Avatar The Movie

Avatar The Movie - Amino Tank

2009-12-22T23:18:00.000-08:00

[*]Description : Large hyperplex tank filled with alkaline solution and connected to support apparatus

[*]Function : Growth of avatar body during transport from Earth to Pandora
[*]Size : Avatar tank is 385.82 centimeters long, 148.4 centimeters long, and holds nearly 6,350 liters of fluid
[*]Notes : Widely used on Earth for organ regeneration

Garrett Elmer : "This is my new favorite movie! Loved it! Absolutely visually stunning! Finally a movie that combines action, suspense, beauty, and opens you to a higher sense of Consciousness. It sets the bar. Awesome movie!"

The controlled environment of the amnio tank was originally developed to replace functions of mammalian womb. It is used for growing cloned animals, humans (rarely) and (most commonly) replacement limbs and organs. It is now used with great success to grow avatar bodies that are genetically linked to their controllers. This in turn allows for effective an effective psilink between human controller and the cloned avatar.

The growth takes place in a suspension fluid, a mostly inert substitute for amniotic fluid kept at a controlled temperature and with constantly monitored composition. One or more placentiums, which function similarly to a mammalian placenta, supply nutrients and hormones to the organ or creature being cultivated. Monitoring equipment is used to closely control the nutrients, growth stimulants and other materials supplied via the placentium.

Cellular rebuilders, found at many large Terran hospitals serving clients with alpha-level insurance coverage, are modified amnio tanks. Clients suffering from serious injury or organ failure are put into an induced coma, connected to a placentium, then immersed in the rebuilder tank where reconstruction at a cellular level is performed under nanobotic control.

Amnio tanks range in size from the one-pint “Digigrow” found in many doctor's offices as an outpatient service, to the converted dry dock at Anchorage Naval Yards currently being used as part of the Ocean Phoenix whale revival project.

The amnio tanks used by the Avatar Project are unusually large, to accommodate the Na’vi-like creatures they are built to create. A standard human amnio tank is about 2.2 meters long and holds about 570 liters of fluid. An avatar tank is 385.82 centimeters long, 148.4 centimeters wide, and holds nearly 6,350 liters of fluid. In addition, the avatar tanks are designed to be portable, since most avatar growth takes place on the interstellar vehicle during transit to Pandora.

Thanks to the long duration of the journey (almost six years Earth time), less aggressive growth stimulants are needed to bring the avatar to full adult stature than would usually be necessary; most organisms grown in amnio tanks on Earth are completed within six months.

More “natural” growth to full size of avatars meant that research essentially duplicating the types of experiments carried out on terrestrial mammals did not have to be performed, and also reduced the complexity of the amnio tank monitoring system.

An indication of the differences between Earth organisms and those found on Pandora is given by the composition of the fluid in the amnio tank – the avatar amnio fluid is a relatively strong alkali solution rather than the simple saline that is the base of terrestrial amnio fluids. Indeed, it is so strong that most Earth organisms would be largely dissolved by a few weeks of immersion, and human technicians decanting fully matured avatars are required to wear gloves and protective eyewear during the process. Xenobiologists have discovered that avatar amnio fluid reflects the composition of Pandora’s oceans, which are also somewhat caustic.

Dito Sugito : "ckkk...ckkkk....ckkkkk.....Pak Cameron, filme sae......adegan mindak buntut...ndamel mesem mawon....."

Avatar The Movie - The RDA

2009-12-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

[*]Description : The largest single non-governmental organization in the human universe

[*]Function : Massive corporation involved in interests ranging from mining, transportation, medicines, weapons and communications.
[*]Notes : Various biomes of Pandora. Population concentrated in rainforest regions. More powerful than most Earth governments The Resources Development Administration (RDA) has monopoly rights to all products shipped, derived or developed from Pandora and any other off-Earth location. These rights were granted to RDA in perpetuity by the Interplanetary Commerce Administration (ICA), with the stipulation that they abide by a treaty that prohibits weapons of mass destruction and limits military power in space.

Guy Seh : "I saw the movie couple days ago, indeed it's the best utilized cutting edge performance capture technology and the very latest digital 3D techniques on Avatar. Avatar was immersive enough for me and it's a phenomenon movie that you can't ignore monumentally imposing and done with extraordinary expertise."

With millions of shareholders, RDA is the oldest and largest of the quasi-governmental administrative entities (QGAEs). But its origins are far more modest. The entity that would become RDA was little more than a Silicon Valley garage startup in the early 21st century, when its two founders borrowed money from family members to begin the company.

Within a few decades, the company had the stature to propose the construction of a world-spanning rapid transit system that would allow entire population groups to conveniently commute hundreds or even thousands of miles to perform work where it was needed, without impinging on the cultural values of host populations. This led to the current global network of maglev trains that require the superconductor unobtanium for their continued operation.

The company's early expeditions to Pandora were seen as a colossal risk; the construction of the first interstellar vehicle alone put an enormous strain on capital resources. But with exclusive mining rights to unobtanium (which, at time of publication is valued at $20 million per kilo), and potential profits from countervirals, biofuels, and cosmetics, the enormous capital investment has paid off.

Adham Kurbanov : "STUNNING, ADORABLE, HILARIUS, FABULOUS MOVIE!!!"

Avatar The Movie - The Avatar Program

2009-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Avatar

[*]Na'vi Name : Uniltirantokx or “Dreamwalker”
[*]Description : A cloned Na’vi humanoid, initially created in vitro on Earth, and then allowed to grow to maturity in an amnio tank during the five year trip to Pandora. Genetic material from the future human driver is incorporated into the avatar embryo, allowing the development of the anatomic structures needed to allow a mental link to be established with that particular individual.
[*]Notes : Only twenty avatars have been produced thus far

Kotze Kotzev : "such an amazing movie!!! i wish we lived like them!!!"

The Avatar Program was originally intended to create mine workers who did not need environmental protection systems and could eat Pandoran foodstuffs. But the cost of the mental link system remained too high for the numbers needed. Avatars are now used only for field work and, when the opportunity arises, to interact with the Na’vi, to study them and to study the Pandoran ecosystem. It was hoped that the avatars could act as unofficial ambassadors, but Na'vi have for the most part viewed these hybrid creatures with a mix of contempt and mistrust.

The cloned avatar has the body structure and physiology of a Pandoran native. However, adding the human genes necessary to create the mental linking ability to the avatar's genetic makeup altered the anatomy to the extent of producing five digits (different from the normal four on a Na'vi) on the hands and feet, and reducing the size of the eyeballs. The reason for this is not yet known.

The Avatar Program was initiated to improve communication with the Na’vi, the intelligent humanoid inhabitants of Pandora. Human volunteers are paired with avatars, which are artificially created human/Na’vi hybrids controlled by persona projection technology. While the human controller remains in a sleep-like state in a psionic link unit, his or her personality inhabits and completely controls a custom-made Na’vi body.

The link is total; the human believes he is actually inhabiting the Na’vi body, with all senses, reflexes and bodily functions fully operational. The avatar body, having been grown in an amnio tank with the help of growth accelerants, has no personality of its own and is inert (except for basic autonomous functions) when not under human control.

Each avatar is specially made using genetic information from its human controller and despite obvious differences in size and physiology is equivalent to its controller’s twin. This genetic matching is necessary to allow morphic projection to operate on the alien body; attempts to use unmatched bodies have invariably failed.

Originally part of RDA’s Na’vi outreach program instigated at the behest of Earth government authorities, the Avatar Program has moved from being a poorly-defined xenobiological experiment controlled by Earth-based bureaucrats, ivory-tower academics and populist politicians to become a tightly-managed engineering project incorporating the most advanced technology from RDA’s labs.

The existence of the Na’vi was the most surprising discovery on Pandora. For theoretical reasons, intelligent life was not expected to be found here. Given the known age of the galaxy and the relatively brief period since the evolution of man, it was assumed that any alien intelligence would be far older and more sophisticated than us, would have an advanced technological civilization and probably not be humanoid. Thus the discovery of jungle-dwelling neolithic humanoids was not anticipated.

Under strong pressure from the UN, scientists and the general public, the RDA agreed to set up a program to enhance communications between humans and Na’vi. At first this consisted solely of an Indigenous Terrain program to study Na’vi culture and language and to attempt to establish communication between man and Na’vi.

But practical difficulties soon showed a need for a more profound means of communication between the human and Na’vi species. RDA research had already established the possibility of direct mental communication between humans, and RDA scientist Dr. Cordell Lovecraft was given the task of carrying his “Dark Dreamer” project, which sought to transmit mental processes – “thoughts” – to humans at a distance, to interspecies communication.

Initial dissection of Na’vi specimens found that although Na’vi show a surprising degree of external convergent evolution, internally they are quite different from humans. The Na’vi brain in particular, with its external tendrils and three-lobed structure was a daunting obstacle.

Building on work with brain-wiped primates and condemned criminals, Dr. Lovecraft was able to establish that full sensory bonding could be established between human twins, human-animal hybrids that shared common DNA, and human-Na’vi hybrids with common genetic blueprints.

Since Na’vi don’t use DNA or RNA to carry their genetic information, producing a ‘translation table’ that matched DNA with NVTranscriptase closely enough to allow a level of morphic resonance strong enough for communication to occur required months of computer time and multiple failed experiments, some of which caused irreparable trauma to volunteer subjects.

But eventually the Avatar Program succeeded in producing the first viable hybrids between completely unrelated species – a considerable achievement since, as Dr Lovecraft remarked, humans are far more closely related genetically to garden slugs than to Na’vi.

With the help of psionic amplification, and thanks to customized reception nodes grown into avatar brains from their earliest blastomere stage of development, human drivers can now operate their avatars at distances of tens of kilometers.

Owing to poor measurable outcomes in the field, the Indigenous Terrain program and the Avatar Program were eventually merged, with only limited informal research still conducted into Na’vi culture by human avatar operators. Currently avatars are mainly used for reconnaissance, liaison and exploration, but if native Na’vi are recruited into the mining workforce it is anticipated that more avatars will be needed for supervision and policing.

Dr. Lovecraft has been nominated for multiple Nobel prizes in biological sciences, but the nominations have invariably been withdrawn following protests from human rights organizations, the UN Pan-Faith Council and animal rights activists.

Samantha Schanzer : "is it just me or when u saw this film and it ended did u want to be one and acted like one for the rest of the night ???? comment if u did or didnt"

Avatar The Movie - Nantang Viperwolf | Pandorapedia

2009-12-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Viperwolf

[*]Na'vi Name : Nantang
[*]Taxonomy : Caniferratus costatus or “striped armored wolf.”
[*]Habitat : Rainforest, savanna, subarctic.
[*]Anatomy : Six legs. Mostly black but banded with vermillion and iridescent blue. Burnished, hairless skin. Low slung head with chitinous armor around neck. Amphipod plating on the back of the neck and spine. Bioluminescence for pack identification. Distensible, snake-like jaw with obsidian-like teeth. Paddle-like tail used for stability. Leathery paws have opposable thumbs. Shows characteristics of canid on evolutionary path to simian.
[*]Feeding Ecology : Mostly nocturnal carnivore, highly strategic pack hunter with territories ranging over 480 sq. kilometers. Unique coyote-like yelps and snake-like hissing thought to convey hunting information.
[*]Size : More than 1.5 meters long, 1.7 meters tall.
[*]Notes : Humanlike grip allows them to hunt in rainforest canopy as well as on ground. It is revered by the Na'vi for its fierce intelligence, strong familial bond and devotion to its pack.

Jacob Scamell : "This actually is the best film ive ever seen. Its Epic, beautiful but in the center is probably one of the greatest love stories ive ever seen in a film. (Usually i dont like films that revolve around romance: Twilight, Titanic) I saw it for the first time less then 24 hours ago and i honestly cant wait until i see it ..."

With six legs and a lean, powerful torso, the viperwolf has evolved to travel swiftly over long distances in search of prey. The ratio of brain mass to body weight of the average adult viperwolf indicates a high order of mental processing, pattern recognition and communication skills.

Their keen, intelligent green eyes can see as clearly at night as in the day. Their long distance vision is only moderate, but their depth perception is superb. Their sense of smell is second to only the thanator (based on the few creatures who have been measured to date). It is believed that a viperwolf can sense prey from more than eight kilometers away.

Very few predators (the mountain banshee among them) will attempt an attack on a viperwolf, who nearly always moves in a pack that can mass into a highly cooperative hunting party within seconds. The pack appears to communicate information about the potential prey or predator with facial tics, paw gestures and audio cues.

The viperwolf hunts in small groups, communicating with short coyote-like barks and yelps. Its primate-like paws (which include opposable thumbs) allow it to climb trees as well as stalk from the ground, thereby creating a three- dimensional hunting field. When stalking prey, the viperwolf is able to reduce its profile by hugging the ground or clinging to tree limbs. Thus hidden, a viperwolf can often approach within a few meters of unsuspecting prey, and then attack with frightening efficiency. (One xenobiologist describes this graceful, ominous movement as “liquid darkness.”)

Only months after birth, a viperwolf cub is required to hunt on its own. However, the cubs mature swiftly and grow to half the adult size by their sixth month. By then, they also have a full set of teeth and their jaw muscles are almost mature; a viperwolf's jaws can exert four kilograms of pressure per square centimeter, easily enough to crush bone, or even stone.

Oldřich Olan Urban : "This film knocked Star Wars of the first places among my favorite films and formed behind a deep chasm ..."

Avatar The Movie - Palulukan Thanator | Pandorapedia

2009-12-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Thanator

[*]Na'vi Name : Palulukan or “Dry Mouth Bringer of Fear”
[*]Taxonomy : Bestiapanthera ferox or “fierce panther beast”
[*]Habitat : Rainforest floor. Similar species have been observed in subarctic regions.
[*]Anatomy : Armored head and massive distensible armored jaw. Teeth are twenty-three centimeters long. Burnished black skin banded with stripes of yellow and scarlet. Ten external sensory quills. Upper lips fold back for maximum tooth extension. Armored chitinous plating over dorsal area.
[*]Feeding : Ecology Apex land predator, omnivore with preference for nocturnal hunting
[*]Size : Reaches more than 5.5. meters long, up to 2.5 meters tall
[*]Notes : The most fearsome of all Pandoran land predators. Wide, armored tail can slam prey or defend against other thanators. Cartilaginous plates around its neck that can flare, possibly as a threat display but more likely as an echolocation or other sensory pinpointing system. Given its anatomy, it is likely that thanator is evolutionary relative to the viperwolf.

Blue Angel : "One of the best films in a long time...! Outstanding...! A Cinematic Masterpiece...!"

Although many regions of the moon have yet to be explored, xenobiologists currently believe that the thanator may be the apex land predator on Pandora. Reminiscent of a Terran panther, this enormous, powerful animal is unique in its ability to lord over its territory and strike fear into the largest and fiercest of Pandora's creatures. Even the Na'vi, who are renowned for their courage, are shaken by the approach of the creature; it is not celebrated in dance or song.

Its musculature is pronounced and impressive, providing power for protracted runs and leaps. The speed of its neck and jaw strike is as swift as a camera shutter. In addition to conventional ripping and tearing, the thanator can also deliver a lethal blow from its armored tail. The thanator's senses are so highly developed that, depending on atmospheric conditions, it can detect prey up to thirteen kilometers away.

The thanator appears to hunt alone and normally does not stray outside of its territory, which is believed to be roughly 300 square kilometers. It appears to hunt mainly at night, although seems to make an exception if hungry enough.

Surprisingly, the thanator has ten sensory quills, two each sprouting from armor plating that encircles the rear of the skull. The function of the quills is poorly understood, but it has been hypothesized that they may be tied to an internal mechanism of prey location.

Vanessa McAdams Mahmoud : "OMG! I absolutely love this movie.....Go see it! See it in 3d! See it in 3d and IMAX! I plan on seeing it again....."

Avatar The Movie - Angtsìk Hammerhead Titanothere | Pandorapedia

2009-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Hammerhead

[*]Na'vi Name : Angtsìk
[*]Taxonomy : Rhinoquadruculus hammercephali or “four-eyed rhinoceros”
[*]Habitat : Prefers open grasslands, but frequent visitor to rainforest
[*]Anatomy : Massive, low-slung head with boney projections on either side of the skull similar to Terran hammerhead shark. Soft ungulate mouth is protected by a rigid, beak-like jaw structure.
[*]Feeding Ecology Land herbivore. Main food sources are grass and shrubs, but also eats various fruits and leaves of the rainforest.
[*]Size : Can be six meters in height, eleven meters long
[*]Notes : A plant eater, but potentially deadly. Almost twice the size of an African elephant, but much faster.

Tamara Skeeter : "Thank you James Cameron for bringing me into your world."

This massive, grazing creature travels in small herds or packs. It is moderately social, but also extremely territorial and hierarchical. Constant threat displays, both visible and audible, are a large part of the titanothere's day. When angered (which happens easily and often), a titanothere will lower its head and charge at the perceived threat. The sheer momentum and ferocity of this display is usually enough to send any Pandoran creature running for cover.

The imposing hammerhead structure is formed of cartilage rather than bone in the juvenile animal. It can bend to allow the animal to pass through restricted spaces which an inexperienced young hammerhead might enter. As it matures, the structure ossifies, and becomes solid bone. Fighting males will attempt to injure their opponents' eyes with the knobs at the ends of their hammers. The titanothere is highly territorial. Alpha males use their considerable momentum to spread their scent by smashing trees, thus warning other animals (including titanothere bulls) to steer clear.

The titanothere has poor distance vision, but makes up for this with acute hearing and an excellent sense of smell. Although massive, its six limbs allow it to pivot rapidly when it detects a threat from the side or rear. The animal's overlapping body plates and large, boney shoulder and back offer protection during battles with other titanothere or large creatures such as the leonopteryx or thanator.

Shannon Leonard Lol. : "Have to say, AWESOME FUCKING MOVIE. It's up there, for me, with Dark Knight, Star Wars (classic), Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings as far as epic films go" :D

Avatar The Movie - Direhorse | Pandorapedia

2009-12-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Direhorse

[*]Taxonomy : Equidirus hoplites or “feared armored horse”
[*]Habitat : Rainforests and grasslands, but adaptable to most Pandoran environments. A grazing animal that has been domesticated by the Na’vi as a riding animal.
[*]Anatomy : Horse-like creature with six legs, tough skin with no fur, long necks and small head, bold stripes, flexible carbon fiber armor over shoulders and along the back of the neck and head.
[*]Feeding Ecology : Land omnivore that uses long snout to feed on sap. some protein intake through insects trapped in sap. Favored food is direhorse pitcher plant. Effective pollinator.
[*]Size : Over 4.25 meters long, up to four meters in height
[*]Notes : Animal has neural interface that allows Na'vi and direhorse to move together with apparent effortlessness. A highly intelligent, calm creature that, like the Na'vi, can turn fierce in the face of battle.

Novak Djuric : "Avatar it is the movie of the 21st century!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The direhorse has two long, thin antennae that emerge from either side of the top of the skull. These appendages have feathery tips that move constantly, (almost like a kind of sea grass), and seek out the antennae of other direhorses as they move near. Xenobiologists believe that the touch of antennas is for pleasure and affection, but also a means of transferring information about food sources and potential dangers; herds often move in unison shortly after touching antennae.

The Na'vi are excellent riders and, with its six legs, the direhorse is a swift, nimble mount that is well-adapted to the rugged Pandoran terrain. Many direhorses are tamed to aid their riders in the hunt and in battle. To bond with (or, in human terms, to “break”) a direhorse, a Na'vi must mount the animal and connect their neural queue to the animal's antennae (or neural whip). Once queue and antenna touch, the feathery tendrils automatically intertwine, almost as if possessed of free will. Although the exact motive force remains unknown, it is believed that the antennae may secrete a pheromone that evokes the unique intertwining.

Once intertwined, the Na'vi rider can communicate motor commands instantly through the neural interface. The apparent lack of effort makes it seem as if the direhorse is an extension of the rider's own body. This frees up the Na'vi to use a bow and arrow during a hunt or battle.

Unlike the mountain banshee, however, the neural link made between rider and direhorse does not lead to a life-long, exclusive bond between Na'vi and animal; although Na'vi have their favorite mounts, it is possible and permissible to ride another clan member's direhorse.

The direhorse is a perfect mount to ride in the obstacle-strewn close quarters of a Pandoran forest; Direhorse can turn on a dime, have excellent reaction times, and can leap large distances.

When wild, the animals move together in a loose herd through the forests, feeding on tree bark and shrubs. Herds numbering in the dozens have been spotted from aircraft. But evidence (including scatological and plant impact) suggests that herds of more than one hundred animals are not uncommon.

The animals are easily startled, and, when all six legs are working in unison, can reach ninety-five kilometers per hour. The direhorse is larger by a third than the largest Terran draft horses such as the Clydesdale or the Percheron, and substantially larger than the biggest horse ever recorded on Earth.

Todd Iliev : "The most epic movie ever!"

Avatar The Movie - Ikran Mountain Banshee | Pandorapedia

2009-12-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Mountain banshee

[*]Na'vi Name : Ikran
[*]Habitat : Mountainous regions of Pandora, including Hallelujah Mountains
[*]Anatomy : Leathery membranous wins stretched taut over hollow bone structure. Large distensible jaw. Complex coloring scheme. Teeth are obsidian-like and extremely sharp. Bones composed of biologically produced carbon-fiber composite.
[*]Feeding Ecology : Shape of jaw indicates that ikran may have evolved from fish.
[*]Size : Wingspan of up to twelve meters.
[*]Notes : Can make subtle adjustments to flight attitude and speed with an articulated tail tip, which can flare or remain tucked.

Anita Myers : "Thank you for the greatest movie I have seen in a VERY long time. I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!"

Bonding with a banshee is a dangerous and required rite of passage for all would-be Na'vi warriors. Like the direhorse, a Na'vi can connect to a banshee through a neural interface that allows animal and rider to move with apparent effortlessness through the skies. Unlike the direhorse, however, the banshee will only bond with one Na'vi in its lifetime.

The mountain banshee rookery is high in the Hallelujah Mountains. The largest rookery, which features the biggest specimens (and therefore the best to tame for riding), is in grottoes and outcrops on a sheer cliff face of Mons Veritatis, one of the largest of the floating mountains. It is here that the Na'vi come to select (and be selected by) a banshee for domestication. The bonded mountain banshees nest in the highest branches of Hometree, where they can be close at hand for their Na'vi rider.

The mountain banshee (like its smaller cousin, the forest banshee) is highly adapted for flight. Specially developed muscles attached to the breastbone allow for the powerful strokes needed to achieve lift. Xenobiologists continue to study the aerodynamics of the banshee. It is believed that all of Pandora's flying animals take advantage of gravity that is lower than Earth's and the increased air density, (which requires more force to displace with the downward/rearward stroke of their wings, and thus gives the animal's body more impetus with each flap). The downside is that the denser air is harder to move through, and requires highly-efficient streamlining to achieve high flight speeds.

Though reptilian in appearance, the banshee has a metabolism that is bird-like, and generates tremendous heat. The banshee has a complex cooling system to keep it from overheating during strenuous flying. The breathing system is central to this cooling. The air inlets, or spiracles, face forward at the front of the chest cavity, like the engine intakes of a jet fighter. Induction of air is controlled by a cartilaginous operculum, or flap-valve. The banshee lung is a bellows like structure, inflated by rib movement, but unlike the lungs of terrestrial animals, it has unidirectional flow, venting aft through gill-like slits.

Like many of Pandora's creatures, the banshee also has a remarkably strong cell structure. This structure, which is a biologically produced carbon-fiber, makes their bones much lighter and stronger than any organic Terran equivalent. This in turn allows them to generate more power and lift with every flap. The biochemistry of their muscle tissue allows them to generate nearly twice the force per pound of muscle as terrestrial flying animals such as bats and birds. This, again, generates tremendous metabolic heat. The hollow bones are connected to the bellows-like lung, and cooling air moves through the long bones of the fore and aft wings.

Each large fore-wing has three Primary Vanes at its tips. These form like the wings of a dragon fly, by the extrusion of a resin into the veins of a flexible membrane, which unfurls then cures in the sun into a rigid transparent vane. These vanes are replaced through molting. The purpose of the vanes is to generate lift and to provide fine control in flight. They are also quite robust structures designed to fold inward if the wingtips hit tree limbs or other obstacles.

The smaller hind wing, or canard, plays a dual role in Banshee flight. In level flight, when large amounts of power are not required, the creature propels itself with the fore-wing and uses the canard as a tail-plane, for steering. When more power is needed, for take-off and climbing, or escape from an aerial predator such as the leonopteryx, the canard becomes an additional wing, flapping to provide propulsion.

The steering vane under the banshee’s lower jaw and the featherlike fan at the tip of the tail provide additional turning authority for high performance aerobatics. The banshee is highly maneuverable and can dive at speeds close to 140 knots.

The banshee has two primary eyes which see in full color in roughly the same spectrum as human vision. Aft of the primary eyes are smaller secondary eyes, which can move independently or together with the primaries. They see in near infrared, for night hunting. They also are highly sensitive to motion, and act as an early warning system against attack from the rear. All four eyes are protected by lids and by transparent nictating membranes. Forward of the primary eyes are lines of sensor pits. These are thought to provide airflow information in flight, like a pitot tube on an airplane. Another hypothesis is that they are sensitive to sound, and have an echolocation role, by sensing the reflected sound of the banshee shrieks.

Banshees were so named because of their piercing signature cry. This is only one of the banshee’s many vocalizations, and is thought to be a distant call defining territory. Other vocalizations include a warning hiss, which is part of an overall threat display posture, and a short sharp shriek which denotes stress or fear. There are also warning sounds, and other stress vocalizations, as well as more guttural vocalizations associated with social grooming and contentment. The banshees are social animals, and communicate frequently, generating quite a din at rookeries and other communal areas.

The banshee emits sound from its head, using the open mouth to focus the direction. However, it does not have a trachea in its neck, since it breathes directly into the chest cavity. It has instead, a tube running from the lungs up into the head which pumps air through the vocal organ, the syrinx. Chambers in the head amplify the sound before it is emitted into the mouth cavity for directional aiming. Some banshee vocalizations are emitted directly from the resonating cavity, when the mouth is closed.

Daries Sutomo : "Amazing movie ... Wonderfull world... "

Avatar The Movie - Hometree | Pandorapedia

2009-12-19T00:56:00.000-08:00

[*]Function : Spiritual and physical home of the Omaticaya
[*]Na'vi Name : Kelutral
[*]Size : More than 150 meters tall, roughly thirty meters in diameter
[*]Note : As rite of passage, young Omaticayan hunters earn the right to carve a bow from a branch of Hometree after Uniltaron.

Avatar - Hometree, There are hundreds of disparate Na'vi clans on Pandora. Some of the clans, including the Omaticaya, live in ancient trees that are two to three times the height of the Terran redwoods that once covered the Pacific Northwest.

The circumference of Hometree is great enough to house dozens of clan members. The tree is honeycombed with natural hollows and alcoves in which the Na'vi sleep, eat, weave, dance, and celebrate their connection to Eywa. Like many sacred sites on Pandora, Hometree sits above a large deposit of unobtanium.

Avatar The Movie - Na’vi | Pandorapedia

2009-12-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

[*]Common Name : Na'vi
[*]Na'vi Name : Na'vi or “The People”
[*]Range : Various biomes of Pandora. Population concentrated in rainforest regions. Outlying clans have been detected on each continent and in subarctic, swampland and mountainous regions.
[*]Anatomy : Smooth skin is iridescent, cyan color. Long, prehensile tail. Skull is proportionately small, high cheekbones, feline ears and a protruding, snout. Bioluminescent markings for identification, mood display. Average lifespan is similar to that of a human. Despite skin color, Na'vi have red blood.
[*]Feeding Ecology : Omnivore. Hunter and gatherer with incipient agriculture, including brewing.
[*]Size : Average male is three meters tall, females slightly smaller.
[*]Notes : Generally peaceful, but ferocious in defense of home, clan and family.

Avatar-The Na'vi are the only known species outside of Earth to have human-like intelligence. Although their society is essentially Neolithic, they have developed a vibrant, complex culture based on a profound spiritual connection to their moon, to one another, and to the deity they call Eywa. They are superb artisans who celebrate the interconnectedness of nature through storytelling, song, dance and crafts.

In many respects, the Na'vi body is almost human-like (and, even by human standards, beautiful). The waist is narrow and elongated. The shoulders are very wide, creating a v-shaped upper back. The neck is twice as long as an average human and can rotate, owl-like, almost 180 degrees.

The Na'vi body is more slender than the average human and is reminiscent of a Masai or Watusi. But the musculature is sharply defined, giving no sense of emaciation despite the thin proportions (they have roughly four times the strength of the average human). Their almond-shaped, cat-like eyes are large and hypersensitive to various bands of light. For balancing their long torso and legs, the Na'vi have a long, prehensile lemur-like tail. They can traverse the landscape on the surface as well as from tree branch to tree branch.

The abundant flora and fauna of Pandora have ensured a steady population of Na'vi; it is hypothesized that there was little Darwinian pressure to adapt new traits. Indeed, studies indicate that the number of Na'vi have remained remarkably consistent over the eons. The widespread access to natural resources has also helped limit (but not eliminate) warfare among the various Na'vi clans.

Avatar The Movie Synopsis

2009-12-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

" SYNOPSIS "

AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of "Titanic," first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis. Because the atmosphere of Pandora is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human "drivers" have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora... the Na'vi.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na'vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake's life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake's relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na'vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.