trump dump (12. 569)

As a made-for-television drama and the only interesting side-show from the administration, we’ve been ignoring Trump’s decision to reignite the trade war over his gimmicky tariff regime. Only two real negotiations successful between the UK and Vietnam, Trump is again threatening to levy punishing export duties against Canada, Brazil and many others by the first of August, and whilst investors and businesses (over-stocked in preparation for the first round that never materialised) have likely factored in this bullying and charade—there’s no reciprocity in reciprocal tariffs—markets could still react with disfavour to all this chaos and uncertainty. There’s nothing substantive behind the threats and the interlocutors know this, but for the sake of appeasement, the aggrieved parties put on the line other so-called barriers to trade as a trade-off that Trump could count as a win and the real stakes come in the form of compromising environmental, health and safety standards. In other recent news, Trump has toyed with the idea of federalising New York City and Washington, DC to put both irksome metropolises directly under his control. The Department of Justice is directed to sue sanctuary cities in order to end their policies of protecting migrants and the same time prioritising cases to revoke American citizenship. The budget for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is tripled under the One Big Beautiful Bill and now surpasses that of the Marines. The US supreme court, in recess, issued a shadow docket ruling that allows the administration to deport individuals to third party nations with which they have no affiliation. Whilst no new sanctions are being levied against Russia, Trump is expressing increasing exasperation with Putin—and it was revealed by an audio clip to donors during a fund raising event (an exchange during the campaign and not released until now) that Trump reportedly told Putin and Xi he would bomb their respective capitals should they continue incursion on Ukraine and Taiwan—“he said ‘no way’ and I said ‘way.’ Reversing a very pregnant pause, however, Trump is restarting weapons deliveries to Kiev and supplying US air defence materiel. National weather agencies are ordered to scrap climate websites and collecting data—Trump praising the botched response of his Federal Emergency Management Agency director who is tasked with dismantling it and devolving the responsibility to the states in the wake of devastating flooding in Texas. Invoking a high school football analogy, the state’s governor said that only losers focus on their mistakes. Such winning.   

there’s a hole in my heart that’s as deep as a well for that poor little boy who’s stuck half-way to hell (12. 568)

Happily every one was rescued safely due to an international effort but it really astonished me to be reminded that the Tham Luang Nang Non (ถ้ำหลวงนางนอน, the Great Cave of the Sleeping Lady) rescue was taking place seven years ago, with the final remaining four adolescent members of a Thai junior association football league and their assistant coach retrieved on this day in 2018. The party of thirteen were spelunking as monsoonal rains flooded the cavern, blocking their way out and leaving them stranded without a means of communicating their whereabouts and distress and were eventually led to the group’s—nicknamed the Wild Boars— last known location by a teammate that had chosen to stay behind. A British caver named Vernon Unsworth living in the area and with experience of the cave complex heard about the missing boys and counselled the government and emergency response to procure the assistance of Navy SEALS for the operation, one of who tragically died during the rescue—which was an ultimate success thanks to the persistence and expertise of a large network of helpers. The remove strikes as strange and somewhat outside of time, evoking memories, more distant but as persistent of the 1987 rescue of Baby Jessica from that well in Midland Texas with the same cast of sensationalism and international media coverage. Forty-five hours into the ordeal, a roofing contractor, Ron Short—born with the rare condition cleidocranical dysplasisa that left him without collar bones and was accustomed to working in tight confines, volunteered to go down the narrow shaft, and whilst considering his offer, a paramedic ended up descending into the well and saving the trapped infant. There’s some strange pre-Mandela Effect going on here that almost forms a false memory of how The Simpsons might have parodied the Thai incident as well in the fullness of time—“Dig up, stupid!” As the drama played out for the latter, Elon Musk offered and delivered a tiny submarine. Whilst thankful for the efforts and affirming that continued development of such manoeuvrable submersibles was worthwhile, Musk’s assistance was ultimately dismissed as implausible for the environment. Unsworth, who helped coordinate the effort, ridiculed Musk’s contribution as a publicity stunt, garnering the ire of Musk for his perceived ingratitude and counter-accusations that the seasoned explorer was a pedo, falsely accusing him of paedophilia, going so far as to engage a detective to further discredit and besmirch his character—with Musk issuing a public apology later. As with Baby Jessica, numerous adaptations came out in book, cinematic and song form and most significant the pledge to end the Thai policy of statelessness for residents of the so called Golden Triangle, a region with porous and poorly-defined borders with Myanmar, Laos and China, which affected several members of the team who were subsequently granted full citizenship.

synchronoptica

one year ago: scanning code from magazines (with synchronopticæ), the artistic side of Samuel Morse plus Surrealistic logos

thirteen years ago: demographic devolution among the German constituency  

sixteen years ago: a potential life-extending compound isolated on Easter Island 

8x8 (12. 566)

peering capacity: a chronological representation of the undersea cable network and earthbound exchange points that forms the global internet—via Maps Mania  

somewhere, somebody must have kicked you around some: a growing thread of emigration options  

turophiles’ delight: a two part podcast on fromology, the science of cheese and cheese-mongering 

this time for africa: a possibly unironic appreciation of the 2010 World Cup anthem—Waka Waka, inspired by Zangaléwa, the Cameroonian marching song—via Pasa Bon!  

first serve: an overview of the history of tennis  

a fine bromance: a series of ruptures in the relationship between Trump and Putin—previously—possibly signals the end  

holding hands while the walls come tumbling down: a mental time-capsule of Gen-X doom ballads 

frame of preference: a story about early Mac settings and control panels narrated through ten interactive emulators—see previously—via Kottke

synchronoptica

one year ago: Savage Curtain (with sychronopticæ), impressions of West Berlin in the summer of 1977 plus Project 2025

twelve years ago: World Heritage Sites around Germany plus RIFs for the Pentagon

thirteen years ago: East-Bloc versions of Western vehicles 

8x8 (12. 561)

willis wonderland: an appreciation of an influential designer that defined the aesthetic of the 80s 

 

husband-and-wife slices: the thorny problem of translating Chinese dishes—the apotheosis of Chinglish on menus 

 

social mountaintop: a hot-take about the rise of MAGA and its charismatic figurehead 

destiny of the republic: a new biography on James Garfield, US president for two hundred days 

border control: Norwegian visitor barred entry for verboten JD vance meme 

crockett and tubbs: a compelling Miami Vice and Star Wars crossover 

borenstein back to blogging: an appreciation of the format and schedule—via Language Hat 

kunstler tapeten: wallpaper inspired by the Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburg classic film The Red Shoes—via Nag on the Lake

forty-eight hours later (12. 524)

Following his messy and public falling-out with Elon Musk and the consequent stalling of his Big Beautiful Bill in the senate, Trump is manufacturing headlines more aligned with campaign promises with first reimposing a travel ban and stoking fears of mass-deportations, disappearances with US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE, which is a high-speed train in Germany) raids on Los Angeles, eager to have this fight as a pretext for invoking martial law. Mobilising the state’s national guard against protesters against the will of the governor for the first time since 1965 when Lyndon Johnson called up Alabama troops as protective escorts for civil rights activists marching from Selma to Montgomery, countermanding the refusal of arch-segregationist George Wallace—for completely opposite reasons, Trump is obviously yearning for a spectacle—which so far is being denied him by the rallies, most violence coming from ICE agents. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 restricts military service members from being used for civilian law enforcement within the United States but does allow them to protect other federal agents and property and ensure that the execution of their duties is not impeded. Only with the declaration of insurrection, something not authorised by Trump during the January Sixth attack on the Capitol, can troops be used to make arrests. Although George HW Bush sent in the California National Guard under this law in 1992 to quell the uprising following the acquittal of the police officers involved in the brutal beating of Rodney King, it was done with the consent of the state government. For his part, Governor Gavin Newsom, frequent target of Trump, is threatening to withhold remittance of federal taxes, in response to both funding cuts to the state’s university system and to defund the country’s clear decent into dictatorship, to which the administration is levying charges of criminal tax evasion.

el pueblo de nuestra señora la reina de los ángeles del río porciúncula (12. 520)

In response to rallies against US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles over the weekend, Trump has federalised the Californian National Guard, deploying two-thousand troops to quell the protests. Over a dozen individuals have been arrested as agitators and insurrectionists for attempting to impede law enforcement activities as ICE agents clash with residents and have apprehended more than one hundred individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants in sweeps that have so far been limited to isolated areas in the Paramount City, the garment district and the Civic Centre. Defence secretary Hegseth also threatened to mobilise marines if the violence continues. The state’s governor counters (whom Trump referred to as Gavin Newscum for his inability to control RIOTS and LOOTERS) that there is no shortage of law enforcement officials and that Trump only wants a spectacle and an excuse to escalate the situation and urges advocates to remain peaceful and not give the administration what it wants. Preparing for such raids and mass-deportations since Trump’s reelection, the ACLU and other groups championing immigrants have been coordinating efforts for outreach and advocacy as well, with city councilmember Eunisses Hernandez pushing back on the pledge that ICE would focus their efforts on dangerous criminals, coming at the time of graduation season and Pride Month celebrations: “It’s never, ever, ever been the case, because when they come for one of us, they come for all of us—and we have to remember that.”

7x7 (12. 510)

hero’s journey: researchers conducting a meta survey of fictional narratives find a consistent language patterns for compelling plots—see previously  

world’s tiniest violin: researchers make a functioning instrument smaller than a dust mote to test the abilities of nanolithography  

demi-troglodyte: cave homes for sale in France plus assorted miscellany from Messy Nessy Chic—including Edward Hopper in Paris, a David Lynch auction and a tactile picture book for the seeing impaired  

dangerous foreign agents: Trump imposes a new travel ban on citizens from twelve countries  

gipfel: German chancellor Merz to meet with Trump to discuss tariffs and trade and defence  

intransitive hand game: some interesting facts about rock paper scissors—see previously de facto, de jure: a survey of the world’s official languages

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to enjoy (with synchronoptica) plus civilised memorial regulations

seven years ago: the North Korean art market, a map of Prohibition Era Chicago plus trans-Atlantic relations

eight years ago: interoception, more on Trump’s tour of the Middle East plus making policy per tweet look more official

nine years ago: unbuilt architecture from Gaudí, a modern twist on the player piano, a mantis named after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg plus hidden messages in ancient manuscripts

ten years ago: more links to enjoy, contagious yawning plus a visit to Dreieich

taco trucks on every corner (12. 501)

Not the first meme on the subject, Trump has before propagated a false hysteria back in 2016 during his first campaign (at least the first one that netted a win for the serial candidate), repeating a snippet from an activist and agitator with Latinos for Trump complaining about continued immigration from México: “My culture is a very dominant, culture and its imposing and causing problems—if you don’t do something about it, you’re” going to have the above. In response, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce launched a Guac the Vote campaign to utilise these menacing snack bars as voter registration information booths. Now in the wake of a contested order to halt the president’s power to unilaterally impost tariffs without the consent of congress by a tribunal with a highly specific role, the US Court of International Trade—a quasi-judicial entity of the Treasury Department to deal with customs disputes, composed of expert judges appointed by Obama, Reagan, GW Bush, Clinton and Trump himself with the authority of a federal court but unlimited jurisdiction, referred to the Supreme Court for appeal, a Financial Times reporter has coined an acronym and modus operandi that has really gotten under the skin of the administration: TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) policy not only implies that this timorous madman approach gets too spooked when markets tumble and reverses or pauses the implementation in response to economic pressure, he and his cohort of loyalists also grift off stocks on the rebound of his actions, insider trading in a very public forum. Trump himself excused his vacillation as negotiation, describing himself in opposite terms despite investors seemingly willing to blow off threats as bluster and bullying and telling a journalist inquiring about the unflattering meme that it was “a nasty question” and never to ask it again. The special tribunal that enforced an injunction of Trump’s predictably chaotic behaviour argues that without the participation of the legislature and other parties with standing, the citation of national emergencies (drug trafficking and trade deficits) do not merit the prescribed remedies.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus Trump’s trials recall Cop Rock

seven years ago: a trip to Treffurt, French publicity caravans, crazy walls, Vegas hospitality workers strike plus more links to enjoy

eight years ago: more plagiarism scandals in government, the Shavian alphabet, Shakespeare and hawk-fanciers plus a trip to the Speewald

nine years ago: xenoglossy, the Bible in emoji plus visiting Restormel castle

ten years ago: more wearable technology, the philosophy of Erasmus, a trip to Gersfeld plus even more links

new territories (12. 487)

Being for a long time fascinated by the idea of the crowded, lawless and ungoverned exclave within an enclave called Kowloon Walled City (see previously), we were astonished to be referred this recorded walk-through captured in the space of an afternoon (no daylight reaching the lowest storeys) by University of Hong Kong architecture student Suenn Ho, having no idea that such footage and interviews existed, taken in 1991, a couple years prior to its demolition, evicting the some thirty-five thousand who lived and worked within the confines of less than three hectares—translating to an incredible population density of over one and a quarter million residents per square kilometre. The former footprint now a park and its reputation sanitised, Hong Kongers, formerly condemned Kowloon as a dangerous slum when mass-urbanisation started in the 1960s, are now romanticising this dystopian neighbourhood and we are happy this documentary has been preserved for posterity. The Japanese film crew mentioned early on also produced a short piece, available here.

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: exploring the Vesser valley (with synchronoptica) 

seven years ago: photographer Zofia Rydet plus potentially eliminating the deadliest disease vector

eight years ago: a poem for Manchester, Trump to visit the Pope, micro-mastery, diplomatic indiscretions  plus America’s designs on its southern neighbours during the US civil war

nine years ago: Kraftwerk animated plus that proposal for an elevated bus

twelve years ago: a day-by-day account of World War I

 

9x9 (12. 465)

the running man: US officials entertain the idea of a television game show that allows individuals to compete for citizenship—see previously  

chicken coop: Malia Márquez compares the craft of writing to tending poultry  

anamnesis: the diary of a lycanthrope  

party crasher: a slightly voyeuristic search engine for random wedding websites—via Web Curios  

milk and cheese: a tribute to comic book artist Evan Dorkin—via MetaFilter 

holistic wellness influencer: Trump’s pick for US surgeon general traffics in dangerous pseudoscience—see also  

werewolf of london: a look back on the first full-length creature feature on its ninetieth anniversary—via Miss Cellania 

the parable of the sower: Octavia Butler on writing and daily fidelity—via Kottke 

birth-right citizens brigade: challenge to XIV amendment law (previously) goes before US supreme court but arguments focus on activist judges and universal injunctions

spring den lyn (12. 454)

In a striking move that severs a partnership programme of sponsoring, integration and resettlement of refugees with the US federal government that have endured for nearly four decades, the Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican communion, citing moral opposition to the designation of Afrikaners, whose first members arrived by private jet at Washington’s Dulles Airport, and will, according to the presiding bishop, grant monies that support their outreach, winding down the relationship, rather than dignify the administration’s shrill cries of “reverse racism” and equate the travel wealthy South Africans to the plight of those fleeing persecution. With its Migration Ministries an outshoot of their philosophy and guidance, the denomination has always been a strong proponent of social justice and aligned with figures like Archbishop Desmond Tutu against institutional apartheid and refused to turn its back on its values its historic ties—particularly at a time when all other migration to the United States is essentially frozen with long-term residents being deported or removed to foreign prisons and international humanitarian organisations effectively defunded out of existence. The arrival of the first plane load comes as a consequence of an executive order Trump issued in February under the suggestion of Elon Musk, promising that America would take in “Afrikaners who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” hateful rhetoric and expropriation of land—baselessly and strongly rejected by the government and much of the public, outside of the aggrieved, taking grave exception with this privilege. The Episcopal Church will continue supporting migrants but on its own ways, coinciding with the new Pope Leo pledge in no uncertain terms to uphold the legacy of Pope Francis in caring for the displaced.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s potential running-mate (with synchronoptica) plus Lincoln and Ireland

seven years ago: the Ice Saints plus an AI suggests ice cream flavours

eight years ago: Jimmy Carter visits Wiesbaden 

ten years ago: the grooks of Piet Hein plus assorted links to revisit

eleven years ago: Kassel and the Allied Trizone plus brain exercises

 

first one hundred days (12, 422)

Though adopted as an arbitrary yet studied milestone by every subsequent US presidential administration, the phrase coined by the FDR administration was not meant to mark the anniversary of his inauguration in 1933 but rather his immediate summoning of congress back in session for three months of legislation and the passage of laws to counter the devastating economic effects of the Great Depression through fifteen major bills regarding work-programmes and reforming financial regulations. Roosevelt also signed ninety-nine executive orders during that period, a number unsurpassed by any president until Trump’s first day of his second term, albeit no significant legislation has been enacted with the involvement of the legislature. Despite celebrating his first one hundred days, lauding successes with little evidence to back it up and quite overwhelming indications of the contrary and declaring himself “unstoppable,” the campaign-style rally held in Michigan was punctuated with retribution and repetition of old grievances and lies regarding the stolen 2020 election, and while ostensibly winning on certain fronts of the culture wars and immigration with ending affirmative action, suppressing opposing viewpoints and generally affecting regressive social policies and making the prospect of coming to America—both for migrants and guests—more fraught (a serviceable PR smoke screen that few buy outside of the staunchest loyalists and probably none privately), Trump’s return has been viewed as a grift and abject failure on all counts: a burgeoning constitutional crisis with ignoring and threatening judges and sidestepping the senate, a foreign policy that abrogates the post-war world order that the US helped built and benefited greatly from with attendant loss of trust from allies and partners, rubbishing the global trade system with punishing tariffs and no way to extricate ourselves as well as retreating from its responsibilities from environmental stewardship and duty-to-care. Even the single issue that the administration can point to as a qualified success, controlling the borders, is being tainted with accounts of expulsions without cause and exporting what are considered undesirables—again with no due process—to foreign concentration camps, acts which are becoming increasingly unpalatable to even strong advocates. Detractors and even polls that indicate Trump’s approval ratings are underwater on his handling of the economy—the markets are one thing he cannot cow into submission or have “bend the knee”—and foreign policy, overplaying his hand with Putin and Xi, are dismissed as lies and fake news. The knock-on effects of blanket and threats of reposing reciprocal tariffs are just starting to be felt by average consumers, outside of the agricultural and shipping sectors and will present a rude surprise.  After reports circulated that Jeff Bezos would be displaying tariff surcharges on Amazon items (see previously), then backing off after attracting Trump’s ire, it seems like the oligarch now has no choice but to go forward with the plan and commit to the bit. 

gleichschaltung (12. 393)

From the relatively contemporaneous neologism developing apace with electrification, the term which historians employ to describe the system that Adolf Hitler used to impose totalitarian coordination and control over all aspects of German society within the constitution bounds of the Weimar Republic—from the press, to the economy, to culture and education—and refers to the conversion of alternating to direct current, technically rectification or phasing—it is usually translated in the socio-political sense of Nazification as “synchronisation” or “bringing into line.” The Nazis adopted similar terminology, like Ausschaltung, the act of switching off, the deletion of anyone counter to this fusion of party and state. Enabled by a series of laws enacted following Hitler’s election as chancellor in the space of nineteen months that undergirded various orders and decrees: measures include the declaration martial law following the burning of the Reichstag that suspended civil liberties and the media outlet, a cover for voter intimidation and suppression of opposition parties ahead of the general election; the formally titled “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich” suspending parliament and giving the executive the power to pass legislation without them—called the Enabling Act, Ermächtigungsgesetz; deploying chancellery-appointed governors in each constituent state to reconstitute local legislatures according to ballots cast in the above 5 Match 1933 elections; the Law for the Restoration of a Professional Civil Service which dismantled the bureaucracy. Later supplemented by the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda to promote Nazi values and prejudices through clubs and associations (infiltrating existing ones and establishing compulsory membership in new ones) and oversee news and entertainment, and industry and trade unions were also aligned. Those whose loyalty was deemed unimpeachable, regardless of station or influence, were rewarded with the Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) programme with vacation resorts, hobbyists groups, vocational opportunities and motor clubs, leading to the building of the Autobahn network and the Volkswagen—which also aided in the perception that they were bolstering the German economy through make-work initiatives.

9x9 (12. 391)

field of vision: the evolution of eyes branching out as on a tree of life   

land-grant college: the federal-funding based model for American post-secondary education is based on a deliberate post-World War II decision to outsource expertise and experimentation rather than compartmentalise it within government consortia  

habeas corpus: relenting to the idea that some people have no rights is siding with authoritarianism and hoping you aren’t next   

under construction: transform any modern website a late 90s GeoCities masterpiece—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest   

thank you easter bunny—bwak, bwak: more on the controversial, re-constructed, retcon of the holiday mascot 

⌂: the tiny house in the middle of IBM’s eight-bit character set, adopted by PC clones with the 1981 Code Page 437—see previously—and its possible relation to Blissymbolics 

rinki-tink in oz: deportation and administrative oversight in L Frank Baum’s paracosm   

uniwersytet latający: US institutions higher education can defy Trump’s crackdown by outreach and going underground, as Polish universities did under Communism—via Kottke   

recaptcha: corvids demonstrate surprising mental acuity for identifying outlier shapes and geometric regularity—via MetaFilter

synchronoptica

one year ago: St Liduina (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting

seven years ago: US refusing Syrian refugees, American kakistocracy plus some local prehistory

eight years ago: bunking busting bombs, the White House Easter Egg Roll plus a grim future vision of US national parks

nine years ago: animated viruses, solar sails, more chatbot failures plus a walk from Wiesbaden to Mainz

eleven years ago: Ukrainian break-away republics

 

10x10 (12. 360)

kapmifmif: a study morphological emic distribution classes through a constructed language—see previously   

murder on flight 502: the star-studded 1975 television disaster movie gets the Poseidon’s Underworld treatment 

blanket rate: bad assumptions and arithmetic informs Trump tariff regime, which is tanking markets globally

mira calligraphiae monumenta: paging through a sixteenth century illuminated model book on scribal excellence rebelling against the standardisation of the printing press—with embellishes reminiscent of the Voynich manuscript and Codex Seraphinianus 

clickens: judge chicken portraits on various personality traits and harness the wisdom of the masses—via Kottke   

salmon run: a beautifully crafted early home arcade game speaks to swimming upstream 

sala di consultazione: free access to the Vatican Library’s digital archives 

elbows up: Canada plans retaliation over US punitive duty deal plus GOP senators side with Democrats to rebuke the proposal to levy additional tariffs on its northern neighbour 

real id: US government is beginning to require an internal passport, which is not automatically issued   

mezameta: the role of katakana in loan words, gairaigo, scientific binomials and transcription and the problem with conveying the shifting meaning of woke

synchronoptica 

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), standard lunar time plus vulgar expressions of indifference

seven years ago: Iran’s faux Western fast foods, bi-lingual Braille plus a North American medicinal plant map

eight years ago: more links to enjoy

nine years ago: vintage Canadian tourist posters plus a Rosary ring

ten years ago: the Anthropocene plus the architecture of folklore

confessions of a young exile (12. 350)

Via friend of the blog sans pareil, Nag on the Lake, we are directed to the reissue of the classic guide to fleeing America by Mark Ivor Satin, neopacifist and radical centrist and expatriate himself, displaced from university in Texas in the late sixties for refusing to take a loyalty oath to the constitution and escaping to Toronto to avoid conscription in the Vietnam War and founding a post-immigration assistance programme for other US refugees, eventually publishing a manual with practical advice on immigration, an underground bestseller with over one hundred thousand copies distributed during the first printing in 1968. Back in circulation since 2017 during Trump’s first term, the guide is garnering greater readership as relations strain and students, educators and scientists (who cannot learn, teach or research in this environment) are pledging to move to Canadian institutions and there are many parallels with the original impetus of the author and current times, though Canada—and other US allies—was never before the target of conquest and punishment, and instead of draft-dodging as a response to vindictive and destructive US policy, it’s a brain-drain and boycotts (regardless of the outcome of capricious tariffs one could give up US-produced goods, streaming services, fast food, apps ecosystems—and make ones own—and branding point-of-sales systems, you’ll survive) or the account of enslaved individual who made it to Canada in 1853 on the Underground Railroad that prefaces and contrasts the original foreword. The stakes are high for the American Project, and there’s much more ponder at the from LitHub at the link above.

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

cruelties, collusions, corruptions and crimes (12. 336)

Via JWZ, the crew at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency has regrouped after that initial and unending force majure of flooding the zone to again catalogue the daily horrors instigated by the Trump administration, like last time around, lest we forget. The atrocity legend has been updated with several new and dreadful categories to work into the schedule.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the calculus of Easter (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: Woozle hunting plus a local beverage

eight years ago: art projects informed by the Rijksmuseum collection

nine years ago: digital colonialism,  an AI chatbot comes to a disastrous end plus the Satan-Leaf Gecko

ten years ago: assorted links worth revisiting plus hipster animals

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

auswärtiges amt (12. 319)

Following the detention and expulsion of three nationals (two tourists and a green-card holding permanent resident), the Foreign Office has issued a travel advisory for Germans travelling to the United States. While in most cases residents of the EU can enjoy visa-free travel in America for up to ninety-days, the decision on whether a traveller can enter ultimately lies with the host country’s border authorities, the enforcement reciprocated. Tantamount to a warning only in degree, Berlin advises prospective vacationers to prepare for arrest, holding (in the cited cases, for periods exceeding two weeks in austere conditions, far beyond just ruining one’s holiday) and deportation even with documentation and pre-flight vetting through ESTA (their Electronic System for Travel Authorisation visa-waiver programme).

synchronoptica 

one year ago: an intemperance scale (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: the Game of Life, an evacuation collection plus a profile of Atlantic City

eight years ago: mandalas from sifted red earth, plans for a paperclip skyscraper plus more on map projections

nine years ago: duelling constitutions plus belated pi day

ten years ago: assorted links to revisit plus collaborative human-robot experiments