bicentenary (13. 588)

Culminating on this day in 1976, a decade in planning and preceded by numerous events, both sanctioned and unsanctioned by the US government including the Boston Oil Party, when objects symbolising the petroleum industry were tossed in the city’s harbour to promote environmental justice and declare independence from polluting corporations and Richard Nixon was hanged in effigy, elected representatives reenacted the first Continental Congress, a state visit by the Queen, the Freedom Train made a circuit of the nation and a time-capsule opened, America celebrated its the beginning of its third century, focused on themes of renewal and rebirth, recently have endure the Watergate scandal and the Fall of Saigon. The logo was designed by Bruce Blackburn, who also modernised the NASA insignia (see also here and here). The bicentennial parade in Philadelphia was lead by grand marshal Johnny Cash and the US space agency unveiled its first test vehicle in its line of space shuttles—originally to be christened the Constitution in honour of the anniversary but renamed Enterprise due to popular demand.   Fifty years on, the holiday will probably be marked with the end of the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments, reversing birth-right citizenship and direct voting for senatorial representation.

synchronoptica

one year ago: another cosmic interloper (with synchronoptica) plus One Big Beautiful Bill 

two years ago:  the introduction of the Caesar salad (1925) plus the waterfalls of Mount Cuvignone

three years ago: David Bowie’s Station to Station, My Country ’Tis of Thee plus forgotten American mascots

four years ago: an ancient nebula 

five years ago: occupied Austria plus local flora 

six years ago: American Top 40 (1970), Nixon’s Honor America Day plus the superlative of free

corti (13. 477)

 

Traveling on inland to Haute Corsica, we drove through the dramatic and picturesque Restonica valley with the reservoir of Calacuccia to the island’s centre and explored the city of Corte (Corti), which under the leadership of statesman and resistance fighter Pasquale Paoli led the independence movement first from the Genoese and later the French, was the capital of the free republic from 1755 to 1769. The desire for self-determination has not fade in the ensuing centuries, evinced by the defaced, blacking out the French spelling of place names, and bullet-ridden roadsigns not a protest to over-tourism (though I suspect that might be a factor, with some of the traffic snarls encountered) and nationalist symbols and regular demonstrations at Paoli’s namesake university, and after the French takeover, the Corsican patriot was exiled to Britain, becoming rather a cause célèbre.

After the French Revolution, which Paoli initially supported until realising that the Bonapartes and their compatriots were devising a restoration and more of the same, and helped establish the short lived client state of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom (Riame anglu-corsu) under George III but was unable to prevent French reoccupation. A young Napoleon, member of the national guard and supporter of Corsican autonomy, idolised Paoli, but the affection was not mutual, seeing them, Napoleon’s father, Carlo Maria, an attorney from Ajaccio, had briefly served with Paoli in the resistance but changed sides to become a collaborator, as opportunists and untrustworthy. During the father’s time in Corti, Napoleon’s eldest brother, Ghjuseppe Bonaparte, was born—who trained also as a lawyer used his position within the revolutionary government of the First Republic to incite the Coup d’Ètat of 18 Brumaire, Year VIII, and install his sibling as chief consul—eventually leading to his coronation as Emperor of the French. As a consolation prize for being as over as the first born, Joseph was elevated to the rank of King of Naples and Sicily—much to the irritation of the dethroned incumbents—and later King of Spain and the Indies. Whereas Giuseppe I was able to court the elites in Italy, Jose I was deeply despised by his Spanish subjects who called him Pepe Botella (Joe Bottle) for his reputation for being a bad drunk, eventually revolting.

 

After the Battle of Leipzig and Waterloo, Joseph styled himself as Comte de Survilliers (the count of a small town northeast of Paris) and moved to Bordentown New Jersey, commissioning the estate Point Breeze in 1816, at the time, the largest residence in North America. The city was a beautiful jumble of ancient houses, ramparts and a belvedere overlooking the Renaissance era citadel—again built by Genovese occupiers—and the inhabitants, the Curtinesi, were friendly and welcoming. 

 

According to legend, the city was founded by a Trojan knight, choosing a spot in the middle of the island to maintain his authority over local tenant lords. Corsica came under the vassalage of the Roman Empire during the Punic Wars, the imperial forces routing the armies of the natives and Carthage during a territorial dispute. In the seventh century, it was taken by the Saracens. Genoa intervenes in the fourteenth century to drive out the Moors (remind me, we need to talk about Maurice) and with brief but multiple periods of ecclesiastical rule by local bishops the entire island comes under control of governors appointed by the Doge in 1511.

calvi (13. 464)

Though realising soon after arriving that the winding roads with their hairpin turns, shared by caravans, lorries, local traffic, cyclists, sheep, cows and goats alike, it took some acclimation to truly appreciate that we were not able to easily hop from location to location on the island as the safe maximum speed for most stretches of roadway along the coast was a careful and deferential thirty kilometres an hour—the speed limit was eighty but we witnessed no such attempts and were not about to try ourselves. What looked like a short excursion on the map was an all day affair, but no matter as their were plenty of sites near the campsite that required little travel and enjoyed the trip and destination of Calvi very much. The twelfth century stronghold was established with it citadel by the Genoese and successfully repelled incursions by the French and Turks before falling to Barbary pirates in the mid-sixteenth century by continued to be stronghold of support for the Republic.

During the French Revolutionary wars with Britain, Horatio Nelson captured the city with the help of Corsican nationalists—the battle which cost the admiral an eye. Calvi’s most famous son, supposedly at least since like Charlemagne he is claimed by several modern countries though nowadays it might be preferable to disown him, is Christopher Columbus—scholars are uncertain however and the bulk of the argument seems to lie in the fact that the explorer would have masked his birthplace because of the town’s subversive reputation.

We returned to the campsite late in the day, having travelled through the wine-growing region of the island.

 

gobierno militar estadounidense (13. 451)

With the formal withdrawal of the caretaker military government of the United States on this day in 1902 and the constitution, in part dictated and amended with several riders and preconditions, drawn up the previous year, the Republic of Cuba declared its independence with Tomás Estrada Palma, formerly the leader of the revolutionary junta of La República de Cuba en Armas that fought to free itself from Spanish rule prior to the invention of William McKinley’s Spanish-American war, with the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbour a catalyst for the conflict—blamed on Spanish loyalists but likely upon reexamination due to a boiler accident—which resulted in the annexation of Cuba and the Philippines, taking office as the first president. Before the constitution was enacted, the Platt amendment was incorporated, with seven articles primarily stipulating that Cuba would lease America land for naval stations and coal mining activities, not allow any other foreign powers the same privileges, and for the US to intervene unilaterally in domestic affairs of the island in order to protect business interests and the expatriate population, though the limits of this intervention were never defined, in exchange for the departure of US troops and ensuring that the segregationist policies of the occupation would be lifted. Two years into his second term in 1906, Estrada Palma and his cabinet resigned without appointing a successor, allowing the US to retake control as an occupying force under the arrangement of the Platt amendment lasting until 1909 when a government sympathetic to American sensibilities could be installed.

day seventy-eight (13. 439)

As former leader Raul Castro faces possible indictment, charged in absentia, the Cuban people brace for imminent invasion by the US as the country runs out of oil. The aircraft carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, leaves the Persian gulf to return to the Americans. Pakistani interior minister Moshin Naqvi travels to Iran to resume indirect talks with America. Taiwan reiterates its de facto independence after Trump warns Taipei not assert itself separate from mainland China. Counter-rallies occur in London as marches to commemorate Nabka Day, the displacement of the Palestinians, are met with far-right, ethnonationists Unite the Kingdom demonstrations, with calls to prepare for the second battle of Britain.  Putin and Xi will meet next week.  Israeli defence minister Katz criticises Spain and other European nations for boycotting the Eurovision song contest over his country’s participation.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a Baywatch spinoff (with synchronopticæ), assorted links, Trump in the Middle East plus former FBI director James Comey accused of threatening the president’s life

twelve years ago: generative journalism, immortal jellyfish plus the motivating factors of video game scores

thirteen years ago: EU assault on communal condiments

fourteen years ago: letterpress cities plus EU-US tax treaties

fifteen years ago: puritanical essences

day seventy-two (13. 419)

After a week, Tehran issued a counteroffer to the US fourteen-point plan, more of a memorandum of understanding than an agreement or way forward that asked for Iranian surrender and a twenty-year moratorium on nuclear development, which calls for the recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and reparations for the war. Trump rejects the proposal as “totally unacceptable,” accusing the country of playing games. The fragile ceasefire that has held for a month shows more signs of fraying as exchanges of fire increase. Highlighting tensions between America and Israel in the direction of the war, Netanyahu is urging his country to wean itself off of US military aid and reduce reliance on funding. The internet blackout in Iran, in place since protests erupted before the war, remains in place, confounding reporting and sentiment from the frontlines, the frozen conflict offering little hope of deliverance for the people of Iran with reform or regime change and for the broader world as economies continue to suffer from the disruptions to energy supplies.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a concert for peace in Central Park (with synchronopticæ), assorted links to revisit, details in comics plus a banger from Roxette

thirteen years ago: flea market finds 

fifteen years ago: the wrong unit patch 

sixteen years ago: plugging an oil leak 

dolus specialis (13. 414)

Having recently learned much more than our previous passing familiarity with the figure of Paul and Essie Robeson and his subsequent erasure from history from a cross-over episode of This American Life from the podcast Our Ancestors Were Messy (I strongly recommend listening), we appreciated this addendum—courtesy of Kottke—in this historic snapshot of good trouble with Robeson leading a delegation of the Civil Rights Congress to indict the US government before the United Nations with the charge of genocide perpetuated after the civil war with Jim Crow policies of segregation and disenfranchisement. A copies of the book-length petition were delivered to UN headquarters in New York as well as Paris, but manoeuvres by the United States, preoccupied with the Cold War, prevented formal debate of charges brought forward or even entertaining public discussion—supporters and signatories of the document were further persecuted and blacklisted, accused of exaggerating racial inequalities in order to advance the cause of communism. The title refers to the application of specific, deliberate intent to destroy a group in whole or in part under the UN’s own definition of the crime against humanity.

one nation underground (13. 409)

Beginning their studio recording session on this day in 1967 for their debut record, recently signed to ESP-Disk of New York City, the psychedelic folk garage band—the group’s name from the Book of Matthew passage “Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,” meaning do not cede things of value to those who will not understand or appreciate them, the concept album of tracks on the themes of protest, elan and mysticism was quickly mired in controversy, leading to many stations banning it from airplay. A troop of boy scouts correctly deduced that in the song “(Oh dear) Miss Morse,” the chorus was coded with the expletive f-u-c-k, prompting the scout master to phone in a complaint. Despite not receiving any royalties from the label after selling two hundred thousand copies, Pearls Before Swine remained with ESP for their next album the following year, Balaklava, inspired by Charge of the Light Brigade with strong anti-war themes against involvment in Vietnam. With eclectic instrumentation, sampling from classical recordings, literary references ranging from Herodotus to Tolkien and album art featuring Bosch and Bruegel, the band kept producing new music and garnered quite a cult following.

why send a unit when you already had a ghost? (13. 406)

Our gratitude to MetaFilter for directing us towards this captivating long-form cloak-and-dagger interview with the unlikely political saboteur, Rodney Wilkinson, Olympic fencer and veteran of the apartheid regime’s secret war with Angola who successfully planted four bombs in South Africa’s under construction Koeberg nuclear power station in December of 1982, pulled the pins on the detonators and bicycled away, covert until 1995—initially the RAF was blamed. The damage, costing an estimated half-a-billion rand (when the currency was at parity with the US dollar) set the programme back eighteen-months before the reactor—still the continent’s only one—could be repaired and brought online, and the attack was organised by uMkhonto we Sizwe, the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) in exile—founded by the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela after the massacre of ninety-one demonstrators protesting racial segregation in Sharpeville Township. Intelligence for the sabotage came from anti-apartheid activist Renfrew Leslie Christie (*1949 - †2025) who went on to further thwart South Africa’s nuclear ambitions, undermining its clandestine project to develop an atomic arsenal—best known for his defiant quote, referencing his family members whom had died fighting against the Third Reich: “I learned from them very early that what one does with Nazis is kill them.”

centre to centre-right (13. 346)

Fears that there would be no peaceful transition of power dissipating when the incumbent conceded defeat rather soon after polls closed and results came in and congratulated his challenger in the incoming prime minister Péter Magyar, Viktor Orbán and his Russian-aligned Fidesz party lost control of Hungary after a reign of sixteen years by a landslide with the voters turn-out the highest it had been since the fall of Communism in the early 1990s. The victory of Magyar’s Tisza movement, possibly securing a supermajority in parliament, whilst still socially conservative, is seen as a rebuke to far-right parties in Europe and aims for greater integration into the EU and signals cooperation with EU priorities, including aid for Ukraine and mutual defence, economically, militarily and environmentally and away from the regressive policies of illiberal democracy. JD Vance’s Thursday night political stumping for Orbán did not translate to a positive outcome and may be a preview of what’s to come for MAGA in the States.

the soiling of old glory (13. 321)

The Pulitzer prize winning image, captured on this day in 1976 by Boston Herald photographer Stanley Forman, who was the only recipient to be awarded the honour consecutively also for his Fire Escape Collapse, depicts a violent assault during the Massachusetts capital’s desegregation crisis of public schools. From a series of protests and counterdemonstrations in front of city hall, the image depicts professor, defence attorney and civil rights activist Ted Landsmark being attacked by a teenager named Joseph Rakes with a swinging flagpole as opposed to a joust from the angle of the photograph. Rakes was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and carries the stigma of being known as “the flag kid,” and Landsmark, narrowly avoiding being seriously injured parlayed the incident, the scene widely publicised, to highlight racial tensions in the region and was later hired by the mayor to improve outreach and workforce development opportunities.

synchronoptica

one year ago: First Contact (with synchronopticæ) plus a font based on the typeface on the almighty dollar

twelve years ago: Emoji Nation, recent additions to the French lexicon, little big world plus an aerial archaeological survey of German landscapes

thirteen years ago: miniature dioramas 

fourteen years ago: cyber security 

sixteen years ago: enhanced pat-downs 

they’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for forty-seven years—and now, i, as the forty-seventh president of the united states of america am killing them (13. 263)

Speaking earlier with Fox News, Trump referenced the 1979 Iranian revolution without mention of the US undermining efforts towards democratic reform and echoed previous ambitions announced a few days prior of “hitting the country very hard” and to “watch what happens to these scumbags.”

During a wide-ranging and cringe-inducing press conference, US secretary of war Pete Hegseth, among other topics—including remarks that the press was not delivering good headlines for this special operation and that David Ellison couldn’t take over CNN soon enough, War Widening should be Iran Shirking, Iran Going Underground—questioned Mojtaba Khamenei’s ability to govern, given his public absence since being appointed the Supreme Leader, saying without evidence that the ayatollah’s son was likely wounded and disfigured in the same air attack that took out the family compound. On this day of al-Quds march ( روز جهانی قدس , Jerusalem Day)—observed annually on the last Friday of Ramadan in support of Palestinian statehood, president Masoud Pezeshkian, took part in seeming defiance in response to Hegseth’s comments that all leadership was in hiding, whilst Israel announced funded for militias in eastern Gaza to oust Hamas through clandestine raids and abductions deep within the beleaguered territory and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres travelled to Beirut in solidarity, calling on Israel and Hezbollah to halt the fighting that has engulfed the country in violence without respect to the sovereignty of the populace.

oh who will find the antidote for pentagonorrhoea (13. 261)

Having coming across a clip of someone lip-syncing a section of this ditty the other day, I appreciated, courtesy of r/ObscureMedia, the full version with spoken-word intro from the Chad Mitchell Trio of this 1964 number, should you find any drafts that need dodging in your area. The group is rather famous for their satirical songs lampooning topical and controversial subjects during the Cold War, the civil rights movement and the Vietnam era, pivoting away from folk music with their then daring ridicule of the anti-communist, ultraconservative John Birch Society. Draft Dodger Rag was originally written by Phil Ochs and after being popularised by the Trio was soon afterwards performed by the Smothers Brothers on their comedy hour.

day twelve (13. 254)

As global oil supplies are disrupted with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (contrary to earlier claims, the US navy had not escorted an oil tanker for safe passage, though Iran’s capability to deploy mines in the sea route seems to be hampered), many importers, particularly in the Far East and contemplating easing Russian sanctions to fill the gap and keep their economies running, replenishing the Kremlin’s war chest for its continued assault on Ukraine. US secretary of war announced that the next wave of strikes against Tehran will be even more intense as Trump again mulls over the idea of sending in special forces to secure Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, sticking to his demands of complete surrender. The American administration reportedly requested that Israel stop attacking energy infrastructure, signalling the first disagreement between the allied aggressors since the beginning of the assault after toxic smoke and acid rain from burning refineries blanketed the capital, precipitating an environmental disaster and making the populace ill. Differences also emerge between the US president and vice president on embarking on this military adventure. Iran’s chief of police announces that protesters will be treated as enemies, reigniting the crackdown on anti-government demonstrations and imposing curfews.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), tariff tantrums plus renewed overtures for Greenland

twelve years ago: EU and US reactions to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula plus the hierarchy of security clearances

thirteen years ago: upcoming Pi Day 

fifteen years ago: funerary arts in Germany 

sixteen years ago: the Holy Sea’s chief exorcist 

culcitology (13.214)

Vis-à-vis the prior post, we thoroughly enjoyed this deep-dive from host Alie Ward that serendipitously was next in my feed on the history and craft of quilting—the study from the Latin for pillows and bedding featuring an expert panel discussing all aspects of textile art from familial traditions and pedagogy, therapeutic aspects, documentation, memorial, encoded messages, politics to protest. The overview of the ethnography of the ungated art and transition from a commercial, male dominated activity to domestic labour and women’s work (see also) and the social movements that grew out of quilting-bees and sewing-circles is particularly fascinating. There’s even a bonus bespoke pattern and a tutorial at the website up top.

the power of the people is stronger than the people in power (13. 192)

As we are informed by MetaFilter, for Ash Wednesday, Irish band U2 released a surprise extended play collection of six tracks called Days of Ash—their first recording since 2017 originally planned for later this year but decided that they couldn’t wait as the songs were growing more and more impatient and urgent by the day. The below lead is dedicated to Renée Good and the resistance of Minneapolis and others deal with the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, also paying tribute to Iranian teenager Sarina Esmailzadeh killed during protests and Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen. Postcards from the present moment, the album reaffirms the group’s political boldness and combines biblical allegory with partisan messaging. “The Tears of Things” and “Yours Eternally” was especially powerful.

supercluster (13. 178)

Though finding PfRC’s rather standoffish and neglected handle, via Web Curios, in the vast undifferentiated Bermuda Triangle between the Creative Portfolios Gallery, the Canadian Nature & Arts Scatter and the Geometry Dash Arena, given our level of engagement with the platform and only occasionally checking-in, we’re not surprised our granularity hasn’t coalesced around a larger group. Not sure what kind of data connections feed these nodes and nebulae (see also for some more online geocaching) but certain those profiles more active on the site have found their niche and those they identify with—and whilst more interaction might shift one to the Highlands of Resistance or the Vale of Swedish Progressives or the German Antifa Expanse, there are social media bubbles topologically, cosmologically grouped (some mixed metaphors for invented topolects), enclaves and Twitter exodus exclaves but, thankfully no charted lands as refuges for toxic tribalism, shitposters and reply guys. Plug in your name and check out this map of Bluesky and get to know what’s in your local neighbourhood and constellation. Hopefully the network effect has taken hold and free exchange, journalism, fandom can be taken back from moribund and algorithmic platforms.

9x9 (13. 165)

shoulder angel: the Scottish philosopher teaching one AI model morals—via Marginal Revolution 

pdf forensics: a case study of the sanitisation and hidden data through the Epstein files—via Quantum of Sollazzo  

individual neutral athletes: a historic look of Russia at the Games 

secretz de l’histoire naturelle: a late fifteenth century illustrated guide to exotic, far-flung lands  

the ents showing up to take down isengard: more reflections on Bad Bunny and friends Super Bowl half-time show 

volunteer army: the recruitment call enlisting anonymous editors to stave off AI from Wikipedia—via LitHub  

herren-t-shirt olympisches erbe der olympischen spiele in berlin: commemorative apparel from the 1936 Games from the official shop is met with backlash 

it’s the people’s house and it’s also the presidents home, so he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the white house: annual bipartisan meeting of US governors called off when Trump excludes Democratic state leaders 

human prerogative: on the imitation game, all exercises—even the boring ones—having value and why computers can’t surprise

synchronoptica

one year ago: US to stop minting pennies (with synchronopticæ) plus DOGE and the Deep State

twelve years ago: the Atlantis Haus 

fifteen years ago: Egypt in media res

 

9x9 (13. 148)

times new resistance: a typeface disguised to appear as the US government endorsed font but furnishes subversive autocorrect suggestions  

there are four lights: Star Trek: TNG episode “Chain of Command” is an allegory for domestic abuse  

prosperity gospel: at the US National Prayer Breakfast (see previously) Trump announces upcoming ceremony to rededicate America to Jesus  

dominotier: the guild of wallpaper makers and the many applications of their craft  

plasticine dream: render yourself in claymation in real time  

🦞: more on the theology created by AI agents—see previously—via Web Curios 

almanac: US Central Intelligence Agency in an act of cultural vandalism is not only sunsetting its World Factbook but also deleting its archives  

ill may day: Sir Ian McKellen masterfully recites from the apocryphal Shakespeare play about a sixteenth century anti-immigrant riot  

blackletter fraktur: on how the Gothic typeface, based on French handwriting, became synonymous with Nazism despite Hitler’s ban on its use—see previously—via Kottke