I was born in the year 1977. About two months after I came into the world, a little-known sci-fi movie was a surprise spring hit that quickly became a sensation with cinemagoers. The film in question was Star Wars.
It makes me wonder if I should become a Jedi or follow Jedi beliefs.
1977 was the year Pink Floyd released their masterpiece Animals. I believe the late godfather of punk Lou Reed made the album Street Hassle that year, which many more years later he admitted he mostly regretted doing. In this day and age of gender identity, Lou Reed is sometimes criticized for being hostile to trans people.
Never Mind the Bollocks, the band’s sole studio album, led the way. In those days, Queen Elizabeth II was the British monarch, and they flaunted their success to the Royal Family.
The Ramones and maybe The Clash made albums in ’77, too. I just read an article about Patti Smith’s integration of her presence in the rock music scene with art’s photorealistic movement in the Washington Post. AI users are now able to use AI to create original images, including some that may be photorealistic.
In 1977, The Fall was already making music and making waves. I believe that they had really just started making music the previous year.
Exploring why it is worth watching after all these years, opinions about the movie from different perspectives, and The moment we finally find our hero.
I was a child in 1986, young enough to believe in fantasy. I suspect the 1986 Transformers movie was available in a serial edit for Saturday morning television, as elements of the plot seem familiar to me.
History of Classic Transformers
In 1980, Takara made the “Diaclone” toy line in Japan as a unique sci-fi series of 1:60 scale figures, vehicles, and playsets. Microchange is a subline of Takara’s New Microman line of the mid-’80s, 3.75″ figures that were super-posable and cars and robots for use by them. They introduced robots ready to change into regular vehicles, electronic things, or weapons. Hasbro bought the Micro Change and Diaclone toys and partnered with Takara.
The TakaraTomy company makes toys in Japan. They are the maker of Transformers in Japan and plan a significant part of the design for Transformers toys. It has been a business partnership between Hasbro and Takara ever since.
Who was the very first Transformer? Primus is the divine force of the Transformers, an ancient and ethereal being that dates back to the universe’s beginning, a force for good that exists across multiple realities, and infinite alternate universes. It was Prima who was the first Transformer created by Primus, and he would later lead Thirteen.
The Thirteen were the Cybertronians made by Primus to battle Unicron. They were each given the ranking of Prime. Simon Furman further invented the Transformers’ origin independently.
Quintessons are a race of creatures being driven off by Sentinel Prime. They are the manifestations of Quintus Prime and rule their realm from the planet Quintessa.
Pre-1986
Tragically, the space transport Challenger crumbled 73 seconds after its send-off, killing each and every one of the seven space travelers. It has been suggested that those old enough to remember belong to Generation X (too old to be considered millennials). Would recollecting the 1986 Transformers feature also help confirm that I am part of Generation X?
The animated Transformers feature film was released on the big screen in 1986. It was in North America on August 8. It was co-created by Nelson Shin.
The screenplay was composed by Ron Friedman, who made Bionic Six. 7.2/10 on IMDb, The Transformers: The Movie is a story that heroic Autobots safeguard the world from Decepticons. Anger is raging between both factions, and that hatred has made them blind to a threat.
The Transformers: The Movie is the first Transformers feature, even though the live-action films get all the attention. The movie gained a cult following among genre fans despite being a box-office failure.
Compared with the TV series’ equivalent of 90 minutes, the film’s budget was six times higher at $6 million.
1986 Underdog Autobots
In The Transformers: The Movie, after a Decepticon assault devastates Autobot City, Optimus Prime wins a deadly one-on-one duel with Megatron, but sustains fatal injuries in the encounter. It was Megatron’s correct calculation that the Decepticon crew would not set off the automated defenses of Autobot City.
I’ve thought about how the story for The Transformers: The Movie fits a quest pattern.
Quest “Initiation”–The Decepticons conquer Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, in what was 2005. Thundercracker, Skywarp, Shrapnel, Kickback, Bombshell, and Megatron are jettisoned to conserve fuel, by several Decepticons, led by Starscream. The injured Decepticons are found by Unicron, a conscious planet.
In exchange for the destruction of the Matrix–which Megatron knows can destroy him–Unicron offers him a new body. He tells him Ultra Magnus has it.
Quest “Instructions”–On his deathbed, Optimus passes a power.
Quest “Journey”–Retaking the Decepticons, Galvatron drives to search out Ultra Magnus.
Quest “Confrontation”–The Autobots and Junkions head for Cybertron. The Autobots crash through Unicron and become disbanded. Dinobots, Decepticons, and Junkions continue to battle Unicron.
Daniel safeguards his dad Spike from Unicron.
Quest “Conquest”–Understanding this is the Autobot’s breaking point, the work changes Rodimus Prime, the Autobot pioneer. He is now an Autobot champion.
Quest “Return”–Rodimus throws Galvatron into space to obliterate Unicron, then escapes with the other Autobots.
Quest “Transformation”–With the Decepticons in chaos, the Autobots praise the conflict, and the retaking of their home planet, while Unicron’s head circles.
Screenplay Resolution
During the conquest, Galvatron acquires high ground. (Remind you of Ewan McGregor’s dialogue in Revenge of the Sith?)
The Matrix, realizing this is the Autobots’ darkest hour, transforms Hot Rod into Rodimus Prime. According to Hot Rod’s tech specs, he is an Autobot Cavalier, while Rodimus Prime is an Autobot Protector – unlike Optimus Prime, who is an Autobot Commander. While Unicron’s severed head orbits Cybertron, the Autobots celebrate both the war’s end and the retaking of Cybertron from the Decepticons.
As a screenplay, I find the action and story adequate, and I also think the voice acting is notable. It mostly deserves the 7.2 it has on IMDb, although that score is possibly a little generous.
With numbers as over-whelming as scenes, the Transformers surprisingly realistic film was delivered in 2007 and has gotten five blockbuster spin-offs and a prequel. Even those who don’t like the movie suggest the brand benefited from the film overall.
I agree that Michael Bay is a great movie director, whatever criticism is leveled at him, and his first Transformers film shows it. Shia LaBeouf played the leading role in the movie quite admirably as an up-and-comer, and Megan Fox is gorgeous and fun as the film’s leading actress. Bay had a $147 million budget in the US for the movie, and the box office was $4.8 billion.
Sadly, notwithstanding posting Autobot-sized numbers that followed – Fallen ($836M), Moon ($1.12B), Eradication ($1.1B), The Last Knight ($605M) – the films tumbled off a precipice. While he delighted in making them, Bay ought to have tapped out sooner.
Despite many calling the second movie the worst of the franchise, one Reddit user, chris95rx7500, claims it is still his favorite. Furthermore, he remarks, “if you didn’t like the movie, the toy line made up for it.”
Fans of Transformers tend to view the movies as relatively disposable since so many exist to date. The sixth film in the flagship series, and the seventh overall, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is set for release on June 9, 2023.
Paramount Pictures
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Since I understand that social media is the reality for most of the first world, I am reasonably immersed in social media. My favourite YouTubers, whether they’re creating content specifically for YouTube or bands who are bringing out new material or old material from the old days when people like that did something fantastic, make me feel strong. The love for tech is naively formed, perhaps, but keeping in mind that the biggest firms, like Meta and Alphabet, would like your data, if not every single tech company, watching favourite creators become YouTube stars makes me feel strong most of the time.
I feel strong when a savvy TikTokker post turns out to be a great video, scored with some piece of music I’ve often enjoyed.
I feel solid when a companion or relative accomplishes something advantageous, since I like great choices, and not terrible. I can be a useful individual.
I feel strong when nations and their people stand together. Although I usually feel as though I am the spy in the back of the meeting of revolutionaries, heading for the gallows if I am caught redhanded for my true allegiance, I do enjoy when people with a common background come together. That can make for an extremely strong encounter.
A smart piece of writing, or other great content, makes me feel strong. It feels good to share trending web pages to Twitter and Facebook when I think they can provide food for thought. I feel strongly about posting on the Maple Lawn Facebook page for my father’s business.
I feel strong being with my girlfriend when she is happy with me. A relationship like our own strength is the main strength I have, considering that life is not a practice run. I would rather not hazard losing her warmth and care.
Taking part in a blogging challenge like WordPress’bloganuary makes me feel strong 🙂
My mother once picked up a book called From a Certain Point of View, as a Christmas gift for me. It’s a collection of short stories set in the Star Wars universe. The book’s short stories tell the plot of Star Wars from the point of view of minor characters. For example, in the first story in the book, the captain of the escape brigade gets the point of view, which is neither the droids C-3P0’s or R2-D2’s, nor Princess Leia’s. It is the same plot as the first scene of the film.
The book is celebrating Star Wars‘ fortieth anniversary, so I am taking the understanding that the book is a 2017 volume. 2017 was the year of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi took a different point of view that was a departure from styles of the previous Star Wars films. It recreated Luke Skywalker as a figure afflicted with existential angst. The book only contains scenes from the 1977 Star Wars film with a yowl from Rogue One to begin the book.
I don’t know why I haven’t read it sooner. I think the interest in Star Wars for me returned with the Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett. Thinking about the desert planet of Tatooine through the eyes of Boba Fett got me feeling good again about Star Wars. Boba Fett’s the character whom Lord Vader used to freeze and transport Han Solo back to Tatooine, to the palace of Jabba the Hutt in the second and third movies of the original trilogy.
Star Wars is an unusual fantasy. With the film, picturing each second from these brief tales ought to be a breeze.
What are the professional values of your boss like?
The HBO Max director’s cut of the film Justice League revived the popularity of DC superheroes, Batman, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and other heroic entities.
If you are a fan, you may have passionate feelings about the theatrical version of the film, and the miniseries.
But would your boss expect you to know anything about the Justice League?
Superheroes
Maybe your boss is like Michael Scott from TV’s The Office. While Michael Scott impersonates famous standup comedians, maybe your boss wants you to be the hero of your own story. When I had supervisors coach me on the job, they would try to get me feeling good about the work.
When I was a salesman at a computer business, my own supervisor liked to say to me, “You’re the boss.”
Superman
Dishearteningly, the film Man of Steel from 2013 was the main Superman film for some time, not doing a lot to restore the name of the DCEU- – there was no continuation of the film series until Batman v. Superman: I don’t know that everyone needed Superman to kick the bucket at Batman’s hands. It just isn’t that nice an idea.
2013 Man of Steel Set in the DCEU
2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Set in the DCEU.
Now Justice League in 2021 is a four-hour miniseries that could make your emotional investment in the DCEU feel worthwhile again.
In the years 2007 and in 2008, I did my best to hold down work. One day, my sales team held a draw to boost company morale, where supervisors awarded prizes for good work.
Some of the prizes were movie units on DVD. A couple of them went into my coat pocket: I won them, Godzilla with actor Matthew Broderick and 16 Blocks with actors Bruce Willis and Mos Def.
All our bosses wanted from us was sales calls so that we could say we had earned the sales contract.
Back about the time I won those movie DVDs, my friend on the job, whose name is Brandon, pointed out snidely one day that I was not the film buff I should have been. He must have been having a bad day.
“Do you know how many people are doing that?”
Yeah.
Today, years later, I thought I would point out nine things at work that you can only learn if you have at least a passing familiarity with the film Justice League.
Budget
The budgets for Batman v. Superman and Justice League were immense. At work, I suppose it’s about how much money is being spent on the job at hand, like payroll, upkeep, amortization, and other employment details. It may not be Superman’s Arctic Fortress where you work, but if the lights are on, and you’re putting money in your pocket, you’re alright.
Cast and crew
Who’s your supervisor? Who are the day people (or the night people, if you are one of the day people)? Who is greeting people?
Remarkable positions. I wonder if Bruce Wayne handled conference calls when he was kicking it in the Batcave.
Costume
Everyone in Justice League has a sensational, superhero-worthy costume.
I certainly didn’t, but we didn’t have to dress in a suit and tie. For fiscally-challenged sales reps, like myself, what is the dress code? How are we to match?
Do we get a casual Friday?
I wasn’t under much demand to dress smartly, but I gave it a go.
Self-Promotion
Like a winning free ticket, for instance, how do you get thinking outside the box? Do we need to be guarded with our business, or can we extol once in a while how great it is that we’re in the trenches doing it? How liberal can we be with feedback from the ruling class?
How sensitive are the bigwigs in terms of our rabble-rousing?
Would Lois Lane get the headline?
Transmission
Alfred at Wayne Manor
Do we have to put away our phones while we work? Is it too much to ask that we get to multitask?
Would Alfred the Butler look after more than just dusting the modest decor of Wayne Manor?
Is there valet parking for our Batmobiles?
Personal computer knowledge
We proved in the interview that we know the system. We know the important commands.
I feel like I am frequently bewildered, despite my competence as a blogger. Dealing with gadgetry is a proper skill, your Batbelt, your communication lasso, and in all sincerity I raise a glass to you, my friend, reading this, having a knack for that. I just know it and between you and me, I believe it.
I don’t think spear-wielding Aquaman is too high-tech.
Musical score
Any chance you can wear just one earbud? That doesn’t have anything to do with the Justice League, but it could make work more tenable with a bit of music to enjoy.
The book The Four-Hour WorkWeek by Tim Ferriss recommends you play music any time you like. It’s the tried-and-true bestseller about productivity.
Popcorn in the aisle
Some people swear by microwave popcorn. Popcorn and an excursion to the films is a popular customs. It is strange, though, if, when at work, someone cooks popcorn in the staff kitchen.
When that happens, the aroma of popcorn catches uncool people unaware and there are both envy and odd recollections of being at the movies and experiencing happiness and satisfaction if you ask me what is happening there. I was never invited to get in on the buttery treat.
Sequel
Any possibility we’ll be back? What about our friends? Any shot at getting more and better work, whether or not a steadfast go?
And you need it. I’m talking to you, the DCEU.
You’re welcome to like the post, follow the blog, and/or comment.
For several years I have been lending time to my dad’s business, a cemetery which has been since attended by myself, my father, and as well an uncle of mine, and another friend of the family.
Today’s WordPress Discover theme is the idea of “hidden,” organized by Ben Huberman. Last night on Twitter, I saw a tweet that included a landscape by fantasy painter Boris Vallejo. The landscape is Cloud City, the Star Wars locale where the Sith’s Lord Vader captures Han Solo in preparation to return the smuggler and hero to an otherworldly gangster who Solo owes.
The Empire Strikes Back
The landscape of Cloud City, the carbon freezing chamber which Vader utilizes to hold Solo without fail, is painted hidden by steam, except for the sight of Solo’s friends and the traitor Lando Calrissian. Cloud City is hidden in the painting much as Darth Vader is hidden underneath his Sith mask. The Sith Order is an ancient order of Force-wielders devoted to the dark side of the Force, as starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sith explains.
The Force is an energy field that is wielded by Jedi on the side of good and Sith on the side of evil. An enduring saga, the timeline for this hidden landscape of Cloud City refers to the culmination of events in the 1980s The Empire Strikes Back film. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia swears her love for Han Solo.
Billy Dee Williams, as Lando Calrissian, does his best to rescue the Princess from Darth Vader, but at the cost of surrendering Solo to Vader, and Anthony Daniels as droid character C-3P0 is in pieces, having been shot by a laser blaster when he strayed around the wrong corner a few scenes earlier. Fortunately, C-3P0 is mechanical. C-3P0’s master at the time of events in The Empire Strikes Back is incongruously absent from the painting.
It would be Jedi apprentice Luke Skywalker, who comes to the realization that his friends are in terrible danger from Vader and that he has precious little time to train as a Jedi. The order of Jedi is a counterpart to the evil order of Sith.
Today Disney explained on Twitter that they have an interest in taking advantage of May the 4th tweets with the hashtag #maythefourth. May the 4th is a long running day that commemorates the Star Wars film franchise with the idea that the Star Wars toast “May the Force be with you” translates to “May the Fourth be with you,” as is well known as Star Wars fans. Disney announced today that hashtagging a tweet with #maythefourth, while making it eligible to be celebrated by Disney on Twitter, automatically makes that tweet the property of Disney themselves.
It isn’t a doable contingency. Clownfish TV on YouTube explained today that while Disney does own the trademark “May the Fourth,” the trademark is only guarded where apparel and events are concerned. There is no protection for Disney when Star Wars fans tweet #maythefourth about their love of Star Wars.
However, Disney clearly is trying to get protective of the trademark with the idea of putting their authority to use in the face of anyone who would tweet #maythefourth. Even that idea that Disney would like control of the hashtag #maythefourth could be enough to dispel an interest in tweeting the hashtag. The recognition from Disney would be nice, but implying that Disney has control of the hashtag isn’t right when they really don’t.
I would hope that Disney’s posturing to defeat tweets that don’t meet the bar that Disney would like to hold presents the idea that the sequel trilogy of Star Wars films, while fine movies I think, is somewhat irresponsible when it comes to respecting the film fandom. Clownfish TV didn’t even watch The Rise of Skywalker.
Today’s Discover challenge, by Michelle Weber, is about the word “orchestrate.” The last piece of music which moved me is the song battle born by The Killers.
Up against the wall (Up against the wall) There’s something dying on the street When they knock you down (Up against the wall) You’re gonna get back on your feet Cause you can’t stop now (Cause you can’t stop now) Did they break your heart? (Did they break your heart?) And did they cause your soul to mourn Remember what I said Boy you was battle born
While The Killers are a great band, I didn’t initially have a strong positive reaction to this song of theirs. Eventually, though, it began to move me the way a piece of music does, giving me the odd moment of pause while relevance in the song hits home with me.
What would it be that is “dying on the street?” I wonder briefly when I hear it. There is a Pavement song from 1995, Grounded, that has a similar lyric. Both are interesting songs.
It’s the end of March and two weeks ago was St. Patrick’s Day for 2020. The weather in Southern Ontario was reasonable in light of expectations. I found myself spending less time on Facebook. My sister telephoned me a couple of times.
A cousin of my mother, Cathie, along other lovely people, with a hobby of genealogy, ending with a nice account of the Irish my mother’s side of the family has. It looks like this St. Patrick’s Day, 2020, I’ll be a little less Irish. It looks grim.
the act or instance of making or becoming different.
I wish a lot of things were different, but I never would have chalked up the possibility of experiencing our pandemic catastrophe in my own life. I read of environmental warnings, like that there could be, say, eight years until the damage to the planet caused by humans becomes irreversible, or that global warming will cause sea levels to rise, however active God is on the picture at large. I don’t know how human beings will fare.
To consider attacks between warring groups the world over, hellbent on decreasing each other to iotas, to very small pieces, I think also police and military unfairly treat peaceable citizens, because the police loathe the skin colour or addiction, behaviour that doesn’t toe the line for the safety of the public. I think about these now and again, yet I hadn’t thought of what really descended three months ago. It is hard to contextualize that.
I always do my best to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, as so many do with aplomb and style. I welcome the end of winter. We are all called on to be, not so much Godfearing, as instead socially distant from one another.
Good on us all the same, that we can find solidarity in separating from one another, in a fashion that, like the lot of the unlucky addict, is no fault of our own.
We will have to come up with new measures to survive, and we have to do it at a time when I am sure many of us would be happier celebrating St. Patty’s in the usual fashion, wearing the colour green, and staying out late. We’re told to stay out of bars and restaurants and nightclubs and still young people want to go to those kinds of haunts. I want to be young myself, but not to the extent I want to risk sacrificing growing old.
I wanted to think about a superb St. Patrick’s Day, and although I recall it every year, I don’t know I could say that any specific March festivity was better than some other. A number of them were beautiful and left me feeling blessed. I am grateful to The Lord.
1998 occurs to me, becoming 21 years of age. However, against how this spring is going, I don’t think the excitement of taking a visit back in time is going to especially cause me to feel better. I like to enjoy speaking a kind word at certain times, because a little kindness sprinkled in the mix, while not reversing the uncertainty that we’re facing, does help temper the darkness.
I would like to wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day, dreadful or not.
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t to be overlooked, obviously. Go with the luck of the Irish! Let’s have a safe spring!
You’re of course welcome to comment and to follow. All the best to you, and to your loved ones.
Maybe it just didn’t seem to be as fulfilling without your imaginary friend, but the fellow sure was a good listener. He agreed with everything you decided, he brought up things that you might not yourself have thought of, and he was quick with ready suggestions that prevented all kinds of problems.
There were just matters that needed to be talked through, and the others weren’t really familiar with the notion or just how formidably commanding your friend felt about it. It was such a vivid feat of the imagination that it had a kind of form to it where it fed back everything you put in.
That was childhood. As the years passed and adolescence went to the sincere young man, he saw less and less of his fanciful companion. He hadn’t learned nearly so much now like yourself, what with the weeks and weeks and months and years of school, where the education was dull in comparison with the empty yard and the imaginary friend among the trees.
Holding model spaceships with a balled hand and indicating the stretch of the domestic yard around the house could take you from here, inspired by George Lucas’ famed films. I favoured the Rebel Alliance.
My concept of life after the Star Wars films galaxies reduced fewer resources, got myself and others out in the yard the same way when the other empty, pithy children were game. It was always after the events of Episode VI for me, never previous to the destruction of the second Death Star and the corporeal Emperor, settled for good until, incongruently, 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
At the point when I took a gander at the shores of Lake Erie, the lake took Princess Leia in her practical white Cloud City clothing that Lando thought to allow her to wear. She no longer tore such a beautiful image. Like Anakin said about his disgust for sand in the Star Wars films of the prequel trilogy… It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Her dignity. You’re free to like, follow, and additionally buy-in. It’s February tomorrow!
Preparing for an upbeat end to 2019, WordPress blogger The Little Mermaid again has devised a tea party blog hop, to entertain and regale us. In spite of the fact that I am late to return, after a bit of reflection, I haven’t overlooked all she sorted, multiple times now. I wouldn’t have forgotten.
For December, The Little Mermaid is asking about painting and art. Painting is a huge region, you may put it, of craftsmanship, by and large, and it is untoward not to recognize it. I haven’t gone to art museums, I don’t think, since college, but I did in that phase of my life, to see paintings and other art.
I have a picture for this blog, a mockup of abstract expressionism, as elaborated upon in the book `Bluebeard,’ by Kurt Vonnegut. Bluebeard is a novel that is a suitably handy foray into that style of art.
Without enthusiasm for craftsmanship, you have far less scope accessible to you, to seek after, than if you have some hunger for workmanship. You need, on some level, to be aware it’s important. If I could buy one work of art, to hang, say, where my tinted mirror hangs on the wall, if it fits, I would like Liberty Leading the People.
Liberty Leading the People. 1830. Oil on canvas, 260 x 325 cm.
Millennials, of who I disavow myself by virtue of my age, and whose influence is rapidly dissolving in today’s world, not only have lost the certainty of what art means in the digitalized world but are also facing a post-photographic eclipse, of the virtue of photography.
It doesn’t mean an end is coming to pass. It just implies that the world is evolving. For all that’s past, I imagine fewer and fewer peeps cherish the methods of how things were once done. C’est la vie, you might say, but all’s well that ends well. Everything, I usually bend my will to say, is as it should be.
Thank you, The Little Mermaid, for another lovely tea party. All the best in 2020! Visitors here are welcome to like, follow, or comment. You can find me on Quora
The Myth of the Independent Blogger and How I Learned to Love It 