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What is time? Friday? Saturday? Sunday? I’ll release my newsletter when I damn well please, and I’ll repost stuff you missed because it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

This particular performance is easily the least rushed I’ve ever heard. Sometimes it feels like an orchestra is on speed when ramming their way through this, and it’s painful to me. Khachaturian makes me cry almost every time. Not sure how you can’t. That crescendo hooooo boy.

Mozart wrote music for silly little rich people.

Aram Khachaturian? He wrote music for the Gods.

 

 

(if you can watch this on the big screen, the cinematography of the Berlin Orchestra’s Waldbühne amphitheater is actually sublime, and the performers are not into theatrics, antics, or standing out… just an unrushed, gorgeous performance. It’s hard to watch this without being a bit heart broken about the state of the planet, and not being able to be in an audience for now).

 

 

  • Japanese Marble Racing is really exciting.

 

  • For no particular reason, here’s KISS with their parents in 1976. You think you’re disappointed in your children?

SPACE… JUNK

 

  • In March, Russia’s “orbital particles” (aka junk) hit a Chinese satellite:

 

Late June, a Malaysian satellite failed because “something” hit it: http://www.measat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/EXT-MEASAT-3-Services-Brought-Under-Control-210626a.pdf

IE: We’re definitely going to see more “Gravity” like collisions, and we just hope everyone keeps safe.

However, work is being done to deal with space junk:

Rocket Lab will launch a Finnish cubesat this year to test space junk cleanup tech: AuroraSat-1 will launch atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster later this year. https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-space-junk-finnish-satellite-launch

We didn’t just litter junk in our oceans and land… we did it in space! go humans!

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY & FEROCIOUSLY POSITIVE NEWS

 

  • This is really, REALLY important, and GIANT for Fusion (& us):

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California said they had focused 192 giant lasers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) onto a pea-size pellet, resulting in the release of 1.3 megajoules of energy in 100 trillionths of a second — roughly 10% of the energy of the sunlight that hits Earth every moment, and about 70% of the energy that the pellet had absorbed from the lasers. The scientists hope one day to reach the break-even or “ignition” point of the pellet, where it gives off 100% or more energy than it absorbs. https://www.livescience.com/fusion-experiment-record-breaking-energy.html

If you don’t get this… Coal, Oil, Nuclear… all completely obsolete if we can get magnets to control the power of the sun, basically. We’re closer than ever, probably… the most significant advancement since about 1972. This is a watershed, sea change moment:

US lab stands on threshold of key nuclear fusion goal https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58252784

 

  • Well, mRNA vaccines just saved the lives of the planet earth (or at least, those who like to live and believe in science). Will they end HIV/AIDS too?

Moderna’s Experimental HIV Vaccine Could Begin Human Trials as Soon as This Week https://www.sciencealert.com/moderna-s-experimental-hiv-vaccine-could-begin-human-trials-as-soon-as-this-week

 

  • Remember the CFC ban when we were younger? It saved the planet earth and gave us time to save it again:

The Montreal Protocol protects the terrestrial carbon sink: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03737-3.epdf

 

  • This makes infinite more sense than a car, come to think of it. HOWEVER, birds and bugs at 250mph sting… so maybe we eventually see a Rick and Morty junked up space cruiser, or some 5th Element stuff.

Forget Flying Cars. The World’s First Flying Motorcycle Is Coming. The Speeder’s design team said the sci-fi sky-bike recently passed flight tests. They expect it to be commercially available by 2023. The experimental version would require a basic pilot’s license to fly. The speed of this version would be approximately 250 mph with a flight time of about 35 minutes.” https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/new-air-bike-fly-250-mph-1234629791/

 

  • Los Angeles synchronizes all traffic lights A new traffic system aims to reduce congestion by having 4,400 traffic lights work together. The city estimates that the system will increase travel speeds by 16 percent and reduce travel time by 12 percent. And because of reduced idling time, the city says it will save 1 million metric tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere. https://www.zdnet.com/article/los-angeles-synchronizes-all-traffic-lights/

 

  • You always see the “OH GOD ROBOTS ARE GOING TO KILL US” videos. You don’t see the outtakes:

 

Also, robots are UNDOUBTEDLY going to kill us.

 

 

“Our work highlights the remarkable ability of brain organoids to generate primitive sensory structures that are light sensitive and harbor cell types similar to those found in the body,” says senior study author Jay Gopalakrishnan of University Hospital Du?sseldorf. “These organoids can help to study brain-eye interactions during embryo development, model congenital retinal disorders, and generate patient-specific retinal cell types for personalized drug testing and transplantation therapies.”

New Scientist Default Image

 

  • Now scientists have converted light energy directly into matter in a single step. – Collisions of Light Produce Matter/Antimatter from Pure Energy Study demonstrates a long-predicted process for generating matter directly from light — plus evidence that magnetism can bend polarized photons along different paths in a vacuum https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=119023

Abstract: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.052302

 

  • Neodymium magnets are probably the most dangerous things I’ve ever seen.

 

This mythbusters episode is interesting, because both Jamie and Adam said they think this was the most dangerous experiment they’ve ever done:

 

And this is A FAKE HUMAN HAND. But a fine example:

 

  • DIY & Makers blow my mind, because I want to be one and am not. To functional print and then create and experiment is a distant goal of joy for me, but I think I’ll just keep letting Kerry 3D print and this guy BLOW MY MIND. A self-aiming compound bow. William Tell got an UPGRADE YO!

 

MUSIC

 

  • You can’t say “Tower Records” without someone reminiscing about going, hanging out, exploring and learning… the Columbus and Bay location is probably as iconic a site for pop culture and music as were neon signs and drive in theatres with hot rods. I had watched this with a fireball of nostalgia, even though Amoeba’s 1990 presence altered EVERYTHING for me… and that’s sort of part of the story. So many independent music and record shops littered our city… small little tight shops that focused on just jazz, or just punk, and it was a clerk who knew your tastes and what you like and could entertain you with likely suggestions etc. The culture around music stores anchors my entire life, and the memories of Tower are strong… having that yellow bag with red lettering was Christmas and excitement and pregnant joy of exploring the sounds. What a ritual.

Well, Tower Records is no more, and as the title of the documentary says, ALL THINGS MUST PASS. This is a free doc hosted on YouTube, exploring the rise and fall of the empire that was Tower Records. It was directed by Colin Hanks, interestingly enough. Here’s a rambling 20 minute interview about his experience making it, the array of characters, and some background I found interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VfHwf2eBjE

The movie is embedded below, but here’s the link if you want to send it to yourself to watch later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxyon6mBXfU

 

AWESOME TV SHOWS BEING SHOWRUN INTO THE FUTURE!

 

Think Disney can make a good Alien series? You know who that guy is down there? That’s Noah Hawley, showrunner of Legion *&* Fargo. We’re in good hands.

Alien TV series confirmed with Noah Hawley developing for FX - JoBlo

 

The Ebert commentary track, something he rarely did for films, opens up an entire world of film vocabulary and truly enhances Dark City. Other tracks he has done were for Citizen Kane, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Casablanca, Crumb, and Floating Weeds. It’s been interesting having to buy physical media again for specific reasons like this, but quite rewarding. I just found the Criterion Wim Wenders’ “Until the End of the World” and I CAN NOT WAIT to see it again.

For Dark City, he does the whole film, but here’s a snippet:

Dark City: Film Commentary by Roger Ebert from Michael Mirasol on Vimeo.

 

  • White Lotus on HBO Max? Mike White is a treat, and it was filmed at the Wailea Four Seasons, and a hoot.

But what about Black Lotus? Blade Runner: Black Lotus TV Series in dev for Adult Swim. These are wild times, friends:

 

TERRIBLE TV

NO ONE:

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE:

NO ONE SAYING A THING:

FALLON:

It’s so utterly disappointing. We had Carson, Letterman, Conan, Craig Ferguson, and we’re left with this guy who ruined every SNL skit ever?

Thank goodness for John Oliver and Seth Meyers.

 

 

MOVIES, MISSING MOVIES, & JAMES GUNN’S PG PORN

 

  • Remember when Ruffalo ruined the end of the Infinity War by accident?

“It’s your career”. “Can we rewind that one?”

Ruffalo is my favorite human, often. I Know This Much Is True is truly one of the best limited series I’ve ever seen, FWIW.

But I could watch this on loop.

 

  • BOY OH BOY THIS WAS A JOY. —> Timothy Simons (‘Veep’), Sacha Baron Cohen (‘Who Is America?), Henry Winkler (‘Barry’), Don Cheadle (‘Black Monday’), Jim Carrey (‘Kidding’), and Ted Danson (‘The Good Place’) join Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter for this season’s FULL, uncensored Comedy Actors Roundtable.

 

  • DENZEL doesn’t lose to people, so in losing to Sean Connery… w/Jamie Fox, talking about “gettin’ the coats” and being from around the way, so he’s leavin’ with something… the whole 9min interview is great: https://youtu.be/v6rKIGxAz7c

 

 

  • I had tapped out something here, which appears too be too long or interruptive, so I made it into it’s own post. If you’re interested in why some films don’t exist in physical medium, nor streaming… this post is for you! I don’t really have concrete answers, but I can document all the films I can’t find. Basically… if there’s a film you can’t get on DVD (The director’s cut of The Abyss), or find streaming (so many films)… let me know. I’m real curious about it, and you could likely make a fascinating series about licensing and unreleased movies.

Why isn’t it streaming? Where is it and why? When art becomes a concept that you can not see… https://unclefishbits.com/why-isnt-it-streaming-where-is-it-and-why-when-art-becomes-a-concept-that-you-can-not-see/

 

  • The Hacking the Gibson scene of Hackers is so cheesily terrible, it looks like a worse version of Mystery Science Theater 3000’s opening sequence:

 

  • WATCH OUT GUNN THEY WILL CANCEL YOU… OH WAIT:

PG PORN Roadside Ass Sistance[1] from Miguel Angel Santana on Vimeo.

 

I extracted every third frame from these movies and stitched them together to create their signature color palette

 

 

  • Val Kilmer joins Brendan Fraser as my “American Treasures” and seeing this new era for the two of them is a jot.

 

 

  • RIP Sonny Chiba. Popular for Kill Bill, he was just sort of a legend. Complications of Covid.

Article: Sonny Chiba, Actor Who Played Hattori Hanzo in ‘Kill Bill,’ Dies at 82 of COVID Complications https://www.thewrap.com/sonny-chiba-dead-kill-bill-hattori-hanzo/

 

Society, Culture, Geopolitics, People, & your dumb drunk uncle

 

 

There’s been some weird stuff on ebay: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/ebay-20-20-weirdest-things-ever-sold-10484436.html

 

“I was not free in the city. There is always someone in your way – you either argue with your wife, neighbours, or the police”, Petrovic told AFP while peeling vegetables for lunch.

Petrovic said he “doesn’t understand the fuss” some vaccine sceptics make, and underlined that he believes in a process that aims to eradicate diseases.

Panta Petrovic mostly feeds on mushrooms and fish from the local creek, but also hikes downtown in search of leftover food in the bins

Petrovic receives welfare, but also relies on donations for food and supplies for the animals

 

  • I promised your drunk uncle, maybe at the office Christmas party?

When Did Drunks Start Wearing Lampshades? A history of tipsy tomfoolery.

Probably in the 1910s or 1920s. While it’s impossible to pinpoint the first instance of a man donning a lampshade at a party, the image most likely came out of vaudeville and was popularized in early silent films. In The Adventurer(1917), Charlie Chaplin plays a rich yachtsman who, pursued by the police, puts a lampshade over his head and stands still as the cops pass by. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/03/when-did-drunk-people-start-putting-lampshades-on-their-heads.html

 

VEHICLES AND MAZDA IS MAKING ME LOSE MY MIND

 

  • SP2 by Volkswagen were produced. I am desperate for this.

In total, 10,205 units were made; 670 were exported, of which 155 went to Nigeria. Only one model was delivered to Europe, Portugal. However, duty free zone of Canary Islands actually had some imported there, supposedly. This is a cult car in Brazil, and was designed domestically because importing was illegal at the time. Although rare, it’s attainable for around $40K. That’s wild to me. Super cool, and more here: https://www.thedrive.com/news/31943/rare-1973-volkswagen-sp2-is-a-brazilian-built-sports-car-you-can-buy-for-28100

r/WeirdWheels - Volkswagen SP2

 

WHILE MAZDA ARE DEVELOPING WITCHCRAFT:

Mazda is reportedly developing a hydrogen-burning rotary engine Could it power the RX-8’s long-awaited successor? (below is a concept, non-production) https://www.autoblog.com/2021/08/16/mazda-hydrogen-burning-rotary-engine/

mazda rx-vision concept front

 

  • In the “why rental cars and used cars are going to stay spendy” files… this is a bonkers problem. I somewhat wonder if this cut involves their political hot water as of recent, in supporting the insurrectionist GOP enablers:

Chip shortage: Toyota to cut global production by 40% https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58266794

By Uncle FishbitsCategories: Newsletter