9x9 (13. 291)

crepuscular rays: the phenomena of sun pillars explained  

an exercise in attention: cultivating contemplation through a defence of pet portraiture  

关税: Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have failed against the Chinese export economy  

por la paz y justicia: Spain’s defiance and criticism under US duress is a template for the rest of European, allies threatened with sanction and invasion

the day of the locust: the Simpsons’ patriarch is taken from the protagonist of Nathanael West’s 1939 novel about Hollywood society with a cast of stock characters  

odonymy: UK regionalism for alleyways—see previously, see also  

смертономика: thanatology and Russia’s resistance to sanction  

dinergoth: the post-subcultural mainstream and the weirding of middle of the road America as a coping mechanism  

aurora borealis shining down in dallas: nineteenth century physicist Karl Lemström’s attempts to produce the Northern Lights on demand—see also

hot spot (13. 290)

Courtesy of Miss Cellania, we are directed to a 1945 instalment in a series of animated instructional films produced by Warner Brothers and featuring PVT Snafu stationed this time in Iran as the logistics hub for delivering materiel to the Soviet Union during the waning days of war in Europe. Intrigued by reports of scorching temperatures, which first dismissed as propaganda, Satan, voiced by Mel Blanc, inspects the supply lines whilst our private bears the brunt of the burden in sizzling conditions. Bugs Bunny makes a cameo appearance in the gazetteer that the devil consults.

day twenty-five (13. 289)

Despite counterclaims that there has been no dialogue between Tehran and Washington since the outbreak of the war, Trump insisted on multiple occasions that he has talked with Iranian leadership—no, not the Supreme Leader but someone very high up—and they are making progress towards a deal. Pakistani (engaged in its own battle with Afghanistan) and Egyptian diplomats have acting as intermediaries, and whilst attacks continue by the US on Iranian military targets, Trump has relented on his original threat to destroy energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within forty-eight hours, extending the deadline for five days, Iran calling him out for spreading fake news to manipulate oil and financial markets. Israel has launched widespread bombardment of Iran and southern Lebanon, announcing plans to occupy the security zone up to the Litani river. Slovenia begins fuel rationing as Vietnam slashes domestic flights and New Zealand introduces a stipend to make petrol more affordable. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: pioneering moments in rocketry (with synchronopticæ), Trump sends a delegation to Greenland plus assorted links to revisit

twelve years ago: gustatory hallucinations 

thirteen years ago: the pineal gland plus the Dutch East India Company

fourteen years ago: patio plants 

fifteen years ago: Japan rebuilds plus narcissism and social media

sixteen years ago: social safety nets for the US plus zoo babies

seventeen years ago: moving house and home 

ancient aliens (13. 288)

Half buried in the storied vineyards of Nemea, near the mythic and archaeological sites of the Peloponnesian peninsula, architecture studio 314 has installed a winery that evokes an imaginative narrative that reaches back even further in prehistory with its saucer-like construction that suggests the crash site of a UFO, the extraterrestrial material comprising the hull unweathered by the passing eons but incorporated into the arcadian landscape as a unique visitors’ centre to sample reds made from the area’s renowned Agiorgitiko grape. More images from designboom at the link above.

on-line relationship (13.287)

Via Nag on the Lake and MetaFilter, we are turned to analysis and reflection that no one has heretofore managed to articulate well, in my opinion, muddled with concerns of privacy, the Internet of Things, the pivot away from physical media, tiered subscription models, algorithimic recommendations and baking AI into everything from software engineer Terry Godier about the gradual awakening of our gadgets, accessories and appliances over the past two decades. I feel like we first started experiencing this with electronic toys which instead of running on imagination created a technical debt between the cared for and the caretaker that required attention at regular cycles otherwise it would wither away, then it coffee pods, requiring a regular and recurring replenishment and not just dosing of one’s choosing and then vehicles that gave one service reminders, which ignoring could void one’s warranty—and maybe these happened all at once—that was in part by design and inadvertently scaled up into architectural layers underpinned by a thousand interdependent systems vying for attention and maintenance. Screen-time becomes a “you problem” and moral failure, scolded by our objects and made to feel as sense of shame for over-engagement—not to worry there’s an app for that with its own host of knock-on perils—when in actuality a significant portion of that time is spent in maintenance of the platform, updates and de-conflicting, swatting away nuisances rather than the preening of self-curation. The distinction between smart and dumb have taken on whole new meanings in terms of uncompensated labour keeping the whole system configured. More at the links above and advice to help one curate more quiet.

day twenty-four (13. 286)

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s erratic statements on the war with Iran, arguing that “winding down” and escalation were not mutually exclusive stances, whilst Iranian leaders maintain that terror and threats, like the looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, only served to strengthen solidarity and resolve. Houthi rebels in Yemen join the fight. Pope Leo calls the death and suffering and environmental damage caused by the conflict in the Middle East a “scandal for the whole human family” as the civilian toll continues to rise. The International Energy Agency calls for the release of more stockpiles as the present crisis dwarfs the oil supply shocks of 1973 and 1979 combined.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus author Ray Nayler

twelve years ago: a halibut recipe, antique Japanese travel posters plus the NATO intervention in Kosovo

thirteen years ago: Easter greetings plus a census of the secret internet

fourteen years ago: inside out socks look like a sea slug plus the debate over continuing financial assistance for former East Germany 

fifteen years ago: rutherfords and risk assessments plus intervention in Libya

sixteen years ago: water throughout the solar system 

table manners (13. 285)

Though admittedly sometimes we practise with the wooden, break-apart pair included with store-bought sushi that includes a brief guide, like those napkins that one used to find in Greek and Italian restaurants that included a vocabulary lesson for native pleasantries to exchange with the waitstaff (one doesn’t find them so often any more), we knew we were doing it wrong and would never assay such behaviour during an authentic meal unless by limited utensils and were not prepared this extensive list, courtesy of MetaFilter, of breaches of etiquette that one can commit with chopsticks (箸, はし in Kana and pronounced as hashi). Dating back to antiquity with their first archeological evidence as cooking implements, the use of chopsticks spread with Confucian philosophy as civilised and refined with the modern aphorism that whereas knives are for the slaughterhouse and battle, chopsticks are for scholars—so called grand chopsticks (料理箸, ryōribashi) used for preparation rather than eating are longer and also measure temperature as a property of bamboo by their sounds or silence during frying. Whilst not intended as prescriptive or shame-inducing but rather as cultivating eating as an art and act of reverence, there are orders of precedence, using the serving implements, not double-dipping and many others, including the pictured transgression called ogamibashi (拝み箸), it being considered rude to hold one’s chopsticks during the expression of thanks (itadakimasu, いただきます) for what one is about to receive, the equivalent (though more nuanced as a recognition of humility rather than hierarchy and that one’s needs have a larger meaning) of having one’s knife and fork at the ready during grace.

day twenty-three (13. 284)

As Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic to non-enemy ships, Trump faces duelling deadlines with two ultimatums delivered Saturday: one either Iran allow all cargo through the vital waterway or face destruction of all domestic energy infrastructure; and two, political but very much related, to congress, either pass voting reforms that would federalise elections or ICE agents will be deployed in US airports. Rather than being cowed into submissions, both opposition parties seem to be taking the longer view, Trump the sole owner of this chaos and its consequences. Despite a near total internet blackout for Iran with start of the war, a carry over from government protests, Tehran seems to be able to strike back on that front as well. The remaining peace-keepers from the NATO mission to Iraq have been evacuated to western Europe.  Israel, Iran and Hezbollah continue to exchange missile strikes, with the UN calling for restraint following bombardment of nuclear facilities and demolition has begun on neighbours near the Israeli border with Lebanon. The US administration roll back more sanctions on Russian petroleum to ease supply pressure.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Sylvanian Families (with synchronopticæ), returning to the Moon facing delays over DEI and DOGE plus a pioneering simulcast

twelve years ago: encrypting one’s DNA, fairs of East Germany plus bio-tech harvests

thirteen years ago: the Cypriot financial crisis 

fifteen years ago: World Water Day

sixteen years ago: reading movies 

saxomophone (13. 283)

Awarded a patent on this day in 1846 for his most well-known but not most successful and certainly not his only eponymous instrument, Adolphe Sax was already a respected faculty member of the Paris Conservatory. The eldest son of a husband and wife team of brass and woodwind specialists in Dinant (present day Belgium) and amazingly surviving a notoriously accident prone childhood—recovering unscathed from a fall of three storeys, swallowing a pin, mistakenly drinking an acidic solvent somehow not dying of asphyxiation from sleeping in a room nightly that doubled as a storage space for drying varnished instruments—the prolific tinkerer’s most widely adopted improvement was for valve controls for the bugle, which he tried unsuccessful secure rights on as the Saxhorn, which led to the development of the euphonium and flugelhorn, adaptations particularly useful outside of the concert hall for marching bands. Later during the Crimean Conflict, Sax also patented two inventions for the war effort in support France and her allies, though never field-tested, in the Saxotonnerre–an organ powered by a locomotive engine loud enough in theory to be heard across an area the size of Paris and in response to the stalemate during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Saxocannon capable of launching half-tonne rounds with the aim of curtailing protracted standoffs. Sadly the upkeep of intellectual property and fighting infringement by challengers and rivals in later life took a huge toll on Sax‘ finances and health.

katzenkopf iii (13. 281)

Taking advantage of the nice weather, H and I got the camper from storage and prepared for the season with a weekend trip back to the Frankish wine islands, staying in the village of Sommerach. The vineyards waking up too for the spring, we took a long hike crossing the island and over the canal of the Main river through fields and pine forest in protected environment known as the Sandfluren (inland dunes, the sandy areas reminding me of trekking from Wiesbaden to Mainz under the bridges and over the islands) outside of Volkach on the mainland. 

Reaching the village of Dimbach, we headed back to the island over the lock and weir at the southern part of the river loop at the Mainkanal. In the distance, we could spy the twin steeples of the cloister Münsterschwarzach with a cruise ship docked at the weir. Exploring more of the landscape on the way back, we walked around the village a bit, trying out that wine automat we saw on our last visit—it wasn’t dumped out like a soda machine but rather a mechanical arm guided our selection down to the flap—and had a late lunch before going back to the camp grounds.

More details about the history of these places and impressions at the links above.

day twenty-two

Very much on brand with garbage modus operandii, Trump announces that he is considering ”winding down“ war with Iran after having destroyed world order, despoiling the climate further and severely disrupted the global economy, having accomplished nothing positive. One good that may come out of all this, aside from the realignment eschewing American dominance and trust may be that the international community is finally pushed away from petroleum once and for all and embraces in earnest green energy.

The US administration signls drawdown as more troops and battleships head to the Middle East, possibly in support of a publicised bit of war-gaming to capture and occupy Iran’s Kharg Island and/or undertake an even more daunting task of confiscating Iran‘s remaining stocks of enriched uranium. Regardless of what America does, Iran does not seemed poised to let go of its greatest bit of leverage--even more important than the vital water route--in simply refusing to surrender as it continues to target US outposts, host nations and collaborators, firing missiles as far away as Diego Garcia and threatening terror attacks on tourist destinations worldwide.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the physics of pasta (with synchronopticæ), Musk to brief Pentagon on China, assorted links worth revisiting, tv feeds from all over the world plus a supposed secret offer for the US to join the Commonwealth

twelve years ago: the West threatens to sanction Russian oil 

thirteen years ago: off-world prospecting 

fourteen years ago: radio silence plus no pie for you

5x5 (13. 280)

north oaks: mapping the wealthy Minnesota exclave that has remained virtually unmapped due to the way the municipality defines easement and public property

wikicity: the free encyclopaedia visualised as a three-dimensional metropolis of connected apartments to explore its densest articles—via Web Curios  

 

the way of the warrior: legendary action movie star Chuck Norris passes away unexpectedly, aged 86  

centuripe: viewed from above, this Sicilian village looks like a human figure  

border jumper: this cat does not care about your international boundaries

day twenty-one (13. 279)

As Tehran marks the celebration of Nowruz (previously), the Persian New Year, Israel continues airstrikes on the capital, Netanyahu speaking earlier to allay claims that he pressured the US to drop negotiations and enter into the fight, whilst suggesting that a ground component may be necessary to finish what they’ve started, “You cannot make a revolution from the air.” Also earlier, Hegseth spoke to the press pool, delivering a SITREP on the progress of the war, characterised as going swimming and ahead of schedule although still not offering much in the way of planning or objectives, meanwhile Trump hosted the Japanese prime minister in the Oval Office, one of the Asian countries he implored for military aid to secure the Strait of Hormuz. For her part, Takaichi explained to Trump that Japan’s ability for intervention and military deployment outside of its borders was curtailed constitutionally by the laws drafted for the country by the American occupying forces after World War II, maintaining her composure and playing to Trump’s interests even after a rather breathtakingly awkward political gaffe (see also) by the president, when asked by a Japanese reporter why the US attacked Iran without forewarning to its allies, joking about the importance of the element of surprise, something Japan ought to know about considering Pearl Harbour. Afterwards a gala dinner was held with guests including tech executives, cabinet members and donors like Miriam Adelson whose late husband advocated for nuclear strikes on Iran for the unveiling of a commemorative gold coin bearing Trump’s image to be minted for America’s upcoming two-hundred fiftieth birthday, approved by the US Commission of Fine Arts.

synchronoptica

one year ago: travel advisories for the US (with synchronopticæ), relative time, seismic activity in real time plus US suggest takeover of Ukrainian nuclear power plants

twelve years ago: an epic Finnish name generator 

thirteen years ago: digital restrictions management 

fourteen years ago: greenwashing, reunited Germany’s solidarity pact tariff plus tech platform comebacks 

fifteen years ago: patrolling Libya’s no-fly zone 

sixteen years ago: seasonal affective disorders 

gort-appointed attorney (13. 278)

Despite numerous mistrials resulting from artificial intelligence in the courtroom, we learn—courtesy of Super Punch—that Los Angeles county, the largest civil justice system in the US is running a pilot programme that allows judges to use an AI tool, called Learned Hand, to draft legal opines and tentative rulings, informed by precedent and the individual jurist’s own narrative voice. Requiring that output be vetted and human-jured before before issuing a verdict, the project, meant to ease the administrative case-load, is expected to erode public trust in the courts and run the risk of predisposing judgment before thorough research, influencing the disposition. The makers of the bespoke large language model touts that it is already being used by a few other jurisdictions and has extensive guardrails to prevent hallucinations and inventing precedent, related cases cited with hyperlinks in a fact-checking protocol referred to as Deep Verify. There is presently no requirement for disclosure for rulings adjudicated at with the help of AI.

drôle de guerre (13. 277)

Though punctuated with sanctions on Nazi Germany and naval blockades, the eight-month period from the invasion of Poland up until the evacuation Dunkirk was referred to the title (en française) by the press or the Phoney War (also Sitzkrieg auf deutsch—earlier in British papers as the “Bore War” though the Americanism came to be preferred so as not to confuse with the Boer War barely a generation removed) for its notable lack of military action on the part of the Allied forces in response, despite extensive war-gaming and drawing up battle plans that became obsolete as Germany continued its expansion with the invasion of France and the Low Countries and the Soviets attacked Finland, hoping that negotiations would lead to peace and appeasement. Allegiances strained and uncoordinated in the current situation prosecuted by US and Israeli forces against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the reluctance of America’s allies to materially support an offensive campaign peddled in no way to the Gulf states nor partners is understandable and even advisable—given that the foreign policy catastrophe came at a substantive juncture of negotiations between the US and Iran in Geneva and a nuclear deal seemed within reach, talks progressing in the final stages that could have averted conflict that was by no means imminent or inevitable. Whether coerced or bored deal-making, Trump chose violence with global repercussions with no clear off-ramp, as a consequence that was far from unpredictable the world is stymied between TACO and the strategic deficit captured by eighteenth century Prussian military theorist Karl von Clausewitz’ adage that the adversary gets to vote, objectives however poorly defined unmatched by defiance resistant to might.

day twenty (13. 276)

Following an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian south natural gas field, Tehran retaliated with more attacks on energy infrastructure in neighbouring Gulf states including Kuwait and Qatar—prompting Trump to threaten to “massively blow up” the rest of the damaged reservoir. Whilst the US administration denies any foreknowledge of the Israeli plan, sources tell the press it was coordinated and approved by Trump as leverage to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which when the fighting pauses, Iran proposes a transit fee, like for the Panama Canal. Saudi Arabia is contemplating a military response to the constant volley of missiles and drones on its territory. Fuel prices continue to climb, jumping by as much as forty percent in Europe.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the MAGA aesthetic (with synchronopticæ), Sweet Georgia Brown (1925) plus assorted links worth the revisit

twelve years ago: conspiratorial thinking 

thirteen years ago: springtime rituals plus debating de-extinction

fourteen years ago: more on sovereign defaults 

seventeen years ago: Malagasy names 

7x7 (13.275)

rocketman: more on the centenary of Robert Goddard’s first launch—via Miss Cellania  

take the q train: a 1987 subway trip to Coney Island captured by pre-internet vlogger Nelson Sullivan  

cabbage architecture: how a bitter shrub became scores of distinct vegetables—via Quantum of Sollazzo  

limehouse: reconstructing Pennyfield’s Chinatown in East London  

outrageous fortune: the 1931 novel Windfall by Robert Andrews line of sight: see how far you can see plus the grandest vistas

twinkle, twinkle: a guide to identifying the planets and stars from xkcd—previously

day nineteen (12. 274)

As Israeli ground forces begin incursions in southern Lebanon, with the intent of occupation, under the cover extensive airstrikes on central Beirut, Iran confirms the assassinations of security chief Ali Larijani and Basij militia commander Gholamreya Soleimani, vowing revenge for their deaths, with a fatwa issued against Israeli leader Netayahu. Israeli defence forces also claim to have killed intelligence chief Esmaeil Khatib.  The International Maritime Organisation (previously) holds an extraordinary session to evacuate tens of thousands marooned in the Persian Gulf and sue for safe passage. Remaining defiant, Iran insists its nuclear programme would not significantly change and again reiterates its stance the development atomic weapons as the realisation seeps in that Trump’s war of choice, pressured or otherwise, is quickly transforming into a war of necessity by the aggressors’ own making pulling the whole world into this conflict with no obvious way to extricate the parties.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus filmmaker John Landis

twelve years ago: a visit to the Völkerslachtdenkmal 

thirteen years ago: a financial lifeline for Greece 

fourteen years ago: ceremonial office 

fifteen years ago: a run on iodised salt 

sixteen years ago: MKUltra and other covert operations

seventeen years ago: France mulls rejoining NATO in full 

odni (12. 273)

As the Trump administration tries to pull in allies into his illegal war on Iran, the director of the US national counterterrorism centre—under the cabinet office of the director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Joseph Clay Kent dramatically tendered his resignation, unable to in “good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran” as it posed no imminent threat and was manifest that the conflict was prompted due to pressure from Israel, lobbyists and the echo chamber of media outlets. Offered without real evidence though likely true, the combat veteran, former CIA paramilitary operative and widower who lost his wife in a suicide bombing in Syria, the former congressional candidate and stalwart Trump loyalist’s departure is ringed with previously controversial and false stances, including ties to white-nationalists during his legislative tenure (ultimately costing Kent the election), support for the narrative of the stolen election, vaccine denialism and framing the capitol insurrection as a peaceful protest. Whilst unclear if this act signals any further splintering within the administration, Kent not seen as a major player within the cabinet and given a plumb sinecure posting after his defeat, such words certainly do not further ingratiate Trump’s cause to allies, whom he simultaneously discounted as superfluous and mistaken for joining in on the offensive.

day eighteen (13. 272)

Shocked and angered by the perceived ingratitude on the part of Asian and European allies not thanking the US for intervention in the Middle East and unwillingness to join the crusade, Trump says he will soon announce those nations that will help open the Strait of Hormuz, also telling reporters he expects operations to be wrapped up soon.

Not consulted prior and with no clear strategic objectives, Germany—whom the US has suggested should take up the mantle for leadership of the alliance in a couple of years from America—states that this adventure is not NATO’s war and the EU, particularly condemning the Israeli ground invasion in southern Lebanon not wanting to be drawn into a wider conflict and are working to de-escalate the situation. The US Green Zone surrounding the Baghdad embassy came under more attacks as Trump again expressed surprise over the blowback of his magnanimous act of aggression. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says he expects to have “the honour of taking Cuba” as his oil blockage plunges the country into darkness.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: alien enemies (with sychronopticæ) plus more autopen controversy 

thirteen years ago: unexpected snow, the art of Keith Haring, antennas and broadcasting towers plus mesh-worm probes

fourteen years ago: the Obamas in Sgt Pepper-style, mass-surveillance at the pump plus a possible link between carbon-dioxide and obesity

fifteen years ago: automated skulduggery