battle of the bulge

With one of the last remembrance ceremonies thought to include witnesses to history taking place and the siege of Bastogne begun on this day in 1944, Allied forces in the Ardennes cut off by the resurgence of the Nazi army in efforts to recapture the port of Antwerp relieved by General Patton’s Third Army seven days later, I recalled this artefact, souvenir that I found at a Flohmarkt earlier in the summer.
The troops were ambushed in this nexus of roadways in the region with Generalleutnant Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz requesting the surrender of the city—to which acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe replied succinctly “Nuts!”—holding the line until reinforcements arrived. The cast iron disc, which I didn’t know how to interpret at first and supposed still, is fitted with mounts, suggesting it was the plaque of a larger memorial and on the reverse is inscribed MADE IN COUVIN, a nearby municipality that was also the staging grounds for Adolf Hitler’s headquarters and bunker during the occupation of France.

5-7-5

The cynical, suspicious part of me that prone to insidious conspiracy and thoughts that immediately retreat to somewhere dark in every fun application that triangulates one’s whereabouts is just a cutely disguised ploy to harvest one’s data and commodify it is often vanquished (possibly an instinct that should be overcome) as it was with this non-proprietary mapping service that generates haikus based on the address (or coordinates if you choose to disclose them) we are referred to by Nag on the Lake and Maps Mania.
The poetry is a bit hit-or-miss but the element of serendipity is fun and keeps ones poking around. Nearby, I especially liked “The warm belly of the bus / High up in the trees / Branches of the tree” discovered while zeroing in on my actual spot.

h. res. 611

Becoming the second president in US history to be impeached (previously), specifically for lying while under oath and obstruction of justice in charges stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones (the Supreme Court ruling that incumbency did not impart immunity from civil lawsuits) and sexual relations with a subordinate, White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the House of Representatives voted to impeach William Jefferson Clinton on this day in 1998.
The articles were later exhibited to the Senate for adjudication, acquitting Clinton on both charges. Against protests that dismissal would signal that perjury was merely a breach of etiquette, White House Counsel Charles Ruff presented the compelling argument: “There is only one question—albeit a difficult one—that is a question of fact and law and constitutional theory. Would it put at risk the liberties of the people to retain the president in office? Putting aside partisan animus, if you can honestly say it would not—that those liberties would be safe in his hands, then you must acquit.”

h. res. 755

systemic isomorphic mimicry

Credit once again to Kottke for directing us to a reflective and objectively true set of observations about the self-inflicted wounds of Anglo-Saxon society and how that results in failed states in this excellent essay by Umair Haque (previously, ibidem).

Nothing I can add or augment I think could improve upon his diagnosis and prognosis of the self-destructive and uniquely self-perpetuating behaviours of which the United Kingdom has been the chief net-exporter and the pitiable impoverishment that follows. Those poles apart in a polarised milieu (from geopolitics down to the most granular levels) despise each other because their ideological foes-partners in sanctimoniousness-reflect back to them the worst traits in themselves that they’d rather go unacknowledged, but don’t over-emphasise how fraught tribalism is and the forces that would whip it into a frenzy, because that focus (that cannot be remedied through consensus or something called bi-partisanship or else anything aspirational) distracts from the fact that contempt transforms to hate once collectively society grows too marginalised to look after anything save its own self-preservation and fails to thrive. Though the United States and Britain may be oblivious of their trajectory towards oblivion, maybe their hubris and hegemony will present a cautionary tale for the rest of the world and the world is paying attention.

afterthought

On this day in 1966, three days after the discovery of a Cronian satellite (see previously) dubbed “Janus” by Audouin Dollfus, astronomer Richard Walker recorded a similar observation of what was then considered to be the same small moon, the scientific consensus at the time being that two objects could not share the same orbital pathway without colliding despite the fact that this interpretation meant that Janus was hurtling around Saturn much faster than is the case.

A dozen years later, more precise measurements resolved the observations to that of two distinct but co-orbital bodies, and because of this hindsight, the latter credited sighting was named Epimetheus—the twin of the Titan Prometheus associated with foresight. Whereas we might regard Prometheus as more heroic and selfless for daring to steal fire and the other civilising arts from the gods than his dumb brother, whom for unconscionable reasons was entrusted to hand out gifts from

 Pandora (all three also in that same constellation of satellites), as a consolation prize to make up for the fact that all other traits, strengths had been apportioned to other animals, it was sort of a thankless sacrifice (aside from it being a distinct lack of appreciating the consequences of his actions) Prometheus stood trial as was condemned to an eternity of suffering. Epimetheus, on the other hand, demonstrates that we are part of a larger, virtuous network and that dependency and social contracts are themselves strengths (in as much as is the leftover hope) and wound up marrying Pandora, whose daughter and son-in-law are the only humans to survive the flood when the gods decided ultimately to drown mankind. This inner satellite is also referred to as Saturn XI and its gravity and orbit help to define its hosts rings, shepherding rocky debris and dust in place.

reasonable accommodation

Despite our shared frailties and variation in body size, type and ability, we tend to take accessibility and comfort for granted and unfortunately on some level sometimes we don’t like to be confronted with the interventions that disabled individuals need to navigate spaces not designed for them.

When I was confined to a wheelchair and on crutches—temporarily, I hope it gave me some insight and empathy that’s endured about how hard and unforgiving certain of our built terrains can be. A bedroom created by Christopher Samuel as part of a project that has invited nineteen artist to redesign and embellish the suites of a bed-and-breakfast in Blackpool draws on personal experience and inverts the situation to make the dimensions and furnishings especially demanding, awkward and frustrating for non-handicapped guests, the theatrics of the room an invitation for people to imagine the experience of others. The individual pictured is not the artist but rather the programme director Michael Trainor, since for Samuel—who uses an electric wheelchair for mobility, his own installation is inaccessible and hasn’t seen the finished piece in person.  Much more to explore with BBC at the link above.