WOW Galaxy Note7 The smartphone that thinks big 2016

WOW Galaxy Note7 The smartphone that thinks big 2016

WOW Galaxy Note7 The smartphone that thinks big 2016

 

When you're constantly connected to your phone making seamless transitions between work and play, you need a phone that's big enough to deal with it all. So we designed the Galaxy Note7 to think as big as you do. For you to get the most out of life the way you choose.

more info HERE

 

When you're constantly connected to your phone making seamless transitions between work and play, you need a phone that's big enough to deal with it all. So we designed the Galaxy Note7 to think as big as you do. For you to get the most out of life the way you choose.

more info HERE

WOW Galaxy Note7 The smartphone that thinks big 2016

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQafYkCb7V8rZYBh0-qGB4W7CDu-zdWD1pcyULvtwIPyescZy8f-oaCI0AYX5STjPRAyrcaUc9iGUasULwFNGAxm2hjuajy0ZgdauXLh4SJwWn9fpnzHpvKlqkJGwBF6HNaBmEf88CGjs/s72-c/galaxy-note7_highlights_kv_gold.jpg

HTC 10

HTC 10

HTC 10

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 CDMA 800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G Network	LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500) LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300)
SIM	Nano SIM
Status	Announced April 2016
	Body
Dimensions	145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm, 161 grams (5.74 x 2.83 x 0.35 inches, 5.68 ounce)
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	Gold, Gray, Silver
Cover	Aluminum
	Display
Type	Super LCD5, Corning Gorilla Glass 4, capacitive, multi-touch, LCD touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.2 inches, 1440 x 2560 pixels, 564 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 200GB
Internal	32GB and 64GB versions
OS	Android 6.0 Marshmallow; HTC Sense UI
Processors	2.15GHz dual-core Kryo and 1.6GHz dual-core Kryo CPU, Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 chipset, Adreno 530 GPU
RAM	4GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Stereo speakers
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42.2 mbps downlink; Up to 5.76 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 450 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WI-FI	802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, WIFI hotspot, DLNA, Wi-Fi direct
Bluetooth	Version 4.2, A2DP
GPS	A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC	Yes
USB	MicroUSB v2.0, Type-C connector
	Camera
Primary	12MP, up to 4000 x 3000-pixel pictures, autofocus, geo-tagging, laser autofocus, face and smile detection, optical image stabilization, HDR, panorama, touch focus camera with dual LED flash
Video	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps
Secondary	5MP, up to 2592 x 1944-pixel pictures
	Battery
Capacity	3000mAh Li-Po battery (non removable)
Stand-by	Up to 456 hours (3G)
Talk time	Up to 27 hours (3G)
Music play	Up to 78 hours
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML5
Java	No
	– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player – Document viewer – Image viewer/editor – Voice memo/dial/command – Predictive text input – Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk
	Price
Price level	About 700 USD

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 CDMA 800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G Network	LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500) LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300)
SIM	Nano SIM
Status	Announced April 2016
	Body
Dimensions	145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm, 161 grams (5.74 x 2.83 x 0.35 inches, 5.68 ounce)
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	Gold, Gray, Silver
Cover	Aluminum
	Display
Type	Super LCD5, Corning Gorilla Glass 4, capacitive, multi-touch, LCD touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.2 inches, 1440 x 2560 pixels, 564 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 200GB
Internal	32GB and 64GB versions
OS	Android 6.0 Marshmallow; HTC Sense UI
Processors	2.15GHz dual-core Kryo and 1.6GHz dual-core Kryo CPU, Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 chipset, Adreno 530 GPU
RAM	4GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Stereo speakers
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42.2 mbps downlink; Up to 5.76 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 450 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WI-FI	802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, WIFI hotspot, DLNA, Wi-Fi direct
Bluetooth	Version 4.2, A2DP
GPS	A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC	Yes
USB	MicroUSB v2.0, Type-C connector
	Camera
Primary	12MP, up to 4000 x 3000-pixel pictures, autofocus, geo-tagging, laser autofocus, face and smile detection, optical image stabilization, HDR, panorama, touch focus camera with dual LED flash
Video	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps
Secondary	5MP, up to 2592 x 1944-pixel pictures
	Battery
Capacity	3000mAh Li-Po battery (non removable)
Stand-by	Up to 456 hours (3G)
Talk time	Up to 27 hours (3G)
Music play	Up to 78 hours
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML5
Java	No
	– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player – Document viewer – Image viewer/editor – Voice memo/dial/command – Predictive text input – Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk
	Price
Price level	About 700 USD

HTC 10

this is Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

this is Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

this is Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

Available as Samsung Galaxy J710F (India, Thailand); J710M (LATAM); J710H (South Africa, Pakistan, Vietnam)

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	J710F, J710H – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 J710M – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 210
4G Network	J710F – LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 40(2300) J710M –  LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 17(700), 28(700)
SIM	Dual micro SIM
Status	Announced March 2016
	Body
Dimensions	151.7 x 76 x 7.8 mm. 170 grams (5.97 x 2.99 x 0.31 inches, 6.00 ounce)
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	White, Black, Gold
Cover	Plastic
	Display
Type	Super AMOLED capacitive, multitouch touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.5 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 401 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 128GB
Internal	16GB
OS	Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, TouchWIZ UI
Processors	1.4GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 & 1.0GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 chipset, Adreno 405 GPU
RAM	3GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42 mbps downlink; Up to 5.76 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 150 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WIFI	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth	Version 4.1, A2DP
GPS	A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC	No
USB	MicroUSB v2.0
	Camera
Primary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel pictures, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, HDR, autofocus camera with LED flash
Video	1080p@30fps
Secondary	5MP, up to 2592 x 1944-pixel pictures camera with LED flash
	Battery
Capacity	3300mAh Li-Ion battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Music play
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML5
Java	Yes
Miscellaneous	– SNS integration – MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player – Document viewer – Image viewer/editor – Voice memo/dial/command – Predictive text input via SWYPE
	Price
Price level	About 435 USD

Available as Samsung Galaxy J710F (India, Thailand); J710M (LATAM); J710H (South Africa, Pakistan, Vietnam)

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	J710F, J710H – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 J710M – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 210
4G Network	J710F – LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 40(2300) J710M –  LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 17(700), 28(700)
SIM	Dual micro SIM
Status	Announced March 2016
	Body
Dimensions	151.7 x 76 x 7.8 mm. 170 grams (5.97 x 2.99 x 0.31 inches, 6.00 ounce)
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	White, Black, Gold
Cover	Plastic
	Display
Type	Super AMOLED capacitive, multitouch touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.5 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 401 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 128GB
Internal	16GB
OS	Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, TouchWIZ UI
Processors	1.4GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 & 1.0GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 chipset, Adreno 405 GPU
RAM	3GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42 mbps downlink; Up to 5.76 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 150 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WIFI	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth	Version 4.1, A2DP
GPS	A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC	No
USB	MicroUSB v2.0
	Camera
Primary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel pictures, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, HDR, autofocus camera with LED flash
Video	1080p@30fps
Secondary	5MP, up to 2592 x 1944-pixel pictures camera with LED flash
	Battery
Capacity	3300mAh Li-Ion battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Music play
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML5
Java	Yes
Miscellaneous	– SNS integration – MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player – Document viewer – Image viewer/editor – Voice memo/dial/command – Predictive text input via SWYPE
	Price
Price level	About 435 USD

this is Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

this is Tecno Camon C9

this is Tecno Camon C9

this is Tecno Camon C9

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
4G Network	FDD-LTE 800 / 850 / 2100 / 1800 / 2600
SIM	Dual mini SIM
Status	Available June 2016
	Body
Dimensions	153 x 76.4 x 6.8 mm, 13 grams
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	White, Black
Cover	Plastic
	Display
Type	IPS capacitive LCD touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.5 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 401 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 128GB
Internal	16GB
OS	Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Processors	1.3GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU, MediaTek MT6753 chipset, Mali-T720 MP4 GPU
RAM	2GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42 mbps downlink; Up to 5.67 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 150 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WIFI	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	Version 4.1
GPS	A-GPS
NFC	No
USB	MicroUSB v2.0
	Camera
Primary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel-pictures, HDR, autofocus, panorama, Geo-tagging camera with LED flash
Video	1080@30fps
Secondary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel pictures, LED flash
	Battery
Capacity	3000mAh Li-Ion battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Music play
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML
Java	No
Miscellaneous	– MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player – FM Radio – MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player – Image viewer and editor – Document viewer and editor – Preloaded applications – GTalk , WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Google Talk,  etc.
	Price
Price level	About 150 USD

	General Information
2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
4G Network	FDD-LTE 800 / 850 / 2100 / 1800 / 2600
SIM	Dual mini SIM
Status	Available June 2016
	Body
Dimensions	153 x 76.4 x 6.8 mm, 13 grams
Keyboard	Touchscreen
Colors	White, Black
Cover	Plastic
	Display
Type	IPS capacitive LCD touchscreen with 16,000,000 colors
Size	5.5 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 401 pixels per inch
	Memory And OS
Card slot	MicroSD, up to 128GB
Internal	16GB
OS	Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Processors	1.3GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU, MediaTek MT6753 chipset, Mali-T720 MP4 GPU
RAM	2GB
	Audio
Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
Audio port	3.5mm jack
	Connectivity
2G	GPRS – up to 85.6 kbps; EDGE – up to 236.8 kbps
3G	Up to 42 mbps downlink; Up to 5.67 mbps uplink
4G	Up to 150 mbps downlink; Up to 50 mbps uplink
WIFI	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	Version 4.1
GPS	A-GPS
NFC	No
USB	MicroUSB v2.0
	Camera
Primary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel-pictures, HDR, autofocus, panorama, Geo-tagging camera with LED flash
Video	1080@30fps
Secondary	13MP, up to 4128 x 3096-pixel pictures, LED flash
	Battery
Capacity	3000mAh Li-Ion battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Music play
	Other Features
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser	HTML
Java	No
Miscellaneous	– MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player – FM Radio – MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player – Image viewer and editor – Document viewer and editor – Preloaded applications – GTalk , WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Google Talk,  etc.
	Price
Price level	About 150 USD

this is Tecno Camon C9

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15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels

15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels

15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels

Imagine being the guy who once played the most important villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before he was important. Or turning your back on being Batman's love interest just before you would have got a juicy chance to die. Or suffering the sting of being the only one unceremoniously booted out of a film and watching your former colleagues get back together for sequels without you.
That ignominy is a surprisingly regular thing for actors who have taken on a comic book movie role. In rare cases, they're sacked spectacularly for being rubbish, while in others they turn down the chance to return (because they're idiots who want to star in a Queen Latifah movie). And some simply stop getting calls from their former employers.
In every case we're supposed to go about our business without acknowledging the change, as if a character once played by a 6'4" African American man could suddenly turn into the very white, very not 6'4" Peter Dinklage. Those are the kind of bumps we have to endure when studios decide they just want someone different/better...

15. Billy Dee Williams (Harvey Dent)

The Replacement: Tommy Lee Jones You would be forgiven for thinking that Tim Burton's departure from the Batman series (albeit sideways into a producer role after his vision was deemed too dark) meant what followed was an entirely different continuity. But that's simply not the case: despite Warner Bros' desire to distance themselves from Burton's weirdness that wasn't selling toys, there was no hard or soft reset between Batman Returns and Batman Forever.
So the fact that Harvey Dent, who had been played by Billy Dee Williams in Batman, was replaced by someone decidedly more caucasian is cause for confusion.
Williams was actually screwed out of playing Two Face twice: originally he was supposed to turn into the monster at the end of Batman Returns, only to see his role written out in favour of Max Schreck, and then when Joel Schumacher decided to bring in the split personality element, he simply chose to forget about Williams:

"I always wanted Tommy Lee Jones. I didn't consider Billy Dee Williams for the role, because I think that he is a hero. I always see him like Clark Gable. I had just finished working with Tommy Lee Jones on The Client, and I thought he would be a great Harvey Dent\Two-Face."

The hero thing of course is actually the point, but whatever.

Imagine being the guy who once played the most important villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before he was important. Or turning your back on being Batman's love interest just before you would have got a juicy chance to die. Or suffering the sting of being the only one unceremoniously booted out of a film and watching your former colleagues get back together for sequels without you.
That ignominy is a surprisingly regular thing for actors who have taken on a comic book movie role. In rare cases, they're sacked spectacularly for being rubbish, while in others they turn down the chance to return (because they're idiots who want to star in a Queen Latifah movie). And some simply stop getting calls from their former employers.
In every case we're supposed to go about our business without acknowledging the change, as if a character once played by a 6'4" African American man could suddenly turn into the very white, very not 6'4" Peter Dinklage. Those are the kind of bumps we have to endure when studios decide they just want someone different/better...

15. Billy Dee Williams (Harvey Dent)

The Replacement: Tommy Lee Jones You would be forgiven for thinking that Tim Burton's departure from the Batman series (albeit sideways into a producer role after his vision was deemed too dark) meant what followed was an entirely different continuity. But that's simply not the case: despite Warner Bros' desire to distance themselves from Burton's weirdness that wasn't selling toys, there was no hard or soft reset between Batman Returns and Batman Forever.
So the fact that Harvey Dent, who had been played by Billy Dee Williams in Batman, was replaced by someone decidedly more caucasian is cause for confusion.
Williams was actually screwed out of playing Two Face twice: originally he was supposed to turn into the monster at the end of Batman Returns, only to see his role written out in favour of Max Schreck, and then when Joel Schumacher decided to bring in the split personality element, he simply chose to forget about Williams:

"I always wanted Tommy Lee Jones. I didn't consider Billy Dee Williams for the role, because I think that he is a hero. I always see him like Clark Gable. I had just finished working with Tommy Lee Jones on The Client, and I thought he would be a great Harvey Dent\Two-Face."

The hero thing of course is actually the point, but whatever.

15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels

The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed

The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed

The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed

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Scenes in movies are deleted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they don’t fit structurally, sometimes the movie’s runtime is already too long, but normally these cuts are small and don’t have an overwhelming effect on the plot. Occasionally, however, large, expensive chunks of a movie are gutted entirely and not only alter the movie, but wholly change the storyline.
The deleted scenes listed here fit into the latter category. Not only do the sections removed do away with entire plots, subplots, and actors, but they cost a boat-ton of money, resulting in millions and millions of dollars being virtually thrown away. Often, these lost treasures are relegated to the bonus-features section of a DVD, but on occasion they are lost to the ages with the creators unwilling to acknowledge their existence.
Here are The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed.

301shares

Scenes in movies are deleted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they don’t fit structurally, sometimes the movie’s runtime is already too long, but normally these cuts are small and don’t have an overwhelming effect on the plot. Occasionally, however, large, expensive chunks of a movie are gutted entirely and not only alter the movie, but wholly change the storyline.
The deleted scenes listed here fit into the latter category. Not only do the sections removed do away with entire plots, subplots, and actors, but they cost a boat-ton of money, resulting in millions and millions of dollars being virtually thrown away. Often, these lost treasures are relegated to the bonus-features section of a DVD, but on occasion they are lost to the ages with the creators unwilling to acknowledge their existence.
Here are The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed.

The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed

James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Here’s Why

James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Here’s Why

James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Here’s Why

If box office numbers are anything to go by, pretty much everybody loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Many fans saw it more than once. James Cameron saw it at least once, and was apparently mostly unimpressed. The man responsible for Avatar, and maybe some sequels one day, did not find The Force Awakens to be as visually original as the George Lucas films, though he's looking forward to seeing where they go.
If there was one major criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was that the film played things pretty safe when it came to the plot, telling a story that was remarkably close to the one told in the original Star Wars. In a new interview, while being careful to praise both George Lucas and J.J. Abrams, James Cameron does say that he had this same issue with the film as many other fans, though it isn't actually his first complaint.

I have to say that I felt that George's group of six films had more innovative visual imagination. This film was more of a retrenchment to things you had seen before and characters you had seen before and it took a few baby steps forward with new characters.

Ultimately, we have to admit that James Cameron isn't wrong here. Making a movie that reminded people of the original Star Wars seemed to be intentional. For many fans, this was ok, as no movie had necessarily done that in several decades. For Cameron, however, Star Wars: The Force Awakens didn't do enough new stuff. It's clear that whatever George Lucas had in mind for potential new films would have been something very different than what we got. Cameron's compliments of Lucas make it obvious that the two have very similar thought processes when it comes to making movies. With that in mind, his criticism is at the very least understandable, regardless of whether or not you agree with it.
It's far from shocking that the man responsible for Avatar was interested in the film's "visual imagination" first and foremost. Cameron is always looking for the next new and exciting way to make a movie. One assumes that the reason the Avatar sequels are in a state of perpetual delay is because of Cameron's desire to take them to the next level in some way. Of course, if we wanted to be snarky, we could point out that while George Lucas' Star Wars movies were certainly visually imaginative, some might argue that some of them were little else. Check out Cameron's full comments below.

If box office numbers are anything to go by, pretty much everybody loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Many fans saw it more than once. James Cameron saw it at least once, and was apparently mostly unimpressed. The man responsible for Avatar, and maybe some sequels one day, did not find The Force Awakens to be as visually original as the George Lucas films, though he's looking forward to seeing where they go.
If there was one major criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was that the film played things pretty safe when it came to the plot, telling a story that was remarkably close to the one told in the original Star Wars. In a new interview, while being careful to praise both George Lucas and J.J. Abrams, James Cameron does say that he had this same issue with the film as many other fans, though it isn't actually his first complaint.

I have to say that I felt that George's group of six films had more innovative visual imagination. This film was more of a retrenchment to things you had seen before and characters you had seen before and it took a few baby steps forward with new characters.

Ultimately, we have to admit that James Cameron isn't wrong here. Making a movie that reminded people of the original Star Wars seemed to be intentional. For many fans, this was ok, as no movie had necessarily done that in several decades. For Cameron, however, Star Wars: The Force Awakens didn't do enough new stuff. It's clear that whatever George Lucas had in mind for potential new films would have been something very different than what we got. Cameron's compliments of Lucas make it obvious that the two have very similar thought processes when it comes to making movies. With that in mind, his criticism is at the very least understandable, regardless of whether or not you agree with it.
It's far from shocking that the man responsible for Avatar was interested in the film's "visual imagination" first and foremost. Cameron is always looking for the next new and exciting way to make a movie. One assumes that the reason the Avatar sequels are in a state of perpetual delay is because of Cameron's desire to take them to the next level in some way. Of course, if we wanted to be snarky, we could point out that while George Lucas' Star Wars movies were certainly visually imaginative, some might argue that some of them were little else. Check out Cameron's full comments below.

James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Here’s Why

The BFG Review: Spielberg Delivers Fart Jokes & Fairy Tale Fun

The BFG Review: Spielberg Delivers Fart Jokes & Fairy Tale Fun

The BFG Review: Spielberg Delivers Fart Jokes & Fairy Tale Fun

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic The BFG is at times unwieldy, but still has a lot of heart.

BYBrian Gallagher

The phrase "fun for the whole family" is bandied about so much when it comes to any sort of family movie, that it seems almost mandatory to included it in the marketing, at some point. Of course, it's a super-broad generalization that still not only assumes modern families are still of the Norman Rockwell variety, but also that parents will love what their kids love, which used to not always be the case. Over the past decade or so, studios have gotten much better at crafting movies that literally cater to this oft-uttered mantra of "fun for the whole family," with wholesome jokes for the kiddies and a few subtle jokes for the parents thrown in as well. With that being said, I was somewhat surprised that director Steven Spilelberg's The BFG is so emotionally one-note, (and one-sided), despite being visually remarkable.

I was hoping that Walt Disney Pictures' The BFG would mark a return to the true Amblin brand of the 80s, a big, fun, gigantic adventure like E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially since he reunited with E.T. writer Melissa Mathison on this adaptation, before the writer sadly passed away in November. Admittedly, I have not read Roald Dahl's book, so I was going into the screening rather blind, except for the trailers I had seen, but The BFG is just not quite what I expected. Then again, in hindsight, I had no idea what to expect in the first place. While it certainly can be fun and whimsical in certain places, it plays much more heavily towards kids than I originally thought.
Sure, Roald Dahl's original novel The BFG was most certainly a children's story. I was certainly expecting these elements in the friendship that grows between young orphan Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill) and this big friendly giant (Mark Rylance). Sophie's early interactions with The BFG, and his desire to protect her from the other, more vicious giants is all quite charming and lovely, and the performances by Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance are simply wonderful throughout. From what I understand, the story is rather faithful to the original book, aside from aspects of the ending. Still, even with all of that being said, it may even have been "too faithful" an adaptation.
While the movie isn't excessively bloated at 117 minutes, a good chunk could have been lopped off by cutting a scene that seemingly only exists to get the children to laugh. Penelope Wilton plays the Queen of England, who, through some strange circumstances, ends up meeting young Sophie and The BFG, and treats them to a hearty breakfast at Buckingham Palace. This scene does exist in the book, sure, but in the movie, it's a good 10 or 15 minutes long, and does absolutely nothing to advance the story. Yes, there are some funny bits within this elaborate sequence, but once it's all over, it's immediately clear that it just wasn't integral to the story. Maybe I'm being too hard on this sequence, but I honestly thought I'd never see Steven Spielberg directing what ends up being an elaborate, 10-minute fart joke.
Despite some of the strange choices made in this movie, including numerous plot holes that just get left unresolved, Steven Spielberg still proves he has a deft eye for discovering unknown talent, and the visuals are simply gorgeous. With only a few episodes of a British TV show entitled 4 O'Clock High under her belt, Ruby Barnhill makes a wonderful feature film debut as the precocious and strong-willed Sophie. Fresh off his Oscar win for Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, Mark Rylance delivers another powerful performance, this time through motion capture, as the giant, who is actually the smallest of all the other behemoths in Giant Country, earning him the nickname "Runt." While there are nine other giants, the two most prominent are Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), who all look amazing on the big screen. It's rather amazing watching the young human Sophie navigate through Giant Country, only to see that the rest of the giants actually dwarf BFG as much as he dwarfs her.
I'm still not quite sure how The BFG will fare at the box office. Based on the screening I went to last night, the young children in attendance seemed to be having a great time, so that could certainly bode well for this movie. Young Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance are certainly a pleasure to watch, and director Steven Spielberg's visual aesthetic for this gigantic world is certainly remarkable. Still, like most of his recent movies, there's just something intangible that seems to be lacking. I haven't the foggiest idea of what it may be, and while I still think that there is enough here to warrant seeing The BFG on the big screen, since it can be a lot of fun in certain places, but it just isn't terribly engaging overall.

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic The BFG is at times unwieldy, but still has a lot of heart.

BYBrian Gallagher

The phrase "fun for the whole family" is bandied about so much when it comes to any sort of family movie, that it seems almost mandatory to included it in the marketing, at some point. Of course, it's a super-broad generalization that still not only assumes modern families are still of the Norman Rockwell variety, but also that parents will love what their kids love, which used to not always be the case. Over the past decade or so, studios have gotten much better at crafting movies that literally cater to this oft-uttered mantra of "fun for the whole family," with wholesome jokes for the kiddies and a few subtle jokes for the parents thrown in as well. With that being said, I was somewhat surprised that director Steven Spilelberg's The BFG is so emotionally one-note, (and one-sided), despite being visually remarkable.

I was hoping that Walt Disney Pictures' The BFG would mark a return to the true Amblin brand of the 80s, a big, fun, gigantic adventure like E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially since he reunited with E.T. writer Melissa Mathison on this adaptation, before the writer sadly passed away in November. Admittedly, I have not read Roald Dahl's book, so I was going into the screening rather blind, except for the trailers I had seen, but The BFG is just not quite what I expected. Then again, in hindsight, I had no idea what to expect in the first place. While it certainly can be fun and whimsical in certain places, it plays much more heavily towards kids than I originally thought.
Sure, Roald Dahl's original novel The BFG was most certainly a children's story. I was certainly expecting these elements in the friendship that grows between young orphan Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill) and this big friendly giant (Mark Rylance). Sophie's early interactions with The BFG, and his desire to protect her from the other, more vicious giants is all quite charming and lovely, and the performances by Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance are simply wonderful throughout. From what I understand, the story is rather faithful to the original book, aside from aspects of the ending. Still, even with all of that being said, it may even have been "too faithful" an adaptation.
While the movie isn't excessively bloated at 117 minutes, a good chunk could have been lopped off by cutting a scene that seemingly only exists to get the children to laugh. Penelope Wilton plays the Queen of England, who, through some strange circumstances, ends up meeting young Sophie and The BFG, and treats them to a hearty breakfast at Buckingham Palace. This scene does exist in the book, sure, but in the movie, it's a good 10 or 15 minutes long, and does absolutely nothing to advance the story. Yes, there are some funny bits within this elaborate sequence, but once it's all over, it's immediately clear that it just wasn't integral to the story. Maybe I'm being too hard on this sequence, but I honestly thought I'd never see Steven Spielberg directing what ends up being an elaborate, 10-minute fart joke.
Despite some of the strange choices made in this movie, including numerous plot holes that just get left unresolved, Steven Spielberg still proves he has a deft eye for discovering unknown talent, and the visuals are simply gorgeous. With only a few episodes of a British TV show entitled 4 O'Clock High under her belt, Ruby Barnhill makes a wonderful feature film debut as the precocious and strong-willed Sophie. Fresh off his Oscar win for Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, Mark Rylance delivers another powerful performance, this time through motion capture, as the giant, who is actually the smallest of all the other behemoths in Giant Country, earning him the nickname "Runt." While there are nine other giants, the two most prominent are Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), who all look amazing on the big screen. It's rather amazing watching the young human Sophie navigate through Giant Country, only to see that the rest of the giants actually dwarf BFG as much as he dwarfs her.
I'm still not quite sure how The BFG will fare at the box office. Based on the screening I went to last night, the young children in attendance seemed to be having a great time, so that could certainly bode well for this movie. Young Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance are certainly a pleasure to watch, and director Steven Spielberg's visual aesthetic for this gigantic world is certainly remarkable. Still, like most of his recent movies, there's just something intangible that seems to be lacking. I haven't the foggiest idea of what it may be, and while I still think that there is enough here to warrant seeing The BFG on the big screen, since it can be a lot of fun in certain places, but it just isn't terribly engaging overall.

The BFG Review: Spielberg Delivers Fart Jokes & Fairy Tale Fun

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoreYNB56CTo4ufO_wRQVpUTMeBGwGPPwdshLLu3KASftG0aTDAXTRMX9ys7WNNs2PMVLvT0OHl8BMGDFUdhyphenhyphenEDCA6J8AUvvNjwnIOht9yUXvbTJ8yOW7rW8YtmmNPyutourv6GeI2MDw/s72-c/NEBLlmHnkMFtFD_2_b.jpg

Stephen King's IT Finds First Member of the Loser's Club

Stephen King's IT Finds First Member of the Loser's Club

Stephen King's IT Finds First Member of the Loser's Club

Actor Jaeden Lieberher has landed a big role in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's It.

There is no shortage of Stephen King adaptations heading to both the big and small screen over the next couple of years, but a fan favorite is finally getting done. The IT remake has been in development hell for quite some time, but now with a director firmly in place and even a release date locked down, the project is moving forward and has started the casting process. Jaeden Lieberher has been tapped to play one of the members of The Losers Club.

Lieberher had a couple of breakout roles in St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray and earlier this year in the indie sci-fi flick Midnight Special. He will be playing Bill Denbrough, the leader of the young friend group known as The Losers Club. The role was originally played by Jonathan Brandis in the TV mini series that up until now has been the only live action adaptation of the beloved novel.
This news comes on the heels of another huge announcement that Hemlock Grove star Bill Skarsgard will be taking on the role of Pennywise the clown, who the main characters in It have to fight as kids and later as adults. The Pennywise casting may come as a bit of surprise because not all that long ago We're The Millers star Will Poulter was announced to be taking on the role of the famous scary clown. That clearly didn't pan out, as the current creative team seems to have a bit of a different take on the material.
Prior to the iteration of the project that is currently gearing up for production, True Detective creator Cary Fukunaga was tapped to direct the film, but he dropped out and Mama helmer Andres Muschietti stepped in. Muschietti then conducted a rewrite of the script and it is very possible that this change in direction is what resulted is Poulter exiting the role.
New Line has said that they plan to make It a two-part movie, which makes total sense given the story. The first film will focus on the younger cast of actors that Lieberher will be a part of and the second film will focus on the same group of people who are all grown up and have to team back up to fight Pennywise. Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are on board to produce the film as well.
Though many people are familiar with It from the original TV mini-series from the 90s, which featured Tim Curry as Pennywise, this new film will actually be the first big screen adaptation of King's book. As of right now there is no word on who else will be part of The Losers Club alongside Lieberher or who will be taking on the roles of the older versions of the characters, but we will surely find out soon since the film is heading into production. It is currently slated for a September 8, 2017 release.

Actor Jaeden Lieberher has landed a big role in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's It.

There is no shortage of Stephen King adaptations heading to both the big and small screen over the next couple of years, but a fan favorite is finally getting done. The IT remake has been in development hell for quite some time, but now with a director firmly in place and even a release date locked down, the project is moving forward and has started the casting process. Jaeden Lieberher has been tapped to play one of the members of The Losers Club.

Lieberher had a couple of breakout roles in St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray and earlier this year in the indie sci-fi flick Midnight Special. He will be playing Bill Denbrough, the leader of the young friend group known as The Losers Club. The role was originally played by Jonathan Brandis in the TV mini series that up until now has been the only live action adaptation of the beloved novel.
This news comes on the heels of another huge announcement that Hemlock Grove star Bill Skarsgard will be taking on the role of Pennywise the clown, who the main characters in It have to fight as kids and later as adults. The Pennywise casting may come as a bit of surprise because not all that long ago We're The Millers star Will Poulter was announced to be taking on the role of the famous scary clown. That clearly didn't pan out, as the current creative team seems to have a bit of a different take on the material.
Prior to the iteration of the project that is currently gearing up for production, True Detective creator Cary Fukunaga was tapped to direct the film, but he dropped out and Mama helmer Andres Muschietti stepped in. Muschietti then conducted a rewrite of the script and it is very possible that this change in direction is what resulted is Poulter exiting the role.
New Line has said that they plan to make It a two-part movie, which makes total sense given the story. The first film will focus on the younger cast of actors that Lieberher will be a part of and the second film will focus on the same group of people who are all grown up and have to team back up to fight Pennywise. Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are on board to produce the film as well.
Though many people are familiar with It from the original TV mini-series from the 90s, which featured Tim Curry as Pennywise, this new film will actually be the first big screen adaptation of King's book. As of right now there is no word on who else will be part of The Losers Club alongside Lieberher or who will be taking on the roles of the older versions of the characters, but we will surely find out soon since the film is heading into production. It is currently slated for a September 8, 2017 release.

Stephen King's IT Finds First Member of the Loser's Club

The black guy who can't float: why I finally (almost) learned to swi

The black guy who can't float: why I finally (almost) learned to swi

The black guy who can't float: why I finally (almost) learned to swi

A lack of access to pools and the money to pay for lessons drives a racial divide in swimming ability. But after getting married, I had no choice but to dive in

Swimming: why risk it? Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Wednesday 29 June 2016 13.53 BST Last modified on Wednesday 29 June 2016 13.54 BST

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“If you just relax, you’ll float. Everyone floats,” Monica, the instructor, says calmly while I’m flapping my extremities in sheer terror. I’m in the deep end of a Los Angeles swimming pool in May, and I’m here to learn how to swim.
Swimming is not something I do, nor am I particularly fond of being in the water unless I’m in a bubble bath. Why? Drowning. Choking. Sinking to the bottom. I just can’t figure out why anyone would willfully put themselves in a situation where they could die so easily. Why risk it? I also feel this way about skydiving, rock climbing, and unprotected sexual relations with a stranger in a truck stop bathroom. But here I am today, decidedly taking this step – or splash, if you will afford me the rhetorical indulgence.
Throughout my life, curious folks have often asked about my aversion to swimming, and the conversation has inevitably turned to race. My wife’s aunt came up to me at a family event and said that she heard “black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as easily”. I’m not one to stir up trouble in a social situation. I hate squabbles, especially when relatives are involved, and there’s no way to win an argument like that. What was I supposed to do – weigh my own skin to prove her wrong? All I could do was shrug my shoulders and say, “Maybe.”

My wife’s aunt once said to me that she heard 'black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as easily'

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At the pool. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

In truth, black people not swimming is something of a public health problem. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10 people die every day from drowning. Black and Hispanic youths are far more likely to drown than white kids. Seventy percent of black children cannot swim, while only 42% of white children reported a lack of swimming ability.
The reason for this has nothing to do with physical differences and everything to do with lack of access. In America, swimming is not a skill we’re required to learn. It’s a privilege afforded to the fortunate souls who live near a pool or accessible natural body of water, and who can afford to pay for lessons. This excludes inner city African Americans who lack one or both of those opportunities.

As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural narrative: the black guy who can’t float

I was fortunate to live in a small town in rural central California, in a middle-class military family that could afford swimming lessons. Still, I was about as unconventional as one could be in a very conservative part of the state. My Caucasian father was in the air force and my African American mother stayed at home to take care of the kids.
In an effort to get me out of the house and away from the Star Trek reruns that consumed most of my time, she tried to expose me to all manner of extracurricular activities: tap dancing, racquetball, jazzercise, and, eventually, swimming. I rejected every single hobby, but especially swimming. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t like the water, and as a result I was a dodgy swimmer. I preferred spending my time on something I had a preternatural knack for: staying indoors.
As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural narrative: the black guy who can’t float. The stereotype became something of a crutch that propped me up, but also made me dependent.
Then I married into a southern California family. They all swim and most of them surf, which is so far beyond my ability to comprehend that they might as well tell me they can bend spoons with their minds or communicate with dolphins. When we went on our honeymoon in Hawaii, my wife was concerned I’d have nothing to do; her childhood vacations consisted of bouncing from one body of water to another.

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In freshly purchased trunks. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

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I knew from the day we married that I was going to have to learn, at least so I could understand why my in-laws felt compelled to spend so much of their free time in the ocean. In the process, I thought I might better grasp what it is that keeps so many people like myself from acquiring this skill. So, on a swelteringly hot day, I drove up to the San Fernando Valley for my first swimming lesson.
There’s no shortage of swimming teachers in Los Angeles. It’s a bit like working as a nanny, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, or an agent – you’re a gatekeeper for an important aspect of living in this place. Aqua Buddies refers to itself as “LA’s primer [sic] mobile swimming school” and provides “Parent & Me, Toddler Water Safety, and swim techniques for all the swim strokes”. They’ll drive to your home swimming pool, like a Postmates or Instacart for vital life skills, I guess.
As one might expect, most of these classes are for children under the age of 15, so finding a course of study that wouldn’t include me wearing floaties or singing songs about water safety was difficult. The Los Angeles YMCA offered adult classes, but I was worried about being intimidated in a large public gymnasium.

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An encounter with a pool noodle. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Finally, I found Emily Cohen, an instructor who operates a school called the Water Whisperer out of a pool in Sherman Oaks, an affluent community in the San Fernando Valley. The name alone sounded comforting, presumably because it reminded me of the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, which always seems to put me to sleep whenever it’s on cable. The Water Whisperer website claimed a 95% success rate and explicitly mentioned their ability to train adults to overcome their aquatic phobia. Plus, it was about 20 minutes from my house.
•••
The morning of my first lesson, I meet Cohen at her pool. She’s open and non-threatening like a kindergarten teacher, but also possesses the kind of stern, paternal qualities that make you not want to disappoint her. She describes her method as “developmental. It’s layered, and it’s structured. Little kids feel safe when they know what’s coming next. There’s also original songs, puppets”. The only thing more frightening than drowning is puppets, but I was assured there would be none during my lesson.
She asks me why I don’t swim. I mention my fear, and that because so many black people don’t swim, it’s made it easier for me to avoid learning. She’s not surprised. In fact, she says the majority of adults who come to her are African American. “They say they had a bad experience or the family didn’t have money. If they came from urban areas like New York City, it just wasn’t a big thing or their parents couldn’t afford lessons.”

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On the edge. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

After stripping down to my freshly purchased trunks, I carefully walk around the pool slowly, so as not to fall and sink. I begin my exercises with Emily’s assistant, Monica, to get me comfortable with breathing techniques. “When you go down, try to keep your eyes open as long as you can. Go in slowly, and remember, I’m right here if you need me,” she says reassuringly. I suck in as much air as I can and submerge my head. I get a solid five seconds in and bolt back up before I run out of oxygen, having felt the cold specter of death nipping at my heels.
Periodically during the breathing exercises, Monica puts a hand on my shoulder and offers words of encouragement. “You’re doing great,” she says. “You’re a natural.” Here I am, a 31-year-old breathing prodigy. Who knew I had this talent inside of me?
Cohen describes the three steps of overcoming fear of water as “giving a high five, being brave and doing it anyway”. The fourth should be “receiving appeals to one’s vanity”, because that always works on me. “You are literally the best swimmer I have ever seen,” they should say. “Is that Dave Schilling in the pool or Kevin Costner from Waterworld?” I’d never stop swimming.

I have an ass for boxing people out in basketball, not for swimming

The floating exercises rock my confidence. Monica can’t seem to get me to flatten out my body enough to practice kicking. “It looks like I’m not flat because of how big my butt is,” I say. Fortunately, they laugh rather than asking me nicely to get out of the pool and walk home. That should be another urban myth about why black people don’t swim. Their asses are just too big. I have an ass for boxing people out in basketball, not for swimming.
I’m assured that it’s not my ass that’s keeping me from floating. It’s my fear. I’m too tense and not allowing the physics to sort themselves out. I’m sinking because I expect to sink or something like that. It’s my bloody death wish that’s keeping me from floating!

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A 31-year-old prodigy. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Then, the stern-parent thing with Emily kicks in and I decide I don’t want to let her down. On my next attempt, I breathe more slowly. I calm down enough to prevent my fear of the water swallowing me up from taking over, and it occurs to me that I’ve probably been overthinking this my entire life. I’ve been so worried about how I look without a shirt on, whether or not my skin is too black or too thick, and what other people think of me, that I couldn’t just engage with the task at hand. Swimming is not an intellectual exercise. It’s visceral, and bringing heavy thoughts into the pool with me isn’t helping.
Finally, I float. Not for long, but I get there. I earn a few high-fives, which I relish. Our last exercise is swimming to the wall. Monica will hold my hands while I kick my way to salvation, then I’ll do it by myself, but with her hand on my back so that I know someone’s around to save me if I get overwhelmed.

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I swam, sort of. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

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We move on to swimming the length of the pool. I get to be about 6ft away from the wall before I run out of breath and swallow a big gulp of pool water. I’d practiced breathing out of my mouth and my nose while underwater, but I had tried to do both at the same time and foolishly opened my mouth a bit too much. I don’t panic. I don’t wail or cry or moan. I just go back to it. I know that there’s someone there to help me through it.
I’m winded, but I successfully complete the unassisted laps, though you can hardly call what I did a proper lap. I swam, sort of – just enough to retain my dignity. Emily and Monica tell me how great I did. Only nine more classes to go.
I ask how much a further course of study would cost, and it’s not cheap. But if I ever want to feel fully a part of my new extended family, I’m going to have to do it.

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Success. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

For many children in nearby neighborhoods like Watts or Compton, the idea of paying for swimming lessons is something akin to a fantasy – a rite of passage for other people, not you. You’ll be told that it’s your fault, your body’s fault for being too black to float. It’s not your hair or your bones. It’s something far more insidious. It’s a system to make you feel inferior – economically and emotionally.
After my lesson, I realized that I never learned to swim because I didn’t think I deserved to. The fear of not being good enough overpowered my fear of drowning. What’s the point of moping about for the rest of my life as though I can’t do something? I should be grateful that I have the time and the resources to even do this, when so many people don’t. When I came home, my wife asked me if I learned how to swim. “Not yet,” I told her. “But at least I’m trying,” which is a good start.

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A lack of access to pools and the money to pay for lessons drives a racial divide in swimming ability. But after getting married, I had no choice but to dive in

Swimming: why risk it? Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Wednesday 29 June 2016 13.53 BST Last modified on Wednesday 29 June 2016 13.54 BST

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“If you just relax, you’ll float. Everyone floats,” Monica, the instructor, says calmly while I’m flapping my extremities in sheer terror. I’m in the deep end of a Los Angeles swimming pool in May, and I’m here to learn how to swim.
Swimming is not something I do, nor am I particularly fond of being in the water unless I’m in a bubble bath. Why? Drowning. Choking. Sinking to the bottom. I just can’t figure out why anyone would willfully put themselves in a situation where they could die so easily. Why risk it? I also feel this way about skydiving, rock climbing, and unprotected sexual relations with a stranger in a truck stop bathroom. But here I am today, decidedly taking this step – or splash, if you will afford me the rhetorical indulgence.
Throughout my life, curious folks have often asked about my aversion to swimming, and the conversation has inevitably turned to race. My wife’s aunt came up to me at a family event and said that she heard “black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as easily”. I’m not one to stir up trouble in a social situation. I hate squabbles, especially when relatives are involved, and there’s no way to win an argument like that. What was I supposed to do – weigh my own skin to prove her wrong? All I could do was shrug my shoulders and say, “Maybe.”

My wife’s aunt once said to me that she heard 'black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as easily'

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At the pool. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

In truth, black people not swimming is something of a public health problem. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10 people die every day from drowning. Black and Hispanic youths are far more likely to drown than white kids. Seventy percent of black children cannot swim, while only 42% of white children reported a lack of swimming ability.
The reason for this has nothing to do with physical differences and everything to do with lack of access. In America, swimming is not a skill we’re required to learn. It’s a privilege afforded to the fortunate souls who live near a pool or accessible natural body of water, and who can afford to pay for lessons. This excludes inner city African Americans who lack one or both of those opportunities.

As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural narrative: the black guy who can’t float

I was fortunate to live in a small town in rural central California, in a middle-class military family that could afford swimming lessons. Still, I was about as unconventional as one could be in a very conservative part of the state. My Caucasian father was in the air force and my African American mother stayed at home to take care of the kids.
In an effort to get me out of the house and away from the Star Trek reruns that consumed most of my time, she tried to expose me to all manner of extracurricular activities: tap dancing, racquetball, jazzercise, and, eventually, swimming. I rejected every single hobby, but especially swimming. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t like the water, and as a result I was a dodgy swimmer. I preferred spending my time on something I had a preternatural knack for: staying indoors.
As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural narrative: the black guy who can’t float. The stereotype became something of a crutch that propped me up, but also made me dependent.
Then I married into a southern California family. They all swim and most of them surf, which is so far beyond my ability to comprehend that they might as well tell me they can bend spoons with their minds or communicate with dolphins. When we went on our honeymoon in Hawaii, my wife was concerned I’d have nothing to do; her childhood vacations consisted of bouncing from one body of water to another.

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In freshly purchased trunks. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

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I knew from the day we married that I was going to have to learn, at least so I could understand why my in-laws felt compelled to spend so much of their free time in the ocean. In the process, I thought I might better grasp what it is that keeps so many people like myself from acquiring this skill. So, on a swelteringly hot day, I drove up to the San Fernando Valley for my first swimming lesson.
There’s no shortage of swimming teachers in Los Angeles. It’s a bit like working as a nanny, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, or an agent – you’re a gatekeeper for an important aspect of living in this place. Aqua Buddies refers to itself as “LA’s primer [sic] mobile swimming school” and provides “Parent & Me, Toddler Water Safety, and swim techniques for all the swim strokes”. They’ll drive to your home swimming pool, like a Postmates or Instacart for vital life skills, I guess.
As one might expect, most of these classes are for children under the age of 15, so finding a course of study that wouldn’t include me wearing floaties or singing songs about water safety was difficult. The Los Angeles YMCA offered adult classes, but I was worried about being intimidated in a large public gymnasium.

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An encounter with a pool noodle. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Finally, I found Emily Cohen, an instructor who operates a school called the Water Whisperer out of a pool in Sherman Oaks, an affluent community in the San Fernando Valley. The name alone sounded comforting, presumably because it reminded me of the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, which always seems to put me to sleep whenever it’s on cable. The Water Whisperer website claimed a 95% success rate and explicitly mentioned their ability to train adults to overcome their aquatic phobia. Plus, it was about 20 minutes from my house.
•••
The morning of my first lesson, I meet Cohen at her pool. She’s open and non-threatening like a kindergarten teacher, but also possesses the kind of stern, paternal qualities that make you not want to disappoint her. She describes her method as “developmental. It’s layered, and it’s structured. Little kids feel safe when they know what’s coming next. There’s also original songs, puppets”. The only thing more frightening than drowning is puppets, but I was assured there would be none during my lesson.
She asks me why I don’t swim. I mention my fear, and that because so many black people don’t swim, it’s made it easier for me to avoid learning. She’s not surprised. In fact, she says the majority of adults who come to her are African American. “They say they had a bad experience or the family didn’t have money. If they came from urban areas like New York City, it just wasn’t a big thing or their parents couldn’t afford lessons.”

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On the edge. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

After stripping down to my freshly purchased trunks, I carefully walk around the pool slowly, so as not to fall and sink. I begin my exercises with Emily’s assistant, Monica, to get me comfortable with breathing techniques. “When you go down, try to keep your eyes open as long as you can. Go in slowly, and remember, I’m right here if you need me,” she says reassuringly. I suck in as much air as I can and submerge my head. I get a solid five seconds in and bolt back up before I run out of oxygen, having felt the cold specter of death nipping at my heels.
Periodically during the breathing exercises, Monica puts a hand on my shoulder and offers words of encouragement. “You’re doing great,” she says. “You’re a natural.” Here I am, a 31-year-old breathing prodigy. Who knew I had this talent inside of me?
Cohen describes the three steps of overcoming fear of water as “giving a high five, being brave and doing it anyway”. The fourth should be “receiving appeals to one’s vanity”, because that always works on me. “You are literally the best swimmer I have ever seen,” they should say. “Is that Dave Schilling in the pool or Kevin Costner from Waterworld?” I’d never stop swimming.

I have an ass for boxing people out in basketball, not for swimming

The floating exercises rock my confidence. Monica can’t seem to get me to flatten out my body enough to practice kicking. “It looks like I’m not flat because of how big my butt is,” I say. Fortunately, they laugh rather than asking me nicely to get out of the pool and walk home. That should be another urban myth about why black people don’t swim. Their asses are just too big. I have an ass for boxing people out in basketball, not for swimming.
I’m assured that it’s not my ass that’s keeping me from floating. It’s my fear. I’m too tense and not allowing the physics to sort themselves out. I’m sinking because I expect to sink or something like that. It’s my bloody death wish that’s keeping me from floating!

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A 31-year-old prodigy. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

Then, the stern-parent thing with Emily kicks in and I decide I don’t want to let her down. On my next attempt, I breathe more slowly. I calm down enough to prevent my fear of the water swallowing me up from taking over, and it occurs to me that I’ve probably been overthinking this my entire life. I’ve been so worried about how I look without a shirt on, whether or not my skin is too black or too thick, and what other people think of me, that I couldn’t just engage with the task at hand. Swimming is not an intellectual exercise. It’s visceral, and bringing heavy thoughts into the pool with me isn’t helping.
Finally, I float. Not for long, but I get there. I earn a few high-fives, which I relish. Our last exercise is swimming to the wall. Monica will hold my hands while I kick my way to salvation, then I’ll do it by myself, but with her hand on my back so that I know someone’s around to save me if I get overwhelmed.

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I swam, sort of. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

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We move on to swimming the length of the pool. I get to be about 6ft away from the wall before I run out of breath and swallow a big gulp of pool water. I’d practiced breathing out of my mouth and my nose while underwater, but I had tried to do both at the same time and foolishly opened my mouth a bit too much. I don’t panic. I don’t wail or cry or moan. I just go back to it. I know that there’s someone there to help me through it.
I’m winded, but I successfully complete the unassisted laps, though you can hardly call what I did a proper lap. I swam, sort of – just enough to retain my dignity. Emily and Monica tell me how great I did. Only nine more classes to go.
I ask how much a further course of study would cost, and it’s not cheap. But if I ever want to feel fully a part of my new extended family, I’m going to have to do it.

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Success. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian

For many children in nearby neighborhoods like Watts or Compton, the idea of paying for swimming lessons is something akin to a fantasy – a rite of passage for other people, not you. You’ll be told that it’s your fault, your body’s fault for being too black to float. It’s not your hair or your bones. It’s something far more insidious. It’s a system to make you feel inferior – economically and emotionally.
After my lesson, I realized that I never learned to swim because I didn’t think I deserved to. The fear of not being good enough overpowered my fear of drowning. What’s the point of moping about for the rest of my life as though I can’t do something? I should be grateful that I have the time and the resources to even do this, when so many people don’t. When I came home, my wife asked me if I learned how to swim. “Not yet,” I told her. “But at least I’m trying,” which is a good start.

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The black guy who can't float: why I finally (almost) learned to swi