der once-ler

Recognising that (beyond the intrinsic value of trees and woodlands in themselves) afforestation and reforestation efforts are as important as reducing emissions and that every little bit helps, Berlin-based search engine Ecosia (previously) the Guardian reports has offered the energy company that owns the land that the remnant of Hambacher Forest a million euros to purchase the parcel and preserve it in perpetuity.  Ecosia’s search machine is in an browser overlay that is non-intrusive and generates revenue through advertisements which are used to support tree-planting and other conservation campaigns and one can learn more at the links above and get updates at the organisation’s own blog here.

flintheart glomgold

Though we should not expect much in the way of business acumen from an individual who managed to lose money running a casino and has filed for bankruptcy multiple times but I was surprised to hear, despite stating his every intention to personally capitalise on high-office, that Donald Trump has actually lost (to his consternation and envy for the success of more legitimate businessmen) over a billion dollars in wealth since the 2016 election.
His strategically located Washington, DC hotel is doing a brisk business by visiting dignitaries those who wish to curry favour with the US despot as are his tacky resorts and the plenipotentiary powers that come with members’ dues, but those ventures combined with aggressive tax-avoidance and outright evasion are not able to rehabilitate the family brand, sullied with a bothersome reputation of sexual predation, bigotry, wilful ignorance and imprisoning young children.

the kessler syndrome

The night skies of the Dutch town of Almere, as Dezeen reports, are host to a project from designer Daan Roosegaarde, known for his massive installations that combine technology and art in urban environments, that track and visualise in real time the nearly thirty-thousand registered pieces of orbiting space debris that envelops the Earth with neon green laser lights, evoking the juxtaposing nostalgia for monochrome monitors and radar traces with the other-worldly and alien.
Perhaps it strikes some that fretting over space junk is an indulgent luxury but as the artist reflects, these sizable objects are a threat to keeping the channels of communication open as well as advances in exploration itself—the title referring to the nightmare situation of collisional cascading where the low Earth orbit becomes so over-crowded with waste that safe space travel becomes untenable for generations and we lose our motivation to explore. The abstract threat, a feeling shared among stargazers surely, becomes immediate and encourages the audience to think about solutions and ways to upcycle the detritus of past missions. Learn more at the links up top.

linkrot

Via Messy Nessy Chic’s peripatetic exploration, we are treated to a fascinating tour of the physical campus—a former Christian Science church—of the Internet Archive, a project which has curated what’s approaching four hundred billion websites in the past twenty-two years.
With bots scouring the web at all times and collecting presently a half a billion new pages weekly, this operation as well as choosing what to conserve for future generations given limited space and resources is not for the meek and is a good reminder to appreciate your local librarians, especially given that much like in real life, those for profit industries flush with cash and influence lean too heavily on foundations like the Internet Archive and Wikipedia who count on the work of countless volunteers and the donations of those who believe that their pursuits are worthwhile and worth preserving. PfRC apparently made the grade the first time back in 2015. See where your contribution to the on-line world resides on the shelves and stacks and consider making a financial contribution. For all the justified angst over the panopticon of the internet committing everything to one’s permanent record, the fact is that websites and connections wither away and require a substantial amount of upkeep and intervention to conserve the past, particularly when the present acquires a selective memory.

lacrimosa

Like with mansplaining there are academic and abstract scenarios where the term can become a lazy refutation and a force equally as vexing to stop discussion rather than forward it (although most guilty of it are not interested in entertaining a discussion in the first place), being introduced to the concept of himpathy when its being squeezed for every drop via Oxford Weekly Word Watch did seem a bit empowering—at least being able to name a malady that society is woefully unwilling to overcome or seemingly sometimes even to recognise. It’s nothing new to heap undeserved credit on the heteronormative man who can summon crocodile tears at command, should said tears grant him the accustomed accommodation of congeniality. Who should spare a though for the anguish of those who might truly have something to cry about? Since when did sad, rabid and doughy lives become the epitome of democracy?  Or remained consummate and accomplished through adversity for that matter? Coddling exoneration and milking it for all it’s worth to rally loyalty and affiliation over merit and outside thought ultimately is a disservice for all, for even to be accused of something that one did not do or to be held in contempt of one’s past indiscretions, one can at least learn empathy for others who might be victims of mistrial and miscarriage instead of just inclined to perpetuate the status quo.

oldtimers

Previously H and I had enjoyed touring the sister campus in Speyer where a 747 and the Buran, the Soviet version of the Space Shuttle, are on display and recently redeeming one of H’s birthday gifts, we got to take a look at the sprawling museum, amusement park and cinema das Auto- und Technikmuseum Sinsheim, the largest private exhibit in Europe that curates some three hundred classic automobiles (Oldtimers auf Deutsch), forty racing cars, thirty locomotives, one hundred and fifty tractors, dozens of player pianos and calliopes plus over sixty aircraft, including the two supersonic commercial planes built the Anglo-French Concorde and the Russian Tupolev Tu-144, visible when passing by on the Autobahn.

The vast halls contained a really impressive amount of Mercedes (including some infamous ones custom-made for Benito Mussolini and Heinrich Himmler) and some extraordinary Maybachs produced for the anonymously, forgotten well-off, with a significant portion maintained in fully-function condition.

Also on display for inspection were an original model DeLorean and a motorised unicycle from 1894, whose time has come around again. Of course the exhibits are worth marvelling at and pretending to sit in the driver’s seat and quite a few are up for demonstration, but moreover it’s something inspired to think about the level and depth of engineering that went into each of these machines, some three thousand all told.

der tag der republik

Celebrated from 1950 to 1989 on the anniversary of the founding of the Deutsches Demokratische Republik on this day in 1949 from the Zone of Soviet Occupation, five months after the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (West Germany) constituted itself by the adoption of its codex of Basic Laws (Grundgesetz) on 23 May, der Tag der Republik was initially observed with military parades and the issuing of honours to individuals who had made significant achievements in the arts and sciences in the last year.
In the 1970s, the holiday was cast more in the light of a people’s celebration without the pomp of a demonstration of force but also invited protests and dissent. Presided over by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, he warned the government that dangers awaited those unwilling to reform and adapt to emerging realities while authorities were dispatched to arrest and detain arbitrarily over a thousand individuals on suspicion of subversion. This mass arrest prompted the calls for an official inquiry that began its investigations on 3 November, with the Berlin Wall coming down six days later. Der Tag der Deutschen Einheit is not observed on that day in November for reasons previously covered but was also championed at one point to always fall—for economic reasons—on the first Sunday in October instead of a fixed day. This was ultimately rejected because, like today this year, the celebration of German unity would sometimes take place on the birthday of East Germany.