6x6

shorthand: deaf researchers are innovating science communication

inventas∙vitam∙iuvat∙excoluisse∙per∙artes: the questionable rebranding the of the Nobel prize (see also)

the shape of water: aerial photography reveals the beauty of meandering streams, rivers and water courses

fairytale of new york: an appreciation of The Pogues’ classic ballad

kobe hyakkei: more on the woodblock print artist Hide Kawanishi’s impressions of post-war Kobe compared to contemporary photographs

the glories of science: winners of the Royal Society photography contest—a scholarly association for the advancement of knowledge of the natural world 

immer bereit

Named in tribute to the former leader of the Communist party of Germany Ernst Thälmann who was murdered at Buchenwald concentration camp, the East German youth organisation, modelled on the international scouting movement, die Jungpioniere and die Pioniere, was officially founded on this day in 1948.

Margot Feist—the future Missus Erich Honecker—became chairwoman of the group the next year and remained its leader until its dissolution in 1990—at the endpoint, nearly two million pupils, ninety-eight percent of all schoolchildren in East Germany. H was a member, and I have seen his old uniform, at least the blue neckerchief (Halstuch). The pioneers’ slogan and greeting was usually shortened to the call from the leader to “Be ready!” with the response from the group saluting “Always ready!” from the motto—Für Frieden und Sozialismus seid bereit—immer bereit, For Peace and Socialism, be ready—always ready! Matriculation ceremonies for new members took place on the anniversary (Pioniergeburtstag) of the organisation’s establishment.

sneakernet

German multinational Puma would like to remind everyone that digital pedometers and quantifiable data aren’t exactly the newest thing under the sun with the revival of its vintage 1986 RS running shoe.
Cables are required, however, for changing the module in the heel and not for interfacing with one’s home computer. Steps and other fitness telemetry will be transmitted over Bluetooth for the limited reissue. Only eighty-six pairs will be made available worldwide and will probably unfortunately never see any actual street wear.

no₂

With the season of annual superlatives upon us, we quite enjoyed this curated gallery culled from the submissions to the National Geographic Photography Competition. The grand prize went to Jassen Todorov, violinist, photographer and flight instructor, who snapped this stunningly tragic image of thousands of automotive exiles, mothballed in the Mojave Desert.
An aircraft boneyard is just out of the frame and the assembled field of cars represent just a fraction of the millions that had to be idled. These Volkswagens and Audis from the model years 2009 to 2015 were not only not compliant with US Environmental Protection Agency and EU emissions for nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide standards but the engines were moreover designed to cheat—with so called defeat devices—during trials to pass testing. This is certainly a powerful and iconic reminder on how we all pay dearly for something so cheaply underestimated. See more stirring winners and worthies at the link up top.

use proxy

Via Kottke’s curated Quick Links, we enjoyed this collection of hypertext transfer protocol standard response codes illustrated with GIFs of entertainer Beyoncé. Here’s the one for client error code 408: Request Timeout. Check out more of the status codes at HTTBey that includes the two-hundreds, the success series and the three hundreds—the redirects.

the guardians

TIME magazine honours those fighting and dying on the front lines of the War on Truth as its figures of the year, highlighting the fact that coverage does not come without costs.
In addition to the murder of reporter Jamal Khashoggi revealing the disdain that Saudi Arabia has for human rights despite a veneer of progressive reforms, three more covers highlight the sacrifice and insult that the press has faced this year—a mass-shooting on a newsroom in Annapolis, uncovering genocide taking place Myanmar and human rights abuses and disappearings in the Philippines in face of unrelenting adversity. Even more insidious than the open campaign of slurring the media, we offer for your consideration the dismantling of local news outlets, the watchdogs and implications that that has for its jurisdiction.

stereoscopic

Dezeen shares an obituary of the pioneering industrial designer and department store executive Charles “Chuck” Harrison (*1931 - †2018) who recently passed away.
Pictured here with one of his most iconic contributions, the 1958 update to the View-Master that popularised he children’s toy immensely, Harrison rose in the ranks of Sears, Roebuck and Company and eventually managed the department store and catalogue business’s entire design group, creating consumer products that ranged from the first plastic trash can—significantly for the garbage disposal and collection insofar as it became a somewhat quieter affair, home electronics, lawn mowers, cordless razors and the company’s line of Craftsman power tools—over seven hundred innovative items all told. Learn more about Harrison’s education and career at the link above.

cop24

Whilst the international community is struggling to make meaningful progress that might avert the destruction and consummation of civilisation as we know it by committing to being less garbage tenets of this planet, the United States has not just backed out of global compacts that nudge in the right direction but has now assumed the mantle of profligate troll by counter-messaging the United Nations sponsored conference in Katowice (coat of arms pictured, the region known historically for its industry and coal reserves) with a pavilion extolling fossil fuels.
The US, despite the fact that antiquated oil barons can curry favour with the Trump administration and embarrassingly promote dirty fuel as a means to curb climate change, is certainly not alone in not upholding their end of the bargain and affecting real and saving change will require dramatic transitions away from not only traditional means of powering society but the ways in which society consumes resources itself. Activists chanting “keep in the ground” disrupted the start of the event with the remaining audience looking noticeably thinner after the protest.