books, quotes, Uncategorized

1171 – The Electronic Doppelganger: The Mystery of the Double in the Age of the Internet (Book by Rudolf Steiner / Andreas Neider 1917 – 2016)

“Large temptations will emanate from these machine-animals, produced by people themselves, and it will be the task of a spiritual science that explores the cosmos to ensure all these temptations do not exert any damaging influence on human beings.” —Rudolf Steiner 
In an increasingly digitized world, where both work and play are more and more taking place online and via screens, Rudolf Steiner’s dramatic statements from 1917 appear prophetic. Speaking of “intelligent machines” that would appear in the future, Steiner presents a broad context that illustrates the multitude of challenges human beings will face. If humanity and the Earth are to continue to evolve together with the cosmos, and not be cut off from it entirely, we will need to work consciously and spiritually to create a counterweight to such phenomena.
In the lectures gathered here, edited with commentary and notes by Andreas Neider, Rudolf Steiner addresses a topic that he was never to speak of again–the secret of the geographical, or ahrimanic, Doppelganger. The human nervous system houses an entity that does not belong to its constitution, he states. This is an ahrimanic being that enters the body shortly before birth and leaves at death, providing the basis for all electrical currents needed to process and coordinate sensory perceptions and react to them.
Based on his spiritual research, Steiner discusses this Doppelganger, or double, in the wider context of historic occult events relating to spirits of darkness. Specific brotherhoods seek to keep such knowledge to themselves to exert power and spread materialism. But this knowledge is critical, says Steiner, if the geographical Doppelganger and its challenges are to be understood.

the-electronic-doppelganger-1

goodreads   /   amazon


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The Computer and the Incarnation of Ahriman

By David B. Black (online)

movies, Uncategorized

1169 – Ender’s Game (2013)

timespace coordinates: future North Carolina, Battle School, Fairyland / the End of the World, Command School, the Colony (SETTING)

Enders-Game-poster-600x888Ender’s Game is a 2013 American military science fiction action film based on Orson Scott Card‘s 1985 novel of the same name. Written and directed by Gavin Hood, the film stars Asa Butterfield as Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, an unusually gifted child who is sent to an advanced military academy in outer space to prepare for a future alien invasion. The supporting cast includes Harrison FordHailee Steinfeld, and Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley. (wiki)

imdb   /  Websites   /  potential sequel

animation, movies, quotes, series, Uncategorized

1168 – Starship Troopers

timespace coordinates: the 23rd century,  Buenos Aires / Terran Federation > Klendathu, the “Bugs’” home planet / Planet “P”/ remote outpost on a planet inhabited by Arachnids / agricultural planet Roku San / classified planet OM-1 /

Starship Troopers (1997)

MV5BNWExNzg3MmMtYjc3MS00MzFlLWJiOWQtNWYxZTgxNjhlZTQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzkwMjQ5NzM@._V1_Starship Troopers is a 1997 American satirical military science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier. It originally came from an unrelated script called Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine, but eventually licensed the name Starship Troopers from a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit. Rico’s military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an insectoid species known as “Arachnids”.

(Relationship to novel) Because the film originated from an unrelated script, with names and superficial details from the novel being added retroactively, there are many differences between the two. While the novel has been accused of promoting militarism, fascism, and military rule, the film satirizes these concepts by featuring bombastic displays of nationalism as well as news reports that are intensely fascisticxenophobic, and propagandistic.  Verhoeven stated in 1997 that the first scene of the film—an advertisement for the Mobile Infantry—was adapted shot-for-shot from a scene in Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), specifically an outdoor rally for the Reichsarbeitsdienst. Other references to Nazism in the movie include the Wehrmacht-inspired uniforms and insignia of field grade officers, M.I. working uniforms reminiscent of Mussolini’s BlackshirtsAlbert Speer‘s style of architecture, and its propagandistic dialogue (“Violence is the supreme authority!”). 

In a 2014 interview on The Adam Carolla Show, the actor Michael Ironside, who read the novel as a youth, said that he asked Verhoeven, who grew up in Nazi-occupied Netherlands, “Why are you doing a right-wing fascist movie?” Verhoeven replied, “If I tell the world that a right-wing, fascist way of doing things doesn’t work, no one will listen to me. So I’m going to make a perfect fascist world: everyone is beautiful, everything is shiny, everything has big guns and fancy ships, but it’s only good for killing fucking Bugs!” 

(Themes) … In his DVD commentary, Verhoeven stated his intentions clearly: the film’s message is that “War makes fascists of us all”. He evoked Nazi Germany’s fashion, iconography, and propaganda because he saw it as a natural evolution of the United States after World War II, and especially after the Korean War. “I’ve heard this film nicknamed All Quiet on the Final Frontier“, he said, “which is actually not far from the truth.” Edward Neumeier (who had previously worked with Verhoeven on RoboCop) broadly concurs, although he sees a satire on human history rather than solely the United States. Verhoeven says his satirical use of irony and hyperbole is “playing with fascism or fascist imagery to point out certain aspects of American society… of course, the movie is about ‘Let’s all go to war and let’s all die.'” (wiki)

imdb


Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)

MV5BOWNiNzRlOWMtNzY2Yi00M2MzLWE0MGEtYzM0NmZhODk3NjUyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDc2NjEyMw@@._V1_Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is a 2004 military science-fiction action television film directed by Phil Tippett and starring Richard BurgiLawrence Monoson, and Colleen Porch. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and the second installment of the Starship Troopers film series. (wiki)

Made for 5% of the cost of Starship Troopers (1997). (imdb)


Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)

1146
01:33:47,715 –> 01:33:51,617
I got religion, Dix. I got it bad.

starship_troopers_3_marauder-813828742-largeStarship Troopers 3: Marauder is a 2008 American military science fiction film written and directed by Edward Neumeier and starring Casper Van Dien who returned as Johnny Rico from the original film, along with Jolene Blalock and Boris Kodjoe. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) (which were both written by Neumeier) and the third installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released directly to DVD in the U.S. on August 5, 2008. (wiki)

starship-troopers-3-marauder_075730Joe Leydon of Variety stated:

“Die-hard fans of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven’s notorious 1997 cult-fave sci-fi spectacle, will be pleased to note that its second made-for-vid sequel gamely attempts to replicate the original pic’s over-the-top style and self-satirical tone. (…) the latest episode reprises Verhoeven’s love-it-or-hate-it mix of gruesome mayhem, overstated melodrama, peek-a-boo nudity and tongue-in-cheek fascist aesthetics.”

imdb



Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)

Starship Troopers: Invasion –imdb– (スターシップ・トゥルーパーズ インベイジョン) is a Japanese-American 2012 computer-animated military science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth installment of the Starship Troopers film series.

The film was followed by


Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) 

imdb


Starship Troopers (video game) 

Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy 


Future

movies

1165 – The Abyss (1989)

timespace coordinates: 1988, Deep Core, a privately owned experimental underwater drilling platform near the Cayman Trough

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The Abyss is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, starring Ed HarrisMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, the U.S. search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, racing against Soviet vessels to recover the boat. Deep in the ocean, they encounter something unexpected. (wiki)

imdb

documentary, series

1164 – Good Omens (TV Mini-Series 2019-)

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Good Omens is a miniseries based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett (dw) and Neil Gaiman. A co-production between Amazon Studios and BBC Studios, the six episode series was written and created by Gaiman, who also served as showrunner, and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. The series stars an ensemble cast led by David TennantMichael SheenAdria ArjonaMiranda RichardsonMichael McKeanJack WhitehallJon Hamm and Frances McDormand.

All episodes of the series were released on May 31, 2019, on Amazon Video, and will later broadcast weekly on BBC Two.

Set in 2018 (Tadfield ++), the series follows the demon Crowley (David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen), who, being accustomed to life on Earth, seek to prevent the coming of the Antichrist and with it Armageddon, the final battle between Heaven and Hell. (wiki)

imdb


Why Bible Accurate Angels Are So Creepy


movies

1153 – Signs (2002)

timespace coordinates: 2001 isolated farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania

signs_2002_original_film_art_2000xSigns is a 2002 American science fiction horror film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Its story focuses on a former Episcopal priest named Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield. Hess slowly discovers that the phenomenon is a result of extraterrestrial life. It also stars Joaquin PhoenixRory Culkin, and Abigail BreslinSigns explores the themes of faith, kinship, and extraterrestrials. (wiki)

imdb

movies

1151 – Captive State (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2019 / 2028 Chicago

captive_state_xlgCaptive State is a 2019 American science fiction thriller film directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film stars John GoodmanAshton SandersJonathan MajorsMachine Gun Kelly, and Vera Farmiga, and follows a young man who participates in a conspiracy to rebel against an alien race that has invaded Earth, and enforced strict martial law on all humans. (wiki)

imdb


Chicago is the real star of the surprisingly powerful Captive State  – For those of us who love the city, more than just the plot is familiar in this sly takedown of gentrification and authoritarianism.  review by Dmitry Samarov

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(Trivia) In one of the early shots of the Chicago skyline the Ryugyong Hotel was added. The Ryugyong Hotel isn’t in Chicago, it’s in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was started in 1987 and still sits unfinished. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest unused building.