Time once again....
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Printable View
Time once again....
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I know this is a dumb question, but where does one buy comic books these days? http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/confused.gif
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Syc,
Sorry, don't mean to be a smartass, but aren't there any comic books stores in your area? Even the most backwater towns (No offense intended to anyone) have at least 1 comic book store. Plus I'm sure there's gotta be a way to buy online, at the very least Ebay for new and vintage stuff
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Sindatur - The Grey owl Wizzard
Books a Million has a really bad (as in awful) comics section, and of course, most large grocery stores, and even some Wal-Marts, have comics in their books section. That's if you want something very recent and very mainstream (Marvel, D.C.). Otherwise, Sindatur's right, you have to find a gaming/hobbyist/comic book shop.
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"Close your mouth, Michael, we are not a codfish."
I went to Newbury Comics and Got Spiderman #35.
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Nommy
Well, in a few weeks I will be manageing a online comic book store. If you buy them from me I can give you a discount and I earn some money off them. But if you are a instant gratification junkie and have to have them right away like me, not the best option.
But we will be carrying all comics, if you want it, we will carry it.
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Selah
Wow Asis! You Are a godess.
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Nommy
LOL, let's see if I can get this damn site up first Nommy! http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/wink.gif
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Selah
OK, you are a future goddess. ( I would say amazon proncess...but don't want to confuse you with AMAZON.COM hehe.)
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Nommy
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">So how can we meet ANOTHER more superior race of aliens? Are they more First Ones? Are they the Firstest Ones? Did they come from another galaxy? Did Lorien forget to mention them?</font>
I would point out that the universe is billions of years old. If someone thinks that we've met even a fraction of what's out there, someone is being extraordinarily foolish.
As to why Lorien might not mention them -- or the several million other species out there -- there's a logical reason which is implicit in what's presented in the 2-hour MOW.
<font color="red"> I love JMS's work, but if we keep escalating the ranks of aliens we'll eventually reach aliens of God-hood...
Oh wait, we already did that...</font>
Every time we do something new, somebody says it's the end of the world...usually in a sarcastic way...until they see it, then they go "Oh, now I see what you were up to." This is more of the same. This happens every single time. I'm used to it by now.
jms
<hr width="75%">
RE: Spidey on NPR
As an FYI to the question posed here earlier, no, I wasn't contacted by NPR, but I was interviewed for this by the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and the Washington Post, so I think we can let this one slide....
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">It was my impression from reading this newsgroup that you had finished the script for Delicate Creatures quite a while ago, before things became insanely busy for you. So, if you don't mind, would you please give an update on Delicate Creatures?
Also, my local comic shop has informed me that in addition to the book running late, the price has also been hiked up to $16 or $17, from $10. I know you have no input over the pricing, but it would be interesting to know why the price went up, and why the book is running late.
Thank you, and thanks for the awesome work on ASM, MN, and Rising Stars.
</font>
The book is running late because of a variety of production issues that came up in how the layout was to be handled (the script on this one was in months ago).
I'm not aware of any price change on the book.
jms
</font>
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Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">Joe,
I really enjoyed the latest issue, and the entire Ezekiel/Morlun arc. Just comparing notes with B5, I'm running under the assumption that the next six will grow out of the fertile field begun by the first six. (It was a bit jarring, like having the Shadow War wrap up so suddenly, to see Morlun vanquished in issue six of your initial 12-issue run...) I did like the fact that finally, Aunt May isn't clueless. I've been worried about the old gal all these years - I mean, not even a *suspicion*?!? Nice you left no room for her to be able to rationalise it away.
Now the question: Is the arc running as you initially envsioned it? Will Issue 36 tie-in with the arc? (I know, wait and see...:-) More importantly, since issue 36 couldn't have been in the original gameplan, is this creating any issues for your overall plan for the set of 12 issues? (Like Marvel wouldn't want to keep you on for, oh, eternity anyway.)
Thanks again for making me care about Peter Parker again. Feels like an old friend came back to visit. Hadn't seen him in awhile.
</font>
Issue 36 is a total stand-alone, of necessity, since to tie it in to any kind of comic story would, I think, diminish the real life story involved.
The morlun story was in a sense a warm up for the larger story, I wanted to jump in with a nice action piece, something to let me focus in on his character, and lay the foundation for the rest of it, so yeah, it's so far going according to the outline.
jms
Thanks, All, for the comic book availability info. I don't know whether there are any comic book stores here--I imagine the last time I actually bought one was probably Lone Ranger at the local (independent!) drug store; ie., a few years back!
I'll vote for goddess status, Aziz! Be sure to let us know when this all comes together!
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LOL, I will be sure to let you know for sure!
You all are good for my ego, thanks! http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/smile.gif
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Selah
Subject: Re: LOTR review up at aint it cool news (SPOILERS)
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
<font color=red>
A not so ringing review has been posted for the upcoming movie. I'm hoping the reviewer has a strong bias against B5. I unfortunately have a very strong bias against Crusade.
</font>
Let's see...a reviewer who goes under the handle Captain Christopher Pike (a classic Star Trek character), compares everything in B5 to Star Trek, and is subbing for another so-called reviewer called Herc who is a bigtime B5 hater from way back...AND he posts a negative "review" of B5: Rangers?
I'm shocked...shocked, I tell you.
Lemme give you a heads-up here...there is a qualitative difference between an actual reviewer and the kind of jumped up fanboy who posts a message on this kind of system specifically for the purpose of trashing something out of the usual fanboy feud shit we've seen over the last seven years. (And then, from what I've heard, pops on over to b5lr.com to get reactions because he wants to
get his jollies.)
This is not a review. It's not even close to a review, and this kind of crap is what totally destroys and has destroyed any hope of legitimacy that aicn has, which is why just about everybody in the business now totally writes them off. It started off as a news site, now it's a fanboy site with clearly
distinguished biases.
They don't like that I say this? Tough. It's my review of their performance.
Look, how about we actually *see* the thing? I think it may be one of the best things B5 we've ever done. WB had NO NOTES on the thing. SFC had ONE note, to make one word (entil'zha) a bit louder because it's kind of a plot point. Both places referred to it as stunning and beautiful and maybe our best work to date.
So for some cretin as this to come out and try to torpedo something out of the same crap feud that's been out there for seven years, and for people like you to actually *fall* for this crap and post things like....
<font color=red>
If this telefilm tanks, I'd honestly be open to the idea of someone else taking over the universe from Joe.
</font>
...demonstrates a degree of credulity bordering on the mind-boggling.
This happens every time we do anything B5 related, it happened every season of the show ("We've seen scripts for season three and it's going to be just action, no more character stuff") and you'd think sooner or later people would learn not to fall for the okeydoke especially when a piece like this is SO obviously a plant by someone with an anti-B5 bias (a prior aicn review that slipped in, from someone WITHOUT any B5 bias, LOVED the film and this was before the EFX were even in the damned thing).
Jesus, Jonathan, get a grip and use a little critical thinking once in a while....
jms
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Subject: Personal Request from jms
From: [email protected] (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
About two years ago, a through-marriage relation of mine lost her fiancee in an
accident. Among other things, she kept his dog, Buster. For a variety of reasons, she must now put the dog up for adoption. As you can well imagine, the dog is *very* close to her, and she is looking for someplace special, a good home and family with a good sized yard or farm up in the Seattle area.
Here is her description of Buster:
"Buster Brown is a beautiful mixed breed Sharpei-Black Lab, who is about 5 years old and weighs approximately sixty-five pounds. He is extraordinarily charming and outgoing, and has a keen canine intelligence. Buster responds quickly and effusively to love and attention. His favorite hobbies are taking
walks, playing catch and being the center of attention. When he is particularly happy, he enjoys rolling around on the rug or leaping and prancing about the yard. Because he was socialized after his puppy years were behind
him, he can be aggressive with other dogs, especially (and predictably) when he
is on a leash. However, since he is very intelligent and eager to please, he responds well to firm knowledgeable training. Buster needs to be the "only child" pet of an owner who loves and understands active dogs and can spend time being his buddy. He would do best in a home without young children or other
pets."
If you live in the Seattle area, or thereabouts, in a place big enough to give
the dog a good home, and would like to adopt Buster, please send a note to me at this email address with some kind of corroboration (only because as we all know there are any number of insincere peope out there). If it looks like a good fit, I'll give you the info you need to adopt Buster.
Many thanks.
jms
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<font face="georgia"><font color="red">The following is from Sandra's Zocalo this week. I'm wondering why Loscon won't be getting to show the trailer? </font><font color="yellow">
LEGEND OF THE RANGERS TRAILER
The Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers trailer will be shown at the following conventions:
- United Fan Con Nov. 9-11, Cromwell, Conn.
- ArmadilloCon - Nov. 16-18, Cedar Park, Texas
- EveCon - Dec. 28-30, Fort Washington, Md.
- Arisia - Jan. 18-19, Cambridge, Mass.
- Confusion - Jan. 18-20, Ann Arbor, Mich.
</font>
Those are events specifically organized by SFC.
In the past, I always brought the trailers (and usually more than I was supposed to show) to LosCon, but I won't be attending LosCon this year.
jms
I got this from SciFi.com
Dynamic Forces, Top Cow and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski are putting out a trading-card series to benefit the New York City Police and Firefighters' Widows and Orphans Fund. The upcoming Top Cow Universe trading-card series will have a limited number of boxes featuring five inserted box-toppers with Patriot from Straczynski's Rising Stars comic series. Straczynski will donate his royalty to the fund, with Dynamic Forces matching.
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Nommy
<font face="georgia">Just a quick note to the folks who asked if I could post a reminder message when the issue I wrote for The Amazing Spider-Man dealing with the World Trade Center attack hit the stands. It comes out next Wednesday, the 14th. The issue has gotten a rather startling amount of coverage, from NPR to CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today...it really seems to have struck a chord, and helped put things in perspective a bit, which was my hope with the issue.
I commend this to all fans of Babylon 5. I'm donating my fees for this book to various New York funds to help those affected by this, and Marvel will match me on that donation. I think, maybe, it will do some good. I hope so.
Here are two representative sections from the book, which is almost entirely in captions, as Peter Parker surveys the situation and assesses the situation. It is, in many ways, a meditation on the events of 9/11, almost a prose poem at times...the first as he considers the true heroes, the second as he deals with the question, what do we tell the children; the third, later in the book.
*******
But with our costumes and our powers we are writ small by the true heroes. Those who face fire without fear or armor. Those who step into the darkness without assurances of ever walking out again, because they know there are others waiting in the dark. Awaiting salvation. Awaiting word. Awaiting justice.
What DO we tell the children?
Do we tell them evil is a foreign face?
No. The evil is the thought behind the face, and it can look just like yours.
Do we tell them evil is tangible, with defined borders and names and geometries and destinies?
No. They will have nightmares enough.
Perhaps we tell them that we are sorry.
Sorry that we were not able to deliver unto them the world we wished them to have.
That our eagerness to shout is not the equal of our willingness to listen. That the burdens of distant people are the responsibility of all men and women of conscience, or their burdens will one day become our tragedy.
Or perhaps we simply tell them that we love them, and that we will protect them. That we would give our lives for theirs and do it gladly, so great is the burden of our love.
In a universe of Gameboys and VCRs, it is, perhaps, an insubstantial gift. But it is the only one that will wash away the tears and knit the wounds and make the world a sane place to live in.
In recent years we as a people have been tribalized and factionalized by a thousand casual unkindnesses.
But in this we are one.
Flags sprout in uncommon places, the ground made fertile by tears and shared resolve.
We have become one in our grief.
We are now one in our determination.
One as we recover.
One as we rebuild.
You wanted to send a message, and in so doing you awakened us from our self involvement.
Message received.
Look for your reply in the thunder.
jms
</font>
<font face="georgia"> Re: Delicate Creatures HC
<font color="red">Has this come out yet? The ad in Universe #3 says November, but they were saying October a few months ago...
Anyone know the date?</font></p>
It went to the printer's on Friday, so it should be out soon.
jms
Dumb question #318: Are the Amazing Spider Man series books or magazines? Ie, where to look for the series? Thanks!
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<font face="georgia">Syc, the Amazing Spiderman series is a comic book. Wednesday is supposed to be the day the new one hits the stands (No. 36). From what I understand, the previous one is a keeper too. (No. 35). Last time I checked, #35 was sold out, but the manager thought there'd be more when Wednesdays shipment arrived. Ping Asis as she's a bit more comic-oriented.
(You're welcome, Asis)
http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
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Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
B5 Fans Enlisted In Rangers
The SCI FI Channel has named one Babylon 5 fan in each of the top five TV markets an honorary Ranger to promote SCI FI's upcoming original movie Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers, the network announced. That fan's car will be "wrapped" with the B5 logo and an ad for the movie, and the honorary Ranger will get to spread the word. Fans were selected in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
SCI FI Channel President Bonnie Hammer will have her own personal vehicle wrapped as well, in a show of solidarity with the fans. Photographs of the drivers and their newly tricked out B5 vehicles in front of landmarks will be posted on SCIFI.COM.
SCI FI is also sending Rangers T-shirts to B5 fans who are planning on attending screenings of the upcoming first Lord of the Rings movie on Dec. 19. SCI FI is asking the fans to wear the specially designed shirts to promote the telefilm.
The fans were all chosen based on their responses to a SCIFI.COM message and for registering on the official Rangers Web site. Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers will debut on SCI FI on Jan. 19, 2002, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The fan campaign kicks off the week of Dec. 10, and the cars will be unwrapped shortly after the film's premiere.
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Nommy
B5 Fans Enlisted In Rangers
The SCI FI Channel has named one Babylon 5 fan in each of the top five TV markets an honorary Ranger to promote SCI FI's upcoming original movie Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers, the network announced. That fan's car will be "wrapped" with the B5 logo and an ad for the movie, and the honorary Ranger will get to spread the word. Fans were selected in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
SCI FI Channel President Bonnie Hammer will have her own personal vehicle wrapped as well, in a show of solidarity with the fans. Photographs of the drivers and their newly tricked out B5 vehicles in front of landmarks will be posted on SCIFI.COM.
SCI FI is also sending Rangers T-shirts to B5 fans who are planning on attending screenings of the upcoming first Lord of the Rings movie on Dec. 19. SCI FI is asking the fans to wear the specially designed shirts to promote the telefilm.
The fans were all chosen based on their responses to a SCIFI.COM message and for registering on the official Rangers Web site. Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers will debut on SCI FI on Jan. 19, 2002, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The fan campaign kicks off the week of Dec. 10, and the cars will be unwrapped shortly after the film's premiere.
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Nommy
<font face="georgia">Legal or illgal VCD's
<font color="green">Well, I still think the VCD's with Crusade on them coming from Asian countries are also pirated, or copyright infringements as well.</font>
<font color="red">
There are legitmate licenced VCD in the Asian market. and it's not that difficult for persons out side asia to get them...
so some of them are real.....</font></p>
VCDs of both B5 and Crusade were released legitimately by WB only for the Asian market. So in general, though I can't speak to the specifics of this one, the concept is indeed legal, though they're not supposed to be shipped into the States.
BTW, and I'm appending this here because I don't have much chance to post stuff these days and this may be my only note for a bit...for those going to the Lord of the Rings when it opens up, there will be a Legend of the Rangers trailer shown in most of the theaters carrying that film, plus some will get B5:LoTR trading cards.
jms
</font>
Hey, Nommy--What happened to the proposed Detroit wrapped car?! (I entered for that one, but I'm afraid I haven't been to the Ranger site for some time. Guess I'd better get over there!)
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BTW, and I'm appending this here...<font face="georgia">
PS to my prior note...I stooged it. SFC mentioned trading cards and the LoTR screening trailer in the same breath, and I thought the two were connected.
Apparently they're doing *electronic* trading cards, fully interactive, with video from the movie and efx and stuff, that are now available from scifi.com, not your basic paper trading cards. Apologies for the confusion, it's a lifestyle thing with me.
jms
</font>
<font face="georgia">RE: "Lord of the Rings" movie
<font color="red">So are you going to see it when it opens Joe?
</font>
I don't think I'll be there first day because it's going to be sheer madness...but I'll definitely be there within a few days, because I've been living just to see this movie.
To tell the truth, to see all three of these movies, even in rough cut for the latter two, I'd fly to the UK on my own dime and crawl, naked and bleeding, through five miles of broken glass and monkey vomit, just to see them. So Peter Jackson, if you're out there...you know where to find me.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="green">Actually, I checked with WB, and they say they've finished conforming all but 3 season 1 eps for DVD, and are still intending to go ahead.
jms</font><font color="red">
I recognize every one of those quotes [<font color="green">I snipped the other quotes--Wizz</font>] *except* the one about the DVDs. Didn't see it on the .mod [<font color="green">moderated Babylon 5 news group</font>] , didn't see it in the Columbia mailing list, didn't find it on JMSNews. I strongly suspect that this is wishful thinking (or a 'net rumor) that somebody slipped in between some legit quotations in order to give it more credibility. Can you comment?
I especially found the timing odd since you are supposed to have posted that WHV was almost finished prepping season 1 on October 10th, and on October 16th WHV had this to say about "B5" on DVD, during a live chat on the Home Theater Forum:
<font color="green">"We will evaluate the first release's reception and hope it's great. Because if the DVD performance does not improve upon the VHS performance from a few years back, it will not continue. So please support Release #1."</font></font>
Yes, those are all mine, and due to the response to the movie B5 DVDs it's my understanding that WB is almost there on deciding to release the first few seasons.
jms
</font><font face="wingdings">
[This message has been edited by Wizz (edited December 04, 2001).]
<font face="georgia">Re: ATTN JMS: Jeremiah on Showtime When?
The situation we've encountered is the same encountered by a number of TV series and movies post -September 11th. The show deals with a post-apocalyptic environment after a virus has wiped out about six billion people...which may (or may not) be a sensitive issue in the eyes of potential viewers. So the powers that be are gauging when it might be safe to go forward with it; we expect to know something in the next couple of weeks since they have to start
making up their schedules soon.
jms
<font color="red">JMS, your one of the greatest story tellers out there. But I for one would rather not see this show come into being. Post Apocalyptic shows really depress me.
</font>
Just two things...it already is in being, we're shooting 20 hours. Second thing... this show isn't about endings. It's about beginnings. It's about building a new world out of the ashes of the old, and who gets to decide what that world looks like, and what our responsibilities are toward that world.
It was designed specifically to be a show about hope, set after what could have been the end, because humans persevere.
Don't judge it until you've seen it.
jms
<hr width="75%">
The power of B5 fans - from jms
One thing I've always tried to do was to avoid obvious promotion; I like talking about the writing of a show, the making of a show, what I liked (or didn't) like about the end result...going out there and blatantly saying "Hey, watch our show!" is something I've never been comfortable with, only because I think people are smart enough to make up their own minds. If it's something you want to see, you'll see it; if it ain't, you won't. ("If you like that sort of thing, it's the sort of thing you'll like." Abraham Lincoln.)
One thing, however, is self-evident about the coming broadcast of The Legend of the Rangers: if enough people tune it, there will be a series. If enough don't, there won't.
At conventions, I'm asked constantly when more B5 stuff will be coming down the pike. I've always said it's in the hands of the networks and the studios. This time, it's the fans who have the power to make that decision. If every B5 fan tunes in, it happens. It's really that simple and straightforward.
The rest I leave happily to your own disrection.
jms
<font color="red">Now, about keeping G'Kar on if the show goes to series.... (please! please! please!) :-D
</font>
That actually would be part of the pan, to have G'Kar as a recurring character, and see other known B5 characters along the way.
jms
</font>
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Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
<font face="georgia">Just for those who've been asking, issue 9 of Midnight Nation, which was on hiatus while I caught up with work on Jeremiah and elsewhere, hits the stands this coming Wednesday the 12th. Ten has been turned in and is in progress, so
the rest should be out on time.
The next Rising Stars issue is in pencils and moving along well.
jms
<font face="georgia">Just for those who've been asking, issue 9 of Midnight Nation, which was on hiatus while I caught up with work on Jeremiah and elsewhere, hits the stands this coming Wednesday the 12th. Ten has been turned in and is in progress, so the rest should be out on time.
The next Rising Stars issue is in pencils and moving along well.
jms
<font face="Georgia"><font color="red">
I have enjoyed JMS's Rising Stars and Midnight Nation. I intend this message to be a statement of how some people have reacted to the late issues.
I was wondering if JMS has or will promise that future issues of any comic he writes will be on time. I have seen through my 18 years of collecting how late issues can kill a series. Midnight Nation is surviving at the store I visit. Rising Stars however, has those who collected it thinking about not finishing. These are some new fans who are considering walking away from anything JMS because it isn't on time. (Delicate Creatures is known to be a publishing problem.)
Hopefully the new fans can be won back.
</font>
I was wondering if some readers will promise to understand that things happen that are outside anyone's control, and that I would rather have it out *good* than have it out *Tuesday*.
Sure, I could make that promise...and abide by it...and be unable to guarantee the quality of the work.
For most of the MN and RS run, I was the one chomping at the bit to get this thing out on time, despite delays by factors outside my control (as in an artist leaving at the eleventh hour without telling anyone he was going to do it, which put everything back). I have no control over that. The scripts up to that point were always there in advance. At one point the scripts were piled up 4 issues in advance of what was being drawn/published.
What hit after that was the hardest period of work in my life, something I hadn't counted on. It's not that I'm sitting on my ass getting the comics out when I feel like it...I'm shooting episode 10 of a 20 hour commitment on the single biggest TV series I've ever undertaken, bar none, in terms of logistics, planning, scripts and prep. On Jeremiah we're shooting out in rain and awful conditions 5-6 days out of each 7 day schedule (the norm for most series is 3 days out and 4 days in) all over the Vancouver area, combined with all the regular hassles of mounting a new series, and inventing a new world. There's not just the writing and the producing but the editing, the PR, the music and sound spotting, the casting...everything.
There's Rangers on top of that, the Rising Stars screenplay (which is finally finished and looks like it's heading into actual production for next year), the new Polaris project for Sci-Fi, Spider-Man, Midnight Nation, and Rising Stars.
I began those projects not anticipating that I would be in *this* deep shit. I could have pumped out the comics, but I didn't want to have inferior work come out under the Joe's Comics imprint. The TV work was time-critical because
there's nearly $30 million invested in schedules, director's timetables, production deadlines, airdates that have to be met...I had to pick something that wasn't as time critical to push back.
The comics were the only thing that could get pushed. Now that we're up to speed on the series, with the RS screenplay finished, and past the midway point on scripts for Jeremiah, I've been able to turn my attention back to the comics, with a new MN coming out last week, the next RS finishing colors and lettering and probably out in the next week or so...the next MN script is already in and being drawn, and I'm working on both the next Spider-Man and RS issues as I speak. The Delicate Creatures hardcover graphic novel has been done for a while now, don't know why it isn't out yet.
It is my intention to get the comic scripts out as expeditiously as possible, and have all the scripts done quickly, once again getting well ahead of the artwork.
As for some of the folks you cite...I have little patience for people who demand in others a perfection they do not deliver in their own lives, and who do not understand that their needs for immediate gratification will not always be immediately gratified.
Better something should done right and a bit late than done poorly and on time.
jms
<hr width = "75%">
<font color="green">I take it back, I'm not shocked. Crusade showed this kind of Suit mentality ... I hope Andromeda quickly vanishes from the air before it gets too 'revamped' by Suit notes.</font><font color="red">
I quit watching Andromeda in disgust. The show was not up to B5 standards, but it was entertaining and had definite long-term potential. With the departure of Robert Hewitt Wolfe, the potential is gone. The focus on sprucing up the "looks" of the characters is a dead giveaway. Come on, it's about the story!!!! It's about the characters! Not their clothes and the *$#&& color of their hair!!!
Grrrrrrr.
</font>
I really haven't followed the show or the dynamics behind the scenes enough to form an intelligent opinion. Spoke to Kevin Sorbo once on the plane coming back from Vancouver; seemed like a nice enough guy. That's about the extent of
it.
jms
</font>
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Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
<font face="georgia">Subject:Well, LotR:FotR is out. What do you think?
<font color="red">Judging from your recent posts, I don't understand where you get the time to sleep and eat, much less the time to wade through cinema crowds to sit through a 3-hour epic.
But for obvious reasons... if you *have* seen Peter Jackson's film...
What do you think?</font></p>
Haven't seen it yet, only because I've been using the time to dig out from under deadlines a bit, and waiting for the crowds to diminish. Most likely will see it Monday.
jms</p>
<hr width="75%">
Subject:Thanks Joe! WAS Re: Late comics
<font color="green"> Um..Joe has many projects. He's a busy guy. I'm just glad to have so much output to chose from! I think you're being a little petty here. He doesn't owe us anything, really. </p>
</font><font color="red">
Doesn't owe us anything??? But I've been making statues of him and selling them as my tribute to him! Next thing you know he'll break one of my statues and leave for parts unknown with Pat Tallman.
This is really inexcusable!
</font></p>
Ah, Amerikanski humor.
Most funny.
We bomb now.
jms
</font>
<font face="georgia">Re: Lord of the Rings movie
Saw it yesterday afternoon (with Harlan, who was there to review it for F&SF)at a theater in Sherman Oaks, and it's about as perfect a movie as I've ever seen. It was everything I hoped it would be, and just what I always saw in my mind's eye as I read the books.
I will almost certainly go back to see it again, especially once they begin running the trailer for The Two Towers sometime later in the run.
(BTW, the B5-Rangers trailers will start running the 28th of December at 800 theaters showing LoTR; a full listing of theaters can be found at b5lr.com.)
jms
</p><hr width="75%">
RE: Delecate Creatures graphic novel
For those who've been asking ever since the book was supposed to come out in October...the Delicate Creatures hardcover graphic novel, my first, comes out January 4th. The darned thing was finished a month ago, so it's about time.
One advisory: the initial run is only about 16,000 copies, because this is Top Cow's first stab at a book like this, so it may be a good idea to reserve a copy if you want to be assured of getting one.
The art is by Michael Zulli, best known for his work on Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
For those who'd like a preview, you can get a look at some of the art (the preview is in b&w, but the book is in color) at
<A HREF="http://www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000082.html" TARGET=_blank>www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000082.html </a>
jms
</p><hr width="75%">
RE: Happy Day off, Joe
<font color ="red">Just think, you'll get another one in a week and then you'll be all rested
and charged up for another seven and a half months or so!
</font></p>
Actually, I already broke my usual run of not working Christmas day, and I'll probably end up working New Years as well to catch up on everything.
I've just turned in Amazing Spider-Man 39, so I'm now fairly well ahead on that, I'll get the next Rising Stars out in the next few days, I'm halfway into a new Jeremiah script and the first of the two Polaris scripts for SFC, so by the time the "break" is over I may actually be either caught up or close to it.
(And since the other message didn't apparently get through...Delicate Creatures comes out on the 4th.)
jms
<font color="red">
That said, how many of the Jeremiah scripts are yours so far?</font>
Have to do this from memory of titles since the files are up north....
The pilot 2 hour (counts as two episodes)
To Sail Beyond the Stars
Man of Iron, Woman Under Glass
And the Ground Sown with Salt
Firewall
Journeys End in Lovers Meeting
Tripwire (now being written)
So basically 8 hours so far out of 20. I'll do about 3 more after this, for a total of 11. All but one of the rest are being written by Sam Egan.
jms
<font color="red">
What's this Polaris thing you're talking about? Did someone forget to keep me in the loop?
</font>
I can't comment on what it is specifically, other than it's another series project in development for SFC.
jms
<font color="red">Ah, I do enjoy your titles. Does the pilot have a title the way B5:LotR:TLaDIS does?
</font>
Yeah..."The Long Road," which I picked because a) it's very appropos to the story, and b) it's a bit of nice closure to the hassle over Crusade.
jms
<hr width = "75%">
Re: ASM 36 Reprinting is Out
<font color="red">I wonder when #37 is supposed to hit...</font>
Should be soon, the pencils were done some time ago, and I approved the lettered pages about 3 weeks ago. JR is well into penciling 38, over half done, and the script for 39 is also in.
jms
</font>
------------------
Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I heard that Delicate Creatures was set to come out last week. I looked all over, but was not able to find it. Is it me or has there been a delay?
</font>
I was kinda puzzled too, since Diamond had it coming out last week. I checked with Top Cow and there was apparently a printer's mistake, so they had to go back and re-do it. It's now back on track (and on Diamond) to come out on the 16th.
jms
<hr width="75%">
Re: What is the big thing in March?!!!
<font color="red">
JMS? Any pen names you haven't told us about?
</font>
Several.
jms
<hr width="90%"></font>
Anyone hear from Lyta lately?
<font color="88ff00">Wizzard </font>
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">The impression he is giving to some is he [JMS] can't keep his monthly commitment (though the commitment is "implied"). That can turn off some who only collect comics.</font>
But see, this is where it gets to the part that pisses me off.
Lemme put this into perspective here for a moment, okay?
I began writing and selling when I was 17 years old. Fresh outta high school.
I have been writing, and selling, for 30 years. In all those 30 years, I have never missed a deadline...until this past summer, when I got gang-deadlined.
And, as I write this, I'm now on schedule with the scripts for Rising Stars, and I'm 2 scripts ahead with both Midnight Nation and Spider-Man. It was a momentary glitch. And in the course of that glitch, ASM was only delayed a few weeks, coming out 6 weeks after the one preceding in one case, with the one thereafter appearing 7 weeks later instead of 4-5. The main hit was to the Joe's Comics titles, where I figure I have some latitude.
It just grinds my butt that here I meet all my deadlines for 30 years, never missing a beat, and because of this one glitch, now regained, I've had people bitching about how I should give up the book, how I'm alluvasudden unprofessional....
So may I take it that those involved have never been late for work, ever? Have never had to say to the wife and kids, "Listen, I know I promised we'd go to the beach this weekend, but I'm loaded up with work, we'll have to do it later."
They demand a perfection in others they do not require of themselves. And that's the part that galls. I've been meeting my deadlines on time for longer than most of these people have been *alive*.
Thirty years of punctual work and it's all dismissed because of one situation like this, which in the case of ASM meant a difference of only 2-3 weeks apiece.
Let he who has never, ever missed a deadline or had to postpone something give me shit about it. Otherwise, I have 29 and a half years on 'em.
jms
</font>
You know, if Joe would get over his habit of saying things like taking on all these projects *won't* cause delays, then he might not get as much grief when it slips.
My biggest problem with JMS is that he has a habit of saying things arn't so, then screaming bloody murder, when they are so and he gets called on it.
------------------
Selah
The bridge between life and death is love.
Whoa! Real Babylon 5 content this time. Just in case this comes as a shock...
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">
It just occured after the commercial for B5:LOTR:TLADISL (christ, what a long abbreviation), was the captain being tried by the Grey Council? </font>
No, that's not the Grey Council; it was the High Council attached to the training facility in Tuzenor on Minbar. The Rangers had been under Minbari guidance for a thousand years, that ain't gonna change in just a couple of years. The ISA controls the use of the Rangers, but their training and discipline and organization is Minbari.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">
Was Max Eilerson named after Pamela Eilerson (2nd Assistant Director of many of the B5 episodes), and if so, is there a story behind it?
</font>
Yeah, he was, but no, there isn't...I was just looking for a cool sounding name.
jms
</font>
<font face="georgia">BTW, just as a reminder, it looks like DELICATE CREATURES is FINALLY hitting bookstores this coming Wednesday after the printer's error was fixed.
'bout time....
jms
<hr width="75%">
"No, that's not the Grey Council; it was the High Council attached to the training facility in Tuzenor on Minbar. The Rangers had been under Minbari guidance for a thousand years, that ain't gonna change in just a couple of years. The ISA controls the use of the Rangers, but their training and discipline and organization is Minbari."
<font color="red">Not to nitpick, but I've been seeing the spelling this way from to time (with the "e")...however in "To Dream in the City of Sorrows," it's spelled with an "a," thus: Tuzanor.
</font>
You're right, it's Tuzanor. I must have been speaking Minbari with a Narn accent....
jms
<hr width="75%"><font color="blue">According to the show's official site, http://www.jeremiah.tv/, Jeremiah's 2 hour premiere "The Long Road" will air Sunday March 3rd at 8 pm. The episodes will then start airing as part of Showtime's
"Sci-Friday".</font><font color="red">
Damn shame it's airing on the "Queer Ass Network"... Any idea where we can grab the binaries?
</font>
Well...a post that manages to offend an entire class of people *and* encourage theft and copyright infringement. Now that's what you call a two-fer.
jms
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">I've noticed that in a number of JMS's works (B5, Crusade, Tribulations, and now B5:LotR) that one character occurrs frequestly. It's the Character that lives through something tramatic and sees either alot of people or someone close to them die. For lack of a better term I call it Survivor's Guilt. But does anyone know why Sinclair, Marcus, Gideon, Galen, Raymond (from Tribulations), and now the new captain in LotR. Does anyone know if like something happened to Joe where he's compelled to write about (or at least it seems to me like he's compelled to write about) those that survive and continually ask why they were left alive?
</font>
All things considered I would rather this discussion not go any further than this.
jms
</font>
This one is looooooong. If any of you think this should be broken up, just say so and I'll be governed accordingly. Neat stuff, though.
<font color="888800">Wizzard </font><hr width="95%">
<font face="georgia"><font color="red">The Enfali is in a firefight with some raider fighters. Since when have raiders ever been able to do serious damage to a Minbari vessel, and why are no Nials around?</font>
Even a lion can be brought down by a pack of smaller predators. The Enfalli was alone and the pursuit was a long one, and they just kept taking hit after hit.
<font color="red"> Since when do raider fighters have aft guns?
</font>
Raider fighter craft come in as many variations as human fighter craft. The error is in thinking monolithically.
<font color="red">or why we only saw Nials and Whitestars at Minbar, and possibly at B5. </font>
Bear in mind that there were only ever about a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty whitestars built during the Shadow War. A LOT of those got wiped out during said war, so now you've got maybe 80 or so. You conserve your best ships for big jobs, you don't have them doing this kind of grunt work.
<font color="red">Tannier? The same Tannier from Learning Curve? I'd have double checked the actors name but every airing of TLaDiS had scrunched credits
</font>
Meant to be the same character, but it's not the same actor.
<font color="red">I think hyperspace looked better in Lightwave. Also, the new jumppoints seem to persist much longer than usual, before collapsing.
</font>
Hyperspace is now *much* more complex than it was using lightwave, with more levels. It was always meant to look pretty hellish, but we could never quite pull it off with lightwave, it always looked 2d. This is more what I originally had in mind.
<font color="red">In Dulann's vision (when he was in the hallway of the Liandra, checking systems before they took off), he saw Minister Kafka, the right side of his face already beaten up. This hadn't happened yet.</font>
Recheck your tape...that shot ain't there.
<font color="red">Liandra is 20 years old in 2264, so it was built in 2244, before the Earth-Minbari war. It's a small vessel and yet it *has* jump engines. Seems odd, since Sheridan thought it was a big deal when he found out that the Whitestar, another small vessel, had jump engines (2260).</font>
He also didn't know everything about Minbari ships and classes.
<font color="red">The Valen has weapons, so why were they never fired? Maybe they were fired but we never saw them fired.</font>
The Valen never had time to fire; they were hit within a second of the hand ships coming out of hyperspace (actually *as* they were coming out)...the hits disabled most of the systems on the new ship (you can see eruptions all over the bridge). The weapons systems were intact elsewhere, but the control mechanisms were down. That's why they kept hammering the Valen, to make sure it wouldn't be able to fire.
<font color="red">Why enter the tail of the comet? Why not just put the comet between you and the enemy ship.</font>
You don't have to be *in* the tail. Two-dimensional thinking. Only works if the comet is directly between you and the enemy. If it moves at any other angle, you're revealed.
<font color="red">How is it possible to lose people for any amount of time at all on that small of a ship?</font>
Given the small ins and outs and access hatches and panels and sub-halls and the like...real possible.
<font color="red">The Liandra, a 20 year old ship, hit the enemy ships, several times with her fireballs (why no traditional Minbari green slicer beams?)</font>
Not a big enough ship with a big enough power source.
<font color="red">I can't see the Liandra making any headway against a Shadow Battlecrab. "Seems" inconsistent.</font>
It wasn't a shadow battlecrab. It was tough, but it wasn't one of those. The hand wouldn't give out that kind of power to flunkies.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">Trained and experienced officers were in VERY short supply.</font>
Exactly, and after the shadow war, a lot of higher ranking/experienced rangers were dead, leading to getting promoted earlier.
Also, the Liandra isn't like the Enterprise, it's more like a PT boat, and there's a huge difference between the captain of a PT boat and a captain of the John F. Kennedy, though both are technically captains on their vessels.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">The Ship - This looks nothing like the Minbari ships that fought on the line. It did not look Minbari.
</font>
The Liandra is a Ranger ship. The Rangers, if we recall our history from In the Beginning, were not directly involved in Earth related hostilities during the Minbari War. The EM war was under the aegis of the Warrior caste.
It is also, by design, a small, fast (crew of maybe 20) patrol ship designed to go on the edge, it's not meant to go out there and pulverize fleets. It would have been instantly outgunned and destroyed in the EM war's bigger battles.
(One thing I'm curious about is the assumption that we've seen all of the Minbari ships. We've literally seen only a handful. Go to Jane's books on military weapons, planes in particular, and you get all *kinds* of variation...from ospreys to f16s to cargo jets to hovercraft...why should there be less variation in a more advanced society like the Minbari?)
<font color="red">The Valen - A flying brick that someone apparently forgot to add weapons. </font>
Yes. That was the intent. That's why David made fun of it on the balcony. Nobody likes it, it was a compromise between Humans and Minbari (which Dulann also mentions), more politically motivated than structurally sound. We won't be seeing its kind again.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">What was with the Valen--not only was it ugly, it didn't even look Minbari.</font>
As Dulann mentioned in his talk with David in the hall, it was influenced by human military designers. David also made fun of it earlier.
<font color="red">And where were the White Stars anyway?</font>
The 80 or so surviving whitestars were either on station at Minbar or doing larger more important work. This was considered a milk run.
jms
<hr width="75%">
<font color="red">This article is a review of the Liandra's gesture and virtual reality based fire control system as seen on Babylon 5: Legends of the Rangers. I wanted to review it because gesture recognition based systems ares my main area of study, and I am always excited to see representations of gesture based systems television and films.
This review by its nature contains spoilers, but I will be avoiding major plot points as much as I can.
Quick review: I believe that this Liandra's method of weapon control is a well designed system to allow a person to actively target ships, while ensuring appropriate system response (i.e. weapons firing) when desired without false positives (i.e. a weapon firing when it is not desired). There are some clear areas for enhancing the system, such as adding higher level gesture commands, as well as voice.
Long review.
My Qualifications
So, who am I to be doing such a review? Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and specifically gesture recognition, are my area of expertise. While I'm not *the* foremost expert in this area, I am well versed in the field. My Ph.D. in gesture recognition (Electrical Engineering Systems, minors in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics) is from the University of Michigan in 1996 (thesis: Dynamical System Representation, Generation, and Recognition of Basic Oscillatory Motion Gestures, and Applications for the Control of Actuated Mechanisms). Since then I've published a variety of papers in the fields of gesture recognition, HCI, and machine vision [1], have been interviewed by a small number of news publications [2], and have given talks on this subject [3]. My company (Cybernet Systems) has produced a very basic gesture/tracking software product called "Use Your Head" [4], that allows a person to use their head motions as an additional game device (which could be considered a precursor to the Liandra's targeting system!). I've installed prototype gesture recognition systems for NASA and the Army [5], and still have government funding to continue this research.
Again, I'm not *the* authority in this area, but I like to consider myself an authority. Since I also love Science Fiction in general, and Babylon 5 in specific, I decided it would be fun to review the Liandra's system.
Overview of the Liandra's Fire Control System.
This overview is taken from my viewings of Babylon 5: Legends of the Rangers. I will try to point out three things: What I know, what I think I know, and what I don't know. That is, I'll try to keep assumptions to a minimum, and if I can't, I will at least point out what it is I'm assuming. I'd appreciate any feedback letting me know what I got wrong.
What I know:
1. The weapon's control officer (WCO) is suspended in a full zero gravity Virtual Reality (VR) environment.
2. The WCO has three degrees of rotational motion (roll, pitch, and yaw) centered around her center of gravity. That is, she can rotate herself to any orientation to view the combat environment as desired.
3. The VR environment is similar to that found on the Minbari command ships [6]. That is, a full 3D representation of the battle space, with gestures used to focus attention on various aspects of the battle environment, terrain, and assets.
4. Each of the WCO's extremities (hands and feet) are linked to specific weapons on the Liandra.
5. Ship tracking and targeting is performed using an eye-tracking system.
6. Multiple ships could be targeted off of the eye-tracking system.
7. A "fire" gesture consists of pumping a limb (arm or leg). There is a limited vocabulary in the set of gesture commands. The direction of fire is the direction of the gesture, matched up to the eye-tracking software to determine the target. The ship's computer actually aims/targets the weapons.
8. A list of possible targets from eye-tracking is kept, so that if the WCO points at a ship behind her current viewing, that ship will be attacked.
What I think I know:
1. The gravity isn't quite zero g because the WCO remains centered in the VR environment. Therefore, some forces must be acting upon her to keep her centered and not bumping into walls.
2. Although only one eye was shown to track ships, I believe that both eyes were probably tracked to allow full three-dimensional target acquisition (that is, both eyes would be needed to determine which ship should be targeted when two ships are in the same line-of-site, the near one or the far one).
3. Extra battle information was either being presented (drawn with light) on to the WCO's eyes or on the VR screens directly, so she saw more than what we saw. This information was probably targeting information, status, etc.
4. It looks like the rate of fire of the Liandra's weapons were based off of the speed the WCO could pump her limbs.
5. The system never misinterpreted a command. That is, a shot was fired only when the WCO wanted it to fire, and it did not fire when the WCO did not want it to fire. In other words, it is a very robust system.
What I don't know:
1. I could not tell if voice recognition was used at all.
2. Can the WCO's firing commands be overridden from the bridge?
3. What happens if the ship is so damaged as to lose artificial gravity?
4. Aside from firing gestures, are there other hand/body gestures available to the WCO?
Discussion:
As stated in the Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5, this fire control system is probably based on taking advantage of the Ranger's physical combat training [7]. However, I think there is more to it than that.
What would a WCO want from a human-computer interface for a battle system? I believe it is the following:
1. Quick identification of target(s) to fire at.
2. Full control of all weapons simultaneously.
3. Instant information, but only that which is desired (too much information is just as bad as too little).
4. Ability to view the entire battle-space, with proper orientation and perspective (that is, in a way we humans (and apparently Minbari) can understand it).
It is my opinion that the VR/gesture system as portrayed in B5:LotR achieves all the above desires, better than a keyboard, mouse, or button interface could.
Specifically:
1. Quick target identification. Without using eye-tracking and gesture, to target a ship (among multiple targets), either a mouse must be moved over the iconic representation, or multiple keyboard/button commands must be given to cycle through to the target. If touch screen capability is allowed (pointing at a specific ship), then that is just an instantiation of the Liandra's gesture system. The WCO simply looks at a target, and that target is the one a weapon will fire at if the gesture command is given in the target's direction. Multiple targets could be tracked this way, even the huge number of space mines that were targeted and destroyed (but see more below).
2. Full simultaneous weapon control. Each weapon was linked to the WCO's limbs. For example - left cannon = left arm. With practice, using the Liandra's ship board weapons would be just like using any other hand held weapon in combat, which is what the Rangers excel at. A question that arises is what if there are more than four weapons on a ship - how are they controlled? (See Improvement's below.)
3. Instant information. The VR environment probably provides more information than just a camera view. Status of enemy power/weapons, full location, various weapon ranges (for enemy, friend, and the Liandra herself), etc., would all be available and either drawn on the eye or displayed on the VR screen.
4. Full battle-space view. I think this my even be my favorite part of the system. Current battlefield commanders have a difficult time viewing a battle-space environment. Here, the WCO just has to rotate her body/head and she can see everything, and still keep relative orientations of friends and foes in view. Yes, she has to be in excellent shape, but that is not unheard of in the military.
So, overall, I do find that this weapon interface is a viable one, and as definite advantages over traditional computer input devices. However, there is always room for improvements, which is my next section.
Improvements and Issues:
First, a note: the improvements and issues I list have probably already been thought of by the Babylon 5 staff, and just not shown due to budget/time/plot considerations. Also, these are just my opinions, and I could easily see other people (or weapon officers) disagreeing with me. But then again, that is why we have discussion groups!
I am a firm believer that gestures will be an important input device in the future. However, I do not believe that gestures are the "be all and end all" in human-computer interaction devices. For example, I would not use gestures to replace a computer mouse (which is great for simple pointing, clicking, and pull-down menu operations) because, well, we already have a device that works as well as a computer mouse - the computer mouse itself!
So, while I think that gestures as shown works well as an input device for the WCO, I think more is needed, and in this case, that would be voice recognition. Now, I'm not talking about the Star Trek type of voice recognition which can parse sentences and never make a mistake. I'm referring to specific limited vocabulary of voice commands (just like the limited vocabulary of gesture commands used) to aid in controlling the "state" of the system. Here is where I think voice recognition would be useful:
1. Change weapons. If there were multiple weapons on a ship, then voice commands would allow the WCO to change weapon/limb configurations instantaneously.
2. Change firing modes. From the movie, it seemed that one shot was fired per pumping gesture. Therefore, to take out the dozens of mines, the WCO had to flail around to keep firing at the closest (or most dangerous) targets. Instead, a word could be used to set up continuous firing.
3. Switch gestures. Instead of using the 'pumping' gesture to attack the mines, instead each finger could be attached to the same or different weapons. Then only faster finger flicks would be needed to fire the weapon. This would probably lead to more false positives, but when you want to all out fire, that usually isn't a problem.
Voice commands, as well as meta-gesture commands to achieve the same result as some voice commands, would add great utility to the system. For #3 above, a different gesture could have been used to fire a weapon repeated at the mines. Training would be needed, but not much more than is probably required now.
Another issue is multiple WCOs to handle a larger number of weapons. I wonder if bigger ships would require multiple officers, and how they would interact. Maybe their relative orientation in the VR gravity environment would correspond to the relative location of the weapon banks.
I noticed gestures being used to control the VR environment. That is fine, but care must be taken to only use *purposive* gestures. It would be unfortunate if a random gesture (such as one used to change the WCO's orientation) resulted in the system performing an unwanted action. This is why, for example, fingers weren't used to control weapons during normal combat operations.
Is such as system possible?
Yes! Well, okay, we don't have the anti-gravity yet. If you do, please email me - we'll do lunch.
But the eye-tracking, body tracking, and gesture recognition systems are not that far off from what was shown on B5:LotR.
Gesture recognition and body tracking is my area, so let me discuss that first. The system we've developed at Cybernet can do full body tracking in complex unstructured backgrounds. We can recognize hand and body motions (not American Sign Language) - specifically the types performed by the CWO of the Liandra! That is, repeatable hand/arm motions, similar to those used by Army scouts, construction crane operators, and the like. It is beyond the scope of this review to explain the various mathematical methods of gesture recognition (geometric, Hidden Markov Model, dynamic based, etc.). You can look up my dissertation if you really want a full overview!
As a point of information, tracking is a much harder problem than gesture recognition. Tracking needs to work in a variety of lighting conditions, backgrounds, and targets (skin color, clothing, hair, etc.). This problem is not yet completely solved, but it does get better every year, to the point that products can be made now.
For those interested in gesture recognition (and associated tracking software), head on over to the Gesture Recognition Home Page [8].
Some commercial body tracking devices are listed below. Many of these are used by computer game developers to track athlete's movements for their sports games. Note that all of these are 'tagged' trackers, that is, something must be worn on the body for tracking to occur. For Cybernet's gesture recognition system (and for other systems out there), untagged systems are used and preferred, although they are much less accurate.
Manufacturer Product Method Output
Cybernet Firefly IR Optical 3D position
Ascension MotionStar DC magnetic field 6DOF position and orientation
Northern Opto Trak IR Optical 3D position
Digital Inc. 3020
Intersense IS-300 Inertial 3D 6DOF
Polhemus Ultra Trak AC magnetic field 6DOF
There are a small number of companies that produce eye-trackers. While of course not on the level of fidelity as shown in Babylon 5 (specifically, in order to work the camera has to be extremely close to the person's eye, which was not the case in B5:LotR!), these eye-tracking systems are pretty robust. Companies include AmTech, Applied Science Laboratories, Cybernet, DBA Systems, LC Technologies, Microguide, NAC, SensoMotoric Instruments [9]. Methods used include
CCD Line Scan cameras, Infra-red oculography, and video imagining. Precision for these systems is typically at around 0.5 degrees or less, with a 40 degrees (though some have 80 degrees). The sampling rate can be anywhere for 50 Hz to 1,000 Hz (with 50-60 Hz typical).
For the Liandra, I would imagine a large array of camera like devices with an extremely high resolution, sampling at 1,000 Hz or more.
Conclusion:
I do think that this gesture based interactive fire control system for the Liandra is not only a viable option for a battle environment, it might even be optimal. Fast accurate targeting, robust weapon control, full view of the environment, and instant information are all part of this system. With the addition or showing of meta-control using voice or other gestures, I think this system would be one that would practical, even for the control of today's Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicles.
Thank you for reading my article. Comments are always welcome. If you wish to respond to me directly, please use my personal email of [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. The work address below should be used only for low volume work related messages.
Charles J. Cohen, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research and Development
Cybernet Systems Corporation
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
www.cybernet.com
Footnotes:
[1] Some of my papers and talks are:
Program Chair: Applied Imagery Pattern Recognition 2001 - Analysis and Understanding of Time Varying Imaging. Cosmos Club, Washington, DC, October 10-12, 2001.
Cohen, Charles J., Glenn Beach, and Gene Foulk. "A Basic Hand Gesture Control System for PC Applications." Applied Imagery Pattern Recognition 2001 - Analysis and Understanding of Time Varying Imaging. Cosmos Club, Washington, DC, October 10-12, 2001.
Cohen, Charles J. "Gesture Recognition Interface for Controlling Virtual Displays." Virtual Design Technology and Applications. Somerset Inn, Troy, MI, 15 November 2000.
Cohen, Charles J., Glenn Beach, Doug Haanpaa, and Chuck Jacobus. "A Real-Time Pose Determination and Reality Registration System." SPIE AIPR'99 Conference. Washington, DC, 13-15 October 1999.
Cohen, Charles J., Glenn Beach, Brook Cavell, Gene Foulk, Jay Obermark, and George Paul. "The Control of Self Service Machines Using Gesture Recognition." SCI'99 and ISAS'99 Conference. Orlando, FL, 31 July 1999 - 4 August 1999.
Beach, Glenn, Charles J. Cohen, Jeffrey Braun, and Gary Moody. "Eye Tracking System for Use With Head Mounted Displays." IEEE SMC'98 Conference. San Diego, CA, 11-14 October 1998.
Cohen, Charles J., Glenn Beach, George Paul, Jay Obermark, and Gene Foulk. "Issues Of Controlling Public Kiosks And Other Self Service Machines Using Gesture Recognition." IEEE SMC'98 Conference. San Diego. CA, 11-14 October 1998.
Conway, Lynn and Charles J. Cohen. "Video Mirroring and Iconic Gestures: Enhancing Basic Videophones to Provide Visual Coaching and Visual Control." IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, May 1998.
Obermark, Jay, Charles Jacobus, Charles Cohen, and Brian George. "Building Terrain Maps and Virtual Worlds from Video Imagery." AeroSense 1998. Orlando FL, 13-17 April 1998.
Conway, Lynn and Charles Cohen. "Apparatus and Method for Remote Control Through the Visual Information Stream." U.S. Patent 5,652,849, 29 July 1997.
[2] For example: New York Times, 31 August 2000, buried on page D7 "A Wave of the Hand May Soon Make a Computer Jump to Obey" by Anne Eisenberg.
[3] Cohen, Charles J. "The Bleeding Edge: New Technologies, New Ways of Learning." SchoolTech Expo. Chicago Hilton & Towers, Chicago, IL, 17-20 October 2001.
[4] <A HREF="http://www.gesturecentral.com" TARGET=_blank>www.gesturecentral.com </a>
[5] Our current Army project is with STRICOM to allow training of their scouts in their Dismounted Infantry Semi-Automated Forces (DISAF). See source.asset.com/orl/disaf/ for details of their system.
[6] See the Babylon 5 episode "Shadow Dancing."
[7] www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/117.html
[8] <A HREF="http://www.cybernet.com/~ccohen/" TARGET=_blank>www.cybernet.com/~ccohen/</A></A>
[9] This data is about a year old, so I can't guarantee if any of the companies are still around. Well, except for ours. </font>
What a totally amazing and cool analysis. I will be sure to look at this when we take the pod to the next level, should there be a series, because we will have more time to spend working out the details.
Glad to hear it's a viable approach. Thanks again.
jms
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<font color="red">Incidentally, small point here, but I feel I have to make it: everyone has been calling him Minister "Kafka," and while that's certainly humorous (he does look sort of bug-like), it's actually "Kafta."
</font>
Which is a middle-eastern term for a kind of meatball.
See, I was writing, it was late, I was having some hummus, some pita, some khibbe and some kafta, I needed a name...you get the picture.
It was either that or Minister Khibbe.
jms
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<font color="red">The wheel had already been invented and perfected in Lightwave. *Use* the wheel. If necessary, tweak it some more, but *don't* go to different software. To change to Maya is to incur additional work and expense, and leave yourself open to the possibility of errors and inconsistancies. This kind of thing really pisses me off. The change makes no sense. There are times to be conservative, and this was one of them.
</font>
Understand, however, that we did not *have* that software, or those images. WB had literally lost all the CGI archives we gave them every season. All we were able to get, at the very last moment, was a copy of the ship files we had given Sierra for the B5 game. That's it.
jms
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<font color="red">I am so sorry! What the hell is wrong with those people (WB)??? I feel sick to my stomach. All that great work, IS LOST?!?!?! Didn't you guys keep copies of the files? the Lightwave models? the Lightwave scenes? Backups? Anything?
</font>
Babylonian Productions was not allowed to keep this material, it all had to be turned over to WB each year, and what could have been maybe squirreled away at NDEI was lost when that company went away.
jms
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<font color="red">ps. What do you call the frames right after the cut back from commercial, before the actual content of the movie starts again?
</font>
True Black. Don't know if that's the technical term, but that's what I've always heard them called.
jms
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<font color="red">Did you have any second thoughts about naming that ship? Or am I the only one who thought it odd? If I had to guess I'd have said the Minbari revered Valen far too much to name a mere ship after him, most especially an ugly one with heavy human influence...
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It was kind of an in-joke by some on the Grey Council when they named it. The ship is a compromised crossbreed between human (the front) and minbari (the rest) design styles.
And what was Valen, after all, but half human and half minbari...?
jms
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Do not tempt the patience of Wizzards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.