754 – The House of Tomorrow (2017)

The House of Tomorrow is a 2017 American independent drama film written and directed by Peter Livolsi and starring Asa Butterfield and Alex Wolff. The film is based on Peter Bognanni’s 2010 novel of the same name. It is Livolsi’s directorial debut. Co-stars Ellen Burstyn and Nick Offerman served as executive producers of the film.

16-year-old Sebastian Prendergast has spent most of his life with his Nana in their geodesic dome home tourist attraction where she raises him on the futurist teachings of her former mentor Buckminster Fuller in hopes that one day Sebastian will carry Fuller’s torch and make the world a better place. But when a stroke sidelines Nana, Sebastian begins sneaking around with Jared, a chain-smoking, punk-obsessed 16-year-old with a heart transplant who lives in the suburbs with his bible-thumping single father Alan and teenage sister Meredith. Sebastian and Jared form a band, and with his Nana’s dreams, his first real friendship, and a church talent show at stake, Sebastian must decide if he wants to become the next Buckminster Fuller, the next Sid Vicious, or something else entirely. (rottentomatoes)

imdb

0751 – What Still Remains (2018)

Twenty-five years after a viral outbreak decimates the population, the remaining survivors still fear that deadly illness and the change it created. Against this post-apocalyptic backdrop, a young woman loses her family and struggles to survive on her own in the wilderness. When a lonely traveler offers her a place in his community, she must decide if the promise of a better life is worth the risk of trusting him.

WHAT STILL REMAINS is a 2018 post-apocalyptic mystery thriller written and directed by Josh Mendoza. The film stars  Lulu Antariksa, Colin O’Donoghue, Mimi Rogers, Dohn Norwood and Jeff Kober.

imdb   rottentomatoes

750 – Rudolf Steiner and the Science of Spiritual Realities (1991 documentary)

Dr. Rudolf Steiner‘s fundamental gift to mankind was the creation of the science of spirit known as anthroposophy, from the Greek “anthropos,” or man, and “sophia,” or wisdom.

This one hour television documentary takes us on a fascinating journey into the realms just beyond our five senses. Rudolf Steiner not only found how to experience these areas directly, in a very safe and methodical manner, but he also developed specific techniques which, if utilized in the right way and with the proper intention, enable the individual to have insight into the spiritual realities.

In addition to learning of this extraordinary individuality, we meet some of the men and women who are utilizing the impulses brought by Dr. Steiner to expand and enhance their specific vocations in very practical ways, e.g. education, agriculture, medicine, mathematics, architecture, the arts, +working with retarded children and adults.

watch on YouTube

739 – The Last King /Birkebeinerne (2016)

timespace coordinates: Norway 1206The Last King (Norwegian: Birkebeinerne) is a 2015 Norwegian historical drama, directed by Nils Gaup.  The film centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant, Haakon Haakonsson, who was an heir to the Norwegian throne after the death of his father, King Haakon Sverresson. The film is set during the civil war era in Norway during the 13th-century. 

A story inspired by true events. Norway 1204, Birkebeiners and king Haakon Sverresson possess the throne in Nidaros. They are threaten by Baglers, that has taken power in Eastern Norway, with the help from Denmark among the refugees is the king’s son and heir, Haakon Haakonsson, who is fostered in secret by Inga of Varteig. (wiki)

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0713 – The City Dark (2011 documentary)

THE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question – do we need the stars? – taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights – including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. (imdb)

The City Dark is a documentary film by filmmaker Ian Cheney about light pollution. It won the Best Score/Music Award at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for at the 34th News & Documentary Emmy Awards. (wiki)

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 “It looks like the stars have been scattered across the ground. Have you ever … Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor?” Dolores Abernathy

706 – Sacred Games (TV Series 2018– )

timespace coordinates: 70’s – 80’s – 90’s – 2010’s Mumbai

Sacred Games is an Indian web television series by Netflix based on Vikram Chandra‘s 2006 thriller novel of the same name. The series was produced in partnership with Phantom Films. The novel was adapted by Varun Grover, Smita Singh and Vasant Nath, and all eight, hour-long episodes were directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. All eight episodes were made available for streaming on 6 July 2018.

Sacred Games tells the story of Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a jaded police inspector living under the shadow of his deceased father and seeking validation from a police force he nevertheless loathes for its corruption. When Singh receives an anonymous tip-off regarding the whereabouts of Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a notorious crime lord who has been missing for 16 years, it initiates a chain of events that burrows deep into India’s dark underworld.

जन्नत तोह मैं हो

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The episode titles are inspired by Hindu mythology. The first episode titled “Aswatthama”, was based on the namesake character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. He was cursed with immortality by Krishna after the Kurukshetra war. In the series, Gaitonde calls himself immortal like Ashwatthama, but later commits suicide. “Halahala”, another episode, was named after a poison of the same name, which was retrieved from Samudra manthan. Aatapi and Vatapi were two demons who used to trick travellers with hospitality and kill them. Brahmahatya means killing of a Brahmin, which is a crime in Hinduism. In the episode, the Hindu Gaitonde agrees to try to attract Muslim votes for Hindu politician Bhosale. Sarama is referred to as a dog. Pretakalpa learns the rites of a Hindu to perform the cremations. In this episode, Katekar is killed and Sartaj cremates him. Rudra is the angered version of Shiva. Gaitonde’s wife Subhadra is killed in this episode; he takes revenge by murdering her killers. Yayati was king cursed with premature old age.

imdb

705

Do psychedelics give access to a universal, mystical experience of reality, or is that just a culture-bound illusion?

https://aeon.co/essays/is-psychedelics-research-closer-to-theology-than-to-science

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“Silicon Valley billionaires are putting their blockchain millions into funding psychedelics research, and corporates are preparing for a juicy new market. The counterculture has gone mainstream. Turn on, tune in, sell out. ”

“Perennialists tend to rank religions and mystical experiences hierarchically. All religions are one, but some are more one than others. Unitive non-dual experiences are more true, while dualist experiences (ie, personal encounters with God or a spirit) are less true. Accordingly, Buddhism, Hindu mysticism and Taoism are more true, while Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Shamanism are less true. The psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins follows this theological ranking. It uses the Hood Mysticism Scale to rate people’s psychedelic experiences – unitive experiences are scored as higher and more ‘complete’ than dualist experiences.”

“Western spiritual tourists can have a culturally naive idea that their experience of ayahuasca is the same as indigenous people’s experience, that everyone goes to the same Magic Kingdom where we all meet the same entity: Mama Ayahuasca.”