myrmidons or pyric victory

We are living through the biggest war in the history of the natural world, as Kottke informs, had have been for a few of our generations and countless of the belligerents’ and we’d probably pay more attention to epic and global struggle happening underfoot and regard it as more than a nuisance if we did have our own battles to contend with.
The last years of 1800s a solitary stow-away from the marshlands of Argentina arrived in the port New Orleans, and this introduction of an invasive species resulted in the creation of a super-colony that has since spread all over the world, competing with native ants for territory and resources. As the battlefield has expanded and fronts and lines have grown together, the invading Linepithema humile have encountered their own diaspora, and strangely still recognises and treats them as kindred even when they have been separated by continents for over a century. These peaceful reunions, however, may end once the armies have vanquished all other competition.

lying down with lions

Æons after the dispatching of the woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers and Neanderthals but too far removed from mankind’s driving the whales and buffalos to the point of extinction (and sadly too late for the passenger-pigeon), a new paradigm emerged for man’s relationship to Nature, captured by some enterprising toy-makers and some US presidential myth-making. Most are familiar with the lore behind Teddy’s bear, how in 1902 whilst on a domestic safari US president and avid hunter Theodore Roosevelt nobly pardoned a frightened bear—whereas behind the myth, sanitised like the received versions of fairy-tales, the account is not so cuddly.
A guide had captured a rather mangy sow and tied her to a tree to give Roosevelt the honour of shooting her. Roosevelt did decline, believing shooting such a poor prize to be beneath him, and instead ordered that the poor creature be put out of her misery. The guide disembowelled the bear and later the hunting party dined on bear steak. Gruesome as it was, marketers saw an opportunity after the cartoon depicting the moment of Roosevelt’s clemency was widely circulated and produced the teddy bear, marking the first time a formerly ferocious and parallel creature (menacing and sufficient unto themselves like lions, yetis or wolves) was tamed in plush-form. With self-assured supremacy, the careers of these separate and competing members atop of their respective food-chains were now at the pleasure and pardon of the great white hunter. Not realising the endurance of their idea, manufacturers feared that the craze would disappear with Roosevelt and tried to capitalise on the ascendency of William Howard Taft and oddly again with an animal that ended up being eaten. After the election, Taft was treated to a congratulatory banquet in Atlanta, Georgia where he was served an enormous opossum the size of today’s turkeys. Re-enforced on his victory-lap, Taft was presented numerous taxidermy and plush “Billy Possums,” the industry tried to launch a new craze to supplant the teddy bear that represented the old-guard of the Republican Party.

overseas lipogram or parts of speech

After reading about the novel efforts of two writers to produce coherent stories without the letter e—such constraining composition is described as lipogrammatical but the results usually are not so epic in scope (usually just avoiding the rarer letters), I was reminded how, by this illustration, the biggest compliment that two interlocutors can pay one another is being mutually intelligible in their message. Literacy is not in the parsing or omission but in being comprehensible, even when handicapped and leaning too heavily on other conceits. One’s audience is moreover not averse to being challenged and it’s not always necessary to be clear and concise with convenience-words, and some effort at unpacking meaning is a welcome thing—especially if those gentle readers don’t realise what level of exertion is being asked of them.
It is difficult to say what muse possessed these authors to eschew this one letter (as is the case with most every undertaking), but perhaps e was not the most penitent of choices. Though the alphabet that we have inherited from the ages is bereft of original meanings and there is no memory left in the symbols—what we pronounce as vowels unrepresented in the written word and all signifying much different sounds according to local language and extent of contact with outsiders, the story and pedigree that we are able to reconstruct for e seems a particularly cheerful one that encapsulates why writing and communication in general is something to be cherished and cultivated. Before passing almost unchanged from Greek to Latin, the letter developed from a Semitic one that linguists believe represented an out-stretched hand and ultimately from an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph (sacred writing) that expressed jubilation upon meeting a kindred spirit. 

can you picture that?

For their first live festival performance, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem rocked the audience at Outside Lands in San Francisco, a music, comedy and wine showcase that transforms Golden Gate Park every August into something otherworldly. Be sure to check out the link above from Laughing Squid for full-footage of the feature-act and more information about the venue.

sonic screwdriver

The always brilliant Dangerous Minds have uncovered a trove of Doctor Who episodes portrayed in the style of vintage Penguin paperbacks. This serialisation was imagined by Sean Coleman and more can be found at his tumblr blog and etsy shop, via the link up top. Whose Doctor Who was not an actual canon chapter but rather a 1977 documentary on the Whovian phenomenon hosted by presenter extraordinaire Melvin Bragg (In Our Time), and coincidentally this omnibus featured clips from most of the other episodes featured on the retro covers.

lost in translation

The Local, the German daily in English, recounts the unlikely misadventures of a Chinese tourist, who after losing his wallet, in Heidelberg, attempted to report it as missing, only to find himself in a asylum processing centre for over a week before be allowed to continue on with his European vacation. It’s unclear how this chain of events went unbroken for so long, but compliant and obliging, the man surrendered his passport in exchange for refugee documents and accepted the daily allowance that the centre distributed. Perhaps it’s not so strange or naïve to imagine that that might (or ought to) be the customary and expected reception for a traveler potentially down on his luck.

ring and spring

Courtesy of Kottke’s assorted links, we are treated to the keen and discerning eye of Milton Glaser, graphic designer who gave us I ❤ NY and the DC Comics shield, who reviews the Olympics logos throughout the ages.
It’s a little remarkable, independent of any other context, to think about what’s captured over this relatively short career in terms of typography and abstraction. One of my favourites has always been the Olympiad held in Mexico City (eighty out of a hundred) and venues around that time, from a stylistic perspective, but there is a lot to jar one’s memory here. I’d like to see the submissions of the failed bidders as well to see what criteria won the day.

plush and pile or the worshipful company of upholders

BBC Autos magazine examines that often observed but seldom questioned universal truth of the otherwise invisible upholstery that constitutes the patterns and fabric that adorn the seats of buses, trains, trams and planes through the lens of a textile epicure from Germany (which has particularly hideous and garish designs for their fleet of public buses) who ventured forth on a series of railway journeys camouflaged in clothes tailored from the same stylish fabrics that covered her carriage: why so ugly?
What asking the question prompted was pretty fascinating. Though fashion is prone to date itself, bus seats rarely show their age and worn out upholstery, sturdy and made out of a wool called moquette, is seldom the cause for refurbishment as they can last for decades, despite constant use, abuse and rough cleaning. The patterns are designed to disrupt the gaze of the passenger, as well, drawing attention away from neglected stains. Further, because of the enormous amount of fabric generated at a go, it’s likely a passenger will encounter multiple times, anywhere in the world. It’s a bit like the laser backdrop for picture day in grade school, and realising it was not unique to one’s class. Even for newly outfitted means of mass-transport, there’s the matter of upholding tradition, that being the antique term of course for the guild of upholsters.