Automatons

Singular: au•tom•a•ton / Plural: au•tom•a•tons or au•tom•a•ta (-tə) 

1. A self-operating machine or mechanism, especially a robot. 
2. One that behaves or responds in a mechanical way.

   

History has taught us that the first machines produced by man were the automata. They constituted the first step in the realization of his dream to fly through the air like a bird, swim the sea like a fish, end to become ruler of all nature. From these attempts to imitate life by mechanical means, man subsequently utilized the principles involved to produce the complex mechanisms which have resulted in the technological advances of the Space Age.

  

Greek Automata: (Gr: Automatos - 'self-moving') When his writings on hydraulics, pneumatics and mechanics were translated into Latin in the sixteenth century, Hero’s readers were amazed to discover descriptions of inventions which included vending machines, a water-pump, a wind-organ, and the aeolipile (the first recorded steam engine). 

Although today the only surviving example of such sophisticated ancient Greek mechanics is the Antikythera mechanism, it is clear that complex mechanical devices existed in ancient Greece. Following the destruction of the Library of Alexander and the collapse of the Greek Empire, most of the works of the ancient Greeks were lost to us, and along with it, the art of automata. By the 8th century, the art made an official recovery in the Middle-east, with the publication of 'The Book of Ingenious Devices', which was a large illustrated work on mechanical devices, including automata, published in 850 by the three Persian brothers known as the Banu Musa working at the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) in Baghdad. The book described about one hundred devices and how to use them.

The automata look like the creation of the modern world. These pieces (specially the small ones) are intricate mechanisms that create the simplest movements, human like movements, so soft and delicate. Sometimes I forget that I am watching perfect androids, the more and more I watch them...they become real. I can't believe that the automatons have been around for centuries! even B.C.! 

During the 1700 royalty and people with money started buying automata for their parties. The royalty always needed to have the latest popular things, and the automata were the IT things, they provided entertainment and music. As you know, if the royals and the famous had something new, the rest of the society imitated them. On the 1800, the automatons became more popular, they were sold as souvenirs, toys for children and entertainment at local fairs, and they were not exclusive for people with money anymore. The automatons were based on common individuals, show business performers, fairy tales, etc. The characters on which the automatons are based are varied, it just depended on the creator.

Enjoy these wonderful videos ... 

  

I'm sure I had one of those in a past life. I need one.

Radio apps more popular than music channels ?

"Video killed the radio start" is the tittle of Bugles music video, the first music video played by Mtv in USA. Released on 1979 and directed by Russell Mulcahy  (famous music and movie director), Video Killed The Radio Star (VKTRS) became an iconic  music video of the 80s decade.

The song presents a character who is longing for the old days, the days when we only needed radio to listen to music and music was the only thing we needed from our favorite artists. The character is complaining about how things changed and it is up to the radio generation to always remind everyone else that the radio star came before. 

VKDRS is a criticism about new technologies and the new way artists are using it to sell records and expose themselves to the world. I would dare to say that, in today's world, TV is not the number one resource for young people to find out about the latest music hits or the top 40 around the world.

Back when Mtv was born and it looked like a good business, other music tv channels followed after and along with cable TV, they were the only media where we could see music videos. The 90s was the last decade of high popularity for Mtv, they killed many shows, specially since TRL was cancelled viewers AND artists felt the big void that shows like taht left. On 2006, google bought YouTube and through the magic of the WWW, we once again found another way to watch music videos but this time whenever we wanted, we had a different option.

On 2007, Apple Inc. introduced the I phone and a whole variety of phones brands offered us countless applications (apps). The apps made possible to take our music everywhere and I am not talking about the regular downloads, I am talking about RADIO !!!! online radio.

I don't know about you (whoever is reading) but I can't listen to the songs on my phone all day long, I need variety and the interaction that radio provides me with. The radio programs are made to entertain and make us feel accompanied through our day; the voices that we listen through the speakers are our invincible companions. We are free to choose the radio that best suits us, we even can choose a radio station that plays one kind of music.

 "According to the Daily Mail, U.K. radio listenership is at a record high, with "91.6 per cent of the population" tuning in each week. 

And listenership in the U.S is also increasing at a rapid pace, according to Arbitron, a leading media and marketing research firm in D.C. Arbitron found in a recent"Infinite Dial" study that 242 million Americans currently listen to the radio each week, and online radio consumption has doubled every year since 2001." -www.huffingtonpost.com

Since the creation of radio apps, especially since the creation of I Heart Radio (2008), regular radio station created their own apps so they wouldn't lose listeners. 

I believe radio is back in demand and it would be fair to say:

" Radio apps killed the video start "

Game Of Thrones Costumes Creation

from style.time.com

Michele Clapton worked on her own fashion line and was a stylist for musicians before embarking on a successful career in costume design for television. Now she’s the Emmy-award winning designer responsible for the lavish gowns and hard-edged armor on HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Clapton's team works in a vast studio space that houses the making and cutting of costumes, the armor department, and breakdown – the process of aging, patterning or making materials look worn. Clapton enjoys the collaborative nature of the space, as "someone dying leather and fabric," while the armor department is "very loud and bashing things away." She calls creating armor her favorite thing to do because it "gives craftspeople a chance to experiment."

When creating the armor for the Unsullied, Clapton had specific parameters: a silhouette that communicated strength and a helmet with a point, as specified in George RR Martin's novels. Creating one look for a vast army of extras proved challenging, especially given the physiques specific to different shooting locations: "We filmed in Morocco where extras were narrow-shouldered, and then filmed in Croatia where men were huge," Clapton said with a laugh. The piece that brought the look together was the helmet that obscures the face. "Bending the points on the helmet creates a more elegant look." Clapton explained. On set, the helmets immediately unified the group as a "true army." Clapton recalled there were "all sort of issues when we were filming because they started behaving as a pack." The crew ended up creating a new rule: "You can't put your helmet on until you get to set."

The filming schedule can prove uniquely challenging. "Sometimes we shoot the after-battle scenes before the battle scenes," Clapton explains. In these instances, the armor goes to breakdown, and gets cleaned up as filming progresses. Of course, some material gets more attention than others: "Joffrey's armor doesn't get aged at all because he doesn't use it," revealed Clapton.

Other times, the department will create multiple sets of armor. With longer scenes, Clapton's team crafts two sets in metal and one plastic set – the metal can be heavy. "Some actors enjoy the weight," Clapton shared, "but you see it on screen briefly and they're wearing it for a day and a half shooting in it." Stunts can also necessitate altercations; such was the case for Brienne's fight with the Hound. Actor Gwendoline Christie's armor could not be shared with her stuntperson because "Brienne's stuntman is a man," Clapton reveals.

Sunday Movie Recommendation: The Lobster

In a crazy, maybe near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods. – Source: imdb

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring  Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and Léa Seydoux. This “Avant Garde” movie is set on a society where single people are not accepted, they are the outcasts. Society thinks single people shouldn't exist, it is illegal and it’s even dangerous to be single, alone.

The single individuals are taken to a hotel, where a set of rules are given to them; they only got 45 days to find a mate, otherwise they will be converted into animals (of their choice). This world, like any other society, have a group of outcast that are hidden from society and also very much organize too. I do not want to give more away. The movie is entertaining and very interesting, just the thought of a society like this one sounds crazy but …when you think about it, we live in a crazy society too.

When I saw The Lobster the first thought that came to my mind was: The story in this movie is not so different from the real world! In today’s world, you become an outcast in certain situations like: high school reunions, weddings, when you don’t have kids, when you don’t have the ideal body type, when you have a certain look and so on and so forth. People judge us because of how we live and especially in traditional society (like mine) If you haven't achieved certain things by the time you turn 30, you are strange and even called unlucky (but that is a post for another night).

We do have love involved in the story and we see what one guy is capable to do to find the right mate or to keep it by his side. We are living in a decade (I dare to say) where everybody is obsessed to find love! Since we have the world in the palm of our hands ...or sometimes in our back pocket, we think it should be easier to find love but it is not. 

I do recommend this movie, it is one of those movies that are underrated and maybe it didn’t make it to your local movie theater but you have to find it and watch it.

I give it...Five Pop Corns! 5/5