mmxxv (13. 042)

As this year draws to a close and we look forward to 2026, we take the time agin to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past twelve months. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

 january: a vehicle ramming attack kills ten and injures dozens in central New Orleans.  After a five year deal expires without renewal, Russian gas can no longer be piped through Ukraine to the EU as the continent braces for a cold winter.  After a decade as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announces he will step aside.  An earthquake strikes the holy city of Shigatse in Tibet.  Wind-swept wildfires devastate southern California.  Joe Biden and others eulogise Jimmy Carter for his state funeral.  After the US supreme court rejects a petition to delay sentencing over his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, Trump becomes a convicted felon, although given an unqualified discharge by the presiding judge and will serve no time.  Sunset Boulevard is unrecognisable after being engulfed by wildfires.  Israel and Hamas appear close to reaching a truce to bring about a permanent ceasefire.  Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth faces a gruelling nomination hearing in congress for role of secretary of defence.  Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second time and unleashes a flurry of executive orders, including a hiring freeze, immediate rescinding of Biden era policies, removal of DEI initiatives within the federal government and contracting partners, declaring that there are two genders only, issuing a blanket pardon to the January Sixth rioters in an attempt to reframe and rewrite history, freezing virtually all foreign aid, closing the borders and vowing to unleash agents to facilitate mass-deportations.  Cabinet nominees are approved by the US senate, including, narrowly—Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defence.  Trump proposes that Gaza be depopulated of Palestinians and urges neighbouring Egypt and Jordan to take in all displaced individuals.  A scrappy open-source AI developed in China on a shoe-string budget knock a trillion dollar hole in the grift-cum-technofedualism markets in the US.  Prolific blog commentator and good soul XOXOXOBruce (see more here and here) has passed away.  A passenger plane collides with a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, DC, killing all, including members from American and Russian figure skating teams.  Iconic entertainer Marianne Faithfull passes away, aged 78. Mexico, Canada and China hit back against US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.  The government of El Salvador agrees to allow the US to offshore its most dangerous incarcerated population.  A deadly shooting occurs at a continuing education centre in Örebro.  Trump meets with Netayahu and offers to own the Gaza Strip and redevelop it, expelling the Palestinian population.

february: Novelist Tom Robbins dead, aged 92.  Relenting on implementing tariffs for Mexico and Canada after security promises already underway, Trump shocks the markets by imposing a twenty-five percent duty on all aluminium and steel globally.  Trump orders federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against disgraced New York City mayor Eric Adams after repeated attempts to curry favour with the president.  The Aga Khan passes away, aged 88. Boycotts to protest inflation and A ramming attacked is perpetrated in München, ploughing into a crowd of union protesters, a day ahead of the Munich Security Conference.  Pope Francis is hospitalised with double pneumonia, his prognosis for recovery guarded.   Veteran actor Gene Hackman found dead, aged 95, at home along with his wife and dog.

march: By executive order, Trump makes English the official language of the United States.  Israel blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, demanding that Hamas abide by changed conditions dictated by the US, leading by mid-month to a resumption in airstrikes on the territory.  Rosenstolz singer AnNa R passes away, aged 55.  A French politician calls for the return of the Statue of Liberty.  After rejecting a previously brokered US peace deal, during a telephone call with Trump, Putin signals he will agree to a thirty-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure.  Boxer and entrepreneur George Foreman passes away, aged 76.  Germany’s marked fiscal pivot to embrace debt and invest in defence stunned fellow EU members.  Trump’s commerce secretary proposes cutting the social security safety net for seniors and the disabled.  Arrest and detention of Erdoğan rival and Istanbul mayor ignites protests in Türkiye.  Wildfires ravage South Korea.  A coalition of the willing convene in Paris in solidarity with Ukraine, fearful of the outcome of a US-brokered deal with Russia.  Thousands dead and many more displaced after an earthquake ravages Myanmar.  Globally, thousands participate in Tesla Takedown protests against Musk.  Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen banned from public office after being found guilty for misappropriating EU funds.

april: Despite millions in campaign donations, Musk and conservatives were unable to flip the state supreme court in Washington.  New Jersey Democrat Corey Booker spoke in the Senate, rebuking the Trump administration for a record twenty-five hours and five minutes, beating Strom Thurmond’s filibuster against integration and equal rights.   Actor Val Kilmer dead at age 65.  Israeli defence forces annex huge swaths of the Gaza Strip.  Foregoing over two billion dollars in federdal funding, Harvard refuses to give in to Trump demands.  Katy Perry and an all-female crew travel briefly to the edge of space.  The world mourns Pope Francis.  The US threatens to walk away from the Ukraine-Russia peace deal it brokered.  As a rebuke to Trumpism, Canada elects another liberal government with Mark Carney as Prime Minister.

may: The US Department of Homeland Security is planning to remove illegal migrants to Libya.  The College of Cardinals elect the first American pope, Leo XIV.  India and Pakistan exchange violent skirmishes over the disputed territories of Kashmir and Jammu.  Austria wins the Eurovision song contest.  A tall ship from the Mexican navy collides with the Brooklyn bridge during manoeuvrers.  Romanian elects a centrist, pro-EU mathematician for president in a surprise turn-out.  Former US president Joe Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  UK, France and Canada sharply criticise Israel for its continued assault on Gaza and blockade of humanitarian aid, suspending trade talks and recalling diplomatic staff.  Veteran actor George Wendt passed away, aged 76. King Charles delivers a speech of solidarity from the throne in Canada to open parliament.  Trump blasts Putin for escalation of fighting in Ukraine.

june: In planning for eighteen-months, Ukraine carries out surprise drone attack on Russian bombers in five regions.  Trump rescinds nomination of private astronaut to head NASA after apparent falling out with Elon Musk, who recommended the nominee for the job.  Trump federalises the California national guard against the will of the state’s governor to suppress protests against ICE raids.  The Israeli defence forces seise a Gaza-bound cargo ship of humanitarian aid with activist Greta Thunberg onboard.  A London-bound plane crashes shortly after departure from Ahmedabad with a sole survivor. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys passes away, aged 82.  Israel launches air strikes against Iran’s nuclear processing facilities, killing the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. The US bombs three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.  In the last week before recess, the US supreme court delivers Trump several judicial victories. Veteran journalist and moderator Bill Moyers has died.  Israeli attacks on Gaza humanitarian assistance sites markedly intensify.  

july: The US congress narrowly passes Trump’s domestic policy agenda.  Flash flooding in Texas Hill Country claims dozens, including many from a summer camp for girls.  Russian transport minister found dead hours after his dismissal ostensibly for his failure to secure Moscow from Ukrainian drone attacks.  Trump announces twenty-fiver percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, as the administration pushes for ninety trade deals in ninety days.  Trump disavows MAGA supporters who demand the release of the Epstein files. Israel launches airstrikes on Damascus to defend Druze communities living on the border of the Golan Heights.  UK government resolves to lower voting age to sixteen.  The US senate approves rescission bill to defund public broadcasting in America and eliminate billions in foreign aid.  Iconic rocker Ozzy Osboure has died, aged 76.  The famine in Gaza worsens as hundreds have been killed just queuing for aid.  France resolves to acknowledge Palestinian statehood.  Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan passed away, aged 71.  The EU negotiates a last minute trade and tariff deal with Trump, giving Europe worse than nothing but perhaps preserving global security and stability in Ukraine.  Contrary to assurances that the Qatari gift of Air Force one would not be for the Trump’s personal use post-presidency, the secretary of defence accepted the gift, explicitly calling it not a bribe.  Trump admits his friendship with Epstein came to an end because Epstein was stealing employees from his pleasure spa.  

august: Trump’s redacted name appears in the Epstein files.  Microsoft joins Invidia as the first firms to reach a four trillion dollar market valuation.  Global stocks are shocked by tariff deadline with few deals.  Trump fires government statistician after poor jobs-growth report, revising downward previous months’ estimates.   Sabre-rattling, two nuclear submarines move within striking distance of Russian.  Netanyahu announces plans to take over Gaza City whilst Trump again threatens to federalise Washington, DC. Astronaut and Apollo XIII commander Jim Lovell dies, aged 97.  Putin has a summit with Trump in Alaska, followed by a meeting in Washington, DC between Trump and Zelenskyy with several European leaders also inviting themselves.  Texas and California commence with their redistricting war to gerrymander the mid-terms.  The Florida department of transportation removes the rainbow crosswalk memorial of the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre.  Rumours of the death of Trump are trending.  The White House announces intent to end mail-ballots and allow only in-person voting.  Israeli attacks aided by the US kill Houthi prime minister in Yemen.  Modi and Xi meet with Putin as counterbalance to western hegemony.

september: A devastating earthquake hits Afghanistan.  Google emerges more or less unscathed from a landmark anti-trust case.  Chaos at the US Centres for Disease control prompts many states to do their own research.  Celebrated fashion designed Giorgio Armani dead, aged 91.  Over a dozen killed in a tragic funicular accident in Lisbon.  The US targets an alleged Venezuelan drug-boat and deploys warships to the Caribbean.  Israeli Defence Forces order the complete evacuation of Gaza City. Right wing influencer and conservative activist Charles Kirk is assassinated during a speaking event at a college campus in Utah.  Actor, activist and director Robert Redford passed away, aged 89. Donald Trump arrives in London for his second state visit.  The GOP are exploiting the death of Charlie Kirk to silence dissent. Portugal, the UK, Canada and Australia recognise Palestinian statehood, ahead of the UN General Assembly—with host nation refusing to issue visas to the country’s delegation to attend (the first time the US has barred entry since 1998 and banning PLO head Yasser Arafat, which prompted the UN to change the venue to Geneva).  Trump gives a rambling and dangerous speech falsely linking acetaminophen, childhood vaccinations with autism.  Erik Adams drops his re-election bid to be mayor of New York City.

october: At an impasse, the US government shuts down.  Renowned primatologist and wildlife advocate Jane Goodall passes away, aged 91. Veteran UK actor Patricia Routledge dies, aged 96.  Hamas and Israel reach a tentative ceasefire days after the second anniversary of the the beginning of the war.  Gazans begin returning home, joy amid sorrow and destruction as the Israeli army pulls back.  Actor Diana Keaton has died, aged 79.  Trump misappropriates funds to make military pay-day during the shutdown.  Hamas begins releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.  Elite universities in the US choose to forego federal funding rather than submit to conditions on research and hiring practises.  The US CIA begin covert operations to overthrow the government of Venezuela.  Every major US media outlet surrendered their Pentagon press credentials rather than sign a pledge to only report on approved releases. Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton indicted for mishandling of classified information.  NPR founding reporter and anchor Susan Stamberg passed away, age 87.  Partial demolition begins on the East Wing of the White House to construct Trump’s ballroom.  The Japanese parliament elects its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.  Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the Sistine Chapel.  Against America’s peace agenda, the Knesset votes to annex the West Bank.  Leftwing candidate Catherine Connolly wins Ireland’s presidency.  Veteran television star June Lockhart passes away, aged 100.  Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales dies, aged 93. US government shutdown surpasses Trump’s old record for the longest in history.  Dick Cheney dies, aged 84.  Zohran Mamdani wins mayorship of New York City.

november: Redistricting efforts in Texas ahead of US mid-term elections are ruled to be unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The US federal government reopens after an unprecedented shut-down as Democrats fold.  A violent civil war continues to rage in Nigeria.  COP 30 begins in Brazil.  Tech businesses and telecoms shed tens of thousands of employees.  In response to a cadre of congressional representatives urging service members not to obey illegal orders, Trump cries sedition and threatens them with execution.  US leaks a twenty-eight point peace plan for Ukraine and Russia. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she will leave the US congress in January after a public falling out with Trump.  Flames engulf a residential apartment block in Hong Kong.  The pope makes his first trip abroad, visiting Türkiye and Lebanon.  With war in Venezuela imminent, closing the country’s airspace, Trump pardons notorious Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, commuting his sentence in a US federal prison after smuggling weapons and four hundred tonnes of cocaine into the country.  A deadly fire in a Hong Kong housing estate kills scores.

december: Playwright Tom Stoppard passes away, aged 88.  Influential architect Frank Gehry has died, aged 96.  Australia launches a world first social media ban for young people.  The US military seizes a Venezuelan oil tanker, escalating tensions.  Articles of impeachment are forwarded for both secretary of war and RFK, Jr.  Indiana state lawmakers reject Trump’s redistricting plans to gerrymander Democrats out of existence.  A gunman kills a dozen individuals gathering at Australia’s Bondi beach for Hanukkah celebrations.  Actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer-Reiner are found murdered—with the couple’s son arrested as the the prime suspect.  The US justice department releases a heavily redacted version of the Epstein files.  Singer, songwriter Chris Rea, performer behind “Driving Home for Christmas” dies, aged 74.  Brigitte Bardo has died, aged 91.  Trump announces ground strikes in Venezuela.  Xi announces intent to reunite Taiwan in New Year’s Eve address.

11x11 (12. 895)

american psychosis: pathologising along with artist Jordan Sullivan  

kojève and cigarettes: uncovering the history of Hegelian tobacco and the American spirit  

usenet: a 1995 CBC segment featuring Cory Doctorow on how to internet—via Waxy   

karzer: revisiting privilege and imprisonment in German universities  

de facto recognition: leaked US draft to end Russian war in Ukraine  

dress code: ignoring all other disruptions and baseline unpleasantness, US transportation secretary encourages flyers to not dress down for their flights to improve the overall experience for all passengers  

tiled words: a daily crossword puzzle-Tetris hybrid—via MetaFilter  

algospeak: taboo, newly minted unwords of search and social media

victor insulations: the ubiquitous American diner mug—via Miss Cellania  

in like flynn: over-exposure to the stupidest ambitions of society at large has brought us all down—via Web Curios 

operation charlotte’s web: ICE ruins a classic of children’s literature—some pig 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: hand-washing and optimism  

thirteen years ago: the holiday winterval plus Martin Luther and bowling

951 gaspra (12. 834)

Discovered in 1916 by astronomer Grigori Nikolaevich Neujmin, one in a catalogue to his credit of hundreds of minor planets and comets, and named for the Crimean spa town near Yalta that was favoured by Neujmin’s contemporaries like Tolstoy and Gorky, the asteroid was visited by the Galileo space probe on a close fly-by on this day in 1991 en route for its mission to explore the Jovian system (see also), the first time such an object was encountered at close range and studied, the rendezvous a technically challenging one since only its approximate location was known by projecting its orbital path. The irregular shaped silicate-rich asteroid is approximately the size of Guam and has the pictured astronomical symbol, a simplification of the resort town’s coat of arms.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a mascot for the Vatican (with synchronopticæ) plus IKEA acknowledges forced labour in East Germany

thirteen years ago: media ownership under threat

8x8 (12. 813)

vampira: the obscure made-for-television title by George Moorse with a atmospheric score by Tangerine Dream 

concrete progress: a demonstration project for turning the rubble of war torn Ukraine into cement 

overton window: a measured approach to AI—via Kottke—see also  

spoiler-alert: William Castle’s Homicidal, a hammy, gimmicky film capitalising on the success of Psycho, gets reviewed by Poseidon’s Underworld

 
atira asteroids: a constellation of interior-Earth objects in our orbit and hidden by solar glare are uncomfortably close—via Damn Interesting 

it’s awfully strange to make a decision where i’m paying myself—but i was damaged very great and any money i would get i would give to charity: Grifter-in-Chief demands two-hundred and thirty million dollars in restitution from the US department of justice for past convictions  

billionaires’ row: a supertall residential tower on Manhattan’s Park Avenue is riddled with stress-fractures that may lead to its condemnation

the vampyre: Lord Byron’s unremembered manservant who invented the modern form of the genre—via Miss Cellania

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus the Berlin Crisis of 1961

fourteen years ago: exploring the past with the Retronaut

calling-card (12. 719)

We enjoyed this introduction to prolific Romantic painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Иван Айвазовский) from Crimea of Armenian extraction, considered a master of the maritime scene and appointed official artist of the Imperial Navy and cemented in the popular culture of Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, and beyond (he is the namesake of an asteroid discovered in 1977, 3787 Aivazovskij RG₇) by the saying worthy of his brush by playwright Anton Chekhov, though this set of souvenir keepsakes presented to guests at his seventieth birthday soiree. Each was a unique miniature seascape inset framed by a studio photograph of the artist at work—continuing the gifting for years the original party. Some contemporaries criticised this flair for self-promotion as indicative of Aivazosky’s sheer volume and pace of output—over six-thousand paintings over a career spanning six decades—and cheapening through machine-like habits his monumental works, namely his 1850 The Ninth Wave (Девятый вал) from an old sailing adage that the biggest swell comes in succession of sea wreck survivors clinging to debris and hoping to be rescued—but these creative favours seem more than a demonstration of automation and rather prefigure collage and mixed-media as well as trading-cards and tokens.

mannerheim line (12. 717)

Speaking as chair of the Russian Security Council earlier this week, former president Dmitry Medvedev threatened the sovereignty of Finland using provocative language that directly parallels that false arguments circulated before the 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine. Medvedev said that the former autonomous principality of the Russian Empire, full independence achieved following World War I had aligned itself with Nazi Germany (as a continuation of the Winter War that saw the eventual repelling and retreat of invading Soviet forces) with alleged ambitions to expand its borders to St Petersburg and the Kola peninsula, with a lingering russophobic hysteria that persists in its current government, determined to eliminate ethnic Slav culture, joining NATO not out of defence but as a way to bolster offensive capabilities and declare war on Russia. Patently false, this narrative of antagonising the western alliance and the EU is now new or unique and part of a continuum of rousing domestic aggression (renewing demands for reparations dating back to World War II, claiming Finnish posture nullifies settled treaties) through disinformation and sets the stage for justifying further incursions. Historical myths make for a convenient target for redirection, especially immediately after surprisingly steadfast response to threats to core members (something that was missing in the international handling of the above conflict that revealed coordination problems all around and how external borders were treated as buffer terrority)—and the rather askance request for more indirect sanctions against Russia by the US to the European Union to tariff remaining trade partners with a one hundred percent tariff.

i changed, you’re not (12. 656)

Following Trump’s rather hollow and anti-climatic summit with Putin in Alaska, European leaders upend their summer schedules—including holiday-making—to rush, realising the stakes and how there are moments when history pauses and looks at us dead in the eye and asks do we know what is happening, to Washington to lend moral and materiel support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping to avoid the previous melt-down in the Oval Office and stop the US administration from further undermining the continent’s security signalled by Trump’s vacillation over the peace process with a ceasefire no longer a prerequisite for negotiations and that a treaty can be struck simply by ceding Russia the Donbass, capitulating to a one-sided deal with Ukraine demilitarised and Russian subject to no further sanctions. This time, appearing in formal apparel, the same conservative reporter who questioned his usual attire of military fatigues complemented the Ukrainian president on his suit, to which Zelenskyy quipped that the journalist was wearing the same outfit as last time. Already, however, Trump is apparently rehashing tired stab-in-the-back conspiracies about a stolen election and mail-in ballot fraud, a sentiment echoed by Putin as well as citing the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the biggest geopolitical betrayal of all time, on display by foreign minister Lavrov’s CCCP sweatshirt at the prior meeting.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a philosophical cartoon (with synchronoptiæ) plus amplified contagion

twelve years ago: landscaping inspirations plus freelance hotels

thirteen years ago: WWII week: Nacht und Nebel plus international traffic signs

fifteen years ago: weather control machines 

sixteen years ago: blogging non-sequitirs  

you know i spoke to vladimir today—we had a wonderful conversation—and she said (12. 651)

Though ending without any tangible agreements as far as promoting peace for Ukraine after only a few hours, Russian president Vladimir Putin coming out the clear winner in terms of public relations insofar as being legitimised by another faded petrostate with nuclear arms and given a ride with Trump in his armoured limousine—America infamously not party to the International Criminal Court of the Hague and can host with impunity war criminals, like Benjamin Netanyahu, without fear of acting of their warrants at large and the first meeting on US soil since the George W Bush met with Putin in 2007 in Kennybunkport Maine and said he could see in the long-term Russia leader’s soul, the US president bucked the worst fears for now by conceding not to make further concessions to the admired aggressor which might have included a land-swap not of the Crimean peninsula of the former Russian colony of Alaska or mineral and fishing rights (all seemed to be on the table). The summit held on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside of Anchorage, turned out to be little more than a press-conference, with reporters unable to ask questions and Trump intimating after the fact that the responsibility had shifted to the state under siege to cede territories in order to stop the war, both Ukraine and European allies being sidelined during the entire process. Rather than making good on threats for more sanctions on Russia or countries that do business there or sabre-rattling over repositioning US nuclear submarines with “dead hand” orders for counterattack in case America was struck first, Trump afforded Russia an extra chance, airing tired old grievances about how the 2020 election was stolen from him by the campaign interference hoax (Russia, Russia, Russia—I always wonder if they say it in their heads like “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha”) which was validated by Putin’s agreement that the Ukrainian invasion only occurred under the Biden administration—untrue considering that the Crimea was occupied in 2014 and who could say what license a second Trump term would have been and we know all of the kompromat and grooming to be real and has Trump, incompetent businessman, felon and notable child-rapist, over a barrel.

no—they got the metric system over there—they call it royale with breeze (12. 629)

Via Kottke and though sadly the crisps that appear in the spot are not an actual product, we applaud alternative energy giant Vattenfall for teaming up with Samuel L Jackson to offer this taste of fossil freedom. This minute-long refutation of Big Oil and its campaign of misinformation and world-destroying legacy not only is a masterpiece for Europe wanting to reduce its dependence on Russia fuel following its invasion of Ukraine, it is also a strong rebuke of Trump’s asymmetrical tariff deal for the EU, demanding the purchase of American energy (previously), which is best undone with renewables, like wind-farming, to shut down a bullying tyrant of a failing petrostate. I’m sorry—did I break your concentration?

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: a return to the Frankonian Wine Islands (with synchronopticæ) 

twelve years ago: zebra stripes as dazzle camouflage plus mobile phones as point-of-sale devices

fourteen years ago: austerity in the US 

fifteen years ago: a rainy summer plus take-down notices for Wikipedia, possibly confusing it with Wikileaks

sixteen years ago: rejecting expertise plus political caricatures

7x7 (12. 581)

latam-gpt: frustrated with the limitations of hegemonic AIs, Latin America is building its own inclusive, nuanced version  

whatever files she thinks are credible: amid backlash and reversing a reversal of previous postures, US congress moves to release the Epstein files  

þjóðvegur 1: a twelve day summer road-trip on Iceland’s Route One worthy of a saga  

percussion section: a word-search drum machine for selection of literary classics—via Waxy  

what’s the story, morning glory: every Oasis song visualised—via Quantum of Sollazzo  

not our war: MAGA revolts over Trump’s decision to supply weapons to Ukraine, realising his fawning respect for Putin is not reciprocal 

 lived experience: editors engaged to fix AI copy 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ) plus the Trump-Vance ticket

fourteen years ago: a periodic table of typefaces plus holidays in France

sixteen years ago: IKEA nomenclature 

11x11 (12. 529)

somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see: Reuters’ delivers a deadpan juxtaposition of Trump’s attendance at a showing of Les Misérables just after sending in the US marines to quell demonstrations  

💩: defecation syncope and other perils of pooping 

renascidos: a cosplay parenting craze with hyperrealistic dolls has captivated Brazil, prompting some legislation against their appearance in public  

tin roof rusted: a VH-1 Behind the Music style documentary on the importance and influence of The B-52’s 

artek: the upcoming centenary of Crimea’s famed Soviet youth camp that once hosted Samantha Smith—see also  

have you tried clearing your cache: a concept artist with a reputation for the mischievous develops a dating website based on harmonious browsing history  

pomp and circumstance: a preview of Trump’s grand military parade to be held this weekend—previously  

more cow bell: artist Margareta Sarvana performs the Schalger song Itke en lemmen tähden (Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen) on a Swedish variety show in 1973—via Pasa Bon! 

the schwatz awakens: a preview trailer of the Space Balls sequel to premier in 2027, when Mel Brooks turns 101

simple article summaries: Wikipedia suspends an experiment that would display AI generated synopses after editor and contributor opposition  

i’m michael barbaro, see you tomorrow: California governor Gavin Newson interviewed by the New York Times on Trump’s ICE raids

synchronoptica

one year ago: counting crows (with synchronoptica), a Minoan archaeological discovery, emotion-cancelling technology, Trump’s revenge agenda plus assorted links to revisit

seven years ago: internet freedom index, more movies scripted by AI, Reagan tells Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (1987) plus a meeting of Dear Leaders

eight years ago: memory holes, courtroom sketch artists, waste-water popsicles, mobility and mobile devices plus a surrogate social network

nine years ago: Citigroup tries to copyright the word Thanks, carbon sequestration plus more on the Trump travel ban

ten years ago: Erasmus and free-will, more links to enjoy plus Jung and Freud

павутина (12. 508)

Some eighteen months in planning—and a strong repudiation of that infamous White House meeting when Trump hurled insults at Zelenskyy and said that his country had no cards left—and with off the shelf hardware and software trained on old Soviet bombers on display in a museum to calibrate and target the semi-autonomous operation, Ukrainian security services carried out a sneak attack deep inside Russian territory, coordinated across five geographic regions, destroying up to a third of long-range air assets, a legacy fleet not quickly rebuilt, if at all. This stunning blow, codenamed Spider’s Web, was carried out on Sunday by three dozen basic quadcopters with heavy armament were covertly transported to their deployment sites near multiple area bases in containers disguised as mobile wooden cabins with retractable roofs on flatbed trucks, not an uncommon site and arousing no suspicions. Once in place, operators helped guide the drones through the domestic mobile telephone network, forgoing the need for satellite telemetry and avoid potential signal jamming technologies, from a command base located provocatively near to an FSB field office. The estimated damage to Russia’s missile carriers—which also includes a class of strategic nuclear bombers from the Cold War which cannot be kept in hangars under the terms of the START treaties—runs over seven-billion euro. 

This ingenious attack—which has drawn some comparisons to the booby trapped pagers that Israel used against Hezbollah, though Ukraine was far more surgical and had no collateral casualties—and was the biggest surprise victory since the sinking of the Moskva, followed with an encore of the third bombing of the Kerch bridge to Crimea. In the past weeks, Russia has significantly increased deadly strikes on Ukraine and comes just days ahead of planned peace talks in Istanbul. While a symbolic win and a potential set back that may spare some beleaguered communities from bombardment, this operation also illustrates a major shift in war fighting strategies and asymmetric engagement.

panzerbrigade 45 (12. 478)

Marking the first deployment of troops since World War II, Chancellor Merz visited Vilnius for a flagging ceremony of a German heavy armoured division to be stationed in Lithuania, comprising some forty-eighthundred soldiers with two-hundred civilian support staff once the unit is fully-stood up in 2027 and achieve full operational capacity at the training area (karinis poligonas, Truppenübungsplatz) Rūdninkai on the border with Belarus. Accompanied by defence minister Boris Pistorius (previously) and the host nation’s president Gitanas Nausėda, staunch critic of the leadership of its neighbours and of Russia’s historic revisionism, the tank unit will protect the eastern flank of the EU and the NATO alliance, as Baltic states fear incursions, directly or indirectly, in the wake of ongoing aggression in Ukraine. This Zeitenwende in defence policy and posture, proffered under Merz’ predecessor, and build up comes ahead of the next NATO summit as more members are expected to reach the suggested defence spending benchmark, and while the chancellor dismissed rumours that US troops might withdraw from Europe on Trump’s orders, contingencies are still under consideration.

sidebar (12. 414)

Gathered for the pontiff’s funeral, Trump and Zelenskyy met for the first time in person since the February summit that fell apart on live television, coming after a rare rebuke by the US administration for Putin following deadly airstrikes and accusing Russia of not wanting a peaceful resolution after threats towards Ukraine of walking away from the US-brokered settlement (ostensibly fulfilling Russian objectives by ceding Crimea and other occupied territory) if no progress materialised. Starmer and Macron joined the conversation at various points and it was described by all parties as a productive meeting.

oh zaporizhzhia—i don’t know (12. 322)

Following a telephone call with Putin ostensibly securing a ceasefire on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and rather unrelenting overtures for the embattled nation’s mineral wealth, Trump called Zelenskyy to dictate the terms and to introduce a new dimension to the deal, suggesting that the United States (as with Gaza now exploding back to a state of war) assume ownership of nuclear power plants. The proposal was met with surprise, Kyiv politely mooting the offer, saying that the reactors were state-owned and could not be privatised, having only discussed during the call the one facility under Russian control but again reenforcing the idea that American economic stakes are their best protection—as with his earlier bid for control of country’s rare Earth resources. American defence conglomerate Westinghouse was in talks, prior to the start of the war, but the deal has since fallen through.

9x9 (12. 297)

ei-ei-o: a comparison onomatopoetic words for animal sounds across different languages—via Waxy   

acrostic: textile company’s branding has the aesthetics of concrete poetry 

destiny narrative: an omnibus post on the horrors and avoidability of war  

analog society: a British group performs live mash-up of notionally similar songs 

tectonic independence: why Greenland is an island and Australia a continent—see also   

360: Manhattan’s only revolving restaurant to reopen  

telephone game: Russia demands details from US before agreeing to any ceasefire agreement in Ukraine   

cross-walk: mimes direct traffic in Bogotá   

an old error has more friends than a new truth: proverbs and idioms from around the world

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus more FOIA follies

seven years ago: raising awareness for prosthetic limbs, Japan’s residential towers plus more links to enjoy

eight years ago: provisions requiring employees submit to DNA screenings

nine years ago: what if the Singularity already happened, the doorway effect plus colourful ancient statuary

ten years ago: Disney reboots, even more links plus more made-up jobs

gambling with world war iii (12. 266)

Trump and friends met with his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy in the White House for a contentious exchange played out live with JD Vance accusing Ukraine of a lack of gratitude for US help, with Trump admonishing that he should be thankful, ultimately saying that he “disrespected he United States of America in its cherished Oval Office,” cancelling a planned joint press conference and suggesting that there was no deal until Ukraine was ready for constructive conversation. For his part, demanding extra security protections for entering into this contract, again over crucial mineral resources which were not forthcoming, Zelenskyy repeated warnings that further alignment with Russia was equal to appeasement for Putin and that repercussions would come home to roost and corrected exaggerated claims about US aid in comparison to European contributions and solidarity. The US wants to solidify a negotiated peace with Russia in order to lift sanctions and justify its own expansionist agenda.

домовився про мир (12. 256)

On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy has again rebuffed increasing overtures from Trump over a half-trillion dollar deal for mineral rights—first framed as protection money now demanded as pay back for monetary and materiel assistance provided by the preceding US administration that was never characterised other than a grant and not a loan to be repaid, which is far higher than what the US gave. At the same time Zelensky says, after being accused of being a dictator and forestalling elections by imposing martial law, he is willing to step down from the presidency for the sake of peace and/or NATO membership. The press conference was held hours after Russia launched, on the eve of the start of the war, the largest aerial barrage of drones and missiles yet on Kyiv and other major cities. Shuttle diplomacy continues with the UK and France travelling to Washington to secure Europe a seat at the table for any negotiations.  Ever with an eye towards the transactional, US envoys are hoping to have sanctions lifted and for American businesses able to resume operations in Russia.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: JAL’s travel pamphlets (with synchronoptica), cognitive offloading, spying vending machines plus placenames on Christmas Island

seven years ago: the side-by-side, flags per data plus the repeal of net neutrality

eight years ago: attacks on state marijuana laws, David Lynch’s doddles, mood-elevators, workforce disruptors plus assorted links to revisit

nine years ago: a wine bottle fire extinguisher, rotten boroughs plus the plant-fungal information super highway

ten years ago: David Bowie as the Elephant Man, more links to enjoy plus crusaders reach the Holy Land

a moderately successful comedian (12. 248)

After launching a litany of lies about his Ukrainian counterpart, including calling Zelenskyy a dictator and blaming him for starting the war (this reframing of reality echoes the mass amnesia of the first term, the insistence that the 2020 election was stolen, repackaging the January Sixth insurrection as a peaceful protest, etc, etc, and many believe or have moved on) and his bilateral talks with Putin to the exclusion of Ukraine and Europe and already conceding to Russia its objective—slights and insults bolstered by apologist that urge Zelenskyy to tone down his bad-mouthing and accept the altered deal for five-hundred billion dollars in mineral wealth not as protection money (much of the deposits that the US is eying are located in Russian-occupied territory) but rather as repayment for support already rendered—Trump has now issued an ultimatum to European leaders reportedly that unless they sign off to the terms of Ukraine’s “surrender” (not status quo ante bellum but rather to freeze fighting and ceded captured territory and abandon aspirations to join NATO and possibly the EU), the US will withdraw from the continent—see previously here and here. As insidious as the above capitulation is, Russia’s ultimate objective is to have the United States turn its back on Europe and render NATO meaningless or at least narrowed, which Trump also seems ready and willing to add to the bargain.

synchronoptica

one year ago: more on constrained writing (with synchronoptica), a banger from Phil Collins and Philip Baley, geometry teaching aids plus a banger from the Four Seasons

seven years ago: the Louvre apartments plus more Lunar New Year traditions

eight years ago: the subtextual meaning of fascinating plus a mall solicits for a writer-in-residence

nine years ago: remembrance and semiotics, laser-pointers a risk to aircraft plus fractals and Hilbert Curves

ten years ago: a new look for the blog, a vintage Greek map of North America plus sending forces vehicle tags