mmxxv (13. 042)

As this year draws to a close and we look forward to 2026, we take the time agin to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past twelve months. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

 january: a vehicle ramming attack kills ten and injures dozens in central New Orleans.  After a five year deal expires without renewal, Russian gas can no longer be piped through Ukraine to the EU as the continent braces for a cold winter.  After a decade as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announces he will step aside.  An earthquake strikes the holy city of Shigatse in Tibet.  Wind-swept wildfires devastate southern California.  Joe Biden and others eulogise Jimmy Carter for his state funeral.  After the US supreme court rejects a petition to delay sentencing over his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, Trump becomes a convicted felon, although given an unqualified discharge by the presiding judge and will serve no time.  Sunset Boulevard is unrecognisable after being engulfed by wildfires.  Israel and Hamas appear close to reaching a truce to bring about a permanent ceasefire.  Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth faces a gruelling nomination hearing in congress for role of secretary of defence.  Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second time and unleashes a flurry of executive orders, including a hiring freeze, immediate rescinding of Biden era policies, removal of DEI initiatives within the federal government and contracting partners, declaring that there are two genders only, issuing a blanket pardon to the January Sixth rioters in an attempt to reframe and rewrite history, freezing virtually all foreign aid, closing the borders and vowing to unleash agents to facilitate mass-deportations.  Cabinet nominees are approved by the US senate, including, narrowly—Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defence.  Trump proposes that Gaza be depopulated of Palestinians and urges neighbouring Egypt and Jordan to take in all displaced individuals.  A scrappy open-source AI developed in China on a shoe-string budget knock a trillion dollar hole in the grift-cum-technofedualism markets in the US.  Prolific blog commentator and good soul XOXOXOBruce (see more here and here) has passed away.  A passenger plane collides with a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, DC, killing all, including members from American and Russian figure skating teams.  Iconic entertainer Marianne Faithfull passes away, aged 78. Mexico, Canada and China hit back against US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.  The government of El Salvador agrees to allow the US to offshore its most dangerous incarcerated population.  A deadly shooting occurs at a continuing education centre in Örebro.  Trump meets with Netayahu and offers to own the Gaza Strip and redevelop it, expelling the Palestinian population.

february: Novelist Tom Robbins dead, aged 92.  Relenting on implementing tariffs for Mexico and Canada after security promises already underway, Trump shocks the markets by imposing a twenty-five percent duty on all aluminium and steel globally.  Trump orders federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against disgraced New York City mayor Eric Adams after repeated attempts to curry favour with the president.  The Aga Khan passes away, aged 88. Boycotts to protest inflation and A ramming attacked is perpetrated in München, ploughing into a crowd of union protesters, a day ahead of the Munich Security Conference.  Pope Francis is hospitalised with double pneumonia, his prognosis for recovery guarded.   Veteran actor Gene Hackman found dead, aged 95, at home along with his wife and dog.

march: By executive order, Trump makes English the official language of the United States.  Israel blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, demanding that Hamas abide by changed conditions dictated by the US, leading by mid-month to a resumption in airstrikes on the territory.  Rosenstolz singer AnNa R passes away, aged 55.  A French politician calls for the return of the Statue of Liberty.  After rejecting a previously brokered US peace deal, during a telephone call with Trump, Putin signals he will agree to a thirty-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure.  Boxer and entrepreneur George Foreman passes away, aged 76.  Germany’s marked fiscal pivot to embrace debt and invest in defence stunned fellow EU members.  Trump’s commerce secretary proposes cutting the social security safety net for seniors and the disabled.  Arrest and detention of Erdoğan rival and Istanbul mayor ignites protests in Türkiye.  Wildfires ravage South Korea.  A coalition of the willing convene in Paris in solidarity with Ukraine, fearful of the outcome of a US-brokered deal with Russia.  Thousands dead and many more displaced after an earthquake ravages Myanmar.  Globally, thousands participate in Tesla Takedown protests against Musk.  Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen banned from public office after being found guilty for misappropriating EU funds.

april: Despite millions in campaign donations, Musk and conservatives were unable to flip the state supreme court in Washington.  New Jersey Democrat Corey Booker spoke in the Senate, rebuking the Trump administration for a record twenty-five hours and five minutes, beating Strom Thurmond’s filibuster against integration and equal rights.   Actor Val Kilmer dead at age 65.  Israeli defence forces annex huge swaths of the Gaza Strip.  Foregoing over two billion dollars in federdal funding, Harvard refuses to give in to Trump demands.  Katy Perry and an all-female crew travel briefly to the edge of space.  The world mourns Pope Francis.  The US threatens to walk away from the Ukraine-Russia peace deal it brokered.  As a rebuke to Trumpism, Canada elects another liberal government with Mark Carney as Prime Minister.

may: The US Department of Homeland Security is planning to remove illegal migrants to Libya.  The College of Cardinals elect the first American pope, Leo XIV.  India and Pakistan exchange violent skirmishes over the disputed territories of Kashmir and Jammu.  Austria wins the Eurovision song contest.  A tall ship from the Mexican navy collides with the Brooklyn bridge during manoeuvrers.  Romanian elects a centrist, pro-EU mathematician for president in a surprise turn-out.  Former US president Joe Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  UK, France and Canada sharply criticise Israel for its continued assault on Gaza and blockade of humanitarian aid, suspending trade talks and recalling diplomatic staff.  Veteran actor George Wendt passed away, aged 76. King Charles delivers a speech of solidarity from the throne in Canada to open parliament.  Trump blasts Putin for escalation of fighting in Ukraine.

june: In planning for eighteen-months, Ukraine carries out surprise drone attack on Russian bombers in five regions.  Trump rescinds nomination of private astronaut to head NASA after apparent falling out with Elon Musk, who recommended the nominee for the job.  Trump federalises the California national guard against the will of the state’s governor to suppress protests against ICE raids.  The Israeli defence forces seise a Gaza-bound cargo ship of humanitarian aid with activist Greta Thunberg onboard.  A London-bound plane crashes shortly after departure from Ahmedabad with a sole survivor. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys passes away, aged 82.  Israel launches air strikes against Iran’s nuclear processing facilities, killing the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. The US bombs three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.  In the last week before recess, the US supreme court delivers Trump several judicial victories. Veteran journalist and moderator Bill Moyers has died.  Israeli attacks on Gaza humanitarian assistance sites markedly intensify.  

july: The US congress narrowly passes Trump’s domestic policy agenda.  Flash flooding in Texas Hill Country claims dozens, including many from a summer camp for girls.  Russian transport minister found dead hours after his dismissal ostensibly for his failure to secure Moscow from Ukrainian drone attacks.  Trump announces twenty-fiver percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, as the administration pushes for ninety trade deals in ninety days.  Trump disavows MAGA supporters who demand the release of the Epstein files. Israel launches airstrikes on Damascus to defend Druze communities living on the border of the Golan Heights.  UK government resolves to lower voting age to sixteen.  The US senate approves rescission bill to defund public broadcasting in America and eliminate billions in foreign aid.  Iconic rocker Ozzy Osboure has died, aged 76.  The famine in Gaza worsens as hundreds have been killed just queuing for aid.  France resolves to acknowledge Palestinian statehood.  Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan passed away, aged 71.  The EU negotiates a last minute trade and tariff deal with Trump, giving Europe worse than nothing but perhaps preserving global security and stability in Ukraine.  Contrary to assurances that the Qatari gift of Air Force one would not be for the Trump’s personal use post-presidency, the secretary of defence accepted the gift, explicitly calling it not a bribe.  Trump admits his friendship with Epstein came to an end because Epstein was stealing employees from his pleasure spa.  

august: Trump’s redacted name appears in the Epstein files.  Microsoft joins Invidia as the first firms to reach a four trillion dollar market valuation.  Global stocks are shocked by tariff deadline with few deals.  Trump fires government statistician after poor jobs-growth report, revising downward previous months’ estimates.   Sabre-rattling, two nuclear submarines move within striking distance of Russian.  Netanyahu announces plans to take over Gaza City whilst Trump again threatens to federalise Washington, DC. Astronaut and Apollo XIII commander Jim Lovell dies, aged 97.  Putin has a summit with Trump in Alaska, followed by a meeting in Washington, DC between Trump and Zelenskyy with several European leaders also inviting themselves.  Texas and California commence with their redistricting war to gerrymander the mid-terms.  The Florida department of transportation removes the rainbow crosswalk memorial of the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre.  Rumours of the death of Trump are trending.  The White House announces intent to end mail-ballots and allow only in-person voting.  Israeli attacks aided by the US kill Houthi prime minister in Yemen.  Modi and Xi meet with Putin as counterbalance to western hegemony.

september: A devastating earthquake hits Afghanistan.  Google emerges more or less unscathed from a landmark anti-trust case.  Chaos at the US Centres for Disease control prompts many states to do their own research.  Celebrated fashion designed Giorgio Armani dead, aged 91.  Over a dozen killed in a tragic funicular accident in Lisbon.  The US targets an alleged Venezuelan drug-boat and deploys warships to the Caribbean.  Israeli Defence Forces order the complete evacuation of Gaza City. Right wing influencer and conservative activist Charles Kirk is assassinated during a speaking event at a college campus in Utah.  Actor, activist and director Robert Redford passed away, aged 89. Donald Trump arrives in London for his second state visit.  The GOP are exploiting the death of Charlie Kirk to silence dissent. Portugal, the UK, Canada and Australia recognise Palestinian statehood, ahead of the UN General Assembly—with host nation refusing to issue visas to the country’s delegation to attend (the first time the US has barred entry since 1998 and banning PLO head Yasser Arafat, which prompted the UN to change the venue to Geneva).  Trump gives a rambling and dangerous speech falsely linking acetaminophen, childhood vaccinations with autism.  Erik Adams drops his re-election bid to be mayor of New York City.

october: At an impasse, the US government shuts down.  Renowned primatologist and wildlife advocate Jane Goodall passes away, aged 91. Veteran UK actor Patricia Routledge dies, aged 96.  Hamas and Israel reach a tentative ceasefire days after the second anniversary of the the beginning of the war.  Gazans begin returning home, joy amid sorrow and destruction as the Israeli army pulls back.  Actor Diana Keaton has died, aged 79.  Trump misappropriates funds to make military pay-day during the shutdown.  Hamas begins releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.  Elite universities in the US choose to forego federal funding rather than submit to conditions on research and hiring practises.  The US CIA begin covert operations to overthrow the government of Venezuela.  Every major US media outlet surrendered their Pentagon press credentials rather than sign a pledge to only report on approved releases. Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton indicted for mishandling of classified information.  NPR founding reporter and anchor Susan Stamberg passed away, age 87.  Partial demolition begins on the East Wing of the White House to construct Trump’s ballroom.  The Japanese parliament elects its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.  Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the Sistine Chapel.  Against America’s peace agenda, the Knesset votes to annex the West Bank.  Leftwing candidate Catherine Connolly wins Ireland’s presidency.  Veteran television star June Lockhart passes away, aged 100.  Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales dies, aged 93. US government shutdown surpasses Trump’s old record for the longest in history.  Dick Cheney dies, aged 84.  Zohran Mamdani wins mayorship of New York City.

november: Redistricting efforts in Texas ahead of US mid-term elections are ruled to be unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The US federal government reopens after an unprecedented shut-down as Democrats fold.  A violent civil war continues to rage in Nigeria.  COP 30 begins in Brazil.  Tech businesses and telecoms shed tens of thousands of employees.  In response to a cadre of congressional representatives urging service members not to obey illegal orders, Trump cries sedition and threatens them with execution.  US leaks a twenty-eight point peace plan for Ukraine and Russia. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she will leave the US congress in January after a public falling out with Trump.  Flames engulf a residential apartment block in Hong Kong.  The pope makes his first trip abroad, visiting Türkiye and Lebanon.  With war in Venezuela imminent, closing the country’s airspace, Trump pardons notorious Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, commuting his sentence in a US federal prison after smuggling weapons and four hundred tonnes of cocaine into the country.  A deadly fire in a Hong Kong housing estate kills scores.

december: Playwright Tom Stoppard passes away, aged 88.  Influential architect Frank Gehry has died, aged 96.  Australia launches a world first social media ban for young people.  The US military seizes a Venezuelan oil tanker, escalating tensions.  Articles of impeachment are forwarded for both secretary of war and RFK, Jr.  Indiana state lawmakers reject Trump’s redistricting plans to gerrymander Democrats out of existence.  A gunman kills a dozen individuals gathering at Australia’s Bondi beach for Hanukkah celebrations.  Actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer-Reiner are found murdered—with the couple’s son arrested as the the prime suspect.  The US justice department releases a heavily redacted version of the Epstein files.  Singer, songwriter Chris Rea, performer behind “Driving Home for Christmas” dies, aged 74.  Brigitte Bardo has died, aged 91.  Trump announces ground strikes in Venezuela.

the story so far (13. 034)

A photographic retrospective of the moments that have defined the first quarter of the twenty-first century, we quite enjoyed this feature from The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland taking up the mantle of chronicler of those who have encapsulated, bookended the history of the previously century and those saying we’ve reached the end of it. A challenge no doubt to distill the past-present down to a few dozen watershed events, illustrated by arresting and indelible images, this survey meets the task—from the representative picture captured by Susan Meiselas in Liberty Plaza’s Zuccotti park Manhattan as debris from the Twin Towers was raining down with the life-sized bronze of a business man (sculptor John Seward Johnson’s 1892 commission Double Check of a well-appointed executive taking stock of the contents of his briefcase before going to the office) sitting sedately amid the fear and chaos. Meiselas did not know at first whether this still figure was a person or a statue and since became a makeshift memorial for the office workers lost during 9/11. The anthology, year by year, covers the Iraq war, the rise of social media, natural disasters, the Great Recession, mass-migration, Brexit, COVID, Trump, etc. And so it goes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a starquake (with synchronopticæ), the mathematical properties of the year plus the life and career of Anna Banana

twelve years ago: Russian discontents plus historic maps of the Americas

thirteen years ago: privacy screens for traffic accidents to prevent rubbernecking 

fourteen years ago: Samoa adjusts its timezone 

seventeen years ago: Hey Ya and the Peanuts 

9x9 (13. 027)

pot to kettle: US bans Europeans who encouraged social media to suppress American points of view—see also, whilst the Heritage Foundation openly calls for the dissolution of the European Union  

sight unseen: a collection of the best video essays of 2025  

winter tarotscope: a collective reading for the coming season from AX Mina  

first and main: store front churches as captured by Rob Stephenson—via Messy Nessy Chic with a lot more to explore including more on glass models of deep sea creatures  

x-mas post: holiday greeting cards to Paul Rand (previously) from other designers, artists and architects  

commodorchestra: Linus Åkesson (previously) performs an ambitious chip-tune arrangement of Boléro (see also) on an assortment of homemade eight-bit instruments 

exhibit a: a simple copy-and-paste undoes redactions to some of the Epstein files  

the address is cbs: the censored reporting on the infamous CECOT prison removed from 60 Minutes was bootlegged by international broadcasts—via Super Punch

synchronoptica

one year ago: the first wholly electronic television transmission (with synchronopticæ), the Bohemian John Phillips Souza plus a Christmas pause 

fourteen years ago: a Star Wars Nativity scene 

fifteen years ago: Christmas Eve greetings 

sixteen years ago: zodiacal mugs 

seventeen years ago: miscellany from Wikipedia 

toscanini, dacron (13. 007)

Eventually garnering a Grammy award for Record of the Year, Billy Joel’s eleventh studio album reached the top of the charts in domestic markets on this day in 1989 (cover art featuring a billowing storm warning maritime flag flown to signal the highest intensity gales on the Beaufort wind scale). Featuring tracks including “I Go to Extremes,” “Leningrad” (Joel’s take on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and “That’s Not Her Style,” it was the single “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (previously) that stood out as most memorable. Having just turned forty, Joel was inspired by a chance encounter with a friend of Sean Lennon at a recording studio half his age, reflecting that it was a terrible time to be twenty-one, with a litany of contemporary dilemmas. Joel encountered he had his own at that age, which his interlocutor dismissed, saying he had grown up in the 1950s, a rather halcyon pause in their mind at least when nothing happened. Joel came back with a few headlines of the time and conceived a catalogue of all the impactful, formative events, cultural and political, that had occurred between the year of his birth, 1949, to the present—in mostly chronological order (see above). One hundred-eighteen people, artefacts and circumstances are listed in the song, which upon re-evaluation are panned lyrically, almost to the point of disavowal, with absolute refusal for extra verses by the artist. Only four named individuals are still alive—Brigitte Bardot, Bob Dylan, Bernie Goetz and Chubby Checker.

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Towering Inferno (with synchronopticæ), assorted links worth the revisit plus a museum dedicated to depictions of The Last Supper

twelve years ago: seigniorage and inflation  

thirteen years ago: trim up the tree with Christmas stuff, US school shootings, lucid dreaming plus O Antiphons

fifteen years ago: the legacy of Cablegate 

architecture of choice (13. 002)

Legacy media is such a derisive term for any among the establishment who is outside of the grasp and influence of new arbiters but such laurels still matter, and whilst knowing that the honour does not always go to the great and the good but rather to pith and moment and what is most impactful, we are a bit taken aback by TIME magazine’s person of the year (see previously) with an identity parade, a lineup of the usual suspects of billionaires, almost to a person tech bros, recreated of course by AI recreating the iconic photograph 1930 of construction workers of the Empire State Building taking their lunch break on a girder at the hundredth and thirty-fourth floor with no safety gear. Though the publication is owned by Salesforce founder and Oracle executive Marc Benioff, such a high-wire act may deserve a second glance as the vaunted technology does not seem to be delivering (a kind of bad imprint for a glossy cover and perhaps intentionally so), triangulated amongst economic ruin, environmental catastrophe and eschatological crisis and those responsible for it seemingly aloof of their situation and what might come next.

grand prix (12. 992)

Joining Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Ireland, Iceland’s national broadcaster, RÚV, has voted to boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest scheduled to be held in Vienna over the decision of the organising committee, the European Broadcasting Union, not to expel Israel for its conduct of the war against Hamas and occupation of Gaza. The announcement coinciding with International Human Rights Day, Iceland cites that “give public debate in the country…it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail” regarding participation. Members of the EBU voted in a general assembly last week to adopt stricter rules regarding alleged ballot manipulation favouring Israeli contestants during the last Eurovision but fell short of banning them, with the mounting walk-outs casting a pall over what’s supposed to be a feel-good cultural exchange (though it has never been wholly apolitical) with diminishing acts and those remaining seeming like a whitewashing of recent events.

trans erasure (12. 983)

More despicable and insulting than the childish substitution of the official portrait of Joe Biden with a crude picture of an auto-pen, in the gallery of past leaders of the US Health and Human Services department—a cabinet-level agency of the executive branch focused on public health—the former assistant secretary and surgeon general of the preventative medical corps, Admiral Rachel Levine, appointed by Biden, has been dead-named with an altered caption under her picture—to, according to Alabama urologist and current director, to ensure that the HHS both internally and externally reflect a gold standard of science guided by biological realities.

they make a desert (12. 979)

An early target of DOGE’s institutional evisceration, the independent, non-profit think tank created by congress during the presidency of Ronald Reagan in 1985 with the mission to prevent conflict by working outside regular diplomatic channels, has been unironically named the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace—a White House spokesperson quoted whereas formerly it “was once a bloated and useless entity that blew,” its modest fifty million dollar per year budget allocated by the legislature for a mandate that includes outreach programmes for deescalation in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali and Burkina Faso abruptly halted by the Department of Government Efficiency along with USAID in March, “while delivering no peace,” and now to reflect the greatest dealmaker in the history of the nation, “beautifully and aptly named after a president who ended eight wars in less than a year, and will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability. The ceremony concluded with “Congrat-ulations world!” Though the ultimate fate of USIP is still being decided in the courts, placing it under control of the executive branch ruled illegal but on appeal all staff were dismissed and put in receivership of the General Services Administration—the vacated property—with several reversals—before the renaming—again of the building alone with no active operations and progress squandered, reflective of Trump’s ambitions for the Nobel prize, the façade was the backdrop for an armistice between the Congo and Rwanda. On the sidelines of the World Cup match taking place in Washington, a real collision of all these conflicted agendas of his second term for prestige, respect and concord countered with garish xenophobia and scoffing aggression and delegations (international fans and leaders alike) otherwise unwelcome to this shit hole country, Trump is expected to be awarded a newly minted peace prize by FIFA, whom I guess we could thank for taking one for the team.

esto no es un simulacro (12. 967)

Although commercial flights had been restricted coming in and out of the country for weeks over concerns of insurance liability following the deployment of a fleet of carriers to the Caribbean and intensified rhetoric over regime change, Trump made the additional step of announcing the closure of Venezuelan airspace, hinting that ground operations would begin soon. Whilst a tried and tired tactic of the US president is too cry wolf (as outlined in his Art of the Deal) and accelerate before negotiating, it is becoming more and more apparent that his object is to secure the South American nation’s vast petroleum reserves under conditions more favourable to the US—if not exploit them entirely, as he has attempted to do with property and natural resources in Gaza and Ukraine. Counter to the narrative of drug-trafficking used to justify the extrajudicial murders of alleged smugglers on speedboats in international waters—indefensible actions currently under investigation as breaches of international law and the Geneva Conventions, especially given the secretary of war’s order to eliminate survivors from on of the strikes—and to give grounds for his regime of tariffs long recognised as idle and specious and now void with his suggestion of pardoning the actual, convicted drug-runner, former Honduran president Jose Orlando Hernandez, extradited and serving a long sentence in a federal penitentiary for bringing caches of weapons and four hundred tonnes of cocaine to the US. Clemency is furthermore contingent on election interference. Deportation flights have also been indefinitely suspended. Trump’s targeting of the administration of Nicolás Maduro is based on alleged ties to the drug trafficking gang Cartel de los Soles, which like Antifa seems to be either an unorganised collective or possibly the stay-behind elements of a operation orchestrated by the CIA assembled earlier for other purposes and both declared a terrorist group. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

quiet piggy (12. 963)

The misogynist rhetoric directed towards female politicians and journalists is nothing new and Trump does not have a monopoly on using disparaging words that translate into actual violence—and whilst wishing that the media would stop hanging on his every demented utterance and thus dignifying his addled, hateful invectives, we do hope that every reporter in the press pool is crafting their response of a colourful epithet, an insult to lob back that if it doesn’t get them arrested would at least result in a ban from the White House, something which the outlets have already signalled their willingness to give up (see previously) with what would be the most withering to these monsters by starving them of attention—and betrays a real weakness of character and a vulnerability to shield from the public at all costs. I’ve got my duly vulgar aspersion to cast on the non-zero chance that I would get called on to use it. What’s your prepared statement? Senator Mark Kelly has entered the chat. Not to psychoanalyse broken, small characters, but we suspect that Trump’s attacks against competent women—and their reception by his base, splintering as it is—is due in large part to the fact he’s only ever beaten female challengers for the presidency, those pyrrhic “victories” not without contention, so much winning, and feels denied the chance of a worthy opponent to trounce.

9x9 (12. 953)

architectural digest: a guided two-hour walking tour of New York City’s most iconic buildings  

1999 a.d.: a paleo-future vision from 1967 that asks if the cusp year will be too computerised, too cold  

shinbun: a hypnotic, phrenetic collage of Japanese newspaper clippings from 1991 to the present—see also  

meet the aphantasics: more on those who don’t form mental images 

i wool survive: a flock of ostracised gay rams from Germany have a haute-couture debut on a Manhattan catwalk  

electric pentacle: the occult detective Thomas Carnacki created by William Hope Hodgson who despite his supernatural inclinations has a skeptical side and is unafraid to use nascent technology as his red-herring or MacGuffin 

doge: the US Department of Government Efficiency quietly closed down 

field-expedient gadgets: preparing meals in maximum security plus other prison inventions  

diorama: Theria Sofia reworks Polly Pocket sets—originally fashioned from a makeup compact as a toy

11x11 (12. 895)

american psychosis: pathologising along with artist Jordan Sullivan  

kojève and cigarettes: uncovering the history of Hegelian tobacco and the American spirit  

usenet: a 1995 CBC segment featuring Cory Doctorow on how to internet—via Waxy   

karzer: revisiting privilege and imprisonment in German universities  

de facto recognition: leaked US draft to end Russian war in Ukraine  

dress code: ignoring all other disruptions and baseline unpleasantness, US transportation secretary encourages flyers to not dress down for their flights to improve the overall experience for all passengers  

tiled words: a daily crossword puzzle-Tetris hybrid—via MetaFilter  

algospeak: taboo, newly minted unwords of search and social media

victor insulations: the ubiquitous American diner mug—via Miss Cellania  

in like flynn: over-exposure to the stupidest ambitions of society at large has brought us all down—via Web Curios 

operation charlotte’s web: ICE ruins a classic of children’s literature—some pig 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: hand-washing and optimism  

thirteen years ago: the holiday winterval plus Martin Luther and bowling

discharge petition (12. 890)

Following the release of a tranche of incriminating emails and documents last week from the estate of disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and with Trump’s unexpected reversal (suspect and perhaps an attempt at normalising such abusive behaviour or over-confidence that all the right records were purged, denying justice for victims and survivors) on his stance that the growing movement was a hoax perpetrated by his Democratic opposition to discredit him and acquiescing to full disclosure, both chambers of the US legislature voted (we had some fear that the process would be pre-empted by a declaration of war)—with near unanimity, four hundred and twenty-seven to one congress members agreeing, even with the staunchest hold-outs, like house speaker Mike Johnson flipping and the senate fast-tracking the bill without a formal vote. The bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, will now go to the desk of the president to sign into law (something which Trump could have directed at any time without being compelled by congress), requiring the attorney general to disclose all records and investigative material not subject to classification, reserving the right to withhold information that might jeopardise on-going investigations or involuntarily out the identity of victims.

big beautiful bill (12. 881)

Among the tranche of twenty-thousand business records, flight itineraries and emails released by the by the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein includes an exchange between Epstein and his brother Mark—allegedly asking on behalf of former Trump advisor Steven Bannon (previously) present in the room—from March of 2018 that he should question Epstein if Putin has photos of Trump performing an oral sex act on “Bubba”—the nickname for former US president Bill Clinton. Whilst unclear if this was made in jest in reference to the supposed dossier that Russia had on Trump and the pee-tapes (it pains to write such things) that were ultimately dismissed as a Democratic hoax back during Trump’s first term or a serious concern that more incriminating footage could emerge. In hindsight, like the vindication of the Pizzagate conspiracists, that Russia would have compromising material on Trump seems not only likely but an inevitability in the fullness of time. At the same time, Trump has disowned cheerleader Marjorie Taylor Greene as a raving lunatic for her support to release the files by passing the discharge petition. Though disappointed that his participation, orchestration of a massive pedophile ring, rape, trafficking, felonies, economic betrayals and general incompetence could not deprogram his cult following, maybe this might make MAGA turn on him (but who knows since the also donned ear-bandages and diapers in solidarity) out of the menfolk wanting to keep their own secrets safe. If it is true, Clinton needs to take one for the team.

legislation considered pursuant to a rule (12. 875)

Following Sunday night’s vote in the senate which saw eight political safe Democrats side with Republicans to overcome the filibuster threshold on a bill to reopen the US federal government after a stalemate of over forty days, in exchange for the protecting the right of the Government Accountability Office to sue the president for misappropriation of funds against the wishes of congress and a hollow promise to vote on whether to extend expiring health care subsidies (citing hardships and potential ruined holidays that were nonetheless being redressed by other means), which was the instigator of the standoff in the first place and now seems all for nothing, a self-own when the Democrats were ahead with their strategy and rather chuffed over a slate of election victories, the measure was returned to the house of representatives, recalling them from a recess of seven weeks to avoid the swearing in of an Arizona member whose vote in favour of releasing the Epstein files could force the matter to be brought to a floor vote, despite the speaker’s directive. Congress was recalled, again delaying the swearing in of the new representative and focusing on the legislation that they were just handed, with the bi-partisan oversight committee releasing a tranche of new documents, including some rather incriminating emails that refute Trump’s claim over a split with the pedophile and disgraced financial fixer. Whilst members on both sides of the aisle are enraged about postponing the discharge petition, it has also come to light Ghislaine Maxwell, already serving her sentence in a minimum security, is seeking a full commutation for her crimes. The president for his first meaningful interaction with the legislative branch outside of approving cabinet nominations, has cleared his schedule to sign the continuing resolution once it reaches his desk. The house is set to vote later in the afternoon but the entire ordeal is poised to repeat at the end of January when funding again runs out and it remains unclear whether the bill will pass, the Republican caucus only able to suffer no more than three defections and a provision to outlaw hemp-based products may cause some from agricultural states who have grown reliant on this industry to vote against the measure as it stands and torpedo its chances.

9x9 (12. 872)

climate change is no longer a threat of the future—it is a tragedy of the present: COP30 opens in Belém at the edge of the Amazon rainforest  

splice: following resignations, Trump threatens to sue BBC for one billion dollars over January Sixth documentary  

french windows: the animation of Ian Emes that defined Pink Floyd’s signature visual style 

epoch and era: geologists reject the Anthropocene age but it is still a valuable lens for understanding our present and future  

industrial organisation: the perpetuated belief that vertical monopolies and monopsonies are good for the consumer  

victory is mine again trebek: a clip reel of a Jeopardy! category  

so you’ve been bitten by a radioactive spider: a survival guide for the Marvel universe 

punt: anything other than a clear CR, US senate concludes debate and return the bill to congress for passage to reopen the federal government—including provisions for members to seek half-a-million dollars in compensation for having their phones searched for the January Sixth investigation (plus more pardons) and a ban on hemp  

money talks: Bill Gates apparently reverses stance on near-term emission reduction goals

synchronoptica

one year ago: AI espionage (with synchronopticæ), RFK Jr’s future role in Trump’s cabinet plus the lead narrows in the US congress

thirteen years ago: toothpaste for dinner, the architecture of choice plus making an animated gif

fourteen years ago: double-eleven 

sixteen years ago: new wheels 

in re (12. 871)

The US supreme court unanimously rejected a bid to reverse its 2015 landmark decision on the case Obergefell v Hodges, turning away an appeal “without comment” launched by the former Kentucky county clerk who declined to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the ruling. The registrar, Kim Davis, was fired for contempt in not discharging her duties and lost a bid for re-election but appears not to have had legal standing in her petition. And whilst a relief that the Roberts court apparently found some spare stare decisis and the judicial fortitude to uphold precedent and settled law, select justices are likely passing on this bigoted loon and shopping for a better plaintiff to annul gay marriage at the altar of religious convictions.

duces wild (12. 867)

Having gotten his political start as secretary of the labour party in for the city of Trento in Sud Tirol under the Austro-Hungarian empire with an editorial role with the partisan newspaper, L’Avvernire del Lavoratore (The Future of the Worker), Benito Mussolini was eventually deported back to Italy for several incendiary essays but not before having the opportunity to publish several pieces of his own academic and creative writing works around 1910—fancying himself to be quite the well rounded intellectual, with travelogues, literary theory and even a serialised romanzo storico, L’amante del Cardinale. Possibly ghost-written and loosely based on a historic papal affair and scandal from the seventeenth century, the lurid novel was a violent, anti-clerical invective and though tripled circulation for the publication, it was forgotten just as quickly as Mussolini trajectory barrelled towards fascism (compare to the water-colours aspirations of Adolf Hitler) but was compiled and reissued in 1928 in English translation as a sort of curiosity of purple prose—during the interbellum, many in UK and the US extending approval and tacit tolerance for Mussolini’s efforts to modernise and stabilise the country (dissolving and unifying the Papal States, the Pope was confined to the Vatican—see previously here and here) and its north African colonies despite his authoritarian tendencies, but some, particularly in academic circles, were less charitable and recognised the author for what he was. Dorothy Parker (previously) was especially biting with her criticism and saw right through the pretence. More from Print Magazine’s Daily Heller at the link up top.

flow control (12. 859)

Due to the ongoing US government shutdown with thousands of air-traffic controllers compelled to work as emergency essential employees for delayed pay—once appropriations are approved but have already gone seven weeks without a pay cheque, having to pay for transportation, childcare and manage all other household finances without income—the strain the situation is putting on staff, the Federal Aviation Administration is executing a phased plan to reduce scheduled flights at forty metropolitan hubs, the country’s busiest by up to ten percent. Whilst this will alleviate some of the pressure on employees who are calling out over sheer exhaustion and inability to afford to make the commute to the airport, we don’t suspect that this manufactured crisis, following on from several others that the Republicans and administration refuses to own, will cause the Democrats to cave and concede to reopening the government for a short stint of a few weeks until the stalled continuing resolution runs out again on 21 November. It is a pain point and makes for dramatic reporting and the flying public—only about twenty percent of the population—if they do travel, travel during the upcoming holidays, potentially disrupting a percentage of planned vacations and reunions, but Democrats did not fold over the prospect of military service members going unpaid or nutrition supplements running out and certainly won’t for the inconvenience of some when there’s more at stake. Besides the administration found solutions, albeit temporary and of questionable legality for those other problems they caused and expect to get praise for fixing them—only prolonging the shutdown, cobbling together for optics and vital services so the majority of the public remains in splendid isolation and cushioned from the effects of a dysfunctional and indentured federal workforce.

capricious and mercurial (12. 854)

Though the US supreme court has during its shadow docket reliably sided with president, at least on a provisional basis, over the past several months, for the justices’ first properly vetted and argued case regarding the legality of Trump’s imposition of tariffs through a 1977 emergency powers act—not mentioning trade or embargo—is marked with scepticism and seemingly signals in the midst of the longest shutdown of the federal government and the Democrats winning several special elections a referenda on the hallmarks of Trump’s economic and foreign policy agendas, not to mention his style magisterial style of governance that has dulled the enumerated powers of the judiciary and legislature. Although much of the opening argument was given over to definitions, semantics and pragmatics and whether the major questions doctrine of the court, a statutory interpretation of the law that issues of major political or fiscal importance holding that congressional powers cannot be delegated to the executive—cited when clawing back the initiatives of student loan forgiveness under Joe Biden over the hundred billion dollar discharge though its applicability and precedent questioned over potentially trillions, the case does not address more fundamental questions whether tariffs are themselves an effective foreign policy tool privileged as they are over the regular channels of diplomacy and negotiation for attracting international investment and reshoring given the turmoil and chaos that such vacillations are inspiring, an productive instrument of national security for stemming drug-trafficking or even a constructive way of generating revenue for the treasury given that they are effectively a tax on US consumers—again the defence for the US government deflecting the scope of the case by saying that the monies made are “only incidental,” not convincing the panel of judges. Deliberations could take a month—rather swift by the court’s standards as the administration has demanded that this case be expedited.