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Perhaps you have been unfortunate enough to see the new, micro-miniaturized version of Death Race a micro-miniaturized film (a “remake” of the 1975 version of Death Race 2000), wherein all salient characters plot devices, twists, denouements, etc. are reveal’d in the space of 2 and one-half minutes.

While the original movie seems to have spawned an early video-game adaptation, the new movie script seems to have been drawn from the game.

Sadly, the remake of the video game will probably inspire yet another sequel.

Le Commercial for Amstrad personal computer.

Finkbuilt built this nice “RetroVision 2000 AV Cabinet”.

Waxy waxes re oscilloscopes.

Wired online gives us a Gallery of Televisions (and you thought the title would be mis-leading).

Stewart has generated a pleasant “music video” for the band Grandaddy on a 48K Apple ][

Our Friends at Retro Thing have pointed us towards the colorful Muplet Super-8 cine-film projector, a tiny (and, formerly, cheap) battery-and-hand-crank powered device for projecting, ahem, Super-8 films.

Now, if one could only replace the battery-powered lamp with a candle, Your Correspondent would be much happier.

The difficulties of learning the Japanese language are well-documented, and possibly no task is more daunting to the novice than learning its written form, kanji. The complications of their very language became a detriment to Japanese office managers, who pride themselves on utmost efficiency and productivity. A way to write faster was needed. They saw how the typewriter had increased the productivity of the American officeplace, but American typewriter design was obviously impossible to use with the massive Japanese character set, which can consist of as many as 50,000 characters. The quest to create a kanji typewriter led to a complete re-examination and streamlining of the Japanese language. We at SCP salute the editors of The Book and the Computer who have superbly documented the evolution of the Japanese writing machine as part of their series, Japanese in the Age of Technology.

In the modern bid to find ever new ways of delivering advertising, one company has looked back in time to the Phenakistoscope, Zoetrope, and related devices. This new device, like its inspirations, uses a successions of still images viewed in a small interval of time to create the illusion of movement. The new twist here comes from the images remaining still while the viewer is moved. Most often the audience is captive and did not come for the “show”. One company bringing us this “advance” in advertising is Sidetrack Technologies, an allusion to the placement and method of animation. These are to be placed in the tunnels of BART, and similar commuter trains. They are not alone in this wave of nostaglia. Sub-Media has already installed such advertisements in New York-New Jersey PATH trains (fifteen megabyte, two and a quarter minute motion picture experts group file).

Whilst perusing our scrapbook, we came across this photo of a highly stylized M5 assault weapon as related by Mr Bruce Sterling via Mr Wm. Gibson (who obtained it we know not where). We must assume that its ammunition is equally elegant. Remember when being shot by one of these to grasp your chest and tumble from a balcony.