FUN FACT: I own porn I can't watch.

So this is a copy of Adultery for Fun & Profit, a 1971 X-rated film. It won the Grand Prize at the Amsterdam Adult Film Festival, for the year 1970-1971!

BUT it's on Cartrivision.

Cartrivision was an early home videotape format announced in 1970, released in June 1972, and dead by July 1973.

It has some "fun" features, like not selling VCRs for it: you had to buy it build into a new console TV. Which were huge, because it was the 70s.

There's also issue of Red Tapes (of which this is one!)

See, early on the movie industry hated the idea of home movies. They made all their money on movie tickets, right? People watching movies at home, that's gonna seriously cut into their market. This is why they later sued Sony for the introduction of Beta, arguing that it could be used to pirate movies by recording them off TV. (They lost)

So when Cartridge Television started selling Cartrivision in 1972, none of the movie studios really wanted to start selling their films on home tapes, that idea sounded scary. What if someone had a copy of all their favorite films and could watch them forever at home, and never went to the theaters ever again? The movie studios would go out of business!

So along with releasing a bunch of older B&W movies (the only ones they could license), sporting events, and shows from PBS, Cartridge Television came up with a compromise that worked for the movie studios:

Red Tapes.

So, Cartrivision tapes came in two formats: Black Tapes and Red Tapes. Black tapes you'd buy at the store like any other product, but for Red Tapes (which were relatively recent movies), you instead would go to the store and place an order from a catalog. The store would have it delivered by mail, then you'd come back in and get the tape. You'd take it home, watch it, and then return it back to the store. So... Video rental (like Blockbuster!), except they didn't have any stock on hand, and only got the tapes on-demand by mail? Seems annoying.

BUT OH NO: it's far more annoying than that. See... Red Tapes aren't mechanically like Black Tapes.

You can't rewind them.

You can play them and pause or stop them just like any other tape, but the rewind feature on your Cartrivison TV doesn't work.

So once you start watching a film, you can only go forward from that point. You want to rewatch it? Too bad. Go back to the store and pay for it again.

Here's that tape again. Note that it's red: You can only watch this porn film once. Then you have to return it to the store... the stores that haven't been doing this since JULY OF 1973.

But there's another thing you can see on this picture (barely, because this is a blurry picture, thanks Past!Foone): The visible screws in the corners

So here's the thing: The tape labels for Cartrivision hide the screws. A regular tape will look like this:

BUT when Cartrivision failed in July 1973, a bunch of stores sold off their unsold inventory, including watch-once Red Tapes. And people still had some of the players. But what's the point of having a tape you can't rewind? You've basically destroyed the tape now, since it's stuck at the end and can't be rewound!

So people bought some of those Red Tapes (cheaply, I hope) and then took them home and opened them up with a screwdriver, damaging the labels. They figured out how the no-rewinding mechanism worked, and removed it. So basically every Red Tape you will find for sale on ebay has visible screws, because someone modded it in the past.

Anyway, the format has been dead so long that it's doubly-impossible to watch now. The players were only built into big heavy 1970s TVs, which were long ago thrown out. The tapes have gotten old and brittle. If you somehow DID have a player, and it somehow still worked after half a century, the tape will probably shatter as soon as you try to play it.

And the whole format only lasted 13 months, so there wasn't that much inventory sold in the first place, so there wasn't a huge number of these in existence anyway.

But a final fun fact: Someone HAS managed to get video off one of these tapes. And it was so hard that they made an award-winning documentary about it.

See, this was basically the first home video format for recording TV. The quality was terrible but it was better than nothing, and it turns out some fan with a Cartrivision recorded a copy of Game 5 of the 1973 NBA Finals game. ABC and both teams (LA Lakers & NY Knicks) had video copies of that game... and ALL THREE OF THEM LOST IT. But the fan copy survived, in a format no one could play, on a tape that would shatter if you tried to play it.

So DuArt Media Services got to work trying to rescue the tape. They had to dry it out, bake it, freeze it, soak it in alcohol, and rebuild a broken Cartrivision unit, then do a lot of manual fixups on the digital files they'd captured off the tape, but they finally managed to capture the recording of the game.

This was used for the MSG Network, who were doing a special on the 1973 championship, and had no footage of that pivotal game. With DuArt's work, they had something to show.

DuArt then made a documentary about this, called "Lost and Found: The ’73 Knicks Championship Tape". It won an Emmy.

The punchline? That documentary seems to be lost. I have been looking for years, and have not found a copy, other than a short excerpt on Vimeo.

So yeah. Cartrivision. I'm slightly obsessed with it, even though I've never actually been able to watch a single second of Cartrivison footage. Tapes occasionally show up on ebay, the odd technical manual or spare part, but players are rare, always broken, and probably would just shred the tapes even if they did somehow work. The tapes are just too old. '

Cartrivision is just... dead and gone. Not yet forgotten, but it took media restoration experts a long time and a lot of work to even get a few minutes of footage off one tape. My chances of ever being able to play my Adultery for Fun & Profit tape are basically negative zero.

EDIT: I've restored this version now that I've figured out Other Methods to dissuade Hacker News. I remain trans and hating you, orange site.

Just a reminder that Vincent van Gogh did not eat yellow paint to make himself feel happy, he ate paint, and drank different chemicals because he was suicidal and this is why he was not allowed in his studio while having breakdowns. He also did not paint starry night and his other great works because he was depressed, he painted most of them while he was in recovery and demonstrated his hopefulness and love of the world through this. Most of his great works were painted from his room at a hospital. Van Gogh’s depression should not be glorified. His hope and effort toward a better life, as well as his recovery from depression should be glorified.

it’s really important that you are a little bit in love with your friends btw. it’s crucial even

a lot of people seem confused by this post so i’ll clarify: this does not have to mean you’re romantically involved w your friends. you can love them very intensely but platonically. you can let the lines blur if you want. what matters is that you adore the ppl you choose to surround yourself with. the details of that aren’t so important as long as you and your friends are on the same page about it. hope this helps

ana mendieta “people looking at blood, moffit, iowa” 1973

— The Art of Cruelty, Maggie Nelson

Ana Mendieta was murdered by her husband and fellow artist Carl Andre. This work became a self fulfilling prophecy and meditation on tragedy, the nature of violence, and peoples unwillingness to help.

And no I will not shut up about this.

By the way, her husband never went to prison for what he did.

But it’s NOT about unwillingness to help! It’s NOT about people not caring!! It’s so very explicitly the opposite!!!

I’ve BEEN in this situation. You walk past an old crime scene, or the place where an accident happened, and you see evidence of something terrible. If it’s old, maybe broken glass, or scuff marks.

But sometimes, you’re too late. Sometimes someone is on the ground, and EMTs are already helping, and the only helpful thing you can do you is move on, refuse to linger, refuse to form a crowd.

Sometimes there’s dried blood, or fresh blood, but when you look around you can’t find anyone hurt or needing help. Whatever happened, it has happened without you, and you can’t undo it or make it better. You could contact an authority, report what you’ve seen, but that’s just sharing information. It doesn’t FEEL like helping.

Humans are by nature incredibly compassionate creatures. What is more heartbreaking to an animal designed to bring comfort than a pain that cannot be comforted? A hurt that cannot be soothed?

You are confronted by this helplessness, and it looks you in the face and says, “It’s too late for you to fix this. You must move on, and hope that next time, you aren’t.” And then you do. You have to. There is no other choice.

Ana Mendieta’s piece is not condemning the observed- it’s mourning their directionless compassion, their grief, their uncertainty- their concern and hope offered to someone or something they will never know, never speak to, never be able to help.

It says that we love each other, that we care for one another, and that even if we are lost and no one ever finds us, we are cared for long after we are gone, and by people who never knew our names.

Our outrage at her death only proves this. Now that we know her life ended tragically, what will you do? What CAN you do? Nothing. You will observe the blood, experience something that cannot be captured on film, and move on.

“What CAN you do? Nothing. You will observe the blood, experience something that cannot be captured on film, and move on. “

you need to be earnest. you need to tell people that you love them. you need to speak on how you’re feeling honestly. you need to be sentimental. you need to stop letting the fear of other people laughing at you have so much control over how you express yourself. you need to get over yourself. you need to be embarrassing but true.

If some of you remember the comic draft I shared a couple months ago- this is the final draft! Just wanted to say another thank you from everyones input and I really hope you enjoy the finished version. It’s part of a bigger project where i’ve interviewed multicultural people and told some of their stories relating to their experience. 

[Image Description: A seven page comic, done in grayscale with green backgrounds. The main narrator in the comic says, “I was born in Lebanon. I grew up in Nigeria. My family is Palestinian. But I don’t have a single one of those nationalities in my wallet.” There’s a wide shot showing that the main narrator is sitting at an outdoor café by a cathedral. The main narrator says, “On paper, I’m French.” 

Back to a close shot of the main narrator. They say, “My mother has Senegalese nationality which makes my sisters and I French. Sort of as an apology from France for colonizing it. But I’m not French. Even if I tried, French culture is almost impossible to integrate into.” There’s a close up of the main narrator’s drink. They continue, “It’s elitist. Conversation is a cycle of humiliation to prove who is smarter. And the way people complain! They feel entitled to everything. It’s no joke!”

Another wide shot of the café. The main narrator says, “I came to Montpellier to study medicine 3 years ago. And I know what you’re thinking, it’s just the people I’m around.” The person the main narrator is sitting with says, “Haha, I mean, you are in medicine…” The main narrator replies, “Haha okay I mean maybe that’s some if it… But because I didn’t grow up with this culture, it’s hard for me to understand a lot of social cues. Especially when it comes to people being ‘honest’.” 

There is a whole page shot of the café and the cathedral. The narrator says, “I don’t mean to offend at all, but you have to understand. It’s hard to be around people who have everything and complain about nothing. I come from a small town in Lebanon. We have one of any store that Montpellier has 5 of. One cinema, one mall, actually, that closed down. In 2006 we went through a war, my friends and I grew up processing fear, trauma and gratitude. We see things differently.”

The main narrator and the person they were drinking with are now waking side by side. The main narrator says, “For me, it’s incredible to be in France, to walk in a road that isn’t just dirt, next to cars that won’t run you over, and (underline) public transport (end underline)! France is so accessible, when someone comp,Ian’s about trams taking too long to be remodeled, I just want to shake them- and say: look what you are complaining about! In a way I completely understand. When your country truly appreciates art, culture, education, and loves it’s people… no wonder they turn out smart, and defensive of their rights.” The main narrator winks and says, “And yes, elitist, but like I’m saying - I get it!”

The panels slowly pan towards the main narrator’s shadow as they say, “I guess I mostly feel a gray at my own country for not loving its people the way I do, at the end of the day, Lebanon just isn’t a choice for us to live right now. All my friends there wish they could leave. Lebanese pounds have dropped like crazy, we don’t have any export… it’s unbearable.” The view goes back to the main narrator and they ir drinking partner. The narrator says, “I know how luck I am to be here.”

We go back to a close shot of the narrator. They say, “I am grateful that at least this country recognized me. I can’t claim any legal prof that Ik: front t,he country of my mother tongue. It hurts to be rejected from your home. But I also know that’s just not how culture is defined. Look at me, complaining and getting defensive.” The narrator smiles and finishes, “Maybe I am a bit French after all.” End Description.]

@a-captions-blog @accessible-art

Thank you so much for captioning! ❤️

Adult Swim making an unholy amount of sense.

the future is bulletproof. by the fucking way.

and get this! the aftermath?

yeah it's secondary

experts in the field recommend that you actually do it now AND that you do it loud

hold on lemme check

turns out they're called

and you might want to

Moodboard for when you have to do the job you were hired to do in the location you applied to getting paid the wage you had to agree to

its called peace and happiness and kindness and joy and simple fun. Its called a Good time

actual fandom elitism: often perpetuated by cishet white men who assume that women, people of colour and lgbt people cannot enjoy or know things about their interests. or that they’re only into it for romance / finding characters hot. very much a problem in comic and gaming spaces.

NOT FANDOM ELITISM: tired people on the internet asking you to actually read and understand the source material instead of making everything about shipping and tropes.

[ID: a screenshot of tumblr tags that read "very telling op is a comics fan" /end ID]

okay. you got me there. ill admit that.

when charles schulz said "all you need is love. but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt" and anthony bourdain said "your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. enjoy the ride" and mark twain said "part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like." when erma bombeck said "i am not a glutton- i'm an explorer of food," voltaire said "ice-cream is exquisite. what a pity it isn't illegal" and when kurt vonnegut said "you can't just eat good food. you've got to talk about it too. and you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food."

the sopranos should have had an episode where tony befriends a talking dog

Still a chance for me to get out of jury duty as it turns out. I am going to try

Mfw excused from jury duty

Hmm. Not the right pic

Yeah it is

The one pearl of unabated optimism I firmly hold close to my breast is the conviction that no matter how terrible, insincere or purposefully commercialized a piece of fiction (but I could easily extend this to just about any context), be it trite, pretentious, optimistic or halfhearted, someone who worked on it cared. Whether the mind beyond the entire project or an intern whose name the average person will gloss over in a credit list, there was at least someone who did their job for more than just the necessity to put bread on the table. Tokusatsu may be summarized as the genre of glorified toy commercials but I cannot be convinced that every single professional who cooked up those intricate suit designs or turned sketches into spandex-laced reality did it by just parroting marketing trends without sincerely trying to think up of stuff that THEY thought was cool. That one anime with terrible animation and plot but a soundtrack that makes you wonder just how and why the composer went that hard. I think I'd have a much harder time facing every day if I couldn't hold on steadfastly to the perhaps foolish belief that every piece of human creation is possessed of at least a tiny nugget of the soul of genuine dedication born out of enjoyment and self-indulgence

at times when hope is too big of a thing to have, curiosity (even clinical or small) is a very good placeholder

asking myself "why continue" & finding the answer is always, in some form, "i want to know what happens next", even if that want is tired or detached or outright morbid

i cant even imagine where id be without "thats a really mean way to think about me, i wish you wouldnt think that i dont know what im doing when i love you." and "people want to be useful, trying to do everything yourself makes the people around you think that you dont trust them or that you think theyre incapable" and "people are made to be burdens. we are made to carry each other and not leave anyone behind." and "its rotten work / not to me. not if its you."

Immersive gaming

five nights at freddy's

OBSESSED with the implications of this