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ClareR (5849 KP) rated Beautiful Shining People in Books
Aug 5, 2023
“”Beautiful, shining kami in the sky. All different. All unique. Just like us”…After that, whenever we went camping, I would always tell my parents I couldn’t wait until nightfall so I could see the beautiful shining people in the sky.”
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this, but I quickly realised that I was loving what I was reading. I do like both speculative and science fiction, so I knew we’d be off to a good start.
This is so much more though. It’s about relationships, both with others and oneself. It’s about loneliness, feeling cut off from others and trying to make a connection.
Both John, a young American tech genius, and Neotnia, are loners. Neither of them want to be alone. John is trying to escape his past and his past self, and Neotnia wants to find her past. They’re both very caring, likeable characters, Neotnia in particular, especially in her interactions with the elderly residents of a home she volunteers at.
My particular favourite was the cafe owner and Neotnia’s guardian - Goeido. He has an interesting and sad past as a Sumo, and this is probably the reason why he is so protective towards Neotnia.
Some of the themes have their place in our society too. The rise of AI, tense relationships between superpowers, terrorist attacks, deep fakes, cyber attacks, fake news - all of these affect us today.
Tokyo as a setting was inspired. All of the AI and robots didn’t seem out of place. I mean, we expect them there, don’t we? Robots taking your order in a fast food restaurant and helping you with directions in the street seem not too far a reach of the imagination in Japan (you can probably tell I’ve never been there!).
The last chapter or so, was so powerful. It was sad and explained all of what had gone before. It was emotional, and the ending was perfect.
Many, many thanks to Orenda for sending me a copy as a part of their book club. I’m really glad I read it!
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this, but I quickly realised that I was loving what I was reading. I do like both speculative and science fiction, so I knew we’d be off to a good start.
This is so much more though. It’s about relationships, both with others and oneself. It’s about loneliness, feeling cut off from others and trying to make a connection.
Both John, a young American tech genius, and Neotnia, are loners. Neither of them want to be alone. John is trying to escape his past and his past self, and Neotnia wants to find her past. They’re both very caring, likeable characters, Neotnia in particular, especially in her interactions with the elderly residents of a home she volunteers at.
My particular favourite was the cafe owner and Neotnia’s guardian - Goeido. He has an interesting and sad past as a Sumo, and this is probably the reason why he is so protective towards Neotnia.
Some of the themes have their place in our society too. The rise of AI, tense relationships between superpowers, terrorist attacks, deep fakes, cyber attacks, fake news - all of these affect us today.
Tokyo as a setting was inspired. All of the AI and robots didn’t seem out of place. I mean, we expect them there, don’t we? Robots taking your order in a fast food restaurant and helping you with directions in the street seem not too far a reach of the imagination in Japan (you can probably tell I’ve never been there!).
The last chapter or so, was so powerful. It was sad and explained all of what had gone before. It was emotional, and the ending was perfect.
Many, many thanks to Orenda for sending me a copy as a part of their book club. I’m really glad I read it!
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Transformers (2007) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
It came as a complete shock to me that I LOVED this movie! Granted, I would consider myself to be a Michael Bay fan, but certainly not a Transformers fan. Yes, I played with toys as a kid and the concept is good, but I never really bought into the TV shoes etc… But there’s very little wrong with this film.
Great script, dialogue, action, music and pacing. I now some may scoff at my great dialogue line, but the core to this films’ success is the fact that it knows exactly what it is. It’s an action blockbuster about living alien robots that transform in to various vehicles … How seriously can you take this concept??? But it manages to take it seriously enough to draw in the audience and keep our attention for almost 2 and half hours.
My only two quibbles with this movie are Jon Voight, always a problem in my opinion, and that Australian chick and the fat black guy. The most irritating comic relief ever…? Possibly…
Great script, dialogue, action, music and pacing. I now some may scoff at my great dialogue line, but the core to this films’ success is the fact that it knows exactly what it is. It’s an action blockbuster about living alien robots that transform in to various vehicles … How seriously can you take this concept??? But it manages to take it seriously enough to draw in the audience and keep our attention for almost 2 and half hours.
My only two quibbles with this movie are Jon Voight, always a problem in my opinion, and that Australian chick and the fat black guy. The most irritating comic relief ever…? Possibly…
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
Apr 17, 2019
Amazing visuals and a little something for everyone
I really just watched rhis on a whom when I noticed how short the episodes ,less then 20 mintues each, were since I had no idea what I wanted to watch and I really got to say I was not disappointed. Love Death + Robots is a really awesome anthology series that has a little something for everyone and depending on who you ask most people are going to have a different favorite episode. Mine personally was episode 4 Suits.
The visuals on this show are gorgeous almost all are animated but some like episode 3 The Witness are so realistic looking you almost can't tell it's not actual people on screen. Then you also have other episodes like episode 5 Sucker of Souls which is very simple and rough animation but which I was still a fan of.
My only real complaint was how a lot of the episodes handled the female characters. Just your typical over sexualized taken on woman which in 2019 really is outdated and I expect better by now.
The visuals on this show are gorgeous almost all are animated but some like episode 3 The Witness are so realistic looking you almost can't tell it's not actual people on screen. Then you also have other episodes like episode 5 Sucker of Souls which is very simple and rough animation but which I was still a fan of.
My only real complaint was how a lot of the episodes handled the female characters. Just your typical over sexualized taken on woman which in 2019 really is outdated and I expect better by now.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Pacific Rim (2013) in Movies
Feb 25, 2018
Brave and comparatively rare (these days) attempt to do a blockbuster that isn't a remake nor based on a novel, comic book, toy line, TV show or theme park attraction. Which is not to say this isn't a tremendously derivative movie; clearly inspired by tokosatsu movies, manga, and anime, just with most of the actual Japanese characters replaced by Americans and Australians. (Hmmm, isn't this cultural appropriation?)
Anyway: big monsters lumber out of the sea, get smacked in the mouth by giant robots. Story isn't really anything special, but the background details of this slightly cartoony world are engaging, as are some of the supporting performances. Film subscribes to the prevailing American dogma, which is that giant monster fights must take place at night and preferably in bad weather: apparently this makes them much more believable. The Hong Kong battle is terrific, the others not so much. In the end I think the premise of this movie is really much better than the way it is realised; maybe the sequel will address some of the shortcomings here.
Anyway: big monsters lumber out of the sea, get smacked in the mouth by giant robots. Story isn't really anything special, but the background details of this slightly cartoony world are engaging, as are some of the supporting performances. Film subscribes to the prevailing American dogma, which is that giant monster fights must take place at night and preferably in bad weather: apparently this makes them much more believable. The Hong Kong battle is terrific, the others not so much. In the end I think the premise of this movie is really much better than the way it is realised; maybe the sequel will address some of the shortcomings here.
Rachel Maria Berney (114 KP) rated Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy in Books
Dec 5, 2018
A good introduction to philosophy
If, like me, you suddenly found yourself interested in philsophy, this book is a good place to start. It covers the basic topics in philsophy and mostly explains them in an easy to understand way for a novice. There is a chapter, about zombies and robots, that takes a couple of reads, that is the hardest part of the book. You have to think differently in philosophy and this books help you guide your mind into thinking a different way, looking at things in a different way.
Everyone should read a little philosophy, expand their minds and question their beliefs. It's how people grow and move forward.
I know people think philosophy is not 'worth it', Lawrence Krauss for one (I like his books too), but all the sciences started as philosophy. They were thought experiments, until they were practical and got their own subject heading.
Want to know what philosophy is all about? This is a good place to start.
Everyone should read a little philosophy, expand their minds and question their beliefs. It's how people grow and move forward.
I know people think philosophy is not 'worth it', Lawrence Krauss for one (I like his books too), but all the sciences started as philosophy. They were thought experiments, until they were practical and got their own subject heading.
Want to know what philosophy is all about? This is a good place to start.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Transmorphers (2007) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020 (Updated Jan 23, 2020)
What the What?
I understand that this is a low budget somewhat of a rip off of Transformers, but I have seen similar movies like this and some of them are pretty good. Transmorphers however is not one of them. I think this movie is more of a showcase for modeling off the actors. The women were very attractive in this movie and some of the guys were pretty boys. The plot is aliens in robots trying to take over the world😒. A group if military personnel get together to try and stop them. They enlist the help of a disgraced solider named Warren Mitchell to help stop them. I will say this that it was pretty cool that Mitchell finds out he is an android with human feelings. If this type of movie is your thing, you may like this movie. But as a big sci fi fan, I did not like this movie. Big thumbs down from me
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