Coined in 1731 by author Johann Gottfried Schnabel in the preface of deserted island, survivalist story The Island Stronghold (Die Insel Felsenberg), the term robinsonade describes the genre wherein the protagonists find themselves shipwrecked and marooned and suddenly separated from civilisation, an homage to Daniel Defoe’s 1719 work Robinson Crusoe, and testament to proliferation of derivative works that followed, spanning decades and up to modern times. The most familiar being Johann David Wyss’ 1812 The Swiss Family Robinson in its various adaptations (theatrical produced in 1940 and again in 1960 and the sci-fi series Lost in Space—Danger Will Robinson!), the stranded group of immigrants were nameless in the book and is one of a number (at least two-hundred historic and contemporary examples) national and regional versions, like the Bohemian Robinsons, the Icelandic Robinsons and the Dutch Robinsons—with the conceit continuing. As primitive as can be.
Saturday 23 September 2023
castaway narrative (11. 016)
Tuesday 5 September 2023
9x9 (10. 984)
built on sand: UN monitoring reveals the alarming scale of marine dredging
but the meteor men beg to differ, judging by the hole in the satellite picture: revisiting a cringey faux academic essay on “All Star” to realise that Steve Harwell (RIP) had more to tell us
j-mouse: a procession of dead-end peripherals—I would get the PC in an ottoman

the secret-sharer: a confessional box from Simone Giertz (previously) where one’s messages are only present for a few seconds before self-destructing
phil a. o’fish: a short-lived McDonaldland mascot and early beef alternatives—via Weird Universe
mixed media: experiential scale-models of Tracey Snelling inspired by the architecture of Berlin—including the Mรคusebunker
premeditatio malorum: fifty short rules for better living from the Stoics
thermohaline circulation: scientist support using the oceans’ inclination for equilibrium to pull in excess atmospheric carbon-dioxide—see previously
synchronoptica
one year ago: Tainted Love (1981) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: a film from D W Griffith, armorial bearings plus the debut of the Muppet Show (1976)
three years ago: the opening of the Gotthard Tunnel (1980)
four years ago: the greenwashing of the recycling movement plus a legendary kingdom in Bretagne
five years ago: a Freddie Mercury birthday bash, a Queen arrangement in brass, outsider artist James Henry Pullen plus reconciling with the end of coal through art
Friday 19 May 2023
9x9 (10. 752)
x-date: unless a compromise is found to work with the statutory debt ceiling, the US could default on paying its bills and unleash chaos in global financial markets
the house of mouse: Disney is cancelling plans for a billion dollar Florida annex—and shuttering its immersive Star Wars experience resort hotel—in an ongoing feud with the state’s arch-conservative governor

superimposition: researchers at the Zurich Institute of Technology create the world’s largest ‘Schrรถdinger’s Cat”
the great silence: we are probably not alone in the Universe but we might as well be—see previously
random access memory: previously unreleased tracks from retired duo Daft Punk
interior design: browser-based application to create and share voxel rooms, via Waxy—see previously
byte-dance: American state of Montana passes a ban of the social media platform TikTok over conflated fears of violations of users privacy
seat at the table: G7 summit hosted in Hiroshima—with nuclear deterrence on the agenda
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
Friday 28 May 2021
seashore—never more
Via Strange Company’s Weekend Link Dump, we learn that during his life time, Edgar Allen Poe’s most popular and best-selling work was the field guide “The Conchologist’s First Book.” In the 1830s, geology, due to the rising interest in coal as a fuel source, and its sister-science of conchology (see previously) were the hottest commodities as combined, it allowed one to expound on Earth’s history through studying successive strata, and Poe’s slim and portable contribution to the discipline was well-received and had the poetic and evocative subtitle: A System of Tesataceous Malacology—that is, the study of small, soft-bodied creatures by exhuming their hardened ruins. Though perhaps not the most expressive vehicle, some of the author’s flair and license does manage nonetheless to shine through. Much more to explore at the links above.
Tuesday 30 March 2021
west coast sound
Through the biography of the once promising career of crooner Dane Donohue, the soi-disant lost prince of the genre, we find ourselves introduced to the classification of the very familiar broad musical category and aesthetic filed under Yacht Rock. This easy-listening, adult-contemporary playlist includes Christopher Cross’ emblematic song Sailing, Toto’s Rosanna, Poco, Santana, Steely Dan, REO Speedwagon and Donohue’s 1978 break-through hit Casablanca and focuses on themes exploring isolation, male loneliness and suburban mindsets—a significant departure from the protest anthems of the previous years and accidentally united by a class of performers who played into the genre. Learn more about Donohue and how his career as anthemic as it was was cut short at Narratively at the link up top.