3 minutes estimated reading time
TVs TV
TVs TV was nighttime TV programming on Japanese TV. Like in the west, some of the most innovative cutting edge visual graphics and cult programming was broadcast on these night time slots from the 1980s through to the late 1990s. TVs TV blends video graphics with b-roll video and specially commissioned footage. You can find more Japan related content here.
Indigo Gaming
YouTube channel Indigo Gaming have managed to successfully complete their three part documentary series on cyberpunk culture.
Part one covered the origins of cyberpunk in the 1980s including Neuromancer, Blade Runner, RoboCop, Akira and Shadowrun.
Part two covers the late 1980s and early 1990s including Ghost in the Shell, Shadowrun, Total Recall and the Blade Runner Game.
Part three went into the 1990s with The Matrix, System Shock, Snow Crash, Hackers, VR & Simulation Theory.
Its an epic bit of documentary making covering books, comics movies and games with a cyberpunk theme. It is well worth sitting down and watching all three episodes to date.
Finally, it is worthwhile comparing it with the Cyberpunk documentary by Marianne Trench interviewing hackers and authors back in 1990.
Outdoor gear design
While football casuals and mountain girls made outdoor wear fashionable before Virgil Abloh and Palace made Arc’teryx trendy – Dana Gleason goes back to the origin of outdoor gear. The modern industry came out of the end of the second world war. He was in the industry back when it was run by hippie mountain climbers. He saw the industry tap into globalisation with production offshored to Taiwan in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
He also explains how a massive brand consolidation happened. The story involves Taiwanese generals, federal crimes and his own approach to design. Gleason now designs Mystery Ranch, which sells packs to trendsetters in Japan and around the world. I’ve had one of his Mystery Ranch packs for the past 12 years and its as good as when I got it.
TV glyphs of the USSR
Someone had found a demo reel of CGI for broadcast IDs made towards the end of the Soviet Union. It is impressive for its creativity.
Adult entertainment economics
The music industry was disrupted by the move to digital downloads and streaming online. With artists seeing severe revenue decline. The same seems to be the case in the adult entertainment industry with the rise of tube sites and the move away from physical media. Performers had an 85 percent reduction in their rate of pay.
Saab 900
A couple of films caught my eye celebrating the Saab 900. There is now enough distance between Saab’s collapse under GM to view the Saab 900 as the innovative car that it was.
The Saab 900 changed ergonomics, safety, driving performance and design in a way that is probably comparable to Tesla today in terms of its influence. It was the template for what Audi is today.
Big Car do a really good history of the Saab 900 that has a more serious tone to it.
The Incal
The Incal is the latest comic that is being adapted for streaming services. It is an epic work as a comic, here’s a 20 minute explanation of it. You may not have read the comics, but will have likely seen films that have been heavily influenced by it.