Tuesday, 20 May 2025

11x11 (12. 472)

higher power: traditionally anodyne, new Chinese spaceflight mission patches (see also) might betray some secrets 

triple word score: fun variants, house rules and more Scrabble-related news—see previously 

a stra ze neca: no, the multinational pharmaceutical concern name does not mean “a road to death” in Latin 

hamburgervons: a flip book of font specimens to build the perfect typeface—the heading a typographer’s tool to test layout and legibility—see also   

revenge of the sith: a retrospective for the prequel twenty years on—see also here and here 

there i ruined it: interesting mashup of US national anthem to the tune of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” 

kyphosis bicyclistarum: an 1893 warning from the Lancet for wheelmen on the bad posture and stoop that frequent cycling can cause—see also   

sunny days: after Trump defunds PBS and NPR, Netflix is championing Sesame Street   

micro-camper: a well-appointed mobile tiny home in the bed of kei truck—via Things Magazine (much more to discover there)   

fan theory: Doctor Who’s “Interstellar Song Contest”—Eurovision counter programming—teases the return of a classic arch-villainess  

pinball wizard: the 1976 NBC gameshow flop, The Magnificent Marble Machine, with celebrity players 

niallia tiangongensis: evolution on display in novel bacteria found aboard China’s space-station—via Damn Interesting

synchronoptica

one year ago: more on the Kessler Effect (with synchronoptica), AI overviews plus two classes of typos

seven years ago: Pentecost, for-profit colleges plus a ride on a steam locomotive

eight years ago: reforming the US electoral college, the Global Seed Vault is flooding, protesting Trump’s bribes plus an AI names bespoke colours

nine years ago: a visit to Tintagel

ten years ago: a time lapse of climate change, assorted links to revisit plus the making of The Shining