7x7

a fistful of manicules: Shady Characters explores several font specimens of the typographers’ mark—see previously  

la conquête du pain: an anarcho-communist bakery going strong in Montreuil  

peeping tom: Facebook’s demise following that of mySpace  

storyliving: Disneyland pre-retirement communities—via Web Curios 

erste jahrzehnten: German Design Awards marks its first decade with a special exhibit  

sold for sol 1800: it appears that Melania Trump purchased her own NTF—via New Shelton wet/dry 

i shot the serif: foundry Neubau Berlin pays homage to Mid-Century international fonts

year of the wood boar

Becoming the first Western musical act to appear in concert in China since the break-through performance of George Michael a decade earlier, the Swedish pop duo Roxette rang in the new year on this day in 1995 in the Bejing Workers’ Indoor Arena as part of their Crash! Boom! Bang! world tour for their album of the same name.

👁‍🗨

Via the always interesting Web Curios, we are quite impressed with the comprehensive skill demonstrated by a AI museum docent called Digital Curator and its ability to instantly assembly a sizeable exhibition sourced from the collections of institutions in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to explore the evolution of the depiction of an object, artefact or theme across the ages, styles and movements. Of course one can select from a range of parameters and enter one’s own key terms (however disparate and juxtaposed)—or like this gallery generated for the nonce, ask for a random curation. Try it out and be sure to send us an invitation to your showing.

sammy’s visit

The highly acclaimed and impactful American television sitcom based on the BBC programme Till Death US Do Part from Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, All in the Family, was pioneering for its depiction and discussion of controversial topics not before shown on network television including racism and antisemitism, infidelity, homosexuality, cancer, abortion, rape and Vietnam and aired one of its most memorable episodes on this day in 1972. Moonlighting as a taxi cab driver, one of Archie Bunker’s passengers turns out to be Sammy Davis Jr.

long-exposure

Via the Awesomer, we are enjoying this new gallery of time-slice composite photographs from artist Fong Qi Wei (see previously) whose montage represents a sliver of night and day passing in a single, heightenedly static image. Click through for more of his work. This is a technique that I would like to try to replicate.

synchronoptic view

Our trusted cartographer presents a medley of historical-dynamic maps that transport one to different epochs and eras, redrawing borders and boundaries through the course of human events, each specialising in a certain enhanced visualisation of neighbourliness and development, and we especially were taken with Running Reality with a sliding timeline that macroscopically traces the advance and retreat of kingdoms or zoomed in, the growth of cities and towns, by day, decade and century. Explore the entire tool-box at Maps Mania at the link up top.

7x7

pigeon fancy: Emil Schachtzabel illustrates unnatural selection in prize breeds  

act local, think global: a twenty-question quiz about one’s bioregion, immediate surroundings and a challenge for low-scorers 

onomastic terminology: petrichor, overmorrow, interrobangs and other proper orthonyms  

wysiwyg: Jane Austen used straight pins to edit the rough drafts of her manuscripts before word processors and correction-liquid  

device orchestra: various peripherals, gadgets and appliances perform “Seven Nation Army”  

pandemic cartograms: our unvaccinated world  

hodowla gołębi: profiling Poland’s pigeon keepers, moving up in the pecking-order

chess ‘72

Via Weird Universe we are treated to this over-the-top piece of presidential memorabilia touted as the invitation to invest in America history through art in this rather ghoulish game board commemorating the year in politics with Republicans versus Democrats and portraying personages (by internationally famous sculptor Alexander Silveri for the low price of $32.45) such as Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Henry Kissinger (as Queen) pitted against Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Edward Kennedy and Sam Yorty. There was a second version released the following year dedicated to the Watergate scandal. More at the link up top.