would you like freedom-fries with that?

We appreciated this essay from Gizmodo correspondent Matt Novak on how the media is subtly and not so subtly preparing American (and world) audiences for a hot war with North Korea, marching lock-step with the war drums of Dear Leader.
Though ostensibly elected for his pledge to end America’s role as the global police force and with assurances that his competitor would surely lurch the country into conflict, the change in narrative and the language that it’s couched in renders (so far as sophistry is an effective tool) anyone who might question why the Hermit Kingdom is suddenly an existential threat to the US and its NATO allies or even point out how this back-peddles campaign promises a condemned traitor, whose credibility and geopolitical grasp is forever more suspect. We were eager to catch Curveball lobbed to the intelligence community and no one spoke of the aftermath. Indeed, as with the hearts-and-minds drive of Iraq Attacky II that had its share of cheerleaders in the press to silent the contrarian cads, we ought to be critical of the profusion of coverage of North Korea and ask ourselves if we’re being informed or re-educated.

boardwalk empire

The ever-intrepid explorers at Atlas Obscura treat us to a rather gloomy tour of faded glory that permeates the once bustling Atlantic City, New Jersey—whose real estate is reflected in the Monopoly board game. Considering how this collapse in the jobs market and touristic draw was in part precipitated by Dear Leader’s personal mismanagement, it does seem rather fitting that the iconic game itself was plagiarised from an earlier game meant to teach economic-literacy and warn players of the dangers of slum lords and concentrated wealth.

graphic charter

The beleaguered but persistent US Environmental Protection Agency is reissuing the 1977 edition of its design manual. This style book—as were many other projects, was commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Federal Graphics Improvement Programme, which was created under the Nixon administration. Sadly, it’s not the US military that needs to host a bake-sale to stay solvent but perhaps interest in this re-printing could help the agency keep its lights on.

dnd oder locksmith

In an age when a carelessly flashed peace-sign in a decades old photograph can potentially be used as a way to bypass the security of finger-print scanning devices, traditional keys and locks are not impervious to same sort of scanning and reconstruction. A Swiss manufacturer has come up with at least a partial solution to make keys less prone to being forged by hiding their teeth and groves inside a pair of brackets.

westermarck effect

Something that I can’t quite identify really resonated with me about this clever bit of re-imagining how author Frank Herbert might ghost-write the autobiography of Chelsea Clinton.
I suppose it struck me as something that ought to be more fully developed and I wanted more than just a page, which was enough to limn the exchange between Lady Jessica Atreides and Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood is re-scripted for Hilary Clinton, whose match-making decisions may have compromised both blood lines in the shadowy organisations goal to breed a superhuman ruling class. The Westermarck Effect is the opposite of the sexual imprinting that the Bene Gesserit excel at, referring to the desensitisation, friend-zoning that comes from familiarity. In any case, I hope the Clintons’ daughter continues the dynasty.

flotus and flotsam

Unlike her husband’s social media leavings, Dear Leader’s wife and geographical bachelorette has not shared mountains of likes and preferences for the public to shift through and speculate on.
What few photographs out there that the titular first lady appears to have taken herself—and for herself, as Kate Imbach discovers through her meta-analysis of the only unguarded, unmediated insight into her subject’s life, reveal volumes about her personality and outlook. What do you think? By refusing a public-role, is her private life out of bounds? First spotted by Hyperallergic, I’m not certain that such a condition ought to be qualified as Stockholm Syndrome if one was always a fervent adherent and a willing captive, and the characterisation of a Rapunzel without the prince charming nor the long braids seems rather pitch-perfect. There’s only the isolation of the Tower, and she seems to prefer it that way—even holiday photos gloomy, double-paned and snapped from the safety of a passing car.