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. 

*     *     *     *     *

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

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

salacious crumb (12. 007)

On Life Day no less, we get the perfect allegory for Elon Musk’s parasitic and co-morbid relationship with Donald Trump, a cantankerous, destructive, nit-picking lizard-monkey to his host, a minor boss in the Hutt family crime syndicate, with further news of Musk outsourcing decisions to popular vote on his social media platform, a self-selecting “wretched hive of scum and villainy—we must be cautious”—although Nazi bar is a more succinct way of putting it, as well as using his promised position within the coming administration to badger and berate foreign governments (the latest target is Italy’s judiciary after attacking the UK’s migrant policy months earlier) whom feel more obliged to respond rather than ignoring the trolls. Vox populi, vox Dei is something not best left up to American public, as evidenced by last week’s election and we wonder how long this symbiotic arrangement can last, given both have huge egos, easily bruised.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus Osama bin Laden on TikTok

seven years ago: a virtual cocktail, a record-setting auction for an alleged Da Vinci plus a kitty takes over Times Square

eight years ago: more links to enjoy plus Google’s Quick Draw

nine years ago: optimal seating arrangements plus solidarity with France

ten years ago: lore and language 

10x10 (11. 957)

þjappað vinnuviku: Iceland’s experiment with a shorted working week  

dénouement: examining the kishōtenketsu arc of narrative and its structure in world literature 

indirect allorecognition: injured comb jellies will fuse with another to allow one to heal—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest

climate solutions: just a shower thought probably better shared on this website, could we reduce CO₂ concentration by making the atmosphere bigger?  

celestial symphony: the icon and ingrained theme from the 1986 Chinese television adaptation of Journey to the West—see previously  

oracles of astrampsychus: ancient tools of divantion included drawing lots, bibliomancy and a sort of algorithm—via Strange Company  

goonies in space: the latest Star Wars spinoff, Skeleton Crew  

denaturalised: Elon Musk could have his US citizenship revoked if it’s confirmed that he lied on his immigration application—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

the gaudí of mita: Keisuke Oka’s hand-built tower, the Arimaston Building in east Tokyo  

sweethearting: AI-powered facial recognition monitors for suspicious friendliness between customers and staff may be the next phase in retail security theatre

8x8 (11. 770)

received pronunciation: expectation for Romans (and more broadly villains) with British accents in film  

bardcore: Teenage Engineering debuts a beat sampler for making Middle Ages-style music 

misery rankings: how painful would Olympic events be for average non-athletes—via tmn  

mpox: World Health Organisation declares latest outbreak an international health emergency  

growing up underground: the autobiography of Steven Heller  

a fable for the mind’s eye: the making of Star Wars as a radio drama 

radiophonic workshop: pioneering artist and engineer Daphne Oram—previously—introduces electronic music  

madonna odigitria: medieval icon of the consecrated Pantheon restored

8x8 (11. 539)

an elegant weapon for a more civilised age: the physics and power demands of a lightsaber  

defective fleet of fly sky-wreckage: nothing good has the acronym MRSA (Material Review Segregation Area) 

chic boutique: Messy Nessy to open a brick-and-mortar clubhouse and shop in Paris  

wopr: US urges China and Russia to pledge that AI will never have command and control of nuclear weapons  

poultice: an orangutan observed self-medicating a wound in the wild with a paste made of plants with healing properties 

serenity amid disaster: a short animation from Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, “The Flying Sailor,” examines the wonder and fragility of existence  

peak wtf: gun-mounted flashlights popular with American police officers 

oh, the asthma guy: a conversion with that one friend who’s never seen Star Wars

yub-yub (11. 497)

Having a distinct and confused memory of the redacted Ewoks on the reverse of Kenner’s action figure packaging teased ahead of the release of The Revenge of the Jedi—though I think I had acquired Chief Chirpa and shaman Logray after seeing the the third instalment (and have a stack of these cards packed away somewhere)—I could really appreciate the depth of this cultural reference, courtesy of Super Punch (thanks for mining Xwitter on all our behalves), of artist Kyle Drayton’s homage with these custom creations. Despite vocal detractors claiming the denizens of the moon of Endor were included as a pandering appeal to children, director George Lucas in part based the guerrilla fighters, between the hapless Gamorrean guard Guard and Admiral Akbar, off of the Viet Cong and Taliban who resisted the US and Soviets respectively and has been employed as a derogatory designation for allies regarded as primitive.

product placement (11. 400)

Though a bit averse to reposting content from Twitter, this cultural artefact was too good to resist, learning—via Super Punch—that circa 2003 when Chilean television first broadcast the original Star Wars trilogy, sponsors were keen on not taking the audience out of the experience and commercials breaks were subtly (or not so subtly) stitched into the film. This is rather ingenious and wish more networks did the same. Here is an example dubbed in English.  Much more at the link above.

Around 2003 in Chile, when the original trilogy of Star Wars began airing on television there, they did this funny thing to avoid cutting to commercial breaks. They stitched the commercials into the films themselves. Here is one of them, with the English dub added in. pic.twitter.com/wC7N2vPNvv

— Windy 🛸 (@heyitswindy) March 2, 2024

synchronoptica

one year ago: Don’t Stop the Beat (2002), Anti-Flirt Week (1923), cult cinema classics, more puzzling emoji plus Trump’s January Sixth charity recording

two years ago: the high cost of mineral extraction, customised browsing plus Jesus Christ Price

three years ago: Nosferatu (1922), more on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, a visual search engine, American state birds plus Icelandic names

four years ago: stream-climbers plus Robert Mugabe elected (1980)

five years ago: outsider artist Adolf Wölfli, closed Italian shops, music from a Bosch triptych plus a Brexit phone booth to call Europe

sarah t—portrait of a teenage alcoholic (11. 341)

Also featuring the acting talents of Dallas’ Larry Hagman and Star Wars’ Mark Hamill, the made for television movie starring Linda Blair of The Exorcist (previously) in the title role was first aired on the NBC network on this day in 1975. Dealing with isolation and loneliness, a fifteen-year-old takes after her estranged father, drinking to cope with feelings of inadequacy and begins to surreptitiously raid her mother’s liquor cabinet, having associated inebriation with greater social stability. Having passed out whilst babysitting and numerous interventions, Sarah can’t admit she has a problem until a near-fatal horse-riding accident (mortally wounding the horse, who is euthanised) and joins Alcoholics Anonymous. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit plus Planet Money Valentines

two years ago: an AI reimagines sci-fi comics panels, the Internet Sacred Text Archive plus more links to enjoy

three years ago: more links worth the revisit, bar sounds plus a unique file naming convention

four years ago: political engagement, Merkel’s would be successor steps down, gravity wells plus European emergency numbers

five years ago: the American Petrol-State, anosmia, medals for the Tokyo games to be made out of recovered specie from electronic waste plus the art of Andy Dixon

8x8 (11. 123)

ałk’idą́ą́’ yádahodiiz’ą́ą́dą́ą́’ yá’áhoníkáándi: an update on Stars Wars dubbed in to the Diné bizaad language of the Navajo people—see previously 

hallucinate: the new meaning of the psychological verb picked for Cambridge dictionaries’ Word of the Year 

chipophone: Vivaldi performed on Commodore instruments—see previously 

wikiwho: guess the person from their Wikipedia biography—via Web Curios  

prisencolinensinainciusol: revisiting the Italo Pop song with nonsense lyrics that was meant to sound like English singing—see previously 

veistospuutarha: the sculpture garden of of Veijo Rönkkönen  

here we observe the sophisticated homo sapiens: an unauthorised David Attenborough voice-clone to narrate one’s daily activities—see also  

life day: a fresh look on the Star Wars Holiday Special on its forty-fifth anniversary 

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Hand of Irulegi plus a Soviet moonwalker (1970)

two years ago: another MST3K classic plus assorted links to revisit

three years ago: more links to enjoy, a rebuttal from Nixon (1973) plus St Hugh of Lincoln

four years ago: the Velvet Revolution plus world flags reimagined in the style of Kazakhstan’s 

five years ago: a Japanese view on American history, the mind of a scammer, more links to enjoy plus the Star Wars Holiday Special

oh my, my—this here anakin guy, maybe vader some day later but now he’s just a small fry (10. 751)

For this anniversary of the general release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace on this day in the United States in 1999, we feature this synopsis of events regarding the beginning of the saga as performed by Weird Al Yankovic to the underlying tune and structure of “The Day the Music Died.”

And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he’s toast
Well, I’m still here—and he’s a ghost
I guess I’ll train this boy.