melmac

Although I had been made aware that the US sitcom ALF (Alien Life Form) had enjoyed considerable popularity in newly unified Germany, which was probably out of proportion to its domestic successive, I certainly did not know beforehand that the extra-terrestrial puppet with an appetite for felines had such a cult following with a series of record albums and even once stood for the chancellery. I think it’s funny how during the holidays, H always finds Alvin and the Chipmunk’s Christmas Song bizarre and grating but I bet he not is only cognizant but maybe was an active participant in this fad. You can listen to a sample track at the link.

curdling

After several decades of speculation—reverting to staple theories of bacteria or nibbling mice in the mix, researchers have determined why what’s classed as Swiss cheese was traditionally riddled with “eyes” but has now more or less become “blind” (in cheese-talk). The lack of the characteristic holes does not affect the flavour of course but their source was an enduring mystery—until, that is, the holes started to disappear. It was not the fermenting agents, however, that carved out these voids but rather other impurities, like splinters of hay, in the customary wooden milking buckets that have been employed for centuries. In fact, it was not really until modern times that the holes were considered desirable at all and cultivated as something of a trademark for foreign markets.  With processes becoming more automated and sanitary, however, large holes are not likely to develop.

hirsute

Via Weird Universe, apparently in the Norwegian navy, male sailors must apply for a special exemption in order to wear a beard (skjegg). The application form (example pictured at the first link) requires a justification and an area to draw a picture of what the proposed facial hair will look like.

five-by-five

imperial units: boss lunch box issued to promote US adoption of the metric system

animatronic: BRETT (Berkeley Robot for the Elimination of Tedious Tasks) learns to put things together

allusive: visual homages in Tarantino films

subterrania: mysterious, amazing sea-shell grotto discovered accidentally

franking privilege: one man’s daily journal in the form of tiny postage stamps for a make-believe country

alles gute zum geburtstag!

Although it’s notoriously, happily difficult to pin down the founding date of human settlements—happily as it allows residents to celebrate the anniversary multiple times, marking legendary or actuarial mention, I am certainly siding with this warm birthday tribute to Leipzig from Deutsch Welle that honours all the highlights of this fair city. When Leipzig was first documented by a church chronicler a thousand years ago as urbs Libzi—the city among the lime trees—there surely must have already been a sizable population and significant commercial activity there for some time, which archaeological evidence attests to. H and I are well acquainted with this storied city and its surroundings and here (Augusteum, Plagwitz, Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Leipziger Zoological Gardens, Weihnachtsmarkt, Russian Orthodox Church) are just a selection of past impressions.

high commission or envoy extraordinary

Catching up on some episodes of Radio 4’s Great Lives series of jured biographies, I found myself being acquainted with quite a lot of heroic, indispensable individuals whom I’ve never heard of before.
I do enjoy the interaction of the champions and expert witnesses—especially when they don’t always choose to celebrate celebrity in the same way—and learning more about the character and background of the famed, but I appreciate even more discovering those overshadowed, interstitial contributors to the course of history, who, like something in between two known quantities that must necessarily be there if just for the sake of preserving the rules of periodicity.
One such essential but presently forgotten individual was statesman and diplomat John Gilbert Winant, US ambassador to the United Kingdom during the crucial years of WWII—introduced by the sitting US legate.  After the progressive Republican served consecutive terms as governor of New Hampshire, overseeing recovery programmes on the state-level that paralleled and complimented national efforts to pull America out of the Great Depression, FDR—recognising talent, crossed party-lines and appointed Winant first to the commission that codified the US Social Security System, c.f., having bipartisan support for Obamacare.
Shortly afterwards, in 1941, FDR named Winant to the UK diplomatic mission—replacing Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, who although a fellow Democrat maintained that US should not become entangled in foreign engagements and did not cut a very inspiring figure during the Blitz. Winant, with his outreach and industrial connections, became instrumental behind the scenes in persuading the US to join the war effort in Europe. Although the campaign on the political front ultimately did secure America’s commitment, some say that FDR dispatched Winant across the Atlantic also in order to avoid a potential challenge to his unprecedented fourth term as president. The BBC discussion includes many anecdotes and analysis that are well worth the listen—a chat that really draws one into the discussion.

surplus city

Thanks to the Presurfer for reintroducing us to the urban-spelunking of explorer Darmon Richter with his adventures to Inner Mongolia to experience the abortive venture that became New Ordos City. Plans to create an “outstanding tourism city of China” did not materialise as expected and now the gilded, ultra-modern metropolis hosts only a few lonely tenants and stands deserted and truly irreconcilably devoid of people or activity. In two instalments, Richter’s reflections, photography and native curiosity really enhances learning about the world’s largest “ghost city” and what haunts this phenomenon.

uAwg oder plus-ones

Preparations for the upcoming G-7 summit are putting undo onus on residents, by-standers and potential antagonists for the selected venue, the alpine retreat of Schloss Elmau. For the sake of security theatre, the compound—which was ironically envisioned at the behest of a local countess back in 1914 as an artistic retreat where an international class of volunteers matriculated annually to cater to and learn from artists in residence and not the exclusive and now fortified hotel that it has become. Campers are disappointed to find many pitches off-limits and other accommodations already claimed by authorities or members of the press that claimed any vacancies months prior.
Traffic is restricted as well as taking one’s cows to pasture. Protesters are unable to vent their frustrations because, ostensibly intimidated by the police, they’ve been afforded no quarter. I hope a few demonstrators do seek through the cordon, disguised as horses or haystacks—not so there’s violence or chaos, but just so the make-believe atmosphere created for the overlords is not so flawless as to allow them to keep their delusions. What do you think? I hope this kind of caravan never comes to town.