by the skin of our teeth

As successor to the National Educational Television (NET) network, PBS began broadcasting to American audiences on this day in 1970.

No longer burdened with the responsibility of promoting domestic programming only (suggested under the former station identification), it was able to supplement its heirloom line-up of Sesame Street and The French Chef with foreign produced pieces (see also) and premiered with the airing over the next several weeks of the thirteen part BBC documentary Civilisation, developed by David Attenborough and presented by Sir Kenneth Clark. The show-makers fully cognizant of their biases and limited perspective that recast history from the Dark Ages through to the early twentieth from an exclusively western European angle, the series’ subtitle was A Personal View by Kenneth Clark—perhaps a disclaimer too subtle for many. 

 

müllerian mimicry

While at a loss to choose a favourite, we very much appreciated—in a similar vein to these apparel comparisons—this thread of Sir David Attenborough in various fancy suits and academic regalia as well as more practical outfits juxtaposed with friends from the insect world from the always splendiferous Everlasting Blört. Much more to explore at the links above, and do let us know if you’ve found a spirit animal for your own wardrobe. 

 

inside information

We were really taken with these brilliant, cross-sectional infographics from UK Design Group Dorothy—via Colossal—that tell the history of the filmmaking, personal computing, electronic music, fashion and more through detailed cut-a-ways that illustrates the collaborative process that underpins so of the iconic tools-of-the-trade that informs the world we inhabit today. We enjoyed this treatment and recalled these animations, only accessible and to be appreciated digitally for now.  Many more blue prints and maps as well as anatomical studies in this series to find at the links above—including an affordable and stylish selection of posters and wall art—at their studio’s shop.

brother sun, sister moon

Fabulistically perhaps best-known for his ability to commune with Nature as a reflection of divinity and preaching to the birds—thus appointed patron saint of ecology in 1979 by Pope John Paul II, confessor, scholar and organiser Francis of Assisi (*1181 – †1226) is venerated on this day, the morning after having peacefully expired after receiving the stigmata from a vision of a crucified seraphim. Constituting religious orders for both men and women with significant political clout and endurance, Francis’ attempted a rapprochement with Al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, and put an end to the bloodshed of the Crusades and bring about peace. Though received graciously by the court of the sultan, the negotiations ultimately failed, although only the Franciscans were allowed to remain in the Holy Land after the fall of Crusader kingdoms as custodians on behalf of the Church.

zwiebelzopf

Visiting a small harvest festival nearby held on Germany Unity Day, H and I looked for some autumn accents for the house and found several stalls selling traditional onion braids (Zwiebelzöpfe). 

Sometimes also incorporating garlic bulbs, the braids adorned craftily with dried wild flowers were not customarily only for decorative and storage, preservative purposes but moreover for the notion that the power of the talisman would stave off illness and harm from hearth and home. Right now we can all use all the help we can muster. Singly, onions were worn as amulets in medieval times to ward off the plague, and a New Year’s Eve custom (divination from onions is called cromniomancy—see also) in various regions, especially in the Erzgebirge, called for the dicing of an onion into twelve sections and sprinkling each bowl with salt to forecast the precipitation for each month of the year to come as the moisture drawn out of each section by the next morning would predict that month’s rainfall.

juristische sekunde

Having recently been privy to a consequential and precedent-setting discussion on the nature of deadlines and what legal leeway there is between a late submission and being in just under the wire, we were reminded of the above legal fiction—otherwise described as a logical second—that denotes, according to the Roman system of jurisprudence that German law is heir to, a period between two simultaneous events as to make them successive with the latter in the chain being the intended effect of the former.

The most famous modern example of invoking this imaginary instance of transitional time occurred at the stroke of midnight 3 October 1990 during the Reunification of Germany (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung, see previously here, here, here, and here) which first replaced East Germany by reconstituting its constituent states (Lander—not without some derision calling them collectively die Neulander) so that the constitutional Basic Law (Grundgesetz) came to apply to the united federation of states in the same way for all. State elections were held there on 14 October to form parliamentary bodies and gain anatomy and self-determination within Germany.

1st ladyship

Having survived a probable case of the Spanish Flu picked up during his attendance at the Paris Peace Conference the previous fall, on this day in 1919, US president Woodrow Wilson (*1856 – †1924) suffered a debilitating stroke after an exhausting but ultimately unsuccessful barnstorming campaign push in the western states to rally support for the America’s membership in the League of Nations that left him incapacitated for the remainder of his term.

Unbeknownst to the public and most government officials, Wilson was sequestered from everyone except for his physician and wife, Edith (née Bolling Galt), who discharged the duties of the office effectively and efficiently—probably vetoing the Volstead Act which would have prevented Prohibition if it had not been overridden by Congress. The twenty-fifth amendment to the US constitution which redresses vagaries concerning the line of succession was ratified between 1965 and 1967 in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy as by the time the public learned of the situation, there was only a few months left in the Wilson presidency, having lost his bid for a third term, and congressional leaders (probably just as well) declined to press the issue. 

 

october surprise

After ninety minutes of rabidly barking at his opponent, Joe Biden, at Tuesday night’s first general debate distanced but indoors with camera crew, moderator and a split audience and entourage (with one side of the aisle largely unmasked), it is revealed that Donald and Melania Trump have contracted the novel coronavirus, tested after a close aid started showing symptoms.

It is unclear how long Trump, who is now presenting with mild cold-like complaints, could have been contagious and whom else might have been exposed. This development—which arguably should not really come as a shock for someone spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and attempted to hide and downplay the danger to the public to enhance his credentials and ridiculed those who wear masks and take precautions or might at least learn from his British and Brazilian counterparts who had to deal with the same comeuppance—potentially ends the campaigning, effectively putting a stop to all junkets and rallies for Trump during the CDC mandated quarantine period.