Zombie

80 years ago today, 2 November 1936, the BBC started its regular scheduled broadcast television service. The first in the world. The BBC used John Logie Baird's mechanical television system which produced a reasonable 240 line resolution picture. Being mechanical meant lots of steampunk equipment including a terrifying "flying spot" television camera with a massive metal scanning disc spinning at 6,000 rpm (which meant the disc edges were spinning at just below the speed of sound ). Two months later the BBC ditched mechanical TV in favour of a fully electronic system they'd also been using. This was a major blow to Baird. He was self-taught, suffered ill-health all his life, and never had enough funds for his obsession. His early experiments were mostly funded by the Baird Undersock which he invented to cure his own cold feet In 2016 it seems incredible that mechanical TV could ever have been taken seriously. But Baird had achieved the first ever successful demonstration of television (26 January 1926). He had also developed the first video disc recorder (Phonovisor - 1926), the first infra-red TV camera (Noctovision - 1926), and made the first transatlantic TV broadcast (1928). After the BBC dropped his system, Baird worked on his own and developed 3D colour TV without needing glasses (1941) and fully electronic high definition colour TV at up to 1000 lines (Telechrome - 1944). Baird tried to get his technology adopted by the UK government for when TV resumed after WW2 but sadly, perhaps because of his history with a failed mechanical system and a lack of interest in TV development, his advanced modern system was not taken up and the UK retained the 1936 black and white 405 lines TV system until the 1960s John Logie Baird died in 1946. .

"a plague on both your houses" could be the most significant factor in who gets the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

turn out all the lights and wire up the doorbell to the mains

deffo should be made!

"We enunciate"

this is being reported everywhere as a launch failure why are no news media or stakeholders reporting the high speed object - literally a UFO - that flew towards and past the vehicle at very high speed at moment of the explosion? anyone with a pause button can see it appearing in the top right hand part of the screen heading towards the rocket and continuing on past as it disappears on the left at the exact moment of the explosion Whats going on?

save the zombie! save the zombie! *waves placards* "The infant ... showed no signs of the virus after two Pepsi treatments" More please Val

not at all - this is a play to completely trash this play as he has done - there is no question about it - based purely on his cold read of the script is unfair and unwarranted his mistake was buying a play script and not properly checking the product before he spent his dollars there were clear warnings on the cover and from JKR herself that this is a play script

Professional theatre critics who have seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Dominic Cavendish -theatre critic, The Daily Telegraph "a magical show with a strong emotional core ... It’s a triumph. ... in all key respects, it grips, it stirs, it delights." Sarah Hemming - theatre critic, the Financial Times "thrilling, gripping, dark, wittily acted and visually dazzling ... it succeeds because the team has put transformation right at the heart of the story, both structurally and emotionally. It’s a move that allows the drama to play to drama’s strengths — this is, after all, an art form that depends on an actor transfiguring before your eyes into someone else. And, amid all the epic fantasy, it homes in on the magic we all have at our fingertips: the ability to make a difference to another person." Mark Shenton - theatre critic, The Stage "the show delivers on all the hope that eager fans have invested in it ... distinct from both the books and the screen adaptations. By turns playful and gripping, disturbing and detailed, poignant and powerful, it is superb family entertainment. The theatrical wizards who've created this stunningly-realised alternative universe deliver one coup de theatre after another. Particular credit is due to Jamie Harrison, responsible for the astounding illusions and magic that pepper the show. The audience gasps out loud at several effects – but the production is also informed by its humanity and the actors create fully rounded portraits." someone who hasn't W_L "crap"

Mrs Slocombe's pussy it's back!!! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37008782

um, yes it is The book jacket clearly states "A new play by Jack Thorne" and "Special Rehearsal Edition Script" It's unfair for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to have been dismissed in this thread as crap and wooden hack writing and trash it for failing to provide the "magical journey" delivered by the novels because, duh, it's just a script And play scripts, like movie screenplays, have to be written differently from novels because they do different jobs. And they are not mass consumer products. It's like comparing the proverbial chalk and cheese. The Independent made this clear in its review: "as fantastic as the production was, racing through the script was never going to compare. Where stage theatrics sparked imaginations, now there are brief lines quickly explaining huge set-ups; everyone knew the script couldn’t compete with the stage production, begging the question, should this have ever been released in this format? An example of the script being unmeasurable against the production comes in act one, scene four. It starts with the explanation: “And now we enter a world of time changing. And this Scene is all about magic.” In these few pages our hero, Albus Severus Potter, goes from being sorted into a Hogwarts house in his first year to rushing onto the Express in his third. Along the way, we’re treated to a brief Quidditch lesson, Great Hall assembly, and a Potions lesson, but they’re all so brief we hardly get a flavour of what is actually happening. On stage, it was one of the play’s greatest scenes; fast pace but with vivid imagery. If The Cursed Child was perhaps written as a book this could have been built on but, in these pages, we barely get a taste of these formative years. It’s so quick, so little is said, readers will race through, given little direction as what is happening. Another example comes when the new generation of wizards drink a Polyjuice Potion. In previous books and on stage, it was utterly hilarious as Rowling’s heroes transformed, yet, as a script, the scene passes by rapidly, the humour and magic lost." So if there's criticism to make it should be about JKR agreeing to this publication. But, hey, the play's a success so it will soon go global

the thread is still pointless since no-one here seems to have seen the play and therefore have first hand praise or criticism to make TV companies publish scripts of TV shows e.g. Fawlty Towers. Does anyone wade in to find fault with the "book" of those shows? No, because with a play or TV show it is all about the production and performance of the script (unless you're studying the text).

I don't understand this thread. It's a play, not a book. Would you read a recipe and then conclude "well, that was a crap meal"? Unless it's to study a "classic", who buys the scripts of plays? Who would want to read the script of Phantom of the Opera? The whole point is to see the performance. So go and see it. The current performance has had good reviews http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-is-pure-magic---review/

who needs words when we can look at their pics

I love music but I don't actually listen to much recorded music of any kind, it can make me melancholy especially "serious" music. So if you need cheering up how about Elizabethan Serenade by that world famous English composer Ronald Binge It was named after the accession of Queen Elizabeth in 1952 and has always been popular in Britain. There was a reggae version by Boris Gardiner & the Love People but I won't mention that... This is a lovely arrangement by Czech composer Otmar Mácha. It's a dress rehearsal for a Christmas concert in Prague so while not technically perfect it is a delightful performance and the violinist is so sweet. Hope this helps as a pick-me-up

great thread movie composers often get overlooked which is a shame. A while back an old French movie was on TV called La Nuit Americaine (Day for Night). The movie was fun, a bit weird, but I loved the soundtrack, composed by Georges Delerue

Nice job, Val yes, even zombies cry and rotting fish / skunk spray is much nicer than evil Pepsi spray - yuk!

I thought I was the only one!

aaaaaaahahahahahahah! :funny:

most guys reading this will have wanted to build a pulse jet engine at some point in their lives In a jam jar. it's useless trying to deny it But where to start? well, first get yourself a clean empty jam jar Obviously... now you need an an electric drill and some methanol oh yeah, some safety glasses would be good too... WARNING!!! Zombie accepts no responsibility for any horrific injuries caused by copying this CRAZY RUSSIAN

it seems many Gropecunt Lanes appeared in various English towns in the 1200s when it was common for trades to be grouped together in the same street. And prostitution being the oldest trade was no different - the word was simply descriptive of the female genital area, and had no offensive meaning. It's only since the 1500s that use and meaning of the word changed. All those streets were then renamed In the UK it is still the most shocking word. Which is a good thing. We need words that have the power to shock. In the UK these words are, for most people, the last resort. Much better to exchange a shocking word in a moment of anger than a bullet.

can't mini-cat choose?

this works really well, like ghosts caught on camera

and also celebrate getting the date format right Happy Independence Day!

the clunky border around the old pics is unnecessary and distracting - a seamless insert would look so much better - but still, an interesting comparison between then and now