"Best known in front of the camera as William T. Riker, Frakes compared once again returning to the beloved sci-fi franchise with pals Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and John de Lancie to slipping on a pair of his favorite shoes." https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/picard-director-jonathan-frakes-star-trek-first-contact-callbacks-1235123087

Every version of Star+Trek has its fan base. However, season 2 of the Picard episodes are becoming very popular with fans.

https://thedigitallabyrinth.blogspot.com/search?q=STAR+TREK

Monday, March 21, 2022

Picard's Europa Easter Egg Hints At Why Q Chose Star Trek's 2024

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-picard-europa-easter-egg-q-plan-tease

Star_Trek:_Picard is a welcomed return of more drama and excitement.

Star Trek: Picard's Impressive Weapons Collection Shown In BTS Images https://screenrant.com/star-trek-picard-season-2-evil-picard-weapons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Picard#Season_2_(2022)

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/03/star-trek-picard-season-2-review-1234703339/

https://thedigitallabyrinth.blogspot.com/search?q=STAR+TREK

Saturday, January 1, 2022

From Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus to the Alien Prometheus...

Frankenstein was first published in 1818 on January 1st.

Of course several monster stories are set in urban-areas, or on other worlds. Perhaps scary stories that are set in remote or desolate locations are the most frightening of all.

"the monster wanders through the+wilderness."

"Victor Frankenstein builds the creature in the attic of his boarding house in Ingolstadt after discovering a scientific principle which allows him to create life from non-living matter. Frankenstein is disgusted by his creation, however, and flees from it in horror. Frightened, and unaware of his own identity, the monster wanders through the wilderness." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein's_monster#Shelley's_plot

"In Shelley's original work, Victor Frankenstein discovers a previously unknown but elemental principle of life, and that insight allows him to develop a method to imbue vitality into inanimate matter, though the exact nature of the process is left largely ambiguous. After a great deal of hesitation in exercising this power, Frankenstein spends two years painstakingly constructing the Creature's body (one anatomical feature at a time, from raw materials supplied by "the dissecting room and the slaughter-house"), which he then brings to life using his unspecified process." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein#The_Creature

The Frankenstein monster was the quintessential composite Sci-Fi creature in the 1800s, that still resonates in popular culture over two centuries later. It was far from being like a Terminator robot and not simply an animated machine of body-parts. However, Frankenstein might be considered as a forerunner to the concept of the cybernetic_organism.

https://brianaldiss.co.uk/writing/novels/novels-d-g/frankenstein-unbound

https://custom-writing.org/blog/monsters-in-literature

"Recent incarnations of mythical cyborg characters are often dangerous or violent. The replicants in BladeRunner and the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation are examples of cyborgs whose machine/computer half has gone awry. As the cyborg creature is about supplementing human deficiencies, disguising disabilities, and improving flaws, the terror of a cyborg creation that develops its own flaws is the nightmare of cyborg science. The fear of machines that control and destroy stands in opposition to the possibility of machines liberating consciousness from the human body and providing useful, powerful extensions to the body.

Various manifestations of machine-human symbiosis and hybridity have descended from the original Frankenstein monster. But not all cyborg monsters are as destructive as Frankenstein or the Terminator." https://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/cyborg.htm From, Jessica Santone.

Reading the Cyborg in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"

by Sarah Canfield Fuller https://www.jstor.org/stable/43308625

https://custom-writing.org/blog/mary-shelleys-frankenstein-themes

Of course the Prometheus movie is in some ways is a continuation of the Frankenstein theme. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_(2012_film)#Plot

https://medicalfuturist.com/from-human-to-cyborg

https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2018/07/30/biology-and-robotics-enter-into-an-unholy-union-to-bring-forth-creatures-from-hell/18564

https://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Cyborg.html

https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2020/08/18/scientists-will-use-newly-discovered-cyborg-material-to-invade-our-brains-and-merge-with-our-thoughts-and-turn-us-all-into-mindless-zombie-robots-says-report/35328

While the movie Prometheus provides a subtle take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-Prometheus theme, Alien:_Covenant makes an obvious reference to Percy_B._Shelley.

https://www.alien-covenant.com/topic/44302

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away." - Percy Shelley 1818 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-bxPsxpE0 , https://www.youtube.com/c/TechOnPC/videos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias#Publication_history

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/percy-bysshe-shelley

Prometheus and Alien:_Covenant could have been much better movies, but they still provide interesting & essential elements to the overall Alien-Prometheus story-line. https://www.hrgiger.com/alien.htm

https://horrorobsessive.com/2018/08/15/the-art-of-literary-misinterpretation-in-alien-covenant

So Mary_Shelley arrived in Switzerland in 1816 and would eventually create the Frankenstein-Prometheus story. H._R._Giger was born in Switzerland and by the late 1970s was involved with the Alien movie. HRG lived long enough to see the Prometheus movie.

Prometheus - David in the Orrery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1EeYB8Aog0

https://desertshapes.blogspot.com/search?q=Prometheus

Humans will become more augmented, but not everyone is interested in becoming something like Master_Chief or especially The_Borg.

Interfacing the Brain & Machines: Another Step to a Cyborg Future

"Controlling robotic prostheses with one’s mind has been a hot topic in research, but making a prothesis ‘talk back’ has been a stumbling block. Researchers from Switzerland show progress in creating sensations from a bidirectional neuroprosthesis."

"Researchers from the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, are developing a new method to connect a prosthesis to neural activity in a bidirectional manner, which could solve some long-standing challenges of brain-machine interfaces. Published in Neuron, their early testing in mice models had promising results." https://www.labiotech.eu/more-news/university-genera-brain-machine

https://www.iris.ethz.ch , https://srl.ethz.ch

https://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/search?q=monsters

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/381303/Monsters-of-the-Wilderness-Oswalds-Curse

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=horror+movies

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=the+wilderness

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the best writers that bridged the gap between science and fiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#Science-fiction_writer

https://arthurcclarke.org/site/clarke , https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/clarke_arthur_c

He was also interested in things that might be considered to be paranormal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#Paranormal_phenomena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke's_World_of_Strange_Powers , https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128884 , http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3819

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1385034.Arthur_C_Clarke_s_World_Of_Strange_Powers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke's_Mysterious_Universe

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Clarkes-Mysteries-John-Fairley/dp/157392833X/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1643815754&refinements=p_lbr_one_browse-bin%3AArthur+C.+Clarke&s=books&sr=1-2

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002009/?ref_=tt_ov_st

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-C.-Clarke/e/B000APF21M?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000

https://arthurcclarke.org/site/legacy/non-fiction/non-fiction-ab

https://arthurcclarke.org/site/legacy/films

https://arthurcclarke.org/site/how-arthur-c-clarke-helped-save-star-trek

Gary_Lockwood got to be in one of the most popular Sci-Fi TV series and movies in the 1960s.

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966, TV Series) as Lt. Cmdr. Gary Mitchell
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as Dr. Frank Poole

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Lockwood#TV_and_filmography

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Gary_Lockwood#

https://moviedatabase.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_Poole

https://2001.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_Poole

http://www.gary-lockwood.com/index.html

https://arthurcclarke.org/site/legacy

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=ACC

Thursday, February 4, 2021

The MATRIX: Numbers and Patterns and Rabbit-hole Synchronicity

https://takanta.com/555-meaning , https://matrix.fandom.com/wiki/Angels

Whether this is a natural world or a digital universe, various accounts of angels and other entities have been around for a long time. However, do angels have all the angles covered? Such beings would certainly know their way around their matrix of reality. And so do the MIB.

https://www.wired.com/2002/12/holytech

https://people.idsia.ch/~juergen/digitalphysics.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism

Numerology has many methods and interpretations.

Others just see pure_mathematics, but even that could be part of a cosmic program.

Applied_mathematics vs. the meaning-of-numbers.

Number and patterns can be found all throughout nature and the "real" world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics#Inspiration,_pure_and_applied_mathematics,_and_aesthetics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(mathematics) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_physics , https://www.digital-physics.com

"The idea that our universe can be modelled as a giant computer dates back to the 1970s. But as Pablo Arrighi and Jonathan Grattage describe, quantum-information theorists are now hoping to revitalize this idea by making the "digital physics" project compatible with quantum theory." https://physicsworld.com/a/the-quantum-game-of-life

http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/?phpsessid=4e1fba103021c3e4249fc168de22fc1b

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/symb/hd_symb.htm

https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/secrets-plain-sight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHhgLnIvuAs&feature=emb_title

The Washington_Monument was the first structure to reach 555 feet or almost 170m.

https://gizmodo.com/why-we-didnt-know-how-tall-the-washington-monument-was-1686262508

"When completed, the Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world at 555 feet..." https://www.nps.gov/wamo/learn/historyculture/index.htm Its still the tallest in DC since the late 1800s.

555_California_Street was the biggest and tallest building in SF near the end of the 1960s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(Doctor_Who)

Tron (1982) and especially Blade_Runner (1982) exposed the world to CGI and Cyberpunk.

The view is much higher than the 13th floor, because in the Tron world the digital sky is the limit. An interactive urban matrix, the sprawling city in night or day mode. The Tron horizon. The cyberspace perspective. Tron Wars. The Tron matrix and Blade Runner were like 2 sides of the same tech coin.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-did-william-gibson-really-feel-about-blade-runner-896472321 From 2013. Although BR wasn't about being in someones simulation, the world was under the total authority of a global network of corporations. Corporations had become non living entities and some of the corporations created a division of robots that seemed to be, MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN.

"Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City, Japan. Once a talented computer hacker, Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, Case's central nervous system was damaged with a mycotoxin, leaving him unable to access the global computer network in cyberspace, a virtual reality dataspace called the "matrix". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer#Plot It was published in 1984.

William Gibson tapped into what would become the cyberpunk matrix. A control grid of corporate tech and hackers. Plus a bunch of people that didn't fit into the $Y$TEM.

The Cyberpunk_Influence really took off going into the 1990s. Now A.I. almost has an eye on everything.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/apr/26/computingandthenet.books

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity#Personal_computer_versions Unlike in the Tron movies, the player can't transmute themselves into the computer program or game.

The Bank_of_America_Center_(San_Francisco) and the Transamerica_Pyramid on the first SimCity cover. Sometimes the synchronicity is subtle, at first. The same two iconic towers are shown in Part 2 of the MATRIX. They can be seen at the right side of this picture.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/SimCity_Classic_cover_art.jpg 1989 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity#Personal_computer_versions

At the right side of this picture, one can see the B of A tower in a daytime view of the SF skyline. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/mediaviewer/rm2349173760

B of A and the simulation theory. https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-america-wonders-about-the-matrix-2016-9

https://upload.wikimedia.org/Bank_of_America_Tower_San_Francisco

555_California_Street opened as the B of A headquarters in 1969. It has 52 stories and is equivalent to 60 levels, if all the mechanical or plant floors are included.

Two decades later, a very basic urban simulation game was on the market. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity_(1989_video_game)

https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-america-thinks-theres-a-50-chance-we-live-in-a-matrix-2016-9

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/View_from_555_California_Street_in_San_Francisco - https://www.pyramidcenter.com

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/SF_Transamerica_full_CA.jpg , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transamerica_Pyramid#Specifications

"In 1972, the company completed construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper in San Francisco which served as its headquarters for many years. Although the company currently retains only a few offices in the building, the pyramid is still depicted in the company's logo and marketing materials."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transamerica_Corporation#History

The Transamerica_Pyramid opened in 1972 with 48 stories. Its equivalent to having about 65 floors, if the windows went right up to the top.

Part of MATRIX 4 was filmed in front of the Transamerica_Pyramid. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/matrix-4-production-melts-san-francisco , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_fourth_Matrix_film

Bank_of_America is known for having the tallest or some of the tallest buildings in several cities. For some people, seeing the B of A tower rise in SF during the late 1960s was something that looked more suited for a Mega_City.

"Appearances in fiction aside, Gibson was the focus of a biographical documentary by Mark Neale in 2000 called No Maps for These Territories. The film follows Gibson over the course of a drive across North America discussing various aspects of his life, literary career and cultural interpretations. It features interviews with Jack Womack and Bruce Sterling, as well as recitations from Neuromancer by Bono and The Edge." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson#Film_adaptations,_screenplays,_and_appearances

https://www.u2.com/news/title/edge_bono_original_music_new_william_gibson_flick Whether in 2001 or back in 1991, most people didn't realize how profound and extensive the synchronicity was between WG and U2. https://www.u2.com/news/title/exclusive_clips_from_new_william_gibson_movie

https://www.u2songs.com/discography/william_gibson_no_maps_for_these_territories_documentary_various_artists , https://www.wired.com/2005/08/u2

"U2's Zooropa album was heavily influenced by Neuromancer,^[44] and the band at one point planned to scroll the text of Neuromancer above them on a concert tour, although this did not end up happening. Members of the band did, however, provide background music for the audiobook version of Neuromancer as well as appearing in No Maps for These Territories, a biographical documentary of Gibson.^[142] He returned the favour by writing an article about the band's Vertigo Tour for Wired in August 2005.^[143] The band Zeromancer take their name from Neuromancer.^[144]

The film The Matrix (1999) drew inspiration for its title, characters and story elements from the Sprawl trilogy.^[145] The characters of Neo and Trinity in The Matrix are similar to Bobby Newmark (Count Zero) and Molly ("Johnny Mnemonic", Neuromancer).^[98] Like Turner, protagonist of Gibson's Count Zero, characters in The Matrix download instructions (to fly a helicopter and to "know kung fu", respectively) directly into their heads, and both Neuromancer and The Matrix feature artificial intelligences which strive to free themselves from human control.^[98] Critics have identified marked similarities between Neuromancer and the film's cinematography and tone.^[146] In spite of his initial reticence about seeing the film on its release,^[13] Gibson later described it as "arguably the ultimate 'cyberpunk' artifact." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson#Cultural_significance

Associated album	Achtung Baby, Zooropa
Start date	29 February 1992
End date	10 December 1993

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_TV_Tour

"To redesign the stage for the 1992 North American stadium leg—dubbed "Outside Broadcast"—Williams collaborated with stage designers Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park, both of whom had worked on the Steel Wheels Tour stage for the Rolling Stones..."

"The stage's appearance was compared to the techno-future cityscapes from Blade Runner and the works of cyberpunk writer William Gibson." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_TV_Tour#Stage_design_and_show_production

Bono_as_The_Fly_in_Cleveland_1992. Bono as the Fly was almost foreshadowing Neo in the classic, EBTTRT video. https://www.u2.com/media/player/18/10

Neo_in_The_Matrix in 1999.

There is a lot of synchronicity between U2 and the MATRIX. Indeed, from the Zoo_TV_Tour in the early 1990s to the release of The_MATRIX in 1999 on March 31, were like bookends. The_Wachowskis really started something fantastic that wasn't even real all of the time.

The U2 ZOO TV (MATRIX) and The_MATRIX 1999 movie, was some ingenious entertainment marketing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_(The_Matrix)#Fictional_character_biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_TV_Tour#Bono's_stage_personae The official music video for Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix) by U2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHKMoLY5ueY

As the ZOO_TV (MATRIX) tour was winding down, they did some extra video production in Sydney at the old Sydney_Football_Stadium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH8bnSQ8mR0

And to think that so much of this cyber-world MATRIX was influenced from William_Gibson. www.u2.com/news/title/edge_bono_original_music_new_william_gibson_flick

The ZOO_TV_Tour started off in Lakeland,_Florida. There happens to be a, Lake_Gibson there and just a little ways south is the, RP_Funding_Center. Where the first ZOO TV concert happened. (29 February 1992) A leap year of course, because its all about going down the-rabbit-hole. The arena just happens to be a block south of West Lemon Street. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_TV_Tour#Tour_dates

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_(U2_song)#Music_video , https://www.u2.com/media/player/110/5 , https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6863144/mediaviewer/rm3165992192

Lemon is like an unofficial homage to the STAR TREK Holodeck. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Holodeck , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodeck#Similar_technology_in_other_works ,

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-questions-holodeck-answered ,

https://theconversation.com/star-treks-holodeck-from-science-fiction-to-a-new-reality-74839 ,

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=Star+Trek

https://matrix.fandom.com/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland#The_White_Rabbit 1999

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix_(club)#Emergence_of_Jefferson_Airplane

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/White_rabbit.JPG

Released	June 24, 1967
Recorded	November 3, 1966

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_(song) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0 , https://www.youtube.com/c/jeffersonairplane/videos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix_(club)#Live_music_albums_recorded_at_The_Matrix ,

https://rockandrollroadmap.com/places/where-they-played/san-francisco-area-venues/the-matrix ,

https://www.discogs.com/Jefferson-Airplane-Return-To-The-Matrix-020168/release/3450812

The White Rabbit song was recorded in the first week in November 1966.

Then the White_Rabbit character was seen in a STAR TREK episode during the last week of 1966.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708446/mediaviewer/rm254983425

Original air date	December 29, 1966

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shore_Leave_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) , https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Shore_Leave_Planet

TRON and The MATRIX

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/tron-legacy-is-a-smarter-movie-than-the-matrix.712207/

https://www.andrewliptak.com/blog/2010/06/18/deus-ex-machina-the-matrix-is-really-just-tron

https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/g3y6ed/film_theory_tron_and_the_matrix_happen_in_the/

https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/27684/

In the TV series Quantum+Leap, Sam is able to time_travel his consciousness into various people in the past. It's a little like a different driver temporarily taking over the control of a car...

Of course the implication is that time and space are part of an interactive recording & projection of data that consciousness can move though.

The_Thirteenth_Floor is about VR or world simulation program where a person can temporarily link to a simulated human character. The full immersion VR system seems so real that if you didn't know that you were in a digital simulation, you would only perceive the reality around you. The movie ends with the implication that this world might be part of someone's simulation program.

In the movie Source_Code, the consciousness of the protagonist is eventually sent to live in an alternate reality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

Sean Carroll explains: what is the many-worlds interpretation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_xqNDII--Q

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-manyworlds , https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-many-worlds-theory

It's such a vast concept to ponder that the universe might have many levels or variations of it self.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-many-worlds-interpretation-has-many-problems-20181018

Perhaps the biggest question is if the universe is a sentient system? Or, is it like a cosmic running OS with a programmer or a creator?

TRON

https://thedigitallabyrinth.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Matrix

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Two+Towers

It's all about exploring the nature of reality. (TNOR)

https://paranormal-intersection.blogspot.com/search?q=What+Is+Consciousness

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Star Trek vs STAR WARS

http://video.about.com/scifi/Overview-of-Star-Trek-Movies.htm,
http://screenrant.com/star-trek-3-release-2016
I have always liked both sci-fi universes.
http://video.about.com/scifi/Overview-of-Star-Wars-Movies.htm,
http://kkharsa.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/how-star-wars-changed-the-world

http://www.badhaven.com/film/film-features/bad-haven-vs-week-battle-of-the-stars-trek-vs-wars-part-2/

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/the-borg-star-trek-vs-the-empire-star-wars-660699

http://screenrant.com/karl-urban-star-trek-3-dredd-2/

Star+Trek_and_STAR+WARS have many similarities, but still remain unique & distinct to each other.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-episode-7-details-spinoffs-release-dates