international day of peace (13. 819)

Originally declared back in 1981 to occur on the third Tuesday in September, marking the opening session of the United Nations’ General Assembly, then amended from a moveable feast to a fixed date on 2001 when the UNGA was scheduled to begin early, Secretary General Kofi Annan issuing the annual decree on 10. September: “The International Day of Peace started with such a dream. It was proclaimed 20 years ago by the United Nations General Assembly, at the initiative of Costa Rica. This year, at the initiative of Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, the Assembly decided to go one step further. It declared that the International Day of Peace should be a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. This step promises to be more than symbolic. Where respected, it will have practical effect. Where truces are observed, medical and developmental agencies can provide vital services to civilian victims in safety. And even a one-day pause in the fighting gives us something to build on in the work to end conflict. On this International Day of Peace, let us dare to imagine a world free of conflict and violence. And let us seize the opportunity for peace to take hold, day by day, year by year, until every day is a day of peace,” the day prior to assembly’s start on 11. September, preempted by the 9/11 terror attacks just blocks away from UN headquarters. To inaugurate the occasion, the Peace Bell is rung, a bonsho donated to the infra-national body by Japan in 1954, cast from coins and medals contributed by world citizens, melted down and tolled for peace on 21. September, and on 21. March, Earth Day, in hopes of better stewardship of our shared home. Both observances ring a bit hollow right now. The belfry is in the style of a traditional Buddhist blossom temple. Alloy includes bullets, military badges and nine gold pieces given by Pope Pius XII. The foundation which originally proposed the forging of such a symbol presented a replica to San Marino in 2019 in recognition of its history of being the oldest republic in the world and pacifism. Honorary bell-ringers include Margaret Mead, NYC mayor David Dinkins, Aye Aye Thant as well as secretaries-general and presidents of the assemblies.

10x10 (13. 807)

the alignment problem: the insincerity of Big Tech on the pause and the incoherence of fascism (a bundle of sticks) 

aspect ratio: using a train or ferry as a massive flatbed scanner  

coliseum: Trump administration may just demolish the Kennedy Centre, replacing the national stage with an amphitheatre  

new harmony: the failed utopian commune of southern Indiana—see previously  

pokémon sleep: giant ball opens as guest lodging in the woodlands of Hokkaido 

joe cool: Hallmark’s custom university posters that played to institutions’ reputations as party schools  

safety curtain series: each year, the Vienna State Opera brings large format art to its proscenium—see also regarding fire curtains 

the apprentice: a biography of Roy Cohn (see previously here and here) and his influence on Trump’s politics of resentment

vinkenzetting: a DIY electronic-ink picture frame sketches birds by identifying them by their call  

the chinese room: a thought experiment by philosopher John Searle in 1980 arguing that a computer executing a programme cannot have a mind, understanding or consciousness

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump, Epstein and a State Visit to the UK still on schedule (with synchronoptica), the US National Security Act of 1947 plus the Ig Nobel laureates

two years ago: assorted links worth the revisit 

three years ago: contingency elections to bypass the US electoral college 

four years ago: a photo from Voyager I that puts everything in perspective, St Joseph of Cupertino, photographer Harold Feinstein plus triangulating Instagram

five years ago: your daily demon: Stolas,  anthrax in the mail, arcade animations, more on Wikipedia edit-wars plus post-Brexit UK planning to return to Imperial Measurements

six years ago: vaporware and its antecedents, “producing geese,” “without worries,” the Interkosmos Group plus AI tries to create a universal and enduring warning for the ages

seven years ago: US congress debates abolishing the Electoral College, taboos surrounding talking about death, Germany Calling! (1939) plus flight-shaming and train-bragging

eight years ago: keep-sakes,  more links to enjoy plus a hydrogen powered locomotive

 

les trente-six vues de la tour eiffel (13. 785)

Best known for his picture series of the Eifel Tower (see previously), with the seasons changing, we appreciated this gallery of Henri Rivière’s lithographic works spanning the first decade of the twentieth century, capturing other quarters of Paris. Somewhat of a departure from the earlier project that was a faithful interpolation of Japonisme and Japanese printmakers in terms of layout and presentation, these vignettes still maintain the traditional minimal palette and outlines and previews the coming ligne claire style adopted by European comic artists like Hergé. Rivière also painted scenes of Breton and a study in waves, like his inspiration, Hokusai.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a customisable chyron roll (with synchronoptica), more synthetic geology plus AI as a calculator for words

two years ago: a nineteenth century puppet theatre, New York’s Chelsea Hotel, branding wild horses plus Haile Selassie deposed (1974) 

three years ago: The Blob (1958) 

four years ago: the Chaos Computer Club (1981), medieval dog names plus the beach photos of Philip Barlow

five years ago: the Battle of Marathon, a sudden revelation plus more nearby abandoned places

six years ago: doom loops, traffic planning and civil engineering, Lascaux Cave rediscovered (1940), flights to nowhere plus the invention of the written word

seven years ago: Bonanza (1959) plus the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (1990)

 

9x9 (13. 766)

tokyo drift: where potential car owners have to show proof to the dealership of a place to park before purchase, Japanese architects carve automobile shaped voids in urban houses 

trickle down economics: diesel prices hit a record high in the US  

pew pew: laser-washing gives jeans a broken-in look  

mo6: Finnish company introduces carbon-negative building material produced from waste lignin from the timber industry  

tasting notes: visualisations and maps of coffee origins  

ceramic dalmatian: the Wheel of Fortune consolation prize added to the History of America in 100 Objects speaks to the evolution of the game show format and our collective aspirations  

a modified neublon-b escort frigate: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens in Los Angeles—see also  

newman’s own didn’t drop a these colours don’t run salad dressing: the attempt to rename Lake Ontario is a dumb distraction but with sinister, Orwellian undertones no matter how pathetic  

handmade utopia: the architecture of the back-to-the-land movement of Northern California of the 1960s and 1970s

synchronoptica

one year ago: linking celebrities across time and space (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth the revisit

two years ago: more links to enjoy

three years ago: Kenneth Anger’s first film plus hot labour summer

four years ago: the reservoirs of Saalfeld 

five years ago: AI generated movie posters, less and more of the old weird web, Space 1999,  a bluesy rendition of the Seinfeld theme, the Goethe-Schiller monument plus another MST3K classic

six years ago: Trump undermining public confidence in elections 

8x8 (13. 736)

a comparison using like or as: a treasury of simile and metaphor from Ross MacDonald’s private detective Lew Archer 

mario v pareto: a scrolly-telling illustration of efficiency and optimisation—via Quantum of Sollazzo   

siamese wins: Thailand avoided colonisation through diplomacy and cultural synthesis  

world famous gopher hole museum: a visit to an usual tourist attraction in a tiny Albertan hamlet  

biblioclasm: Amazon’s AI book-pulping division has a cartoonish evil logo 

count coudenhove-kalergi: the Austro-Japanese politician and diplomat who championed the movement of European integration and was the inspiration for the character of Victor Laszlo in Casablanca—plus nominated Ode to Joy as the theme for the united continent 

balloon banjo: a 3D printed heuristic tool for experimenting with acoustics  

ounce dice trice: a garland ring of unusual words that ends up where it starts out

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus a cache of vintage picture postcards

two years ago: a quick weekend get-away plus the Formosa Straits crisis of 1958 

three years ago: the US Republican primary debates plus more links to enjoy 

four years ago: even more links plus Ukraine re-establishes itself as an independent state (1991)  

five years ago: assorted links worth the revisit, ant architecture plus Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

six years ago: cocktails for remote learning, superlative garden photographs plus re-sampling Soviet pop

abdominal quadrants (13. 654)

We enjoyed studying this small collection of antique nineteenth century ukiyo-e prints that illustrate the inner-anatomical functions, to promote good health and moderation as well as a civics lesson with bodily fitness as an allegory of not necessarily of industry (see also) but of an ordered society. The pictured woodblock is by artist Utagama Kuisada (歌川 国貞), among the most prolific designers and commercial successive artists of the medium who in his own time was far better known than contemporaries Hokusai and Hiroshige, and is titled the “Mirror of the Physiology of Food and Drink.” Much more from Open Culture at the link up top.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Battle Beyond the Stars (with synchronoptica), cheese advocacy, Trump seeks to fire the Federal Reserve chair for cause plus a completist’s drinking adventure

two years ago: the arch of Constantine plus assorted links worth revisiting

three years ago: more links to enjoy 

four years ago: Ullapool and environs plus a historic NATO outpost

five years ago: the first colour advert on monochrome TVs (1967), Einstein on the Beach, St Thomas à Kempis plus an epic mosaic along the Thames

six years ago: cognitive fitness, Wikipedia 1.0, the US Space Force, St Cucuphas, Sino-US tensions plus enduring character tropes

double-six (13. 626)

Translated as the above, sugoroku (雙六 or 双六) historically referred to two different classes of board game, ban-sugoroku akin to Western backgammon, and e-sugoroku, picture games similar to snakes-and-ladders. With the proliferation and increasing sophistication of wood-block printing, beginning in the Edo period (the late thirteenth century), the former meaning became nearly obsolete, a retronym like “acoustic guitar” or “landline,” with the colourful boards produced under thousands of variants with the same basic rules of play on subjects ranging from religion, career-progression, geopolitics, adult-themes and culture, meant to educate and to a degree inculcate—see also. Via Kottke, we are directed to an appreciation of the format through a recently expanded collection from the Rumsey archives (previously) of nineteenth century tabletop entertainments, which still leave an imprint of society in family game night traditions and mini-games within arcade franchises like Super Mario Brothers.

synchronoptica

one year ago: understanding light pollution (with sychronoptica) plus definitely not a bag full of drugs

two years ago: the asteroid Pallas plus Lonesome (1928)

three years ago: a vintage workwear catalogue,  an experimental overland train plus the Trinity nuclear test (1945)

four years ago: the flag of Estonia plus assorted links to revisit 

five years ago: along the Gota canal plus a hike over an extinct waterfall

six years ago: Disney theme parks reopen during the pandemic plus more links to enjoy

 

 

bodega cat (13. 579)

Enjoying the correspondence between these two disparate posts, we couldn’t resist combining them as a celebration of our feline companions first with this project by Marcel Heijnen to document the gradual disappearance of “shop cats” in Shanghai as traditional stores are replaced through gentrification with modern, hermetically sealed retail spaces twinned with the early 1980s phenomenon of the Nameneko cats of photographer Saturo Tsuda. Hugely popular at the time, these cats were dressed and set in dioramas depicting high school gangsters—banchō (番長, male delinquents) and sukeban (スケ番, female delinquents) who rebelled against authority, smoking in the boys’ room and with subversive tailoring of their school uniforms. Hang in there baby. Much more at the links above.

9x9 (13. 570)

general magic: an ambitious project to create the smart phone (see below) in the early 1990s failed over lack of constraint and too much freedom, not lack of vision, talent or technology

odyssey: charting the great journeys of fiction—see also  

humphrey’ executor: US supreme court strikes down federal laws that prevent the president from firing heads of (some) independent agencies—see previously  

don’t swear jerry—and don’t bleed in the sink, i’ve just cleaned it: actor and comedian Penelope Keith has died, aged 89  

🧸: Nuigurumi Jinja (Plushie Shire) dedicated in northern Kyoto for honouring beloved stuffed animals—see also here and here 

keedoozle: the grocery store vending machine of the 1930s 

 île de peliz: the solitary natural islet of Lake Geneva, with room for a plane tree  

hypergraphia: history’s most prolific writers 

how about this: 1960s housewife and the pocket phone of the future

synchronoptica

one year ago:  a walk along the beach at Gârves (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit

two years ago: a visit to the Rocco di Caldè 

three years ago: animatronic Trump, an updated We Didn’t Start the Fire plus US supreme court strikes down affirmative action for college admissions

four years ago: goodwill ambassador Samantha Reed Smith 

five years ago: cartoonist Thornton Hee plus a record-setting Van Gogh auction (1987)

six years ago: Quo Vadis,  the feast of SS Peter and Paul, the debut of the iPhone (2007), a chiptune classic, exotic crisps plus Japanese train station jingles

6x6 (13. 496)

epistolary: a profile of one of China’s last working Qiaopi writers (侨批) who sends letters and remittances to relatives overseas 

robert tyzyczhowzswiski is asking the court to change his cognomen: the trials and tribulations of legal stenographers—see also  

gonzo and camilla: revisiting emperor Honorius, chicken fancier  

inter esperantistoj; the undying dream of the universal language—see previously—via Web Curios  

post-hoc rationalisation: more lawyers get in trouble for reliance on AI 

fountain of knowledge: Japanese quiz culture was shaped by the post-war US occupation

11x11 (13. 450)

o’dark ocho: an interesting linguistic coincidence  

wildlife gusher: a mysterious structure found in the middle of nowhere—click through to read some delightful and illuminating explanations, via Miss Cellania  

thomas jerome newton: a rereading of the novel The Man Who Fell to Earth in preparation for a rewatch of the David Bowie film  

富くじ: Present /&/ Correct’s collection of Mid-Century Japanese lottery tickets—see also 

spook hotel: the de facto capitol of US administered Venezuela  

kleptocracy: Trump drops his ten billion dollar lawsuit agains his internal revenue service and department of commerce in exchange for a two billion dollar slush fund to award loyalists and exempt himself and associates from future tax audits—via Kottke  

œnology methodology: the study and enjoyment of wine—see previously  

special envoy: Trump sends governor of Louisiana to Greenland to make “friends”  

night nurse: the forgotten author Dora Macy behind the Barbara Stanwyck classic  

public health emergency of international concern: World Health Organisation declares west Africa outbreak of ebola viral haemorrhage fever highly dangerous with the US CDC still not allowed to communicate with the UN body  

cowcumbers: the courgette was previously called so as they were only considered fit for bovines

8x8 (13. 372)

first flush: Shizoka region’s campaign to reclaim its status as the world’s number one tea producer

tippy the turtle and cubby the bear: the long history of drawing short-cuts before AI  

portraits of population: in 1971 and 1981, the Indian government conducted a people’s census with accompanying illustrated volumes to explain the motivation for collecting data—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

top of the hour: programming schedules and regular segments for a veteran blogger influenced by a career in radio  

the books are open: following a distressed shoe company’s pivot to LLMs, pasta sauce maker Prego releases a table top device to record family dinner conversations to cherish for all time—via Super Punch  

extrapolated futures: a reverse look-up archive of speculative fiction to explore how science-fiction authors of the past assay a real world scenario of the present—via Kottke  

the edge of sentience: the theory of mind, our history of underestimating the internality of others and how we might be diminishing the conscience of the machine  

hanami: Kyoto gets a new caretaker for the records of cherry tree blooms (see previously) that goes back to the ninth century, one of the oldest, continuous archives of climate data in the world

〄 (13. 370)

Vis-à-vis the previous post, we discover the so-called ghost characters, apparently erroneous kanji included and perpetuated in the Japanese Industrial Standards (the title is the is old Unicode symbol discontinued in 2005 with no proposal to update it to the current one, so itself sort of an orphaned emblem)—broader in reach but essentially the equivalent of the international safety company formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories now known only by the initialism UL—codified in 1978 but without clear authority for the regulation of manufacturing, publishing and cartographic Normung itself inherited from wartime production and subsequent US occupation. Manufacturers, statisticians and surveyors—each within their own non-overlapping magesteria once their scope of work and responsibility became more defined made note of characters whose usage was unknown or the hapax legomena of toponomy and uncommon personal names in registers for insurance companies. The list of orphaned and erroneous kanji was eventually reduced to twelve poorly-sourced characters, some declared typos and others unidentified, although difficult to excise with their inscription in the rolls of Unicode and other transnational protocols, with some adopted in common parlance, with 袮宜 sometimes an intentional misrendering for a deputy or assistant manager to signify expectations of their usefulness. Only 彁 (kai, sei) is still labeled as “authority unknown,” which is crime-dramas is sometimes left on a victim as a calling card.

table manners (13. 285)

Though admittedly sometimes we practise with the wooden, break-apart pair included with store-bought sushi that includes a brief guide, like those napkins that one used to find in Greek and Italian restaurants that included a vocabulary lesson for native pleasantries to exchange with the waitstaff (one doesn’t find them so often any more), we knew we were doing it wrong and would never assay such behaviour during an authentic meal unless by limited utensils and were not prepared this extensive list, courtesy of MetaFilter, of breaches of etiquette that one can commit with chopsticks (箸, はし in Kana and pronounced as hashi). Dating back to antiquity with their first archeological evidence as cooking implements, the use of chopsticks spread with Confucian philosophy as civilised and refined with the modern aphorism that whereas knives are for the slaughterhouse and battle, chopsticks are for scholars—so called grand chopsticks (料理箸, ryōribashi) used for preparation rather than eating are longer and also measure temperature as a property of bamboo by their sounds or silence during frying. Whilst not intended as prescriptive or shame-inducing but rather as cultivating eating as an art and act of reverence, there are orders of precedence, using the serving implements, not double-dipping and many others, including the pictured transgression called ogamibashi (拝み箸), it being considered rude to hold one’s chopsticks during the expression of thanks (itadakimasu, いただきます) for what one is about to receive, the equivalent (though more nuanced as a recognition of humility rather than hierarchy and that one’s needs have a larger meaning) of having one’s knife and fork at the ready during grace.

day twenty-one (13. 279)

As Tehran marks the celebration of Nowruz (previously), the Persian New Year, Israel continues airstrikes on the capital, Netanyahu speaking earlier to allay claims that he pressured the US to drop negotiations and enter into the fight, whilst suggesting that a ground component may be necessary to finish what they’ve started, “You cannot make a revolution from the air.” Also earlier, Hegseth spoke to the press pool, delivering a SITREP on the progress of the war, characterised as going swimming and ahead of schedule although still not offering much in the way of planning or objectives, meanwhile Trump hosted the Japanese prime minister in the Oval Office, one of the Asian countries he implored for military aid to secure the Strait of Hormuz. For her part, Takaichi explained to Trump that Japan’s ability for intervention and military deployment outside of its borders was curtailed constitutionally by the laws drafted for the country by the American occupying forces after World War II, maintaining her composure and playing to Trump’s interests even after a rather breathtakingly awkward political gaffe (see also) by the president, when asked by a Japanese reporter why the US attacked Iran without forewarning to its allies, joking about the importance of the element of surprise, something Japan ought to know about considering Pearl Harbour. Afterwards a gala dinner was held with guests including tech executives, cabinet members and donors like Miriam Adelson whose late husband advocated for nuclear strikes on Iran for the unveiling of a commemorative gold coin bearing Trump’s image to be minted for America’s upcoming two-hundred fiftieth birthday, approved by the US Commission of Fine Arts.

synchronoptica

one year ago: travel advisories for the US (with synchronopticæ), relative time, seismic activity in real time plus US suggest takeover of Ukrainian nuclear power plants

twelve years ago: an epic Finnish name generator 

thirteen years ago: digital restrictions management 

fourteen years ago: greenwashing, reunited Germany’s solidarity pact tariff plus tech platform comebacks 

fifteen years ago: patrolling Libya’s no-fly zone 

sixteen years ago: seasonal affective disorders 

day seventeen (13. 270)

Contrary to boasting that the war has already been won and telling a UK reluctant to enter this illegal war of choice, Trump is now calling for a coalition of nations to send battleships to protect the Strait of Hormuz and restart transit. Specifically calling out Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, the UK and France as reliant on unblocking this vital maritime artery, all of whom have reservations and are refusing to commit at this juncture—Britain is sending mine-sweeping drones—Trump says refusal to cooperate has dire implications for the future of the NATO alliance, only the latter two being members of the mutual defence pact, without cooperation, which is probably exactly the objective. Iran is calling the joint US-Israeli bombing of its oil infrastructure an act of ecocide and a war-crime.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an AI-enhanced Billy Bass (with synchronopticæ), rewilding one’s browsing experience plus DC socialite Pearl Meste

fifteen years ago: Germany debates discontinuing nuclear energy plus On the Beach

sixteen years ago: spring break hot spots and no-go zones

wm-9 (13. 211)

Via the always excellent Present /&/ Correct (check out their sundries), we enjoyed perusing this comprehensive archive that has catalogued over a thousand portable audio players—the Walkman introduced by Sony first in 1979 and manufactured through 2010 (see previously here, here, here and here) and courting many imitators and innovations over the years as a genericised trademark with many other competiting brands. We had find trying to hunt down a specific model we had and discovering along the way others, each entry having detailed specifications, notes on features, manuals, family-trees accessories and advertising.

❄️ (13. 147)

Reminding us of the collection of Vermont meteorologist Snowflake Bentley’s collection, we enjoyed discovering the volume Sekka Zusetsu (雪華図説) published in 1832 by the fourth daimyō of the Koga shogunate, representing two decades of careful observations of snow flowers (sekka, せっか) through the lens of his own microscope imported from the Netherlands. The book, originally privately printed for the feudal lord and his family and friends, was released to general readership soon thereafter in an expanded version with the patterns incorporated as motifs in porcelain and textiles (including decorative elements in local buildings, sidewalks and manholes) throughout Japan. More from Public Domain Review at the link above.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: Andean textiles (with synchronopticæ), demon mode/pious mode plus Wikipedia rabbitholes

twelve years ago: UN critical of the Vatican plus the tense backdrop of the opening of the Winter Games

thirteen years ago: repairing the Greek economy plus living in a computer simulation

fourteen years ago: the Queen’s diamond jubilee  

fifteen years ago: a drive through the Haßberge 

sixteen years ago: holiday overlap 

ōdako (13. 143)

Dedicated to a legendary giant octopus guarding a sacred sword at the bottom of the sea in the nearby Straits of Hayasui, the Hayasuhime shrine in Oita prefecture is unique Japan and popular with locals and prayed to for good fortune and safety on the water. Enshirement of a new deity recently crafted, however, was delayed due to neighbourhood cats, who used the cardboard sculpture as a scratching post and as a shelter during the winter cold and now installed, the sculptor may have found himself committed to an unending task of upkeep with these feline devotees. The kraken-like sea monster (see also) is called the Akkorokamui (アッコロカム) from Ainu folklore and has a variety of myths associated with it—a mostly benevolent kami in the Shinto tradition, it does have a chaotic side and must be approached carefully—much like a cat. More from Spoon & Tamago at the link up top.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: real estate development plans for Gaza (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: hardwired for social media 

fourteen years ago: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement plus an antiquing side project

fifteen years ago: biofuels 

sixteen years ago: Iranian space ambitions 

uncanny gulch (13. 134)

For the reminder and textbook example of what the uncanny valley is when the feeling seems a vanishingly premium these days despite a slightly off-putting edge—via Everlasting Blört, we appreciated this photo essay revisiting an abandoned Old West-themed village in Japan. The roadside attraction grew out of modest ensemble known as the Kinugawa Family Ranch (ウエスタン村, in Tochigi prefecture near Tokyo) in 1973 and eventually hosted a population of animatronic denizens (see also here and here) but changing times and fortunes meant its eventual closure in 2006 with the installation ravaged by neglect and vandalism. Abandonment has of course dialled up the creepiness factor, making it look lie the set of a horror movie, and the remaining relics and ruins seem to be an apt commentary on the state of America and the desire to be a lawless cowboy.

synchronptica

one year ago: more Japanese family crests (with sychronopticæ), the founding of DOGE plus a particular kind of gluttony

twelve years ago: little apples of death, no photos of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel plus Cosmos reprised

thirteen years ago: illustrating the internet plus a sci-fi Groundhog Day

fourteen years ago: more thoughts on Groundhog Day 

fifteen years ago: uprising in Egypt plus cobbling together a movement without social media

sixteen years ago: Iran against the world