Otokichi

Instead of another "Techmoan" or VWestlife" tech tale, here's a short story about the birth of Someone Completely Different. Rod Serling would be proud of these people.;)

Do you "aim to misbehave" in real life? Is your final answer during an argument is "I'll be in my bunk"? Can you sing the "Firefly theme" all the way through? Welcome to some snappy phrases that network TV missed, to their detriment...

Discovered after following a trail of shorter Silent "Star Wars" movies, this one has just the right balance of funky music and eye-straining bad video to look ideal.;)

How about a non-cassetter VTR from 1976? It's the Quasar VR1000, which makes VHS video recorders and cassettes look small. Does it work? Well, press PLAY to get a top to bottom look at how this beastie works.

Does your CD suffer from "magnetization issues"? "Techmoan" takes on this howler of a "problem with CDs" with a healthy dose of WTF? So, do YOUR music CDs suffer playback degradation because they get "magnetized"? Press PLAY to find out about this "Audiophile Problem.";)

"Techmoan" is at it again, looking at "Japan domestic" tech. In this case, it's a portable MIDI Karaoke machine for home or automobile with 50 songs per cartridge for "Noboru the Road Warrior" to sing along on sales calls across Japan. Translation: It's mostly 1990's Japanese Pop with Japanese text on a small/hard-to-see Monochrome LCD screen. Is there something that "Techmoan" can sing in his UK flyvver? Press PLAY to find out...

Well now, how would AI handle the lyrics from a Doo-Wop kid's lullabye? Press PLAY if "nightmare fuel" isn't in your vocabulary.;)

Oh my, YouTube strikes again! This time it's a Romeo and Juliet tale with Ballad Land vs. Beat Land in a musical battle of the bands. What does this have to do with Science Fiction? Press PLAY if you dare. (Beware the Gonks!;)

YouTube recommendations can lead to interesting paths on the site. Consider if you will, plugging in the lyrics of a song and having an AI program come up with images. Press PLAY to see what AI sees in Led Zeppelin's song...if you dare.;) It all began with Blue Oyster Cult's song: (Don't Fear) The Reaper Don McLean's "American Pie"?

Here's a modern, uplifting song from Alan Doyle, late of that "can't-be-found-on-Songfacts" Canadian Maritimes Celtic Folk-Rock band, "Great Big Sea." Press PLAY to hear what I heard one Summer night on PBS just after the turn of the century.;)

It's 1981, and grandpa wants to play his LP collection at "Geezers on the Beach." Can you load some of the home HiFi equipment into the Woodie so gramps can play Billie Holiday? Fear not, "Techmoan," stepping pout of the Wayback machine will get Your Hit Parade tunes warbling across the beach. Press PLAY to see what it takes to "replace the belts" on this monster, break-your-shoulder, LP Boombox!

One can buy a spectrum of goods from vending machines in Japan. Take this concept to an (un)natural conclusion and see what kind of world you get. Press PLAY to "enter the world of tomorrow!";)

Hey "Doom' Master," how about a role-playing game where not only are the stakes Life or Death, but the weapons available are "what you bring with you." You are a Danish woman, trying to live under Nazi occupation in World War II. Your husband has been arrested as a "suspected saboteur," and has not been heard of in some time. Who do you turn to for information? Whom can you trust? Will you "fly under the Nazi radar" or play the Resistance game? Press PLAY to "be in the belly of The Beast" 24/7!

Every now and then YouTube will suggest I go "on the path less traveled." It can be interesting, as you can see. Press PLAY, Dummkopf!

When you saw "Kung Fu Panda" (2008) did you think the movie put Chinese culture (and philosophy) on display? Did you see past the scenery and characters to philosophical discussions? Or was it "just another 'Kung Fu movie" with animated animals? Press PLAY to find out a thing or two about Taoist vs. Confucian approaches to Life.