In collaboration with the Electronic Free Foundation, Muckrock (previously) has just announced its annual Foilies award winners, recognising the most egregious instances of US government violating the precept of the public record. Ahead of their also recurring Sunshine Week to champion the importance of transparency and access, this tenth iteration really featured some strong resistance to FOIA requests, doubly depressing considering the death of local journalism and advocacy outlets, flouting disclosure requirements of the law. From attempt to tag a cache of email correspondence with the label “NO FOIA” in hopes to keep fraud from the public eye or attempts to reveal corruption and mismanagement met with ingratitude to zealous librarians checking out books themselves to keep them out of circulation while bans for certain literary works were still pending court challenges and politicians trying to keep secret their travel expenses. These achievements, both large and small, have impact, and are not bailiwick of lawyers and reporters, only requiring determination. Learn more at the link above.
Tuesday 12 March 2024
Monday 11 March 2024
000_34L82nw britain-royals (11. 415)
Whilst speculation about the whereabouts and fate of Kate Middleton not seen in public since a Christmas engagement has run rampant, with alleged sightings in the unlikeliest of places including the Wonka Experience, a family photograph posted on Mothering Sunday has backfired and done little to quiet the rumours after the wire-services issued a mandatory kill-notice to remove the image released by Kensington Palace due to an editorial issue and possible manipulation. The Princess of Wales later admitted to doing the touch-up work herself and apologised for the lightly edited portrait taken (see also) by the prince for causing such controversy and at a time when all the principal royals are out of the picture and not performing public duties, it only fuels conjecture, sometimes to wild conclusions.
Wednesday 6 March 2024
over the psychic radio (11. 403)
one year ago: America’s Frozen Food Day plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: more links to enjoy plus a LIFE parody in poor taste (1970)
three years ago: your daily demon: Seere, the Zapruder film, a Banksy mural plus more links worth the revisit
four years ago: the Pillar of the Boatmen, the winnowing oar plus negative reviews of the great outdoors
five years ago: hauntology, the Period Table (1869), even more links, the fashions of Edward Gorey plus Soviet home computers
Thursday 29 February 2024
6x6 (11. 388)
365,2422: an explanation of leap years and calendar alternatives
ladies’ privilege: leap day customs—via Strange Company29 february: more on the necessity of quadrennial correction—see previously
la bougie du sapeur est sans reproche: the satirical French newspaper published only on leap days, making it the most infrequent publications in print, with its next Sunday supplement not out until 2032
intercalary days: holiday drift and other events that happen every four years
366: a scheduled agenda and play-list list how one might celebrate the day from the last time we had one—be happy that tomorrow is not 30 February
synchronoptica
four years ago: the sacrifice of the village of Elam in Plague Times
eight years ago: a vocabulary lesson, lodges of the Hakka region plus on trial for destruction of precious cultural property
twelve years ago: more quadrennial events
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
Friday 23 February 2024
10x10 (11. 374)
walden 7: photographer Sebastian Weiss captures the epic nature of an outstanding apartment block in Barcelona
shootball: January Sixth themed pinball machines and other Republican swag at the Conservative Political Action Conference—see previously
swimming with sharks: an overview of the hidden terror that’s haunted, informed humanity for millenniagoogle blobs: the animated emoji character set that ought to be brought back—via Web Curios
38°n: a news source on North Korea rex melly: the riches of Mansa Musa of the Mail Empire—adjusting for inflation and other factors, possibly the wealthiest person in history
shift to socials: Vice Media is folding, laying off hundreds of journalists—via Waxy—see more
pale usher: introducing a blog mini-series on Moby Dick with a curious etymology
every sperm is sacred: following the ruling in Alabama that grants personhood to frozen embryos—and the subsequent suspension of IVF treatment for fear of legal implications—conservative think tank forming Trump’s policy wants to end recreational sex
batpole: homes with alternate stairwells—see previously
Friday 16 February 2024
forgive me if this sounds pompous, but it’s better to die standing up than live on your knees (11. 354)
Against the backdrop of the Munich Security Conference during which his widow was scheduled to speak, the Russian presidential election less than a month away, Trump’s rubbishing of the NATO alliance, the US withholding foreign aid for Ukraine and the prospect of another term locked, vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and official corruption Alexei Navalny has been found dead in the remote arctic penal colony where he has been transferred recently, detained for the past three years, foregoing exile in Germany. Recuperating from a case of poisoning in 2021 that was blamed on the Kremlin, Navalny choose to return to Russia and register to run for the presidency (having finished in a close second against the incumbent mayor of Moscow in 2013 despite the backing of Putin’s political machine) and accept almost certain arrest in order to continue his oppositional stance. Navalny was serving a nineteen year sentence, charged with the crime of extremism.
Wednesday 14 February 2024
9x9 (11. 351)
planisphere: explore the fifteenth century Mappa Mundi—made by a Venetian cartographer and monk map who never left the lagoon
high rollers: the character and history of burlesque showsrobots.txt: a tiny text file that has been the underpinnings of the internet is unravelling due to AI
a load-bearing day: the confluence of several celebrations, including Ash Wednesday (be furiousing rather than fasting), Valentine’s and the Luni-Solar New Year
my unfortunate incarceration: the abundant prison-tech alliance is a brutal harbinger of what’s to come
bulletisation: the functional literacy crisis in reading comprehension—via the morning news
service sector: some large companies requiring AI-informed personality tests for vacancy applicants
disco vicar: some Anglican churches and cathedrals opening for parties
news deserts: explore local journalism and those newsrooms hanging on—via Maps Mania
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
Friday 26 January 2024
12x12 (11. 294)
brownstone: Gotham Gothic rowhouses as playing cards
wall of eyes: Radiohead spinoff artist Jonny Greenwood’s latest album
scrabblegram: a form of constrained writing using all one hundred tiles of the gameblackula: a look at the brave inversion of exploitation cinema
research purposes: profiles in the pornographers of Wikimedia who image and caption—see also—human sexuality, via Web Curios
parks & rec: a map of sites in the US funded by FDR’s New Deal programme—via Waxy
best laptop 2024: readership, AI and the collapse of media outlets
nullification: Texas governor, alleging the US federal government has failed to protect the country from an immigrant invasion, hints at secession
the compaynys of beestys & fowlys: revisiting how animal groupings (see previously on the subject of venery) received such colourful names—via the morning news
schluckbildchen: sixteenth century edible devotionals
mixtape: Kim Gordon, formerly of Sonic Youth, raps her grocery list in new song Bye Bye
ephemerama: a growing archive of modern illustrations from circa 1950 to 1975—via Things Magazine
synchronoptica
one year ago: more trompe l’oeil paintings, assorted links to revisit plus pie-chart studies
two years ago: morphing logos plus more links to enjoy
three years ago: zorbing, the Council of Trent (1545), Australia Day, more links worth the revisit plus Tubman on the twenty
four years ago: modular, prefab kiosks plus the first television demonstration (1926)
five years ago: the longest government shutdown in US history, architect Sir John Soane plus all the world’s writing systems
Thursday 25 January 2024
11x11 (11. 292)
liar’s dividend: digital propaganda and implausible deniability—via the New Shelton wet/dry
working cows dairy: a collection of superlative cheeses—via Kottke
the blazing world: a 1666 novel considered the first world of science fiction by a woman author
everglades jetport: uncovering the ruins of a failed supersonic runway floundering in the in the Florida wetlands—see previouslythe furby panic: US National Security Agency compelled to release a trove of documents outlining their ban of the toy as a potential instrument of espionage—via Waxy
press-gang: while most news outlets block AI crawlers used to scrape training data, right-wing media welcomes them—see previously
mac@40: a website showing every model of the Apple computer as it enters its fifth decade
winter in aizu: a woodblock series from Sosaku Hanga artist Kiyoshi Saito
you are both so much more than kenough: Hillary Clinton weighs in the Oscar nominations for Barbie—via Super Punch
time in a bottle: one bar’s water-clock has drained—though we’d not be adverse to a Harvey Wallbanger
white stork: the Ukraine war-sandbox and the rise of the AI-Military Complex—see previously
synchronoptica
one year ago: data-scrapping and copyright
two years ago: MediaWiki Day, more custom cars, Roman milestones plus an inexplicable fast food mascot
three years ago: your daily demon: Valac, assorted links to revisit plus the Torlonia Marbles
four years ago: vintage virtual dressing rooms, happy birthday Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more on the US Space Force plus Mendelssohn’s Wedding March
five year ago: photojournalist Jessie Tarbox Beals, a Droste homage, more links to enjoy, a Trump associate arrested plus cardinal notions
Monday 15 January 2024
remigration (11. 268)
For the thirty-third time, a jury of linguists and journalists from Darmstadt has selected the German Unwort of the Year in a portmanteau for the return of refugees, asylum-seekers and Einwander introduced into common-parlance by members of the Identitarian Movement and other rightwing groups (see previously) a euphemism for forced expulsion and even mass-deportation of those considered to be of a non-native background. The organisation fears that this “un-word” is being harnessed to normalise extremist positions in political discourse. Runners-up that the jury also criticises for its rise in use include “Sozialklimbim”—social climate as a classist dog whistle for the poor and disenfranchised as destined to remain on the margins of society and politics, joining a constellation of disparaging expressions, including a soziale Hรคngematte, a safety-net viewed as a hammock, Gratismentalitรคt, entitlement-thinking, and “Heizungs-Stasi,” from the perceived dictatorial approach of regulatory framework meant to make heat and homes more energy-efficient.
synchronoptica
one year ago: signature martinis, Land Down Under, the endangered apostrophes of London plus Kurosawa’s Macbeth
two years ago: a history of the crossword puzzle, Un-Word of the Year, Bloody Mary plus assorted links worth revisiting
three years ago: more links to enjoy, Snowflake Bentley, a curation of ignored artefacts plus whaling ship logs
four years ago: more links worth the revisit, the Republic of Vermont plus Swiss land-use
five years ago: the launch of Wikipedia (2001), 1999 in film, seedlings on the Moon, more on Trump’s atrocities plus other smokable plants
Sunday 14 January 2024
fralรฆggelse (11. 267)
On the same day as her ascension to the throne in 1972 on the occasion of the death of her father Frederik IX, Queen Margrethe II voluntarily resigned as Danish monarch, the first since 1146 when Erik III Lam abdicated to join a monastery, St Canute’s Abbey due to a debilitating illness, with her son proclaimed as Fredrik X—having announced her decision to a shocked public on New Year’s Eve. Fashion designer, stenographer and illustrator of national editions of the works of JRR Tolkien, Margrethe recently decreed that previous royal titles of prince and princess would cease to exist for members never expected to hold official roles, though courtesy titles would still be granted and has been a big proponent since decades of taking in immigrants of different backgrounds, and making them welcome despite their “dumsmarte bemรฆrkninger” (cocky remarks), which has since been introduced into the lexicon. Her regnal number is (see also) in deference to the regnant queen of all Scandinavia of the fourteenth century, Margaret, a fearless Lady Sovereign called King Pantsless, though never officially recognised claim closest to uniting the Nordic region. The new king was coronated by the Danish prime minister with the motto “Forbundne, forpligtet, for Kongeriget Danmark (as is traditional, “United, committed, for the Kingdom”) and is especially interested in issues of climate change and sustainability as well as home-rule for Greenland and other autonomous territories.
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
Monday 1 January 2024
rest in power (11. 234)
Continuing a long-standing tradition, Chris the Barker (previously) has made another Sgt Pepper’s style collage as a tribute and remembrance to those who have passed in 2023, updated until the last minute and reaching back all the way to the beginning of the year lest we forget any legends lost. It’s a crowded assembly to reflect on and features a key—also in the style of the album’s liner notes. Pee-wee Herman, Dame Edna, Sinรฉad O’Connor, Tina Turner, and Jane Birkin feature prominently but also includes political figures and cross-over moguls like Silvio Berlusconi, Jerry Springer and Gina Lollobrigida as well as Bobi, the oldest dog ever, and the Sycamore Gap tree who get their visual obituaries. Shared on X, we can’t locate a reference to the death of Twitter on the cover however.
synchronoptica
one year ago: a new addition to the family plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: St Telemachus, the umbrella patented, Hearts of Space, rogue waves plus Dinner for One
three years ago: making it through 2020, your daily demon: Ose, a Scooby Doo clone, the Julian calendar plus the launch of VH1 (1985)
four years ago: welcoming 2020, Unix time plus Star Wars on a synthesiser
five years ago: ringing in 2019, banning single-use plastics, generated automobiles plus more on Ultima Thule
six years ago: more welcoming the New Year, the corrugated sculptures of Warren King plus artful thinking
Saturday 30 December 2023
mcmxcvi (11. 227)
Due to the periodic nature of the Gregorian calendar, 2024 corresponds precisely to the year 1996, twenty-eight years ago. We can speculate further what historic events from that year might resonate with the coming one, like in January, with the re-election of Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority, the February peaceful transition of power in Haiti and a ceasefire in Sarajevo, March’s intimidating military exercises conducted by China along the coast of Taiwan, April’s Hutu genocide in Burundi, the arrest of the Unabomber, Israeli’s Operation Grapes of Wrath as retaliation for terrorist attacks perpetrated by Lebanon, May’s Port Arthur massacre which prompts Australia to introduce a nationwide ban on gun-ownership, the truce in Chechnya or the election of Benjamin Netanyahu, July’s cloning of Dolly the Sheep, the re-election of Boris Yeltsin or the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta Georgia, August’s first three-parent human baby, November’s re-election of US president Clinton. We also have the choice of recycling the calendars from 1968 or 1940.
Friday 29 December 2023
7x7 (11. 221)
pivot point: this year and the next will be judged as humanity’s failure to tackle the climate crisis
fact check: a selection of debunked fake news from the past yearsears & roebuck: through to 1971, a US department commissioned Vincent Price to assemble a collection of fine art to be sold in stores
chronophoto: a challenge similar to GeoGuessr except one has to date an image on the map
๐พ: the natural wonder material returning to the Moon and beyond
jealousy list: articles that Bloomberg contributors wish they had scooped—see previously
1%: the world population will stand at eight billion on the new year
one year ago: assorted links to revisit
two years ago: 2021 in review
three years ago: 2020 in review, Brexit on tech plus cleaning up space junk
four years ago: the legacy of Thomas Beckett, nanotechology, a visit to a bunker museum plus flat-earther and other science denialism
five years ago: the Fifth Day of Christmas, long-lived trees, dinosaurs of the year plus the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters
Tuesday 26 December 2023
9x9 (11. 218)
inukshuk: CGP Grey grades the flags of the Canadian provinces—see previously
omnibus: a compilation of the best books of the year52 things: Kottke shares some inspired, superlative gleanings from the past twelve months
black smokers: hydrothermal vents evolved to prey on benthic Santas
editors’ picks: some of NPR’s favourite, possibly overlooked stories of the year
in a big country, dreams stay with you: assessing the size of YouTube—via Waxy
there are two kinds of bubbles: speculation on the speculative nature of artificial intelligence from Cory Doctorow
font foundry: the year in typography
first nations: the contentious, selective display of tribal flags at the Oklahoma state capitol
Saturday 23 December 2023
11x11 (11. 208)
mmxxiii: the year in anniversaries, including the debuts of Question Hound, Casablanca, the World Wide Web, The Exorcist and the Yom Kippur War
seasons greetings: decades of off-kilter Christmas cards from John Watersexplainer: five video essays worth your holiday downtime
tl;dr: public nominates longreads worth revisiting
enigmatic chemical reactions: runaway chaotic catalysts are heating up two massive landfills near Los Angeles
cash-on-deposit: leaving money in your bank-account also contributes to one’s carbon-footprint
lithub: the biggest literary stories of the year
a year in illustration: the collages accompanying Pluralistic posts
re:view: Dezeen’s annual top tens
et exaltavit humiles: a medieval token likely dispensed by a Boy Bishop, who held authority from the feast of Saint Nicholas through the Day of Holy Innocents, was discovered in Norfolk
2023: the year in review from the Financial Times