Furthermore, some evidence straight from the horse’s mouth could be found in a Q&A that George Miller did with Fandango (via The Nerdist). «Everything in the story has to have some sort of underlying backstory,» the writer-director of «Mad Max: Fury Road» said. «Not just every character, but every vehicle, every weapon, every costume.»
On the other hand, before fans get too excited about the possibility that Mad Max has swapped up more than just actors between «Beyond Thunderdome» and «Fury Road,» it is worth mentioning that the theory was shot down pretty succinctly by Miller himself. The director pointed to the narration from «The Road Warrior» as proof.
«That’s great… No, unfortunately, but that’s a great idea,» Miller told IGN. «Only because at the end of ‘Mad Max 2,’ it turns out the narrator is the Feral Kid as an old man, and he says, ‘He only lives now in my memories,’» Miller concluded. Still, the filmmaker behind «Mad Max: Fury Road» was fine with people ascribing the theory to his universe. «You know, what’s really interesting is that, in a way, these are allegories, and in many ways, the story is in the eye of the beholder,» he went on. So, there you have it.
Whether the upcoming prequel, «Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,» will generate the same kinds of enthusiastic fan theories will have to remain to be seen.
Working with Zack Snyder, did it exceed far past your expectations? This guy is a spectacular filmmaker.
Honsou: Beyond my expectations.
Nair: Yeah, mine, too.
Hounsou: One is the physicality of the film, which came with a certain level of military training –
Nair: For all of us, by the way.
Hounsou: — to really get the whole cast together. The underlying messages. The fact that he also wrote in such a very organic story, he wrote an amazing, organic story in which most of us can –
Nair: Find ways to relate. I 100% agree. Speaking on Djimon talking about how organic it is, what makes it organic and relatable for the spectator is whilst we’re set in the majesty of space, there are all these historic nods in terms of the architecture, the styles, the stories, the archetypes that are quite relatable. We’re not superheroes or heroes. This is the story of, it could be any of us who’d be asked to call to the occasion. Look at Gunnar [Michiel Huisman]. Gunnar plays the everyman, and it shows that it’s a wonderful story that can, whilst it’s rooted in space, be grounded in something that is far more human, at least for the spectator.
Also starring Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, and E. Duffy, «Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire» is playing in limited release in theaters before streaming exclusively on Netflix beginning the evening of December 21.
The entrance to “Avalara Hawk Tower” in 2018. (GeekWire File Photo)
A new company will make its nest in Seattle’s “Hawk Tower” in the new year.
Seattle-based business and technology firm Slalom Consulting is moving its headquarters into the glass skyscraper at 255 King St. in January. The building will be renamed “Slalom Hawk Tower.”
The name replaces “Avalara Hawk Tower,” after the Seattle sales tax automation company, which opened a new headquarters in the building in the Pioneer Square neighborhood in February 2018.
With views across the parking lot to Lumen Field, where the Seattle Seahawks, Sounders and OL Reign play, Avalara initially occupied the top six floors of the building and more than 114,000 square feet. The company, which was taken private in a deal last year, said it will continue to occupy four floors.
Slalom did not say how much square footage it would be leasing, but said its footprint would span “multiple floors,” with the ability to expand in the future based on evolving needs.
A Mariners flag flies above Hawk Tower in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
The company is moving from the Exchange Building at 821 2nd Ave, where it said the expiration of its current lease provided an opportunity to reassess the requirements of its hybrid-work culture and “to consider what is the best fit to support connection, collaboration, and accessibility for our teams.”
Slalom provides tech-related services in various industries to clients across the globe including Alaska Airlines, Allstate, eBay, Hyatt, Microsoft, REI, and others. Citing “significant shifts” within its industry in September, the company cut 7% of its workforce, or about 900 employees.
Slalom recently made Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the eighth consecutive year.
“Slalom is proud of our Seattle heritage and commitment to the Pacific Northwest community,” Slalom President Tony Rojas said in a statement. “We’re excited to continue managing our global and Seattle market business from the downtown core.”
William King Hale may just be the most wicked character Robert De Niro has played, and that’s saying something.
Sure, 2023 had no shortage of terrifying movie villains. The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) from «Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3» tortures animals and sees himself as a god. The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) from «Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse» threatens the fabric of the Multiverse. Many villains have grand, reality-altering machinations, but there’s nothing more sinister than the real-life implications of what someone like Hale (De Niro) represents.
In «Killers of the Flower Moon,» Hale offers a veneer of nicety, befriending the Osage people. But beneath that lies a man interested in profiting off their genocide. He plots the deaths of many high-profile Osage to acquire their oil head rights. He’s the one who tells Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) to poison Mollie (Lily Gladstone). What’s most terrifying about Hale is that he is a real person. The things he did in the movie aren’t exaggerated, and yet, he was merely one figure in a larger plan to disenfranchise and eradicate Indigenous communities.
More fantastical villains can certainly symbolize real-world evil. In the film, Hale serves as a figurehead for everything the United States has done to strip Indigenous people of land, access, and power. Even when the Osage got ahead just a little bit by striking oil on their land, white people came slinking back to take it for themselves. De Niro brings pure terror to Hale, to the point where even when he’s acting nice, something isn’t quite right. -Mike Bedard
El coaching ejecutivo es un concepto que se halla cada vez más presente dentro de la visión y operación de las empresas modernas. Términos como consultoría de recursos humanos, evaluación de desempeño laboral y desarrollo de competencias profesionales se han vuelto muy comunes y están estrechamente relacionados con los servicios de coaching para empresas.
Coaching ejecutivo o coaching para empresas: mejorando el rendimiento y la productividad
El coaching ejecutivo sirve para mejorar nuestro rendimiento profesional y con ello aumental el nivel de bienestar que tenemos en lo laboral y, con ello, contribuir incluso al mejoramiento de nuestra vida personal. Porque si tenemos un buen ambiente en el trabajo y nuestro negocio ofrece el rendimiento que buscamos, eso se verá reflejado en nuestra estabilidad y confort en todas partes.
El punto esencial cuando hablamos de coaching ejecutivo es el aprendizaje. Es el pilar fundamental del concepto. Por medio de procesos de asimilación de conocimiento el coaching ejecutivo es capaz de proporcionar herramientas para adquirir las competencias que se necesitan en cualquier centro de trabajo y también romper cualquier barrera que se pueda presentr para alcanzar los objetivos de una organización.
Este tipo de apoyo corporativo permite que las personas articulen formas novedosas de interpretar la realidad y convertirla en materia de gestión, todo por medio de acciones concretas basadas en el análisis, la resiliencia, la motivación, el liderazgo y el mismo propósito.
Gracias al conocimiento que nos acerca el coaching ejecutivo, es posible trabajar con temas como la adaptación a los procesos de cambio por medio de los valores de las personas, renovar compromisos, buscar e identificar potencialidad y nuevos talentos, evaluar, mejorar el liderazgo y en general derribar cualquier tipo de barrera que pudiera estarse interponiendo.
La implementación y enseñanza de estas técnicas se puede llevar a cabo de manera individual o grupal y ambas pueden lograr excelentes y rápidos resultados, ya que las empresas especializadas en el tema suelen atender tanto a personas como a grupos u organizaciones completas según sus propias características y necesidades. Es importante saber esto ya que las mejores soluciones siempre son las que se brindan de manera personalizada.
Pero el coaching ejecutivo no se limita a trabajar con la manera de pensar y vivir el espacio de trabajo de las personas, ya que también se especializa en servicios que pueden optimizar el rendimiento de las áreas estratégicas de una empresa, como consultorías organizacionales en clima laboral, evaluación de desempeño, consultoría NOM-035, rendición de cuentas y otros. Eso sin mencionar las capacitaciones especializadas en temas como el desarrollo de mandos, capacitación, Team Building y varios más que desde ya deben de estar presentes en la agenda de cualquier empresa que aspire a crecer y desarrollarse en el corto o mediano plazo.
Si estás pensando en llamar a una empresa de coaching ejecutivo, te decimos que es una excelente opción que podría darle otro rostro a tu desempeño y productividad, así como la de tu equipo de trabajo. Encuentra a profesionales que te puedan brindar un servicio de calidad basado en la experiencia y el conocimiento.
In the wake of the Battle of Endor, Wicket finds himself rather busy. Instead of leaving the debris of the shield generator behind, he recruits other Ewoks to help him convert it into a nature-friendly dwelling. He maintains contact with various Rebel Alliance personnel, chiefly Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who spends some time on Endor to refine his Force and lightsaber skills, with the Ewoks’ help. While Wicket wonders what life away from Endor could be like, he ultimately elects to remain on his home world, becoming a hero, legend, and leader to his people.
One of his most heroic endeavors comes when the Opunia Ewok village is attacked by Trandoshans. He unites various Ewok tribes in order to defeat the Trandoshan slavers, and he even overcomes multiple rancors in the process. In the end, following the death of Chief Chirpa (Jane Busby), Wicket marries his childhood friend, Princess Kneesaa (Cree Summer), and becomes the new chief of their village. As the decades pass, their family continues to thrive, maintaining peace and prosperity in their village.
Love or hate the Ewoks and their role in «Return of the Jedi,» there’s no disputing that Wicket is a «Star Wars» icon. Surely, someday, we’ll learn more about his canonical life and adventures after the Battle of Endor.
The «Wizard of Oz» house-dropping scene is pivotal because it marks the transition from black and white to Technicolor. But the famous sequence could hold a clue to an underlying theme as it transitions from one «universe» to another. After her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, Dorothy meets Glinda the Good Witch (Billie Burke), who asks the pigtailed heroine, «Are you a good witch or a bad witch?» Dorothy insists she’s «not a witch at all,» then adds, «Witches are old and ugly.»
That’s when the gorgeous Glinda schools her with: «I am a witch. I’m Glinda, the Witch of the North … Only bad witches are ugly.» Theorists think that exchange helps prove Dorothy was actually the Wicked Witch of the East. «It fits in with how Glinda assumed Dorothy was a witch,» user Dragoru3000 noted. «Are you a good witch or a bad witch? That would explain why everyone is hesitant of her at first,» PhilosopherKingSigma agreed.
If Garland’s character was a witch, she was lucky she never had to dress the part. To play the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton was forced to wear toxic face paint that kept her face tinted for days. She also suffered second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand shooting her character’s fiery exit from Munchkinland after the Wicked Witch of the West confronts Dorothy.
The MCU has taken its sweet time introducing the X-Men. While it still hasn’t shown us the entire team, «The Marvels’» post-credits scene does offer some pretty solid hints that they’re finally on their way. First, we see Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) waking up in what appears to be an alternate universe after closing the tear in space-time, greeted by her mother Maria (Lashana Lynch) who now looks like the superhero Binary and has no idea who Monica is. Then, in walks the Kelsey Grammer version of Beast, charming as ever but stealthily redesigned to resemble his «X-Men: The Animated Series» look. As stingers go, it’s small and quiet — but since it’s the first X-Men appearance in the MCU that virtually promises a follow-up, it might just become one of the most pivotal moments of the mega-franchise’s history.
This isn’t the first confirmed mutant sighting in the MCU. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) is a mutant hybrid, and Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) rocks his iconic yellow sci-fi wheelchair as part of the alternate-universe Illuminati team that gets wrecked by the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in «Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.» Still, Beast is the first member of the classic X-Men field team to enter the fray, and his design aesthetic and the fact that Grammer is playing him implies that the MCU intends to lean pretty heavily on the «X-Men ’97» aesthetic and actors from the original trilogy.
With Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine fitting right in that same combination of design aesthetics and casting decisions in «Deadpool 3,» it’ll be interesting to see whether the likes of Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, and Ian McKellen are secretly being fitted for comics-accurate costumes, as well.
Playing in a limited theatrical release before its streaming debut on Netflix the evening of December 21, «Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire» stars Sofia Boutella as Kora, a mysterious resident of a farming settlement on the distant moon of Veldt. However, when a tyrannical military operation from a dominant planet called the Motherworld turns up on Veldt and begins to terrorize the settlement’s population, Kora has no choice but to employ her deadly skills and leadership capabilities to form a group of rebels to fight back — even if it means exposing her dark past.
The interesting past of «Rebel Moon» includes the fact that Zack Snyder conceived it as a story that he felt could fit within the framework of the «Star Wars» movie universe. When Lucasfilm passed on the idea, Snyder — like his colleague, Christopher Nolan — relied on his own, singular vision to create not only «Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire,» but also its upcoming April 2024 sequel «Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver.»
And while both parts of Snyder’s monolithic space saga are born of his original ideas, the writer-director said that he purposefully left some «Star Wars»-like remnants from his original story in «Rebel Moon.»
«Mostly what it allowed is that any of the ‘Star Wars’ iconology that you might see in the movie now that’s left over is there by design,» Snyder told Looper. «In the end, I can’t help myself 100% from being a slight deconstructivist and taking a subversive look at the overall science fiction landscape or the sort of pantheon of mythology that we accept as our cinematic touchstones.»
«Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire» is playing in theaters in limited release and debuts exclusively on Netflix the evening of December 21.
Hatch Graham, co-founder and CEO of Bellevue, Wash.-based Lassen Peak. (Lassen Peak Photo)
Lassen Peak, a Bellevue, Wash.-based startup developing a handheld concealed weapon detection system, has raised $6 million from Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group.
The cash infusion announced Thursday extends a Series A round that raised $16 million last year. Lassen Peak previously raised $10 million in a seed round in November 2021, and total funding is now $32 million.
Using terahertz frequency imaging radar, Lessen’s device is intended for use by law enforcement, military, and private venues. The company says its application addresses the public safety concerns around physical weapon searches or “pat-downs” that it calls “highly dangerous for individuals conducting the search, as well as the individuals being searched.”
In a blog post, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter and Venture Partner Patrick Ennis wrote about how the Lassen device allows for concealed weapons detection at a distance without physical contact.
“A simple way to describe their initial product is to take a large airport security scanner and make it fit in the palm of one hand so it is portable, battery operated and costs 100x less,” the post says. “Using the latest imaging software and AI, weapons can be highlighted on a person while preserving personal privacy and not displaying (nor storing) any private images of a person’s body.”
Lassen Peak was co-founded in 2019 by Chairman and CEO Hatch Graham, a longtime inventor, engineer and entrepreneur, and Chief Scientist Dr. Ehsan Afshari, a professor at the University of Michigan and expert in ultra-high frequency microelectronics. Chief Technology Officer and SVP of Product Ryan Kearny was previously CTO at F5; and Chief Operating Officer Ian Felix was formerly senior VP of product engineering and manufacturing at Hound Labs.
News of the funding comes as the startup said it demonstrated a successful functional proof of concept to members of the public safety community at the 2023 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Exposition in San Diego.
One law enforcement professional called the technology “Superman vision” after the demo.
“This innovation may become a transformational change to police standards, globally, because of how it serves both police and community, alike,” former San Jose, Calif. Chief of Police Chris Moore said in a statement.
The added capital will support Lassen Peak as it prepares for 2024 pilots, taking place primarily in police and sheriff agencies in the U.S. and U.K.
With Lassen Peak’s expertise in wireless, microelectronics, AI and computer vision, combined with intense customer focus, Madrona’s Porter and Ennis said in their blog post that the company fits squarely within the firm’s ongoing investment themes. They cited previous investment in similarly minded companies such as Impinj, Echodyne, and Isilon.
“The overall market size is huge, and we feel Lassen Peak’s product can become a standard-issue device for many organizations, similar to the deployment of body cameras over the last decade,” Madrona said in its blog post. “There are roughly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in America, and tens of millions of law enforcement and security personnel worldwide.”
It appears that studios are going all-in with their intellectual properties, with a grand majority of 2024’s animated catalog comprising installments in different franchises. In March, DreamWorks will be kicking things into high gear with «Kung Fu Panda 4,» followed that summer by Pixar’s «Inside Out 2» and Illumination’s «Despicable Me 4,» with the Disney prequel «Mufasa: The Lion King» closing out the year in December.
Other franchises will also be seeing new animated entries, including «The Garfield Movie,» «The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,» and «The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.» Aardman will be back with another stop-motion sequel, as an untitled «Wallace and Gromit» film is set to be released on Netflix. The streamer will also be unveiling a new Spongebob feature entitled «Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie» and the 3D animated film «Ultraman: Rising» based on the iconic tokusatsu superhero.
For those thirsting for some originality, a handful of movies are set to come out with some big names attached. After helming the «Hotel Transylvania» franchise for Sony, «Samurai Jack» and «Primal» creator Genndy Tartakovsky is directing the adult-animated comedy «Fixed» for the studio. Netflix and Dreamworks Animation have teamed up to create «Orion and the Dark,» with its screenplay helmed by famed writer Charlie Kaufman. Finally, animation fans can look forward next year to «The Triplets of Belleville» director Sylvain Chomet’s «The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol,» a biopic about French auteur filmmaker and writer Marcel Pagnol.
The explanation of the origin of Sam Gamgee’s name from Tolkien’s perspective is very simple. He adds that Sam is a rustic character, too. But the philologist doesn’t stop with his own answer. He takes advantage of the opportunity to dive into the etymology of the real-life Gamgee family, too, and it turns out that the real Gamgees are much more prestigious than their bucolic counterparts in Middle-earth — at least before the whole «save the world from utter destruction» bit.
In the real Gamgee’s original letter, the fellow explains, «I know it’s fiction, but it is rather a coincidence as the name is very uncommon, but well known in the medical profession.» That last bit about a renowned medical Sam Gamgee clearly piqued Tolkie’s interest, and in his response, the author follows up on the point. After explaining his reasons for naming his character Sam Gamgee, he adds that «I know now, that ‘Gamgee’ was shortened from ‘gamgee-tissue.’» This is a surgical dressing invented by none other than a J. S. Gamgee in the 19th century. Tolkien elaborates that he knows the inventor died in 1886, and a man who he presumes to be his son had died just a few weeks before their correspondence after years spent as the Professor of Surgery at Birmingham University.
«Evidently ‘Sam’ or something like it, is associated with the family,» Tolkien adds, «though I never knew this until a few days ago, when I saw Professor Gamgee’s obituary notice, and saw that he was the son of Sampson Gamgee.» While the overall comparison is uncanny, Tolkien does use the italics to clarify that his character is Samwise, not Sampson or Samuel.
While the duo of Ant-Man and Daredevil may be unexpected, it isn’t hard to believe they could show up in the MCU’s next Spider-Man movie. Ant-Man and Spidey have already crossed paths multiple times, facing off in «Captain America: Civil War» before uniting as fellow Avengers in «Avengers: Endgame.» The idea of a Spider-Man-Daredevil team-up is also logical, as the pair frequently collaborates in the original comics.
The MCU iteration of Spider-Man has already set a precedent for major crossovers with other characters in each entry. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man features in «Spider-Man: Homecoming,» Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury appears in «Spider-Man: Far From Home,» and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange stars in «Spider-Man: No Way Home.» As such, it makes sense for the next entry to continue the tradition of other heroes showing up as part of the story.
The actors behind these specific characters seem to be on board with the idea of a «Spider-Man» crossover. Paul Rudd said in an interview with PopBuzz that he and Tom Holland shared a desire to collaborate closely on a future MCU project. Meanwhile, Holland has told outlets like The Hollywood Reporter that he’d like Spidey and Daredevil to have a full-fledged adventure together.
This graphic shows how Project Kuiper would use optical signaling between satellites. (Amazon Illustration)
Ending years of speculation, Amazon has acknowledged that its Project Kuiper satellites will use laser-based links to communicate with each other, and says the system has already been successfully tested in orbit.
Such a system — known as optical inter-satellite links, or OISL — passes along data more quickly and efficiently than sending signals down from satellites to ground stations, through fiber-optic cables and then back up to other satellites.
“With optical inter-satellite links across our satellite constellation, Project Kuiper will effectively operate as a mesh network in space,” Rajeev Badyal, Project Kuiper’s vice president of technology, said today in a news release. “This system is designed fully in-house to optimize for speed, cost and reliability, and the entire architecture has worked flawlessly from the very start.”
Amazon said the infrared laser system was tested using two prototype satellites that were launched into low Earth orbit in October. The system was able to maintain data transmission speeds of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) over a distance of nearly 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) during test windows lasting an hour or more.
Last month, Amazon reported that the initial satellite tests recorded a “100% success rate,” but the company held back on mentioning the laser link system until today.
Amazon said the OISL test validated the final component of Project Kuiper’s communications infrastructure. “We’re excited to be able to support these next-generation OISL capabilities on every Kuiper satellite from Day One,” Badyal said.
An Amazon video provides an inside look at Project Kuiper’s tests of optical inter-satellite links.
Stan Shull, the founder of a Bellevue, Wash.-based space consulting firm called Alliance Velocity, said the successful OISL test is a big step forward in Project Kuiper’s drive to launch its 3,236-satellite constellation and make broadband internet access available to tens of millions of people around the world who are underserved. Satellite production is scheduled to begin in earnest this month at a factory in Kirkland, Wash.
“Given that Kuiper is ramping up its mass production now to start full-scale deployment in 2024, this is a critical milestone,” Shull told GeekWire in an email. “Per their FCC license, Kuiper has to launch about half of their constellation, or about 1,600 satellites, by the summer of 2026. Had this demo mission not gone well, including validating the optical inter-satellite links, it could’ve put that timeline at risk. Now, it seems like it’s full speed ahead for Kuiper.”
Although Amazon had considered the existence of OISL system to be confidential information, today’s big reveal doesn’t exactly come as a shock to close observers.
Four years ago, Project Kuiper’s job postings signaled that it was planning to develop a 100-Gbps laser link system. And two months ago, telecom consultant Tim Farrar speculated that Amazon might not be releasing any pictures of its satellites because it didn’t want to reveal the presence of laser communication hardware until it was ready to do so.
SpaceX’s Starlink network, which has more than 2 million subscribers and a big head start on Project Kuiper, is already taking advantage of optical inter-satellite links.
“Starlink reports it already has more than 8,000 space lasers across its deployed constellation of more than 5,000 satellites, with the ability to enable data transfer of up to 100 Gbps on each link,” Shull noted. “This sounds roughly comparable to the capability demonstrated by Kuiper.”
Project Kuiper’s mission operations team monitors satellite testing. (Amazon Photo)
Other mega-constellation ventures — including Telesat and Rivada Space Networks — plan to use OISL systems to facilitate broadband data transmission. And such systems are built into the next-generation missile warning and tracking satellites that are being fielded by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency.
One of the reasons why inter-satellite links are so attractive is that they make it possible for satellites to relay data back and forth over wide swaths of the planet where no ground stations exist — for example, in the middle of the ocean. Another reason has to do with physics: Because light travels faster in a vacuum than it does through fiber-optic cable, there could be a slight speedup in signal transmission.
But getting the technology right is a tricky proposition. “It requires precision optics and pointing … and complex orchestration at scale across the satellite constellation and ground stations,” Shull said.
Amazon says its satellites will be equipped with multiple optical terminals that can connect many satellites at once. That’s an in-space capability that can’t be demonstrated with just two satellites in orbit.
“We’ll continue to test and improve the system as we deploy more satellites, but initial data from our testing indicates that our design will be able to maintain cross-links between multiple satellites at once,” an Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire via email. “That test data – combined with our ability to leverage global AWS cloud infrastructure for network routing – gives us confidence in our ability to operate a next-generation mesh network across our fully deployed constellation.”
Resilient communication links are particularly important to government customers. Even before Amazon’s first prototype satellites were deployed, NASA awarded $67 million to Kuiper Government Solutions, a division within Project Kuiper that focuses on serving public-sector customers, to demonstrate an in-space optical relay network for satellite communications.
“Amazon’s optical mesh network will provide multiple paths to route data through space, creating resiliency and redundancy for customers who need to securely transport information around the world,” said Ricky Freeman, vice president of Kuiper Government Solutions. “This is especially important for those looking to avoid communications architectures that can be intercepted or jammed.”
Looking ahead, Shull expects to see more constellations taking advantage of lasers, for inter-satellite links and also for satellite-to-ground data transmission.
“It’s not only for communication satellites,” he said. “With the growing volume and value of remote sensing data from space, laser mesh networks help to ensure that important data insights are delivered back to Earth in a timely fashion. Amazon Kuiper is clearly one of the early leaders with its optical mesh network, and it’s great to see this progress. This could be a game changer for both satellite communications and Earth observation going forward.”
Large energy storage units like these batteries from ESS can provide energy during times when solar and wind power are not available. A new partnership called the Granular Certificate Trading Alliance is creating a marketplace to support the deployment of 24/7 energy sources. (ESS Photo)
A growing number of organizations as well as the U.S. government are moving beyond commitments to purchase 100% clean energy to power their operations. They’re aiming for carbon-free power 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.
Seattle startup LevelTen Energy, Microsoft, Google, and two clean energy companies announced on Thursday that they’re partnering to create a marketplace to help groups with climate pledges reach that ambitious goal.
Most corporate-backed clean energy efforts so far have focused on ramping up installations of solar and wind power facilities. But those power sources aren’t always available. To provide carbon-free power around-the-clock means adding energy sources such as nuclear, hydrogen fuel, batteries and geothermal to the mix.
The first-of-its-kind marketplace will allow energy buyers to purchase from energy producers what are called “granular certificates” — essentially documents verifying when and where the power is generated. It will allow producers of these less common energy sources to market their alternative solutions to carbon-free power.
“This is creating new price signals to incent new types of clean energy to come on the grid to fill some of those gaps so that we can deliver clean energy when the wind’s not blowing and the sun’s not shining,” said Jason Tundermann, LevelTen’s chief operating officer, in a GeekWire interview.
“This is creating new price signals to incent new types of clean energy to come on the grid…”
– Jason Tundermann, LevelTen Energy COO
The collaboration — dubbed the Granular Certificate Trading Alliance — is building an “ecosystem,” Tundermann said, to connect energy buyers and sellers and manage the exchange of the granular certificates.
The project is being developed in partnership with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which operates global financial exchanges. The alliance is led by LevelTen and its founding members are Microsoft, Google, AES and Constellation.
In addition to helping build the project, the founding members plan to be among the first users of the marketplace, as both Microsoft and Google have set goals for using clean power 24/7 by 2030. The trading platform is expected to launch next year.
“This marketplace opens new opportunities for buyers and sellers to access granular carbon-free energy and creates an hourly price signal — important for driving investment in assets that deliver carbon-free energy in the right place, at the right time,” said Adrian Anderson, Microsoft’s general manager of renewables and carbon free energy, in a statement.
LevelTen, which launched in 2016, also operates the world’s largest marketplace for power purchase agreements, which support the deployment of clean power installations by matching energy developers with guaranteed, often long-term customers for the electricity.
Initially, it was just a few big companies signing the agreements to buy clean power, “then it’s absolutely exploded,” Tundermann said. Now businesses large and small are paying for the deals in order to reach their climate targets.
LevelTen hopes the same thing can happen with granular certificates.
Graphic from LevelTen Energy illustrating the need for power sources the complement wind and solar. Click to enlarge. (LevelTen Image)
Here’s an example of how it could work:
A company is building a new facility that it estimates will use 100 megawatt hours of electricity per year, so it makes a power purchase agreement with a solar developer to provide a large slice of that energy.
But the company’s operations run through the night, so it uses the new platform to make a bid to buy granular certificates from a battery startup that’s plugging into the grid.
If the company buys more of the granular certificates than it ultimately needs, they can be traded.
The platform can also assist companies that instead of striving for clean power 24/7 are aiming to support carbon-free energy in areas using the most polluting power sources. The goal here is to create opportunities to retire and replace the dirty power plants. Amazon is among the companies following this strategy.
Tundermann said they expect first to attract the companies and organizations eager to buy the power, then the suppliers will follow.
“You have to start with the ‘pull,’” Tundermann said. “The trading platform will allow us to collect and aggregate all these demand signals and really show that to the [energy] developer market. At that point, it’s up to them to come up with the supply.”
Quentin Tarantino’s «Star Trek» film was unusual in that instead of writing the script, he left those duties up to Mark L. Smith. During his interview with Collider, Smith said that Tarantino was naturally trying to make the film in conjunction with filmmaker J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company. Bad Robot produced the first three «Star Trek» reboot films that began in 2009, starring Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock.
One of the hangups during the process, Smith explained, was Tarantino’s insistence that he was going to retire after making 10 feature films. As far back as 2012, Tarantino said that he wanted to stop at a certain point, suggesting that 10 films may be his limit. Following his ninth feature, 2019’s «Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,» Tarantino appeared to be keeping his promise, skipping the «Star Trek» sequel in favor of his upcoming swan song, «The Movie Critic.»
After writing the script, Smith said that Tarantino began contemplating his rule of 10 and whether he wanted the «Star Trek» feature to be his last. «I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that «Star Trek» could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’» Smith told Collider. «And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.»
Compared to Rick Groen’s review, Stephen Hunter at The Washington Post was downright unkind, writing, «It’s a clumsy, tedious ride that wears out its welcome as it wears out the seat of your pants and the circulation in your lower limbs.» At the Denver Post, Michael Booth expressed a similar sentiment: «Leaves a sour taste in the mouth and a Grinch-like resolve to sue the manufacturer.»
Mark Kermode, writing for The Observer, made a strong decision about the effort from Will Ferrell and director Jon Favreau: «The result is a turkey.» At the Chicago Reader, critic J.R. Jones felt the same way, writing, «The film soon bogs down in fake hugs and a fakier climax involving Santa (Ed Asner) and his downed sled.» Meanwhile, at MovieFreak.com, Sara Michelle Fetters was largely unimpressed, saying, «Well, the gloves are off this time around, for no matter how many different ways you look at it, former ‘Saturday Night Live’ funnyman Will Ferrell’s Christmas comedy ‘Elf’ is a big lump of Yule tide coal.»
Parse Biosciences. a Seattle biotech startup developing single cell sequencing products used by more than 1,000 labs worldwide, raised $50 million as part of a Series C equity round and a debt facility.
The company, previously known as Split Biosciences, spun out of the University of Washington in 2018 and launched in 2021.
Parse is led by CEO/co-founder Alex Rosenberg, and CTO/co-founder Charlie Roco.
Soleus Capital led the Series C round, which included participation from Bioeconomy Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, Sahsen Ventures, and Saras Capital. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN) provided the debt facility.
Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), fans had some strong feelings about the fact that Warner Bros., the studio distributing «Wonka,» are hiding the fact that it’s an outright musical. «I thought Wonka was great and the marketing really didn’t do it any [favors] by hiding it’s a musical and playing up Chalamet’s quirkiness,» @still_like_this wrote. «Also lots of complaints that ‘this character isn’t like the [Gene Wilder] character’ but …it’s a prequel. The world hasn’t crushed his spirits yet!»
Another fan on X, @bugsmaytrix, agreed. They wrote, «the fact that [‘Wonka’] is a stealth musical really explains the baffling tone of every trailer i’ve seen. it’s frustrating that this is the direction marketing has chosen to go, as it leaves potential audiences put off and misleads those who actually see the thing.»
Responding to this report, @Nash_Doll had one clear message for studios: «This is INSANE. Do not do this. I went and saw Wonka last night and the first thing a group of people sitting behind me said was that they wish they [knew] it was a musical. This will kill word of mouth marketing.» As for @vexmybeloved_, they were just baffled by Warner Bros.’ choice. «Still wondering why the marketing for ‘Wonka’ didn’t lean into the musical aspect at all,» they wrote. «Did they think a musical movie wouldn’t do well? Not a critique just genuinely curious as to why they kind of tried to hide the fact that it was a musical in the general marketing.»
