Netflix is really doing a good job wooing in new viewers like myself. Sense8 Season 1 (which I still have to finish) has been great, and I have a Christmas episode and Season 2 to look forward to. Captivating characters. An interesting premise. International locations. And a diverse cast. Good, solid show.
Promotional image of the Netflix/Marvel original series, Defenders, which debuts later this year. Image contains shots of Mike Colter, Charlie Cox, Kristin Ritter, and Finn Jones as Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the Culturally Appropriated Iron White Savior Fist.
Then there are the Netflix/Marvel joint original series. Hoo-boy, Daredevil was AMAZEBALLS, and set a standard for the other Netflix/Marvel shows to meet. Jessica Jones, though a completely different tone, and vastly more difficult subject matter, actually surpassed Daredevil’s first season in quality (and Kristin Ritter just works magically as JJ). Daredevil Season 2 was not as tightly focused as the first, but benefited from the introduction of the Punisher (who’s getting his own series in a few years). I’ve not finished Luke Cage yet, but what I’ve seen has been great. Colter plays him so close to the vest, and I like that. He’s not a stereotypical black character on tv and we desperately need greater diversity in the roles black men play in our entertainment. I’ve not mustered the wherewithal to watch Captain Cultural Appropriation by way of the White Savior Trope aka Iron Fist, and I’m not completely sure I ever will (they should have cast an Asian actor in the title role, and there are ways to work with the character’s history to avoid the numerous tropes of Asian characters in film and tv). Despite my ambivalence towards Iron Fist, I plan on watching Defenders.
But Netflix hasn’t stopped there. They’re giving me something else to watch and just from the teaser it looks AMAZEBALLS. With a drop date of July 7, the dark medieval animated series Castlevania(based on the old video game, and written and executive produced by Warren ‘The Authority’ Ellis) has my mouth watering. Take a gander at the teaser:
PES, the creator of several stop-motion videos-including Western Spaghetti and the Academy Award nominated Fresh Guacamole–has created a new short: Submarine Sandwich. It’s pretty cool how he makes use of everyday objects in innovative ways.
In The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Carroll’s timeless characters find themselves at Ladrington Brook, the Institution for Extremely Normal Behaviour. A young psychotherapist (Tommy Franzen) is given the task of curing their neuroses, and they each express their problems through a combination of dance, voiceover and music. Alice is having an identity crisis. The White Rabbit is always late because of his OCD. The Queen of Hearts has anger issues. It’s no wonder Franzen is driven to insanity (and a superb popping solo) as the first act ends.
After the interval, the storyline goes more or less out of the window, as cast members engage in an exuberant tea party complete with dancing on the table and audience participation. Even Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor was dragged from his seat and onto stage when we were there.
The whole show is warm-hearted, feel-good and cleverly crafted by director Kate Prince. There’s plenty of great dancing, with Franzen, Lizzie Gough and Duwane Taylor excelling in particular. Our only small issue is that at times the quality of choreography feels secondary to the narrative (and the characters’ absurdity).
Sadly, this is across the pond, so I cannot attend (and they’re apparently sold out anyways), but it sure sounds nifty.
Ma Baoli quit his job as deputy director of a division of the Qinhuangdao police force in March 2012 so that he could work on running his own website for the gay community to share experiences among one another. Ma, 37, who goes by the online pseudonym Geng Le, created Danlan.org in November 2000, but said that he didn’t start making any money from it until 2007.
Last month, his company received a 30 million USD investment from a Silicon Valley venture capitalist company, and Ma is now trying to expand abroad and maybe even prepare for an IPO, Associated Press reports.
Rheavendors, the manufacturing company, and Dr. Malcolm Standage, of the machine’s supplier Smart Vend Solutions, said the Luce X2 could “redefine the future of the automatic retailing industry,” The Telegraph reported. “Launching the very first full production facial recognition technology represents an advancement which will bring unlimited benefits to businesses and consumers across the UK.”
The machine is able to use facial recognition with its motion sensors that automatically launch into a video greeting when a user approaches it. Then, the machine’s avatar, an Italian man in a gray suit, shows the user a personalized menu based on his or her most frequently ordered items. In addition to customizing your menu, the machine features a touch screen that can be used to display nutritional information or pass on news and notices.
The space-age device also provides you with the luxury of not having to carry spare change for products. In the meantime, users will be able to use a card to pay, while the company plans a future version that will be fitted with a proximity sensor. The sensor will be able to read payment info from a mobile phone inside the user’s pocket.
While the Luce X2 Touch TV may provide the convenience of identifying and greeting a user, remembering a person’s preferences, and even deny certain products based on a shopper’s age, medical record, dietary requirements, or purchase history, the new technology does raise some eyebrows. Tracking a consumer’s purchase history treads the waters of infringement of their buying freedoms and exposes their personal expenses in front of other people.
I love the look of movement in this image! Incidentally, I have always pronounced ‘Kara’ as “car-uh”, rather than “care-uh” (like they did on Smallville). I had a wonderful cat years ago that I gave the name ‘Kara’ too. Such a sweet kitty. I had her put down years ago because her kidneys failed her. I still miss her.
The only thing I don’t like about this image is the chest emblem. I think that’s supposed to be the eagle crest WW wore decades ago, but I’m not certain about that. In any case, I prefer the stylized double ‘W’.
