the market square! the market fair! salted meat i’m selling there! (10. 230)

Beginning its second Broadway revival on this day in 1980, the 1947 Lerner and Loewe collaboration about two American tourist travelling the Scottish Highlands on a game-hunting vacation and stumble upon an enchanted village that does not appear on their map. Named after the Lowlands bridge, Brig o’ Doon, in Robert Burns’ “Tam o’Shanter,” the companions, eligible bachelors variously portrayed by Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse and in a 1966 television adaptation Robert Goulet and Peter Falk, learn that the local minister had asked God to intercede to protect the village from the modern world (not sure that the congregation was consulted on this), and now Brigadoon only appears on appears for one day every century and should any citizens every leave, the miracle will be broken and the village will disappear forever. The musical comedy Schmigadoon! is a modern parody and homage with lost backpackers finding themselves trapped in a Golden Age stage production.

7x7 (10. 229)

symphony of the birds: CBS Radio director Jim Fassett’s 1960 experimental arrangement  

home row: Google Japan develops a long, horizontal keyboard for messy desks—reminded us of the iPhone Taller that doubles a guitar  

benevolent dictator: a profile of President Kevin Baugh and his micronation of Molossia—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

kunstradfahren: a graceful bicycle ballet by a skilled practitioner of this 130 year old sport  

barcalounger: ten homes whose decor is tied together with classic Eames chairs—see previously

unreliable narrator: microbrews and hipster beer names  

peer-reviewed: birdsong helps alleviate human anxiety and paranoia

à la carte (10. 228)

The need having fortunately not arisen and never noticing these instructions before from my online bank, I was rather intrigued that the three-stacked dots icon was referred to as the kebab and wondered about the identity of other menu widgets. Apparently there are a whole suite of representations, and the differences are primarily stylistic to distinguish between navigational options, the line variety opening up a whole new screen, more or overflow, whereas the dot subset opens an in-line (closed) scaled for mobile devices. Not certain how often they were employed in the wild, but the Chocolate Box is also known as the Bento Menu and the Strawberry as the Döner, a kind of kebab.

the levelled churchyard (10. 227)

Strange Company’s invaluable Weekend Link Dump invites us to pass an hour in the cemetery of Old St Pancras—not only famed for its connection to the literary circles of Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens and Mary Wollstonecraft as well as the iconic telephone box via the tomb of Sir John Soane but moreover attracting visitors to what has been deemed the Hardy Tree, after the former junior architect turned novelist involvement with the expansion of the train network (see also). The building of the Midland Railway necessitated the removal of many graves, a number of the headstones of them were rummaged in the roots of this tree, inspiring the author later to reflect in the titular poem, “We late-lamented, resting here,/Are mixed to human jam,/And each to each exclaims in fear,/‘I know not which I am!’” Much more to explore at the links above.

monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line (10. 226)

After topping the charts in the UK, UB40’s cover version of the 1967 Neil Diamond song reached number one in the US on this day in 1988, employing a lighter reggae-style in contrast to the somber ballad of Diamond—whom the group’s lead vocalist, Astro, only familiar with another version by Tony Tribe assumed the song credit went to a Jamaican performer called Negus Diamond. The latter very much enjoys this tribute variant and performs in the style of UB40 rather than his own.

catoweny (10. 225)

There’s a phenomenon circulating around the internet reliant on statistical white-noise to amplify small differences in order to proclaim one search term, soft drink, fast food franchise the most popular in each American state, which while it has negligible ethnographic value we were delighted how our AI wrangler Janelle Shane (previously) had harnessed this exploit to hilarious and often opaque effect in this unlocked omnibus bonus post (consider subscribing and becoming a patron of AI Weirdness for more quality content) of the most popular candy, state-by-state, as conjured up by Dall·E2, unbagged and certified safe for Trick-or-Treaters. Sometimes reality seems to seep in, as with Burt Mint (like Burt’s Bees products) for Maine but most (and there are too many to choose from) are inscrutable and flexibly legible, like the pictured top treat in Michigan. Share your favourite with us.

save it for later (10. 224)

Released as the lead single from the ska, jangle pop group’s third and final studio album (premiering this month in 1982) Special Beat Service, the song is one of the Beat’s (known in Canada and the US as the English Beat) most popular and enduring tracks, thanks to a catchy and unique chord progression by guitarist Dave Wakeling. The music video is really quite something as well. Run away, run away and let me down.

confirm receipt (10. 223)

Having previously been acquainted with the calling cards of citizens’ band and Ham radio operators, we appreciated this entree into QSL postcards exchanged around the world—and beyond—through this study by graphic designer Richard Bova on the standards, codes and curated selection of cards from across the globe.