expanded universe (13. 931)

Via Kottke, we learn that beginning with Episode IV in 1981 and concluding in 1996 with the radio play version of Return of the Jedi, US National Public Radio produced and broadcast a dramatisation of the Star Wars saga for the airwaves. Not only did the programme for listeners that stretched out over fourteen hours—filmmaker George Lucas so enamoured by the idea he sold the NPR affiliate station of the University of California’s School (Lucas’ alma mater) of Performing Arts audio rights to the trilogy, including the film’s score and sound-effects for one dollar—reprise the familiar voices of Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Billy Dee Williams plus a cast of notables to pad out the dialogue and give voice to the non-speaking parts for the sake of the medium, like Ed Begley Jr as Boba Fett, Perry King (Harrison Ford’s understudy for the role) as Han Solo, Brock Peters as Darth Vader (Starfleet Admiral Cartwright in the original cast films and Ben Sisko’s father Joseph on DS9) and John Lithgow as Yoda, many scenes were limned with additional narrative and exposition, savvily securing thousands of younger audience members to the station’s content, and included material not used for the cinematic version, like Luke Skywalker’s backstory growing up on Tatooine and friendship with Biggs Darklighter and Leia Organa’s acquisition of the Death Star plans (no Bothians died to bring us that information—that was for Death Star II). The broadcast was presented in hour-long weekly instalments, with chapter titles like “A Wind to Shake the Stars,” “Rogues, Rebels and Robots,” “Force and Counter Force,” “Gambler’s Choice” and “The Jedi Nexus.” NPR received production assistance from BBC, in exchange for airing the series in the UK. Enjoy the entire trilogy at Open Culture at the link above.

♇ (13. 906)

Composed over the course of three years after a discussion about astrology piqued his interest, leading to associates to remark, during the creative process that resulted in his most popular and enduring orchestral suite that the arranger and teacher and teacher was becoming quite the skilled interpreter of horoscopes—to which Gustav Holst replied, relatably, “I only study things that suggest music to me,” The Planets, Opus № 32 premiered to an invited audience in 1918 at a concert hall in Langham Place. Resounding with the public and highly influential over the decades, particularly the first movement, Mars, the Bringer of War ♂, with its militaristic strains echoing in video game soundtracks and film scores, its impression heard in the themes of John Williams and the Imperial March, several adaptations of the suite for full orchestra have been made, including attempts to add the eighth planet, Pluto, discovered twelve years after the piece’s debut. The most well-received and fitting completion of the planetary cycle was Colin Matthews 2000 contribution, Pluto, the Renewer—though unclear what the status of the solar system suite became six years later once Pluto was downgraded.

*     *     *     *     *

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus an alien landing pad in the Argentine desert

two years ago: more links to enjoy plus the Berlin Crisis of 1961 

three years ago: even more links 

four years ago:  brittle egos bristling at Karen’s Garden plus modern sundials

five years ago: the International Meridian Conference of 1884, The Last Picture Show plus an early alternative currency

six years ago: the father of psychophysics, red food dye, another failed doomsday prophecy plus the Humument series

eight years ago: the US Gun Control Act of 1968, the WWII bombing of Kassel, the spread of disinformation, anticipatory libraries for other worlds plus RIP to the inventor of the Little Library

 

give me three weeks in hyperspace with her—you know, i might make a few points (13. 904)

Empire director Gary Kurtz engaged French filmmaker Michel Parbot to create a documentary for Lucasfilm, following the actors and crews for six months of shooting at Elstree Studios and the Finese soundstage as well as Hoth scenes in Norway. Only a few excerpts were shown for promotional material and the hour long-piece was never shown in its entirety and presumed lost—that is, until now (and possibly for a limited time) we learn courtesy of Miss Cellania. The individual shadowing the Space Opera’s second instalment was a seasoned freelance war reporter and did several reportages on subjects like crash-test dummies, the Cannes Film Festival, high-rise construction, the Warren Commission, life in Cuba, the Vietnam war, segregation in the US and Apartheid in South Africa. In retrospect, it seems the actors are unaware of the story arc and what’s in store for the “love triangle” among principles, today being what would have been Carrie Fisher’s seventieth birthday.

*     *     *     *     *

synchronoptica

one year ago: more on Project West Ford (with synchronoptica)

two years ago: airport geolocation codes and shared abbreviations plus Musk selling votes 

three years ago: the land of a thousand lakes 

four years ago: assorted links to revisit,  Livre de Thot plus a feline opera

five years ago: St Ursula, the first Vikings in North America plus more vocabulary building

six years ago: the origins of Op-Ed, the Dutch art of doing nothing,  NYC’s digital subway map, app, the sentō culture of Japan, the Royal Meteorological Society’s PoTY plus coppicing and pollarding

seven years ago: IKEA tarot 

eight years ago: artist Barbara Kruger plus leaf-peeping in the Rhön

 

space farce (13. 772)

Another example of the abused to meaningless Poe’s Law when even a small percentage of Trump’s AI slop escapes containment into reality and distractions masquerading as policy and directives and that action figures are not human capital, the American president unveils a mock-up of the dress uniform for his Space Force Guardians, “inspired by the discipline and functionality” of the uniforms from Starship Troopers. The fact that we are sure that general-issues would look dumpy and poorly tailored on Earth or in an artificial-gravity environment is sort of beside the point as the American president did not repair immediately to the Hugo Boss apparel of the Nazi or to the derivative of the Galactic Empire, fascists already, but to the cinematic adaptation by Paul Verhoeven whose upbringing in the occupied Netherlands informed his directorial decisions—Trump wanting to leave no doubt that yes, we are the baddies from the outset—and perhaps a little too on brand for the regime. One Christian commentator insisted that the design is a perfect blend between Star Wars and Star Trek.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), The Tonight Show at the Berlin Wall (1961), the official residence of the US vice president plus Dr Katz: Professional Therapist

two years ago: a electromechanical rotor cipher, the ugly, car-centric focus of American urban planning plus more links worth revisiting 

three years ago: Interpol (1923) plus divination with cheese

four years ago: a controversial campaign ad (1964), a banger from John Parr plus Germany ends its public transportation subsidy

five years ago: the social engineering of kitchen design, WikiCommons (2004), a weird conspiracy involving the Muppets and 9/11, Dancing Queen (1976) plus three look-a-like candidates running for the Duma

six years ago: the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, Clärenore Stinnes drives around the world (1929) plus Egypt’s national handball team

9x9 (13. 766)

tokyo drift: where potential car owners have to show proof to the dealership of a place to park before purchase, Japanese architects carve automobile shaped voids in urban houses 

trickle down economics: diesel prices hit a record high in the US  

pew pew: laser-washing gives jeans a broken-in look  

mo6: Finnish company introduces carbon-negative building material produced from waste lignin from the timber industry  

tasting notes: visualisations and maps of coffee origins  

ceramic dalmatian: the Wheel of Fortune consolation prize added to the History of America in 100 Objects speaks to the evolution of the game show format and our collective aspirations  

a modified neublon-b escort frigate: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens in Los Angeles—see also  

newman’s own didn’t drop a these colours don’t run salad dressing: the attempt to rename Lake Ontario is a dumb distraction but with sinister, Orwellian undertones no matter how pathetic  

handmade utopia: the architecture of the back-to-the-land movement of Northern California of the 1960s and 1970s

synchronoptica

one year ago: linking celebrities across time and space (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth the revisit

two years ago: more links to enjoy

three years ago: Kenneth Anger’s first film plus hot labour summer

four years ago: the reservoirs of Saalfeld 

five years ago: AI generated movie posters, less and more of the old weird web, Space 1999,  a bluesy rendition of the Seinfeld theme, the Goethe-Schiller monument plus another MST3K classic

six years ago: Trump undermining public confidence in elections 

10x10 (13. 753)

cycle of cathay: a look at the etymology of the antiquated exonym 

landslide: over three thousand dead and missing in the aftermath of Himalayan flood catastrophe  

not the droids you’re looking for: a group of kids swede a brilliant remake Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 

modern toss: the sweary comic workplace comic by Mick Bunnage and Jon Link honoured with an anniversary exhibition—via friend of the blog Nag on the Lake  

non-zero probability: idiomatic extensions of Black Swan Events  

pennywise: an homage to the gleeful villains of Tim Curry (RIP)  

game, set, match: a gallery of tennis-related art ahead of the US Open 

ice stupas: locals in the northern Indian desert valley are engineering artificial glaciers as a reservoir to safeguard water 

skålspænder: a Viking woman’s grave uncovered in Jutland with surviving remnants of her clothing  

nusantara: defining the maritime region of South East Asia by mapping its borders to the Java-based thalassocracy

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), the origins of Fanta plus Trump’s lack of public appearances 

two years ago: the K-Pop Fab Four plus weird academic book jackets 

three years ago: artist Victor Ekpuk plus Higher Love (1986)

four years ago: a stylistic departure for the Byrds, Canada and the UK’s Manhattan Project plus more links to enjoy

five years ago: a news music anthology, even more links to check out, Hey Jude (1968) plus very strong animadversions

six years ago: the Moscow-Washington hotline (1963) plus lockdown fantasy levels

7x7 (13. 692)

astro-boy: striking photographs of Jupiter made with a Nintendo handheld game  

gobaith newydd: Star Wars dubbed into for the first time Welsh airing on Christmas Day—see previously  

vatnajökull: Icelandic environmental activist turns to his his skill as a storyteller to champion the melting glaciers and icecaps—see previously  

turingery: the resourceful tricks underpinning the Colossus codebreaker that deciphered Enigma—see previously—via Kottke  

troubled waters: Trump administration opens up pristine nature reserves in the Pacific ocean to commercial fishing  

the i’s have it: parsing a new possessive construction first documented in a 1992 episode of Married with Children  

path of totality: your local view of the upcoming sunset solar eclipse, Wednesday 12 August—via Maps Mania

my god, it’s full of stars (13. 537)

Courtesy of Miss Cellania, we are directed to this delightful and a bit exhausting collaboration between Postmodern Jukebox (previously—now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time—a long time) and choreographer, burlesque artist and tap-dancer, Demi Remick performing to a jazzy, swing medley of sci-fi theme songs. Not their first dance, Remick also was featured on a assortment of arcade music, including the Zelda and Mario franchises. You’ll be sure to recognise them all from TV and film.

luminous beings are we, not this crude matter (13. 176)

Courtesy of Weird Universe through another one of the artist’s short experimental montages, we are introduced to the National Film Board of Canada’s acclaimed visual essayist Arthur Lipsett. Working as an editor in the animation department, his first solo project Very Nice, Very Nice came about collecting random scene from the cutting-room floor pieced them together as an audio-video montage and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1961. The technique attracted the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who asked Lipsett to produce a trailer for his upcoming Dr Strangelove. Lipsett politely declined and Kubrick directed the preview himself by the inspiration was obvious and acknowledged. The 1963 short 21-87 employed a similar method of found footage but also combined shots of Montreal and New York which Lipsett filmed himself to create an outline of narrative. Though reception was more mixed now that the artist had a reputation, with some critics thinking that it was too much like Free Fall (at the link at the top), it caught the notice of aspiring director George Lucas, influencing THX 1138, its spiritual successor America Graffiti and Star Wars—the concept of the Force itself was informed by an NFB colleague discussing the contemplative and revealing—animistic and pervasive—aspect of his works, speaking in terms that echo how Obi Wan explained the source of Jedi power to Luke Skywalker. Though the two never met, there’s a continuity of tributes throughout the saga with Princess Leia imprisoned on the Death Star in detention block AA-23 cell number 2187 and Finn’s original stormtrooper designation of FN-2187.

the dark side (13. 151)

Unsure if this is clickbait or ragebait, but it is undoubtedly—courtesy of Miss Cellania—the most triggering take on Star Wars imaginable, now lodging in your head rent free as well. Asking with seeming earnestness, “How did [Darth] Vader survive his encounter with Luke [Skywalker] on Dagobah,” followed with some non-canon ideas to fill in this apparent (for the questioner) plot-hole, the post, what ever curiosity or maliciousness was behind it, speaks to the Dead Internet theory, driven solely by engagement and not communication, invention or exchange, and stealing away a fleeting second of one’s attention by hook or by crook with disposable reactions to throwaway stimuli.

dykstraflex (12. 727)

Courtesy of Things Magazine, we are referred to a rather fascinating look at how a battery of psychological experiments conducted at the University of California’s Berkley campus Environmental Simulation Laboratory in the early 1970s to gauge public engagement and investment and equip urban planners and civil engineers with better tools of communication and presentation for projects for all stakeholders, which ultimately informed the special effects workshop of Industrial Light and Magic to produce the awe and immersion for audiences of the Star Wars franchise—particularly for those experiencing the spectacle in theatres for the first time.  Proceeding in a scientific and methodical way, graduate student John Dykstra who worked on the project deduced that buy-in required believability and designed the above eponymous computer-controlled camera system to imbue a new level of reality to scale-models. The technique was first used on a miniature mock-up of an area of Marin County as a showcase for trialling various public works projects and construction proposals. Of course such monumental and detailed representations cannot be created for every item under review but insights gleaned from this study give architects and the city council better ways of presenting scope and impact. The computer controlled cameras that pivoted perspective along dogfights of between TIE fighters and X-Wings, just as they swept over the model landscape (see also) ensured continuity of motion control for all elements, dynamic and static, and the seamless merging of frames into on screen action.

7x7 (12. 701)

people are flushing toilets ten times, fifteen times, as opposed to once—john jay: other AI-generated quotes of America’s foundational figures at new Smithsonian exhibit—see also  

coronation street: a recent celebration of the eleven hundredth anniversary of the enthronement of King Æthelstan, the first ruler of united England  

_invalid_username: a short, seemingly intuitive quiz—we failed miserably at—on what constitutes an email address—via Web Curios  

in a galaxy far, far away: the official map of the Star Wars paracosm 

dj earworm: an end of summer mashup  

double, double toil and trouble: Shakespeare added the witches, weird sisters (see also) to Macbeth for the benefit of his patron James I—see previously  

founding fathers: the colourful life US constitutional signatory turned harsh critic of the mythos Gouverneur Morris—via Strange Company

synchronoptica

one year ago: a nuclear war preparedness exercise (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: Iranian president offers a Rosh Hashanah blessing 

thirteen years ago: some castles of Rheinland-Pfalz plus a bleak economic picture

fourteen years ago: revisionism and security theatre persist ahead of the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks 

fifteen years ago: bird-watching plus a trip along the Danube

sixteen years ago: mascot mayhem 

seventeen years ago: a trip to the Wasserkuppe 

all the way alive (12. 698)

On this day in 1975, Manson Family cult member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (previously) attempted to assassinate US president Gerald Ford (see previously) in Sacramento on the grounds of the California state capitol to set an example for those refusing to stop environmental pollution and its effects on Air, Trees, Water and Animals (ATWA, also the acronym above—the ecological belief system expounded by Charles Manson and his followers) as the interrelated life-support network of the Earth with attendant acts of civil disobedience and eco-terrorism. The then new Democratic governor Jerry Brown had refused an invitation to address an annual gathering of wealthy business leaders of the state. Members of the politically powerful group called “Host Breakfast,” upset with the shun wanted to teach the recently elected Brown, considered to be an obstacle to industry with a host of regulations and taxes that were unpopular with the lobby, a lesson for his “dilatory response” and had instead invited Ford, a Republican and ally, to deliver the opening speech—which Ford accepted as a chance to appeal to more local voters in the upcoming election and retain office. Preceding his arrival, Ford had asked congress to relax certain provision of the Clean Air act of 1963 and pressure California to roll-back some of its automobile emissions standards, already garnering threats from environmental activists. Feeling personally responsible for the fate of California’s giant redwoods, in danger from smog and urban sprawl, Fromme resolved ambush Ford (studying the agenda of his visit) and demand that respect be paid to nature. Making her way through the crowd, Fromme raised her pistol but the weapon failed to discharge and was immediately apprehended by the Secret Service. A few months following Fromme’s trial and sentencing, director George Lucas was prompted to change the name of his protagonist mid-production from Luke Starkiller for unpleasant connotations and a perceived connection to the Manson Family. After thirty-four years in prison and two years after Ford’s death, Fromme was released on probation in 2009. The malfunctioning gun was donated to the presidential library in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is on display there.

synchronoptica

one year ago: America begins its bicentennial celebrations (with synchronopticæ), coordination problems plus Trump announces the Department of Government Efficiency 

twelve years ago: German license plate naming conventions 

thirteen years ago: some castles of Hessen plus open all hours

fourteen years ago: a visit to Rohr 

seventeen years ago: TGIF 

10x10 (12. 639)

we don’t serve their kind here: “clanker” from the Star Wars franchise has become a universal slur for robots 

jeanine, you’ve changed: a thread about how a consultancy firm in 1987 was responsible for making late 80s and 90s cartoon characters bland and unanimated—via Super Punch 

retrospective: an interview with photographer Dennis Morris whose expansive portfolio of music royalty and documentation of the East End offer a correspondence and symmetry  

do you take this burger to be your dinner: the return after a long hiatus shows that King of the Hill was always about food 

regolith: former reality TV star, Fox News anchor and acting NASA administrator (plus also US Secretary of Transportation) announces the acceleration of the building of a lunar nuclear reactor, as well as freeing commercial drones from line-of-sight supervisor requirements 

ásatrúarfélagið: the resurgence of Norse paganism in Iceland 

bakeneko: superstition and myth regarding cats in Japanese culture—via Nag on the Lake and Everlasting Blört—see previously, see also 

hamburger royal ts: some facts about the McDonald’s Quarter-Pounder  

just another way to claim our attention, so that beautiful certainty we had starts to fade: set in 1984 California during Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign, the critically polarising 1990 Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (previously) speaks to the present 

flivverboob: a 1922 slur for a careless driver that didn’t not seem to catch on

your harvest comes in seven risings of your red giant (12. 605)

Premiering on this day in 1980, the Roger Corman production—capitalising on the success of Star Wars—the space opera featuring Robert Vaughn, Sybil Danning and George Peppard was a remake of an Americanised edition (released as Battle Beyond the Sun three years after its 1959 debut and directed by Corman himself in collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola) of Небо кличе (The Sky Beckons—cosmonauts saving an American crew on a race to colonising Mars but in their rescue attempt run out of fuel and are stranded in the asteroid belt) as science-fiction version of The Magnificent Seven (itself a Western interpretation of Seven Samurai). An agrarian planet is threatened by a dying warlord of the galactic empire and demands that the peaceful inhabitants donate their organs to him in order to regenerate. The farmers plan to hire a group of mercenaries to protect them, having only food and shelter to offer for payment and dispatch a young hero named Shad to find allies and ends up assembling an eclectic band of resistance fighters, striking one much like the plot and characters of Rebel Moon, a recent Zack Snyder vehicle resulting from being refused the rights to remake Star Wars. Despite a modestly successful box-office, the endeavour received mixed reviews as derivative, and in keeping with his tradition of mentoring emerging talent, Corman secured student filmmaker James Cameron (see above) for special effects and model designs as well as James Horner (later composing themes for Avatar, Aliens, Braveheart, Titanic, The Perfect Storm, Willow, etc) to score the piece. 

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synchronoptica

one year ago: the arch of Constantine (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links worth revisiting

thirteen years ago: on tour in Norway 

fifteen years ago: directed intelligence in navigation 

9x9 (12. 559)

the coffer illusion: studies in cross-cultural perception have insights behind their controversy—see previously  

rolling stock: new homeowner shocked to find a hidden model train alcove in the basement and has a new, unexpected restoration project—via Nag on the Lake  

reading the minutes: AI note-takers outnumber human participants in virtual meeting spaces  

remastered: British Film Institute hosts a rare screening of the original 1977 Star Wars on Technicolour reels  

no undo button for our fallen democracy: a chorus of responses to the cathedral-, not-in-our-lifetimes thinking that has replaced American exceptionalism  

hello stranger: a signature work of scrolly-telling from The Pudding of people who don’t know each other holding conversations—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

they’re all good boys: the golden retriever, Gilbert, assassinated along with the state congress representative and her husband lay in state at the Minnesota capitol 

heaven and earth magic: a 1962 cutout animation short by avant-garde filmmaker Harry Everett Smith made in residence at the Chelsea Hotel  

static spin: a superlative optical illusion

synchronoptica

one year ago: returning via Switzerland (with synchronopticæ) plus a new Labour government for the UK

twelve years ago: the US Mail-Cover Programme,  Stars Wars as written by Shakespeare plus America policing the world

thirteen years ago: a geography challenge 

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

11x11 (12. 529)

somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see: Reuters’ delivers a deadpan juxtaposition of Trump’s attendance at a showing of Les Misérables just after sending in the US marines to quell demonstrations  

💩: defecation syncope and other perils of pooping 

renascidos: a cosplay parenting craze with hyperrealistic dolls has captivated Brazil, prompting some legislation against their appearance in public  

tin roof rusted: a VH-1 Behind the Music style documentary on the importance and influence of The B-52’s 

artek: the upcoming centenary of Crimea’s famed Soviet youth camp that once hosted Samantha Smith—see also  

have you tried clearing your cache: a concept artist with a reputation for the mischievous develops a dating website based on harmonious browsing history  

pomp and circumstance: a preview of Trump’s grand military parade to be held this weekend—previously  

more cow bell: artist Margareta Sarvana performs the Schalger song Itke en lemmen tähden (Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen) on a Swedish variety show in 1973—via Pasa Bon! 

the schwatz awakens: a preview trailer of the Space Balls sequel to premier in 2027, when Mel Brooks turns 101

simple article summaries: Wikipedia suspends an experiment that would display AI generated synopses after editor and contributor opposition  

i’m michael barbaro, see you tomorrow: California governor Gavin Newson interviewed by the New York Times on Trump’s ICE raids

synchronoptica

one year ago: counting crows (with synchronoptica), a Minoan archaeological discovery, emotion-cancelling technology, Trump’s revenge agenda plus assorted links to revisit

seven years ago: internet freedom index, more movies scripted by AI, Reagan tells Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (1987) plus a meeting of Dear Leaders

eight years ago: memory holes, courtroom sketch artists, waste-water popsicles, mobility and mobile devices plus a surrogate social network

nine years ago: Citigroup tries to copyright the word Thanks, carbon sequestration plus more on the Trump travel ban

ten years ago: Erasmus and free-will, more links to enjoy plus Jung and Freud

the carpenters - space encounters (12. 506)

Airing in mid-May 1978, we are directed, courtesy of Poseidon’s Underworld to another questionable but fun project inspired by Star Wars mania (see also here and here) in this ABC television special featuring the brother and sister musical duo with guest stars Suzanne Somers, John Davidson and Charlie Callas, who are abducted by aliens and beamed up to the mothership’s nightclub (there’s a lot of crossing of franchises here) and perform a medley of their songs and other disco standards in order to help the extraterrestrials deemphasise their focus on technological advancement and embrace love and art. Check out the synopsis at the link above with production notes and more publicity stills from the show and enjoy the playlist below.

9x9 (12. 483)

leaderboard: an exclusive look at the $TRUMP memecoin banquet   

leap together: Kermit the Frog delivers a commencement speech at Jim Henson’s alma mater 

biosignature: potential signs of alien life on exoplanet K2-18β raises the question of when evidence becomes definitive 

industrial light and magic: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by Star Wars franchise creator and slated to open next summer, made redundant fourteen percent of staff

mr tompkins in wonderland: after attending a lecture on relativity, a bank clerk discovers the ability to perceive quantum phenomena and the foreshortening of spacetime   

liquidity squeeze: collaborative scholarship and the fake Roman financial panic of 33 AD—via Strange Company 

yeah—it has been hard, mainly because of the numbers: a vintage 2005 spoof on every television news spot on the economy

matriculation: graduates answer questions posed by their past selves insider trading: US attorney general divested herself of between one and five million dollars worth of shares ahead of Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement

synchronoptica

one year ago: Phyllis Diller’s garage sale guide (with synchronoptica), an alternative space shuttle design, AI can’t do minor edits plus assorted links worth the revisit

seven years ago: more removing science from the classroom, a cosmic interloper, eyeball worlds, wine windows plus the Dear Leaders fail to meet

eight years ago: corporate welfare 

nine years ago: transparent wood plus a visit to Weimar

thirteen years ago: the chemistry of wine