We enjoyed this travelogue on the quality control team that vet restauranteurs and ensure that their menu is in keeping with the standards of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, founded in 1984 to protect the status of the art of pizza-making in the Neapolitan tradition accord with its UNESCO inscription among the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This month long certification process involves rigorous training to exacting standards and the agents also conduct covert follow up missions to authenticated pizzerias to ensure quality is maintained. Much more about the Naples-based association and pizza foodways from BBC at the link up top.
Monday, 4 August 2025
pizzaioli (12. 632)
Saturday, 1 February 2025
canting arms (12. 198)
Having previously learned a bit about kamon (ๅฎถ็ด, Japanese family crests), we enjoyed these reimagined emblems by graphics designer So Terada with incorporate cuisine into these ancient symbols, some inherited over generations and others adopted for aesthetic reasons as the practise became more popular and not limited to the gentry—originating as a bespoke standard or license plate on ox carts to identify rank and status, with a certain protocol for right-of-way. There’s a tribute to Italian food as well as motifs with traditional Japanese dishes. What personal crest would you choose reflecting your favourite foods? Much more from Spoon & Tamago and the artist’s website at the links above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Comic Sans (with synchronoptica), Elmo loves you plus more bardcore
seven years ago: an arresting photograph that turned public opinion, structural dandelions, more on gravitational waves, monumental artist Krzystof Wodiczko plus a colour classification system
eight years ago: the premier of the Monkees plus the rhetoric of tv politics
nine years ago: US presidential campaigning begins, eradicating all mosquitoes plus late-stage capitalism
ten years ago: Karl Marx’ love letters, debt forgiveness plus assorted links worth revisiting
Saturday, 28 December 2024
11x11 (12. 118)
nuclear dawn: a 1984 mural in Brixton, part of the Londonist tour of great public art in the city
winterval: a spot on take of the week between Christmas and New Year’s
tedium’s tedium awards: celebrating the protest songs of Jesse Welles, beating Tetris and more
omnibus: more year end lists from Miss Cellania—this one focussing on science
designated checkpoint: document-free travel being trialled, the passport replaced by one’s phone biometrics
holiday helper: repurposing classic cocktails for the festive season
encomnia: remembering the celebrities and artists lost in 2024
pizza day: recreating a school cafeteria staple with pourable crust—via Boing Boing
h-1b visas: requested immigration carved-outs for the tech sector pit Musk against MAGA
post-holiday blues: anticipating returning to work can evaporate that time off peace of mind
our century hasn’t been as free with words of wisdom as some others: Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s 1988 address to people living a hundred years later
synchronoptica
one year ago: a banger from Andrew Bird (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: the aphorisms of Syrus, vintage London Underground posters plus a compendium of dark magic
eight years ago: celebrating the life and career of Carrie Fisher plus reflections on post-truth
nine years ago: feudalism and engaged citizenry, remote human settlements plus a look back at phony outrage
ten years ago: Pangea with current geopolitical borders, space-time fossils plus a Grumpy Cat Christmas
Thursday, 24 October 2024
9x9 (11. 928)
star crystal, 1986: the manifesto of the Committee to Abolish Outer Space—via jwz
sorry charlie: a 1961 patent for advertising on fish—perfect for aquariums in waiting rooms

bear and lampshade: an electronic medley of hits from Queen
ghost with the most: the psychological profile of people who cut off communication
carbon capture: a covalent organic framework that binds CO₂ in ambient air—via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links
vแปi vร ng: the legacy of Edgar Allen Poe in Vietnam
extra-toppings: Pizza Hut is offering to print one’s CV on a box and deliver it (along with a pizza) to prospective employers—via Pasa Bon!
the city of orion: Hannsjorg Voth’s monumental structures in the Moroccan desert like the Earth and sky—via Messy Nessy Chic
synchronoptica
one year ago: Bob Sinclair’s Stardust (with synchronoptica) plus a data-poisoning tool to fight against AI scraping
seven years ago: the typography of Vinicius Araujo, cheese in China, innovative underground maps, an underwater restaurant in the works, Japanese delivery boxes plus more presidential merchandise
eight years ago: problem-solving paradigms plus a thriving orchid
nine years ago: grand tours, assorted links to revisit plus a Lenin monument transformed
eleven years ago: German chancellor’s phone tapped
Monday, 16 September 2024
semi-obscure, guilty pleasure, cultural punchline (11. 850)
Planet Money directs us to an engrossing cross-over podcast episode from 99% Invisible on the fast-food enterprise that was singly responsible for the phenomena of the chain restaurant with its often copied by but no means faithfully reproduced White Castle System of Eating Houses, which was able to overcome a strong public aversion to the idea of eating ground beef—in patty form as a hamburger—directly attributable to the influential work by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, about the unsanitary business of meat-packing by establishing a rigid regime of uniformity for its eateries, instilling assurance in customers with consistency and cleanliness through a range of programming and marketing. Though not as celebrated as another chain that opened later in the same city, White Castles first opened in Wichita, Kansas in the 1920s and expanded regionally to other college and factory towns but its innovation and legacy was overtaken by second-wave imitators usually given credit for the business model with their more aggressive expansion propelled by car-culture, restaurants built not in urban centres but along highways and byways, and franchising, something that the family-owned business never did lest the experience and reputation be sullied by out-sourcing the name. Whilst a bit of an insult for the misattribution of globalisation, in terms of menu and McWorld, White Castle has cultivated a different definition of success and has built a loyal fandom.
synchronoptica
one year ago: an old school webring (with synchronoptica) plus a logic-based constructed language
seven years ago: the Ig Noble Prize plus Big Tech to disrupt the corner shop
eight years ago: subway etiquette plus no assembly required 3D printed machines
eleven years ago: navigating new technology plus the problem with biometrics
twelve years ago: the Pope in Lebanon
Thursday, 18 January 2024
7x7 (11. 278)
you are not a product: the demise of the social network Ello’s ambitions

mystic pizza: a new popular regional style from the US state of Connecticut
arbustum: ancient Roman wine-growing techniques and forest agriculture may help battle modern climate change
sora-q: Japanese space agency is poised to land a transforming robot on the Moon
gloogo: a lexicon of words that don’t exist yet but should (see also) from Burgess Unabridged—the source of the term blurb
๐: time spent pausing is a worthwhile pursuit—see also on the fermata
Thursday, 5 October 2023
days of wine and quinces (11. 039)
From the campground in Escherndorf, we took the dog on an extended hike up through the vineyards to the Vogelsberg perched atop the Weinberg. A thirteenth century monastery built on the foundations of a much older Celtic fortification (Burgstall), it was deconsecrated in favour of the neighbouring Carthusian chapterhouse in Astheim but has since been restored as an active religious community under the bishopric of Wรผrzburg—which also assumed the wine production and includes a restaurant and guesthouse.
Friday, 15 September 2023
9x9 (11. 002)
you deserve to sit: a comedian’s silly song about their favourite inactivity
๐ธ: visit a random feline friend featured on Wikipedia—via Pasa Bon!

montage: the animated collages of Alice Issac
shrinkflation: a French supermarket chain displaying advisory labels to alert consumers
word alienation and semantic satiation: one of the laureates of the thirty-third Ig Noble Awards—see also here and here
consult our extensive archives: veteran broadcaster—and BBC’s first podcaster, Melvyn Bragg celebrates one thousand episodes
pagliacci: a pizza chef turns melodramatic over a cursed request
synchronoptica
one year ago: Our Lady of Sorrows plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: forest mascots (1971) plus a Star Trek: TAS classic
three years ago: more Trek with “Amok Time,” illustrations from the children of Charles Darwin, rousing public sentiment following the Gunpowder Plot, life signs on Venus plus a COVID movie-night
four years ago: more on Jupiter’s moons, a hot Colonel Sanders, public crucifixes, Lovecraft in the style of Dr Seuss plus Graphis Press
five years ago: an AI names apples, the Ig Noble Awards, the Great Recession’s Lost Decade plus legalising marijuana confounded by travel regulations
Sunday, 2 July 2023
8x8 (10. 849)
♄: JWST captures outstanding images of the ringed planet, completing a family portrait of the gas giants
dining al fresco: excavations in Pompeii uncover a a still life featuring a proto-pizza—see also
ษ: rare phonemes and how to pronounce them

ripples in a pond: astrophysicists detect new class of gravitational waves rolling through the Cosmos
abacusynth: a unique electronic musical instrument from Elias Jarzobek
liquid television: MTV’s first animated series, Stevie and Zoya—see previously
euclid and roman: a joint NASA, ESA mission to survey the skies for signs of dark matter and dark energy
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit
two years ago: your daily demon: Morax, the influence of 70s Japanese soft rock on Nintendo music, mid-point of the year, Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, a trip to Oberwaldbehrungen plus the punishments of Pompeii
three years ago: assorted links to revisit, Airplane (1980) plus the Civil Rights Act (1964)
four years ago: disruptive cake icing to evade IP infringement plus the time that Pepsi (sort of) had the second largest naval fleet in the world
five years ago: holidaying on Lake Garda
six years ago: playable Wikipedia, a preview of the G20 in Hamburg plus words only said once
Saturday, 6 May 2023
10x10 (10. 724)
shark tank: MS Teams has a suite of customisable in app stickers
let him love fellows of a polecat: recalling a scholar’s naรฏve but noble translation attempt of Lorem ipsum—see previously here and here

like family, but with more cheese: more on that pizza commercial produced by AI
brownstone: Ruxandra Duru collects colour swatches of Brooklyn townhouses
some disassembly required: a proposal to construct a Dyson’s Sphere (see previously) around the Earth using Jupiter for raw materials
yeoman’s work: Penny Mordaunt as the unwavering bearer of the Sword of State stole the show—see more here and here
native tongue: research shows nearly half of the world’s linguistic diversity at risk
dark patterns: digital services make it difficult to unsubscribe—via Waxy
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
8x8 (10. 700)
a is for anarchist: a counter-culture abecedarium—see previously
man o’war: thousands of by-the-wind-sailors (Vellela vellela) wash ashore in California

manicule: Punctuation Personified: or, Pointing Made Easy (1824)—see also
pepperoni hug spot: an AI made an intriguingly nightmarish TV commercial
jefferies tube: a survey of secret passages—including the ulitidors at Disneyland
roaring forties: remote Gough Island is hiring
yon zircle: final-born member of the Bowlin alphabet family passes away, aged 94
Sunday, 26 March 2023
9x9 (10. 635)
concrete sign: Pope Francis returns marble fragments held by the Vatican Museum to the Parthenon
house of thunder: the everlasting lightning storm over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo
queen street: a personal view of the prettiest thoroughfare in Ontario, in Niagara-on-the-Lake plus assorted links to visit

thinking outside of the box: innovations in pizza
beauty paget: the varied career and roles of Miss Deborah Paget
the theory of mediatization: press coverage of pseudo-events, like press-conferences and political rallies, has increased significantly while journalistic rigour in actual reporting (see also) has stagnated—via the New Shelton wet/dry
master class: Finland offering a crash course in happiness, securing the title for six years in a row
age-appropriate: Florida principal forced to resign after including Michelangelo’s David in middle schooler’s art curriculum without prior parental approval—see also
Saturday, 11 March 2023
8x8 (10. 603)
jasper t jowls and the warblettes: Chuck E Cheese pizza and arcade chain still distributes programming for their animatronic acts on floppy disks—via Waxy, see also
going up: a outstanding tour of Shimadai Electric Manufacturing Company with their wall of pressable elevator buttons

bread-winner: rotating sandwiches, no more—no less, via Present /&/ Correct
partners in crime: a band of thieving turtles and other animal accomplices—via Strange Company
the stone of scone: another look at the Seat of Destiny on which Charles III. will be crowned—see also
banksters: US federal regulators take control of Silicon Valley financial institution, the reserve of tech angel investors, due to impending insolvency
richard halloran owns a home computer: fascinating 1981 news segment on the emergent internet—via Pasa Bon!
Monday, 6 March 2023
9x9 (10. 596)
destination berlin: a Royal Military Police guide to the divided city from 1988—see also
geodomesticeerde: one Dutch rancher spearheading the protest against livestock reductions
gado gado: the Indonesia version of the cult Cobb salad that may be the best in the world—via Digg
fret and fingerbรธard: a guitar nearly exclusively sourced from IKEA furnishing elements—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest paratethys sea: the ancient lake that stretched from the Alps to the Arals was the world’s largest lakeflorilegium: botanical collages by an eighteenth-century septuagenarian—via Kottke
mar yousef’s: the “pizza church” of Jordan imparting Iraqi Christian refugees with marketable skills—via Miss Cellania
heritage graziers: regenerative agriculture, no farmstead required
orange alternative: how a diminutive graffito helped bring down the Soviet Union
Sunday, 5 March 2023
the great michigan pizza funeral (10. 592)
With the governor also coming to pay his respects, a sizeable crowd with members of the press came to the small town of Ossineke to witness the ceremonial disposal of nearly thirty-thousand frozen cheese and mushroom pies on this day in 1973, buried in a five metre deep grave. In order to demonstrate personal accountability and generate a bit of publicity for his business, one of the most state-of-the-art and earliest operations of its kind in America, Mario Fabbrini, originally from Fiume, Croatia and fled Yugoslavia, proprietor of Papa Fabbrini’s Pizzas, was approached by safety inspectors from the US Food and Drug Administration and ordered to recall, out of an abundance of caution, nearly a week’s worth of manufacturing when a supplier of mushroom toppings had tested positive for botulism. A post-mortem revealed the pizzas to be free of the deadly bacteria.
Friday, 2 December 2022
al taglio (10. 356)
Via Web Curios, we appreciated the referral to Planet Pizza, a Pioneer or Voyager space probe style project to impart to extraterrestrials not only the the basic concepts of maths, space-time coordinates of our Solar System, chemistry and the nature of the sender (and recipient) but also—as an express end in itself—wonderfully detailed and over-thought set of instructions on how to make said sender’s universally enjoyed dish, which is a bit defining and representative of all humanity in its variety and variation as well.
Sunday, 27 November 2022
8x8 (10. 339)
truly toastmaster: an elaborate and enduring hoax that shows one should not believe everything on the internet—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links
cabinet of curiosities: the intro, outro and interstitials of the horror anthology hosted by Guillermo del Toro, which has distinct echoes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents

plasmonic photocatalysis: researchers engineer a nanomaterial that could allow for power plants to efficiently isolate hydrogen from ammonia using only light
el peatonito: a champion of the pedestrian and other Super Citizens
it’s not delivery, it’s digiorno: an interesting short documentary on the history of frozen pizza—via Hyperallergic’s Required Reading
teal and prebunking: the shortlisted candidates for Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year
goncharov: thousands of fan-fic contributors have retcon’d a 1973 Martin Scorsese film starring Robert De Niro that never existed—via Slashdot
Monday, 29 August 2022
8x8 (10. 095)
clippit: a biography of the MicroSoft Office virtual assistant
banana for scale: megalophobia-inducing images to make you as a human feel small and insignificant

flagship store: fashion brand Gucci opens up in Detroit—via Nag on the Lake
pillow-talk: the history of bundling, the sixteenth and seventeenth custom of allowing pre-martial sleeping arrangements—via Messy Nessy Chic
sabbatical: oh no—after seventeen years Futility Closet is taking a hiatus—see also
it’s a reference to don quixote: a selection of literary nods from They Might Be Giants—see previously
book it: incentivising reading with pizza
Sunday, 6 February 2022
9x9
platinum geezer: our London correspondent reflects on the Queen’s jubilee by the numbers
snow-drifting: artist Alexander Deineka’s celebration of winter sports in the USSR
nunsexmonkrock: Nina Hagen’s (previously) legendary masterpiece extolled as it deserves
definitely did not used to be a pizza hut: an investigation into the camouflage (see previously) of franchise blight—via the morning news
biblioclasm: more books, press outlets, educators under fire as potentially subversive, challenging
king of the mountain: fours goats play on a sheet metal shelter
celebrity-ntf complex: the race is on to find the remaining marks and rubes before the bottom falls out
cockney cats: vintage feline photos collected by Spitalfields Life
hrm: Pietro Annigoni’s 1969 portrait of the Queen
Thursday, 3 February 2022
7x7
1:12: a 1983 architectural magazine’s call for dollhouses
way-finder: a friendly reminder about the most important app ever made
fisheye lens: a floating exhibit platform showcases Norwegian aquaculture practises
philately: a brilliant abecedarium (see previously) of vintage postage stamps from around the world
tensor strength: researchers engineer new material that can absorb and release enormous amounts of energy—like super-charged rubber band, via Slashdot
the vault of contemporary art: a collection of architectural sketches and schematics from a Things Magazine omnibus post on the subject