the long now

Having previously (see here and here) assayed the conundrum of deflecting curious future explorers from spelunking in our present nuclear waste, we were intrigued to see what sort of out-the-box solutions our artificial intelligencer Janelle Shane (see previously) might be able to coax out of her neural network to serve as a ten-thousand year warning.  Summarising the schema to the GPT-3 routine, its designs seemed to match that of its human engineering inspiration to intrigue as much as dissuade any future civilisation. Giant tube worms and a field of Tulips Shrieking Madness might deter exploration but I am not sure about Dangerous Stairs or Disrupted Pollen Lines. Much more to explore at the links above.

interkosmos group

Launched on a routine rotation and restocking mission to the Salyut 6 space laboratory on this day in 1980, the crew of Soyuz 38 included cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (*1942)—the first (see also) Cuban and individual of Latin American and African heritage to enter into Earth orbit.

An aerial combat pilot from the Guantánamo province decorated for flying reconnaissance mission during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and after demonstrating leadership potential at the brigade level, Tamayo was selected for the pan-communist space programme in 1978 and moved to Star City (Звёздный городо́к) to commence training. Tamayo’s time in orbit aboard the station helped diagnose and treat the phenomenon known as space sickness for future ventures. Since retirement, Tamayo has served as a deputy in the National Assembly, representing his home constituency of Guantánamo.

ucalegon, take me away

Ibidem our previous source and another crucial reminder that what’s rare and delectable in language needs fostering and adoption to champion those words and keep them in circulation we come across the term that’s sadly dated and nearly moribund in ucalegon—an epitome derived from the name of one of the Elders of Troy and advisors of King Priam whose epithet somewhat ironically means Without Worries—Οὐκᾰλέγων (see also). Mentioned in The Iliad with the incident again mentioned in The Aeneid, his home on the city wall was destroyed (along with countless others of course so there is also a bit of sardonic attention in making his loss an exhibit and exemplar) in the sack of the city, he has come to have an allusive use and mean a neighbour whose house is on fire or has burnt down, proximus ardet Ucalegon, implying also that yours might be next. The reprise of the anecdote in Virgil’s epic poem is thought to be a reflection on lessons-learned and heeding evacuation order—and avoid pitfalls or not building in a fire-trap, iam friula transfert Ucalegon.

anatiferous

From the editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there is a new podcast series entitled Words Matter that features some serious logophile conversation about linguistics, usage, semantics and etymology that’s rather brilliant. 

A recent episode presents us with a discussion, a treasury of “aggressive useless” obscure words—like the above, which means “producing geese” dating back to the strange idea that water fowl were generated out of barnacles—and in a more generous, wider sense suggestive of, as is the case with peristeronic. Do look up the episode and subscribe and foster some of these superannuated words. We also enjoyed the separate discussion of another word, jentacular, and a derived term, antejentacular—pertaining to breakfast generally, particularly one taken just upon getting up. The latter refers to something prior to said repast, as in “Would you care to have an antejentacular coffee with me?”

retrospective

We enjoyed considering this analysis of the origins of the maligned and escapingly nostalgic aesthetic known as vaporware as informed by the Surrealist art of Yves Tanguy (*1900 – †1955), that interbellum movement which perhaps with the remove of time does turns toxic undertones tragic and naïve. 

Having grown more nuanced than the longing for salad days that never were, there is across the century a sort of correspondence in both movements and those who limned them embrace a complicated relationship towards retro and reprise when we began again cognizant of (up)sampling and its necessarily selective-nature in recalling a future pledged that only exists in the past, delivering instead of the parallel, low-poly alternate reality that we were seeking all along rather an augmented and ersatz one that didn’t have to be. See more exemplars of both aesthetics at Hyperallergic at the link up top.

i know the scientific names of beings animalculous

On this day in 1683, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (*1632 – †1723) announced in a letter addressed to the Royal Society his discovery of animalcules—little animals, the adjectival form above—living in rain water and invisible to the naked eye.
Sounding quaint to modern biologists and poor van Leeuwenhoek will forever be associated with the word, the progenitor of microscopy and microbial studies of course employed Dutch terms that he readers and fellow researchers could understand dier (animal, compare Tier) with the suffix –en or –ken to express their diminutive nature rather than inventing a Latin term, as his translator, German diplomat and natural philosopher Henry Oldenburg was wont to do. van Leeuwenhoek’s record of transparency, willingness to share discoveries and open, unreserved correspondence spurred on a lot of competition in the field and advanced the field microbiology and germ-theory at pace thereafter.

¡oho!

Via Print Magazine’s regular feature column, the Daily Heller, we are introduced to the cut-short but prolific portfolio graphic designer, muralist and stage backdrop painter Rex Whistler (*1905 – †1944), as well-known known for his portraits of London society of the 1920s and 1930s as he was for his commercial and caricature work. While this visual trope of reversible faces, as collected in this volume published posthumously in 1946, was not invented by Whistler these ambigrams of perspective were among his most popular and enduring legacies not associated with a specific press or advertising campaign and promoted the use of optical illusions. Explore a whole gallery of Whistler’s works at the links up top.

frühaufsteher

Rise and shine, Turophiles, to the musical stylings of organist Ady Zehnpfennig from his 1976 record album Early Bird. Graduating from the accordion to an electronic Hammond organ (see also here and here) and formed a trio with his brothers, performing first at night clubs in Köln. The fun accompanying image is from the reverse jacket cover.