Surveillance capitalism... a term I was not familiar with, but after reading McNamee's "Zucked" another thing to worry about.
Reading a plea for regulaSurveillance capitalism... a term I was not familiar with, but after reading McNamee's "Zucked" another thing to worry about.
Reading a plea for regulation from a man who invested in the Startups of Silicon Valley is fascinating and troubling at the same time. It is illustrative though of the problems that Social Media and more specifically Meta's Facebook are causing to the fabric of society.
In the search for frictionless online experiences, Facebook has built a giant amplifier of the human spirit with "algorithms" to boost amplification and revenue through often way too unethical decisions.
I can find myself in most of the suggestions McNamee does; except for his US-centric approach when forcefully opening up technology and breaking monopolistic behavior through regulation. The Internet is a global ecosystem, and protectionistic measures simply fail....more
Dug the book out of my closet after having seen the new Battle Angel Alita movie. Loved the movie and was curious how well Cameron transferred the stoDug the book out of my closet after having seen the new Battle Angel Alita movie. Loved the movie and was curious how well Cameron transferred the story to the silver screen.
To be honest, I think the movie version is more polished and consistent. I would even claim it is better, as a version 2.0 of the original story.
The original story has more gore and runs through some strange jumps and loops, which is to be expected from an older manga (it's 30 years or so old in the meantime). I can imagine Kishiro developing the story and characters while drawing the fighting scenes - so one should not be surprised the reworked story used in the movie is close, like a variation on a theme, but not entirely the same.
It didn't bother me... I was actually convinced it followed the original story closely but to my surprise, it didn't. Actually, that was the main reason why I dug up that old collection and revisited it....more
Yes, this book gave me quite some answers. And no there is no easy hack, let alone an easy way out of pGetting some insights...
Why do I put off tasks?
Yes, this book gave me quite some answers. And no there is no easy hack, let alone an easy way out of procrastinating. It’s a bad habit, and habits die hard.
Oh well, I suppose I’ll just have to start, don’t I? And forgive myself whenever I fail and fall....more
**spoiler alert** “Altered Carbon”, the Netflix series, was one of my favourite binge-watchings of 2018 :-) ... a Cyberpunk environment so reminiscent**spoiler alert** “Altered Carbon”, the Netflix series, was one of my favourite binge-watchings of 2018 :-) ... a Cyberpunk environment so reminiscent to the Bladerunner universe with this incredible concept of discs, stacks and sleeves and all its moral, religious and ethical consequences. It simply blew my mind. I was super curious about the original work on which the series was based on and when I found the book in an airport bookstore, I couldn’t resist but buy the thing.
My expectations were high and I was expecting to find the story I had loved with some additional background and untold bits and pieces. That’s always a dangerous premise and possibly a recipe for disappointment.
The series is clearly based on the book and there are definitely quite some similarities but the story line is different on many fundamental points. For those that have seen the series, be warned, this is a MAJOR spoiler: Kovacs doesn’t have a sister in the book!
I wished I had first read the book and then seen the series as it is always extremely difficult to appreciate a book after having seen the adaptation when the story line is like 70% the same and differs in some major plots twists... I understand the fundamental changes the script writers did for the series but it made is extremely difficult for me to appreciate the book. And even though in most cases the book is always better than the adaptation, in this specific case I have my doubts.
I’m still giving it 4 out of 5 stars as Richard Morgan created a wonderful universe with quite some dilemmas and a good story line. But the Netflix adaptation just feels like a polished version of the original story. ...more
**spoiler alert** Sinds begin dit jaar heb ik mijn eerste hond, een Old English Bulldog of kortweg OEB. Neen, het is geen erkend ras, maar die erkende**spoiler alert** Sinds begin dit jaar heb ik mijn eerste hond, een Old English Bulldog of kortweg OEB. Neen, het is geen erkend ras, maar die erkende rassen zijn sowieso al een bizar gegeven. We hebben haar van toen ze 12 weken oud was en ze nam ons mee op een een prachtig avontuur waar je je regelmatig toch eens afvraagt: “doe ik het wel goed in onze roedel”?
Per toeval botste ik op Chris zijn boek via een interview op de radio. Wat me vooral aansprak is hoe Chris de gevestigde waarheid onder de loep neemt en ze tegen nieuwe inzichten aanhoudt. Het resultaat is een prachtig hondenboek, voor één keer niet vol tips en trucks om je hond dingen te leren of laten doen, maar met een actueel beeld over de geschiedenis van de hond en de unieke eigenschappen die domesticatie met zich heeft meegebracht.
Chris schrijft vlot, toegankelijk, to-the-point en begrijpelijk en aarzelt niet om voldoende humor en emotie aan zijn schrijfsels toe te voegen.
Zijn boek deed me denken over dingen die ik dacht te weten omdat ik ze ooit gehoord of gelezen had. Zoals het verhaal van het alfa-dier, de wolf-in-de-hond en dominantie; telkens blijken nieuwe inzichten die oude waarheden naar de prullenmand te verwijzen en je een beter inzicht geven over je hond(en).
Chris schuwt de kritiek niet, hij stelt zich terechte vragen over de zogenaamde rassen en raszuiverheid, de broodfok en de zin en onzin die dagdagelijks via de media in de wereld wordt gestuurd zoals de demonisering van sommige rassen.
En dan is er het laatste hoofdstuk “Mira”, over het afscheid van zijn Golden Retriever die blind en doof geworden was. Hoe maar effe een zakdoekje bij de hand....more
**spoiler alert** Christin's criticism on the human race pops up again in this great little story of a species that returns to their home planet after**spoiler alert** Christin's criticism on the human race pops up again in this great little story of a species that returns to their home planet after 4000 years of space drifting. The planet has been colonised in the mean time and is being used for its resources. A recipe for conflict with the hilarious Alflolians.
I'm wondering if Avatar used this 40 year old story as inspiration? In both cases we (the human race) are the intergalactic "pricks"....more
The more I dive (back) in the "Ravian/Valerian" universe, the more I get curious about Besson's take. Can't wait to see the finished movie.
But re-readThe more I dive (back) in the "Ravian/Valerian" universe, the more I get curious about Besson's take. Can't wait to see the finished movie.
But re-reading these comics, makes me also wonder if I shouldn't buy them in their original French version. The Dutch translation feels sluggish using a language that is way too formalised and misses dynamism and fun.
What I really love about this series is how it doesn't restrict itself and allows for the most fantastic of scenes and crazy species, habits, etc... this is Space Opera at its best.
Christin clearly has some doubts about our human morals, it feels like he is a great proponent of "L'homme est bon par nature ; c'est la société qui le corrompt." Valerian and Laureline are therefore more than agents of time and space, they are also the knights of morality Christin sends out to protect the universe against the human race's bad traits. ...more
Valerian is called Ravian in the Dutch translation of this late sixties / early seventies sci-fi graphic adventure. It was the upcoming Besson movie aValerian is called Ravian in the Dutch translation of this late sixties / early seventies sci-fi graphic adventure. It was the upcoming Besson movie adaptation that made me dive into my library and dig out volume 1 of this wonderful and creative universe. Surely it is dated and some wordings are barely acceptable these days;... there's even a bit of sexism in the Ravian/Valerian - Laureline relation, but at the same time "the little lady" does know how to handle the challenges thrown at her.
The sci-if is a bit naive and especially the first book depicts a bleak future for mankind. But at the same time there's a breath of fresh air in this future universe. Original storyline, although with quite some text, makes you wonder what took so long to transform this in a movie....more
**spoiler alert** Disclaimer: I work for EURid, the company that is the subject of this book. This review expresses my personal opinion.
You will not f**spoiler alert** Disclaimer: I work for EURid, the company that is the subject of this book. This review expresses my personal opinion.
You will not find this book in traditional bookshops or on Amazon.com; you can download it for free in PDF or ePUB format from the EURid website @ https://eurid.eu/en/news/our-book-eu-... .
It helps having a fairly long track record working in the Internet business to digest this work. I worked for 3 Internet Service Providers, an online marketing and advertisement organisation and now for the registry of .eu. Although the book tries to point the novice in the right direction, it certainly is not a primer for those looking to understand how the intricate DNS business actually works.
It actually focusses on the origins of one of the most successful launches of a Top Level Domain. A Top Level Domain, or TLD is the last part of a domain name. So .com for goodreads.com and .eu for eurid.eu. Every TLD is managed by an organisation called a registry. Two-letter TLDs are also referred to as ccTLDs or country-code top level domains. The European Union, although not a country does have its own country code and hence it has .eu as its domain suffix. How this actually came to be is one of the more interesting parts of the book.
Even though the title refers to the first decade, the book focuses on the inception of .eu at the core of the European Commission, the assignment of the contract to EURid and the launch of the new registry. And unfortunately it does this mainly from a singular point of view with regular sidetracks full of irrelevant details.
After having finished the 200+ pages I was left with mixed feelings. Yes, I understood better how the .eu became to be and where the company I work for comes from, but at the same time it didn’t answer essential questions and was too much focussed on an event that happened 10 years ago.
What was the motivation of the people behind .eu to take these huge risks? Every single one of the main actors in this story had a different full time job and responsibilities before and at the launch of this new TLD. Was it working for something larger than a traditional ccTLD, or maybe the believe in a unified digital Europe that pushed them forward? These questions remain largely unanswered.
Sadly the book doesn’t go beyond the launch, nor does it tell us more about the evolution of the .eu TLD in its namespace over these first 10 years. What did the registry learn, what did Europe learn? And how does this translate to the future where domain names become less visible, maybe less relevant while at the same time feeling the increased pressure of the eco-system created by the new gTLDs?
You will not find answers or opinions on these important questions. Then again, this might not have been the purpose of the narrative in the first place. ...more
I watched Constatine, the series recently and I wondered how close it was with the comic. We all know the movie isn't but here we have at least an EngI watched Constatine, the series recently and I wondered how close it was with the comic. We all know the movie isn't but here we have at least an English blond bloke in the USA, so that matches partially the Hellblazer premises.
Clearly the script writers took at least the effort to read the original work and got inspired by it. There is Zed, a zest of the Tongues of Fire, papa Midnite and even some stories were nicely adapted. I liked the series and it's too bad it got cancelled. But let's face it, John Constantine is an acquired taste ...more
It's been a while that I had read this comic and after rereading it I remember I had some mixed feelings about the story and its characters. On one siIt's been a while that I had read this comic and after rereading it I remember I had some mixed feelings about the story and its characters. On one side it feels more adult than your average spandex superhero story, but on the other side it lacks body (pun intended). I'm not really familiar with this character and its universe and it doesn't really help to barge in somewhere halfway the series to get a real grasp of it.
I did enjoy the villains though; they are plain crazy. But the comic also felt like a lot of potential was lost by staying on the surface and never dive any deeper. As if the storyline tried to be more adult without actually going for it.
As a result, years ago, I wasn't inclined to invest further in Ghost. And that conclusion hasn't changed.
**spoiler alert** Really? Has the scarlet thread reached an end? Battles have been fought, people, demons, horned heroes died. This conclusion is grea**spoiler alert** Really? Has the scarlet thread reached an end? Battles have been fought, people, demons, horned heroes died. This conclusion is great. A bit confusing with all players thrown on a stack and I had to crawl back to tome 9, The Wild Hunt, to untwine the scarlet thread. But nevertheless I'll miss that big red bloke. ...more
Another set of really cool short stories. Loved the one with the Mexican wrestlers and the cow-boy. As usual, Mignola has a wicked and original imaginAnother set of really cool short stories. Loved the one with the Mexican wrestlers and the cow-boy. As usual, Mignola has a wicked and original imagination in which gothic lore clashes with the down to earth Hellboy.
I do prefer the longer story arcs though......more
How many comics do you know where the protagonist is more of an observer than someone actively participating? "The Crooked Man" is a collection of HB How many comics do you know where the protagonist is more of an observer than someone actively participating? "The Crooked Man" is a collection of HB stories where he tags along while the story unfolds. Only at the conclusion of every tale the big guy gets involved, mostly in a dramatic way.
There's an essay in the back on Manly Wade Wellman which made me curious. Unfortunately it seems relatively difficult to find reprints and collections of his work. ...more
**spoiler alert** Wow uptil know one of my favorites. Lot's of background development, lots of preparation and a fantastic way to weave the legend of **spoiler alert** Wow uptil know one of my favorites. Lot's of background development, lots of preparation and a fantastic way to weave the legend of King Arthur into the universe of Hellboy.
We know who he is. We know the role he is destined to play. But is he a creature of free will???...more
Yet another story, yet another tale with the Baba Yaga. I prefer those longer stories over Mignolia's shorter work.
I love Jane Yolen's foreword. It'sYet another story, yet another tale with the Baba Yaga. I prefer those longer stories over Mignolia's shorter work.
I love Jane Yolen's foreword. It's spot on, except maybe for them being twins :-)
What's so remarkably fresh about Hellboy is his absolute lack of being the true protagonist. He's continously being beaten up, cut and hurt as he stumbles through the world. He's like a ragdoll being thrown from one story to the next, but with every print of his hoofs he rewrites the future. ...more
Honestly I prefer the longer story arcs, especially with the BPRD. The solo adventures of Hellboy can be very different in nature. Volume 7 contains tHonestly I prefer the longer story arcs, especially with the BPRD. The solo adventures of Hellboy can be very different in nature. Volume 7 contains two amazing little gems: The Hydra and the Lion and the wonderful Makoma. ...more
I love the longer story arcs in Mignolia's work, but here too much is explained that the attentive reader might already know. We all know by know thatI love the longer story arcs in Mignolia's work, but here too much is explained that the attentive reader might already know. We all know by know that there is "spmething going on with the man's right arm. ...more
**spoiler alert** Talking apes, helping hands from the beyond, a homunculus and an alien, Lovecraft and Nazis. You have to admit this is either a list**spoiler alert** Talking apes, helping hands from the beyond, a homunculus and an alien, Lovecraft and Nazis. You have to admit this is either a list of ingredients for Castle Wolfenstein, an extremely bad Z-movie or the genius of Mignola. I'm glad it's the latter....more
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