mendicant marks

Previously we have encountered the glyphs left by the hobos, vagabonds and other members of the travelling community as coded guidance (see here), but it was not until this discovery by our faithful antiquarian that we had seen a map made by and for the community in this ethnographic study of Kent that included a chart and key in circulation from 1870. The map was was rendered by a local screever or sidewalk-chalk artist who would normally be consigned with religious iconography and whom captioned figures with such names as “¾ Sarah.” See more at the links above for a glimpse into this world of cunning and survival.

fiddlesticks

Debuting in theatres on this day in 1930 along with the feature presentation King of Jazz, a musical revue of the genre, Flip the Frog’s piano duet with a spider and later performance with a rather familiar looking mouse, the animated short marks the first cartoon from illustrator Ub Iwerks (*1901 – †1971, creator of Mortimer/Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit) since he split with Disney studios. After a brief stint as a free agent before working with Leon Schlesinger and Columbia Pictures, Iwerks returned to Disney, working with them until retirement in 1965. Significantly, this departure was the first animation screened in Technicolor. The cartoon is also featured in the music video for Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady.

acta et vita

Another champion of our canine friends albeit with a wider patronage portfolio, Saint Roch (Rocco, Rochus, Rock, (*1295 – †1397) is venerated on this day with a truly global cult of devotees with namesake churches all over the world, canonised by popular demand fervour. His iconography tells his story: son of the mayor of Montpellier, he divested himself of worldly possession for the life of a mendicant pilgrim and undertook the journey to Rome on foot, and arriving in Italy during an outbreak of the plague, Roch carried for the sick and aided in the miraculous recuperation of many, encouraging the establishment of hospitals for the poor.
Finally catching the disease himself, Roch went into self-isolation and built himself hut in the woods. Apparently not very skilled at roughing it, Roch would have died from starvation had not a dog delivered him a loaf of bread and charitably licked his sores until they healed. The dog was subsequently reunited with his human, one Count Gothard, who became Roch’s first follower. Upon his return to his hometown, not revealing his identity or kinship, Roch’s uncle—now governor of the Savoy outpost—treated him with suspicion and had him arrested on charges of espionage. Roch still remained silent and was executed—though afterwards, the towns people recognised him by his birthmark (or plague pock) on his thigh, appearing as an apparition and performing miracles thereafter. Roch’s extensive benefaction includes bachelors, tile-makers, apothecaries, second-hand dealers and the falsely accused and is invoked against knee problems as well as the plague.

nostalgia for the mud

Our thanks to Digg for having us circle back around and dally, indulge in the surreal treasury of the self-conscious captured in this series of composite images from Chase Middleton.
These intersectional collages are strange and random but all seem to evoke this feeling of awkward incantation—a conjuring as we imagine it in our heads informed by on-screen depictions but that we pull off ham-fistedly and manage to muddle through somehow. See a whole gallery at the links above or at the artist’s website.

where are they now?

Via TYWKIWDBI, we are treated to a brief profile of the schoolboy band known as The Hectics, formed by five pupils of an English boarding school called St. Peter’s in Pamchgani, outside of Bombay (Mumbai) and active from 1958 through 1962.  One might recognise at least the centre lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist as Farrokh Bulsara, whom later adopted the name Freddie Mercury (*1946 – †1991, previously). Far left is Derrick Branche who had starring roles in My Beautiful Laundrette, Blake’s 7 and Father Ted Mysteries.

flora, fauna, fire

Via Maps Mania, we are directed to an engaging and impactful look at the devastation that Australia’s wildfires brought at the beginning of 2020 in the form of this interactive scrollytelling presentation that shares stories of recovery, prevention and links to the toll it has taken on 119 representative plants and animal species, whom may face extinction without human intervention. Though 119 is the number for firefighters and emergency services in many other jurisdictions, it’s triple zero you want to dial on the continent.

stays these couriers

Though never an official motto, the phrase from Herodotus about another determined set of postal workers, the Persians, unparalleled in Antiquity, the words are stirring and befitting such a beleaguered though indefatigable group.
Knowing that he cannot win honestly and outright or retain a controlling majority of the legislature, Trump is dismantling the US mail to stop postal balloting—with the added bonus of ensuring knock-on delays downstream, for people that need to receive rent or pension cheques through the mail and potentially deadly deferrals for those refiling prescriptions. Though there was turmoil beforehand over the United States’ leaving of the Universal Postal Union, this new phase was not a necessary consequence and the actions being undertaken now could not be characterised as anything else but sabotage.

gumball machine

Spoon & Tamago direct our attention to a train station in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, famed for its electronics stores and tiny speciality stalls selling anything and everything with the same microcosm of offerings contained in this massive wall of gachapon vending machines—see previously.

Designed and branded as Kenelstand by Akira Mabucho, these surreal souvenirs are targeted towards adults with some practical items and many more tiny, collectible keepsakes like miniature versions of bespoke furniture, other luxury goods—at times bordering on the surreal—and a range of domestic and international tourist attractions. Much more to explore at the links above.