Premiering on this day in 1893 at the Weimarer Staatskapelle, the fairy-tale operetta by siblings Adelheid Witte and Engelbert Humperdinck and conducted by Richard Strauss was a much lauded adaptation of the Grimm Mรคrchen (somewhat toned down for audience appeal) for its folk-inspired musical motifs and has become a Christmas time staple. A family of poor subsistence farmers—broom-makers by trade—have a sudden boon when Father sells a bunch of his wares at good prices to villagers from beyond the forest preparing for a festival and want to clean their homes, returning with quite a bounty of food for them. Meanwhile Mother has sent her indolent children, who would rather play and complain about how hungry they are than attend to their chores, out to Ilsensteiner Wald at the foot of the Brocken to gather strawberries. Expositionally, Father says that that place is the home of the evil Knusperhexe (‘nibbling witch,’ usually played by the same singer as Mother) who lures away children with promises of treats and transforms them into gingerbread. Father and Mother rush to the enchanted woods to find the children but they very much have a handle on the situation.
Saturday 23 December 2023
Monday 11 December 2023
schminkautomat (11. 182)
Via Messy Nessy Chic’s peripatetic findings and although originally staged as a hoax (Aprilscherz from the photo archives of the Sรผddeustsche Zeitung), such acoin-op beauty dispensary must certainly be a contemporary, inevitable reality regardless of whether the calibre of the technology has seen much improvement over the intervening century.
Prospective users are invited gauge the colours to right tones and style, insert 10₰, face the portal and turn the hand crank. A bell sounds when the makeup (the word comes from the Late Middle High German verbs for smearing and stroking) has been applied.
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐, ๐️, networking and blogging
Saturday 9 December 2023
clock-radio (11. 174)
Admitting a certain penchant for multi-function gadgets—like infamously a car vacuum-flash light-tyre pump combo that excelled at none of these tasks—we found this latest post from Fancy Notions to be quite resonant, particularly the German Engineering aspect with the precision of the eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher, calibrated to an ideal weight to crack the shell perfectly without mangling the soft-boiled interior—the steel plunger exerting a force of a little more than half a newton (one kilogram accelerating one meter per second per second). While we have a very serviceable egg-timer that alleviates some of the guess-work, it is a challenge (that I aspire to keep) to run the eggs under cold water long enough to get the exterior to peel away easily.
Friday 8 December 2023
krisenmodus (11. 172)
Echoing last year’s selection from Collins Dictionary of permacrisis, the Gesellschaft fรผr deutsche Sprache (previously) has chosen crisis-mode for the Worte des Jahres for 2023 as a reflection of the ongoing exceptional states of emergency that polarise a seemingly powerless, frightened and overwhelmed public between the extremes of apathy and alarmism. Runners’ up included Lesefรคhigkeit (reading comprehension) due to a sharp fall in functional literacy perceived to have been made worse by school closures during COVID, KI Boom (Kรผnstlichen Intelligenz, AI), a term for infighting among the ruling government coalition and Teilzeitgesellschaft—part-time society for more of a work-life balance.
Tuesday 5 December 2023
luna luna (11. 167)
Virtually lost and obscure since its 1987 exhibition of modern art presented as a fun-fair featuring the works of Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Dalรญ, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sonia Delaunay and David Hockney among others, the amusement park originally installed in Hamburg under the direction of curator Andrรฉ Heller has been restored and will be a travelling-circus with its first stop in Los Angeles. Among the some thirty original attractions will return albeit as non-functioning rides include a carousel by Haring and a Ferris wheel by Basquiat and a fun-house maze designed by Lichtenstein. The planned revival is sponsored by performer and entrepreneur Drake and his DreamCrew team. More from designboom at the link up top.
Sunday 26 November 2023
componibili (11. 142)
Celebrating half a century since their original presentation in a Kรถln pavilion in 1972 and 1973, the rarely displayed club- and pin-like orbitals by sculptor Roberto Cordone will be gathered for an exhibition near the original grounds to reintroduce the iconic design and symmetry that helped legitimise plastic as a medium to complement traditional public art. Whilst these molecular, tetrahedrons are stationary, Cordone’s most celebrated installations are kinetic, metal elements called perpendicolari and elicoidali that can be repositioned by wind and waves and are self-righting, displayed as permanent outdoor monuments but occasionally adapted for the stage as part of a ballet choreography. Learn more about the showcase, the artist and its sponsors at designboom at the link above.
Saturday 25 November 2023
l’etoile du nord (11. 140)
The state flag of Minnesota, as TYWKIWDBI informs, is undergoing a redesign (see previously here and here and here) to modernise the banner and refine the jumble of tiny symbols emblazoned within, keeping the lodestar but to the regret of many residents forgoing the loon and happily removing the imaging the of the Native American riding off into the sunset with a settler ploughing the field in the foreground. Subject to public input, the redesign will be finalised by the committee from a selection of six finalists by the new year. The clean abstract look reminds me of the flags of the prefectures of Japan—which whilst not uniform, do have a cohesive look to them and wonder if the rest of the American states ought not to follow this example of vexillological reform for more of a corporate branding. The flags of the German states, notwithstanding the coats-of-arms—which can be complicated affairs but follow the rules of heraldry or blocks of patterns, and are like the rule-of-thumb prescribes, recognisable and can be drawn from memory. More at the links above.
Wednesday 22 November 2023
freiwirtschaft (11. 131)
Proposed by German-Argentine economist and proponent of market socialism Johann Silvio Gesell—detailed though eventually acquitted by authorities impressed with his argument in his own defence for his part in the in the short-lived, experimental Bavarian Soviet Republic, Freigeld (that is money free from the temptation for hoarding it without the incentive of interest) that decayed and depreciated over time, thus rather than a store of wealth made “worse as a commodity if we wish to make it better as a medium of exchange.” Considering himself a world-citizen and constantly relocating, Gessel arrived in Buenos Aires to open a franchise of a family member’s business coinciding with the 1890 economic depression and the experience informed his thoughts on property and welfare and sought to balance self-interest and liquidity. Like a form of negative interest or demurrage (the cost of holding money subject to a periodic tax), Gessel’s proposed currency would have a limited purchase—before expiry—of a constant value, subject to neither inflation nor deflation, freely exchangeable among other currencies and bear a grid on the obverse of fifty-two spots for monetary authority issued stamps for which the holder must affix one per week for the note to hold its value, the bill losing value as long as it was retained and not spent at the holder’s expense. The experiment was trialled (with certificates and scrip) to some acclaim and continues for a certain extent with limited-time-offers, coupons and local complementary currency.
synchronoptica
one year ago: a proposal for a broadcast energy transmitter, assorted links to revisit plus the Beatles’ White Album
two years ago: Angela Merkel becomes chancellor (2005) plus a Harry Belafonte classic carol
three years ago: more on script and spelling reform, the Battle of Ballon (845), more on Angela Merkel, the resignation of Margaret Thatcher, the BBC motion graphics archive plus the Feast of St Cecilia
four years ago: Our Sandman plus more public testimony over the Trump impeachment inquiry
five years ago: Plato’s Stepchildren plus a Thanksgiving greeting
Sunday 19 November 2023
milbenkรคse (11. 126)
Strange Company directs our attention to an attempt to revive a foodway, a half a millennium old tradition that had all but died out during East German times when the government (perhaps wisely, and continues to inhabit a grey regulatory area) banned the production and distribution of live-mite food, thanks to the concerned efforts of two individuals in the village Wรผrchwitz, south of Leipzig. Also known as Spinnenkรคse, it was discovered accidentally (see also) by leaving curd (Quark) to age in a wooden box and then finding it ripened and edible, with a bit of a zesty after-taste thanks to an infestation of microscopic arachnids (Tyrophagus casei, memorial erected in 2009 in the only locality that makes it) whose bodies form the rind. It wasn’t until much later that people understood how it was being formed and apparently pairs well with beer or wine. More from Atlas Obscura at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: ASCII meme templates, the micronation Rose Island, an Egyptian surrealist movement, a word-generating bot plus vox populi out of context
two years ago: visiting Gdaลsk
three years ago: the Arecibo radio telescope decommissioned, a sad Christmas tree plus an just passed, much anticipated wine release
four years ago: the first Monรฉgasque television station plus assorted links to revisit
five years ago: The Last Unicorn, a 3D printed architectural pavilion, the German Youth Word of the Year plus artificial flowers to help the pollinators
Friday 10 November 2023
laterne, laterne, sonne, mond und sterne (11. 107)
In anticipation of the Feast of Saint Martin and the tradition of a lamp-lit procession, welcoming rather than ushering out the darkness and gloam of autumn formerly having roughly corresponded to the first of the month and a continuation of Halloween celebrations prior to calendar reform, we enjoyed this small sampling from a catalogue of chromolithographs of paper lantern designs from 1880 from the Tรผbingen booksellers Riethmรผller—which still sells paperware and party favours. More at the links above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) plus Radiation Baby
two years ago: sinking nations plus Chaka Khan (1984)
three years ago: Toot, Whistle, Pluck and Boom, the US election, the Friends theme song, expecting more from America, voting irregularities plus an early edition
four years ago: an Art Nouveau printmaker, more Inktober maps, film composer Carlo Savina, a racing bar chart of the biggest musicians plus the debut of Sesame Street
five years ago: more unbuilt architecture, AI writes news copy, The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T plus a historical film lot consumed by wildfire
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ✝️, ๐, ๐, Baden-Wรผrttemberg
Wednesday 1 November 2023
drei haselnรผsse fรผr aschenbrรถdel (11. 087)
The Czechoslovakian-East German co-production of the Bohemian variation of the fairy tale (Tลi oลรญลกky pro Popelku, Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella) opened in theatres on this day in 1973. Enduring and shown around Christmas time and making the circuit through the channels much like It’s A Wonderful Life the primary filming location was Schloss Moritzburg between Meissen and Dresden. The village is in a frenzy as the royal entourage will be stopping en route to their nearby castle, with rumours that the eligible Prince (portrayed by Rolf Hoppe) will choose a bride during the local fรชte. Cinderella’s step mother keeps her busy with menial and seemingly impossible chores in order to keep the competition to a minimum and showcase her less attractive and wicked step-sister. Doves, however, come to Cinderella’s assistance and finishes the tasks, affording her the free time to wander in the woods and encounter the prince and his hunting party, who are impressed with her equestrian skills. Later gifted three wish-granting filberts, Cinderella is able to regale herself with various disguises to become the King-of-the-Hunt as well as the belle of the ball.
synchronoptica
one year ago: another penny black, assorted links to revisit plus the Word of the Year
two years ago: another Word of the Year plus a starting point to restore our burning world
three years ago: The Mask (1961), the Sistine Chapel opened to the public plus indigenous characters in comics
four years ago: a space odyssey, World Vegan Day, more mushrooming plus Blade Runner
five years ago: Trump activates the army to guard the border, movie ratings, an Ansel Adams’ photograph plus a bio brick
Sunday 15 October 2023
rentenmark (11. 058)
In order to combat runaway hyperinflation after World War I and the the subsequent occupation of the industrial Ruhr region by French and Belgian forces that caused a major slump in economic activity and an attendant drop in government tax revenues that the Weimar Republic tried to compensate for with quantitive easing (that is—printing more money), finance minister Hans Luther, working with the Reichsbank, introduced a new currency on this day in 1923 to replace the Papiermark. Money had become nearly worthless and subject to precipitous devaluation on a daily basis due to lack of gold and other stable assets to back it, and Luther, whose plans for reform were grounded on the economic principles espoused by Karl Helfferich who suggested floating, indexing monetary value on rye and other agricultural commodities, devised a mortgaged-mark not tied to produce and crop yields (the original idea rejected due to inherent instability) but rather to the land that produced them, backed by biannual payments on farmland and business properties. With the first notes issued on 1 November, one trillion Papiermark could be exchanged for one Rentenmark and the relatively successful transition provided the stability for a recovery in the national economy.
synchronoptica
one year ago: most popular Halloween candy by state according to AI, a UB40 classic from 1988, the cemetery of Old St Pancras plus a menu ร la carte
two years ago: assorted links to revisit, more unaired television pilots, Mouldy Old Dough plus dialling up the fright factor with AI
three years ago: more obscure and choice insults, a musical selection from Bronski Beat, more links to enjoy, Jack the Ripper’s From Hell letter, word nuance in cooking plus The Great Dictator (1940)
four years ago: high-energy cosmic rays
five years ago: a fun Star Trek musical mashup, more links plus discovering the convenience of public transport
Monday 9 October 2023
7x7 (11. 047)
haus zum walfisch: explore horror film shooting locations of 1970s and 1980s classics, including Suspiria filmed in a townhouse in Freiburg im Breisgau
concrete feats: a tour of Italy’s Brutalist architecture
rapid electric vehicle retrofits: an Australian student wins James Dyson Award for an inexpensive conversion kit to make gas-powered vehicles hybridearthshapes: fantastic geography from pilot Joseph N Portney
larva convivialis: the miniature dancing skeletons of Roman banquets—via Strange Company
jungian individuation: the Swiss psychoanalyst on the predictive power of Tarot cards
tune-on: veteran television producer and director on the revival of his Laugh-In spin-off five decades afterwards
31 days: a month long celebration of the Spooky Season from Laura E Hall—via Waxy
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, World Postal Day plus to slander one’s good reputation
two years ago: more links to enjoy, happy birthday John Lennon, Karl-Marx-Stadt, drag queen tarot plus a visit to the Osterburg
three years ago: The Watcher in the Woods, more Phantom plus more links worth revisiting
four years ago: major military exercise in Germany planned by US forces plus other European trade colonies in China
five years ago: Trump’s legacy of failed businesses, more on the fight to save an ancient woodland plus moving Tokyo’s historic fish market
Thursday 5 October 2023
days of wine and quinces (11. 039)
From the campground in Escherndorf, we took the dog on an extended hike up through the vineyards to the Vogelsberg perched atop the Weinberg. A thirteenth century monastery built on the foundations of a much older Celtic fortification (Burgstall), it was deconsecrated in favour of the neighbouring Carthusian chapterhouse in Astheim but has since been restored as an active religious community under the bishopric of Wรผrzburg—which also assumed the wine production and includes a restaurant and guesthouse.
Wednesday 4 October 2023
malerwinkelhaus (11. 038)
Having set up camp at the ferry crossing at Eschendorf at the bend, loop in the wine-growing escarpment on the Main River (der Mainschliefe by Volkach), we traveled a bit further into Franconia through County Kitzingen and passed some familiar places including the ancient trading port of Marktbreit (previously)—important as the southernmost point and shortest natural connection between the Rhein-Main-Donau before the canals were built—and saw the picturesque Haus am Maintor, constructed in the late 1700s on the bridge next to the Rathaus as a merchant’s warehouse (like the mercantile exchange along Erfurt‘s Kramerbrรผcke).
one year ago: The Tornados’ Telstar plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: The Final Programme (1973)
three years ago: the Feast of Francis of Assisi, cross-section infographics plus Sir David Attenborough as insects
four years ago: a pastel makeover for London’s subway carriages, cinnamon-roll day plus award-winning laundromats of Japan
five years ago: a sketch a day for October, the International Geophysical Year plus Bavaria’s plans for a Space Force of its own
Sunday 1 October 2023
hre (11. 034)
Having committed quite some thoughts on the subject and even echoed the quip from Voltaire myself without realising the provenance or shallowness of the observation—that it was “neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire”—we appreciated coming across this encapsulation of an introduction by Eleanor Janega on the anniversary of the beginning of the Congress of Vienna in 1814 when representatives and stakeholders of the former political union met to reconstitute European order and long-term peace after the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose campaigns spelled its dissolution after eight centuries of existence. There is vast a amount of history to cover, from Charlemagne and Henry Fowler to extension under the Hohenstaufen and the Hapsburgs but Dr Janega does a yeoman’s job in summarising the polity, which like under the Roman Empire enjoyed a good share of autonomy and retained local customs and culture.
Tuesday 26 September 2023
einsteinturm (11. 027)
Closed for renovations for over a year, the solar observatory on Potsdam’s Telegraphenberg in the science park also named for the renowned physicist, the solar observatory with a range of experiments designed to validate—or disprove—the theory of relativity has now been reopened to the public. Designed by industrial, Streamline Moderne architect Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra in consultation with astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich 1920 and operational by 1924, the accessible laboratory could demonstrate the gravitational red-shift (detectable in slight variations in the Sun’s spectral signature) by Einstein and introduce visitors, not just scientists and educators, to the new cosmological model and introduce basic research principles to general audiences. An active scientific facility run by the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics to the present day, the Einstein Tower focuses on studies of the solar magnetic field and Sun spot activity. During the Nazi regime, the observatory was stripped of its name and independence and a bronze bust of Albert Einstein was removed from the premises. Employees and associates have maintained a tradition of placing a single, substitute stone (ein stein) in its place since.
Saturday 23 September 2023
like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim (11. 015)
Released on this day in 1977 as the lead single from the twelfth studio album of the same name, this future signature ballad in the artist’s repertoire was co-written by Brian Eno, and recorded in Hansa Tonstudio 2 in the Kreuzberg district of West Berlin sings the narrative of two star-crossed lovers in the divided city, who live in constant fear of being caught but are free in their dreams. Inspired by witnessing his then-married record producer Tony Visconti kissing a singer “by the Wall,” David Bowie put the song’s title in quotation marks to invoke a light sense of irony to the triumphant and defiant tone. Bowie also put out German (Helden) and French (Hรฉros) versions of the song. The album cover art is an homage to Expressionist painter Erich Heckel’s 1917 self-portrait Roquairol, like (though with the pose a bit closer) Iggy Pop’s nearly contemporary album, The Idiot.
one year ago: Trump family facing legal peril over exaggerating the value of their crime syndicate plus an infinite scroll of the updating internet
two years ago: the unification of Saudi Arabia (1932) plus your daily demon: Phenex
three years ago: the US Subversives Control Act (1950), the Halo Effect and hindsight bias plus an anthology of Korean folktales
four years ago: the Fatberg commemorated plus variations on the Dr Who theme
five years ago: the first day of Autumn, numbers stations, a family’s political rebuttal plus a space probe arrives at its target asteroid
Sunday 17 September 2023
begleiten wir die orion und ihre besatzung bei ihrem patouillendienst am rande der unendlichkeit (11. 006)
Debuting on this day in 1966 on the West German public-service broadcaster ARD, nearly parallel to Gene Roddenbury’s Star Trek, Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion was the country’s first televised science fiction series set in not too distance future of a united, space-faring Earth following the voyages of a starship commander and crew who patrol the galaxy monitoring for threats. >Pointedly notorious for their defiance of superiors, the complement includes a officer of the GSD (Galakistcher Sicherheits-dienst) military intelligence service assigned to keep the Orion under check—and while the crew do not trust Lt Tamara Jagellovsk, over the arc of the seven episodes of the first and only season of the show, they ultimately develop feelings of respect for her—which is reciprocated by her omitting certain liberties taken in her mission reports to higher headquarters. Cyborgs (Roboter) are also prominently featured as guards and domestics but their use is shown to be problematic and prone to malfunction. Other fictional technologies include the Astroscheibe, which serves the same function as the view screen on the bridge of the Enterprise, Lichtweferbatterie—-photon-torpedos, รberlichtantrieb—Warp Drive, and while no transporter capabilities exist (famously improvised as a way to cut out the expense of depicting launch and landing scenes), the Orion often docks at deep-sea bases, modern and beautiful cities built underwater. The main antagonists were an extraterrestrial species referred to as Frogs. Despite the series’ short run, it quickly achieved cult-status with re-runs and novelisations continuing the story and limning out the characters. The entire run is available online with subtitles.
Tuesday 5 September 2023
9x9 (10. 984)
built on sand: UN monitoring reveals the alarming scale of marine dredging
but the meteor men beg to differ, judging by the hole in the satellite picture: revisiting a cringey faux academic essay on “All Star” to realise that Steve Harwell (RIP) had more to tell us
j-mouse: a procession of dead-end peripherals—I would get the PC in an ottoman
⡆⠄: LEGO’s braille bricks offered free-of-charge to parents and educators now available to the general publicthe secret-sharer: a confessional box from Simone Giertz (previously) where one’s messages are only present for a few seconds before self-destructing
phil a. o’fish: a short-lived McDonaldland mascot and early beef alternatives—via Weird Universe
mixed media: experiential scale-models of Tracey Snelling inspired by the architecture of Berlin—including the Mรคusebunker
premeditatio malorum: fifty short rules for better living from the Stoics
thermohaline circulation: scientist support using the oceans’ inclination for equilibrium to pull in excess atmospheric carbon-dioxide—see previously
synchronoptica
one year ago: Tainted Love (1981) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: a film from D W Griffith, armorial bearings plus the debut of the Muppet Show (1976)
three years ago: the opening of the Gotthard Tunnel (1980)
four years ago: the greenwashing of the recycling movement plus a legendary kingdom in Bretagne
five years ago: a Freddie Mercury birthday bash, a Queen arrangement in brass, outsider artist James Henry Pullen plus reconciling with the end of coal through art