Sunday, November 10, 2019
XR NEWS
QPORIT XRN
EXTENDED REALITY: TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE
Quick Previews Of Random Interesting Things in XR News
TODAY: 2019-11-11 (MON, NOV 12, 2019)
VIDEO
DISNEY+ STREAMING
- started today, with a huge library.
- There were some outages.
- Disney's streaming service comes in as a big new wave of new movies, old movies, new and old TV series, and other specials, comes to your TV and computer.
- Some of the existing services are Netflix, Apple TV+, Hulu (majority owned by Disney), and Amazon Prime (plus other a la carte videos on Amazon); some in the works are ATT/Warner HBO Max, and NBC's Peacock; plus ESPN+ for sports (also owned by Disney).
- There is also Roku, which seems like a streaming services aggregator.
- https://www.disneyplus.com/
***
2019-11-11 (MON, NOV 11, 2019)
VETERANS DAY!
TECHNOLOGY
THE IGDA - THE INTERNATIONAL GAME DEVELOPER'S ASSOCIATION
- is a terrific resource for anyone interested in game development.
- The New York Chapter is active and has a very valuable newsletter - a new edition is out today!
- To join or subscribe:
- https://igdanyc.jimdo.com/
TECHNOLOGY - COMMERCE
SINGLES DAY - THE ALIBABA SHOPPING 24 HOUR "HOLIDAY"
- seems to be the biggest shopping day of the year, anywhere in the world.
- This year, today, the Chinese company's event brought in a record breaking tally of more than $38B, and more than a 25% increase over last year.
- the premiere institution for training producers of commercial (Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional, non-profit, ...) theatrical productions, will be holding a two-day seminar on theater marketing this Thurday (11/14) and Friday.
- The speakers are top professionals.
- I've attended a number of events at CTI. They are terrific!
- https://www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com/product/marketing-seminar
THE NATION
HOUSE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARINGS
- begin at 10 AM Wed November 13.
- They can be watched on CSPAN, many cable news network channels, and livestreamed online on Committee websites.
- It is likely the videos of the livestream will remain on the Committee websites for on-demand viewing.
- https://intelligence.house.gov/
- https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/
- https://oversight.house.gov/
2019-11-10 (SUN, NOV 10, 2019)
TECHNOLOGY
MICROSOFT
- announced "Power Virtual Agents" (PVA) at MICROSOFT IGNITE.
- PVA is currently in a limited Beta. It seems to be a point-drag-click, "no-programming" (pdc-np) interface to create simple bots that access the MS AI engines. Programming is possible to create more powerful agents, but at the expense of never returning to the PVA.
EVO MORALES
- resigned as President of Bolivia, as protests racked the country.
- He had served as President since 2006.
- In 2009 he visited the US along with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, for the screening of Oliver Stone's SOUTH OF THE BORDER at the New York Film Festival. Chavez and Morales visited with a delegation of the press at the Festival and took questions, (tho' Chavez did almost all the talking). Chavez then spoke at length to the whole audience at the screening for the Press and the Industry.
NYFF 2009
Photo by Eric Roffman - QPORIT
THEATER
- is scheduled to close on January 5, 2020.
- directed by Joel Grey; at Stage 42, 422 W 42 St
- https://fiddlernyc.com/ .
DAVID HENRY HWANG'S SOFT POWER
- currently running at the Public Theater had it's origins in a hate crime, when the author was stabbed in the neck, from behind, near his home in Brooklyn, which was fortunately -- he said in an interview on the radio -- near a local hospital. It deals with politics and Chinese-American relations, "from China's point of view."
- directed by Leigh Silverman, music by Jeanine Tesori.
- The play runs another week, until November 17, 2019.
- www.publictheater.org .
TV
WEEDS
- is in production to return on STARZ, according to Variety. Mary-Louise Parker will star and executive produce.
- Parker is a brilliant actress, current starring on Broadway in THE SOUND INSIDE.
- The world, & weed, have changed drastically since the series ended. There is a wonderful new universe of possibilities to explore if they embrace the present.
***
2019-11-09 (SAT, NOV 09, 2019)
FILM
THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF FILM COMMENT
with stories on...
- Greta Gerwig on her adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN (Release date: 12/25/19; with cast including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, James Norton and Meryl Streep)
- THE IRISHMAN (Premiered at the NYFF; coming to Netflix; directed by Martin Scorsese; with Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Al Pacino, Anna Paquin)
- Céline Sciamma, on her film, PORTAIT OF A WOMAN ON FIRE (In French; release date: 12/06/19; with Adele Haenel)
GRETA GERWIG IN THE NYT
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (FLC) FREE TALK:
- JOHN SAYLES: WORK & CLASS IN MOVIES
- Mon Nov 11, 7 PM
- https://www.filmlinc.org/events/film-comment-talk-work-and-class-in-movies-with-john-sayles
BOOKS
NOTHING TO SEE HERE a novel by KEVIN WILSON
- received one of the strongest reviews I have ever seen in the NYT Book Review.
- NYTBR cover story, Sun Nov 10, 2019; review by Taffy Brodesser-Akner.
THEATER
STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS' HALFWAY BITCHES GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN
November 14 to December 22, 2019
- Directed by John Ortiz; cast includes David Anzuelo, Elizabveth Canavan; an Atlantic Theater, LAByrinth Theater production; at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th St NYC
- https://atlantictheater.org.
ODON VON HORVATH'S JUDGEMENT DAY
December 5, 2019 to January 11, 2020
- THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY
- Adapted by Christopher Shinn; directed by Richard Jones; at the Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Ave at 66th, NYC
- armoryonpark.org.
ARTIST TALK: Richard Jones and the creative team on JUDGEMENT DAY
Thursday, Dec 12 at 6:00
- THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY -- 643 Park Ave at 66th, NYC
- armoryonpark.org.
TECHNOLOGY
VOICE SUMMIT -- ANNOUNCED FOR 2020
October 5-8 2020 -- Washington DC
- I attended Voice Summit 2019; it was excellent!
- https://www.voicesummit.ai/.
MICROSOFT HAS BEGUN SHIPPING THE HOLOLENS 2 (~$3,500)
MICROSOFT: FREE TOUR
- of their 5th Ave New York stores is available on request.
- I did this recently. It's very interesting. The tour includes a visit to their professional gaming live streaming floor, their (amazing!!!) anyone-can-use free gaming floor, and a Hololens demo.
- Just walk in and request a tour. They are available hourly.
***
SELECTED RECENT STORIES IN QPORIT
SELECTED RECENT STORIES IN QPORIT
NYXR - THE NEW YORK EXTENDED REALITY MEETUP
Review: SILICON VALLEY
2019 NOBEL PRIZE AWARDS
SURFACE EVENT AT MICROSOFT
COLBERT INTERVIEWS JULIA-LOUIS DREYFUS
APPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS
TEST MARKET PREDICTIONS
MRS MAISEL RETURNS
NEWS ROUNDUP OF THE 2019 NYFF
ELON MUSK & THE NEURALINK BRAIN MACHINE
LIBRA: DAVID MARCUS' CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
***
Labels: books, film, news, QPORIT, Science, technology, theater, XR
Sunday, November 03, 2019
Review: SILICON VALLEY (HBO)
SILICON VALLEY
HBO
SUNDAYS – 10:00 to 10:30
The short review: It’s funny! Smart! Skewers high tech pretentions!
This is the sixth and alas! final season for the series.
Finding the humor in the world of start-up high technology development, Silicon Valley (SV) becomes a worthy successor to Doonesbury. While Doonesbury illuminated the foolishness of managers, SV describes a full set of coders in the trenches, innocent entrepreneurs, and the wild world of predatory companies and venture capital investors.
The characters are sharply drawn, enacted with skill by actors whose comedy is heightened by not being “funny”. The problems that the characters face are real, and the characters themselves… well I’ve met many of them in real life, and IRL they are just like that, but not funny.
The spine of the show is the contrast between the expectation, beliefs and actions that are current in the tech world, and a rather more accurate portrayal of the reality: One segment from a past season, portrayed a character delighted to be picked up for a meeting in a self-driving car that comes by itself to get him. Unfortunately, on the way to the meeting, the car remotely gets a change of destination instructions, and the character remains trapped in the car as it gets carried overseas on a container ship.
The startup, Pied Piper, the center of the show, keeps pivoting – in both its product focus and its strategy -- to find a path through the maze of startup friction.
The current, sixth, and final season seems likely to put the spotlight on Pied Piper’s efforts to create a new internet, free of the problems of our current internet. It vows not to capture personal data for exploitation. This goal seems to have encountered its first challenge in episode one, when a game that was not supposed to collect personal data, did. And when the game designer, blackmailed with recordings of his misdeeds to force him to go to his Board and resign, went to his Board, it seemed they took his “misdeeds” as great work.
It’s always fun and challenging to try to imagine how a series will end, as it gets into its final season:
Here we have a small company, run by a brilliant programmer, (but a less savvy, though always resourceful and dedicated entrepreneur); one that we root for, while suffering one setback, after another advance, after another setback, after another; a company that seems in no position -- with just a few episodes left -- to either succeed or fail big enough to provide any satisfying conclusion… at least any that I can easily predict (but which I do believe the terrific writing & directing team will invent)!
It’s a great series! Start now, (or, even better, find a way to go back and see the whole series from the beginning)!
Strongly recommended!
One of the series regulars, Kumail Nanjiani, was at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2017. He and his wife had just made The Big Sick, and he was one of the year’s 10 Actors to Watch. He was very impressive, sharp, witty and intelligent in several events at the Festival.
LINKS
SILICON VALLEY – IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2575988/
SILICON VALLEY WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley_(TV_series)
KUMAIL NANJIANI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumail_Nanjiani
CAST
Thomas Middleditch -- Richard Hendricks -- star coder & entrepreneur
Josh Brener -- Nelson 'Big Head' Bighetti -- upward failing coder
Martin Starr -- Bertram Gilfoyle -- expert coder
Kumail Nanjiani -- Dinesh Chugtai -- coder
Amanda Crew -- Monica Hall -- sympathetic venture investor
Zach Woods -- Donald 'Jared' Dunn -- very supportive assistant
Matt Ross -- Gavin Belson -- owner of a big competitor
Jimmy O. Yang -- Jian Yang -- competitor
Suzanne Cryer -- Laurie Bream -- humorless venture capitalist
T.J. Miller -- Erlich Bachman -- schemer (in first few seasons)
Chris Diamantopoulos -- Russ Hanneman -- mercurial investor
Labels: HBO, Kumail Nanjiani, SILICON VALLEY, Thomas Middleditch
Monday, October 14, 2019
NOBEL PRIZES 2019
NOBEL PRIZES 2019
Abiy Ahmed Ali
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his important work to promote reconciliation, solidarity and social justice. The prize is also meant to recognize all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions.
PHYSICS
James Peebles
Michel Mayor & Didier Queloz
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos, with one half to James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.
PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE
William G. Kaelin Jr & Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe & Gregg L. Semenza
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.
CHEMISTRY
John B. Goodenough & M. Stanley Whittingham & Akira Yoshino
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for the development of the lithium-ion battery. This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles. It can also store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making possible a fossil fuel-free society.
ECONOMICS
Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Michael Kremer
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
LITERATURE
Peter Handke (2019)
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2019 was awarded to the Austrian author Peter Handke for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience.
Olga Tokarczuk (2018 - This award was delayed from last year)
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 was awarded to the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.
Nobel Prize® is the registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation
Labels: chemistry, Economics, Literature, Nobel Prize, Peace, physics, Physiology or Medicine
Wednesday, October 02, 2019
SURFACE EVENT AT MICROSOFT
Microsoft announced a series of upgrades to the Surface computers, which will be available for purchase for this holiday season. See list below.
They also announced two surprising and dramatically new Surface computers that will be available next year, along with a new flavor of Windows 10.
- The first is a two-screen Surface that allows multitasking between the windows, folds to half the size (or expands to twice the size), and allows an external keyboard to be attached and folded into place.
- This comes with a new "modular" version of Windows called Windows 10X. Microsoft hopes to have developers creating for the new version of Windows by the time the new computer is released for the "2020 holiday season".
- Also coming next year is a Surface phone (!), running Android, and it will also have a dual screen.
NEW:
SURFACE LAPTOP 3 – 13.5 or 15” screen; AMD Processor; USB-C; 2019; Starts at $999.
SURFACE PRO 7 – 12.3” screen; USB-C; 2019; Starts at $749.
SURFACE PRO X – 13” screen; swappable solid-state drive; “slim pen”; ARM – MS SQ1 chip; 2019; Starts at $999.
SURFACE NEO – Dual screen; Windows 10X; physical keyboard; “slim pen”; 2020; Starts at $???
SURFACE DUO – Dual screen; Android phone; “Surface”; 2020; Starts at $???
SURFACE EARBUDS – Supports all virtual audio assistants; translates speech in 60 languages; speech to text; 2019; Starts at $249.
WINDOWS 10X – Supports dual screens.
Labels: dual-screen, Microsoft, Surface, Surface Duo, Surface Neo, Windows 10X
Sunday, September 22, 2019
COLBERT & JULIA-LOUIS DREYFUS
AN EVENING WITH
STEPHEN COLBERT & JULIA-LOUIS DREYFUS
Julia-Louis Dreyfus will be joining Stephen Colbert at the NJ PAC on Dec 7. It's a benefit for Montclair Film. They have a very active film program in the town of Montclair NJ, including a lot of interesting programs and classes for students and adults. Their advisory committee contains some super-stellar names. They organize the Montclair Film Festival (in May) which is one of the more-and-more-interesting-every-year film festivals.
Tickets are on sale now. (In the clouds, seats are about $80. In the first few rows seats can go for upwards of 7 times that price. ... It's a benefit.)
TICKETS
MONTCLAIR FILM
Labels: Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Montclair Film, Moontclair, NJ PAC, Stephen Colbert
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
NYVR - Theme: ETHICS ... PANEL & DEMOS (with me)
NYVR - the New York Virtual Reality Meetup will feature a panel discussion on ETHICS IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. on Thursday evening (9/19).
I (that's me, Eric Roffman) will be presenting an introduction to the panel discussion and later, in the demos, showing a trailer of my new VR video, PITCH #7 from PITCH for Pi DAY; and discussing the non-fiction, immersive project on immigration, WE CAME TO AMERICA. Both projects feature interaction between ethics and emerging technology.
PITCH #7 from PITCH for Pi DAY is a short, fictional, dramatic, 3D 360 VR video, with spatial audio -- dealing with a proposal for a super-hi-tech medical system -- shot with the VUZE camera.
Information details about the event are available at
https://www.meetup.com/NYVR-Virtual-Reality-NYC/events/260947426/
Labels: Ethics, NYVR, PI DAY, PITCH #7 from PITCH for Pi DAY, the New York Virtual Reality Meetup, VR Video, Vuze
Thursday, September 12, 2019
SPOOOKY...
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
9/11
One Earth.
All humans: one species.
* * *
No man is an island
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls...
It tolls for thee.
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls...
It tolls for thee.
John Donne, 1624
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
APPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS
The announcements from Apple today were significant in a few ways.
The announcements from Apple today were significant in few ways.
It was significant, I suspect, that Tim Cook did not begin with the usual status report. He said it was because there was so much to announce. But was it because the "status" did not have the status of his usual status report? There were, in fact, a lot of announcements, but they seemed all too lightweight. Was he trying to boost their significance, by going right to them?
The most interesting reveal was not that Apple+ would sell for only $4.99 per month ("for your whole family!" he exclaimed). It was that he was seeding the subscriber base for the service by giving away free subscriptions for a year with every new Apple product sold. (That's only $60 worth, of course, but a lot of new subscribers.)
At least two of the new shows seem very promising: the Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Reese Witherspoon series, THE MORNING SHOW, and a series, SEE, whose premise is that all humans have gone blind, but now children are born that can see. It may be just a "protect the baby" action flick, but if, as it claims in the promos, it delves into what humanity would be like if no-one could see, it could be profound.
The game streaming service, Apple Arcade, at $4.99 / mo, is also interesting -- although, since all the games are new and unique to Arcade, they come with no existing traction.
The hardware announcements were the usual improvements in almost every facet of hardware, but nothing new and exciting. The software improvements in camera technology may be useful for some people. Slow motion selfies, or slomofies, are likely to find both popularity and ridicule.
Several of the promotional/informational videos shown were brilliantly made.
In a discussion of the chip technology, it was mentioned that they now have built-in Machine Learning Hardware, right on your phone. While Apple has emphasized they respect privacy, this suggests a new, broad front for privacy invasion, as every manufacturer adopts similar technology: What is the phone learning about YOU, and who can learn what they -- the phone (and other objects you have around you all the time) -- are learning???
Prices were generally lower. With high resolution photos, home videos, videos from Apple+, plus more powerful Apps and games, many users may need to upgrade phones with lots of memory, raising the actual cost.
There was no mention of AR/VR/MR.
In summary, this seems to be a year of building the services segment, trying to maintain sales, and waiting for major new products (next year?) with: 5G capabilities, AR/VR/MR innovations (?), and (hopefully) some totally new ideas!
THE APPLE ANNOUNCEMENT
https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2019
THE MORNING SHOW TRAILER
THE TRAILER FOR: SEE
Labels: Announcements, Apple, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, iPad, iPhone, Jennifer Aniston, machine learning, privacy, Reese Witherspoon, SEE, Steve Carell, THE MORNING SHOW
Wednesday, September 04, 2019
QALENDAR SEPTEMBER 2019 UPDATED
QPORIT'S QALENDAR
SEPTEMBER 2019
LEGEND
TECH
FILM
THEATER (date is first preview)
THEATER (date is first preview)
GAMES
TV
HOLIDAYS
SUNDAYS
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
01 SUNDAY
02 MON - HOLIDAY - LABOR DAY
.......- GAMES - WORLD SPEED CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP (ongoing)
................ >> www.chess.com
03 TUE - THEATER - CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA (SHAW) - thru 2019-10-12
>> https://gingoldgroup.org/caesar-and-cleopatra/
04
>> QALENDAR updated Sep 5
05
06
07
08 SUNDAY
09
10 TUE - TECH - APPLE iPHONE EVENT
>> https://www.apple.com/apple-events/
11
12
13
14 SAT - THEATER - THE SOUND INSIDE - with Mary-Louise Parker; Opens 10/17
15 SUNDAY
16
17
18
19 THU - TECH - NYVR MEETUP - Theme: Ethics
- THEATER - THE ROSE TATTOO by Tennessee Williams; with Marise Tomei, Tina Benko; Opens 10/15
20
21 SAT - THEATER - CONFERENCE: "I WISH TO GO TO THE FESTIVAL
>> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-wish-to-go-to-the-festival-the-how-tos-of-producing-in-a-theatre-festival-tickets-70757815531
22 SUNDAY
23
24
25 WED - TECH - OCULUS CONNECT - thru 9/26
26 THU - TECH - NYC MEDIA LAB ANNUAL SUMMIT
>> https://summit.nycmedialab.org
27 FRI - FILM - 57th NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL (NYFF) - thru 10/13
.............. >> https://qporit.blogspot.com/2019/08/news-roundup-57th-new-york-film.html
28
29 SUNDAY
29 SUN - HOLIDAY - ROSH HASHONAH - begins at sundown; thru 9/31
30
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
01
02
03
04
05
06 SUNDAY
07
08 TUE - HOLIDAY - YOM KIPPUR - begins at sundown; thru 10/9
09
10 THU - FILM - HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (HIFF) - thru 10/14
>> https://qporit.blogspot.com/2019/07/preview-1-hiff-2019-hamptons.html
- THEATER - CTI: "THE FLOP HOUSE - NETWORKING & DISCUSSION"
>> https://www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com/product/the-flop-house
11
12
13 SUNDAY
14 MON - HOLIDAY - COLUMBUS DAY
15
16
17
18
19
20 SUNDAY
21
22
23
24
25 FRI - THEATER - CTI: "WHO GETS WHAT?"
>> https://www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com/product/who-gets-what/?utm_source=General
26
27 SUNDAY
27 SUN - TV - SILICON VALLEY RETURNS - Season 6: final
31 THU - HOLIDAY - HALLOWEEN
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
03 SUN - THEATER - JAGGED LITTLE PILL - directed by Diane Paulus; Opens 12/5
14 THU - THEATER - CTI: "MARKETING SEMINAR" - thru 2019-11-15
>> https://www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com/product/marketing-seminar/
28 THU - HOLIDAY - THANKSGIVING
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
06 FRI - TV - THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL - Amazon; Season 3
>> https://qporit.blogspot.com/2019/08/mrs-maisel-returns-2019-12-06-season-3.html
10 TUE - THEATER - WEST SIDE STORY - Opens 2020-02-06
14
20 FRI - FILM - STAR WARS IX - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Trilogy x Trilogy finale!
25 WED - HOLIDAY - CHRISTMAS
31 TUE - HOLIDAY - NEW YEAR'S EVE
Labels: 2019, Calendar, Chess, games, HIFF, Holidays, music, NYC Media Lab, NYFF, Oculus, QALENDAR, Star Wars IX, Tech, theater, TV, West Side Story
Monday, August 19, 2019
MARKET PLUNGE - LET'S TEST THE PREDICTIONS
On Wednesday, 8/14/2019, the Dow plunged 800+ points. One factor was an "inversion in the yield curve". Specifically, the 10 year T-Note yield dipped below the 2 year T-note yield. (Both yields were about 1.6% and differed by only about .02 % , very briefly.)
On CNBC, they showed a chart that claimed that (at least) since 1978 an inverted yield curve was followed by a pattern. Here are the dates, results and the implied forecasts.
The inversion was so brief that unless it recurs, these forecasts should be heavily salted. On the other hand, in May there was an inversion of the 3 year T-Note and the 10 year T-Note, so these "predictions" could happen 3 months earlier than described below.
So... here are the dates and the numbers, in writing(!), and we can test these "predictions" over the next two years.
As of 9:00 AM 8/14/2019
DOW: 26,279.91
S & P 500: 2926.32
NASDAQ: 8016.36
After an inversion of the yield curve:
A] - 12 months later, the S&P 500 was up an average of 12%.
"Prediction" - on 8/14/2020 (before the election), the S&P will be at 3,277.
"Prediction:" - on 2/14/2021 (Shortly AFTER the next inauguration) the markets will all go negative.
C] - 22 months later, there is a recession
"Prediction:" June 2021, there is a recession.
Whoever is elected -- in fact, whoever is running -- should keep this history in mind, in planning for the future. Whoever wins may have an economic tiger to control. Remember, the last big economic problem occurred at the end of the Bush administration, in the summer and fall of 2008, during the election, and required the attention of both candidates. Bipartisan cooperation prevented an even worse recession than actually occurred. On taking office, the economy was an immediate priority of the Obama administration. Adroit action set in motion the current long bull market.
Made even more difficult by the current political environment, during this election and after it will be critical, in a crisis, for the presiding administration and the opposition to find effective measures than can command bipartisan support, to prevent economic damage to the entire nation.
FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS!...
2019-08-23 >> Yield curve inverted again (!) when market plunged again.
LINK
THE YIELD CURVE - WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_curve
Labels: economic predictions, inversion of the yield curve, T-Notes, yield curve
MRS MAISEL RETURNS 2019-12-06 Season 3
The award winning Amazon series, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, will return for season 3 on December 6.
The returning cast includes...
Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam 'Midge' Maisel
Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson
Tony Shalhoub as Abe Weissman
Marin Hinkle as Rose Weissman
Michael Zegan as Joel Maisel
Matilda Szydagis as Zelda
Joel Johnstone as Archie Cleary
(Though IMDB has not updated Marin and Michael's credits.)
Rumor (and the season teaser) has it that the season begins with a trip to Miami. (I hope these segments are better than last season's opening segments in Paris, which were very disappointing (I love Paris), requiring a few more episodes before the series got its mojo back, with episodes brilliantly directed by Daniel Palladino and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.) The teaser also shows Midge on an armed services tour. Sterling K Brown (THIS IS US) makes a guest appearance.
The show has 20 Emmy nominations (check in on September 22 for the results), second only to the last season of GAME OF THRONES.
SEASON TEASER
LINKS
THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL - WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marvelous_Mrs._Maisel
THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL - IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5788792/
RACHEL BROSNAHAN - IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3014031/
AMY SHERMAN PALLADINO - WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Sherman-Palladino
EMMYS
https://www.emmys.com/
Labels: Alex Borstein, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Marin Hinkle, Miriam 'Midge' Maisel, Rachel Brosnahan, Rose Weissman, Susie Myerson, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, Tony Shalhoub. Abe Weissman
Sunday, August 11, 2019
57 YEARS OF NYFF OPENING NIGHTS
THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL
OPENING NIGHT FILMS
1963-2019
The New York Film Festival opened in 1963 with Luis Bunuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, from Mexico.25 opening nights featured US productions or co-productions, including all the last eight. French films opened the festival 15 times. China, Japan, and the Soviet Union have also been represented, along with a number of other European countries.
Francois Truffaut has been featured three times, with SMALL CHANGE (1976), DAY FOR NIGHT (1973), and THE WILD CHILD (1970), and Pedro Almodovar twice, with ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999) and WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1988). Akira Kurasawa with RAN (1985) and Jean-Luc Godard with ALPHAVILLE (1965) are also among the many great names of world cinema that have been seen on opening night.
Of course, many of these and other great filmmakers have had additional films in the Main Slate. In fact, Almodovar arrives again this year with PAIN AND GLORY.
Here's the complete list of NYFF opening night films:
NYFF 57 2019 The Irishman (Martin Scorcese, US)
NYFF 56 2018 The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland/UK/US)
NYFF 55 2017 Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater, US)
NYFF 54 2016 13TH (Ava DuVernay, US)
NYFF 53 2015 The Walk (Robert Zemeckis, US)
NYFF 52 2014 Gone Girl (David Fincher, US)
NYFF 51 2013 Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, US)
NYFF 50 2012 Life of Pi (Ang Lee, US)
NYFF 49 2011 Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Poland)
NYFF 48 2010 The Social Network (David Fincher, US)
NYFF 47 2009 Wild Grass (Alain Resnais, France)
NYFF 46 2008 The Class (Laurent Cantet, France)
NYFF 45 2007 The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, US)
NYFF 44 2006 The Queen (Stephen Frears, UK)
NYFF 43 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck. (George Clooney, US)
NYFF 42 2004 Look at Me (Agnès Jaoui, France)
NYFF 41 2003 Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, US)
NYFF 40 2002 About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, US)
NYFF 39 2001 Va savoir (Jacques Rivette, France)
NYFF 38 2000 Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
NYFF 37 1999 All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
NYFF 36 1998 Celebrity (Woody Allen, US)
NYFF 35 1997 The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, US)
NYFF 34 1996 Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, UK)
NYFF 33 1995 Shanghai Triad (Zhang Yimou, China)
NYFF 32 1994 Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, US)
NYFF 31 1993 Short Cuts (Robert Altman, US)
NYFF 30 1992 Olivier Olivier (Agnieszka Holland, France)
NYFF 29 1991 The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland/France)
NYFF 28 1990 Miller’s Crossing (Joel Coen, US)
NYFF 27 1989 Too Beautiful for You (Bertrand Blier, France)
NYFF 26 1988 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
NYFF 25 1987 Dark Eyes (Nikita Mikhalkov, Soviet Union)
NYFF 24 1986 Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, US)
NYFF 23 1985 Ran (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)
NYFF 22 1984 Country (Richard Pearce, US)
NYFF 21 1983 The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, US)
NYFF 20 1982 Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany)
NYFF 19 1981 Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, UK)
NYFF 18 1980 Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme, US)
NYFF 17 1979 Luna (Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy/US)
NYFF 16 1978 A Wedding (Robert Altman, US)
NYFF 15 1977 One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (Agnès Varda, France)
NYFF 14 1976 Small Change (François Truffaut, France)
NYFF 13 1975 Conversation Piece (Luchino Visconti, Italy)
NYFF 12 1974 Don’t Cry with Your Mouth Full (Pascal Thomas, France)
NYFF 11 1973 Day for Night (François Truffaut, France)
NYFF 10 1972 Chloe in the Afternoon (Eric Rohmer, France)
NYFF 9 1971 The Debut (Gleb Panfilov, Soviet Union)
NYFF 8 1970 The Wild Child (François Truffaut, France)
NYFF 7 1969 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Paul Mazursky, US)
NYFF 6 1968 Capricious Summer (Jiri Menzel, Czechoslovakia)
NYFF 5 1967 The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria)
NYFF 4 1966 Loves of a Blonde (Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia)
NYFF 3 1965 Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, France)
NYFF 2 1964 Hamlet (Grigori Kozintsev, USSR)
NYFF 1 1963 The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
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Labels: Almodovar, Bunuel, New York Film Festival, NYFF, Opening Night, Scorcese, THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, THE IRISHMAN, Truffaut
