BotCon 2014, My First BotCon

I may have not said it so explicitly, but…I am a fan of Transformers.

When my sister and I found out there was going to be a BotCon in Pasedena this year, we decided we would go during the General Admission days Saturday and Sunday. 

We’ve been fans of Transformers for one year.  June 2013 we started watching Transformer’s Prime.  Then September we started watching Transformers Armada.  Starting in mid-April we’ve caught several good episodes of the classic 1984 Transformers cartoon on its second season.  We love all of these shows.  We haven’t finished watching the entirety of all three of them, but we will.  We now have seen all three Michael Bay Transformers movies and are at this moment giddily looking forward to Transformers: Age of Extinction—no matter what others will say.  It’s Transformers.  Why not.

I think it’s safe to say we aren’t noobs to the franchise anymore.

So we went to the Pasedena BotCon 2014 at the Pasedena Convention Center.  We didn’t know what to look for—we aren’t collectors of the Transformers toys—so upon entering the Exhibit Hall, we were quite lost on what to do.  It is very different from going to an anime convention.  The majority of items sold and displayed there is the Transformers toys, but there were other cool things too.  There were artists who displayed and sold their fan art.  There was a Transformers Art competition.  IDW Publishing was selling their Transformers comic books at their booth. The writers and artists of The Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye and The Transformers: Robots In Disguise attended the Exhibit hall and sat at tables for fans to meet them and possibly buy their artwork.  James Roberts (writer of The Transformers: MTMTE) and John Barber (writer of The Transformers: RID) were there.  A video game demo was set up for Transformers Universe (the designs of the characters are reminiscent of Transformers Prime).

The panels were held at the Conference Rooms at another building within the Pasedena Convention Center.  Sis and I went to several of the panels in the course of the two General Admission days at BotCon.  It didn’t leave a whole lot of time to absorb everything that was in the Exhibit Hall.  We needed to eat and use the restroom too; if we wanted to enjoy ourselves, we needed to take care of ourselves too, and at least drink water and eat a snack if not a lunch. 

My personal favorite panel at BotCon was “James Roberts: Storyteller.”  I absolutely love the TF:MTMTE comic books; it was such a treat to hear him tell his fans about what was behind the scenes in creating the story for the comic book. There was a nice long Q and A session. Unfortunately I came up with a question to ask soon after the panel was finished.  And we didn’t get to meet him in person.  But it was so awesome just to be in the same room as James Roberts and hear him talk about his work.


We took pictures of some cosplayers (Sis took most of those—I took a couple myself), got to chat a bit with a couple of comic book artists, and we were even lucky get our copy of the Transformers: Dark Cybertron comic book volumes 1 and 2, before they ran out. This way we get more of TF: MTMTE and are introduced to TF: RID.  Maybe we might get into that and start reading TF:RID from the beginning sometime later.  Sis and I just finished Volume 5 of The Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye and…well, we want to continue reading it.  At the risk of meaning we’d lose our favorite characters further in the story.  The stories in this comic book can be so heartbreaking sometimes.  I have a few favorite characters I don’t want to see killed off, as well as plenty of characters that are not necessarily my favorite but are cool to appear every once in a while.

FAVORITES:

*Rung

*Drift

*Skids

*Fortress Maximus

*Tailgate

*And maybe Rodimus.

I’d regret if I didn’t go to this year’s BotCon.  We owed it to ourselves as newish Transformers fans to be introduced into the world that is—well, for us, just nice toys to look at, but also the beautiful artwork and storytelling that goes into the franchise as a whole.

Transhumanism Might As Well Be In The Dictionary!!

I recently learned a new word while searching for more good books about the future of humans and robots.   The word is, "transhuman."

Y’know, like transvestite?  Transexual?  Transpose?

Transhuman.

I am talking about humans turning parts of themselves into machines.  It’s probably going to be a reality by the time I die of old age.  Or I could be wrong.  But at my age I can live just long enough to take advantage of robotic medicine (is that accurate to say?  Cybernetic implants/augmentation would be considered robotic medicine, right?  Is there a medical billing code for that?  Sorry, my new career path just sort of made me enjoy asking that question out of the blue.)

Someday there will be such medical procedures as cybernetic augmentation (aside from what the military may be experimenting with behind our backs).  Right now, these are what are known as prosthetics, and they are not augmentation—they are replacements for limbs that are lost or organs that need replacement as well.

I am a bit scared of the idea, even though to me it is an exciting, fascinating and rarely discussed topic.  To be honest I don’t enjoy thinking about my future too much, not when it comes to health.  I’m not so old, but I am not that young either.  Of course I’m going to feel like taking better care of my health.

But suppose the conversation of robotic replacements for lost limbs or sick organs did turn to cybernetic augmentation.  Currently robotic prosthetics although expensive, are replacements for lost parts.  But in the future, robotic parts may become an option along the lines of breast implants.  People will want stronger (and lead to faster) legs, or sharper eyes, or super hearing.

So…transhumanism.  Or trans-humanism, I don’t know what would be the correct spelling of these for now.  They both seem acceptable…

There are many films that tackle topics like this.  Transcendence and The Prototype are two of them being released this year.  I am especially interested in The Prototype (it’s more of an action/thriller story), but Transcendence I might wait to see later.  They are both good ways to start, or continue, the conversation about what happens to the person when the body is deteriorating but their mind is fully active.  Something else also: how this transfiguration will affect the people they know, and perhaps the people on Earth.

Of course, this is not the end of the conversation...

I want to come back to it again.

The New RoboCop Film, Released Today!!!

On January 12, I saw a trailer for the new RoboCop film for the first time and I gasped and my jaw dropped.  I had to cover my mouth closed with my hand to keep myself from breathing loud so I can hear the voice over.  That’s how excited I was.  I realized this was the RoboCop movie I was waiting for after seeing the original one two years ago.

I am very excited about this.  So excited!

I know there was a second and third film, but I will have to see those later, or not.  So to see a new RoboCop movie released this year…it’s as thrilling to me as when I found out about the I, Robot film in summer 2004.  That previous year I read Isaac Asimov’s collections Robot Dreams and I, Robot during and after my senior year of high school.  So of course, you may imagine how psyched I was to watch a movie based on the story collection.

Joel Kinnaman is the new RoboCop and he looks awesome!  By now, I’ve seen the two different trailers for the movie enough times that I even have a favorite part of the movie ad, like the part when RoboCop lands on the ground and then stands up, looking so bad-ass!  And then, what’s with the black paint job?!!  I don’t remember that happening in the original movie, but as this is a reboot of the RoboCop story, I am very curious to see what the darker suit will mean. I read the article about Joel Kinnaman’s RoboCop in the past Sunday Daily News, and now I have a better idea on when this black paint job is going to happen.  It is interesting, interesting indeed.  I wish I can say why, but I don’t want to be misleading just in case I’m wrong or inadvertently spoiling anyone.  I gotta see this for myself, you know?

The RoboCop reboot film will be released today.  I won’t see it today, but I’m so excited about it I’d like to see it soon after!  Did I mention I was excited?

And there is another robot-themed movie coming out later this year: the fourth Transformers movie from Michael Bay.  My sister got me into the Transformers franchise in the middle of last year, and now we have one more Transformers film to watch before we’ve caught up to where the fourth movie is next.


I have a bit of an itch to write my own review of RoboCop 2014, and if I do pursue this task I may have to wait at least two weeks after its release in theaters to post it on Cybernetic Dreams. As the film will be dealing with morality and ethics I am bound to have something to say about these in response/reflection after viewing the film. In the meanwhile I will try not to read other reviews of the film, although if there is a source or two I admire I might mention what they say and credit them to further illustrate my points.

Should I watch the original one again too?  I’ll have to rent it somewhere (iTunes may be my hope because Blockbuster is gone and I am NOT going to use Netflix gosh darnit!).

Who else is excited about the new RoboCop?

Almost Human: The Sci-Fi Show We Need Now, Part 1

So I’ve been watching Almost Human for the last several weeks and I have to say (needlessly) that it’s become my favorite live-action TV show.  I love Dorian; he is very funny and great and he looks like he can be my cousin (I am mixed and my hair is a short afro as well).  But generally, the show has a good mix of action, suspense, humor and soft moments.  It can get really intense, to the point where I don’t realize I am holding my breath for the entire segment of the show until commercial time.  The episode “Arrhythmia” was hard for me to watch without feeling a little angry, maybe even my blood pressure raised a little bit.  But I love this show.

Even more important to me about Almost Human besides great characters are the powerful issues it touches on:

• Civil rights, equality (MX’s priority to energy charging stations in an emergency, Dorian excluded)
• Ethics (especially robot ethics…)
• Derogatory words for robot (“synthetic” is neutral, but still offends Dorian in the beginning of the show because he is seen as fake).
• Fear (human fear and even Dorian’s fear)
• Crimes in the future (watch the show and see how scary crime is in this future!)
• Jobs in the future (such as the Recollectionist who helps people recall forgotten memories with the help of a machine)
• Money in the future (i.e. bit-coins)

I really enjoy Dorian and Detective Kennex’s car conversations.  They get to know each other, understand each other better during the drive and we as viewers get to learn about them both too…

When I think back about how they first worked together, Detective John Kennex has changed a lot.  In the beginning he called Dorian a “synthetic,” and Dorian responds “I am not a huge fan of that term.”  I can understand why: he feels human enough that being called a synthetic offends him, implies that he is not real and therefore his feelings and opinions don’t matter.

But they do matter because Dorian is not just an android cop, he’s a valuable friend.  Dorian saved John from quite a few tight traps so far.  Even volunteering to risk his functionality, his life, to save a human victim trapped in the middle of a crime.  He may be too altruistic for his own good.  It seems that in each episode that he gets into a fight, his injuries become more serious. 

I want to write a really good essay on Almost Human and the important issues and themes it brings up. It will have to wait a little longer. For now I want to say that that my guesses about the show (before I started watching it on its November 17, 2013 premiere) were fun to make and now I can enjoy the show as it is.  Of course I was wrong about the “experiment” thing…so far, I could be wrong and something might come up, right?  It repeats on Saturdays at 8:00pm if you can’t catch the regular airing on 8:00pm Mondays.

Please, I want to start a discussion!  If any of my readers want to say something about the show, your thoughts/feelings about it, share it in the comments or email me through Blogger.  Who else enjoys Almost Human?  Or who dislikes it?  I will be respectful of your opinions—just respect mine as well!   ;)

Cybernetic Dreams Update, 02-16-2014

The following has been added to the List of Favorites page:


Androids:
Axl, from the Mega Man X video game series
Dorian, from the TV show Almost Human


Cyborgs:
RoboCop, from the 1987 RoboCop movie...looking forward to the 2014 RoboCop film


NOTES: Fixed the spelling of the Japanese anime show Android Kikaider the Animation (spelled it wrong with "Kikader")

A Lunar Rover with a Beautiful Death Speech

I was checking the news feed online when one article came up that stood out to me.  I think it is relative to some of the things that Cybernetic Dreams is about.

The headline title read: Chinese lunar rover cutely broadcasts its own death

It is a lunar rover robot from China, called a Jade Rabbit Rover, with a Chinese name Yutu.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read about it, considering that I get emotional whenever adorable little robots die/cease to function.  But I was intrigued and wanted to read it.  The article is short, but it is a concise report on the lunar rover’s last message to Earth.

I was almost brought to tears.  In fact my eyes got misty.  And this was the first time I found out anything about this lunar rover from China.  It’s a sad but beautiful true story.

Wow.  If only we can face our own mortality with the same grace and dignity as that Jade Rabbit.  That’s one brave little robot.  If I could, I'd like to do a follow-up post about this in the near future.

Please read it here at this website page:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/2014/01/28/11/14/chinese-lunar-rover-cutely-broadcasts-own-death

If you would like to say anything or continue the conversation, please leave a comment :)

Happy New Year!! New Year, New Beginnings

Happy New Year, dear readers!!  It's a new year and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading Cybernetic Dreams and for those stopping by for the first time, thank you!

 

I am looking forward to the new year!  Aren't you?

 

I have some more reading to do on robotics when I get around to it.  I am especially excited about a book I want to read that focuses on one of my favorite topics about robots: robot ethics.  There will be more on this within the next few weeks, I hope very soon.

My Thoughts, Speculation on the TV Show “Almost Human”

I have not read any reviews of this show yet.  I want to just document some thoughts and personal speculations about Fox’s Almost Human before I watch it.  It’s like a fun guessing game to see how close my guesses are, if I‘m close or way off—because I’ve seen the promos for the show enough times to do it.

I decided to give this show a try.  I am curious as to how the main human cop character will interact with his new synthetic partner Dorian. 

The concept of synthetic humans is as possible as the existence of a synthetic hand or arm.   The popular idea a lot of people have about robots and androids is that they don’t have emotions, or don’t have the ability to understand them.  Simulating human emotions is not the same as understanding them or why they happen.  So I am also curious as to what the Dorian character will be like.  According to the promos on TV, he seems to have a sense of humor as well as a grasp of sarcasm.  Often for a new drama series, Fox shows some of the funny bits of the show, usually something one character says to the other.

Often this type of show makes me think of the relationship dynamic of Detective Spooner and the android non-partner Sonny in the film I, Robot.  Of course, Sonny was different from all the other NS-5s and displayed those differences clearly, from expressing anger to understanding trust (using the wink signal he learned from Detective Spooner.)

The character Dorian strikes me as more “synthetic human” than “android.”  His skin tone is human and his voice doesn’t sound mechanical or tinny like many robots do.  It sounds just like he’s flesh and blood.  He is able to smile and appear warm and friendly, reaching out to shake hands with Detective Kennex.

Part of one promo shows an android cop on the ground and out of commission.  Even before reading any reviews or synopses of this show this is my guess as to what this show is about, based on seeing the downed android cop:  Android partners for cops and detectives are less likely to survive dangerous encounters because they don’t have the emotions necessary for self-preservation (fear, for one) and the emotional connection to effectively protect his human partner when he is in danger (brotherhood, friendship, even love).  So, Dorian is an experimental version of the android cops, made to be more of a synthetic human, instead of a robotic and cold humanoid machine.  He may even be a prototype, and be observed by the authorities?  The synergy between the partners needs to be as close to fully human as possible.  So Detective Kennex is the guy with which they are going to try out this experiment.  Maybe this cop gets into a lot of trouble and gets his android partners killed often, and it costs the police facility loads of money.  Dorian may be an answer for saving money and creating more effective android or synthetic partners for the police.

I am curious to find out about Dorian’s origin.  I’ll have to watch Almost Human to find out, won’t I?  And along the way, I want to see how wrong or how right I am about my guesses as to what this show is actually about.  I’m excited about it!

Does anyone else have thoughts or feeling about this new show?  You may share them in the comments or email me through Blogger.