funkloch

I find it remarkable how much infrastructure has been dedicated a-pace with progress to the traffic in invisible forces. Of course, not everything out of the past has become obsolete and ought to be gutted or cannibalized for spare parts—even if it has been outmoded.

One can still find veritable jungles of aerial antennae on rooftops and maybe they’re not deemed worth salvaging, but I’d rather would-be metal thieves engage in this enterprise before turning elsewhere. Though there is no more broadcast television to tune on to, maybe these remnants might be re-purposed for some new technology—like signal repeaters or something else that we cannot yet predict. Maybe they shouldn’t be scrapped just yet—and not just for aesthetic reasons.
 I bet all those dormant telegraph wires could be revitalized and deputized for a good use too. Though television has taken the high road and almost exclusively is beamed down from beyond the atmosphere, the signal towers have been retrofitted as cellular towers. The principles behind telephony are not terribly advanced, considering that one is just glomming onto an established network. A Funkloch is a German term for the increasingly rare places out in the countryside where there is no cellular coverage—a signal-hole. Though decidedly unaesthetic but I suppose practical since most castles were built in strategic locations, on the high-ground with a commanding vantage, some historic turrets (mostly in private hands, like the tower of Burg Gößweinstein near Forchheim) now also host an array of communications equipment. The network of fortifications used to communicate via bonfires and smoke-signals, across the valleys and over considerable distances, and no one could foresee the same ancient brigade bearing our new-fangled wirelessness.

volumetric or spelunk

Despite the economic crisis and scaling back in the programmes and ambitions of pure research projects, like SETI and NASA, I think we are still experiencing a golden age of exploration—both in terms of new-found resourcefulness and legacy. At the same time as researchers prepare to penetrate the icy depths of Antarctic lakes isolated from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years, an advanced robotic embassy is probing the secrets of Mars and one veteran experiment, Voyager, is on the cusps of interstellar space, another relatively forgotten but enduring project is getting ready to observe the milestone of a quarter of a century.
Though not the longest-lived experiment under laboratory conditions (like those eternal incandescent light-bulbs or the slow drip of pitch) by any means, but hole bored near Windisch- esenbach in eastern Bavaria, among the deepest in the world at close to ten kilometers in depth and the only such feat of engineering undertaken for purely scientific purposes, was drilled in earnest from September of 1987 to 1995, at the convergence of two tectonic plates, and is still the subject of study and research. The site in the Oberpfalz was chosen for geologic reasons, the project called auf Deutsch das Kontinentales Tiefbohrprogramm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, this area marking the sublimation of the ancient continental landmasses of Pangaea and Gondwanaland, and if not for a billion years of weathering and erosion, would boast the highest mountain range in the world. Scarcity of funding and more importantly underestimating how quickly temperature would rise—265 ° C already and short of the 10, 000 meter mark, put an end to the drilling operations. Teams of geologists have continued to conduct research in the twelve years since the boring was halted, but initially many of the villagers were opposed to have such an operation in their backyard—fearful of noxious gasses or infernal visitors. Considering that even barely penetrated this frontier just underfoot—even at this great depth, still only a fraction through the earth’s crust—and the volume of the world is much greater than its surface, there is a lot of potential for the imagination and to unearth all the treasures and bizarre secrets of Jules Verne’s journey to the centre of the Earth.

elucidation

Der Spiegel’s English language site has an interesting brief (that I could relate to) on the challenge faced by media outlets in finding fresh visual metaphors to illustrate the economic crisis in the eurozone. The standard seems to be subjecting the banners and mascots of statehood and national identity to various forms of torture and peril and most definitely showing euro coins in all denominations defaced and distressed.

Some subjects and themes, as determined by mood, rumour and the forecast, are highly popular. There are certainly a lot of creative and emboldened dioramas out there that demonstrate photographic ingenuity and that sometimes verge on silliness and hyperbole and sometimes a bit mean-spirited. I especially feel sorry for the poor stunt-money that’s afforded no respect.

spoiler-alert

Laurels to the heuristically outstanding Super Punch for discovering the series of funny and honest—transparent, book titles from author, comedian and critic Dan Wilbur. There are dozens more examples on Mr. Wilbur’s blog. 

By lampooning the classics of literature, I think, the talents behind this collection might hope to cause readers to think about what they aren’t reading right now but how sustaining and indulgent—effective and lasting, old reading is, with these covers especially.

What other titles can you think of that would make good candidates for this same treatment?  I don’t know, however, if I would put Holden Caulfield’s story in the same category as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I guess that is part of the joke.

gabriel blow your horn

The Way-Back Machine at the Retronaut featured some illuminated illustrations dating from the 10th century of the Spanish theologian Beatus of Liébana’s Commentary on the Apocalypse.

It was the buggy, Picasso-esque figures that initially cause my attention in this particular rendering from the monastery at El Escoria. Perhaps the Spanish painter was influenced by such artwork on this manuscript. What is more interesting deeper within this study, however, is the de-symbolism, the stripping of allegory, behind the pictures. Contrary to popular historical context that makes fables out the oppressors of the day, reading the characters of Revelations as the Roman Empire, Gnostics, or, contemporaneously with Beatus’ writing, as the Muslims of then Islamic Spain, there is no mention of mistreatment or persecution and no topical interpretation of the biblical text. Rather than targeting heretics or people of another religious background for blame, the treatment instead suggests that the real nightmarish fiends represent elements within the established Christian community, holy-rollers, that profess one thing but really use the Church to advance their own interests. That’s a very modern technique from a classic source as well.

castle week: berlin-brandenburg

Throughout the ages and through to the present, Berlin as the seat of different ideologues and governments has become absolutely crowded with historic buildings and courtiers, though venue and use has evolved over the years. The grand city palace of Berlin was lost during World War II and the rubble has cleared away a long time ago, but there are long-term plans to rebuild the structure on the still vacant lot over the next decade.  Such a project, I think, would bring the other fine and intact buildings of the city into sharper focus.

Politics and intrigue are ever stifling things, and in a great tradition of seeking refuge from the demands of the court and escaping for quiet and reflection, philosopher king of the Prussians, Fredrick the Great, designed and commissioned his retreat, San Souci (French for Without Worries) among the vineyards outside of Potsdam.

A patron of the arts and sciences and a man of letters, under the advice of his long time friend and confident, Voltaire, he promoted reforms in bureaucracy and governance (including such revolutionary ideas separation of church and state and personal liberties) and followed the French philosopher’s maxims about immersing oneself in nature—though the wine business never really took hold. While enjoying the king’s hospitality at San Souci, Voltaire penned probably the first work in the genre of science fiction, with his short-story, Micromegas.

Fredrick was a sensitive soul and never, I think, really aspired to be the military strategists that he became known as. Scholar and polyglot as well as visionary and diplomat, he left a substantial legacy that’s not only in his distinctive architectural penchant (found in many monuments populating Berlin and Brandenburg) but in many intangible footnotes of the age of Enlightenment.

doctor pangloss, I presume

The ever engrossing and a sure bet for a good take-away to ruminate on, Boing Boing, recently presented two brief and chilling tracts about the echo chamber of communication and some dismal reflections on the realities draped by economic cheerleading. Boy, this was some bleak stuff, presented in a way that was hard to refute or not be disheartened.

Both made some arresting assertions that only seemed truer on dissection, memorable and ready to be unpacked or walked back like the collection of pensées. Without being shrill or dogmatic, the first article offered the axiom that one's smart phone is basically a tracking device that allows one to place calls. I only ever use that app that allows one to hear and speak to people over any given distance and that other app that allows one to see the time of day, but the interview goes on to illustrate what systems are already in place to limn a complete dossier of anyone and how the idea that one has nothing to hide is smug and irresponsible, since communications are interconnected and false assumptions are made and errant words can unintentionally become artillery for anyone in our network. The second article is a virtual bucket-list of 21 facts from economist Ian Welsh that bespeak trembling and revolution. Among other truths, austerity is defined as the opportunity for venture-capitalists to acquire assets usually not up for sale, that wage-earners are beholden to the company store and are unlikely to escape (although that disbelief is what sustains even the worst of markets) and that resistance is futile for those regimes who would dare oppose the conditions levied on the public by corporate interests. Both are definitely worth the read, despite the discomfort and disillusion that may result.