Month: March 2023

  • Japanese soft power + more things

    Japanese soft power Japanese soft power didn’t start with anime, manga or even Sonny Chiba. Asianometry posted a video covering how Japanese soft power was manifested in the 19th century through a mix of planning and happy accident. Japan benefited from a sophisticated artisan culture for everything from food and drink to metal working. Wikileaks…

  • Æon Flux + more things

    Æon Flux Æon Flux’s surprisingly modern take on privacy and surveillance. | Slate – Æon Flux was a name that I hadn’t heard in at least a decade. I remember when it came out as I enjoyed cable TV in our student house. It fitted in with the wider cyber culture. The big beats and…

  • Dow recycling + more stuff

    Dow recycling Singaporeans shoes Dow said it was recycling our shoes. We found them in Indonesia | Reuters – Reuters put trackers in usable secondhand shoes to see where they would end up. The main gist of the story is that Dow recycling effort was a failure, which is also embarrassing for their partner the Singapore…

  • Ambient content

    Ambient content is the name that I gave to a peculiar type of video content that has been rising in popularity over time at odds with online media. It’s at odds with the direction of online content in general and technological convergence. Yes we’re in the middle of a metaverse winter at the moment as…

  • East Asian beauty standards + more things

    East Asian beauty standards YouTuber aini does good videos that analyse sociological and cultural subjects, so a video on East Asian beauty standards was inevitable. East Asian beauty standards are even more important now due to the cultural impact that they have: China Huawei building automotive ecosystem without making its own cars – Huawei will…