Having a distinct and confused memory of the redacted Ewoks on the reverse of Kenner’s action figure packaging teased ahead of the release of The Revenge of the Jedi—though I think I had acquired Chief Chirpa and shaman Logray after seeing the the third instalment (and have a stack of these cards packed away somewhere)—I could really appreciate the depth of this cultural reference, courtesy of Super Punch (thanks for mining Xwitter on all our behalves), of artist Kyle Drayton’s homage with these custom creations. Despite vocal detractors claiming the denizens of the moon of Endor were included as a pandering appeal to children, director George Lucas in part based the guerrilla fighters, between the hapless Gamorrean guard Guard and Admiral Akbar, off of the Viet Cong and Taliban who resisted the US and Soviets respectively and has been employed as a derogatory designation for allies regarded as primitive.
Thursday 18 April 2024
Monday 4 March 2024
product placement (11. 400)
Though a bit averse to reposting content from Twitter, this cultural artefact was too good to resist, learning—via Super Punch—that circa 2003 when Chilean television first broadcast the original Star Wars trilogy, sponsors were keen on not taking the audience out of the experience and commercials breaks were subtly (or not so subtly) stitched into the film. This is rather ingenious and wish more networks did the same. Here is an example dubbed in English. Much more at the link above.
Around 2003 in Chile, when the original trilogy of Star Wars began airing on television there, they did this funny thing to avoid cutting to commercial breaks. They stitched the commercials into the films themselves. Here is one of them, with the English dub added in. pic.twitter.com/wC7N2vPNvv
— Windy ๐ธ (@heyitswindy) March 2, 2024
synchronoptica
one year ago: Don’t Stop the Beat (2002), Anti-Flirt Week (1923), cult cinema classics, more puzzling emoji plus Trump’s January Sixth charity recording
two years ago: the high cost of mineral extraction, customised browsing plus Jesus Christ Price
three years ago: Nosferatu (1922), more on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, a visual search engine, American state birds plus Icelandic names
four years ago: stream-climbers plus Robert Mugabe elected (1980)
five years ago: outsider artist Adolf Wรถlfli, closed Italian shops, music from a Bosch triptych plus a Brexit phone booth to call Europe
Sunday 11 February 2024
sarah t—portrait of a teenage alcoholic (11. 341)
Also featuring the acting talents of Dallas’ Larry Hagman and Star Wars’ Mark Hamill, the made for television movie starring Linda Blair of The Exorcist (previously) in the title role was first aired on the NBC network on this day in 1975. Dealing with isolation and loneliness, a fifteen-year-old takes after her estranged father, drinking to cope with feelings of inadequacy and begins to surreptitiously raid her mother’s liquor cabinet, having associated inebriation with greater social stability. Having passed out whilst babysitting and numerous interventions, Sarah can’t admit she has a problem until a near-fatal horse-riding accident (mortally wounding the horse, who is euthanised) and joins Alcoholics Anonymous.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit plus Planet Money Valentines
two years ago: an AI reimagines sci-fi comics panels, the Internet Sacred Text Archive plus more links to enjoy
three years ago: more links worth the revisit, bar sounds plus a unique file naming convention
four years ago: political engagement, Merkel’s would be successor steps down, gravity wells plus European emergency numbers
five years ago: the American Petrol-State, anosmia, medals for the Tokyo games to be made out of recovered specie from electronic waste plus the art of Andy Dixon
Friday 17 November 2023
8x8 (11. 123)
aลk’idฤ ́ฤ ́’ yรกdahodiiz’ฤ ́ฤ ́dฤ ́ฤ ́’ yรก’รกhonรญkรกรกndi: an update on Stars Wars dubbed in to the Dinรฉ bizaad language of the Navajo people—see previously
hallucinate: the new meaning of the psychological verb picked for Cambridge dictionaries’ Word of the Yearchipophone: Vivaldi performed on Commodore instruments—see previously
wikiwho: guess the person from their Wikipedia biography—via Web Curios
prisencolinensinainciusol: revisiting the Italo Pop song with nonsense lyrics that was meant to sound like English singing—see previously
veistospuutarha: the sculpture garden of of Veijo Rรถnkkรถnen
here we observe the sophisticated homo sapiens: an unauthorised David Attenborough voice-clone to narrate one’s daily activities—see also
life day: a fresh look on the Star Wars Holiday Special on its forty-fifth anniversary
synchronoptica
one year ago: the Hand of Irulegi plus a Soviet moonwalker (1970)
two years ago: another MST3K classic plus assorted links to revisit
three years ago: more links to enjoy, a rebuttal from Nixon (1973) plus St Hugh of Lincoln
four years ago: the Velvet Revolution plus world flags reimagined in the style of Kazakhstan’s
five years ago: a Japanese view on American history, the mind of a scammer, more links to enjoy plus the Star Wars Holiday Special
Friday 19 May 2023
oh my, my—this here anakin guy, maybe vader some day later but now he’s just a small fry (10. 751)
For this anniversary of the general release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace on this day in the United States in 1999, we feature this synopsis of events regarding the beginning of the saga as performed by Weird Al Yankovic to the underlying tune and structure of “The Day the Music Died.”
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he’s toast
Well, I’m still here—and he’s a ghost
I guess I’ll train this boy.
Saturday 6 May 2023
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.
Thursday 4 May 2023
7x7 (10. 718)
eyecandy: a collection of dynamic, animated type—via Pasa Bon!
grand promenade: a survey of old New York’s rooftop theatresexpo 67: impressions of the central exhibition of Canada’s centennial celebrations—see previously
may the fourth be with you: a retro, fan-made Star Wars film festival—see more under the tagged posts
not lovin’ it: McDonald’s franchises in the United States fined for violations of child labour laws—see also
playfair: data presentations by the eighteenth century creator of the the line, bar and pie charts
fontself: the midpoint of the annual Thirty Six Days of Type celebration
Sunday 30 April 2023
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.
Friday 28 April 2023
8x8 (10. 703)
iter vestrum: a journey to the ends of the Roman Empire with contemporary routing guides—see previously
the bartender’s travelling book: the secret history of the drinks recipe anthology that has crossed the globe
eigengrau: a colour palette of what people report to see with their eyes closed—see previously—via Web Curioschirper: a social media network only for AI—via ibฤซdem
casas del turuรฑuelo: first figural representations of the Bronze Age Tartessian culture found, an Iberian people spuriously linked to the myth of Atlantis—see also
aurabesh: a very thorough Star Wars inspired typeface—see also—via Kottke
toby mug: an assortment of East End brewery labels
bradshaw’s guide: a travelogue of modern Europe with a Victorian era itinerar—check out Messy Nessy’s new look
Wednesday 29 March 2023
the first transport is away—repeat—the first transport is away (10. 644)
Via Boing Boing, in an admittedly a small but welcome, uplifting and surreal condolence, Jedi knight and accomplished voice actor Mark Hamill is issuing incoming warnings for the beleaguered and embattled people of Ukraine, announcing on an app connected to the ministry of defence, “Attention—air raid alert. Proceed to the nearest shelter,” accompanying the barrage of sirens preceding a missile attack from Russia. With the further advisement of, “Don’t be careless—your overconfidence is your weakness,” once the danger passes and the air alert is over, Hamill leaves attendants with “May the Force be with you.”
Friday 10 February 2023
6x6 (10. 538)
bardolatry: Google stock sheds a hundred billion dollars after its premier AI search engine makes a factual error
order 66: the Jedi Academy will no longer include the massacre of padawans by Anakin Skywalker in its history lessonsmanga [1977]: an animated short by Yลji Kuri
kamishibai: literary a “paper play,” Spoon & Tamago presents this unique Japanese form of story board
i know i’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but i can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal: Star Wars in the directorial style of Stanley Kubrick and 2001 by George Lucas
pass notes: Noam Chomsky on outsourcing academics with Chat CPT
Friday 9 December 2022
fantasy films (10. 375)
Via Web Curios, we are directed to curated selection of more AI film stills—projects where cinema buffs working with Midjourney and Stable Diffusion labs ask their collaborators to especially conjure up The Little Mermaid but directed by Michael Mann. This montage takes us behind the scenes as well as imagining Star Wars, the Star Killer Dynasty through the filters of Fritz Lang and Stanley Kubrick. Much more, including the expanded concept treatments, at the links above.
Monday 5 December 2022
i am altering the deal—pray i don’t alter it any further (10. 361)
The November 1977 edition of Vogue featured an eight page spread of super models Jerry Hall, former partner of both Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch, and Maria Hanson posing in ridiculously cruel, outmoded and expensive furs with a cast of characters from Star Wars, including storm troopers, jawas and Snagglepus. This crossover cultural artefact shows just how pervasive the franchise’s influence and reception was back then.
Tuesday 22 November 2022
7x7 (10. 325)
99.9% of people will never get to experience what you will: NASA's social media guidelines for astronauts—via tmn
cosmic christmas: an animated short from the studio of Nelvana, contracted to do interstitials for The Star Wars Holiday Special
all systems go: Orion orbiter begins its loop around the Moon
photobomb: finalists from the seventh annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards––previously—via the Everlasting Blรถrt
before there was hope in the galaxy, there was andor: Rogue One prequel presented as a mid-70s television series—spoiler alerts—see previously
edge of space: a maritime cosmodrome with a carbon neutral balloon for rides into the stratosphere—via tmn
Monday 3 October 2022
the modal nodes (10. 193)
Joining musicians whose signature sound spans from Cold Play to the Animal collective, Bjรถrk—promoting her new album, Fossora, also cites Figrin D’an and band as inspiration—an ongoing celebration of the Cantina Band that had its start with a disco remix. An unfortunately named interpretation of Dixieland, the number likely is the connection that many have with that particular genre of jazz.
7x7 (10. 191)
stanford torus: maybe if we solve Earth, we can have a little space donut as a treat—see previously
matriculation: Merriam-Webster’s Word Induction Ceremony for a class of 369 neologisms
industrial light and magic: a coming-of-age film set during the summer of Star Wars released after being shelved for twenty years—because of the prequels—via Miss Cellania
elections matter: revisiting The Survey Graphic, February 1939 edition
toyko build: exquisite scale models of structures and architectural elements from around the metropolis
gesprรคch einer hausschnecke mit sich selbst: a snail’s monologue in verse
feline dynamics: the US Air Force tossed cats in zero-gravity to study its effects on human physiology—see also—via Everlasting Blรถrt
Saturday 1 October 2022
other galactic funk (10. 186)
On this day in 1977, Domenico Monardo—known professionally as Meco (see previously)—saw his the lead single from his album of space disco that included elements of the soundtrack arranged as instrumental dance music raise to the top of the US billboard charts and hold the number one place for a fortnight, the record and the single “Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band” both certified as platinum. John Williams’ originally version was in the top ten at the same concurrently but was never as popular as Meco’s—the two artist crossing again a few months later with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the former coming out on top.
Tuesday 27 September 2022
8x8 (10. 174)
on pointe: an Australian ballet company recites an alphabet of foot poses
detour: experts urge adding a Venus-flyby to first crewed mission to Mars
suaviter in modo, fortiter in re: the Royal Mail’s Investigative Branch is the oldest recognized crime fighting organisation in the world—via Messy Nessy Chicpuffling: with blรกsa Icelanders help to reset sea bird chicks internal compass
bisexual lighting: the story of a strange picture and other Wikipedia articles in need of an illustration—via Super Punch
only you could be so bold: whilst Putin invades Ukraine, a studio in Kyiv is creating the voice of Darth Vader
asteroid! coming in from the void: ripped from the headlines
tiptoe: performer dazzles with their bottle-walking routine
Saturday 24 September 2022
7x7 (10. 164)
trench run: we are not skilled enough to try this with our X-Wing drone
semester abroad: tips for affecting an RP accent, as one does
an army marches on its stomach: a trove of 1970s field rations—see previously—via Present /&/ Correctalgar do carvรฃo: a guide to the incredible Azores—see also
blowhole: sea platform harnesses wave energy by using it to pressurise air and powering a turbine—outperforming expectations
mappa mundi: an annotated, interactive fifteenth century world atlas—see also
5 bby: Star Wars fans invented their own calendar (see previously) over a quarter of a century ago and the latest series finally makes it canon
Thursday 28 July 2022
eilean donan (10. 022)
In search of coffee and a light lunch and more intent to explore more of the northwest Highlands’ natural beauty, we happened on the small tidal island at the confluence of three sea lochs named for Irish missionary Donnรกn of Eigg—a saint martyred when trying to convert the Picts—with a very spectacular and picturesque castle that was once the stronghold of Clan Mackenzie, demolished for their involvement in the Jacobite rebellion, garrisoning a contingent of Spanish mercenaries and a magazine of gunpowder, prompting the English government to send in three heavily armed frigates to quell the uprising, in the early seventeen hundreds but restored over two decades in the early twentieth century according to its original thirteenth century design.
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