synchronoptica
one year ago: an independent press for the stateless (with synchronoptica) plus the architecture of diplomacy
seven years ago: a podcast mini-series on witchcraft plus Babylonia trigonometry
eight years ago: 1980s animated production logos, super-recognisers plus assorted links worth revisiting
nine years ago: conscription, impressment and universal taxation
ten years ago: repentful paintings
Taking advantage of the cooler weather, H and I went to the next village over (see previously here and here) of Hermannsfeld to see a classic car show held on the grounds of the Jagdschloss Fasanerie—a pheasant-hunting lodge built for Duke Georg I of Sachsen-Meiningen from an existing menagerie at the end of the eighteenth century and by turns a nature reserve, a refugee encampment, accommodations for the border police, a teacher training facility and then back to a park and place for excursions.
rhythm 0: in 1974 artist Marina Abramoviฤ subjected her unmoving body to a six-hour ordeal to see how an audience might objectify her
bang records: a documentary about the life and career of songwriter Bert Berns behind “Here Comes the Night,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Hang on Sloopy” and many other standards
back to obamacore: with hope and the end of history, the Harris-Walz campaign gives nostalgic vibes of 2008—via Web Curios
gothamq loop: a prototype quantum network being tested beneath the streets of Queens
geography and maps division: a mystery, featureless solid silver globe at the US Library of Congress—via the Map Room
mice fancy: how a Victorian hobbyist breeding programme became a mainstay of the laboratory
diversion tunnel: Margaret Bourke-White (previously) documents building of a dam in Montana in 1936
diminished by its artsiness: studio pulls trailer for Megalopolis after realising the marketing team used AI to generate phoney tag-lines by famous film critics—via Super Punch
the birth of coolth: Sentence First explores similarly constructed neologisms, including the statistical term shorth for shortest half—via Language Hat
the confetti illusion: oranges are sold in red mesh bags to enhance their orangeness—via Marginal Revolution—see also
synchronoptica
one year ago: paper dolls and digital avatars (with synchronoptica) plus bat men on the Moon
seven years ago: more from artist Lance Wyman, assorted links to revisit, anti-migrant riots in Rostock (1992) plus a collection of government sponsored cartoons
nine years ago: the birthday of Sean Connery plus adiaphora and cafeteria Christianity
ten years ago: the sacred, prognosticating chickens of Rome
eleven years ago: creative interpretations of film
Triggering the first serious nuclear crisis of the Cold War with the US contemplating using its arsenal 
against the then unrecognised Communist government of the People’s Republic of China to protect the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek’s occupying Quemoy (Kimen, ้้, ‘Golden Gate) and Matsu (Lienchiang, ้ฃๆฑ็ธฃ) islands in the Strait of Taiwan, only ten kilometres distant from the Chinese province of Fujan, a repelled amphibious invasion on this day in 1958 resulted in a continuous volley of shelling. A prominent subject of the televised Nixon-Kennedy debates, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff resolved to at minimum dispatch escorts for resupply missions, a nuclear response not within popular will (previously), volleys were exchanged until 1979 when as a prelude to the US normalising relations with China under a rather eccentric agreement that allowed bombing on alternating odd days and even days for restocking, with troops of both sides guaranteed safety from attack. The US quietly redeployed the extra warships in the region in December of that year and while there were occasion flairs in fighting turning deadly for China and Taiwan, the intermittent bombardments mostly consisted of an exchange of propaganda leafets.
For a quick overnight camping trip, we travelled to the collective municipality (Gemeinde) of Sandberg in Lower Franconia in the valley on the opposite side of the Kreuzberg, cleared and settled from heavily wooded land in 1691 to alleviate overpopulation in neighbouring villages, which though remote had too many people to sustain their subsistence farming and forestry due also by dint of their isolation had been spared waves of the plague. 
A remnant of their survival remains in the singular dialect of the villages that make up community that are verging on the unintelligible from one settlement to the next. In the Kirchdorf of Waldberg where the campsite was that was supposedly the case as well. The above increasing numbers of residents through the nineteenth century put stress on the fields and pastures due to their sandy soil (hence the name) and from the 1830s through the next century saw a mass immigration to America, many families from this area settling in Cleveland, Ohio. 
The main building of the campgrounds was an old mill (dating from before an incident during Holy Week pilgrimages to the Kreuzberg when bakers from Waldberg tried to sell their wares but the main town of Bischofsheim asserted their monopoly over baked goods and saw its operations shut down—those who remained resorting to seasonal work, fruit-pressing and collecting berries and beechnuts to survive, relying on remittances from family abroad) on a watercourse coming down from the mountain.
synchronoptica
one year ago: US Republican primary debates (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting
five years ago: the company Kalashnikov is making an electric car, a typical White House press briefing, drought reveals ominous hunger stones plus one French community’s fight to keep McDonald’s out
eight years ago: a word for St Bartholemew’s Day
nine years ago: more Venus Flytrap weirdness
eleven years ago: Six Degrees of Wikipedia plus Staffordshire pottery
Via Web Curios and reminiscent of these made-up, misheard lyrical videos (courtesy of Miss Cellania—wish her a happy blogoversary), we are treated to this wonderful TikTok account that that matches a snippet of popular songs to the names of people on LinkedIn. It is a little hard to explain, a sort backmasking effect, but will become readily apparent. This really made me laugh a little too much. Listen to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” first for some epic pulls then try Red Hot Chili Peppers “Otherside” above.
Disembarking this day in 1954 from Marseilles with a retinue of over one hundred royal dignitaries from 
twenty five current and former reigning families aboard the Agamemnon, the ten-day excursion through the Mediterranean was conceived and organised by Frederica of Hanover, queen consort of Greece, with the aim of not only promoting tourism in the region and economy recovery after World War II and the country’s civil war but also, as the granddaughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II (see previously), to repair family ties among Europe’s royals after decades of conflict and turmoil. 
Ports of call included Naples, the Ionian islands, Corfu, Heraklion, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Athens with guests including Simeon II of Bulgaria, Prince Axel of Denmark, Duke Franz von Bayern, Prince Otto of Hesse-Kassel, Duke Peter of Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Antoine of the Two Sicilies, Umberto II of Italy, Charlotte Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, the royal families of the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden along with Prince Dimitri Romanov of Russia and Infanta Pilar, duchess of Badajoz. Protocols were abolished aboard the cruise ship and at any stop so guests might be freed from royal order of precedence and could mingle amongst themselves and with locals, and though there were designs on solidifying love connections (reality tv-style), only two engagements resulting from onboard encounters—Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Sophia of Greece and Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. A second cruise was planned for two years later be had to be cancelled due to the Suez Crisis and the invasion of the Sinai peninsula.
We thoroughly enjoyed thinking about plot and plodding along with these cinematic pathways from illustrator Andrew DeGraff (previously, I later remembered) that chart the hero’s journey across sets and scenes mapped out like the imaginative cartographic conclusions of Billy from the Family Circus funny pages, elaborating on these itineria, strip maps from the web-comic xkcd, except for modern classics like Fargo (pictured), Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, The Breakfast Club, etc. All are instantly recognisable and draw one into the story. More from Kottke at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: emulating a backflip (with synchronoptica), a lyrical song clock plus Wagner Group chief dies in a plane crash
seven years ago: synthetic biology
eight years ago: more on the Voynich manuscript, KFC sun-screen plus gravity wells and a Sisyphean train
nine years ago: a visit to Bad Nauheim plus a day at the zoo
ten years ago: Rome defeats the Samnium coalition plus a table-top mining game
Although blunted somewhat by the clarification that the remarks were not based on original reporting but anecdotal information (just as likely to be true) that Trump has been in talks with Israeli leadership to discourage a ceasefire in Gaza prior to the election as he believed a truce—just like the US-Mexico bipartisan border security that was torpedoed in fear a solution would diminish a GOP grievance—once 
learned that both parties denied such conversations, these comments made amid the backdrop of protests outside of the Democratic National Convention are not only telling of the contender’s mindset but, if substantiated, in violation of federal law, namely the Logan Act, prohibiting correspondence of a private citizen with a foreign government in relation to any international dispute which could undermine the government’s position. Enacted in 1799, the law—and the only eponymous one I can think with its perpetrator (see previously, see also)—came about in response to a diplomatic fiasco the year prior when John Adams sent a delegation to France during the Quasi-War (over America’s stiffing the French for loans that financed the revolutionary war against England) to negotiate a settled peace. Where these envoys had failed, Dr George Logan, a Quaker and state representative from Pennsylvania and member of the minority Democratic-Republican party (see previously here and here) whose platform and priorities were seen to run counter to the Federalist administration, achieved a settlement that avoided wider conflict. Trump is no George Logan. The Biden administration is working to end the violence and genocide, albeit not applying the right leverage. Subsequently made a senator for the state, Logan himself petitioned to have the act repealed but was unsuccessful and despite the association was appointed as a special emissary to Britain to stop the War of 1812 but that mission proved deficient.
Occurring every one thousand twenty-four weeks—a nineteen and a half year’s cycle—the Global Position System broadcast date, which includes a week number, counted in ten binary digits reaches an 
integer overflow causing the values to rollover. Whilst not on the level of a y2k or related events because systems reliant on GPS and synchronisation of payments and broadcasting are coded to anticipate this limitation of the satellite network due the relatively short time-horizon. The first occurrence took place at midnight on this day in 1999, and due to its limited use, disruptions were minor. For the second rollover, early April 2019, proactive programming contained problems in the travel industry and most setbacks happened in consumer devices that had not been updated. Unrelated to the ominously sounding Year 2038 Epochalyse for Unix time (y2k38, see above), the next rollover will happen in late November of that year.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: US roadside attractions plus purpose-built advertising columns
eight years ago: emergency preparedness plus more links to enjoy
ten years ago: sponsored links plus encyclopedic errata
twelve years ago: predacious snails plus Norse cosmology
zener cards: the phenomenon of population stereotypes help mentalists seem genuine to their audience—via The New Shelton wet/dry
null island: the nation of Kiribati (see also, see previously) straddles the four hemispheres
mycobbuoys: a natural anchored float to help ween aquaculture off of plastics and keep them out of the oceans
gisnep: a hybrid jumble, Connect-Four and cross-word game—via Neatorama
vanquish surveillance, not democratise it: California legislators’ deal to have Big Tech sponsor local journalism causes concern it may affirm monopolies rather than break them up
who’s telling trump he might be seeking one of those black jobs: former US first lady Michelle Obama taunts the GOP candidate for his comments about immigrants taking away supposed targeted employment opportunities
seven-segment display: the fast technological progression from the incandescent numitrons to the liquid crystal display—see previously
dishonourable mentions: winners of the annual Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest—see previously
veni, vidi, vici: discover Roman antiquities in your area—via Satyrs’ Link Roll
miss cleo knows the truth: confessions of psychic hotline operator—via tmn
synchronoptica
one year ago: a classic from Gary Numan (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: staunch Prohibitionists
eight years ago: cross-species friendships, taxidermied instruments plus healthy microbiomes
nine years ago: the scramble for the poles plus asylum problems in Germany
ten years ago: Pallas’ Cat
Nominated by Gerald Ford on this day in 1974 for the office of vice president of the United States, the former New York governor and presidential candidate, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the second individual to be installed under provisions of the US constitution’s twenty-fifth amendment in quick 
succession and was chosen a pool of candidates, beating out then-US ambassador to NATO Donald Rumsfeld and Republican National Committee chairman George H W Bush, who were respectively given the consolation prizes of White House chief of staff and first ambassador to China. Confirmed by congress in December (and the first to reside in the official residence), the long-serving and popular governor from the dynasty of oil tycoons and business magnates was known for his progressive policies in terms of equal rights for housing and employment, environmental conservation efforts, public works, healthcare and education and liberal- to moderate-leaning party members at the time were referred to a “Rockefeller Republicans.” Though promised to be a “full partner” in the administration especially in terms of domestic policy, the vice president’s participation in government was seen as a liability for Ford and thwarted by chief of staff Rumsfeld, who ultimately convinced the president to drop Rockefeller from the ticket for his 1976 re-election campaign and pick Kansas senator Bob Dole as his running-mate to boost his conservative credentials. Later, Ford recanted the decision as “one of the few cowardly things I did in my life.”
On this day in 1858, the Berlin publishing house of August Hirschwald released the foundational work Cellular Pathology by esteemed physician, sociologist and anthropologist Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow, 
which informed modern medical thought. Not only recognising the mechanisms behind disease, injury and healing broadly, Virchow was the first to describe and name ailments and disorders, including coining terms like leukaemia, thrombosis and spina bifida and helped to formalise the practise of autopsy and forensics. Drawing on his interest in ethnography and archeology (accompanying Heinrich Schliemann during some of his Trojan expeditions) and adopting it into his medical research, while teaching at the University of Wรผrzburg, Virchow coined the maxim that medicine “is a social science, and politics is nothing more than medicine on a large scale,” pioneering public health campaigns to counter outbreaks, and perhaps aligned with this guiding aphorism rejected the germ theory of infections (believing that they were symptoms rather than causes and that poverty was the biggest cause of sickness and death—although contributing a lot to the study of macroscopic parasites) and adamantly disagreed with Darwinian evolution—recognising natural selection but rejecting the emergent theory as flawed—see the above teaching tenure. Also opposing the social Darwinism ideas of his student Ernst Haeckel as dangerous propaganda, Virchow—for all his drive to classify and categorise—went against popular contemporary thinking by declaring race to be a social construct and thus denying anyone their designs of primacy through a large-scale study of ethnic communities across Europe and beyond.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Wattstax (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit plus the first school strike for the climate
seven years ago: the first FedEx delivery van, Total Eclipse of the Heart plus grace and favour appointments
eight years ago: an exoplanet in the Goldilocks Zone, Team Refugee to get its own Olympic flag plus trying to sprout Indian Bean Trees
nine years ago: an antique look at four-dimensional space
ten years ago: disruptive natural and unnatural disasters, Netpolitiks plus Gaulish conquests
Instigated by American and British petroleum interests in the region, the Iranian army overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh on this day in 1953 in favour of bolstering 
the monarchical rule of Shah Mohammad Rez Pahlavi, refusing to cooperate with the administration once an audit was requested of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company to make sure the UK corporation was adhering to the terms of it stewardship. Following threats to nationalise the producer’s assets, perceived increasing Communist influence and a worldwide embargo against Persian, Churchill and Eisenhower conspired to rid themselves of this uncooperative element. Under military leadership, the Shah was able to consolidate power and reign for the next twenty-six years, aligned with Western interests, until deposed during the 1979 Revolution (see previously here and here). In August 2013, the US government formally acknowledged the CIA’s role in regime change.
Originally built as a as a meeting house for the people of Seyรฐisfjรถrรฐur under the auspices of the Herรฐubreiรฐ community council (broad-shouldered after the nearby tuya, a mesa-like, steep-sided volcano 
formed when lava erupts through glacial ice and considered national landmark and Queen of the Mountains) in 1923 and transformed into in movie theatre a quarter of a century later, Herรฐubรญรณ as a cinema and cultural venue remains the only one in Iceland’s east, and we really enjoyed the feature from Grapevine contributor Iryna Zubenko on the labour of love it took to restore this region’s fixture and anchor after shuttering in 2020. The port town of seven hundred, but audiences come from all over for the single screen, is also home to the only car-ferry service into or out of Iceland with connections to the Faroes via Hirtshals, Denmark. The refurbished movie house was designed Gรญsli Halldรณrsson, the architect of numerous public buildings, stadia and hotels in Reykjavรญk.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus the first Saturday morning television programming block for kids
seven years ago: Trump’s imperial ambitions plus a mass resignation from the US National Endowment of the Arts
eight years ago: perpetual calendars, the 1968 Summer Games plus more links to enjoy
nine years ago: the Digital Star Chamber
ten years ago: the displaced head of Vladimir Lenin
Much in the same way as Brexit provisioned and prefigured the politics of MAGA and the election of Trump, the same amplified contagion unchecked
Handling our Sunday matinee programming, Fancy Notion has selected an existential short from the animation studio of Halas & Batchelor (see previously) that ponders the meaning of life through our 
hopeful and introspective protagonist who finds confusion and frustration when consulting dogmatists in the fields of religion, politics, the humanities about life’s big questions but finally finds a solution with another fellow peripatetic. The venerable collaboration lasting from 1945 to 1986 was responsible for the instructional colour stop-motion feature Handling Ships for the Admiralty as a training aid for new navigators, a number of World War II productions intended to raise morale and encourage thrift, like Dustbin Parade to promote recycling and Filling the Gap about planting a victory garden as well as anti-fascist propaganda films. During the 1960s and 1970s, the duo created cartoon series for American television networks including Saturday morning staples like Popeye the Sailor, The Jackson 5ive, The Osmonds as well as the music video for Autobahn by Kraftwerk.
synchronoptica
one year ago: a prayer app (with synchronoptica) plus a pioneering mushroomer
seven years ago: a look into the far distance future, removing racist statues plus feeding an army
eight years ago: a century of Russian history in photographs, assorted links to revisit plus the making of Cabaret
nine years ago: more links to enjoy
ten years ago: subterranean warehouses, the body-politic of Rome plus German intelligence agencies eavesdropping
reduced to rubble: the razing and rebuilding of Gaza—via Maps Mania
anniversary vinyl: Andy Baio presses a limited edition of his chiptune homage, Kind of Bloop—see previously
hooked on phonics: New Zealand’s requirement for structured literacy in the classroom threatens bilingualism—see previously
dnc: parallels between the 1968 Chicago convention and the upcoming one
isogloss: the geography of the pronunciation of scone in Britain—see previously here and here—rhymes with gone
fredkin’s paradox: thirty useful concepts to help understand the world—via Duck Soup—see also
triplicate: researchers find that the brain keeps three copies of each memory—via the new Shelton wet/dry
von trapp: overtouristed Salzburgers air their ambivalence about the sixtieth anniversary of The Sound of Music (see also here and here)
east jerusalem: Israeli finance minister renews call for the annexation of the West Bank
In order to assuage complaints from innkeepers in smaller towns and villages of the empire who were 
compelled to only serve the wine from their overlord’s estate, Joseph II issued a decree on this date in 1784, beginning the tradition of the Heuriger (from Old High German hin jฤru—this Year’s Vintage) which continues in Austria to the present day, allowing anyone to sell and serve home-made refreshments, wine and cider. Rules have been refined over the centuries regarding licensing and the establishments are generally only allowed to serve the public during alternating months during the growing season but many still retain their rustic atmosphere as an open air tavern on the premises of the winemakers, with live music and a simple repast that until recently the guests were expected to bring themselves. Vintners would hang a straw wreath (Strohkranz) to advertise that they were serving but many producers have taken to renting out wine-bars in nearby towns to expand sales and publicise their pop-up, limited-time offer with a modified wrought iron street sign (Nasenschild).
Via the always excellent Web Curios, we are directed to the latest Sim City-type, model railroad builder from Matt Stark (see previously) that allows one to reconfigure the streets and canals of the Dutch capital with houses, parks, paths and a public transportation network. Once limned fully for the route to make a circuit, you can watch the tramcars trundle from station to station. The structures become bigger and more articulated the higher the concentration. Give it a try and be sure to share your creations.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus Wagner’s Ring Cycle
seven years ago: revisiting Oppรจde plus the truths of Buddhism
eight years ago: weaponising the ionosphere, survivor trees, rituals to keep mosquitoes away, more on stashed cash plus more adventures in Goslar
nine years ago: a crafty spider plus a visit to Mother Meera
ten years ago: re-discovering podcasts through the History of Rome, a mindfulness app, know thy selfie plus more on the Roman Empire
With the notable exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii and those that successfully petitioned for partition from larger territories like Kentucky and West Virginia and Vermont—Maine was created from the Massachusetts exclave district of the same name that existed until the War of 1812 when pro-British sentiments prompted the separatist movement—every state in the union has had its share of break-away polities, but none as we learn courtesy of Strange Company had consisted of counties of three different 
states proposing to reincorporate like the above coalition, named after an endonym of the Crow people (“children of the large-beaked bird) though no one consulted the indigenous population despite being formed in large part from reservation land. The movement for Absaroka—whose seriousness is disputed as either an earnest attempt at secession or a publicity stunt that achieved their desired goal—began in the mid 1930s during the Depression and attendant dust-bowls when rural residents far removed from their respective capitals protested that their governments were not doing enough to extend NewDeal federal aid to farmers and ranchers. Distant residents of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota did not feel that Helena, Cheyenne and Pierre had their best interests in mind. The street commissioner of the city and county of Sheridan Wyoming, halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore (further encompassing the Bighorn and Great Teton ranges and Devil’s Tower and thus the motto the Nation’s Playground) spearheaded the drive for independence and recognition, later proclaiming himself governor of the unrecognised forty-ninth state in 1939, issuing their own license plates, choosing a Miss Absaroka in a beauty pageant and inviting the king of Norway, Haarkon VII, to visit as part of his tour of the region to signal formal and diplomatic recognition and even debate in congress about the order of accession and wanting Hawaii to be admitted first. Though abandoned with the outbreak of World War II, the movement achieved its goal of having state governments responsive to their farthest reaches.
Via Meanwhile, we thoroughly enjoyed perusing this gallery of images curated by Jonathan Hoefler (previously here and here) of actual instances of images that would now be mistook—absent other context or familiarity—as telling AI-generated missteps. 
synchronoptica
one year ago: greenlighted (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: Trump’s very fine people plus manipulative social media
eight years ago: the stave church of Goslar, early hominids and tolerance for smoke, safety and Helvetica Man plus assorted links worth revisiting
nine years ago: rent parties plus more links to enjoy
ten years ago: writers protest against the book market, the future of shopping plus the unfair labelling of weeds
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
To put forth PfRC’s style guide at the outset, we’d use Harris’ and Walz’ campaign for the US presidency—but we are really enjoying the outbreak of pedantry over the placement of the apostrophe (see previously) for the names of the candidates and how it’s an interesting case of overlap of grammar and morphology. 
While conceding that in conversation I may pronounce it Harrises platform or Walzes career, I think the construction is superfluous for names ending in s, z, x, ร (the medial ลฟ is never terminal unlike the former Esszet), ch and j (as the affricatives tส, dส), though the instruction if you say it, spell it does seem like a good rule to apply to spare oneself some grief. Should Harris win (otherwise we could all be Ofdon and Ofjamesdavid—the genitive case is weird), she will become only the fourth holder of high office to have such a surname ending (the last being Rutherford B Hayes), but a more recent contender, Michael Dukakis, interviewed for the article recalled no such controversy back in 1988 and agrees it should be s, apostrophe and that’s it.
In contrast and correspondence with the previous post, also on this day the following year, in 1962, twenty-one year old US army private first class Joe Dresnok (์ ์์ค ์กฐ์ํ ๋๋ ์ค๋
น), feeling hopeless, recovering from a 
recent divorce, and facing a court-martial for forging his commanding sergeant’s signature for passes to leave the army base at night, dashed across the minefield of the Demilitarised Zone into North Korean territory. The defector was apprehended instantly and taken to Pyongyang for interrogation, eventually resolved to settle there. Dresnok along with six other American service members taught English and participated in propaganda campaigns to entice more US soldiers at the border to join them. Praising Dear Leader and vowing to never return to the West, Dresnok became a celebrity, cast in several domestic films as an American villain—including a very popular 1978 mini-series called Nameless Heroes (along with fellow defector Charles Robert Jenkins as Dr Kelton, the fictional mastermind behind the peninsular conflict) in which he played the role of lieutenant colonel Arthur Cockstud, commander of a prisoner of war camp, with most North Koreans calling him “Arthur” after his character. Dresnok died of a stroke in November 2016, confirmed by his sons the following year in an interview on state-run television.
East German Bereitschaftsvolkspolizei (People’s Police Alert Units, a paramilitary regimen of the German Democratic Republic for riot control and counterinsurgency) non-commissioned officer Konrad Schumann was given the duty assignment on this day in 1961 to “take control and protect the border from enemies of socialism” on the third day of construction of what would become the Berlin Wall, which at the time consisted of a single coil of concertina wire. 
Standing at his post on the corner of Bernauer and Ruppiner Straรe, Schumann was berated relentlessly by West Berliners, the nineteen year old came to the realisation that he would spend the rest of life as a prison guard and a prisoner himself—solidified by witnessing a young woman hand a bouquet of flowers over the barrier to her mother, apologising for not being able to visit in person. A crowd of protesters had massed by noon and began to rush Schumann’s position, but reinforcements arrived before he had to act, armed but resolved not to open fire on the crowd. Protests continued as construction materials arrived and waiting for the right moment, Schumann stamped on a section of wire and leapt into West Berlin. The action was photographer Peter Leibing and the visual documentation is included in the opening montage of the 1982 Disney movie Night Crossing.
Though sanctioned officially by Pope Urban II to begin on this day in 1096 (the Feast of the Assumption) in order reassert Church primacy in society having lost influence under the rise of feudalism and mercantilism, restoring fealty to the faith rather than allegiance to overlords and landed-gentry, and counter Muslim influence in the Holy Land and Byzantium, armed pilgrimages were already mobilised under the charismatic French priest known as Peter the Hermit (Pierre d’Amiens) with an advance though untrained and mostly illiterate and ignorant—not knowing where Jerusalem was and reacting as if any sizeable settlement they encountered along the way was their goal—army of disaffected Christian peasants. 
The call for a crusade (against holy war) issued first during the Council of Clermont the preceding year was met with enthusiastic acclaim, particularly as tenant farmers had experienced famine and drought in recent seasons—possibly an outbreak of ergotism due to poorly stored grain—and a strongly held belief in Millenarianism (see also) and Peter’s forces gathered and set out from Flanders in April. En route, the pilgrims destroyed Jewish communities along the Rhein in unprecedentedly large and violent pogroms in Metz, Speyer, Trier and Kรถln—condemned by the Church and secular leaders and forbidden during the following Crusades. Joined by many thousands of the poor, they marched through Hungary and attempted entered Byzantine territory at Belgrade, who were refused entry due to their unexpected early arrival and unheralded commander. Eventually the crusaders we granted admittance at Niลก after making a general nuisance of themselves and pillaging local markets and proceeded to Constantinople but were massacred by the Seljuks on the road to Nicaea, the army of some hundred-thousand destroyed—although the many women, children and those who surrendered were spared. Peter and some of the remaining leadership, broken and bankrupt, continued to Palestine to join the better organised and funded First or rather Princes’ Crusade in October.
