the gallery of regrettable food

Awarded with the honour of Blört old school site of the day, we were pleased to make the acquaintance of Lileks—a self-described antechamber of the web’s most idiosyncratic curated museum (see also) through its Institute of Official Cheer and some of its recent acquisitions—or de-accessions depending on one’s perspective—exhibited in the Orphanage of Cast-Off Mascots (coming soon), Interior Desecrators and the Permanent Collection of Impermanent Art, dedicated to presenting ephemera and advertising in frames. There’s also a daily weblog to peruse with lots to discover going back to 1998.

code napoléon

Whilst not the first civil law legal codex introduced in Europe to make the system more equitable, comprehensive and self-consistent—replacing a framework of local feudal laws and microjurisdicitions in place prior to the Napoleonic Wars with the kingdoms of Bavaria and Prussia setting precedent, this set of laws drafted and enacted by a quorum of jurists on this day in 1804 represents one the most influential and wide-reaching change in early modern history, malleable and amenable to change adopted throughout the Western world and a template for developing and emerging nations. Rather than building on the medival laws that informed French courts and jurisprudence previously, framers reached further back to the sixth-century codification of Roman law, the Institutes of the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian the Great. Whereas previously civil life was governed by custom and privilege, the rule of law going forward prevented secret rules and application relied on due publication and promulgation, and while rulings could be cited as precedent, legal judgments carried no legislative weight, courts were encouraged to interpret the law by the prohibition of justice denied or dismissed due to insufficiency of the law.

your daily demon: bael

The first Goetic spirit listed on the calendar of demons, the infernal and principle king that commands sixty-six legions and rules from this day, the beginning of Aries, until 25 March, is probably a syncretism of the Canaanite deity Ba’al and presents in the forms of a cat, man or toad simultaneously. Sometimes conflated with Beelzebub—Lord of the Flies—Bael’s office is to impart the power of invisibility to the exorcist and is countered by the Shem HaMephorash angel Vehuiah.

john of nepomuk

Though not canonised until centuries later and then fêted on 31 May, abbot Jan z Pomuku was martyred on this day in 1393 (see previously) on orders of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia by tossing him off the Charles Bridge into the Vltava for refusing to divulges the secrets that the queen had confessed to him. For his determination to keep from breaching confidentiality and for the manner of his death, John of Neopmuk was made patron of discretion and invoked against floods and drownings, often appearing in statue form on bridges, including on the above Karlův most. For Wenceslaus’ own popularity and continued reign, killing the queen’s confessor was tantamount to what the death warrant of Thomas à Becket did for Henry II.

the french word for hobbyhorse

Via Colossal, we are introduced to the extensive portfolio of Glasgow based artist and illustrator Lola Dupré through her didgitally distorted portraiture and other painterly compositions informed by the dadaesque movement of a century ago. Her cat Charlie is featured prominently in her repertoire, many impossible angles suggesting mirror reflections but other means of doubling and reduplication as well. More at the links above.

the thracian

Acclaimed by the Praetorian Guard as emperor in the West on this day in 238—a year later labelled by history as the Year of the Six Emperors (see also)—and reluctantly confirmed by the Roman senate who did not find the prospect of putting an oafishly large barbarian bandit in charge, Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus “Thrax” would rule for three years, the first to attain such the pinnacle of government without coming from the elite classes of the Senātus or knights eques. Thrax’ tumultuous reign is considered to have set in motion the Crisis of the Third Century which eventually led to its downfall and dissolution in the West and ruled mainly from Mogontiacum, capital of Germania Superior along the Rhein and from the province of Israel, where there is archaeological evidence of starting on some infrastructure work with an unfinished roadway, never able to come to Rome herself. Paranoid and focused on consolidating power inciting accusations and cultivating a court of informers, Thrax doubled soldiers’ pay and waged continuous warfare—financing these policies through raising taxes and appropriation of church property and violent confiscations, earning almost universal distrust from those outside of the army and his inner circle. Marching on Rome in May of 238, Thrax was assassinated by his own troops at a camp outside the city walls at Aquileia, the gates closed to the advancing siege of the unpopular emperor by order of the senate, the soldiers disaffected and suffering from privation with taking the fortified city not as simple of a matter that they had been led to believe.

spaghetti images

As Kottke reports, determination and engineering designed to optimise the surface area for sauce saturation has paid off with the debut of a speciality, niche past shape called the cascatelli—Italian for little waterfalls, a success for Mission: Impastable. There is so far no indication whether or not this creation will be soon joining the ranks of other speciality, utilitarian and decorative shapes (see previously here, here and here) but we can nonetheless appreciate the intention and would be eager to try a forkful alla puttanesca with parmigiana reggiano.

thomanerchor

Confirmed by decree issued by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV before the Frankfurt Reichstag, Leipzig’s celebrated and well-known boys choir was founded on this day in 1212. In past times adjacent to the school and campus, the choir performs in the storied Thomaskirche—among the oldest continuous cultural institutions in Europe, its members and directors have produced many musical luminaries, including Johann Sebastian Bach, who served as cantor from 1723 to 1750.