wearing a technology-powered suit alone doesn't qualify a new member. Tony Stark aka Iron Man was an inaugural honoree because the Arc Reactor kept him alive. The new Spider-Man suit worn by Tom Holland is similar to Tony's, but as far as we can tell it's not integrated with Peter Parker's biology. Similarly Peni Parker, seen outside her high-tech SP//dr suit in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Black Manta from Aquaman (and decades of comics before), seem to be merely wearing tech suits. We'd love a reason for a Mandalorian to make the cut, like Boba Fett, or Jango Fett, since nobody has more intriguing armor. Maybe Jon Favreau's new television series will give us something new to ponder next year.
Also, if the creators tell us the characters are merely robots, automatons, or androids, we take their word for it. Westworld continues to define its own characters as androids (like Star Trek: The Next Generation's Lt. Commander Data throughout the TV series), and not cyborgs (going back to Michael Crichton's original story), so we continue this year to hold off on their admittance unless something changes, like the incorporation of living biological (blood, cells, etc.) materials. Are we closing in on admitting individuals solely based on a breathing apparatus that may allow them to breathe to in non-native atmospheres? Only if integrated (surgically). Darth Vader has more borg parts than his breathing filter. We assume new honoree Saw Gerrera does as well. With more biological enhancements we'd allow Tusken Raiders, Moloch, and Two Tubes from the Star Wars universe, and Mordock the Benzite from Star Trek, but wouldn't that also mean anyone in a deep sea suit or space suit is a cyborg? Again, integration is key. Ready Player One has humans interacting with a cyber-world with virtual reality goggles and other equipment, but like the Programs (as opposed to the Users) in the movie Tron, this doesn't qualify as borg either, but we're making an exception this year for the in-world Aech, who is a cyborg orc character, and two Tron universe characters.
Already admitted in 2017 were advance honorees that didn't actually make it to the screen until 2018. This included Josh Brolin's new take on Cable in Deadpool 2 and Simone Missick's Misty Knight after her acquisition of a borg arm in Marvel's Luke Cage. New versions of Robotman and Cyborg are coming in 2019 in the Doom Patrol series, but they are already members of the revered Hall of Fame. Above are the new looks for these two earlier honorees.
So who's in for 2018?
Tags: 2018 borg Hall of Fame honorees, Aaron Aikman, Adventure Time, Aech, Alien: Covenant, Alita, Alita: Battle Angel, Amanda Seyfried, AMC, Angela the cyborg hunter, Anon, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Aquaman, Augmented Cyborg Monster, Aurra Sing, Bala-Tik, Bellona, Black Manta, Black Panther, borg, Borg Hall of Fame, borg technology, borg.com Hall of Fame, Colr Iron Corruptor, Community season one, cybernetic organism, Cyborg, Cyborg Commando, cyborg hunter, Damaera Mills, Dan Harmon, David 8, Deadpool 2, Doc Ock, Don "The Demon" Donaldson, Dr Klaw, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, Edge of Spider-Verse, Extinction, Finn, Florn, Flynn, Frank Mentzer, Garren Kho, Gary Gygax, Ghost, Grewishka, Guavian Death Gang, Hannah John-Kamen, Honey Badger, Humans, Humans AMC, Inspector Gadget, Iron Man, James Cameron, Jim Mahfood, Johnny Mnemonic, Karen Voss, Kevin Flynn, Last Call at Zero Angle, Lobot, Long John Silver, Machinamancers, Marvel Comics, Marvel's Luke Cage, Marvel's Spider-Man PS4 PlayStation, Michael Peña, Misty Knight, Mohan, Molly Millions, Moloch, Mordock the Benzite, Mort, Netflix, Olivia Octavius, Peni Parker, Predator Killer, Ready Player One, Rhen-Orm biocomputer, Ridley Scott, Robert Rodriguez, Robotman, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Ruth Bradley, Sam Flynn, Saw Gerrera, Shane Black, Solo: A Star wars Story, Spider-Man, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars Legacy, Star Wars The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Rebels, Synth, The Borg Construct Aj^6, The Empire Strikes Back, The Girl, The Neuromancer, The Predator, Tom Holland, Treasure Planet, Tron, Two Tubes, Ulysses Klaue, Viloet Evergarden, Walter, Westworld, Wolverine, X-23, Zapan, Zelda
SDCC 2018–New trailer… Cameron, Rodriguez, and Landau come together for Alita: Battle Angel
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One of the under-the-radar previews at this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con was for the new James Cameron/Robert Rodriguez/Jon Landau sci-fi film, Alita: Battle Angel. If you compare the trailer previewed Friday night at Horton Plaza's Regal Theater to the earlier teaser from last December (see both below) you will see a stark difference, with clear improvements made in the interim in post-production, especially with the CGI face and movements for Alita the lead borg character in the film, with motion capture performance by Rosa Salazar. Director Robert Rodriguez and producer and Oscar-winner Jon Landau headlined the panel Friday with Salazar and Keean Johnson, who plays Hugo.
WETA featured an Alita display at their booth. Hundreds of WETA Digital creators worked on the film.
Based on Yukito Kishiro's manga comic Battle Angel Alita, the adaptation follows a doctor, played by Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, whose character is the latest Geppetto, creating Alita, a cybernetic girl. The screenplay, written by James Cameron, takes the common borg origin sub-genre of science fiction (Frankenstein, Pinocchio, Edward Scissorhands, Ghost in the Shell, etc.), to make the next sci-fi warrior heroine. The film co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jeff Fahey.
Check out the trailer for Alita: Battle Angel:
Tags: Alita: Battle Angel, Alita: Battle Angel Comic-Con trailer, Battle Angel Alita, borg, Caspar Van Dien, Christoph Waltz, Comic-Con, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, James Cameron, Jeff Fahey, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Landau, Keean Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Michelle Rodriguez, motion capture, Pinocchio, Robert Rodriguez, Rosa Salazar, SDCC 2018, Weta Digital, Yukito Kishiro
New tie-in book examines James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
James Cameron has plenty to say about science fiction and he pulls in some sci-fi directors and dozens of sci-fi actors and creators to lay it all out in his new AMC series James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction. Many series have wrestled with the subject of defining science fiction, most recently Ridley Scott's Prophets of Science Fiction, where the Alien and Blade Runner director honored George Lucas, Robert Heinlein, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, and Mary Shelley. Not known for his interviewing, Cameron opted to record more informal chats with a small circle of his contemporaries, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger (plus an interview by friend/science fiction writer Randall Frakes of Cameron himself), attempting to guide them down his framework of analysis, sometimes gaining agreement and other times sparking interesting tangent questions. The interviews are divided up and sprinkled across six episodes of the AMC television series, and the blanks are filled in with sound bites from creators, professors, writers, and popular names from modern science fiction. But the companion book, also titled James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, is far more insightful, showing the broader unedited interview text for each of Cameron's six key contributors, plus great color artwork to illustrate his history of the genre. Ultimately the book is a more useful, informative, and interesting overview of science fiction than what the series provides, and recommended for fans wanting to dig deeper into the history of the genre.
For those that haven't encountered a review of the genre, Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, available now from Insight Editions, will provide the appropriate highlights. The combined narrative is at its best when attempting to find the reasons for the importance of science fiction as literature and art, as influence to society, and as a reflection on mankind's discovery of self, but it's also fun for any diehard genre fan to follow along, agree or disagree, and ponder the myriad alternatives to the examples given to illustrate the topics covered. The book is better than the TV series at analyzing and presenting the coverage, tying each key contributor to a sub-genre or major sci-fi concept: alien life, outer space, time travel, monsters, dark futures, and intelligent machines. Cameron has done his homework and claims to have read nearly anything and everything since he was a kid on the subject. His own significant science fiction contributions, namely Terminator, Terminator 2, and Aliens, and developing the two biggest women film roles of the genre–Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 and Ellen Ripley in Aliens–are only slightly overshadowed by more than required attention to his film Avatar as frequent centerpiece topic. He also spends more time on modern science fiction films, sometimes leaving behind classic films that had done it all before. So surprisingly great influences like Star Trek, Rod Serling, and John Carpenter get far less attention proportionately than you'd find in another science fiction overview, and the vast body of science fiction television series is barely tapped at all.
The most insight comes from George Lucas and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lucas provides rare reactions to fan criticism of Jar Jar Binks, his Star Wars prequels generally, and his concept of midichlorians manipulating the Force, which he states would have been key to the third trilogy had he kept control of the franchise. Immersed in an interview about science fiction his responses seem to reflect regret in selling Star Wars to Disney, as if he had far more Star Wars stories to tell. The rest of the book's seriousness is counterbalanced nicely by Schwarzenegger, who Cameron repeatedly attempts to get introspective about playing science fiction's greatest villain and hero cyborg as the Terminator. Not a method actor, Schwarzenegger reveals himself as fanboy and entertainer when it comes to science fiction, drawn more to the spectacle and excitement of science fiction roles and how the characters appear on the screen more than any life-changing meaning from the stories that Cameron is searching for.
Tags: AMC, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brooks Peck, Christopher Nolan, Ellen Ripley, Gary K. Wolfe, George Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, Insight Editions, James Cameron, James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction book review, James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction preview, James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction review, John Carpenter, Lisa Yaszek, Luc Besson, Matt Singer, Paul Verhoeven, Randall Frakes, Ridley Scott, Rod Serling, Sarah Connor, Sidney Perkowitz, Stanley Kubrick, Star Trek, Steven Spielberg
Revisit James Cameron's landmark Titanic expeditions with Bill Paxton in "Exploring the Deep"
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One of the high points from a scientific standpoint this year was the discovery in August of the USS Indianapolis on the floor of the Pacific Ocean by undersea adventurer and billionaire Paul Allen, more than 70 years after it was sunk during World War II, and thirty-two years after undersea explorer Robert Ballard first discovered the location of the wreckage of the most well-known maritime disaster, the sinking of the RMS Titanic. In 1995, 2001, and 2005, director James Cameron, well-known already for Aliens, the first two Terminator movies, and True Lies, would take knowledge he learned filming The Abyss to pursue a lifelong dream of undersea explorer in Ballard's and Jacques Cousteau's footsteps. Ultimately Cameron would make thirty dives on the site of the wrecked RMS Titanic, more than anyone, first for footage that would be used for his film Titanic (which would win 11 Academy Awards), and later for pure scientific knowledge and exploration. Cameron documented his expeditions in his book Exploring the Deep: The Titanic Expeditions, now available in a paperback edition from Insight Editions.
One of the low points of the year was the death of beloved actor Bill Paxton. What many people may not know is the role Paxton (known for dozens of films including Edge of Tomorrow, True Lies, Aliens, and Tombstone) played in the exploration of the real Titanic after starring in Cameron's film Titanic. He accompanied Cameron on four deep-sea dives, documenting his experiences and serving as narrator on one of Cameron's documentaries, the 2003 film Ghosts of the Abyss. In his foreword to Exploring the Deep: The Titanic Expeditions, Paxton notes his reservations of traveling to the ocean floor. "At the time, because I had young children at home, I felt it was more risk than I should be taking," he said. He spoke highly of Cameron, "He is someone who values his friendships and has a deep appreciation of just how brief our time on earth is–and he's determined to make the most of it." The feeling was mutual. Of Paxton, Cameron wrote, "Bill has become the pitch-perfect explorer. He acquired the clipped tone of a test pilot when he played Fred Haise in Apollo 13, and of course he played treasure hunter Brock Lovett in the Titanic movie, but if he's playing a part now, it's merged so perfectly with reality that there is no difference. He's now a real explorer, and this is a real mission, two and a half miles down." Indeed, half the fun of Exploring the Deep is following Paxton via his words and photographs in his adventure, adding his own insights and bits of humor along the way.
James Cameron and Bill Paxton exploring the remains of the Titanic two and a half miles down on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in Exploring the Deep: The Titanic Expeditions.
But it's the knowledge learned by Cameron one hundred years after the Titanic sank that makes the book compelling and thrilling and even chilling at times. Cameron, along with the other leading experts in Titanic history–Dan Lynch, Ken Marschall, and Parks Stephenson–lay out each expedition step by step, including development of the technological tools created by Cameron to be able to film the ship and eventually more easily maneuver the rooms inside the ship's remains, something no one else had yet done. The book includes a detailed log written by Cameron for the fifth dive in September 2001, including recollections of his historical research as he observed actual locations on the ship tied to known events and passengers, some famous, some members of the crew. He uses photographs of the Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic, to highlight identical artifacts inside the ship. Many artifacts surprisingly are still intact, like mirrors, windows, glassware, and dishes–and equipment in the Marconi Wireless Telegraph rooms, which were instrumental in saving the 706 survivors. Where possible he includes rare photographs taken the day of or just before the Titanic went to sea on its maiden and only voyage, and otherwise he incorporates for reference Ken Marschall's detailed paintings, Parks Stephenson's computer-generated simulations, and his own recreations used in his film Titanic–all with an eye toward conveying to readers what Titanic looked like in 1912.
Tags: Bill Paxton, Dan Lynch, Exploring the Deep: The Titanic Expeditions, Exploring the Deep: The Titanic Expeditions book review, Ghosts of the Abyss, Jacques Cousteau, James Cameron, Ken Marschall, Parks Stephenson, Paul Allen, RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic, Robert Ballard, Titanic movie, USS Indianapolis discovery


text:
Home / That's a wrap!
The final meeting of EUROVOLC was held on the 16th-18th of November 2021.
The project, which overarching aim was to harmonize and facilitate communication and integration within the volcanological community, started on the 1st of February 2018 and its duration was originally 3 years. However, as in so many cases, the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted most of the activities. Therefore, the project management sought permission from the EU to extend its duration by 10 months so that all planned activities could be carried out, either as originally foreseen or with alterations. The approval for a 10 month extension came through in December 2020 and it is safe to say that all participants have made a good use of that time, completing work that got impacted by the travel restrictions due to COVID-19. The extension was especially important for the Trans-national accesses of the 2nd Call, out of the 39 approved research projects only 3 were cancelled.
The final meeting was held according to new standards imposed by the pandemic, both in person and on ZOOM. Participants able to travel met in Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik for 2 days of a very dense agenda. Árni Snorrason, General Director of the Icelandic Meteorological Office opened the meeting and underlined the importance of projects and international collaborations such as EUROVOLC and other joint effort such as EPOS (European Plate Observing System). This synergy has resulted in new software developments and reinforcement of Research Infrastructures, an invaluable improvement when volcanic crisis occur. The joint effort has not gone unnoticed by stakeholders since the evolution of scientific methods has had a positive effect on the whole value chain, resulting in increased funding for monitoring natural hazards.
Árni Snorrason, general director of the Icelandic Meteorological Office addresses the meeting. (Photo: Ríkey Júlíusdóttir).
This time around, the focus of the meeting was on the four themes upon which EUROVOLC focuses, rather than individual Work Packages. A coordinated summary of results of the themes: (1) Community building, (2) Volcano-atmosphere interaction, (3) Sub-surface processes and (4) Volcanic crisis preparedness and risk management was presented and future prospects discussed. Since this was the last EUROVOLC meeting, it was both a harvest of 46 months of work, as well as platform for speculations of the future of the volcanological community.
In addition to the thematic overview of the work, lectures on the recent ongoings in Fagradalsfjall (Iceland), Etna and Vulcano (Italy) and La Palma (The Canary Islands) were given.
The formal agenda concluded with discussions about the next logical steps for the volcanological community, where it was unanimously agreed that the products developed in EUROVOLC should be sustained within EPOS VO-TCS (European Plate Observatory System Volcano Observations – Thematic Core Services).
The final words of the meeting were given by Giuseppe Publisi (INGV), Patrick Allard, President of IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior), and lastly by the Coordinator of EUROVOLC, Kristín S. Vogfjörd (IMO).
Coordinator of the project, Kristín S. Vogfjörd (IMO) and Giuseppe Puglisi (INGV) worked in close collaboration to prepare the application for a grant that resulted in the EU funded project EUROVOLC. (Photo: Ríkey Júlíusdóttir).
The group celebrated the end of the meeting with a joint dinner in Reykjavík and a field trip to the eruption site on Reykjanes peninsula where Freysteinn Sigmundsson (UI), Ármann Höskuldsson (UI), Sara Barsotti (IMO) guided the group and provided interesting information on the geological aspects of the area and the eruption in Geldingadalir, with inputs from Hanna Blanck (IMO), Bergrún Óladóttir (IMO) and Björn Oddsson (NCIP).
Congratulations EUROVOLC team!
The group visited the eruption site in Geldingadalir. (Photo taken by a tourist on Ríkey's Júlíusdóttir camera).
Freysteinn Sigmundsson (UI) and Teresa Ferreira (CIVISA) discuss on a solidified lava field in Geldingadalir. (Photo: Ríkey Júlíusdóttir).
Björn Oddsson (NCIP) goes over the challenges the Civil Protection faced when an eruption becomes the main tourist attraction in the midst of a pandemic. (Photo: Ríkey Júlíusdóttir).
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I teach mathematics but I often connect it to other subjects so that students can better relate to it. In a recent class in an attempt to connect mathematics with everyday life I decided to seek the help of economics. I took my students to the super store Best Price to help them understand the relationship between profit, selling price, cost price, discount, marked price, and loss; all of these are a combination of numbers and economics. The trip had a lasting impact on the students as they understood the logistics related to trading, variation in prices, wholesale and retail selling, procurement and disbursal of commodities, demand and availability, etc. The visit also helped integrate mathematics with other subjects like biology, agriculture, economics, geography, management, etc.
The students were taken around the huge store and nearly every wing was explained in detail by the staff at Best Price. The students' questions were answered amicably. The students calculated the percentage of discount offered and compared it with wholesale prices. Thus the commercial aspect of the subject was well understood.
"We found the place (Best Price) very interesting and informative. We gained a lot of information about goods; from getting the raw material to the selling of the commodity. We came to know that the goods we use come to us after undergoing numerous processes.
We got the opportunity to see the market price, sales price, discount percentage, and discount rate. We also saw the tax added to some of the commodities. We learnt that (at Best Price) the white card put in front of a commodity displaying its price means that is a general product. The yellow card means that the commodity is the sole production of Walmart (the parent company) and the green card means "case pack" which means that the commodity should be bought in wholesale. We also came to know that promoters from different companies come to promote their brands. The prices of all the commodities are changed three times a day as a marketing tactic. The prices are almost about half here when compared with the retail market. On going to the frozen items section we came to know of the different preservation techniques. There was a large discount in the market price of the vegetables. Tax was added only to those commodities that were not local. We also learned about other things such as the per day electricity consumption of Walmart, the godown process, etc. Lastly we were also allowed to buy some goods for ourselves.
The trip was fruitful as it connected the disciplines of science, social studies, commerce, and math. It was indeed a good learning experience for both the students and me. The students really enjoyed the visit to the store and looked forward to a revisit and sharing their knowledge.
The author is a mathematics teacher at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. She can be reached at saradasri24@gmail.com.


I am happy to tell you that we have added two more online resources to our digital platform.
Fold3 provides convenient access to military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. The records at Fold3 help you discover and share stories about these everyday heroes, forgotten soldiers, and the families that supported them. On Fold3, you can combine records found on the site with what you have in your own albums and shoeboxes to create an online memorial for someone who served.
The wonderful thing about Fold3 is that you have access from home as well as the Library – just set up a free Fold3 member account with your library card and off you go!
Fold3 is already on our website, and the NY Times will be available in June.
Let's face it: dog bites happen. But many bites are preventable with a little education. This program will provide the tools needed to be safe around dogs, including how to understand dog body language; how to safely approach, greet, and interact with friendly dogs; and what to do when approached by an unfamiliar dog. Presented by Elizabeth Merow of the CT Humane Society.
Join us for a discussion of the book Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks, a librarian's love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life, by Annie Spence. Please contact the library to reserve a copy of the book.
Join local investors to discuss stock market trends.
Interested in investing? Check out the library's subscription to Value Line online, at home or in the library!
The library will be open late for high school students to study. Refreshments will be served. Students must arrive before 8 pm and cannot re-enter the building once they have left. BHS STUDENTS ONLY. Sponsored by Raising Berlin.
Want to help your community, but don't know how? Try the Library this summer!
You'll meet other teens, help kids sign up for the Summer Reading Program, and assist staff with important tasks. It's a fun way to get experience that looks good on a college application or resume! If your school or club requires community service hours, volunteering at the Library could help you meet your goals.
To volunteer, you must be entering grades 6-12 in the Fall. Fill out and return the Teen Team Application. Questions? Email Jennifer Needham or Alyssa Skorski or call (860) 828-7125.
Ask us about our Makerspace! It's a place for students in grades 4 and up to hang out and experiment with crafts, games, a LEGO wall, video gaming, technology and a lot more! We'll be offering pop-up programs in the Makerspace throughout the summer, so keep an eye on our Facebook page!
Make your own ice cream sundae with Outback Steakhouse, including fun ingredients like Oreos and M&M's! While you wait, make a painting that will be displayed at the restaurant. Sponsored by Outback Steakhouse. For ages 6-10. Registration is required and begins June 19. Call the library at (860) 828-7127 to register.
Ages 2 -8. Newington Emergency Medical Services will visit the library to tell us about their jobs and 911. They will also have the ambulance available for kids to look at. No registration required. Sponsored by Newington Emergency Medical Services.
Storytimes will return in July!
Rated R. 2 hours, 3 minutes. At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Rated R. 1 hour, 22 minutes. A holistic medicine practitioner attends a wealthy client's dinner party after her car breaks down. Starring Salma Hayek and John Lithgow.
Rated R. 1 hour, 41 minutes. A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. Starring Steve Carell and Toni Collette.
Rated PG-13. 1 hour, 43 minutes. A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive. Starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek.
InstantFlix: Thousands of award-winning indie films, documentaries, classic TV, and more.
hoopla: Popular feature films, documentaries, children's video, popular and classic TV.
OverDrive: Popular feature films, documentaries, and children's video.


text:
Sunday, March 29, 2009 by livinginvancouver
ADV'N'TURES IN PUBLIC TRANSIT
Coming back from an enjoyable evening with friends late last night, my wife and I managed to catch what probably was the last SkyTrain doing the VCC-Clark/Waterfront route. We thought we were good to go for a one way ride to Downtown, but as we reached the Columbia station, the SkyTrain stopped (as planned, apparently) and we had to switch over to the N19 bus for what was to become an unexpectedly eventful one hour ride home.
1) Just 10 minutes or so into the drive, a man at the back of the bus was offended — no "outraged!" — by the new commuter whose pants were so loose that his briefs were showing. "You're a disgrace!", the angry man yelled — among other things… — as the other sat down in the corner seat at the back of the bus. Still not satisfied, the pissed off guy got up and continued shouting inches from the young man's face. It looked as though the angry man was intent on picking a fight, but the other guy asked "What did I ever do to you?" The one-way shouting match continued and, not being used to this kind of scene myself, I started worrying about what might happen. You know… Those reports about violence around SkyTrain stations and so on seem to come up a little too often in the papers… Am I going to witness such an event myself tonight? Actually, looking at the other passengers, it didn't appear this was going to be the case. They looked unimpressed by the ordeal and everyone including the driver just asked everyone to calm down. The angry man finally left in a fury, yelling and swearing one last time to the unshaken "victim" as he walked out. Now that the incident was over, most people seemed amused by the whole thing.
2) We're about halfway through now and the man in front of me seems to be deep asleep. He's tilting more and more towards the empty space in the center of the bus. I figure he will eventually feel, somehow, that he's on the verge of falling over. Nope… He slowly hit the floor headfirst as he fell sideways like a statue. Flat on the floor now, his sleep seemed undisturbed… A couple of guys checked on him to see if he had passed out and, barely opening his eyes, it looked like he was "ok" enough; other than that, he was not moving. The bus driver got up and tried to wake him up for good. As he finally got a good look at his face, he said: "Oh! It's you!… I know you!" and he even told me in a low tone that this guy was a "regular." lol Try as he might, the driver could not get the guy to go back to his seat. He finally gave up and said "Fine! Stay there!" and kept on driving. Every now and then people had to step over him to get to the back seats. Some people took pictures of the scene, a girl even posing with him while he slept. lol There was nothing threatening about this guy, but it sure was unusual.
3) Finally, just a few bus stops before the end of the ride, out of nowhere a woman started shouting repeatedly "What do I owe all of you?!!! What do I owe all of you?!!!" She left a moment later and things were back to "normal" — well, as normal as this bus ride ever was. I have no idea what brought her reaction about…
Last stop — it's about time!!! I've had enough entertainment for the evening, thank you very much… Two transit police/security agents were waiting, all smiles, as their sleeping "friend" was ready for pick up.
Judging from the looks on most people's faces, it seems like this was just another late night bus ride in Vancouver. But for an "N" bus newbie, I thought this was quite a show (we're boring… We don't do the clubbing scene, party all night, get drunk and take the last transit home thing)! When I lived in Montreal, I would often come back on the late late bus after checking live bands downtown and never did I witness anything like this! It was like we hit the jackpot last night — or did we?!
I'm curious/apprehensive as to what the next "N" bus experience will be like… :s
This entry was posted in Life and tagged action, adventure, arguments, bus, confrontation, drama, driver, drunk, jackpot, lively, night, police, public, public transit, security, shouting, skytrain, transit, translink, unusual, vancouver. Bookmark the permalink.
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3 thoughts on "ADV'N'TURES IN PUBLIC TRANSIT"
siegfried | Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 5:11 am
very interesting blog, I will visit you more often! ;)
I am planning to visit Vancouver for few months with my wife, I've been reading lot of local news and it looks kind of scary – violence, shootings, homicides etc. I live in London (which is like 5x bigger – metro population) and it's rather calm comparing to Vancouver.
Plus you have bears in forests :D
livinginvancouver | Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Yes, it's strange that one of the world's "best cities to live in" — it won that coveted title a few times, actually — would have so much trouble with violence. You would think that a city surrounded by nature would reflect a more peaceful population.
If it's any comfort to you though, I'd say that, knowing which neighborhoods to avoid (Downtown East Side), Vancouver still feels "very safe" to me although I sensed a certain nervousness about its population when I first moved here in December 2006 (moved from Montreal). Maybe it's just a matter of the newspapers focusing too much on "the bad stuff" and ignoring the beauty all around…
Tommy | Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I'm glad they have Transit Officers working into the later hours.


Imagine this party invitation: "Come as you are three years from today." What would you want to be? What will it take for you to live a life of meaning? Wherever you are in your journey–just starting out or evaluating an established career – this booklet will help you create a practical plan to identify—and start doing—what you love.
As a person of passion, you belong in an organization, and on a team, that shares your unwavering devotion to pursuing that passion. This hands-on guide will also show you how to recognize and fill a place within the organization or team that aligns with your passions, how to avoid the places that will try to stifle your passion, and how to make a great match work.


Watertown resident Kevin Schneider has pleaded guilty in Rhode Island to charges of animal neglect and abandonment. He faces similar charges in Massachusetts.
According to greyhound advocate Joslin Murphy, who attended the court proceedings, the judge sentenced Schneider to six months at the Adult Correctional Institute in Rhode Island. That sentence was suspended for 11 months. Conditions of probation are: full restitution to the veterinary clinic that cared for his former greyhound, Sari, until her death; and no ownership of companion animals, she said in an e-mail.
Watertown Police confirmed that Schneider had pleaded guilty on May 19.
Schneider's attorney, John Ruby, had no comment to the TAB & Press on Wednesday.
Schneider is slated to face a jury trial on Aug. 21 for allegedly abusing his former greyhounds. He was first arrested by Watertown Police last November.
In Massachusetts, Schneider has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty after allegedly abandoning his two adopted racing greyhounds. According to reports, Schneider pushed one dog named Talca from a moving SUV in Connecticut, and left the other dog, Sari, under a bush near a Rhode Island hospital.
Earlier this year, Schneider pleaded not guilty to the Bay State charges. In Massachusetts, a charge of cruelty to animals carries a maximum sentence of five years.
After an investigation by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a warrant was obtained for Schneider. Watertown Police first arrested him inside his Spruce Street home on Nov. 17.
A pretrial conference in Connecticut has also been scheduled for Schneider in June, Murphy said.
According to a past statement from Michael McCann, another greyhound advocate, on the night of Oct. 27, a man from Killingly, Conn., allegedly saw Schneider open the passenger door of his SUV while it was rolling and push one of the greyhounds out.
Sari died from severe malnourishment days later. Talca is recovering and has been re-adopted.


text:
By Louis B. Jones
April 10, 2012 | Paperback | 6 x 9, 240 Pages | ISBN 9781582438269
"A fantastic novel." —Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club
Mark Perdue has so many problems that when he starts feeling chest pains on the tarmac at LAX, it dawns on him that a heart attack might be an efficient way out. Once an eminent physicist, he hasn't published or had a new idea in a decade. The younger professors at UC Berkeley pity him, and he's taken to using the back staircases to avoid their looks. At home, his wife has been inconsolable since the recent late-term abortion of their afflicted fetus. And he can't deny it any longer—he is decidedly losing his mental faculties to chronic Lyme disease.
Now Mark is visiting Los Angeles with his ambitious daughter, Carlotta, so she can attend a "Celebrity Fantasy Vacation," in which she is promised three days and two nights of the rock star lifestyle. On stage, Carlotta sings her way to a new self-confidence, giving Mark a glimmer of joy in her sense of victory. But then she disappears with her newly acquired paraplegic boyfriend to take an excursion to the Hollywood sign and gets them all arrested, Mark included. Mark now faces a night in jail—and maybe a hint of what he really needs to be happy.
About Louis B. Jones
LOUIS B. JONES is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Ordinary Money, Particles and Luck, and most recently, California's Over. He lives in the Sierra Nevada.
"A fantastic novel." —Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club
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**Limited Stock** pegg Classic - is our original model. Conceived through a need to farm resources on popular gaming apps, electronically simulating a finger touch onto your screen and keeping you logged into your game for as long as you like, when ever you like. Our Classic model comes with a fixed slow rate tapping speed that cannot be changed.
pegg Rapide – is our second model. Conceived through customer requests for a model that would tap really fast on popular gaming apps such as Tap Titans, providing the opportunity for unprecedented progress deep into games by accumulating vast amounts of resources by simply running the app with our rapid tapper through the night while sleeping. Our Rapide model comes with a fixed really fast rate tapping speed that cannot be changed.
Our newest model in our family the Pegg Turbo 7 has just had an upgrade! Redesigned in the UK with improved plastic and components to create an even better device! **Currently shipping worldwide from the UK** Pegg Turbo 7 - is our latest and most exciting model to date. Conceived (again) through customer requests for a model that allowed you (the user) to change the tapping speed. It has 7 pre-set speeds that can be selected by scrolling through speeds 1 - 7 by pressing the front of the pegg. Our Turbo 7 model comes with 7 speeds to choose from, with 1 the slowest (like the tapping speed of our Classic model), through incremental increases, 2, 3, 4, to speed 5 (like the really fast tapping speed of our Rapide model), and beyond onto our fastest ever tapping speeds of 6, and 7.
Our new 'Black Edition' is a special edition and limited to only 300 units. With all the same features of the popular Turbo 7 but in black! Also included is a 2 year warranty! Pegg Turbo 7 'Black Edition' - is our latest model to date. Conceived through customer requests for a black version. It has 7 pre-set speeds that can be selected by scrolling through speeds 1 - 7 by pressing the front of the pegg. Our Turbo 7 model comes with 7 speeds to choose from, with 1 the slowest (like the tapping speed of our Classic model), through incremental increases, 2, 3, 4, to speed 5 (like the really fast tapping speed of our Rapide model), and beyond onto our fastest ever tapping speeds of 6, and 7.


I just want to copy a layer in my script. I can't seem to find any resources regarding this, but it's like one of the most basic things to do manually in ArcMap itself.
Essentially, I just want to be able to copy a layer (and then rename it a bit and change it's source).
Thanks for that. But actually I just want to copy a layer within my map template itself, I do not want to copy any shapefiles or feature classes.
I dont think there is. You can copy a layer to disk using arcpy.mapping but not copy a layer in the TOC. Is that what you are doing?
Instead of copy, you can use arcpy.mapping's AddLayer function to add the same layer again.
It worked using your suggestion.
Unfortunately I can't get the symbology I want. Neither arcpy.ApplySymbologyFromLayer_management nor arcpy.mapping.UpdateLayer are working for me. The symbology remains however it came into my map.
Unfortunately rendering your data is difficult in python and I'm experiencing similar concerns. UpdateLayer seems to be the best approach but you will have to have to pre-create 'template' layers that you reference to do that, which depending on your application may obviate the whole point of writing code to do this. The ability to render from code seems to be one of those things that ESRI wants you to use ArcObjects for.
How are you referencing the layer you want to change symbology to?
If you are using arcpy.mapping's Layer function, try using arcpy.mapping's ListLayers function instead.


text:
//Apache2, 2010, Sebastian Stehle
// ===============================================================================
// Copyright (c) .NET Image Tools Development Group.
// All rights reserved.
// ===============================================================================

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using ImageTools.Helpers;

namespace ImageTools.IO.Gif
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Decodes GIF files from stream.
    /// </summary>
    public class GifDecoder : IImageDecoder
    {

        private const byte ExtensionIntroducer = 0x21;
        private const byte Terminator = 0;
        private const byte ImageLabel = 0x2C;
        private const byte EndIntroducer = 0x3B;
        private const byte ApplicationExtensionLabel = 0xFF;
        private const byte CommentLabel = 0xFE;
        private const byte ImageDescriptorLabel = 0x2C;
        private const byte PlainTextLabel = 0x01;
        private const byte GraphicControlLabel = 0xF9;

        private ExtendedImage _image;
        private Stream _stream;
        private GifLogicalScreenDescriptor _logicalScreenDescriptor;
        private byte[] _globalColorTable;
        private byte[] _currentFrame;
        private GifGraphicsControlExtension _graphicsControl;

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the size of the header for this image type.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The size of the header.</value>
        public int HeaderSize => 6;

        /// <summary>
        /// Indicates if the image decoder supports the specified
        /// file extension.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="extension">The file extension.</param>
        /// <returns>
        /// 	<c>true</c>, if the decoder supports the specified
        /// extensions; otherwise <c>false</c>.
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="extension"/>
        /// is null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</exception>
        /// <exception cref="ArgumentException"><paramref name="extension"/> is a string
        /// of length zero or contains only blanks.</exception>
        public bool IsSupportedFileExtension(string extension)
        {
            Guard.NotNullOrEmpty(extension, "extension");

            string extensionAsUpper = extension.ToUpper(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
            return extensionAsUpper == "GIF";
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Indicates if the image decoder supports the specified
        /// file header.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="header">The file header.</param>
        /// <returns>
        /// <c>true</c>, if the decoder supports the specified
        /// file header; otherwise <c>false</c>.
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="header"/>
        /// is null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</exception>
        public bool IsSupportedFileFormat(byte[] header)
        {
            bool isGif = false;

            if (header.Length >= 6)
            {
                isGif =
                    header[0] == 0x47 && // G
                    header[1] == 0x49 && // I
                    header[2] == 0x46 && // F
                    header[3] == 0x38 && // 8
                   (header[4] == 0x39 || header[4] == 0x37) && // 9 or 7
                    header[5] == 0x61;   // a
            }

            return isGif;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Decodes the image from the specified stream and sets
        /// the data to image.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="image">The image, where the data should be set to.
        /// Cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</param>
        /// <param name="stream">The stream, where the image should be
        /// decoded from. Cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</param>
        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">
        /// 	<para><paramref name="image"/> is null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</para>
        /// 	<para>- or -</para>
        /// 	<para><paramref name="stream"/> is null (Nothing in Visual Basic).</para>
        /// </exception>
        public void Decode(ExtendedImage image, Stream stream)
        {
            _image = image;

            _stream = stream;
            _stream.Seek(6, SeekOrigin.Current);

            ReadLogicalScreenDescriptor();

            if (_logicalScreenDescriptor.GlobalColorTableFlag == true)
            {
                _globalColorTable = new byte[_logicalScreenDescriptor.GlobalColorTableSize * 3];

                // Read the global color table from the stream
                stream.Read(_globalColorTable, 0, _globalColorTable.Length);
            }

            int nextFlag = stream.ReadByte();
            while (nextFlag != 0)
            {
                if (nextFlag == ImageLabel)
                {
                    ReadFrame();
                }
                else if (nextFlag == ExtensionIntroducer)
                {
                    int gcl = stream.ReadByte();
                    switch (gcl)
                    {
                        case GraphicControlLabel:
                            ReadGraphicalControlExtension();
                            break;
                        case CommentLabel:
                            ReadComments();
                            break;
                        case ApplicationExtensionLabel:
                            Skip(12);
                            break;
                        case PlainTextLabel:
                            Skip(13);
                            break;
                    }
                }
                else if (nextFlag == EndIntroducer)
                {
                    break;
                }
                nextFlag = stream.ReadByte();
            }
        }

        private void ReadGraphicalControlExtension()
        {
            byte[] buffer = new byte[6];

            _stream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);

            byte packed = buffer[1];

            _graphicsControl = new GifGraphicsControlExtension();
            _graphicsControl.DelayTime = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 2);
            _graphicsControl.TransparencyIndex = buffer[4];
            _graphicsControl.TransparencyFlag = (packed & 0x01) == 1;
            _graphicsControl.DisposalMethod = (DisposalMethod)((packed & 0x1C) >> 2);
        }

        private GifImageDescriptor ReadImageDescriptor()
        {
            byte[] buffer = new byte[9];

            _stream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);

            byte packed = buffer[8];

            GifImageDescriptor imageDescriptor = new GifImageDescriptor();
            imageDescriptor.Left = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 0);
            imageDescriptor.Top = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 2);
            imageDescriptor.Width = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 4);
            imageDescriptor.Height = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 6);
            imageDescriptor.LocalColorTableFlag = ((packed & 0x80) >> 7) == 1;
            imageDescriptor.LocalColorTableSize = 2 << (packed & 0x07);
            imageDescriptor.InterlaceFlag = ((packed & 0x40) >> 6) == 1;

            return imageDescriptor;
        }

        private void ReadLogicalScreenDescriptor()
        {
            byte[] buffer = new byte[7];

            _stream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);

            byte packed = buffer[4];

            _logicalScreenDescriptor = new GifLogicalScreenDescriptor();
            _logicalScreenDescriptor.Width = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 0);
            _logicalScreenDescriptor.Height = BitConverter.ToInt16(buffer, 2);
            _logicalScreenDescriptor.Background = buffer[5];
            _logicalScreenDescriptor.GlobalColorTableFlag = ((packed & 0x80) >> 7) == 1;
            _logicalScreenDescriptor.GlobalColorTableSize = 2 << (packed & 0x07);
        }

        private void Skip(int length)
        {
            _stream.Seek(length, SeekOrigin.Current);

            int flag = 0;

            while ((flag = _stream.ReadByte()) != 0)
            {
                _stream.Seek(flag, SeekOrigin.Current);
            }
        }

        private void ReadComments()
        {
            int flag = 0;

            while ((flag = _stream.ReadByte()) != 0)
            {
                byte[] buffer = new byte[flag];

                _stream.Read(buffer, 0, flag);

                _image.Properties.Add(new ImageProperty("Comments", BitConverter.ToString(buffer)));
            }
        }

        private void ReadFrame()
        {
            GifImageDescriptor imageDescriptor = ReadImageDescriptor();

            byte[] localColorTable = ReadFrameLocalColorTable(imageDescriptor);

            byte[] indices = ReadFrameIndices(imageDescriptor);

            // Determine the color table for this frame. If there is a local one, use it
            // otherwise use the global color table.
            byte[] colorTable = localColorTable != null ? localColorTable : _globalColorTable;

            ReadFrameColors(indices, colorTable, imageDescriptor);

            Skip(0); // skip any remaining blocks
        }

        private byte[] ReadFrameIndices(GifImageDescriptor imageDescriptor)
        {
            int dataSize = _stream.ReadByte();

            LZWDecoder lzwDecoder = new LZWDecoder(_stream);

            byte[] indices = lzwDecoder.DecodePixels(imageDescriptor.Width, imageDescriptor.Height, dataSize);
            return indices;
        }

        private byte[] ReadFrameLocalColorTable(GifImageDescriptor imageDescriptor)
        {
            byte[] localColorTable = null;

            if (imageDescriptor.LocalColorTableFlag == true)
            {
                localColorTable = new byte[imageDescriptor.LocalColorTableSize * 3];

                _stream.Read(localColorTable, 0, localColorTable.Length);
            }

            return localColorTable;
        }

        private void ReadFrameColors(byte[] indices, byte[] colorTable, GifImageDescriptor descriptor)
        {
            int imageWidth = _logicalScreenDescriptor.Width;
            int imageHeight = _logicalScreenDescriptor.Height;

            if (_currentFrame == null)
            {
                _currentFrame = new byte[imageWidth * imageHeight * 4];
            }

            byte[] lastFrame = null;

            if (_graphicsControl != null &&
                _graphicsControl.DisposalMethod == DisposalMethod.RestoreToPrevious)
            {
                lastFrame = new byte[imageWidth * imageHeight * 4];

                Array.Copy(_currentFrame, lastFrame, lastFrame.Length);
            }

            int offset = 0, i = 0, index = -1;

            int iPass = 0; // the interlace pass
            int iInc = 8; // the interlacing line increment
            int iY = 0; // the current interlaced line
            int writeY = 0; // the target y offset to write to

            for (int y = descriptor.Top; y < descriptor.Top + descriptor.Height; y++)
            {
                // Check if this image is interlaced.
                if (descriptor.InterlaceFlag)
                {
                    // If so then we read lines at predetermined offsets.
                    // When an entire image height worth of offset lines has been read we consider this a pass.
                    // With each pass the number of offset lines changes and the starting line changes.
                    if (iY >= descriptor.Height)
                    {
                        iPass++;
                        switch (iPass)
                        {
                            case 1:
                                iY = 4;
                                break;
                            case 2:
                                iY = 2;
                                iInc = 4;
                                break;
                            case 3:
                                iY = 1;
                                iInc = 2;
                                break;
                        }
                    }

                    writeY = iY + descriptor.Top;

                    iY += iInc;
                }
                else
                {
                    writeY = y;
                }

                //TODO: review performance here

                for (int x = descriptor.Left; x < descriptor.Left + descriptor.Width; x++)
                {
                    offset = writeY * imageWidth + x;

                    index = indices[i];

                    if (_graphicsControl == null ||
                        _graphicsControl.TransparencyFlag == false ||
                        _graphicsControl.TransparencyIndex != index)
                    {
                        _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 0] = colorTable[index * 3 + 0];
                        _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 1] = colorTable[index * 3 + 1];
                        _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 2] = colorTable[index * 3 + 2];
                        _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 3] = (byte)255;
                    }

                    i++;
                }
            }

            byte[] pixels = new byte[imageWidth * imageHeight * 4];

            Array.Copy(_currentFrame, pixels, pixels.Length);

            SimpleImage currentImage = null;

            if (_image.Pixels == null)
            {
                currentImage = _image;
                currentImage.SetPixels(imageWidth, imageHeight, pixels);
            }
            else
            {
                SimpleImage frame = new SimpleImage();
                currentImage = frame;
                currentImage.SetPixels(imageWidth, imageHeight, pixels);

                _image.Frames.Add(frame);
            }

            if (_graphicsControl != null)
            {
                if (_graphicsControl.DelayTime > 0)
                {
                    ExtraImageInfo extraImgInfo = currentImage.ExtraImageInfo;
                    if (extraImgInfo == null)
                    {
                        currentImage.ExtraImageInfo = extraImgInfo = new ExtraImageInfo();
                    }
                    extraImgInfo.DelayTime = _graphicsControl.DelayTime;
                }

                if (_graphicsControl.DisposalMethod == DisposalMethod.RestoreToBackground)
                {
                    for (int y = descriptor.Top; y < descriptor.Top + descriptor.Height; y++)
                    {
                        for (int x = descriptor.Left; x < descriptor.Left + descriptor.Width; x++)
                        {
                            offset = y * imageWidth + x;

                            _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 0] = 0;
                            _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 1] = 0;
                            _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 2] = 0;
                            _currentFrame[offset * 4 + 3] = 0;
                        }
                    }
                }
                else if (_graphicsControl.DisposalMethod == DisposalMethod.RestoreToPrevious)
                {
                    _currentFrame = lastFrame;
                }
            }
        }

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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