關於 research without animals ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

#Congratulations! Director Hsin-Chien Huang's latest VR works, Samsara and The Starry Sand Beach, were nominated for the 78th Venice International Film Festival!

The 78th Venice International Film Festival (VIFF) announced the shortlisted nominees for the category of VR Film. Taiwanese new media artist, Distinguished Professor of NTNU, Hsin-Chien Huang, winner of the BEST VR Experience in 2017 with his work La Camera Insabbiata, will again contest for the Leone d’oro this year with two of his latest, sci-fi inspired works, Samsara and The Starry Sand Beach. While the Taiwanese athletes are striving for the Gold Medals at the Tokyo Olympics as we speak, director Hsin-Chien Huang dazzles the jury of VIFF with his visually-stunning and thought-provoking works — bringing cutting-edge Taiwanese VR films onto the international stage and letting world-wide audience sees Taiwan!

Before being selected for the 78th Venice International Film Festival, Samsara episode 1. has already grabbed the Jury Award at SXSW and Best VR Story at the Cannes XR Competition. This futuristic VR experience teleports the audience onto a journey that spans millions of years. Samsara is a Sanskrit word meaning “ the world ”. In Buddhism, it means what we perceive as the world is actually an endless cycle of karma (cause and effect), a cycle of life, death and rebirth in the six realms of existence. In this fascinating VR work, the audience is reincarnated into the bodies of different persons and creatures, experiencing the universe in their new bodies and in search for the ultimate spiritual transcendence.

Samsara depicts an apocalyptical story in the near future where human greed has depleted the earth’s resource. Catastrophic wars to fight for resource resulted in global destruction. Finally, the remaining humans had to leave the Earth and go on a search in space for a new place to live.

Nevertheless, their desperate, long quest for a new homeland… could it be just a loop in space and time? The cycle of greedy domination and total destruction that then necessitates the search for a new home…. may have hopelessly repeated itself over and over again? The constant evolutionary process and so-called progress, without transformation in consciousness and spiritual advancement, is nothing more than a Möbius strip that leads nowhere, perhaps…?

Samsara is an experiment based on the theory of Embodied Cognition. Through interactivity and VR, the audience gets to live inside the bodies of different persons and creatures, experiencing their feelings from within. Perhaps It is when we can perceive the world in different bodies that we may truly appreciate the thoughts of others and empathize with them. An experience that will also help us better comprehend our own existence and learn to live in harmony with all.

Samsara explores a complex of deeply interconnected issues of ecology, technology, natural resource and war, etc. It's a story about a journey humans are forced to take on, after having destroyed the earth with nuclear disasters. The survivors seek a new planet, in the boundless, interstellar space, to carry on their lives. Gradually they evolve into a new life form artificially. Yet, many years passed and they’ve come to realize that they would never make it to the new planet they’ve been dreaming of. In fact, they have simply been returning to the Earth, in different life forms, time after time.

Director Huang applies the concepts of embodied cognition, offering a unique way to contemplate about the nature of life. As the audience are transported into different bodies each time, they gain a brand new perspective to experience the world views presented in Samsara.

Samsara was produced under the guidance of Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and Kaohsiung Film Archive VR(VR FILM LAB), it’s a sate-of-the-art VR production made 100% in Taiwan. In the VR experience, viewers are transformed into various kinds of animals to interact with the scenes, including species unique and indigenous to Taiwan, such as Taiwan Blue Magpie and Formosan Black Bear.

Samsara Ep.1 features the latest somatosensory technology, including 4D views shooting techniques by the Industrial Technology Research Institute and TAICCA. A digital shooting system comprised of a high-sensitivity 4 million-pixel, full-color CCD sensor and 48 4DV-EX-Z cameras made it possible for Samsara Ep.1 to be taken from an omnidirectional view and shot without any blind spots, creating the ultimate immersive experience.

THE STARRY SAND BEACH, directed by Hsin-Chien Huang and produced in cooperation with Lucid Reality (France) and Oready 瑞意創科 Oready Innovation Lab (Taiwan), is a scientific fairy tale about a unique ecological wonder in Taiwan and Japan, the shiny starry sand beaches. Foraminifera, from the Latin word “foramen” meaning hole, is a single-celled organism that builds a shell with multiple chambers which intercommunicate with one another through holes. On the Qimei Island, Taiwan and the Yaeyama Islands, Japan, beaches have been formed by a specific species of foraminifera with star-shaped shells made of calcium carbonate. Like the real stars in the legends, grains of the starry sand have also been preserving the earth’s memories for millions of years.

THE STARRY SAND BEACH is a real-time 3D interactive VR adventure into the natural and mythological landscape of the starry sand beaches on Qimei Island in Penghu Archipelago, Xing Sha Wan in Kenting National Park and Taketomi Island in the far south of Japan. The experience is full of aesthetically-amazing elements and enriched with cultural and religious significance like Shintoism in Japan. A beautiful, haunting legend tells the story of the starry sand…

The final winners will be presented at the award ceremony held on Sep11. With great anticipation and hopes, Hsin-Chien Huang is expected to bring home again the grand prize for Taiwan!

https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/selection-complete-works-venice-vr-expanded-0

#黃心健 #HsinChienHuang
#samsara #chalkroom
#LaCameraInsabbiata
#VeniceInternationalFilmFestival #VIFF
#Thestarrysandbeach
#LucidReality
#OreadyInnovationLab

Prospered after the Night of Lockdown

I shared this post back in April this year, but I am led to share it again, with new details. Read carefully and prayerfully!

“You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.” (Exodus‬ ‭12:22-23‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

In Egypt, the children of Israel were commanded by Yahweh God to be on lockdown in their homes to take shelter from a final plague. Sounds familiar?

It wasn’t the front door that protected them from the last plague, but the blood of the Passover lamb applied on the doorpost and lintel, forming a Hebrew letter “Tav” which represents a cross.

When the destroyer swept through the land of Egypt, the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians died, but the children of Israel were unharmed because of the blood.

Dear brethren, be wise, stay at home in this season, but without fear.

The bunch of hyssop which the children of Israel used to apply the blood of the lamb is a picture of our tongue.

When we believe and declare that by the shed blood of Jesus we are under God’s protection from plagues and pestilences, we will experience it.

Protection won’t happen by default. You have to apply the blood on your heart’s door, and it will happen through faith.

Do you know what happened after the plague had passed? The children of Israel were chased out from Egypt in a hurry because the Egyptians were fearful of them.

“The Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We are all dead men.” The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. The children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing. Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. They plundered the Egyptians.” (Exodus‬ ‭12:33-36‬ ‭WEB‬)

They plundered the Egyptians and came out of Egypt with silver and gold. After having no salary for hundreds of years, they were repaid and restored suddenly in just one night!

Later on, the children of Israel used the gold to build the tabernacle to worship God.

Speaking prophetically about our times, after the COVID-19 lockdown, the wealth of the Egyptians (the world; Gentiles) will be transferred into the hands of God’s covenant people (the church of Jesus Christ).

For the world, it’s a recession, but God’s children will see the wealth of the nations added unto them.

This is for those who have faith—remember that anyone of the children of Israel who didn’t apply the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and lintel ended up with a dead firstborn child.

God gave favor to the children of Israel so that the Egyptians gave the children of Israel “what they asked”.
If you don’t ask, you will walk out of this pandemic with no increase.

Those who have a revelation of this will ask boldly and receive in abundance.
How much will you ask for when you know that the answer will always be “Yes” and “Okay”?
Personally, I’d take as much as I can on my way out of Egypt, loading them on carts and wagons with animals pulling them.

This financial enrichment will happen by God granting us favor. We will be prospered for a purpose.

Just like the children of Israel used the silver and gold to build a place of worship unto God, we will be enriched so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be sponsored to go further and fastest than ever before.

Don’t be one of those who say they don’t need to prosper or that it’s not God’s will to prosper His people. Forgive me for being so blunt, but that’s self-centered, unbiblical and lazy thinking.

This is not about you. It’s about the growth of God’s kingdom. Receive in abundance for Jesus’ sake, and give all the extra money away to fund evangelism efforts if you don’t need it—the increase in wealth is not for your own hoarding purposes.
Use your wealth to be a blessing to others and show God’s heart of love.

“Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” (Genesis‬ ‭41:29-32‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Either last year or the year before, as I was studying the Book of Genesis, the Holy Spirit opened my understanding to see the prophetic meaning of the passage above.

It is about Pharaoh’s dream. In the end times, the seven years of plenty represent the seven years before the Rapture, and the seven years of famine afterwards represents the seven years of Tribulation for the world. Before the Lord returns, it will be a time of great prosperity and blessedness that ends upon the church’s departure from this world.

God’s kingdom is going to expand at an unprecedented speed! Are you ready for a great outpouring of God’s blessings before Jesus returns to receive His church? Make sure you position yourself to receive in abundance!

I believe God showed me a clear sign to confirm what I knew inside—the financial vehicle by which this wealth transfer will happen, besides physical gold and silver (which are always good to have).

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice, so do your own research before making any decisions with your resources. I need to share this and not selfishly keep this knowledge to myself. That being said, you can see the details of the sign on my tweet: https://twitter.com/miltongohblog/status/1405652799258390529?s=21

💕「愛台灣，我的選擇」系列第14發：環境科學家馬耐德發現台灣的生物多樣性與供應鏈的關鍵角色

「我來自美國加州聖地亞哥，畢業於美國創價大學，主修環境科學，當時主要從事淡水魚和基礎漁業的研究。隨後我到加州蒙特瑞國際研究學院攻讀碩士，研究海洋及沿海資源管理。當時其中一位教授就是來自台灣，她告訴我：『你應該去台灣看一看。』很多旅居海外的台灣人都會這樣鼓勵外國人拜訪台灣。

而我後來也的確到台灣進行了一個海峽兩岸的研究，作為唯一一位環境科學學人，我必須要想一個能在台北和上海演講的主題，垃圾就是一個最明顯的題材。因為當你來到台灣，你會發現台灣街道上都沒有垃圾，這點讓我感到非常新奇，為什麼會沒有垃圾呢？當時我也發現並沒有什麼關於台灣廢棄物管理轉型的英文資訊，所以我就決定住在台灣，研究這個讓我很著迷的題目。那是2013年的事，後來我獲得傅爾布萊特獎助金在墾丁海生館擔任訪問學者一年，至此之後我就待了下來。大約六個月前，我開始在銳思碳管理顧問公司上班，我們負責協助大型品牌和他們的供應鏈設定並達成碳供應鏈目標。這是我們剛在台灣成立的新辦公室，公司的總部在香港，但我們想要把重心移到台灣，因為台灣是關鍵的供應鏈環節。我們認為台灣將在永續報告和減碳目標上持續成長，而且台灣真的是個好地方。

台灣有很多我很喜歡的優點，我覺得最棒但很少被注意到的一點是台灣的生物多樣性。台灣是亞熱帶島嶼，擁有非常豐富多樣的原生種和特有種，美麗的蝴蝶、螢火蟲、珊瑚、鯨鯊、鮪魚、熊……物種多到我三天三夜都講不完。而且就算不開車，也很容易親近大自然。我也喜歡騎單車，台灣的單車道做的非常好，還有優質的單車品牌和產品。我在台灣大多時候過的很不錯，沒什麼好抱怨的，食物也好吃。而且台灣人基本上對科學有充分的信任和熱忱，許多民選官員都曾經是醫生、科學家、工程師等等，連總統都曾發表過博士論文。台灣的前副總統大概是地球上最有資格帶領對抗新冠疫情的領袖。感覺上，台灣有很多科學家，當個理工宅男好像也很OK。」

✨馬耐德(Nate Maynard)連續兩年(2014及2015 年)榮獲美國傅爾布萊特獎助學金，現為「鬼島之音Waste Not Why Not」節目製作及主持人，及銳思碳管理顧問股份有限公司高級顧問。

💕Why I chose Taiwan #14 – Environmental sciences scholar Nate Maynard discover Taiwan’s and its key role in supply chains

"I’m from San Diego California originally. My undergrad was from Soka University of America; liberal arts with a concentration in environmental studies, and I work on fresh-water fishes mostly and basic fisheries. And then my Master’s program was at the Monterey Institute of International Studies with a concentration in ocean and coastal resource management. One of my professors was Taiwanese, and she said: ‘you gotta go to Taiwan,’ as most Taiwanese people living abroad will tell foreigners.

And I did go visit Taiwan for a cross-Strait research trip, and as the only environment person, I had to come up with something I could talk about in Taipei and Shanghai, and garbage was the most obvious thing. Because when you come to Taiwan, there’s no garbage, and I became fascinated: Why is there no garbage? I realized there really wasn’t much information in English about Taiwan’s waste management transformation, and that’s sort of how I got hooked and decided I wanted to live in Taiwan. That was 2013. And then I got the Fulbright Fellowship and spent a year at the National Aquarium in Kenting....and they haven’t been able to get me to leave. About six months ago, I started working for a private consulting firm called Reset Carbon. We help major brands and their supply chains set and achieve carbon supply chain targets. This is a new office that we just set up in Taiwan. The company’s headquarter is in Hong Kong, but we wanted to pivot to Taiwan because Taiwan’s the key supply chain link. We expect to see Taiwan growing in terms of sustainability reporting, carbon reduction goals, and Taiwan’s just a nice place.

There’s a couple things that I really enjoy about Taiwan. I think the best thing that doesn’t get enough coverage is biodiversity. Taiwan is a sub-tropical island. It’s full of native and endemic species, beautiful butterflies, fireflies, coral, whale sharks, tuna, bears...I can list the animals for hours. It’s easy for me to go and get access to nature, even without a car. I also enjoy biking and Taiwan has excellent biking infrastructure, and great bike companies that make fine products. Most aspects of my life in Taiwan are pretty good. I can’t complain. Food is great too. I think there’s also a general trust and enthusiasm for science in Taiwan. I mean there’s a lot of elected officials that are doctors, scientists, engineers, and the president has published papers as a PhD. And you know, the vice president was probably the most qualified person on Earth to lead the COVID response. In Taiwan, it feels like the scientists are pretty well-represented, and like being a nerd is kinda okay." -- Nate Maynard

✨Nate Maynard won Fulbright Fellowship two times in a row (2014-15, 2015-16), now serving as a program host and producer of “Waste Not Why Not” with Ghost Island Media and a senior consultant at Reset Carbon.