atmospheric sciences

Hyperallergic curates the stunning honourees of the Royal Meteorological Society’s annual Weather Photographer of the Year. Not to bury the lede, the selection of this iteration’s winner in Tina Wright’s 2018 image “Final Stand” captured outside of Phoenix, Arizona is quite arresting—even in this era of orange skies. Normally the competition is limited to entries taken in the calendar year but that requirement was relaxed due to social distancing restrictions. Peruse the whole gallery at the link up top.

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The always brilliant Present /&/ Correct directs our attention to a website dedicated to exploring the bathhouse (sentō, 銭湯) culture of Japan. 

There are lots of resources to dip into plus plenty of photographs of interiors in all their pastel glory. These communal spas—meant for relaxation and engender feelings of empathy by proximity and vulnerability, for are distinguished from onsen (温泉, the above map symbol or the hiragana character ゆ, yu, mark their location on maps and signage), another type of public facility, which are fed by hot springs.

take the a-train

Via the ever-engrossing Kottke, we learn that the New York City transit authority has just released its new digital subway map—which relays information in real-time and shows the progress of trains through the system. The new commission is a cartographical compromise between the straightforward geo-spatial representation of the print-version by Michael Hertz and Unimark normally referenced and the more relational work by Massimo Vignelli that combines the best features of both.

mindfulness adjacent

Open Culture presents us with a thorough-going reflection on niksen—that is the Dutch art of doing nothing. Between hygge, lagom (in moderation, in balance) and other concepts, we can all take a cue from our Nordic neighbours in terms of de-stressing and letting go. Whilst not the panacea that attracts us to read and write articles like this, there are admittedly many routes to relaxation and calm but cultivating the art of disconnecting, niksing seems like an important skill to hone.

a journalistic backronym

Like the invented term for a supplement covering trifles and “The Talk of the Town” feuilleton—from the French diminutive little leaf and since in circulation for periodicals, it’s a little unmooring but expected in the parlance of jargon and general wonkiness to learn that Op-Ed did not refer to the Opinions and Editorial page as is the general convention but rather the pagination—that is, the verso, opposite of the editorials. The facing section landing typically opinions of authors not affiliated with the publication’s board of editors, distinct from their opinion pieces and letters to the editor submitted by readers. First formalised in the pages of The New York Evening World by journalist Herbert Bayard Swope Senior, member of the Algonquin Round Table and first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for reporting, realising the page was sort of a catchall for society coverage and obituaries, specifically reserving the space for salacious solicitations, though confined to employees of the paper. The first Op-Ed page occurred in the 21 September 1970 edition of The New York Times.

nuova tendenza

Metropolis Magazine brings us a nice retrospective appreciation of the designs and philosophy of recently departed modernist maestro Enzo Mari (*1932, of COVID-19 with his wife, art historian Lea Vergine *1936, of six decades also dying from the disease the next day)—whom drew much of his inspiration and outlook from the idealism of the Arts and Crafts movement. In addition to creative toys and the picture book “The Apple and the Butterfly” and informing the DIY trend, Mari produced signature furnishings for various studios including Danes, Gavina, Artemide, Castelli and Olivetti and his most iconic pieces include the award-winning Delfina and Tonietta chairs and the Legato table.

vitalienbrüder

Executed by means of a beheading that as capitial punishment goes was extraordinarily dramatic on this day in 1401 (*1360), Klaus Störtebeker (see previously for more of the lore) was the leader of a band of privateers—the Victual Brothers—engaged to supply Stockholm with provisions during a siege with Denmark.

Once their services were no longer needed after peace was achieved, they continued their piracy, adopting the new name for their group “Likedeelers”—the equal-sharers, maintaining a stronghold in East Frisia. Threatened with disruption to trade, a fleet of ships from Hanseatic Hamburg finally took on Störtebeker, double-crossed by a disgruntled mate who sabotaged his escape vessel, and brought the fugitive back to city to stand trial. Despite offers to exchange a gold band long enough to encircle Hamburg for the freedom of him and his crew, Störtebeker and seventy-three of his companions were sentenced to death for their crimes. The Lord Mayor did agree to acquises to one last request: that Störtebeker be beheaded first and that all men he could pass after decapitation would be spared. Störtebeker’s body rose (minus the head) and managed to walk past eleven crewmates before being tripped up. The Lord Mayor, however, did not honour those wishes.