Achieving their fourth number one single on US charts on this day in 1991, the song penned by Per Hรฅkon Gissele, one half of the Swedish rock duo, was inspired by a note left by his then girlfriend now wife, โซsa Nordin, on his piano reading “Hello, you fool, I love you,” with the title and the accompanying narration prompted by an interview with about the collaboration of Paul McCartney and John Lennon comparing songwriting together as a “long joyride.” To universal critical and commercial praise, the Roxette album’s title track (see previously) quickly rose in the ranks, securing the same top spot internationally and became one of the best-selling single of the year—we would all take second-billing to the likes of ABBA. A thirty year anniversary remastering (see below) translated into a jukebox musical and the remaining members of the band are still actively producing.
Sunday, 11 May 2025
hej, din tok, jag รคlskar dig (12. 451)
Thursday, 8 May 2025
6x6 (12. 441)
ฮฑฮฝฯฮฏฮดฯฯฮฟฮฝ: brilliant wrapping paper makes presents appear as loaves of bread
impact statement: for the first time, an AI avatar of a murder victim testifies in court

picking fights: while Trump declares a ceasefire with the Houthi militant group—which we only know about because of Signalgate—the administration signals it will not get involved over the dispute in Kashmir
orrery: a centenary of planetariums still inspiring awe—via tmn—see previously
decomposing: lab-grown mini-brains of a deceased musician create posthumous compositions
origami mouse: a pointing device that folds flat when not in use—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest—along with a few more fun items on arcade classics
Sunday, 4 May 2025
11x11 (12. 431)
hot, cold, clash and burn: some performances from candidates for the 2025 Dance Your PhD contest with real EuroVision vibes—see previously
man in motion: a biography of Eadweard Muybridge (previously) as a graphic novel
pc connection: the raccoon mascot that made the catalogue stand out amongst industry uniformity—via Nag on the Lake
popemobile: the pontiff’s conveyance used for his 2014 visit to Bethlehem to be converted into a mobile health clinic for Gaza
oaf of office: arguing that due process is cumbersome, Trump defers to his legal team on whether it his duty to uphold the constitution
pamflyt compiled of cheese, contayninge the differences, nature, qualities, and goodnes, of the same: an early Renaissance book on the staple food digitised and made available to the public
architecture of choice: AI buttons and the fat-finger economy pushing redesign and showhorning of non-options into everything
sustained presence: Israel expands operations, evictions in the occupied territory
papabili: the College of Cardinals’ report and coverage of the upcoming conclave—via Web Curios
mingkwai: the rediscovery of an incredible antique mechanical typewriter prototype for printing Chinese characters—via Neatorama—with a video demonstration
marge inalia: alert the grammar police, the Errorist strikes again
synchronoptica
one year ago: Expo '74 (with synchronoptica), the Cabbage Patch Kids’ maternity ward, assorted links worth revisiting plus the Grammies
seven years ago: more links to enjoy, lampooning mid-morning television, doggie bags plus election by Borda count
eight years ago: potential jail time for protesting the US attorney general, the Cornell carillon plays a tribute to the Grateful Dead plus even more links
nine years ago: gorillas sing little tunes as they eat, maps of Middle Earth, a market hall in Rotterdam plus a popular French tonic wine
ten years ago: Hee-Haw and the cancellation of Star Trek plus utopian thinking
Saturday, 3 May 2025
fedifragous (12. 430)
Borrowing from the obsolete Latin foedifragus, the rarely used term which has occasion to be brought back into common parlance as the adjectival form for faithless, perfidious or treacherous in the sense of liable to break treaties or contracts or alliances.
Monday, 28 April 2025
10x10 (12. 420)
america’s war: a special report from the Verge for the fiftieth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
leaflet: an Art Nouveau study of botanical forms and their application in decor—see previously
mangajin: an appreciation of the month English-language publication for students of Japanese language and culture—full archives from the entire run from 1988 to 1997 here
do: inspirational words from artist Sol LeWitt to fellow creative pioneer Eva Hesse
chisanbop: the Korean technique of fingermath
i have to push the pram a lot: Monty Python and the Holy Grail at fifty
animal spirits: what felines, bovines, porcines, etc on the label say about wine quality
you wouldn’t right-click a car: US anti-piracy campaign filled with hypocrisy, including a stolen font—see also
bus error collective: a WSIWYG primer on oscilloscope music—via Waxy
worst one-hundred days: assessments of Trump first months in office for his second term—more here and here
synchronptica
one year ago: Pennsylvania 6-5000 (with synchronoptica) plus naming world wars
seven years ago: a corollary to the Bechdel test plus a visit to Stockheim
eight years ago: archaeology with trace DNA, Islamic gateways plus responding to nuclear extortion
nine years ago: crowd control robots, language acquisition plus a hand-held DNA sequencer
ten years ago: visiting FDR’s Georgia retreat, ribald limericks, assorted links to revisit plus pontoon bridges to alleviate traffic congestion
Sunday, 27 April 2025
benefactive case (12. 419)
Whilst English has the above modifiers to generally intensify as reflexive—as in “I love me some chicken” whereas the accompanying mood expresses a wish or benediction, like “May the Force be with you” or “God willing”—Japanese has a unique and surpassing feature, we learn with gratitude built into grammar and the inflection of a verb can frame thanks and positivity into one’s thoughts and expressions. Simple tasks and transactions can be imbued with a sense of thankfulness or favour with the auxiliary verb kureri (ใใใ). Moreover this one of kind construction cannot be used reciprocally and only flows in one direction, acknowledging one’s own gratefulness but not on behalf of another or attributing to others how they should receive your help or kindness. More on these social cues at รther Mug at the link above.
Saturday, 26 April 2025
9x9 (12. 412)
crytophasia: eye-witnesses to an accident, twins speaking in unison yield insights about language acquisition
keep your cool: a 1967 garage rock number appropriate for our times by Terry and the Chain Reaction
swiss pavilion: the country’s contribution to the Osaka Expo evokes the spirit of the original venue—see previously here and here
all dams are temporary: an interesting look at the limitations of hydrological regimes
universi dominici gregis: the faithful and world leaders gather at the Vatican for the pontiff’s funeral
buying access: Trump offers largest holders of his meme coin exclusive dinner date
hilma’s ghost: a monumental glass mosaic installed in New York’s Grand Central Station—in homage to the mystic artist
on the corner: Myles Davis’ rock and funk, at first panned but now considered a masterpiece
rampant pedantry: an overview of prescriptivism and hyper-correction
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica), a massive gallery of Star Trek images plus ancient scrolls deciphered with the help of AI
seven years ago: Brutalist Tetris, Macron addresses the US congress, the mythological namesakes of the Chinese lunar programme plus conspicuous consumption and the Diderot effect
eight years ago: Japanese manhole covers, journalism from Wikipedia, more links to enjoy, the Turkish-Syrian border, a Nazi-era bronze back on display plus more persuasive maps
nine years ago: bat nurse, the Sykes-Picot agreement, US tax-havens plus cataclysmic anniversaries (caution flashing image)
ten years ago: American founding fables
Thursday, 24 April 2025
woggele stรค (12. 408)
Wandering a bit through the neighbouring market town of Ostheim vor der Rhรถn and learned our area had a connection—and a celebrated one at that—with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, marking his visits to the town in 1780, accompanying Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar, whom ennobled the writer and polymath, in his role as privy councillor and highway commissioner.
On one occasion, under the advisement of local economics chair, Goethe directed the construction of two ramparts bridging the river Streu, designed to straighten the flow of the waters and provide irrigation to the meadows, a system used by famers through 1985. Referred to in local dialect as the above (Wackeliege Stege) as the original wooden footbridges, replacing the stepping stones, became wobbly shortly after installation. The master baker Hans Bickert was an avid researcher of local history and was particularly intrigued by the connection to Goethe and acquired in 1970 the old Saxe-Weimar Amtshaus (we have been to a Flรถhmarkt inside this building) from the State of Bavaria (see above: Ostheim is historically tied to Thรผringen but joined Bavaria in 1947)—restored and renovated the history structure next door and hung signs bearing important transitional dates in the ownership and allegiances of the town. The chronicle includes the second visit of Goethe in April of 1782, this time to recruit draftees for the American Revolutionary War, a task which Goethe detested as human thievery and resolved to keep his focus on his earlier project of improving the towns river shallows and apply new irrigation techniques, and adding a basin for wading and ablutions—see also. Not many men were conscripted for Prussia. This minor but lovingly attended to construction together with notable correspondence dispatched from here not only helped the amateur historian to commemorate Goethe’s time in Ostheim with several plaques but also inspired the baker to dress up as the poet laureate while giving guided tours of the town.Wednesday, 23 April 2025
10x10 (12. 405)
hug, marry, kill: internet roasts muttonhead JD Vance for his audience with Pope Francis—more here
kegsbreath: US defence secretary poised to be replaced and other news and developments from Superpunch—see more
trump slump: populist politicians over the globe are distancing themselves from MAGA
yolo: search data for Anglophone texting abbreviations
oh aunt jess: Angela Lansbury in fine art—via Miss Cellania
technics: an obstacle course for LEGO walkers
zwiebelfisch: a treasury of printers’ terminology, as in the German for a character misprinted with a dif๐erent font, and more including wayzgoose
one if by land, two if by sea: Heather Cox Richardson speaking at the two-hundred fiftieth anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
education for death: Walt Disney’s 1943 film on how fascists are made
a good book can help us weather the storm: Francis’ defence of literature for spiritual and mental enlightenment—see also this papal playlist
Saturday, 12 April 2025
tabella defixionis (12. 386)
Popular and widely employed during Greco-Roman times well into the Christian era, curse tablets (ฮบฮฑฯฮฌฮดฮตฯฮผฮฟฯ—a binding spell) were often discretely or surreptitiously buried with the dead to settle a grudge with surviving competitors over business and romantic affairs and even among rival sports teams as a way to petition the chthonic gods or place spirits to compel malediction for the after life. Like the cache of twenty-two curses recently discovered in an ancient cemetery near Orleans, the most common media was thin lead scrolls as due to their malleability could be easily inscribed and were also an element associated with the underworld deities. What makes this particular discover unique is that one grave contained a curse written in Gaulish, the vulgar language of the region in common parlance (though really preserved in written form) for centuries after the Roman conquest. Because of the paucity of documentation for Gallo-Roman translating is a challenge but there is a another class of curse tablets called Voces mysticae (vox magica) which do not seem to be rendered in any known language and are a secret invocation that only demons can decipher—with scholars teasing out palindromes (previously here and here) and boustrophedon. Much more at The History Blog at the link above.
Thursday, 10 April 2025
9x9 (12. 381)
domestic box office: in response to escalating tariffs, China is curtailing the number of American films screened in the country
redeployment: decision to reposition US troops stationed in Poland causing concern
dixonary: improprieties in pronunciation among New Englanders
๐ฆ: the Latin alphabet expressed as hieroglyphics
now is a great time to buy—$djt: social media posts and a spike in options activity may indicate insider trading within the administration
ื₀: physicist Dominic Walliman charts out the fields of mathematics and how the academic informs application
from the gigantic bones displayed at roncesvalles: an adjective that should be brought part back into use
a man, a plan: US defence secretary floats idea of reopening mothball military bases from the 1989 invasion of Panama
trading floor: the history of the ticker-tape machine
Thursday, 3 April 2025
cacoรซpy (12. 363)
Via the always wonderful source for a vocabulary boost, Futility Closet, we learn a new useful term with derivatives of something I think I can quite relate to in the above for something poorly pronounced. From the Greek ฮบฮฑฮบฯฯ plus แผฯฮฟฯ (bad word), I tend to think I am inclined to laziness on getting enunciation and delivery right, which is no excuse especially when it comes to what someone calls themselves, though even the dictionary example of autodidacts sometimes end up being cacoรซpists recalls the important adage not to hypercorrect.
10x10 (12. 360)
kapmifmif: a study morphological emic distribution classes through a constructed language—see previously
murder on flight 502: the star-studded 1975 television disaster movie gets the Poseidon’s Underworld treatment
blanket rate: bad assumptions and arithmetic informs Trump tariff regime, which is tanking markets globally
mira calligraphiae monumenta: paging through a sixteenth century illuminated model book on scribal excellence rebelling against the standardisation of the printing press—with embellishes reminiscent of the Voynich manuscript and Codex Seraphinianus
clickens: judge chicken portraits on various personality traits and harness the wisdom of the masses—via Kottke
salmon run: a beautifully crafted early home arcade game speaks to swimming upstream
sala di consultazione: free access to the Vatican Library’s digital archives
elbows up: Canada plans retaliation over US punitive duty deal plus GOP senators side with Democrats to rebuke the proposal to levy additional tariffs on its northern neighbour
real id: US government is beginning to require an internal passport, which is not automatically issued
mezameta: the role of katakana in loan words, gairaigo, scientific binomials and transcription and the problem with conveying the shifting meaning of woke
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), standard lunar time plus vulgar expressions of indifference
seven years ago: Iran’s faux Western fast foods, bi-lingual Braille plus a North American medicinal plant map
eight years ago: more links to enjoy
nine years ago: vintage Canadian tourist posters plus a Rosary ring
ten years ago: the Anthropocene plus the architecture of folklore
Friday, 28 March 2025
put down artist (12. 345)
There’s a Chinese expression in romanji that’s curiously enunciated, masticated as its acronym, spelt out P-U-A for pick up artist which entered common-parlance a few years ago but still very much circulating and having acquired more nuance synonymic with the concept of gaslighting, manipulative but perhaps not on the same level of flattery, though with same ends, and maybe more akin to the retired, superannuated phrase being owned or pwn’d (pronounced poned). The prescribed antidote is to not have ambitions party to seduction. More on leetspeak and linguistic disabusement with a sample in context from Language Log at the link above.
sashiko, boro and bunka (12. 343)
Via Spoon & Tamgo, we are referred to the latest, as yet incomplete project by embroidery artist Tomoko Kubo to adorn and ornament all forty six characters of the hiragana lettering system (see previously), each glyph carefully laid out to feature foods, creatures and concepts that begin with that particular character, like the pictured U kana (ใ in hiragana and ใฆ in katakana—deriving from the kanji logograph ๅฎ meaning abode or territory—the former being a phonetic syllabary and the later being a simplified version of more complex Chinese characters). Not only a work of art, they also aid in approaching the language for beginners with this colourful and creative abecedarium: ใ is for rabbit (ใใใ, usagi) and for horse (ใใพ, uma), etc. Much more at the links above.
Sunday, 23 March 2025
8x8 (12. 331)
fork in the road: AI misapprehension of a machine translated simple yes/no survey from Spanish rendered ‘i griega’ (upsilon) as a y-junction and all affirmative responses as the utensil
hunter-gatherer: the handbag theory of human advancement—via Strange Company
signature authority: after declaring his predecessor’s pardons invalid over the use of autopen, Trump faces scrutiny over unsigned deportation orders

spring issue: the fourth instalment of the achingly beautiful HTML Review—see previously—is out, via MetaFilter
vexatious lawsuits: mob boss Trump partially reverses executive order rescinding law firm’s contracts and security clearances for millions in pro bono services, prompting mass resignations
schlachthof: ancient butchery for mammoths discovered in Austria
cousin german: a comparison between English and Lower Saxon
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting, Cityspeak in Bladerunner plus The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound
seven years ago: the Ecosia web browser, an ancient passing red dwarf plus Cambridge Analytica
eight years ago: Trumpland, Trump’s triumphs, recreating the bedroom from 2001 plus more on concrete poetry
nine years ago: the christening of Boaty McBoatface, humorist Richard Littler plus a tubular tree house
ten years ago: God Bless You Mr Rosewater plus the crusades and the reconquista
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
eponym (12. 299)
Born on this day in 1832 in Norfolk, Captain Charles Boycott lent his name (see also here and here and here) to the term during the Irish Land War (Cogadh na Talรบn, an agrarian uprising that began in 1879 under UK rule) as an agent of an absentee landlord in County Mayo. Ostracised by tenant farmers over rents levied after a bad harvest when he tried to evict the protesters. Rather than resort to violence, the farmers instead organised to socially shun Boycott and his lieutenants, stopping work, causing short-term economic hardship locally and isolating the estate. The tactic worked and Boycott was unable to hire anyone who would work the fields under his charge and the neologism, spread by the press, swiftly entered common-parlance, identifying a linguistic lacuna and the meaning became more generalised.
9x9 (12. 297)
ei-ei-o: a comparison onomatopoetic words for animal sounds across different languages—via Waxy
acrostic: textile company’s branding has the aesthetics of concrete poetry
destiny narrative: an omnibus post on the horrors and avoidability of war
analog society: a British group performs live mash-up of notionally similar songs
tectonic independence: why Greenland is an island and Australia a continent—see also
360: Manhattan’s only revolving restaurant to reopen
telephone game: Russia demands details from US before agreeing to any ceasefire agreement in Ukraine
cross-walk: mimes direct traffic in Bogotรก
an old error has more friends than a new truth: proverbs and idioms from around the world
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus more FOIA follies
seven years ago: raising awareness for prosthetic limbs, Japan’s residential towers plus more links to enjoy
eight years ago: provisions requiring employees submit to DNA screenings
nine years ago: what if the Singularity already happened, the doorway effect plus colourful ancient statuary
ten years ago: Disney reboots, even more links plus more made-up jobs
Saturday, 8 March 2025
anaรฑรฑฤtaรฑรฑassฤmฤซtindriya (12. 285)
Via New Shelton wet/dry, we found this critique from the political and literary forum the Boston Review to be quite resonant as we here at PfRC essentially at our core blog when we learn a new word for a phenomenon or behaviour—way to name something that we didn’t know had a name or could draw a distinction that we weren’t aware of beforehand—or make connections, especially etymologically—be it on the topic of language, history, culture or current events. Pedantry is our mainstay. We’ve devoted a lot of posts to the untranslatable and the hyperspecific ways that language can impart feelings and states of being—see previously here, here and here—but we appreciated the counterpoint presented in the subject book review: the telling comes at the expense of showing, communicating through narrative or poetry rather than a borrowed short-hand explored through a treasury of terms from classical Indian literature. The title refers to the Pali concept for the mental faculty of coming to know, which is undoubtably a premium word but emotion and incident do not map neatly onto a linguistic framework and if not creating new experiences with words, one can bereft with neologisms that destroy them.
Friday, 7 March 2025
10x10 (12. 283)
subwoof: opening of Star Trek: The Next Generation but with the theme coming from the ship
sudoku: unsolvable sliding fourteen-fifteen wooden puzzles
frame-by-frame: experimenting with 3D printing to achieve a stop-motion animation effect
anglish: English without the influence of Romance languages
dead letter office: Denmark’s postal service to end delivery of letters, citing a ninety percent decline in volume
oddly compelling: underground comics and Kitchen Sink Press
rebel with a clause: the self-styled den mother of grammarians sets up a table for language advice
edelweiรpiraten: a look at the loosely organised youth group that opposed Nazi Germany—via Strange Company
๐➡️: revisiting an appreciation of how Flash influenced gaming history—via Boing Boing
cue ro laren drop: a library of audio sweeps, intros, outros and transitions for podcasters—via Web Curios