1423 – The Aeronauts (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1859 – 1862 London

The Aeronauts is a 2019 biographical adventure film directed by Tom Harper starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel and Tom Courtenay.

The film is based on an amalgam of the flights detailed in Richard Holmes‘ 2013 book Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air. The most significant balloon flight depicted in The Aeronauts is based on the 5 September, 1862, flight of British aeronauts James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell whose coal gas filled balloon broke the world flight altitude record, reaching 9,000 to 11,000 m (30,000 to 36,000 ft). However, while Glaisher appears in the film, Coxwell has been replaced by Amelia, a fictional character. (actual individuals who comprise Amelia’s character include: Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, who became a celebrated aeronaut following her husband’s death. Felicity Jones has stated that Blanchard was the inspiration for her character. / Margaret Graham, a British aeronaut and entertainer. Amelia’s relationship with husband Pierre is chiefly based on Sophie Blanchard’s flights with husband Jean-Pierre Blanchard, while Pierre’s death is inspired by that of Thomas Harris on 25 May, 1824.) – historical accuracy – (wiki)

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1421 – Ansisung (2018)

timespace coordinates: 645 AD. Goguryeo – the siege of Ansi Fortress and the epic eighty-eight day battle that Yang Manchun and his troops fought against 500,000 invading Tang dynasty men to defend it.

The Great Battle (Korean: 안시성; Hanja: 安市城; RR: Ansi-seong; lit. Ansi Fortress) is a 2018 South Korean historical action film directed by Kim Kwang-sik. It stars Jo In-sung, Nam Joo-hyuk, and Park Sung-woong. (wiki)

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1420

«The Romans stole the alphabeta system from the Greeks through war», explains Rammellzee. «Then, in medieval times, monks ornamented letters to hide their meaning from the people. Now, the letter is armored against further manipulation.»

New York graffiti artist and B-boy theoretician Rammellzee (the artist encases himself during gallery performances in Gasholeer, a 148-pound, gadgetry-encrusted exoskeleton inspired by an android he painted on a subway train in 1981. Four years in the making, Rammellzee’s exuberantly low-tech costume bristles with rocket launchers, nozzles that gush gouts of flame, and an all-important sound system.)

«From both wrists, I can shoot seven flames, nine flames from each sneaker’s heel, and colored flames from the throat. Two girl doll heads hanging from my waist and in front of my balls spit fire and vomit smoke… The sound system consists of a Computator, which is a system of screws with wires. These screws can be depressed when the keyboard gun is locked into it. The sound travels through the keyboard and screws, then through the Computator, then the belt, and on up to the four mid-range speakers (with tweeters). This is all balanced by a forward wheel from a jet fighter plane. I also use an echo chamber, Vocoder, and system of strobe lights. A coolant device keeps my head and chest at normal temperature. A 100-watt amp and batteries give me power.»

«slanguage» – a heavily encrypted hip-hop argot – is the linguistic equivalent of graffiti «tags» all over the mother tongue. In an essay on English as the imperial language of the Internet, the cultural critic McKenzie Wark argues for the willful, viral corruption of the lingua franca of global corporate monoculture as a political act.

Black to the Future: Afrofuturism 1.0

Mark Dery

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1416

Joseph Needham’s sketchbook from his visit to the Buddhist grottoes at Chienfodong 千佛洞 (Qianfodong), Dunhuang, Gansu Province,… (NRI2/5/12/4)

Joseph Needham

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Mirroring the Master: Making Magic in a Nineteenth Century Tibetan Book of Spells

1414 – Togo (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1925 serum run to Nome – central and northern Alaska

Togo is a 2019 American drama film directed by Ericson Core about the 1925 serum run to Nome focusing on the sled dog Togo and his owner Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe).

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1404

labyrinths were first built at the time when the gods withdrew from human beings. they are, of course, images of the convolutions of the brain, in which the thinker can get lost.

1394 – Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1969 Los Angeles

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It features a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, and Al Pacino. The film follows an actor and his stunt double, as they navigate the changing film industry, and features “multiple storylines in a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age” (wiki)

imdb   /  Character background   /  Pop culture references   /  Historical accuracy   /  Controversy

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