Cultrface – a blog dedicated to culture and how it enriches our lives.

An interview with Lucia Tang

I’m honoured to have Lucia Tang as my next interviewee.

What is your favorite city in the world?

Going to go with London. Tokyo is a close second, but my Japanese is really bad.

What’s the most unusual item you take everywhere you go? 

Probably my Anker portable charger. It’s a habit leftover from that first summer of Pokémon Go, when my phone was constantly dying. 

Why do you do what you do?

I absconded from a PhD program in Chinese history. Now, I work in content and SEO and write the occasional little essay. Getting to write, research, and professionally hang out with smart people basically gets me everything I thought I’d miss when I left the academy.

Where do you go to relax? 

There’s a nice lake within walking distance of my place. I live in a US state known as the “land of 10,000 lakes.” That’s actually an undercount, so no matter where you are, you’re pretty much always equidistant between two of them.

69, 280, or 420?

Tough one! 280.

How do you say goodbye in your culture(s)? 

Bye! There’s also the possibility of 慢走 (manzou), literally “Walk [away] slowly”!

More from Lucia: ‘Kristin Lavransdatter’ and feeling herself again during the pandemic

BFI's top 10 skateboarding films

In 2019, BFI compiled a list of their 10 great skateboarding films. Titles such as Back to the Future and Kids featured where skateboarding wasn’t the main focal point but the majority of the list was dedicated to skating, including Dogtown and Z-Boys:

Legendary skater Stacy Peralta’s documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys tells the story of how skateboarding moved from something that Californian surfers did when the waves were flat to the worldwide phenomenon and Olympic sport that it has become today. Narrated by Sean Penn, it features stunning archive footage alongside talking-head testimonials from Peralta’s influential 70s skate team, the Z-Boys, hailing from Venice Beach, California (popularly known as Dogtown).

More on skateboarding movies: Tony Hawk dissects skateboarding films for GQ Sports

A few links on reproductive rights, abortion, and Roe vs. Wade

I’ve been following the news on Roe vs. Wade via a few selected online friends and while it’s outside my general lane due to a lack of deep, fundamental knowledge, that doesn’t mean I can’t share information to those who might need it. So here are a few links I’ve found interesting regarding reproductive rights, abortion, and Roe vs. Wade. I will be updating this periodically.

  • The History of Reproductive Rights: A Syllabus – JSTOR Daily compiled a list of stories on the history of reproductive rights and abortion “to foster dialogue inside and outside of the classroom” including the historical outlawing of abortion in America, wider thoughts on whether law can provide moral order, and the implications of Roe v. Wade on internet privacy.
  • What would happen if Roe v. Wade were overturned – a Washington Post infographic examining the impact of Roe v. Wade getting overturned. As a reminder, overturning this precedent won’t blanket ban abortions in the US but it would give the power back to the individual states and many of them (particularly in the South) already have or are ready to put bans/restrictions in place alongside other heinous state laws
  • National Network of Abortion Funds – “The National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.”
  • California proposes new funding to help low-income and out-of-state abortion seekers – “Governor Gavin Newsom wants $57m for organizations offering the procedure to the uninsured and for reproductive health outreach.”

Batman's greatest foes

Batman’s Greatest Foes

Featuring Gotham’s Legion of Evil! My favourite is The Eraser:

[…] the chosen alias of Lenny Fiasco, who turned to crime after living his college days under constant mocking and taunting by his classmates. Fiasco is a professional at covering the tracks of other crimes. For a 20 percent cut, the Eraser will ‘erase’ the evidence of another crime.

On his Fandom wiki page, under Abilities, it says “Special helmet eraser able to rub out evidence”. Comics were wild back then.

The cosmic importance of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch

For GQ, astronaut Charles Duke explained how the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch helped the Apollo 16 mission team land on the moon:

Apollo crew members were issued with an Omega Speedmaster after NASA flight-qualified it for all manned space missions. The story of how Omega’s honest 1950s racing chronograph survived a barrage of environmental tests to earn an unlikely place in the history of space exploration has become clearer in recent years. Part of the tale is how it saw off Rolex to win NASA’s affections.

The Speedmasters were state property, and when their time with the Apollo programme ended, Duke and his colleagues were asked to return them. As the lunar module pilot, Duke had used his as mechanical back-up to the computer that timed engine burn as they made their descent into the Descartes Highlands, where the lunar module landed. “If the burn was one second too long, we would crash into the Moon,” says Duke. “It was so valuable to have this accurate timepiece. The only thing was, you couldn’t forget to wind it…”

Watch related: Restoring a Tissot 1853 watch found on the ground

See also: Did Omega and Swatch Just Release a Moonwatch under $300?

PushingUpRoses on Hellraiser V: Inferno

This Classic Horror Movie Sequel Was Bonkers

I’ve seen the first three Hellraiser movies. The first two were good, the third was bad and that’s when I knew I should stop. But franchise didn’t and it’s still technically going although it likely won’t have Doug Bradley’s Pinhead in it so I don’t care. What I do care for are PushingUpRoses videos and she reviewed the fifth instalment, Hellraiser V: Inferno, in all its hellish glory.

[…] But with most well liked horror films, a million cash grabs in the guise of a sequel were released, all varying degrees of bad. I landed myself on Hellraiser V: Inferno, because it had more of a noir, detective theme, and hey; that’s my jam, my YouTube expertise, if there was in fact such a thing. So I watched it. And it was bonkers.

More from PushingUpRoses: A supercut of Murder, She Wrote jokes by PushingUpRoses, Bob Ross vs. The Evil Dead in ‘Creepshow’, and Clarissa Explains It All, Explained

Did you know that Danny DeVito wrote a Penguin comic?

Danny DeVito’s portrayal of Penguin was, to echo the words of Alfred, ghastly and grotesque. But did you know that he wrote a Penguin comic for DC last year?

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 was a one-shot comic published on November 30, 2021 (although the cover date was January 2022) and featured the likes of Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and the Mad Hatter. Here’s what DC Comics had to say:

Gotham City may be protected by the Dark Knight, but this major metropolitan destination is also plagued by some of the deadliest, most nefarious villains in the DC Universe! In this oversize anniversary giant, DC Comics proudly presents tales of Batman’s deadliest foes written and drawn by some of the biggest, most exciting names in comics! 2021 marks an anniversary year for the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Ra’s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, the Mad Hatter, Killer Moth, and the original Red Hood, and Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 brings these baddies to life in some big ways! Also featuring the anniversary celebration of the Penguin, written by none other than the man who brought Oswald Cobblepot to life in Batman Returns, star of the silver screen Danny DeVito!

ICYMI: here's a quick trailer for Sonic Prime

Sonic Prime (2022) | Netflix Trailer

Sonic Prime doesn’t have an air date yet but we do have this short trailer which came out a few weeks ago.

The series will consist of 24 episodes and will be the first since Sonic Boom ended in 2017. And we’re getting a Black voice actor (Deven Mack) for the first time in a long time which is personal bonus.

Hellraiser, but it's the VHS tape on top of a bus stop roof

Any time I’m on a double decker bus, I look out at bus stop roofs to see what weird things people throw up (or drop down) there. One thing I’ve never seen is a VHS tape and certainly not the same copy of Hellraiser reappearing after it’s removed but that’s what happened on top of a South East London bus stop for a number of years.

From BBC’s Rabbit Hole:

There was one thing we were particularly intrigued by – a weathered copy of the gruesome horror film Hellraiser on VHS, which had sat on top of a South East London bus stop for years. Every time the VHS was taken down, another one would spring up in its place. Sometimes two copies would lie there, staring menacingly out at you as you gazed through the foggy bus window.

The anonymous culprit spoke to the BBC about the reasons behind the action:

When did you start maintaining it?

I like to make visual art and often try to use the everyday environment outside. After awhile I came up with the idea of “21 on the 21”. The first video purposefully placed out there landed right next to that original and was done on the 21st December 2012. It was the night that was supposed to be the Mayan Apocalypse. I think that day was our first real big apocalyptic let down since Y2K. And with the idea of the bus stop being a raised platform, then the elements really erasing the hell off Pinhead’s visage slowly away from the bus riders, I felt the words and numbers were on my side. So I started the process. There’s been other Hellraisers along the route of the 21, one even on an N21. The idea is for twenty-one to be put out over time, hence the name “21 on the 21”.

This story resonated with me because I remember the first time I saw a trailer for Hellraiser. It was on another VHS tape where they used to do those video promos before the film starts. I remember the grotesque Pinhead, all the smoke, the hooks and chains, and the pulled skin and being so horrified but also morbidly curious (that has never left me; I am the Kombucha girl of horror). Then I gave into that curiosity in January last year and finally watched the first three movies. And here we are.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: the highest grossing video game movie of all time (to date)

sonic the hedgehog 2

The hype was real and now Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the highest grossing video game movie of all time with worldwide box office sales of $323.5 million so far, surpassing its predecessor’s $319.7 million worldwide total. And it’s well deserved. I loved every minute of the film, I loved Knuckles’s introduction, Robotnik’s return, and the ending made me cry because I was hoping it’d happen and it did. I can’t wait to get it on Blu-ray and watch it all over again.

More about Sonic: The Sonic 2 trailer if you missed it, remembering SegaWorld London, and Knuckles’s foray into crypto.

Izu Ani on his love of food and cycling

Café du Cycliste travelled to Dubai and interviewed Nigerian-British chef Izu Ani. They spoke to him about his culinary career and his love of cycling:

Amongst all this Izu dedicates a real importance to the moments he spends on his bike. This is the very particular way he has of balancing his life. In Dubai you can ride at any time of the day or night, a way to avoid the heat, a way to start a day well.

‘Pedalling is traveling, I always need that. I ride four to five times a week and alone 90% of the time. It is my time to pause and meditate, I let myself go. I love these moments. I come face to face with myself, I refocus, it’s totally essential to my life. Most often I ride alone for one to two hours, the time needed to get out of the rush.’

More on Izu Ani: The Values of Chef Izu Ani, his culinary world adventures, and opening a new French-Mediterranean restaurant in Dubai

An interview with Sy Brand

Sy is one of my favourite people on the internet and I thought “why don’t I ask them some cool questions”? Here’s what they said:

What is your favourite city in the world?

Apart from Edinburgh, where I live, either Venice or Berlin. I love water, so Venice is perfect for me. And Berlin has so many different sides to it and such incredible art and history.

What’s the most unusual item you take everywhere you go? 

Probably my pin collection. I have around 20 of them on my jacket. A few Twin Peaks ones, a shot from Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, a machine from a Soviet Arcade Museum I went to in St Petersburg, some Ingmar Bergman and Andrei Tarkovsky ones. My favourite is the demon cat face from the film Hausu by Nobuhiko Obayashi, which is one of my favourite films and is just completely wild and unpredictable and beautiful.

Why do you do what you do?

I do my job (C++ Developer Advocate at Microsoft) mostly to earn money to do other things, although I do enjoy the freedom I have to help people, educate, help shape the industry and C++ community. I write poetry to try and capture feelings, images, work through my thoughts on gender, relationships, etc. These days I’ve been spending a lot of time on filmmaking. I want to help people see the beauty that’s in so many everyday things: tiny gestures, light reflecting off water, the sounds around us.

Where do you go to relax?

Into Apex Legends or experimental films. Apex is my perfect “brain doesn’t work, want to blow off steam” activity. I play with a friend of mine multiple times a week; I love the teamwork aspect of it, how I can use it as an excuse to hang out with people and just have some fun.

69, 280, or 420?

69. It’s just very round and nice.

How do you say goodbye in your culture(s)?

I’m Scottish, so you could hear “bye the nou”, or perhaps “fuck off”. In Scottish Gaelic you could say “mar sin leat” as a kind of “see you”.