five-by-five

quilting-bee: fantastic gallery of modern quiltmaking

corpse bride: vis-à-vis those paranormal paramours, a guide to posthumous marriage

rapper’s delight: woman walking her dog dances her heart out for a Bruxelles street performer

uncommon-grounds: coffee cups moulded from recycled coffee dregs

demarcation: a look at twenty-two plus international borders

warp and weave or venus in blue jeans

Via the splendiferous Kottke comes report of the latest technological collaboration of the wearable type in the form of Project Jacquard and the amazing, technicolour dreampants.

While it’s probably at best misleading to suggest that these new touch-sensitive textiles come in many colours or own any heritage to the that thermochronic experiment of the late 1980s that seemed to go underground (or even mood rings, which have seen a revival), having apparel that clothes one in a second, interactive skin, the Generra brand was the first thing I thought of. These new materials, however, are not to meant to interact with one’s body alone—though I imagine that true dreampants could be self-tailoring and will probably be laden with the soon to be standard compliment of vital-sign monitors and check one’s overall circulation and admonish the wearer if he or she becomes too big for his or her britches—but are moreover extensions of one’s distilled quiver of gadgets. One’s jeans and shirts would become control-panels and beacons for one’s electronic frontiers as intuitively (or not) as any other state-of-the-art implement.

marienkäfer

An interesting archive article from the brilliant Ark-in-Space engrossingly (and timely for summer) profiles the bizarre life-cycle of the ladybug. This through treatment presents quite a few surprises like who knew of their voraciousness that includes cannibalism (called intraguild predation) and that nightmare, gila monster phase of development that they go through after hatching.

Auf Deutsch they are called Marienkäfer more clearly reflecting the belief that the hungry beetles are a godsend for farmers which summarily consume aphids and other pests that plague crops. Our Lady’s bug or bird also, in her most common variety, has seven black dots on her shell to represent the seven joys and seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary. Incidentally, the original English meaning of sorry was to be covered in spots—aggrieved with sores, and came closer to the sense of being regretful or feeling woe came out of this connection. Here is a poor little ladybug who might have ventured out too early in the season and managed to press itself between the panes of my window. Having become a graveyard for quite a few insects, I always wonder how it is that they wedge themselves in there in the first place. That is not a pleasant way for anything to end its life-cycle.  I ought to provide better alternative accommodations with one of those bug hotels.

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.