With aides believing he had been intoxicated for at least the week prior, drinking heavily throughout and downing at least three glasses of whisky or brandy the morning of the ceremony, vice president Andrew Johnson delivered his drunk inauguration speech on this day in 1865, witnesses describing it variously as rambling, repetitive and self-aggrandising. Kissing the Bible presented to him for the oath of office, Johnson was too incapacitated by the time in came to swear in the incoming class of senators. Upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln forty-two days later during his second term, Johnson ascended to the presidency, his challenges foreshadowed by this incident. Picking the populist Johnson as his running-mate was a concession to secessionists—the choice turned out to be a rather grave political miscalculation, especially for the post-civil war period of reconciliation and Reconstruction with Lincoln’s own request that the ceremony be delayed until state governments of the readmitted polities were fully operational. Officially trying to cover up his sprees by confining Johnson to his quarters and issuing statements regarding an unspecified illness but the truth soon outed itself. Escorted to the Capitol to be sworn in by the outgoing vice president Hannibal Hamil, Johnson implored the officiator for a stimulant, begging off that he was unwell. Hamil offered that he had prohibited the serving of whisky in the senate cantina but offered to procure him a bottle from an establishment across the street, downing tumblerfuls until time for the event. Though there is no surviving, verbatim transcript of the speech, those present were incredulous at the spectacle as Johnson berated them with an incoherent lecture on the executive branch’s power and called out several present with insults. Hamil finally was successful in getting Johnson to stop when it was past due for the swearing in of Lincoln.
Sunday 3 March 2024
8x8 (11. 396)
a bridge too far: German authorities pledge investigation into embarrassing leak of confidential military talks about Ukrainian aid
heteronyms: the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa with seventy pen-names
solar symbology: a survey of the various cartographic representations of North America’s upcoming total eclipsephrixus and helle: newly excavated fresco in Pompeii retells the myth of the Golden Fleece
re:design: Jason Kottke unveils his new website with fresh 2024 energy—maybe we could all use a face-lift
replevin: Trump fraudulently overvalued his Scottish golf course and resort by £200 000 000—see previously
club remix: annual competition that invites doctoral candidates to dance their dissertation
airdrop: US begins aid delivery to a beleaguered Gazan population on the verge of famine
one year ago: TIME magazine (1923) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: more links to enjoy plus the largest capacity cargo plane
three years ago: more links worth the revisit, an artist’s message to get vaccinated plus Rocket Man (1972)
four years ago: the French version of the Dallas theme, Super Tuesday, Nigerian contributions to English plus more on the Human Interference Task Force
five years ago: graphic designer Alvin Lustig, Apollo IX (1969), an example of Celtic Revival architecture, McLaren’s Imperial Cheddar Club Cheese plus artist Pokey LaFarge
Sunday 25 February 2024
11x11 (11. 380)
sure, write stuff for free—but write it for yourself: maintaining one’s creativity in the bleak media sector brickwalling and the loss of journalistic records
rage-baiting: viral Tik-Tok couple troll influencer culture with such precision most don’t realise it’s satire—via Super Punch
the paint explainer: a primer on the twenty-seven amendments to the US Constitution—via Memo of the Air
dark dimensions: there’s a new theory about where dark matter might be hiding
the sony smartwig: a 2016 patent granted for a connected hairpiece one pairs with their phone for tactile feedbackthe navel on an orange is a mutation that created a conjoined twin: weird information to dispense on a first date—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links
the riker manoeuvre: small towns with monuments to Star Trek characters—via Marginal Revolution
selectric funeral: the Boston Typewriter Orchestra hopes to appear in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert with this submission
awful yet lawful: US Supreme Court to entertain grievances on social media moderation for deplatforming hateful and dangerous content
multi-level marketing: a supercut of huckster Donald Trump’s merchandising scams
you can out-buzzfeed buzzfeed after all: media group in takeover talks with UK’s The Independent—see previously
Monday 19 February 2024
aaron burr, sir (11. 363)
Though not exactly a fugitive from justice having been acquitted four times owing to vagaries in constitutional interpretation and the definition of allegiance and insurrection but fleeing from a warrant issued by Thomas Jefferson, the former vice-president of the United States was arrested on this day in 1807 in the now abandoned settlement of Wakefield, Alabama on the bend of the Tombigbee River, spotted by a federal land surveyor, on charges of high-treason. Remanded to nearby Fort Stoddert, Burr was already infamous for his deportment during his final year in office for engaging in a duel with his political rival, former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, fatally wounding the latter but never charged with a crime, despite the illegality of the act, and was en route to Spanish West Florida, seeking new political and entrepreneurial opportunities. Though the extent of his support, domestic and international including ties to Britain, was never firmly established and his designs unclear, Burr (maintaining his innocence throughout) was accused of using his connections to form a breakaway republic in the territory of Texas, some claiming his ambitions extended to Mexico, the entirety of the Louisiana Purchase or the continent, with his backers numbering from fewer than forty individuals to upwards of seven-thousand plantation owners and army officers. The indictment ultimately failed on questions of the definition of an overt act of treason, executive privilege and dependence from the judiciary as well as fabricated, doctored testimony, and Burr went into self-imposed exile to Europe, first with British supporters until expelled for trying to foment revolution in Mexico and then to Napoleon's France where he was similarly rebuffed, before destitute and heavily in debt the disgraced politician returned to New York to practise law, marrying a wealthy socialite widow (divorced four month later for bad business dealings) under an assumed name in order to avoid creditors. The former unincorporated settlement where Burr was apprehended, with no affinity with the novel, other than dint of popularity, was named after the eighteenth century book by Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself—a fictitious memoir.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Discordianism, the anticipatory capacity of chatbots plus assorted links worth revisiting
two years ago: a memorable All in the Family episode, an AI museum docent, Roxette in China (1995) plus more links to enjoy
three years ago: your daily demon: Amduscias, more links worth the revisit, Winnipeg’s simulated Nazi occupation (1942) plus an update on a nightmare flag
four years ago: naming planets
five years ago: emoji as admissible evidence, a baroque version of Bad Romance, Brexit illustrations plus IKEA pledges to clean up its act
Saturday 17 February 2024
8x8 (11. 358)
compound interest: Trump’s accumulated lawsuits amount to over half a billion dollars
vivi o preferibilmente morti: Poseidon’s Underworld reviews a 1969 Spaghetti Western
epistolary doll: Kafka, a little girl and her beloved, lost toy—via the New Shelton wet/drythe wonderful night of hercules brown: a 1968 short film guiding a young boy through his dreams with the help of muppets and puppets
millions of cats: Wanda Hazel Gรกg’s 1928 children’s book—the oldest American title still in print
leaning toward more grasshopper, less ant: raising children on the eve of the AI revolution—via tmn
hero’s journey: a video poking fun at the tropes and archetypes of found in every epic quest—see previously
never surrender high-tops: Trump launches gold trainers line, goes public with his social network in order to earn cash to pay for his legal judgments—see previously
Wednesday 14 February 2024
news cycle (11. 350)
The US presidential campaign season has been underway for a long, long time already and with ten months to go, we are already feeling the fatigue and feeling a bit overwhelmed keeping up with it all, and it’s remarkable to notice how much is already packed into the events of one day. Whilst arguably from the present perspective of just a few days hence it does not quite rise to the constellation of reporting on the seventh of October 2016 that saw the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, Obama announcing Russian election meddling, a possible case of Kompromat for Trump and the leak of Clinton’s campaign manager’s emails, incredibly the backhanded and cruel exoneration of Joe Biden for retaining classified materials over his perceived failing memory and mental acuity, was overshadowed by Donald Trump, speaking at a campaign rally, nearly simultaneously, dragging out a tied and false accusation of the NATO alliance being full of freeloaders dependent on the US and taking advantage of its largess, not only said that he would not defend a fellow member under attack by Russia, he would moreover encourage the invasion. While some media outlets are refusing to turn their attention from Biden’s gaffes and lapses—pulled selectively and from testimony given during interviews conducted (also on 7 October) just as Hamas began incursions into Israel, and some still take a dismissive tone on Trump’s words, the rest of the world is understandably grim and anxious at the thought of another term.
Tuesday 13 February 2024
9x9 (11.348)
unwanted legacy: Russia puts Estonian prime minister on wanted list for dismantling monuments to Soviet soldiers
banned book rainbow: LeVar Burton hosts a very special episode on books banned by adults who don’t want kids to learn, grow or change—via Kottkeclothesline, skyline: a look at Shanghai’s ubiquitous outdoors drying racks
blinkerwall: ten-thousand year old megastructure in the Baltic could be Europe’s oldest
everynoise: layoffs and downsizing at Spotify spell the end of the serendipitous musical encyclopaedia—see previously
essentially cenobitical: one year in the life of a part time hermit—via the new Shelton wet/dry
running amoc: the trajectory of the climate catastrophe blows past a calamitous tipping-point
clearing the docket: upcoming inflection points in the criminal cases against Trump
portal kombat: French authorities uncover a vast Russian disinformation network designed to overwhelm fact checkers
Sunday 11 February 2024
8x8 (11. 343)
๐ถ: a Good Internet cross-posting of Good Music, featuring a mix of tracks from Wilco, Kim Gordon, the Beths and many more
nato backstab: in a Drudge Report style headline, the Huffington Post reports Trump at a campaign event that he might encourage Russia to attack ‘deadbeat’ alliesinternal monologue: philosophers explore new field of the inner voice at the intersection of psychiatry
compliance moats: anti-anti-monopolists and data-brokers wrangle over regulation
story-walk: using olfaction with narrative to simulate reflection and retention
certificate of honourable discharge: explore the best-preserved Roman military diploma (constitutio) in a new 3D exhibit
grand bargain: US Supreme Court seems poised to keep Trump on state ballots but deny him blanket immunity
i’m only sleeping: a Grammy winning painted music video of the Revolver track from Em Cooper
Thursday 11 January 2024
11x11 (11. 259)
cheesemongering: a specialist seller experiments with fifty-six varieties to find the perfect grilled sandwich
vector portraits: photographs of drivers at speed traveling in Los Angeles
decision 2024: this is the biggest year yet—and possibly democracy’s biggest test with over half the world’s population voting within the next twelve months
run, rabbit, run: an AI-powered gadget designed to use one’s apps for one sells outelectronics gives us a way of classifying things: Microsoft (now the most valued company in the world thanks to its part in AI, a font of misinformation) once explained to author Terry Pratchett how technology referees would make propaganda a thing of the past
squaring the circle: Substackers against Nazis—reloaded—and a reminder that one can’t be just a little bit facist
re-migration: a coalition of the far-right met outside of Berlin in November to discuss mass deportations
blanket immunity: Trump’s legal team presents arguments for a president above the law—setting up the US Supreme Court to either rule on his exoneration or eligibility
proxima swarm: US space agency supports bold proposal to reach the next nearest star system with a wall of tiny craft propelled by photons—see previously
flower taxi: a mobile florist from 1960s London
marie harel: producers of Camembert in Normandy fear EU recycling regulation could mean the end for their traditional wooden box packaging
Saturday 6 January 2024
8x8 (11. 249)
the gift of the magi: the 1952 classic adapted from the O Henry short story
ed people: Belgian dancer travels the world asking others to teach him their favourite moves—via Waxy
diminishing returns: the Golden Age of solar eclipses is recedingall i know about magnet is this, give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that’s the end of magnets: Trump rally in Iowa
amicus brief: US Supreme Court agrees to review a ruling by a lower court that disqualified Donald Trump for his participation in the insurrection, could have implications for Maine’s ban
kodachrome: artist Jessica Brill invokes nostalgia by painting found photographs
my fellow peripatetics: research confirms the therapeutic value of walking
kinder der berge: Liechtenstein’s singular domestic feature film—via Strange Company
Monday 25 December 2023
reductio ab hitlerum (11. 213)
DC attorney and author Mike Godwin who made the eponymous observation in 1990—an inevitable hyperbole that the originator never expected to have so much currency—that the longer an online political discussion grows, invocations of Nazis approaches one hundred percent as commentary of rhetorical excesses. After years of cross-breeding in the wilds of the internet, the maxim framed slightly differently by philosopher Leo Strauss earlier as a fallacy that we would now recognise as whataboutism (playing the Nazi card), Godwin, in deference to Strauss’ construction and in light of recent the recent, revitalised vitriol of Trump rallies—calling his political enemies vermin and poisoning the blood of the nation, detention camps and promises to only be dictator for a day, encourages interlocutors to play the trump card not as a discussion stopper but rather as an alarm and conversation starter.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the first Nativity Scene
two years ago: a white Christmas, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, Gorbachev resigns (1991) plus deciphering the shorthand of Charles Dickens
three years ago: Seasons Greetings plus Voyage, Voyage
four years ago: Celestial Greetings, Unwords of the Year plus AI Christmas carols
five years ago: Martian rovers
Thursday 21 December 2023
reply-all (11. 202)
On this day in 1989, US vice-president James Danforth Quayle dispatched some thirty-thousand auto-pen (a machines usually reserved for authorising signatures or autographs and not without controversy) Christmas missives to family, friends and backers with the word “beacon” misspelt as “beakon.” Quite notably, Quayle’s team did not apparently use this as a learning opportunity to prevent later grammatical gaffes.
Friday 10 November 2023
the one with all the war mongering (11. 108)
In the latest in her ongoing series of US presidential debate recaps, McSweeney’s contributor Maura Quint presents the third Republican session from Wednesday, again absent the forerunner in this race for sloppy seconds, moderator reminding the audience “that this is all a farce performed by unloved toddlers and that Donald Trump will undoubtedly be the nominee.” After placing blame on the corrupt media and Democratic leadership for America’s wayward trajectory, brinksmanship built over how to deal with China, Russia and the active conflicts in Ukraine and the war in Palestine between Israel and Hamas—satire that corresponded with the actual exchanges on the dais, the debate concluded with the closing remarks of hopeful Chris Christie: “It’s a gift to be an American. Maybe it’s not what you wanted but your parents gave it to you and they expect you to be grateful for it anyway. So show some respect, you ingrates.”
Tuesday 3 October 2023
speaker pro tempore (11. 037)
In stark contrast to the fifteen rounds of voting that it took for McCarthy to secure his conditional speakership, radical members of his own party in Congress sided with the Democratic opposition to abruptly end his shaky nine month tenure, instigated by representative Matt Gaetz, ostensibly for while making good on his promise to launch an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden negotiating with Democratic lawmakers to avert a government shutdown with a stopgap funding bill. Gaetz was possibly also motivated by a personal vendetta against the California congressman for an ethics investigation against the junior Florida statesman over misuse of campaign funds, sexual misconduct and drugs use which McCarthy as House leader allowed to proceed. This unprecedented removal leaves the lower house of legislators without a chair in control, making it more difficult to bring bills and administrative proceedings to the floor, and as chaotic and unruly as Congress was under McCartney, his replacement may turn out to be much worse.
Friday 29 September 2023
lapse in appropriations (11. 030)
With the deadline looming and only hours left before a government shut-down (previously) looks more and more inevitable, continued in-fighting amongst Republican members in Congress sabotaged a bill sponsored by the Senate that would have have been a stop-gap measure, a continuing resolution, to keep the funded government and operational through mid-November. The Speakership in hock and the House of Representatives held ransom by a radical element willing to let the government run out of money, insistent on a thirty-percent across the board cut in budgets and halting aid to Ukraine. Despite a precariously narrow majority in Congress that cannot enforce its will (captivity to an arch-conservative, pandering wing notwithstanding) without compromise and concession, particularly in mixed jurisdiction (and again, gerrymandering that protects their seats notwithstanding), the GOP is refusing to negotiate and willing to force a crisis costly in terms of economics and repute that may prove difficult to resolve.
one year ago: the Mayak disaster (1957)
two years ago: assorted links to revisit
three years ago: Star Trek tarot, the Feast of the Archangels, the cartoons of R Cobb plus more links to revisit
four years ago: more Theremin maestros plus more Middle English vulgarities
five years ago: the Munich Agreement (1938) plus the Suprematism movement
Wednesday 27 September 2023
9x9 (11. 028)
space lab: a 1992 futuristic glass room with modular rooms that can be rearranged along its spine
overburdened, overscheduled: the anti-homework movement is picking up momentum—found especially resounding the editorial comment: as a blogger I’m still doing homework
star the glaze: an 1860 dictionary of contemporary English slang, cant and vulgarities—with a gloss of two secret argotsmemorandum of agreement: the contents of the Writer’s Guild of America’s draft deal with the studio seems like a decisive victory and a Hollywood ending
i am worth billions more than my very conservatively stated financial statements, and therefore could not have defrauded the banks, who all made money & were all: a New York judge rules that Trump exaggerated his worth in order to secure more financing
felt a bit violated, really: a viral account using facial recognition is doxxing random individuals to the amusement of viewers—via the new shelton wet/dry
drank the kool-aid: Big Tobacco’s legacy comfort foods
do you have information about permanent people: more questions pulled from the New York Public Library system reference desk—see previously
vertical villages: unbuilt utopian hi-rise communities—via Messy Nessy Chic
one year ago: for the Queen to use, the Discovery of the True Cross, Marimekko Oyj plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: France’s TGV goes into service (1981) plus a change in UK license plates post Brexit
three years ago: Art Povera, pet diplomacy plus Trump’s latest nominee to the US Supreme Court
four years ago: the flag of China plus US-Germany relations
five years ago: more links to enjoy plus the economics principle of chartalism
catagories: ⚖️, ๐ฝ️, ๐ฌ, ๐️, ๐ฌ, ๐ฅธ, ๐ง , architecture, libraries and museums
Friday 22 September 2023
6x6 (11. 013)
schedule f: Trump and the Heritage Foundation’s plan to dismantle the administrative state, replacing federal workers with sycophants—via Miss Cellania
chinoiserie: a grand tour of Rococo era architectural follies as homage and aspiration to Eastern aesthetics—see alsodisco demolition night: more on the publicity stunt that incited a riot and brought down a whole genre of music
agrostology: of grasses and lawns
we’re safety now, haven’t we: US federal consumer safety commission drops an album that includes some bangers—but hardly for the first
time swing time for hitler: new audio book by Scott Simon explores how Nazis banned jazz as degenerate art and repurposed it to dispirit the Allies—with more on Lord Haw-Haw and other propagandists
synchronoptica
one year ago: MERS-CoV (2012), the premier of West Wing (1999), Putin addresses the public and announces a draft plus an early Hobbit computer game
two years ago: assorted links to revisit plus Fiddler on the Roof (1964)
three years ago: Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in state, the last day of summer, more links to enjoy plus dazzling skylines made of dot-stickers
four years ago: exploring the Messel Pit plus a highly idiosyncratic language
five years ago: rehabilitating coral ecosystems with electricity, an AI makes college course catalogues, typhoon naming conventions plus an M-class exoplanet
Thursday 14 September 2023
motion to vacate (11. 001)
In the face of another US government shutdown over perceived cultural agendas, vacant military leadership roles by a single senator opposed to the armed forces providing reproductive care to service members and diminished deadlines over internecine posturing with bald majority of only a few party members, the beleaguered Speaker of the House whose appointment was conditional and easily unseated is making further concessions and pandering to the malcontents by pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the Biden administration, couching his justification in the belief that the president mislead the public about his family’s foreign business relations, with tinny and circumstantial echoes of the self-dealing of the Trump crime family syndicate.
Conservative elements in the Republican Party want to oust McCarthy as leader for negotiating with Biden over the debt ceiling standoff and now the same group a threatening to force a government shutdown, unless a formal impeachment inquiry is launched—the GOP having wanted to eject Biden on any pretext since the election with the attack on the Capitol and the false narrative accompanying the vote, spurious lawsuits, the withdrawal from Afghanistan—which his predecessor also instigated, Biden’s handling of the immigration crisis but are now turning to old developments over unsubstantiated allegations that the president’s son used his father’s influence and position to secure wealth for himself (Trump was impeached the first time for badgering the Ukrainian president for dirt on Biden and his son, threatening to withhold military aid if Zelenskyy could not produce) to build a case, brought unilaterally by the Speaker himself since there are not the votes in support to bring the motion to the chamber.
Friday 1 September 2023
8x8 (10. 977)
diyarbakฤฑr: archeologists discover a massive subterranean city under the Roman garrison at Zerzevan
aaro: the Pentagon launches a website to explore declassified information on unidentified anomalous phenomena, via Slashdot—also watch this instead
space for kitchen aerobics: the latest oversized monstrosity from McMansion Hell—previously
queso de cabrales: a hunk of artisanal cheese from Asturias fetches a record-setting price—via Strange Company
a directory of wonderful things: an expert curated selection of weird and delightful corners of the internet
chatgop: a conservative media outlet may have interviewed an AI generated Donald Trump
colossus of constantine: plans to restore the monumental statue of the Roman emperor built as a triumph for his victory in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge
Thursday 24 August 2023
7x7 (10. 962)
miracle house: a singular property that survived the devastating wildfires opened up to the community as a beacon of hope for a destroyed Lahaina neighbourhood
service manual showcase: a growing curated archive of quirky and niche instruction guides—via Waxy
book ‘em danno: Trump arrested and released on bail in Fulton County in the US state of Georgia—with a historic mug-shottake the d-train: artist Stipan Tadiฤ documented a year long route from the Bronx to Brooklyn and back—via Nag on the Lake
spaghetti mayhem: Jan Hakon Erichsen has fun with uncooked pasta
word of the day: Susie Dent’s logophilia
ฯ ฮณฯฯ ฯฯฯ: emergency responders struggle to contain fires ravishing Greece—the largest in the EU