During the mid to late summer, fields can filled with these tall flowering perennials that had always called thistles (Disteln, a much shorter cousin it turns out) but are properly classified under Linnean taxonomy Dipsacus fullonum (teasel or by the title common name in German) from the Greek ฮดฮนฯแดจฮฑ for thirst for the cup-like catchments that form where the leaves merge with the stem that collects water. These little obstacles may have evolved to prevent bugs from climbing up to the inflorescence (blooming like a pineapple, where they differ from thistles) of pink to purple flowers. With a wide range from Africa to Eurasia, the dried heads are an important over-wintering food resource for birds and the plant formerly played a role in the textile industry (see also) as a natural comb for teasing, raising the nap on fabrics, particularly wool—a process called fulling.
Monday 22 July 2024
wilde karde (11. 711)
Wednesday 29 May 2024
9x9 (11. 590)
priority seating: an account jammed packed with patterns for mass-transit upholstery—see previously—via Kottke
ux: in the age of AI, perhaps it’s time to retire the term “user”
voter turn-out: historically high temperatures in parts of India may skew election results
described herein as a beverage carrying assembly: a patent for a beer puppet for festivals and sporting events
the second soul: a thoroughgoing essay by Anton Howes on the history of salt—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest
instructions to the jury: closing arguments in the Trump trial and deliberation begins
wasteful by design: digital technology and internet habits are becoming major contributors to the climate catastrophe
transakcja: an endearing animation on courtship rituals in 1950s rural Poland
yokushitsu kansouki (11. 589)
Via the New Shelton wet/dry, we are are treating to some laundry lessons from Japan (see also) and a potential third way to cross the chasm on either side of the Atlantic when it comes to drying clothes. When have a nice rack in the backyard and try to line dry as much as possible but still have a heavy-duty tumble dryer that we have to resort to quite often, especially when the weather isn’t cooperating—and so were intrigued by the installation known as the “bathroom dryer” (ๆตดๅฎคไนพ็ฅๆฉ, ใใใใคใใใใใ) that blurs the lines between interior design and appliance that blows warm, dry air onto the hanging clothes. Efficient and effective as the outdoors, no ironing needed and kinder to fabrics, more on laundry technology and culture from Bloomberg at the link above.
one year ago: a classic Tina Turner album (1984) plus hype cycles
two years ago: A Raisin in the Sun plus a visit to the Black Moor
three years ago: anatomical astrology, Noรซl Coward rap artist, St Bona plus the invention of the trampoline
four years ago: legislation per tweet, astronomer Maria Cunitz plus an AI parliament
five years ago: peak oil, air gaps, a concept car, modern still lifes plus the Mueller investigation
Tuesday 28 May 2024
who wears the pants in this family? (11. 588)
On this day in 1923, the US Attorney General Harry M Daugherty nullified the ordinance that made it illegal for women to wear trousers in public—which like suffrage and many other incremental advancements towards equality had been propelled by a societal relenting caused by women in the workforce and politics, out of necessity during the Great War and to organisations such as the Victorian contrarian Rational Dress Society who advocated for disburdening and freedom of movement in tandem with the Lady Cyclist Association, the bicycle of course granting a measure of universal independence never before enjoyed. Ironically, the anniversary of the announcement, not a legal remedy despite the fact that many restrictions remained on the books decades afterwards, falls on the same day in 1431 when Joan of Arc was accused of a relapse of her heretical ways as evidenced by her wearing of male clothing and ultimately justifying her execution.
Monday 27 May 2024
9x9 (11. 585)
super easy, barely an inconvenience: if cats had podcasts
minor arcana: a metaphysically intelligent™️ tarot reading—via Web Curios
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the ghana must go: as ubiquitous as the IKEA bag but more practical, this tartan sack from Japan by way of Hong Kong contains multitudes
god’s influencer: following a second miracle attributed to his intercession, the first Millennial saint is canonised
atlas shrugged: AI-apocalypse Jennifer Lopez vehicle from James Cameron garners negative reviews but we found it enjoyable—going in blindly and wondering if it wasn’t part of the Duneiverse and setting up the Butlerian Jihad
long averages: advances in the understanding of probability fuelling casino gambling—via Damn Interesting
planchettes and re-enchantment: LLMs are haunted things toc-cat-a in b-major: Noam Oxman personalised musical pet portraits—via Waxy
one year ago: a portrait of a dog, Berlin’s Mouse Bunker, a study of incomplete cubes plus men and women duelling in the Middle Ages
two years ago: a pact between NATO and Russia (1997), a dragon in Essex plus assorted links worth revisiting
three years ago: mojibake, font sizes, the Golden Gate Bridge (1937), relocating geese plus Dune manga
four years ago: more links to enjoy, a rock-climbing inspection, weasel iconography plus Trump 2.0 would be far more fraught
five years ago: getting around in Swiss Saxony
Thursday 18 April 2024
10x10 (11. 496)
the cloud under the seas: the fleet of secret submarine cable repair ships
sarbox: US Supreme Court appears skeptical about charging January Sixth rioters with obstruction of justice as defined by a law made in the aftermath of the Enron accounting scandal
mix-and-match orthography: how Japanese writers navigate a choice between four writing systems (see also)—via Cardhouse
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bongo bash: Wild Stereo Drums (1961)
embroidered surveillance: cross-stitch works of closed-circuit security camera footage
the questor tapes: a 1974 television sci-fi drama about an android with incomplete programming by Star Trek alumni Gene L Coon, D C Fontana and Gene Roddenberry—via r/Obscure Media
tegelwippen: Dutch towns compete to remove garden paving and embrace weeds—via Miss Cellania
voir dire: jury selection continues for the criminal trial of Donald J Trump—with some potential jurors being unintentionally doxed by the media
atlas 2.0: Boston Dynamics’ new humanoid robot
synchronoptica
one year ago: Atelier Elvira, an unwoke chatbot plus assorted links worth revisiting
two years ago: more gachapons plus an introduction to risography
three years ago: the launch of the Disney Channel (1983), an experimental light house plus Wham in China (1985)
four years ago: more links to enjoy, the International Amateur Radio Union plus The Spirits Book (1897)
five years ago: concrete monoliths moved by hand plus Mueller Report redactions
Sunday 24 March 2024
11x11 (11. 448)
inauspicious beginnings: a rift opens up in a group of official astrologers employed by the Sri Lankan government to pick ideal dates for new years rituals
disco arabesquo: record label Habibi Funk aims to introduce Middle Eastern vintage music to wider audiences
typecraft: a transformative font foundry in India
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAMrZOa1PCwIsYXb6WIYt1doArJunnBWNhn4qpmvzag7BeHm5Cbsovr7Crt3400jz6uU6g1EIvXujGH8Xvxi_xm8160i-FAd6c-2yrG0Psv3k3B3tJQkam0hAH5jypk7tfGOkolPlHqiXwgFXqye3UMSPlIJqSUE3nJGl37Ykda0CLFpqP8OSbiTEuKs/s320/beetlejuice-sandworm.gif)
banjaxed and bockety: two curious Irish terms
der buch der hasengeschichten: Tom Seidmann-Freud’s 1924 collection of hare fables
working for tips: bizarrely robot baristas will accept gratuities, in a service sector landscape already fraught with insecurity and precarity—via tmn
the juice is on the loose: a sequel thirty-six years in the making, reuniting the original cast—via Miss Cellania
international system of typographic picture education: an archive of the pictograms of Gerd Arntz—see previously
pocket full of kryptonite: the preponderance of alternative rock songs about Superman in the 1990s, 2000s
prosopometamorphopsia: a new study on generalised social anxiety disorder tries to see from the perspective of those with a rare condition that causes faces to appear distorted, demonic—via the New Shelton wet/dry
Monday 18 March 2024
7x7 (11. 435)
deadwooding: Banksy acknowledges authorship of a new mural bringing back some greenery to an aggressive prune tree in Finsbury Park
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running-stitch: beautiful embroidered portraits from Karola Pezarro
deadspin: more on the internet’s undead, reanimated by private equity and name recognition—see previously, see more
bunga bunga: Italy’s Foreign Press Association to move into former home of Silvio Berlusconi, who famously disparaged reporters as Communists
honeytrap: Aphra Behn’s intersecting careers as a professional writer and spy
sequoiadendron giganteum: imported by the Victorians as status symbols, Giant Redwoods (see also) are thriving in the UK at more than half-a-million and growing
Saturday 9 March 2024
8x8 (11. 411)
๐ซ: the origins of the circle-and-slash prohibition symbol, its adoption as an ISO standard coinciding with 1984’s Ghost Busters
return to sender: as part of the Prize Papers Project, a pristine Faroese hand-knitted sweater was discovered in an impounded parcel from 1807
snowdrops: Robert Marsham’s Indications of Spring (1789)
clairaudient: more on Rosemary Brown with other classical compositions from beyond the grave
if it doesn’t exist on the internet, it doesn’t exist: as of the beginning of the year, the venerable repository, the Ubuweb whose founder Kenneth Goldsmith is famous for the axiom, of the avant-garde has gone into archive-mode—via Web Curios
sella rotalis: Paul de Livron crafts beautiful wooden wheelchairs, including one for the Pope
belinda new: exploring the typography of Oscar nominated films
Sunday 21 January 2024
8x8 (11. 285)
80s chillpill: a nostalgic, slow-dance playlist
topdressing: an appreciation of the world’s “ugliest” utility airplane, the Airtruk, designed for crop-dusting in New Zealand—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_mYGcZIQ8wodaqvAouw2QEk8WYQP5Q-Pzydoe2vfVM7-KX8O6Ya-AJf-ttlDmlnTCezJXkx1UEngQxAdgzvINtbaMYjcbAD98Jk0fctH7HR0fYUPrEz51zWK3ijMSpdpOKmKQ3DRSbj-M6CFYAyFhvG_-Z-dMI2b5PJ6b1UcbZC6Iv90_LZYLchElkE/s320/one-letter-words-pen-ink.jpg)
these children aren’t french—they’re american: a retrospective look at the BBC’s language learning mascot Muzzy
night-climbers: John Bulmer’s photographs of a secretive group that scaled the campus of Cambridge under the cover of darkness—more here
crochet coral: an evolving nature and craft hybrid project to memorialise and raise awareness about our disappearing reef—see previously—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links
money pit: a tour of the world’s abandoned airports
doses & mimosas: a remix by Vintage Culture featuring Zerky
Sunday 31 December 2023
9x9 (11. 230)
unwound: a cartoon that speaks to the time-dilation of the Winterval—and the year in general
politics or otherwise: year’s end Can’t Let Goes from NPR’s podcast contributors
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aitana lopez: the virtual, machine-generated influencers stealing jobs from humans
cap d’agde: the restoration of the Art Nouveau Chateau Laurens—a palace also known for its connections with Catharism
like a fridge in reverse: a visualisation of the science of heat-pumps—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links
fondue chinoise: a variation on the Swiss holiday tradition inspired by the Asian hot pot
favourite global tech stories from publications not named rest of the world: like Bloomberg’s Jealousy List, staff compiles articles they wish they’d written—via Waxy
cartoon cryptozoology: explore a chaotic archive of the earliest animations
Sunday 10 December 2023
13-1023 tcx (11. 176)
As a counterweight to the aesthetic of maximalism embodied by the popularity of Millennial Pink, Pantone announces Peach Fuzz for the Colour of 2024, with their global team of trend-watchers and chromatists reflecting back on the past quarter of a century of the nomination process, beginning with Cerulean Blue to welcome the dawn of the new millennium and finding a nostalgic nexus for their choice, which represents a calm, tactile and nostalgic hue in the pink and orange combination in very stressful and unstable times.
one year ago: assorted links to revisit
two years ago: the Nobel Banquet, a duet from McCartney and Jackson, 1984 from Julia’s perspective, more Chinese fuzzwords of the year plus the Pantone Colour for the coming year
three years ago: more on the Year in Search, Ubu Roi plus a 2020 recap
four years ago: Alphabets Heaven, the Apostrophe Protection Society, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Latin scripts for Cyrillic languages, RIP Marie Fredriksson plus Cincinnati’s music underground
five years ago: more links to explore, more piรฑata creations from Roberto Benevidez plus a collection of Industry Musicals
Friday 8 December 2023
7x7 (11. 170)
recueil de la diversitรฉ des habits: a 1562 volume of national dress from around the world—including the costumes of mermonks
psychedelic cryptography: a contest to make hidden messages that only can be deciphered in a state of altered consciousness—Waxy
thus the unfacts, did we possess them, are too imprecisely few to warrant our certitude: a dedicated, careful reading of James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake
hiveopolis: a project to create hybrid, smart bee colonies with robots tasked to defend the queen
fluid dynamics: winner of the American Physical Society’s visualising science goes to the process of making marbled paper—see previously
smock-frock: the hidden history of the outer garment traditionally worn by shepherds and waggoners
synchronoptica
one year ago: Hotel California (1976) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: the depths of Wikipedia plus a hackers’ collective
three years ago: your daily demon: Alloces, Mobil Armoured Strike Kommand, more links to revisit, the death of John Lennon (1980) plus the third emblem of the Red Cross
four years ago: more links worth visiting
Tuesday 28 November 2023
the battle of versailles (11. 145)
Similar to the surprise coup of this other culture rafinรฉe, high stakes challenge from earlier in the same year, the historic fashion show held on this day in 1973 at the famous venue in order to raise funds for its restoration. Organised by the museum and government forum’s curator, the event pitted French designers, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Carin, Marc Bolen and others against Americans Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston and Oscar de la Renta before an invited audience that consisted of artists and celebrities like Andy Warhol, Princess Grace, Marie-Hรฉlรจne de Rothschild, Jane Birkin, Liza Minnelli and Josรฉphine Baker (the last two performing for their respective sides). The show was legendary (more here) and the mostly French spectators were stunned with the American designs and models, a new benchmark set for representation with eleven Black women on the catwalk and shifting the industry in a way that brought respect and legitimacy for the US contribution and the palace which had seen better days was rebuilt.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Christopher Isherwood’s I am a Camera plus Word of the Year: Gaslight
two years ago: the duet from Dirty Dancing, Advent season plus some COVID comic-relief
three years ago: your daily demon: Furcas, Trump at the kiddie-table, assorted links to revisit plus the Great Bed of Ware
four years ago: a visit to a local museum plus a Thanksgiving pageant
five years ago: barely maps plus a proposed change to the UN Security Council
catagories: ๐ซ๐ท, ๐บ๐ธ, ๐งถ, 1973, libraries and museums
Monday 13 November 2023
folly cove collective (11. 119)
Under the tutelage of Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios, the all-women’s group in a Massachusetts community from the 1940s to the late 1960s cultivated the art of block-printed fabric patterns informed by their personal experiences and narratives (see also—too bad there was nothing truly subversive like a housewife’s vengeance represented but maybe there were subtle acts of rebellion in themselves), from home economics, local, vernacular architecture and family outings. Click through the link above for more on this community of printmakers.
Friday 27 October 2023
the black gold tapestry (11. 079)
Via the always excellent Web Curios, we are directed to the outstanding hand embroidered sixty-seven metre (two hundred-twenty foot) chronology—in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry (see previously)—from artist Sandra Sawatzy that documents the saga of the discovery of petroleum products, all edged with dinosaurs, and its attendant societal and environmental change through the millennia to the present. Be sure to visit Sawatzy’s accompanying blog on their creative process, main characters in these global shifts and exhibitions.
Monday 16 October 2023
electric boots, a mohair suit (11. 061)
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synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit plus the revival of Brigadoon
two years ago: St Gall, distilling writing down to its punctuation, a mushroom atlas plus more links to enjoy
three years ago: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) plus more studies of the human face and emotional expression
four years ago: consequential pieces of code
five years ago: airfields from above, restoring Nightwatch, John Paul II chosen as pope (1978) plus recruiting for jobs in the Iraqi government
Sunday 17 September 2023
7x7 (11. 007)
spiral town: AI artistry with geometric patterned medieval villages captivate the internet—via Waxy
the fabric of civilisation: the fascinating history of sericulture—see previously here and here
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magic screen: a look at the creative crew behind Pee-wee’s Playhouse
lennon 2499: hunting down the artist’s famous wristwatch—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links (lots more to check out there)
hal mooney and his orchestra: ballet standards as lounge music
everyday yลkai: AI generated Japanese folklore figures hiding in plain sight—see previously
Saturday 9 September 2023
tirazain (10. 992)
Via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest (happily back after a short hiatus), we learn about the traditional form embroidery practiced in Palestine and the efforts to preserve, promote and catalogue the neglected and endangered craftwork used to decorate dress, curtains and bedding. Called tatreez (ุชุทุฑูุฒ), with instructions included on how to create these cross-stitch designs, the formerly unstudied occupation is no recognised as more than a pastime but a form of biography (see also) for those marginalised and had no other medium for expressing and transmitting their ambitions and skills. Much more at the links above.
catagories: ๐ต๐ธ, ๐, ๐งถ, Middle East
Sunday 16 July 2023
esprit d’corps (10. 887)
While problematically exclusively white and male with militaristic overtones, we enjoyed looking through this workwear catalogue in a classic instalment of the Daily Heller from the George Master Garment Corporation dated 1951—reflective of the post-war ideal of reintegrating soldiers into the civilian workforce. Whilst perhaps not as finely tailored and mass-produced, many trades in Germany still keep to a professional uniform (not to say it hasn’t become more relaxed and informal here too) provided by the company or guild, especially for manufacturing and construction, usually in the form of a monogrammed jumpsuit. More from Print magazine at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the flag of Estonia plus assorted links worth revisiting
two years ago: Askersund, Sweden and adventures in Vรคrmland
three years ago: Disney’s pandemic reopening plus more links to revisit
four years ago: a celebration of usual holidays, the Space Race was meant to be a call for international cooperation plus farewell to an iconic sign
five years ago: Breakthrough Starshot, Trump and Putin meet plus the TV advertisements of David Lynch