§§ (10. 219)

The oldest formal data protection law in the world, the State of Hessen promulgated its Data Protection Act (das Datenschutzgesetz) on this day in 1970. A model for privacy legislation to follow, it was authored chiefly by Spiros Simitis, inspired by a visionary article in the Frankfurter Allegemeinen Zeitung (FAZ) warning of the potential pitfalls of widespread computer use and when the law was adopted by the Landtag to great zeal, it was declared that omniscient, panopticon of survellience would not be able to gain purchase here, setting up an independent institution to monitor against Orwellian practises. Though lacking a robust regulatory framework by today’s standards, evolution and articulation of the law enshrined for us in iterations the concepts of retention and disposition schedules, data earmarking and anonymization as well as informed consent and the right of information self-determination.

catalina caper (10. 218)

Also released under the alternative title Never Steal Anything Wet, the 1967 comedy musical mystery starring Tommy Kirk and featuring the talents of Little Richard and Mary Wells, the Lee Sholem property was subjected to the MST3K treatment (previously) for the first time on this day in 1990. The movie features a group of swimsuit clad old teens investigating the theft of a museum artefact, an ancient Chinese scroll, discovering in the process that the parents of one of the beachgoers are responsible. “Ok—now everybody wear eye-protection, there’s a lot of loose-ends flying together all at once.”

eurobruggen (10. 217)

Via Pasa Bon! we learn that one Dutch town called Spijkenisse, part of Rotterdam, has managed to claim all the anonymous, composite bridges on Euro banknotes for the Netherlands by building the spans over one waterway in the residential area Het Land from 2011 to 2013.  The community was also in the headlines more recently at the beginning of November 2020 when a metro car that jumped the track was saved by a whale tail sculpture after pummetting ten meters. 

7x7 (10. 216)

negroni sbagliato: your guide to the new hot adult beverage  

naked eye: a gallery of some of the best images of microscopic photography from the past year 

aunt jess: a celebration of the life and career of Dame Angela Lansbury—see previously  

little big world: a tilt-shift tour of München and Oktoberfest

if pigs could fly: iconic Battersea Power Station reopens to the public as a luxury property development–via Things Magazine

mutual of omaha: superlative wildlife photography  

ss23: backless menswear suits seem to be here to stay

lingua cosma (10. 215)

Though somewhat unclear whether mathematician Hans Freudenthal intended his constructed language to be practically applicable or just a thought-experiment and heuristic for thinking about how we might hurdle a potential language-barrier, his Lincos (a portmanteau of the above, see previously) was designed to be decipherable by any extraterrestrial life form—free of terrestrial syntax or context—and conducive to radio transmissions as part of the SETI program, it was meant to primarily convey propositional logic and universal constants. This narrow-band of communication—a bridge, however did not dissuade senior lecturer in Digital Media Studies at the University of Roehampton Richard Carter from anthologizing this alien-icebreaker in a collection of poems called Signals, which of course limn our limits of expression amongst ourselves as much as to other galactic denizens. Much more to explore at the links above.

four-minute warning (10. 214)

The always excellent Maps Mania directs our attention to comprehensive map of eleven hundred declassified US nuclear targets in Eastern Europe and the USSR (see also) from a circa 1956 study of the Strategic Air Command. Clicking on any push-pin allows one to explore the potential damage done by the warhead of one’s choice–I could not press denotate even out of curiousity. The Soviets and confederates have not reciprocated with the same sort of list.

it gets better (10. 213)

In recognition of Coming Out Day (see previously), Wikipedia’s Hauptseite refers us to the interactive browser game made by developer Nicky Case, whose other titles include the Parable of the Polygons and Adventures in Anxiety, in their semi-autobiographical, interactive game Coming Out Simulator 2014—see also. Styled to appear like an instant messaging application, play imparts possible scenarios in conversations about coming out to one’s friends and family—with no right or wrong answers—and to provide a forum for LGBT youth to understand their sexuality and gender identity. Though imperfect from the perspective of the present and focused more on engendering empathy among heterosexuals and characters are presented as cis and binary, this game played a big role in self-acceptance for many young people and the range of answers and angles is purposeful architecture of discomfort to induce stress and cause players to carefully weigh the consequences of their decisions and actions and develop life-skills. An emulator of the simulation is available here.

proto-zoetrope (10. 212)

Via Messy Nessy Chic, we are directed to an artefact found in sizable archaeological Bronze Age settlement of Shahre-e Sukhteh (شهر سوخته, Persian for Burnt City) found amongst of treasure of the Helmand culture including an artificial eye, the oldest known board-game with playable pieces and dice, a human skull displaying evidence of successful brain surgery and this earthenware goblet, all items approaching five millennia in age, that depicts was researchers consider to be first animation—see previously. When the vessel is rotated, it reveals a leaping goat taking a bite off a leaf.