Being a committed and rather incurable flรขneur myself, learning about the playful praxis that combines elements of anarchy and the surreal in urban exploration and understanding how built environments and pathways influence residents and guests struck me as engrossing and endearing for its vagaries of association and membership.
before times: one narrative of 2020 as told through fifteen objects and artefacts—see previously
marsha, marsha, marsha: Trump acknowledges months’ long cyber-attack on US government networks for first time—oddly defensive about Russian involvement
breakthrough listen: musing on the nature of signal detected from Proxima Centauri by the Murriyang Radio Telescope
tape/slide newsreel group and friends: brilliant early 80s photo archive showing Hackney to Hackney—via the splendiferous Things Magazine
engineer, agitator, constructor: the visual vernacular of utopian graphic design
creek and culvert: the movement to resurface and revive long buried urban waterways—see previously
off-limits: virtually visit nine sites not accessible to the public in Washington, DC
a modern hanukah miracle: there are extra doses of vaccine in each vial—stretching out supplies to inoculate twice as many individuals than expected
kankyล ongaku: the ambient music (see also) of Hiroshi Yoshimura
solstice sun: locate where and when in your locality where the streets align with the sun’s path at dawn and dusk as they do for Stonehenge—see also
star with royal beauty bright: afterwards, check the skies for the Great Conjunction where Jupiter and Saturn appear as one celestial body
solarwind: a look into the extensive cyber breach of US government networks and what information may have been compromised
blob opera: a fun experiment with a musical quartet—via Boing Boing
repetition: an exploration of built-environments as an audio-visual landscape of infinite regression
a pigment of our imagination: the illusory nature of colour
nationally determined contributions: European Union agrees to more than halve its carbon emissions by 2030—via Slashdot
awesome sauce: a safari-pak of canned-meats from 1967
road gritters: track Scotland’s fleet of snow-plows in real time by name
training a generation of future karens: this scholastic kids books series are clearly coding adults as happy and confident with their life choices as monsters and misfits—via Super Punch
a universe of imagination: revisiting a classic and inspiring documentary (previously) on cosmology on its sixtieth anniversary
Striking us as in the same spirit of the Scottish law prohibiting the use of inset maps to portray the nation’s widely scattered archipelagos—or as one commenter related, the omission of New Zealand altogether, we appreciated being directed to this latest xkcd comic from Randall Monroe (see previously) on the non-conterminous parts of the United States, weary of being excluded or forgotten, have begun to publish maps with mainland states missing too. Can you find all seven missing ones out of this otherwise accurate-appearing map?
surrogate: Trump issues pardon to former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pled guilty twice to making false statements to the FBI involving his Russian connections
thermochromic: windows go from transparent to tinted while generating electricity
♚: reimagining the Queen’s Gambit as a MS DOS PC game
fry guys: one intrepid connoisseur revives a long lost recipe
stonks: only pausing to take credit for and praise the teetering high of the Dow Jones, Trump presents a very abbreviated brief
langue and parole: a poly-lingual whistle-stop tour illustrating what foreign languages sound like to non-speakers
a critical tourism map: whilst most visitors’ guides are irrepressibly positive about their attractions, this revealing map of the Norwegian capital hopes to make people think about the darker side of the past—via Big Think
in this world: an hour of cool Soviet era jazztest pilots: first human passengers take a ride in the experimental, levitating hyperloop (previously) in the desert of Nevada
ohrwurm: you’re welcome—see previously
mnemosyne: an iterative technique to vastly improve recall (see previously)—from the illustrious Mx van Hoorn’s curio cabinet
the ephemeralist: selecting random pages from archives of thousands of old publications, this bit of coding seems as good a substitute for social media as any—via Kicks Condor
the word rooster is an eighteenth century American invention to avoid saying the word ________: an educational and invigorating swear quiz from Helen Zaltzman
photos veritables: antique pre-prepared vacation picture albums
necessitous men are not free men: FDR’s 1944 second, more equitable Bill of Rights
conformal cyclic cosmology: Nobel winning astrophysicist Roger Penrose shares his Universe origin hypothesis la sape: Tariq Zaida documents the fashion of the sapeurs and sapeuses of Brazzaville and Kinshasa—reminding me of this other subculture
author, poet, composer: the amazing virtuosity of Gordon Parks
das neue europa mit dem dauernden frieden: revisiting an early proposal for the European Union, divided into Kantons converging on Vienna (previously)
dss43: Deep Space Communication Complex re-establishes link with Voyager 2
scarfolk & environs: a road & leisure map for uninvited tourist
hollands venetiรซ: revisiting the enchanting village of Giethoorn—previously here and here
youtube enthusiast: Ruben Bolling (previously) illustrates a day in the life of Trump’s America
the colour of pomegranates: Lady Gaga’s visual homage to the Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov
kirie: artist Lito experiments with the ancient Japanese art ofๅใ็ตต, cut pictures
flattening out: an illustration of how map projections distort our view of the world—see previously
Namesake of Hans Hendrik, Arctic explorer and Kalaallit interpreter, whom in Greenlandic was called Suersaq, the small island (Tartupaluk, รle Hans, แแแแธแแ) in the Nares Strait with no permanent human presence is disputed territory, claimed by both Greenland (and Denmark which represents the autonomous realm in foreign affairs) and Canada.
While the legal status of Hans Island does carry consequences for the range of both countries territorial waters in terms of drilling and fishing rights and negotiations continue, practically it is administered as a condominium—with the imaginary border bisecting the island and delegations from Canada and Denmark periodically visiting, upsetting the opposing flag and depositing a bottle of signature libations for the trouble, waging a “whiskey war.” More to explore at Messy Nessy Chic at the link up top.
Incorporating two pre-existing settlements of Alexandria in the state of Virginia and Georgetown in Maryland, with a survey team delineating the boundaries (see previously), a new federal city was constructed on the northern bank of the Potomac—the overseeing commissioners named their capital on this day in 1791 in honour of President George Washington, the district called Columbia—the feminine post-classical Latin form of Cristoforo Columbo and a toponym to mirror Britannia, et al.
As Futility Closet informs the transit map of the metro network of the city of Stuttgart, subways, trolleys feeding into on the railways and airport, commissioned in 2000 is uniquely projected thirty degrees askew to create a three-dimensional isometric layout. Other peculiarities of the transport scheme include the only urban Zahnradbahn (cogwheel railway and nicknamed Zacke) in addition to a Standsielbahn (see also here and here) a funicular narrow-gauge track that ascends a forested hill. This clever representation, however, has since been replaced by more conventional diagrams.
a jay ward production: rediscover the classic cartoon Hoppity Hooper
distance learning is the art of applying the bride to the child: Dorothy Parker’s (previously) take on remote kindergarten
long in the tooth: a Greenland shark is recognised as world’s oldest veterbrate
type specimen: explore the extensive Letter Form Archive—via Pasa Bon!
nimby, yimby: mapping applications that reveal percentage of golf course and parking lots in your town
casa azul: a virtual exploration of Frida Kahlo’s Blue House—via Messy Nessy Chic plus the edible sunflower and a tiny tug
owls to athens: a look at how our avian friends influenced language and limn thought (see also)
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.
r.o.u.s. (rodent of unusual size): a LEGO Princess Bride playset
fifteen men on the dead man’s chest: beach sand skeletal impression kit
colouring london: an ongoing project amassing architectural statistical data from Maps Mania
antimandering: redistricting software that illustrates the trade-offs of proportional representation, via Waxy
splinternet: discouraging trend championed now by the US towards compartmentalising the once global web—via Slashdot
duly appointed rounds: another one of Trump’s antithetical department heads bent on dismantling the institution he is in charge of (see previously)
mind the gap: subway and metro announcements from around the world
nestbox: Czech firm designs a modular trunk extension to turn any car into a camper
kintsugi court: a rundown basketball blacktop restored with the ancient Japanese art that cherishes the cracked
your 2020 bingo card: researchers discover a population of sharks thriving in an undersea volcano
earth science: a treasury of minerals mapped out—via Maps Mania
green tea ice cream: Linda Diaz’ soulful rendition wins the NPR Tiny Desk competition
cosmic architechtonics: multipart exploration of Eastern Bloc monolithic housing estates
This Japanese word for souvenir (ใๅ็ฃ) are representative meibutsu (ๅ็ฉ, literally famous things) applied to regional specialties and are often exchanged among work colleagues and family members upon the return of one who was away not just as a keepsake but as a way to apologize for one’s absence and a consolation for those whom did not get to make the trip this time. Via Present /&/ Correct we are directed towards this rather brilliant and wonderfully granular map of the country from Haconiwa design studios. One can explore on any section on the grid to learn about local delicacies and take a virtual vacation. Much more to explore at the links above.
