Recommended Links of the Week (No. 563)

This edition of the Recommended Links is, in large part, dedicated to cinema. Enough with bad news! Who wants another list of pandemics in history? Do you really need to know what was used in ancient Egypt to fight infections? No, a little distraction and escapism, to unplug a bit from the news. Of course there are other things, but above all there is cinema, good and bad, for all tastes.

How did they dare to film these 12 movies that broke all the rules?: But anyone with a memory knows that almost everything has already been said, and that each new scandal is just an update of the past. If we look at the history of cinema, for example, we find a long tradition of representing things that have offended the public, and faced with many of them we still exclaim: "But how did they do this!". We have selected some representative cases to illustrate this idea.

The 11 series and movies recommended by Stephen King to watch on Netflix: To choose good options, Stephen King decided to make his own list of recommendations for Netflix. The author of books like "The Shining" and "Doctor Sleep" shared on Twitter his favorite Netflix movies and series, accompanied by his own description of them. And although most are horror or suspense, some productions might surprise you. Thanks José Carlos for the link!

The cheesy design of VHS covers from the 80s: "Do you remember when going to the video store was a ritual? Your sister chose a movie for herself, you chose one for you, and then your father said no... Bah! We always looked at the cover, the cover was the identity sign, the banner of whether that movie could blow our minds or not. But not everything was cool, and proof of that you're about to see!"

MAN 2020

The history of Criterion, the distributor that restores every film as if they were museum pieces: "The restoration of painting, architecture, sculpture... It's a necessary art to preserve our culture in many aspects, but what about cinema? Many film negatives have been deteriorating over the decades, or have disappeared directly. Fortunately, there are people who fight to preserve that cinema, and also bring it to us on Blu-ray in maximum quality: The Criterion Collection."

Where to watch Russian movies for free with Spanish subtitles. We present a great option: A Reddit user has created a website for Russian movies, where you can legally watch hundreds of films with subtitles in Spanish, English, and other languages for free, from Eisenstein to Zvyagintsev. "In Russian Film Hub, you can watch hundreds of Russian and Soviet movies for free and legally. Almost all movies have English subtitles, and you'll also find movies with subtitles in more than a dozen other languages," says the creator of the website, Richard Wess.

7 Jewels of Soviet science fiction you can't miss: "Very little is known about the science fiction cinema produced during the Soviet Union, perhaps due to the poor accessibility it had for a long time. However, thanks to streaming platforms, today it is a reality to access these wonderful works. Soviet science fiction cinema was characterized by offering a more emotional and philosophical look at issues of the human experience, far removed from better-known productions in the world that approach the genre with a vision closer to explosions and special effects."

The argument for a Seinfeld game

The amazing story of the Kingdom of Haiti, the American Wakanda that did exist: "But some fans of this blockbuster may not realize that there's no need to look at the fictional world of Black Panther to find a modern kingdom of Africans that aspired to be a safe haven against racism and inequality. The fictional monarchy has its real-world equivalent in the historic Kingdom of Haiti, an entity that existed as a kind of Wakanda of the Western Hemisphere from 1811 to 1820." Thanks José Carlos for the link!

The sacrifice of the forgotten Chernobyl pilots who avoided an apocalyptic tragedy: The "Chernobyl pilot", as he was popularly known in the United States, flew over the damaged nuclear plant on April 26, 1986 up to forty times with his helicopter to extinguish the flames of reactor number 4 with sand and cement. The radiation he endured on that dangerous mission cost him his life four years later.

The Carl Sagan speech that all politicians should listen to for humanity to survive: "The speech we see below took place in 1990, within the framework of the 5th Emerging Issues Forum that was broadcast live on North Carolina public television. In it, Carl Sagan gave a lengthy keynote of just over an hour where he talked about climate change. As almost always, his words were powerful, inspiring and, here comes the meaning of this publication in 2020, surprisingly prophetic and more relevant than ever."

Super Mario in a Rubik's Stop Motion

The sweet truth, why fruits are getting more sugary: The taste of some fruits is changing without us noticing. A possible reason is that farmers are trying to reach a wider audience with sweeter fruit varieties. The question is: what is worse: the remedy or the disease? I try to answer this question in a report for the magazine "Buena Vida" which "El País" published on April 16, 2020.

The Gibraltar tunnel and the Paris-Dakar railway: "In 1994, the Eurotunnel was inaugurated, connecting France and the United Kingdom, with 37.9 of its 50.45 kilometers under the sea. The project was first proposed in 1802, taking 192 years for the project to be completed. Ironically, before it was completed, the tunnel in the Strait of Gibraltar was considered a more realistic project, since the continents are separated by only 14 kilometers."

The monks who saw the Moon burn in 1178: "From the midpoint of the division [of the Moon] a flaming torch sprang forth, spitting, to a considerable distance, fire, hot embers and sparks [...]. The Moon trembled like a wounded serpent. Then it recovered its normal appearance. This phenomenon repeated a dozen times or more [...]. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn [...] adopted a blackish appearance."