day two hundred thirty five (13. 933)

Pope Leo XIV submits his mail-in ballot ahead of Tuesday’s US midterm elections, registered in Chicago and having voted abroad in most races according to the Illinois state board of elections. Residence begin evacuation through a safe corridor from the war-raved city of Oleshky. More tankers in the Strait of Hormuz came under fire or disabled by limpet mines as Ukrainian drones target Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea. French-style cost of living rallies expected to spread to German cities amidst protests over high energy prices. Houthi drones strike Riyadh as Tehran’s foreign ministry issues a warning of “earth-shattering” consequences if US and Israel resume attacks, implicating Berlin’s above complaints about fuel costs the country in the belligerent camp.

day two hundred twenty two (13. 889)

Fresh out of lung surgery, Pope Leo calls Vladimir Putin to appeal for the people trapped in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and evacuation. EU leaders meet in Brussels to come up with a workable budget and pledge more support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy confirms that the Starshield defensive arm of Starlink services are partially restored but not fully up to speed, demurring on reporters’ questions whether the Ukrainian leader is being ill-used as a scapegoat by Trump over the upcoming election. The Revolutionary Guard has re-mined the Strait of Hormuz with a super tanker exploding. More US senators demand action over illegal West Bank settlements as a UN reports cites the death of over three hundred fifty children and the continued suffering of eight hundred thousand Gazan residents since last year’s ceasefire. White House press secretary Katie Zachariah fired after five days on the job after inflating her credentials.  Trump signs an EO exempting Russia from sanction legislation, the package passed in honour of Lindsey Graham over the summer.  Saudi-led forces hold off Houthis from taking Taiz, claiming to have destroyed two of their missile launchers whilst the rebel group continues to shell the Yanbu in the Red Sea region of the kingdom.

day two hundred ten (13. 852)

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

8x8 (13. 824)

claudefishing: AI slop is a new kind of creative poverty  

saint-pierre-et-miquleon: Mark Carney meets with Emmanuel Macron on the small French overseas territorial collective, which once toyed with the idea of joining the United States, just off the coast of Newfoundland  

soundscape: avian vocalisations can boost one’s mood but the positive effects are negated by traffic noise  

an imperfect analogy: what lessons nuclear proliferation treaties have for AI containment  

jefferies tubes: the first physical model of the Enterprise finds a home at the MIT museum  

old dog, new tricks: OK Go’s “White Knuckles” video sixteen yearrs on—see previously  

apostolic journey: the Pope’s upcoming to France includes a stop in Metz to pay tribute to Robert Schuman, one of the Founding Fathers of the European Union  

sunshine superman: understanding intention, agnosticism and the new uncanny valley

 synchronoptica

one year ago: a thwarted assassination attempt led to an involuntary outing (with synchronoptica), carbon-dating plus Donald in Mathmagic Land (1961)

two years ago: the Tanaka Memorial of 1927  

three years ago: a musical montage from DJ Earworm, an exhibition of antique home entertainment, assorted links to revisit plus The Love Boat (1977)

four years ago: more links to enjoy,  Our Lady of Mercy plus even more links

five years ago: assorted links to revisit plus punctuation appreciation day

six years ago: Pope Liberius, more links worth revisiting plus the 1976 Swine Flu outbreak

seven years ago: Trump pressures Ukrainian authorities for dirt on his apparent political opponent, more synthetic models, UK courts rule that the suspension of Parliament was an abuse of power plus variations on Misirlou

eight years ago: an atlas of remote islands, theatrics trumps discourse, and more and more links plus twenty-seven songs about the twenty-seven amendments to the US constitution

 

excommunicado (13. 586)

Despite warnings and pleas from the Pope addressed to the superior general of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) that the unauthorised ordination of four bishops would be considered a schismatic act and result in excommunication for parties involved, the consecration ceremony proceeded, held in a field outside of Écône Switzerland, with an atmosphere, merchandising and social media influencers more befitting a happening like SXSW.  The Vatican, however, went further than anticipated, in excommunicating not only the bishops and those directly involved but the whole community of followers, reversing decades of concessions granted in hopes of repairing the rift. Not only are the newly defrocked denied holy sacrament, they cannot officiate weddings and funerals nor conduct masses for the estimated six hundred thousand parishioners who regularly attend services conducted by the priestly fraternity. Founded in 1970 by conservative archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (namesake the anti-modernist Pope Pius) in response to the reforms of Vatican II meant to make the Church more accessible, stopping mass in Latin in favour of delivering sermons in the local vernacular, improving inter-faith relations, expanding the role of deacons and other lay members, among other changes which the traditionalists oppose. Tensions with Holy See heightened when in 1988, Lefebvre consecrated the four original bishops without apostolic mandate and was excommunicated by John Paul II.

day sixty-nine (13. 410)

Despite and exchange of fire between Iranian assets and US warship—and more attacks on Emirati territory—rattling world markets as hope evaporates for a quick resolution and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump insists that the ceasefire is holding, “Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle.” The Revolutionary Guard set up a new government agency with the charter to administer toll and vet vessels transiting through the vital waterway, fifteen hundred ships remain stranded in the gulf. Iran further reports of drone interception near the city of Bandar Abbas and the strait island of Qeshm. Lebanon and Israel have scheduled a new round of peace negotiations, whilst Tehran has yet to commit to or comment on further talks. US secretary of state Marco Rubio meets with the Pope at the Vatican to discuss a “durable” deal to iron out differences between the American president and pontiff.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Germany observes the eightieth anniversary of Victory in Europe day (with synchronopticæ), habemus papam plus assorted links worth the revisit 

thirteen years ago: the AKK Conflict between Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz plus the Schlachthof of Wiesbaden

fourteen years ago: austerity imposed in Greece plus colony collapse

fifteen years ago: wagging the dog plus houseplants in bloom

day fifty-two (13. 368)

The confusion and chaos of yesterday’s developments surely merited an addendum as well, but it was very hard to keep up or know what might happen next.  Following confusion on who might lead the US delegation in Pakistan, first saying that the vice president would not attend due to the short notice and security protocols of the Secret Service, it turns out that the same tired and ineffectual cast of Vance, Kushner and Witkoff are travelling back to Islamabad for peace talks on Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry announced that it would not participate in negotiations with the US over the American naval blockade of the country’s ports, calling the collective punishment a violation of the ceasefire and tantamount to a war crime and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until a peace deal is reached. Escalating tensions further, US marines incepted and boarded the M/V Touska that tried to run the cordon. Despite the uncertainty of talks, cargo planes have landed in Pakistan to prepare for the arrival of delegates, which Tehran fears might be cover for a sneak attack.  Oil prices and other other commodities have surged. The death toll of joint Israeli and American airstrikes pass five thousand with neighbours in Beirut’s southern suburbs being demolished by bulldozers.   Despite clearing stating he did not wish to debate Donald Trump on the merits of just wars and wars of choice and further distract from his pastoral tour of Africa, JD Vance, a recent Catholic convert, still thought it necessary to lecture the Pope on religion, in keeping with his berating of US allies during the Munich Security Conference and every time he feels the opportunity presents itself.  Secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, amid shoehorning piety and holy wrath into military manoeuvrers, has labelled the dissenting press as Pharisees for being critical of their claims and questioning their lauded victories.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a return visit to the Hubertusburg (with synchronopticæ) 

thirteen years ago: chess derived vocabulary plus Berlin’s East Side Gallery under threat

fourteen years ago: German-American relations plus a salvaged garden 

fifteen years ago: calculating Easter 

sixteen years ago: travel disrupted due to an Icelandic volcanic eruption 

 

day forty-six (13. 349)

All NATO members refuse to participate in the US naval blockade of the Persian gulf as a sanctioned Chinese flagged tanker transits through the strait, testing the seriousness of the American resolve, as France and the UK devise other strategies for reopening the vital waterway. Trump refuses to apologise to the Pope for his harsh and crude language and in response posts an AI-generated image of the himself as a Christ-figure—although Trump claims he thought it was “supposed to be me as a doctor making people better…And I do make people better, I make them a lot better.” Hezbollah is urging Lebanon to not engage in direct talks with Israel and pledges to not abide by any deals made.  JD Vance, following a failed first round of negotiations with Tehran says the ball is in their court for compromise and concession, with Iran hinting it may accept a five year moratorium on nuclear research, counter to American demands a two-decade suspension.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ)

 

fourteen years ago: the new Great Game plus an impossible typeface

 

fifteen years ago: bad faith Big Ed plus antique hunting

 

sixteen years ago: a rival tablet computer, reversing a mandate to replace old traffic signs plus a satirical recall of the US flag

day forty-five (13. 347)

UK’s Keir Starmer reiterates that his country wants no part of the blockade of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices and other commodities are surging back to levels before the ceasefire with the potential of the cost of petrol to double, the failure of the talks attributed at least in part to Israeli pressure wanting the fighting to continue until they’ve finished the job decapitating Hezbollah, a claim put forward during the war in Gaza despite evidence to the contrary like Trump’s boasts of eliminating the capacity for Tehran to respond militarily or conduct nuclear research and development and looking for any pretext for walking out. Following Leo XIV’s criticism of warmongering, Trump launched into an extraordinary attack on the Pope, accusing him of being bad at his job and to “stop catering to the Radical Left” adding he is weak on crime and does not want a spiritual leader who thinks that it is acceptable for Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions.

synchronoptica

one year ago: standing up to Nazis (with synchronopticæ), Freelandia airlines, a new music video from OK Go plus a bleak series about incel culture

thirteen years ago: eurozone instability plus a visit to Bad Soden-Salmünster

fifteen years ago: quantitative easing 

sixteen years: the right to be forgot 

 

day forty-four (13. 342)

After twenty-one hours of intense negotiations, Vance and his delegation left Islamabad to return to the United States with no deal following direct three-party talks. From the sidelines, Israel reiterates its commitment to fight Iran and its proxies on all fronts as the death toll in Lebanon exceeds two thousand. For its part, Iran is willing to uphold the ceasefire but is under no pressure to rush a permanent peace.  Citing in part safety concerns for maritime vessels as the military lost oversight of all the sea mines laid in the vital waterway during the first days of the war and only knows for sure that a narrow corridor allows for secure passage, thus the trickle of ships allowed through, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.  Lashing out against the fake news media for suggesting that the US is not winning or that Iran retains any leverage—before finally announcing as he attended a wrestling match in Miami he does not care if a deal is reached, Trump claims that American warships have entered the strait to conduct mine-sweeping operations, a development that Iran denies and cannot be independently verified. The White House maintains that there Trump card is a naval blockade, which seems to be what is already in place from the Iranian side, and Pope Leo, after being threatened by the administration for his pacifist stance has become a very staunch critic of the war, decrying the “delusion of omnipotence.” A case study in the Streisand Effect as the distraction from the Epstein files seemed to be working with the public attention focused on more immediate matters, first lady Melania Trump testified before congress that she was not Jeffrey Epstein’s friend and the disgraced financier and rapist had not in fact been her pimp, introducing her to her present husband and to please leave her out of this—please and thank you. Maybe Netanyahu has had the kompromat all along.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s tariff war escalates (with synchronopticæ) plus binding spells to settle accounts for the departed

 

fourteen years ago: another Bulli called Lady

 

fifteen years ago: the Nuremberg Chronicle plus historic precedent in Libya

sunday service (13. 309)

The closure of sites and suspension of ceremonies in the Old City of Jerusalem was not an unilateral decision made by the Church out of abundance of caution but rather enforced by police with authorities blocking the Catholic prelate, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Hierosolyma, from entering his co-cathedra (shared with the Armenian and Greek orthodox churches as the most sacred site in Christianity) the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Upset by the global congregation and pressure from the US government, hellbent on religious freedoms at least for the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Israeli prime minister has intervened to grant full and immediate access to the shrine built over Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion and resurrection within a framework of mutual understanding with local police. Pizzaballa will be allowed to hold mass as he sees fit but plans to curtail celebrations and avoid large gatherings for safety reasons.

day thirty-one (13. 307)

Accused of duplicitous behaviour by publicly supporting indirect negotiations through Pakistani emissaries whilst at the same time plotting a ground invasion, Trump expresses in an interview his preference to take Iran’s oil, drawing parallels to the US capture of Venezuela where they say America has indefinite control of that country’s petroleum output and saying that the seizure of Kharg Island is among his many options, including taking the country’s stocks of enriched uranium.  Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have hit a UN peacekeeping convoy, killing an Indonesian member as the IDF is ordered to expand its buffer zone on the southern border. Palm Sunday processions cancelled in Jerusalem over the war, Pope Leo rebukes the Trump administration for Holy Week, saying that God rejects the prayers of war-mongers. Iran’s Supreme Leader, still not seen in public since his elevation, thanked the people of Iraq for their solidarity in the face of aggression as a supply train of the Shia militia is seen crossing into Iran. Oil prices continue to surge as world wide stock markets fall.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: new design for the Swiss passport (with synchronopticæ), AI stealing artists’ styles, a classic guide to fleeing America plus renewed attacks on pride celebrations

 

twelve years ago: a visit to Hünfeld, patriotic austerity, Vulcan hairstyles plus the purchase of Alaska

 

fifteen years ago: potential for US government insolvency 

 

sixteen years ago: German-Turkish relations 

day twenty-four (13. 286)

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s erratic statements on the war with Iran, arguing that “winding down” and escalation were not mutually exclusive stances, whilst Iranian leaders maintain that terror and threats, like the looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, only served to strengthen solidarity and resolve. Houthi rebels in Yemen join the fight. Pope Leo calls the death and suffering and environmental damage caused by the conflict in the Middle East a “scandal for the whole human family” as the civilian toll continues to rise. The International Energy Agency calls for the release of more stockpiles as the present crisis dwarfs the oil supply shocks of 1973 and 1979 combined.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus author Ray Nayler

twelve years ago: a halibut recipe, antique Japanese travel posters plus the NATO intervention in Kosovo

thirteen years ago: Easter greetings plus a census of the secret internet

fourteen years ago: inside out socks look like a sea slug plus the debate over continuing financial assistance for former East Germany 

fifteen years ago: rutherfords and risk assessments plus intervention in Libya

sixteen years ago: water throughout the solar system 

dem bones (13. 238)

Via Strange Company, we given and chance to revisit one of the most celebrated and revered figures in the Catholic church in St Francis of Assisi, with those in the Umbria region having the chance to see the patron of peace, animals, ecology and needleworkers’ up close and personally with his mortal remains on display for the first time after eight centuries. It was owning to the popularity of Francis and his following that when the saint died in 1226, his body was laid to rest in a simple wooden coffin inside an iron cage, buried deep beneath the foundations of the basilica of Assisi for safekeeping from relic-hunters, its whereabouts unknown for some six hundred years until it was excavated in the early nineteenth century. Though an underground chapel was constructed shortly afterwards for pilgrims to visit the tomb, no relics were present, the bones preserved separately. Now, however, in the year anniversary of his transitus (passing from death to life, something only accorded to the deified and sainted until the rapture) will be on display in the minor papal basilica and friary, the foundation stones laid in the saint’s honour for his canonisation, just two years after his death. Much more at the links above.

fabianus (13. 102)

Unexpectedly elevated to the papacy by popular acclaim whilst attending elections in Rome following the brief reign of Anterus as an observer but not a candidate when a dove landed on him—which delegates took as the sign of the choice of the Holy Spirit—Pope Fabian is fêted on this day (shared with St Sebastian in Catholic traditions) on the occasion of his martyrdom during the Decian persecutions in the year 250. On good terms with the imperial government for a stint of fourteen years, loathe to stir up discontent or crack down on Christian upstarts, Fabian was able to arrange the repatriation of earlier exiled Pope Pontian and Anti-Pope Hippolytus, whom had died at hard labour in the mines of Sardinia, dispatched apostles to Gaul, including Saturnin, to christianise the population, reformed Church bureaucracy, establishing hierarchy and jurisdiction and appointing subdeacons as officers of the ecclesiastical court to document the acta of the martyrs and collect proceedings and judgements of oppressed and introduced the clerical orders of acolyte, porter, lector and exorcist and reportedly baptised Emperor Philip (called “the Arab” and the first convert well before Constantine) and his son, whose successor in 249, Trajan Decius, decided he’d had enough of this kumbaya moment plus the bread and circuses of his predecessor, vanquished during an uprising. Decius, elected by the Senate on account his suppression of revolts in the provinces, sought to strengthen state religious conformity, directed that all residents of the empire would have to commit sacrifice before the magistrate of their ward in order to prove their loyalty and and ensure the security of the empire. While possibly not an attempt to impose the cult of the pantheon on all inhabitants, Decius was pressured to legitimise his position as the Empire approached its millennial anniversary and promote Pax Romana, calling out several bishops, Fabian included, of refusing to indulge prescribed idolatry. The Seven Sleepers hibernated until Rome had a more tolerant attitude towards Christians.

lux æterna (12. 898)

For his seventy-fifth birthday, earlier this month on 3 November, Monsignor Bernard Bober, head of the Archdiocese of Košice wished to hold a rave on the grounds of the gothic Cathedral of St Elizabeth (Dóm svätej Alžbety), undertaken and fulfilled by Portuguese DJ Padre Guilherme Peixoto with the sanction and blessing of the Pope, whom really perfects hitting the post with an exquisitely timed drop for amen. Celebrations went ahead despite some criticism and clutching of pearls about how techno promotes alternate lifestyles. More at the links above.

duces wild (12. 867)

Having gotten his political start as secretary of the labour party in for the city of Trento in Sud Tirol under the Austro-Hungarian empire with an editorial role with the partisan newspaper, L’Avvernire del Lavoratore (The Future of the Worker), Benito Mussolini was eventually deported back to Italy for several incendiary essays but not before having the opportunity to publish several pieces of his own academic and creative writing works around 1910—fancying himself to be quite the well rounded intellectual, with travelogues, literary theory and even a serialised romanzo storico, L’amante del Cardinale. Possibly ghost-written and loosely based on a historic papal affair and scandal from the seventeenth century, the lurid novel was a violent, anti-clerical invective and though tripled circulation for the publication, it was forgotten just as quickly as Mussolini trajectory barrelled towards fascism (compare to the water-colours aspirations of Adolf Hitler) but was compiled and reissued in 1928 in English translation as a sort of curiosity of purple prose—during the interbellum, many in UK and the US extending approval and tacit tolerance for Mussolini’s efforts to modernise and stabilise the country (dissolving and unifying the Papal States, the Pope was confined to the Vatican—see previously here and here) and its north African colonies despite his authoritarian tendencies, but some, particularly in academic circles, were less charitable and recognised the author for what he was. Dorothy Parker (previously) was especially biting with her criticism and saw right through the pretence. More from Print Magazine’s Daily Heller at the link up top.

lexicon recentis latintatis (12. 694)

Regularly published by the Vatican, the title register refers to a list of neologisms invented for modern words and phrases so seminarians and priests can incorporate concepts into their not-quite-dead, working language. Examples include:

weekend: éxiens hebdómada
to slack off on the job: neglegenter operor
to flirt: lusorie amare
snack bar: thermopólium potórium et gustatórium
gangster: gregalis latro
pizza: placenta compressa
snob: homo affectatus

The Opus Fundatum in dictionary form was edited by classical philologist, Augustinian abbot primate and teacher Anacleto Pavanetto and published by the Libreria Editice Vaticana, the publishing house of the Holy See, established in the sixteenth century and becoming a self-governing entity in 1926, is responsible for printing educational material and official documents like papal bulls and encyclicals. The writings of the popes are copyrighted but the institution never laid claim to this intellectual property until the papacy of Benedict XVI (see below) to much controversy and consternation after a book debuted by an independent scholastic published that quoted lightly from the pontiff’s speeches. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Howard Hughes’ private streaming service (with synchronopticæ) plus Putin in Mongolia

twelve years ago: staycations, reactions to the uncanny valley plus a prefiguring of internet etiquette

thirteen years ago: Bavarian castles plus Baden-Württemberg castles  

fourteen years ago: a papal audience plus a manufactured mountain for the Danish countryside

sixteen years ago: early versions of webpages 

pier giorgio, guide my fist (12. 595)

An avid mountaineer, hence his motto “Verso l’alto”—toward the top—and social justice activist and leading member of several charitable organisations in his native Turin, Pier Giorgio Frassati, who as a student helped found an newspaper calling for reform and equity inspired by the papal bull of Leo XIII, Rerum novarum, will be canonised in September after long delays in his cause along with the Blessed Carlo Acutis. One detail omitted about Frassati not mentioned in the press-releases and official hagiography, we learn however via MetaFilter, who the peace-loving individual was no fan of the Mussolini regime and describes (with pious humility) more than one encounter dirty fascists (porci fascisti) and was not above throwing punches to defend his family, the marginalised and the Church from intimidation.

ubi et orbi (12. 440)

Admittedly the headline briefly turned me Anglican, and like many who could not countenance the idea of an American pope—especially after the brashness and endorsement of Trump and Vance and the near-schismatic behaviour of the American conservative Church—with its ugly superpower status and general cultural hegemony—reading a bit into the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, walked back my aversion and apprehension somewhat.  Aside from his chosen namesake, as lately created a cardinal by his successor and appointed to the important clerical office of the prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, charged with selecting new senior advisors after serving as the head of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and before that general of the Augustinians, Robert Francis Prevost from the South Side of Chicago, son of immigrants of French, Italian and Spanish heritage, spent many of his formative years in Peru, earning robust credentials in seminary as well as an educator. After elevation to cardinal-deacon, the lowest rank whose appointment derives from administrators of the Papal Household and assigned governance of one of the districts of Rome, Prevost was made protector of the chapel Santa Monica delgli Agostiniani just outside of the Holy See, designed by architect Giuseppe Momo, most celebrated for his Scala Momo which visitors descend to the Vatican Museum, as a dormitory for the order and those attached to the mother church. His first messages of peace, love and understanding were reassuring and one has to hope his fellow nationals can’t make too much hay out of this incidental kinship or smuggle in nationalism and authoritarianism under the guise of being a good Christian.