Maker Faire is coming this weekend and this year's theme is space. I'm not talking closet space (although I'm sure there will be stuff for that too), I'm talking outer space.
Now I've never thought of our space as much as a Do-It-Yourself kind of thing. I figured the government would have a problem with it, but they've scaled back in recent years. You, yes YOU, can team up with companies like Google to conquer the Outer limits: fly to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Of course, they will have all the other fun things that you think of with Maker Faire - solar powered cars; artisan food; art cars; model racing; robot battles; SteamPunk; and all that. So come on, I'll see you there!
Andrew interviews Miss Rodeo USA competitor and Miss Hesperia title holder, Danielle Williams, and rodeo enthusiasts Cassie Themelis, and Anna Machado. They share stories and pictures of their experiences.
I am envious of a lot of the websites out there. They have resources for multiple writers, art directors, and web administrators. Our guests for this episode were from a multiple media organization, Illume. Their website is gorgeous; their magazine is fabulous; and their crew is friendly and well-spoken.
It seems logical to me that there would be a media outlet that collects stories for the many Muslim-Americans out there, as well as writing stories pertinent to the American lifestyle from a Muslim perspective. That their organization is non-profit is a bonus.
The world is under some sort of virus that brings back the dead after they have been infected and die. The zombies are classic, slow moving. But they don't need sleep and live people do. Plus, there are so many of them.
We open with a downed engineer in a "hot" zone who's trying to get out. He tries to find a vehicle, gets attacked when fixing it, but gets away.
An African army deserter is trying to find his son. He goes back to his village to find it abandoned except for his dying wife? mother? family member? (it's not really clear) who tells him his son was taken to a survivor's camp. Then she dies. And comes back to life, shuffling after him. He turns and shoots her already dead, but walking corpse. Then he leaves the village.
The engineer and deserter meet on the road. They realize they are better off if they team up. They drive and fight zombies. Meeting survivors who get killed, getting attacked and surviving. Until the truck runs out of gas and they have to walk. Then, they both accidentally fall asleep and the zombies bite the deserter. They both manage to limp away, knowing the deserter will die. He asks the engineer to find his son and gives him an amulet so that his son will know that his father sent him. The deserter asks the engineer to kill him after he dies, so he won't become a zombie. But the engineer can't do it.
The engineer finds the refugee camp, but it is surrounded by zombies and he has to sneak in. He learns that they are low on supplies, ammo and more and more zombies press against the walls every hour. He contacts his military base to find that they are also overrun and there is no one coming to save them. Then the zombies get in and everyone panics.
That's when he finds the deserter's son who recognizes the amulet. The scene ends with them standing against the hoard, alone.
You may think, as I did, that A Perfect Soldier refers to the human subject of the documentary, Aki Ra, but it does not. Instead it refers to the actual subject of the documentary, landmines. Even though the Khmer Rouge happened over 30 years ago in Cambodia, thousands of people are still killed or maimed every year by landmines planted during that era.
Aki Ra was one of those who planted them there. Like many children at the time, he was kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge, and forced to become a soldier. Many of these soldiers, like Aki Ra, were only six years old when they started. Many died while fighting or planting mines and traps. Aki Ra managed to survive to adulthood physically intact.
The film estimates that 1 in 5 Cambodians, like Aki Ra, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Coupling that with survivor's guilt, Aki Ra has devoted his life to clearing landmines from his homeland. His childhood knowledge from planting them, a metal detector, a penknife, and a stick are his tools for finding, safely removing, and diffusing these deadly objects. A portion of these are on display at his Cambodian Land Mine Museum.
This film gives a vivid picture of what growing up was like for Aki Ra in those war-torn times. It emphasizes the depth of his need to make amends. Not only does he clear landmines, but he also adopts the orphans caused by landline explosions. His foundation seeks to ensure these children receive proper care and education for a better future. He built this foundation from scratch, occasionally running afoul of government officials while doing so, yet he perseveres with growing international support.
