Tag Archives: dead media

Vintage

Dead Media- 3D

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A can of virtual reality

I’ve always been fascinated with stereo viewers. Once upon a time, when I was a wee lad, I visited my great-grandmother at her wee home in Jolly Olde England.  It turned out that she had the same regard for immersive technology as I did- she had a Victorian era stereograph viewer and a sick collection of  antique 3D stereo cards. Steampunk or what?

Victorian Stereograph ViewerYes, stereoscopy has been around for a long time. That contraption belonging to my great-grandmother was made of wood and had two glass lenses. It weighed so much I had to brace it on the floor, on top of a pillow, and lie in front, resting my head on my elbows. It was worth the effort. I could see ‘into’ the photograph and felt like I was transported into space and time. On a side note- I had this experience again decades later when I bought a heavily discounted (read: cheap) Nintendo Virtual Boy.

View-Master

This feeling of traveling outside of the body and experiencing a sense of virtual surroundings was shared by millions of kids and adults when the View-Master was first released in the late 1930’s. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say: “View-Master, since 1939, has been a device for viewing seven 3-D images (also called stereo images) on a paper disk. Although the View-Master is now considered a childrens’ toy, it was originally marketed as a way for viewers to enjoy stereograms of colourful and picturesque tourist attractions.”

Whatever the original intent was, View-Master has become synonymous with several generations of Pop Culture geeks and depending on your age, the sight of a black or red (or red and blue) View-Master conjures up images of Donald Duck, The Lone Ranger, or E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial.

Keep a bottle of eye drops nearby.
Keep a bottle of eye drops nearby.

Like most immersive technologies, educational and practical uses were developed. The U.S. Military used the View-Master as an aid in the identification of airplanes. The Gruber Company used the View-Master to develop human anatomy study guides. But for all of this, the best View-Master reels are 1960’s Batman and 3D stills from the original Tron film. Of course this is highly personal and your tastes may be different.

3D is back sort of…..although the last few years have seen North American releases of 3D blurays finally end (and no 3D televisions being manufactured), Europe continues to see new releases and these can be purchased online. This is a good thing.  Sure I can dust off the bluray 3D version of Tron (Tron: Legacy). and still enjoy it’s jaw dropping immersion but it’s nice to know that the newer releases such as Wonder Woman 1984 can still be added to the collection.

Oculus Quest 2

If 3D is dying a slow death the same can’t be said for it’s direct descendant. Virtual Reality gaming and simulation takes immersion to an entirely other level:  it provides a full 360 degrees of movement and viewing, complete with real world effects such as light and shadow movement and visual scaling.  If you haven’t already tried VR gaming then you are missing out. But that’s a story for a future article.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

One of my personal fav's.
Tron 1982 ViewMaster Image
Vintage

Chinese Newspaper Baskets

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Surprisingly sturdy and functional wastebaskets

Okay I admit it, newspapers are dead. But maybe in China they aren’t. Or are.  Because in a local bargain shop I discovered a cache of wastebaskets in three different sizes made entirely out of newspapers: Chinese newspapers to be exact.  And that started me thinking.

It seems probable that in China, or somewhere near there, an active recycling program is taking place. Instead of shredding or burning them for landfill, some sort of manufacturing facility is turning clean, bright and seemingly unread newspapers into functional everyday objects. Does this mean that the newspaper industry is suffering in China? Is there a surplus of printed newspapers? Are more Chinese people getting their news from digital media than print? Who can say. My phone calls to the Chinese embassy consulate in Toronto about these pressing issues were not returned.

The irony of wastebaskets made out of, well, waste, is not (ahem) wasted on me.

These products are powerful “green” metaphors produced in one of the most polluting nations on the planet. The industrialization of China is full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes. Consumer goods? They want everything we have, so it’s hard to claim any moral high ground. Anyway, there is an environmental statement here, intended or not. I’m just not sure what it is.

On the other hand, they are just really fun and handy wastebaskets that feel great when you pick them up by their long, soft handles. I kind of want one.

Supplemental:

In Jennifer Baichwal’s film Manufacturing Landscapes, about Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, we learn there are whole towns in China dedicated to breaking down and “smelting” the useable metals out of discarded electronics. When you choose to buy a new DVD player because it’s cheaper than repairing your old one, this is likely where your old one goes. Apparently you can smell these towns a mile off. The Chinese government sure knows a thing or two about recycling. But what would it cost to do this kind of metal recovery safely? What would it cost to make baskets out of the millions of unread, discarded and obsolete print newspapers in Canada?

Culture

McCain Frozen Pizza Movie Pack Is Death Knell For Renting Physical Copies

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The beginning of the end of physical movie rentals? Mainstream online movie promo for frozen pizza lovers.

It is another death knell. We spoke last year in 2011 about the awesomeness that is Netflix, and now from left field is..McCain foods and what a great fit. For years now, cereal manufacturers (they buy a lot of corn eh>) have wisely chosen to promo their boxes by including free Movie at the Cinema passes.

When my favourite cereal went on sale ( a certain granola-esque crunch recipe ) I was ecstatic.  Silo Direct Link to List of Breakfast Cereals.

About a year ago  it went on sale and it included a free Movie at the Cinema pass for Cineplex. There were only very minor restrictions on the pass: not valid  for preview screenings ( I can wait two days for the film to run ) and not being valid for IMAX screens. So other than those, it was OPERATION POPCORN. On account of the free movie.

And this is now. Over last year’s Christmas holidays and this year’s Summer holidays the marketing gurus at McCain unleashed this consumer gotcha!: buy a McCain thin crust California Chicken pizza (surprisingly not that unhealthy) or other McCain pizza (not surprisingly that healthy) to receive a free online digital movie. The code is in the box. This sounded like a bit of fun. It wasn’t exactly emptying out a box of cereal for the prize inside but it was close, and a more adult-like treasure hunt ensued.

So it’s buy your pizza, fix your pizza (if you don’t already, try adding some shaved deli chicken, sliced olives and crushed black pepper), cook your pizza, then sink into your favorite chair in your home theater , turn on your smart t.v. and use it’s built in web browser to visit the Link to McCain Movies and use your code. If you’re feeling especially retro, I suggest the 1978 Superman. Gene Hackman as Luthor. Comic fans- is there a better onscreen comic villain performance, even now, thirty-five years later?

I love New Orleans pizza but in a pinch frozen pizza gets the silver medal

FYI I just had a look and McCain’s collection is small but it’s quality over quantity and using the Epson projector in our Silo office theater, I streamed The Matrix while enjoying a hot slice of Cal. Chick. pizza. For less than 5$ I had a pizza and a free movie that streamed well and projected to 5X7 feet and felt like a cinema experience. I wasn’t even missing the popcorn.

Did you know? McCain uses caramel and annatto for adding the right amount of colour to its tomato pizza sauce?

Is this the future? This is the future if you don’t think so, you’re still renting movies- perhaps on DVD or dare I say it, VHS? For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.