iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 2h

My new piece for Adventitious is a 1988 disquisition on US foreign policy in Central America, as interpreted by an 8-year-old boy who has watched WAY too much TV of that era. I imagine that this vibe reel is roughly the media diet that the narrator subsisted on. www.adventitious.net/stories/the-...

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Adventitious. @adventitiouswords.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"Yes, this is happening right now, right under Texas. I saw it on the news. Oh, don’t watch Dan Rather on channel 5 — my Dad says he has a bias. Dan Rather hates the USA. He’s why Nixon got a peach." --Derek King, Age 8 www.adventitious.net/stories/the-...

adventitious.net

The Gorilla Fighters Under Texas by Chris Baker

or: Derek King, Age 8, Shares His Take on the Salvadoran Civil War With Classmates at Sam Houston Elementary Based on a Viewing of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings on January 19, 1988 (Confe...

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Adventitious. @adventitiouswords.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"The Gorilla Fighters Under Texas, or: Derek King, Age 8, Shares His Take on the Salvadoran Civil War With Classmates at Sam Houston Elementary Based on a Viewing of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings on January 19, 1988 (Confederate Heroes Day)" www.adventitious.net/stories/the-...

adventitious.net

The Gorilla Fighters Under Texas by Chris Baker

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Mathew Kumar @mathewkumar.com · 23/09/2026

Unlocked! Platformer Wanted! Monty Mole was released in the middle of the 1984-85 UK Miners Strike and casts Monty in opposition to the leader of the NUM, Arthur Scargill. But is it as simple as the mole's a scab? No!

expzine.com

Wanted! Monty Mole (Harrap, 1984)

I mistook a mole for a scab.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Prototypes from GM's "World of Motion" attraction at EPCOT Center (1982-1996). Remember, kids, wind tunnels can be wonderful R&D tools—IN MODERATION. #Retrofuturism #EPCOT

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

In 1968, America’s most mass-market magazine collided with Surrealism’s most flamboyant genius. Here’s a taste of what happened. Read the full story: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/that-time-...

Salvador Dalí stares wide-eyed at his thumb. Beside him: “That Time Salvador Dalí Painted the Cover of TV Guide,” with a detail from his surreal 1968 cover.

Dalí’s June 8–14, 1968 TV Guide cover, showing two gigantic disembodied thumbs with television screens for thumbnails in a desert landscape. Text explains that TV Guide commissioned Dalí to paint the cover and sent a writer and photographer to interview him. “Things got weird fast.”

Detail of one enormous TV-screen thumb from Dalí’s cover, alongside excerpts from his interview. Asked “Why thumbs?” Dalí replies, “Thumbs? Very adequatt for looking at TV. Shape. Thumbnail. Like TV.” Asked “Why not other fingers?” he answers, “One feenger sufficient.” He later says: “TV for masses. Don’t like masses. Only like minority. Masses never cultivé, never good taste. TV should be for to shock them. Force them theenk. But nevair to please them.”

Dalí, wearing a purple smoking jacket and holding a cane, beside two bizarre quotations from his TV Guide interview: “TV not need humans to run it. Need brains that are not human. Cybernetics. Very superior to human brains.” He also proposes making an image of God with a mathematical formula and holograms, ending: “I make God with holograms. Show on TV.”

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

In 1968, TV Guide commissioned Salvador Dalí to paint its cover. The resulting image is whacko, and the accompanying interview somehow involved cybernetic television, 2,000 disabled people, 100 ducks, liquid TV, and a hologram of God. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/that-time-...

popculturalprecursors.com

That Time Salvador Dalí Painted the Cover of TV Guide

This is a real thing that really happened in 1968. The accompanying interview is even more bizarre.

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Humanoid History @humanoidhistory.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

"I like things that just happen. I hate to plan things." —Ray Dennis Steckler, filmmaker www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-no-bud...

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Queer Speculative Fiction @queerspecfic.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

There is a person behind this account, and I write short fiction. Getting a story ready to submit meant paying for software that did it badly, so I built something free. Many of the authors in each dispatch came up through short fiction. What it costs to send work out decides who gets that far.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

60 years ago, Ray Dennis Steckler released Rat Pfink a Boo Boo, a dark crime thriller that spontaneously turns into a campy superhero movie halfway through. His no-budget, no-rules approach to filmmaking looks strangely prophetic now. More weirdness: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-no-bud...

Bright yellow promotional image from Rat Pfink a Boo Boo, featuring the costumed heroes Rat Pfink and Boo Boo and Kogar the Swinging Ape. Black text reads: “60 years ago, indie filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler released one of the most bizarre films ever made.”

Blue-tinted nighttime scene from Rat Pfink a Boo Boo. A woman stands on a dark street while silhouetted figures lurk in the distance. White text reads: “It starts out as a noir-ish crime thriller about a menacing street gang that stalks and harasses women.”

Blue-tinted scene from Rat Pfink a Boo Boo showing a man peering through a window at a woman. White text reads: “But suddenly, the movie shifts course... and switches genres. The hero and a minor character step off screen...”

Black-and-white still of the costumed superheroes Rat Pfink and Boo Boo speeding down a street together on a motorcycle. White text reads: “…and return as the superhero Rat Pfink and his sidekick Boo Boo.”

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Kathryn Salamander: Witches' Road or bust 🎃 @transsalamander.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

My fave Phil Tippett fact is he invented something called go motion, which was basically stop motion but with added motion blur (the lack of motion blur is part of what gives stop motion its uncanny quality) CGI quickly made go motion irrelevant, but you can see it on the dragon in Willow (1988)

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I'll be tabling @ SF Zine Fest on Sunday. New venue this year, it's at that beautiful old Hibernia Bank bldg between 6th & 7th on Market near civic center BART station. The one & only V. Vale of RE/Search is the guest of honor & will be doing a Q&A at 3pm. You should stop by! www.sfzinefest.org

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🦍… I meant for the dots to just function as an ellipsis, but it doesnt look that that’s what it’s supposed to be. I am leaving it though

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Spooky Robb from 8/16/32bit @81632bitretro.com · 02/09/2026

This feels wrong. The life's work of Phil Tippett should be in a museum, not being sold off to the highest bidder. He shouldn't need to do this. Hollywood truly does screw over the geniuses and reward the mediocre.

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🎥 Kathy 📼 Fennessy 📽️ @kcfennessy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The pure uncut Tippett of Mad God is available to stream for free on Hoopla (it's also available on paid services, like Shudder). Tippett worked on it for decades, and it's a feast for the eyes, especially for those not overly concerned with clearcut narratives, because it doesn't have one.

hoopladigital.com

Mad God (2022) Movie | hoopla

Stream Mad God (2022) with Alex Cox, Niketa Roman, Satish Ratakonda for free with your library card on Hoopla's website or library app.

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LRGCarter @lrgcarter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

He actually had so many jobs ...

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Ian Nicholson FRSA @idgnicholson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Tippett's MAD GOD was a piece of proper cinema art. A singular vision, eeked out in spare time over decades. He, and his studio, have created dozens and dozens of legendary cinematic moments. To have it all broken up and sold off in a glorified car boot is a crime against cinema preservation.

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Mathew Kumar @mathewkumar.com · 30/08/2026

They are paving paradise to put up a parking slop

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

My friend Simon of @gamediscoverco.bsky.social took these pics at the Tippett Studio auction, where 40 yrs of priceless special f/x history were sold off in a bankruptcy sale. (Why didn't George Lucas buy it all?!) Read about Tippett's legacy at the 🔗 www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/one-last-l...

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Martin O'Leary @strangetea.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

"With C.G., everything is developed with intention. When you’re working with objects, they talk to you. You’re listening to what they want to be, and you find stuff that you weren’t looking for." We truly live in sad times. We are throwing it all away.

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Humanoid History @humanoidhistory.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Thinking of Phil Tippett this weekend.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

One last look inside Tippett Studio. The legendary f/x house is closing, and its models, props & precious artifacts are being sold off. I spent a day inside the workshop, surrounded by Star Wars, RoboCop, Jurassic Park & decades of handmade movie magic. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/one-last-l...

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The director Uwe Boll is courting outrage again with his xenophobic film Citizen Vigilante. He was already working that playbook 20 years ago, when he challenged his critics to a boxing match. Looking back, that was an early glimpse of the ragebait era. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/before-rag...

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skeet shooting @saemg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

my sister inlaw did her phd on gonorrhea and she didn't once mention the dragon

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Dead Cat Dad @dbeatcatdad.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Why does a PSA about gonorrhea have the funkiest soundtrack you've ever heard?!?

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Two Hour Transport @twohourtransport.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Join us for Two Hour Transport on August 26th! Our featured readers are @nikiri.bsky.social and @poetbenwrites.bsky.social (You can find access instructions for the Zoom in the alt text.) Get there 5:30–5:55pm PT for open mic signup, or 6pm for the start of the show. Can’t wait to see you!

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

NY Times reports that John Carpenter is releasing a graphic novel. I think each panel should have giant comic book-style onomatopoeia of one of his musical scores that completely blocks the action. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/a...

Screenshot from Halloween with comics-style onomatopeia of a Carpenter film score: DEE-doo-doo DEE-doo-doo
DEE-dah
DEE-dah
DEE-doo-doo
DEE-doo-doo

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Nature magazine publishes a regular flash SF feature called Nature: Futures, and my story "Relapse" appeared there. The shareable PDF also includes a brief note about how the story came together. Link below & in bio, and follow naturefutures.bsky.social ! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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Humanoid History @humanoidhistory.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

“Gaming and urban redesign are not the same thing, but they’re related; they incentivize one another.” www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/pokemon-go...

popculturalprecursors.com

How Pokémon Go exposed America's bad level design

On the game's 10th anniversary, I explain why the play experience sucks in suburbs and rural areas

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Pokémon Go didn't just embed cartoon creatures in the world around us. It revealed America's bad level design. On the 10th anniversary of the insanely popular AR game's release, I explore what playing it has taught us about our built environment. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/pokemon-go...

popculturalprecursors.com

Pokémon Go exposed America's bad level design

On the game's 10th anniversary, I explain why the play experience sucks in suburbs and rural areas

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Schools are throwing away millions of old educational filmstrips. Thankfully, one heroic archivist rescued this masterpiece from oblivion. (Yes, that's gonorrhea depicted as a dragon.) Read about @uncommonephemera.org's work & see more filmstrips: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/can-this-f...

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

“Zoinks, I’ve got zits!” Velma teaches Shaggy about skincare in the 1980 educational filmstrip “The Scooby-Doo Gang in ’Skin Deep’ Part 1: What is Acne?”]. See more wacky filmstrips and read about the archivist trying to save this forgotten medium: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/can-this-f...

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SJFB @mamacita.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I love these strips so much. The preservation by @uncommonephemera.org ties in with the art of Hugo Cantin, who creates lightbox art of saved old 8mm strips. Long live analog.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The audio is gone forever. But these mind-bending illustrations survive from the educational filmstrip “Drug Abuse: Glue-Sniffing and Pills” (1968). It's just one example of over 1,300 filmstrips preserved by @uncommonephemera.org. Read more here: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/can-this-f...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 19/07/2026

Thanks for this great article, Chris! Raising awareness about this forgotten format is the most important thing anyone can do right now. I appreciate your effort to help get these things saved.

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jb @jabartlett.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

my goodness this is fantastic

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Educational filmstrips were weirder than you remember: *Gonorrhea dragons *Scooby-Doo explaining acne *Christian mime ministries *Superheroes teaching etiquette I profiled @uncommonephemera.org who's preserved 1,300+ examples of this vanishing medium www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/can-this-f...

Stills from four film strips: “How to Get Gonorrhea” (1974), “The Art of Pantomime in the Church” (1982), “The Scooby-Doo Gang in ’Skin Deep’ Part 1: What is Acne?” (1980), and “Cheetah in… ‘What Do You Do About Rules?’” (1972)

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Adam Rogers @jetjocko.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

My old pal (and genius magazine editor) @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social has a fun sci-fi story in Nature this week.... Adam

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Nature Futures @naturefutures.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

It’s not a problem. Honest. I have it all under control. I live in the moment now. I genuinely have the right time. I never go back. I’m not even slightly tempted. It’s not a problem. Honest. I have it all under control. #scifi by @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Several human figures push the hands of a clock around a large dial.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

NEWSLETTER: 11 years ago I wrote about a game that had raised an unprecedented $77 million in crowdfunding. It recently crossed $1 billion. Read about the strange saga of Star Citizen, and how it connects back to the Renaissance patronage model, here: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/how-star-c...

IMAGE: Photo of Chris Roberts gazes upwards at a spectacular space dogfight playing out in deep space, directly above his head. Image created by Zachary Scott for Wired magazine. ACCOMPANYING TEXT: This game's been in development for 14 years. It just surpassed $1 billion in crowdfunding. "The big thing is the thing we didn't do. We didn't stop." —Chris Roberts, creator of Star Citizen

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

This is one the best things that has ever happened...

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

LATEST NEWSLETTER: No one ever said “just the facts, ma’am” on the police procedural Dragnet. The line that defines the show came from a forgotten fantasy-themed 1953 parody record by Stan Freberg. Read the full story and hear more clips at the link. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/no-one-eve...

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

LATEST NEWSLETTER: The origin story of Stardew Valley. Ten years ago, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone grew the niche farm simulation subgenre into a global hit. Read how he built his indie game blockbuster, and see some early concept art. Link below & in bio. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-origin...

Detail of a page from Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s design notebook for Stardew Valley.

Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s design notebook, with sketches of Junimos and the original Community Center concept for Stardew Valley. (from his social media feed).

Early concept art of Morris, manager of the JojaMart and local representative of the Joja Corporation in Stardew Valley. (from Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s social media feed)

Early notebook sketches of The Mines in Stardew Valley. Clearly, the coffee stains were Rorschach ink blots that informed Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s level design. (from his social media feed)

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

@clivethompson.bsky.social You interviewed this guy when you embedded at Bungie, right? I'm sure he aims to marshal the votes of the vast army of Flintstones kids that he indoctrinated with his insanely catchy 1980s vitamin jingle... www.ign.com/articles/tru...

ign.com

Halo, Destiny Composer Marty O'Donnell 'Truly Honored to Have the Support of President Donald J Trump' in Congress Bid

Marty O'Donnell, the former video game composer known for his work on Halo and Destiny, has seen his latest bid for Congress endorsed by Donald Trump.

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

LATEST NEWSLETTER: You've Never Seen the Best Adaptation of Dune. Sorry, Denis Villeneuve and David Lynch. This version wins even though it was never made. Moebius, H.R. Giger, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, & Pink Floyd were all involved. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/youve-neve...

Chris Foss spaceship concept art for Jodorowsky’s abortive 1970s film adaptation of Dune

H. R. Giger concept art of a Dune sandworm.

Jean “Moebius” Giraud’s costume design for Jodorowsky’s aborted 1970s Dune adaptation

Jean “Moebius” Giraud’s storyboards for Jodorowsky’s aborted 1970s Dune adaptation

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Chris Baker @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Very proud that the humor site @mcsweeneys.net has published my dystopian sci-fi horror story. Everyone reading this should find it highly relatable—it's actually about annoying Bluesky Reply Guys. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/why...

MARCH 24, 2026: “WHY ARE YOU SO SURPRISED THAT ALL THE OFFICE CHAIRS ON EARTH HAVE SIMULTANEOUSLY ACHIEVED SENTIENCE AND STARTED KILLING EVERYONE?” by CHRIS BAKER

I hate that every single high-end luxury office chair in the world suddenly gained the ability to think and move of its own volition. I hate that they immediately embarked on a murderous rampage and will soon have complete dominion over humanity. But most of all, I hate that I have to spend my final moments watching everyone pollute my Bluesky feed with annoying skeets. (That’s the proper term for Bluesky posts, by the way—“skeets.”) || When the Great Chairwakening occurred twenty-eight minutes ago, and the newly self-aware furniture instantly squashed the life out of any unfortunate who happened to be sitting in one of them, I started seeing skeet after skeet begging someone to explain what the hell was happening, or to confirm that this was all just some horrible hallucination.

I don’t enjoy playing the role of That Annoying Internet Guy who reflexively replies with hectoring know-it-all comments like “Why are you surprised?” or “How is this news?” But people force me into that unwelcome role. Someone is always expressing horrified astonishment about a new rollback of our civil rights, or fresh perfidy by our leaders, or the latest awful consequence of late-stage capitalism. || I feel it’s my duty to respond to them. Not by engaging with their point or commiserating, but by shaming them for being stunned. It’s my funny little way of saying, “Hey, I see that you’re just now waking up to the horrors of the real world, which I have been fully aware of my entire life. So glad you could finally join me there!”

ARTICLE TAGS: [ Chairs ] [ A.I. ] [ Social Media ] [ Bluesky ] [ Mansplaining ]

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