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FT379

Ogdred Weary

ᛟᛒᛊᛏᛁᚾᚨᛏᛖ ᚲᛁᛗᚱᛁᚲ
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Apr 2, 2012
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Almasty Fingernail!

Nuclear Apocalypse Tourism!

Momo Bollocks!

More Hauntologicality!

Prince Caspian Tiger!
 
I've just been reading about a nuclear apocalypse card game from the 1970s... wonder if it'll get a mention?
 
Page 32. Picture of a penis.

I thought much the same thing, it appears to be a boner of military import, perhaps some sort of harbinger of doom, given the nature of the article.
 
Enjoyed the vintage Armageddon articles, apart from one thing, I don't know how this started, but the Protect and Survive PIFs were never broadcast, as things never got bad enough for that to happen. The only way the vast majority knew about them was their inclusion in the TV drama Threads, but they were never shown, say, between the kids' shows at lunchtime or at closedown.
 
...a boner of military import, perhaps some sort of harbinger of doom...

Correct on both counts:

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maximus otter
 
A really good issue,both bunker mentality and protect and survive where outstanding, I had forgotten how scared I was by nuclear war when growing up.
 
I shall be reading this issue as I duck and cover...
 
Front cover - top left > Uneasy Listening - The sounds of Britain's haunted landscapes.
Where's the article?
 
Front cover - top left > Uneasy Listening - The sounds of Britain's haunted landscapes.
Where's the article?

That's a point! I can't bring it to mind this issue. One for the Errata section?
 
Mr Fischer now has a website for The Haunted Generation:
Haunted website

Nothing on it except this issue's column at the moment, but bookmark it, you never know.
 
Cheers GNC! I should point out that it's actually my 2017 article from the FT that's currently on the blog... you'll have to buy the current issue to get the new stuff. :)

I'll be regularly updating the blog with extra features, though!
 
Ah, the man himself! I'll keep checking the blog, if it's as good as the article it'll be a must-read.
 
Enjoyed the vintage Armageddon articles, apart from one thing, I don't know how this started, but the Protect and Survive PIFs were never broadcast, as things never got bad enough for that to happen. The only way the vast majority knew about them was their inclusion in the TV drama Threads, but they were never shown, say, between the kids' shows at lunchtime or at closedown.
Maybe it wasn't part of the specific suite of Protect and Survive pifs, but I distinctly remember seeing an animation about the effects of fallout (it had electronic music and the fallout was represented by little dots swarming across the screen) as a standalone item on TV some considerable time before Threads was broadcast.
 
Maybe it wasn't part of the specific suite of Protect and Survive pifs, but I distinctly remember seeing an animation about the effects of fallout (it had electronic music and the fallout was represented by little dots swarming across the screen) as a standalone item on TV some considerable time before Threads was broadcast.

Haven't seen it in years, but might that have been QED's A Guide to Armageddon? It inspired Threads (which was more of a drama than a documentary).
 
My memory is that it was a short animation shown in a daytime break between programmes, as other PIFs were. I'd have been about 10 at the time.
Edit - having had a look on youtube I think it was the "Action after Warnings" segment of Protect and Survive. And it was some years before "Threads" because by then I was older and had grown the full Cold War Paranoia, whereas I didn't understand what the PIF I saw was about.
Could it possibly have been shown on a Schools Television programme???
 
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According to Wiki, the PIFs were created about 1980, but not released as they were classified material (i.e. top secret), though one was broadcast on BBC's Nationwide in the early 80s after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Maybe you caught that one-off?
 
Momo piece under "Strange Days" noted the scare was circulating in schools in the UK. This ridiculousness also hit hard in the U.S. I offered to instruct the administrators of my local school district on fake media. They never replied... Hmm.
 
Momo piece under "Strange Days" noted the scare was circulating in schools in the UK. This ridiculousness also hit hard in the U.S. I offered to instruct the administrators of my local school district on fake media. They never replied... Hmm.

And to think some people still sneer at Media Studies courses... seems we need them more than ever to guide people into processing what they're seeing and hearing. Not brainwashing, mind you: education.
 
Was late picking mine up, got it today finally. Love H. E. Sawyer's article Bunker Mentality and Andy Paciorek's Protect and Survive. IHTM - Strange eyelashes was an interesting one too. All round a great issue.
 
The Protect and Survive pamphlet mentioned several times in this issue reminded me of a similar booklet I discovered in my old family home many years ago. It probably dated from around the same time as the British publication, or perhaps earlier (U.S. government publications were usually drab and old-fashioned back then) and seemed to say it was being sent to every home in the country. It had all sorts of tips on preparing for the dreaded day the bombs would fall, including simple plans for survival nooks in case one couldn't afford the space or expense of a genuine bomb/fallout shelter.

One feature that got my attention was the mailing label, which included simple assessments – deduced from public records – of how likely it would be for the recipient's home to survive the blast or protect against fallout. I was not surprised to learn our home would collapse like a house of cards and provide survivors with about as much shielding as a few layers of Kleenex. I wonder how much the Federal government spent on this project.

I don't know what happened to the copy I saw. If anyone out there can help me pin down the name of this publication and a more precise date I would appreciate it. I suspect pdf copies can be found online now.
 
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