Richard V. Rupp

October 23, 2021

Good Saturday morning. I'm author Richard V. Rupp, writing from Burbank, California. Welcome to RUPP'S NOTES/FBI SPECIAL AGENT HARTMAN SERIES posts.

 

My fingers are crossed for my Dodgers. Hopefully, their newfound hitting will continue in Atlanta today. It's a sports watching day for me. First the UCLA football game, and then my Dodgers.

 

Here in Burbank, the movie industry emails and social media posts are going back and forth about the Alec Baldwin shooting on the set of Rust. A search warrant issued by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has revealed that "Baldwin was handed one of three prop guns by assistant director David Halls that were set up in a cart by an armorer. . . .Halls handed the gun to Baldwin and yelled "cold gun," meaning the gun did not have live rounds, the affidavit states. . . .The gun fired by Baldwin hit Hutchins in the chest and wounded Souza, who was behind her while rehearsing a scene, in the shoulder. She was pronounced dead at a hospital after being transported by helicopter. . . .The investigator says in the affidavit that the assistant director did not know the gun had live rounds when he handed the gun to Baldwin."

 

A lot of people who knew Alec are still questioning what happened. And, so apparently are the authorities.

 

One of my FB posts asked the following – "I understand there was strife on the set. Union crew members were being replaced with a non-union crew. Why was Baldwin, who has a bad temper pointing the gun at leaving union crew members???"

 

Here's a FB comment from a fellow actor – "How does this happen? Sad and very suspicious that an operable gun would be on a movie set. . . .Anyone remember his unhinged call to his daughter . . .Whacko !!!"

 

Yes, in SKYWARD, the novel I'm working on, I'm trying to predict the future. I believe private enterprise billionaires will shoulder past governments to colonize space and that privately controlled master computers will formalize the evolution of the Metaverse. The expansion of tribalism and its confusion will stimulate the need for rushing toward the new frontiers. Some may get trampled, but more likely, as, in the past, many will be left far behind. Oh, to be young and be involved in space colonization.

 

Money and STEM educations will decide who is selected to advance to the new frontiers. Is that discriminatory? Yes, it is.

 

"Tell me what's wrong with society,
When everywhere I look, I see,
Rich guys driving big SUVs,
While kids are starving in the streets,
No one cares,
No one likes to share,
I guess life's unfair." — Simple Plan

 

My comments in this post were triggered by Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that Facebook would get a new name next week. The new name is prompted by Zuckerberg's indication, "Our overarching goal is to help bring the metaverse to life."

 

The INVESTOPEDIA defines Metaverse as "a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality, virtual reality, and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually. Augmented reality overlays visual elements, sound, and other sensory input onto real-world settings to enhance the user experience.

 

Augmented reality is currently used by the U.S. Military as a very effective training tool.

 

Augmented reality is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory.

 

Zuckerberg defines the Metaverse as "a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space as you."

 

The metaverse technology is still years away from being fully realized. Still, it is expected to eventually be a place where you can work, play, learn, create, shop, and interact with friends in a virtual, online environment.

 

The following are excerpts from an article in WIRE by David Baszucki about the Metaverse – "Education will move from learning to code online to learning core sciences with physics or biology simulations and ultimately becoming an immersive environment where classrooms are organized within it. . . .These will push the boundaries of interactivity, where artists and fans converge to create new kinds of live experiences. Out of this, novel forms of entertainment will emerge, creating new Metaverse stars and launching careers similar to the rise of social media influencers. . . .The Metaverse is arguably as big a shift in online communication as the telephone or the internet. Within the next few decades, its applications will exceed our wildest imaginations. . . .The Metaverse is arguably as big a shift in online communication as the telephone or the internet. Within the next few decades, its applications will exceed our wildest imaginations. Perhaps the greatest opportunity it presents is to bring together people from all walks of life and foster a civil digital society." 

 

In SKYWARD, the Bowman Moon Colony comprises young STEM-educated individuals who rely heavily on Sky, the master computer that allows an extensive Metaverse to exist and help them.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard V. Rupp, Author

Website – www.richardvrupp.com

Email – rupprisk@gmail.com

Copyright©2021 by Richard V. Rupp