Today in pulp I make my predictions for 2022, based on what was happening in 1922!
What goes around comes around...
Streaming services will continue to dominate 2022, so to combat FOMO a new TV channel will launch that shows summaries of all the streaming shows you don't have time to watch any more.
Wearable Tech will finally go mainstream in 2022, and shop doorways will contain wireless charging stations to encourage more window shopping.
2022 will be a year of international political tension...
...but it will also be a year of great advances in technology.
In fact 2022 will be the year when everything goes wireless...
...leading to mass confusion and cognitive overload as every object starts clamouring for our attention.
Working from home will mean 2022 has a more relaxed dress code...
...and as a result personal grooming standards will rise!
The cost of living crisis will make more people rethink their transport options in 2022.
But there will be a boom in pet accessories as people decide to pamper their pets rather than themselves.
Social media will begin to eat itself in 2022, with rumour and gossip driving out all other topics...
...and in response we will see a rise in traditional news journalism as people tire of endless clickbait.
Overall 2022 will be a year in which people try to recover their confidence and agency in a world gone potty!
Will any of this come to pass? Who knows! I don't, and neither does anyone else who makes 2022 predictions. So let's take this year as we find it, one step at a time!
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One of the best #Christmas presents you could ever get was a View-Master! It sold over one billion reels across the world, but it's based on Victorian technology. How did one simple gadget get to be so popular?
Let's take a look at the toy that took over the planet...
Stereographs are cards with two nearly identical photographs mounted side by side. Viewed through a binocular device they give an illusion of depth. By 1858 the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company had published over 100,000 of them.
Sawyer's Photo Finishing Service began in 1919 in Portland, Oregon. By 1936 they had teamed up with William Gruber, who had been experimenting with stereoscope photography using the new Kodachrome colour film.
Today in pulp I look back at a few forgotten '80s sci-fi movies and ask: is it time to reappraise them?
Spoilers: not all of these are available on Betamax...
There were a huge number of mid and low budget sci-fi movies released throughout the '80s, many of which went straight to video. Today they lurk in the far corners of your streaming service.
Should you watch them? Well let me take you through a few you might be tempted by.
Battle Beyond The Stars (1980) was Roger Corman's retelling of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in space. James Cameron did an impressive job on the SFX with a small budget and the film certainly has a distinctive look.
"A dream to some. A nightmare to others!" As it's Christmas let's look back at a film that I think helped redefine an old genre, captivated the imagination and launched many successful acting careers.
Let's look at John Boorman's Excalibur!
For a long time the film industry found the King Arthur story amusing. Camelot (1967) was a musical comedy; Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) was pure comedy.
But director John Boorman had been thinking seriously about the Arthurian legend since 1969, particularly Sir Thomas Malory's 1469 telling of the story 'Le Morte d’Arthur'. The mythic theme greatly appealed to him.
Today in pulp I'm looking back at some Michael Moorcock books, and having a think about the New Wave of science fiction that started in the 1960s...
In Britain the New Wave is often associated with New Worlds magazine, which Moorcock edited from 1964 to 1970. Financial troubles caused the magazine to close in 1970, but it made sporadic comebacks over the subsequent years.
However he started as editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1957, where he introduced Sojan the Swordsman - perhaps his first stab at creating an 'eternal champion' character
Today in pulp I'm looking back at one of the greatest albums of all time.
What are the chances...
By 1976 Jeff Wayne was already a successful composer and musician, as well as a producer for David Essex. His next plan was to compose a concept album.
War Of The Worlds was already a well known story, notorious due to the Orson Wells radio play production. For Wayne it seemed like a great choice for a rock opera.