Monthly notable news (W53-03)

The Holidays and the couple of weeks that followed were rather quiet. Thankfully, I had to deal with much less craziness at work. But that was only the eye of the storm and those depressing days (scientifically certified as such since Blue Monday fell on January 16th this year) are coming to an end. The days are getting longer and more shit will soon hit the fan. Of course, there's also this endless American nightmare with everything Trump. I wish I could forget about all that and never hear about it again, but unfortunately that's what the world has become now.

I am already getting behind in my writings, but I caught up a little with my TV and movie watching. Besides the restarting new seasons (mostly Call The Midwife, Colony, Endeavour, Father Brown, Homeland), the notable new additions are Victoria and Dark Angel (although those two have already ended) as well as the weird Young Pope (a young and reckless leader is unexpectedly elected to head the Church — a little reminescent of the whole “orange is the new black” American electoral fiasco — but it's directed by Paolo Sorrentino, who gave us La grande bellezza) and the quite interesting Mercy Street, a medical period drama set at the Mansion House Hospital during the American Civil War.

I'll try to reinvent myself this year (so much to do) and push forward even harder on the path to improve my temperament and expend my knowledge. That's the only purpose one can have.

Despite everything, I tried to stay acquainted (a bit) with the affairs of the world. Here's a “few” notable news & links that I came across this month and that I'd like to share with you, after the jump (in no particular order, in both french and english):

Weekly notable news (W43-44)

The first week was totally uneventful; another quiet but tiring week (with the usual craziness at work). However, the second week was very busy with all sort of outings and events! First we had a family brunch to celebrate my mother's 87th birthday. Then I finally received the (substantial) back-pay for the retroactive raise since the signature of our collective bargaining (the two good things that work brings: the pleasure of books and money! — but there's only 550 weeks to endure).

Wednesday, I finish work early and the museum is opened late, therefore I took this opportunity for a last-minute visit (last week!) at the Museum of Fine-Arts exhibit on Toulouse-Lautrec. Thursday, not only Apple released new hardware, but it was also the beginning of the 33rd Japanese Film Festival of Montreal at the Cinémathèque Québécoise. There was a sake tasting, a few speeches and then they screened A Tale of Samurai Cooking. I went to see a second movie on Saturday: Sue, Mai and Sawa. That was wonderful. I felt alive. It's good to get busy since we don't have that many good years left.

I also tried to read a little. I have so many books piling on my bedside table (haïku compilation, numerous mangas, Solaris #200, etc). However, I find it so hard to read lately. I am so busy that whenever I can read, I feel guilty and this sentiment is a distraction that make it difficult to concentrate on my reading. Quite annoying. And there's plenty of other distractions… like watching TV! Beside the U.S. presidential election madness and the returning shows (7th season of Walking Dead, 2nd season of Poldark, 10th season of Murdock Mysteries, 14th season of NCIS, 2nd season of Blindspot, 3rd season of Z Nation, 8th season of Vampire Diaries, 4th season of A Place to call home), there's very interesting newcomers like Westworld and Tutankhamun, or others like Class (a Doctor Who spin-off)! I've also watched on Dvd the Michael Moore documentary Where to invade next.

Maybe all that activity was too much, because I caught some bug (cold, stomach flu?) that left me tired, congestionned and with an upset stomach. But there's no rest for the wicked and now I must work on my monthly accounting and pay the bills.

However, before I do that, I'd like to share with you a few notable news & links that I came across lately. Because, even with all this activity, I will always find some time to stay acquainted (a bit) with the affairs of the world. Here they are, after the jump, in no particular order, in both french and english):

Weekly notable news (W42)

Not much happened this week. Same old, same old, as we say. Some aberrations at work keep exasperating me (but there's only 552 more weeks to endure). On the way back from a doctor's appointment, my wife and I walked through the mountain to admire the colours of fall. It was superb and I wonder why we don't do this kind of walk more often. We've also spent time watching more of the American presidential insanities, two excellent animated features (Miss Hokusai and Osamu Tezuka's Buddha Movie 1: The Red Desert! It's Beautiful) as well as a new episode of Poldark. For my part, I've also started a promising new series (Westworld) and watched the season finale of Halt and Catch Fire. And I probably did a zillion other things (like updating my anime & manga bibliography) that I can't even remember. But, does it really matter?

However, I do remember that I managed to find some time to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world. I therefore share with you a few notable news & links that I came across lately (in no particular order):

Weekly notable news (W39)

Another busy week spent brooding about the craziness at work (still 555 weeks before retirement), going to the hospital for another CT enterography for my wife and backing-up my computers to install macOS 10.12 Sierra on both my iMac and Mac Mini. Didn't have much else on my mind.

To relax we finished watching Dancing on the edge (Brit period drama about a black jazz band, part mystery and part social commentary on racism), the first episode of Maigret (Brit adaptation of Georges Simenon's police drama set in the '50s Paris with Rowan Atkinson in the title role!!! It's quite good once you've passed seeing Mr. Bean face. Now I understand why he never speaks in his sketches: he has a really serious, deep voice!) as well as the first two episodes of the second season of Poldark (yes, another Brit period drama).

And, of course, I still found a little time to stay acquainted with the affairs of the world. I therefore share with you a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):

Weekly notable news (W36)

I always do my best to keep myself acquainted with the affairs of the world. So, let me share with you a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):

• Not a Drill: SETI Is Investigating a Possible ET Signal From Space (Observer, The Telegaph)
• Philips adds Motion Sensor, upgraded smartbulbs to HomeKit-enabled Hue line (Apple Insider)
• 3D-print your own bones from everyone’s favorite fossil, Lucy (TechCrunch)
• Baidu's speech recognition software can transcribe faster than you can type (Mashable)
• Early human ancestor Lucy 'died falling out of a tree' (BBC)
• iPhone killed the point-and-shoot, now the iPhone 7 is coming after DSLRs (9 to 5 Mac)
• Google wants your help to improve its automatic translations (Engadget)
• What That 'Strong Signal' From a Nearby Sunlike Star Really Means (Gizmodo)
• We Finally Know What Caused Those Mysterious Craters on Phobos (Gizmodo)
• The mysterious ancient origins of the book (BBC)
• Borrowed time: US library to enforce jail sentences for overdue books (The Guardian)
• Jupiter Is 'Hardly Recognizable' In Juno's Latest Images (Gizmodo)
• The First Reviews of Arrival Are In and They're Out of This World [Rimshot] (io9)
• Here's the First Video Showing SpaceX's Rocket Exploding (Gizmodo)
• DJI drops the built-in optics in favor of your smartphone on its new Osmo Mobile (9 to 5 Mac)
• Hexagon spy satellite was 'better than Google Earth' (CNN)
• HDMI to USB-C without adapters now possible as more Macs expected to adopt port (9 to 5 Mac)

Revue de Presse du FFM

• Palmarès du 47e festival du Film Étudiant (link)
• Palmarès du Festival des films du monde de Montréal 2016 (link)
• Le producteur de cinéma Donald Ranvaud est décédé (Le Devoir)
• British film producer Donald Ranvaud dies in Montreal hotel room (Montreal Gazette)
• Willem Dafoe: l'acteur qui n'a pas peur de souffrir (La Presse)
• En deuil, le FFM remet son premier prix à un cineaste croate (La Presse)
• Donald Ranvaud Dead: 'City of God' Producer Was 62 (Hollywood Reporter)
• FFM: contre vents et marées (ICI.Radio-Canada)

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Weekly notable news (week 34)

This last week was rather quiet and a good part of the notable news & links that I found interesting were related to the Montreal World Film Festival which is coming very soon. I've spent a lot of my spare time lately finishing my coverage from last year's festival and preparing to cover its upcoming 40th anniversary edition.

Lots of people are bitching about the festival. Those people want a glamorous festival like Cannes or Toronto, but they really don't understand the nature of the Montreal's festival. I am not saying that the MWFF is without flaws (there are aplenty) but I am quite satisfied with what we have here: a quiet, fan-oriented festival that showcase film as an art-form and a vehicle of culture for film-makers from any country, of any age and of various skill levels. Toronto is a commercial festival. I don't want to see stars that I can see everyday on TV or movies that will be released in theatres two weeks later. I want to see great stories and beautiful movies that I cannot see anywhere else but the MWFF. And there is plenty of stars there too: actors and directors from Japan, Portugal, Iran, Turkey, to name just a few places, and from all over Europe. That's good enough for me. I just want to enjoy myself, to be amazed and I really don't care about the politics of it all. I can't understand why our various level of government want to punish movie fans and not support such a great festival.

• Jared Leto Cast in Blade Runner Sequel (Esquire)
• What is beyond our Solar System? The mystery of the icy Kuiper Belt (Wired UK)
• Mars' Fuyumi Soryo Launches Marie Antoinette Series (ANN, AnimeLand)
• Isabelle Adjani at the MWFF to Present Louis-Julien Petit’s film Carole Matthieu (link)
• Willem Dafoe to accompany My Hindu Friend at the MWFF (link)
• Le 40e FFM se dévoile (Le Devoir)
• 40e FFM : une partie du programme (enfin) dévoilée (La Presse)
• Dévoilement des films en compétition pour le 40e FFM (Ici Radio-Canada)
• First coverage of the Japanese movies at the MWFF from Coco Montreal (Issuu)
• FFM: grandeur et misères d'un événement ambitieux (La Presse)
• Un 40e FFM contre vents et marées… (La Presse)
• Full schedule of the MWFF 2016 screenings (PDF)
• It becometh the iceman: clothing study reveals stylish secrets of leather-loving ancient (The Guardian)
• Airlander 10: Maiden flight at last for longest aircraft (BBC)
• This totally redesigned condom just raised $1 million (Mashable)
• Massive Windows 10 Update Causing Serious New Problems (Forbes)
• “Magic” Shoe Discovered inside University Wall (Archaeology Magazine)
• Nasa to make all its research available free on the Internet (The Telegraph)
• 23andMe helps identify genetic links to common skin cancer (Engadget)
• NASA plans to hand over the ISS to a private corporation (Engadget)

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Weekly notable news (week 32)

First, on a personal note: the last few months have been quite trying for me (the summer has zipped past in no time). On top of having to adapt to a new job at an even crazier library, I undertook some (expensive) renovations at home and managing the various team of workers was quite a challenge. And not only I sprained my ankle (with a small fracture) so I had to wear a pneumatic cast for over a month (still do) but I also had to suffer another painful medical problem (won a free game in our pinball's medical system). And I broke my glasses this morning. It seems that I am in for another anus horribilis. All this left me exhausted physically, mentally and morally. I lost all patience I had left to deal with (stupid) people and the world (tired of Trump and all this violence). To quote Indiana Jones, I am really getting too old for this shit. Therefore, I didn't write much lately. Sorry.

However, all is not lost. The weather has been beautiful in the last few days and I am starting to feel better (hopefully it will keep improving; think positive: life is good). In the last week or so, I've been trying to remedy to this unfortunate neglect in my blogger's duty. And, since the film festivals season is at our doors, I am starting to put online my movie comments from last year's MWFF, in order to build up the interest and anticipation (whether the festival happens or not). I hope it's working.

As always, I also keep myself acquainted with the affairs of the world. So, here are a few notable news & links that I came across this week (in no particular order):

• Live-Action Yowamushi Pedal Show Posts On-Set Photos (ANN)
• Mystères entourant la 40e édition du FFM (Le Devoir, Huffington Post)
• Pas trop grosse, SVP! Controverse autour de l'adaptation de «Tamara» (Le Devoir)
• Top 10 Manga Franchises for Spring 2016 (ICv2)
• Apple Pay may come to Tangerine customers (Mobile Syrup, Financial Post)
• Fantasia 2016: TRAIN TO BUSAN Wins Audience And Jury Awards, Plus Many More Winners (Screen Anarchy, link)
• Le retour du vieillard fou de cinéma Films japonais à Fantasia 2016 (Shomingeki)
• Is the internet making us smarter than ever? (The New Indian Express / The Gazette)
• Ontario e-bike rider wins court battle (National Post / The Gazette)
• Here’s How Flowers Move—and Why (Time)
• NASA has released 1,035 new photos of Mars (Business Insider)
• Torrentz.eu quietly shuts down its torrent search engine (Engadget, CNET, IB Times)
• The London: Shipwreck collection to 'rival best in country' (BBC)
• Facebook to suppress clickbait stories (BBC)
• Disappointment for LHC physicists (BBC)
• Irish Libraries to avoid cuts to opening hours with extra £225k funding (BBC)
• Being overweight 'ages people's brains' (BBC)
• Former Ghibli Producer Details the Large Amount of Work That Goes Into Creating a Movie (io9)
• The So-Called Alien Megastructure Just Got Even More Mysterious (Gizmodo)
• Rocks tell story of China's great flood (BBC)

And some Funnies…

Neil deGrasse Tyson's take on the Meaning of Life

In a conference a young kid asks astrophysicst Neil deGrasse Tyson the age-old question: “What's the Meaning of Life?” His answer made me realized that he and I share the same philosophy (in my case it's almost a religion). In a nutshell, here's what he said:

“So when I think of 'meaning' in life, I ask, 'Did I learn something today that I didn't know yesterday, bringing me a little closer to knowing all that can be known in the universe?' If I live a day and I don't know a little more than I did the day before, I think I wasted that day.”

You can see the full exchange yourself on Youtube:


[Sources: CNET, io9]

[ Traduire ]

NASA USTREAM

Relaxing view: ISS HD Earth Viewing

NASA Public channel


Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

La lune est rouge...

...Ça veut dire que Véga va attaquer! — Goldorak

Trève de plaisanteries, on a beaucoup parlé dans les média de cette éclipse totale de Lune qui devait, exceptionnellement, coincider avec le solstice d'hiver et qui n'a certes pas déçu les observateurs. Pour ma part, je dormais (et c'était nuageux ici parait-il) mais, grâce à l'internet, on ne manque vraiment jamais rien! Voici donc l'éclipse en question condensée en quelques minutes:

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.