snow recedes, mist lingers in the air (12. 303)

Courtesy of the always excellent Web Curios, we get a chance to revisit the topic of microseasons (候, kō) with this guide to the twenty-four solar terms or sekki, a phenomenal calendar in driven by the cycles of nature instead of fixed dates used traditionally for agrarian purposes in China and Japan, timing planting and harvesting. Harmonised nicely with yesterday’s lunar eclipse (see previously here and here), we are presently in Keichitsu or Jingzhe (啓蟄, the going-out of the worms) the days when insects awaken from their winter hiberation. Once I accidentally disturbed a nest of dormant lady bugs checking a barrel for rainwater and was devastated for days that I had interrupted their winter nap, still to this day. Even with the climate catastrophe and global weirding, there’s comfort in looking forward to Seimei (the first rainbows and geese migrate) and Shunbun (the sparrows return and the cherry blossoms bloom), the swallows come back to Capistrano and April showers.

10x10 (11. 981)

peer pressure: Australia proposes a ban on social media for under sixteens 

this is the hour of lead: a few cathartic, consoling verses  

affiliate marketing: the banal world of recommendation-culture—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

airborne microplastic: our pollution influences more than sealife and can facilitate cloud formation and disrupt a whole of ecological systems 

club dei 27: a profile of the very exclusive group of Giuseppe Verdi super fans—via tmn  

augury: from the Greek for “bird talk” plus bonding with poultry 

you won’t believe this: research suggests that people can be inoculated against misinformation by warning them that they might be manipulated and eyebrow-raising antibodies  

die dame von kölleda: Merovingian burial chamber in Thüringen shown to the public  

word of the day: recrudescence: n— the return of something terrible after a time of reprieve 

bytedance: Canadian government orders TikTok to shut down operations in the country but still permits the app and users license to create content

project skydrop (11. 886)

Corresponding with the previous post, another treasure hunt has just concluded with the discovery of a golden trophy and pot prize of money that grew as hunters joined in, totalling at the end of more than one-hundred-thousand dollars. The radius where the prize was hidden shrank incremental from an area covering Washington, DC to New Hampshire, eventually going down to a square foot. Tension building as the search area got smaller, but not minuscule and still a sizeable amount of forested terrain to explore, the treasure was discovered by a local weatherman who took advantage of meteorological data embedded in a live-feed, and found the trophy through a process of elimination according to where it might be clear or overcast.

the sammies (11. 853)

Via tmn, we learn of the awards ceremony hosted by the US Partnership for Public Service that acknowledges the seen and unnoticed efforts by contentious bureaucrats of the federal government, who many are presently reviling as the Deep State. Named for the late benefactor Samel J Heyman, businessman and philanthropist who encouraged recent graduates to pursue a career in government, the gala has been hosted annually during the first week in October in Washington, DC and a selection committee of journalists, politicians, educators and corporate executives nominates individuals in the categories of emerging leaders, citizen services, science and the environment and safety, security and international affairs plus employee of the year out of the pool of the two-and-a-half million who work for America’s largest employer. The awards ceremony is surprising moving and deserving of its monicker as the Oscars of government work.

synchronoptica

one year ago: rotating ramen (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: a sanctuary of internet freedom, navel-gazing, antique Japanese hoardings, bacterial phages fight tumours plus more unbuilt architecture

eight years ago: more on the pioneers of Information Theory

ten years ago: more on Scottish secession 

eleven years ago: the US debt ceiling

per scientiam tempestates prædicere (11. 842)

Coinciding with Cloud Appreciation Day (see also), the Met Office, the national weather and climate service, introduces a new unofficial mascot called Christopher Cumulonimbus as a series of stickers and sharable animations to express not only the forecast but also the moods it might leave you in.  These certainly might countenance a reaction to weather.

8x8 (11. 799)

heatwave toolkit: applying yogurt to one’s windows to cool homes and offices  

calculating empires: an exploration of the genealogy and evolution of technology and power from the fourteenth century on—via Pasa Bon!  

better than binary: a look at the potential for base-three in computing applications and security—see previously  

coriander, comfits, confetti: Italian cuisine, shifting tastes and etymology  

campaign photo op: Trump staff had a violent altercation with Arlington National Cemetery officials—see previously  

chaos rainbow: an unusual monochrome optical meteorological phenomenon over a baseball stadium  

license to travel: the three thousand year history of the passport, linking bureaucracy with our hopes and aspirations  

süßwarentechnik: Swiss researchers discover a way to produce chocolate using the whole cocoa fruit rather than discarding most of it

synchronoptica

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

seven years ago: an optimised crash-test dummy, the backstory on the distracted boyfriend meme plus a villa modelled on the White House in Germany

eight years ago: moving a museum plus Calais’ Jungle encampment

nine years ago: the reproducibility crisis, more links to enjoy plus a squishy map

eleven years ago: Italian Ghostbusters 

the bear retreats to his den

Via Spoon & Tamago with reinforcements courtesy of Hyperallergic, we’re treated to the traditional Japanese concept of the microseason, that divides the cross-quarter year into smaller, poetic subdivisions (seventy-two ko) that marches on in segments of four or five days like a natural calendar.
With wonderful smoothing descriptive names like “first peach blossoms,” “rainbows begin to appear after a shower” or “eastern wind melts the ice,” these gentle transitions (this is when the bear starts its long winter’s nap and next week is when the salmon swim upstream) are a much nicer and more accessible yearly planner, at least for those who get to enjoy at minimum the basic four seasons and can find nuance in between. Both links above feature a beautifully crafted application for one’s mobile device that helps one keep up with the sekki and ko and includes explanation of the symbolism drawing from other traditions and where one might journey to see the phenomenon that marks the season—or imagine one’s native equivalent and rhythm.