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southeastasianists · 7 years

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For many people, the idea of Cambodian architecture begins and ends with the lotus-inspired sandstone towers of Angkor Wat—the medieval temple complex that is considered the largest religious monument in the world. Mid-century modernism, on the other hand? Perhaps not so much.

However, in the 15 years that followed Cambodia’s independence from France in 1953, the capital of Phnom Penh transformed into one of the foremost outposts of modernism—largely thanks to the vision of a single man, architect Vann Molyvann. On September 28, 2017, Molyvann passed away from natural causes in Siem Reap, the gateway to the ruins of Angkor Wat, which had inspired much of his work. But rapid construction and changes in the capital city now mean that Molyvann’s legacy—which already survived coups, purges, and wars, barely—is under threat.

“Before the term ‘green architecture’ was thought in anyone’s mind, he was already designing buildings really creatively to integrate natural light and airflow,” Canadian filmmaker Christopher Rompre, who directed The Man Who Built Cambodia, a 2014 documentary on Molyvann’s life, said in a recent interview with Cambodian magazine Voa Cambodia.

Rompre, who has been based in the Southeast Asian nation for several years, turned his attention to the architect’s work after spotting some “really interesting, unique buildings” that were slowly being enveloped by Phnom Penh’s construction boom. These encounters sparked his curiosity into the work of a lesser-known giant of modernism, a man whose career and vision were deeply entwined with the turbulent history of his country.

“I was trying to understand the origins of the Cambodian people,” Molyvann, then 87, said in the film. “Cambodians have a very spiritual understanding of the world.” After earning his degree from Paris’s École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where he studied with famed French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, he returned to his newly independent country during a cultural renaissance that is considered by many to be modern Cambodia’s “Golden Age.” Then-ruler Prince Norodom was eager to let go of the country’s colonial identity and project a modern face to the world. His plans included remaking the appearance of what had been a sleepy provincial capital. He picked 30-year-old Molyvann to do it.

Molyvann served for 13 years as State Architect—1957 to 1970—during which time he worked on nearly 100 projects, including signature creations such as the National Olympic Stadium, the National Theatre, Chaktomuk Conference Hall‚ and the Institute for Foreign Languages. His works represent a unique combination of modernism and elements of the architecture typical of the Khmer Empire, which ruled the country from the eighth to 15th centuries. The style has became known as “New Khmer.”

“This was not inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, not a European clone, but an authentic style that arose independently in Cambodia,” wrote urban planner Helen Grant Ross, coauthor with Darryl Leon Collins of Building Cambodia: “New Khmer Architecture” 1953–1970, in a recent interview with reporter Ron Gluckman.

As Molyvann himself explains in the film, he wanted to draw from the past to create something entirely new: “Why did I study Le Corbusier? Because he used to built his ‘unites des habitation’ on stilts. Houses on stilts had been existing since prehistoric times in Cambodia. So I only adapted his vocabulary to Khmer architecture.”

Much like Frank Lloyd Wright or Le Corbursier himself, Molyvann’s design process started with an attentive analysis of setting: cardinal position, prevailing winds, and the local rocks, earth, mud, and grass. “The most important is to find what the site suggests,” he says in the film, “what it provokes in the imagination.”

Phnom Penh’s National Olympic Stadium—an ellipitcal, 70,000-seat arena and associated sports complex designed in the early 1960s—is widely considered his signature creation. Moly, as his friends called him, was inspired by the way in which Khmer architects combined earth and water at Angkor Wat. Some 17 million cubic feet of earth were dug out from the site to shape the stadium’s grounds, while an elaborate system of inner canals allowed water to flow from its roof to pools, or barays, at the base—recalling the ancient temples, preventing floods, and keeping crowds cool at the same time. He intended the stadium to be an example of sustainable and accessible architecture that welcomes all for exercise, socializing, or relaxing in the cooled breezes.

The structure was supposed to host the 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games but the competition was never held because of growing political turmoil. In the late 1960s, the kingdom of then-ruler Prince Sihanouk was challenged both by the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), informally known as “Khmer Rouge,” and by his own generals. In 1970, while he was on a state visit to Moscow, the prince was overthrown in a coup led by General Lon Noland. Molyvann, a long-time collaborator and friend of Sihanouk, fled with his wife and kids to Switzerland in the hopes that he could soon return.

But the situation worsened. Civil war broke out between United States–backed Noland and the Viet Cong–supported Khmer Rouge, which eventually seized power in 1975. The new state’s calendar was set to “year zero,” with authoritarian rule and mass executions to follow. For 15 years, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot set in motion his plan to “cleanse society from modern elements,” which included the forced displacement of people from cities to the country and the systematic killings of artists and intellectuals. An estimated 1.5 million lost their lives at the hands of his regime.

Pol Pot’s dedication to wiping out modernity and urbanism also took aim at Molyvann’s efforts. All of the materials documenting his works were destroyed, and his buildings were abandoned or converted to military use. The stadium he had so carefully designed as a public resource was used as a site for mass executions.

Molyvann only returned home after the Paris Peace Accords of 1991 ended the Cambodian-Vietnamese War. He found many of his buildings transfigured or deeply neglected. In 1994, during reconstruction efforts, a fire burned down his Preah Suramarit National Theatre, which had just been reestablished as a home for the artists who survived the Khmer Rouge years. It’s charred remains were demolished in 2008.

His creations that weathered those years are now facing an entirely new challenge—Cambodia’s turn back toward urbanism, and the construction craze it has created. Over the past 10 years, the nation’s GDP has doubled, and Phnom Pehn’s population grown nearly four percent a year. New residential blocks are sprouting like mushrooms. The White Building—a residential estate that Molyvann designed with Khmer architectural principles, such as exterior air vents and a partially raised floor to create a shaded social area in the basement—is now being replaced by a Japanese-designed, 21-story mixed-used building. The Council of Ministers building, with a pyramidal shape that recalls Angkor Wat, was replaced in 2008 by a Chinese-designed and -funded building that looks, well, like a contemporary Chinese government office.

The National Stadium remains intact as a place where locals can exercise, conduct business, and socialize day or night, but it had been sold to a Taiwanese developer. The Angkor-inspired drainage system was altered, so now the site frequently floods. This symbol of the New Khmer style also now sits among high-rises and construction cranes.

The problem of recognition and preservation of Molyvann’s creations centers around the fact that they are old enough to be in need of restoration—but not old enough to be considered cultural heritage in a country with such a recognized and significant ancient lineage. As Ross and Collins explain, even French colonial buildings get more international recognition as world heritage than the New Khmer places do. Further, the current government, which came to power in 1979 after defeating the Khmer Rouge, is keen to wipe out any legacy of pre-1979 history.

“The government doesn’t want to leave anything from before 1979, because it wasn’t their achievement. History is completely manipulated,” Molyvann said in a 2010 interview with the Los Angeles Times. Wiping out, by action or neglect, architecture to reshape the country’s identity is a recurrent historical theme—and one that’s not particular to Cambodia.

The father of New Khmer Architecture spent his final years trying to impart his vision to younger generations. “They [young people] should all get together and create New Khmer architecture,” he said with emotion, in one of the last scenes of the film. “No more Vann Molyvann, but a movement of the young.”

The Vann Molyvann Project, started in 2009 by Canadian architect Bill Greaves, is now working to prevent history from interfering with New Khmer architecture yet again. The project calls for Cambodian and international architects to catalog Molyvann’s legacy in paper and digital archives, and through physical models of his buildings. The team also organizes walking tours and records oral histories from people who still inhabit or use the structures.

“We took care of so many things at the Project” says Seng Chanraksmey, a recent architecture graduate from Phnom Penh’s Norton University, who took part in the Vann Molyvann Project in 2015. “I applied because I wanted to know more about his impressive design concept. We were surveying Molyvann’s buildings, making models, interviewing local people for our oral history records.”

Seng is just making her first steps as a professional architect in the booming—and mostly foreign-funded—Phnom Penh construction sector. When asked what is it about New Khmer that inspires her, she goes back to the wellspring of the style. “There are too many things that inspire me about it, but it is especially the will to combine Khmer and Western style to keep the Cambodian identity alive,” she says. “And the message Vann Molyvann left to younger generations: Learn from the past, but do not copy.”

#Southeast Asia #Cambodia #Van Molyvann #Architecture #People

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alexatrevino93 · 4 years

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Reiki Therapy Benefits Prodigious Useful Tips

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#Reiki Therapy Benefits Prodigious Useful Tips #Reiki Healing Chicago

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vsplusonline · 4 years

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Sports stars and adventure enthusiasts offer tips for a proactive routine during the COVID-19 lockdown

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/sports-stars-and-adventure-enthusiasts-offer-tips-for-a-proactive-routine-during-the-covid-19-lockdown-2/

Sports stars and adventure enthusiasts offer tips for a proactive routine during the COVID-19 lockdown

PV Sindhu

Meditation, innovative fitness regimen and onion pakodas! For badminton champion PV Sindhu, the current lockdown is proving to be an unusual experience. While she still focusses on fitness, this phase is also helping the shuttler dabble in new things, such as cooking. And, yes, cleaning the house.

The 24-year-old insists that it is important to be patient and stay positive. “I have been trying to prepare snacks like onion pakodas,” she says. “My mom (P Vijaya, a former international volleyballer) is giving me invaluable tips.” Despite the pakodas, Sindhu is still fairly disciplined about her diet. “I am not supposed to eat much even if there is mutton kheema which I like a lot. Occasionally, I manage to taste it now,” she laughs, adding, “I am also helping my mom keep the house clean.”

To keep fit, she follows a fitness app, issued by her trainer VM Srikanth, under the guidance of her father (PV Ramana). “There are fitness routines using terra bands, weight jackets and dumbbells of different weights,” says Sindhu, adding “I do meditation thanks to the guidance of Sri Ram Chandra Mission (Hyderabad).” And what about practice? “I have to stay in touch with the sport and my father conducts wall-practice sessions for 45 minutes which maintains the desired reflexes.”

The champion performer says she also gets to spend time with her nephew Aaryan now, besides listening to music and watching Netflix.

Can sports be a priority now? Sindhu says, “No one can think of anything else except fighting the virus. It is the responsibility of every citizen to respect the guidelines of both the Central and the State Governments which are doing a great job.”

-VV Subrahmanyam

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

When international table tennis star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, 27, usually returns home to Chennai after a long tour, his mother says in jest that he is back at his guest house. For, like many professional sportspeople, his visits home are sparse and short. So, even a quotidian affair, like a family dinner, becomes special. The COVID-19 lockdown, in this regard, has been an unasked-for boon for Sathiyan. He has been eating home-cooked meals, watching Malayalam movies (he mentions Trance, Kumbalangi Nights and Ustad Hotel) with his mother, and restarted a hobby he had abandoned after college: reading. (He is currently reading Usain Bolt’s autobiography, Faster Than Lightning and Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.)

But Sathiyan understands he is not in the middle of a summer vacation. “This is an unprecedented situation and it’s been tough for all of us,” he says, “You got to keep your mind and body active to not lose track of your game and fitness.”

He wakes up early morning every day for his fitness routines with trainer Ramji Srinivasan (who has had a stint with the Indian cricket team as well). “I head to the terrace and via video call, I work on my fitness with him. I do some jumps, strength training and exercises with some equipment I have.”

In the evenings, he plays table tennis against a remote-operated robot (Butterfly Amicus Prime for advanced players) that he had recently imported from Germany.

He has also taken to yoga and visualisation techniques. He spends the rest of his time talking to junior players and his fans on social media. With the lockdown now extended till May 3, Sathiyan is planning to take up gardening, too.

-Praveen Sudevan

Sajid Chougle

Mumbai-based Saijid Chougle’s joy in life is to jump off cliffs or aeroplanes. A BASE jumper and a sky diver, he travels all over the world exploring new spots to dive from. This includes cliffs in Norway, Chikmagalur in Karnataka and Konkankanda in Maharasthra. “I started skydiving in 2011 when I was in Philadelphia and in 2017 I got hooked on to BASE jumping,” says Chougle.

Now at home, he satiates his adrenaline rush with videos. One of his latest Instagram videos shows him strapped up in safety gear, a helmet and a backpack as he prepares to launch off what looks like a folded rug. He then glides through air, on the way encountering squeaky toy ducks and paper flying past. Shot in his bedroom, the whole sequence was recorded with him lying on the floor as he enacted movements that normally happen during the course of a jump. “The camera was tied to the ceiling fan,” laughs the 37-year-old. “I dragged my mother to help me with the deployment sequence. She had to pull the parachute,” he adds. His latest video shows him leaping out of a plane and landing on his bed.

Chougle is also keeping himself busy with regular abdomen exercises and a stretching routine. “I do three sets of crunches, cycling, wind shields and planks. I use an app called Splits Training to improve my flexibility and get to full splits,” he says.

-Priyadarshini Paitandy

Sunil Chhetri

With football and all other sports coming to a standstill around the world, India and Bengaluru FC (BFC) star Sunil Chhetri is doing his best to keep himself occupied. He tried his hand at cooking, but it didn’t go as planned. The experiment ended with Chhetri being kicked out of the kitchen by his wife, after he somehow managed to get a small bowl stuck inside a bigger one. The normally supremely-fit footballer is not ashamed to admit that he has let himself go a little bit. “I’ve lost the plot at the moment — chole-puri, samosas, vegan pizzas are being demolished at an alarming rate,” Chhetri posted on Twitter a few weeks earlier, accompanied with a ‘gif’ of a man stuffing his face with food.

With cooking out of the picture, Chhetri is back to the more familiar routine of reading. At the moment, he is reading best-selling science book Cosmos, written by astronomer and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan. “I’m spending time reading, catching up on some fantastic shows on TV, and keeping myself fit. There are household chores that I’ve slowly become very good at. I’m also turning to games of Ludo online every day with a few of the lads on the team. I have to keep the competitive edge alive,” Chhetri says.

Chhetri does miss being on the football field, but he is aware that there are bigger issues to tackle. “What’s made this a little bearable is that we just got done with our season. But I will be honest, football is the last thing on my mind at the moment. It’s easy for us sitting at home to talk about what we miss doing. We’re fortunate. There are so many out there who are struggling to get meals and don’t have a roof over their head,” says the 35-year-old.

-Ashwin Achal

Issack Koshy

24-year-old Isaack Koshy misses his team mates. In this case, two beautiful horses named Unique and Ricardo. He’s been training with Ricardo for eight years and with Unique for six years. Koshy, a former national level equestrian and currently the chief trainer at the Madras School of Equitation, Guindy, is accustomed to the outdoors, starting his day at 4 am with horses. He rides Unique and Ricardo and then trains children in the fine art of equitation. Then by 9.15 he’s at his workplace — Chola Wealth where he is part of the Digital team.

But the recent lockdown has turned his schedule topsy turvy. He now wakes up at 8 am and by 8.30 starts his office work from home. “I miss training, teaching and interacting with students. That is my passion,” says Koshy. The junior and senior instructors whom he has trained reside within the premises of the riding school and they send Koshy videos of the horses. “I give them a weekly plan for the horses. This includes free schooling and lunging,” he explains. In order to make up for the break in training and keep abreast of what is the latest in the world of riding, he watches videos on Show Jumping Clinic, a website where top level riders upload content of what they do.

Earlier, evenings were spent going for long walks. But Koshy now prefers to remain indoors. “In the evenings I do a 100 each of pushups, squats and crunches. On some days, I also do Tabata workouts,” he says. He confesses he used to be meticulous about his diet, usually two boiled eggs for breakfast. Lunch would be rice, vegetable, dal and chicken; and chicken soup for dinner. “Now I eat whatever mom’s cooking,” he laughs.

-Priyadarshini Paitandy

Prajnesh Gunneswaran

Sports, in these unprecedented times, is inessential — despite millions of us missing it, longing for its return, hoping to watch our favourite stars in action once again. For some of the athletes — especially the accomplished stars — the lockdown is perhaps an unforeseen vacation. But for many, who are still building their career, this is temporary unemployment.

This is especially true in the case of tennis. It’s tough to earn points and money if you are ranked outside the top-50. The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic for Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked 132nd (second-highest Indian in the ATP ladder), is understandably an undesirable situation. But he acknowledges that his struggle pales in comparison to millions of underprivileged people across the world. “Tennis, at this moment, isn’t that important. The main concern should be safety, putting food on the plate,” he says.

Being confined to his home isn’t new for Gunneswaran, a few prior injuries had done this to him. But there is a risk of getting stuck in a rut if the players are fit but aren’t playing. Gunneswaran acknowledges this challenge. “You have to keep your mind sharp and the body fit. So, I do some basic exercises everyday.”

A fan of Tamil movies, Gunneswaran is catching up on the ones he had missed. “Like most Tamilians, I like Rajinikanth. I recently watched Darbar. And, I watch a bunch of shows on Netflix. Money Heist is something that I am currently watching.”

-Praveen Sudevan

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furederiko · 7 years

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The good'ol 69... I mean, June 9th. Not that it has any special nor personal meaning though, except for the fact that I'm posting a Random-News-Digest!...

Resident Evil

It's not a secret that I have always favored the CG movies of this franchise, way better than Milla Jovovich's live action series. Those Hollywood movies were okay to good, mind you, but honestly, have they ever got it... right? Not saying that the Japanese CG ones have greater quality, but it just feels more faithful to the source material somehow. That's why when "Resident Evil: Vendetta" was first announced April last year, I know I'm totally going to see it. And yes, that opportunity is slowly approaching, as the Spring movie had officially opened in Japan on May 27th, and will be hitting the international region this month. In home video format, that is. Digital download will be available on June 20th, while the Bluray edition will be on the market on July 18th. There's an exclusive one night event in selected theatres on June 19th too, but I'm guessing that only takes place in the US.

Several character-specific trailers were released to commemorate the Japanese release last month. There was one for Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, Rebecca Chambers, and also the main antagonist Glenn Arias. It's worth noted that the three first names are characters from the first game, and don't take my word on this, but there's a likelihood that this movie is related to that title. It's a good thing though, considering the latest game of the franchise opted to go with a completely new protagonist. Anyways, fans of Chris and Leon can only wait a little longer to see their next adventure. And we should enjoy it as much as we can, because there are signs that Hollywood is already thinking of rebooting the live action movie-series... Oh boy! *sigh*

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Second movie of the franchise, the tentatively titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2" has a finished script, and is currently doing an interesting casting process. Namely, they are looking for teen versions of the main characters. When I first read the headline to this news, I was quite... surprised, because my head was literally thinking about Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione. Which of course, is completely incorrect! Ignoring the glaring irony that the "Harry Potter" franchise is still looming large on my head, completely overshadowing this new prequel series, the younger cast they are talking about is for Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Leta Lestrange, and... possibly Newt Scamander. After all, as far as I recall, Newst IS supposed to be the central character, right? Hmmm...

And this could be big. We know that Johnny Depp is portraying the adult (or... old?) Grindelwald, and Jude Law has been entrusted to portray the younger (but also... old?) Dumbledore. Since Grindelwald was already terrorizing Europe in the first movie, it seems unlikely that they are still in good terms, right? So the casting of actors between the age of 16 to 18 means writer J.K. Rowling is finally giving fans what they've always wanted: more historical moment between the two. As in, regarding their so-called intimate friendship that led towards a disastrous outcome. Perhaps what ever happened to the Dumbledore household (his mother Kendra, brother Aberforth, and sister Ariana), the mystery that was briefly talked about late in the "Harry Potter" series, is making their way into this movie? A backstory for Dumbledore, to put it simple.

For now, it's still nothing more than random speculation. But hopefully we'll get a clearer understanding of the plot, when the movie officially begins production. Which should take place, sometime later this year, to make it for a November 16th, 2018 release. I can only hope, the whole Dumbledore and Grindelwald story is still connected to Newt somehow. I don't know, perhaps through Leta? Otherwise, having a main character alienated in his own movie, would be a fatal mistake. Not that it's anything new for Warner Bros though...

Dark Universe

Universal is pretty serious about their shared Monsters universe. While they only have one movie, "The Mummy" on the horizon so far, the plan has already begun including a second title in Bill Condon's "The Bride of the Frankenstein", as well as developing some others. We can now add three more possible titles, in the list of projects currently in development, or planned. Director and also producer Alex Kurtzman, recently revealed that the lineup will also consist of... Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The first was a no-brainer, since the 2013 critically-panned "Dracula Untold" was initially meant to kickstart this universe. But of course, everyone is talking about the other two on that list. Why? Because nobody suspected both would even be considered. I found those titles to be... intriguing, to say the least. Thematically, they fit this universe like a bill, but the genre of both movies would also add additional colors to this universe. And that's not all, because Kurtzman is also thinking of spinoff-ing other characters from within the lineup. "I think that digging into deep mythologies about monsters around the world is fair game for us, as well and connecting the monsters that we know to some surprising monsters could also be really interesting.", he said, which honestly made me speechless because I'm having trouble to describe my response to that bit. He's also aiming big, by desiring big actors like Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, and Angelina Jolie to be part of this ensemble. You can check out exclusive interview with Kurtzman on Joblo Trailer's Youtube channel about this Dark Universe project.

Problem is, early tracking for "The Mummy" alone, isn't showing a good sign. Especially, in the shadow of WB's "Wonder Woman" that seems to be still doing good. And we must remember, that the Tom Cruise vehicle is being marketed as the brave first step of this universe. What if, pessimistically speaking, the movie fails to resonate with audience. Are we going to have another case of "Dracula Untold", or will Universal simply ignore the outcome (critically or financially) this time, and proceed with their plan anyway? I don't know, perhaps singing the tune of WB's DC Films?

And indeed, that's where the big question mark lies. Hot on the heels of a very promising news, that the movie is breaking opening day record in South Korea, critics have also begun publishing their thoughts. And it was simply... mixed at best. Some folks (like Ain't It Cool, and Collider) sounded like they actually had fun with it, but others (like Polygon, and IndieWire) are being the complete opposite. The Hollywood Reporter even called it "An inauspicious beginning to a would-be franchise.". Yes, go ahead and look that word up in the dictionary! So is this an apple and orange situation? Case of an acquired taste? I can't really tell. But the general consensus seems to lean towards the irony, that the movie is burdened to kickstart a new cinematic universe. Thus unable to be 'its own thing'.

The logic however, is that eventhough it will probably NOT do so well in the US, Universal is counting on international market to give it a financial push. As proven by Paramount's "Transformers" (particularly that Chinese-heavy 4th movie) or Disney's "Pirates of the Carribbean" franchise, international audience usually couldn't care less about what US critics are saying. LOL. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how the response to this movie affects the entire Dark Universe then. And I'm strangely rooting for it, because as I've repeatedly said, I really want to see more of Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll in the future. "The Mummy", opens on June 9th, 2017... which is TODAY in my time region.

X-Men Universe

If anyone asks me why I'm NOT (or no longer) a fan of FOX's Marvel Universe, the answer would be VERY simple. Because I despise inconsistencies. Continuity issues and inconsistent writing, disregarding source materials, with characters being robbed of their full potential and shoehorned for the sake of... nothing important... are glaring elements that have been plaguing the X-Men movies for such a long time. These are easy proofs that the people behind this so-called universe, are NOT doing a good job. And yes, I'm talking about Bryan Singer, and especially producer Simon Kinberg. Ironically, this was also the reason why "Deadpool" worked. Because that movie fearlessly pointed out what really is WRONG about this whole universe, while adding more questions. Case point, the existence of two Professor Xs, two Collosuses, and many more. Even the critically acclaimed "Logan", couldn't escape this blatant continuity trapping, further showing the flaw in design.

Now we can add another one to the list. As Josh Boone's "The New Mutants" (or "X-Men: The New Mutants"... because seriously, even I'm not really sure about the movie's official title) has recently cast a second actor to portray the mutant Sunspot. While confirming that Charlie Heaton is indeed in talks to portray Cannonball, Variety revealed that actor Henry Zaga of "13 Reasons Why" has been cast as the solar-powered mutant. Why is he the 2nd you ask? Because Adan Canto (as pictured above) has already portrayed the criminally-underused character in the logically-flawed "X-Men: Days of Future Past". Does this mean, FOX is expecting Zaga to grow up into Canto (to be fair, they ARE at around the same... height)? As in, "The New Mutants" is happening years prior to "Days of Future Past"? Unless... this will be an entirely different character, which once again, points out the exact issue.

There's more than just Sunspot. Variety also ridiculously over-praised "The New Mutants", when revealing the movie's premise, "Fox/Marvel redefines the superhero genre once again with the horror thriller, The New Mutants. Mutants are at their most dangerous, both to themselves and others, when their powers are new, especially because mutation reveals itself during the teenage years. Held in a secret facility against their will, five new mutants have to battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their pasts. They aren’t out to save the world – they’re just trying to stay alive.". Though it's likely that the media merely used it to boost visitors, I'm not sure I can easily ignore the exaggerating word of 'redefines' here. HOW... is making this into a horror/thriller 'redefines' the genre, when the likes of "Lucifer", "Preacher", the Ghost Rider arc on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and even FOX and FX's very own "LEGION" has already done the same? Didn't they have already attempted this whole storyline with the craptastic "Fant4stic Four" back in 2015? The more pressing matter however, is once again about WHAT TIMELINE will this movie take place. Will this occur after "X-Men: Apocalypse"? Or, in the same era to "Deadpool", considering Collosus' younger sister is in this? I can't even imagine how "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" will continue to add to this... messy affair.

Putting that issue aside, "The New Mutants" has found its Danielle Moonstar as well. Actress Blu Hunt will be portraying the character, who is a Native American with the power to generate illusion from other person's fears and desires. I myself have never heard of the actress, but it seems she's got the talent, if not simply racially appropriate for the character (like Booboo Stewart's Warpath, hence the reason I used that exact picture). This means, the team is almost complete with Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, along with the two guys I mentioned above. FOX only needs to find an actor to voice Warlock as the remaining team member, considering the alien will likely be a CG character. With production set to commence next month, looks like we're going to hear an official cast announcement really soon. I can't seem to get excited about this no matter how I tried, but perhaps the opposite is happening with you. Good for you then!

Marvel Studios

Things have been pretty quite from the movie front, which might be caused due to the studio taking a back seat while WB and their DC Films are taking the headlines. But that should be over pretty soon. This weekend alone, Universal has begun taking all the headlines with their Dark Universe. Also, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is arriving in less than a month, so of course its marketing will start to ramp up. And that's probably the case... as proven by the various TV Spots and Clips from the movie arriving online. Like the ones about Marisa Tomei's May Parker, Zendaya's Michele, or Michael Keaton's Vulture.

As far as I know, none of those are as official as the new one recently released on Marvel's channel (with new footage too! Yikes!). But you can visit Joblo Trailers on Youtube to see them if you like. I personally haven't seen any that focuses on Bokeem Woodbine/Logan Marshall-Green's Shocker, but perhaps that's because they are merely secondary villains. One thing for sure, I can't wait to see this movie. Although I'm not even sure I can, due to an unexpected financial urgency happening late last month... *sigh*. Anyway, "Homecoming" arrives on July 7th, 2017 in the US (pre-order is already available), and is expected to premiere earlier in international regions.

Meanwhile, "Avengers: Infinity War" continues production, and if the entry on IMDb can be trusted, looks like Winston Duke will be reprising his role as M'Baku or the Man-Ape from "Black Panther". This means we might be seeing more of Wakanda in the movie as well. Some people are already calling "Infinity War" to be overstuffed, a statement that's in a way seems accurate judging from that line of actor trailers (courtesy of the Russo Brothers). But this IS a movie that's supposed to be the culmination (first part of two, at least) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008, so... it does make a lot of sense to have so many characters in it. Heck, I think "Captain America: Civil War" alone has already broke the record of the biggest ensemble yet for comic book adaptation.

Speaking of Panther, expect to hear details of the movie alongside November 3rd's "Thor: Ragnarok" on this year's Disney D23 expo. Perhaps, the first official trailer will be unveiled there? To be held from July 14th-16th, there will be props, costumes, and exclusive set pieces from both movies, as well as others. Fans will have the chance to see the filmmakers, development team, and also actors in this event. If you happen to be luckily in the area and are interested to visit this event, you can visit the official site D23Expo.com, or get details via D23 app.

Marvel TV

I've seen the sneak-peak to the upcoming new series "Marvel's Spider-Man", and my oh my, the animation quality looks surprisingly... WEAK. It felt... underwhelming, and it has been bugging me ever since, because it didn't feel any different to the recently concluded "Ultimate Spider-Man" series. Also, and I'm being nitpicky, it's banking on "Homecoming" a little TOO MUCH, and I don't like that. When a show is taking cue to a particular movie, it's a make-or-break situation, especially because we know both will NOT be related in any way. Marvel Animation's very own "Guardians of the Galaxy" series is a good example of this problem. A series that felt like it was aimed to explore the 2014 movie in a detailed manner, before completely going overboard and... Well, let's just say I lost interest for it halfway through, and has never even bothered to check out the 2nd season.

The same personal response goes to the 4th season of "Avengers Assemble", officially subtitled "Avengers: Secret Wars". Judging from the 6 character-intro webisodes that I've watched last week, I can only say that the quality of this series is... pretty much the same. For the record, the first three seasons were never THAT good in the first place, so its not a good sign. But this new season seems to dip even lower in the story department, and that raised a dangerous flag for me. Can't believe I'm saying this (not because I'm a fan, but because I've actually been anticipating these new titles for quite a while), but I'm already thinking of giving it a huge pass. And I'm not just talking about "Secret Wars", but "Spider-Man" as well. I can only hope Marvel Animation is preparing something BIG to make up for this. Perhaps that announcement they will reveal on the D23 Expo 2017? We'll see...

From the live action side, Marvel's "New Warriors" is expected to film in Atlanta. This shouldn't be a surprise, because the city has become a regular spot for Marvel Studios to film their projects. Movies like "Civil War", "Homecoming", "Infinity War", and many others sets up their massive sound stage and goes into production there. This particular location offers up interesting questions: Does this mean the casting process has been concluded and is going to be announced soon? Will the setting of this Freeform series take place in Atlanta as well, as opposed to New York? Will we actually get the long awaited crossover between TV series and movies, considering they will be filmed in the same location? "New Warriors" is expected to premiere in 2018.

Netflix

With Marvel's "The Defenders" confirmed for an August 18th release, the one big question looming on every Marvel-Netflix fans' mind has been: so when will Jon Bernthal's Marvel's "The Punisher" arrive? Both Marvel TV and Netflix have only revealed that it will be released this year, but without any specific details. And the cast has wrapped production some time ago. Will it arrive on Winter then? The answer is... in a way, yes.

Dearbhla Walsh, who directed and edited an episode might have unintentionally spilled the bean regarding the show's release month. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter about her experience behind the camera, Walsh said that "One other time that hasn't been aired yet, which was an episode for the new Marvel series The Punisher, which I did just before Christmas, but it's not airing until November. I directed that in New York and edited in L.A.". So yeah, surprising as it might be considering "Ragnarok" is debuting that very same month, looks like Frank Castle will be rampaging the small screen as well. Hold on... it just occured to me: Is this series trying to steal attention and likely audience from WB's "The Justice League" then? WOW, that might be interesting. Let's just wait for the official confirmation from Netflix then...

Possible release window has also been partially confirmed for the three titles currently in production. Yes, I'm talking about the 2nd seasons for Marvel's "Jessica Jones", and Marvel's "Luke Cage" (which will explore his public identity issue), and also the 3rd season of "Marvel's Daredevil". While there are no fixed release date yet, highly likely all three will be released next year. And if Netflix follows this year's pattern, then we can expect these shows to be out on March, August, and November.

The only show that hasn't been officially 'renewed' is Marvel's "Iron Fist", and I'm not too surprised about it. In fact, I won't even be shocked if it ends up getting cancelled, thus Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick will be transferred to other shows instead. Netflix fairly recently did a string of cancellations to its original series, and the latest victim was the critically-mixed "Sense8". The fact that "Sense8" was better received in terms of storyline and particularly diversity than "Iron Fist", is already a negative indication. Don't forget, "Iron Fist" was simply made because it was part of the 'Defenders Package' that Netflix signed with Marvel TV, and that obligation has been fulfilled with that disappointing first season. So as much as I'm a fan of the character in the comics, I say good riddance. Time to bring the "Moon Knight" to take its place!

Valiant Entertainment

Talk about another universe I've never heard of! And not to mention, coming from a US comic publisher I'm also not familiar of. Comic book adaptation seems to be all the rage nowadays, we've got movies every other month, and also various kinds of TV series in various networks/platforms. Of course Valiant Comics would want to join such promising market, and their approach is going through the digital segment.

The best way to promote their new series? By debuting their live action characters as cover models for their upcoming comics. Yes, that means the cast of "Ninjak VS. The Valiant Universe" in full costume. Derek Theler, and the one and only Jason David Frank (yes, that super popular Power Rangers actor) are joining lead actor Michael Rowe on the second issue of "Rapture". They are respectively playing X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, and duh, of course Colin King a.k.a Ninjak. Ciera Foster's Livewire is on the cover of "Divinity" #0, and Alex Meglei is pairing up with Kevin Porter as Archer & Armstrong on "Rai: The History of the Valiant Universe" #1. If you ask me, I LITERALLY have no idea about ANY of these characters and most of the actors (Tommy's the sole exception). I'm not even sure how I should react!

Dinesh Shamdasani, Valiant Entertainment's CEO and CCO talked to ComicBook.com (that helped debuted these images and also a TRAILER, seriously!), and well... fearlessly made a direct comparison to Marvel and DC. Here's what he said, "Valiant is very different. It's character-centered. It's grounded. It's subversive. It's left of center. It's quirky. We wanted to include the characters that showcased to a new audience how different and exciting Valiant is and why it's something equal to Marvel and DC and so these are the characters, our biggest characters and our most exciting characters to showcase the Valiant tonality.". Pretty confident, huh? The site also wrote a synopsis for the series, and what... we can expect from it. I honestly scratched my head after reading it, but likely because I'm practically clueless about the... whole thing. "Ninjak VS. The Valiant Universe" is set to debut online later this year. Valiant fans might want to watch out for it...

Kamen Rider

On contrary to that delicious Sushi-themed rumor, the title for the 19th "Kamen Rider" series has been trademarked. And the title is... "Kamen Rider Build"! Or at least, that's the common sense, because the katakana 'BIRUDO' is usually romanized as BUILD. Remember, it can always refer to BILD, BEALD, BEARD, and the likes that sounds... similar. A possible first toy catalogue has also made its rounds in the internet. If this year's "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid" has game cartridge as the collectible, this one seems to be based on... bottles. Interesting, huh?

Of course, we can't immediately rule out the Sushi one either. If I recall correctly, there was a fashion theme on the rumor board before it was revealed to be Kamen Rider Ghost. And turns out, Ghost did use the fashion gimmick! So who knows, it's always possible that "Kamen Rider Build" is a food and beverages theme after all, with Build being a sports drink, while the second Rider could be sushi. Hey, this IS Japanese Tokusatsu we're talking about! The franchise that combined gamers with doctor, and fruits with samurai. We'll be hearing more about this new Rider very soon. Because it has been an annual custom now, to debut the new series' lead on the currently running one. Expect Build, or whatever he is officially called, to appear on "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid the Movie: True Ending" that premieres this August.

Cowboy Beebop

When Hollywood is running out of new idea, they tend to go over and scrape old titles from the vast library (and sometimes barrels) of Japanese entertainment fault. That's how Super Sentai became "Power Rangers", "Dragon Ball: Evolution" got made. "Ghost in the Shell" and "Death Note" got whitewashed, adaptation to "Akira" is still being pursued by many studios and directors, and many more.

The next victi... I mean, target is none other than "Cowboy Beebop". This might sound strange, but I've never fully seen the 1998 series and the 2001 movie, nor even interested to check it out. I don't know, perhaps because it's just... not for me? Because I prefer modern ones, nowadays? Or because I wasn't into jazz as much that time... because I was still... young? LOL. I'm also aware however, that it has (present tense) so many fans, especially in the western hemisphere. Due to that exact reason, back in 2009, there was a plan to create a live action movie based on this series. It even had actor Keanu Reeves attached to star as Spike Spiegel. Suffice to say, the project faded to obscurity. But now it's being revived again, but as a TV series. And I'm not kidding!

Tomorrow Studios and ITV Studios are set to produce this adaptation, alongside Sunrise Studios as the executive producer. Chris Yost, who wrote "Thor: The Dark World" and sequel "Ragnarok" (as well as that amazing series "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes"), has been signed to write this series. Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Midnight Radio (Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg), and Matthew Weinberg are producing. It's unclear is this project was an evolution to that movie one, but Adelstein certainly showed his excitement to work on it, and said believed that "a live action version will have an incredible impact today". I'm personally unsure if a TV budget would be able to deal with the series' setting, but who am I to argue. Let's just hope that it'll work out time around then...

Marvel vs Capcom

An interesting rumor concerning the upcoming "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" sparked throughout the internet last month. A NeoGAF user claimed to have discovered the full roster of the game, and well, it was rather... underwhelming.

As of April, we've known that the roster consists of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, and Ultron from the Marvel side, and Ryu, Rockman X, Morrigan, Chun-Li, Strider Hiryu, Chris Redfield, and Sigma from the CAPCOM side. That makes for 13 characters so far, considering both Ultron and Sigma (who can combine into... duh, big bad boss Ultron Sigma) are likely DLC characters. According to this rumor, the Marvel side will be extended with Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Nova, Groot, Spider-Man, and Thanos, while CAPCOM adds Arthur, Dante, Firebrand, Jedah, Monster Hunter, Nemesis, Spencer, and one unknown character that might be Frank West. There will be six additional DLC characters for the first season, including the two names I've mentioned before. The big surprise here, is that most of these names are familiar ones who have appeared in previous installments. The only new characters are Ant-Man, Gamora, Nova, Thanos, Jedah, and Monster Hunter, and this has certainly disappointed a lot of fans.

I'm personally indifferent to this situation, but the complaints from fans certainly... make a lot of sense. CAPCOM side is definitely lacking fresh characters from their latest titles. I've said before, they could've added some new characters like Rashid, or Karin from "Street Fighter V" to give it... a current feel. Things are slightly better on Marvel side with the inclusion of Ant-Man, but fans easily questions why lesser popular character like Gamora is taking over the spot that would've been better occupied by Star-Lord or at least Black Widow. And how about Black Panther, or Vision, to replace the missing X-Men characters? Now, this is still a rumor for now, so we need to take it with a huge grain of salt. It's not yet clear if it's true or not anyway. However, the user who posted this news was the one who leaked the existence of the game before it was announced last November, and has been on point with his next scoops. So does this mean, it's the real deal? Here's hoping the D23 Expo 2017 will help clear this out, while hopefully pleasing its disappointed fans along the way. "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" will arrive on September 19th, 2017.

Pocket Monsters

The Pokemon Company held a highly anticipated Pokemon Direct a few days ago on June 6th through various means, and naturally, fans were eagerly looking forward to hear confirmation about the long-rumored "Pokemon Stars". But against all odds, the company delivered a massive surprise instead, and announced... "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon"!

Yep, this was... UNEXPECTED. I mean, who would've thought that the VII generation will be following the "Pokemon Black & White" route? But the biggest surprise here, rather than utilizing the new Nintendo Switch hybrid console, these two new titles will be exclusively released for the... Nintendo 3DS. Yes, exactly like "Pokemon Black 2 & White 2" that opted to avoid 3DS at the time. The premise of "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" is sure to make fans scratching their heads too. Apparently, these two new titles will offer an alternate story taking place in the world of "Pokemon Sun & Moon", which might explain why both Solgaleo and Lunala look... possessed by Necrozma in the covers. Once again, this brings to mind "Black 2 & White 2" that had Kyuren taking the power and form of Zekrom and Reshiram. The good side of this, along with new features, it is said to feature Pokemon that did not appear in the original. That means, we might be getting that rumored snowman and dolphin Pokemon after all! However wishful thinking that might be... LOL. The bad side however? It seems, some fans are/were NOT pleased with this outcome. Likely because many expected this new title to appear on Nintendo Switch. IMO, that would've been a wise choice as well, particularly following the mixed response to its paid online feature. The hybrid console is definitely in need of a fan favorite franchise like Pokemon to attract more players. And about that... well, on to the next paragraph.

Further adding flame to the disappointment news, the reveal of "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" arrived at the very end of an extensive live action trailer that focused on "Pokken Tournament DX". Which is indeed, the FIRST official Pokemon title for Switch! So in a sense, The Pokemon Company DID give what fans wanted, but NOT exactly what they hoped. "Pokken Tournament DX" is basically another port of the "Pokken" series, that combined the content of Wii U and Arcade version. This means all 16 characters from Wii U and the new ones on Arcade are playable from the get-go, with the exclusive addition of Decidueye from "Sun & Moon". Both Litten and Popplio also available as new support Pokemon. There are several new features as well, to enhance the game's replayability. And to celebrate this game, Nintendo will be hosting a tournament on June 14th, 2017 at the E3 2017 Expo.

To be fair, being a fighting game,"Pokken" does feel more at home with Switch's multiplayer capability. As that trailer suggests, this works as a fun party game as well, a game that people can enjoy in the company of friends and family. So it makes sense that Nintendo opts to push this title instead of a stand alone single-player Pokemon title. After all, Nintendo already had a critically-acclaimed open world RPG on Switch, in form of "Zelda: Breath of the Wild". They need a good fighting game title, that will be specifically exclusive to the console. But will we get an actual core Pokemon title for Switch, or will that honor be given to the successor of 3DS instead? That exact same question still remains. "Pokken Tournament DX" is released worldwide for Switch on September 22nd, alongside "Pokemon Gold & Silver" on the 3DS Virtual Console. "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" will then follow exclusively for 3DS on November 17th.

On the smartphone App corner, while the utterly silly but surprisingly addictive "Magikarp, Jump!" is taking the world by stor... I mean splash, and "PokeLand" is released to let players interact with... Pokemon toys, "Pokemon GO" is about to have its 1-Year Anniversary in just a month from now. And to celebrate that occasion, Niantic has been amping up on events, both in the game and real world. The next in-game one, is the "Solstice Event", that will bring out a horde of Fire and Ice-Types Pokemon. This is inline with the recent leak, and will take place beginning on June 13th until presumably June 20th if not 21st. It will also pave way, to that major multiplayer update that was reported before. And as such, Gyms system is going to be closed for an unknown period of time.

The real world one, will then take place on July 22nd, 2017 in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA. "Pokemon GO Fest Chicago", which is the game's first ever event, will have various festivities. There was a hot speculation that the game will be releasing its first Legendaries, so might this be the time and place to deliver that? It'll be unfair for the rest of the world though, am I right? Tickets for this event can be obtained on PokemonGoLive.com/Fest starting on June 18th. Various other events will also be held in Europe, and Japan, through various partner companies. I kind of wish that these official social event is going to take place in my country. Then again, the government didn't respond to the app nicely anyway, so I doubt we'll ever have one... *sigh*

By the way, how on Earth did some sites get that catchy image for the Solstice Event anyway? Is it fanmade? Sure looks official. It's certainly way better than the one Niantic posted on their official update...

Nintendo

This last bit isn't about game, eventhough it is under a video game developer category. At least, not a software one. Yes, collaborating with Universal Studios Japan, Nintendo is going to have their first major amusement park attraction, which will be called Super Nintendo World. At least, that's the plan, because only the groundwork has been done so far (Famitsu provided footages from the event). But there's a Concept Trailer to give us a hint of what it will look, and it looks nostalgically amazing! This park is clearly Mario Bros oriented, but since the title carries the Nintendo name, I think we can expect other exclusive franchises of the company like Kirby, Pokemon, and others to be included in the future. The park will have rides, interactive areas, shops, and restaurants, and it is planned to officially opens in Summer 2020 in Universal Studios Osaka, just in time for the Olympic Games. It will then be followed by Florida and California resorts in the following years. I wonder when it will arrive on Universal Studios Singapore then? Because that's the closest one I could visit for now... *sigh*

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vsplusonline · 4 years

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Sports stars and adventure enthusiasts offer tips for a proactive routine during the COVID-19 lockdown

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/sports-stars-and-adventure-enthusiasts-offer-tips-for-a-proactive-routine-during-the-covid-19-lockdown/

Sports stars and adventure enthusiasts offer tips for a proactive routine during the COVID-19 lockdown

PV Sindhu

The champion performer says she also gets to spend time with her nephew Aaryan now, besides listening to music and watching Netflix.

-VV Subrahmanyam

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

In the evenings, he plays table tennis against a remote-operated robot (Butterfly Amicus Prime for advanced players) that he had recently imported from Germany.

-Praveen Sudevan

Sajid Chougle

-Priyadarshini Paitandy

Sunil Chhetri

-Ashwin Achal

Issack Koshy

-Priyadarshini Paitandy

Prajnesh Gunneswaran

-Praveen Sudevan

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