6x6 (12. 502)

the chairs of dr who: the quest to identify as much seating as possible from the series’ first great age from 1963 to 1989—via Pasa Bon!  

π in the sky: random star distribution reveals the mathematical constant with surprising accuracy  

cowardcore: milquetoast Pride apparel collections—via Super Punch—see previously 

the amalfi coast of japan: sites that compare themselves to more famous vacation destinations 

all these worlds are yours, except europa—attempt no landing there; use them together, use them in peace: future missions to drill into the icy crust of the ocean moons—see previously  

maxwell house: a fascinating omnibus of the cinematic commercial advertisements of Ridley Scott

open source (12. 491)

Echoing today’s previous posting, we very much enjoyed making the acquaintance of an omnipresence and prolific graphic design artist and illustrator called Takashi Mifune—whose work, anonymous for its ubiquity and described as unpinning “social infrastructure,” has influenced Japan’s public aesthetic and visual vernacular. Though not unique in offering clip-art, the website maintained by Mifune Irasutoya (いらすとや, illustration shop) makes his cast of iconic characters and symbols freely available to for personal and commercial applications, with the large range covering every conceivable situation and occupation—from the everyday to the niche—and consistency of style (see previously) has garnered the artist’s momentum and reputation as the standard for signage. Featuring highly specialised jobs, current events, cultural neologisms, maladies, warnings, restrictions and artefacts with far more briskness and particularity than other catalogues of stock images, inspiring contests to recreate works of art with Mifune’s drawings, subject matter easily summoned up from the commonplace to centrifuges, Prototaxites (an extinct plant life-form between fungi and trees), traditional dress of La Sape subculture, wisdom teeth, both bipedal and quadrupedal versions of chupacabras and the Antikythera mechanism. Much more from It’s Nice That at the link up top.

you may need rendering support (12. 490)

Despite being last updated in 2012, the announcement from Japanese wireless carrier Docomo (a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) that it is officially discontinuing support for its emoji set marks the end of an era that spanned decades and played a foundational role in emoji communication and native texting environments. Beginning in 1995 with the simple inclusion of a ❤︎ icon that could be displayed on pagers (see previously)—and the user outcry when the option was quietly removed in a subsequent update demonstrated to the concern public interest not only in symbolic shorthand but also a way to accent missives when not communicating face-to-face, the reaction informing the glyph collection to come. In 1999, Docomo introduced a set of one hundred seventy-six character syllabary of supplemental monochrome, twelve-by-twelve pixel icons designed by Shigetaka Kurita (栗田 穣崇), which inspired by universal street signage, pictograms and the mood and emotional cues employed for manga protagonists called manpu (漫符, a bead of sweat to signal accomplishment or apprehension), created the base lexicon and grammar that Unicode adopted later. Although limited to the network, the emoji set, growing colourised and more articulated, saw its legacy enlivened by platforms with greater interoperability and customisation and is honoured as a linguistic fossil and the emoji equivalent of Latin.

synchronoptica

one year ago: more adventures in the Thüringer Forest (with synchronoptica) plus a notable Shiba Inu passes away 

seven years ago: between distraction and anxiety, Dune product tie-ins plus digitising the Munch Museum

eight years ago: Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Trump calls NATO partners deadbeats plus preparing for a short sabbatical 

nine years ago: shooting stars on demand,  Wundarr the Aquarian plus rabbits doing violence in medieval manuscripts

ten years ago: a visit to the Neckar valley plus assorted links to revisit

10x10 (12. 420)

america’s war: a special report from the Verge for the fiftieth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon   

leaflet: an Art Nouveau study of botanical forms and their application in decor—see previously  

mangajin: an appreciation of the month English-language publication for students of Japanese language and culture—full archives from the entire run from 1988 to 1997 here   

do: inspirational words from artist Sol LeWitt to fellow creative pioneer Eva Hesse 

chisanbop: the Korean technique of fingermath   

i have to push the pram a lot: Monty Python and the Holy Grail at fifty   

animal spirits: what felines, bovines, porcines, etc on the label say about wine quality   

you wouldn’t right-click a car: US anti-piracy campaign filled with hypocrisy, including a stolen font—see also   

bus error collective: a WSIWYG primer on oscilloscope music—via Waxy   

worst one-hundred days: assessments of Trump first months in office for his second term—more here and here

synchronptica

one year ago: Pennsylvania 6-5000 (with synchronoptica) plus naming world wars 

seven years ago: a corollary to the Bechdel test plus a visit to Stockheim

eight years ago: archaeology with trace DNA, Islamic gateways plus responding to nuclear extortion 

nine years ago: crowd control robots, language acquisition plus a hand-held DNA sequencer

ten years ago: visiting FDR’s Georgia retreat, ribald limericks, assorted links to revisit plus pontoon bridges to alleviate traffic congestion

benefactive case (12. 419)

Whilst English has the above modifiers to generally intensify as reflexive—as in “I love me some chicken” whereas the accompanying mood expresses a wish or benediction, like “May the Force be with you” or “God willing”—Japanese has a unique and surpassing feature, we learn with gratitude built into grammar and the inflection of a verb can frame thanks and positivity into one’s thoughts and expressions. Simple tasks and transactions can be imbued with a sense of thankfulness or favour with the auxiliary verb kureri (くれる). Moreover this one of kind construction cannot be used reciprocally and only flows in one direction, acknowledging one’s own gratefulness but not on behalf of another or attributing to others how they should receive your help or kindness. More on these social cues at Æther Mug at the link above.

9x9 (12. 412)

crytophasia: eye-witnesses to an accident, twins speaking in unison yield insights about language acquisition   

keep your cool: a 1967 garage rock number appropriate for our times by Terry and the Chain Reaction   

swiss pavilion: the country’s contribution to the Osaka Expo evokes the spirit of the original venue—see previously here and here   

all dams are temporary: an interesting look at the limitations of hydrological regimes   

universi dominici gregis: the faithful and world leaders gather at the Vatican for the pontiff’s funeral   

buying access: Trump offers largest holders of his meme coin exclusive dinner date 

 hilma’s ghost: a monumental glass mosaic installed in New York’s Grand Central Station—in homage to the mystic artist   

on the corner: Myles Davis’ rock and funk, at first panned but now considered a masterpiece 

rampant pedantry: an overview of prescriptivism and hyper-correction

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica), a massive gallery of Star Trek images plus ancient scrolls deciphered with the help of AI

seven years ago: Brutalist Tetris, Macron addresses the US congress, the mythological namesakes of the Chinese lunar programme plus conspicuous consumption and the Diderot effect

eight years ago: Japanese manhole covers, journalism from Wikipedia, more links to enjoy, the Turkish-Syrian border, a Nazi-era bronze back on display plus more persuasive maps

nine years ago: bat nurse, the Sykes-Picot agreement, US tax-havens plus cataclysmic anniversaries (caution flashing image)

ten years ago: American founding fables

10x10 (12. 360)

kapmifmif: a study morphological emic distribution classes through a constructed language—see previously   

murder on flight 502: the star-studded 1975 television disaster movie gets the Poseidon’s Underworld treatment 

blanket rate: bad assumptions and arithmetic informs Trump tariff regime, which is tanking markets globally

mira calligraphiae monumenta: paging through a sixteenth century illuminated model book on scribal excellence rebelling against the standardisation of the printing press—with embellishes reminiscent of the Voynich manuscript and Codex Seraphinianus 

clickens: judge chicken portraits on various personality traits and harness the wisdom of the masses—via Kottke   

salmon run: a beautifully crafted early home arcade game speaks to swimming upstream 

sala di consultazione: free access to the Vatican Library’s digital archives 

elbows up: Canada plans retaliation over US punitive duty deal plus GOP senators side with Democrats to rebuke the proposal to levy additional tariffs on its northern neighbour 

real id: US government is beginning to require an internal passport, which is not automatically issued   

mezameta: the role of katakana in loan words, gairaigo, scientific binomials and transcription and the problem with conveying the shifting meaning of woke

synchronoptica 

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), standard lunar time plus vulgar expressions of indifference

seven years ago: Iran’s faux Western fast foods, bi-lingual Braille plus a North American medicinal plant map

eight years ago: more links to enjoy

nine years ago: vintage Canadian tourist posters plus a Rosary ring

ten years ago: the Anthropocene plus the architecture of folklore

catbus and content policy (12. 349)

Though circulating for less than a week, the relatively low benchmark which has been picked up by several prominent posters, OpenAI’s latest chat-to-image feature can faithfully filter pictures in the style of Studio Ghibli. While again encroaching on a signature look without credit or attribution is hardly anything new, mainstreaming a disregard for infringement on intellectual property does seem to be an inflection point not to be celebrated—especially as it comes on the cusp of a US court decision, reversing earlier judgments, that AI works of art can be copyrighted as long as a human prompter is involved, a seemingly backchannel approach as derivative works would instantly overwhelm and bury their original corpus. Far from thrilled to see their creative process automated, the studio’s co-founder filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki responded that he was utterly disgusted with these developments that can in virtually instantaneously animate the results, something that illustrators and colourists take weeks and months to achieve. This news comes at the same time an AI voice generator, with thirty-six years of dialogue of Homer or Moe Szylak, could effective replace the actors behind The Simpsons franchise.

sashiko, boro and bunka (12. 343)

Via Spoon & Tamgo, we are referred to the latest, as yet incomplete project by embroidery artist Tomoko Kubo to adorn and ornament all forty six characters of the hiragana lettering system (see previously), each glyph carefully laid out to feature foods, creatures and concepts that begin with that particular character, like the pictured U kana (う in hiragana and ウ in katakana—deriving from the kanji logograph 宇 meaning abode or territory—the former being a phonetic syllabary and the later being a simplified version of more complex Chinese characters). Not only a work of art, they also aid in approaching the language for beginners with this colourful and creative abecedarium: う is for rabbit (うさぎ, usagi) and for horse (うま, uma), etc. Much more at the links above.

joak (12. 330)

On this day in 1925, after a concerted government effort to subsidise the nascent technology following the successful, pioneering launch of KDKA in 1920 out of Pittsburgh, radio broadcasting began with the announcement of the above call letters for station identification from a studio Tokyo, a simulcast with transmitters in Osaka and Nagoya. The inaugural programme featured a live performance by the naval band and a recording of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. Early broadcast included educational lessons, coverage of baseball games and radio calisthenics—see previously.

sylvanian families (12. 328)

First eleased on the Spring Equinox in 1985 and marketed elsewhere as the most concise translation of the play-figure line, Pleasant Friends of the Forest Epoch System Animal Toy (森のゆかいな仲間たち エポック社 システム・コレクション・アニマルトーイ・シルバニアファミリー after the Roman god of the woods Silvanus), I recall that haunting refrain (the jingle now come home to roost again) from the commercials and never really understood the concept, having missed out on their backstory as presented in a cartoon series by Haim Saban exclusively on American family-friendly/evangelical programming networks a couple years after their debut. Now, however, we’ve occasion to take a peak into the rather elaborate lore and legacy, thanks to Happy Mutant contributor Popkin, who informs that there is a theme park in Osaka (see also) that gives visitors an immersive experience of the franchise, set in Shirubania originally somewhere in North America though later revised as Great Nature patterned off of Richard Scarry’s Busy Town with firmly middle class anthropomorphised hedgehogs, foxes, deer, mice, rabbits, raccoons, etc running successful local businesses or with professional callings with a certain 1960s aesthetic with their nuclear, four-member families that were never inter-species. The characters, despite the decline of the toyline has been sustained throughout with a series of video games (see above), theme-restaurants and making the discontinued family clans mascots for various corporations and events.  Accessories sold separately.

synchronoptica

one year ago: truth windows (with synchronoptica), the HTML Review plus pharmaceutical contraindications 

seven years ago: assorted links worth revisiting, Outlook snitching on leakers, typographer Herb Lubalin plus Biden’s threat to beat some sense into Trump

eight years ago: The End of History, an appreciation of the VW bus plus Trump dismantles NASA

nine years ago: Walk of Life improves any movie ending, algae as a plastic alternative plus a terror attack in Belgium

ten years ago: more links to enjoy

snow recedes, mist lingers in the air (12. 303)

Courtesy of the always excellent Web Curios, we get a chance to revisit the topic of microseasons (候, kō) with this guide to the twenty-four solar terms or sekki, a phenomenal calendar in driven by the cycles of nature instead of fixed dates used traditionally for agrarian purposes in China and Japan, timing planting and harvesting. Harmonised nicely with yesterday’s lunar eclipse (see previously here and here), we are presently in Keichitsu or Jingzhe (啓蟄, the going-out of the worms) the days when insects awaken from their winter hiberation. Once I accidentally disturbed a nest of dormant lady bugs checking a barrel for rainwater and was devastated for days that I had interrupted their winter nap, still to this day. Even with the climate catastrophe and global weirding, there’s comfort in looking forward to Seimei (the first rainbows and geese migrate) and Shunbun (the sparrows return and the cherry blossoms bloom), the swallows come back to Capistrano and April showers.

9x9 (12. 257)

johnny 5: artificial intelligence and inkblot tests—see previously  

hop-on, hop-off: a new train route through Central Europe allows passengers to visit cities at their own pace  

boone and wesson: the disturbing trend of aggressive baby names in the US—see also, see previously—via Miss Cellania

sixth-tenths of a letter: the depth of natural history visualised as pages in a book  

ok boomer: Chinese netizens’ approach to uncomfortable questions is reply at random (一都乱会, everything is chaotic, xīqiè dōu shì hǔnluàn de) and defuse intergenerational conflict 

bluelights in the basement: RIP Roberta Flack  

protect & survive: Shades another post-apocalyptic UK mini-series in the vein of Threads and The Day After Tomorrow

express limited: a collection of Showa-era Japanese gate entry tickets, a unique surcharge of the train system 

integrated information theory: Richard Dawkins (previously) chats with AI, asks it is it conscious

8x8 (12. 231)

shiroposuto: the last of Japan’s discrete adult reading material disposal boxes 

reinfection: bovine testing for bird flu virus suggests that the H5N1 is spreading silently—see previously   

with guns as my retirement and war as mistress: more protest anthems from Jessie Welles   

in the meantime, i am seriously considering cultivating stupidity, to the exclusion of everything else, as a way of life: the correspondence of Edward Gorey and Tom Fitzharris   

remember the giver: an assortment of Valentine’s Day letters   

tipping point: how things change slowly—then all at once, as illustrated by Kiki and Bouba   

morbidity and mortality weekly report: US Centres For Disease Control see research and outreach efforts hampered by Trump’s assault on the agency—see previously, see also   

enmusubi: the gathering of eight million gods play matchmaker for human relationships in this seaside prefecture

synchronoptica

one year ago:  1924’s Die Niebelungen (with synchronoptica), the endless news cycle plus assorted links to revisit

seven years ago: photographing a single atom, the illustrations of Giovanni Fontana, retro social media platforms plus street name diplomacy

eight years ago: more links to enjoy plus Germany votes

nine years ago: developing the .jpeg format, contention over US Presidents’ Day plus holograms to discourage non-disabled drivers taking handicapped parking spots

eleven years ago: forensics and biometrics plus pop culture Ottoman miniatures

8x8 (12. 227)

patch barracks: military families boo and heckle defence secretary during a whistle-stop visit in Stuttgart en route to the Munich Security Conference 

stakes, novelty, anger, retention and fear: the SNARF model of viral content 

yrjö kukkapuro: a tribute to the pre-eminent Finnish furniture designer 

crossing a line: Timothy Snyder on hurtling towards authoritarianism—via Kottke  

agnotology: an encore episode on the study of wilful ignorance

måke califørnia great ægain: US imperial aspirations prompt counter offers ranging from the serious to satirical 

ザ: the nuances of definite article in article-less and uninflected Japanese language  

cultural moments: under pressure from anti-DEI diktats, Google removing Black History Month and Pride from its calendars—though the decision will not impact the daily Doodle

💤 (12. 218)

Via friend of the blog Nag on the Lake, we are directed this futuristic pair of pyjamas, a sleep apparel system, a garment sponsored by the government of Japan to improve one’s sleep hygiene in response to numerous studies that show the country’s citizens are among the most sleep-deprived among highly-developed nations—see previously. Meant to promote polyphasic cycles—that is getting in a nap, see also—with a portable, rest-inducing environment. The comfy down mantle with adjustable compression and inflating collar and noise-cancelling headgear are integrated with sensors to triangulate and optimise one’s sleep segments and was inspired by the traditional futon bed. More from Spoon & Tamago at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a clairvoyant horse (with synchronoptica), a quasi-moon, national jukebox plus lessons in logic and rhetoric from Star Trek: TAS

seven years ago: the state of public education in Oklahoma plus WiFi hotspots

eight years ago: chief of public enlightenment plus the degeneration of factory towns

nine years ago: ad blockers, assorted links to revisit plus this day in history

ten years ago: sitting is the new smoking plus the American roadtrip

canting arms (12. 198)

Having previously learned a bit about kamon (家紋, Japanese family crests), we enjoyed these reimagined emblems by graphics designer So Terada with incorporate cuisine into these ancient symbols, some inherited over generations and others adopted for aesthetic reasons as the practise became more popular and not limited to the gentry—originating as a bespoke standard or license plate on ox carts to identify rank and status, with a certain protocol for right-of-way. There’s a tribute to Italian food as well as motifs with traditional Japanese dishes. What personal crest would you choose reflecting your favourite foods? Much more from Spoon & Tamago and the artist’s website at the links above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Comic Sans (with synchronoptica),  Elmo loves you plus more bardcore

seven years ago: an arresting photograph that turned public opinion, structural dandelions, more on gravitational waves, monumental artist Krzystof Wodiczko plus a colour classification system

eight years ago: the premier of the Monkees plus the rhetoric of tv politics

nine years ago: US presidential campaigning begins, eradicating all mosquitoes plus late-stage capitalism

ten years ago: Karl Marx’ love letters, debt forgiveness plus assorted links worth revisiting

10x10 (12. 191)

i saw, i cut, i applied: a retrospective of the textile art of Ayako Miyawaki (宮脇綾子) at the Tokyo Station Gallery 

hadron therapy: researchers at CERN are collaborating with oncologists to develop precision treatment that last a fraction of a second—via the new Shelton wet/dry 

drag and drop: the development of tools that easily move data around with confidence it would not be lost

shǒusuì: an exhibition on community resilience through helps gird one for the trying year ahead 

two-minute warning: the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences (see previously) advance the second hand once again as a warning to world leaders  

oreoboros: a round-up of recently introduced snacks and treats—via MetaFilter 

comparative entomology: an 1879 study in the colour patterns in moths and butterflies 

object impermanence: a glitchy and broken AI knock-off of Minecraft makes for a strangely compelling experience  

experimental advanced superconducting tokamak: an artificial sun burned for nearly eighteen minutes at the EAST plasma physics lab in Hefei—a significant milestone for sustainable fusion reactions—via Boing Boing 

the little loomhouse: the history and evolution of an ensemble of Kentucky cabins to a thriving arts community

12x12 (12. 179)

contraception begins at erection: Mississippi lawmaker has introduced a bill called ‘contraception begins at erection’ outlawing male masturbation, hoping to bring balance to the reproductive rights’ restriction that focus on women—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

obayashi world: Japan’s most Lynchian filmmaker  

so long and thanks for all the fish: Joan Ocean’s Dolphin Connection—via Web Curios  

crass competing abstrusities: official, sanctioned transcription of US secretary of state Marco Rubio (鲁比奥) changed—possibly as a way to get around the ban the Chinese government itself imposed plus other politicians’ names—see previously  

 

but if you don’t make your product in america—which is your prerogative—then very simply you will have to pay a tariff: though vacillating somewhat on his commitment and working from home, Trump delivers a message to the Davos WEF summit  

she was nasty in tone, not compelling or smart: Bishop Budde won’t apologise for her appeal for mercy and hospitality  

the birthright citizens’ brigade: a list of organisations pushing back against the slide to authoritarianism in the US  

dreiundfünfzig tage: how Hitler dismantled a constitution republic through constitutional means  

xanthelasma: Florida man on diet of beef, cheese and sticks of butter oozes cholesterol from his skin—see also—via Miss Cellania  

a catalyst for curiosity: Wikenigma documents the unexplained—via Kottke—those scientific and academic questions that evade a definitive answer, like the Collatz conjecture 

you remind me of the babe: Robert Eggers to make a sequel for Labyrinth  

unplanned pregnancy: as an encore to freeing all the January Sixth rioters, Trump pardons dozens of anti-abortion protesters, some jailed for violent tactics to block clinic access and intimidating doctors ahead of the Right to Life March

11x11 (12. 172)

concrete feats: the landmark Våga Water Tower on coast Varberg, Sweden  

ſpy v ſpy: a look at the world of espionage in the Middle Ages—via the new Shelton wet/dry 

obelisks: researchers discover a new form of life with circular RNA—that appear less alive than viruses  

we were wrong that day—we broke the law: convicted January Sixth capitol rioter known as MAGA Granny rejects clemency offer  

winning odds: a collection of vintage Japanese lottery tickets  

cinematic universe: The Goonies and Back to the Future happened on the same day in 1985—via Kottke  

шрифт: foundry excavating Ukrainian fonts from the underground  

dark web: Trump has granted an unconditional pardon to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht 

red team: research students—under supervision recreate—viral pathogens identical to those that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic  

lexicon: a glossary of medieval words from Middle English whose meanings have shifted  

solar gate: 4D printed blinds mimic plants to open and close on their own