thirty-four days, twenty-one hours, eighteen minutes

NPR correspondent Jessica Taylor presents a thoroughgoing post-mortem for the longest partial government shutdown in US history, which has just been conceded by Trump without funding for his shining beacon of white supremacy. We are happy that the individuals and families who suffered needlessly—and for the imperilled public lands and public safety—that relief is forthcoming. The dedication of the few, labouring without pay, keep catastrophe in abeyance but one does have to wonder about that month of lost time and sunk costs that’s never coming back.
Payments might come out of arrears but security vulnerabilities exposed and exploited because no one was at the helm of certain agencies, research lapsed, loss of morale and cohesion, meals forgone, austere compromises and perhaps one or two incidents of bribery—since a kick-back can seem quite tempting not knowing when pay day comes next—all have lasting consequences that are not easily undone. A three-week respite, as welcome as it is, probably also means that the US government will find itself at the same fiscal impasse again in mid-February—prone to repeat itself until the administrative state force lasting resolution. Acquiescing to the desire of the legislature to reopen the government should moreover be taken with a grain of salt as it coincided with the arrest and indictment of long-time ally and advisor, Roger Stone, noted cartoon arch villain who stroked Trump’s ego for decades and encouraged his serial contention for high office, by furloughed agents of the FBI.

organization 1

words to live by

Though having encountered the concept of ikigai previously, these other select Japanese principles were quite new to us—as presented in this review of the upcoming reflection by linguist Mari Fujimoto, which mediates on some of the language’s unique terms and phrases that allows one to gain a purchase cross-culturally as well as examining the deficit in one’s own outlook. All seven of these calming, cardinal notions (plus the thirty odd others covered in Fujimoto’s book) but were especially taken with the aesthetic quality of shibui (渋い) as a corollary to wabi-sabi (侘寂, finding beauty in imperfection) refers to the beauty in things revealed over the passage of time.

6x6

grapheme: the evolution of the alphabet

beamish: the British Antarctic survey have bored over two kilometres into the ice sheet

gingivitis: research suggests that Alzheimer’s and gum disease may share a common cause

magical mystery tour: mapping all the places mentioned in the lyrics of Beatles’ songs

ink trap: an assortment of puzzle and maths inspired typefaces, via Coudal Partners’ Fresh Signals

кино-аппаратом: a look at the pantheon of early Soviet filmmakers (previously) through the seminal work of director Dziga Vertov

paintception

Not only did this “slow meme” phenomenon remind us of the Droste effect (mise en abyme) in Annie Wang’s photography, this recursive challenge strikes us as rather uncharacteristically uplifting and positive, devoting oneself to an undertaking that’s bears our vulnerabilities while at the same time being an enriching exercise—honing goodwill and empathy as well as our painterly skill-set.