offcuts (11. 639)

Despite abundant supplies of natural resource lithium, Australia—and most of the world—lack another, overlooked key component for the manufacture of battery storage and the transition away from carbon-intensive energy and must import graphite—see previously. Researchers at Charles Sturt University in Victoria, we learn courtesy of the New Shelton wet/dry, however, may have devised a technique for turning hair and wool cast-offs into the conductive crystalline form carbon by heating it under extreme pressure. This breakthrough also heralds opportunities for salons and shepherds who end up disposing of a lot of lower-quality animal fibre.

 synchronoptica

one year ago:  Rocky Horror (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit

five years ago: one hundred facts for logophiles, German abbreviations plus plagiarism revealed through punctuation

six years ago: more the US Space Force, a model kit controversy, more on the robot crew member of the ISS plus a collection of beer coasters

seven years ago: the Saturday morning show that possibly inspired MST3K plus the wisdom of Wil Wheaton

eight years ago: gunpowder in the New World

7x7 (11. 626)

senza vergogna: some notes for Martha-Ann Alito on her anti-Pride flag (see previously)  

factory floor: inside Andy Warhol’s studio—via Messy Nessy Chic  

prospecting: Norwegian mining firms discovers Europe’s largest cache of rare-earth metals  

adaptive force controlled shaving demonstration: a robot barber in Shanghai  

daily bread: an overview of the staple foodstuff’s contribution to civilisation  

hydrant directory: colour palettes of New York’s suppression points—via Pasa Bon!  

gruppo dei sette: following EU elections, the G7 forum begins in Puglia

synchronoptica

one year ago: a top album by Alanis Morissette plus an early world-traveller

two years ago: a chronic case of the hiccups, a hit by Paul McCartney plus international crisps flavours

three years ago: the G7, Shangri La the musical, St Anthony plus two very prolific travelogues

four years ago: illustrator Wilbur Husley, assorted links to revisit, the Pentagon Papers (1971) plus a banger from Mungo Jerry

five years ago: the elusive American Middle-Class plus x before x-rays

10x10 (11. 020)

osiris-rex: fulfilling a seven-year mission (previously) a space probe to collect samples from an asteroid—with further adventures planned 

succession: Rupert Murdoch’s departure from News Corp is a cold-comfort for the millions brainwashed by Fox and Friends 

be the first to like this post: more on the meaning and origins of the chain of riders and horses dispatched to send missives—see previously  

project cybersyn: more on Salvadore Allende’s plans to build a socialist internet 

fanfare: the history and physics of the trumpet  

shear madness: 1980 reportage on a cutting-edge hair salon in Kensington  

the joke and dagger department: an appreciation of the genius of Spy vs Spy, a political cartoon that wasn’t a political cartoon 

3r’s: the Swedish educational system has a renewed emphasis on handwriting, quiet reading time  

omni consumer products: New York City police lease a robocop to patrol Times Square subway station as a trial run  

all these worlds are yours—except europa, attempt no landing there: the JWST detects carbon on the surface of the Jovian moon

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 megastructures  

million 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 Comité, 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

cheveux incoiffables

Though familiar with the rather unkempt cautionary tale of Struwwelpeter—Shock-headed Peter, we did not know that such laments and portrayals were rooted in what’s described as UHS (Uncombable Hair Syndrome, Syndrom der unkämmbaren Haare). A genetic, structural disorder, those affected generally grow out of this state of wiry hair by early adolescence with their scalp becoming much more manageable.

sesamstraße

H and I shared a cross-cultural moment the other day, him remarking that my hair, already in need of a cut before the lockdown, was getting pretty shaggy and I would look like Tiffy soon. I didn’t get the reference and he explained, “Tiffy, you know the Muppet from Sesame Street?”
I wasn’t familiar and vaguely knew that there were different nationally syndicated versions of the show with different characters and looking up an image, I thought she presents as a Mokey Fraggle and possibly a later addition to the cast. More research, however, showed me what a different and parallel world there was between the Children’s Television Workshop and the studios of Norddeutscher Runkfrunk. They that you call Big Bird and Mister Snuffleupagus we call Tiffy und Samson, a friendly bear with a security blanket called Schnuffeltuch.  Same energy.
Tiffy and her friend were portraying the psychological ages of six- and five-year olds respectively and were with the show since it’s debut in 1977. In late December of 1993, there was a sort of Muppet Monster New Year’s Eve special called Sesame Street Stays Up Late, anchored by Elmo as sort of a CNN style reporter showcasing celebrations by time-zones and featured introductions and interviews with international cast and crew, including Tiffy, Samson and company. I am rocking that Tiffy hairdo.

hairball

Delightfully, we learn that from a candid picture of their cat regaled with its shed fur as a jaunty head-dress—the subjects might be humiliated but not distressed by it since it’s their own fur—has developed into a minor movement and phenomenon known as Nukege (猫 抜け毛, shed or dander) Hats. I’m sure it takes some practise and patience to get good at it—and a cooperative model—but the medium seems to be pretty pliable. See a whole gallery and learn more about the originators at the link above.

l.a. looks

Reacquainted with the often praised through imitation or pigeon-holed as dated detritus of the 1980s (such are the wages, I think, of establishing a signature style) work of Patrick Nagel some time ago while trying to summon-up a Duran Duran video, we appreciated this overview from Dangerous Minds about the profusion of homages to be found in beauty salons—hair, makeup, nails and tanning. Of course, the trend is towards the bourgeois smug with sleeker and twee dandy gimmicks and cultural appropriation on offer with increasing frequency but (and I sadly had to witness my barber’s go from later to the former recently and did not know how to take the change) they’ll probably be window-dressing in the style of Nagel for some time to come. Be sure to check out Dangerous Minds at the link above and a place called Trashy Salon Art for more examples and to contribute your own.

manual communication

Thanks to the marvellous Madam Jujujive, we appreciate that of course hearing impaired communities would also be interested in nominating and selecting words—or signs of the year. For its inaugural honour, the Swiss Deaf Association chose to bypass other novel gestures (Gebärden, signes, segnes, segni) such as the way of expressing vegan, Netflix or deportee and went with the sign inventedfor Donald Trump. Referencing the hair of course is brilliant but I could think of cruder but deserved ways of getting the message across just as quickly.

shear madness

Poseidon’s Underworld presents a curated gallery of stylist to the stars, Jose Eber—vintage 1982, posing with some of the celebrities who’ve had their hair-dos done by the French hair-dresser. It’s really sort of a guilty-pleasure to pore over these glamour shots with accompanying, campy short interviews—confessions derived from an assessment that’s meant to identify one’s colour and thus one’s personality. Clients include Goldie Hawn, Penny Marshall, Farrah Fawcett, Jamie Lee, Cathy Lee, Barbara Walters and Pia Zadora.

5x5

take a look, it’s in a book: WPA-era gallery of library promotional posters

big baby jesus: a study of infants in medieval art, encompassing the idea of the homunculus—that great individuals come fully-formed, via Kottke

torch song: auto-tune robot performs 1990s ballads with emotion

rock lobster: part the first of an homage to the phenomenal B-52s

what’s up doc: celebrating seventy-five years of Bugs Bunny with a look back to his first appearance

and that’s a pretty nice hair cut—charge it like a puzzle, hit men wearing muzzles

Oh dear—this is a potentially disturbing development that is making international markets anxious as well as any and every John Q. Public, Max Mustermann, or Τάδε Ταδόπουλος who’ve brooded any nest-egg. In exchange for a ten-billion euro lifeline to save the country from insolvency, banking and finance accounting for a large proportion of the island nation’s economy, European Union finance ministers are demanding a percentage of the savings deposits of Cypriot citizens.

The government of Cyprus supports this hair cut, which would excise a minimum of a three percent from all accounts. Despite insistence that such an arrangement exceptional and not precedent-setting, with Germany trying to distance itself from the conditions of the swap and Britain going so far as pledging to reimburse the losses incurred by her subjects stationed there as a result of the decision, many are growing nervous about their stashes, however it’s kept. Do you think a move like this opens up the possibility for shearing assets from private people, small-holders but share-holders, nonetheless? Or might having savers participate in the bail-out might inspire overall more pragmatism?  It is happening too often lately, but when decisions and support fail to abide by economic sense (I can’t imagine how the reactions and distress in the streets and in the bourses was unexpected), one should always follow the money and see who stands to gain, and perhaps not ultimately, from this deal.