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Hi boys and girls,

Looks like its video week here at Footron.net. Must restrain myself.

I’ve always been a big fan of Tokyo, Japan. While I have a tremendous need to one day visit Japan, nothing pulls me more than the neon carpeted streets of Tokyo. I’ve come so far as to even know the districts’ city maps fairly well. Nevertheless, I’ll probably get lost on the first day, regardless of my map knowledge. Apparently, however, thats the charm of Tokyo. If you get lost, … good! Keep on walking, you’ll find amazing things and eventually you’ll reach your destination - inexplicably so. All that I will find out one day, when I’ll get the chance to fly over there and visit. I am probably over-romanticizing the whole thing, but for someone like me, who has been a worshipper of the romantic neon/chrome/plastic/grime/noir aspects of Cyberpunk culture, art and literature, visiting Tokyo is simply a must.

One of my number one targets is the district called Akihabara. A tech geek heaven and packed with oddities and electronics. One day I hope to experience freaky incidents like this one myself:

While we’re already talking about Stormtroopers, just have a search for it on YouTube. Very funny.

 Something about cyberpunk imagery forms an immediate connection to Japan for me. Cyberpunk as depicted in the mid 90s and even earlier by authors like William Gibson was a concept of contrasts in every aspect. Superficially speaking, we’re dealing with a clash between bright neon and grimy noir - the flamboyant and the gloomy, the hi-tech and the lo-tek, the trenchcoat and the latex suit. Japan, in many ways, is just like that. On one hand you have the overly flamboyant flair of their megalopolii with all its technological bravado and on the other hand you have the obendient, evasive and always nodding Japanese cytizen.

It is something I need to experience before I die.

Who loves the 80’s?

The fashion! The mood! The rise of technology and computers! Hair Metal bands!

Just joking. And if you’re still reading this, that means you forgive me once more. I promise I won’t do it again. Soon. Seriously, though, who loves the 80’s? I do. You bet. The 80’s were the breeding grounds for one of the most intriguing and most important subcultures e-e-e-ever!

The genre arose through several literary works such as those published by Bruce Bethke or William Gibson who, willingly or not, ended up shaping our attitude towards technology and creating a vision of a grim, yet neon sprinkled future. We’re talking about

Cyberpunk.

Once you’re done reading up on it (yes I expected you to click on the link above and read the Wikipedia article), I’d like to direct your attention to one of the most lovable and most charismatic entities of Cyberpunk.

Max Headroom.

Now that you’ve learned about Cyberpunk and were introduced to one of its most lovable characters, I’d like you to have a look for yourself. And don’t tell me that Jim Carrey didn’t borrow some of his humoristic style from Max.

And here a live performance with David Letterman in 1985:

And if any movie ever properly managed to capture the film noir/sci-fi/punk atmosphere of the genre, then it was Blade Runner:

I write this in an attempt of at least keeping the genre from completely flatlining out into oblivion. While movies such as the Matrix tried to bring back some of the charms of the movement, it ultimately failed and merely bred a short lived generation of trench coat wearers and slanted sun glasses.

Don’t forget cyberpunk.

Stay vigilant.

It is time our children learn that Barney is only nice in front of the cameras. In real life things look different.

A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider God-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, wrongly believing that he has the Gods on his side.

–Aristotle, Politica bk v (ca. 340 BCE)

While the quote and the video don’t exactly go hand in hand, they relate very well to one another. I’m usually a fairly a-political person. However, a tyrant of any kind, in any country doesn’t particularly care for my lack of political ambition.

I chose to remove the video because I don’t feel it still represents my ideas on politics and compliance properly. It’s not like my current opinions are contrary to what I thought at the time of posting this video. I just don’t think the video does a great job at representing me or my ideals. I must have had a sheepish day when I made this post.

A Scenario I fondly remember from a long time ago in my living room:

DM: You get a letter from the syndicate. It has your name written on it.

Player: How do they know my name?

DM: Apparently … they somehow do.

Player: I never told anyone my name.

DM: I guess they found out some other way.

Player: How?! They can’t know my name!

DM: They may have asked around.

Player: Nobody would have told them.

DM: They paid off your neighbors from home.

Player: They wouldn’t have talked!

DM: The sum was larger than expected.

Player: Can’t be. They’re rich!

DM: Apparently not rich enough, though.

Player: They own the town!

DM: THEY JUST KNOW YOUR DAMN NAME! NOW ACCEPT IT OR LIGHTNING WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN AND IT WILL CRIT FOR 20 d20. PERHAPS WE CAN GET ON WITH THE STORYLINE NOW SO THAT YOU CAN FIND THE DAMN RING OF SUPERIOR INTELLECT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NAGGING ME ABOUT FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS YOU GREEDY, WHINY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING.

Player: Okay. I open the letter.

DM: It’s empty.

Player: Where’s my beer?

There.