rundweg rhönblick (13. 223)

For a warm and sunny day on this first meteorological day of Spring, H and I returned to Höhe Geba (see previously, see also) and explored a circular path named after Helmershausen native son, novelist, physician and avid wanderer Dr Theo Malade through a juniper heath, past the source of a mountain spring and to a shelter on the western slope of the plateau, overlooking the Leichelberg (see above). 

 Inside the Hütte, there was an information board with the lyrics to Das Rhönlied, the 1912 regional anthem by Andreas Fack (“Zieh an die Wanderschuh / Und nimm den Rucksack auf, / Und wirf die Sorgen ab / Marschier zur Rhön hinauf!”—see also) and a stamp for one’s hiking card. 

The path led back through the eponymous village on the plateau, remote and with only fifty-seven residents even smaller than our hometown, which had an interesting octagonal church and historic schoolhouse.

jardin del edén (13. 093)

Via tmn, we are taken on a tour of the groves of the Todolí foundation on the east coast of Valcencia, which produces over five hundred varieties of uncommon citrus, the largest collection in the world, fostering a natural refuge for endemic frogs, birds and pollinators—whilst supplying markets and gourmet restaurants, promoting biodiversity and conducting research to bear these usual fruits through the changing climate and to come out on the other side with more harmonious and sustainable farm to table strategies. Humans are the only primates that have lost the ability to produce vitamin C internally and need to supplement their diet accordingly. There are twelve groupings: citrons, pummelos, mandarins, papaya, sweet and bitter oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, kumquats and trifoliate with exotic examples of the latter in the Buddha’s Hand and exquisite finger limes. Much more on the wide spectrum of citrus at the links above.

9x9 (12. 962)

content without context: think twice before making that AI generated video—especially featuring a cameo of yourself 

things that aren’t doing the thing: anticipation is not the same as execution 

dead wood: the evolution, anatomy and biological system of our tree friends  

lightbox: TIME magazine’s photos of the year  

inbox: a clever way of researching and processing the tranches of email released by the Epstein estate with an interface that’s like going through one’s own account from Like Igel and Riley Walz (previously)—via Web Curios  

traceroute: an overview of how the series of tubes work 

the dog’s pyjamas: dressing up canines has a longer history than one might expect—via Strange Company  

never break the chain: streaks are important motivators and one should pair new habits and practise with “micro-versions” to avoid feeling derailed 

$spsc: Trump’s World Liberty Financial (see previously) promotes another shock token as a legitimate store of wealth

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus the discovery of the first pulsar (1967)

fourteen years ago: sociologist Jürgen Habermas on post-democratic Europe 

fifteen years ago: more flea market finds plus security theatre and a crackdown on counterfeits 

9x9 (12. 865)

amor fati: Fredrich Nietzsche’s philosophy (previously) of passing on engagement can break the cycle of polarisation without becoming disengaged and nihilistic 

the memes of production: the internet reacts to Zohran Mamdani’s mayorial win in New York City  

unpaving paradise: an urban greening game to optimise replacing parking spaces in Berlin with trees  

№: why number is English is abbreviated n-o 

no springs: a hypnotic video of manufacturing robots politely waiting their turn in the assembly process—see also  

alive internet theory: a seance with the vibrant web and all its expressive artefacts against the countervailing argument it has become overrun by bots—see also—via Waxy 

gathering wool: online apparel retailers in China employ oversized hangtags to curb high return rates  

hatch act violation: US federal judge rules administration overstepped its bounds by inserting partisan blaming into furloughed government employees’ out-of-office autoreplies  

bleak outlook: astronomical survey deposits galaxy could be riddled with the artefacts of long dead alien civilisations that could avoid destroying themselves—we suppose that depends on what sort of religion they develop—see also, see previously—via MetaFilter

synchronoptica

one year ago: a monument to the Armenian diaspora (with synchronopticæ), the Carrington count, backstage customs plus US presidential numbering

fourteen years ago: food and drink prohibited plus Inventors’ Day

8x8 (12. 842)

dressed like a priest you was, tod browning’s freak you was: the long legacy of the 1932 pre-code sideshow feature that still prompts discussion on exploitation and othering  

never throw out anything that might be useful: a thoroughgoing interview with author Margaret Atwood (previously) ahead of the publication of her new memoir  

tactical infrastructure: proposed US legislation to open up public lands and national parks to commercial development and harvesting if any part of the designated space abuts borders as a buffer-zone  

grandfather clause: the brevity of the fifteenth amendment to the US constitution belies its impact on voting rights—and shows America has endured such disenfran-chisement before

bee positive: our pollinator friends have the capacity to experience happiness and its contagious—via Strange Company  

they’re simultaneously launching a new game where you get to do chores in a stranger’s house: twenty-thousand dollar humanoid robot fails to preform tasks autonomously and requires teleoperation—see previously—via Super Punch  

let them eat cake: while millions of Americans face hardships due to a lapse in food aid and skyrocketing health insurance premiums during the furlough, Trump remodels the Lincoln Bathroom, plus the Great Gatsby-themed party on the patio that was formerly the Rose Garden at Mar-a-Lago

gorgon: for her annual fancy dress party, Heidi Klum dressed as Medusa—inspired by Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion monster for Clash of the Titans

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), research vessel R/P FLIP, Alphabet sued by Russia, character amnesia plus a fan super site on Super Mario lore

thirteen years ago: November holidays plus animal crossings

fourteen years ago: dream therapy, liveable communities plus malleable memes

fifteen years ago: America votes 

7x7 (12. 799)

do not comply in advance: many news organisations are refusing to sign on to new US department of war rules to report on only officially vetted items 

haibao: a look back at the 2010 Shanghai world Expo plus a menagerie of other mascots  

touched by an angle: more biblically accurate heavenly hosts—see also here and here  

the lighthouse, the prioritiser and the flashlight: dozens of strategies for safeguarding one’s attention in an exhausting environment—via MetaFilter 

xeno canto: a geocaching tutorial for birdsong—from a revamped Maps Mania  

zoomorphic stereotypes: the 1806 human-animal hybrid caricatures of Charles Le Brun 

sos: Save our Signs project aims to preserve ten thousand placards in US national parks threatened with deletion for telling uncomfortable truths of the past for present and future generations

ribeauvillé et hunawihr (12.767)

 

 

Going a bit further afield, we toured the commune historically known as Rappoltsweiler / Ràppschwihr after the eighth century town passed from the ownership of the Bishopric of Basel to the countship of Rappoltstein (Ribeaupierre), the hereditary king charged with the protection and patronage of the itinerant minstrels of Alsace, who paid a busking tribute to their lord in exchange—the office of the Pfeiferkönig eventually was inherited by the ranks of the prince-electors of Bavaria, and made an annal pilgrimage to their sainted patronness Maria von Dusenbach, a chapel in the Capuchin cloister complex just outside of Ribeauvillé dedicated to the Presentation of Jesus. The Gothic centre with preserved medieval houses is overlooked by a primeval forest (re-seeded much later in its history with giant sequoia—see also—and containing the largest stand outside of North America) and the ensemble of three ruined castles, Saint-Ulrich, Girsberg and Haut Rappoltstein.

 

Next we visited Hunawihr on the way back to Riquewihr—also with a beautifully preserved layout from the 1300s—it was named after the residence of another Frankish lord called Huno, built on the foundations of a Gallo-Roman villa. Renowned for her piety and charity, the sainted lady of the estate, Huna, took it upon herself to do the laundry for the poor and the sick in the fountain at the base of the village, imbuing the clean clothes with powers to restore the health of the ill—with one instance of the dirty wash-water transformed into wine during a particularly bad harvest year. The hilltop fortified church (Kirchenburg, l'église fortifiée) in view of the legendary spring became a pilgrimage site and became, like many of the sacred buildings of the region what’s called a simultaneum, following the Treaty of Westphalia that guaranteed religious liberties for the people of Alsace, and holds both Catholic mass and Protestant services.

tal und berg, time and temperature (12. 688)

Running some errands back in the Geratal region, we took a stroll through the village above the valley called Geraberg, higher up on the slope of the Arlesberg on the northern edge of the Thüringer Wald. Though first mentioned in a deed of gift to the Henneberg knights for its vineyards in the eleventh century, the area was more famous of its traditions of mining and forestry, fuelling the smelting of iron ore. The cadet industries of glass-making and porcelain manufacturer developed in the nineteenth century and taking advantage of one by-product of mining operations, mercury, Geraberg became a centre of technical expertise for the making of clinical thermometers (that’s one in the main traffic circle) and other glass medical instruments, beginning in 1873 and lasting until 1990, employing some two-thousand individuals. There was also a museum dedicated to the village’s association with the device, along with the broader technological advancements from contact to digital thermometers and thermostats, closed Mondays but looks worth checking out on a return trip.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a pivotal moment in the Star Trek timeline (with synchronopticæ), aspiring travel-writers, assorted links worth revisiting, a trip to Schwickershausen plus the largest aerospace exhibition

thirteen years ago: Saxon castles plus selbst gebackt biscotti

fourteen years ago: holding the UN for ransom 

fifteen years ago: more ado about Glühbirne plus conceptual Star Wars posters

10x10 (12. 683)

advisory committee on immunisation practises: following an attack on the Centres for Disease Control campus by a crazed gunman, RFK Jr forces out the CDC director and renders the government agency untrustworthy  

nephilim: right wing antipathy for the Smithsonian began with a conspiracy theory that the national museum was hiding the bones of biblical giants in the basement  

pick-a-brick: thanks to Trump tariffs, LEGO no longer shipping some items to North America  

kodama: sacred trees in Japan and beyond—via Strange Company  

the real macguffin: AI is only good for prioritising “me first” problems—not for solutions—see also  

from west philly to west swig̴̙̕g̷̤̔͜y: audience scenes from Will Smith’s concerts are authentic by a YouTube experiment (previously) makes them look fake  

best in show: a selection of entrants for London’s Natural History Museum’s annual Wildlife photographer awards—via Damn Interesting 

executive overreach: appeals court rules that most of Trump’s reciprocal levies, enacting under emergency powers, are not legal—see previously and may need to refund over a hundred billion collected in duties 

¡presente!: Smithsonian museum closes its Latino gallery, ostensibly in preparation for next year’s bicentennial celebrations—see previously 

social security administration: chief data officer of the SSA abruptly resigns with a mass email that was memory-holed within half-an-hour, citing security concerns and a culture of panic and dread

synchronoptica

one year ago: the K-Pop Fab Four (with synchronopticæ) plus weird academic book jackets

fourteen years ago: moving beyond the incandescent bulb 

seenlandschaft (12. 649)

Taking advantage of the forest’s shade for a hot, muggy day, we explored more of the trails along the shores of the Müritz—second only to Lake Constance (der Bodensee) in size and the largest body of water entirely within German borders.

The basin (Seenplatte) with several large bays and inlets kept to paths that did not extend past the tree line in order to preserve the relatively intact ecological history of Europe through the last glacial period, the Ice Age that ended about eleven thousand years ago, with primeval beech and pine woods but afforded observation platforms to look out on to the water.

The landscape that extends to Neustrelitz in the south east in made up of moraines, lowlands—including marshes and meadows—and sandur (Sander, from the Icelandic), the outwash of rocks pulverised to sand by the advance and retreat of glaciers that supports the dense forest, and contains about a hundred lesser lakes. The city of Müritz has two sizeable urban bodies of water and we walked through the spa disctrict (Kurviertel) through the Kurwald—an early realisation of the benefits of forest bathing—to take a look at the Feisneck- and Tiefwarensee.

synchronoptica

one year ago: liquid water discovered on Mars (with synchronopticæ) plus a maximal truth-seeking AI

thirteen years ago: WWII week: Pennemünde plus a chance lilly in a glass   

le chemin du cadoudal (12. 556)

We went to the inland sea by the village of Locoal-Mendon to take a walk around a wooded spit of land reaching out into the estuary and landscape of oyster-culture.

The once secret path to the settlement of La Foret for smuggling out members of the clergy aligned with Royalists and counter-revolutionaries during the Terror that followed the founding of the First Republic as they had refuge until they could escape by boat was established by Georges Cadoudal (Jorj Kadoudal) to compliment their hidden base of operations.

Not a nom de guerre but rather a case of nominative determinism, the surname means in Breton “warrior returned from the fight” and was honoured as a mashal of France during the Bourbon restoration, the headquarters preserved in its grove and business of farming off shore continuing. The trail was lined with a collection of remarkable trees, gnarly and stunted from the salty winds.

shocking advantage (12. 522)

First spotted by Clive Thompson’s Linkfest back a few months ago, we were happy to be reminded of this rather incredible evolutionary adaptation of the tonka bean tree of central Panama that we’ve been intrigued about ever since, which not only appears to have selected traits that allow it (Dipteryx oleifera) to sustain lighting strikes but to actually benefit from them. Not only does its electrical encounters discharge them from their host of parasites—particularly choking vines that would otherwise be an impediment to their thriving (this argiculturally important resource having an internal structure like a well-insulated wire), these lanky individuals that tower above the canopy are a hazard to live next to, thinning out the competition. More about the findings and the research methology at the links above.

11x11 (12. 481)

ν octantis: astronomers discover a tight binary star system with a lone exoplanet wedged in the middle  

{sum free sets}: Cambridge graduate student proves an conjecture of Paul Erdős on the limits of the additive property—via Damn Interesting 

gorgoneion: the backstory of Medusa 

market instability: complaining that negotiations have stalled, Trump threatens to impose a fifty-percent tariff on EU exports to the US 

ambigram: more invertible messages—made by impossible letters (see previously here and here) 

the old, old, very old man: the sudden death of super-centenarian Tom Parr in 1635 illuminates our long quest for longevity—see also 

marked decline: the precipitous drop in the use of semicolons—with a quiz to celebrate its proper placement  

urban renewal: arborists are planting giant sequoia (previously) in blighted Detroit neighbourhoods—via Kottke  

pandemonium: when the pantheon of gods and goddesses came into the world, they already had company with a multiplicity of daemons acting through human agents 

exchange programme: US Department of Homeland Security revokes Harvard’s ability to enrol foreign students  

brown dwarf: in the distant past, Jupiter was nearly twice its present size with a much stronger magnetic field, revealed by the orbital dynamics of its constellation of satellites—see previously

infinite quilt (12. 395)

Via fellow internet caretaker and peripatetic, Messy Nessy Chic, having keep this tab open all day as a screen-saver and palette-cleanser, we would be remiss not to share this mediative botanical recursion that slowly zooms through a continuous and unending landscape of branches, leaves, roots and reefs which this halting gif-capture does not do justice. This Webby award winning collaboration from artists Sophia Schomberg and Nikolaus Baumgarten, the title Arkadia/Arcadia refers to the utopian ideal of pastoralism in harmony with Nature, a vision both bucolic and unspoilt by those humans who lightly manage it.

10x10 (12. 325)

isolated dictatorship: Canadian MP urges citizens to avoid travel south of the border  

sykkelinfrastruktur: an amazing bike tunnel in Bergen  

incel camino: a new make and model for the Swasticar for all the domestic terrorists 

four of swords: Hyperallergic’s tarotscope for the coming of Spring  

fabio and the goose: Bobby Fingers (previously) reconstructs the encounter of harlequin novel author and pin-up’s encounter with a migrating bird whilst on a rollercoaster  

arbour day: tree planting activities cancelled over anti-DEI posture  

cats in outlines: the strangely gratifying effect of felines freezing in place 

sorry—not sorry: a study of apologies gleaned from reality television 

scylla and charybdis: the millennia-long aspirations to link Sicily with the mainland may soon come to pass  

pin: an unnerving psychosexual horror Canadian horror film from 1988

sticktok (12. 284)

A cross-platform movement that’s particularly wholesome and encourages taking a walk in the woods really for its own sake and not needing add needless gamification and augmented reality called Stick Nation features participants from all over the globe, sharing remarkable sticks (see previously) they come across—generally showcasing where it was found, its provenance a bit of lore. The community accept both organic finds and ones with light modifications to enhance their inner excellence.

synchronoptica

one year ago: water worlds (with synchronoptica) plus squabbles among AI thought leaders

seven years ago: the fourteenth amendment of the US constitution

eight years ago: US Republicans go after Obama Care, the CIA spies on Germany, germ-repelling materials plus reversing the genders of the US presidential candidates

nine years ago: a conspiracy theory album cover, the actor who played the Alien plus the philosophical implications of faster than light travel

ten years ago: assorted links to revisit