#general Ndoye

[evviejo]

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY // S4E11 Rosetta Their emotions tell a story, give us context.

[best-star-trek-character]

Round One

[autisticburnham]

I think they did a good job balancing General Ndoye so that, like Book, even when she's clearly making the wrong decision, you still understand and empathize with her. However, it is definitely noticeable that by far the most militant of the political delegates sent to face the Ten C is the only black woman among them. This is somewhat mitigated by the presence of other black women in the arc, both the three on Discovery's crew and the President of Earth, but it is still nonetheless Noticeable.

[defconprime]

Phumzile Sitole as General Diatta Ndoye

[theviewfromthebooth]

Liverpool prove that stacking wins is hard work

Credit: Naomi Baker via Getty Images

It’s a popular debate in football: “just how comfortable is a 2-0 scoreline?”. On a bitterly cold October night, Liverpool further muddied those waters, producing a disjointed display that bore little resemblance to the straight forward wins against Ipswich and Brentford that opened the Arne Slot era. Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah scored in each half, while Bologna will wonder how they didn’t manage any.

The answer was the peerless Alisson Becker, with a collection of outstanding saves as the fifth clean sheet of the season was undoubtedly the hardest to earn.The maximum six points earned from their Champions League campaign will ultimately trump any complaints of a win much more difficult than expected, especially in the wake of shock defeats for Bayern Munich & Real Madrid. Despite two years away from Europe's top table, the muscle memory needed to navigate tricky European encounters has remained.

The Anfield crowd arrived keen to make themselves part of the spectacle - they heard the call from the manager to feel the hurt and hunger generated by a year in the Europa League, and responded with interest. Bologna fans played their part, determined to enjoy their first European outing in 60 years. The result was a feverish soup of an atmosphere - the kind with the ability to inspire and intimidate in equal measure. The early exchanges showed two teams falling either side of that line.

It took 90 seconds for Liverpool to create a great opening. Ryan Gravenberch breached the Bologna midfield for the first but certainly not the last time, laying off to Salah at the perfect moment, who repaid the compliment. The ball eluded Darwin Nunez and Bologna fumbled it to safety. That was the catalyst for a swarm of red as the visitors were unable to escape their half, hemmed in by a tenacious Liverpool press. Bologna are merely loaned the ball for a matter of seconds at a time. Riccardo Orsolini took a speculative shot after a rare Gravenberch error like a man who doesn’t think he’ll get many. And yet, seconds later the ball is in the Liverpool net.

The centre backs were caught square but Thijs Dallinga was too eager - the Reds reprieved by the linesman’s flag. As is so often the case when Liverpool survive a scare, they snap into action. The genesis of the opener is a smart one-two between Dominic Szoboszlai & Alexis Mac Allister, great hold up play from Nunez, and then vision to find Salah. His lofted cross from the corner of the area is delicious, with Mac Allister and Luis Diaz beating the offside line and racing each other to tap in, the Argentine emerging victorious.

One is nearly immediately two. Another beautiful ball from Salah springs Trent Alexander-Arnold onto the Italian defence, at which point everyone in the ground knew what was coming: a perfect sliderule ball to put Nunez through on goal. This time it was the Uruguayan who was curbed by enthusiasm, his run starting seconds too soon to waste what was a comfortable finish. A minor mistake, but exactly the kind he needs to rectify if he’s to claim a permanent home in the team.

In those dominant opening twenty minutes it's clear that Salah arrived at Anfield determined to be the orchestrator - looking to hurt the opponents with his passing, as if stung by the justified criticism of his use of the ball at Molineux. Alisson superbly offered him another chance with a 60 yard volley into his path, but the Egyptian was unable to find the onrushing Diaz. After half an hour Bologna were finally able to take a breath, and began to pose a threat going forward. However, like many visitors to Anfield, when those attacks broke down was when they were at their most vulnerable.

Inversely, their most dangerous moments came when handed the initiative by their hosts. Szoboszlai headed a testing Alisson clearance into the path of Dan Ndoye, leading to a deflected shot rattling the Brazilian’s bar.

That clang of woodwork marked the turning point, as Liverpool’s profligacy gave Bologna hope. They were unlucky that another presentable opening, from one of a mounting number of free kicks, was inadvertently cleared by a black shirt.

Anfield had barely breathed a sigh of relief before Alexander-Arnold lost the ball in a dangerous area only to be bailed out by his goalkeeper with an excellent reflex save. For the first time this season, Liverpool faced a spell where it looked like a goal against was inevitable. Composure was sorely lacking, which soon spread to the top end of the pitch. Good opportunities - the kind that Slot lamented his team passing up in the dying moments on Saturday - were once again left unconverted.

Liverpool’s midfielders took turns to drive through the lines, but all were unable to deliver the killer pass. The half ended with plenty to ponder for the Head Coach, and as the second began it was clear that tigerish retrieval of the ball would be key to placing the game under their control. Szoboszlai and Diaz were the instigators, which in turn made them cheerleaders, as every lung-bursting run to close down their man was greeted with a guttural roar.

The second half’s first significant moment was another important Alisson save, as Orsolini evaded a sleeping Alexander-Arnold from another disputed free kick. After Kacper Urbanski slashed at his own golden opportunity to make himself a Bolognese legend, Slot had seen enough.

Diogo Jota arrived from the bench to replace Nunez, whose promising start faded as he struggled to keep hold of the ball. Bologna’s confidence remained, believing they were as likely to score as Liverpool. Diaz should have proved them wrong, but he failed to pull the trigger after motoring across the edge of the area. When the Colombian saw his number raised moments later he would have known that he had made a mistake.

And then, the moment Anfield yearned for finally arrived. With 75 minutes on the clock, Jota broke through the midfield and laid it into Szoboszlai’s path, who in turn found Salah in his favourite spot - the corner of the area with a worrying defender in front of him. A shift inside as Alexander-Arnold overlapped proceeded a wonderful curled finish into the top corner - the kind that appears if you close your eyes to imagine the typical Salah goal.

Bologna heads finally drop, and all that remained was for the supremely gifted Gravenberch to decide if he would deliver the coup de grace to another magnificent display with his first goal of the season. It’s truly a blessing to see a footballer become elite before our eyes, and the scariest part is that it’s clear that he’s not yet in full bloom.

That goal didn't come, but his ability to make the right decisions on the ball and execute them perfectly time and again is a precious commodity, proven by Liverpool’s willingness to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to find it. In the end they only needed thirty-eight of them. They also only needed two goals, despite creating enough chances for five or six.

Post match, Slot once again struck the right tone - happy with the result while slightly frustrated with the performance, without reaching either extreme: “You're always aiming for perfection, but you'll never reach it”, he smiled. Two months into his Liverpool career only Callum Hudson-Odoi has denied the Dutchman perfection, but despite becoming the first Liverpool manager to achieve eight wins out of nine, Slot is keenly aware that there is more work to do.

While his Liverpool team keep winning, that work will be all the more enjoyable.

[apodemus-sylvaticus]

So what's up with general Ndoye and the president of the Earth? Are they besties? Are they married? That didn't seem like a professional relationship.

[silveragelovechild]

I certainly hope real life generals don’t commit treason as often as Star Trek officers do.

(Then again, Michael Burnham also committed treason in season 1.)

[discotreque]

Disco 4.07: ...But to Connect

Well, that was a terrible episode... JUST KIDDING LOL, I LOVED THIS ONE TOO.

Look, there’s plenty of bad-faith criticism of Discovery out there, and sadly too many good-faith bad takes, and way too much boring pissbaby whining—but there are also plenty of valid complaints to make about this show, and I’ve been making plenty of them myself, on this very blog, for three-and-a-half seasons.

The—let’s say “uneven”—quality to date isn’t exactly a surprise, given its clusterfuck of a production history; the well-documented turmoil and turnover in the writer’s room has had an obvious and undeniable impact on the quality of the narrative. (You could even say they’ve had a long road, getting from there to here.)

Everything about this show—the direction, production design, performances, editing, VFX, music—has always been better than the scripts, but it’s not like the scripts were entirely without potential. In fact, the sheer amount of unrealized potential has always been the most frustrating thing to me about Star Trek: Discovery.

Well, I guess I have to find a new most-frustrating thing (and experto credite, I will), because holy fucking shit, y’all… this is what I’ve been saying Disco could be. It’s still not flawless—and they’ve apparently ditched subtlety as thoroughly as they ditched the 23rd century—but I do. not. care. I’m getting one thousand percent more of what I want from this season than I got from the last three seasons combined, and don’t get me wrong—I liked Season 2, and I really liked Season 3—but Season 4 feels like a completely different show. A much, much, much better show.

Buckle up for mid-season spoilers:

Sorry Michael, but my cat Nora wouldn’t fuck with that little holo-toy either—based on her reaction to laser pointers, she needs something she can sink her teeth into—literally—once she catches it. If she can’t pretend to sever its spinal cord, my picky little princess is not interested.

I guess “The Measure of a Woman” would have been too on-the-nose as a title for this episode? Jokes aside, I like how they seem to be positioning Zora as a Data-esque character: the AI who’s a sweet, well-meaning nerd, who’s also still learning organic social graces. Also, the problem with her attaining sentience isn’t that she’ll turn malicious, or pursue her own inscrutable cyber-agenda, but that she loves the crew so much she’s making irrational choices to protect them? AAAAAAAAA 😭😭😭

It figures that Dr. Kovich—who wears glasses and a tie in the 32nd century like a full-time Ren Faire weirdo—also uses a QWERTY-ass-looking keyboard on his holo-computer.

And then he dropped his whole CV in that scene like Michelle Paradise is literally reading this blog? (Ha ha, but also… 🥺👉👈)

Cleveland Booker, I love you like only a lesbian can love a fictional man created by another lesbian, but could you please at least skim The Art of War like, once? If Species 10-C can harness the power of hypergiant stars to—I’m guessing here, based on the themes of this season—accidentally slap entire planets to pieces, there probably isn’t much you can accomplish against them with sheer brute force, my guy. I’m also thinking about the wasp nest on my garage 15 years ago that I was going to ignore until winter (out of laziness), and then one of them stung me on the ear while I was putting my bike away and those fuckers were gone by the weekend. If it’s really a five-minute solution, what’s to lose by asking “Why did you blow up my planet” real quick before trying to kick them in the nuts through subspace?

A real delight to have Phumzile Sitole back as Adira’s old boss, General Ndoye, and in a nifty little hat too! Jonathan Frakes, who directed her previous episode, said in an interview that she’d been planning to quit acting when she booked the gig, but she had such a great time on Disco that she decided to stick with it. So it’s extra wholesome to see her again! I especially loved every time someone proposed violence at the forum and the camera just cut to Ndoye silently nodding like “fuck yeah, blow stuff up.” 😂

President Rillak evaded my expectations once again when Michael suggested she had a personal stake in Earth rejoining the Federation, and instead of hiding behind a bland talking point, Rillak said quite candidly that she was both personally and politically invested. (And it turns out she’s got mommy issues too—take a drink!)

I frickin’ loved how Kovich insisted on… uh-oh, here it comes again… absolute candor when sorting out the issues between Zora and the crew. Emotional honesty: it’s not just a good idea, it’s an overarching narrative theme! (Plus: “We always mean well to ourselves, Captain. The problem is what that means for others.” Ooooof.)

I’m pretty sure that they mentioned Control more times in this episode than in the entirety of Season 3.

Gray and Adira standing up for Zora made me cry happy tears. Say what you will, but I think we’re in good hands with Gen ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha here.

The writers are lucky I don’t mind a little massive amount of didactic speechifying in my science fiction, because for real, I’ve read Peter Watts books that were less transparent about giving every single character an entire TED Talk about every relevant philosophical viewpoint on the table. (Blindsight is still my favourite vampire novel, btw.)

I’m glad nobody except Stamets in full Writer’s Devil’s Advocate mode really entertained Zora’s failsafe solution. “If you stop trusting me, just go ahead and summarily execute me” is uhhhh not really how we treat each other around here, Zora!

Just as I was starting to get sick of Tarka’s shit, he dropped his motive for attacking the DMA—stealing its power source to leave this universe entirely and find his “““friend”””—and Jesus did I ever pivot fast from “this chaotic-neutral mad scientist isn’t quite as endearing as he thinks he is” to just, like, sobbing in my kitchen. I’d say it hit me out of nowhere, but (a) the score reminded me of Jerry Goldsmith’s Star Trek: First Contact theme, one of my favourite pieces of Star Trek music, and (b) I’ve been 1,000 miles from the love of my life for 18 months now because of this fucking pandemic. Tarka might be the most relatable character on this show for me right now. If he’s telling the truth, I hope he gets what he wants—and if he was lying to manipulate Book, I hope Grudge eats his eyeballs.

Speaking of music, I’m pretty sure the theme that played during Paul and Michael’s overlapping speeches has appeared in this season already—I remember finding it unusual to hear so much non-diagetic piano in Star Trek—and maybe even where it changes into the main Disco theme and the woodwinds come in—but combined with the dialogue (or double monologue or whatever) this time around, it really, really hit me.

I did feel like Michael (and/or Rillak?) could have leaned harder on the point that, if first contact with Species 10-C did go awry, they could immediately deploy Tarka’s destructive solution anyway. I’m sure a lot of the pro-violence faction would have agreed that approaching 10-C with a carrot and a stick that big in their back pocket would be a logical move, right? (I know, I know, that’s not what this episode is about, but it was nagging at me the entire time.)

I guess the conflict over leaving Felix at the prison the other week was foreshadowing for Michael and Book being on opposite sides of the vote here. And once again, I’m pretty firmly on one of the sides—Michael’s, this time—but I also feel like I understand the other side, and how they got to their position both intellectually and emotionally, and even though I don’t agree with those conclusions, even though they make my heart feel heavy and sad… I can’t not respect it.

Also, shoutout to the realism of finding yourself on the other side of that kind of ideological gulf from someone you love. There are no good solutions there; the best you can do, I think, is be completely honest with each other and yourselves. And the worst part about Michael and Book’s situation is that they’re already doing that, and I think it’s already done everything it can. 💔 Additional shoutout to the face journeys of both Sonequa Martin-Green and David Ajala for making me feel like my heart got kicked in the stomach.

Anyway. It cracked me up when they established Zora’s personhood by locating her inner clip show device—so we know she’s at least as sentient as Riker, that’s a start. AND SHE’S JOINING STARFLEET??? THIS IS LIT-ER-AL-LY EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED, OMFGGGG 😭😭😭😭😭😭

…though I guess that means Zora doesn’t need Gray as a permanent therapist, awwww. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, and it’s a storyline that makes sense for him and Adira, but ohhhhh, that goodbye scene was bittersweet. (I’m glad they’ve figured out a way to write queer characters off this show without killing them, lmao.) And Adira knowing, before Gray even had to break it to them, what he wanted to do, and being whole-heartedly supportive and encouraging, was just unspeakably sweet. I’m like twice Adira’s age; how are they such a role model for me?

Another thing I wanted, never thought I’d get, and appear to be actually getting in spades? A genuine romance storyline with T’Rina and Saru! And according to his Ready Room interview, it was Doug Jones’s own idea? He picked up on some Sa’Rina ~vibes~ when he read the script—vibes that the writers apparently hadn’t put there on purpose—and mentioned them to Tara Rosling, who saw them too, and they played a little bit of tension in their Season 3 scenes… and then the writers picked it up for Season 4! I love that so, so much.

I seriously can’t stop laughing at the parallels between Book’s decision to go off with Tarka to destroy the DMA and—spoilers for the Netflix reboot of She-Ra, I guess?—Glimmer choosing to activate the Heart of Etheria at the end of that show’s Season 4. In both cases you have a good-hearted but impulsive character who’s suffered a profound loss and feels a responsibility to stop that from happening again… and tries to do so by unleashing a horrific and destructive power that they don’t understand and can’t control, endangering everyone’s lives and alienating their loved ones. (Also, in both cases, you have me yelling at my TV at 6:30 in the morning.)

Honestly, continuing to parallel Glimmer might be the best outcome for Book: spending the first half of Season 5 in a redemption arc apologizing to Michael (and Grudge) would be better than what feels much more likely for him right now: getting swatted out of space by Species 10-C like—well, like a wasp.

Sparkly princess feelings aside, the “installation” of the spore drive into Book’s programmable-matter interface was by far one of the coolest “oh shit, we’re in the future-future” moments that Disco 2.0 has done yet. More of that too, please. (Finally, my last @ for Book: if you don’t want people calling your ship a “floating bachelor pad,” the very least you could do is give it a NAME they could use instead.)

I wrote this about last year’s finale:

A lot of people were worried Vance was going to turn out to be evil, but I was more worried he was going to end up making a heroic sacrifice for (and/or inspired by) the Disco crew—and he sort of does, but it’s not his life he sacrifices, it’s peace with the Emerald Chain. If the only path to “survival” is as the fraudulently legitimizing façade of benevolence over a corrupt, capitalistic criminal empire, well… that’s the destruction of everything the Federation has ever stood for anyway.

And that’s, by my count, Star Trek: Discovery’s third consecutive season-ending reminder that our principles and ideals, our better natures, must inform every decision we make—every single one, in war and in peace—because a victory that costs you the ability to look at yourself in the mirror isn’t going to feel like a victory at all.

Well. Not only do they seem to be going 4-for-4 on this (profoundly important and perennially relevant) theme, this year they didn’t even wait for the season finale to have Michael Burnham make a big speech about it.

Does that put the back half of this season in uncharted thematic territory? I guess we have to wait five weeks (ughhhhh) to find out. But according to the trailer I saw after the credits, we’ll at least get to see Michael Burnham in some kind of civilian setting tossing around gambling chips like a total fucking badass… so who knows, it might even be worth the wait.

[innocentamit]

Star Trek Discovery's Stacey Abrams Cameo Was Very Weird

Star Trek Discovery’s Stacey Abrams Cameo Was Very Weird

<img alt="Captains Saru and Burnham, presidents T'Rina and Rillak, and General Ndoye wait for the arrival of a guest in Discovery's shuttlebay." srcset="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/f616abd8e2e645b3809de62a7804b73e.jpg 80w,…

[caloymalonzo]

I really want to slap the traitor General Ndoye in the face!

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 7 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains major spoilers for Season 4, Episode 7.

Some of the cliches about Star Trek are totally true. When haters try to say that the most common Star Trek episodes are all about space diplomacy or long-drawn-out debates about science fiction ethics, true believers know that’s actually a huge compliment. And in this way, the seventh episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 — “…But to Connect” — is one of the best examples of a Star Trek episode, ever. Not only do we get big, galaxy-defining space politics, but also a unique debate about the nature of sentience and what to do when it’s in a form we’ve never seen before.

Along the way, this episode references a ton of Trekkie hits, from The Next Generation to Discovery’s own recent history, and the very first rogue Trek AI, ever, this one checks all the boxes. Here’s every Easter egg and reference we caught in Discovery Season 4, Episode 7, “..But to Connect.”

All four quadrants

Stamets mentions the big meeting at Federation HQ will include “all four quadrants.” This means people from the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma quadrants will be present. This raises a few questions. First, are folks still using the Bajoran wormhole (from Deep Space Nine) to travel from the Gamma Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant? Second, who are the representatives from the Delta Quadrant, and who did they get there? Presumably, Federation HQ is in the Alpha Quadrant, meaning, for some of these representatives, it was a pretty long haul! Then again, President Rillick later mentions that some delegates are “remote.” So, maybe those Delta Quadrant reps are on the 32nd Century version of Zoom.

“We both have our duties to attend to”

When Kovich tells Burnham he’s taking over the investigation of Zora, he mentions that “we both have our duties to attend to.” This could be a reference to something Kirk says to Bones in The Wrath of Khan, “Spare me your notions of poetry, please. We all have our assigned duties.”

General Ndoye

Returning after her initial appearance in Season 3’s “People of Earth” is General Nyode, once again played by Phumzile Sitole. Last time, Ndoye was a Captain but seems to have been promoted. She also mentions to Burnham that she no longer represents just Earth, but Titan, too, which again, references a peace deal forged by Saru and Burnham in Season 3.

“Your sole interaction with a sentient AI was Control”

Kovich points out that everyone on Discovery has a bias against AI because they were royally screwed over by the AI known as Control way back in Season 2. For the most part, this is totally true. However, Zora’s sentience has been emerging since Season 2, also, starting with the moment when Discovery raised its own shields to prevent it from being destroyed in “Such Sweet Sorrow.” That said, Control did try to kill everyone on the ship as well as wipe out all sentient life in the universe, so, the bias is somewhat understandable. 

Kovich seems to reference TOS and Voyager AIs at the same time

In both his initial conversation with Burnham and later, his long analysis with Stamets and Adira, Kovich mention that there are “regulation against” a starship having a “fully integrated artificial unit,” and also says, “there’s a proscription against a fully sentient AI being fully integrated into Starfleet systems.” 

This seems to reference a few things at the same time: First, Kovich is clearly alluding to the events of the TOS episode “The Ultimate Computer,” in which the M5 computer was given full control of the Enterprise, resulting in a total catastrophe. Second, the existence of the holographic Doctor from Voyager would seem to run counter to this notion…however, the Doctor developed the ability to leave Voyager, making him “not fully integrated” into the ship’s system. Right?

Various famous Star Trek aliens glimpsed at the big conference

Throughout the episode, there are perhaps countless different alien species present for this super-important meeting about the DMA. Here’s a quick list of ones we spotted upon second and third viewings of the episode

More than one Andorian

At least one Lurian

A Cardassian 

At least one Ferengi 

A Trill

An Orion

And of course, several Vulcans and Romulans 

Denobulan blood worms

Burnham presents a metaphor about Denobulan blood worms to the assembled governments. We don’t see any Denobulans here, but this is a clear shout-out to Dr. Phlox a Denobulan doctor, from Star Trek: Enterprise, who cared for leeches, worms, and all sorts of other loveable creepy crawlies on the good-old NX-01.

Isolytic weapons

Tarka’s plan to destroy the DMA involves an isolytic explosion. This references a weapon used by the Son’a in Star Trek: Insurrection, which, as mentioned at that time, were banned by the second Khitomer accords. President Rillick doubles down on this assertion, indicating the rules of the Khitomer accords seem to have been held for at least 800 years or so.

Zora is in a form you’ve never encountered…

Gray points out that “as a Synth” he’s in a similar position to Zora, in a new form. On top of being an amazing metaphor against all sorts of prejudices, this also references the fact that people accept Gray’s Synth body the same way they would accept a “biological” body. This also echoes some of the themes from Picard Season 1, in which an overall ban on Synths was lifted by the end of the season, and Jean-Luc himself became a Synth. 

What about the Klingons?

Because Book wants to make an emotional decision to stop the DMA, he asks Burnham about her rash behavior when she accidentally started the Klingon War, since, at that time, she’d assumed the Klingons had killed both her parents. Burnham says she had “an intrinsic knowledge of Klingon culture,” which is a little bit of an exaggeration. In truth, in “The Vulcan Hello,” Burnham asked her adoptive father, Sarek, what to do about the Klingons, and he recommended that Starfleet not show weakness. 

Also, what about the Klingons? In the shiny new future of the 32nd Century, we’ve seen or heard from most of the major Star Trek alien species, but we haven’t heard a peep from the contemporary versions of the Klingons. With the DMA roaming around, it’s a very good day to die, so you’d think they would have shown up for this big vote, but…no? 

Ruon Tarka’s scar explained! 

Although some of us fans thought that maybe Tarka’s weird thing on the back of his neck (glimpsed in Episode 5) proved he was possessed by one of those parasite aliens from the TNG banger, “Conspiracy,” it turns out that’s not the case at all! Instead, Tarka’s scar is the result of having been enslaved by the Emerald Chain. Book mentions “I got rid of my scar the second I could,” referencing the time he spent in an Emerald Chain forced-labor camp in the Season 3 episode, “Scavengers.”

Another parallel universe 

When Tarka tells Book that he knows of another universe in which there was “no war, no Burn, no Emerald Chain,” Book wonders if it’s the Mirror Universe. Tarka scoffs at this, noting that there are all kinds of possibilities for parallel realities. To do this he paraphrases something Data said in the TNG episode “Parallels”; all matter in the universe resonates on a quantum level with a unique signature. This was echoed by Michael Burnham in the Discovery Season 1 episode, “Despite Yourself.” 

Does Zora dream of electric sheep?

Kovich points out that generally speaking, AIs can’t dream, “unless they’ve been programmed to.” This seems like a double reference to the famous Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for Blade Runner) but also, The Next Generation episode, “Birthright Part 1,” in which Data discovers he has a “dreaming” program, which was built into his positronic matrix by his father, Dr. Noonien Soong. Kovich probably knows about this, since he seems to be a borderline expert on the history of AI in Star Trek. In fact, he even says so at the top of the episode, telling Captain Burnham that his background includes, “a specialty in artificial sentience and intelligence.”

“An entirely new lifeform”

Adria points out that Zora is like “an entirely new lifeform,” because Zora doesn’t fit the strict definition of an AI. This outcome is similar to the way Picard defended Data’s rights in the TNG episode “The Measure of a Man.” In that episode, Picard said famously, that Starfleet was founded to seek out new life, and “there it sits.” In this way, Zora is the new Data.

Zora joins Starfleet 

In another sideways reference to Data, Zora agrees to become a member of Starfleet and is granted the title “Specialist.” This pseudo-rank was previously sported by Burnham in Season 1 of Discovery when she rejoined Starfleet after having been Court Martialed. The idea that Zora is now part of Starfleet also throws new light on the Short Treks episode “Calypso.” In that episode, Zora made it clear she was ordered to hold position by her Captain. It seems clear now, that that Captain will be Burnham, and that when Zora meets Craft in the distant future, she’s probably acting as a member of Starfleet. 

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It’s unclear if Discovery Season 4 will get to that point. In the meantime, there are much bigger Dark Matter fish to fry. After this, Discovery will take a mid-season break, and return on February 11, 2022, for the rest of Season 4. 

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 7 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[best-star-trek-character]

Official DISCO Bracket!

And here’s the final bracket! Round One will go live tomorrow, 4/21 at 10 am EST!

Full List:

Round One:

Left Side:

Emperor (Mirror!) Philippa Georgiou vs. Dr. Hirai: poll here

Lt. Commander Ronald A Bryce vs. Kyheem: poll here

Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po vs. Carl (The Guardian of Forever): poll here

Mirror! Sarek vs. Gabrielle Burnham: poll here

Ruon Tarka vs. Ripper The Tardigrade: poll here

Ambassador Sarek vs. Commander Ellen Landry: poll here

Ryn vs. Tareckx: poll here

Lieutenant Spock vs. Lieutenant Nilsson: poll here

Haz Mazaro vs. Commander Nahn: poll here

Voq vs. Captain Gabriel Lorca: poll here

Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun vs. T’Kuvma: poll here

Adira Tal vs. Captain Philippa Georgiou: poll here

Ensign Sylvia Tilly vs. Dr. Kovich: poll here

Admiral Katrina Cornwell vs. J’Vini: poll here

Captain Saru vs. Admiral Charles Vance: poll here

President Laira Rillak vs. Siranna: poll here

Right Side:

General Ndoye vs. Captain Michael Burnham: poll here

Mirror! Owosekun vs. Lt. Commander Airiam: poll here

Captain Leland vs. Commander Ash Tyler: poll here

Dr. Pollard vs. Cleveland “Book” Booker: poll here

President T’Rina vs. Lieutenant Linus: poll here

Zora vs. Oros: poll here

Leto vs. Commander Jett Reno: poll here

Amanda Grayson vs. Grudge: poll here

Lieutenant Aditya Sahil vs. Gray Tal: poll here

Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer vs. Osyraa: poll here

Lt. Commander Gen Rhys vs. Mirror! Detmer: poll here

Su’Kal vs. Captain Christopher Pike: poll here

Harcourt Fenton Mudd vs. “May Ahearn”: poll here

Captain Killy (Mirror! Tilly) vs. Dr. Hugh Culber: poll here

Aurellio vs. L’Rell: poll here

Guardian Xi vs. Commander Paul Stamets: poll here

Round Two:

Left Side:

Mirror! Philippa Georgiou vs. Lt. Cmdr. Ronald A Bryce: poll here

Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po vs. Gabrielle Burnham: poll here

Ripper the Tardigrade vs. Ambassador Sarek: poll here

Ryn vs. Lt. Spock: poll here

Commander Nahn vs. Captain Gabriel Lorca: poll here

Lt. Cmdr. Joann Owosekun vs. Captain Philippa Georgiou: poll here

Ensign Sylvia Tilly vs. Admiral Katrina Cornwell: poll here

Captain Saru vs. Siranna: poll here

Right Side:

Captain Michael Burnham vs.  Lt. Cmdr. Airiam: poll here

Cmdr. Ash Tyler vs. Cleveland “Book” Booker: poll here

President T’Rina vs. Zora: poll here

Cmdr. Jett Reno vs. Grudge: poll here

Gray Tal vs. Lt. Cmdr. Keyla Detmer: poll here

Lt. Cmdr. Gen Rhys vs. Captain Christopher Pike: poll here

Harcourt Fenton Mudd vs. Dr. Hugh Culber: poll here

L’Rell vs. Cmdr. Paul Stamets: poll here

Round Three:

Left Side:

Mirror! Philippa Georgiou vs. Me Hani Ika Hali Po: poll here

Ripper the Tardigrade vs. Lt. Spock: poll here

Commander Nahn vs. Lt. Cmdr. Joann Owosekun: poll here

Ensign Sylvia Tilly vs. Captain Saru: poll here

Right Side:

Captain Michael Burnham vs. Cleveland “Book” Booker: poll here

President T’Rina vs. Cmdr. Jett Reno: poll here

Lt. Cmdr. Keyla Detmer vs. Captain Christopher Pike: poll here

Dr. Hugh Culber vs. Cmdr. Paul Stamets: poll here

Quarter-Finals:

Left Side:

Mirror! Philippa Georgiou vs. Lt. Spock: poll here

Lt. Cmdr. Joann Owosekun vs. Ensign Sylvia Tilly: poll here

Right Side:

Captain Michael Burnham vs. Cmdr. Jett Reno: poll here

Lt. Cmdr. Keyla Detmer vs. Dr. Hugh Culber: poll here

Semi-Finals:

Mirror! Philippa Georgiou vs. Ensign Sylvia Tilly: poll here

Captain Michael Burnham vs. Dr. Hugh Culber: poll here

Finals:

Ensign Sylvia Tilly vs. Captain Michael Burnham: poll here

[defconprime]

Phumzile Sitole as General Diatta Ndoye

[retegenova]

Il viaggio di Yao

Il viaggio di Yao

Cinema: Il viaggio di Yao

Un viaggio per riscoprire le proprie radici

Regia di Philippe Godeau.

Con Omar Sy, Lionel Louis Basse, Fatoumata Diawara, Germaine Acogny, Alibeta, Gwendolyn Gourvenec, Abdoulaye Diop, Ismaël Charles Amine Saleh, Mame Fatou Ndoye, Aristote Laios, Aboubacar Dramé, Dior Diouf, Christophe Bigot. Genere Commedia

– Francia,

2018. Durata 103 minuti circa.

S…

[swisscgny]

PS 133 William A. Butler School in Brooklyn Meets Swiss Filmmaker Lucien Monot

As part of the French language initiative ‘Adopt a School’, the Consulate General of Switzerland organised a cinema lesson for the students of PS 133 William A. Butler School in Brooklyn. Young Swiss filmmaker Lucien Monot, presented his work to 4th and 5th grade students who are part of the French-English bilingual program, before the US premiere of his latest film Les histoires vraies / The True Tales at the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival.

Monday’s presentation at PS 133 marked the second collaborative event between the Consulate and the school. Monot presented his passion, informing the children about films and techniques that inspired him from young age. He showed them extracts from his current work, and encouraged them to make their own films, proving that it can be done with little resources and equipment.

Photo Credit: Lucien Monot

The next day Monot was invited by New York Film Festival to present the US premiere of his latest film in the festival’s Shorts Program: Documentary. The screening was followed by a Q & A session. The short film Les histoires vraies, shot on16mm, is a tribute to his father. It is a portrayal a man of many talents, but also a deconstruction of Monot’s personal history.  

Born in 1994 in Morges, Lucien Monot graduated from the Geneva Haute École d’Art et de Design (HEAD) in documentary film. His first short, Genesis, was screened at the Locarno Film Festival in 2016.

Photo Credit: Lola Lehmann

Originally developed by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and French Education in New York (EFNY) in 2015, the initiative ‘Adopt a School’ invites representations of French-speaking countries to ‘adopt’ a New York City public school that has a French-English dual language program or another strong French language component.

From left: Three teachers from PS 133, Mai-Lan Ndoye from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Deputy Head of Culture at the Swiss Consulate Sandrine Ligabue, Lucien Monot, Head of Culture at the Swiss Consulate Matthias Dettling and Fabrice Jaumont, Education Attaché at the French Embassy.

Aside from being entertaining and interesting for the children, the event highlighted Switzerland’s dedication to multilingualism. It further contributed to the initiative’s goal to foster the linguistic and cultural heritage of currently 22,000 French-speaking children in New York City.

[kabarbolablog-blog]

Ini Daftar Transfer Resmi Liga Prancis Ligue 1 per Klub Up Date hari ini 15 Juli 2017

KABAR BOLA – Ini Daftar Transfer Resmi Liga Prancis Ligue 1 per Klub Up Date hari ini 15 Juli 2017 – Jendela transfer musim panas 2017 sudah resmi dibuka pada Sabtu 1 Juli lalu dimana hamipr semua klub Ligue 1 sudah mulai menghabiskan uang. Berikut daftar pemain yang masuk dan keluar setiap Klub sampai hari ini .

Transfer lengkap sumber sportskeeda

SC AMIENS

INS: Brighton Labeau (Free, Monaco B), Gael Kakuta (Free, HB CFFC), Prince Gouano (Free, Atlanta), Mathieu Bodmer (Free, Guingamp), Jean-Christophe Bouet (Free, Dunkerque), Jean-Luc Dompe (Loan).

OUTS: Jordan Lefort (Loan, US Quevilly), Joachin Eickmeyer (Free, Les Herbiers VF), Richard Soumah (Free, M. Petah Tikva), Matthieu Fontaine (Free, Red Star FC).

SCO ANGERS

INS: Enzo Crivelli (£3.4m, G. Bordeaux), Baptiste Guillaume (£1.7m, LOSC Lille), Lassana Coulibaly (£1.7m, SC Bastia), Angelo Fulgini (1.19m), Wilfried Kanga (Free, Paris SG U19).

OUTS: Nicolas Pepe (£8.5m, LOSC Lille), Famara Diedhiou (£5.1m, Bristol City), Gabriel Mutombo (Loan, US Orleans), Yoane Wissa (Loan, Ajaccio), Ferebory Dore (Loan, Clermont Foot), Mathias Serin (Loan, Dunkerque), Pablo Martinez (Undisclosed, R. Strasbourg), Cheikh Ndoye (Free agent), Goran Karanovic (Free agent), Gregory Bourillon (Free agent), Dickson Nwakaeme (Free agent), Jamel Saihi (Free agent), Issa Cissokho (Free agent), Kalifa Traore (Free agent).

FC GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

INS: Youssouf Sabaly (£3.4m PSG), Lukas Lerager (£2.98m, Zulte Waregem), Alexandre Mendy (£510k, Guingamp), Benoit Costil (Free, Stade Rennais).

OUTS: Adam Ounas (£8.5m, SSC Napoli), Enzo Crivelli (£3.4m), Jeremy  Menez (£1.28m, Antalyaspor), Cedric Yambere (£425k, Dijon), Paul Bernardoni (Loan, Clermont Foot), Cedric Carrasso (Free, Unknown), Abdou Traore (Free agent), Nicolas Maurice-Belay (Free agent).

SM CAEN

INS: Alexander Djiku (£1.7m, SC Bastia), Stef Peeters (£1.28m, Sint-Truiden), Baissama Sankoh (£425k, Guingamp), Brice Samba (Free, Marseille), Adamba Mbengue (Free, Diambars), Durel Avounou (Undisclosed, SM Caen B).

OUTS: Pape Sane (Loan, AJ Auxerre), Exauce Ngassaki (Free, Stade Brest 29), Jordan Adeoti (Free, AJ Auxerre), Paul Reulet (Loan, US Boulogne), Jean-Victor Makengo (Undisclosed, OGC Nice), Syam Ben Youssef (Undisclosed, Kasimpasa), Steed Malbranque (Retired), Louis Deschateaux (Free agent),Nicolas Seube (Retired), Alaeddine Yahia (Free agent).

FCO DIJON

INS: Cedric Yambere (£425k, G. Bordeaux), Eden Massouema (Undisclosed, Paris FC), Wesley Said, (Undisclosed, Stade Rennais).

OUTS: Lois Diony (£8.5m, Saint-Etienne), Pierre Lees Melou (£4.25m, OGC Nice), Enzo Basilio (Loan, Rodez AF), Jordan Loties (Free, KAS Eupen), Yunis Abdelhamid (Undisclosed, Reims), Yohann Riviere (Free agent).

EA GUINGAMP

INS: Lebogang Phiri (Free, Brondby IF), Abdoul Camara (Free, Derby), Felix Eboa Eboa (Undisclosed, PSG B), Marcus Thuram (Undisclosed, FC Sochaux), Pedro Rebocho (Undisclosed, Benfica), Marc-Aurele Caillard (Clermont Foot).

OUTS: Alexandre Mendy (£510k, G. Bordeaux), Baissama Sankoh (£425k, SM Caen), Nill De Pauw (£298k, Zulte Waregem), Dorian Leveque (Free, PAOK Saloniki), Johnny Placide (Free, Unknown), Mathieu Bodmer (Free, SC Amiens), Theo Guivarch (Loan, Concarneau), Reynald Lemaitre (Free agent).

LOSC LILLE

INS: Luiz Araujo (£8.93m, Sao Paulo), Nicolas Pepe (£8.5m, SCO Angers), Thiago Mendes (£7.65m, Sao Paulo), Kevin Malcuit (£7.65m, Saint-Etienne), Edgar le (£4.68m, Belenenses), Xeka (£4.25m, Braga), Naim Sliti (£1.7m, Red Star FC), Chahreddine Boukholda (Free, Monaco B), Kouadio-Yves Dabila (Free, Monaco), Fode Ballo-Toure (Undisclosed, PSG B), Ezequiel Ponce (Loan, AS Roma), Harve Kouakao Koffi (Undisclosed, ASEC Mimosas).

OUTS: Soualiho Meite (£4.34m, Zulte Waregem), Baptiste Guillaume (£1.7m, SCO Angers), Alexis Araujo (Loan, G. Ajaccio), Youssouf Kone (Loan, Reims), Jean Butez (Loan, Mouscron), Gabriel (Loan, Troyes), Franck Beria (Retired), Marko Basa (Free agent).

OLYMPIQUE LYON

INS: Bertrand Traore (£8.5m, Chelsea), Mariano Diaz (£6.8m, Real Madrid), Ferland Mendy (£4.25m, AC Le Havre), Marcal (£3.83m, Benfica), Kenny Tete (£3.4m).

OUTS: Alexandre Lacazette (£45.05m, Arsenal), Corentin Tolisso (£35.28m, Bayern Munich), Maxime Gonalons (£4.25m, AS Roma), Mathieu Valbuena (£1.28m, Fenerbahce), Jordy Gaspar (Free, Monaco), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Loan, AC Le Havre), Gaetan Perrin (Loan, US Orleans), Rachid Ghezzal (Free agent).

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

INS: Florian Thauvin (£9.35m, Newcastle), Luiz Gustavo (£8.5m, VfL Wolfsburg), Valere Germain (£6.8m, Monaco), Clinton N’Jie (£5.95m, Spurs), Boubacar Kamara (Undisclosed, Marseille U19).

OUTS: Karim Rekik (£2.13m, Hertha BSC), Stephane Sparagna (Free, Boavista), Brice Samba (Free, SM Caen), Julien Fabri (Free, Stade Brest 29), Abou Diaby (Free agent).

FC METZ

INS: Geronimo Poblete (Free, CA Colon), Quentin Beunardeau (Free, AFC Tubize), Ibrahima Niane (Undisclosed, Generation Foot), Moussa Niakhate (Undisclosed, Valenciennes FC), Theodore Efouba Ayissi (Undisclosed, FC Metz B).

OUTS: Hamza Sakhi (Loan, AJ Auxerre), Guido Milan (Free, Veracruz), David Oberhauser (Free, Platanias), Alexis Larriere (Loan, US Avranches), Mederic Deher (Free agent), Franck Signorino (Free agent).

AS MONACO

INS: Youri Tielemans (£21.25m, RSC Anderlecht), Terence Kongolo (£12.75, Feyenoord), Soualiho Meite (£6.8m), Jordi Mboula (£2.55m), Diego Benaglio (Free, VfL Wolfsburg), Jordy Gaspar (Free, Olympique Lyon), Julien Serrano (Undisclosed, Monaco B).

OUTS: Bernardo Silva (£42.5m, Man City), Valere Germain (£6.8m, Marseille), Kouadio-Yves Dabila (Free, LOSC Lille), Jonathan Mexique (Loan, Cercle Brugge), Corentin Jean (Undisclosed, Toulouse), Nabil Dirar (Undisclosed, Fenerbahce), Elderson (Undisclosed, Sivasspor), Morgan De Sanctis (Retired).

HSC MONTEPELLIER

INS: Ruben Aguilar (Free, AJ Auxerre), Johan Djourou (Free, Hamburger SV), Jeremie Porsan-Clemente (Free, Marseille B), Jonathan Ikone (Loan, PSG), Benjamin Lecomte (Undisclosed, FC Lorient), Bryan Passi (Undisclosed, HSC Montpellier B), Nicolas Cozza (Undisclosed, HSC Montpellier U19), Dimitry Bertaud (HSC Montpellier U19).

OUTS: Steve Mounie (£11.05, Huddersfield), Alexandre Llovet (Free, Lusitanos), Joris Marveaux (Free, G. Ajaccio), Mathieu Deplagne (Undisclosed, Troyes), Mamadou N’Diaye (Free agent), Cedric Mongongu (Free agent).

FSC NANTES

INS: Chidozie Awaziem (Loan, Porto B), Kayembe (Undisclosed, Porto B).

OUTS: Amine Harit (£6.8m, FC Schalke 04), Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (Undisclosed, Troyes).

OGC NICE

INS: Pierre Lees Melou (£4.25m, Dijon), Adrien Tameze (£680k, Valenciennes FC), Jean-Victor Makengo (Undisclosed, SM Caen).

OUTS: Paul Baysse (Free, Malaga CF), Dorian Caddy (Undisclosed, US Quevilly), Alexy Bosetti (Free agent), Bryan Constant (Free agent), Mounir Obbadi (Free agent).

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

INS: Yuri Berchiche (£13.6m, Real Sociedad).

OUTS: Jean-Kevin Augustin (£11.05, RB Leipzig), Youssouf Sabaly (£3.4m, G. Bordeaux), Salvatore Sirigu (Free, Torino), Jonathan Ikone (Loan, Montpellier), Maxwell (Retired).

STADE RENNAIS FC

INS: Faitout Maouassa (£5.95m, AS Nancy), Brandon (£2.55m, RCD Mallorca), Hamari Traore (£2.04m, Reims), Jordan Tell (Free, SM Caen B), Benjamin Bourigeaud (Undisclosed, Lens).

OUTS: Gelson Fernandes (£425k, E. Frankfurt), Benoit Costil (Free, G. Bordeaux), Denis Will Poha (Loan, US Orleans), Wesley Said (Undisclosed, Dijon), Ermir Lenjani (Free agent), Sylvain Armand (Retired).

AS SAINT-ETIENNE

INS: Lous Diony (£8.5m, Dijon), Jorginho (£850k, Arouca), Saidy Janko (Undisclosed, Celtic).

OUTS: Kevin Malcuit (£7.65m, LOSC Lille).

RC STRASBOURG ALSACE

INS: Kenny Lala (Free, Lens), Benjamin Corgnet (Free, Saint-Etienne), Pablo Martinez (Undisclosed, SCO Angers), Nuna Da Costa (Undisclosed, Valenciennes FC).

OUTS: Khalid (Free, Y. Malatyaspor), Hicham Benkaid (Free, US Orleans), Felipe Saad (Free, FC Lorient), Massire Kante (Free, FC Martigues), Laurent Dos Santos (Free, Valenciennes FC), Abdelhak Belahmeur (Undisclosed, US Avranches), Landry Bonnefoi (Free agent).

FC  TOULOUSE

INS: Steven Fortes (Free, AC Le Havre), Yaya Sanogo (Free, Arsenal), Corentin Jean (Undisclosed, Monaco).

OUTS: Aleksander Pesic (£638k, Red Star), Dominik Furman (£128k, Wisla Plock), Oscar Trejo (Free, Rayo Vallecano), Uros Spajic (Undisclosed, RSC Anderlecht), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Free agent), Pavle Ninkov (Free agent), Dusan Veskovac (Free agent), Pantxi Sirieix (Retired).

ES TROYES

INS: Bryan Pele (Free, Stade Brest 29), Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (Undisclosed, FC Nantes), Francois Bellugou (Undisclosed, FC Lorient), Mathieu Deplagne (Undisclosed, Montpellier), Gabriel (Loan, LOSC Lille).

OUTS: Johan Martial (Undisclosed, M. Petah Tikva), Yanis Hamzaoui (Free agent), Franck Grandel (Retired), Mahamadou N’Diaye (Free agent), Rincon (Free agent).