Saturday, February 01, 2020

 

QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS - QPORIT XRN - JANUARY, 2020


QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS

QPORIT XRN

JANUARY, 2020

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2020-01-31 (FRI JAN 31, 2020)



INTERNATIONAL

BRITAIN

  • has separated from Europe. BrExit is done.

***



2020-01-30 (THU JAN 30, 2020)

INTERNATIONAL

CORONAVIRUS

  • was declared a WORLD HEALTH EMERGENCY by the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • UPDATE 1/31/2020: The Dow Jones Industrial average lost well over 650 points on Friday; the decline was ascribed mostly to the potential effects on the economy of the coronavirus.

***



2020-01-29 (WED JAN 29, 2020)



TECHNOLOGY

VR WORLD,

  • a new, large (12,000 sq feet; 3 levels), location based gaming site, allowing people to experience VR has opened in New York.
  • https://vrworldnyc.com/

***

SUNDAR PINCHAI ON AI

  • at the World Economic Forum in Davos:


***

2020-01-28 (TUE JAN 28, 2020)



THE WORLD

A PEACE PLAN FOR THE ISRAELI & PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

  • has been proposed by the White House.
  • The Palestinians did not participate in its development and seem to have so far rejected it.
  • News accounts and analysis in the US have generally suggested it is favorable to Israel; and even more, that it is in part intended to support Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is his next election.
  • Here is the full text of the proposal:
  • https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Peace-to-Prosperity-0120.pdf

***



2020-01-27 (MON JAN 27, 2020)



TECHNOLOGY

TIM COOK, FROM APPLE,

***

US

The FCC
If you ever receive a scam call, write down the number and file a complaint with the FCC’s Consumer Help Center: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov #FCCtips #ProtectingConsumers


***


WORLD
Adam Schiff
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember the six million Jews and other victims of Nazism. We honor their memories by speaking out against anti-Semitism, injustice, and hatred in all forms. Never Again.

WORLD

CDC UPDATE ON THE CORONAVIRUS,

  • 5 confirmed cases in US.
  • 110 cases under investigation.
  • No evidence virus is spreading in the uS; cases are isolated.
  • 16 countries have cases.
  • Avoid travel to Hubei province (where cases began in Wuhan).
  • Be careful about travel anywhere in China.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html
  • Other sources estimate: about 3000 cases worldwide, 80+ deaths.
  • Side note: The spread of coronavirus is "blamed" for a stock selloff in Europe and the US.



***


2020-01-26 (SUN JAN 26, 2020)



THEATER & FILM

THE NEW YORK TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE (2020-01-26)


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2020-01-25 (SAT JAN 25, 2020)



THEATER

THEATER RESOURCES UNLIMITED (TRU)

  • one of the country's leading organizations dedicating to developing theater professionals has announced an impressive collection of events coming in the next few months, including: 
    • a panel on Festivals: Working Hard to Give Your Show A Chance;
    • Speeddate --the Art of the Pitch -- for writers and producers, giving writers a chance to practice their pitch to a room full of working, investing producers;
    •  a three part workshop on Writing a Musical That Works
    • with other resources available from their site:
  • https://truonline.org/

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2020-01-24 (FRI JAN 24, 2020)



THEATER & FILM

OPEN SUBMISSIONS TO SCRIPT COMPETITIONS IN THEATER AND FILM

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2020-01-23 (THU JAN 23, 2020)



WORLD

CHINA

  • has responded to the new Coronavirus scare and pandemic threat vigorously by quickly alerting the world, and enabling a quick sequencing of the virus,
  • and by halting transportation to and from -- essentially quarantining -- cities (and even parts of cities) where the illness is prevalent.
  • The US has responded by screening passengers on flights from areas where the virus has been detected. 
  • At least one person has been confirmed with the virus in the US.

***



TODAY: 2020-01-22 (WED JAN 22, 2020)



TECHNOLOGY

YAHOO HIJACKED MY SEARCH (?!*??)

  • Google has been my search engine. It works well.
  • Suddenly all my searches were conducted by Yahoo (now belonging to Verizon).
  • Earlier, while I was trying to add my "brand" channel to YouTubeVR, for some reason I seemed to have had to register for some other things first. This seems to have hijacked the search engine.
  • Here's how I fixed it: 
  • By going to the three vertical dots at the top right of Chrome, I scrolled to Settings, then to Search engine, and disabled Yahoo search and the program that was controlling the choice of search. This fixed the problem.
  • I have found Google Search to be the best search. I set this as the default. 
  • There may be other ways that Yahoo (or some other search engine) can hijack the search, but this method is likely to work in many cases.

***



2020-01-21 (TUE JAN 21, 2020)



USA

THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF DONALD JOHN TRUMP

  • begins today.

***


VR VIDEO

QPORIT XR

***


2020-01-20 (MON JAN 20, 2020)



USA

Today is a holiday: Martin Luther King Jr Day



***

FILM & TV


SAG AWARDS (& MORE)

  • The SAG awards were pretty similar to the awards from GG (Golden Globes) and CC (Critics Circle) wherever they overlapped.
  • For the Oscars, now, the only categories in which there is major suspense are Best Picture (Once Upon A Time in Hollywood or Parasite or The Irishman  or 1917) and Best Director (Respectively Quentin Tarantino, Bong Joon-ho, Martin Scorcese, and Sam Mendes)

  • Here are these awards, so far:
  • The Producer's Guild went with 1917.
  • SAG with Parasite (cast)
  • GG with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (comedy  & screenplay) & 1917 (drama & director)
  • CC with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Picture) &
  • 1917 & Parasite (Director - tied!)

  • The SAG Awards went to:
  • Robert De Niro - Lifetime Achievement (Passionate political talk!)
  • “Parasite” - Cast
  • Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” - Actor in a Film (good talk!), 
  • Renée Zellweger, “Judy” - Actress in a Film, 
  • Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”Supporting Actor in a Film (funny!), 
  • Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” - Supporting Actress in a Film, 
  • “The Crown” - Ensemble in a TV Drama Series, 
  • Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” - Actor in a TV Drama Series, 
  • Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show” - Actress in a TV Drama Series, 
  • “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” - Ensemble in a TV Comedy Series
  • Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” - Actor in a TV Comedy Series, 
  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Fleabag” - Actress in a TV Comedy Series,
  • Sam Rockwell, “Fosse/Verdon” - Actor in a TV Mini-series, 
  • Michelle Williams, “Fosse/Verdon” - Actress in a TV Mini-series,. 
  • Presenters & nominees diverse
  • Winners all white, mostly British when possible.

  • https://qporit.blogspot.com/2020/01/sag-awards-2020.html
To see what films and which actors have been celebrated in other awards this year... AND in the last five years, please see:



2020-01-19 (SUN JAN 19, 2020)



INTERNATIONAL & TV


FAREED ZAKARIA 




***


FILM & TV

SAG AWARDS (& MORE)




To see what films and which actors have been celebrated in other awards this year... AND in the last five years, please see:

***



2020-01-18 (SAT JAN 18, 2020)



THEATER


PUNCHDRUNK




  • the British Theater company that developed the (fantastic!) Sleep No More has developed a resource guide for immersive theater.
  • Immersive theater is a sibling to immersive video.
  • http://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/resources/

***



2020-01-17 (FRI JAN 17, 2020)


XR CLUB NEWS

TECHNOLOGY & $$$

THE $TRILLION CLUB

  • has a new member, as Alphabet/Google, joins Apple and Microsoft with a market capitalization of more than a trillion $$$dollars.


WORLD

THE IMPEACHED PRESIDENTS CLUB

  • has a new member, as Donald J Trump joins Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson as the only Presidents to face an impeachment trial.
  • Clinton and Johnson were not convicted.
  • Richard Nixon avoided impeachment by resigning.


FILM & VIDEO

THE 2020 MAJOR FILM AND VIDEO AWARDS CLUB

  • will have a new member on Sunday with the SAG Awards.
  • The SAG awards are voted on by actors, and may have a different take from the Golden Globes and Critics Circle awards, which are both critics' rather than performers' choices.
  • Sunday, Jan 19, 2020
  • Red Carpet: TNT 5:30 PM ET
  • Awards Ceremony: TNT & TBS 8:00 ET 



VIDEO & TECHNOLOGY


THE STREAMING VIDEO CLUB
  • will have a new member as the plans for NBCU Peacock are announced.
  • Content for Peacock with include both movies and NBC shows.
  • Peacock will have 3 tiers:
    • Free with ads (>7,500 hours of content)
    • Premium $5 with ads (>15,000 hours of contents & sports)
    • Premium $10 with no ads.
  • https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/16/nbc-peacock-price-launch-date-and-shows.html
  • Some features of Peacock will launch on April 15,; more on July 15, 2020
  • Peacock joins other current and future streaming services including...
    • Netflix
    • Apple TV+
    • Disney+
    • Quibi (original, short, phone-targeted content - see below 2020-01-08)
    • HBO Max

***



2020-01-16 (THU JAN 16, 2020)



TECHNOLOGY

MULTI-USER AR AND VR WITH AWS SUMERIAN

***

USA

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

  • "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors",
  • have been read at the Senate.
  • The Chief Justice and the Senators have been sworn in for the impeachment trial.
  • In related news, the GAO has released an opinion that the delay of funds for the Ukraine was illegal.

***



2020-01-15 (WED JAN 15, 2020)


USA

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

  • "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors",
  • are scheduled to be transmitted to the Senate about 5:00 PM EST today.

***


USA & THE WORLD

A "PHASE ONE" AGREEMENT BETWEEN CHINA AND THE USA


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2020-01-14 (TUE JAN 14, 2020)


USA

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE

  • Tonight: The last Democratic debate before the Iowa Caucuses (Feb 3, 2020), at which  49 delegates to the Democratic Convention (July 13-16 2020) will be chosen.  
  • There will be a national total of 4,750 delegates.
  • Participants in the debate are:
    • Former VP Joe Biden
    • Senator Elizabeth Warren
    • Senator Bernie Sanders
    • Senator Amy Klobuchar
    • Mayor Pete Buttegeig
    • Businessman Tom Steyer
  • Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is also competing for the Democratic nomination is not in this debate.

***



2020-01-13 (MON JAN 13, 2020)


FILM

ACADEMY AWARDS 2020

  • The nominations for the Academy Awards are similar to those for the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice. BEST in each category is likely to be a reflection of the slightly different sensibilities of the members of these groups. GG voters are foreign critics; CC voters are North American critics; and AA voters are in the film industry, making the films.
  • Joker had the highest number of nominations, 11.
  • The films at the top of the list seem to be:
  • 1917 (10)
  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (10)
  • Parasite (6)
  • The Irishman (10)
  • Joker (11)
  • Little Women
  • Marriage Story 
  • Missing Link
  • Toy Story 4
  • Here's the list of all the nominees:
  • https://qporit.blogspot.com/2020/01/academy-awards-2020.html

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS 2020

  • The Critics Choice Awards winners included:

    • Best picture: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,
    • Best Foreign Language Picture: Parasite,
    • Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix,
    • Best Actress: Renee Zellweger
    • Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,
    • Best Director: Bong Joon-ho & Sam Mendes (tie)
  • For all the results, including TV, please see:
  • https://qporit.blogspot.com/2020/01/critics-choice-awards-2020.html

***



2020-01-12 (SUN JAN 12, 2020)


FILM

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS 2020

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2020-01-11 (SAT JAN 11, 2020)


THEATER

THE WOMAN IN BLACK  - A GHOST PLAY IN A PUB

  • is being presented (in a "strictly limited" engagement -- with many dates already sold out) at "the McKittrick Hotel", home of Sleep No More.
  • Everything I've ever attended there has been exceptionally fine.
  • This is the adaptation of Susan Hill's novel by Stephen Mallatratt, directed by Robin Herford, that was a huge success in London. 
  • https://mckittrickhotel.com/events/womaninblack/

***



2020-01-10 (FRI JAN 10, 2020)


IDEAS

A NIGHT OF PHILOSOPHY AND IDEAS

  • co-sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy
  • will be held this year in Brooklyn.
  • Saturday Feb 1, 2020 7 PM to Sunday Feb 2, 2020 7 AM.
  • https://nightofphilosophyandideas.com/

***



2020-01-09 (THU JAN 9, 2020)


THEATER

HB STUDIO,

  • one of the oldest, best, and least expensive acting studios in NY (or anywhere else) is starting a new term.
  • HB has classes for everyone from beginner to professional; both a la carte and complete programs; and a wide variety of courses and workshops and performing opportunities.
  • HB Studio is especially friendly as a destination for visiting students from other countries.
  • Among the special offerings this winter are "studio practice" with Mercedes Ruehl, concentration in Ibsen with Austin Pendleton, and courses in acting in Spanish (Actuar en espagnol) and in the Russian language:
  • ACTING IN RUSSIAN: METHOD OF ETUDES
  • ТЕХНИКА АКТЕРА НА РУССКОМ: МЕТОД ЭТЮДОВ
  • Snezhana Chernova - СНЕЖАНА ЧЕРНОВА
  • www.hbstudio.org


    ***



    2020-01-08 (WED JAN 8, 2020)


    TECHNOLOGY

    CES - QUIBI

    • CES - THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
      • JAN 7-10, 2020

      • https://www.ces.tech/
      • QUIBI (QUIck BItes) is a new content streaming service, created by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, which aims to bring A-level content from A-level talent to smartphones... by designing the content visually to be optimized for the phone-sized screen, and by cutting the content into bite-sized segments (quick bites), so it can easily be watched on the go, on the phone.
      • It will launch on April 6, and will cost $4.99/mo with ads, or $7.99 without ads.
      • According to the WSJ, QUIBI had already sold $150M worth of ads as of October 21, 2019.
      • By the way, as of today, they have 28 open positions on their site.
      • www.quibi.com

    ***



    2020-01-07 (TUE JAN 7, 2020)


    TECHNOLOGY

    CES

    • CES - THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

    ***

    ELON MUSK

      • SpaceX successfully launched a rocket and returned Stage 1 successfully back to Earth.
      • SpaceX is now the largest operator of Satellites.
      • Tesla successfully delivered cars to Chinese customers from its new Chinese factory.
      • Tesla stocks and valuation reached a new high, with a capitalization of over $84.5B.

      ***


      2020-01-06 (MON JAN 6, 2020)

      TECHNOLOGY

      CES - SAMSUNG

      • CES - THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
      • Here is the Samsung Keynote - first the full video version, then the highlights with a short synopsis video 
      • https://youtu.be/KL1B_sxgILQ
      • Highlights:
        • Ballie - a ball shaped robot/personal assistant
        • GEMS - a software and AR enhanced exoskeleton
        • Smart kitchen, including an enclosed home growing station
        • 5G & AI applications
        • https://youtu.be/4t66KO0uE7Y

      ***


      FILM & TV

      GOLDEN GLOBES

      • Here are the Feature Films with the most wins at last night's Golden Globes:

      • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - 5 Nominations, 3 wins
        • Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
        • Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Brad Pitt
        • Best Screenplay
      • 1917 - 3 Nominations, 2 wins
        • Best Dramatic Feature
        • Best Director - Sam Mendes
      • Rocketman - 3 Nominations, 2 wins
        • Best Actor - Musical or Comedy - Taron Egerton
        • Best Song - "I'm Gonna Love Me Again"
      • Joker - 4 Nominations, 2 wins
        • Best Actor - Drama - Joaquin Phoenix
        • Best Original Score
      • Missing Link - Best Animated Feature
      • Parasite - Best Foreign Language Film
      • Judy - Best Actress - Renee Zellweger
      • The Farewell - Best Actress, Musical or Comedy - Awkwafina
      • Marriage Story - 6 Nominations - Best Supporting Actress, Laura Dern

      ***


      2020-01-05 (SUN JAN 5, 2020)


      FILM & TV

      GOLDEN GLOBES

      • Tonight, NBC 8-11 PM (EST), hosted by Ricky Gervais.
      • Here are the Feature Films with the most nominations:


      • 6 Marriage Story
        5 The Irishman
        5 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
        4 Joker
        4 The Two Popes
        3 Knives Out
        3 1917
        3 Rocketman
        3 Parasite
        2 Dolemite is my name
        2 Jojo Rabbit
        2 Frozen 2
        2 Lion King
        2 The Farewell
        2 Harriet

      Here is the full list of nominees:

      https://qporit.blogspot.com/2020/01/golden-globes-2020-nbc-jan-5-2020-8-11.html


      ***

      2020-01-03 (FRI JAN 3, 2020)


      WORLD

      Tensions are increasing in the Middle East and around the world, following an Iranian attack on the US Embassy in Iraq, and a US drone strike on an important Iranian General.

      ***


      2020-01-02 (THU JAN 2, 2020)


      USA

      Calendar for 2020!


      JAN 01 WED NEW YEAR'S DAY

      FEB 02 SUN Groundhog Day

      FEB 17 MON PRESIDENT'S DAY

      MAR 08 SUN Daylight Saving Time Starts


      APR 08 WED Passover Seder (eve)

      APR 15 WED TAX DAY

      MAY 10 SUN Mother's Day

      MAY 25 MON MEMORIAL DAY

      JUN 14 SUN Flag Day

      JUN 21 SUN Father's Day

      JUL 03 FRI INDEPENDENCE DAY - OBSERVED

      JUL 04 SAT INDEPENDENCE DAY

      SEP 07 MON LABOR DAY

      SEP 18 FRI Rosh Hashanah (eve)
      SEP 27 SUN Yom Kippur (eve)

      OCT 12 MON COLUMBUS DAY


      NOV 01 SUN Daylight Saving Time Ends

      NOV 03 TUE ELECTION DAY
      NOV 11 WED VETERANS DAY
      NOV 26 THU THANKSGIVING

      DEC 10 THU Hanukkah eve)

      DEC 25 FRI CHRISTMAS DAY
      DEC 31 THU New Year's Eve


      ***


      2020-01-01 (WED JAN 1, 2020)


      HELLO 2020!

      Be good to us! Please!

      We wish everyone on Earth
      A Great New Year!

      MUCH TO COME!

      ***




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