Watches, Stories, & Gear: LEGO Typewriters, Crypto Mining Cars, & Masters Of The Universe

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing our Managing Editor at [email protected]

This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.

Return to the ‘80s With New Masters of the Universe: Revelation

If you’re old enough to have memories of the 1980s, prepare for waves of nostalgia, followed by surprised excitement after getting a look at the first trailer for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which comes to Netflix in July. This reboot of the popular 80s animated series that brought us He-Man, She-Re, Skeletor, and countless toys, games, and spin-offs looks absolutely incredible, and comes to us courtesy of filmmaker Kevin Smith, who knows a thing or two about comics and the 80s ephemera that Masters conjures. The best part? The end of the trailer tells us this is merely “Part 1.” We’re fully on board for much, much more of this.

Super Mario Bros. Movie Gets A Second Life

Speaking of totems from our childhood, we really need to draw your attention to this article in Slate, which is actually a fairly exhaustive interview with Garrett Gilcrhist, a filmmaker who has taken on the project of restoring the Super Mario Bros. movie to its original, previously unseen glory. Super Mario Bros. is somewhat notorious in recent film history as the first major film adapted from a video game, and flopping tremendously in every conceivable way. In many ways, it’s hung an albatross around the neck of every video game movie since – it taught us to simply never expect anything particularly good. But thanks to the recent discovery of some lost footage that would seem to indicate the theatrically released version is far afield from what the original filmmakers intended, Super Mario Bros. is getting a second look. Does it deserve it? You can judge for yourself, since the recut version of the 1993 film is available to watch, in full, on the Internet Archive.

Mine Cryptocurrency While You Drive With This EV

Do you remember when things like backup cameras and Bluetooth connectivity were new and highly sought after tech in new cars? Well, those features seem like windows that require you to crank them up and down compared to what the Daymak Spiritus can do. The futuristic, three wheeled electric vehicle from the Canadian company mines crypto currency and stores it in an onboard digital wallet for later use. The car is fitted with solar panels, so the idea is that it can mine for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other crypto even while the vehicle is not in use. Accumulated cryptocurrency could, in theory, be used to pay for anything from highway tolls to your morning coffee, and a whole lot more both in and out of the vehicle. We’re likely a long way off from that, but credit to Daymak for pushing the envelope and conceiving of a genuinely new idea. Read all about it right here.

LEGO to Release Vintage Typewriter 

LEGO keeps the hits rolling with this, rather unexpected, latest announcement of set 21327 featuring a vintage typewriter. As we’ve seen with some of their automotive releases, the details are surprisingly intricate here, right down to the ribbon. Each keystroke works and the carriage even moves from left to write as you go. Best of all, it’s rendered in beautiful mint green right out of the ‘50s. This set will go on sale July 1st, unless you’re a LEGO VIP, in which case you’ll get access by the 16th. The set is 2079 pieces and will be priced at $199.99.

Rolex Releases Perpetual Planet Documentary in Honor of World Ocean Day

Rolex, in partnership with the BBC’s Science unit, have released a documentary titled Perpetual Planet: Heroes of the Oceans for World Ocean day, telling the story of work being done to help preserve and protect our planet’s oceans. Featured in the film you’ll find an impressive array of marine scientists and explorers who, together, paint a hopeful and beautiful picture of the ocean’s incredible ecosystems and what’s being done to help ensure their long term survival. You can view the video directly at rolex.org, where you’ll also find various other initiatives the brand is involved in. It’s a beautifully shot video and yes, there’s some decent watch spotting to be had.

eBay Finds: Vintage Glycine with Paul Freres Dial

When most people think of Compressor watches, they think of dual crown Super Compressors like Longines, Enicar, and Universal Geneve to name a few. However, there are also single crown sport models like this fantastic vintage Paul Freres (Glycine) model. The 35mm still case looks sharp and appears to be unpolished. The clean silver dial is excellent with understated steel baton markers and a date at three. The lume filled dauphine hands have black tips which honestly looks really cool. This is a great looking watch that seems like a dress watch, but is really a super sturdy sport model in disguise. It even has the original and correct, oversized and crosshatched crown. The dial says Paul Freres, but these were made by Glycine. Seller states it is running perfectly at this time. Great vintage piece that is a great entry into the EPSA Compressor watches.

View listing here.