“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.
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It’s easy to be jaded about the state of comic book movies, particularly the MCU. Looking at the new release calendar, there are more gaps than we’re used to seeing from Marvel in recent years, and big questions about where the enormous franchise is heading. But if you’re looking for silver linings, you might find one in this trailer for the return of the classic X-Men animated series from the 90s. The animation has been spruced up a little, but this series is clearly meant as a throwback to a style that was popular thirty years ago, before the superhero movie industry really took off. The trailer strongly hints that this is a direct continuation of where the series left off, and not your typical reboot, which is surely going to have longtime fans excited. And they kept the original theme song!
From the MCU, to the BCU. News broke this week that Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty, Skyfall, and many other films, is embarking on a project that will result in four films, each based on the life of a Beatle. The conceit here is that each movie will cover the Beatles story (or, we imagine, a particular slice of it) from the perspective of one member of the band. There are obviously a ton of narrative possibilities here, and it feels like the king of thing that could either be perfectly executed fan-service, or a total disaster. Mendes is partnering with Sony on the project, and has obtained music and life story rights from the surviving Beatles and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison. That’s a good thing – it’s hard to imagine four Beatles movies that don’t include a note of their music. Indie Wire has the full story here.
Between last week’s “True Detective” finale and an upcoming episode of Time on Screen, we’ve got Alaska on the brain this week. This story from the New York Times caught our eye, mostly for the great photography of the Alaskan wilderness, seen here from the point of view of ice skaters who take advantage of a rare freezing event that leaves perfectly formed “wild ice” at the foot of the Portage Glacier. It’s a special kind of ice, perfectly smooth, and recreational skaters really take advantage of it when Portage Lake is safe for skating for a brief window of time. Check out the story and all those great photos here
Sometimes a watch comes up for sale that we can’t believe has surfaced, and this week we had that experience with a rare Seiko Alpinist from 1995 that surfaced on the Watches to Buy website. This is the mythical “red” Seiko Alpinist, so named for the flash of red text on the green dial, and is the first example of a green Alpinist, a dial color that would eventually come to be considered something of a signature for this watch. In the mid 90s, though, that just wasn’t the case. Black and white versions of this watch were much hotter sellers and made in greater numbers, so finding a green one today in nice condition is a real treat.
Many of us were glued to our televisions, laptops, and phone screens this past Thursday watching the Nova-C lander complete its trip to the lunar surface. This was a monumental mission, and the first private spacecraft to make a lunar landing. The unmanned vehicle found its way to the surface (not without some drama first) with the help of AI, and reall feels like the beginning of something new in space exploration, even if we’ve been to the moon before. In all the excitement around the landing, it’s easy to lose track of the reason Nova-C is up there, and that’s to deliver a whole bunch of payloads from NASA and private organizations. Space.com has a rundown of what was brought to the moon on this mission, and why. In short, it’s a lot of scientific equipment that will help us study this particular area of the moon (near the southern pole, where many suspect there might be evidence of water), and, eventually, lead to setting up a base of operations on the surface.
In our final story this week, we’re heading back to Alaska one more time. Issa Lopez, the creative force behind this season of “True Detective,” sat down with Slate to discuss some of the lingering questions many viewers have following the divisive season finale. “Divisive” is truly the operative word here, as fans have strong opinions in both directions about the quality of this season, and particularly with how it ended. It’s an interesting interview because Lopez openly discusses some of the open ended questions the season left us with, as well as her decision making process. It’s an interesting read whether you thought the final episodes were brilliant or a monumental wasted opportunity.
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