The largest extant medieval manuscript in the world, this “giant book” (Obลรญ kniha) was saved from destruction when the medieval royal palace of Stockholm went up in flames by being thrown from a window on this day in 1679. Taken from Prague as spoils of the Thirty Years; War by Swedish forces, the illuminated tome (weighing in at 75 kg) contains the complete Vulgate Bible and other thirteenth century reference material and is known for picture of the devil that takes up a full page with no other text—so prominently featured according to legend due to a pact with Satan by one of the monk scribes in exchange for allowing him time to completely transcribe the text before the source material was overdue.
Sunday, 7 May 2023
codex gigas (10. 725)
Thursday, 4 May 2023
sankt florian (10. 719)
Fรชted on this day on the occasion of his martyrdom by drowning in the River Enns in the year 304, Florianus from the ancient Roman outpost of รlium Cetium—modern day St Pรถlten, in the province of Noricum north of the Danube—is the patron-protector of Linz, Oberรถsterreich and Poland as well as soap-makers, brewers, firefighters and chimney sweeps. Rising in the ranks to commander of the imperial army, Florian had the extra detail of organising fire brigades (there no long being a monopoly on public safety) but once rumours spread that Florian was not enforcing restrictions against practising Christianity among his soldiers, Diocletian opened an inquiry. Summarily, the emperor’s ombudsman ordered Florian to be burned at the stake for defy the edict, but after scoffing at a death by fire, the executioners instead tied a millstone around his neck and tossed him into the water. Invoked against fire, flood and the pains of Purgatory—in Austria and Germany used as the universal call sign for a fire emergency—a saying, Sankt-Florians-Prinzip, in the Sprachraum has developed following the sentiment of the fantastic word ฮแฝฮบแพฐฮปฮญฮณฯฮฝ out of a slightly ironic prayer “O heiliger Sankt Florian, verschon’ mein Haus, zรผnd’ and’re an”—that is, Saint Florian, spare my house and set another alight.
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
dita e verรซs (10. 610)
Translating to summer’s day in Albanian, the springtime rite with pre-Christian origins is observed on this day and corresponds to the beginning of the New Year on the Old Calendar, aligning with the seasonal shift from winter. Celebrations are marked with family reunions, intensive spring-cleaning, reverence for the life returning, and jumping over, through bonfires for a ritual purification to drive away the darkness and referred to as shedding the fleas—recalling an expedient method of delousing as well as with the Verore, a red and white bracelet worn to mark the occasion and the preparation of sugar cookies called ballokume—named for a review by one Ottoman rulers that: รshtรซ ba si llokume—it was as good as lokum—that is, Turkish Delights.
Saturday, 28 January 2023
zรผndwarenmonopolgesetz (10. 504)
Having finally conceded to Swedish industrialist and con-artist Ivar Kreuger’s overtures (see link below for more on the Match King) for a financial lifeline to the struggling Weimar Republic (obligated to pay reparations for World War I with most other legitimate means of borrowing or issuing bonds severely limited), the Reichtag on this day in 1930 passed the Flammables Monopoly Law (see previously), awarding exclusive manufacturing rights to Kreuger and his subsidiaries. Quotas at fixed prices were extended to factories that bought into the scheme and were sold to the public at a set price, generating revenue to repay the bond instalments with interest, an arrangement which otherwise would have continued in perpetuity but debts were settled finally in 1983 by West Germany, the East having no truck with this deal.
Thursday, 26 January 2023
statistical breviary (10. 499)
Currently on exhibit at the National Arts Club in New York City, we are finding ourselves preoccupied with the presentation of Greg Colson and his studies in pie charts that reflect our collective and dissected anxieties and fear, surveyed as they are suggesting that each wedge might be susceptible to reduction or expansion in a way that’s wiser than the format seems at first glance. More at Hyperalleric at the link above.
catagories: ๐จ, ๐ฅ, ๐️, ๐ง , libraries and museums
Monday, 16 January 2023
the night of january sixteenth (10. 423)
In a rather satisfying coincidence, this day in 1983 marks the the expiration of the monopoly for the manufacture of safety matches (Zรผndwarenmonopol) in West Germany when the rights were acquired by Swedish swindler, Ponzi scheme architect and racketeer Ivar Kreuger—the Match King who’d fit in perfectly with contemporary grifters and fraudsters—in 1930 with a loan of five hundred million Reichsmark to the Weimar Republic, whose bonds extended through World War II and finally lapsed—and the titular stage play by Ayn Rand (previously), inspired by the death of Kreuger († 12 March 1932—usually performed as Woman on Trial.
The lover of industrialist Bjorn Faulkner (Kreuger’s analogue, whom Rand became obsessed with though was quite a questionable pillar to uphold) is accused of his murder and the author’s intent to dramatise the conflict between conformity and individualism leaves the verdict unresolved and invites the audience to decide. The courtroom setting is artistic license as most likely Kreuger committed suicide facing the prospect of bankruptcy once accounting manipulations were revealed, paying investors dividends from their own money. One year after its premier in Los Angeles, the production team took it to Broadway in 1935 and saw a revival in 1973 under the title “Penthouse Legend.” Meanwhile it was adapted into a film in 1941—which was not a commercial or critical success—and a 1989 Bollywood version called Gawaahi (Testimony), which might be worth seeing.
Sunday, 15 May 2022
land of fire and ice
Architect Arnhildur Palmadottรญr revealed a monumental lavaforming proposal that would harness and redirect volcanic eruptions in order to create durable and sustainable buildings and pavements. While there are scaling and technical hurdles—plus ensuring that these controlled eruptions don’t release more carbon into the atmosphere than they save and sequester, this radical reassessment of geothermal potential as something bold and innovative, engineering a closed system, like a reverse Dyson Sphere.
catagories: ๐ฎ๐ธ, ๐, ๐ก, ๐ฅ, architecture
Wednesday, 29 December 2021
mmxxi
As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2022, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place in 2021. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together and we’ll see this next one through together as well.
january: In the US state of Georgia’s run-off election, Democrat candidates prevail and thus switch the Senate’s controlling majority. The joint session of Congress to certify the votes of the Electoral College in favour of the Biden-Harris ticket is interrupted by a violent insurrection on the Capitol incited by Donald
february: A military uprising in Myanmar wrests power from the government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Actor Hal Holbrook (*1925) and veteran become fund-raiser who raised millions for the National Health
march: Oprah Winfrey interviews the estranged, self-exiled Sussexes about Meghan Markle’s treatment
april: Prince Phillip passes away, aged 99. As tensions escalate between Russia and NATO with a troop
build-up along the border with Ukraine, US President Joe Biden proposes to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to normalise relations and restore diplomatic ties. The police officer who murdered George Floyd is found guilty on all charges. Walter Mondale (*1928), former vice president under Jimmy Carter, and presidential candidate with running-mate Geraldine Ferraro passed away, aged ninety-three. Astronaut Michael Collins (*1930) who orbited the Moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the lunar surface passed away, aged ninety.june: G7 leaders meet in Cornwall, in person. A coalition government in Israel unseats Netanyahu after a
dozen years as prime minister. The US government establishes Juneteenth as a new federal holiday though new laws to disenfranchise Black voters continues apace in many Republican controlled polities. The space station Tiangong receives its first crew. Software and computer security pioneer John McAfee (*1945) found dead in a Spanish jail cell awaiting extradition to the US over charges of tax evasion. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, was disbarred for peddling the lie that that the election was stolen from his former client. The US government issues a declassified report to congress regarding unidentified aerial phenomenon. A twelve storey condominium complex near Miami, Florida collapses with dozens injured and unaccounted for.july: Outrage as more mass-graves of indigenous pupils found at historic Canadian residential schools. Hundreds perish from record heatwaves and wildfires along the Pacific coast of North America. Angela Merkel makes her last official visit to the United Kingdom, addressing the Houses of Parliament, the last
foreign leader to do so since Bill Clinton in 1997. Richard Donner (*1930), film director behind The Goonies, Superman and the Lethal Weapon franchise passed away. England plans to fully reopen with no COVID-19 restrictions late in the month despite a resurgence in cases and the rapidly spreading Delta variant. Jovenel Moรฏse, the Haitian president, was assassinated. Continual and torrential rains exacerbated by the climate emergency caused severe flooding in western Germany and the Henan region in China. The Special Committee on the January 6september: The legislature of the state of Texas passes a tranche of new laws curtailing voting access, restricting teaching of America’s racist past and present, mandating the national anthem at sporting events, permitting universal carry laws for firearms and doing away with licensure or training requirements and
essentially banning abortion by placing a bounty on abettors and deputising neighbours to litigate the ban against neighbours. New Wave actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (*1933), whose roles defined the genre and called the French counterpart of Marlon Brando, James Dean and Humphrey Bogart, passed away. El Salvador becomes first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” singer Marรญa Mendiola (*1952) of Baccara passed away in Madrid. An effort to recall and replace Democrat governor of California fails and Gavin Newsome retains his place, though the balloting and counter-campaigns cost taxpayers of the state in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars. The first commercial, all-amateur space tourism mission safely splashes down after three days in orbit. Entrepreneur, inventor and computing pioneer behind the ZX Spectrum, Clive Sinclair passed away, aged 81 (*1940). Justin Trudeau’s party retains power following national elections. After three years under house arrest in Canada and fighting extradition to America on charges of espionage and circumventing sanctions against Iran, business executive Meng Wangzhou, daughter of the head of Chinese communications giant Huawei, is released.october: US president Biden’s agenda is derailed, diminished by moderate voices in his party. A vaccine for malaria is trialled in Africa. Amid a growing corruption scandal, Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz
tenders his resignation, though choosing to remain leader of his political party and will retain his seat in parliament. William Shatner, aged ninety, as a space tourist becomes the oldest human to enter the Earth’s orbit. Attending an open-advice surgery for his constituents from Leigh-on-Sea, long-time MP David Amess was murdered by an attacker with a knife. Former US Joint-Chief-of-Staff and Secretary of State, Colin Powell (*1937) dies from complications arising from COVID-19. President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, under pressure from elements of his own party, is rather austerely pared back, dropping proposed benefits like universal college tuition and paid family-leave. Garbage social media network rebrands its parent company as Meta as it prepares to build and embrace its concept of the metaverse. A military coup in Somali plunges the country into chaos with no signs of peaceful resolution.november: A powerful storm-flood in western Canada cuts off Vancouver from the rest of British Columbia. Weaponised refugees massed at the EU frontier by a provoking Belarus at enormous personal
cost are slowly being repatriated to the lands they fled. After exonerated in a gross miscarriage of justice, Republicans acclaim a teenage, white supremacist murderer as their new hero. Award winning Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim passes away, aged ninety-one in the same week as Schoolhouse Rock! lyricist Dave Frishberg (*1933). The COVID-19 Omicron-variant, first detected in South Africa, is causing major concerns as convention cases rage resurgent in Europe, poised to be more widespread and deadly than the same time a year ago. Inflation and supply-chain issues threaten global economic recovery. On the anniversary of its independence from the UK in 1966, Barbados becomes the world's newest republic, with Sandra Mason as the island’s president.december: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows releases Power Point slide-deck that outlined options for Trump to hold on to the presidency in the chaos of the 6. January insurrection to the commission investigating the attempted coup. Monkees singer Mike Nesmith (*1942) passes away. An unseasonal tornado rips through western Kentucky, leaving over a hundred dead. Gothic novelist Anne Rice (*1941 as Howard Allen Francis O’Brien) passed away. Tensions continue to mount at the Russo-Ukraine border with Russia putting forward a litany of demands for NATO to avoid invasion. Journalist and author Joan Didion (*1934) passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s
disease. Borders close and travel-restrictions re-imposed over truly exponential spread of the the Omicron variant; preliminary findings suggest although less lethal, hospitals and other essential services could be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and vulnerable populations still need protection. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (*1931), anti-apartheid hero and moral-centre, passes away aged ninety. Sadly veteran blogger Jonco, behind Bits & Pieces, passed away quite suddenly, leaving the blogosverse a dimmer place. On the last day of the year and just weeks short of planned celebrations for her one-hundredth birthday, beloved talent and treasure with a career spanning over eight decades, Betty White (*1922) passed away.
Monday, 23 August 2021
vucanalia
Wednesday, 11 August 2021
8x8
united states of wildfire: as the climate emergency escalates, more North American residents are moving into the path of destruction unwittingly
fitting in: Ze Frank (previously) reveals that even the coolest, calmest and most collected of us are all trying, coping
d’oyly carte: an islet in the Thames with a derelict mansion built for an opera impresario will be restored to its former glory—via Things Magazinecaped crusaders: Batman’s sidekick Robin finally comes out
constrained systems: a tool-kit of alternative image editing effects—via Waxy
matchi bล:a mesmerising stop-motion study of a magic match stick from Tomohiro Okazaki—via ibฤซdem
bubblegum pop: the Osmonds 1968 song “Groove with what You Got”
ฮฑฯฮฟฮบฮฌฮปฯ ฯฮท: Greek capital, archipelago beset by flames
Thursday, 10 September 2020
morgenrot schlecht wetter droht
Kottke curates a growing selection of arresting photographs of American western skies tinged an unreal red by uncontrolled wildfires fuelled and made more intense by climate change and global warming that is a direct consequence of human activity and mismanagement. These images were captured during the day, not at dawn or dusk though the smoke blocking out the sun might suggest otherwise. Abendrot, schlecht Wetterbot.
Sunday, 16 August 2020
flora, fauna, fire
Via Maps Mania, we are directed to an engaging and impactful look at the devastation that Australia’s wildfires brought at the beginning of 2020 in the form of this interactive scrollytelling presentation that shares stories of recovery, prevention and links to the toll it has taken on 119 representative plants and animal species, whom may face extinction without human intervention. Though 119 is the number for firefighters and emergency services in many other jurisdictions, it’s triple zero you want to dial on the continent.
Thursday, 9 May 2019
firebug
Whilst most denizens of the forest would run the other direction at the hint of an encroaching conflagration, Slashdot introduces us to a tiny beetle called Melanophila acuminata—commonly known as the black fire chaser, found in large swaths of Eurasia and Northern and Central America.
While the beetle brigade will charge headlong into danger, the insect able to detect the heat of a distant fire upwards of a hundred kilometers away through “eyes” highly sensitive to stochastic resonance—differentiating the gradient and threshold of ambient thermal noise, their heroism is for the preservation of their species, the larvรฆ eating only burnt wood. Not only have the fire chasers been known to swarm and bite human firefighters (one wonders if this super power could be harnessed as an early alarm), there are many documented cases of the beetles being attracted to other heat decoys. Poignantly, given the outbreak of wildfires in this environment, this species will probably thrive whilst others in its cadre go extinct.
catagories: ๐ช️, ๐, ๐ฅ, environment
Saturday, 10 November 2018
tmz
Sadly, as Paleofuture reports, the Paramount Ranch, the location of a number of large scale-sets that was a major actor in a number of film and television productions since its 1927 acquisition as a film ranch—falling within the traditional bounds of the studio zone, a thirty-mile zone (TMZ) that radiates out from West Beverly in Los Angeles and an easy drive from Hollywood—has been engulfed by the Woolsey wildfire, sustaining significant damage. The allure of this spot, backdrop for 1981’s Reds and 1968’s Herbie the Love Bug plus many others and numerous television shows like Westworld, The Bachelor and Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman was that it was also open for public inspection, provided that nothing was filming at the time. Wildfires devastating the region are burning California from both ends, with at least twenty-five fatalities and thousands of homes and businesses burned.
Friday, 27 July 2018
heat map
catagories: ๐ก️, ๐ช️, ๐ฅ, environment
Saturday, 14 October 2017
sopwith camel
The municipal airport serving Sonoma county was renamed in 2000 in honour of cartoonist and long-time Santa Rosa resident Charles M Schultz (Sebastopol to be specific whom Schultz created a contemporary of Charlie Brown and Linus van Pelt called Five for short but whose full name was 555 plus the postal code of the town, 95472, which is one of the few restrictions, numbers, on naming children in American) we discover thanks to Just a Car Guy, adorned with the logo of Snoopy outfitted in flying ace attire and piloting his dog house.
The former army airfield is not only a tribute to the creator of Peanuts and his cast of characters but also the chief staging area for California’s forestry protection against and where the firefighting aircraft battling the wildfires ravaging the state deploy from. Sadly, we learn the Schultz’ homestead was also consumed by the fires along with untold thousands of others.
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
pudding lane

catagories: ๐ฌ๐ง, ๐ฅ, holidays and observances
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
wildfire
The spreading discoveries of horse and donkey meat in samples of processed foods in discount supermarkets does not only represent a revolting betrayal and a call for consumers who either seek out the greatest apparent bargains out of thrift or out of necessity to re-evaluate trust and priorities. Shoppers who are not patronizing their local butchers and farmers’ markets, though left with some reliable alternatives at grocery stores, have to wonder what sort of institutionalization in Europe make cheap food no good deals.
catagories: ⚕️, ๐ช๐บ, ๐ฅ, food and drink
Saturday, 10 September 2011
confabulation, conflagration
The unprecedented scope of the wild-fires ravaging central Texas is a frightening thing, already in superlative year for natural and man-assisted disasters, though recent record-holders are quickly outdone and not allowed to bask in their glory or infamy for very long. The latest in the series of governors from that state have invited scorn and courted wrath and maybe there is a parallel, close relationship--the ability to peer into his soul, between the current sitting governor and presidential aspirant and the Russian leadership.