hinter den kulissen (10. 782)

H doesn’t recall watching but we rented Stanley Kubrick’s sumptuous 1975 period drama Barry Lyndon (based on the William Makepeace Thackeray novel about the gentleman gambler and social-climber) several years ago. 

Set in Ireland, England and Prussia in the 1750s during the Seven Years’ War, the title rogue travels across Europe calling in debts through various scams, scenes and establishing shots were filmed in Dublin, County Wicklow, Schloss Ludwigsburg outside of Stuttgart, Sanssouci in Potsdam and as we just learned, in between these two locations at around the fifty-three minute timestamp, Lyndon’s regiment on the march, in our very own little village on the Bavarian-Thüringen border, uncredited but confirmed by Redditors. 

 

Not much has changed (the roads are paved now however) and we’ll need to do a re-watch soon.

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8x8 (10. 766)

to scale: time: a model in the Mojave Desert that makes commensurate the span of a human life and the age of the Universe—see previously  

montreal protocol: humanity’s affirming effort to plug a hole in the ozone layer—previously—was an inadvertent salvation that is still paying off—see previously  

qartcode: generate custom scannable re-directs with the little pixelated image of ones choice—via Pasa Bon!  

talking steel guitar: the musical stylings of Pete Drake and his innovative talk box—see previously  

fourteenth amendment: US President Joe Biden’s options to stop the standoff over the debt ceiling  

i’m fantastic, made of plastic: the trailer to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie  

flow-chart: your guide for turning on the air-conditioning in New England—works a lot of places—see also  

time out of mind: a 1979 BBC documentary series on science fiction featuring interviews with iconic authors

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6x6 (10. 762)

nightingale-olympic: the time capsule that is Bangkok’s first specialty retail establishment—via Messy Nessy Chic 

splinternet: legal jurisdictions—for reasons real, specious and facetious dividing the internet

recruitment bonus: Florida governor is offering cash incentives to bring violent police officers to departments across the state—more here  

loveboat insanity: Poseidon’s Underworld reviews their lodestar film and more shared movie DNA  

puriteens: prudishness is taking over some parts of the internet   

bhs downtown: a Vermont high school hosted in an abandoned department store

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home box office (10. 723)

Via Kottke, we are directed to a collegial tradition that began in 1977 when Star Wars overtook Jaws and Steven Spielberg penned an illustrated congratulatory letter to George Lucas when the former director’s blockbuster overtook the latter’s and published it in the trade paper Variety. The exchange—some gaps—to this day when records are broken for best opening weekend, overall ticket sales and rentals, like this 1998 homage to James Cameron’s Titanic surpassing the franchise. Much more epistolary discoveries above from Letters of Note.

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9x9 (10. 713)

spokescandies: put together just ahead of the writers’ strike, Stephen Colbert afforded Tucker Carlson the chance to bid his audience farewell  

redundancy: IBM puts a pause on hiring to on-board an AI back-office workforce  

oops all linkdump: veteran blogger Cory Doctorow returns to his roots in a special jubilee edition  

€49 ticket: Germany launches its more fiscally-secure successor to the €9 monthly fare 

pitch decks and powerpoints: slide presentations from the largest corporate frauds and failures—via tmn  

chevron v national resources defense council: the US Supreme Court to re-litigate a 1984 precedent that defers judgement to the competent federal agencies, like the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency 

cherry ice cream smile—i suppose it’s very nice: revisiting the art and influence of Patrick Nagel—see previously  

workforce implications: a company runs an empirical test, replacing its human staff with AI 

hal gurney’s network time fillers: reactions to past strikes by the Writers’ Guide

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rosebud (10. 712)

As our faithful chronicler informs, on this day in 1941, the premier drama directed by and starring Orson Welles had its debut (previously) in Broadway’s Palace Theatre. Consistently rated as among the best films ever made, the quasi-biographical narrative points a lens at a composite figure of the archetypal American media baron to examine the lives and publishing empires of the likes of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, whom prevented its mention, considering the portrayal libellous, in his newspapers.

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the galactic menagerie (10. 707)

Referencing a trend we recently reported, via Boing Boing, we were rather taken by this fantasy trailer from a collective called Curious Refuge, imagining what the saga of Star Wars (see previously) might look like if filtered through the twee and quirky aesthetic of Wes Anderson. It’s not just the particular colour palette and blocking—the TIE fighters and droids are particularly lovely.

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subgenre (10. 697)

With the admonition “You better not be acting like you’re in a Wes Anderson movie when I get there,” videographer Ava Williams delivers and propagates an idea that’s infinitely relatable, the momentary feeling, like deja vu, that one has been launched into the signature aesthetic of the filmmaker. These deadpan takes on the meme, as curated by Hyperallergic makes me stop and take note of those transporting instances that we all experience. Check out the TikToks at the link above and get inspired to make your own.

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me at the zoo (10. 693)

As the first ever video uploaded and shared to the platform YouTube, the nineteen second amateur clip that did not so much document a moment but rather was an announcement that illustrated the possibilities of the tilt to video and the ramifications the accessible technology had in store for the coming generation of self-publishing and broadcasting. Contributed by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim on this day in 2005, the same day as the website went public, the platform was acquired by Google the following year, after realising the site’s full potential.

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a jury of one’s peers (10. 666)

Based on a radio teleplay by Reginald Rose from three years earlier and often upheld as an heuristic tool to illustrate conflict resolution and team dynamics as well as well as the courage of conviction to not be swayed by hysteria and its subtler cadets, Sidney Lumet’s classic courtroom drama, premiering in Los Angeles on this day in 1957, portrays a jury deliberating the case of an impoverished teen accused of murdering his abusive father. With a unanimous verdict required, the jury is instructed to acquit if there is any reasonable doubt and a decision siding on guilty would result in a mandatory death sentence and execution by electric chair. Addressing students after a screening of the film in 2010 at Fordham University's School of Law in Manhattan, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor credited 12 Angry Men as influencing her career decision and was especially moved by immigrant Juror 11 (portrayed by Czech actor George Voskovec—BUtterfield 8, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, all members are identified by numbers only) delivering a monologue in reverence for the justice system, though cautioned not to be totally taken with the cinematic version of proceedings due to inference, speculation and independent research which would have likely been declared a mistrial.

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il gattopardo (10. 638)

Directed by Luchino Visconti as an adaptation of the 1958 novel of the same bame by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, “The Leopard,” premiering in Rome on this day in 1963, starring Serge Reggian, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale and Burt Lancaster as a dissolute prince of a fictionalised version Kingdom of the Two Sicilies unsettled by the turmoil and tumult of the Risorgimento, the push for Italian unification and the insurgency of Garibaldi’s Red Shirt armies, is considered one of the greatest pieces of filmmaking. Shifting allegiances leaves and the vanishing grandeur leaves our prince disenchanted and resigned to the to the future dealt his aristocratic heritage.

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9x9 (10. 635)

concrete sign: Pope Francis returns marble fragments held by the Vatican Museum to the Parthenon

house of thunder: the everlasting lightning storm over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo 

queen street: a personal view of the prettiest thoroughfare in Ontario, in Niagara-on-the-Lake plus assorted links to visit 

april showers bring may flowers: the joyful floral illustrations of Iancu Barbărasă  

thinking outside of the box: innovations in pizza 

beauty paget: the varied career and roles of Miss Deborah Paget  

the theory of mediatization: press coverage of pseudo-events, like press-conferences and political rallies, has increased significantly while journalistic rigour in actual reporting (see also) has stagnated—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

master class: Finland offering a crash course in happiness, securing the title for six years in a row  

age-appropriate: Florida principal forced to resign after including Michelangelo’s David in middle schooler’s art curriculum without prior parental approval—see also

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8x8 (10. 627)

everthing everywhere all at once: chaotic “Foketoken,” informed by “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” was inspiration for the screenwriter  

a most maddening canvas: Moby Dick (previously) and AI  

ipcc: UN climate committee issues dire warning, with steps to take immediately  

aperiodic monotiles: a non-repeating shape to cover a flat surface has possibly been discovered—see also  

sky critters: a 1978 book that proposes UFOs are biological organisms evolving parallel to humans virtually unnoticed  

la véitable histoire d’amélie poulain: a short film finally revealing the true story of ostensible 2001 romcom  

bardolatry: Google’s AI chatbot released to the public in the UK and US 

hotdog hands: outtakes from the Academy Award winning film—via Miss Cellania

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antebellum (10. 597)

Miss Cellania directs our attention towards a substantial essay and exploration of scenes cut from the David O Selznick’s cinematic 1939 adaptation of Gone With the Wind by film historian and collector David Vincent Kimel. Writing for The Ankler, Kimel’s research uncovers a suite of lost scenes from the working-copy of the director’s assiduously organised ‘Rainbow Script’ that not only document Selznick’s struggle with the inclusion of racist descriptions and stereotypes but also his ultimate deletion of scenes that show Rhett Butler’s suicidal ideation, privation and looting, and a number of vignettes illustrating the mistreatment of enslaved individuals on Scarlett’s family plantation whose rawness frankly do not romanticise slavery and the Old South. It is impossible to say how their inclusion might have limned public reception and perception of one of the most celebrated and disgraced projects of the industry and their cutting is an indictment more than anything reflective and rehabilitating but it is nonetheless fascinating read into the early drafts and the pageantry and promotion surrounding the premier in Atlanta, Georgia.

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ccctv (10. 588)

Via fellow internet peripatetic and caretaker Web Curios, we are directed to a YouTube channel with an expansive catalogue of older movies and cinema serials in full and free to watch, rather expertly curated and while not formulaic or all within the genre of Spaghetti Western, sword-and-sandal, teen-exploitation or Space Opera, they all complement one another and rise to cult status. Give it a look and let us know what dreadful-excellent gems you uncover.

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junior senior (10. 586)

Released on this day in 2002 on their debut studio album D-D-Don’t Don’t Stop the Beat, the titular Danish duo’s biggest hit was a world success, climbing to number four on the UK singles charts in 2003. The digital-first collaboration by Jesper “Jr” Mortensen and Jeppe “Sr” Laursen gained special prominence with numerous pop culture references including featuring on the soundtrack to the make-over television show ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ and the video game Dance Dance Revolution as well as incidental music for several other contemporary films including the mixed live-action, animated Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The pixelated, low-resolution accompanying video was made using Deluxe Paint.

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fuga dal bronx (10. 582)

First given the MST3K treatment on this day back in 1996, the 1985 apocalyptic film by Enzo Castellari (also creator of the 1978 film movie The Inglorious Bastards, Quel maledetto treno blindato—“That Damned Armoured Train,” a remake inspired from The Dirty Dozen but only an inspiration in for the title of the similarly named Quentin Tarantino film which is not a remake but does have a cameo of Castellari as a Nazi general) was also released under the title Escape 2000 and chronicles the resistance of the residents of the New York borough, a dystopian wasteland to sinister property developer, General Construction Corporation, and their plans to drive out the present population and build a futuristic city in its place.

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8x8 (10. 575)

of bunkers and bridges: the government fall-out shelter behind Reykjavík’s Bústaðakirkja 

the outfit says soundgarden, and the zine says bikini kill but the bedroom set definite says chemical brothers: the new historical American Girl Doll is from the 90s  

hobbyist for hire: a tribute to the amateurs that inform so much of our professional base knowledge 

tiger by the tail: exploring the forgotten history of the big cat on the edges of Hong Kong  

a project for a metropole: the impossible, monumental architecture proposed eighteenth century influencer Étienne-Louis Boullée—see also 

ahh ridiculous: the 1960 space exploration film 12 to the Moon, with an international crew, which also received the MST3K send-up 

internyet: a look inside the obscure Russian agency charged with censoring the web

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7x7 (10. 531)

business vulnerable: dress codes for your wedding to confound invited guests 

boom and bust: in stark contrast to last year’s showcase dubbed Crypto Bowl, no cryptocurrency ads have been purchased for Super Bowl Sunday  

fanilect: more eggcorns and mondegreens in misheard lyrics to Taylor Swift songs  

gaming like it’s 1927: annual public domain table-top project playing and remixing expired IPs—via Things Magazine  

overworld theme: beatboxer recreates the songscape of Super Mario Bros. 2

only the shadow knows: a noir short by Fabrice Mathieu  

family dining: Facebook to open Metaverse to children to try to rehabilitate flagging interest 

assistant to the regional manager: the Great Resignation and unethical reclassification practises helped create inflated job titles

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sometimes today is tomorrow (10. 516)

Guest blogger Tim Carmody takes the helm for the tenth anniversary of the twentieth anniversary of Kottke’s Groundhog Day live-blog, in a very recursive tradition of celebrating the 1993 fantasy, romantic comedy for a decade. Directed by Harold Ramis and written by Danny Rubin, it portrays a cynical TV weatherman assigned to cover the annual event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and gets caught in a time loop, him alone aware that the day is repeating and has the potential for perfecting.

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