11x11 (13. 159)

que rico ser latino: staging Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time celebration  

coed darcy village: a building project on the brownfield site of a former Welsh mine abandoned without explanation—via Things Magazine 

printing films: vintage educational and instructional shorts on typesetting and the publishing industry—via Kottke  

as slow as possible: anticipating the next chord change after almost two years for the organ in a church in Haberstadt playing six-hundred year John Cage (see previously) composition  

wseg-10: with nuclear treaties lapsed and the US retrofitting obsolete silos, an interactive map showing areas of the US most likely to be affected by an atomic exchange 

material worlds: revisiting architecture Bruce Goff and his homespun futurism through a new retrospective exhibit—via Nag on the Lake  

lawful neutral: Jeremy Bentham’s 1817 categorical table of human impulse as an early form of alignment chart 

pitchforks: San Francisco’s pro-billionaire march turns out as a bust  

tangible media: a collection of data one can hold 

hagyomány, identitás, történelemthe: mysterious Rohonc Codex that has resisted decipherment—see also  

viva italiano: Winter Games opening ceremony was a celebration of the host country’s cultural icons—including Bialetti’s Moka Express

our great indian people, in massive numbers, want to have this (12.596)

Although unclear how the US president could interfere with the multi-billion dollar development project already allocated by the Washington, DC city council and signed into law, Trump is threatening to derail the planned new stadium under construction for the National Football League franchise, the Washington Commanders, unless the team brought back their old name, finally changed from the Redskins in 2022 after decades of controversy and criticism. Playing at a venue located in Maryland while the their ageing home RFK arena in the capital underwent renovations, the team was originally founded in Massachusetts in 1932 as the Boston Braves—again not in deference to actual indigenous people but to the disguises that American separatists wore during the Tea Party and thus even more demeaning, moving to Washington the following year. It is unclear whether the funding approval was tied to the name update. Trump further argues that the Major League Baseball franchise the Cleveland Guardians should also revert back to their old identity.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an entrepôt on the Seine (with synchronopticæ), assorted links worth revisiting, more from Marshall McLuhan plus Joe Biden steps down as the Democratic presidential nominee

lix and liberal leave (12. 220)

Having no truck with this gladiatorial spectacle, I never took advantage of the policy of granting service members of the armed forces and the civilian component a delayed reporting due to Super Bowl and the time difference between the US and Europe, the game starting at 00:30 and continuing through the small hours. With Monday, however, being the first day of many agencies that have not already implemented the RTO (return to office policy) of Trump’s executive order, I do wonder how it will play out, begging the question whether they, the newly minted Secretary of Defence (someone said Kegsbreath) know or care about the nuances of their global mission, factoring in limited office space, serviced clients, funding sources, morale, etc. Will this be a delayed reporting and treated like another snow day?

curds and whey (12. 215)

Google has edited its commercial slotted to play during the Super Bowl, promoting its Gemini AI model pitching the use-case scenario of a small, independent cheesemonger using the chatbot to craft a description about Gouda for his shop’s website. The erroneous statistic that Gouda makes up “fifty to sixty percent of the world’s cheese consumption” was replaced in the ad with “one of the most popular cheeses in the world,” the false claim apparently regurgitated from a webpage called cheese.com filled with AI generated, SEO-optimised (see redundant acronym syndrome) blogs. The AI assistant’s responses have the disclaimer that they are “not intended to be factual” but rather framed as a writing aid and that one should perform some fact-checking, presumably googling it.

pop-tarts bowl (12. 120)

Amazingly held annually (at different venues and with different sponsorship arrangements) since 1990 the college football play-off tournament, now under the patronage of the Kelloggs / Kellanova brand beginning in 2020 to promote its snack-crackers and toaster-pastries (previously), a vote was put to fans for which flavours were to serve as the game’s main mascot. The winner, Strawberry, was ritually sacrificed in a giant oven but was resurrected during a half-time tribute. Superpunch has a highlights reel from yesterday’s event.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus the Trail of Tears (1835)

seven years ago: the US and the Metric System, stop using Facebook and start using your browser, more links to enjoy plus The People’s History of Tattooine

eight years ago: sumptuary laws, RIP Debbie Reynolds plus the legacy of the Cathars

nine years ago: more on monomyths, de-icing, re-post for luck, no one’s watching week plus the US-Iranian Hostage Crisis

ten years ago: the Art of Asking,  Dürer’s Rhinoceros, the shortest river in France plus questions to librarians