Iconic for bringing comic book titles to the big screen, including his successful blockbusters, “Watchmen”, “Man of Steel”, “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League”, Zack Snyder is at the helm of his next big budget of fantasy extravaganza.
The director has also recently worked on the new titles: “Army of the Dead” and “Army of Thieves” in collaboration with Netflix . It seems like his success with the streaming platform (both movies ranked in Top 10) spurred both side to consider further opportunities. This time, reports are pointing toward a pending production start for a massive sci-fi movie called “Rebel Moon”.
Production of #RebelMoon will be from March 1 until August 31, 2022. The filming will take place in Inyo County, USA. A solid six month schedule!!
Not much is known yet, as the project will begin filming early next year, however the following synopsis was provided in a press release from Netflix:
“When a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, they dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them take a stand.”
A jury has found all three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery guilty of murder. Arbery was a 25- year old Black man killed last year while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, and the murder sparked a heated national debate.
Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and Willian Bryan Jr. had all been charged. All three men had pleaded not guilty and and faced charges in addition to murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
All men faced varying felony counts for Arbery’s murder. Gregory McMichael and Willian Bryan Jr. were found guilty on felony murder, while only Travis McMichael was found guilty on all charges, Travis being the man pulling the trigger.
There’s a Neal Stephenson Renaissance Going on Due to one Single Word
Metaverse. In case you’ve not heard of it, metaverse is the term that was coined by Stephenson in his dystopian novel “Snow Crash” to denote a virtual artificial world of corporate exploitation. In all its ironic glory the name, or a shortened version thereof, “Meta” was appropriated as a re-branding vehicle for that empire of corporate greed and exploitation… Facebook.
So then, what better backdrop for the new novel to launch, and with a potentially even more timely theme, could there be other than, namely, the looming destruction our planet faces due to climate change and excessive carbon emissions. Moreover, the lack of human cooperation needed to overcome greed and stupidity in order to resume ourselves.
If this particular perspective on a fictional, but perhaps, soon, all too real, set of circumstances, is not spot on, there is nevertheless a great need for these questions to be addressed.
After all it is ultimately the cooperation and consensus of the entire planet that will be necessary to find, and more importantly, implement a solution that will prevent armageddon.
Perhaps the newly intensified focus on the future – fantasies, but also concerns and disaster aversion planning, is just what is needed. Perhaps authors, artists, engineers and even an average citizen can begin today and find the thread of change in thinking, and ultimately, living that’s needed for all our survival.
From Bookshop.org:
One man – visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D. – has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?
Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shockbrings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?
Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.
The final film featuring actor Daniel Craig playing the iconic role of James Bond is now available to watch as a theatrical release worldwide. The current box office hit marks the 5th and final round Craig has made for the franchise.
While the previous standard has recently been that, after 45 days into the theatrical release, streaming options were finally made available, this time, just a little over a month after the premiere we now have the ability to rent the Bond film through video-on-demand (VOD) via retailers including Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and Apple TV+ for $19.99.
The movie can be streamed in up to 4K quality with high dynamic range.
If you haven’t got caught up with all the previous Bond movies that feature Daniel Craig, you can also have a binge on Amazon Prime video and watch “Skyfall“. “Casino Royal” (Free with subscription), “Quantum of Solace” (Free with subscription) and “Spectre”
Finally: the whole package – and a convenient way to prove vaccination status
Now that the iOS 15.1 update is available for the general public featuring the ability to add your proof of vaccination status to the Health app and then create a vaccination ID card in Apple Wallet, it’s time to jump right in and make it happen
Many businesses, venues, restaurants, and more are requiring proof of vaccination for entry. For example California is the first state where proof of COVID vaccination or negative test is mandatory for indoor events over 1,000 people.
The new feature in iOS 15.1 is made possible by the support Smart Health Cards which are valid for California, Louisiana, New York, Virginia, Hawaii, and some Maryland counties, as do Walmart, Sam’s Club, and CVS Health.
Above: ID in iPhone Wallet
Therefore, using this system you would be able to to look up the information in state databases, if you are in any of the states listed above, but if you were vaccinated through at Walmart or CVS it will also be feasible retrieve your data from them to add your information to the Health and Wallet.
Once you have gone to the web site for your state, for example in California it would be found at https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov where you can type in personal information such as name and date of birth to get access to your records and status.
Though iOS 15 already had the ability to download the information to your Health app, and you could do that since the official launch of iOS 15, the last step, adding an ID to your wallet from the health app has not been possible until the new upgrade to iOS 15.1.
The record is locked to your name and can only be used by you. There will be a QR code that you will first download to your health app on the iPhone, then, once it is in the health app there will be a prompt to allow you to “add to wallet”. By clicking that link, a vaccination ID card, with the QR code will be generated and added to your wallet. See video above for more detailed, step-by-step explanation.
iOS 15.1 is available under > General > software update in your phone’s Settings app starting today.
Tap the download link on your iPhone or iPod touch.
Tap Add to Health to add the record to the Health app.
Tap Done.
Once the ID is in the health app a button / prompt appears “add to wallet”.
The Verge interview with Adobe’s CPO, has mega details
In a new, extensive, Verge interview podcast with Adobe’s CPO, Scott Belsky, a a ‘Prepare as NFT’ system launch for Photoshop was confirmed for the end of the month.
The idea is to maintain a kind of proof of originality system to help prevent fake NFTs (minting non-fungible tokens) from being minted and sold by imposters. The final choice is in the buyers hands at this stage, but having a way for creators to prove authenticity would be a big step.
Since this week Adobe is also holding its annual conference, called Adobe Max, there are also a bunch of new features arriving for Creative Cloud and a slew of app including Photoshop.
Big news! We've partnered up with @Adobe and @ContentAuth to enhance attribution of NFTs on Rarible. 🔎 Now collectors can see if the wallet used to design an NFT was the same one used to mint it as part of the Content Authenticity Initiative (#CAI) – https://t.co/EnWOAilv5g
Intersecting worlds collide with Adobe in them all…
Adobe has been around, amazingly, since 1982, and millions of digital creatives and content creators use their products.
Photoshop is so entrenched that it has long achieved verb status: if you want to enhance a photo, for example to enlarge your backside or smooth out your skin, just “photoshop it”. And over use is derided as a “photoshopped” persona or image.
Premiere Pro and After Effects, especially the latter, get a lot of pro and semi-pro use for video production. Many, many Pro photographers use Lightroom. The upgrade system for Adobe products and the creative cloud, such as the recent AI and neural engine assisted effects drive change and upgrades at a furious pace.
With the entire content, image and video creation industry becoming more and more vital to networked human communications, tracing and verifying authorship and authenticity are becoming more and more crucial.
Adobe is moving, with caution due to the issues that could arise, into the area on multiple fronts. As per the Verge article;
“With what Adobe is calling Content Credentials, creators will be able to link their Adobe ID with their crypto wallet and mint their work with participating NFT marketplaces. The software company says the feature should be compatible with popular NFT marketplaces including OpenSea, KnownOrigin, SuperRare, and Rarible. A ‘verified certificate’ that comes with minting an NFT with Photoshop’s Content Credentials will prove that the source of the art is authentic.”
The biggest iOS update in years comes with a learning curve to match
According to analytics company mixpanel, the adoption of iOS 15 is much slower than iOS 14 a year ago. Speculation in the media for the cause of the reluctance is a few “bugs” that they also widely reported.
The fear of bugs is a good reason to take a major iOS upgrade at a slower pace, and this is probably a large part of the reason, for most people. On the other hand, after our review of both iOS 15 and iOS 15.1 (beta version) it is also true that this year’s free upgrades have a steeper learning curve than in the past.
Paradoxically, this is due to the fact that both the sheer number of new features, along with the ground breaking and innovative nature they have, are responsible for the cost and the benefit of taking the plunge.
The big 2 year transition to Apple Silicon is driving the pace of software progress
While iOS, iPad OS and macOS gradually converge as they grow (along with the Peripherals like Apple TV, Apple Watch, etc) the new features and upgrades to existing apps and actions are in the midst of an explosion.
Although this is great news, and the productivity improvements are, in some cases remarkable, especially if you use your apple devices for work and business, with so many new features there’s bound to be some reluctance to fight through the brain fog that can come with having to learn new unfamiliar habits.
Perhaps the best known example of this so far is the famous “address bar relocation” backlash that happened as a result of the new feature allowing the address bar to be at the top of the safari page on iPhone, or at the bottom, closer to our thumbs.
Initially there was no opt-out and it was bottom only (while it was still in the beta testing stage) and due to a rumored backlash from users this was upgraded to the current system where this “radical” new design is an option, with the more familiar previous layout also available. (see video below for details on how to switch back to the “old” style).
In the grand scheme of things going backwards is rarely better
This example of resistance to UX change, even by the “elite” beta users is a telling example of just how all pervasive the new software features are in iOS 15, and how much we will all need to learn new “tricks” to get the most out of the changes and added functionality.
It is also a long standing Apple tradition to try to make things, in both hardware and software design, that “just work” and do not require an “owners manual” or how-to guide to figure out.
While this, in the best case, is miraculous and we “get” the new features in an intuitive metaphorical heartbeat, more often recently, there is a frustrated moment of near panic when we find ourselves in a software dead-end, with no obvious back button or option menu to select from.
For this reason, it appears that the usefulness and necessity of how-to videos and guides, the very ones that Apple is in the business of making unnecessary, are more important than ever.
How-To guides get a new lease on life, thanks to Apple
Thankfully, Lynxotic, and others are on the case and we are working overtime to provide the next generation of DIY documentation, both in video and article form for iOS 15.1, macOS 12 Monterey, iPad OS 15.1 and beyond.
It’s great to be able to absorb new features and design upgrades intuitively and without the need for a separate learning project to educate ourselves enough to use the devices we are already using.
However, with the massive and increasingly more powerful potential of the new Apple Silicon fueled software upgrades, proactive learning may be something that is not just a necessary evil.
It is looking, rather, like it will be semi-permanent and highly fruitful activity we will want to add, willingly, to our overburdened existences.
At least for a couple of years during the transition to a much better future in the life of the Apple device & software ecosystem.
Bond jump should have been seen coming, yet the reaction is nevertheless a big rush to the exits
In what some are calling a Taper Tantrum, the markets dropped with a sense of purpose today, with little bounce after the close in the futures market. With Fed rate hikes now a certainty, inflation concerns real, and bond yields spiking today, there were plenty of things to point to as catalysts.
This could be, and this is extremely likely regardless of what endless permanent-bull commentators would have you believe, the start of a tough two months, with late September and October being known as a very dangerous time in markets, especially whey they exhibit pre-crash signs and warnings.
Insane valuations that have preceded past September / October disasters are back
It’s unbelievable that the fall of 2008, when the financial crisis came to a head with the Lehman Brothers collapse, was 13 years ago, and the prior peak in November 2007 was a full 14 years.
I guess we can observe that we now have the iPhone 13, with the iPhone “1” which was just called “iPhone” at the time, has been marking the time with yearly iterations, not always named in sequence:
iPhone: June 29, 2007
iPhone 3G: July 11, 2008
iPhone 3GS: June 19, 2009
iPhone 4: June 24, 2010
iPhone 4S: October 14, 2011
iPhone 5: September 21, 2012
iPhone 5S & 5C: September 20, 2013
iPhone 6 & 6 Plus: September 19, 2014
iPhone 6S & 6S Plus: September 19, 2015
iPhone 7 & 7 Plus: September 16, 2016
iPhone 8 & 8 Plus: September 22, 2017
iPhone XS, XS Max: September 21, 2018
iPhone 11, Pro, Pro Max: September 20, 2019
iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, Pro Max: October 23, 2020
iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, Pro Max, September 24, 2021
And during all these years, for the most part the artificially inflated Fed “bubble of everything” has continued.
Here is a disturbing chart, courtesy of Elliott wave International at Elliottwave.com:
This behavior, seen across nearly all markets since extreme measures were taken to respond when the March 2020 pandemic crash occurred, has been building to a crescendo. And today was a tiny pin-prick that could augur ill for October.
What this has led to, naturally, is an overvaluation beyond anything seen in modern times, perhaps 500 years. The previous all-time-peak for overvalued stocks (S&P) was in March 2000. August 2021 is far beyond that peak and likely will stand as the most overvalued moment for decades.
Unless, that is, somehow the insane valuations are pushed even higher. Which is unlikely, but not impossible, given the state of delusional euphoria that pervades the financial markets.
Many 2021 characteristics, such as the Crypto, NFT frenzy will be seen in a similar light to the tech stocks in 2000 or Real estate in 2007
There’s a sense that it is normal for bored apes NFTs to experience a multimillion dollar bidding wars, or for crypto alt coins with dog mascots to explode 10,000% or more during this, possibly final phase, of what has been called the “everything bubble”.
And why not? If you bought and held almost anything in March 2009 or again at the bottom of the crash on March 16, 2020, then you have seen nearly continuous gains that you’d be eager to risk on, well, anything.
And if you were 10 years old in the year 2000, you’d not have known about NASDAQ drops that take around 13 years to regain what was lost after a 1 year bear market, so why worry?
Perhaps the Fed and the markets seemingly infinite ability to expand and inflate will go on for years. Or the next bear, possibly the one that already kicked off today, and will accelerate into October, is one to take seriously.
Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / J. Flavia / Unsplash
Ear related! 2nd best and more are also interesting
With so many new features on the iPhone 13 Pro models, and with so many of them made possible by iOS 15, the A15 bionic chip, the 16-core Neural Engine, which performs up to 15.8 trillion operations per second, and power features like Cinematic Mode and Smart HDR 4, machine learning and other hard to explain facets of the overall experiential upgrade, sound playback (and recording) are often barely mentioned, it seems.
Ever since there was the biggest Apple success story near the turn of the century there has been a special relationship between the fruit company and music / sound. I’m talking, of course, about the iPod.
Long before the iPhone was even a rumor, the iPod was a huge success, taking over the mp3 player market and, with the iTunes store for music downloads, launching the software and services division, for all practical purposes.
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was doubt that Apple could make it in the competitive cell phone market, with behemoths like Nokia and Blackberry so well established. It was the iPod’s success that made it seem plausible.
There was one thing that the iPod never had, however; speakers. And even the recent iPhones, with speakers for voice and music, if you didn’t use your AirPods for that, had speaker and sound quality that was not on the quality level of the larger iPads.
With a much larger area to hide speakers, the iPad was always an obvious choice for watching movies and listening “out loud” via the built in speaker system. With an iPad pro that could be pretty spectacular with a relatively full frequency spectrum and, more recently via software upgrades, spatial audio.
With iPhone 13 Pro models the audio barrier has finally been shattered
In a tiny, nearly forgotten passage at the very end of a list of new specs and enhancements in the iPhone 13 line, Apple adds one more thing; a stereo speaker at the top where the notch is located and a second stereo speaker at the bottom next to the Lightning port.
What it doesn’t mention is the improvement in the sound quality. Like so many features in the newer generation of devices and software, this unassuming, seemingly simple statement is just the tip of the iceberg and does not divulge what’s really going on.
Once more a combination of all the recent software and hardware upgrades combine to produce an experience that goes beyond what you could expect with these tiny, nearly invisible, speakers.
First, the two stereo speaker sets are, sound wise, equal in quality. So when you are watching a movie in landscape mode there is a distinct stereo effect. This is enhanced by spatial audio and dolby atmos depending on your set up.
The actual experience is noticeably “iPad like” and in some ways even goes beyond. Having the phone relatively near you, due to its size, and listening to a high quality movie score, there’s a feeling that your phone has morphed into a personal theater – as long as you can let the sound out into your local environment.
Try “SharePlay”, once it’s live in iOS 15.1, or just manually sync with your partner, assuming you each have a new iPhone 13 (!) and you will get a glorious room filling surround experience from the 4x stereo output (8 speakers?!) into the room.
And the mysterious mics also hidden in multiple places, are also a big upgrade – the seem to switch roles for video, calls etc and maximize the audio quality in live recording situations.
Apple’s software and service bundles and ambitions are driving hardware and iOS upgrades
As jubilant as this may sound, there is also an ulterior motive lurking. Some of the audio features work best (or at all) with an Apple Music subscription. And having more subscriptions, Apple TV, Apple News, Apple Music, iCloud Extra Storage, along connected devices, with so many available, it becomes an ecosystem of plenty for Apple, already the largest company by market cap.
On the optimistic side there’s always Apple One Premiere, the top of the line for bundled services (see below) and looking more and more like a steal at $29.95 per month.
Perhaps, one day not to far away, there will be a Apple One Premiere plan that also includes all Apple devices and you just trade them in every two years (every year?) or maybe you never own them at all?
The way the upgrades in hardware, software and the rest are becoming more interdependent and how crazy it already is to upgrade various devices (assuming you have more than one or two) yearly or bi-annually it’s an interesting idea to try and imagine.
And with an Apple Car perhaps on the way (self driving and outfitted with all the rest of the tech and service bundles) this could be a whole-house, whole-office (will there still be offices?) all transport bundle too. Apple haters will be in trouble, and have to move to Google Island, but otherwise, hey, why not?
Apple One Premiere example package:
Speakers after tear down by iFixit:
credit: iFixit
Audio Playback
Audio formats supported: AAC‑LC, HE‑AAC, HE‑AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC‑3), Dolby Digital Plus (E‑AC‑3), Dolby Atmos, and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)
Spatial audio playback
User‑configurable maximum volume limit
Video Playback
Video formats supported: HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG
HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG
Up to 4K HDR AirPlay for mirroring, photos, and video out to Apple TV (2nd generation or later) or AirPlay 2–enabled smart TV
Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p through Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)9
Subpoenas have been issued for documents and testimony that held close ties to then-President Trump and were either working or had communications with the White House on in the the days leading to Jan 6th. An official press release revealed four individuals have been served and include: former WH Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former WH Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino, Defense Dept Official Kashyap Patel, and lastly former advisor Stephen Bannon.
Chairman Bennie G. Thompson wrote:
“The Committee is investigating the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6th attack and issues relating to the peaceful transfer of power, to identify and evaluate lessons learned and to recommend corrective laws, policies, procedures rules, or regulations”
According to committee, Mark Meadows allegedly communicated with officials at the state level and Justice Dept in an effort to overturn 2020 election result ( or prevent its certification).
Kashyap Patel performed several national security jobs for Trump as well as served as Chief of Staff to then Defense Secretary Christopher Miller. Patel allegedly was in involved with discussions among senior Pentagon officials regarding Capitol security before and on Jan 6.
Daniel Scavino prior to Trump’s rally on the 6th took to his social media to encourage MAGA-ers to “be a part of history”. According to records obtain he also have text messages from the White House on Jan. 6.
Steve Bannon communicated with Trump around Dec 30 regarding focused efforts on or leading up to Jan. 6 and even told his War Room podcast listeners that “all hell was going to break loose”
The subpoenas instruct the witnesses to appear at depositions on the following dates and are required to produce all relevant documents by October 7th:
October 15, 2021: Mark Meadows and Daniel Scavino
October 14, 2021: Kashyap Patel and Stephen Bannon
The letters to the four witnesses can be found here:
The 25th James Bond Movie, just may be the best chance to help theaters that are struggling in a post-pandemic recovery. According THR, ahead of the UK World Premiere on Sept 28, there has been a spike in presale tickets and overall excitement is building as people are tearing to see the film, not at home but in a real live movie theater.
For the U.S. market, the film will be released soon, on October 8th, with the option to stream on the Paramount Plus platform 45 days after cinema release. Craig’s final Bond movie can easily be said to be one of the most anticipated movies this year (given the bigger build up that was started and re-started due to the continued postponements due to pandemic).
The trailer for “No Time to Die” first emerged back in 2019. The film’s plot will continue on from events of “Spectre”, and, this time, it looks like betrayal could be at play, especially with Madeline Swann. We hear 007 in the trailer react and say; “We all have our secrets…. we just didn’t get to yours yet”.
James is recruited to rescue a kidnapped scientist, but finds himself hot on the trail of a mysterious villain armed with a dangerous new technology.
Alongside Daniel Craig, cast includes a long list of incredible actors: Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Judi Dench, Christopher Waltx, Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Strong Naomie Harris, Ana de Armas, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Jeffrey Wright.
China is at the forefront of government opposition to cryptocurrencies
The central bank of China stated as a declaration that all transactions involving Bitcoin and any “virtual” currencies illegal, according to the AP.
This seems to be an escalation of the various methods being used to block and prohibit the use of any currency or “money” outside the direct control of the Chinese government.
In a notice released by the central bank the reasoning was elaborated on – stating that digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and others disrupt the current financial system and encourage and help facilitate money-laundering and other crimes.
“Virtual currency derivative transactions are all illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited,”
–the People’s Bank of China
The price of Bitcoin fell, to $41,180, in the hours after the announcement. Other major cryptocurrencies also fell. . Ethereum dropped almost 10%, falling from $3,100 to around $2,758.
Those levels appeared to be a short term low as there has been a recovery bounce since the initial reaction selloff.
China is gearing up for it’s own ‘innovations’ involving digital currencies and transactions
This clampdown follows the banning of Bitcoin mining and an exodus of a large number of Chinese mining operations, many relocating to the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. At the peak, Chinese miners accounted for around 3/4 of the world’s electricity consumption related to crypto mining, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption index.
That share is still the highest, though far lower, with the USA being the second largest consumer of electricity used for Bitcoin mining.
There is a worldwide “showdown” of sorts building, with cryptocurrency adherents touting, often with great resolve, the privacy, anonymity and “freedom” of using the coins, while many governments, China, and Turkey being outspoken, consider the potential losses that could come from allowing private actors to control financial transactions.
Although fiat currencies all have cash, paper bills, that can also be used anonymously, the potential criminal laundering has government controls and laws in place to minimize (or at least attempt to minimize) the magnitude of the problem.
tumbles
Governments getting increasingly worried as crypto adoption continues to expand worldwide
Many governments, including the People’s Bank of China, are developing electronic versions of the local fiat currency, such as China’s yuan for example. to facilitate cashless transactions which, unlike with Bitcoin, can be more easily tracked and controlled by the local authorities, communist or otherwise.
Calls and warning are also building with Regulators in many countries, including the US, warning of the dangers and emphasizing that they want cryptocurrencies to have greater oversight.
For example, Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, recently said that investors need more protection in the cryptocurrency market, calling the current state of the largely unregulated market “rife with fraud, scams and abuse” and compared it to the “Wild West.”
The SEC has already cracked down on cases of alleged freud involving crypto, but Gensler believes that the agency will need more authority from Congress to and funding to adequately regulate the market..
As a result, miners have been moving operations out of China.
Two years ago, China alone accounted for around three-quarters of all the electricity used for crypto mining, by far the most in the world, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption index.
Expect more government announcements involving crypto and new ways to try to control or inhibit its proliferation
The looming showdown appears heading for a significant and dangerous climax, with both sides, crypto enthusiasts and private holders and users of the coins on the one side, and, in some cases, terrified governments on the other wanting to outlaw and stamp out the entire sector.
In the US this will be difficult, with so many high profile and powerful individuals and companies already embracing the idea that the future will contain, at least for the foreseeable time frame, both the government controlled fiat system and the surging and diverse cryptocurrency systems.
Former WH Chief Strategist was Knee-Deep in behind-the-scenes action on Jan 6….
Bannon has been very vocal in radical right politics, via his podcast platform the War Room. Alongside the release of the new book exposing what happened behind closed doors with, then-president Trump, “Peril”, Bannon took the opportunity to speak about, and appeared to confirm, details about his meeting with Trump in the now infamous time frame.
Bannon’s activities leading up to the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol has been well-documented, on Jan 5th, he told his listeners that “all hell was going to break loose” and even posted on his Facebook account; “TAKE ACTION, THEY ARE TRYING TO STEAL THE ELECTION”.
Yet the extent to which Bannon was speaking with Trump ahead of the insurrection was not yet well known, until the release of the Woodward and Costa’s new book.
Bannon, the former WH adviser admitted he spoke with Trump ahead of Jan. 6th with the intention to “kill the Biden presidency in the crib.”
As previously reported by The Rolling Stones, during his latest podcast, Bannon responded about his meeting as follows:
“Yeah, because his legitimacy. Forty-two percent of the American people — 4-2 — think that Biden did not win the presidency legitimately. It killed itself. … Just let this go with what this illegitimate regime is doing. It killed itself. We told you from the very beginning. Just expose it. Just expose it. Never back down. Never give up. This thing will implode.”
Preview of the Trailer Titillates Sci-fi Fans & Apple Acolytes Alike
Of all the announcement’s at this year’s Apple Worldwide Development Conference, perhaps the most enticing came from Apple TV+, the company’s young streaming service and first go in the entertainment world. Launched last November, Apple TV+ has not yet found the same success as Disney+ or Netflix; however, it has done well enough in its first few months, garnering around 34 million users and some award buzz for its breakout series, “The Morning Show.” The platform also endorses a unique strategy compared to its competition, focusing exclusively on original shows rather acquiring old content.
The “Foundation” books were written by legendary sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov. He started the series in the 1950s with a trilogy centered around a futuristic Galactic Empire and a protagonist named Hari Seldon, who sees into the future to witness the universe’s end. The original three books earned Asimov several Hugo Awards, including a one-time-only “Best All Time Series” award in 1966. He went on to write two sequels and two prequels to the trilogy in the late 80s and early 90s.
Surprisingly, there has never been an on-screen adaptation of the series until now. The film rights were tossed around for decades, both New Line Cinema and Columbia Pictures investing in movie ideas at different points before selling the rights to HBO in 2014. The project conceptually started to materialize as a series under HBO, but it fell into Apple’s hands during 2018 and the company ran with it.
First Look at WWDC is an Early Peek at Entirely New Direction for ATV+
Click to see “Foundation” and help Lynxotic and independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
What Apple debuted at the WWDC on June 22nd was the audiences first look at “Foundation” come to life. At under two minutes, the marketing snippet is more of a teaser than a full-fledged trailer, but it offers fans stunning glimpses of the impressive set designs and special effects, as well as a general feel for the show’s tech-noir, space-epic tone. It seems reminiscent of Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” CBSAllAccess’ “Star Trek: Picard” and HBO’s “Game Of Thrones.” Such comparisons are good, as the series is doubtlessly Apple’s attempt at breaking into the sci-fi/fantasy craze that modern TV audiences strongly embrace.
David S. Goyer serves as head writer and executive producer of the series. He is well versed in the intersections of science-fiction, fantasy and action, having written alongside Christopher Nolan for “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” as well as other movies like “Man Of Steel,” “Godzilla,” “Terminator: Dark Fate,” and the Star Wars VR experience, “Vader Immortal.” Joining Goyer in the writers room are Leigh Dana Jackson (“24: Legacy”), Victoria Morror (“Weeds”), Josh Friedman (“Snowpiercer”) and others. David Ellison of “Star Trek: Beyond,” “Annihilation,” and “Gemini Man” will also serve as a producer.
Now, Apple TV+ is about to embark on perhaps its boldest undertaking yet, adapting a beloved science fiction book series into a show— “Foundation.”
In front of the camera, “Foundation” stars Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, Leah Harvey as Salvor, Lou Llolbell as Gaal, and Cassian Bilton, Terrence Mann, and Lee Pace as Brother Dawn, Brother Dusk, and Brother Day respectively. The casting seems on point, and it happily embraces diversity as well as a variety of familiar and new-coming talent.
Despite how impressive the teaser was, though, it still feels somewhat strange to see a trailer drop at an Apple conference. For all of Apple’s existence, it has just been a tech company and its conferences have been focused on new devices and Operating Systems. Trailers were better left to pop-culture fandom events like Comic-Con.
In 2020, though, there is no Comic-Con, and Apple—like many other companies—is stretching beyond its comfort zone, trying to incorporate creative media into its conglomerate identity. Recently, Apple TV+ acquired the rights to Tom Hanks’ “Greyhound” and were in rumors conversation with Martin Scorsese for producing his next project, “Killers Of The Flower Moon.” Clearly, they are open to big ideas when it comes to film and television going forward
Adapting “Foundation” is an ambitious task, but the trailer looks impressive, and if Apple pulls it off, it could establish the company as a bona fide entertainment studio in the ongoing streaming wars.
The show will be live on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021 at 6PM PT and 9PM ET.
Thiel is getting a lot of likely unwanted press this week, looks like he deserves it…
A new feature book profile published in NYMag details the origins of Peter Thiel. His spectacular story, leading to what to some is a toxic, libertarian right-wing, stance that included support of Donald Trump and various other infamous acts, and more recently, such as a huge bankroll pushing his agenda in Washington political lobbying. Not to mention his Roth IRA story of non-taxed treasures worth billions.
The fascinating piece details the biographical details, culled from the book, beginning around 1988 when Thiel was a boy of twenty and first arriving in Northern California.
The article, showing how his eventual political perspectives were already emerging at that young age, it goes on to detail the entire story to nearly the present day as is chronicled in the new book:
Above: “The Contrarian” – Release date on September 21,2021. Available to order on Bookshop and Amazon.
His ideology dominates Silicon Valley. It began to form when he was an angry young man.
In many ways the book’s release seems to dovetail perfectly with the building thread of details regarding how he rose from obscurity to becoming an obscenely wealthy silicon valley “god”, and one that seems to seek inordinate influence over the direction of our common futures. Not only in the tech arena. Not only in his association with Facebook’s beginnings and origins of PayPal.
This character portrait is a must read. It goes along with why it feels like we also all need to follow the Trump saga to its conclusion, no matter how ignoble or tragic. Or the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, for that matter, to get a sense of how the runaway powers that are sometimes obtained, wether through force of will or just serendipity, and how they can, later, potentially grow so dangerous that the influences can infect and affect us all.
Release date on September 21,2021. Available to order on Bookshop and Amazon.
Stating; ’I am a fighter’ Boxer – senator eyes Philippines’ top spot in 2022
An AP News report out of MANILA, Philippines: Manny Pacquiao has announced that he will run for president of the Philippines in the 2022 elections.
Pacquiao accepted the nomination of his PDP-Laban party at its national convention on Sunday, saying that the Filipino people have been waiting for a change of government.
At the national convention Sunday, Pacquiao officially accepted the nomination of his party, the PDP-Laban party, stating that the Filipino people have been waiting for a change of government.
“I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring,” Pacquiao, 42, further stated.
“We need government to serve our people with integrity, compassion and transparency,” he added.
Pacquiao is currently president of the PDP-Laban faction led by him and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Earlier this month, another faction of the same party also nominated President Rodrigo Duterte to be its vice presidential candidate, in addition to Duterte’s former aide, Sen. Bong Go, as its presidential nominee.
The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres warned governments, calling out for “immediate, rapid and large-scale” cuts to greenhouse gas emissions in order to curb impacts already negatively affecting the climate.
As reported by PBS News, U.N. Chief said that global warming and climate change is happening on a much faster pace than predicted. The long-lasting effects from already released emissions into the atmosphere are inevitable.
“These changes are just the beginning of worse to come,” Guterres said, with hopes the dire message will appeal to governments to meet the goals that were originally created at the Paris Climate Accord back in 2015.
Above: Inspiration4 Crew Members / Photo / Netflix
What do a billionaire, cancer survivor, geoscientists and a data engineer have in common?
For the first time on the streaming platform, Netflix will offer a 5 part docuseries covering the SpaceX’s Inspiration4 Mission in near real-time.
The series will cover SpaceX’s first all civilian mission (no astronauts!) as they prepare and train for the mission, the live launch coverage from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as well as footage from inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft as the 4 passenger crew orbit the Earth on the 3 day mission.
Unlike recent flights from Virgin (Richard Branson) and Blue Orbit (Jeff Bezos) that led suborbital flights, Inspiration4 will reach higher altitudes than that of the International Space Station and make history as first all-civilian mission to orbit.
Multiple firsts and groundbreaking accomplishments that go beyond, way beyond…
Breakdown for Netflix’s “ Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space”
Monday, September 6: Meet the four civilians heading to space
Monday, September 13: Watch them prepare
Wednesday, September 15: Watch the live launch
Thursday, September 30: Spend time with the crew in space
The Inspiration4 Mission which was brokered as a private deal by 38 year old Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments with SpaceX.
Isaacman will lead the mission along with his 3 other crew members: 29 year old Hayley Arceneaux who will act as chief medical officer , 51 year old Dr. Sian Proctor (mission pilot), who will become the fourth Black female American in space and 41 year old Christopher Sembroski, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who will be the mission’s specialist.
The mission also serves as a $200 million fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
A day before the launch day, Netflix will also launch “A StoryBots Space Adventure” on Sept.14 which is a live-action/animation special where Inspration4 crew members will participate by answering some of kids’ most pressing space related questions.
Keanu is back, but will he be the One this time around?
During CinemaCon last night, Warner Bros. gave attendees a first look, as well as announcing the official title for the 4th installment, get ready for “The Matrix: Resurrections”.
A trailer was debuted at the event, however it has yet to be shared openly to the public. According to reporters on the scene, this is what we know so far: Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will return to their iconic roles as Neo and Trinity. It has been said that Laurence Fishburne will not return as Morpheus, however there “may” be his character in a younger form.
We don’t know the plot. We do know from those that got a sneak at the first footage is there is a man named Thomas (played by Keanu Reeves) is at a psychiatrist and is having problems and takes his blue pills each day. He clearly doesn’t remember he is Neo nor of the Matrix. Later Thomas walks past Trinity at a coffee shop, again they both don’t recognize each other. An unknown character played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, reminiscent Morpheus offers Thomas a red pill…
New cast members will join in on the film including: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra, Christina Ricci, and Jessica Henwick. Since very little is still known about the film, their roles/characters have yet to be disclosed.
“The Matrix Resurrections” will be released as the WB 2021 lineup has this year both in theaters and HBO Max (for 31 days) on December 22, 2021.
El Salvador has officially legalized bitcoin as legal tender (alongside the U.S. dollar which is the country’s current national currency) starting today; September 7, 2021.
The day before the big day, President Nayib Bukele announced El Salvador had purchased 200 Bitcoins and later in the day confirmed that “we now hold 400 bitcoins”. Given the current market prices, the country’s recent bitcoin purchases amount to roughly $20.8 million.
In June this year, El Salvador’s Congress voted 62 out of 84 votes to establish the crypto coin as legal tender. This will make the small country is Central America the first in the world to recognize bitcoin as an official form of currency.
In a subsequent tweet Bukele’s translated tweet said
Like all innovation, the process of #Bitcoin in El Salvador it has a learning curve. Every road to the future is like this and not everything will be achieved in a day, or in a month.
But we must break the paradigms of the past. El Salvador has the right to advance towards the first world.
-President of El Salvador – Nayib Bukele
Bitcoin climbed nearly 2% to more than $52,680 as of Sept 6, and according to a market analyst with Reuters the cryptocurrency is on track to reach $56,000.
Salvadorians will now have the ability to use the digital coin in exchange for goods and services, and as an accepted form of tax payments by the government. Bitcoin is actually the second legal tender in El Salvador, with the US Dollar also having that status since 2001.
Upon its adoption, users who register with the country’s government supported Bitcoin wallet called Chivo will be awarded with $30 worth of currency pre-loaded (must have a Salvadorian national ID number).
The overall impetus for legalizing bitcoin officially is, according to experts, that savings that will be possible for citizens to receive remittances – transfers, until now in US dollars, without intermediaries and the large fees they charge for international transfers.
Remittances account for more than 20% of GDP for El Salvador – mainly in the form of dollars sent by the approximately 1.5 million ex-patriots living abroad and wiring payments to families in El Salvador.
Western Union, for example, handles these transactions and charges a hefty fee. And those fees would represent a percentage (for small remittances up to 10%) of $5.9 Billion per year that flows into the small country from abroad, mostly from the United Stated, according to World Bank data.
Although there has been a lot of political rhetoric and expressions of opinion against the move, such an obvious adversary as the international wire transfer interests, like Western Union, and the large income from fees that may begin to dry up starting today, could easily explain at least a portion of the well represented opposition opinion.
That being said, the now famous price swings of Bitcoin do represent a real risk for people hoping to transfer directly into the country. Another risk is losing the coin due to lack of experience handling a digital currency, by people who are more likely to know the feel of paper dollars than digital screens, cryptocurrency exchanges and virtual wallets.
For observers, both crypto adherents and detractors, this is a very important opportunity to see what kinds of practical obstacles will arise and what benefits are realized by the El Salvadoran people.
It is also a kind of warning to those in governments, including in the U.S., that hope to stop Bitcoin’s seemingly inexorable rise, and to prevent what they perceive as threats to the public, and perhaps, to the U.S. dollar’s previously unchallenged hegemony.
The news that 400 Bitcoins were purchased by El Salvador was, naturally seen as a positive by the Bitcoin trading community, and there has been speculation of further pricing strength likely continuing going forward.
On the utopian dream side, various experiments have recently been announced related to Bitcoin and crypto. For example, in El Salvador there are emerging plans to make Bitcoin mining a state run operation with power being supplied by geothermal energy drawn from the country’s volcanos. How’s that for cheap, renewable resources?
A town in the U.S., fittingly called Cool Valley, MO has a mayor who recently announced that the city government is considering making payments to all residents of 1000 in Bitcoin. In this case, the idea behind the plan is to give citizens a crypto nest-egg, and the holders would be barred from selling, with the hope that, in the event the currency continues its exponential climb, the residents would benefit from holding it as an appreciating capital asset.
Which leads to the observation that, over the last few years, a fog of confusion appears to hang above the media regarding coverage of cryptocurrencies.
Price speculation is off the charts and there’s a kind of mania afoot. But the biggest confusion seems to come from one simple truth, that the U.S. dollar has gone only in one direction for more than 100 years, since the Federal Reserve was established in December 1913, down.
Against any measure of buying power for goods and services the dollar is continuously worth less, far less, on a yearly basis.
Although many headlines scream “Crypto and Bitcoin are Worthless” the same could be said of the U.S. dollar, in relative terms, against a basket of goods and services which is the traditional measure of “inflation” and against other assets, for example, now that Bitcoin provides a second measuring tool, dollars are worth less over time against bitcoin.
With prominent people and companies around the world and in the U.S. already supporting the idea of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies with their dollars and by choosing to hold crypto, it will be very interesting to see what transpires as these “currency wars” mutate and expand around the globe.
New features in the pipeline along with the new iteration of the hit timepiece
The next version of the Apple Watch (Series 7) is expected to be released in the coming weeks, and the WSJ reported that the company is currently working on additional health-related features and improvements for the smartwatch. While it is not certain that these to be included in Series 7, there is no doubt that they are coming, either as a software or hardware update.
Apple is already known for many of its current health conscious features, including the well known Exercise rings and Fitness App, as well as the ability to check your heart rate for irregularity with its electrocardiogram and check your Blood Oxygen levels with a Series 6.
One of the new capabilities that may be coming to your Apple Watch will include measuring blood-pressure which would prompt a user when their BP levels are too high (or increasing in rate). This can influence behavior, diet or give you a warning to seek medical attention is the reading is extreme, for example.
When Apple does roll out this feature, it could be a game changer (or rather a life-saver), as hundreds of millions of Americans suffer from high blood pressure and / or hypertension. The condition leads to almost half a million deaths a year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Another feature said to be in the works is targeted towards females, a thermometer to help with fertility planning. Bloomberg also reported earlier of Apple’s additional health goals to add blood-sugar sensors to help those with diabetes monitor glucose levels.
A useful, even sometimes addictive health aid, which is a good thing
Those who have an Apple Watch can likely attest to its effectiveness in promoting health and well being, particularly around exercise and weight control. The recent addition of of medical features, that in some cases have directly contributed to lives being saved, appear to be a high priority at the giant tech company.
Although it is tantalizing to speculate on the incredible features yet to be added to the device, it will take time for the technological innovations and solutions to be developed in order to make these possible.
Apple has some very ambitious improvements they want to add to its Watch, however there is no official timeline that has been announced and most likely will not be expected before 2022.
New Orleans, Lake Tahoe, NYC – that’s just this week and just in the US… and a drought in the west that is a serious growing threat
The warnings are coming hard and heavy after multiple previous and eerily similar catastrophes, only they just keep getting more severe. Each one is a unique event and each has a litany and list of records that smash all prior statistics since record keeping began.
“Hottest month ever”, “most rainfall in an hour ever recorded”, “worst flood in NY history”, these hyperbolic sounding statements are not hyperbole at all, just facts, but since they are becoming a nearly constant refrain, the entire situation appears surreal.
Journalists use words like “dystopian” and twitter users compare photos and general panic to the climate disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow” and note that the current reality is already scarier than what the movie was able to convey.
Underneath the shock is a layer of manufactured apathy
Even as the signs of an expanding and accelerating worldwide disaster are more obvious, season by season, month by month and even day by day, there is, nevertheless, a kind of paralysis surrounding the fear.
Fossil fuel subsidies continue to be handed out, so many half-measures and excuses are bandied about, and personal, individual responsibility is used as a bludgeon to guilt the populous into a state of inaction.
It’s called a climate emergency because it is an emergency, so act like it, to paraphrase Greta Thunberg. Unfortunately, dire emergencies are not scarce at the moment, and the situation is likely to get worse, meanwhile it is a valid question; what would be done if the climate crisis were actually treated like an emergency?
New York Floods, Ida aftermath, September 2021
Above: Photo: Lyxotic / Adobe Stock
The remnants of Hurricane Ida resulted in extreme dumping of historic levels of rainfall, with Central Park in N.Y.C. receiving 3.15 inches of rain in just one hour. Newark Airport was shut down and many flooded streets in the five boroughs and surrounding areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania were transformed into virtual rivers. Subway entrances and basement dwellings quickly filled until they overflowed.
The national Weather Service issued its first ever “flash flood emergency” for the area as well as both NY and NJ leaders issuing states of emergency.
The death toll quickly rose to at least 50 people. Reports of those that were killed mostly died as a result of being flooded in basement living spaces or overtaken by water both inside and outside their vehicles.
The Climate Crisis is not a movie and a majority has to demand action of Government and Industry: the individual is not to blame
In a way the problem inherently contains the seeds to its own resolution. The current state of climate emergency could have been partially averted, or at least slowed down, had government and, in particular, the fossil fuel industrial complex done more than talk and come up with tricks like greenwashing and propaganda to distract and delay the obvious need to stop carbon (CO2) pollution. The signs were evident for many decades, and some alternative solutions were known for over a century, while the fossil fuel behemoth just kept expanding.
Now, with the crisis getting more extreme and deadly, seemingly by the hour, it will take an equally extreme change in the response – a literal washing away of the status quo that created the problem. That may look like a system wide collapse, bringing down the structure that props up the suicidal stupidity of the current system, or something equally extreme, if real solutions are to have time to have any chance of having an impact.
Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 Sunday morning (August 30, 2021) also marking the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ida had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just shy of making it a Category 5 (winds greater than 155 mph). Radar approximates that up to about 17 inches of rainfall were recorded just west of New Orleans.
Over a million customers lost power in Louisiana, making it the 2nd largest power outage in the state since 2000. The outage could leave residents without power for up to six weeks, rendering them helpless for electricity during increasingly hot late summer weather. Numerous streets need power lines raised that were brought down or snapped by Ida’s winds.
Cantrell, the New Orleans major spoke of voluntary evacuations, particularly for residents that have special needs, seniors or those vulnerable to the heat.
Extreme weather, ocean temps, rising sea levels with melting ice caps, all connected and all increasingly menacing
It has appeared, unfortunately, for nearly decades as if the predictions of ocean temperature increase and sea level rise would have to continue until multiple major cities are fully submerged before any real steps would begin to combat the causes.
Is that still the case after the four “disaster stories” this week? Was the tragedy and destruction enough to have people begin to actually realize that there are no decades left to “wait and see”?
Caldor / Lake Tahoe Fire
The Caldor Fire has burned around 213,270 acres covering 2 California counties (El Dorado and Amador) and currently only 32% contained (as of September 3rd). The fires have been active for 19 days according to Cal Fire. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. The looming threat of the fires reaching the popular tourist location of South Lake Tahoe are safe for now, however, and flames have been averted.
The fire created widespread haze and smoke, resulting in extremely hazardous air quality.
The total number of structures destroyed by the fire is 857 as of Sept 3rd, marking it as the 20th most destructive fire in recorded history for California.
Water levels from the largest reservoir on the Colorado River and Lake Mead, which supply drinking and irrigation water to Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico have reached record low levels.
Regulators now have to make crucial steps to protect another crucial water source, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the water system that helps to provide 2/3 of CA population, irrigation for agricultural industry as well as state’s norther border with Oregon.
California residents could be facing future water restriction, however according to Gov. Gavin Newsom it is not likely to be in force until the end of September (the delay could be his attempt to avoid any unpopular mandates before the Sept 14. Recall Election).
Some drastic measures have been taken so far at National State parks in order to help conserve water including closing bathrooms and showers and shutting off water faucets/fountains.
Four stories just from this week: is this a turning point and a wake up call that we desperately need?
Does New York City, or Miami, or Mumbai have to be permanently flooded or fully submerged before we “notice” and demand action? Or, is now the time to mark the date – September 2021 as the moment that the climate emergency was finally “real”? Will it be seen, understood as imminent, and acted on as an emergency of the magnitude that it already is?
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