Watches, Stories, & Gear: “The Clock” Comes to MoMA, the 28 Years Later Trailer, and the History of the Wrist Compass

“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 [email protected].

“The Clock” Comes to MoMA

Many of us here at Worn & Wound are pretty big movie fans, so we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the way watches and film intersect (we even have a podcast dedicated to the topic). But that connection between two of our favorite subjects has rarely been made so explicit as with “The Clock,” a work by Christian Marclay that debuted in 2010 and has been a point of fascination for us for years. “The Clock” is a 24 hour montage of film and television clips depicting clocks and other references to time, a new clip for literally every minute of the day. It’s both a fascinating examination of the way time is presented on film, and, effectively, a working clock unto itself. You can see “The Clock” for yourself at MoMA through February 17. More information can be found here.

The Esterbrook x Accutron Astronaut Estie

We love it when our friends do something cool together! As watch nerds, we’re obviously big fans of Accutron and all the incredible history of technical innovation they bring to the table, and many of us on the team have come to develop a deep appreciation for Esterbrook pens as well, particularly the iconic “Estie” fountain pens. Both brands share a long, proud, and distinctly American history, and they’ve teamed up before, usually with a focus on the iconic green often associated with Accutron. Their latest collaborative pen, though, is perhaps our favorite. Crafted from black and charcoal SEM ebonite, the design is meant to evoke the emptiness and mystery of space. It’s available now through Esterbrook’s website.

Open AI Releases Sora 

Remember back in 2022 when for a brief moment we were all a little obsessed with the DALL·E Mini AI image generator? Well, that AI tech now feels about as primitive as a slide rule bezel at a time when using AI assistants like ChatGPT has become commonplace. The latest from Open AI makes it as clear as ever that this technology is simply not going away, and it appears to be getting better by orders of magnitude on a shockingly fast scale. Sora, long anticipated and just introduced to the public, is a new text-to-video AI model that produces short clips based on text based instructions. It’s fairly expensive at the moment, and the clips are somewhat limited in length, but you have to expect that it’s only a matter of time before a platform like this becomes as commonplace as ChatGPT.   

The 28 Years Later Trailer 

Here’s a movie that AI definitely did not create: the long awaited new entry in the 28.. franchise, following 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. The aptly titled 28 Years Later would appear to pick up decades after the zombie apocalypse depicted in the first two films, with characters navigating their way through a very different, zombie ridden world. The new film is reportedly conceived as the first in a new trilogy, and is written and directed by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, respectively, the team that brought us the first installment all the way back in 2002. 28 Years Later hits theaters next summer. 

A History of the Wrist Compass

The wrist compass is an undeniably fun watch accessory. Paired with the right watch, they can really enhance a tool watch aesthetic, not to mention prove to be incredibly useful if you’re actually, you know, in need of figuring out where you’re going. Watches associated with military or tactical use have been studied and discussed for as long as there’s been a curious community of watch lovers, but the wrist compass hasn’t received a similar level of scholarship. A recent article published on W.O.E. (Watches of Espionage) seeks to change that. This is an exhaustive history of how compasses of various types have been used by the military for generations, and includes a ton of photographic examples proving that the compass is every bit as important a tool as the watch it might be clipped to. W.O.E. has also made their very own wrist compass, which can be ordered here.

“Hot Ones” Studio Sells for Over $80 Million

Do you think when Sean Evans started hosting “Hot Ones” his family was concerned that an interview show based around tasting increasingly fiery and uncomfortable hot sauces might not be the wave of the future, let alone an ultra lucrative property and destination program for anyone deep in a pop culture news cycle? Well, this is the week that the skeptics were truly proven wrong. First We Feast, the studio behind “Hot Ones,” was sold by BuzzFeed to a group of investors for $82.5 million. What this means for the now independent studio remains to be seen, but it’s a huge moment for Evans (who is part of the group of investors who purchased the studio) and, frankly, a big moment for chicken themed content in general.