day two hundred thirty seven (13. 939)

Reversing an earlier announcement of tele-rallies, Trump is attending campaign events in the final days before the midterm elections in once bulwarks of the GOP, Kansas and Iowa, that have turned into battlegrounds over his unpopularity and poor handling of the economy and foreign relations. It is very much in the Republican playbook to crash the break the budget and sever diplomatic ties, after inheriting stability, and leave it to the Democrats to clean up the chaos and get the blame for the sabotage and slow turn-around. Meanwhile, the media is too fixated on the run-off between Dans Sullivan in Alaska to address the allegation that Trump raped Miss Switzerland or how the administration purchased a vote-tabulation machine to reverse engineer it and exploit vulnerabilities through AI-aided hacking. Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh holds high level talks with European delegates, accusing the IDF of targeting Gazan police officers and urging the perpetrators of violence be held accountable. Iranian foreign minister Araghchi awaits US response on their framework for reopening Hormuz. King Charles arrives in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Conference and apologies for the UK’s slave trading past, though prime minister Burnham does not believe that reparations should be on the table. The Anglican communion, whose clergy also owned enslaved individuals, has independently established a fund of one hundred million pounds for affected communities and research into the legacy of Britain’s role in the transatlantic trade.

es muß nicht immer kaviar sein (13. 932)

The best-selling novel by Austrian author Johannes Mario Simmel, prolific writer himself navigating post-war and Cold War Europe and must have certainly included some autobiographical elements in one of several works adapted for both film and a television series with something different on the menu for each episode to further the protagonist’s obligation, in exchange for freedom of movement and not returning to occupied Germany, as a double-agent, lauded as the first galloping gourmet spy thriller. Whilst perhaps not the last in the subgenre, it does have some if not perfectly aligned real world antecedents, for all the intelligence organisations we are still not sure how much of his writing was confessional, with this Berlin blockade cookbook or Julia Child’s covert work for the Allies. As the narrative unfolds, the protagonist switches feigned allegiances from one espionage agency to another, trying to save as many lives as possible by diffusing tensions with his seductive culinary skill, recipes included. The final assignment, on the orders of J Edgar Hoover is to neutralise a notorious Soviet spy in exchange for retirement, when the protagonist’s own death is staged and he is allowed to live in peace.

my supper is late—i want my turnips (13. 927)

Courtesy of Fancy Notions, we are introduced to the British children’s educational programme Words and Pictures through this 1975 episode “Pigs and Pumpkins”—which does agreedly give a certain Teletubbies energy and allure in its presentation and repetition that one could just zone out to—to practise the letter p and cut out a jack-o’-lantern face to scare off Halloween witches and goblins. There is a bit of unintended cozy terror in the delivery, hosted and voicing all characters, in jarringly different styles from Clutch Cargo style lazy animation to rather involved stop-motion, by Charles O’Rourke, police dispatcher from Z Cars. The more terrifying, haunting aspect to us was the unbidden automated transcript, enjoyably still bad like misheard lyrics, and how the short programme is divided into chapters, just as a classic arc of narrative with a setup and exposition, conflict with players learning through negative reinforcement, dénouement and resolution—an unnecessary structural analysis putting it and everything else on par with the great tragedians—they’re doing this for podcasts of every category as well. Hop… hop… hop…

*     *     *     *     *

synchronoptica

one year ago: asteroid 951 Gaspar (with synchronoptica) plus the coinage of neurodiversity

two years ago: a mascot for the Vatican plus IKEA acknowledges forced labour in East Germany 

three years ago: Don Giovanni (1787), an undergraduate thesis on ASCII art plus a devilish ball

four years ago: places lived and just past through plus a last day in Crete

five years ago: Constantine’s victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge,  Orinoco Flow (1988), a Mario marathon, celebrating a Renault classic, a collection of horror GIFs plus the end of the Salem Witch Trials

six years ago: assorted links to revisit plus referring to parents by the names of their offspring

seven years ago: the political alignments of Mario Kart characters

eight years ago: Italy battles the EU over its fiscal policy, Merkel to not run again for party chair, synthetic traditional Chinese medicine plus more on Angela Merkel stepping down

 

baccanalia (13. 916)

After centuries of study and several attempts to understand and recreate the colour-changing effect, a team from the University of Sheffield—an area instrumental to the Industrial Revolution, many technologies emerging from there including large scale stainless steel and commercial glass manufacture—have rediscovered the sixteen hundred year old methods that went into dichromatic the Lycurgus Cup (see previously here and here). The caged-chalice (diatretum) was made in Alexandria in the fourth-century of unknown provenance before the 1800s depicts a scene of the mythological Thracian king Lycurgus (Tamer of Wolves) who banned the cult of Dionysus (Bacchus to the Romans) in his home territory and punished the followers of the god of wine, and in the iconography on the cup, Ambrosia, Dionysus’ human nursemaid, is shown acting in self-defence, transformed into a powerful vine as she is being pursued by the enraged despot, whereupon entangling him, rending his wardrobe (a act called sparagmos (σπαραγμός) and strangling him to death. Embedded flakes of silver and gold (molten nano-crystals forming a lattice work in the glass invisible to the naked eye) shift the absorption and scattering of photons depending on whether the artefact is backlit or viewed in ambient light. Our favourite part of the interview was how one of the scientists imagined how Roman craftspeople would be bemused and incredulous on the effort and experimentation that went into recreating the effect, “‘Why does she not know how to make this?’” The new cup, a local glass artist commissioned to make it, will be unveiled to the public next month at the university.

keep calm and carry on (13. 911)

In parallel with this emergency preparedness guide from the Swiss government, which sanguinely asks “for how long would you like to be self-sufficient?” though one cannot choose a period of greater than a fortnight, the UK has introduced a “realistic and reassuring” campaign with similar guidelines on what to have on hand without inducing panic or hoarding impulses among the public in the face of a nebulous, unidentified disaster. Though the imagination is invited to wander into dark spots when faced with shortages as with past outreach efforts, from catastrophic and all at once to the creeping unraveling of supply chains, a lesson seemingly forgot five, six years on from COVID—sabotage to the power-grid, severe weather conditions driven by a super-charged El Niño and the latent climate collapse, cyber-attacks, unconfined epidemics or any combination thereof, slow or fast moving, it is always best to expect the unexpected.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the 1975 Women’s Strike in Iceland (with synchronoptica), a 1987 speech by Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs plus conversation pits

two years ago: assorted links worth the revisit

three years ago: Gym Tonic (1998) plus poisoned-pixels against AI

four years ago: a visit to Knossos  

five years ago: the hymn of the United Nations plus Trog (1970)

six years ago: When the Wind Blows (1986), assorted links to revisit plus the Centre for American Politics and Design

seven years ago: chaos erupts as Trump impeachment hearing as supporters disrupt testimony 

eight years ago: an audio grimoire read by Vincent Price, the 2008 Recession, more inventions from Simone Giertz, more links to enjoy plus an interesting case of tort law

 

children of albion (13. 894)

Courtesy of Things Magazine, we thoroughly enjoyed this annotated gallery of British folklore in art including the docent’s own composition, the 2025 painting by Ben Edge, the North London based artist whose portfolio explores lore-building and rituals and their intersectionality with societal relations and stewardship of the natural environment and is an ethnographic inquiry through the mythopoetic lens, references the spirit of Albion of William Blake, who sought to liberate the national character from the “mind-forged manacles” of imperium and industrialisation and the dense and diligent fairy-folk of Richard Dadd, repeating the obsessively minuscule details—Freddy Mercury first songs were inspired by Dadd’s work, completed exclusively whilst institutionalised, as well—is a reframing for those founding fables, couched in the past and present and informed by heritage and tradition and defined by migration and progress. How many symbols, legendary creatures can you spot? A favourite seems to be the Green Man. Leonora Carrington and the Cornish standing stones referred to as the Nine Maidens, petrified for dancing on the Sabbath are also included in the curation.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s weaponisation of the justice department (with synchronoptica), West Side Story (1961) plus No Kings redux

two years ago: animated artefacts plus a collection of apotropaic plants  

three years ago: Republican conference in US congress remains leaderless plus a treasury of pointless websites

four years ago: the BBC at 100, rallying against the totalitarian regime in Iran plus a gallery of nightmare art

five years ago: an obtunded opportunity, your daily demon: Velar, Toto’s Africa plus Video Killed the Radio Star

six years ago: International Necktie Day, more musical mashups, more mushrooming, drills for the zombie apocalypse plus put our service to the test

seven years ago: the Peaceful Revolution of East Germany,  a font inspired by Greta Thunberg, more US gun violence plus prayer goes digital

eight years ago: International Credit Union Day, Big Bird retires plus the Postal Illuminati

 

precursor (13. 892)

Broadcast on BBC2 in late September of 1990, the fifty-minute-long documentary written by and costarring Douglas Adams as a computer user with Doctor Who’s Tom Baker as a personification of agentic software. Exploring existent but nascent technology like Apple’s hypercard and Knowledge Navigator, Douglas, bored with the tedium and the passivity of television, disposes his TV in a rubbish kip, where he encounters Baker, who introduces him to interactive media—acting as a docent inside a virtual space shows Douglas the potential of linked text, sounds, images and video, a daisy-chain of connected topics to discover. Whilst Adams browses, clicking the animated icons, various historic figures related to the concept of hypertext—like Vannevar Bush and the Memex, the graphical narratives of Kurt Vonnegut are presented as Adams connects the Atlantic Ocean to Xanadu and back again—two and a half years ahead Tim Berners-Lee releasing hypertext markup language protocol to the public domain.

ludus litterator (13. 888)

Via Web Curios—be sure to not skip the preamble for a surreal, Kafkaque case of identity expropriation—we are directed to this engrossing essay on the vices of highly effective Victorians, which present in stark contrast to the discipline and clean-living if not practised espoused by the titians of industry of today, whose empires are arguably built every bit as much as the British one through colonialism and exploitation if not more reliant on class-struggle and inequities. Etonian and Oxbridge attitudes towards education, whilst not wholly staunchly traditional and did incorporate progressive elements, the capacity of the Classics for character development was far more privileged than a science and maths based curriculum that we would call STEM in modern parlance—on the basis that technical mastery could be acquired later with the formative years dedicated to cultivating independent thought. Although the lifestyle was unobtainable for the working poor who enabled it for the small cadre of the elite, those matriculated schedules and inculcated attitudes—with the exception of matins and vespers which required early rising—carried over to post-graduate careers with workdays generally starting not before 10:00, time to recover from the previous night’s social commitments, and an elaborate, boozy brunch with most having the flexibility to work from home for reading, research and replying to correspondence until afternoon in-person meetings, with Parliament not seated until 17:00 or later, the nocturnal existence and party scene made possible through gaslighting and electrification. Not exclusive to elected representatives, though very much encompassing the ruling class, this concession to birthright, even for all those whom it disadvantaged may have been the secret to the success of the era, the allowance for sentiment and tradition over the explicit social contract and norms that typically bind highly developed hierarchies. Contemporary parallels are abhorrent and deserving of punishment and ostracisation—like the Epstein nucleus or any who would scoff laws they themselves enacted, and whilst it is harder to hide behaviours considered inegalitarian in the age of social media, when many voluntarily brag about it—cf the expulsion and black-balling of senate candidate Madison Cawthorn for exposing orgies and “key bumps” of cocaine in the GOP and for those careless hints from careless people of lavish lifestyles (significantly at tax-payer expense and not earners nor beneficiaries but grifters for the grind) coming periodically from appointed officials. Read more from Works in Progress at the link above.

day two hundred fifteen (13. 866)

Israel forces the closure of the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem over sanction threats directed at illegal settlements in the West Bank. Hurricane Isaiah takes a quarter of oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico off-line. Tankers, including those cleaving to the route off the coasts of Oman and Qatar, come under fire, slowing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a trickle again. Fighting rages between Yemeni regulars and rebels as Houthis launch deadly strikes at Saudi airports. Newly obtained footage reveals the extent of damage sustained to US bases across the Middle East as troops posture towards abandonment and retreat. Despite issuing new demands, including the possibility of compromise of nuclear enrichment, the American president declares he has no interest in making a deal with Tehran and orders the military to prepare to resume hostilities imminently.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica) plus cartoonist Rein Raamat

two years ago: boating on the Röblinsee 

three years ago: spiralling landscapes, vintage text book cover art plus LEGO art

four years ago: the cast of Star Trek in an energy company advert plus Saint Reparata

five years ago:  your daily demon: Raum, Baghdad’s House of Wisdom plus a bi-directional typeface

six years ago: more links to enjoy, Les Misérables (1985), poorly drawn animals plus Trump requires wildlife conservationist organisations to celebrate America’s hunting heritage

seven years ago: visualising Wikipedia updates in real time, Trump abruptly withdraws from the Syria-Turkish border, Call Me By Your Monet, The Million Eyes of Sumuru plus discouraging frivolous lawsuits in the Middle Ages

eight years ago: the degrading web plus calling attention to the problem of space junk

 

day two hundred ten (13. 852)

Hegseth announces that US troops will get a day off to call their in the upcoming midterms—federal workers are granted up to three hours of administrative leave (down from four hours) whilst the rest of the voting public do not receive any allowance to exercise their democratic right. Pressure mounts for another referendum in the UK to annul Brexit and rejoin the EU as polls reveal over half of voters of all political persuasion support reentry into the single market. Russian airstrikes on bridges in Kyiv causes traffic chaos, whilst Putin attempts to convince the world that NATO is about to impose a blockade on Kaliningrad. Students in Paris riot over planned cuts to the education budget. Pope Leo puts out a missive in Latin as a withering takedown of AI. El Niño causes massive flooding in Thailand, the waters not receding and turning the streets of Bangkok into stagnant lakes, with speculation that the weather formation may mean there is no hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. More tankers are attached in the Strait of Hormuz. Revolutionary Guards spokesperson says that Tehran’s weapons-building capacities are fully restored and have reached maturity, in accordance with operational requirements, whilst the South Pars gasfield achieves peak production. Market analyst recognise Trump’s pressuring of G7 members to release strategic diesel reserves as a mere delay tactic which may provide temporary, nominal relief (if at all) and fails to address underlying structural problems and further erodes consumer confidence. IDF continues to terrorise Gaza, the West Bank and neighbours in southern Lebanon.

day two hundred seven (13. 844)

During a Hispanic Heritage Month ceremony at the White House (I thought they weren’t doing woke any more), acknowledging the departure of the last US troops from Iraq, Trump issues another ultimatum to Iran to either make a deal or be blown up. Baghdad declares a four day national holiday to celebrate its liberation. Meanwhile, announcing cuts to the ranks, secretary of war Hegseth says that American might has crippled the Islamic Republic. The conflict still deadlocked, Tehran receives a counterproposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz through diplomatic channels. Iran rejects UK narrative linking them to the foiled plot to attack a RAF Fairford, host to American fighter jet. A hijacker attempts to down an Israel bound flight from Dubai. More tankers receive fire in the Persian Gulf. Houthis target a major Saudi petroleum refinery.

day two hundred four (13. 837)

Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify as settlers again storm the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem. Trump’s Board of Peace excludes UNRWA from participation in any future rebuilding plans for Palestine, fulfilling a long-standing demand from Tel Aviv as the country’s far-right finance minister calls for all out war in the West Bank. Following Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s roadmap to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if Washington honours their promises and continues negotiations in good faith and awaiting reports from intermediaries rather than the American president’s verdict for an official response, Iran is securing alternative overland trade routes with Türkiye and through the Caspian Sea on its northern border. Renewed military action seems a distinct possibility, an inevitably as the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continue and the Islamic Republic claim the seizure of an American autonomous submarine. Five individuals are apprehended plotting a suspected terror attack on RAF Fairford, which hosts US airforce bombers engaged with attacking Iran—Tehran already citing third-country cooperatives as legitimate targets.

9x9 (13. 836)

cyberselfish: Paulina Borsook’s 2000 book about the libertarian, uncharitable culture of high tech is back in print after a reevaluation of its foresight 

the full english: breaches of British etiquette no one will ever call you out for transgressing—via Nag on the Lake  

el niño: the coming weather pattern, climatologist predict, will be the most powerful in recorded history  

familect: jargon and running-jokes only understood within one’s extended household—what are some of your examples? 

i want an explanation—why is there a child on the bridge: the series finale of the 80s sitcom Webster had a cross-over with Star Trek: TNG—see also   

artist’s bigature: Grace Baldwin’s larger-than-life junk drawer  

deliquesce: of a solid structure or lattice, to melt or dissolve by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere—like exposed salts or wilting mushrooms  

nor’easter: powerful, unseasonably early storm slams eastern seaboard  

symphonie magnétophonique: a profile of Else Marie Pade, the first Danish composer of electronic and concrete music

10x10 (13. 829)

danse macabre: a detailed and comprehensive exploration of the allegorical art genre—see previously—via Web Curios 

taos hum: the transcendental art of Emil Bisstram was a lure to attract nuclear scientists to Los Alamos—see also 

háskólabíó: Iceland mourns the loss of another beloved glacier—see ptreviously  

glimpse 17775: JWST studies mysterious red dots seeding the early Cosmos, suggesting that they were “black hole stars” 

singularity syllabus: a helpful round-up of recent developments on the AI front 

💂‍♀️: an in depth explainer regarding the controversy over the UK royal guards’ bear-skin hats and their ursine origins  

summa lacticinorum: an 1477 treatise on cheese and dairy—via Strange Company  

they’re all good boys: the canine portraiture of Paolo Veronese that ultimately put him on the wrong side of the Inquisition 

infrasound: the source of the ultra-low frequency global hum that has baffled scientists may be the crashing of waves—see also  

νεῶν κατάλογος: an interactive site of the Achaean fleet epically described in Homer’s Iliad—via Kottke—see also

day one hundred ninety-five (13. 809)

Citing Patriot missile battery shortage, US NATO envoy tells allies to “dig deeper” and contribute more to the common cause. Days after opening a Chinese cyborg factory in the country, Serbia unveils an armed robot dog. South Korea decides there will be no deployment of troops to the Middle East. The Trump administration rejects UN allegations of war crimes and Israelis express displeasure over sanctions imposed by the UK, Canada, Australia and the EU over illegal settlements in the West Bank, continued deaths and demolition in Gaza. As air raid sirens go off in Riyadh and other areas of the kingdom, warning of drone strikes from the Houthis, the US appears to content to watch from the sidelines as the rebels take the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Denmark grants the US permanent control over the security of Greenland in an attempt to save it from annexation.  Trump bans news outlets CNN, Politico and MS Now from reporting on the White House.

11x11 (13. 790)

hospoda: Czech tavern etiquette and drinking culture  

70up: following the death of Michael Apted, the cast of longest running documentary series is bowing out after the next and final instalment  

god’s own hand: the role of animacy in English genitive formation, X’s Y vs the Y of X  

area marker balls: those giant fishing bobs on power lines  

hexagonal close-packed: researchers form high pressure, high temperature ice, suspected to be present in the core of Uranus and Neptune 

dermatoglyphics: palm-reading and traditional medicine have always had a common intersection 

tacuini ægritudinum: the journey of a mysterious medical manuscript, supposedly from the legendary island of Hy-Brasil, from Baghdad to Ireland—via Strange Company  

short imaged monologues: Anthropic’s Claude responds to call to slow down AI research to prevent us from being wiped out by a paperclip maximiser—more here   

i pledge to the greatest president in the history of the united states that loves us so much he cant’t even breath: Trump urges crowd at the Republican Midterm convention to cheat like hell    

and although death is represented in the form of a human skeleton, yet this is only an emblem for death is not a being but a state: early modern flap books aimed at young readers with a special format for transformations   

between the sheets: a 1930s recipe for a cognac sour sees a resurgence in popularity

synchronoptica

one year ago: animated vignettes from Plantopia (with synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting plus a banger from Hozier

two years ago: more links to enjoy, nights on Earth, the Ig Nobel prize, prayers vs spells plus Cloud Appreciation Day 

three years ago: Putin and Kim meet 

four years ago: the Poet Laureate’s tribute to the Queen, the Beatles’ Apple Electronics venture plus even more links worth the revisit

five years ago: your daily demon: Marchosias, more links to enjoy, the first teenage all music and dance show plus the release of Super Mario Brothers (1985)

six years ago: dissecting the original COVID hotspot, more on radio alphabets, The Stand, the stately manor that inspired Wuthering Heights plus St Venerius

day one hundred ninety (13. 789)

As deadly Russian strikes hit all corners of Ukraine, Zelenskyy offers to meet with Putin at the upcoming G20 conference to be held in Miami. Moscow disinters the remains of a fourteenth century sainted warrior prince Dmitry Donskoi, who expelled Mongol-Tartar forces from western Russian, and distributes the relics to all corners of the country to boost the war effort. Iraq seizes an Iranian drone launching platform used to disable the Saudi East-West pipeline. The US navy attacks an Iranian commercial vessel near Qeshm Island, killing one crew member. Yemeni government forces exchange fire with the Houthi in attempt to wrest back control of the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint in the Red Sea, the rebels having taken the strategically important island of Perim. A parliamentary spokesperson says that the Islamic Republic will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and revise the doctrine for its programme accordingly. Tehran and Muscat reach agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz but there will be no action taken until the US proves that it will comply with the terms of the MOU. Visiting the taoiseach, Trump advocates for a united Ireland.  The IDF continues to shell southern Lebanon. A documentary on Israel’s use if artificial intelligence to target Palestinians in Gaza receives a twenty-five minute long at its debut at the Venice Film Festival. Anthropic restricts Iran’s use of Claude under the aegis of Operation Economic Outcast, saying it used the chatbot to spread propaganda and spy on dissidents.

day one hundred eighty-seven (13. 779)

Trump says that Iran war will end immediately after midterms and forecasts a sharp decline in gasoline prices shortly thereafter as oil continues to rise and skirmishes over the Hormuz intensify. The America president makes this announcement during the GOP special convention held in Dallas Texas (such an off-cycle gathering is not a thing a only a campaign rally for Trump) where he vows to make himself the centre of attention and asks voters to pretend he is on the ballot as some Republican actually running distance themselves from the spectacle. Trump further pledges a five thousand dollar dividend to be paid to every American adult—like the DOGE cheques never issued—should Republicans retain both houses of congress. IDF attacks Bethlehem and launches missiles at the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza. The senior rabbinate of the UK supports decision to sanction West Bank settlers, joined by France and Canada. The town of Gander, Newfoundland, which hosted thousands of US travellers a quarter century ago stranded after American airspace was closed for an extended period following the 9/11 terror attacks consider disinviting the US ambassador from the commemoration over rhetoric and the escalating trade war.

day one hundred eighty-two (13. 767)

The Norwegian Sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, announces it will divest itself of US treasury holdings as the American debt crisis presents as a more and more likely scenario. Diesel in the States surpasses the brief previous record high after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian strikes hit Ukrainian security services headquarters in Kyiv—prompting Washington to dispatch its favoured fail-sons, Kushner and Witkoff, to Moscow to de-escalate the situation and propose a peace deal. Sea drone warfare intensifies in the Black Sea. After expropriating Venezuela’s oil, Trump returns to the Donroe Doctrine of hemispheric dominance, resuming attacks on fishing boats with chatter about an assault on Cuba. Argentina sanctions oil production in the Falklands, proposing a Hong Kong-style handover of the UK territory. The Pentagon subjects fifty staff members to polygraph tests over supposed leaks concerning the progress of the war in Iran. Seventeen tankers assemble on the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz to attempt passage under US naval escort. The American president repeats the threat from July to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain (Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La) the site of the heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The administration is pressuring Turkish banks to join Operation Economic Outcast, insisting this request is not a judgment on the NATO ally.

10x10 (13. 753)

cycle of cathay: a look at the etymology of the antiquated exonym 

landslide: over three thousand dead and missing in the aftermath of Himalayan flood catastrophe  

not the droids you’re looking for: a group of kids swede a brilliant remake Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 

modern toss: the sweary comic workplace comic by Mick Bunnage and Jon Link honoured with an anniversary exhibition—via friend of the blog Nag on the Lake  

non-zero probability: idiomatic extensions of Black Swan Events  

pennywise: an homage to the gleeful villains of Tim Curry (RIP)  

game, set, match: a gallery of tennis-related art ahead of the US Open 

ice stupas: locals in the northern Indian desert valley are engineering artificial glaciers as a reservoir to safeguard water 

skålspænder: a Viking woman’s grave uncovered in Jutland with surviving remnants of her clothing  

nusantara: defining the maritime region of South East Asia by mapping its borders to the Java-based thalassocracy

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), the origins of Fanta plus Trump’s lack of public appearances 

two years ago: the K-Pop Fab Four plus weird academic book jackets 

three years ago: artist Victor Ekpuk plus Higher Love (1986)

four years ago: a stylistic departure for the Byrds, Canada and the UK’s Manhattan Project plus more links to enjoy

five years ago: a news music anthology, even more links to check out, Hey Jude (1968) plus very strong animadversions

six years ago: the Moscow-Washington hotline (1963) plus lockdown fantasy levels