Download or read book The Retro Future written by John Michael Greer and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2017-08-21 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To most people paying attention to the collision between industrial society and the hard limits of a finite planet, it's clear that things are going very, very wrong. We no longer have unlimited time and resources to deal with the crises that define our future, and the options are limited to the tools we have on hand right now. This book is about one very powerful option: deliberate technological regression. Technological regression isn't about 'going back,' it's about using the past as a resource to meet the needs of the present. It starts from the recognition that older technologies generally use fewer resources and cost less than modern equivalents, and it embraces the heresy of technological choice, our ability to choose or refuse the technologies pushed by corporate interests. People are already ditching smartphones in favor of 'dumb phones' and land lines and eBook sales are declining, while printed books rebound. Clear signs among many that blind faith in progress is faltering and opening up the possibility that the best way forward may well involve going back. A must-read for anyone willing to think the unthinkable and embrace the possibilities of a retro future. John Michael Greer, one of the most influential authors exploring the future of industrial society, writes the widely cited blog The Archdruid Report. He has authored more than forty books including The Long Descent and Dark Age America. He lives in Cumberland, MD, an old mill town in the Appalachians, with his wife Sara.
Download or read book The Retro Futurism of Cuteness written by Jen Boyle and published by punctum books. This book was released on 2017-11-03 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it possible to conceive of a Hello Kitty Middle Ages or a Tickle Me Elmo Renaissance? The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first reference to "cute" in the sense of "attractive, pretty, charming" to 1834. More recently, Sianne Ngai has offered a critical overview of the cuteness of the twentieth-century avant-garde within the context of consumer culture. But if cuteness can get under the skin, what kinds of surfaces does it best infiltrate, particularly in the framework of historical forms, events, and objects that traditionally have been read as emergences around "big" aesthetics of formal symmetries, high affects, and resemblances? The Retrofuturism of Cuteness seeks to undo the temporal strictures surrounding aesthetic and affective categories, to displace a strict focus on commodification and cuteness, and to interrogate how cuteness as a minor aesthetics can refocus our perceptions and readings of both premodern and modern media, literature, and culture. Taking seriously the retro and the futuristic temporalities of cuteness, this volume puts in conversation projects that have unearthed remnants of a "cult of cute"-positioned historically and critically in between transitions into secularization, capitalist frameworks of commodification, and the enchantment of objects-and those that have investigated the uncanny haunting of earlier aesthetics in future-oriented modes of cuteness. The Latin acutus, the etymological root of cute, embraces the sharpened, the pointed, the nimble, the discriminating, and the piercing. But as Michael O'Rourke notes, cuteness evokes a proximity that is at once potentially invasive and contaminating and yet softening and transfiguring. Deploying cuteness as a mode of inquiry across time, this volume opens up unexpected lines of inquiry and unusual critical and creative aporias, from Christian asceticism, medieval cycle drama, and Shakespeare to manga, Bollywood, and Second Life. The projects collected here point to a spectrum of aesthetic-affective assemblages related to racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and class dimensions that exceed or trouble our contemporary perceptions of such registers within object-subject and subject-object entanglements. TABLE OF CONTENTS // Wan-Chuan Kao and Jen Boyle, "Introduction: The Time of the Child"Andrea Denny-Brown, "Torturer-Cute"Elizabeth Howie, "Indulgence and Refusal: Cuteness, Asceticism, and the Aestheticization of Desire"Claire Maria Chambers, "From Awe to Awww: Cuteness and the Idea of the Holy in Christian Commodity Culture"Justin Mullis, "All The Pretty Little Ponies: Bronies, Desire, and Cuteness"Marlis Schweitzer, "Consuming Celebrity: Commodities and Cuteness in the Circulation of Master William Henry West Betty"Mariah Junglan Min, "Embracing the Gremlin: Judas Iscariot and the (Anti-)Cuteness of Despair"Alicia Corts, "Cute, Charming, Dangerous: Child Avatars in Second Life"James M. Cochran, "What's Cute Got to Do with It?: Early Modern Proto-Cuteness in King Lear"Kara Watts, "Hamlet, Hesperides, and the Discursivity of Cuteness"Tripthi Pillai, "Cute Lacerations in Doctor Faustus and Omkara"Kelly Lloyd, "Katie Sokoler, Your Construction Paper Tears Can't Hide Your Yayoi Kusama-Neurotic Underbelly"
Download or read book The Retro Future Looking to the Past to Reinvent the Future Second Edition written by John Michael Greer and published by . This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Ultimate History of Video Games Volume 2 written by Steven L. Kent and published by Crown. This book was released on 2021-08-24 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive behind-the-scenes history of video games’ explosion into the twenty-first century and the war for industry power “A zippy read through a truly deep research job. You won’t want to put this one down.”—Eddie Adlum, publisher, RePlay Magazine As video games evolve, only the fittest companies survive. Making a blockbuster once cost millions of dollars; now it can cost hundreds of millions, but with a $160 billion market worldwide, the biggest players are willing to bet the bank. Steven L. Kent has been playing video games since Pong and writing about the industry since the Nintendo Entertainment System. In volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games, he chronicled the industry’s first thirty years. In volume 2, he narrates gaming’s entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to capture the global market. The home console boom of the ’90s turned hobby companies like Nintendo and Sega into Hollywood-studio-sized business titans. But by the end of the decade, they would face new, more powerful competitors. In boardrooms on both sides of the Pacific, engineers and executives began, with enormous budgets and total secrecy, to plan the next evolution of home consoles. The PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast all made radically different bets on what gamers would want. And then, to the shock of the world, Bill Gates announced the development of the one console to beat them all—even if Microsoft had to burn a few billion dollars to do it. In this book, you will learn about • the cutthroat environment at Microsoft as rival teams created console systems • the day the head of Sega of America told the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog to “f**k off” • how “lateral thinking with withered technology” put Nintendo back on top • and much more! Gripping and comprehensive, The Ultimate History of Video Games: Volume 2 explores the origins of modern consoles and of the franchises—from Grand Theft Auto and Halo to Call of Duty and Guitar Hero—that would define gaming in the new millennium.
Download or read book Yesterday s Tomorrows written by Joseph J. Corn and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1996-05-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jules Verne to the Jetsons, from a 500-passenger flying wing to an anti-aircraft flying buzz-saw, the vision of the future as seen through the eyes of the past demonstrates the play of the American imagination on the canvas of the future.
Download or read book Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom written by Bradley W. Schenck and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ROCKETS. ROBOTS. DEATH RAYS. MAD SCIENCE. THE FUTURE THAT NEVER WAS IS BACK. If Fritz Lang’s Metropolis somehow mated with Futurama, their mutant offspring might well be Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom. Inspired by the future imagined in the 1939 World Fair, this hilarious, beautifully illustrated adventure by writer and artist Bradley W. Schenck is utterly unlike anything else in science fiction: a gonzo, totally bonkers, gut-busting look at the World of Tomorrow, populated with dashing, bubble-helmeted heroes, faithful robot sidekicks, mad scientists, plucky rocket engineers, sassy switchboard operators, space pirates, and much, much more—enhanced throughout by two dozen astonishing illustrations. After a surprise efficiency review, the switchboard operators of Retropolis are replaced by a mysterious system beyond their comprehension. Dash Kent, freelance adventurer and apartment manager, is hired to get to the bottom of it, and discovers that the replacement switchboard is only one element of a plan concocted by an insane civil engineer: a plan so vast that it reaches from Retropolis to the Moon. And no one—not the Space Patrol, nor the Fraternal League of Robotic Persons, nor the mad scientists of Experimental Research District, nor even the priests of the Temple of the Spider God, will know what hit them. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Download or read book Future Retro written by Frederic Alan Sharf and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Future Retro~ISBN 0-87846-690-8 U.S. $27.50 / Hardcover, 10.5 x 8 in. / 88 pgs / 50 color. ~Item / February / Design
Download or read book Dark Age America written by John Michael Greer and published by New Society Publisher. This book was released on 2016-08-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After decades of missed opportunities, the door to a sustainable future has closed, and the future we face now is one in which today’s industrial civilization unravels in the face of uncontrolled climate change and resource depletion. The questions we need to ask now focus on what comes next. This book provides a hard but hopeful look at the answer
Download or read book Abandoned America written by Matthew Christopher and published by Gingko Press Editions. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "Abandoned America: Dismantling the Dream", internationally acclaimed photographer Matthew Christopher continues his examination of the ruins dotting American cities as quiet catastrophes that have affected not only the nation's past but also its present and future.--Matthew Christopher
Download or read book Political Philosophy in Motion mkv written by Dan Dungaciu and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-18 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book approaches the visual clues acknowledged by political philosophy, interested in the relationship of the philosophy and the politics of film. It also expresses and highlights a precise way of “looking at things”, indicating a frame able to verify the domain’s themes and constructs, in order not only to offer some illustrating insights, but also to provide reflections able to re-define the relationship between film and political philosophy. It will appeal to the wider academic community, PhD students, professors, and researchers with an interest in political philosophy, postmodern philosophy, media studies and cultural studies.
Download or read book Time Tense and the Verb written by William Emerson Bull and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1971 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The SNES Omnibus written by Brett Weiss and published by . This book was released on 2018-07-28 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume 1 of the SNES Omnibus is a fun and informative look at all the original Super Nintendo games released in the U.S. starting with the letters A-M. More than 350 games are featured, including such iconic titles as Chrono Trigger, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Donkey Kong Country, EarthBound, F-Zero, Final Fantasy II and III, Gradius III, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Each game, whether obscure or mainstream, is covered in exhaustive detail. In addition to thorough gameplay descriptions, the book includes reviews, fun facts, historical data, quotes from vintage magazines, and, best of all, nostalgic stories about many of the games from programmers, authors, convention exhibitors, video game store owners, YouTube celebs, and other industry insiders. The book also features more than 2,000 full-color images, including box art, cartridges, screenshots, and vintage ads.
Download or read book Things To Do At Disneyland 2014 written by John Glass and published by Alternative Travel Press. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully updated for 2014 with all new attractions, restaurants, shops, menus, prices, secrets, tips, and more. Now easier to navigate than ever with redesigned layout and new "Quick Guides." New "Fun Facts" add interesting trivia about attractions, restaurants and shops. This is not just a travel guide, it's an ADVENTURE GUIDE that goes far beyond what other travel books offer. Written for both first time visitors and experienced travelers, this book has something for everyone. • Detailed information on every attraction, restaurant, and shop in the park. • Secrets, tips, and inside information about every aspect of your visit. • Maps to attractions, restaurants, shops, parking and more. • Planning help and itineraries. • Complete transportation guides for getting to and around the Disneyland Resort. • Money-saving tips for dining, snacking, buying tickets and arranging travel. • Restaurant, souvenir, and gift recommendations. • Full dining menus and special guides to vegetarian foods, healthy eating, specialty coffees, desserts and more. • Seasonal activities and special events. • Specialty guides to pin trading, Vinylmation, coin press machines, picnic spots, meeting characters, photo opportunities, and more. • A complete guide to all of the stories that drive the attractions, restaurants, and shops in the park. • Helpful appendixes cross reference all of the films, books, and music featured in the park so you can discover which locations feature your favorite Disney characters.
Download or read book The Skeptics Guide to the Future written by Dr. Steven Novella and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling authors and hosts of "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe," a high-tech roadmap of the future in their beloved voice, cracking open the follies of futurists past and how technology will profoundly change our world, redefining what it means to be human. Our predictions of the future are a wild fantasy, inextricably linked to our present hopes and fears, biases and ignorance. Whether they be the outlandish leaps predicted in the 1920s, like multi-purpose utility belts with climate control capabilities and planes the size of luxury cruise ships, or the forecasts of the ‘60s, which didn’t anticipate the sexual revolution or women’s liberation, the path to the present is littered with failed predictions and incorrect estimations. The best we can do is try to absorb the lessons from futurism's checkered past, perhaps learning to do a little better. In THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusions. By exploring the pitfalls of each era, they give their own speculations about the distant future, transformed by unbelievable technology ranging from genetic manipulation to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Applying their trademark skepticism, they carefully extrapolate upon each scientific development, leaving no stone unturned as they lay out a vision for the future.
Download or read book Matters of Gravity written by Scott Bukatman and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2003-07-21 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The headlong rush, the rapid montage, the soaring superhero, the plunging roller coaster—Matters of Gravity focuses on the experience of technological spectacle in American popular culture over the past century. In these essays, leading media and cultural theorist Scott Bukatman reveals how popular culture tames the threats posed by technology and urban modernity by immersing people in delirious kinetic environments like those traversed by Plastic Man, Superman, and the careening astronauts of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Right Stuff. He argues that as advanced technologies have proliferated, popular culture has turned the attendant fear of instability into the thrill of topsy-turvydom, often by presenting images and experiences of weightless escape from controlled space. Considering theme parks, cyberspace, cinematic special effects, superhero comics, and musical films, Matters of Gravity highlights phenomena that make technology spectacular, permit unfettered flights of fantasy, and free us momentarily from the weight of gravity and history, of past and present. Bukatman delves into the dynamic ways pop culture imagines that apotheosis of modernity: the urban metropolis. He points to two genres, musical films and superhero comics, that turn the city into a unique site of transformative power. Leaping in single bounds from lively descriptions to sharp theoretical insights, Matters of Gravity is a deft, exhilarating celebration of the liberatory effects of popular culture.
Download or read book World s Fairs in the Cold War written by Arthur P. Molella and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2019-09-13 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The post–World War II science-based technological revolution inevitably found its way into almost all international expositions with displays on atomic energy, space exploration, transportation, communications, and computers. Major advancements in Cold War science and technology helped to shape new visions of utopian futures, the stock-in-trade of world’s fairs. From the 1940s to the 1980s, expositions in the United States and around the world, from Brussels to Osaka to Brisbane, mirrored Cold War culture in a variety of ways, and also played an active role in shaping it. This volume illustrates the cultural change and strain spurred by the Cold War, a disruptive period of scientific and technological progress that ignited growing concern over the impact of such progress on the environment and humanistic and spiritual values. Through the lens of world’s fairs, contributors across disciplines offer an integrated exploration of the US–USSR rivalry from a global perspective and in the context of broader social and cultural phenomena—faith and religion, gender and family relations, urbanization and urban planning, fashion, modernization, and national identity—all of which were fundamentally reshaped by tensions and anxieties of the Atomic Age.
Download or read book The Chameleon Effect written by Dietmar Froehlich and published by Birkhäuser. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Architecture and film have many things in common. Film narratives are embedded in scenes that visually support the story. Sometimes architecture even performs the role of an actor. Conversely, film with its multifaceted changing atmospheres reveals new layers of architecture which, outside the cinema, would remain concealed. In conclusion, film as a mass medium influences the way architecture is perceived, and its image in society. Since the beginning of cinema, architecture has formed a symbiosis with film. With its systematic analysis, this book offers a scientifically researched history of mutual influence, starting with filmography as a typology of well-known film sets through to the description of the chameleon effect between film and architecture.
