jodorowsky’s tron (10. 351)

Returning to regular blogging after a restorative sabbatical, Kottke directs our attention towards surrealist, psychedelic version of Tron filtered through the lens of the style of filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky in an imaginative collaboration between an AI platform and creative prompter Johnny Darrell. These stills are pretty fantastic and makes one wonder how far away we are from realising Jodorowsky’s famously unmade adaptation of Dune. Much more at the links above.

gaslighting (10. 342)

By dint of search statistics, Merriam-Webster reports that its word of the year is the manipulative, misdirecting term that causes the target to question the surety of their own sanity taken from the title of the George Cukor 1944 classic. Though a perennial favourite of late, look ups are still exponentially high over a range of real and perceived dauntless reasons to doubt credulity. Other terms that caused people to consult the dictionary this past year were oligarch—driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and attendant sanctions, codify, as in enshrining laws once taken for settled and loamy—another Wordle-driven hunt (like ‘homer’) though the correct answer was clown.

8x8 (10. 339)

truly toastmaster: an elaborate and enduring hoax that shows one should not believe everything on the internet—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links  

cabinet of curiosities: the intro, outro and interstitials of the horror anthology hosted by Guillermo del Toro, which has distinct echoes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents 

oopsie, i did a misinformation: an exploration on how and why Japan does the internet differently than the rest of the world with case study—via Waxy  

plasmonic photocatalysis: researchers engineer a nanomaterial that could allow for power plants to efficiently isolate hydrogen from ammonia using only light  

el peatonito: a champion of the pedestrian and other Super Citizens 

it’s not delivery, it’s digiorno: an interesting short documentary on the history of frozen pizza—via Hyperallergic’s Required Reading   

teal and prebunking: the shortlisted candidates for Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year  

goncharov: thousands of fan-fic contributors have retcon’d a 1973 Martin Scorsese film starring Robert De Niro that never existed—via Slashdot

everybody comes to rick’s (10. 336)

Based on an unproduced stage play, prolific Hungarian-American filmmaker Michael Curtiz’ vision of the war time romantic drama starring Ingrid Berman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Dooley Wilson had its premiere in the Hollywood Theatre in Manhattan on this day in 1942, the release rushed to capitalise on publicity of the Allied invasion of North Africa. Telling the story of an expatriate night club owner, a crossroads for refugees as well as enemy officers, who is forced to choose between the woman he is in love with or helping her husband, a Czechoslovakian resistance fighter escape Moroccan city controlled by the Vichy-government and continue his fight against Nazi Germany, the reception and estimation of the iconic work has grown over the decades to secure it a solid spot amongst the greatest films of all time. Much of the emotional impact for contemporary audiences was attributed to the number of exiles and refugees in principal and lesser roles—particularly in the below “duelling anthems” that elicited genuine tears with the realisation that they were all displaced. The singer, who also played guitar to “Tango de la Rosa” earlier in the movie is the uncredited Corinna Mura.

the quest for self-winding (10. 312)

This was a bit of a haunted memory for me as I recalled this one scene with the Droste Effect but couldn’t name the animated film until this reminder from last month from Nag on the Lake and Memo of the Air asking “what lies behind the last visible dog?” It is the 1977 cinematic adaptation of the young adult novel by the same name from a decade earlier by Russell Hoban, which was released by Sanrio studios on this day that year. The Mouse and His Child tells the story of two conjoined clockwork toys holding hands who gain awareness after being unboxed in a shop, and although forming a close bond with an elephant and seal, are ridiculed for the suggestion that they remain in the shop and form their own family. The titular protagonists accidentally end up discarded and once at the dump and are forced into a pressgang by a rat who runs a casino at the rubbish yard on the labour of broken toys but escape aand are rescued by their friends from the shop, eventually realising their goal. The film version features the vocal talents of Cloris Leachman, Andy Devine and Peter Ustinov.

turning and returning to some secret place to hide (10. 282)

Written by Tom Whitlock and Giorgio Moroder (also to his credit, “Danger Zone”) and performed by the new wave band Berlin for Top Gun, the Oscar award winning song climbed to the top of the UK singles chart on this day in 1986, holding that position for four weeks. Also topping the charts in the US, the Netherland, Ireland and Belgium, it repeated its performance in Britain with Peugeot’s October 1990 advertising campaign coinciding with the movie screened on ITV. The producers were so pleased with this addition to the sound track that they reshot the romantic scenes with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis to showcase the tune. The accompanying music video (interspersed with scenes from the movie) features Terri Nunn walking in a windswept aircraft boneyard—part of the Mojave Air & Space Port, at night.

where the eagles cry, on a mountain high (10. 277)

Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie and recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (previously) for the film An Officer and a Gentleman—the romantic drama starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Junior (original roles cast with John Denver, Sigourney Weaver, then Anjelica Huston before securing Winger and R Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket), “Up Where We Belong” began on this day in 1982 a three-week long streak at number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 and would go on to garner Grammys for the writers and performing duo. This video for whatever reason also incorporates footage from Top Gun.

8x8 (10. 271)

make it another, double, old-fashioned please: a definitive, festive guide to whisky cocktails 

born in arizona, moved to babylonia: a new book on the King Tut’s parents, Akhenaten and Nefertiti  

elf-on-the-shelf: the shrine to departed Dobby in a nature reserve can remain but visitors asked to refrain from leaving mementos  

planchette: the intersection between profit and superstition revisited with a look at the story of the Ouija borad—see previously  

toynbee tiles: an enduring urban myth—see previously  

they’ve got it all on uhf: Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliff appearing in musical biopic parody of Weird Al Yankovic (previously)  

palimpsest: peeling back the layers to rediscover ancient manuscripts recycled as early modern incunabula

limoncello: a doubly lemon aperitif in the ‘Amalfi Dream’

8x8 (10. 258)

♄iii: a 1980 Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett sci-fi vehicle about colonising Triton by Star Wars set designer John Barry  

le forme variabili: a comprehensive guide to pasta selection  

christ stopped at eboli: an abandoned village in Basilicata—via Things Magazine  

the consent of the governed: as a platform, Twitter is a train wreck despite itself 

sessile by nature: Charles Darwin documents movement in plants—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links—see previously  

here an anteater that also appears to be some sort of quail in a sweater: an AI virtually, humanely dresses up cats in costumes for Halloween—see previously  

dead man’s body buffet: spaghetti is the creepiest food  

earth minus zero: a 1996 “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” with Sam Jones, Pat Morita and Joey Travolta

stay tuned to 6-40 and 12-40 on your dial—now back to clutch cargo (10. 251)

Preceded by an episode of the multi-chapter 1939 serial The Phantom Creeps starring Bela Lugosi, the main feature getting the MST3K treatment, Rocket Attack U.S.A., aired for the first time on this day in 1990. The 1958 propaganda movie also marketed as Five Minutes to Zero by Barry Mahon—later of adult film fame—follows spy John Manston as he infiltrates the Soviet Union but is ultimately unsuccessful at preventing a nuclear attack (premised on telemetry gathered by Sputnik), with New York City destroyed. The dialogue throughout is hilarious arch and earned it cult-status even before being rediscovered by the mad scientists of Deep 13 and captors on the Satellite of Love. “This is my skull—stick around to see how that happened.”

7x7 (10. 239)

actually: summoning the Candymansplainer 

doktor semmelweis i presume: how it took three decades to convince surgeons to wash their hands in the context of contemporary inconvenience  

kessler syndrome: more on orbital space junk—see previously  

one-dimensional: construction starts on the linear megacity in the desert—see previously  

woodpeckers in space: an 80s Danish hit 

not alone: most kanji readers cannot read it in cursive—see also  

based on a true story: horror classics inspired by actual events

rrr (10. 233)

The epic Telugu drama by S S Rajamouli depicting the revolutionaries who helped overthrow the British Raj has been received with overwhelming enthusiasm and has even given rise to watch-parties with comparable zeal and audience participation as Rocky Horror Picture Show. Below is the number Naatu Naatu (Countryside) from the film’s soundtrack, shot in August 2021 at the Mariinskyi Presidential Palace in Kyiv.

catalina caper (10. 218)

Also released under the alternative title Never Steal Anything Wet, the 1967 comedy musical mystery starring Tommy Kirk and featuring the talents of Little Richard and Mary Wells, the Lee Sholem property was subjected to the MST3K treatment (previously) for the first time on this day in 1990. The movie features a group of swimsuit clad old teens investigating the theft of a museum artefact, an ancient Chinese scroll, discovering in the process that the parents of one of the beachgoers are responsible. “Ok—now everybody wear eye-protection, there’s a lot of loose-ends flying together all at once.”

7x7 (10. 216)

negroni sbagliato: your guide to the new hot adult beverage  

naked eye: a gallery of some of the best images of microscopic photography from the past year 

aunt jess: a celebration of the life and career of Dame Angela Lansbury—see previously  

little big world: a tilt-shift tour of München and Oktoberfest

if pigs could fly: iconic Battersea Power Station reopens to the public as a luxury property development–via Things Magazine

mutual of omaha: superlative wildlife photography  

ss23: backless menswear suits seem to be here to stay

barbarella psychedella (10. 211)

Directed by Roger Valim and based on the comic series (fumetti) of Jean-Claude Forest with filming beginning just after the release of producer Dino De Laurentiis’ adaptation of Diabolik, which features many of the same acting talents, opened in New York on this day in 1968, followed by debuts in France and Italy later in the month. After several casting revisions over first choices Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot, our titular protagonist portrayed by Jane Fonda is dispatched by the Earth’s president to intercept mad scientist Durand Durand who has created a weapon of mass destruction.  Although a highly-sexualised character, Barbarella comes from a society that has moved beyond physical contact.

elevator pitch (10. 209)

Via Web Curios, just when we thought we had been through the entire, iterative snowclone ‘of this x does not exist,’ we are directed towards This Movie Does Not Exist, which churns out a new film poster and synopsis with every refresh. Maybe our time-travelling heroine convinces a plasma-powered George W Bush not to seek public office.  Give it a visit and report back if you hit upon a combination that sounds more watchable than the fare on offer.

and as i recall, i think we both kind of liked it (10. 198)

Coincidentally on the anniversary of the premier of the cinematic adaption of the Truman Capote novel in 1961, Deep Blue Something’s ballad “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” recorded and released the year prior, topped the UK singles’ charts on this day in 1996. Lyrics inspired by another Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, the band leader felt another title would better suit. Their failure to achieve the same level of enthusiasm for later works earned the band the status of one-hit wonder. Well that’s the one thing we’ve got.

8x8 (10. 131)

le milieu du monde: influential Swiss director Alain Tanner has passed away at 92  

zodiaco: we liked these astrological sign matchboxes from José María Cruz Novillo—see previously  

circadian rhythm: an infographic comparing sleeping patterns across the animal kingdom  

landscape, portrait: a relatable, cautionary comic from xkcd  

punching down: US Republican governors ask Joe Biden to be less generous with his student debt forgiveness plan  

moxie: Perseverance’s experimental oxygen generation—via Super Punch 

trap set: chimpanzees in Uganda demonstrate their signature drum-beats, can communicate across great distances 

maître à penser: French New Wave film pioneer Jean-Luc Godard has exited the scene, aged 91

6x6 (10. 122)

derivative art: online communities are rejecting AI-generated images 

compostable mushroom shroud: when Luke Perry passed away in 2019, he requested that his mortal remains leave no trace—only it didn’t work—via the morning news  

forms of address: the title culture of German—and the UK—via Marginal Revolution 

remember-tini: a Virginia country club is facing backlash for a planned 9/11-themed seafood Sunday brunch—via Super Punch    

temenos: every four years a screening of experimental filmmaker Gregory Markopoulos’ eighty-hour Eniaios is held in the Peloponnese that his magnum opus could spiritually cleanse our over-polluted media diets  

multi-level marketing: the online community bent on undermining crypto-scams and bitcoin pyramid schemes

i can see a new horizon underneath the blazing sky (10. 114)

Hitting number one on US charts on this day in 1985 and holding that top position for two weeks, the hit by John Parr for Joel Schumacher’s film of the same name was created and edited in the space of one day. Struggling to find inspiration for the lyrics, Parr and co-writer David Foster were taken by the story of an athlete, Canadian track and field athlete Rick Hansen, and his undertaking to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries—his “Man in Motion Tour” and quickly came up with a song that squared with the movie while directly referencing Hansen. The musical ensemble includes members from the bands Mr Mister, REO Speedwagon and Toto.