Flooding the zone was intentional, and there are too many uncontrolled blazes to keep track of and there’s but as a reminder of the ongoing events of the coup d’รฉtat, Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, to be co-chaired by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (who left before the project began to further his political career) as an outside consulting firm to make recommendations on spending-cuts and restructuring. Contradicting the original scope of the commission, Trump instead took an obscure technology unit within the executive established in 2014 by Barack Obama to improve digital services and federal websites (also to sign up for health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act) and renamed it US DOGE Service (DOGE itself is a temporary organisation and not an executive department as that requires the approval of congress and cannot be accomplished by diktat) and embedded and with a veneer of authority (however challenged and lawless), Musk and his team infiltrated the Treasury Department, the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, which manages government office space, laptops and connectivity—VPN included. Senior officials are being dismissed, relieved of duty or otherwise sidelined over access to sensitive and comprehensive information on civil servants (previously) and remittance systems which is being migrated to outside servers—ostensibly to process the data with artificial intelligence for guidance on which funding and employees to cull, as earlier attempts at a blanket bans for duly appropriated monies for programmes were halted by judges and workers weren’t taking a phoney, leveraged “buy-out” with the promise of an eight-month farewell that runs counter to the Anti-Deficiency Act.
Saturday, 1 February 2025
disposition of a government (12. 199)
Friday, 24 January 2025
12x12 (12. 179)
contraception begins at erection: Mississippi lawmaker has introduced a bill called ‘contraception begins at erection’ outlawing male masturbation, hoping to bring balance to the reproductive rights’ restriction that focus on women—via the New Shelton wet/dry
obayashi world: Japan’s most Lynchian filmmaker
so long and thanks for all the fish: Joan Ocean’s Dolphin Connection—via Web Curios
crass competing abstrusities: official, sanctioned transcription of US secretary of state Marco Rubio (้ฒๆฏๅฅฅ) changed—possibly as a way to get around the ban the Chinese government itself imposed plus other politicians’ names—see previously

she was nasty in tone, not compelling or smart: Bishop Budde won’t apologise for her appeal for mercy and hospitality
the birthright citizens’ brigade: a list of organisations pushing back against the slide to authoritarianism in the USdreiundfรผnfzig tage: how Hitler dismantled a constitution republic through constitutional means
xanthelasma: Florida man on diet of beef, cheese and sticks of butter oozes cholesterol from his skin—see also—via Miss Cellania
a catalyst for curiosity: Wikenigma documents the unexplained—via Kottke—those scientific and academic questions that evade a definitive answer, like the Collatz conjecture
you remind me of the babe: Robert Eggers to make a sequel for Labyrinth
unplanned pregnancy: as an encore to freeing all the January Sixth rioters, Trump pardons dozens of anti-abortion protesters, some jailed for violent tactics to block clinic access and intimidating doctors ahead of the Right to Life March
Saturday, 18 January 2025
fight for the future (12. 189)
On this day in 2012, over one hundred thousand popular (and unpopular, we figured out how to draw the curtains too) sites joined Wikipedia, Google and other prominent social media platforms in solidarity with a twenty-four hour web blackout in protest, formalised and coordinated under the above grassroots aegis, against two bills in the US congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act. Privileging copyright security over online freedom of speech and making hosts, particularly non-domestic ones liable for infringement, the mass movement garnered millions of signatures for a petition as well as millions of constituents contacting their representatives in the American government to express their opposition and ultimately defeated both SOPA and PIPA as senate sponsors withdrew their support.
synchronoptica
one year ago: theosophical Though Forms (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting
seven years ago: White House imposes creative input on mission patches
eight years ago: the relics of war plus an atmospheric death ray
nine years ago: the Cosmological Constant plus more links to enjoy
ten years ago: Lovelace and Turing, the Satanic Children’s Big Book of Activities plus German currency harmonisation
Friday, 3 January 2025
embajada (12. 140)
Relations formally severed by the Eisenhower administration on this day in 1961 in the aftermath of the Cuba Revolution, partially restored under Carter for business interests though not under the aegis of anational flag (operated by the Swiss) and partially normalised under Obama in early 2014 with a ceremonious unfurling which was attended by the same detachment of Marines whom had lowered the flag for the last time of the US mission, the ousting of the Batista government by the popular people’s front of Castro was seen as a rejection of the widespread corruption and cronyism encouraged in part by brief American rule and support for maintaining the status quo.
A huge amount of American money was invested in real estate projects and sugar cane plantations, overwhelming and exploiting the domestic Cuban economy, and the revolutionary government nationalised all US assets. In response, Eisenhower imposed a strict embargo and travel restrictions, shutting down the Key West-Havana ferry service and closing the embassy. The partial restoration of relations was reversed three years later under Trump, reimposing travel and trade sanctions.
Monday, 30 December 2024
mmxxiv (12. 124)
As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2025, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past year. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

february: Violent volcanic eruptions force evacuation in Iceland. King Charles III announces he has cancer and will step away from public-facing duties for the present. Ex-Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

march: Fashion doyenne Iris Apfel passes away, aged 102. One day ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, the US Supreme Court ruled that no state can keep Trump off the ballot. Over a hundred Palestinians are massacred by Israeli force as they rush a rare relief convoy entering the besieged city of al-Rashid. Nikki Haley drops out of the race for the Republican party nomination for presidential candidate.
april: Seven humanitarian aid workers of World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike whilst travelling along a pre-authorised aid corridor to bring food to the starving outside of Deir al-Balah. Israel

may: Protest rage on college campuses across the United States for the country’s materiel support for Israel and the universities’ financial ties in the ongoing assault on Palestine.

june: Mรฉxico elects its first woman president to continue the liberal and progressive policies of her predecessor.
july: Labour wins in the UK General Election. France’s second round of voting keeps the extreme right from power. Iran elects progressive reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. Actor Shelley Duvall passes away, aged 75.

august: a prisoner-exchange sees American journalists detained in Russia freed. Anti-immigration riots spread violence in Sunderland over several days. Trump agrees to debate Harris but only on his terms.

september: the Israeli public call for a nation-wide general strike after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas are recovered over the government’s handling of the war that has lasted nearly a year with no signs of ending.

october: Former American president Jimmy Carter turns 100. US ports shut down as dockworkers go on strike. Tehran fires a barrage of hundreds of missiles into Israel. The Europa Clipper is launched to study the Jovian satellite.

november: Veteran entertainment producer Quincy Jones dead at 91. Following a controversial outcome in Georgia, Moldova re-elects pro-Brussels government of Maia Sandu. Elon Musk to spend election night with Trump watching returns—handing over executive control of X to the former president. Donald Trump is re-elected as the president of the United States.


Saturday, 28 December 2024
11x11 (12. 118)
nuclear dawn: a 1984 mural in Brixton, part of the Londonist tour of great public art in the city
winterval: a spot on take of the week between Christmas and New Year’s
tedium’s tedium awards: celebrating the protest songs of Jesse Welles, beating Tetris and more
omnibus: more year end lists from Miss Cellania—this one focussing on science
designated checkpoint: document-free travel being trialled, the passport replaced by one’s phone biometrics
holiday helper: repurposing classic cocktails for the festive season
encomnia: remembering the celebrities and artists lost in 2024
pizza day: recreating a school cafeteria staple with pourable crust—via Boing Boing
h-1b visas: requested immigration carved-outs for the tech sector pit Musk against MAGA
post-holiday blues: anticipating returning to work can evaporate that time off peace of mind
our century hasn’t been as free with words of wisdom as some others: Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s 1988 address to people living a hundred years later
synchronoptica
one year ago: a banger from Andrew Bird (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: the aphorisms of Syrus, vintage London Underground posters plus a compendium of dark magic
eight years ago: celebrating the life and career of Carrie Fisher plus reflections on post-truth
nine years ago: feudalism and engaged citizenry, remote human settlements plus a look back at phony outrage
ten years ago: Pangea with current geopolitical borders, space-time fossils plus a Grumpy Cat Christmas
Friday, 22 November 2024
ะฟะพะผะฐัะฐะฝัะตะฒะฐ ัะตะฒะพะปัััั (12.022)
Beginning on this day in 2004, the series of protests (see also) lasting two months and one day called the Orange Revolution (Pomarancheva revoliutsiia, the colour of the campaign of Western-oriented Viktor Yushchenko and adopted by his supporters) caused political upheaval and reform and was sparked by the outcome of a presidential run-off perceived to be marred with fraud, corruption and voter intimidation, which favoured Russia-aligned candidate Victor Yanukovich. The Ukrainian Supreme Court was swayed by the acts of non-violent civil disobedience and general disruption, backed by international observers that questioned the election’s validity and annulled the results of the initial second round and ordered new voting, under close scrutiny, which were judged free and fair and ultimately installed Yushchenko in office with a “public inauguration on 23 January 2005.
Sunday, 10 November 2024
10x10 (11. 988)
the moral arc of the universe is buffering: an update on where we stand
intermission: Cardhouse’s 2024 mixtape
chimera: archaeologists re-examine ancient Roman burial and realise skeleton is composed of bones from eight different individuals that died thousands of years apart from one another
inactivity reboot: Apple quietly introduced a security patch in its latest OS update that makes it harder to police to break into confiscated iPhones—via Super Punch
plutocracy: the Elites have finally been defeated by the Billionaires
text-to-brainrot: convert any PDF into an engaging TikTok-style audio summarisation overlaid with video-game footage—see previously—via Web Curios
ye olde cheshire cheese: a gallery of the pubs of Old London
changing narratives: new genetic evidence of Pompeii victims suggest that they were strangers comforting each other during the world-ending calamity
the sounds of ramallah: techno Insomnia Fest in Tromsรธ rallies for Palestine and Lebanon
venture alchemists: Wall Street and the broader economy brace for Trump tax-cuts, tariffs and retribution
synchronoptica
one year ago: paper lanterns for St Martin’s Day (with synchronoptica), Republican primary debates, a banger from Frankie Goes to Hollywood plus assorted links to enjoy
seven years ago: illusion of confidence
eight years ago: snail matchmaking, a national nightmare plus Europe’s Alt-Right
nine years ago: carbon foil that mimics muscles
ten years ago: an art exhibition for octopi plus an abandoned nuclear test site just outside of Paris
Thursday, 7 November 2024
the palmer raid (11. 980)
Occurring in the background of the First Red Scare in America, a nationwide campaign against the real and perceived divided loyalties of immigrants and ethnic groups settling in the US after World War I and the Bolshevik revolution—President Woodrow Wilson rallying against “hyphenated Americans” pouring “the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our nation life” who must be crushed as agitators and anarchists, the first of the surprise onslaughts organised by Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer took place on this day in 1919 (the date picked as it coincided with the second anniversary of the storming of the Winter Palace). After a failed attempt to suppress a labour revolt in Buffalo, the Attorney General, who named one young J Edgar Hoover to head the Justice Department’s investigation bureau, convinced the Congressional Appropriations Committee to give him a budget of one and half million dollars to undertake his plan, saying there was a coordinated effort by radicals to rise up and “destroy the government in one fell swoop. The bureau worked with local authorities to conduct violent raids on the Union Russian Workers with several by-standers also injured and apprehended. While only a few hundred individuals were eventually deported of the ten-thousand arrested, the measure was nonetheless terrorising and many with no affiliation to these groups had their lives ruined. The following year, with the police actions happening at a regular pace, the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) was established to combat entrapment, warrantless searches and seizures and unlawful detention.
Saturday, 2 November 2024
caesaropapism (11. 958)
Entailing the complete subordination of priests to a secular power, both this form of government and a theocracy admit no separation of church and state and the two aspects of power structure are merged. Though far too many contemporary theonomies whereby divine law governs society, the Holy See, Mount Athos, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Tibet—with more confessional states with an officially endorsed creed—exist, examples of caesaropapism are hypothetical and confined, arguably, to the past with Byzantium’s emperors (and successor sultans under the Ottomans) administrating the Eastern church and appointing patriarchs (the inversion of the Roman pope crowning the emperor), the break of Henry VIII with Rome and following dissolution of the monasteries and the Act of Supremacy and Ivan IV (earning the epithet the Terrible) through his total subjugation of the Orthodox Church as an instrument of state terror against traitors, real and imagined—though not without encountering some resistance and whose independence was restored by the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, though again retooled to varying degrees under the Soviet Union and inheritors. Though mostly confined to history (there are instances of mild to blatant use of the pulpit as soapbox), the careerism and ambition still hold sway in matters of the sacred.
Saturday, 19 October 2024
.io (11. 915)
Since 1968, the UK and US have operated a joint military base, Diego Garcia, on the Chagos Islands—with the official demonym of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT, also previously known as the Oil Islands)—and Mauritius (which gained independence from the UK the same year after being ceded as a French colony to Britain under the terms of the 1814 Treaty of Paris) has claimed the archipelago as its own, supported by a ruling of the International Court of Justice to end decolonisation. After more than half a century, the UK conceded and in exchange for a ninety-nine year lease on the military base has handed over sovereignty to Mauritius earlier this month. And while a significant move for justice and reconciliation, these developments—not tracked by the tech world—have an equally sizeable impact on the internet with repatriation, we learn via Web Curious. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which issues top-level country domains will remove the suffix, IO, not allowing any new registration under that code (like with the governing body for emoji no longer accepting submissions for flags) and begin the process of retiring existing ones: github, twitch, et al. At a time when domain names can be a considerable portion of a country’s economy (see also) and how many have hitched their identity to a particular brand and legacy with an expectation of permanence, it’s pretty consequential—and of course not without protocol and precedent, albeit established in times when the online world did not play such an overwhelming part of our lives, geopolitically or otherwise. Granted less than a year earlier, the Soviet Union .su domain was replaced with .ru with understanding it would eventually be shutdown in 1991—but the former’s transformation into an unpoliced space and refuge of the dark web convinced authorities that regulations needed to be in place and enforced regarding transition and closure. The 1992 dissolution of Yugoslavia was arguably a better managed affair, with the ISO and IANA having learned from their previous experience, with .yu splintering into its successors .me and .rs respectively.
๐ซ (11. 914)
Having encountered such revered writing systems previously, we enjoyed this introduction and overview of the small religious community adhered to by members of the Tedim-speaking people called the Zo or Chin, practising a monotheistic faith called Laipianism, an outlier for this indigenous group in a region of Myanmar that primarily follows Christianity or Buddhism. Founded in response to aggressive missionary outreach in colonial southwest Asia, Pau Cin Hau, the charismatic figure who would become the movement’s spiritual leader had a series of dreams around 1900 regaling him with a multitude of symbols for writing his native language which had previously had only an oral tradition—developing with the aid of his dream-guide a logographic syllabary of a thousand characters, simplified into fifty-seven for an alphabetic script. The name of the religion, which still has about five-thousand devotees, reflects the importance of this invention, the lai element meaning literacy, and the dream-guide was revealed to be Pathian—compare to the Pythia—who was the one true and transcend god and discouraged worship of intermediary spirits called metapersons. In written form, Cin was able to propagate the teachings of Pathian—ironically Christian missionaries also published in the script called Zotuallai. While the script is considered sacred and a certain level of deferential diglossia is maintained, the alphabet Cin was given its own Unicode block in 2014 and can be used for everyday communications and texting.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Pomp and Circumstance (with synchronoptica)
eight years ago: the Remembrancer of the Crown
nine years ago: assorted links to revisit plus Picasso’s Guernica
ten years ago: Barbie: Plastic Religion, redesigning Norway’s currency, the civic minimum plus robots and mobility
twelve years ago: heraldic standards, looking at rectangles plus exoplanets and Alpha Centauri
Thursday, 10 October 2024
konzentrationslager uckermark (11. 894)
H and I took a hike around the forested trail of the Sidowsee out of Himmelpfort and continued along the path back towards Fรผrstenberg.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Operation Nickel Grass (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: a visit to Bรผdingen, assorted links to revisit plus Victorian mosseries
eight years ago: computer-generated music from Alan Turing
nine years ago: the inspiration for the Flying Dutchman plus automating laundry
ten years ago: the reasoning behind making Brussels the capital of the EU plus Wikipedia as a major
catagories: ⚖️, ⛓️๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ช, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Thursday, 3 October 2024
einheitswippe (11. 893)
Long in planning, the Freedom and Unity Monument slated for Berlin (see previously) has missed another opportune inauguration and seems to be teetering towards collapse amid contract disputes with its designers. Conceived as a sort of seesaw where when enough people congregated on one side it would pivot towards revolution and reconciliation, it was planned to open in 2019 in deference to 1989, and while the foundations for the ramp has been installed and ready for the steel shell, the architects have had disputes with subcontractors and federal government fearful of what a failed dedication—with one’s thumb on the scales, so to speak—might project.
Sunday, 15 September 2024
bulldozer exhibition (11. 845)

Thursday, 12 September 2024
coup d’etat (11. 837)
Bringing an end to the House of Solomon that ruled since 1270, members of the Ethiopian army and police, a junta backed by the USSR, who would go on to govern the country as the Derg (แฐแญแ, the Provisional Military Administrative Council) deposed Emperor Haile Selassie on this day in 1974. The emperor was imprisoned by the Marxist-Leninist group upset with his failure to deliver on promised land-reform measures in the semi-feudal state that left many subsistence farmers destitute and effectively indentured to landlords, perpetuating famine and forced relocation of thousands, eventually nationalising all property and abolishing the empire but not before proclaiming crown prince, in exile, Asfaw Wossen Tafari, as king (significantly not emperor, Negusa Nagast, king of kings) who wisely declined and avoided the imprisonment and execution that awaited other members of the court and royal family as well as government ministers and the emperor himself under treacherous circumstances not revealed until after the people’s revolution overthrew the military regime. His death and later ceremonial reinterment was not accepted by adherents of the Rastafarian movement who regard Haile Selassie as god incarnate and hope of deliverance from colonial powers for Africa’s diaspora.
Thursday, 5 September 2024
in my considered judgment, we have comported ourselves in a manner faithful to our history (11. 815)
As the first major celebration of the bicentennial of the American revolution, the contemporary governors of the original Thirteen Colonies were invited to reenact, reconvene the First Continental Congress (see also) in Philadelphia, gathering for an event at the original venue of Carpenters’ Hall on this day on this day in 1974.
Chaired by Virginia governor Mills E Godwin, Junior as presiding officer, delegates re-legislated the several grievances lodged against the Crown, not quite revising history and remaining patriotic but coming to some re-evaluation and different conclusions on oppression and tyranny. The original 1774 summit, whose delegation makeup was more diverse than that of two centuries prior and included women and minorities, adopted among other things the Articles of Association that called for a general boycott of British goods, which was soon escalated by punitive sanctions against the Colonies.
one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: the first in-flight movie (1925) plus Excalibur found
eight years ago: the flak towers of World War II, weather at Jupiter’s pole, more on Merkel’s hand posture plus Michaelmas
nine years ago: the innovation of the stirrup, a vintage arcade in Saint Petersburg, a Bell logo redesign, emoji urls plus more on stave architecture
ten years ago: the NATO summit in Wales
Thursday, 15 August 2024
mauerspringer (11. 767)
East German Bereitschaftsvolkspolizei (People’s Police Alert Units, a paramilitary regimen of the German Democratic Republic for riot control and counterinsurgency) non-commissioned officer Konrad Schumann was given the duty assignment on this day in 1961 to “take control and protect the border from enemies of socialism” on the third day of construction of what would become the Berlin Wall, which at the time consisted of a single coil of concertina wire. Standing at his post on the corner of Bernauer and Ruppiner Straรe, Schumann was berated relentlessly by West Berliners, the nineteen year old came to the realisation that he would spend the rest of life as a prison guard and a prisoner himself—solidified by witnessing a young woman hand a bouquet of flowers over the barrier to her mother, apologising for not being able to visit in person. A crowd of protesters had massed by noon and began to rush Schumann’s position, but reinforcements arrived before he had to act, armed but resolved not to open fire on the crowd. Protests continued as construction materials arrived and waiting for the right moment, Schumann stamped on a section of wire and leapt into West Berlin. The action was photographer Peter Leibing and the visual documentation is included in the opening montage of the 1982 Disney movie Night Crossing.
Monday, 8 July 2024
olive branch petition (11. 673)
Signed following adoption by the Second Continental Congress on this day in 1775 after, formal request was last ditch effort to avoid open conflict between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies. The fact that the same group of delegates had just authorised the invasion of the Dominion of Canada and passage of the resolution titled the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms over the perception of parliament extending its influence across the Atlantic rather made its favourable reception unlikely despite its pledge of fealty to George III—the king refusing to read it and declaring the colonists traitorous. Interpreted as intransigence on the part of the British government—the signature page along with the rest of the missive in the US National archives features the prominent signature of John Hancock—it’s ignored read-receipt helped limn the choice for American settlers, entrenching a litany of grievances, and legitimising rebellion, informing Thomas Payne’s Common Sense. You say—the price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay, you cry in your tea which hurl in the see when you see me go by. Why so sad?
Tuesday, 28 May 2024
who wears the pants in this family? (11. 588)
On this day in 1923, the US Attorney General Harry M Daugherty nullified the ordinance that made it illegal for women to wear trousers in public—which like suffrage and many other incremental advancements towards equality had been propelled by a societal relenting caused by women in the workforce and politics, out of necessity during the Great War and to organisations such as the Victorian contrarian Rational Dress Society who advocated for disburdening and freedom of movement in tandem with the Lady Cyclist Association, the bicycle of course granting a measure of universal independence never before enjoyed. Ironically, the anniversary of the announcement, not a legal remedy despite the fact that many restrictions remained on the books decades afterwards, falls on the same day in 1431 when Joan of Arc was accused of a relapse of her heretical ways as evidenced by her wearing of male clothing and ultimately justifying her execution.