1. Hoops (available August 21)

Why Should I Watch? Between Big Mouth, F Is For Family, and The Midnight Gospel, Netflix has a strong slate of adult animated comedies, and thats without counting the services now ended but endlessly re-watchable episodes of BoJack. Hoops, starring and executive produced by Jake Johnson, looks to join those lofty ranks. Created by Ben Hoffman, Hoops follows Coach Ben Hopkins, a pathetic, angry, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach whos convinced he can make it to the big leagues if he can whip his wayward squad into shape. His father, Barry (voiced by Rob Riggle), is a former professional basketball star, and he wants to help his son succeed even though he knows hes a long way from being the man he should be. Hard-R hijinks ensue, with Chris Miller and Phil Lord (Clone High, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) also on board as executive producers.

Bonus Reason: If youre not familiar with creator Ben Hopkins, perhaps you know him by the stage name Wheeler Walker Jr., a (comedic) country singer whose first album, Redneck Shit, debuted on PornHub. Rolling Stone called that release unfathomably obscene and undeniably offensive for tracks like Cant Fuck You Off My Mind and Sit on My Face, and Walkers follow-ups only pushed the X-rated satire further. (Yup, thats another pull-quote from Rolling Stone.) Now, Hoffman is barely hiding behind another character via Coach Hopkins. Will the results be as extreme? Obscene? Offensive? Netflix has pushed those buttons to great success in other areas of late, so perhaps the strategy will help Hoops make a name for itself, too.

Nickelodeon

Why Should I Watch? If Netflix originals are doing a solid job with new adult animated offerings, than the streamers acquisition team is killing it in anime. After striking gold with Avatar the Last Airbender earlier this summer, Netflix invested in the sequel series to premiere this August. Created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino for Nickelodeon in 2012, The Legend of Korra follows the eponymous lead (voiced by Youre the Worst star Janet Varney) through four seasons (Books 1-4) of action, splendid (HD) visuals, and thoughtful commentary on real-world strife. Like Aang before her, Korra is an Avatar who can control the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Throughout the series, the hotheaded warrior has to maintain balance in a world facing political and spiritual unrest, though the final season sees her look inward in another imaginative pivot. Its quite a journey for anyone already caught up in the Avatar world

Bonus Reason: and great prep for Netflixs original adaptation. Back in 2018, the streaming giant announced plans for a live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, hoping to do right by a beloved anime property that many felt was mishandled by M. Night Shyamalans 2010 movie. Theres still no word on a release date for the new series, but Netflix is certainly sparking renewed interest by releasing the original series and its sequel.

Why Should I Watch? Brandys beloved 90s sitcom, Moesha, is one of a handful of sitcoms focused on Black families that Netflix has licensed for release in the coming months. Originally planned for CBS before moving to its permanent home at UPN, the half-hour comedy centers on a well-off Black family living in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Moeshas diary entries open and close most episodes (shortly before Carrie Bradshaws essays would do the same on Sex and the City), which capture the titular leads days in high school, as well as her family life. Whether youre looking for a little nostalgia during your time at home or eager to finally see an oft-discussed comedy thats been previously unavailable otherwise, Moesha will give you 50-plus hours of much-needed entertainment.

Bonus Reason: Besides making a star out of Brandy, Moesha followed the grand tradition of most great sitcoms by tackling a number of difficult issues head-on. (The later seasons take on an infidelity arc thats a real humdinger.) So dont worry: This isnt a guilty pleasure or braindead bingeing; Moesha pushes the envelope, too.

Netflix

Why Should I Watch? Still looking for more animated offerings in August? Netflix has you covered with the third season of its kawaii counterculture cartoon, Aggretsuko. Originally the mascot for Sanrio, a Japanese company that designs, licenses, and specializes in super-cute products, Aggretsuko debuted as an anime musical-comedy in 2018, following an accountant named Retsuko who takes out her frustrations via death metal karaoke sessions. Episodes are pretty short about 15 minutes each but the length helps maximize the juxtaposition between crazy adorable creatures (Retsuko is a red panda) pursuing aggressively extreme outlets. (Retsuko eventually turns to marriage as solace from her office aggravations.) Try them out for yourself and see what all the much-deserved fuss is about.

Bonus Reason: One? Weve got five! For more hooks into Aggretsuko, check out our Season 1 breakdown. Heres a small taste: Retsukos name roughly translates to Rage-child in English, which is awesome by itself.

Courtesy of Netflix

Why Should I Watch? A six-part documentary series from Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau (Trophy), Immigration Nation examines Americas immigration process through the daily lives of ICE agents, activists, lawmakers, attorneys, and a sizable number of undocumented immigrants. Schwarz and Clusiau, who shot footage for more than three years, look at an array of immigrant stories, including longtime residents and more recent arrivals, and asks the hard questions about how our nation can live up to the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

Bonus Reason: Early reviews have been strong. Varietys Chief TV Critic Caroline Framke writes Immigration Nation provides a damning indictment of the labyrinthe systems that make ICE so powerful, and a wrenching examination of the human cost its policies have wrought. Times Judy Berman also utilizes the striking descriptor when calling the docuseries as damning for the executive branch as it is illuminating for civilians. Heres hoping the timing of this release encourages voters to do what they can to change things.

Why Should I Watch? Another popular UPN entry, The Game originated as a spin-off of the sitcom Girlfriends (which starred Tracee Ellis Ross) before running one season longer than its predecessor. Mara Brock Akil created both, and recent Emmy nominee Tia Mowry leads The Game as Dr. Melanie Barnett-Davis who, when the series begins, has given up an offer to study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to support her husbands professional football career. Melanie quickly befriends her new football family, including Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson) and Kelly (Brittany Daniel), while she learns to juggle her responsibilities to her sport with her passion for practicing medicine. Honestly, the real answer to Why Should I Watch? is simply Tia Mowry (now Tia Mowry-Hardrict), but for those who wanted a few more names or a hint at the plot, there you go.

Bonus Reason: In addition to Mowry, The Game featured a slew of famous or soon-to-be famous faces. Moesha star Brandy showed up in later seasons, along with future Insecure star Jay Ellis. Rick Fox, Lee Majors, and Janet Varney were all part of the recurring cast, while guest stars like John Singleton, Jennifer Hudson, MoNique, Gabrielle Union, Serena Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Jennifer Lopez kept audiences on their toes week in and week out.

Courtesy of Netflix

Why Should I Watch? Whats cuter than animal-centered nature docs? How about an animal-centered nature doc focused on tiny animals? Exotic butterflies, everyday mice, weird-looking lizards, and more take the spotlight in this new Netflix docuseries that dramatizes little animals big adventures across the United States. Expect plenty of slo-motion shots and close calls for these Tiny Creatures, all in bright, beautiful high-definition.

Bonus Reason: Who better to narrate a docuseries on tiny animals than a big, burly man with a buttery baritone? Evil star Mike Colter will talk you through each little creatures story though heres hoping this show will avoid any demon sightings.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures Seasons 1-2 (available now)My Perfect Landing Season 1 (available now)Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea Season 1 (available now)The Next Step Season 6 (available now)Operation Ouch Season 1 (available now)Connected (available now)Toradora! Season 1 (available now)Transformers Rescue Bots Academy Season 2 (available now)Mundo Misterio / Mystery Lab (available August 4)Worlds Most Wanted (available August 5)The Rain Season 3 (available August 6)Alta Mar / High Seas Season 3 (available August 7)The Magic School Bus Rides Again Kids in Space (available August 7)Nailed It: Mexico Season 2 (available August 7)The New Legends of Monkey Season 2 (available August 7)Selling Sunset Season 3 (available August 7)(Un)Well (available August 12)El rob del siglo (available August 14)Glow Up Season 2 (available August 14)Teenage Bounty Hunters (available August 14)3% Season 4 (available August 14)Rita Season 5 (available August 15)Stranger Season 2 (available August 15)Glitch Techs Season 2 (available August 17)DeMarcus Family Rules (available August 19)Biohackers (available August 20)Lucifer Season 5 (available August 21)Rust Valley Restorers Season 3 (available August 21)Trinkets Season 2 (available August 25)Million Dollar Beach House (available August 26)Cobra Kai Seasons 1-2 (available August 28)I AM A KILLER: Released (available August 28)

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7 New Netflix Shows in August 2020, and the Best Reasons to Watch - IndieWire

Transform and Ship OUT! That's right, the Transformers take to the high seas with a new twist on the World of Warships game that brings together historic recreations of battleships with futuristic Transforming robots from outer space. This may be one of the strangest crossovers yet with G1 style Megatron, Rumble, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee, at least, going into battle with their very own ships, add-ons and even special missions. Watch the game trailer and read the official copy below for more details.

Four iconic Transformers characters will be released initially as unique ship skins and commanders with recognizable phrases and voiceovers. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will set the stage for the heroic Autobots, with Megatron and Rumble to be available as their eternal foes the Decepticons.

The coming Transformers collaboration with World of Warships will also bring a host of other new content, including special Transformers containers, dedicated in-game Combat missions, camouflages, commemorative flags and patches, and more.

Keep an eye out on the official World of Warships website. Your first port of call for new ship releases!

Link:

Transformers Join the Battle in World of Warships Game Announced - Tformers.com

Where is Isaias now? Where is the forecasted path?

New Jersey remains in the forecast cone. Options from a graze up the coast to an inland track near the Delaware River are possible. Tropical storm warnings extend from Boston, down the I-95 corridor to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service Hazards for the Northeast. Tropical storm warnings are in dark red.

It is important to note that the heaviest rain will be to the west of Isaias' center. Meanwhile, the strongest winds will be to the east.

"Isaas" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the biblical Isaiah. It is pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs.

Isaias joins Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall just south of Long Beach Island on July 10, as the two storms put the region in the forecast cone.

The cone represents a two-thirds probability of where the center of the low pressure center is.

The storm will slip through a weakness in a large high pressure system, which expands from the Gulf of Mexico into much of the Atlantic Ocean.

This map shows the steering patterns of the atmosphere between the 300 to 850 millibar level, between about 30,000 and 5,000 feet high. Isaias will slip through the weakness in the clockwise spinning high pressure system off the coast of Florida.

One it reaches Georgia, the steering patterns sharply moves west to east. While the storm won't curve immediately out to sea, there will be a turn to the northeast as it moves north, hence why New Jersey is in the forecast cone.

Forecast model guidance continues to narrow. A landfall will be possible, or can a pass two to three hundred miles out to sea.

The model track guidance for Tropical Storm Iasias, as of 8 a.m. Friday.

There are three options at play. However, it will not be until Saturday when they can be narrowed down. If the storm makes landfall before reaching New Jersey, that will weaken the storm, and vice versa. The first two scenarios are favored, with the third one looking less and less likely.

Option 1:

The European model from Wednesday night is a good representation of what scenario 1 would look like. The center of the storm is well out to sea.

Isaias stays 200 to 300 miles out to sea, passing between late Monday and Tuesday.

Spotty, but heavy, rain bands will pass. Winds would be gusty, but likely would not be enough to bring damage.

The real concerns would be out on the water. Given the full moon Monday and the onshore winds. Multiple rounds of minor or moderate coastal flooding would be likely. High seas would be present, with dangerous rip currents, too. During Tropical Storm Fay, a teenage lost his life in Ventnor while swimming with two friends the evening of the storm. In Ocean City, two 18-year-old girls were brought to shore by city police the following morning.

A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf

Option 2:

The storm hugs the Jersey Shore. While the western side of the storm is usually the safer side, since the winds around the counter-clockwise spinning system goes against the northerly direction of the storm's movement, worse impacts than option 1 are possible.

Flooding rain, damaging winds at the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and high seas will all be likely.

This being said, a track coast to the close would likely mean land interaction with North Carolina. If that happens, the storm would weaken. This could mean the difference between a strong tropical storm and weak, less organized one.

The Global Forecast System, American, model paints this picture. Though, note that the exact track of the storm should not be paid attention to. Rather, note how organized the storm is.

The GFS, American model, paints tropical storm force sustained winds at the shore Tuesday morning. Emergency personnel will not respond to a 9-1-1 call when winds are above tropical storm force.

Option 3:

Isaias makes landfall in Florida or the Southeastern United States and the center of the storm passes to the west of the state. That is illustrated on the western edge of the forecast cone.

The storm would likely be a remnants storm by then, or perhaps a Tropical Depression. However, flooding rains, some coastal flooding, dangerous seas, rip currents and high surf would be likely.

The Canadian weather forecast model from the Thursday night model run. Note the center of the storm is inland and would likely be a remnant storm, or a tropical depression by then.

Saturday.

By then, the storm will be near Florida. In the weakness of the large, Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic Ocean high pressure system, there will be a better idea on how the steering currents will move the storm.

Tropical Storm watches may go up Saturday night or Sunday morning, 48 hours before tropical storm force (39 mph or greater) winds arrive.

The Press of Atlantic City's Hurricane section of the Weather Center has the information you need to know to protect yourself and learn more about tropical systems in South Jersey.

Ten tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall in South Jersey since 1900. Here's the list, newly updated with Tropical Storm Fay, which made landfall July 10. As long as the storm makes landfall in New Jersey, it will be the first time with two storms making landfall within the same year.

Making landfall on the Delaware Bay side of Cape May County on the morning of August 21, 1971, Doria was responsible for an F-2 tornado, with winds over 100 mph, near Cape May .

According to the Weather Prediction Center, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell in most of the region.

An active 2020 hurricane season was predictedby Colorado State University. With Isaias, 2020 continues its record breaking pace to hurricane season, beating out the historic 2005 year.

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Great white shark that pinged off Atlantic City, Ocean City leaves South Jersey - Press of Atlantic City

When I first came to Japan as a university English teacher in 1993, the hydrangea were in full bloom and I was 29 years old. Four years later, in 1997, I met my best friend here when we both started working for the same company at the exact same time. Both still relatively new to Japan, we bonded quickly over the strange customs, challenges and fathomless possibilities presented to us each day.

Since we both worked full time, we met every Sunday morning over coffee, often at a cafe where we chortled, gesticulated and expressed outright wonder as we struggled to understand Japan. We didnt care what others thought we were playful, untamed, carefree.

When I met her, I had just recentered my life by moving to Shiraishi Island in the Seto Inland Sea where I could satisfy a longing to live closer to nature: Where I could watch the tide whisper in under a full moon, taste the dew on the morning glories and swim in briny waters with swaying seagrass tickling my toes.

During that first year on the island, an abandoned kitten came upon me when I was running in the mountains. Imploring me to pick her up, she rested in my palm like a fragile, brilliant white goose egg. When I showed her to my best friend, she was smitten. It was just a normal cat, of course, but she told everyone it was the most elegant jewel in the whole world because it was mine. Thats just how she was.

My friend and I shared many of the same passions: the environment, sustainability and traditional Japanese culture, to name a few. She visited me often, and in our little island paradise we bathed in a sea of pink sunsets and danced in the shimmering summer air to appease the warrior spirits of the Battle of the Heike from 800 years ago.

When the autumn winds came, we wandered the ancient pilgrimage route while picking persimmons and memorized the Heart Sutra. In winter, her charm alone coaxed invitations into the warm island houses of Buddhist priests, shamans and folk dancers.

Time trudged on, I bought my island house and planted iris. She took on more work and stayed later each night at the company. We still met once a week, but eventually switched to Saturdays. When my parents came to visit me in Japan, they thought my friend was terrific, and returned home satisfied I was succeeding in this country with such wonderful support. It was true that she helped me get through the growing pains of this culture, just by being there.

When the internet moved life online, we did too, no longer meeting at a cafe for coffee. Instead, we caught up once a week as time permitted since meeting online gave us more freedom, less structure.

My friend was sophisticated, charming and more popular than I ever was, but she shared her vast cohort of admirers and many journeyed out to this remote, misty, plum-blossomed island in the Inland Sea she talked so much about. Some even became my life-long friends.

But as time rolls on, people mature and, inevitably, change. I married and her job made even more demands on her time. Japan was in a deep recession and she took a pay cut. We kept our chins up.

A decade later, my parents had passed away and hers separated after a long marriage. Her father took a new wife and things were never quite the same for her. So many adjustments to a new parent. I offered to help but was at a loss of what I could actually do for her. We occasionally took different views, had petty arguments, but tried not to allow a wedge to come between us.

About five years ago we had slipped to meeting just twice a month, on Mondays, and our relationship started showing real signs of weakness. We both knew something wasnt quite right, but we couldnt put our finger on it. We seldom cracked jokes anymore; in fact, we argued.

Still, she accompanied me to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018 and we took four journeys together along the Kumano Kodo from 2014 to 2017.

Fast friends: Sometimes fate can bring just the right thing into your life. | AMY CHAVEZ

When I took a trip to Europe earlier this year with my husband, I sent her dispatches, just as I always had, starting with my first major solo trip on the Shikoku Pilgrimage in 1998, then again when I muddled through a stint in Hokkaido in 2007, and during two extended sailing voyages over the high seas in 2004 and 2012.

So when I came back from my European trip, it was a comfort to know she was still here waiting for me, the way she always had.

Last year in June, my precious jewel of a kitty passed away. For 22 years I had buried my nose in her fur when I was sad, and the pain of parting with my feline for good was so acute, I couldnt even share my loss with my best friend. I cradled the sweet old cat (mere bones!) and, amid a pouring spring rain, returned her to the mountain where she had first found me. For the rest of the rainy season, while the hydrangeas turned from green to pastel pink, pale blue and back to green again, I imagined the rain soaking down through the soil staining that beautiful white coat.

But I still had my best friend. We continued to meet once a month, and it felt somewhat stable.

Id been so dependent on her for so long. She mentored me through my 30s, 40s and now into my mid-50s. Because of her, I felt accepted and valued. It was a rare friendship and we knew it. Was it too late to renew that spark?

Then came COVID-19 and our worlds turned upside down. My friend could only meet me once every two months. When we did catch up, our viewpoints diverged, and we fell into spats. We made up though, before hopelessly quarreling again. The stress of diminishing finances among a world pandemic magnified our woes.

Where to go from here? I wondered, and it was not a new thought. Is such struggle normal? If I let her go, would I ever find another soulmate like her? In truth, I had started feeling estranged a long time ago, and I think she did too. Finally, I accepted that we had just grown apart.

Already, the cicadas are in full cry, but the last time I saw her was May 11.

Ive withheld her name until now because if you regularly read my column, you already know who she is. Ive written about her exactly 1,034 times, in essays that total 1 million words. Shes been in my life for 23 years and its so hard to let her go. But I know its time. She knows it, too. Farewell, Japan Lite.

A lot happens in 23 years but, in the end, time is itself an evanescence.

I have not regrets, but still I weep. And the Inland Sea tide rises.

Special thanks to the editors and staff at The Japan Times, and, of course, the readers for supporting me and Japan Lite for 23 years.

A new home: Shiraishi Island is a comfortable getaway from Japans busy urban centers. | AMY CHAVEZ

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Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes it needs to be done - The Japan Times

UNI Florida - image from Uni-Asia Group

By The Maritime Executive 07-31-2020 04:25:25

Despite recent reports that suggested a decline in incidents of containers falling overboard, there apparently has been another incident this time approaching the Dubai port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While the full details of the situation are currently unknown, images have begun to appear of the 3,500 TEU container ship UNI Florida arriving in port with visible signs of container damage. The aft stack of boxes has toppled over leaning over the side of the ship. No reports have been released as of yet on the circumstances of the incident or the number or location of containers lost.

On a video shot by a local observer in the port, you can hear the surprise when they see the stack of boxes toppled over on the stern of the ship. Built in 2007 at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, it is apparently not the first instance that this vessel had a container accident in the same aft container bay. Pictures online dated 2007 show the same vessel with its boxes topped to starboard versus the current incident to the port side.

The vessel, the UNI Florida, however, was sold between these two incidents. She is currently owned by the Uni-Asia Group of Hong Kong working on time charters. AIS data indicates that the 43,000 DWT vessel remains in port at the UAE.

Recently, the World Shipping Council (WSC) issued a report saying that the incidents of containers lost overboard has been on the decline and is a small percentage of the total annual volume of containers transported at sea. The WCS concludes, based on data from the past 12 years, that half of all containers lost at sea are attributed to a limited number of major incidents that have occurred during those years. They reported that the number had declined to an average of 779 between 2017 and 2019.

Two and a half weeks ago, the MSC Palak reported that she had lost 22 containers overboard in high seas off the coast of South Africa in Algoa Bay. The South Africa Maritime Safety Authority responded to that incident briefly closingthe port over fears that the drifting containers were entering the shipping channel. The vessel was detained for a week in South Africa before it departed. SAMSA reports that MSC supported the clean-up efforts.

While many of the incidents similar to the UNI Florida often go unreported, others had drawn broad attention. In May, the APL England sailing east of Australia lost approximately 50 containers overboard in another heavy weather incident. The Australia authorities briefly detained the ship reporting that their inspectors had determined that the lashing arrangements for cargo were inadequate and found heavy corrosion on the securing points for containers on the ships deck. The clean-up from that incident is reported to still be ongoing while Australia has brought charges against the ships captain and is pursuing financial compensation from the ships owners.

The WCS admitted in its report that the goal should be both to improve incident reporting and seek to further reduce incidents such as these. They outlined a series of actions that were recommended to improve the safety of container ship operations.

Read this article:

Video: Boxship Arrives in UAE With Toppled Containers - The Maritime Executive

A new treaty is the best hope of stopping it

ON JULY 16TH the Ecuadorian navy announced it had spotted a fleet of 260 fishing vessels, most of them Chinese, anchored in international waters near the Galapagos islands. Ecuadors government reacted as if it were facing some sort of invasion. It increased patrols to ensure that the ships would not venture into the Galapagos Exclusive Economic Zone, where Ecuador claims a sole right to resources. President Lenn Moreno formally complained to China.

Overfishing in high seas near the Galapagos is endangering the unique species that thrive there. Yet there is little Ecuador can do to stop foreign fleets from ransacking its stock of marine wildlife. No laws regulate fishing in international waters. The ships use bait to lure sharks out of Ecuadorian waters and then catch as many as they can.

It is impossible to track how much the ships fish. The Chinese under-report the international catch coming in through their ports, says Alex Hearn, of MigraMar, a marine-wildlife research organisation. But Ecuadorians got a glimpse in 2017, when one Chinese vessel was intercepted in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The authorities found 300 tonnes of fish, most of it scalloped hammerhead shark, a critically endangered species. Two-thirds of hammerhead fins found in Hong Kong markets belong to species that depend on Galapagos waters.

China claims the vessels belong to independent companies it does not control. But there is no way Chinese ships would go all the way to fish around Ecuadorian waters without government subsidies and technical support, says Max Bello of Mission Blue, an NGO based in California. Chinas distant-water fishing fleet is the worlds largest but it is not the only country to have one. Taiwan, South Korea and America subsidise theirs, too. Global Fishing Watch, another American NGO, says much of the industry would collapse without subsidies.

Ecuador had played a big role in pushing countries to promise to negotiate a new UN treaty to regulate the fishing of endangered species. But its government took a back seat when the negotiations started, in deference to its own fishermen, who also trawl international waters. Thanks to the Chinese fleet, Ecuador is now eager to reassess its position, says Jeff LeBlanc, a government adviser. We now see there are more pros than cons. He hopes the new treaty will be signed next year, in time to save some threatened species. If not, fishing fleets will loot the waters near the Galapagos until there is little left.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Fishy business"

Go here to see the original:

The Galapagos islands face an invasion of trawlers - The Economist

A huge new ship has appeared in Leith today, and has docked right in front of the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal.

The gigantic Caledonian Vanguard is a behemoth of a supply vessel. She was built 15 years ago and is currently sailing under the flag of the Cayman Islands: she is an impressive 93.45 metres long.

A platform supply vessel (PSV) is a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil and gas platforms. They move goods, tools, equipment and staff to and from the platforms: the Caledonian Vanguard travelled to Edinburgh from Aberdeen, a journey that took her 8 hours in total.

The ship is so big because she has to carry huge tanks for things like diesel fuel, water and chemicals that offshore oil platforms need to carry out their day-to-day functions. PSV's also carry chemical waste back to shore for proper recycling or disposal.

Platform Supply Vessels are also used to help reduce the extent of oil spillage in the high seas; some of these vessels are equipped with a firefighting capability and fire monitors for fighting potentially catastrophic platform fires.

Other vessels are equipped with tools, chemicals and personnel to help increase an oil well's production.

Often half of the crew are specialists such as scientists, geologists or other people involved in special jobs related to operations on the oil platforms.

Crews sign on to work and live aboard the platform supply vessels for an extended period of time, working in shifts.

Hopefully they'll be allowed onshore for a fun trip round the shops at Ocean Terminal today before they have to head back up to the North Sea oil fields.

Read the rest here:

The story behind the latest humongous ship to dock at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh - Edinburgh Live

There are three options at play. However, there is still much to be figured out. If the storm makes landfall before reaching New Jersey, that will weaken the storm, and vice versa. The first two scenarios are favored, with the third one looking less and less likely.

Option 1:

The European model from Wednesday night is a good representation of what scenario 1 would look like. The center of the storm is well out to sea.

Tropical Storm Isaias stays 200 to 300 miles out to sea, passing between late Monday and early Wednesday.

Spotty, but heavy, rain bands will pass. Winds would be gusty, but likely would not be enough to bring damage.

The real concerns would be out on the water. Given the full moon Monday and the onshore winds. Multiple rounds of minor or moderate coastal flooding would be likely. High seas would be present, with dangerous rip currents, too. During Tropical Storm Fay, a teenage lost his life in Ventnor while swimming with two friends the evening of the storm. In Ocean City, two 18-year-old girls were brought to shore by city police the following morning.

A heat wave that drives you to the shore, warm water temperature that draws you to the surf

Option 2:

The storm hugs the Jersey Shore. While the western side of the storm is usually the safer side, since the winds around the counter-clockwise spinning system goes against the northerly direction of the storm's movement, worse impacts than option 1 are possible.

Flooding rain, damaging winds at the coast, minor to moderate coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and high seas will all be likely.

This being said, a track coast to the close would likely mean land interaction with North Carolina. If that happens, the storm would weaken. This could mean the difference between a strong tropical storm and weak, less organized one.

The Global Forecast System, American, model paints this picture. Though, note that the exact track of the storm should not be paid attention to. Rather, note how organized the storm is.

The GFS model shows the worst of the storm offshore. However, a shift just 50 miles to the east would bring tropical storm force sustained winds to the shore. Emergency personnel will not respond to a 9-1-1 call when winds are above tropical storm force.

Option 3:

Isaias makes landfall in Florida or the Southeastern United States and the center of the storm passes to the west of the state. That is illustrated on the western edge of the forecast cone.

The storm would likely be a remnants storm by then, or perhaps a Tropical Depression. However, flooding rains, some coastal flooding, dangerous seas, rip currents and high surf would be likely.

The Canadian weather forecast model from Wednesday night. Note the center of the storm is well inland and would likely be a remants storm, or a tropical depression by then.

Continued here:

There are three scenarios at play - Press of Atlantic City

High Seas is a series of puzzles that hit Netflix in May 2019. The show has 2 seasons that have been quite average and were dubbed into the English language by Netflix. Fans of the series will receive the third season of the show. The renewal was officially announced in November 2019 and filming for Season 3 began in the same month. The show is slated for a release in August 2020.

Great news for fans here! In November 2019, a Spanish journalist published that the creators had already started filming High Seas Season 3. In fact, it is said that he also started improving in season 4 in installments. The production team behind the series shared that they are set to produce 16 episodes.

Source: Trinikid

These will be divided into eight chapters into 2 chapters. As reported, the premiere of High Seas season 3 will take place on August 7, 2020, it has not yet been confirmed if it will be the last season or so, but much entertainment and drama is confirmed, which fans season 3 will be able to.

The second season of High Seas ended with Cruise arriving in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, some mysteries are open with the second season. Therefore, the next season will probably focus on them. In addition, Cruise dropped his anchor in Rio. It is unclear when the cruise will continue or fall in the center in the next season. The show has also brought in a pretty extraordinary way in the second season as well. So it will be exciting to see where the story goes in the third season of High Seas.

Season 2 of High Seas was released in its entirety on Netflix on November 22, 2019. The second season consists of eight episodes like its predecessor. The series, prior to its original release, was planned for the first two seasons. And so, it didnt seem like a surprise when the second installment came to a standstill of just six months.

Now, until the third season, Netflix has yet to appear with an announcement. Audience reviews are more or less favorable, no doubt. But a new season will depend on whether the creators need to create a multi-season story in the first place. For now, if Netflix stays to follow its regular broadcast schedule and chooses to resume the series, we can expect High Seas season 3 premiere to be sometime in late 2020.

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Alta Mar High Seas When Will Season 3 Release On Netflix? - NationEditions

Netflix has also many Spanish shows that received love from the audiences very much. Back in the previous year, the streaming giant appeared with the Spanish mystery series titled High Seas or Alta Mar. It is created by both Ramn Campos, and Gema R. Neira and produced by Bamb Producciones. It cast actors like Ivana Baquero, Jon Kortajarena, Alejandra Onieva, Chiqui Fernndez, and Eloy Azorn in the lead roles.

The second season landed back on November 22, 2019, and now fans are hoping for a third season. They want to know if it is happening or not and about its release date. So below are all the important details for the third season of High Seas:

The good news is Netflix has already renewed the Spanish series for a third season. It was expected because its a very popular series and the ratings are also high. It hs also received praise for the story and acting. The news of the third season appeared soon after the release of the second season and it was also revealed that we will get a season 4 also.

Netflix has also renewed other series like Lucifer, You, Sex Education, Outer Banks, Glow, Family Reunion, Trinkets, etc.

Filming began in the previous year for the third season of Spanish thriller series High Seas. The news was confirmed by the star Jon Kortajarena who performed the role of Nicolas Vazquez, through an Instagram post, have a look:

But for now, it is not revealed if the production completed or not before the coronavirus impacted the world. If the filming is not finished then we have to wait for more for the new season. Earlier it was revealed that the third season will release this year but if a delay happens then it can release in 2021. If Netflix announces anything we will let you know about it.

In the third season, these stars will reprise their roles: Ivana Baquero as Eva Villanueva, Alejandra Onieva as Carolina Villanueva, Jon Kortajarena as Nicolas Vasquez, Jos Sacristn as Pedro Villanueva. We are not sure about other stars return.

In the upcoming season we will get our answers as the second season ended with a major cliffhanger. We will know if the new season remain on the cruise journey or not. For now there is limited information on the story of the third season.

See the article here:

Alta Mar 'High Seas' Season 3: Has The Official Discussed Its Arrival And The Possible Storyline - The Digital Wise

Gone are the days when you had to stop listening to music when you went swimming. Thanks to the best swimming headphones, you can continue listening to your favourite tracks, even when you do your laps in the swimming pool. Better still, these swimming headphones provide clearer sounds than some of their cheaper dry-land counterparts: welcome to the 21 century, people!

Typically, the headphones have an in ear design that should stay secure, whether youre all about the front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly and while some are completely wireless, others feature a strong wire that should be able to withstand the constant drag of you moving through the water.

The best swimming headphones are the ones that don't require any connection to your phone, which would be disrupted anyway once your headphones are underwater and your phone is on the side of the pool. Therefore, competent swimming headphones should have built-in storage for music.

As well as that, they should also provide at least an 'okay' sound quality when you are fully submerged in water. No point in listening to music as you front crawl your way through the pool if all you hear is some muffled voices in your ear.

All things considered, the best swimming headphones at the moment are the Aftershokz Xtrainerz as they deliver great sound quality under water as well as being compatible with all swim-headwear, such as swimming caps, goggles and even earplugs.

If you have a suitable waterproof music player to hand, the Swimbuds Sport Waterproof Headphones are probably your top choice. With heaps of five star reviews, theyre popular at retail giant Amazon, and come with special fit tree design ear plugs which they claim provide the best watertight seal for swimmers.They are also relatively cheap too.

(Image credit: Aftershokz)

Best headphones for swimming

Water rating: IP68

Type: Bone conducting

Battery life: 8 hours

Music storage: 4GB

+Bone conducting tech makes the sound clearer underwater+Supports various audio formats+IP68 waterproof+Compatible with swim caps,goggles and even earplugs

-No Bluetooth

You might have heard about bone conducting headphones before and this technology makes even more sense when used under water. Bone conducting headphones create the sensation of music by resonating your cheekbone (in layman's terms) and without covering your ears, increasing your spatial awareness when you are out and about.

Bone conducting headphones are often criticised for not being isolating enough, although the whole point of them is not to isolate you from your surroundings, so this argument is also a bit silly. However, when you are in water, there is no need for isolation and also, since the headphones don't require air to deliver sound, they also sound clearer than 'regular' headphones.

When it comes to waterproof bone conducting headphones, nothing beats the Aftershokz Xtrainers. The Xtrainerz is IP68 rated and will provide a second-to-none audio quality underwater. The titanium frame and the around-the-ear profile makes the Xtrainers compatible with swim caps,goggles and even with earplugs!

The 8-hour battery life ensures that you can finish an Ironman without the Xtrainers running out of juice. Well, maybe not a full Ironman distance but an Ironman 70.3 for sure. You have 4GB on-board memory to store all your MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV and FLAC files too.

If I must criticise something, I would say the Xtrainers would be even more versatile if it was Bluetooth-enabled so you can also stream music too, not just listen to the ones you have as MP3 over and over again.

Best wired headphones for swimming

+Tree design ear plugs have been designed to provide a secure fit in the water

-Requires a waterproof MP3 player as well

If quality is key, these Swimbuds headphones shouldnt disappoint. Theyre not wireless but with the short wires theyre ideal for those who wear their music device on the strap of their swimming costume or attached to their goggles.

Featuring third generation 'Hydrobeat' sound and four types of ear plug, these Swimbuds are the complete package. Swimbuds recommend the tree style ear plug for lengths, the fins for watersports, the ergo for running and cycling and the mushroom for general purpose.

Another excellent all-in-one, wireless headphone for swimming

+Minimal wires for a hassle-free swim

Lightweight and streamlined, this all-in-one MP3 player and headphones from Sony will help you to smash your personal best in style. As with the i360, you dont need to worry about attaching a device to your swimming costume or goggles because the music player is fully integrated into the headphones and compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC and even LPCM music files.

You need to use Sony's app on PC and Mac to drag and drop tunes and while that is not an awesome bit of software, the audio quality and the fact you can get a full hour of playback after just a three-minute charge make up for that. We prefer the fit and feel of the i360 overall, however.

Best cheap headphones for swimming

+Includes five sets of earbuds to ensure the right fit

-Requires external MP3 player

If the Swimbuds are a touch too expensive for you, these ones from H2O Audio are a great alternative. Having been designed by athletes, a lot of thought has gone into the design of these headphones to ensure theyre as comfortable as possible.

They also feature the tree earplug for optimal water resistance, and with five sizes to choose from, you can make sure they fit securely for hassle free swimming.

For super clear sound underwater, invest in these headphones from HydroActive

+Comes with a smart case and plenty of earbud options

Extremely waterproof and coming with a range of earbuds, these headphones are also a top choice. The range of earbuds makes them suitable for different types of watersports including kayaking and windsurfing, while the wrap around design means you wont get tangled up mid lap.

Designed to fit snugly into the ear for minimal muffling and made from high quality material to resist the effects of drag, these swimming headphones should do a grand job of keeping you powering through.

Round up of today's best deals

Aftershokz Xtrainerz MP3...

Swimbuds Sport Waterproof...

Sony Walkman NW-WS413 Sport...

Waterproof Headphones for...

Underwater Audio Hydroactive...

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Best swimming headphones 2020: best waterproof earbuds for the pool and the high seas - T3

Global offshore wind capacity has the potential to increase 15-fold and attract around $1 trillion of cumulative investment by 2040. Beyond this ambition, the industry also envisions an installation of 1,400GW of offshore wind by 2050 to drive decarbonisation and a green economic future. But is it achievable?

This article first appeared inESI AfricaIssue 3-2020.Read thefulldigimaghereorsubscribe to receive a print copy here.

Considering the resource potential, technology innovation, and government appetite to position offshore wind at the centre of the global energy transition, the Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition (OREAC) believes these market aspirations are achievable. And the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) estimates that 1,400GW of offshore wind would power one-tenth of global electricity demand while saving over three billion tonnes of CO2 per year, equal to taking 800 million cars off the road.

If the 1,400GW vision were achieved, OREAC calculates that offshore wind prospects could provide around 24 million years of employment by 2050 (defined as full-time work for one person per calendar year with 260 working days). This job creation potential is calculated using data by IRENA, and covers the full value chain of offshore wind prospects, from procurement to construction to decommissioning.

Long-term growth of offshore wind technology

In terms of the 2040 timeframe falling costs, supportive government policies, and some remarkable technological progress, such as larger turbines and floating foundations, will drive market growth. In its Offshore Wind Outlook 2019, the IEA states that under current policy settings, growth is set to rise to nearly 130GW by 2040.

However, if the EU reaches its carbon-neutrality targets, offshore wind capacity would jump to around 180GW and will become the regions largest single source of electricity. An even more ambitious vision in which policies drive a big increase in demand for clean hydrogen produced by offshore wind could push European offshore wind capacity dramatically higher.

An estimated 40% of the lifetime costs of an offshore wind project, including construction and maintenance, have significant synergies with the offshore oil and gas sector.

China is also set to play a major role in offshore winds long-term growth, driven by efforts to reduce air pollution. The technology is particularly attractive in China because offshore wind farms can be built near major population centres spread around the east and south of the country.

By around 2025, China is likely to have the largest offshore wind fleet of any country, overtaking the UK. Chinas offshore wind prospects and capacity is set to rise from its current 4GW to 110GW by 2040. Policies designed to meet global sustainable energy goals could push that even higher to above 170GW.

The US has excellent offshore wind resources in the northeast of the country and near demand centres along the densely populated east coast, offering a way to help diversify the countrys power mix.

Floating foundations would expand the possibilities for harnessing wind resources off its west coast. Another advantage, which the IEA report points out, is the vast business opportunities that exist for oil and gas sector companies to draw on their offshore expertise.

An estimated 40% of the lifetime costs of an offshore wind project, including construction and maintenance, have significant synergies with the offshore oil and gas sector. That translates into a market opportunity of $400 billion or more in Europe and China over the next two decades.

A legal framework is critical for offshore wind development

The industry has made great strides in developing technology that allows projects to be built further from shore. However, another report indicates that if such technology were to enable the construction of wind farms in the high seas, the current legal framework would not have the scope to cover such development.

This report by Chatham Partners, Offshore Wind in High Seas: Unlimited potential beyond national control?, recommends that the industry form a robust legal framework now, or risk missing the opportunities in decades to come.

The high seas are all regions of the sea that lie outside the control of a single nation, making up 50% of the surface area of the planet, and covering over two-thirds of the oceans. However, the lack of clear rules covering development in the high seas would be a challenge for using any of these areas for offshore wind projects.

While offshore wind at high seas clearly has barriers to overcome, it could drastically increase capacity by adding almost 70% more construction space to consider.

Global efforts towards decarbonisation have proven offshore wind to be a viable alternative power source to fossil fuels. However, the sector could still face challenges in developing close to shore due to countries desire to protect coastal ecosystems, and conflicts with local industries and the military or simply inactivity. These would not be obstacles in most of the high seas.

While offshore wind development in the high seas clearly has barriers to overcome, it could drastically increase capacity by adding almost 70% more construction space to consider. Should the market look to the high seas for development, the lack of a legal framework will become a significant obstacle. In particular, uncertainty around the right of use, ownership and jurisdiction of the high seas presents a considerable challenge.

Building close to shore in an Exclusive Economic Zone means that the relevant state has the remit to govern and authorise installation and operations of a wind farm under its national laws. No such jurisdiction or governing body exists for the high seas.

As such, currently, investing in offshore wind prospects in these areas would be too great a risk for any company. However, the Chatham Partners report notes that precedents for international cooperation to take advantage of valuable resources already exist in the scope of current legislation.

An example is the fishing industry, which is regulated in the high seas by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) acts as a governing body to authorise public and private organisations to extract minerals from the deep seabed outside their states jurisdiction.

Also, a treaty for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction is currently proposed that may introduce so-called area-based management tools as well as various forms of governance concepts that could include or serve as an example for a framework concerning offshore wind.

These precedents took years to unfold and provide an example for the offshore wind industry of how long it can take to build a legal framework. The ISA took more than 20 years of negotiation between member states to establish formally.

The treaty concerning biodiversity has been negotiated since 2004 and will likely stay a draft for several years to come. In conclusion, without a legal framework, the potential market growth of offshore wind will remain close to shore and the high seas out of reach for developers for decades to come. ESI

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What are the long-term prospects for offshore wind? | ESI-Africa.com - ESI Africa

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Currently, and given that the hardware conditions allow it, some of the most successful multiplayer titles are craving for a presence on as many platforms as possible. In the case of Sea of Thieves, which was a huge hit for Rare in recent years, the experience leapt to Steam, immediately capturing users, and after 15 million players were reached, PS4 users want the title. I got to the console.

3 years ago, Juan Antonio Martnez launched a petition on Change.org for Sea of Thieves to debut on PlayStation 4, just at a time when the title was on . of conquering the world and was still raising doubts and was considered with a future uncertain existing in the environment of Xbox One and Windows 10. Well, the history in 2020 showed that Rare was back with his experience of pirates and after it was confirmed that 15 million players have turned to the high seas in recent years , many fans surprisingly joined the proposal.

So far, the request for Sea of Thieves to come to PS4 has 3,625 people and its target is 5,000 signatures, but it should be mentioned that this sudden increase in the number of players supporting the proposal has recently taken place.

Would you like Sea of Thieves to come to PS4 or another platform?

Tell us in the comments and follow here at LEVEL UP.

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Players team up on demand for Sea of Thieves to hit PS4 - Explica

Titan Comics has announced that Square Enixs and Dontnods excellent story adventure title, Life is Strange, will be receiving a new comic line later this Fall.

The upcoming issue of the Life is Strange comic, which will star fan favorite characters Max and Chloe, will release on October 14th, 2020. Issue #1 titled Life is Strange Partners in Time, readers will experience an alternate timeline in where Max left Chloe back in time, but will have to stop running and rewind time to face her responsibilities. Titan Comics released a new trailer showcasing the upcoming comic issue.

Check out the new Life is Strange comic trailer Partners in Crime down below:

LIFE IS STRANGE: PARTNERS IN TIME #1 A NEW ERA, A NEW #1! THE ADVENTURES OF MAX, CHLOE, AND RACHEL FROM THE HIT LIFE IS STRANGE GAME, CONTINUE INTO A NEW ERA!

Time-rewinding photographer Max has spent the last couple of years in a reality parallel to her own. Lately, she realised she was running from her responsibilities and from the Chloe she left. Now there may be a way for her to get home. With the universe against her, its time for the coast-to-coast road trip of multiple lifetimes to find it following the band The High Seas towards an uncertain destiny!

Written by Emma Vieceli with art by Claudia Leonardi and Andrea Izzo.

Life is Strange is one of the best story adventure games of this last generation, so there is no shock that Dontnod, Square Enix, and everyone else involved would like to see the series continue. Life is Strange 2 recently just wrapped up its five-episode series, which was pretty awesome in its own right. If you want to learn more about Life is Strange season 2, then click here!

The Life is Strange Partners in Time set to release on October 14th, 2020. Are you excited for the upcoming comic series? Let us know in the comments below!

source: YouTube

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Life is Strange - Partners in Time Comic Continues Max and Chloe's Story, Set to Release This October - Gameranx

LUCIFER (L to R) LAUREN GERMAN as CHLOE DECKER and TOM ELLIS as LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR in episode 503 of LUCIFER Cr. JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX 2020

After a jam-packed introduction to summer on Netflix, the number of original series premieres is beginning to slow down. Although August features a lighter lineup of new Netflix movies and shows, theres still plenty of binge-worthy content coming our way this month to keep us occupied during the summer doldrums.

From a handful of new documentaries to the highly anticipated season of a fan-favorite series, Netflix will keep us entertained in August.

Obviously, the months marquee new release is Lucifer season 5, part 1, which fans have been waiting for since last spring. The first half of the super-sized fifth season precedes the forthcoming final season, but its too soon to dwell on endings when there are so many beginnings coming to Netflix. Teenage Bounty Hunters and Hoops are two of the months biggest original series premieres, along with original movies All Together Now, Work It and Project Power.

Find your next lineup of movies to marathon this summer with our comprehensive list of the 35 best movies and TV shows coming to Netflix in August, and comment below with your favorite picks!

Release Year: 2008

Directed By: Marc Forster

Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Anatole Taubman, David Harbour, Joaqun Coso, Fernando Guilln Cuervo, Jesper Christensen, Rory Kinnear

Release Date: Monday, Aug. 31

The second James Bond film to star Daniel Craig and the sequel to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace picks up in the aftermath of the previous films events. James Bond tracks down those who blackmailed his lover, which brings him into the crosshairs of Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a merciless businessman who orchestrated the coercion of Vesper. Along the way, Bond must step into defeat Greenes plan to claim control of an important natural resource.

Quantum of Solace comes from director Marc Forster, who Monsters Ball, Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner and Christopher Robin. The film received middling reception from critics but still made a decent dent at the box office with a worldwide gross of over $589 million. Quantum of Solace was followed by Skyfall and Spectre, and the Daniel Craig era will come to an end later this year with No Time To Die. Watch both Casino Royale and its sequel when both movies begin streaming on Netflix at the end of August.

Season: 3

Created By: Ramn Campos and Gema R. Neira

Starring: Ivana Baquero, Alejandra Onieva, Jon Kortajarena, Eloy Azorn, Chiqui Fernndez, Tamar Novas, Daniel Lundh, Natalia Rodrguez, Laura Prats, Matthew Modine, Ignacio Montes, Begoa Vargas, Manuela Vells

Release Date: Friday, Aug. 7

Also known as Alta Mar, Netflixs original Spanish mystery series High Seas returns this summer for its third season of twists and turns. The series takes place on a transatlantic ship transporting a group of different passengers from Europe to South America as a murder mystery rocks the ship. When a passenger who wasnt listed on the roster and isnt remembered by any other passenger turns up dead, dark secrets emerge from each cabin as the hunt for the killer takes off. Season 3 of High Seas continues the intrigue and premieres eight more episodes on Aug. 7.

Release Year: 2013

Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee

Starring: Ashley Tisdale, Simon Rex, Erica Ash, Katrina Bowden, Terry Crews, Heather Locklear, J. P. Manoux, Mac Miller, Jerry OConnell, Molly Shannon, Snoop Dogg, Kate Walsh, Katt Wiliams

Release Date: Wednesday, Aug. 5

Today in Does anyone even remember this movie?, the fifth and seemingly final entry in the Scary Movie franchise arrives for streaming on Netflix this August. Scary Movie 5 was the first in the series not to star Anna Faris and Regina Hall, instead starring Ashley Tisdale and Simon Rex as a married couple experiencing paranormal activity when they bring their newborn baby home. The film, which parodies a number of popular movies, was panned by critics and a minor impact at the box office. If you missed it the first time, check it out for some laughs on Aug. 12.

Release Year: 1979

Directed By: George Miller

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward

Release Date: Saturday, Aug. 1

These days, most moviegoers might be most familiar with 2015s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was a reboot and revisiting of the 1979 original starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. However, this August, fans of Fury Road can see how it all began in Mad Max, which stars Mel Gibson in a post-apocalyptic world who pursues a personal vendetta against the gang that murdered his wife and son. The film holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and was a box office success, producing two middling sequels in the 1980s. Before the next entry, watch the original on Netflix on Aug. 1.

Release Year: 2020

Directed By:Ian Bonhte and Peter Ettedgui

Starring:Bebe Vio, Ellie Cole, Jean-Baptiste Alaize, Matt Stutzman, Jonnie Peacock, Cui Zhe, Ryley Batt, Ntando Mahlangu, Tatyana McFadden

Release Date: Wednesday, Aug. 26

If youre into documentaries and docuseries, youre in luck. As youll come to see, docu-style content makes up the bulk of Netflixs original new releases in August, and the titles run the gamut in subject matter. Rising Phoenix centers in the world of the Paralympic Games and tracks the history of the global movement that helped bring visibility to disability and diversity. The documentary features a group of global athletes telling their stories, which should make for an inspiring watch when the film premieres on Aug. 26.

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35 best new Netflix movies and shows coming in August 2020 - Netflix Life

Every Indian citizen (very perceptive, or the nuanced) especially the security and China watchers would be able to rattle out latest situation along the LAC in East Ladakh given the plethora of inputs, barring from the government. There are a number of options discussed both by the self-styled pacifists (actually status quoists who never want to make a move, and pray and hope that the crisis will resolve itself, irrespective of outcome), the hawks and the moderates.

The background chatter is also by now well known, provide excuses or show surprise at the action of an adversary (HOW COULD HE DO IT, again and again!), talk of the woeful global economic situation in which we are equally affected and to top it all, the crisis of COVID-19 which is engaging the world. Even before analysing the strategic security situation and challenges, and its implications for the future, these people dismiss any hard or resolute actions. All because, of a mindset of how can we challenge the Chinese, will it not lead to a confrontation between two asymmetric adversaries or worse to a two-front entanglement.

We must be very clear that China has violated all the confidence building measures (CBMs), Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), Joint Working Group, Senior Representative level understandings, protocols and mechanisms for border management, including the latest strategic guidance to the respective militaries to strengthen communication to build mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in managing borders signed by President Xi Jinping and PM Modi even before the ink has dried. It is by now clear that military and political level talks and movement on ground are going on excruciatingly slowly.

Chinas Big Gamble? Immediately after China got a handle on COVID-19 internally (there are inputs of a second coming, which may actually egg it on to create multiple external crisis situations), and while the rest of the world is still battling COVID-19 and its effects in other domains, China (Chinese Communist Party to be more precise) led by Xi Jinping is changing the global status quo. From using gun boat diplomacy, border troop aggressive movements and deployments, high seas and border intimidation, wolf diplomacy, economic holdouts/threats like with Australia and conduct of high level troop exercises involving entire PLA, building new strategic alliances and friendships a la Iran, China is on the move externally in all domains.

Interestingly the low-key military approach has long been discarded and entire PLA is galvanized. The multi-service, multi-domain Armed Forces exercises in the South and East China seas and border areas especially along the LAC with India are of a much larger scale, involve interoperability and being conducted closer than normal to adversarial shores and borders. PLA Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Rocket Forces, Air Defence, non-kinetic hi-tech formations like cyber, space, information-surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR), amphibious, logistics supply chain units are participating, and Chinas much touted three warfare strategy (public opinion, psychological, and legal warfare) is being applied around its strategic space. At last count one of the security experts spoke of China engaging 27 countries in multi-domain competition leading to confrontation!

Interpretation of Why by the Rest of the WorldEnough reasons for why has also been analysed. From showcasing Chinas comprehensive national power (CNP) and ascent to global power status by simultaneous confrontationist actions with numerous nations, demonstrable actions to challenge USA, and teach cocky new India a lesson (with many payoffs of disrupting Indias growth story, slow down Indias infrastructure development along the Northern borders, indicate an unstable India internally where movement of industries from China is fraught with risk, warn India to lay off Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan, dissuade India not to create trouble in functioning of BRI (Belt & Road Initiative) especially CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) which is existential for China, stop interfering or dominating the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) and Malacca Straits. BUT China continues with its normal game of salami slicing with a larger ambition of garnering real estate in multiple areas having strategic sensitivities). All the nations, security and China experts are only second guessing and Chinas rationale for its actions is frankly still a mystery, which will unfold as time and events roll along. A reasonable thought would be the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) taking advantage of weakened rivals, and an international power vacuum, hubristically overestimating its own power, reacting to aggression from its adversaries or opportunists and acting out of insecurity about its own status.

Truisms Regarding China and India impacting Relationship

Ground Reality in East Ladakh, Chinese Game Plan and Indian OptionsThe aim here is to focus on resolution of the LAC impasse and leave out the strategy, esoteric and higher conducts of war. China has changed the status quo ante of military and para military forces presence as of April 2020 in East Ladakh in at least four locations. While India has conveyed its intent of not accepting anything less than withdrawal to April 20 positions, the Chinese are playing hard ball. Talks and corresponding movement of troops from the standoff locations are going slow, with total lack of trust, requiring minute verification and detailing on ground and talks.

My assessment is that China is playing for time and at the ground level will follow the following methodology: Agree and withdraw at some places on a quid pro quo basis (not necessarily to April 20 positions, since it has deployed forward in all cases); stay firm but continue talks in some locations which are of strategic significance (Lake Pangong Tso); pull back to status quo positions of April 20 in one/two locations. In any case the operational status quo has been disrupted in terms of force density (Army and Air Force on both sides) by China mirrored by India.

Winter is ApproachingIndia has signaled two aspects firmly; One, Indias intent of not backing down till status quo of April 20 is achieved; Two, and so, its armed forces including the additional formations (be it infantry, artillery, armour, mechanized, Air Defence, Army aviation and IAF) are going to buckle down for the winter. The very famous saying from the blockbuster serial Game of Thrones, that Winter is Coming is very apt. It will require tremendous logistical and infrastructural effort but our troops have done such manoeuvres before and will willingly do so again. Logistics and infrastructure preparations are already on at full swing. History has time and again proved that our armed aorces are outstanding at crisis management, make miracles happen and fight and endure with what we have.

What is the strategic intent of the Chinese; have they already achieved it by changing the tactical status quo and manoeuvre as already discussed. Will they withdraw majority of their troops closer to winter setting in, or also continue to stay the winter? If they stay, the signature of logistic supply chains cannot be hidden and all our intelligence agencies must be focused on it. Logic dictates (logic can go wrong in crisis specially involving adversary and reading an adversarys mind) that China would not want a conflict, as it will be very costly for it too in terms of human casualties and further sharpen world outrage and adverse disposition towards China. This is certainly not a foolproof method of arriving as a global power, annoying the world and embroiled in multi-domain confrontation with a large part of the world specially the developed world and most of Asia.

Coming back to the LAC, logistically the Chinese can master it (if we can, so can it, is a prudent assumption). The question is can the Chinese troops weather the winter, I presume so, but they are largely conscripted, not used to high altitude sustenance over long periods, let alone fighting, and inexperienced in combat. Our logistics supply chains are long no doubt, but Chinas main rear is mainland China and even longer, and most importantly Indian Army has been doing winter stocking in ever increasing quantities since decades.

For the Chinese, to stay the winter may defeat its very purpose and send wrong strategic and ambiguous signals to Chinese people and internationally, that China is stuck in a quagmire of its own making.

China I believe, will try to brazen it out in talks politically, diplomatically and militarily and persuade India to hastily (much before winter sets in) accept a compromise which it will project as a win-win situation for both countries, and showcase its magnanimity and strength to Chinese people and the world. If we do reach an agreement, I hope it is because China has accepted our firm stance of returning to April 20 status quo. Than all its troops other than those who were operating there before April 20 withdraw in a phased manner and situation normalizes in time. Chinese by now would be very clear that Indian troops are prepared to spend winter in East Ladakh.

Opportunities will come its way for the Indian Armed Forces. Army must continue aggressive patrolling in East Ladakh and challenged areas, always posing a threat to the Chinese deployed forward. With synergized multi-service operations and invaluable support from IAF, we should in phases isolate and evict, or force Chinese troops to withdraw to status quo locations; or even look for quid pro quo options of occupying sensitive territory across the LAC, employing the integrated battle groups (IBGs).

India must be more than ready to trade fire to achieve its mission of eviction. India and the Indian Army know that next summer physical eviction of Chinese will get even more challenging. It will have to be hard political and diplomatic manoeuvering (again number of options like review positions on Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan) which is not going to be easy given the disadvantageous ground situation. The Chinese, one would say, have boxed themselves into a corner. They did not want a conflict and will avoid one at all costs. A stalemate would definitely constitute a defeat in strategic and international parlance for China, while for India it will further showcase the emergence of a resurgent, confident new India. For this to become a reality India has to buckle down, show resolve and endurance, weather the winter and Chinese storm, and most importantly show tremendous faith in its armed forces to deliver.

It is going to be a very interesting winter to come, and as I have said before it is going to be a defining moment in our history having far greater implications than tactical, and if we come out of it achieving our national and military objective, a stronger, vibrant new India will be ready to take off in the global platform. It is not going to be easy for the very reason I enumerated and Chinese will know it better than most. But while it is a great challenge for the nation and our armed forces it is doable with planning, resolve and will, as failing is not an option and will set us back strategically and we must be ready for many more similar summers, this time from both China and Pakistan. So, prevail we must.

Remember, even with requisite comprehensive national power, deterrence power may not be forthcoming automatically. For this we have to build deterrence reputation where our adversaries know that we will use our deterrence capabilities when our national interests are at stake. It is time to enhance our deterrence reputation.

Lt. Gen. PR Kumar retired from the post of Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army. As DGMO he was responsible for the entire operational planning, preparation and execution of plans and border management. After his retirement he has been writing for numerous Think Tanks on international and national strategic issues and on security related aspects. He also delivers talks in Armed Forces and Educational institutions.

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East Ladakh LAC Standoff: Winter is Coming - News Intervention

This week brings the brand-new Kerry Washington-produced ACLU documentary The Fight, the last chance to stream Sean Baker's brilliant iPhone-rendered Tangerine, and more opportunities to see ongoing films like Romola Garai's feminist horror Amulet. Plus, Saturday marks the beginning of a new month, which will bring with it lots of new releases on Netflix, Hulu, and other national streaming platforms. Read on for all of our top picks for this weekend streaming through local theaters and national platforms. Longing for the big(ger) screen? Check out our guide to drive-in movie theaters in the Seattle area, or check out our guide to streamable shows that received Emmy nominations this week.

A Girl MissingWhen the nephew of a home-care nurse is arrested for kidnapping the daughter of the family she has long worked for, the woman's relationship with her employers is (understandably) threatened. Available via SIFFOpening Friday

The FightFivecivil rights attorneys fight for justice on behalf ofa migrant mother separated from her child, a transgender soldier at risk of losing his career, and basic reproductive and voting rights that face threats from the Trump administration. This Kerry Washington-produced documentary will absolutely give you a new sense of appreciation for the ACLU. Available via Northwest Film Forum and SIFFOpening Friday

HUMP! Greatest Hits - Volume 1The HUMP! team is bringing back some fan-favorite amateur porn shorts from years past in the first of several volumes of streamable compilations.Available via The StrangerFriday only

Lake Michigan MonsterCraving a quick bite of campy horror? This H.P. Lovecraft- and Mystery Science Theatre 3000-inspired romp follows Captain Seafield and hiscrew as they plot revenge against a sea monster that prowls the waters of their native Lake Michigan. Available via Grand IllusionOpening Friday

Rebuilding ParadiseThe November 2018 firestorm that devastated Paradise, California, killed 85 people, displaced 50,000 residents, and destroyed 95% of local structures, making it the worst fire in California history.Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard shows the community members who worked to rebuild the city in the aftermath. Available via Grand IllusionOpening Friday

Strange Storytelling Hour DreamscapesStorytellers recount peculiar tales and bizarre happenings based on their own experiences in this multi-episode series co-presented by the North Bend Film Festival. For this round, local comic and wizardly ex-Mormon Emmett Montgomery will tell tales revolving around the surreal happenings that "bend the senses and open the mind." Available via Northwest Film ForumThursday only

I Am Not Your NegroSixteen years after Lumumba, Raoul Peck, who is Haitian, has directed I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary about one of the greatest writers of 20th-century America, James Baldwin. Now, it's easy to make a great film about Baldwin, because, like Muhammad Ali, there's tons of cool footage of his public and private moments, and, also like Ali, he had a fascinating face: the odd shape of his head, the triangle of hair that defined his forehead, and his froggy eyes. Just show him doing his thing and your film will do just fine. But Peck blended footage of Baldwin with dusky and dreamy images of contemporary America. These images say: Ain't a damn thing changed from the days of Baldwin and the Civil Rights Movement. But they say this with a very deep insight about the nature of time. CHARLES MUDEDE Available via Grand Illusion and Ark Lodge

John Lewis: Good TroubleThe late civil rights activist and Georgia congressman John Lewis fought for voting rights, gun control, healthcare reform, and immigration over the course of his long career. Using archival footage and interviews from his late years, Dawn Porter's documentary Good Trouble explores Lewis's childhood, his 1957 meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and his lasting legacy on social justice movements of the present. Available via Ark Lodge, Northwest Film Forum, SIFF, and elsewhere

Keepers of the Dream: Seattle Women Black PanthersFollowing its Oakland progenitors, Seattle was one of the first cities to form a branch of the Black Panther Party. Scored by SassyBlack, this series of fiveshort documentaries, produced by Patricia Boiko and Tajuan LaBee, serves as an introduction to the courageous actions of women Black Panther activists, from Frances Dixon to Phyllis Noble Mobley. Available via Seattle Channel

Miss JuneteenthChanning Godfrey Peoples's debut feature centers around the fictional Miss Juneteenth pageant, an annual competition that awards the winner a scholarship to a historically black college or university of her choice. In a twist on the standard rivalries that drive the pageant genre (thinkMiss Congeniality and Drop Dead Gorgeous), the longtime winner in this case, Turquoise Jones, sees who she deems a more worthy winner in her daughter, Kai. "Instead of just depicting the myriad ways black women carry their communities, the movie goes further to explore how these women and black girls support each other in a world that often fails them," wroteLovia Gyarkye for the New York Times. Available via Northwest Film Forum

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I AmThe rise of the prolific Nobel-winning author Toni Morrison dishes on her life busting up the white male literary hegemony in Timothy Greenfield-Sanders's documentary, with appearances by Hilton Als, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Banks, and Angela Davis, among others. BOBBY ROBERTS Available via PBS

Whose Streets?Most of us remember scrolling through news about the Ferguson protests on Twitter in 2014, but Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis directorial debut Whose Streets? fills in the blanks of the story, offering a humanizing, much-needed portrait of those involved. Dedicated to Michael Brown, the film captures the aftermath of the shooting of the unarmed 18-year-oldby a white police officer, while the Black young man had his hands in the airusing unflinching interviews with the still-grieving Ferguson residents whove seen their community unify against police brutality. JENNI MOOREAvailable via Northwest Film Forum and Ark Lodge

See also: Our resistance roundup for more anti-racism resources.

Being John MalkovichIt took writer Charlie Kaufman about a decade to get this movie off the ground due to the necessity of having Malkovich in a central role. Malkovich loved the script. He even wanted to produce it, but he wouldn't be in it. Kaufman refused to make the film with anyone else, and Malkovich eventually came around to the idea that a film about an unemployed puppeteer who discovers a portal into John Malkovich's brain wouldnt be the end of his career. Also: Its so difficult to separate the character of Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) from the picture of David Foster Wallace on the back of A Supposedly Fun Thing Ill Never Do Again. This movie will never not secretly be the story of David Foster Wallace finding a portal into John Malkovich's brain. That's just the situation.Available via NetflixStarting Friday

Black is KingDo any other words beyond "A Film by Beyonc" need to be written in order to prompt folks to make the most of that Disney+ subscription this weekend? The question isn't "Will this rule all pop-culture discussion for the next week." The question is probably "Will this break every record that Hamilton only just set last month?"Available via Disney+Premiering Friday

Child's PlayMuch like Freddy and Jason before him, Chucky survived the artificial extension of his celluloid lifespan by descending into self-aware, gloryhallastoopid self-parody as the sequels stacked up. But Chucky also shares with those two titans of horror a (comparatively) more low-key introduction1988's Childs Play introduced the idea that a doll could get possessed and kill the living shit out of you with way more seriousness than the premise ever deserved. Thanks to horror veteran Tom Holland's solid direction and Brad Dourif's sheer force of will, Chucky embodies a successful perversion of innocence that isn't just smirky and smug, it's also legitimately scary.Available via HuluStarting Saturday

Deep Blue Sea 3At long last, our national nightmare is concluded. No longer will we as a people have to live under the knowledge that a complete Deep Blue Sea trilogy eludes our grasp. This weekend, the saga concludes! And in grand style, as a sunken island town watched over by an "eminent marine biologist" (Tania Raymonde of LOST) is unduly terrorized by genetically enhanced bull sharks who seek to mate with Great Whites to become the most ultimate of all killer fish. Ponder this, dear reader: Is any other movie premiering this weekend going to have sex-crazed homicidal genetic freak sharks wreaking havoc underneath a rickety town made almost entirely out of houses on stilts stuck in the water? No. The answer to that question is No.Available via Amazon Prime Video

Idiocracy: Extended VersionIn 2006, 20th Century Fox looked at Mike Judges follow-up to Office Space and decided whatever Idiocracy was, it wasnt good enough for theatrical distribution. They abandoned it in a couple theaters for a week, stuck it on DVD, and called it good. But the film not only found an audience on home video, that audience spent the next decade proselytizing on its behalf. Idiocracy was no longer a sloppy-yet-satisfying satire of our cultures inability to handle progressit was a prophetic vision of how access to all the information in the world doesnt matter if the people accessing it dont give a fuck about reading. Except now, on the other side of the shit-smeared, Trumpian looking glass, Idiocracy seems quaint more than anything. A lot of the jokes still land, yeah. But the belly-laughs are a little more sour and sad than you might remember. For example: Terry Crews was, in retrospect, playing this role a little too well. Damn.Available via HBO MaxStarting Saturday

I'll Be Gone in the DarkThis weekend sees the finale of HBO's new documentary series, based on the late Michelle McNamara's true-crime book about her life, and her fixation on figuring out the Golden State Killer's identity and bringing him to justice. Directed by Liz Garbus, and using interviews, archival footage, and police files, all narrated using original recordings of McNamara and actor Amy Ryan reading from her book, the series alternates between examining the effect this hunt had on McNamara, and the effect the Killer himself had on California communities in the '70s and '80s.Available via HBO MaxStarting Sunday

InceptionCelebrate this movie's 10th birthday (it's been a decade since it came out? Damn.) by giving it a spin now that it's been added to Amazon Prime. Inception's surreal, jarring visuals are nothing short of breathtaking; when paired with Nolan's gorgeous, visceral soundscapes (BRAMMMMM), they're riveting to discover and impossible to forget.Available via Amazon Prime VideoStarting Sunday

In My SkinInKayleigh Llewellyn's semi-autobiographical BBC series, a teenage girl spins a more socially acceptable homelife to her friends at school, when in reality she's forced to behave beyond her years in dealing with a bipolar mom and an alcoholic dad. Available via Hulu

Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'HooleBefore Zack Snyder was allowed to turn the DC Universe into an objectivist nightmare starring Ben Affleck and Jesse Eisenberg, he was given the keys to a children's book series about warmongering owls with abs and knives strapped to their feet. Maybe the books didn't have the abs and knife-feet, but the movie does, and that's why Zack Snyder is a "visionary." If you're thinking this Ga'Hoole thing sounds like film executives with too much money saw Snyder's adaptation of 300 and thought "What if this, but owls?" you are correct. That's what this is. If you don't have any drugs this weekend but want to feel like you've smoked something dangerous and are now utterly lost and bewildered in an incomprehensible visual wilderness, stream this.Available via HuluStarting Saturday

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldThe year is 1805 and Napoleon is running roughshod over Europe. The only thing stopping France from infecting the whole of the continent is the tiny island of England, which may be lacking in ground forces, but kicks ass on the high seas. Master and Commander may not be sexy, but it's extremely realistic, filling its ship with lashings, maggot-filled food, dirty stinking sailors, and the occasional goat. It's also the last great film by Australian writer/director Peter Weir (Witness, Dead Poets Society, Fearless).Available via HuluStarting Saturday

Muppets NowKermit the Frog and his beloved puppet friends of Jim Hensons '70s-bred comedy show will enjoy yet another incarnation on Disney+ for their first "unscripted" series, wherein backstage stalwart Scooter uploads the digitized segments of each episode so theyll be available to stream.In this new format, folks of all ages"can enjoy it and believe it connects directly to their own sensibility, a quality that the overly adult, straining-to-be-edgyThe Muppetslacked," as one Vulture review puts it. Available via Disney+Premiering Friday

The Shadow of ViolenceWith a screenplay based onColin Barrett's novella Calm with Horsesand a leading role fromThe Killing of a Sacred Deer'sBarry Keoghan,Nick Rowland's gritty feature debut follows an ex-boxer in an Irish coastal town who joins a crime family after killing an opponent in the ring. Available via VODPremiering Friday

SummerlandIFC Films continues to bring the indie goods to VOD, this week premiering Summerland, Olivier Award-winning director Jessica Swale's debut film, set during World War II, about a reclusive English writer (Gemma Arterton) who ends up becoming an adoptive mother to a boy who escaped the London bombings, while also finding herself falling in love with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, like, you know, everyone does when they're around Gugu Mbatha-Raw.Available via IFCPremiering Friday

Top GunMuch in the same way Die Hard's status as a Christmas movie started as a cute observation that came to swallow it whole, Top Gun's innate gayness was once just a knowing, winking in-joke among film dorks, but now has become the aspect that defines Tony Scott's glistening, teeth-clacking ad for the US Navy. You can try to watch it as it was presumably intended it be seen in the repressed-yet-beefy heart of the Reagan '80s. But those abs! Those butts! ("I want butts!") The volleyball game. 30 years of time has reframed Top Gun entirely, and unlike Die Hard's redefinition, this glossy, fetish-friendly framework has helped make the film more entertaining. We may not be getting Tom Cruise's Maverick sequel this year like we were hoping, but being able to take the highway to the Danger Zone whenever we want is a nice consolation.Available via Amazon Prime Video, HuluStarting Saturday

The Umbrella Academy Season 2Netflix premieres the second season of their superhero dramedy based on the stylish, punchy comic written by My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way and drawn by Brazilian artist Gabriel B. Lovers swoon, time-space gets ripped apart, and theres a lot of shooting and punching; The Umbrella Academy captures the same heightened sensation offered by My Chemical Romances music: operatic melodrama, given life by gleeful riffs and catchy hooks.Available via NetflixPremiering Friday

100 Years of Olympic Films: 19122012In acknowledgment of the 2020 Olympics, which would have kicked off in Tokyo this week, the Criterion Collection is streaming its monumental collection100 Years of Olympic Filmson their streaming platform, the Criterion Channel.The collection includes 53 films and covers 41 editions of the Olympic Games, from Stockholm in 1912 to London in 2012. Need help deciding what to watch? Every week, The Stranger's Chase Burns writes about key films and moments from the collection. Available via Criterion Channel

Ai Weiwei: Yours TrulyChinese contemporary artistAi Weiwei, who's known for his bold public criticisms of the Chinese government's stance on democracy and human rights, was a force behind the portrait exhibition @Large, which depicted images of prisoners from all over the worldfrom Nelson Mandela to Chelsea Manningon the exterior of Alcatraz Island, and also featured an inmate letter-writing project. This documentary explores the exhibition's process from start to finish. Available via Northwest Film ForumThursday-Friday

All I Can SayBlind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon recorded himself on his Hi8 video camera for the better half of the '90s, all the way up to the hours preceding his death at the age of 28. The hundreds of hours of footage show everything from his creative process to the birth of his daughter to his struggles with addiction to the rising power of the internet. This film, released in 2019, compiles key moments of that footage into a video diary. Available via Scarecrow Video and Northwest Film ForumThursday-Friday

Csar and RosalieIn Claude Sautet's classic romantic drama Csar et Rosalie, two men (the wealthyCsar and David, an old flame) battle for the affections of a beautiful, recently divorced lady (played by Isabelle Huppert in her first film role).Available via Ark LodgeThursday-Friday

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those ThingsFrom her 1934 performance at the Apollo Theatre when she was just 15 years old to her late career, Leslie Woodhead's documentary celebrates the life of the iconic jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald through rare interviews and images. Available via SIFFThursday only

Fantastic FungiAt its worst,Fantastic Fungigets too woo-woo wacky for its own good (when the films discussion turns to magic mushrooms, the visuals turn into what is, as far as I can tell, a psychedelic screensaver from Windows 95), but at its best, the doc pairs fantastic time-lapse imagery with a good dose of actual, mind-blowing science. Affable, passionate mushroom researcher Paul Stamets is joined by talking heads Michael Pollan, Andrew Weil, and narrator Brie Larson to examine everything from massive fungal networks that carry signals between disparate, distant plants to the psychological benefits of psilocybin. Its an uneven trip, but a good one. ERIK HENRIKSEN Available via Ark LodgeThursday-Friday

Guest of HonorA father (David Thewlis) and daughter (Laysla De Oliveira) unravel their intertwined secrets in this 2019 time-weaving thriller from director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter).Luke Wilson plays a priest who kind of solves everything for everyone. Way to go, Luke! Available via Grand IllusionThursday only

RunnerWhen he was just eight years old,Guor Mading Maker (later known asGuor Marial) fled war-torn Sudan to seek safety in the US, where he went from running track in high school to qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. As a means of taking ownership over his new life and condemning the acts of violence in his birth country, he refused to represent Sudan and instead ran independently. This documentary depicts the athlete's journey, including areunion with his parents after a 20-year separation. Available via SIFFThursday only

TangerineGood movies can sometimes give off a huma feeling that the energy and chemistry on screen can't be constrained by the edges of the frame.Tangerinefits this description and then some, creating a kinetic rush with enough spillover juice to light up LA for a year. While chock-full of innovations both welcome (a story about transgender characters, played by transgender performers) and potentially eye-strainingly worrisome (the movie was shot entirely on tricked-out, stabilized iPhones), the main takeaway is just how alive it seems.ANDREW WRIGHT Available via Northwest Film ForumThursday-Friday

Americana KamikazeNYC'sinterdisciplinary performance group Temporary Distortion blends theater, film, and installation to freakily contort Japanese ghost stories and horror (aka J-Horror) through an American musical tradition. In a 2009 New York Times review of the play, Jon Weiss wrote, "Hard-core horror fans should take notice, because with Hollywoods rarely risking something truly upsetting anymore, preferring funny zombies and by-the-numbers remakes, you might have to go to the theater to see death performed live to really test your limits." Available via On the Boards

AmuletSeeking refuge in London from an ambiguous foreign conflict, an ex-soldier (played by Alec Secreanu ofGods Own Country) finds room and board as a repairman in the decrepit estate of a mysterious young woman and her dying mother, who stays locked in a room in the attic and may or may not be possessed by an evil spirit.Romola Garai (Atonement) classifies her directorial debut as "feminist horror." Available via Northwest Film Forum and Grand Illusion

Bloody Nose, Empty PocketsThere are only 18 hours left until the Roaring '20s, a dive bar off the Vegas Strip, closes for goodand its regulars hold out until the bitter end. "It's less a portrait of a long goodbye to a drinking establishment than it is an exploration of the community that calls such places home and their fellow barflies familyand what happens when you take away that collective space after the very last call," reads a Rolling Stone review. If you're not already pining to reclaim your spot at your favorite watering hole, this'll change that. Available via SIFF

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the BeautifulA quick flip through a retrospective of Helmut Newton's work will reveal thelegendary photographer's core subject: subversive and provocative portrayals of mostly-naked ladies, many of whom (Catherine Deneuve, Grace Jones, Charlotte Rampling, Isabella Rossellini) are famous.Gero von Boehm's documentary examines the artist's influences and features some of his home movies. Available via SIFF

Her Effortless Brilliance: A Celebration of Lynn Shelton Through Film and MusicAcclaimed Seattle director Lynn Shelton died too soon, and the grief felt by her fans, collaborators, and loved ones comes through in this documentary by Shelton's longtime friendMegan Griffiths. It's free to watch on YouTube and features a star-studded lineup of appearances, including Emily Blunt, Kaitlyn Dever, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark and Jay Duplass, Jeff Garlin, Joshua Leonard, Sean Nelson, Michaela Watkins, and Reese Witherspoon, as well as live music from her partner Marc Maron, Andrew Bird, Ben Gibbard, Laura Veirs, and Tomo Nakayama. Available via YouTube

The InfiltratorsIn this docu-thriller, two young immigrants purposely get themselves thrown into a shady for-profit detention center to dismantle the corrupt organization from the inside. Their detainers don't know that they're members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. Available via Northwest Film Forum

My Darling VivianJohnny Cash's first wife, Vivian Liberto (for whom the country singer wrote his famous song I Walk the Line), has long been obscured in stories of Cash's life (see: 2005'sWalk the Line, in which she's played briefly by Ginnifer Goodwin).Matt Riddlehoover's documentary, featuring interviews with Cash's children and archival footage of Liberto, reframes her narrative. Available via Scarecrow Video

Now I'm FineSean Nelson wrote, "Ahamefule J. Oluo, of Stranger Genius Award winning band Industrial Revelation, remounts his autobiographical odyssey, a harrowing, hilarious personal story punctuated by astoundingly strong songs, brilliantly arranged and performed by several of the most talented musicians in Seattle." Originally staged at On the Boards, Now I'm Fine received rave reviews during its recent New York run, and will now be screened online.Available via On the Boards

Police BeatPolice Beat, a fictional film I made with the director Robinson Devor (we also madeZoo), is also a documentary about a Seattle that's recovering from the dot-com crash of 2000 (a crash that sent Amazon's shares falling from nearly $100 apiece to $6they're now around $2,400), and entering its first construction boom of the 21st century (between 2005 and 2008).The hero of my film, the police officer Z (played by the beautiful but sadly late Pape Sidy Niang), could actually afford a little Seattle house on his salary (around $45,000). The median price of houses in 2003 was a lot (about $300,000) but not out of reach for a middle-class immigrant with a stable job.Lastly, the film is a documentary about Seattle's beautiful and virid parks. How I love them all and wanted to film them all: Volunteer Park, Freeway Park, the Washington Park, Madison Park, the parks on either side of the Montlake Cut. So green,so urban, so natural. CHARLES MUDEDE Available via The Stranger

Skate KitchenIf Crystal Moselle's new HBO seriesBetty has you hungry for more scenes of womxn landing tricks on their skateboards and displaying acts of friendship in its purest form, you should watch its 2018 feature-length predecessorSkate Kitchen, which has all the same actors playing the same characters. It centers onCamille (Rachelle Vinberg), an introverted skater from Long Island who falls for the mysterious Devon (Jaden Smith) just as she's falling out with her mom and making friends with a new group of gals rightly hellbent on reclaiming kickflips from the boys who overcrowd the NYC skate scene. Available via Northwest Film Forum

SPLIFF 2019 & 2020A new vibe of stoner entertainment is emergingwitness the rise of Broad City, High Maintenance, and basically every TV show created on Viceland. And, most importantly, The Stranger presents SPLIFF, your new favorite film festival created by the stoned for the stoned. Because we can no longer congregate in person, we're rescreening the 2019 and 2020 festivals (the latter of which is hosted by Betty Wetter and Cookie Couture) online! Got some weed on hand? Check it out from the comfort of your home. All contributions received will be shared with the filmmakers.Available via The Stranger

2020 Sundance Film Festival Short Film TourSee six short films selected from this year's Sundance Film Festival, including Malaysian director Diffan Sina Norman's "Benevolent Ba," about a devout woman's path to sacrificial slaughter, andAshley Williams's "Meats," about a pregnant vegan's newfangled craving for meat. Available via Northwest Film Forum

The TobacconistA man named Franz walks into a Vienna tobacco shop frequented by Sigmund Freud et voila: a historically inspired fictional friendship is born. When Franz falls for music-hall dancer Anezka, he seeks advice from the renownedpsychoanalyst, whoadmits that he, too, is baffled by the opposite sex. This film, which is being wide-released online, is based off of Robert Seethaler's bestselling novel. Available via Scarecrow Video

Tijuana JacksonRegina Hall stans, unite!Romany Malco'sdebut feature features the Support the Girls star as the love interest ofTijuana Jackson (aka TJ, played by Malco), a man determined to move beyond his checkered past and live out his dream of becoming a world-renowned motivational speaker. Available via Grand Illusion

Widow of SilenceDeep within the powder keg of Kashmir, a beleaguered Muslim half-widow repeatedly makes the hazardous trek to the nearest government center to try to claim the death certificate of her long-missing husband. Her attempts to move on, however, are stymied by a society where, to quote one of the wormier bureaucrats, its the responsibility of the people to keep their government happy. Writer/director Praveen Morchhales film isnt exactly subtle about its message, beginning with the image of an elderly woman literally tied to a chair. Thankfully, though, much of the thematic heavy-handedness is leavened by an expert use of framing, Shilpi Marwahas clear-eyed lead performance, and a final moment of irony thats keen enough to shave with. ANDREW WRIGHT Available via SIFF

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The Best Movies to Stream This Weekend in Seattle: July 30-Aug 2, 2020 - TheStranger.com

Was it a confrontation on the high seas, or just a routine but unplanned interaction between warships sailing in international waters?

There are varying accounts within defence circles over just how stern a recent encounter in the South China Sea was between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N).

On Thursday the ABC revealed an Australian Defence Force Joint Task Group had traversed the hotly contested waters last week, en route to the Philippine Sea for training exercises with the US and Japanese navies.

The Defence Department still won't even formally confirm that the five Australian warships interacted with the Chinese military but has insisted that "unplanned interactions with foreign warships throughout the deployment were conducted in a safe and professional manner".

According to one senior official the Chinese were "exceedingly polite" as they reminded the Australians they were coming close to the Spratly Islands which have been heavily fortified by China in recent times.

It's by no means the first time the ADF has been challenged by the Chinese in the area, but the encounter comes during a period of escalating security and diplomatic tensions between Australia and its largest economic partner.

Now Australia has dramatically raised the stakes in its already troubled relationship with China by backing the United States in formally declaring Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea to be illegal.

In a letter to the United Nations, Australia's permanent mission rejected the Chinese Communist Party's claims to disputed islands in the crucial trading waters, calling them "inconsistent" with international law.

Australian National University International law expert Professor Donald Rothwell believes the move is significant and will prompt a furious response from Beijing.

"I think what will be interesting to see is whether China will take a more assertive position in terms of physically challenging the rights of Australian warships in particular as they pass through the South China Sea," Professor Rothwell tells the ABC.

Richard McGregor, a senior fellow with The Lowy Institute, says the stakes are already high in the strategic and highly militarised corridor.

"You can absolutely be sure that any time Australian ships are in the South China Sea, they will be tracked by the Chinese," he told Radio National on Thursday.

"I don't think confrontation is the right word, but they will be hailed, they'll be asked what they are doing there and [asked] to explain themselves."

For the past few years defence officials have watched with increasing nervousness as Beijing has steadily built up weapons and runways on its disputed islands in the South China Sea, while also constructing artificial outposts for military purposes.

Unlike the United States, Australia does not conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) to challenge territorial claims in the South China Sea, meaning the RAN takes care to stay outside the 12 nautical mile limits imposed around Chinese claimed territory.

Australia, however, continues to assert its right of freedom of navigation and overflight in the region by regularly flying and sailing military assets through the crucial trading zone.

On Tuesday evening as HMAS Canberra, and four other Australian warships were conducting military drills in the Philippine Sea, the US Defence Secretary Mark Esper was promising a record number of FONOPS against China would continue.

"We want to deter against coercive behaviour by the Chinese in the South China Sea," he told the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"I am concerned that while the United States and our partners focus on supporting one another during these challenging times, the Chinese Communist Party continues to engage in systematic rule breaking, coercion and other malign activities."

Far from slowing China's activities, this year's coronavirus pandemic has had the effect of giving cover to the People's Liberation Army as it keeps up the rapid tempo of its territorial expansion in the region.

It's now widely accepted in Australia and across this region that Beijing has essentially established military control over the vast South China Sea, and efforts to challenge their authority may even work to enforce that view.

Secretary Esper has nevertheless warned that the United States will continue to conduct FONOPS in defiance of Beijing's territorial claims.

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"In 2019 we conducted the greatest number of Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea in the 40-year history of the FONOPS program, and we will keep up the pace this year," he said.

In Canberra it's no secret the Americans would dearly love their Australian allies to also conduct FONOPS, but there is no appetite within the Federal Government to do so.

Instead the ADF is committed to building up regional partnerships and remains hopeful that Australia will soon be invited to re-join the Malabar military exercises involving the US, India and Japan.

Top officials believe there are "very positive signs" an invitation will soon be formally issued, but in the meantime the so-called Quad looked to be on display last week as the United States conducted simultaneous exercises with Australia and Japan, and separately with India.

Now attention is turning to how soon Beijing could move to establish an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the disputed territory to monitor and control foreign aircraft.

Reports from China suggest planning for an ADIZ in the South China Sea are well advanced, similar to the one Beijing announced for the East China Sea in 2010, and then introduced in 2013.

In the meantime, there are growing concerns that the increasing presence of the US Navy in the region is heightening tensions that could spark actual conflict.

"Generally speaking the chances of some kind of conflict in the South China Sea are rising," Richard McGregor says.

And when the world's two largest superpowers are facing off in this region, the Australian Defence Force is acutely aware that a small miscalculation could have enormous consequences.

Continue reading here:

China has won control of the South China Sea. Now we wait for Beijing's next move - ABC News

Seaborne trade continues to expand, bringing benefits for consumers across the world through competitive freight costs. Thanks to the growing efficiency of shipping as a mode of transport and increased economic liberalisation, the prospects for the industrys further growth continue to be strong. As per the international law, every merchant ship must be registered with a country, known as its flag state. That country has jurisdiction over the vessel and is responsible for inspecting that it is safe to sail and to check on the crews working conditions.

Flags of Convenience or FOC: A flag of convenience ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. Open registries, sometimes referred to as flags of convenience, have been disputed at times owing to a number of reasons including wages of seafarers and safety of the vessels. Vessels registered under flags of convenience can often cut operating costs or avoid the regulations of the owners country. To achieve that, a ship owner will find a country with an open registry, or a nation that allows registration of vessels owned by foreign entities. For workers onboard, this can mean, very low wages at times.

A look at some contentious advantages of an FOC: Foreign corporations can register a ship without being established in the territory. Where a company is required to be formed in the State, there are low formation costs. Besides, the beneficial ownership of the ship may remain anonymous. Lastly, FOC offers low taxation and other fiscal incentives

Why FOCs Attract: Many shipping companies deem the regulations of non-FOCs as unattractive, which is why they lean towards a country which has regulations and laws which benefit the company and its operation. Some claim that the corporations which sail under a foreign flag do so simply to avoid cumbersome regulations and laws which impede seamless trade.

The Cruise Lines International Association explains the reason behind the fact that 90% of the cruise liners register their ships under a foreign flags due to the capabilities of the flag to deliver the services needed; representation and reputation of the flag in the international shipping community; the performance of the flag state, which dictates how a ship is prioritized by port states; the pool of seafarers able to meet the need of the flag; and the flags fees/charges and taxes.

Leading FOCs across the World: Ship registration is the process of documenting a ships given nationality. The nationality of a ship allows it to travel internationally wherever citizens of that nation are authorized to travel. The registration is almost like the passport for the ship, itself. Panama now has the largest registry in the world, followed by Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore. By last year, almost three quarters of the worlds fleet was registered under a flag of a country other than its own. Panama, a small nation of just three million, has the largest shipping fleet in the world, greater than those of the US and China combined. Thanks to its location and slender shape, Panama enjoys a position as the guardian of one of the worlds most important marine trade routes, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The Checks and Balances:

Shipping is the life blood of the global economy. Without shipping, intercontinental trade, the bulk transport of raw materials, and the import/export of affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible. There are over 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally, transporting every kind of cargo. The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations, and manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality. Ship registration or flag state system has been in practice since the beginning of business conducted over the seas. It was originally used to control ships ferrying cargo among European countries and to ensure that ships were built locally and using local crews. Today it is used to document ships for ownership in order to provide definitive evidence of nationality for international treaty purposes.

Geneva Convention on the High Seas of 1958 and subsequently the United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships in 1986 lay down regulations which state that a flag state be linked to its ships either by having an economic stake in the ownership of its ships or by providing mariners to crew the ships. National or closed registries typically require that a ship be owned and constructed by national interests, and at least partially crewed by its citizens. Open registries do not have such requirements; some offer on-line registration, sometimes guaranteeing completion in less than a day. However, some registries make it more difficult for industry stakeholders and the public to hold ship owners to account.

(References: ICS, Crew-center, ITF Global, BBC, SAFETY4SEA, HG.Org)

Sea News Feature, July 29

Excerpt from:

Flags of Convenience in Merchant Shipping - Sea News

Set entirely within the confines of this titular relic from the dawn of the Electric Age, Bartlows Dread Machine casts one to two players as government agents in a series of escapades through New York, San Francisco, and all across the continent as they seek to rescue the kidnapped President Roosevelt from the forces of evil. But beware, sinister forces are at work!

Bound to the clockwork gizmos running this contraption, agents are mere metal figurines roving around on rails. But these arent any ordinary tin toys as they have free rein on how to navigate these forking networks of tracks. Think Pac-Man if he were made of metal, wore a cool peacoat, and was packing some serious heat! Sets made of wood and tin unfold around you in real-time as you navigate this immersive puppet show. Encounter a cast of improbable monsters and historical characters as you traverse the high seas and beyond using trains, ships and even a newfangled automobile!

Your journey begins in New York City with the discovery that President Teddy Roosevelt has been abducted by anarcho-satanists of the worst kind. Track his kidnappers across the Great Plains to the Pacific coast in today's Early Access release, which contains the first three of six chapters. About once a month the game will be updated to include levels set at sea, deep in the Panamanian jungle, and finally in Washington D.C. as you close in on the culprit to save America from certain doom.

Bartlow's Dread Machine is available through Steam Early Access for $14.99 USD and supports English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

The final game features a wealth of content with 6 worlds, a host of guns, and all manner of outfits to deck out your clockwork agent. Unlock unique spins on historical characters, like Zombie General Custer and Annie Oakley. Plus the drop-in / drop-out couch co-op contains per-player difficulty, allowing each player to set the challenge level to their preference.

As much as we love video games, were also admirers of old analogue tech, particularly the clockwork precision of early 20th century arcade games, so we wanted to combine the rinky-dink charm of these rustic cabinets with the smooth gameplay of contemporary titles, said Matthew Hoseterey Co-Founder and Director of Design of Tribetoy. Bartlow's Dread Machine transports us back to this wild time at the dawn of the Electric Age, when technology and entertainment were evolving so fast that the world quickly became almost unrecognizable. Plus everyone wore snazzy hats back then, which is always a plus!

Bartlow's Dread Machine will launch on Xbox One and PC (Steam) in Fall 2020.

More here:

'Bartlow's Dread Machine' (ALL) Available On Steam Early Access - Trailer - WorthPlaying.com