Hello.
It has been a while since we did this. The previous edition came out on 25th August and since then I have been on a break. A ‘working through lockdown and hence fatigued’ break. I won’t go into the details of how the fatigue set in but the important bit here is that now I feel much better and ready to get the ball rolling.
If you are new here, welcome. This newsletter is my humble attempt to fight against algorithms dictating what we will watch and read. Instead I give you handpicked/ interesting/curated material to ponder over in your week ahead.
Let us get to it then. Again, welcome!
Videos/Music
Taylor’s version
Taylor Swift has a third album out since the pandemic hit. Talk about being productive huh!
I wasn’t the biggest Taylor Swift fan (Swifties they are called apparently) but the last two albums (Folklore and Evermore) have been quite a revelation. This week she released a third album, Red. Only thing that she had already released the same album in 2012 with the same songs. This isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2021, she re-released her 2008 album Fearless.
Why the re-releases? This is not a cash grab scheme but more of a fight for your dues story. Intriguing read on how music industry works and would go to any length to get rich while not giving a shit about the artist themselves.
Here is a short film accompanying the album’s launch. Directed by Taylor Swift.
Old Clarkson has a farm
Jeremy Clarkson is famous for hosting TV shows about automobiles. First, there was Top Gear, from which he was fired for assaulting someone on the set. Amazon didn’t think much of Jeremy’s transgression and gave him a Top Gear ripoff called ‘The Grand Tour’
Now, Clarkson has a farm in Cotswold, England and the good folks at Amazon have left behind a camera crew to see how does Clarkson the farmer survive.
The Knight Rider and Punjabi Pop
In 1982, The Knight rider premiered on TV.
David Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight, a high-tech, modern crime fighter assisted by KITT, an advanced, artificially intelligent, self-aware and nearly indestructible car. Together the man-car combo fought crime. Awesome right?
I was a tiny kid when Doordarshan picked up Knight Rider and played it on prime-time. I don’t remember anything about the show except for how cool the car was. In fact, I didn’t even know who Hasselhoff was until much later when he had become a sort of a meme. But this show and its opening montage have been etched in my brain. Listen to that theme music!
Did you hear that piece of music? I really hope so.
Now on a different note, remember this song from Punjabi MC? I hope you do. Possibly the only good thing to come out of Kaizad Gustad’s Boom. After Katrina Kaif of course.
Now read this story of how the theme music of a David Hasselhoff show inspired one of the biggest Punjabi hits of all time. I enjoyed this one.
READ NOW! Please
Moreover, I came across this amazing Youtube channel about Knight Rider enthusiasts who are saving the actual props used during the filming of the series.
🎉Cue Sponsor Music🎉
As we all know by now, life has changed quite dramatically since the virus hit our world. While we are coming to terms with it on a personal level, the professional part of our life is still in limbo. For example, the nature of jobs has changed. Straight up, some of us lost our jobs. A lucky few had their work gone remote (or hybrid) and if Zuckerberg is to be believed, future jobs will now be in a virtual world where you can dress up as a cartoon shark for a meeting. Casual Fridays have got nothing on it!
We have had to learn and unlearn a lot of things about our professional lives and there seems to be no end to it.
So how does one stay ahead of the curve? How does one find new opportunities to grow?
Let me present to you the 'FutureStack' from my friends at ChooseToThinq. Where you get more than 100 articles/videos over a 26 week course that will help you uplevel and become future relevant.
Read more about FutureStack here: https://www.ctqcompounds.com/blog/futurestack
Use the Studio41 coupon code to get a heavy discount on the FutureStack. I went ahead and applied it anyway. Just click the link!
Here are some of the themes to give you an idea.
🎉End Sponsor Music🎉
MOVIES
Single actor vehicles
All is lost and Locke.
Two films featuring one actor on the screen for all their duration. Tough ask. Good thing is the actors are some of the best there are.
Robert Redford is an aged mariner who wakes up one day to find his solo vessel has been compromised. It is a race against time and the Indian Ocean. The ‘Sundance Kid’ carries the film without a single line. There is one exasperated F word somewhere towards the climax though.
The entire film is available on Youtube for free. Watch it.
Locke is more verbose in comparison. Through the course of the the film, Ivan Locke, played by Tom Hardy makes 36 phone calls on his way to someplace important which will be revealed. With each call, Locke’s life and his troubles unfurl as we get to grip with his inner turmoil.
Olivia Coleman, Andrew Scott, and Tom Holland have voiced a few characters, who of course are never seen.
Funny thing is Tom Holland plays Tom Hardy’s son and if the Spiderman Multiverse does happen, we might see them both on screen playing Spiderman and Venom!
Here is the entire movie. Available on Youtube. For free.
Reading
Autograph collector - A comic about an art student receives a mysterious letter asking for her autograph. Who could it be? Translated from German.
Subway Crushes - A comic about the people we would spot in out day to day lives and with whom we would end up spending an imaginary lifetime.
The true story of how Billy Joel’s Piano Man ‘stiffed’ and then caught fire - A memoir - This has to be one of the most moving pieces I’ve read in a while. Art has saved many a lives but this one time, the artist owes their career to a fan. Read the piece and then listen to the album. I did!
What does ‘Meta’ mean for Facebook, the company? An interesting perspective on the Meta debate. Read.
How to stir fry like a pro - If you love cooking, this is a great guide to cooking desi Chinese. I usually end up overdoing my veggies. The trick, as this article suggests, might be to chop them fine and fry on high-heat.
How does Ireland remember the man behind Jallianwala Bagh? A movie has come out recently about Sardar Uddham Singh. Sir Michael O’Dwyer, whom Singh shot down, was infact an Irish man who worked for the British army. How does Ireland remember him now?
What can one learn from their use of punctuation? Curious post.
PURE INVENTION: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World
I recently started reading this book and it has been a revelation. Japan at the end of WWII was under American control and from there rose a nation on the back of its technological growth and pop culture. An invigorating read.
For the trivia hounds, did you know
First robot toy was made of tin and was called Lilliput - Made by Matsuzo Kosuge
Konami, Sega, and Taito - before making arcade games - all started by maintaining/repairing Jukeboxes
Born in the USA was the first rock album translated into KARAOKE in its entirety
Inspired by the Hello Kitty craze, Peanuts and Mickey Mouse developed into 'cuter' characters by adopting a baby shaped figure.
Barbie was made in a Japan!
You can fing the book here: Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World
(P.S. I am trying out affiliate marketing. If you buy the book, you also end up supporting the newsletter. Win win)
Random Internet things
The BBC theme is so cool. Your move Prasar Bharti. Actually never mind.
This was definitely funny!
This was nuts. Will not recommend.
This cool gif is worth 40 Lakhs INR!
Escaping the pollution
The one list to rule them all
When cut and paste actually meant cut and paste. (Stolen)
and the one truth!
This is the end. If you enjoyed this edition
and most importantly,
Oh also, we have a Discord server. Wanna join?