One could be excused for thinking that we were nearly done with Trump after his corporate donors had distanced themselves from that dumpster fire, but one rentier entrepreneur whose business acumen and ambition seems somehow complimentary—if not pandering—who we also thought it safe to assume would not be making an encore appearance, the MyPillow guy (see previously) has remained loyal and showed up at the White House on Friday to share some thoughts about declaring martial law, excerpted from his MyPillow Plan™ playbook thanks to a telephoto lens.
Sunday 17 January 2021
Thursday 14 January 2021
high crimes and misdemeanours
Yesterday, the House of Repre-sentatives, Democrat members joined by ten Republicans, voted to impeach Donald Trump for an unprecedented second time as a “constitutional remedy to ensure that the republic will be safe from this man, who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together” by his demonstrably dangerous and treasonous behaviour in encouraging a violent insurrection against Congress. The House undertook this course of action when the vice president and the cabinet refused to entertain invoking Amendment XXV to remove the Trump from office.
Monday 11 January 2021
5x5
a public servant’s heart: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s message to America
seven up: pioneering documentarian and ethnographer Michael Apted has passed away, aged seventy-nine
der nacht der kurzen finger: fact-checking and myth-busting the deplatforming of Trump
thought forms: revisiting a 1901 Theosophist “record of clairvoyant investigation” as a lens for art history—see also
weeping in the promised land: a new song from John Fogerty speaks to our times
Saturday 9 January 2021
7x7
zip-tie guy: as bad as this act of terrorism was, the Ku Klux Coup (see previously) could have turned out much worse
election, objection, ambition, sedition: another pitch-perfect Randy Rainbow political parody
regrets only: Trump’s final missive confirming he would not be attending Joe Biden’s inauguration—cornerstone to a peaceful transition of power—is interpreted as another way of casting aspersions on a legitimate election and gets his account suspended from Twitter—permanentlyprivilege check: race and the cos-play veneer of the invasion combined with remorse over more heavy-handed tactics over the summer allowed them to organise and launch their raid unchecked—see previously
us capitol police: encomnia for officer killed protecting senators and congress members from the Blue Lives Matter crowd
jericho march: more Cos-Play with Evangelical Christians (previously) rallying in D.C. blowing shofars
no pension, no secret security detail, no travel allowance, no chance to hold high office again: a second impeachment has consequences even a few days out and Congress is moving swiftly to make it happen, nearly as fast as Mr Rainbow above or Lego
Friday 8 January 2021
rats, ships—you know the drill
Two of the few remaining long-time Trump Cabinet Officials, Secretaries of Education and Transportation Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao (wife of Palpatine—previously, I look forward to having never to mention or think about these people again) found Trump’s role in encouraging violence and treason inflection points and have joined a dozen of other officials by resigning in protest, taking advantage seemingly on the radio silence imposed on Trump by social media. As calls for removal mounted, either by a second impeachment or the vice-president and the remaining Cabinet staff invoking Amendment XXV—addressing presidential succession and disability—to declare him unfit to govern, Trump reportedly has issued assurances for a peaceful transition of power but was otherwise quiet, preparing to award Presidential Medals of Freedom to three professional golfers, one posthumously. Senior security council members and the special envoy to Northern Ireland (former chief-of-staff) quit, possibly with many more to follow.
Wednesday 6 January 2021
the thirty-seventh of december
Being quite chuffed with the results of the run-off elections in Georgia which takes control of the Senate out of the hands of the GOP under leadership of Kentucky Palpatine and making the chamber evenly split with Vice President Harris the deciding vote in case of a draw and just having finally watched a poignant, humorous send-off the past year with Death to 2020, seeing an armed mob of pro-Trump extremist storm the Capitol during the joint session of Congress to affirm the ballot results of the US Electoral College was a bit of whiplash. Incited by Trump’s urging a crowd of supporters to march on the legislator to oppose the certification process and reverse the results, the clashed with and overpowered police forces, four individuals dying during the violence, and broke into the chambers of the House and Senate. Representatives were evacuated but four hours later, the joint session was re-convened with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declared victors in what is generally an anodyne and sedate formality—with objections and abstentions entertained in due process. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, overseeing the process along who had her office ransacked by an insurgent said, “We know that we’re in difficult times but little could we have imagined the assault that was on our democracy today. To those who strove to deter us from our responsibility, you have failed.” Most challenges failed to garner a champion and the votes stood, with the joint session adjourning for Arizona and Pennsylvania with the separate chambers debating the objection for an allotted two hours. Legislative business will continue overnight and into the morning until all the votes are certified.
catagories: ⚖️, ๐บ๐ธ, ๐️, revolution
8x8
ruminant digestive process: whilst bovine flatulence makes the headlines, burps are the chief source of methane and could be neutralised with a special mouth guard—via the New Shelton Wet/Dry
caporegime: via ibฤซdem, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project names Jair Bolsonaro Corrupt Person of the Year, trouncing with a narrow margin Trump, Erdoฤan and Netanyahu
commander-in-cheat: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon won’t allow Trump to visit his golf course in Scotland during the pandemic lockdown to bow out of attending the inauguration in Washington, DCgeorgia on my mind: Reverend Warnock declared winner in Senate race and Democrats poised to take control of the Upper House
grogu pains: The Mandalorian reimaged as 1990s sitcom
die abenteur des prizen achmed: the incredible silhouette animation technique of Lotte Reiniger—more here
population density: housing ten billion humans in one mega city could help vastly reduce our footprint, freeing up the remaining land mass for rewilding and argiculture
all the trimmings: for this traditional day of ceremonially discarding the tree, ways to transform it into garnish and a tasty treat
Monday 4 January 2021
i just want to find eleven-thousand seven hundred and eighty votes
In an extraordinary hour-long phone call over the weekend reminiscent of Trump’s earlier attempt to persuade the Ukrainian government to smear his political opponent with defamatory material discovered or manufactured regarding his son, Trump pressured the Georgian secretary of state to apply a new calculus to their method for tabulating the vote and overturn the narrow but solid and multiple times reconfirmed win for Joe Biden whose ticket carried the state. This behaviour, inappropriate and contemptible, is a low point in American democracy and warrants a second impeachment before Trump sets a new nadir.
Sunday 3 January 2021
the seditious dozen
A group of Republican senators and senators-elect with the backing of the vice-president have announced plans to reject electors from states that are considered “suspect” for having voted wrongly—unless Congress commits to creating a commission to investigate their baseless claims of voter fraud.
Having failed to achieve any the desired outcome in the court system full of judges appointed by the Trump administration, the incumbents seem to hope that this treasonous band of sycophants can delay, belay the inevitable. In a normally anodyne ceremony, the senate convenes to ratify the ballots of the Electoral College on 6 January. The senate, which voted to acquit Trump of high crimes and misdemeanours after the House impeached him, feels that this dopey cos-play coup will likely fail because of Democrat control of congress and the likelihood of the GOP losing their thin majority of senate seats as well in the Georgia run-off election.Saturday 2 January 2021
7x7
3 a.m. eternal: the musical stylings of the KLF are finally available for streaming services—via Things Magazine
paleofutures: the lunar Western Moon Zero Two takes place in 2021
no show: Trump fails to appear at his Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve bash—guests entertained by Rudy Giuliani and Vanilla Icenot disappoint: a recommendation for a good polyglotinous language lover to follow, whose byline does rather suggest a crash blossom
star wars—give me those star wars, nothing but star wars: the saga continues
alla breve or cut for time: big, brute data analysis may finally resolve the controversy over Beethoven’s metronome and how the composer intended his works to be heard—via Strange Company
klanglandschaft: Swiss artist Zimoun engineers ambient soundscapes with everyday materials
Wednesday 30 December 2020
8x8
persons of the year: more Year End lists from Miss Cellania—see previously
75x75: seventy-five superlative photographs captured by as many photographers
mys: the Swedish word without an exact translation compliments hygge when it comes to coping with the prospect of a long, dark winterbenedict donald: more fine art work (see also)—suitable for framing
the twenty most powerless: the disenfranchised and estranged of the art world
she said see you later, boy: McSweeney‘s most read monologues, vignettes and confessionals of 2020
dance, dance revolution: a dance number from a trio of Boston Dynamics robots—see previously
refreshing your feed: fifty superlative podcasts according to The Atlantic—via Super Punch
catagories: ⚕️, ๐ธ๐ช, ๐️, ๐จ, ๐️, ๐, ๐ท, libraries and museums, networking and blogging
Monday 28 December 2020
house music
Carroll Righter (*1900 – †1988), celebrity astrologer and horoscope columnist from the early 1940s onward and advisor to Ronald and Nancy Reagan, released a series of albums in 1969 with each record dedicated to a different zodiacal sign (see also), promising that the instrumental arrangements were especially attuned to one’s personality and constitution and will help alleviate everyday problems and help one to overcome challenges. More to explore at Weird Universe at the link up top.
Wednesday 23 December 2020
8x8
the santaland diaries: a holiday classic from David Sedaris
by jove: more on the complex system of Jupiter and its moons—including Valetudo, which crosses between the prograde and retrograde orbitals—see previously
mimicry and mutualism: the monkey slug caterpillar (Phobetron pithecium, the larva of the hag moth) that evolved to resemble a tarantulawhere do i begin: Erich Segal’s Love Story at fifty
posse commmutatus: a fresh tranche of pardons (previously) from the outgoing and impeached Trump is an assault and insult on justice
tree fm: for those who can’t readily go forest bathing or hug a perennial friend, tune into the soundscape of woods around the world—via Things Magazine
pork-barrel politics: Trump frames riders in COVID aid bill as disgraceful after seven months of contentious negotiation, demands revision
suggested serving: wintry cocktail and hot toddy recipes from eastern Europe
Saturday 19 December 2020
7x7
guardians of the galaxy: Space Force (previously) service members receive a new title
deluxe apartment in the sky: artist granted viewing of exclusive properties on Billionaires’ Row in Manhattan
lp: a playlist of James Baldwin’s record collection
๐: the Great Wave off Kanagawa in Lego form
lassen sie mich also sagen, dass dies ernst ist—bitte nehmen sie das auch ernst: Angela Merkel’s March address and appeal on coronavirus lauded as Speech of the Year
heat gap: climatic gentrification across city districts leads to worse outcomes for the poorest residents
Monday 14 December 2020
great aspostasy
Suspending the fact for a moment (which the author, a lapsed rapture-ready individual himself owes to straightaway) that much like malleability of horoscopes, prophesies about the End of Days can and have been applied to countless leaders, charismatic and otherwise, this analysis, coming to us by way of the illustrious Mx van Hoorn’s cabinet of hypertext curiosities—updated but not all the way up to the present and his loss reaffirmed in the courts and his minions rioting and rallying to overturn the outcome—and supposition whether American evangelicals might even be able to recognise the Anti-Christ were he to show up is an interesting one.
Point for point, verse by verse the Trump administration is subjected to the predictions and again keeping in mind the caveats above and by the end, the correspondence is a bit unsettling—suggesting that they are following some ordained protocol, one which is arguably canon rather than fandom. Insofar as God does not care to be dragged into this, it echoes the passage of the Grand Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamozov when Jesus returns to Seville during the Spanish Inquisition and is told in his cell prior to execution that he is no longer needed as the world is getting along fine without him.
Wednesday 9 December 2020
laches
In an apparently unananmious and delightfully terse decision, the US Supreme Court, despite it being stacked with three justices appointed by Trump himself, rejected mounting efforts to reverse the results of the election outcome in the state of Pennsylvania.
A toady representative built his case on the specious argument that universal mail-in voting (enacted in 2019) defies constitutionality and therefore all ballots not cast in person and on the day of the election ought to be null and void. This decision—based on the title principle from the French legal concept of dilatoriness (laschesses), that is a lack of a lack of diligence in exercising a party’s right to challenge and failing to do so in a timely matter (changing the rules after the election prejudices the defence) is hopefully the last of a series of suites that either sought to throw out millions of votes or allow the state legislature to advance faithless electors to the collegium, which convenes on 14 December to cast their votes. Vigilantibus non dormientibus รฆquitas subvenit. Equity aids the vigilant, not the indolent.Friday 4 December 2020
8x8
three blind mice: researchers restore sight by reversing the epigenetic clock in laboratory animals, re-endowing youthful characteristics—via Marginal Revolution
big drunk girl energy: the dumbest coup is still playing out in the courts
a touch of cabin fever: this is what stir-crazy looks like—the Year on TikTok—via the morning newsmanifest destiny: a scrollytelling art histories (previously) that recounts the mythology of North America—via Maps Mania
alpenhorn: disappearing, defaced and duelling phallic totems in the mountains of Germany and Austria
for the longest time: dispel the zoom and gloom with this quarantine rendition from the Phoenix Chamber Choir
home box office: Warner Brothers is simultaneously releasing its cinematic productions on subscription television for 2021—via Kottke
oceanus procellarum: Chang’e probe (previously) has lifted off of the lunar surface and will return with the first samples of moon rocks since 1976—via Slashdot
Wednesday 2 December 2020
number-one daughter
We thoroughly enjoyed reading more about how JarVanka—pre-emptively pardoned or otherwise—are not being welcomed as the social-climbing try-hards back to the strata that the dรฉclassรฉ couple aspired to and felt entitled to, to a fault for years from the comedic stylings of the duo behind Good Liars, who are wisely already considering relocating once January twentieth arrives. Married to Slenderman? Yes.
catagories: ๐️
Monday 30 November 2020
dispositive motion
Language Logs directs us to an interesting and precise bit of legal terminology encountered and highlighted in the court opinion rejecting the Trump campaign’s baseless challenge to the state of Pennsylvania’s election tally: upon information and belief. Identifying a claim or accusation made not from firsthand knowledge or observation but rather via hearsay that the petitioner believes to be true, it is invoked chiefly in dealing with contempt of court and perjury under oath, protecting the maker of the statement from outright lying in the process of bringing frivolous or nuisance cases to trial. The patience of the law has its limits, however.
Saturday 28 November 2020
kiddie table
catagories: ๐️, ๐️, ๐ฆ, networking and blogging