We are directed to consider the rather outstanding and preternatural cartographic abilities of another competitive prodigy in the player with the handle Rainbolt who ranks in the top tier of Geoguessr challenges, where one is presented with a random image from Google Street View and tries to surmise its location, dropping a pin on the globe to where one thinks it might be. Even if our featured contestant were not playing on hard-mode, only allowing the image to flash on the screen for a few seconds without time for study or applying a pixelated filter, there is at first a suspect element—like it’s a gimmick or trick, in the ability to distinguish a seemingly rather nondescript dirt road from another and zero-in on its coordinates in America, India, Botswana or Australia, but like the limited success we’ve had in national or regional versions of the game, especially in city-settings and found urban landmarks to hone in on, context clues emerge on deeper inspection for this champion and spectators. Rainbolt has profited from this success and is using their recognised talent to travel the world and explore those places previously only visited virtually and share some of the hidden markers of vernacular architecture, vegetation and signage that helps pin-point a place. Though internet fame tends to pigeon-hole one’s reputation like so much monotony of holiday snapshots, strangers have approached Rainbolt with old family photographs, hoping to identify where they were taken, and often mysteries were solved—making this game seem important and serving to expand one’s horizons rather than making the world a flatter place. More at the link up top.
Friday 15 March 2024
Tuesday 12 March 2024
8x8 (11. 416)
studio nue: the meticulous and immersive sci-fi illustrations of Naoyuki Kato
landsat lens: virtual rewinding maps created with historic satellite imagery
drawing for nothing: a growing e-book of storyboards and character studies from unfinished, shelved animation projects—via Waxyhag horror: Poseidon’s Underworld explores the genre with 1971’s Blood and Lace
แนs (t → ♾️) = 0: researchers find algorithms that only quantum computers can solve—via Damn Interesting—see previously
all these worlds are yours, except europa: NASA reveals the plaque its probe will carry to Jupiter’s icy moon later this year
rednaxela: unusual toponyms, including the named terrace in Hong Kong believed to be Alexander transcribed right-to-left, as was the practise in the past
fantomah: outsider comic book artist Fletcher Hanks
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, domino theory (1947) plus more words with no English equivalent
two years ago: more links to enjoy, World Day Against Cyber Censorship plus Mamma Mia (1975)
three years ago: the cosmography of William Fairfield Warren (1915), artist Caterina van Hemessen, St Maximilian of Tebessa, occultist Austin Osman Spare, listening to maps, more isogloss maps plus a celebration of veteran memes
four years ago: St Serafina plus COVID travel bans take effect
five years ago: resurrection plants
Thursday 7 March 2024
9x9 (11. 406)
harmonisation: Albanian government using AI to try to speed accession to European Union by rewriting local legislation to fit the block’s regulatory framework—via Marginal Revolution
the once and future sex: enduring medieval views on female anatomy
gรฉodรฉsie: more on the Paris Meridian and how Greenwich ultimately won outwalk without rhythm and you won’t attract the worm: Christopher Walken, portraying Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, unaware of his epic choreography in “Weapon of Choice” references Dune
mcmxxiv: a curation of photos from Alan Taylor—via Kottke
here there be tygers: animated adaptations of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction by Sergei Bondarchuk
the world is a cat—i can’t unsee that now: a geopolitical map drawing challenge
the school of venus; or the ladies delight: self-pleasure in the seventh century
circling the wagons: Sweden accedes to NATO as its thirty-second member state after a wait of two years—while holdout Hungary visits Trump
Tuesday 5 March 2024
omero nel baltico (11. 401)
Via the New Shelton wet/dry, we are directed towards an interesting academic speculation from amateur historian Felice Vinci who transposes the epic, decade-long, decade-delayed homecoming of Odysseus (see previously here and here) from the Mediterranean to the higher climes of the Baltic Seas. Positing that conditions during the Holocene Climate Optimum during the time of the Trojan War made northern Europe more like Greece, the main battleground was on the plains of Finland, with Circe’s Isle Jan Mayen Island, the Sirens and Cyclops on the Norwegian coast, shipbuilding Aetolian Pylene the German town of Plรถn and Thebes Stockholm. Though many of the toponyms in Homer’s poem are frustratingly nondescript (most believed that Troy was legendary until it was discovered) and malleable, like the Matter of Britain or Charlemagne’s heritage claimed by many peoples, Vinci’s theory is an intriguing idea but does not seem particularly convincing or rigorous and follows a tradition of projection and syncretism. Much more at the links above.
one year ago: The Jaywalker (1956), the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral (1973), more needful punctuation plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: the Iron Curtain (1946), a cinematic preview in retrospect plus translation choices for a global product
three years ago: ultracrepidarian, photographer AL Schafer plus another MST3K classic
four years ago: assorted links to revisit, Sinclair Computers (1981) plus Disney’s back catalogue
five years ago: artist Gunta Slรถlzl, parcours, Florida Man plus the Odyssey as a cruise itinerary
Sunday 3 March 2024
8x8 (11. 396)
a bridge too far: German authorities pledge investigation into embarrassing leak of confidential military talks about Ukrainian aid
heteronyms: the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa with seventy pen-names
solar symbology: a survey of the various cartographic representations of North America’s upcoming total eclipsephrixus and helle: newly excavated fresco in Pompeii retells the myth of the Golden Fleece
re:design: Jason Kottke unveils his new website with fresh 2024 energy—maybe we could all use a face-lift
replevin: Trump fraudulently overvalued his Scottish golf course and resort by £200 000 000—see previously
club remix: annual competition that invites doctoral candidates to dance their dissertation
airdrop: US begins aid delivery to a beleaguered Gazan population on the verge of famine
one year ago: TIME magazine (1923) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: more links to enjoy plus the largest capacity cargo plane
three years ago: more links worth the revisit, an artist’s message to get vaccinated plus Rocket Man (1972)
four years ago: the French version of the Dallas theme, Super Tuesday, Nigerian contributions to English plus more on the Human Interference Task Force
five years ago: graphic designer Alvin Lustig, Apollo IX (1969), an example of Celtic Revival architecture, McLaren’s Imperial Cheddar Club Cheese plus artist Pokey LaFarge
Saturday 24 February 2024
joe’s hill (11. 378)
Via tmn circling back to this viral map of the island of Kiritmati and select toponyms of the Republic of Kiribati (Christmas Island, pronounced Kirimass after the Gilbertese phonology, quite a feat of exonymy) piqued our curiosity—especially the debunked detail, rumour that the government of the Micronesian nation was behind the original posting to draw attention which has nevertheless attracted a spike in interest and has helped its campaign to promote sustainable tourism for this paradise existentially threatened by sea-level rise. Just so you know, Paris is a former settlement with a coconut plantation named by priest Emmanuel Rougier who was homesick, also through a lease from the British named the village Londres (London, Ronton). Poland was named in honour of mechanic Stanisลaw Peลczyลski who improved the island’s irrigation systems. The village of Banana, possibly conflated with the reef isle of Banaba, is of unknown etymology, but was designated such in 1962 when four thousand American military personnel were stationed there in support of Operation Dominic, a series of thirty-one multi-pronged nuclear tests carried out in response to the resumption of Soviet trials following the breach of an informal moratorium and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. It is near the international airport. The oldest and largest village of the island chain is Tabwakea, native for sea turtle be bestowed by Captain James Cook. The title refers to the highest point of the atoll, originally la Colline de Joe, a twelve metre elevation named after Joe English of Medford, Massachusetts, one of the supervisors of Rougier’s coconut farm. Under US dominion as a claim of the Guano Islands Act from 1882, independence was granted in 1979 and ratified in 1983.
Wednesday 14 February 2024
9x9 (11. 351)
planisphere: explore the fifteenth century Mappa Mundi—made by a Venetian cartographer and monk map who never left the lagoon
high rollers: the character and history of burlesque showsrobots.txt: a tiny text file that has been the underpinnings of the internet is unravelling due to AI
a load-bearing day: the confluence of several celebrations, including Ash Wednesday (be furiousing rather than fasting), Valentine’s and the Luni-Solar New Year
my unfortunate incarceration: the abundant prison-tech alliance is a brutal harbinger of what’s to come
bulletisation: the functional literacy crisis in reading comprehension—via the morning news
service sector: some large companies requiring AI-informed personality tests for vacancy applicants
disco vicar: some Anglican churches and cathedrals opening for parties
news deserts: explore local journalism and those newsrooms hanging on—via Maps Mania
Monday 12 February 2024
itinerarium angliรฆ (11. 346)
Reminiscent of this strip map showing all the cursus publicus of the Roman Empire, Futility Closet directs our attention to this seventeenth century road atlas project presented to Charles II mapping the main routes of England and Wales from cartographer John Ogilby. A choreographer and dance master before suffering a debilitating accident, turning to translation, producing authoritative versions of Aesops Fables as well as Virgil and Homer (derided by some academic contemporaries but since rehabilitated for their scholarship), re-establishing the tradition of the theatre following the Restoration, in which he played a major role as master of ceremonies and speech writer, before turning to publishing, Ogilby the impresario was adept at reinvention. Spanning the three nations in one hundred illustrated plates, a two-volume pocket version of Britannia was printed in 1757 after several editions for the library shelf. Though considered the imprint for uniformity of scale and the standard adopted by later mapmakers and surveyors, it notably omitted the way to Liverpool. Taken up by later printing concerns, Britannia Depicta; or Ogilby improv’d was produced well into the the Victoria Era.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, the involuted generation plus every TARDIS interior
two years ago: Germany’s Institute for Population Research, The Dance of Death (1912), calibrating the JWST, more links to enjoy plus Amen Corner
three years ago: bad bird names, Rhapsody in Blue (1924) plus prints of today’s catch
four years ago: disinformation wars, photos of Soviet Moldova plus the people’s choice award for Wildlife Photography
five years ago: dying news outlets plus SVG street maps
Monday 5 February 2024
terminal procedure publications (11. 327)
Via Kottke, we are directed to the detail-dense and exacting business of charting America’s airspace with this appreciation of the comprehensive and regularly updated tranche of publications from the US Federal Aviation Agency. Multiple editions specialising in airport arrivals and departures, as well as maps designed for use under instrumental and visual flight rules—the latter comprising the most impenetrable and engrossing examples of cartographical excellence. Intended for conditions and altitudes when the pilot can guide themselves by monitoring the landscape below, they are filled with markers and features that can be used as landmarks for orientation, most crew use apps, of course informed from the FAA charts, on a refresh-cycle of fifty-six days. Particularly interesting are the waypoints, invisible zones that planes transit into and out of managed by air-traffic controllers corresponding to latitude and longitude but to nothing earth-bound and are assigned five-letter mnemonic call-signs (fixes), and reference local culture or fandom, like MATAG near Newton, Iowa where the appliance manufacturer was founded or SATAN near Portland, Maine in honour of author Stephen King. Much more at the links above.
Saturday 13 January 2024
7x7 (11. 263)
photographie de rue: the images of Eugรจne Atget capture scenes of Paris unchanged since the turn of the last century
ma che sera: more musical stylings from Raffaella Carrร with this 1974 TV appearance
ray fay: the mostly-unreleased 1976 comedic spoof Queen Kong with traditional gender roles reversedfrom-to: reputational-based urban maps that can help you find the analogue East Village of London and other neighbourhoods in different cities
tv mirror: leafing through the February 1977 includes an interview with Henry Winkler and more on the Dino De Laurentiis remake that condemned the above treatment of the colossus to obscurity
isdn: a look at the once future-proof telecommunication standard quickly vanishing
oppidum du mont beauvray: the successive rediscoveries of the ancient capital of the Gallic Aedui tribe, Bibracte
synchronoptica
one year ago: St Mungo plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: snow-plough names plus a very special episode of Bewitched
three years ago: more on sea-shanties, the art of Roger Brown plus COVID ex-votos
four years ago: Knut’s Day plus outcry over plant-based labels
five years ago: criticism over NordStream2, interpretive GIFs plus more links to enjoy
Wednesday 10 January 2024
winterovers (11. 257)
Courtesy of Waxy, we are pointed to an update in the epic blog about being stationed at McMurdo research facility in the South Pole (previously) regarding the author’s departure and redeployment from Antartica and homecoming. We do hope that these are not the end of the insights and intrepid adventures in logistics and dealing with the extreme and isolated conditions, otherworldly seasonal shifts much more jarring that what we are accostomed to. In any case, each entry has been well worth the read about living and working—challenges and the creature comforts afforded—at the research station (see also) and we are promised further updates coming soon.
Tuesday 9 January 2024
10x10 (11. 254)
job security: the US only created seven-hundred new IT positions last year—compared to two-hundred seventy thousand in 2022—via the New Shelton wet/dry
tidy mouse: an industrious rodent sorts out a human’s workspace
a theft from those who hunger: Dwight Eisenhower’s Chance for Peace Speech of 1953
seo: how Google’s search algorithm has shaped the webpast is precedent: Austin Kleon shares one-hundred things that made his year—a very good list
the big mac index: the rising costs of fast food and its political implications
high school high: graphic designer Veronica Kraus curates gems from old yearbooks—see also—via Messy Nessy Chic
armed conflict survey: mapping wars around the world
double fantasy: celebrated photographer Kishin Shinoyama, who captured the intimate moments of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for their album art (see below) passes away, aged 83
year-on-year: the word from Davos forecasts anaemic economic growth
synchronoptica
one year ago: Nobody Told Me plus canal workers’ jargon
two years ago: Mambo Italiano, RMS Queen Elizabeth plus the premier of the iPhone (2007)
three years ago: classic rebrands, assorted links to revisit, a snowy day, more on Cats plus a diet inducing doorway
four years ago: attempts for a peaceful resolution to the Iraq War (1991), the yacht whisperer plus plans for a Woven City
five years ago: the diplomatic status of the EU downgraded, more Hampsterdance, repairing the Azure Window plus more links to enjoy
catagories: ๐, ๐, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ, ๐ฑ, ๐, ๐, ๐ท, ๐บ️, labour, networking and blogging
Saturday 30 December 2023
gromatici (11. 228)
A committed flaneur and a bit obsessed with getting my steps in myself, we were pleased to learn of the bematist-set—those specialist ฮฒฮทฮผฮฑฯฮนฯฯฮฑฮฏ employed in Ancient Egypt and Greece—whom for one assignment at least proved to have accurately measured the distances crossed by the army of Alexander the Great—with such precision, it was said that they gauged their paces with an early odometer, suggested by Pliny the Elder and Hero of Alexandria, though no direct evidence exists. Later on the philosopher and polymath, with the assistance of a bematist, Eratosthenes pretty closely calculated the circumference of the Earth around 240 BCE. The first application—the above title—of this skill however augmented, was in land surveyors and tax assessors, possibly also with instrumentation aid and a professional class endorsed by attendant religious officers.
Friday 29 December 2023
7x7 (11. 221)
pivot point: this year and the next will be judged as humanity’s failure to tackle the climate crisis
fact check: a selection of debunked fake news from the past yearsears & roebuck: through to 1971, a US department commissioned Vincent Price to assemble a collection of fine art to be sold in stores
chronophoto: a challenge similar to GeoGuessr except one has to date an image on the map
๐พ: the natural wonder material returning to the Moon and beyond
jealousy list: articles that Bloomberg contributors wish they had scooped—see previously
1%: the world population will stand at eight billion on the new year
one year ago: assorted links to revisit
two years ago: 2021 in review
three years ago: 2020 in review, Brexit on tech plus cleaning up space junk
four years ago: the legacy of Thomas Beckett, nanotechology, a visit to a bunker museum plus flat-earther and other science denialism
five years ago: the Fifth Day of Christmas, long-lived trees, dinosaurs of the year plus the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters
Saturday 16 December 2023
8x8 (11. 190)
kreuz am bichl: a uniquely divided church in Carinthia
oh little town of bethlehem: this year’s creche and other required reading—see more
location scouting: historical movies and filming sites mapped
modern day umarell: Defector contributor unravels a construction mystery with the help amateur experts—see previously
18¢ piece: making change, the Greedy Algorithm and the Shallit system of optimal coins
penguin drama: two aquaria in Japan meticulously update a flow chart to document the changing relationships of their residents
free mickeys: Disney’s flagship character (see previously) to enter the public domain following a US Supreme court ruling that copyrights cannot be extended with trademarks
synchronoptica
one year ago: Kurt Cobain’s Unplugged session (1993), assorted links to revisit plus OpenAI authors Hallmark holiday specials
two years ago: a triple album from George Harrison plus the mental acumen of rarefied genius
three years ago: awards recognising the best of Quarantine Culture, the great apes, St Adelaide plus a classic spy story from John le Carrรฉ
four years ago: the seasonal designs of Jen Nollaig
five years ago: redundant acronym syndrome, Queen Medb plus the Moon on flags (and flags on the Moon)
Tuesday 21 November 2023
7x7 (11. 129)
last mile-problem: 2003 ad from a defunct automotive line lampooning the absurdity of cars—especially redesigning cities around them
broken record: the cover of the UN’s Environmental Programme Emissions Gap Reportwhistle-blower: ufologist who testified before the US Congress urges declassification of documents on alien technology for America to get ahead of the coming, catastrophic leak
whole heap of zing: new studies may have found the culprit in the phenomenon of the red wine headache
oculi mundi: a gorgeous and interactive collection of antique and ancient depictions of the world to peruse—via Maps Mania
keith number: seemingly recreational, rare and hard to find repetitive Fiboncci-like digits whose sum are a whole of its parts
the marshmallow test: famous experiments in psychology recreated in LEGO
synchronoptica
one year ago: an early exercise craze
two years ago: assorted links worth revisiting
three years ago: the Nurnberg Trials (1945), more links to enjoy, artist Magritte plus cardboard cat shrines
four years ago: more Words of the Year, a Trump appointee turns, Martha Gellhorn plus reforming Ukrainian exonyms
five years ago: the Mayflower Compact, more links to enjoy, a ram registry plus the backstory of an IKEA poster
Tuesday 14 November 2023
9x9 (11. 120)
temporal excursions: advice for the modern time-travellers thinking about visiting medieval Europe
once and future: ex-PM David Cameron returns as Sunak’s foreign minister after a cabinet shake-up following the Home Secretary’s incendiary remarks
ototw: there are over six-thousand ‘on top of the world’ mountains—a peak so high no others in the range can be seen from its summit—we’ve only been to Brocken, I think out of them allan aaron spelling production: an appreciation of Arthur Hailey’s Hotel (1983 - 1988) and its parade of guest stars
the house of tomorrow: Tex Avery’s vision of the smart home seems more user-friendly
return-to-office: automatic responses from those on a hybrid work-schedule
carbon-casting: a LEGO-like approach to CO₂ offset and removal at target costs
brideshead revisited: a new film on the eccentricities of the landed gentry—via Messy Nessy Chic
florantine codex: a sixteenth century ethnography on Mesoamerica and the Aztec culture has been digitalised and made accessible to the public
one year ago: The New Musical Express (1952), more Scopitone fun, more on English adjectival order plus assorted links to enjoy
two years ago: the Oort cloud, the Landshut Wedding (1475), more McMansion Hell plus a tale of guided chess
three years ago: the centenary of the BBC, the 2008 G20, paleomixology plus another MST3K classic
four years ago: assorted links to revisit
five years ago: Yale admits women (1968), Nellie Bly’s trip around the world, more on land-use plus social media platforms reimagined on outdated technology
Saturday 4 November 2023
wait a second (11. 096)
Whilst the leap second (previously), by dint of their frequent insertion, can cause havoc for computer systems, meant to compensate for the drift between the drift between official Earth time and variations in the planet’s orbit around the Sun, the suggestion for their replacement with a higher order of magnitude every half-century by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) by a Leap Minute has been met with opposition. The Russian delegation, according to the Bureau international des poids et mesures, is opposed as its satellite global positioning system, GLONASS, competing with the US-standard GPS won’t be fully synchronised until 2040 as well as the Vatican, which has concerned itself with accuracy in time-keeping since its inception and the advent of the Gregorian Calendar, as well as the technology community, citing the annoyance of these drills (the difference between Atomic Time and Universal Coordinated Time), a longer gap in resetting the clocks could result could result in a lapsed skill set and the subsequent experiential debt could lead to short-sighted problems that contributed to the y2k problem.
Friday 27 October 2023
maps.fm (11. 080)
This is a really premium idea—via ibฤซdem—we have this highly granular mapping application of over a million podcast episodes from a host of contributors that allows one to listen-by-location and discover more about site-specific history, community news, tourism, foodways and local culture. Of course concentration and coverage is uneven and there are plenty of neglected corners of the world (perhaps you can fill in the gaps and perhaps find your podcasting niche), but given the general problem with the uptake and discoverability for the medium (as obscure and middle-of-nowhere on the dial as some of the places visited), this a perfect tool for taking a deep-dive in some local colour.
Monday 9 October 2023
7x7 (11. 047)
haus zum walfisch: explore horror film shooting locations of 1970s and 1980s classics, including Suspiria filmed in a townhouse in Freiburg im Breisgau
concrete feats: a tour of Italy’s Brutalist architecture
rapid electric vehicle retrofits: an Australian student wins James Dyson Award for an inexpensive conversion kit to make gas-powered vehicles hybridearthshapes: fantastic geography from pilot Joseph N Portney
larva convivialis: the miniature dancing skeletons of Roman banquets—via Strange Company
jungian individuation: the Swiss psychoanalyst on the predictive power of Tarot cards
tune-on: veteran television producer and director on the revival of his Laugh-In spin-off five decades afterwards
31 days: a month long celebration of the Spooky Season from Laura E Hall—via Waxy
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, World Postal Day plus to slander one’s good reputation
two years ago: more links to enjoy, happy birthday John Lennon, Karl-Marx-Stadt, drag queen tarot plus a visit to the Osterburg
three years ago: The Watcher in the Woods, more Phantom plus more links worth revisiting
four years ago: major military exercise in Germany planned by US forces plus other European trade colonies in China
five years ago: Trump’s legacy of failed businesses, more on the fight to save an ancient woodland plus moving Tokyo’s historic fish market