arc of narrative (11. 786)

We thoroughly enjoyed thinking about plot and plodding along with these cinematic pathways from illustrator Andrew DeGraff (previously, I later remembered) that chart the hero’s journey across sets and scenes mapped out like the imaginative cartographic conclusions of Billy from the Family Circus funny pages, elaborating on these itineria, strip maps from the web-comic xkcd, except for modern classics like Fargo (pictured), Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, The Breakfast Club, etc. All are instantly recognisable and draw one into the story. More from Kottke at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: emulating a backflip (with synchronoptica),  a lyrical song clock plus Wagner Group chief dies in a plane crash

seven years ago: synthetic biology

eight years ago: more on the Voynich manuscript, KFC sun-screen plus gravity wells and a Sisyphean train

nine years ago: a visit to Bad Nauheim plus a day at the zoo

ten years ago: Rome defeats the Samnium coalition plus a table-top mining game

♨︎ (11. 756)

We very much enjoyed revisiting artist and drafter Honmai Enya’s work (previously) in her newest book of detailed isometric renderings (see also here and here) of Japanese cultural institutions. Honing her architectural illustrations skills at local establishments, Enya’s repertoire spread from her favourite sentō to area laundromats, salons, cafés and kissaten (a quieter version of the former to contemplatively drink one’s coffee or tea). More from Spoon & Tamago at the link above.

hasenpfeffer incorporated (11. 751)

While pursuing the long-tail of a rumoured solution to try to satisfy two Hollywood egos both demanding top-billing and one possible and now pervasive compromise, known in the industry as the Laverne & Shirley card, we got the opportunity to revisit The Art of the Title (see previously here and here) and explore some of the creative and contractual considerations that go into opening sequences. And while fascinating to learn about the more elegant and efficient way to make concessions to rising talent (bottom left and top right gives two stars more or less equal prominence), the hook was really the unique stalemate of the 1987 Arthur Hiller Outrageous Fortune comedy featuring Bette Midler and Shelley Long (or Long and Midler) with neither willing to concede to be second-billed. Strangely aligned with the film that takes its title from Hamlet’s “…slings and arrows…” about two acrimonious acting students who are dating the same mysterious individual, unbeknownst to each other, and manages to keep their shared tryst secret, the production studio commissioned two sets of promotional materials and title sequences for distribution in US East Coast and West Coast markets, in the respective actors’ home turf presumably with neither being the wiser—movie lore confirmed by a visit to the last video rental shop in Atlanta. Much more from 99% Invisible at the link above.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: artist Karla Knight (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: a proposed canal in Malaysia plus radio for dogs

eight years ago: assorted links to revisit, mass-transit upholstery plus Olympic typography

nine years ago: the Happy Birthday song plus presidential merch

eleven years ago: US government lapse in appropriations plus thoughtful souvenirs

13x13 (11. 744)

hot clipmalabor summer: a Scots language translation of the latest trend 

the pudding: AI makes a data-driven visual story—via Kottke  

désolé! taking a mental health year: American vs European out-of-office auto-replies  

the paris games: a look back at the other times the French capital hosted the Olympics—via Nag on the Lake

faustian bargain: Russian “Tiergarten Killer” released as part of prisoner-swap 

the lord house: a tour of a home designed by architecture Richard Neutra—see previously 

take me to the water: James Baldwin and the roots of the Palestinian-African American solidarity movement 

hop, skip and a jump: e-bikes for one’s legs  

dressage: Snoop Dogg as head Olympic cheerleader 

securing the peace: US mobilising to shore up defences in Middle East 

minoritarian rule: US in democracy self-destruct mode  

yay newfriend: a linguistic look at the new AI pendant companion 

emdunks: the internet’s infatuation with the Second- and possibly future First-Gentleman

ad copy (11. 728)

Via Web Curios, we enjoyed perusing this gallery of mostly—but not exclusively—vintage Anglophone print advertisements that make the exception to the curator’s collection entitled, “Nobody Reads Ads” from Miguel Ferreira, who writes a lot about commericals and creativity. There are some really effective and arresting ones, though not the ones that everyone remembers as indisputable examples, that are lost in the data of engagement and targeting and each demonstrates a subtle hook to an audience that is not exactly self-selecting. What are some of your favourites or ones you think have been overlooked and should be included?  Much more at the links above.

stack overflow (11. 616)

Courtesy of Waxy, we are directed to the flashy showroom of Terminal Text Effects, a collection of customisable coding scripts to apply to one’s website to create looping pages to assemble, decrypt and crumble content. There are quite a few to choose from and can be configured to match one’s themes and schemes. We especially liked the Burn, Black Hole and Rain routines and will one day learn how incorporate such pre-installs ourself although right now a bit too intermediate for us.

internal audit (11. 580)

Our trusty AI wrangler, Janelle Shane (previously) vents her frustration over a shared lament that many artists, marketers and prompters—to the point where close enough is good enough—are experiencing with generated images. Often times tantalised with results that are preternaturally approaching the desired outcome, asking for an edit with a minor detail results, yields instead a completely different picture, ruining the assignment over a small and clearly articulated revision. I suppose AI doesn’t have object permanence despite the fact it clearly remembers, and this limitation is a strong argument for engaging a human artist who can understand one’s notes. More at the links above.

airfoil (11. 579)

Via Super Punch, we get this chance to revisit renowned industrial and commercial designer Lutz “Luigi” Colani with his Polymorph Space Shuttle concept model showcased at the 1984 Expo held in Otaru, Hokkaido (awarded with top honours however during the show for his designs for Canon cameras, including the prototype for the T90). The aerodynamic proposal failed to take off at the time but is perennially revisited by companies in the orbital freight business and included a new stylised logo for the US Space Agency.

scope of practise (11. 563)

Via Kottke, we that the inaugural World Umarlling Championship has been announced and is taking submissions, giving us a chance to revisit the gentle stereotype, classically a male pensioner who pauses to observe and inspect construction works in progress. Self-appointed foremen, the interest that umari take in infrastructure and built-environments is a model that we could all take a lesson from in terms of civic engagement without being a busybody or a backseat driver, especially under the terms of the competition. Learn ore at the links above.

the (other) line (11. 548)

As much as the projected NEOM (previously) professed to be a technological utopia with minimal—or negating impact—on the environment, promises which are looking less and less deliverable, this AI-generated cityscape extending out in all directions but centred on a main traffic artery isn’t quite so much antithetical (at least behind the veneer) as regressive and a reminder that the technocrati over-promise and cannot offer a real escape from the crowded, dirty, decaying and hierarchical framework of capitalism that created and enabled them. The oasis in the desert is a mirage. More from AI-DA at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a political cartoon attributed to Benjamin Franklin plus assorted links worth revisiting

two years ago: Dianetics Day, all the .horse websites plus the musical origins of the seven-day week

three years ago: another MST3K classic, parahawking, Europe Week, television and the public interest, recycled sets, the skyscrapers of NYC, more text-based computer games plus early generative artwork

four years ago: a Roman festival to appease the restive dead, BBC backdrops, a planned alternative UN headquarters plus the Treaty of Winsor (1373)

five years ago: form+zweck, a US plan to bomb the Moon (1958), Watergate hearings commence (1974) plus a fire-chasing beetle

7x7 (11. 527)

the function of colour: more scans from a beautiful 1930 volume on design in schools and workshops

sporulate: scientist create a plastic first strengthened then digested by bacteria  

wck: resuming their mission of feeding people in Palestine, José Andrés’ cookbook is nominated for a prestigious gastronomical award  

aim high in creation: a survey of North Korea’s popular culture  

barnard 33: JWST captures a sharp image of the iconic Horsehead Nebula of Orion  

dead reckoning: the history of the Etak Navigator and other cartographical innovations  

architectural renderings: the Art Deco illustrations of Charles Perry Weimer—via Messy Nessy Chic

9x9 (11. 499)

pumping iron: Technogym invites forty artists to reinterpret its exercise bench for Milan Design Week  

wikipedia rectangles: a collage of images sourced from the Commons subdivides one’s screen in increasing smaller sections of disparate pictures—via Web Curios  

the microcosm of london: an illustrated three-volume set by Rudolph Ackermann showcasing the public spaces of the capital 

🍉: the massive Quilt for Palestine unveiled at the Met 

rundown royale: a look at the family tree of Charlemagne, the Father of Europe—via Miss Cellania 

ulnar nerve: the etymology of the expression funny bone and variants—including the Swedish terms enkelstöt/änkestöt  

dua lipa stuns as congressional gerrymander: that and other headlines from Super Punch  

from our correspondents: World Press Photo contest captures destruction and devastation 

the revolution will not be biennalised: the withdrawal of the Israeli pavilion in Venice was performative and opportunistic

web elements (11. 491)

Via Waxy, we discover a unique time of digital time capsule in this tribute and trove of early 1990s clip art collections (see previously), capturing a snapshot of the decade frozen in time, like contemporary advertising ephemera—which were also informed by the graphic templates in the era before computers when designers had libraries of pre-printed icons at their disposal—showcasing obsolete technologies, vintage fashions and monoculture. More from Benj Edwards’ Vintage Computing and Gaming at the link up top, plus search for yourself, rummaging through the DiscMaster archives.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Shrug Guy from Wikipedia plus a new notional system

two years ago: a moveable feast

three years ago: assorted links to revisit 

four years ago: more found art, St Drogo, hug a tree plus flag mashups

five years ago: AI gives us the answers we want to hear plus Notre Dame in flames

 

neocities (11. 473)

Via the Verge, we are directed toward a fine little interior decorating pastime for iPads in the form of Rooms—inviting players to cultivate and share their cozy cubbyholes—in the tradition of the old school web and good old fashioned building-blocks or paper-dolls putting together a pixellated diorama put together with modular elements voxel by voxel—see previously. It’s like dressing up and perfecting one’s avatar within predefined but expansive parameters and features a social aspect to meet one’s virtual neighbours and follow their home improvements.

macchine da caffé (11. 472)

Via Present /&/ Correct, we thoroughly enjoyed inspecting the various models and designs of coffee and espresso makers collected over three decades by curator and connoisseur Enrico Maltoni celebrating a century of Italian cafe culture with an expansive exhibit to visit virtually. Styles and innovations are presented chronologically and an accompanying coffee-table book tells more about the manufacturers and small businesses that inform this cornerstone of society.

 

 synchronoptica

one year ago: pollutants as disease vectors plus Roxanne (1978)

two years ago: Putin apologists plus a sheet-like organism

three years ago: assorted links to revisit plus South Pacific (1949)

four years ago: cell towers and COVID, ghost crashes plus more mudlarking

five years ago: a Finnish term for resilience plus a logograph for the new imperial era

9x9 (11. 464)

avis de réception: Gertrude Stein first draft of her manuscript for The Making of Americans returned by a publisher  

greener pastures: ranchers embrace the benefits of virtual fencing  

ἀκρασία: philosophers weigh in on why we do things against our better judgment—via Kottke  

classroom setting: The Function of Colour in Schools and Hospitals (1930)  

haute couture: McDonald’s fashion in France  

heliopause: a NASA-endorsed app designed to photograph the North American total eclipse 

rhapsody in green: warm earth music for plants… and the people who love them 

could’ve been a contender: for what would be his hundredth birthday, some screen highlights of Marlon Brando

peer review: the Journal of Universal Rejection

 synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit

two years ago: Planet of the Apes (1968)

three years ago: musical hypercards, more links to enjoy, missionary cats plus Blue Moon (1961)

four years ago: vintage railway memorabilia plus drawing elephants sight unseen

five years ago: the Marshall Plan (1948), more links worth revisiting plus conserving Soviet Almaty

bascílica i temple expaitori de sagrada família (11. 436)

For the anniversary of the laying of the ground stone for the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world (see also) initially under the direction of architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano in 1882, whom resigned his commission from the Spiritual Association of Devotees of St Joseph over creative differences and was subsequently awarded to Antoni Gaudí (previously) who transformed the project into his magnum opus. Passing away in 1926 when the structure was only an estimated fifteen percent completed and leaving future builders to finish his vision, Gaudí reported answered to the slow progress of construction with “My client is not in a hurry.” Impediments to progress arose during World War I, the Spanish Civil War and World War II but the cathedral is open to the public, with regular masses held since 2017. Executed in Gaudí’s unique fusion of Cubism and Art Nouveau and rich withsymbolism, one can take a virtual tour courtesy of Open Culture at the link above. 

 synchronoptica

one year ago: the history of paper shredding, more FOIA follies, the excavation of Knossos, Germany’s biggest union plus the Second Iraqi War (2003)

two years ago: assorted links to revisit plus Plagiarism Today

three years ago: more links to enjoy

four years ago: Spring is coming

five years ago: C-SPAN, Hitler’s orders to destroy infrastructure in Germany (1945), more links worth revisiting plus music for cheese

eternal ascent (11. 434)

Via the Awesomer, we are directed to the latest 3D rendering challenge from computer-graphics designer Clinton Jones (see previously) soliciting from artists around the world to create a background and protagonist facing a seemingly endless climb. Working from the same template, it is amazing how each seconds-long clip in the montage, selected from the hundred best submissions, can do the heavy-lifting of world-building and stimulates the imagination to learn the character’s backstory and join this quest.

auto sportive (11. 426)

Renowned Italian car designer associated with Gruppo Bertone, producing a number of iconic models for Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, Marcello Gandini has passed away, aged 85. His signature Stile Bertone developed chiefly in a studio outside of Turin, created many prototypes and concept cars, innovative wedge formats, like the pictured mid-engine mounted Miura, the futuristic flagship of the company in production from 1966 to 1973, scissor doors for the two-seaters, also lending his talents to Volkswagen with the first Polo, Lancia’s rally car and BWM’s 1970 Garmisch—as well as venturing into architecture and interior design. More from designboom at the link up top.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Florida tries to outlaw cabaret shows

two years ago:  bicolour

three years ago: your daily demon: Andromalius, global stock markets crash, the bombing of Würzburg (1945) plus proposed repurposing submarines as oil tankers

four years ago: St Urho, a portentous sea monster plus pandemic restrictions and air quality

five years ago: Sushi Singularity, more Olympic pictograms, hydrogen-power plus the Vessel

8x8 (11. 411)

🚫: the origins of the circle-and-slash prohibition symbol, its adoption as an ISO standard coinciding with 1984’s Ghost Busters  

return to sender: as part of the Prize Papers Project, a pristine Faroese hand-knitted sweater was discovered in an impounded parcel from 1807 

electronic labyrinth: the 1967 student film from George Lucas that would be later reworked into the feature  

snowdrops: Robert Marsham’s Indications of Spring (1789)  

clairaudient: more on Rosemary Brown with other classical compositions from beyond the grave  

if it doesn’t exist on the internet, it doesn’t exist: as of the beginning of the year, the venerable repository, the Ubuweb whose founder Kenneth Goldsmith is famous for the axiom, of the avant-garde has gone into archive-mode—via Web Curios 

sella rotalis: Paul de Livron crafts beautiful wooden wheelchairs, including one for the Pope

belinda new: exploring the typography of Oscar nominated films