Category Archives: movies

September 14, 2026 · 20:58

It’s new Jim

That is the setting giving a little homage to Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and he rightfully deserves it. Don’t get me wrong, Karl Urban did a fine job, but I grew up watching the Original cast on TV and lets be clear, Karl was amazing as the little winged Cupid and he was the best judge we have seen in cinema. He looked really like the comic books, but it is not about either characters. There is however some light connection and this story I hand to Avalanche Software. You see, I got to thinking early this morning and I reckoned that backstories make for decent games and whilst we consider series like CSI (which is awesome) the idea of an Auror taking care of business was not greatly shown in Hogwarts Legacy and as such that role needed an update for the second game. But what is a story/vocation when you aren’t vested in the idea? So that’s when I came up with the trials of an Auror. You see, we can all look towards the stages of magic as there is greatness and greatness, but working with limitations is what truly could make a game great. As such we needed to see a magic class that has little magic, not a squib, but perhaps an alchemist derivative, so not magic press, but magically inclined and with additional skills. And as such the Auror Alchemist came to mind. Not a squib, but limited magic with skills. So even as some (namely one) that had the Philosophers stone, but alchemists has a long lineage of magic creatures and this one was driven into a police force as a forensic specialist and as such he was ‘summoned’ to work in Irondale. So this is where the setting starts.

Consider the CSI games and they were fun, but it is settled around statical settings. So what happens when the game is drenched in Hogwarts Legacy (to give it a name) and you need to look at the settings of crimes with a magical aspect and often it needs to be surrounded by muggle settings. As such it becomes a two tiered game. Consider like the crime scenes in Arkham Knight, but not that high tech, the setting however could be used and it needs to be set in both ‘muggle’ and magic challenges, because the evidence needs to ‘satisfy’ common folk (as in non-magical hardworking people) and that is the challenge for Avalanche. I consider the feeling I had with the scene of Potter/Dumbledore finding Slughorn in Budleigh Babberton (yes, I know, it is not a real town). But that setting inspired the idea and it needs to be a serious piece of entertainment. As such the groundwork needs to be done and all kinds of Lore would need to get created and perhaps this would be up to team Avalanche/Rowling. I have no idea how that setting is or works. But I am merely trying to dot the “iiiiii’s” So when the mechanics are given the proper considerations (I used the Batman as a setting, which might work) but there is no high tech, there is a ‘predator’ setting of the room with scents, different looks and a splatter view of substances you see and so on. Like a magical renaissance view of Batman crossed with what a snake might see (they have infrared vision) and link that with a cat and you get a whole new world. Optional these views are evolution views that the Auror could grow/embed. 

And there needs to be decent cases, which is up to Avalanche software to figure out. Can’t expect me to do it all. But I believe that the Wizarding world fans are numerous, so numerous that they will grow that side into a talking about this setting and this optional game (optionally rejected by Avalanche software) to consider. And as this is a Wizarding world setting is is (as I personally see it) the idea is now also co-owned by JK Rowling. 

So, consider the implications of it all, the idea of getting a magic/muggle stage and how to combine that? I think that Arkham Knight had the right setting (and amazing job by Rocksteady Studios) and we cannot tweak it, but we can set this stage in a similar fashion, more renaissance, less high tech and there are also red herrings (not the fish), because when can we see a muggle stage? It might be a more advanced case later in the game. 

As such I feel I have spend my day creatively and it beats looking at the lies from politicians in a stage we massively don’t care about. Personally I think that this could be its own game (or at least should be) whilst parts of this could be transferred (more transformed) into Hogwarts Legacy 2 (if this fits whatever story line Avalanche is considering.

As they say another day, another dollar (in my case, my issues should then be solved by February 10,415 (almost 2 centuries after Paul Atreides is born).  You all have a good one today. My Monday is nearly over and I see now on YouTube that the TIFF is running (Toronto International Film Festival), and rumor has it that Sebastian Stan will be seen there with both arms intact (can someone confirm this please?)

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September 6, 2026 · 16:35

Mirror, mirror

So, here I was thinking of a few historically documented events (they are called movies now), so in  1937 a man named Walt gave us the recollections of a girl who used to live with several  individuals, namely Warwick David, Peter Dinklage, Kenny Baker, Mike Edmonds, Malcolm Dixon, George Claydon and David Rappaport. They all worked in the mining industry. But then I saw this so called ‘evil person’ with a magic mirror and then I saw it, that bitch was a Technomage. She was using a magic mirror (aka raspberry pie fitted two way mirror) to set the stage. What an evil wench. Well, two can play that game and as the idea took hold of me, I starting to consider.

So what if a new place like Warner Brothers Abu Dhabi had this gimmick, a mirror that is also a communicator. It links to your mobile and allows two way communication with whomever you are talking to. The idea is to apply a filter (through the app) that gives it that magical shine. And taking the elements of Hogwarts, there are 4 options. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor, the all have the same filters except two, these are house driven. A smoky filter (Yellow, Blue, Green and Red) and now, as we are now 89 years later, we have basically mastered miniaturization and we can make it a lot smaller. I would argue that each house has two options, the mirror you can set on your desk and a smaller one that you can fit in a bag, and when you answer the call, the mobile sends it to the mirror. I would argue that you could have 4 buttons on the mirror so you can call your 4 best friends, optionally these buttons are on the frame, so that the buttons can be a little bigger and the 5th on the mirror initializes the call. Wouldn’t that gimmick (original ‘creator’ the evil bitch from Walt’s company) fit nicely in the arsenal of merchandise that could be created and there are a few months before the new TV series start and I reckoned that the Abu Dhabi park opens up either in that same time, but the article tells us that this part of WB will open I 2029, as such Miral (the operator in Abu Dhabi) has time to look at the the options to create this merchandise for real and create alternatives. Or, at least investigate whether this idea could be made real. And from there they could offer it to the Wizarding World for real. A small idea to hand to Miral is that the United States is almost out of cash, so handing them credit might not be the best idea. 

Well that is it for me and this idea came out of the yellow (I’m a Hufflepuffer). In other news Blooloop confirmed two days ago “Warner Bros. has confirmed that the Harry Potter area in its Abu Dhabi theme park will be the only one in the world to feature recreations of the iconic Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley locations, as well as a Forbidden Forest.

We got last week (1st September) when Warner Bros. released a teaser video for the expansion at its annual ‘Back to Hogwarts’ event.” The video can be seen (at https://blooloop.com/news/harry-potter-abu-dhabi-lands) so at present you know as much as I do, apart from the innovative ideas that are forming in my mind to upgrade the mirror setting. Oh, as we are also given (by Blooloop)“Currently, the only theme park home to a recreation of Diagon Alley is Universal Studios Florida. A scale model of Hogwarts is found in the neighbouring Islands of Adventure, and although it is connected to Universal Studios Florida by a replica of the Hogwarts Express train, it is a completely separate park.”

So that’s it for today and I need to think of another filter to make the mirror ‘more’ magical and why stop at 2? The idea to insert the house crest in your communication is also an idea and there is more. The idea to link the apps that you have to the mirror when you are not communicating, as such whatever app is on your mobile (like accio dobby) or whatever the app world has to offer now, just thinking out of the box.

Have a great day today.

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August 28, 2026 · 17:26

A badger by another name

This is the setting and I just dreamt it up. Whether it was because I recently rewatched the 3 fantastic beasts movies (which I think it was) or as I had played Hogwarts Legacy, anyones guess is good enough. So as these elements united in my brain, it went to create a 4th Fantastic beasts movie. As such the title is Tea Bee Dee (To be determined) and no matter what or who gets involved, this IP is now property of JK Rowling. She made up the Wizarding World, she decides what happens. I cannot control what my brain conceives, but I can make sure that the people behind this become owner of this IP. That is just how I roll and I created enough unique IP to do this. 

Central Park
Jacob Kowalski was walking with his wife Queenie on the arm, it was a summer afternoon and they were enjoying the warm weather and the soft smell of grass in New York. Over the years his bakery had done well and even as his students are now in charge of the bakery, he could never resist taking charge and making all the fine trimming a little bit more awesome. The students (all three of them)( had come to expect and respect this. It was a good job and he was a good boss. His wife didn’t interfere and when she came down with a new strudel, it was to be expected that noses would soften at the delightful smell of the pastries she made. So as they were walking as close as they could, summer seemed the very delightful thing they could wish for. In the back there were children laughing over ice cream and there was a small kart handing out ice creams. “You want some darling?” Jacob invited and queenie smiled. She loved vanilla ice cream. They walked over to the vendor and Jacob bought one vanilla for Queenie and a strawberry for himself. He paid and they walked on enjoying ice cream. As they walked on the sky grew darker, queenie became a little rigid, she threw her eyes left and right. Jacob knew that this meant things were about to get serious. He looked at her and she looked around. He pointed at the edge of central park but the shook her head. There were too many people there. Jacob did not know what to do and Queenie took his hand and they ran towards the lake. Suddenly it was there a creature part Tiger, part elephant the tall seems to be of an ox [I later looked this up, it is a Baku].

Queenie used her wand to deflect the creature and whilst she did this, she also looked worried about what would happen next, because this creature was immensely strong. She put the wand towards her head and spoke a word. Jacob couldn’t hear what she said. He merely heard the words “I love you husband” and suddenly a jolt went into Queenie as she went rigid and the world turned dark. 

Magical Congress of the United States of America
Jacob Kowalski was still groggy when he looked at his surroundings. He recognised the place, but he had not been here for a long long time. He looked around and a lady in an elegant dress approached her. Mr Kowalski, My name is Beatrice Bishop, I am the President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. We called for your sister in law, Iter Praesidentiale Hogsmeade Britanniae Goldstein, we are trying to reach her, but we are currently not aware where she is. Let me be the first to offer my condolences on the loss of your wife a sad setting. Do you know what happened? Jacob gave a rundown what happened and explained that he was not aware. He was confused and a intense sadness overcame him. The loss of Queenie was more than he had ever conceived and it was killing him. 

A man came over to Beatrice and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and excused herself from Jacob for a moment. Sh walked away and the man offered a paper, she liked at it and talked for a minute. She then nodded again and she handed the letter back to the man. She walked back to Jacob. Mr. Kowalski, a friend of yours, two friends have offered their condolences and asked you to come visit them in a place called Hogsmeade. Professor Dumbledore and a band named Newt Scamander. Are you willing to visit them now? Jacob felt a light brush of positivity when he said yes. But Queenie, what about her? Beatrice Bishop stated that nothing will happen until her sister is found and in the meantime he might be better away from it all. She beckoned Jacob to follow him. A man approached them and she waived him away. “This I do myself” she stated and the man stepped back. She took Jacob by the arm and pointed to a large empty fireplace. This is what we call a floo spot. I am not certain if you know it, but we will go to Hogsmeade together. She merely grabbed a handful of sand from a little cauldron attached to the beam of the fireplace and stated clearly “Iter Praesidentiale Hogsmeade Britanniae” and suddenly they were doused in green flames and a second later they arrived at the southern edge of Hogsmeade. She let go of Jacob and walked towards the square. She saw professor Dumbledore and Newt Scamander. She bowed to them both and handed them Jacob. “He doesn’t remember, but I reckon you can deal with that. We are trying to find her sister Porpentina at present. I will let you know when that happens and invite you both as well. Newt and Albus nodded in agreement, she bowed to both man, then turned to Jacob, deeply bowed to him and stated “I regret your loss in this matter, you have my condolences” she turned around and walked back to the floo spot, she grabbed some floo powder she spoke something clearly and vanished. 

Hogsmeade
Newt embraced Jacob. I am so sorry to hear this. Lets get you inside, we are just around the corner of the Hog’s Head Inn. They walked to the Hog’s Head Inn and entered. Aberforth was already waiting and bowed to Jacob. Mr. Kowalski, nice to see you again. I prepared a bed for you upstairs and I am preparing some food. He gave him a glass of giggle water. You’re preferred poison If I remember correctly. Jacob nodded. “Hey don’t forget the beef, it has been on the fire a little too long” Newt and Albus looked at Jacob. Jacob wondered how he knew that. Newt looked at Dumbledore with a puzzled look and them thought as loud as he could. Jacob looked at him and stated I has strawberry ice cream and Queenie had vanilla ice cream. What? What is going on with me?

The Dumbledores and Newt exchanged looks. Aberforth stated, I am empty for now, but he needs special care soon. They agreed. Newt stated to Jacob. It is only for a night, but tomorrow we are taking you to Hogwarts. We need to set a few things in motion first. Jacob nodded and as Albus Dumbledore and Newt left the Hog’s Head Inn, Jacob solemnly tended to the stew handed to him, it came with decent bread with garlic. The sadness radiated from his face.

The end of part one

As my mind can set these situations in seconds I had a lot more, but my arm is tired now. In the next setting they learn that Jacob has received the abilities of Queenie and he seemingly is part man part wizard. They will grant him access to Hogwarts and he is put in Hufflepuff house. It has a separate part that only the head of Hufflepuff and the heady of Hufflepuff have access to. There are barrels inside house Hufflepuff and one of them has a frog chiseled on it, it can only be used in combination with shackles and only the heady and the head of Hufflepuff can access it, no one knows of it. The day after they learn the extent of what queenie did, but not why or what. They learn that after the first part. There is also the setting of a new part of Hufflepuff. It is below house Hufflepuff and has ways directly to the infirmary and the kitchens. That part has its own house elf. It is not a prison, there are no real views, but the room is large and comfortable and the snacks will allow travel to the infirmary and the headmaster room. The shackle is a portly of sorts, with limited abilities and it is put in place magically above the elbow. 

For the most I merely got part done (In a day, so that’s not bad) and we learn that no-one can find Tina and Newt learns that the creature was a Japanese Baku, but these are rare even in Asia, they have no idea how one got to be in New York. As such there is need for Net to go to New York (with Jacob) and whilst job gets more skilled in basic magic, he is adjusting like a fish in water. They go to Olivanders to get a wand and there they learn that he is drawn to Hinoki made wands. Olivander only has two of those and advices that he might be better off with a wand from Mahoutokoro he would have Cherry wood wands but for now the Hindi will have to do. And we learn that Tina was looking into a Japanese thief who stole abilities of wizards and witches though the Baku. As far as It goes, this is as far as I got, perhaps JK Rowling can make more of this. This is her IP now. 

Have a great day all. This was an unexpected travel into my mind, but all travel is cool. So whether she wants to pursue this, use this for Hogwarts Legacy 2 or simply reject this is up to her.

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July 14, 2026 · 05:05

Remembrance

There was a need to do this. From the United States we only hear boasts and BS, from other places we see political settings and it tires me, but the shock I felt last night was just too real for me, the world lost a giant actor. Sam Neil has left us. I have seen his works going all the way back to the 80s. So lets take a look. I first noticed him in The Omen III (1981) followed by Reilly, Ace of spies (1983) it was a different spy story and it was only later that I learned that the man had actually existed. After that Dead Calm (which I watched because Nicole Kidman was in it), Kane and Abel (1985). I loved the story and Sam made it a better series, and together with Peter Strauss it brought a great setting where these two actors brought a book to life. After that I think I watched The Hunt for Red October (1990) which I saw because of Sean Connery, but Sam Neil was well noticed. In the 90s he was noticed by me, although he was not the reason I saw the movies he was in. I saw Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), The Piano, Sirens and then there was Jurassic Park (1993) after which Sam became the reason to see movies. First there was In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Event Horizon (1997) Merlin (1998) and Bicentennial Man (1999), which I actually preferred over Steven Spielbergs A.I. and Sam gave stellar performances every time. Looking back at these works I am amazed how much he influenced some of the choices of movies I made because of his involvement. As I see it, he made these movies great because of his collaboration with other actors. As I go through the list like The Dish and Jurassic Park III and Wimbledon I am noticing that I missed some of his works over time. Which makes me a little sad, but these were times that I could only squeeze 24 hours out of any day and choices needed to be made. I reckon we all noticed him on a Cameo in Thor: Ragnarok (together with Matt Damon) giving it all a fun moment. As far as I can tell, the last thing I saw him in was Thor: Love and Thunder. I have seen other movies with him after that, but as far as I can tell, it was the latest  setting I saw him in. Weirdly enough, I feel no deep mourning. When I think of him in these movies it merely brings a smile to my face. He really livened up the movies he worked on. And even now I still consider watching the Blu-ray of Event Horizon today. This movie has a nice little story behind it. In a scene where he sees his eyeless wife I yelped in the cinema and a friend told me that an entire wave of watchers reacted to my yelp. That moment really got to me. As such I end this story with: 

I raise my glass to you in salute to an amazing career in excellence for over 4 decades. Mr Neil it was an honour watching your work and perhaps we get to meet for real in the next stage of our lives. You will be missed on the big screen. And not to forget, my condolences to his family and friends. 

I wish you all a great day today.

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June 14, 2026 · 12:53

A mindset racing

That is the setting I had last night. I saw the ‘news’ from the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwgled9jxwo) where we see that ‘Warner Bros $111bn sale to Paramount approved by US justice department’ and as we see “The pending sale has been filled with contention, from Paramount’s battle with Netflix over the company to scrutiny over industry consolidation and worries about politics. David Ellison, the leader of Paramount, is the son of Larry Ellison, a major donor to President Donald Trump. But it’s not a done deal yet, as states like California are reviewing the sale and could sue to block it. In a statement on its decision, the justice department said it had conducted a “rigorous” investigation of the proposed deal and found it was “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.”” You see, it doesn’t matter whether X donates to Y and is the child of Z, it does not matter that there is no ‘harm’ to the competition. As I see it, the wrong questions are asked here. As I see it, the issue is consolidation. When company A is taking over company B, the result is a larger A. This reflects on the products that they have been putting out. So, consider the new company, lets call it AA, now it has two products namely products 1 And 2, but that company can take the setting of these 2 titles and in some cases there is enough traction to let both go through, but what when that is not the case?

What happens if we have 4 cooking shows first in two companies, now all part of the same company, as such the lowest scoring two (optionally 3) can now be scrapped. That is what I expect to see, because Hollywood needs to consolidate and they need to stretch whatever ver they have and Paramount could ‘state’ that they now have 111,000,000,000 reasons to consolidate whatever they can. Scripts, writers, directors, figs crew, studio places and a whole lot more. All up for consolidation and I wonder if anyone had taken the settings of a place like Mountain (MNTN) who has been working numbers of all kind and optionally Warner Brothers and Paramount too. They live by the ‘rule’ “Performance TV, Perfected by MNTN”, so did anyone look into that batch of data? Because quality consolidation requires data, verifiable and validated data. Not the ‘sense’ of some blogger (me) or any critic that claims to know the data (media) but actually data, because when you play around with $111 billion, which is more than the GDP of Oman (and several other countries) you need the data to make sense of it all and consolidate what you can. 

Like an accountant squeezing a ten dollar bill, until it gives 11 single dollar coins, preferable you want to hire the accountant that can get 1-2 additional dollars out of that bill, but that is up to Paramount (if they had not already done that), but to get all that requires data and it needs to be clear metrics, because there is a lot riding on that. And the story off MNTN is “MNTN is the Hardest Working Software in Television™, bringing unrivaled performance and simplicity to Connected TV advertising. Our self-serve technology makes running TV ads as easy as search and social and helps brands drive measurable conversions, revenue, site visits, and more. MNTN was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and Next Big Things in Tech and was recently featured on the cover of INC’s Best in Business Issue.” I only know of MNTN, so there are likely a few others in that field, but if you need unbiased, you get the player that is not connected to WB of Paramount for that matter and you do it behind walls. I can only imagine that this was done, but then, I am an incurable optimist. Still we are ‘given’ “Paramount acquired Warner Bros. Discovery to create a consolidated entertainment powerhouse capable of competing with tech-backed streaming giants like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix.” Which I personally believe is only part of the truth, not the whole truth. I could say that there are 110 billion reasons, but that is merely the directive. If Paramount want to survive it needs to distinguish from the other three and consolidation of what there is now is profoundly needed to rack up credit points to look after the waves that are now in the hands of Apple, Amazon and Netflix. They need to ‘attack’ the setting that Apple has with Severance, Pluribus, Slow Horses and Silo. The stage that Amazon has Fleabag, The mighty nein, The legend of Vox Machina and Bosch: Legacy and Netflix with their The chestnut man, Dark winds, Arcane: league of legends and Blood Of Zeus. That is not directly done, not until you free up cash and they just handed 111 billion to the outside of their treasure chest. So they can get creative, and they have to free up what is bound into lesser settings and that is the stage they are in now and it requires data to get that sorted. They still need massive creativity though, but they know what they need. I’ll hand them some ideas at the end of the story.

But that is where they are and when they are done ‘convincing’ the current audience and they have set their pawns in place the striking of the lesser series can begin and that will be a harsh setting because if they do not have the data in order, they will be brought to any altar to be slaughtered. I have sen this happen in the past and they better get their goats in order, knowing that David Ellison is involved, the chance of their data being top notch is a decently given one. He learned the basics fro his daddy (who optionally taught him how to sail too). 

So whilst we are also given, some will recognise that the larger setting is not covered but we are given “By taking over Warner Bros, Paramount will become one of the most powerful forces in Hollywood, adding news network CNN, TV networks HBO, TBS, TNT, TCM, as well as studios DC Studios and New Line Cinema to its current stable of assets. Those include Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime and Nickelodeon. Paramount’s control of CBS News and its 60 Minutes programme has come under intense scrutiny for programming decisions that critics say favour of the Trump administration, including new leadership firing long-time staff and well-known journalists. Warner Bros put itself up for sale last year and came to an initial deal with Netflix to buy some of its assets, in a deal worth roughly $82bn (£61bn) including debt.” It seems that the BBC is focussing on the political stage, whilst that is the one that has the least impact, but I leave that up to you to judge.

So whilst we see that certain settings there were two ideas that floated in my mind. You see, instead of focussing on what some call Reality TV, why not make it a certainty. Matt Damon (you know the illegal immigrant on Mars) has something called Artists Equity (together with Ben Affleck) based on a business model where instead of taking massive upfront paychecks, the studio incentivizes cast and crew by offering them participation in the film’s profits. And setting this now TV, the setting becomes a visible setting to televise it all and get paid from that too. It also gives these people a decent first introduction to the global audience and it gives scriptwriters an additional foothold in the industry, all being it through Paramount, there is a decent setting to give all this a stage to screen and the stories that are evolving would enable Paramount to select the group that makes the most visibility and leave the other to fend with other TV houses. A sort of Reese Witherspoon approach to quality scripts. 

The second Idea came to me in a weirder way (leaving that to the left for now). You see, I have been a fan of walkthrough videos (YouTube) and it started during the first COVID lockdown. But what happens when you get 2 hours a week (on the slower timeframes) to show these YouTubers and their videos visibility. Hand selected videos from these people on places like Monaco, Toronto, New York, Amsterdam, Stockholm. You name it, it will be there and it should be relatively easy to select a pick. For these YouTubers it is a way to gain traction via other means and it might create a wave of YouTubers. It still requires selecting so that you don’t get conspiracy theorists and wacko’s give their version of the truth. And I believe that walkthroughs are a great way to see places like Harrods, or Hollywood boulevard or even the Coolsingel in Rotterdam, Gamlastan in Stockholm or wherever you want to be and it might be the next stage of visibility for YouTubers to gain traction in different ways. All stages that could be evolving in the new Paramount. 

So get ready to show your places and let Paramount do the dialing to a new audience. Have a great day today.

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May 14, 2026 · 00:24

Creativity strikes again

In my previous blog I Kida promised a little present for the Abu Dhabi Media Network and I tend to be a person of my word. It started on Monday, I was thinking back to the movie of Little Lord Fauntleroy, based on a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I remember the 1980 version with Ricky Schroder and Sir Alec Guinness. Young Cedrics father was disowned because he married out of the aristocracy, the father had died years ago, but due to death in the family, his two older brothers mainly, Cedric is now the only heir to the title Earl of Dorincourt and he is sought out by Mr. Havisham, Dorincourt’s solicitor and a new life awaits him. But not to get to deep into the story. The setting could be converted to an islamic setting to some extent. If a person is not fully family, but in case of an accident the setting might change. I reckon that a ‘feel good’ movie of that kind might be welcome to the Islamic audience. As I am still a fan of Scott Ridley, I was thinking that the ‘new’ role replacing Sir Alec Guinness should be played by the Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud who made an excellent Saladin. Alexander Siddig (who played Imad) might make an excellent solicitor to Ghassan Massoud (basically he would become the new Mr. Havisham) Some adjustments might be made, because too much alike and it becomes plagiarism. The family might have fallen victim to an American (or Israeli) bombing (and with the current settings in Iran, such an accident might come across as very convincing. I reckon that the Abu Dhabi Media Network will have their own version of Cedric. I reckon that if the UAE is increasing its stamp on the western world a collection of feel good movies might have a much larger appeal than just Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia. And to focus on the setting of an average person to be thrust into the world of palaces, sheikhs and wealth might turn a few heads too.

Little Lord Fauntleroy was also done in 1921 and 1936, but I never saw those. I initially saw the movie in the cinema and whilst that movie has the big setting in the Christmas dinner, this version might be around Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, which one I leave to the scriptwriters in Abu Dhabi. You can’t expect me to do it all and also, I am not Muslim, so I might get a few things wrong. But the setting of expansion for the Abu Dhabi Media Network is to go through the old masterworks and which works could be redone with Islamic paints and brushes. I am decently certain that Rudyard Kiplings Jungle book is out of the question, mostly because Rudyard based Mowgli on Arvind Krishna who is now working for IBM (small giggle from my side). I also reckon that Peter Pan is a miss for obvious reasons. But the idea to give Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes a rewrite is not out of the question. So consider that we are considering:

“the adventures of a man who, driven mad by reading too many American comic books and watching TV, as such he becomes a Djinn slayer and travel the cities as a aspiring demon slayer with help from a friend who is bound to keep him out of trouble. He calls himself Sbiristun the Djinn slayer and keeps on meeting a woman who he wants to impress, but she is an actual Djinn and sees Sbiristun as a fun escape from her immortality. So whilst she sends him on tours involving capers on reality and illusion interacting with madness and sanity and his friend does not see what see what he sees and this is where the madness starts.” 

Well, that is all I have for now, perhaps the Abu Dhabi Media Network sees options in both settings. If they do, they are welcome to it. As such another blow to the mundane life by creativity, have a great day everyone. I see that Vancouver is still on yesterday and it is not even breakfast time there yet.

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May 12, 2026 · 23:56

Who’s watching who

It was initially the BBC who alerted me to this (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c072dvv1rmro) where we see ‘Texas accuses Netflix of spying on users, including children’ and I got curious, because it is not a issue with the United States, it isn’t even global, it is just Texas. The story kicks off with “Netflix has been sued in Texas over claims it collects data belonging to children and adults in the US state without their consent, and uses “addictive” design to keep them hooked. accused the streaming giant of “spying” on citizens saying it “records and monetizes billions” of pieces of information about how users behave on the platform, despite suggesting otherwise.” It gave me a few questions (just a few) and it starts of here with the questions “How does one record and monetise billions?”, as well as “What exactly is “addictive” design?” You see, to the best off my knowledge you sign up and you get Netflix (that is how we do that in Australia) and perhaps there are better ways to do this, but that is what it is and it is still better then Disney+ (in regards to able the watchers). I have never seen the Mandalorian of BlueRay, or several other Disney+ hits. I get that they want to get a lead but Season 1 and 2 cannot be bought in Australia, why not? This is not about Disney+ but Netflix offers several seasons most TV shows on BlueRay, as such it is neither monetizing or creating an addictive design (as I personally see it), but perhaps Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could clearly elaborate? The story goes into (or towards) “the company also began “leveraging the mountains of data it quietly extracted from the children and families it kept fixated on their screen” – sharing this with commercial data brokers to help raise billions of dollars in revenue.” This leads to another question, “How does one keep others fixated on their screen?”, You pay one amount for monthly subscription, regardless of the time. There is a cheaper option with advertisements. But it beckons the question, how do you keep people fixated? As such the prices are:

  • Standard with Ads: AU$9.99/month
  • Standard: AU$20.99/month


So, the customer has an option to pay $11 more, how is this monetizing? And don’t forget that advertising was added to make it cheaper for some. And then the fixation on the screen? How is that done exactly? 

So then we get to Politico who (at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/11/netflix-sued-by-texas-ag-for-alleged-surveillance-addictive-features-00915029) gives us ‘Netflix sued by Texas AG for alleged surveillance, addictive features’ where we see “It adds that the company tracks and logs viewing habits, location and virtually every interaction on the platform — keyword searches, pausing or fast-forwarding and more — which it then uses to build consumer profiles that earn the company billions.” So, as I see it, a person (me) searches for a title or an actor or actress. Seems pretty common in Netflix settings. I search for Olivia Wilde and see what they have with her in it, same that I look for Dwayne Johnson and see what movies with him are on Netflix. How exactly is this odd, or non trackable? If 275,000 people seek either, there is a chance that Netflix sees what they can add to their stable. This is a movie channel. Perhaps Ken Paxton took offense to the 132 searches for Melania Trump and Netflix sees a reason why not to spend money on it? Although you can watch it on Amazon and it is rated 1.6/10 (over 68000 votes). These two articles are making me wonder what this suit is all about, because as far as I can tell this case has no merit. Perhaps Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton needs the limelight for something, is it election year in Texas? As far as I can see (optionally not a correct view) is that Paxton announced in April 2025 that he would run for the United States Senate in the 2026 election, challenging incumbent senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary and in the runoff. So is he gaining free ‘advertisement’ through Netflix? It is merely a speculation from my side, but the timeline seems to fit. As such we need to see what Ken Paxton does next and if he gives us any clarity on his claims. There is also the fact that it is the subscriber that gives the connection to a household and the subscribers to Netflix must be at least 18 years old. So how does one see what the age of the watcher is in that household? Perhaps he has a setting for profiling? Like only women and oldest daughters watch ‘Sex in the city’? Only children watch Ponyo? Your guess is as good as mine and I am here clueless. But perhaps there are journalists who will ask the hard questions. Have a great day.

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April 21, 2026 · 23:55

This is not centerfield

You might think that doesn’t make sense, but for me it does. I have been all over the field, mainly because a few things are hitting me at the same time. First there is the setting that I feel for, the Attacks on the UAE and a few other matters made me want to shout out towards the UAE. I ‘handed’ them the IP to hurt Iran, as well as a few other matters. So as I saw today ‘Disney (DIS) Increases Peak Ticket Prices to Record Highs’ source: Gurufocus news) I realized that the UAE has a larger recovery plan in place, as long as we deal with Iran and their missiles, the Trump setting does not help and a solution needs to be found, but the UN is useless as I see it, as such there is no expected help from that side. Then we get the false information (usually from people wishing they would become influencers) so that is a side that needs attending to (by the proper authorities) and I have little solution there. I can illuminate these losers, but it is like mopping the floor whilst the tap is still running. So whilst that Disney news is out there, there is a clear side for the UAE to increase the settings in that field But there is one side that could be dealt with, gaining traction through free options. My issue with this is that it is nice, but why should the Emirati government have to pay for it all. It then hit me that one thing that WaterWorld Abu Dhabi has is the Al Raha River. It seems like such fun and especially in Summer. It then hit me that this is one entertainment version that could be implemented near hotels. It seems like a low cost setting that beside the initial building, could offer entertainment, without the high cost. So consider places like Capital Park (Abu Dhabi) it has several hotels around the corner, people visit that place, what could be more inviting than something like the Al Raha River (with a different name of course) where people could relax, without paying a large amount (optionally the tubes have to be bought, or people bring their own). And this is merely one location, you could have a few of these in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, preferably in a place where several hotels are found. There is also the ‘need’ for webcams, or publicly accessible form of CCTV in public places, so that people can see that these wannabe influencers are full of idiocy. So that the world sees that the UAE is open for business and that people are there to have fun. It is a small step to increase the tourist settings as Gurufocus gave me is that Disney (at peak times) of $219 per person, this is nuts, because that amounts to 805 Dirham per person. I reckon that will feed a person for a week (an assumption from my side) the first thing that people who price themselves out of a market need to realise that their audience goes somewhere else. 

Places like Al Baik can feed two people for a meal for AED 55, so that amounts to 15 meals, so my assumption of feeding someone for a week can be achieved, you need even less if you go to a place like Carrefour. But it is not about food, it is about the UAE getting new and more visitors to their location. So whilst the UAE is hit with all kinds of nonsense not unlike “As of April 2026, Smartraveller advises Australians “Do Not Travel” to the UAE due to volatile security, high regional tensions, and risk of military conflict”, we can all agree that there is a risk of military conflict, but what exactly is “volatile security”? The UAE has been one of the safest places on the planet for years. We can agree that there are regional tensions, but this is what Iran threw at them, not in any form what the locals (read: Emirati’s) do. As I see it, it is still one of the most safe places, even with the military tension that exists to some degree. 

As I see it, there is always a need for free entertainment, the USA has it on TV and it is called C-SPAN (or was that C-SPAM)? There is a lot more in focus and places like Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) should get global views, you see when that happens the bulk of the streaming solutions we are given (at a price), gets competition from Dubai TV, which is generally free-to-air, and now consider that the new Dubai+ streaming app offers free, ad-supported access to 30,000+ hours of content. This was the setting I was considering whilst I was working on ‘Just a Game’ for its part two. It is still a short film, but I tend to be a man of my word and I promised the Director of the NSA (now Army Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd) and the Director of GCHQ (still Anne Keast-Butler) a heart attack, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the institutions or the directors in charge, I just needed a hobby and this was the best I could come up with my lacking resources. 

Sometimes I walk through the park (to think things through) and I am watching what is in the park and I wonder, do they have this in the UAE? Totally irrelevant to my setting, but a nation, innocent of anything other then the welfare of its citizens is currently under attack from Iran, it made me consider what else I could do. Even as we are given (13 minutes ago) ‘Trump tells CNBC he expects U.S. to make ‘great deal’ with Iran’, it seems folly as the Islam Times gives us 40 minutes ago ‘Trump Turning Negotiating Table into “Table of Surrender”’ and in all this, the UAE is caught in the middle. So what to do?

I ‘handed’ them my military IP (free of charge) and I have one optional adjustment for the road solution, but that is a little matter. The real deal is what will help the UAE (or Saudi Arabia for that matter). I currently have absolutely no faith in any solution the United States administration brings. 

And there is no need for my actions, but when you see the world burning I want to do something and I tend to go in creative mode, it is just the person I am. It is clear that that this solution is not coming in a day, but there is the need to adjust what there is to improve the pull of tourism and also the joy of the Emirati’s, who serve to let of steam in the meantime. And I believe that tourism will improve if people know what is possible and what is expected and the idea that DMI goes global might be a first step towards getting there and this could be done before the dust settles and as these solutions come forward it would also improve the offer of scripts and talent towards the UAE, but it requires the global audiences to realise that the UAE is more than the Dubai Mall and zero taxation. As more options are shown, more solutions will become available to the UAE and optionally even solutions I never realized, I don’t know everything, so that makes sense. Then there is the setting that places like ADNOC requires staff, only yesterday places were advertising for 929 Marine ADNOC job opportunities, in this world where people don’t have a job because AWS, Microsoft, Oracle and IBM (optionally others too) have shedded over 55,000 employees, they might consider the UAE as a worthy place for their skillset, one can only hope. 

So as you can see, my brain is all over the place and not always in the best of state, but that is me, always skating in his little square like a goalie watching for the puck to come his way, so that he can slam it in the other direction.

So, I am not a centerfielder, I am a goalie (a wannabe goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs at best) and I am doing the best I can as such I am relying on my creativity (at almost 64 I have to) and I am doing the best I seemingly know. So answer for yourself. Who thought of visibility of the UAE by giving the Dubai Media Incorporated a global stage? Who thought of seeing what parks have and considering the concrete table tennis in Burwood (near Sydney) how many of these tables do the parks in the UAE (Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi) have? All thought of consideration and there are more sports that could be promoted in this way. The first step in doing something is to have the thought and instilling this in others. Only then will any action make sense. But that is merely me having a thought and optionally a useless one, but that is merely on me.

Have a great day.

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April 9, 2026 · 02:08

The solution was behind you

This is a story that comes with luggage. I raised part of this in an article I wrote (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/07/31/a-wild-side-to-creativity/) which I created in July 2023, so it is almost 3 years old now. I raised the setting a few times more. There was a setting that could benefit Disney and Universal, but I tonight I saw an article which gave me ‘Ackman pitches $65 billion UMG deal to move listing to US’ and things started to click in a few ways. You see, the industry (the one related to Tinsel) will require a large reset in a few years and the best way to get the concentrated benefit is to educate the young of today as they will inherit that industry the day after tomorrow. When you realise this things becomes rather simple. To give you the setting, I handed that setting in ‘A Wilde Side to Creativity’ and a few times after that. You see, the Miral Group has an option here to branch out. Consider the setting that I gave in relation to Harry Potter and a few other settings, we get the presumption that could be there tomorrow (in a desert far far away). You see, the origins were created by Macromedia and taken over by Adobe. That program got scrapped in 2013. But I believe that this might have been an error. (Perhaps a shortsighted move might be a little more appropriate). Consider the world that we have at present and the reset that is likely to come in a few years. That implies that you should train the youth off today and see if they can create the options that are needed. To explore that, you need a form of prototyping. And a program like Adobe Director might just do that. There is no doubt that it might need a little tinkering. Consider that those programs tend to be cheaper as they were made redundant. 

But I am getting ahead of myself. 

In the setting I had in mind, I had originally create a setting with stage pages and fridge magnets of characters that we know. I focussed on the HP range (about a boy with a scar) and the stages were plastified placemats (in my mind). A character was placed on point A and that character was placed on point B with a point in time and the systems creates a timeline for movement (like Flash did) for that character. Now you do the same for character 2,3 (and so on). And as we get these timelines we get an animation. Now the creator can add text balloons (or even create a soundbar), for these timepoints.

Now consider that on the stage, these ‘O’ points are places where the illustrious Harry is standing, the time dilation will create movement from the start point to the end point. So as we add characters, they will move in their own pace in a way you design it. And as such we get the first inkling of what a director is doing. Set the stage and the characters. And the text balloons will be the conversation and over time they will add voices and voice bytes to that setting and we now have a sound stage added to all this. And the fantastic point is that children can operate this. As the stages become more complex and numerous, the young entrepreneur is starting to become and think like a director, like the original Macromedia product envisioned in 1987. In those days hardware was limiting, now the hardware of a mobile is top notch, consider what the PC, Mac or Playstation even the Nintendo can become the director to be tool of choice. And as we go from real product towards online libraries, the capture becomes almost unreal. The setting that this can go from direct, towards a created MP4, the entire setting changes even more. And this is more than playing a homage to the original creators. This could be the spark that creates tomorrow’s directors, cameraman and sound people. And the Miral group could even set groups of people in one of their parts creating additional visibility to all their parks as these standings could be done almost anywhere, even in Yas Mall. An entertaining setting that will promote the future of tomorrow by the population of tomorrow. And as the libraries of characters and stages are added over time, there is every notion that we can get a whole range of new storylines and added graphics to what is now. A setting I saw over a decade ago and there is every consideration that we might see the light of new ideas by a new population of entertainers. I am not telling what they are, I am merely giving light to the tools that will bring these people into the light. And as I see it, places like Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), Abu Dhabi Media Network (ADMN) or even Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA). We can bicker over what otter’s can do (like Hollywood), but they know so well what they need to do (the giggling arrogance of them), so I am happy to hand this idea to these players in the UAE.

A simple setting that could bring options to the UAE the day after tomorrow, because to get there, the new participants need to see that they could be participants of power and that is to show them the creativity that is already in themselves. As I see it, it is the only way to get that creativity out there and perhaps they will even come up with other ideas that could bring a much stronger response. I don’t have the wisdom here, I merely have an idea that could bring forth the next generation of entertainment. And that effort matters, because if we cannot think of the next generation we are dooming ourselves. 

Have a great day.

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February 18, 2026 · 23:31

The idea that was 

There is a setting that we at times tend to forget. Disney paved the way and some will like that path and some will not. But it isn’t up to Disney and others can follow that path. Particularly a path that was set out by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The name of that movie was Titan AE. The setting was one that I see as a movie that was released in a bad time setting. 2000-2001 was not a great time setting for a lot of people and it was competing with MI2, Gladiator, The Perfect Storm and X-men. A non-Disney animation doesn’t really hold up a candle to that. But in this age of special effects and graphic Machine learning design (calling it AI sounds like a mass) this setting could well work in the age of Netflix/Paramount/Disney plus all competing for a larger slice of the pie. I reckon that Don Bluth has a lot more materials and that setting might help him. So what happens when this 95 minute setting becomes a mini series of 4 episodes each an hour long? I reckon that there are reasons why some of the cast members would love to get involved and when you see the average scripts that these studios accept, the complete rewrite of a decent script might hold water with these streamers. A setting where we get the good, the bad and the energetic and it all comes to blow starting in episode 3 with episode 4 as the finale. You see, some are thinking the other way round, but I reckon that Titan AE has what it takes to get into a real action movie. The stage was properly presented by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. As such whilst some go for the ‘the movie was a failure’ some could see the open sided win that is right there for the taking and it might make for a decent mini series. As I see it, the streamers see the benefit of that equation. That being said, there is no reason why the original designers couldn’t offer this to the SBA or a player like Dubai One. The options is not seeing it, but seeing where it could hold water too and the second option might require more rewrite (making it more Arabic set) but the story doesn’t change and the makers had a decent setting to begin with. So whilst everyone is redoing the same thing (example: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson) others might seek a wider spread of a setting that was in the past a little too constricting. As such is there a setting where the new could be derived from the old, whilst not relying on a remaster?  I don’t think from animation to real life action is a remaster, but that is merely me. And when the stage is placed on the new borders, some might create an entirely new frontier. That is something worth considering (at least that is what I think).

And when you have considered that as a solution, what will some do about those not ‘in league’ with Zeus, but what happens when a simple girl enters The Eleusis Ploutonion? Did anyone consider being original and brave? The setting that someone is pushing the boundaries of the past into the future by using the known parts and throw them upside down. Because the facts that were were often whispered by the victor. So what happens when someone found tablets that were set in hidden scriptures. Hidden because the victors would never allow them to be released or to survive. But what happens when someone with the powers of a god could foresee that happening and they would have had ways to plant the fruits of their achievements in other ways?

It is just a thought, but we are always ‘pushed’ to accept the writings of the old, but what happens when there are older writings still? Where could they be hidden and how could they be ‘resurrected’? It just a thought to have, because the bulk of movies and series never go into that equation. Just like seemingly no one considered that Titan AE might become an excellent movie.

Just food for thought. Have a great day.

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