devil’s tuning fork (12. 533)

Albeit a bit headache inducing, we enjoyed revisiting the impossible trident, an undecipherable, undecidable figure—which as a flat representation of a real world object seems to be intuitable but defies the laws of physical coherence—in this variation on the blivet by Nevit Dilmen with it conflicting lines of perspective, making an accurate accounting out of the question.

ecstacy garage (12. 532)

We are directed—courtesy of Web Curios (lots more to explore there) to this rather incredible archived catalogue of ephemera (see also) in this collection curated by the Cornell university library of scarce hip-hop party and event fliers, spanning from circa 1977 to 1984. Not only to these handcrafted promotions document the scene with information on performers, venues, admission and dress code, this is also an amazing graphic design resource that bookends a cultural moment. The archive is approaching five hundred items with additional information regarding provenance.

avant la lettre (12. 525)

We thoroughly enjoyed this appreciation of one of the most successful products of all time in the BiC Cristal, introduced in 1950, the ballpoint pen ubiquitous and archetypal surpassing one hundred billion sold in 2006. In development since 1930 when inventor Lázló Bíró (the genericised namesake of the writing instrument “biro” in many European countries) when inspired for the mechanism, a rolling metal nib, by witnessing a group of children playing with marbles in a muddy puddle and observing how the objects left a trail of water in their wake, Bíró experimented with various models and eventually recreated a prototype with a narrow reservoir of viscous ink encased in the body and kept from drying out by the nib and cap. Incremental improvements continued over the every years until the launch of Cristal. The pen was enshrined in the permanent collection in the Museum of Modern Art (see previously), the design virtually unchanged for decades. Much more from Open Culture at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the EU votes (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting

seven years ago: recycled illustrations and early modern memes plus the Alexander method for improving poise and posture

eight years ago: hung parliament in the UK  

nine years ago: an advertising homage to the cats of the internet, world food resources, removing Confederate symbols from Washington’s National Cathedral, Star Trek coins from the Canadian Mint, a sci-fi screenplay written by AI plus the gig economy and moonlighting

ten years ago: more links to enjoy 

 

silent running (12. 521)

We appreciated the chance to revisit the works of graphic designer Edward Wadsworth, best known as a forerunner of the art movement known as Vorticism which saw a practical—though possibly not as effective as hoped—application in transferring dazzle camouflage designs for the Royal Navy fleet during World War I (see previously)—through the medium of his woodcuts. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s fourth studio album was inspired in concept and cover art by a 1983 gallery showing of Wadsworth’s works. Conscripted as a sub-lieutenant himself, Wadsworth’s monochromatic pieces reflect the same maritime and industrial themes and abstractions to decode and encode. Much more from John Coulthart’s Feuilleton at the link up top.

open source (12. 491)

Echoing today’s previous posting, we very much enjoyed making the acquaintance of an omnipresence and prolific graphic design artist and illustrator called Takashi Mifune—whose work, anonymous for its ubiquity and described as unpinning “social infrastructure,” has influenced Japan’s public aesthetic and visual vernacular. Though not unique in offering clip-art, the website maintained by Mifune Irasutoya (いらすとや, illustration shop) makes his cast of iconic characters and symbols freely available to for personal and commercial applications, with the large range covering every conceivable situation and occupation—from the everyday to the niche—and consistency of style (see previously) has garnered the artist’s momentum and reputation as the standard for signage. Featuring highly specialised jobs, current events, cultural neologisms, maladies, warnings, restrictions and artefacts with far more briskness and particularity than other catalogues of stock images, inspiring contests to recreate works of art with Mifune’s drawings, subject matter easily summoned up from the commonplace to centrifuges, Prototaxites (an extinct plant life-form between fungi and trees), traditional dress of La Sape subculture, wisdom teeth, both bipedal and quadrupedal versions of chupacabras and the Antikythera mechanism. Much more from It’s Nice That at the link up top.

underground press (12. 482)

The masthead logo of the counter-culture alternative newspaper in print from 1966 to 1973 featured the image of vampish 1920s silent film start Theda Bara—intending to use a picture of the It Girl Clara Bow of the same era but didn’t stop the presses over that mistake and left Bara through its thirteen year run, the International Times having been cowed into shortening its name into an initialism standing for nothing (like KFC, an orphaned acronym) after the threat of a lawsuit by the venerable newspaper the London Times. Featuring regular contributions from William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Germaine Greer along with kindred publications also based in London—Oz under the editorship of Felix Dennis, who later became a more mainstream publishing mogul of Maxim, Stuff and Blender, and Durham’s own Muther Grumble issues challenged the UK obscenity laws and were an outlet covering everything from the environment, emerging bands, sex, drugs, protesting the Vietnam War, feminism and social justice and the trio of newspapers were accused of corrupting the youth of the city, offices raided on multiple occasions which temporarily halted distribution—but as ever, a sign that you are doing something right. More at the archive links above and from Print Magazine’s Daily Heller.

cristalleries de nancy (12. 476)

Via fellow internet peripatetic and caretaker Messy Nessy Chic, we directed towards an archive of antique blueprints for perfume bottles from a forgotten French crystal works was rescued from an abandoned factory. The firm, rising to prominence and one of the nation’s leading glass manufacturers after the end of World War I and the following the emancipation of women with the right for political representation was active from 1921 until dissolution in 1936 during the Great Depression when demand for fineries and luxury items collapsed. The illustrations that include exquisitely detailed of Art Deco cut-glass bottles and atomisers made for fragrances all over the world as well as the company’s catalogue of vases and drinkware. Much more at the links above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the national park of Greenland (with synchronoptica), newest batch of emoji, the perishable internet plus a hospital’s wine cellars 

seven years ago: all equal under the law plus a missile launch facility immediately mothballed

eight years ago: Trump in the Middle East, the people’s pope plus an elevated walkway in Seoul

nine years ago: art in transit, early USSR rocket tests plus a visit to Seaford

ten years ago: a visit to Dotzheim, more on keyboard dining tray inserts plus memeplexes

droodles (12. 421)

From the portmanteau of doodle plus riddle, Futility Closet directs our attention to the long history of minimal visual puzzles—first introduced in a therapeutic capacity as an exercise in creative thought—then
syndicated and serialised as above by humorist Roger Price, whom co-developed the concept of Mad Libs and was a regular game-show panellist, in the early to mid-1950s with newspaper feature with simple abstract drawings that did not make sense or register without the caption, relatedly. The craze, leading to its own game show, was fuelled by public calls for submissions, including recognition and honoraria, creating one’s own in the same spirit of drollness. One of the more iconic droodles, “ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch,” was the title and cover art of a 1982 Frank and Moon Unit Zappa album—see also—which is owning to the interjection “gag me with a spoon” from the song “Valley Girl”—which may well have been fabricated. Try making up your own.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus I am the Eggplant

seven years ago: politicians and robot rapport, Hair (1968) plus artist Julije Knifer

eight years ago: a last minute stop gap measure to fund the US government, post-Soviet public spaces, tensions for the Turkish diaspora plus advanced speech synthesis

nine years ago: White House movie screenings 

ten years ago: Used to be a Pizza Hut, more links to enjoy, examining urban blight plus a Balkan micronation

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

push-pin studios (12. 406)

Print Magazine’s Daily Heller invites us back to The Peculiar Manicule (see previously) to peruse through the curated collections of semi-retired graphic designer David Day’s mod and Day-Glo-adjacent artefacts and ephemera, particularly the series of psychedelic calendars produced by the Hallmark greeting card company in the 1960s—under the influence of illustrator R Crumb—growing chronologically more abstract and subversive as the months and years passed until the aesthetic, parallel with Mid-Century Modern, changed and an unexpected part of the company’s portfolio. Much more at the links above.

cn tower (12. 358)

Topping off on this day in 1975 with last segment of the antenna installed by helicopter skycrane, the Toronto communications and observation spire held the title of the tallest free-standing structure in the world until overtaken by the Burj Khalifa of Dubai in 2007. At just over five hundred fifty metres high, it remains the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, (see also, a member of the World Federation of Great Towers) opening to the public in June of the following year. The CN stands for Canadian National and was conceived by the state railway’s desire to build a large radio and television broadcasting platform to serve the area. Plans were expanded to include the observation gallery—originally the Space Deck but later renamed the SkyPod with a revolving restaurant.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Fabiola Project (with synchronoptica) 

seven years ago: the premier of 2001, assorted links worth revisiting plus the money plant

eight years ago: sculpting with cheese plus a doomsday archive

nine years ago: an appreciation of artisanal signage, a disturbing hack plus hybrid husbandry

ten years ago: epic and pioneering roadtrips,  David Rumsey’s map collection plus more links to enjoy

9x9 (12.357)

gondor assault small group: a poem for the first of April  

unitedhealthcare: US attorney Pam Boni general will seek the death penalty in the slaying of company CEO  

yield my time: Senator Cory Booker’s speech on the chamber floor at eighteen hours and counting 

dataviz: an infographic challenge round to recreate the WEB Du Bois economic and demographic charts as presented during the 1900 Paris Exposition using modern tools—via Quantum of Sollazo  

nearby jobs: Chinese omni-app points flexible users to local gig opportunities and side-quests—shake it ’til you make it 

unabhängigkeitserklärung: from Der Zeit, Europe frees itself from American hegemony but starving their attention—via Kottke  

wyld stallyns: texting conversation demonstrates that we’re in the wrong timeline  

mora, negare, deponere: archaeologists uncover fresco foretelling the coming of Saint Luigi 

 i scorn the morn: ‘conjugated nouns’ by linguist Arnold M Zwicky

charted territory (12. 348)

First issued in 2022, Kottke extols the redesign of the coveted Swiss passport from Geneva based studio RETINAA which excels at the intersection of aesthetics and enhanced security features, an homage to the sleek and simple branding of the country, travelling through each of the twenty-six cantons like driving atlas on his pages for entry- and exit-stamps, visas and other endorsements. Authentication measures (see also) that burst out under ultraviolet inspection reveal the cartographic traditions of the alpine ranges, valleys and passes, resulting in an identity document that the holder can be proud of and cherish through its expiry date, for which there is no reason, like classic diplomas and commendations, should not be the case with all official documents.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a visit to Neuseenland (with synchronoptica) 

seven years ago: the magazine Children’s Land,  a trip to a local shrine plus No Mates Nigel

eight years ago: the collected landscapes of Bob Ross,  new cloud designations plus German contractors bid to build Trump’s border wall

nine years ago: German flea-markets and other scavenger hunts, the referendum on Scottish independence plus the LGBTQ+ corner of the US congressional cemetery

ten years ago: the last crusades, the etymology of tidings plus assorted links worth revisiting

9x9 (12. 340)

us agency for global media: Voice of America director files lawsuit over ordered closure—a federal judge issues a temporary stay   

pecksniffian paragraph: Trump as a Dickens’ stock character over his sermonising on transgender military service members   

entomological adultery: the 1912 Cameraman’s Revenge painstakingly animated by Władysław Starevicz 

deterministic bit generator: a financial institution’s experiment with quantum computing generates certifiably random numbers with applications in auditing and encryption—see also   

the memes have entered the chat: the internet responds to Signalgate (aka whiskeyleaks)

arts décoratifs: rediscovering Betty Joel, Britain’s forgotten maven of Art Deco design—part of a centenary celebration of the movement—see previously

the population of an old pear tree: an 1870 work by Belgian author Ernest van Bruyssel celebrating biodiversity and insect life 

import/export: ahead of the planned tariff action for 2 April “Day of Liberty” Trump announces twenty-five percent duties on foreign cars and components, triggering retaliation 

are you sure ms kerger—because he is red: NPR and PBS testify before congress with its federal funding at stake—see previously

synchronoptica

one year ago: anatomised police lineups (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit, a classic from U2 plus a Nordic Easter witch

seven years ago: the dynamic Cosmos, more links to enjoy plus Everything’s Coming Up Simpsons

eight years ago: backmasking and the Satanic panic, the show with the mouse plus the Bombay Sapphire distillery

nine years ago: Easter greetings, revisiting the Leipzig Panometer plus a canting dialect

ten years ago: Holy Blood, Holy Grail, even more links, poet Paul Verlaine plus affecting a holiday accent

6x6 (12. 335)

reading between the lines: Trump regime shutters access to border-straddling opera and library, the Haskell House, which served as neutral territory for family reunions and marriages during his first term’s travel ban  

shreve, lamb and harmon: hidden details of New York City’s iconic buildings—via Damn Interesting 

kennedy center honors: Conan O’Brien awarded the Mark Twain prize for American humour, embracing the irony and tension of the moment 

backstroke of the west: an incomprehensible translation and re-translation of a Star Wars bootleg DVD  

free spaced repetition scheduler: geography with positive reinforcement—via Maps Mania 

opsec: Trump administration inadvertently shared its plans to to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen with a journalist from The Atlantic

boîtes de nonne (12. 300)

Cloistered and with no outside visitors allowed into their cells, since at least the early seventeen century, nuns from sisterhoods across France created “spiritual boxes,” curated dioramas that changed over time, accumulating keepsakes and marking special occasions with recycled materials. Treasured and intimate, this poorly documented craft and practise was hardly a guarded secret as older members sometimes shared theirs with novices as teaching aides (see also) and showed their miniatures to benefactors of the convent as a personal expression and glimpse into life in a nunnery, linking the inside with the outside. More from Messy Nessy Chic at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: patent models (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: senate panel rules out Russian collusion in US presidential campaign, life’s milestones plus David Bowie as the Periodic Table

eight years ago: a celebration of Brutalist landmarks plus the Pope on Compassionate Disruption

nine years ago: the cinematic inspiration of The Shining plus a dignified soup kitchen

ten years ago: unmarked white vans, innovations in 3D printing plus assorted links worth revisiting

7x7 (12. 280)

yarn-bomb: a collection of museums and monuments around the world for knitting and craft enthusiasts   

defying democracy: Randy Rainbow breaks into the ballad from Wicked during an interview   

the living? the miraculous task of it: Joseph Fasano’s short poetic response to a student who used AI to write a paper 

eight million dollars to promote lgbtqi+ in the african nation of lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of: all you need to know about the southern African enclave (the only one outside of Italy) landlocked by South Africa   

fission chips: a survey of Mid-Century Modernism   

spinsrÿche: a mashup of “Jet City Woman” and prog metal   

mullet talley: cross-referencing hair-styles with football club fans in Australia—from the Annals of Improbable Research (previously)—via Pasa Bon!

synchronoptica

one year ago: the mental radio interceptions of Grant Wallace (with synchronoptica) plus more on endonyms and exonyms

seven years ago: Teen Look magazine plus a demonic backlog of unfinished business

eight years ago:  presidential pets, animator Tom Oreb, separating migrant families plus NASA’s style guide

ten years ago: assorted links to enjoy 

eleven years ago: neglected bestiaries

🟨▲⚪️ (12. 276)

Having been exposed to the avant-garde artistic performance directed by Oskar Schlemmer beforehand, we enjoyed this omnibus posting on the touring troupe put together for the Triadic Ballet to help spread the ethos of the Bauhaus movement from 1921 to 1929 through its various revivals and re-interpretations of choreographed geometry, privileging the form and function of dance to the level of appreciation for a well-conceived chair or building. Building off of multiples of three, the concept is to introduce and reinforce he unity of design across disciplines, as something transcendent despite and by dint of mass-production, the transformative power of art on industry. Much more at Colossal at the link above, including original costume designs and contemporary productions.

7x7 (12. 243)

tvwishes: a reappraisal of digital preservation—via Waxy  

wasp 121β: ultra hot Jupiter exoplanet has a uniquely layered and roiling atmosphere—see previously  

unitary executive theory: latest Trump EO reigns in independent agencies, testing the limits of presidential power  

the doors of kypseli: the intricate entrances of an Athens neighbourhood  

gesserit jazz: a 1977 funk album inspired by Frank Herbert’s epic novel—see previously 

jikipedia: the rise and fall of China’s Urban Dictionary of internet slang  

dark entry records: queer album cover art from Gwenaël Rakkte

we’re back—can we talk? (12. 230)

Enron, the energy and commodities company whose business model was based on internal fraud and perpetrated one of the biggest bankruptcies at that time has been cannibalised, zombified—the now scandalised logo created by Paul Rand (previously), the last he designed—has been somewhat resurrected with its long lifeless website reanimated and under new management taking ownership of its past transgressions and breaches of trust and promising sustainable growth going forward. Rolling out its first new suite of products (surely there are bundled) in twenty years, it is introducing the Enron Egg, a micro nuclear reactor that can power a home for a decade—and the crypto token $ENRON, which after reaching a market cap of seven hundred million has already gone through one pump-and-dump cycle. More at the links above.