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Rather than Bond’s private infrastructure expensive cars and toys, Bourne uses public infrastructure as a superpower.

A battered watch and an accurate U-Bahn time-table are all he needs for a perfectly-timed, death-defying evasion of the authorities.

As Rod has already pointed out:

“Jason Bourne is the man-as-weapon, never troubled by indecision or doubt, immediately responsive, unbalancing his enemies’ battlefield underneath them. He moves forward constantly, like a shark, and lives in a fast forward that’s the exact opposite of bullet-time – blurred fragments experienced at extraordinary speed – and his reactions are all reflex-fast”

But in addition, Bourne wraps cities, autobahns, ferries and train terminuses around him as the ultimate body-armour, in ways that Old Etonians could never even dream of.

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The five panelists shared Moonraker clips, Pynchon quotes, and McLuhan-esque aphorisms: All our metaphors are broken. McNeil put the New Aesthetic in art-historical context. Bridle quoted Julian Assange: “We must think beyond those who have gone before us, and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not.” They took no questions. When it was over, they paraded the drone back to the bungalow they’d rented for the week and jumped into the pool with it.

The New Aesthetic: James Bridle’s Drones and Our Invisible, Networked World | Vanity Fair (via iamdanw)
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learntobeinvisible:

Mora’dum – the application of Terror

“Minbari rite and exercise used by the Anla’shok in the training of all Rangers.

Roughly translated into English as “the application of terror”, the rite itself is designed to test a Ranger’s ability to recognise, withstand and overcome their own fear while at the same time learning to apply terror against an adversary. The exact circumstances of the test can vary as it may be tailored to suit each individual”

From the episode Learning Curve (S05e05):

Captain Elizabeth Lochley: So, what kind of terror are we talking about here, Delenn?

Delenn: The kind that cripples; the kind that destroys. Not from without, but from within. As soon as he can stand, whether he is fully healed or not, Tennier will prepare to face his terror. Those who harmed him now have power over him. He must take back that power or he will never be whole again. We will go with him, and bring him to the point of his terror. And then, he will face it.

Captain Elizabeth Lochley: But if he isn’t fully healed, he could die in the effort.

Delenn: As Anla’shok, we choose to do that which frightens us, knowing that there are no guarantees. He may lose; we cannot help him.

Captain Elizabeth Lochley: Then he will stand alone.

Delenn: At the end, Captain, we all stand alone.

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spaceplasma:

Successful start to China’s fifth human spaceflight

Three Chinese astronauts, led by a veteran of a previous space mission, soared into orbit Tuesday to begin a 15-day voyage to China’s Tiangong 1 space lab, a flight officials say will expand the capabilities of the country’s manned space program.

The 191-foot-tall Long March 2F rocket, powered by 1.4 million pounds of thrust, lifted off at 0938 GMT (5:38 a.m. EDT; 5:38 p.m. Beijing time) from the Jiuquan space base in northwest China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Less than 10 minutes later, after a dazzling launch broadcast on Chinese state television, the 8.5-ton Shenzhou 10 capsule arrived in orbit. A few moments later, the spacecraft extended its two solar array wings to generate electricity.

These images were taken from the official CCTV broadcast of the launch, showing views from cameras from both the ground and on-board the rocket. The images show liftoff, separation of the launcher’s emergency escape tower, jettison of the Long March’s first stage and four liquid-fueled boosters, and deployment of the solar arrays.

Photo credit: CCTV/Spaceflight Now

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