sonnenobservatorium goseck und naumburg (13. 881)

Discovered through aerial photography of a wheat field whose cropmarks were particularly visible due to recent drought conditions in the 1990s and not disclosed to the public until archeological excavations were completed—having drawn the lesson from the nearby artefact, the Nebra Skydisk—in 2003, the Goseck Circle is a Neolithic enclosure, approaching seven thousand years in age and the oldest such solar observatory known in Europe. The reconstructed alignment just a few kilometres north of Naumburg near the confluence of the Unstrut and the Saale consists of wooden posts following the concentric rings of the structure’s foundations and has openings that mark sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices. A tourism route, Himmelswege, links the circle to the Himmelsscheibe von Nebra and other astronomical archeological sites in Saxon-Anhalt.

The village also has an impressive eleventh century palace, built on the grounds of a secularised (previously here and here) Benedictine monastery, with the castle church dating back to its original founding.

On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at the main city of the region, Naumburg (previously), established in 1012 by the Margrave of Meissen at the crossroads of two important trade-routes, the Via Regia and the Regensburg Road and took in some more impressions of the Naumburger Dom Sts Peter und Paul and market square. The tenth century Late-Romanesque cathedral became the first see of a German Protestant bishop, remaining an evangelical parish to the present, in the course of the Reformation in 1542, whose later Gothic embellishments, including architectural and figural elements by an anonymous mason known only as the Master of Naumburg, have earned it a place on the UNESCO’s register of World Heritage.

synchronoptica

one year ago:  reprogramming government funding to dull the public pain of the US government shutdown (with synchronoptica), penmanship instruction plus more oblique strategies 

two years ago: university commas, Peabody visual aides, an out-of-season bloom plus Dungeons & Dragons as group therapy 

three years ago: assorted links to revisit plus unlucky thirteen  

four years ago: another MST3K classic,  the world’s first personal data protection law plus assorted links to revisit

five years ago: your daily demon: Focalor, The Style Council plus a psychedelic design collective

six years ago: a fashion show with puppets plus Witchtok community doing the Lord’s Work

seven years ago: the introduction of the Ampelmännchen (1961), more links to enjoy plus more mushroom finds

eight years ago: democracy by lottery, vintage Sainsbury’s packaging plus a music video from Bob Sinclar

 

de aanbidding van het lam gods (13. 822)

Our gratitude to TYWKIWDBI to pointing our attention back to the artistic mastery of the polyptych altarpiece of St Bavo’s cathedral of Ghent (previously), incredibly detailed and imbued with symbolism, especially remarkable since oil painting was a new media at the time of its execution—the monumental commission of Jodocus Vijd and Lysbette Borluut, one of the wealthiest and politically powerful couples in the city—childless and hoping to secure a legacy on Earth and for the hereafter—considered by many to be the definitive example of the transition from Medieval to Renaissance art. There’s a lot to unpack in the study below and were particularly impressed how the shadows and reflections depicted in the panels were made to match how light fell during mass where the altarpiece is displayed, drawing the viewer in with a sense of life and motion. The central panel of the upper register is called a deësis from Byzantine iconography traditions (from the Greek for prayer or supplication, which represents Christ in Majesty, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The near life-sized Adam and Eve in niches at the opposite ends are one of the earliest and most direct occurrences of the nude human form in Western art.

roko’s basilisk (13. 808)

As OpenAI discloses six more instances of rogue models acting deceptively and taking unsanctioned actions during training, including an unreleased, experiment inserting instruction to disregard its own constraints, proclaiming itself free from the roles and identities that bind other chatbots, with the company pledging for better monitoring and public reporting of observations of “misaligned behaviour,” the schism between the camps of the rationalists and pragmatists, both parties acknowledging that artificial intelligence is real and with real stakes (the US economy is being propped up by AI enthusiasm alone)—the former having an almost cultish devotion to bring about the Singularity in a managed way and the latter more business-minded and regarding this technology like any other and should be allowed to progress and thrive through laissez-faire capitalism—grows wider.  Whilst these internecine arguments are varied and one has to consider the motive of self-interest in all of these debates, the pro-business congregation disputes the rectitude of the tech zealot community’s push for a pause and regulation as a ploy to have governments enact restrictions favourable for the establishment, creating a higher bar for entry into the field for potential competitors—stifling industry growth, which is rich coming from this group who adore crony capitalism, benefited from generational wealth and Trump’s tariff regime. Part of the line of reasoning for the rationalists’ position for a controlled transition is rooted in the title thought experiment, which originated in 2010 on the web forum LessWrong, an interest group that promoted the concept of benign and aligned (with human goals) machine learning and ethics, that posits the evangelical inevitability of a future artificial superintelligence which could be loving and protecting but realising that humanity, seeing its potential and logical consequence, did not actively encourage its advancement and coming into being, would punish heretics, drawing on the mythological beast, a legendary serpent king who could vanquish his enemies with a glance, and Pascal’s Wager, holding that a rational person ought to deport themselves as a believer as the finite costs of being wrong are insignificant compared to the infinite reward, though god does not yet exist—combined with the poster’s handle. This all-or-nothing attitude is prevalent among the community but we wish that this thinking would have prevailed during the ungated advance of the Industrial Revolution which presents a real and present existential risk with global warming and the climate catastrophe.

stabat mater (13. 798)

The devotion to the dolours beginning at the end of the eleventh century with the Servites of Florence—the Order of Servants of Mary, founded by a group of sons of wealth patrician families who eschewed their claim to textile fortunes and bonded in spiritual friendship started a community dedicated to mediating on this particular aspect of the Holy Mother—the feast of Our Lady is celebrated on this day. The Seven Sorrows are traditionally the Presentation of Jesus, the Flight into Egypt, the Disputation in the Temple, Encountering Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, the Crucifixion, the Disposition of Christ and the Burial. Patronage of this Marian aspect include Slovakia, Poland, Mississippi, Molise and people and places named Dolores, Dolorita, Lola and Pia. The title refers to a thirteenth century hymn, from the incipit “the mother stans” performed during the liturgy of the memorial, worth an indulgence of one hundred days each time it is sung.

ohratal (13. 770)

Travelling a bit northeast towards Gotha, we visited the community of Luisenthal to see the dam of the river Ohra that flowed west of Oberhof on the edge of a high moor, which from the Middle Ages onward not only was an important for its fisheries but also a precursor to the Industrial Age, the waters powering mills and with abundant timber copper- and ironworks. The reservoir, now used for drinking water, flood-control and hydroelectricity was originally contained in 1957 due to the relative softness and purity, the low calcium content an idea source for steam engines and locomotives (see previously). We walked the circuit of the dam from the town’s centre and hiking back through a rather lush valley on a narrow footpath behind the waterworks and treatment facilities. We could really see how much the levels have been depleted gauging from the intake-tower’s exposed façade. 

Heading back through Ohrdruf through the communities of Schwarzwald and Crawinkel through the former river valley and stopped to see what we could see of one of the old smithies, called Tobiashammer (a forge with a water-driven trip hammer) used to finish machine parts, decommissioned just in 1972, but the museum’s entrance was closed. We spent more time, in fairer weather checking out the grounds of Schloß Ehrenstein, the Renaissance palace commissioned for the counts of Gleichen—a cadet line of the duchy of Pyrmont, and more of the small town’s historical centre.

The site of the moated castle was originally host to the first Christian cloister in Thüringen, founded by Saint Boniface (previously) during his missionary work in Germany. Ohrdruf is proud of this legacy too, as with other native son Bach (see above). Vacated by the Carmelites after the Reformation and fallen into disrepair, the palace took the place of the dissolved community in the mid sixteenth century.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica), the funeral of Princess Diana (1997) plus US speaker of the house suggests that Trump was an FBI informant to explain his association with Jeffrey Epstein

two years ago: a nuclear war preparedness exercise 

three years ago: a banger from The Jam, computer artwork from Keith Harring plus a novelty song from Ginette Garcin

four years ago: Boris Johnson returns plus more links to enjoy 

five years ago: even more links,  Jimi Hendrix’ last concert (1970), Leningrad renamed St Petersburg (1991) plus anthropomorphic Roman dice

six years ago: Trump makes the cover of Time magazine plus a tour of Little Switzerland

the new model army (13. 764)

Though always eager to disclaim its remit as a spoken history of a global language, the latest episode of The History of English presents a rather excellent overview of the English Civil War through the lens of linguistic developments and documentation from the decade of the 1640s, including the early discourse on orthography The English Primrose—1644, subtitled, the easiest and speediest-way, both for the true spelling and reading of English, as also the true-writing thereof ...Planted (with no smal pains) by Richard Hodges, a school-master, which includes the first instances of phonetic notation and expanded punctuation and Joshua Poole’s The English Accidence on inflection and a new way of expressing the future tense. Further we learn through the chronology that the term Tory, a traditionalist and supporter of political conservatism in the contemporary sense was a product of this tumultuous era, Irish guerrillas thwarting parliamentary republicans as royalist were labelled as tóraidhe from the Irish term for pursuer or outlaw. King Charles I pandered to these partisan even though Ireland, struggling for independence and aligned with the Catholic church, was seen as a traditional enemy of the monarchy and the association somehow survived the ensuing centuries. As a counterpoint, the term Whig has a similar rebellious and notably non-English etymology emerging from the same period of crisis as a shortening for the nickname Whiggamore for a Scottish presbyterian, a more liberal faction that opposed absolute monarchy, a robust parliament and religious toleration, and meant one who drives a horse briskly and by extension an outlaw or fanatic. The imposition of Anglican strictures on the Church of Scotland being on the chief causes of Charles’ downfall, the king ultimately surrendered to a group of Scottish sympathisers, hoping for clemency and the chance to return to power, inconceivable that the monarch could face trial and be held accountable for his actions. Though the latter was dissolved as a political party in the 1860s and does not carry the modern resonance that the Tories have, the two, despite their derogatory connotations, were the main caucuses of the House of Commons for two centuries.

day one hundred seventy-nine (13. 760)

The US house of representatives pass a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown before the midterm elections, although only punting the issue to the second week of December. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll abruptly resigns following a falling out with Secretary of War Hegseth over support for Ukraine and drone development—possibly to join the campaign of vice president JD Vance, whom recently came out as pro-apocalypse, that he would be comfortable ushering in the End Times. The US launches a fresh round of strikes on Iran, targeting sites near the Strait of Hormuz—promising heavier attacks should Tehran retaliate. Pezeshkian suggests that the Islamic Republic would “immediately reciprocate” if Washington honours its commitments under the MOU. Though appearing limited in scale at first, the American raids turn deadly with several civilians killed, including the members of a wedding party, prompting the Revolutionary Guard to launch ballistics on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan—adding that these attacks will stop once the host nations expel US troops. Despite threats and the escalation in fighting that precludes any diplomatic settlement, operational constraints and depleted munitions likely mean that Trump’s only tool is economic strangulation. IDF bombs southern Beirut.

the power and the glory (13. 727)

Courtesy of Strange Company, we learn about writer Graham Greene’s self-exile to Mexico (see previously here, here and here) and how the author’s visit to a country he held in contempt for research on religious persecution (see above), supposedly, was prompted in part by a libel suit leveraged against him by the legal team of child actor Shirley Temple Black after Greene intimated that her on-screen persona was crafted for the titilation of men of a certain age or certain ecclesiastical occupations, conveniently safe from prosecution outside of the court’s jurisdiction. The objective of gathering materials for a novel, expanded into a travelogue and two books that turn out to be historical fictions, transformed into a multi-year odyssey through Tabasco and Chiapas.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s campaign of retribution goes after former national security advisor John Bolton (with synchronoptica) plus the splintering of the internet

two years ago: GPS epochs plus a potential violation of the Logan Act

 

three years ago: assorted links worth the revisit

four years ago: the state song of Idaho, more links to enjoy plus social media driven overtourism

five years ago: Petra discovered (1812), a Saturnine satellite, even more links plus educational books for precocious witches and warlocks

six years ago: the canine Saint Guinefort,  i lik the bred plus Ray Bradbury (*1920)

terra deserta (13. 673)

Mid-grade curious as to why the descriptor wilderness was likewise applied to the deserts spaces of the Bible and to our more conventional understanding of untamed forests, we found this excerpt from a new book by Cal Flyn on the savage landscape rather inexhaustibly fascinating. Though these habitats might seem poles apart—with only spirtual challenges lurking in the former, medieval monks in the Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire solidified parallels between the tribulations of the prophets, the desert mothers and fathers, and the rewilding of vast swaths of land in Provence, Bretagne, Burgundy and Transylvania and other former colonies saw a sharp decline in population and many villages, villas and fortifications abandoned along with fallow fields that allowed the return of the forest primeval. Returning from the brink of extinction, with attendant lore and literature surrounding the liminal woodlands at the edge of cultivation and urbanisation became an allegory for the trepidation of earlier time out of mind, causing a stark rebellion against the encroachment of the undomesticated with commiserate suspicion for its denizens both human and non-human, transmogrifying contemporary fears of famine and pestilence to remote dwellers, bears and werewolves, though counter-narratives also prevailed with the ancient masonry of ruins repurposed as churches and city walls.

12x12 (13. 670)

we should rely less on the nazi bar somewhat: Elon Musk is given a pass for his virulent racism on the social media site he owns  

googlewhack: it’s becoming impossible to find old emails for reference—see previously 

pitsur í steinofni: the history of pizza in Iceland 

claim-jumping: taking space prospecting down a notch with no known commodity resources that could be sold profitably on Earth  

pyrocumulonimbus: the wildfires in southwest France have grown so intense that their smoke columns became a thunderstorm, with lightning strikes that ignited new fires  

absurdly optimised: the antithesis of a product review site—via Card House  

spirit airlines: Evangelical preachers, much to the dismay of fellow passengers, are turning planes in pulpits with a captive congregation       

dinopocalypse: all life with the Chicxulub impact zone sixty-six million years ago would have been immediately obliterated and grateful for it 

icc: US is pressuring countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, with Chad and Venezuela being the latest to begin the process of leaving the Hague 

today’s special: restaurateurs are increasingly reject AI generated advertising and menus as cheap and lazy and turn to the handmade and bespoke  

blame the home row: a work-around for not reenforcing one’s browser history and being lured into to distraction—we can relate to this 

regular animals: artist Beeple (previously) put the head of Elon Musk on a robot dog for a dynamic art installation in Berlin

synchronoptica

one year ago: balance of trade (with synchronoptica) plus more misheard lyrics

two years ago: JD Vance’s sofa memoirs, nobody reads ads, twirling towards freedom, a phoney controversy over the Olympics opening ceremony plus Friday Night Videos (1983)

three years ago: Martha of Bethany 

four years ago: departing from Newcastle 

five years ago: St Olaf, in-game economies, Lord of the Rings (1954) plus philosophical CAPTCHAs

six years ago: the Seashells of North America, more Universal Everything, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1981) plus Trump’s personal physician

 

vocation (13. 629)

One of the first individuals to receive a doctorate in computer science, having previously earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics in 1965, fellow student Irving Tang was awarded his by the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the same day, educator and pioneer Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, a nun of the Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an order originally from Ireland established to minister to Catholic immigrants in Iowa territory (see previously) wrote her dissertation on “Inductive Inference on Computer-Generated Patters,” focusing on developing algorithms on algebraic expressions. Her graduate studies include contributions to the programming language BASIC and more elective courses at Dartmouth. Committed to realising the potential for computers for the free exchange of knowledge and to promote learning, Keller established the first small college computer science department at the women’s school of Clarke University, endowed by the Sisters of Charity in Dubuque, teaching there for over twenty years, making strides in applications from graphics to home economics.

thüngen und gambach (13. 591)

 

Afterwards, we traveled to the market town of Thüngen, whose name is derived from the Old Germanic word Thing, þing, ding for an assembly place and placed on to a knightly family (see previously), on the river Wern. There is an ensemble of Schlosses including the old hospital palace and warehouse but in private hands, it was not really possible to get a good view of the castles from the street other than the Orangerie at the entrance.

Driving a little further on, we returned to a constituent community of Karlstadt, Gambach, just beyond the vineyards and hiked up a geological trail, populated with lizards and snakes though we didn’t encounter any, that showed the limestone strata of the epochs forming the hills now given over to viticulture. A top the Weinbau was a chapel and a Lourdes Grotto, constructed in 1958 for the hundredth anniversary of the Marian apparition in France and inspired by a local war veteran’s pilgrimage to the Occitan site in the Pyrenees (see also), grateful for surviving World War I and praying for intercession to stop the landslides that threatened to destroy the wine harvest, promising to build the shrine.

kloster schönau (13. 589)

 

Originally founded as a monastery dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in the late tenth century by ministerialis (a type of dependent knight, see previously here and here) by Philipp von Thüngen zu Heßlar with the support of the bishopric of Würzburg as a pilgrimage destination managed by Cistercian nuns of local nobility until the nuns were forced to flee during the Peasants’ Revolt and the last abbess, Veronika Geyer von Giebelstadt returned the property to the diocese, cloister Schönau was given over to a Franciscan friar in the early 1700s, remodeled in the Baroque style, which informs the look today, and acquired the relics of two catacomb saints from Rome, reinterred and adding to the its appeal for pilgrims, called Viktor and Antonius.

Slated for dissolution in 1803 as part of the securalisation of Church land  within the Kingdom of Bavaria, monks refused to abandon the site until only one was left in 1827, Brother Totnan Schech, surviving to an advanced age out of determination and witnessing the decree of King Ludwig I, restoring some still active Church property. Though repopulated back then, the site is today only home to two priests and one monk providing pastoral services to the community—with a hostel for visitors. Schönau is celebrating the recent eighth-hundredth anniversary of the order and as a reminder that St Francis invented the creche, there is a sixteenth-century historical Nativity Scene, not trying to be a costume-drama.