After 250 years on ice, a prisoner returns to life in a new body with one chance to win his freedom: by solving a mind-bending murder.

Wikipedia version:
Altered Carbon is an American cyberpunk television series created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on the 2002 novel of the same title by English author Richard K. Morgan.[1] 

In a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies, Takeshi Kovacs, a former soldier turned investigator, must solve a murder.

The first season consists of ten episodes and premiered on Netflix on February 2, 2018.[2] On July 27, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes,[3] which was released on February 27, 2020, with an anime film set before the first season released on March 19, 2020. Though the series received generally positive reviews, it was canceled after two seasons.[4]

So... a book, a series and then an animated series? I "get" a book, a movie and a series, but an animated series that goes over the first live action series makes me think money grab. 
But maybe not. 

I'm all in for:

• A book, a movie, and an animated series.
• A book, a movie, and either a series in anime or live action (not both)

But this just seems like they are trying to bank on everything and everything they can.

Reaching all different types of formats is okay... if the previous versions were successful. Why not spread it to as many versions as people want. It just seems that hashing the same thing over and over is exhausting.

Then again, tv series get canceled for no apparent reason to mass viewers.

Maybe, if the animated series was announced after the first season of the live action and before the cancelation after the second season, I'd think, okay, they are just going for a different medium so they can finish the story. 

But that's not the case, and I'm *squirrel*─ing again and this has nothing to do with the story. 

There is some grumblings about season 2 not being up to snuff from season 1 and I get what they are saying, but I have my own thoughts on that too. 

Normally, I have the names and explanations of each character, but I found these and they explain the characters perfectly... I'm just giving you the short version of their role in the story. 

​The entire cast and crew can be found here: 
​https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2261227/fullcredits/cast

This unique blend of cyber punk dystopia thriller has a classic and unique take on the future. 

I've been introduced to a new genre called Transhumanism. Transhumanism is based on the premise that the human species in its current form is not the end of our development but rather a comparatively early phase.

Plainly said, humans will advance technology to the point that we will learn how to live forever.

Fascinating stuff!

Altered Carbon addresses the conflicts, ideas, and benefits of Transhumanism. It touches on points of Space Colonization, Artificial Intelligence, and the potential of living forever expressed with the technological optimism of an entitled teenager. ​

It's has me thinking and researching more about transhumanism and where not just the genre could go, but how feasible it is to take the next evolutionary step in our lifetime.

There are some things I find unrelatable or down right implausible with Altered Carbon's themes.

Such as wide access.

It's easy to think that only the super rich has access to things, but the super rich is only 1% of the entire population. There is more money within the middle class because of numbers. According to Investopedia, 52% of the population is middle class.

Now, you can certainly make a living off of selling to the 1%. But ask yourself, how did the 1% get there?

Think about this... 52% is higher than 1%, right?
 
Technology has always been available to the masses because its more profitable. 

Only the super Elite in Altered Carbon are able to be post-human because of the currency value of a body. Which, in RL is about $160 (according to CounterPulse.) 

What the fuck happened to the economy and inflation that $160 is too expensive for all the material of a body? Seriously, I would expect bodies available for "sleeving" to be like a smart phone. Even the ultra poor in third world countries have fucking smartphones. 

I mean, fuck, we can duplicate dogs for $50K. I can't even get a house for that but I can have fluffy live forever for that much. If Amazon can store meat in stadium sized freeze lockers, we can store human bodies. 


While in Altered Carbon you can get a "sleeve", it makes no sense that the posthuman realm can only be explored by a few elite (or that's what is implied). 

The full realization of the core transhumanist value requires everyone should have the opportunity to become posthuman. It would be sub-optimal if the opportunity to become posthuman were restricted to a tiny 1%.

And while ya'll think that everyone out there is a bad person and looking out only for themselves, I see a fuck-ton of star-gazers that want to heal the world. When they get out there and realize it's not the planet, but humans that need saving, they will work on the transhuman issue. 

This Nick Bostrom dude that has a PhD says it way better than me and you can find his words here: https://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/values.html

No only is wide access the ethical, humane, and economically viable solution, there are other reasons supporting everyone being able to live forever: 

• to reduce inequality
• because it would be a fairer arrangement 
• to express solidarity and respect for fellow humans 
• to help gain support for the transhumanist project 
• to increase the chances that you will get the opportunity to become posthuman 
• to increase the chances that those you care about becoming posthuman
• because it might increase the range of the posthuman realm that gets explored 
• and to alleviate human suffering on as wide a scale as possible

The wide access requirement underlies the moral urgency of the transhumanist vision. Wide access does not argue for holding back. On the contrary, other things being equal, it is an argument for moving forward as quickly as possible. 150,000 human beings on our planet die every day, without having had any access to the anticipated enhancement technologies that will make it possible to become posthuman. The sooner this technology develops, the fewer people will have died without access.

Consider a hypothetical case in which there is a choice between allowing the current human population to continue to exist, and having it instantaneously and painlessly killed and replaced by six billion new human beings who are very similar but non-identical to the people that exist today.

All that experience, all that knowledge, all that these people have to contribute─gone. 

Such a replacement ought to be strongly resisted on moral grounds, for it would entail the involuntary death of six billion people. The fact that they would be replaced by six billion newly created similar people does not make the substitution acceptable. 

Human beings are not disposable. 

For analogous reasons, it is important that the opportunity to become posthuman is made available to as many humans as possible, rather than having the existing population merely supplemented (or worse, replaced) by a new set of posthuman people.
 
The transhumanist ideal will be maximally realized only if the benefits of technologies are widely shared and if they are made available as soon as possible, preferably within our lifetime. 

Does that sound like a dude that just wants money or the uber elite to have access to foreverness? Go ahead, I dare you to say "yes". Just look at this:

TABLE OF TRANSHMANIST VALUES

Core Value

• Having the opportunity to explore the transhuman and posthuman realms

Basic Conditions

• Global security
• Technological progress
• Wide access

Derivative Values

• Nothing wrong about “tampering with nature”; the idea of hubris rejected
• Individual choice in use of enhancement technologies; morphological freedom
• Peace, international cooperation, anti-proliferation of WMDs
• Improving understanding (encouraging research and public debate; critical thinking; open-mindedness, scientific inquiry; open discussion of the future)
• Getting smarter (individually; collectively; and develop machine intelligence)
• Philosophical fallibilism; willingness to reexamine assumptions as we go along
• Pragmatism; engineering- and entrepreneur-spirit; science
• Diversity (species, races, religious creeds, sexual orientations, life styles, etc.)
• Caring about the well-being of all sentience
• Saving lives (life-extension, anti-aging research, and cryonics)

Smart people are already working on you and I living for a long damn time. They aren't going to restrict access. In fact, it wouldn't help anyone to restrict access or have too much of a financial barrier because (case in point) if technology was too expensive for most people then nobody would have an iphone. Besides, Elon Musk only being able to talk on his smart phone to Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet might get boring.  

But for why am I harping on this?

Because I am tired of people bitching about their slow internet (myself included) and pissing all over technology. We wouldn't be able to say screw you Covid if it weren't for guys trying to improve technology. 

Enough about that though, I have a question.

If we are just animals to begin with, and our needs and wants are still basically food, water and shelter, then how will society and human enlightenment benefit from living forever?

Or will we become deranged and perverted like how the meth's are in Altered Carbon?

Some believe our involvement in society will change, morph and become MORE involved with each other. Maybe not in like my neighbor knows what time I get up in the morning but supportive on a global scale. Check out this article.

As if we will become one with what I call THE ALL. THE ALL is what I believe is where thought is collected.

I'm gonna get deep here but I need to if I'm going to explain this right.

THE ALL is where everyone's thought is collected. If you need to think of it as a cloud of thought─then there's your visualization.

THE ALL is how we are connected. It goes into the 100 Monkeys phenomenon. Where 100 Monkeys learn to wash their hands and then monkeys across the world, with no contact with each other, start washing their hands. That thought had to come from somewhere. The somewhere is the unconscious consciousness of THE ALL. 

So now that I've gone off on a tangent (...squirel) it makes sense (or maybe I've just confused you) that we would experience empathy on a global scale. We would experience others adventures, horrors, sadness, hope and life through VR, computers and technology. 

But can we evolve with our needs still as what they are? 

We've become domesticated animals with our homes, medicine, abundance─even our worries are not where our next meal will come from (for most of us) and more about what next to watch, what to write about, what next to ponder upon. We might become even more fluffy bunny (more domesticated? How does that happen?) if death is no longer on the line as a consequence. 

When I went looking for images and the blurb for Eureka I noticed something on my internet travels. As I scrolled through I started noticing different shows─shows that I loved─ were popping up. One after another. And their was a specific genre. 

Science Fiction. 

Or more specifically, shows that got their start (at least) on the Syfy channel. 

Huh.

I always knew I was a Science Fiction buff.

The Syfy channel is a current topic in our household because they've dropped all kinds of awesome shows in the past that were─awesome. Every executive at Syfy would not be able to look me in the face and tell me The Expanse was not a popular show or even that it was not making money.

If they did, then it would clench the fact that they don't know their audience or how to wield there fan base in any way shape or form. 

But, playing devil's advocate, maybe they don't want to make money or have a fan base. Maybe they just want to produce shows with potential but get bored with them and toss them out for new ideas. Like some factory churn for TV shows. 

Or maybe they have a threshold for how much a show needs to make for it to get another season. I mean money is always a factor but it seems to not be because for Syfy because if that were true, we'd still see plenty of migrated shows still on Syfy. 

Or maybe I digress.

It doesn't dismiss the fact that Syfy puts out a lot of pretty cool shows. Which makes fans elated when a new line comes out but also makes them fear getting attached. Syfy is like the bad boyfriend that gives you good sex but then leaves and right when you find another guy to treat you right, he comes back with promises and kisses. It's unhealthy. 

But you just can't break the cycle. 

​Good thing we don't do monogamous TV stations. 

So, back to Eureka. 

I've actually been to Eureka, CA. It was up in the mountains and was pretty much a city between freeways. I was a little disappointed that their weren't flying buildings and mumbling geniuses walking the sidewalks or hiding secret artifacts. 

Or were they?

It seemed like such an everyday town like Big Bear or Castaic Lake. 

In the years since World War II, the U.S. government has been relocating the world's geniuses (and their families) to the Pacific Northwest town of Eureka. Daily life there shifts between amazing innovation and total chaos. U.S. Marshal Jack Carter learns this first-hand when his car breaks down in Eureka, stranding him among the town's eccentric citizens. When they unleash a scientific creation still unknown to the outside world, it's up to Carter to restore order. Subsequently, he's let in on one of America's best-kept secrets. ​

During the transport of his run-away daughter, U.S. Marshal Jack Carter's car breaks down in the city of Eureka. When daily life in this seemingly sleepy town shifts into a bizarre crime and a lost child, Carter steps into a world of chaos, eccentric citizens and curious happenings. 

One of the best series with drama, laughs, and interesting concepts. The science is somewhere between Star Trek and Doctor Who but for the sake of a sitcom, if you don't look close, you won't mind the inconsistencies. Besides, they're concepts. 

What pulls the show together are the relationships and how the people of Eureka deal with them. I love this because there is not good vs. evil. There are different view points, just in real life─only these people care about each other, work together and concur the issues. There is no one hero.

It plays upon the difference of the common, observant man and the uncommon, genius/idiot savant scientist.

Said another way...

U.S. Marshal Jack Carter becomes Eureka's town sheriff. It's not the promotion he was hoping for, but it's where he needs to be. 

And, it's quite awesome. 

But it's not a this or that type of problem solving, it's a yes... and... 

As in, yes the geniuses got them in trouble, Carter points out the obvious yet overlooked because the scientists are looking for the complicated solution and everyone saves the day.

It reminds me of NASA spending a million dollars for a pen that would write in space when the Soviet Union just uses a pencil.

Even a mechanical pencil would work, guys. Sheesh. Tax money at its finest.

All in all, I highly recommend watching or rewatching this show because even though the science is theoretical and like saying Take us into warp 3  it just sounds cool. 

Expedition Unknown chronicles the adventures of Josh Gates as he investigates iconic mysteries across the globe.

Gates begins by interviewing key eyewitnesses and uncovering recent developments in the story, then springboards into a fully immersive exploration. This authentic, roughshod adventure leads Gates closer to the truth behind these unanswered global enigmas, such as the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s plane.

Josh Gates is an adventurer and avid explorer with a unique brand of humor and passion for off-the-map excursions.

That's exactly what I would say─Unique─if I were being politically correct. Otherwise, I'd call his humor a tiny bit douchie with a lot of campy jokes that I can't help but laugh along with every time.

But when those puppy-dog eyes come out when Josh is talking to an expert, trying to understand a myth, legend or an unknown, I can't help but love him even more. 

He's large and not the typical looking athletic type but we've seen him climb, dive, rappel, and crawl through vertical tunnels without much room in awkward, clumsiness at times but also as if he's had experience in these dangerous tasks most of his life.

Call me impressed.

​He makes one think they could even be an amateur explorer with the right equipment.

So on one hand it's awesome that Josh doesn't drive us over the edge to insanity like Gold Rush or Vampire Island. We don't get stuck on one legend or another and I do appreciate that. With one exception.

To set up the puzzle, Preiss traveled to different locations in North America to secretly bury a dozen ceramic vases, or, as he called them, "casques." Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York.

THE SECRET: A TREASURE HUNT by Bryon Preiss is a book of images for treasure hunters to decipher and find buried treasure. 

Bryon Preiss went around the United States burying ceramic keys inside ceramic boxes inside clear, plastic boxes. Anyone who finds and mails the key to Bryon Preiss' estate will receive a real gem.

It kind of reminds me of a Turducken.

Josh Gates dedicated a series of shows around The Secret and it was the only show that actually got a resolution. It was amazing. To actually see the hard won gem, the dedication it took to find the box, the amazing research and insight it took to find buried treasure was an adrenaline rush and we were just watching the mystery! 

Three of twelve gems have been found. 

Which means there's treasure out there in North America. Preiss' legacy continues.

In 1960s London, Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, forms a security company and goes to work with Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s billionaire father.

This, of course, occurs before Batman and the birth of Bruce Wayne. Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane have met but are not romantically involved yet. But we get to see the beginnings of the Bat computer and all the side characters involved in Bruce Wayne's life. ​

First, I'd like to say that the gallery and live streaming on the epix website is wonderful. Go here to watch it on the internet webz: https://www.epix.com/series/pennyworth. ​​

Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 is in full swing, and as the cast changes we get to see the corkiness of human relationships and behavior. 

Every Monday and Tuesday my mom and I sit down with a drink and snacks to Science Theater 3000 the crap out of the show. 

As we watch, heckling is involved, crying is involved, shouting at the t.v. is always involved, grabbing of hair and pulling happens during every episode. 

You should go with...
That guy's a dick!
Why is she being so stupid?

We darn near throw our popcorn at the screen. But we don't because that's just a mess to clean up─and it's too much corn for the dogs. 

But we involve ourselves with these peoples lives and often times want the best for them. Of course, as outsiders, we "know best" who should be with who.

As writers, we see the drama unfold and think this is so good─how could we write this?

I often think we writers couldn't get away with what reality t.v. can edit. But it's an interesting look at relationships and as close to becoming flies on the wall as we can. At the very least its fodder for our own stories. Which is why I watch it. That and because these brave souls have given up their privacy for an audience to observe a part of their lives and for that, I'm invested. 

We want them to find love, but it would be the same without the dramatics. 

​So join me and my mom if you want to discuss Bachelor in Paradise!

When a woman wakes up surrounded by dead bodies with her memory erased, she must uncover her mysterious past to learn the truth.


And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a premise should be. Short, intriguing and just enough information to pique your interest.

Now, here's the blurb from the book:

Myfanwy Thomas awakens in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, she must trust the instructions left by her former in order to survive. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization, and this person wants her dead.

Battling to save herself, Myfanwy will encounter a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and terrifyingly vast conspiracy.

Suspenseful and hilarious, THE ROOK is an outrageously imaginative thriller for readers who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.

Here's my low-down:

Myfanwy (as in Mif-anny, rhymes with Tiffany) wakes up with amnesia in the middle of the Millennium Bridge in London during a rainstorm with 6 dead bodies surrounding her. What's the first thing you would do in this situation?

Myfanwy finds a note to herself and does what her previous self says to do─run. 

The STARZ original follows the book by Daniel O'Malley but the TV show has gone a tad more serious route than the books. Daniel O'Malley's cheekyness is a little lost in translation. 

I know a lot of big wigs have poo-poo'd this series (like Rotten Tomatoes) saying the dour tone and convoluted machinations overshadow its intriguing premise. But I do wonder if Stephanie Meyers (yeah, that Stephanie Meyers of Twilight) directing (or apparently being involved and then tapping out as the filming began) has anything to do with it.

Maybe they just have it in their heads that it's going to be bad. Maybe they were expecting it to be just like the Daniel O'Malley's book. Maybe they wanted purple slime. Whose to say.

What I do know is that when you go in with expectations it has a larger than a mountain potential to ruin the experience.

Gestalt is the "hive mind"─four siblings sharing one consciousness. Thus why I've grouped them as one below.

Alex and Teddy (identical twins), Eliza and Robert appear to be individuals, each with distinctive manners and tastes in dress but this distinction is a facade to enhance their value as agents. They are, in fact, one person, silently sharing every thought. 

Their oneness is fascinating and creepy and the actors play it so well! I look forward to their interactions especially with Myfanwy. *SPOILER ALERT* Talk about a moresome!  

The premise is intriquing and the mystery is there to be unfolded TO you. I realize it's hard to put the inner editor away, but if you can, you will have an enjoyable time.

While I can't help but try to figure out what's going on, the events of Myfawny's "past life" comes creeping back while she tries to put things in place and find simple questions like─who's trying to kill her, much less, why?

This is the type of story I love to noodle on. Unraveling the mystery is fun from the couch. 

I found the show keeping my interest to where I'll follow this season till it's end because STARZ has "promised" we get to find out. 

From here I go into spoilers. 

I spoke about Conrad and his protection of Myfawny. His actions seem more protective while Farrier seems like she's an ally, she may have ulterior motives for her Rook. Conrad doesn't tell Farrier about a certain encounter which makes me wonder if he's going to make a power play for the King seat. Monica seems very invested in the death of her former lover and seems to be sticking around for revenge. But everyone keeps a cool head.

Except for Teddy Gestalt. Teddy is getting angry over the fact that Myfawny is not broken hearted and fighting for him─them─to further their relationship. Plus Myfawny is acting weird. Of course she is─she's no longer who she used to be. She's forgotten all the experiences that made her. In my mind the Gestalt's appear to be different emotions of the same person.

8/28/2019

Season 1 has concluded and the very last episode wraps everything up and comes full circle to the Millenium Bridge. However, the pace that was set during the rest of the season makes the ending feel a little abrupt.

We're left with more questions for Season 2─which is great! I want another season─but the "finality" of the season's end felt rushed. It makes sense and yet I have a niggling of dissatisfaction.

​I'll ponder and think upon what it is about the ending that has me feeling this way, and if I reach a conclusion, I'll post an update! Or if you agree and have "put your finger on it", tell me in the comments! I'd appreciate someone to noodle about it. 

I got this off the Amazon website for the book. I'm not sure if AMC is going to follow the book precisely. But this blurb does tell you what the story is about. The third paragraph seems like it would be the second book of the series since the AMC series is about Manx hunting Vic.
​ 

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.
​
Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”
 
Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.

We follow three main characters in the AMC television series. 

Charlie Manx (left), Maggie Leigh (center), Vic "The Brat" McQueen (right) 

After some research, I’ve come to the conclusion that the origin of Nosferatu was a word inspired by a talented writer who founded the word anew. This writer found the word cool and put it in with their scary story. Mr. Talented Writer named their type of vampire a Nosferatu and thus it became synonymous with vampire.

I’m not talking about the 1922 film that added “A symphony of horror” to the definition of Nosferatu either. This was way before that. So long in fact, the origin of the word can’t be found and is so different from “vampire” which makes me come to this conclusion.

Forward to 2019 and we have NOS4A2—a clever license plate and a very fitting one for a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith. It’s also fitting that the driver sucks the life out of children.

08/28/2019

This show ended way too soon, I wanted more! And, with an "ending" like NOS4A2 it looks like we will get more! 

As the season progressed, we got to see more of Charlie Manx's world. It was interesting and pulled some pieces together. It also brought a family issue to a head that also tore them apart. I had a few issues with a few things that happened in which I argue with myself, justifying the choices the writer's made. But I'm not giving spoilers so that's all I'm going to say.

All-in-all, I would watch Season 2 and anticipate the shows return. *cross your fingers*

To see more reviews on shows I'd recommend, click on "WHAT I'M WATCHING" under Categories in the side bar.

Mune was a film that took me a good fifteen minutes to adjust to the animation. The story was one either made up or that I'm not familiar with but I loved the concept. The creativity within this project needs a huge applause. 

The voices were perfect. I enjoyed each and every scene. I can't say enough about the imagination that went into this story. While it took me a while to realize Mune was a faun, I noticed the resemblance Sohone had to a lion straight away. Temples pulling the sun and moon were a new and fascinating concept for me. 

What threw me off further was the inanimate objects being sentient such as Glimer (Glim), who was made of candle wax, but she seemed to be the oddball. Most other creatures were representatives of real animals. But they were drawn more like people. 

Drawing animals as people is tight.

Each new scene brought with it a whimsical, fantastical world I will enjoy again and again. It felt new while also being the typical hero's journey. I fell into the world, the characters and the second time around I might be able to see more than just wondering what Glim was supposed to be. It took me a bit of watching until I finally "got" that she was a candle despite the obvious implications at the beginning of the movie. It was both a ahhh... duh... moment. Thankfully the awesome overshadowed my perplexity. 

In the end it gave a happy ending kiss that didn't seem all that necessary but sweet. After searching the internet for images, I know fujoshi fan's went in their own direction despite the implication of Glim and Mune coming together at the end. (No pun inteded)  :) Boys love forever! Sohone ♥ Mune.

To see more reviews, click on "Review" under Categories in the side bar.

If you're interested more about the meaning of his name, I found this wonderful Fanon:
http://inu-fanon.tumblr.com/post/67102045516/the-meaning-of-yasha