2 minutes estimated reading time
I think my interest in this vintage TV series Special Branch comes from a couple of places:
- Sharing Mike Herron’s subversive books, Apple TV adaption and audio books with friends and my Dad
- Sharing my love of John LeCarre with friends during lockdown
Special Branch was before my life time. The episodes start very much in the vein of a Le Carre or Len Deighton-type story. Later episodes were more human interest focused including an investigation of a religious cult. However one episode touches on the often overlooked post-war history of the British security services and military combatting Cypriot desire for independence.
Those with a keen eye will notice Bernard Hepton who played Toby Esterhase in the BBC TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy & Smiley’s People playing a Soviet-era Ukrainian colonel in this episode.
You can see more episodes of Special Branch on YouTube here.
Genesis on luxury
This is an interesting event that Genesis took part in for marketing purposes. The tone of voice on the session was more about the ‘business of luxury’ rather than encouraging luxury consumption. It’s trying in a way that Lexus didn’t need to. Lexus let their engineering do the talking, by comparison luxury and fashion is something that Mercedes and BMW have increasingly lent into.
There is also no focus on sport in the way that BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Infiniti and Lexus have had.
Lights and shadows
A lovely collection of video footage showing light and shadow views in Japan. A good deal of it is the the same locations shot at different times of the day. There is some b-roll, TV and film footage mixed in for good measure.
Mysterious circles in the Sahara
My guess when I first saw this was oil exploration. I had worked in the oil industry before I went to university and heard the upstream and exploration adventures of older colleagues. This documentary is a fascinating journey to find out the truth and the limits of the internet and assumptions about modern industry practices not being a good guide of past practices. Without any further introduction I will leave you to this mystery of the Algerian desert.
Calculus on Pornhub
Taiwanese mathematics tutor puts calculus lessons on Pornhub. Attracts audience with attractive female assistants who clean the board. His rationale of taking his content to a less crowded platform can’t be faulted though.