Despite a posthumous and four-decade late official acknowledgement by the world records authority, Shakuntala Devi (เฒถเฒುಂเฒคเฒฒಾ เฒฆೇเฒตಿ), nonetheless a celebrated author, mental calculator, political opponent to Indira Ganhdi in parliamentary elections after her prime-ministership and astrologer—without any formal education (though born into the Brahmin caste her father was a circus performer, a trapeze artist and lion tamer before taking his prodigious daughter on tour), achieved her record setting calculation on this day in 1980 at Imperial College, London, multiplying two randomly-generated thirteen digit numbers in under half-a-minute, rivalling the processing times of contemporary computers. In addition to authoring several books on arithmetic to teach people some of her methods for simplifying and intuiting solutions, including Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, Devi also wrote several cookbooks, crime novels and a rather controversial though suppressed and not widely and first study on homosexuality in India (which possibly delayed recognition by Guinness), written in order to understand her gay husband and to better understand the community.
Sunday 18 June 2023
Saturday 17 June 2023
drag race (10. 813)
synchronoptic
one year ago: the continuing voyages of Star Trek: The Animated Series, the Watergate Break-In (1972), plus assorted links worth revisiting
two years ago: Iceland makes it easier to change one’s matronymic, patronymic and gender markers, the introduction of ASCII (1963), Sons of Kemet, plus calendar conventions
three years ago: the East German Uprising of 1953, the US judiciary’s agenda against LGBTQ+ individuals, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1953), plus a Prayer for Relief
catagories: ๐ณ️⚧️, ๐ณ️๐, ๐, ๐
Saturday 10 June 2023
8x8 (10. 799)
within the wok’s embrace, the dance begins, as secrets blend with savoury sins: Scott D Seligman asked ChatGPT for a pad thai recipe in the style of Emily Dickinson and got an epic
dockhands: the latest line from Faith O’Hare is inspired by the workwear of the shipyards of the Cylde
hongmeng project: China’s space agency is placing a ring of telescopes in orbit around the Moon to explore the cosmic Dark Age just after the Big Bangtake care now: inclusive Pride post by Cracker Barrel provokes conservative fury over the loss of this family-friendly bastion—see previously
reference material: Ars Technica contributor Benj Edwards purchased a copy of the only encyclopaedia still in print
supergranulation: Parker probe exploring the Sun offers science clues on the origin of solar wind
blitz kids: a celebration of the fashion of Gary Kemp and Spandau Ballet—previously here and here
expandart: B3ta community teaching AI how to think beyond the frame—see previously—via Waxy
Wednesday 7 June 2023
6x6 (10. 792)
extremadura: BBC Reel has more on the disappearance of the Tartessos civilisation—freighted with myth and legend—at the edge of the known world
uspto: strengthening the case for junk patents could severely stifle innovation in America—see also—via the new shelton wet/drycrowbox: an experimental platform for the autonomous education of corvids—see previously
l’agence tous risques: the title them for the A-Team on French television had jaunty little lyrics—see also—via Super Punch
know before you go: the Human Rights Campaign joining others in declaring a state of emergency and issuing travel warnings for LGBTQ+ people in the US
pogostemon cablin: ancient vial of Roman perfume identified as patchouli oil
Sunday 4 June 2023
9x9 (10. 786)
folkocracy: the latest from Rufus Wainwright
old hollywood: one property management company dedicated to preserving Los Angeles’ vintage homes and apartments
ladies’ ordinaries: a look at how gender got on the menu—see alsocultivating a creative community: Tina Roth Eisenberg on “How I Built This”
ologies: a comprehensive chart of the medical disciplines and how they fit together—also a good podcast
purchasing power parity: mapping the cheapest Big Macs
morbid passion for one of the opposite sex: the recent invention of heterosexuality
controspazio: a photographic tribute to the recently departed post-modernist architect Paolo Portoghesi
what a wicked thing to do—to let me dream of you: Tenacious D kicks off their next tour with a cover of the 1989 Chris Isaak hit
catagories: ⚕️, ๐, ๐ฝ️, ๐️, ๐ถ, ๐ณ️๐, networking and blogging
Friday 2 June 2023
7x7 (10. 782)
court of last resort: Propublica presents a guide to potential imperilled rights in the US—via Waxy
e. o. 9066: George Takei recalls growing up in a Japanese-American internment camp—see previouslyvelben goods: the concierge to the world’s rich and powerful—see also
mermen: the increasing popularity of underwater performances in China—see previously
stumbling block: in a simulation, an AI-controlled drone kills its human handler because that individual was thwarting its achieving mission objectives, later apparently walked back
rainbow crusaders: a more inclusive examination of heroism during World War II
legislate guns not makeup: a roster of state houses poised to adopt bans on drag performers
Sunday 28 May 2023
7x7 (10. 771)
schachtรผrke: a fraudulent chess-playing automaton launched the AI debate in 1770
bart: the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit has new anime mascots—each of the characters has a backstory pattiegonia: facing the expected backlash from staunch conservatives after featuring a drag star in their ads, the North Face refused to back down—this is not a white flagbeyond the yellow brick road: the reading that The Wizard of Oz is a Populist political allegory is kind of an incoherent mess, suggested over six decades after it was written—via Strange Company
buena vista social club: a restored, enhanced 1972 tour of Disney World
priority road: one individual’s quest to document the unusual, confusing traffic signs of Japan
lexus nexus: lawyer turns to ChatGPT for help in finding precedence a client’s case, citing a wholly fabricated disputes and settlements—via Waxy—see also
Wednesday 24 May 2023
7x7 oops all america (10. 764)
the hills we climb: Amanda Gorman’s inspirational poem (previously) during the inaugeration for Joe Biden among reading materials subject to a ban in Florida
gen-z-span: a C-SPAN and Tik Tok split-screen is “giving democracy”—via Waxy
sealioning: the baiting, false pretence for an honest discussionlove is love: US retailer removing some LGBTQ+ collection apparel from its stores after backlash directed at employees plus more attacks against allied merchandise
line-in-the-sand: negotiations on the impending US debt ceiling have stalled with little time to spare
patent troll: the state of Louisiana introduces legislation to curtail the private equitisation of supposed infringement on intellectual property—via Super Punch
won’t someone think of the children: analyses reveal that the majority of book ban challenges for curricula and libraries come from eleven people
Saturday 22 April 2023
10x10 (10. 690)
shave and a hair-cut: a collection of personalised nineteenth century barber shop occupation mugs
culture wars, cola wars: of course that anti-woke beer is just a huge pandering grift
architecture in music: the photography of Charles Brooks makes the interiors of instruments appear like megastructuresmillion dollar homepage: tout your website for one second of the day—via Web Curios
knit grotesk: a sewable font
yes, virginia, there is a santa claus: the adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret does not disappoint
intuitive daily stitching: Karen Turner’s knitted visual diary infographics: compelling visualisations that changed public opinion and scientific consensus
high life: directed by the Comitรฉ, Belgian customs officials crushes a shipment of two-thousand cans of Miller over its “Champagne of Beers” motto
hairdressers: a BBC videography library on different aspects of the industry
Thursday 16 March 2023
male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest (10. 613)
As Florida governor and presidential hopeful DeSantis continues his pandering crusade against queer, trans and non-conforming individuals by revoking a Miami flagship hotel’s liquor license for hosting a holiday drag show, citing a prohibition of “lascivious exhibition” in front of audiences aged younger than sixteen in the interest of safeguarding the innocence of children, the state of Tennessee is enacting a new law to criminalise public cabaret performances. Much like Mike Pence’s personal-cum-policy conviction not to dine with another woman without the presence of Mother, legislators responsible for this grossly mischaracterise drag shows as something overly-sexualised and obscene to politicise it but there are plenty of voices that refuse to be silenced or to be again marginalised and ostracised. More at the links above.
catagories: ⚖️, ๐บ๐ธ, ๐ณ️๐
Wednesday 8 February 2023
verdens fรธrste bรธssebryllup (10. 534)
Though not accorded legal sanction by the Kingdom of Denmark for more than sixteen years later, the Danish Evangelical-Lutheran Church became the first Christian communion in modern times to recognise gay marriage on this day in 1973 when radical priest—semi-retired for advocating social anarchy and protesting against NATO upbuilding but not defrocked—Harald Sรธbye, at the suggestion of a tabloid journalist who was one of the grooms, presided over the world’s first gay marriage. The reporter had met a florist at a discotheque in Vesterbro and asked Sรธbye to do the honours. From then to 1989 when civil unions were legally recognised, Sรธbye performed over two hundred blessings or full matrimonial ceremonies. The Church of Denmark in 2012 decided not just to bless and accept same-sex marriages (see also) but to moreover administer the vows and host the celebrations as well.
catagories: ⚖️, ๐ฉ๐ฐ, ๐ณ️๐, 1973, ⓦ
Saturday 4 February 2023
colour by numbers (10. 521)
Lead single off the group’s title album which began a three-week run on the top of the charts in the US on this day in 1984, Culture Club was initially resistant to record frontman’s Boy George’s composition—originally called “Cameo Chameleon,” about cosmic retribution and being true to oneself as it sounded a bit too country. Hitting number one in Australia, Canada, the UK, Norway and Belgium as well, the accompanying music video directed by Peter Sinclair, set in 1870s Mississippi, was filmed at Weybridge-on-Thames, aboard a riverboat. Enduringly popular and a perennial political campaign favourite, inveighing against one’s opponent as “a man without conviction,” Culture Club also performed this number on an episode of The A-Team, “Cowboy George.”
Wednesday 1 February 2023
la cage aux folles (10. 514)
The farce, “The Cage of the Mad Women,” by playwright Jean Poiret portraying the comedy of errors that ensues when the son of a Saint Tropez night club operator and his gay boyfriend invites his fiancรฉe’s conservative parents to meet their future inlaws had its debut this day in 1973 at the Thรฉรขtre du Palais-Royal, running for over eighteen-hundred performances. After being adapted as a Franco-Italian film—a trilogy ultimately, in 1978, it became a musical with book by Harvey Fierstein and music by Jerry Herman, with later cinematic premiere as The Birdcage in 1996.
catagories: ๐ซ๐ท, ๐ญ, ๐ณ️๐, 1973
Thursday 19 January 2023
living in love and faith (10. 480)
Concluding an extended period of consultation following the 2013 legal recognition of same-sex marriages in England and Wales, a council of Anglican bishops have announced their intent that the Church of England’s stance on sexuality should not be subject to change. The matter to be debated at a General Synod in February, the Church—which was established expressly to question authority on the sanctity of matrimony when the Pope refused to grant Henry XIII an annulment—is stopping short of performing itself gay marriages though significantly drops a 1991 rule that clergy members in same-sex relationships must remain celibate, issued a blanket apology for its behaviour towards the LGBTQ+ community and retains blessing for civil marriages of gay couples. Though not yet amenable to the ceremony, it does represent progress.
catagories: ✝️, ๐ณ️๐, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ, ๐️
Thursday 1 December 2022
dwa (10. 349)
Organised by VisualAIDS in New York City in 1988 and first observed the following year, Day Without Art (corresponding with World Aids Day), now a global event observed by art institutions, is a day of action and mourning for those who have died of the disease. Museums close their doors and send staff to volunteer at AIDS services centres or sponsor special exhibitions that confront the visitor with the chilling prospect for a future without art or artists, one of the most arresting displays hosted in 1991 by the Museum of Modern Art that featured a gallery of empty frames and pedestal.
catagories: ⚕️, ๐จ, ๐ณ️๐, 1989, libraries and museums
Tuesday 11 October 2022
it gets better (10. 213)
In recognition of Coming Out Day (see previously), Wikipedia’s Hauptseite refers us to the interactive browser game made by developer Nicky Case, whose other titles include the Parable of the Polygons and Adventures in Anxiety, in their semi-autobiographical, interactive game Coming Out Simulator 2014—see also. Styled to appear like an instant messaging application, play imparts possible scenarios in conversations about coming out to one’s friends and family—with no right or wrong answers—and to provide a forum for LGBT youth to understand their sexuality and gender identity. Though imperfect from the perspective of the present and focused more on engendering empathy among heterosexuals and characters are presented as cis and binary, this game played a big role in self-acceptance for many young people and the range of answers and angles is purposeful architecture of discomfort to induce stress and cause players to carefully weigh the consequences of their decisions and actions and develop life-skills. An emulator of the simulation is available here.
catagories: ๐ณ️๐, ๐พ, ๐ , ๐ง , ⓦ
Friday 7 October 2022
sergius & bacchus (10. 202)
Among the most popular paired saints with a cult going back to the fifth century, the Syrian Roman soldiers were, according to their hagiography, favoured officers in the army of Galerius (successor to Emperor Diocletian, toning down his persecutions but still strongly opposed to Christianity) until their secret adherence was exposed, they are venerated on this day in the Western Church to mark their martyrdom and the hands of their superiors, tortured (Bacchus went first and his ghost returned to encourage his compatriot to be steadfast and not disavow his faith) and beheaded. Tradition emphasises their closeness and inseparability, which has caused the couple to be embraced by the Catholic gay community—most accepting that their relationship had a romantic element to it and points to the rite, suggestive of a form of same-sex union, called แผฮดฮตฮปฯฮฟฯฮฟฮฏฮทฯฮนฯ (adelphopoiesis, fraternisation or brother-making). Their patronage includes Arabs, Syria and army soldiers and their home church built in Constantinople—now known as the Little Hagia Sophia Mosque—is the among the city’s most splendid examples of Byzantine architecture, second only to its namesake.
catagories: ☦️, ๐ธ๐พ, ๐น๐ท, ✝️, ๐ณ️๐, Middle East
Sunday 26 June 2022
a part of your world
Starting their own local chapter—one of thousands across the globe—a “pod” after finding the experience of donning the tail suit and monofin positively transformative, a self-described middle aged Filipina transgender woman left called Queen Pangke Taboraher career as an insurance agent to sponsor other merfolk and teach mermaiding and free-diving full time. Honing in on something meditative, peaceful and liberating about being submerged, millions of “mers” as they prefer participate in pageantry, Mercons, and competitive sporting events—to say nothing of a supportive community that recognises the feeling of being liminal and embraces change and fluidity.
catagories: ๐ณ️⚧️, ๐ณ️๐, ๐ง♂️
Saturday 25 June 2022
8x8
morning chorus: a suspended hotel suite in Sรกpmi cladded with three-hundred fifty birdhouses
meanwhile margaret atwood says hold my beer: teach and student, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, spar over which dystopian vision is more plausible
don’t say g*y: Disney introduces its first openly closeted cast of charactersmakeup and monobrow: a quick survey of the female eyebrow in art
border and backsplash: the mosaic tile museum of Gifu—over ten-thousands exemplars, many rescued from buildings slated for demolition
i had hoped that god would work one of his signature miracles and spare me from is also signature “horrible pain in childbirth” curse: the Virgin Mary reclaims her nativity narrative
stonk-and-go: the US Securities and Exchange Commission weighs sweeping change to curtail meme-driven trades
a doghouse for eddie: charmingly, Frank Lloyd Wright (previously) builds a home for a canine and his human companion
catagories: ⚖️, ๐ธ๐ช, ๐จ, ๐ณ️๐, ๐ฑ, ๐, ๐ชถ, architecture, libraries and museums
Saturday 11 June 2022
jahrbuch fรผr sexuelle zwischenstufen
Having been acquainted with the ground-breaking research of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld previously, we appreciated the opportunity to revisit to the progressive views of this champion of reform and inclusion and the regressive forces that would undermine and undo his legacy and contributions through the lens of his Scientific-Humanitarian Committee and its annual Yearbook for Sexual Intermediaries that explored the full spectrum of sexual and gender identities and activities of the queer community. These studies and ethnographies went on to inform Hirschfeld’s authoritative 1904 volume Berlin’s Third Sex, a modish label of convenience in common-parlance at the time to express a continuum for which we are still searching for the right words. Much more from Public Domain Review at the link above.