Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
2 “Children of the Comet”
The Enterprise crew attempt to alter the course of a comet that is set to kill all of the inhabitants of a desolate planet.
This feels like a variation on the old episode The Doomsday Machine
A bit better, but still suffers from the ‘standing around talking about our feelings’ instead of doing things trope.
Is the title a variation on this song ?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
1 “Strange New Worlds”
In the 23rd century, Starfleet Admiral Robert April recalls Captain Christopher Pike of the starship USS Enterprise from shore leave after Pike’s first officer, Una Chin-Riley goes missing during a first contact mission.
Set in the time and going back to the original series, this repeats:
– For an alien species, just add a squashed banana to the forehead.
– Genetic alterations are easy and have no side effects.
– All those fighting aliens need is a good talking to by someone in authority.
It’s fun that the episode opens with the speech from ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ as the episode reproduces this story, but from the alien point of view.
While not the best first episode, it has potential.
The G Word with Adam Conover is a 2022 American comedy show on Netflix created by Adam Conover, a comedian I had not heard of. The show discusses topics and their connection to the federal government of the United States.
It is loosely based on the book The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis.
The series starts and endswith a sketch between Conover and Barak Obama.
The show covers:
Food
The origins of the USDA, the ways in which it keeps food safe, its challenges, and how it’s directly responsible for stuffed-crust pizza.
Weather
Including the privatization of the industry.
Money
From bank bailouts to stimulus checks.
Future
GPS, drones and the Roomba – The military defense agency responsible for some amazing – and awful – advancements in tech.
Disease
The medical industry and it’s response to Covid.
Change
Focuses in on local government. An the startling rate of 27% voter turnout.
Monster Guitar is a Free Guitar VST with various Preset, including Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, and soon some Ukulele Preset
It is not meant to replace a real guitarist, but rather to help everybody so abstract ideas become more fixed.
This focuses on chords. The first preset (Reggae Skank) seems to have limited use.
‘Still got the Juice’ allows all the keys to be used, and with it’s ADSR and reverb has an interesting guitar like sound.
‘Popcorn Time’ is an acoustic guitar with big full chords.
‘String Shine’ is a steel string guitar with lots of character.
Love + Death + Robots Season 3
3.7 “Mason’s Rats” (Joe Abercrombie & Neal Asher)
In a future version of Scotland, a farmer named Mason is distressed to discover the rats in his barn using tools, presumably from devouring his genetically modified grain crop, and attacking him with crossbows. Enlisting the services of the high-tech Traptech pest control company, Mason installs technology to deal with the problem. But the rats are getting smarter…
As violent as this is, it has a fun tone because… RATS
But the ending turns everything around.
3.8 “In Vaulted Halls Entombed” (Alan Baxter)
A squad of MARSOC Marines are sent to rescue a hostage from insurgents. As they follow them deep into the mountain tunnels, they find the hostage’s and insurgent’s bodies eaten by a swarm of mysterious spider-like creatures.
Yet more blood soaked mayhem, with few redeeming features.
3.9 “Jibaro” (from Spain)
As a group of conquistadors and priests stops their trek deep in the jungles of Puerto Rico, a mysterious siren draped in gold and jewels emerges from the nearby lake. With her call, she sends the entire group into a frenzy, except for a deaf knight.
Very weird, very strange with extremely jittery animation giving it an unreal almost mystical aura.
3.4 “Night of the Mini Dead” (Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller)
A pair of horny teenagers defile a church and cemetery at night, accidentally raising the dead and causing a zombie apocalypse.
A short funny story of humanity ending its existence with nothing but a fart on the galactic map. The graphic design must surely have been influenced by Sim City.
3.5 “Kill Team Kill” (Justin Coates)
A team of Green Berets, led by Sgt. Nielsen is sent to investigate mysterious killings, only to come face-to-face with a cybernetically-enhanced grizzly bear.
A military story of man vs monster. Profanity laced and violent, it’s not memorable.
3.6 “Swarm” (Bruce Sterling)
Simon Afriel arrives as part of a two-year research mission to an alien star system inhabited by an insectoid race referred to only as the Swarm. Joining with another human researcher, Galina Mirny, the two explore the Swarm hive’s inner workings.
More blood soaked mayhem in an alien world where creatures float around. The story was confusing and disjointed.
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon.
A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially Star Trek and its fandom, the film stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell.
It depicts the cast of a fictional defunct cult television series, Galaxy Quest, who are drawn into a real interstellar conflict when they are visited by actual aliens who think the series is an accurate documentary.
It still holds up 23 years later. Funny, touching and exciting.
It was included in Reader’s Digest’s list of The Top 100+ Funniest Movies of All Time in 2012, and Star Trek fans voted it the seventh best Star Trek film of all time in 2013.
3.1 “Three Robots: Exit Strategies” (John Scalzi)
Continuation of an episode from Volume 1. The three robots (K-VRC, XBOT 4000, and 11-45-G) embark on yet another post-apocalyptic trip.
Basically, a criticism of humanity with the wit and humour expected from Scalzi. Contains a great final line.
3.2 “Bad Travelling” (Neal Asher)
A giant man-eating crustacean called thanapod violently boards a shark-hunting ship, slaughtering most of its human crew before occupying the ship’s hold.
It’s grim and dark on the ship. None of the characters are nice. The monster is ugly and eats people. But what emerges is a story of shifting alliances until the inevitable dramatic end.
3.3 “The Very Pulse of the Machine” (Michael Swanwick)
Astronaut Martha Kivelson is left alone on the surface of Io after an SVE accident causes the death of her partner, Burton. With dwindling oxygen and support from her space station hours away, Kivelson attempts to drag Burton’s body across the moon back to their landing craft.
One of the best. A simple story, but well told. As the journey proceeds Martha experiences hallucinations, or are they ?
Is the planet talking to her. With oxygen getting low, she makes the ultimate decision. Contains an absolutely stunning music score.
Anything but easy !
Consequence by Sugar Bytes is an arpeggiator, which creates a sequence of notes based on the notes or chords. With up to 3 instruments and a vast number of sequencing options this thing will take a long time to learn. Fortunately there are a few tutorials available:
Monster Keyz is a keyboard based free VST.
It’s a ROMpler VST, meaning you use the sounds as it is.
There are a few tweakable parameters, relative volume between the elements. pan and reverb. The piano on it’s own has a nice sound. Adding the other effects: Choir, Pad, Brass, Pluck & SFX just adds to the interesting sounds this VST can create.