Happy Day

A semi-steal from Simon Reynolds, Derek Jarman's 1971 short A Journey To Avebury, with a soundtrack recorded by Coil in the 1990s.


Journey to avebury
Uploaded by zohilof. - Independent web videos.

These stones immediately made me think of those in ITV's 1976 cult children's drama,
Children of the Stones, a sort-of magical realist Wicker Man for kids. Hardly surprising given they are the same 5000 years old stones in Avebury.


(The seven episode series is currently up on YouTube in its entirety).

A third and final trip through Avebury is offered up here by a Shell film with narration from John Betjemen.

Altoto

In 1973 Xerox released the Alto personal computer. Decades before its time both in scope and content, the Alto used menus, a graphical user interface, bit-mapped graphics, an Ethernet connection, 2.5mb removable drive 'platters' and came complete with a 5 chord keyset and 3 button mouse... in 1973.

With software as vital as a basic word processor and paint program the Alto also boasted one of the world's earliest (if not earliest) first person shooter. Appropriately titled Maze War (demonstrated in this video here) the game saw players dual in a three dimensional labryinth, competing against each other on two separate computers using the Alto's Ethernet connection.

Unfortuneatly for everyone, the computer was never commercially released by Xerox, being seen as a threat to its core business of printed documents, and only saw the light of day in its incarnation as The Star in 1979 - priced at a sensible $16,000. Despite this, the Alto remains an innovative and inspiring invention in modern technological history.

VV Classic

Sample Youtube comment:

'@MisterScientist

It's a common Western misconception to ignore the broader musical context that Japanese video game music is rooted in.'

TechnoEstate

Fahr'n Fahr'n Fahr'n

Hit me with those laser beams

The first time I saw Brian De Palma's Body Double, I was largely unconvinced by it, up until this point in the film, which opened up my mind to the schlocky brilliance of it all.

Crimplene for men

Stolen from The Belbury Parish Magazine.

WhoSampled.com

dizzy

Sun Ra's version of The Elephants On Parade synced up with the Disney original.

Don't think as a child I ever really picked up on these ridiculously overt metaphors for Dumbos inebriation - probably for the best really.

(to say nothing of the animators hilarious vision of a formely enslaved minority)


(and again)




(rotoscoping bastards)