general directions (13. 156)

Via the weekend links of { feuilleton }, we enjoyed this profile of Margaret Calvert whose work in graphic design and typology brought together road signage in the UK under a standard for uniformity and visibility still in use today, in Britain and beyond. Her pictograms and eponymous typeface, the slab-serif Transport font, the result of a survey that reformed protocols more in line with European conventions with the expansion of expressways, shifting away from traditional fingerposts are used not only for motorways, the rail system, airports and for warning of potential hazards, the farm animal caution based on a cow called Patience Calvert recalled from her childhood and the wildlife iconography inspired by Eadweard Muybridge’s studies of animals in motion. More from the Guardian interview at the link above.

märchesänger (13. 107)

Youth choir, whose early members were mostly comprised of individuals orphaned during the war founded in 1948 in Obernkirchen in Niedersachsen (named after the constituent county in West Germany), the Schaumburg Fairytale Singers rapidly attained a high degree of musical excellence, winning many competitions in their class, and were propelled to a level of international fame unexpectedly on this day when their English interpretation of Der fröhliche Wanderer (Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann) peaking at number two of the British singles on this day in 1954, remaining in the charts for twenty-three weeks after it was broadcasted by the BBC as the encore after placing during a performance in Wales. Domestically, the arrangement composed by the choir director’s brother made to sound like an authentic folk song, the success of the Schaumburger Märchesänger was boosted by the Merry Wanderer being made into a Heimatfilm (a nostalgic, pastoral genre especially popular in West Germany and Austria from the late 1940s to early 1960s, and abroad lead numerous tours, concerts and special appearances, including the Ed Sullivan Show and at the Kennedy White House. With an expanded repertoire and extended alumni association, the choir and music school (also with multiple campuses) continues the legacy of its founders in cultivating talent.

there is no doubt that china and russia have notice this act of total weakness (13. 104)

Shifting tactics, Trump has now cited the UK’s decision last year to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands (see previously, we wonder who is putting these thoughts in his head) to Mauritius as justification for the US annexation of Greenland. Characterising the decision that the administration supported at the time of ceding control as an act of “great stupidity” because of the archipelago’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean, the terms of repatriation—generous as Britain resettled the native population in 1971 to make way for the military installation—include a ninety-nine year extension of the lease of the joint US-UK base on Diego Gargia (most of the map is water with only the outline of the tropical atoll enclosing the lagoon) so the two countries will retain ownership and access, just like in the case of the arctic island where no invasion or seizure is necessary—except after the tantrums and histrionics, American might get the boot altogether.

always try to be nice—but never fail to be kind (13. 077)

Miss Cellania directs us to a treasury of rather profound words to live by compiled from the various regenerations of the Gallifrean and companions, many of the sagest quotations attributed to writer Steven Moffat who joined the series after its sixteen year hiatus in 2005 but there are jewels to be found across the continuum. “Should there be another, I’ll explain to you in great detail whick of the many time laws I am not allowed to transgress.” “Life’s like that—best thing to do is to just get on with it.” “Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty.” “Nine-hundred years in time and space and I’ve never met somebody who wasn’t important.” “There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” “And if there is any hope for any of us in this giant explosion in which we inhabit then surely that’s it: intellect and romance triumph over brute force and cynicism.” What’s your favourite? Click through for the video compilation with eras and episodes cited. Would you like a jelly-baby?

pale ale (13. 050)

As our faithful chronicler informs, on this day in 1876, the red triangle logo of the Bass & Co became the first colophon to be logged under the 1875 Act to establish a Register of Trade Marks when it came into force on New Year’s Day—which according to company lore, had employees queuing outside bureau offices on New Year’s Eve to be the first—strange for a bank holiday and Public Domain Day, as a demonstration of the brewery’s pioneering prowess in international branding and marketing. The iconic logo, simple yet pervasive, has been featured in over forty works by Pablo Picasso from his Cubist period as well as more contemporarily in James Joyce’s Ulysses, Leopold Bloom noting the triangle in the “Oxen of the Sun” (The Cattle of Helios in the Odyssey) episode and in Édouard Manet’s final painting (see also) Un bar aux Folies Bergère with the beer bottles depicted instantly recognisable and their conspicuous presence interpreted as an allegorical expression of anti-German sentiment following the Franco-Prussian war. Further achievements accomplished under the logo include being among the first corporate sponsors, licensing for production by foreign distributors and the earliest export entrant into the Japanese beer market.

eminent tragedians whom no one ever goes to see (13. 033)

Premiering on this in London in 1871, the debut collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan (previously) called Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old was more of a burlesque—reportedly as neither score nor book was ever published (see above) and most of the original songs lost—and not in keeping with the later sophisticated works of the duo but was considered quite passable for charity entertainments of the time. Drawing from research and many attempts beginning in the 1950s with resurgent interest to recreate the two-act play (the theme was also revisited towards the end of their careers with The Grand Duke, with a petty dictator replaced by a theatre company), the reconstructed plot involves the legendary first actor and father of drama (played by prominent comic J L Toole) ascending Mount Olympus with his troupe of thespians who agree to trade places with the pantheon temporarily, who’ve grown weary of their jobs and feel ignored. Invested with omnipotence by Jupiter with Mercury remaining as consul, the actors prove themselves to be comically inept at divine governance, inverting mythological fate and order within the space of one year—for which the gods, vindicated as indispensable eject the company and curse the profession. Below is a sample of one of thosee unauthorised productions in full as imagined by the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

exit through the gift shop (13. 013)

Via MetaFilter—and wishing we’d known about it sooner, we really enjoyed this assortment of holiday offerings from the Heritage Trust operated system of museums and historical sites, including an array of Christmas jumpers (read ugly sweaters, I suppose, like this one from the transportation authority with their range of mass transit and roundels) and tree ornaments inspired by their properties and collections. We’ll need to bookmark this for next year and really liked the nautical-engineering contribution for Brunel and the chessman bauble.

6x6 (13. 005)

jabrael shelbys: Afghan morality police arrest a troupe of young men for dressing like characters from Peaky Blinders for “promoting alien culture”  

holiday inn: the hidden history behind the 1942 Irving Berlin staple “White Christmas,” composed at the La Quinta hotel 

trump derangement syndrome: US president roundly condemned for his disparaging, disgusting remarks on the murder of Rob Reiner and wife Michelle, who photographed him for his Art of the Deal jacket—there is no line for that meathead and his followers  

the internet of beings: proprioception and web-enabled organs  

do you see what i see: tales of Winter Wonderland disasters  

cultural ambassadors: individuals from seventy countries offer their best imitations of US tourists—see also

synchronoptica

one year ago: suggestions for what US president Joe Biden could do with his remaining weeks (with synchronopticæ) plus more on vexillology

twelve years ago: a history of coffee bans plus a periodic table of cheese

thirteen years ago: slips and sits plus Bad Neustadt all decked out for the holidays 

fourteen years ago: poinsettias plus FACTA coming into force

sixteen years ago: the psychology of secret societies 

pigs on the wing (12. 977)

On this day in 1976, as our faithful chronicler reminds, during a photoshoot for the cover art for their tenth studio album, a concept one called Animals (with deference to George Orwell), Algie the pig balloon, moored the previous day near Battersea Power Station, the iconic facility to be condemned imminently having reached the end of its useful life, broke free during wind gusts. Pink Floyd had commissioned the former Zeppelin manufacturer Ballon Fabrik to make the twelve metre pig balloon—to be inflated with helium—with an expert marksman on site to shoot it down in case it drifted out of control. The designated sniper was not present for this daring escape and the dirigible floated over Heathrow, forcing the airspace to close. The pig was recovered at a farm in Kent three days later as filming continued, but it was decided that the preliminary shots of the power station had turned out better and to superimpose Algie flying between the chimney stacks. The stunt has been successfully staged several times afterwards, including for the 2012 London summer Olympics.

push pineapple, grind coffee (12. 952)

Although in retrospective named among the most annoying songs of all time and on this day in 2003, according to a poll of music writers in Q magazine, judged the worst ever, comparing it to a cruise conga line, the 1984 novelty single by the travelling DJ duo managed to become the eighth best-selling for that year in the UK and charted in the top seventy-five hits for weeks. Based on the Club Med French version—“Agadou,” based on a Moroccan melody, this cover with dance became the better known one and was in turn covered with several international language versions, Greek, Thai, Finnish and Czech to name a few as well as commercial jingle homages and in children’s programmes.

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synchronoptica

one year ago: tonic rotation (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: blind-spot safety plus convenience foods

thirteen years ago: The Complete Banker, art deco fonts plus ninja as a profession made redundant

fifteen years ago: embroidered memes 

seventeen years ago: decking the halls 

10x10 (12. 889)

trip hop: frustrated with his limited role in Massive Attack, Tricky embarked on his independent project Maxinquaye  

chud atlantis: more regional car-dealership rococo from McMansion Hell  

linguistic zombie hunting: a revival of the old prescriptivist superstition against ending a sentence with a preposition and the grammarians that support it 

state capture: the revolving door between government and industry creating the post-democratic world order—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

♾️ series: visual proofs that 1/4 + 1/16 + 1/64 + 1/256… yields ⅓  

circlesquare: filmmaker Jaron Albertin’s rather disturbing music video for “Seven Minutes” 

artful dodger: Victorian mugshots of juvenile offenders—via Nag on the Lake  

stay puft: some facts all about marshmallows sealab: project Tektite and experimenting with submerged human habitats  

giscardpunk: Fifth Republic techno-futurism reimagined—see previously 

synchronoptica

one year ago: farming by lottery (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links to revisit

twelve years ago: coded correspondence

thirteen years ago: Thanksgiving salutations  

fourteen years ago: Bretton Woods and monetary unions 

fifteen years ago: privacy and Google Maps plus trade unions and Ricardian economics

i think i’ll transfer you to the undergrowth department, brackens, small shrubs, that sort of thing…(12. 857)

Via our faithful chronicler, we are reminded that on this day in 1981 after a successful midsummer debut in the UK, Terry Gilliam’s critically acclaimed feature had its North American premiere. The project was born out of frustration in 1979 when the filmmaker could not find backing for his ambitious dystopian black comedy Brazil—that temporarily shelved idea eventually realised as the second instalment of his “Trilogy of Imagination” that began with Time Bandits and ended with The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. Though violent and bleak at times, Gilliam sought to produce a family movie from the perspective of a child, with the camera angled accordingly for a kid’s point of view, but fearing a young boy wouldn’t be able to sustain the narrative alone, he cast the bandits who pilfered the map of holes in spacetime for looting with actors of a similar height. Produced by George Harrison’s HandMade Films studio, the elevator-pitch whilst playing a round of golf to the esteemed performer who would play Achilles, picture it: “Removing his helmet reveals himself to be none other than Sean Connery or an actor of equal but cheaper stature,” and as a Monty Python fan agreed to do the role. The picture also stars Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker (R2D2), Jack Purvis and troupe alumni John Cleese and Michael Palin.

irrgarten der leidenschaft (12. 848)

Premiering in München on this day in 1925—though not released in the UK until the following April, the silent, joint Bavarian-British production The Pleasure Garden marked the directorial debut of Alfred Hitchcock, a cinematic adaptation of the 1923 melodrama by Oliver Sandys (one nom d’plume of Marguerite Florence Laura Jarvis who also wrote under the aliases of Countess Barcynska, Armiger Barley and others) about the misadventures of two chorus girls engaged by a theatre in London. Though the interview and audition of one young dancer, Jill—played by American import Carmelita Geraghty, is marred by a purse-snatching right before, she is taken in by a sympathetic member of the company, Patsy (Virginia Valli, another US actor) and ultimately lands a part. Initially a ménage à trois, a throuple Jill eventually succumbs to the overtures of aristocratic guests and leaves her benefactors, abandoning them in the time of the greatest need. Filmed principally in Germany and Lake Como, the movie was deemed too European and without redeeming qualities, hence the delay of it being screened in England and in America regarded as highly objectionable and unwholesome. Whilst not critically well received, one can see some of the motifs of Hitchcock’s later films storyboarded in the opening scenes, anticipating Vertigo, Rear Window and Family Plot.

13x13 (12. 845)

norwalk platform: architect Jackie Ferrara ends her life, aged 95  

antedating: lexicographers talks lexicography through canonical form  

spoiler alert—some counties pronounce it as rhyming with stone: further exploration on British toponymy

index of multiple deprivation: UK office of government statistics releases its deciles of the most under-served  

willy and the poor boys: Creedance Clearwater Revival (previously) released their third studio album on this day in 1969 

loss-leader: an image editing tool on par with Adobe makes itself freely available to appeal to non-professionals  

holy war: Trump readies troops for action in Nigeria to protect Christian popular despite a paucity of evidence for persecution 

perfectly al dente: a research roundup of scientific investigations nearly overlooked 

body horror: biopolitics, the body politic and David Cronenberg  

police brutality: Sting and company release their debut album Outlandos on this day in 1978 

county stripes: visualising US demographics and distribution—see also 

anthimeria: the verbification of mystery writers—see previously 

first woman of fluxus: Alison Knowles passes away, aged 92—see more, see also

8x8 (12. 839)

house of dynamite: Trump’s call to resume nuclear weapons testing—on hiatus since 1992—throws Washington into chaos 

trick-or-treat: Illinois governor calls for Halloween armistice on ICE raids in Chicago 

fяiends: an AI generated montage of the show is an accidental Lynchian fever dream  

monster-palooza: the musical stylings of Verne Langdon as amanuensis for the vampire at the harpsicord  

gold ¼ starter: ancient Celtic coin discovered near Leipzig  

mister mountbatten windsor: Prince Andrew stripped of all styles and evicted from the Royal Lodge over his association with Jeffrey Epstein 

7 500: Trump lowers refugee admissions cap with priority for white South Africans—see previously  

nuclear option: Trump urges senate to end the filibuster rule to reopen US federal government without Democrats 

synchronoptica

one year ago: a Halloween tragedy from 1974 that ruined trick-or-treating for everyone (with synchronopticæ) plus ghoulish ABBA

twelve years ago: US scolds Germany and Japan for their economic policy 

thirteen years ago: forever chemicals in outdoor wear, catastrophic weather events, in praise of Wikipedia plus Disney to acquire the Star Wars franchise

fourteen years ago: more debates about daylight savings time 

sixteen years ago: Halloween and the Swine Flu 

seventeen years: what’s scary this spook season 

heavy petting (12. 785)

Despite (or because of) its ban by the BBC and refusal to air the chanson on the radio or on Top of the Pops for its overtly sexual content, the song whose title translates to “I love you … me neither”—originally composed by Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot in 1967—the Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin duet rose to number one on the UK and Irish charts on this day in 1969, the first foreign language one to do so. Prolific and iconic songwriter Gainsbourg (previously) was ordered after a particularly bad date by his then-girlfriend Bardot (see also) to write the ultimate love song as penance—which the two later recorded in a studio together. After the session Bardot begged Gainsbourg to never release it—he complied but was upset that his singular attempt at writing a love song would go unheard. Breaking up with Bardot the next year, Gainsbourg’s on-screen tryst with English actress Birkin during the filming of the romantic comedy Slogan turned into a real-life affair—at first for the sake of the project—with Gainsbourg latter seducing her with the private recording made with his ex. For admittedly selfish reasons, motivated by the fact she wanted no one else to record it, Birkin agreed to perform the track. The title «Je t'aime... moi non plus» was inspired by a quotation of Salvador Dalí that “Picasso is Spanish, me too. Picasso is a genius, me too. Picasso is a communist, me neither.” Despite Birkin’s lasting imprint (Gainsbourg directed her in an erotic film of the same name in 1976), it was revealed later that Gainsbourg also approached Marianne Faithfull to do the duet and by 1986, Bardot had reconsidered her position and persuaded Gainbourg to release their original recording. An instrumental version was played during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

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synchronoptica

one year ago: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (with synchronopticæ) plus a last day on the Havel

sixteen years ago: an awful trollish post on Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize that we’re ashamed we made and feel very differently now

seventeen years ago: fleeing interconnections to a new Dark Age 

8x8 (12. 749)

ephemeral 80s: a side project from Curios British Telly  

informal collaborator: methods of surveillance and monitoring by the Iron Curtain  

consumer expenditures: Bureau Labour Statistics, under pressure from the Trump administration’s push for a rosy economic outlook postponed releasing a key annual report—see previously 

the vela incident: a mysterious double flash in the India ocean was detected on this day in 1979, thought to be an undeclared nuclear test 

just look where you’re walking or you’ll get ko’d by the gauntlet of misshapened zucchini-descendant bastards swinging from above: it’s that time again—see previously   

estᴰ: an archive of derelict shopfronts from the 1970s and 1980s of East London  

disgruntled nomenclature: a list of American college presidents—drawn from a 1973 yearbook of higher education—are particularly interchangeable and revealing of patriarchical power structures 

upstairs, downstairs: seven decades of ITV on the anniversary of its founding, breaking the BBC broadcast monopoly

synchronoptica

one year ago: Bilbo Baggins’ birthday (with synchronopticæ), St Mauritius, first contact plus a presidential assassination attempt (1975)

twelve years ago: Singapore’s Super Trees, bad real estate photographs plus untamed houseplants

thirteen years ago: promoting women executives 

fourteen years ago: safe overtaking plus the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

fifteen years ago: a classic iPad sleeve 

sixteen years ago: our little travel blog 

seventeen years ago: de-logistics 

enter prince andrew (12. 738)

One cannot presume to speak for the strategy that may be behind the decision of the royal family and the prime minister to go ahead with hosting this appeasement tour, placating Trump’s ego with an unprecedented state visit. Both the Queen, under advisement of her Household, and Starmer had the sense of propriety and decency to dismiss respectively the younger brother of the then heir-apparent and in the latter case the up until very recently the ambassador to the United States as associates of Jeffrey Epstein, who as ombudsman delivered the personal invitation of the King Charles III, so their overall tactic may yet be warranted. Both former friends were denied a place at the banquet table for their relationship with the infamous sex-trafficker and financial fixer, however—rightly so, but it does not seem right that the court might afford Epstein’s best buddy a seat. It’s definitely a risk and a humiliation regardless of the aims, rolling out the red carpet for a charlatan and sex-pest whose empty threats have become merely wearying and something to endure and outlast. Nice that the pageantry is marred at every turn by protests keeping the hosts in line. Exeunt omnes.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronopticæ)

thirteen years ago: Suzanne Vega and the .mp3 plus limits on freedom of expression in Germany

fifteen years ago: side-quests and gamification plus immigration and othering

hedgehog highways (12. 733)

Via Metafilter, we learn that a cross-bench committee of peers of the House of Lords are debating amendments to the planning and infrastructure bill before parliament that’s been deemed woefully inadequate by conservation groups for allowing offsets for developers to pay into rather than building in a minimal, sustainable and cohabiting manner on new properties. Mandates for new construction include the above corridors for small mammals to increase their range across neighbourhood gardens, special glass to reduce bird-strikes, nesting boxes, so called “swift bricks,” as refuges for avian friends, bats, insects and others. More from The Guardian at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a versatile French pronoun (with synchronopticæ) 

film als magisches ritual (12. 718)

Having been previously exposed to a select body of work from the underground filmmaker whose short pieces experiment of themes of the surreal, the occult and homoeroticism, we appreciated this rare glimpse of Kenneth Anger at work through this 1970 documentary from Reinold E Theil for the German network Westdeutsche Rundfunk, featuring segments of his Magick Lantern series and the filming of cut scenes for Lucifer Rising on location at the Avebury Stones. Although seemingly a recalcitrant and reluctant interviewee, Anger was grateful to WDR and the British Film Institute for grants that made the project possible. Much more from { feuilleton }—including an index of previous posts on the topic—at the link above.

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synchronoptica

one year ago: search engine optimisation (with synchronopticæ), transcribing presidential debates plus tales of Chemical Romance

twelve years ago: a visit to the Sonnenburg 

fourteen years ago: design for houseplants