outlandos d’amour (10. 659)

Released on this day in 1978 as the lead single from their debut album, the song written chiefly by the band’s bassist and principal singer Sting from the perspective of an individual falling in love with a sex-worker, inspired to explore a new take on the modern fable whist lodging in accommodations for a tour stop in Paris. An old poster for the stage adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac hung in the foyer, the object of the title character‘s affection.

exposome (10. 658)

We learn via the New Shelton wet/dry that the field of exposomics was coined in 2005 to describe the aetiology of chronic disease and cancers due to environmental factors and has since been expanded as a heuristic approach to gauging exposure to pollutants and how toxins are metabolised and change in the body once incorporated. Taken rather dismissively like the statistic that we swallow a fair share of spiders annually, the idea that we ingest a credit card per week of microplastics ought to be a cause for alarm and what’s inert and what’s potentially reactive and enduring is a big unknown for public health and well-being as we continue to trash our planet.

6x6 (10. 657)

locus ludi: play ancient Greek and Roman board games and more—via Pasa Bon! 

carriage-return: an illustrated appreciate of maintenance trains of the Japan’s railways  

you, me and ui: the logoff button is defunct king kong (your song): Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s other attempts to recapture the success of Monster Mash  

castaway huts: a guide to shelters for shipwrecked sailors 

組み紐; the traditional Japanese art of making chords and braids  

never bet against the house: a group of in tune gamblers find a way to beat the odds with Roulette with preternatural timing—via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links

general ledger accounting (10. 656)

For the United Kingdom, the fiscal year for corporate taxation runs from 1 April to 31 March, owing to the old ecclesiastical calendar that marked, sensibly, the new year commencing on Lady Day, which is even more enshrined in the reckoning of personal income tax, which was first manifested as a lien on windows, with the Feast of the Annunciation transposed and advanced with the calendar reform of of 1752 (see above, see also), with the new non-public budget and reporting year starting on this day so those intercalary days wouldn’t be a loss on government revenue.

8x8 (10. 655)

lorem ipsum: the Bitcoin whitepaper is hidden in the Mac operating system 

duchenne smile: AI bias towards American standards skews cultural norms—see also  

soapbox: in a continuing attack against journalism, Twitter categories National Public Radio as state-affiliated media  

desancimonious: the problem with the governor of Florida eventually solves itself 

carhop: a classic post from Kottke on McDonald’s early years

grift: US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (previously) has been a flagrant recipient of rather lavish kickbacks and gratuities for decades—via Boing Boing  

talk of the town: Japan’s singular buttered toast critic 

illnumerate: George Box’ maxim and the problem with economic modelling

liittyminen (10. 654)

In a ceremony that saw the raising of the national banner joining thirty others at the international defence pact headquarter’s and coinciding with the aniversary of the founding of the organisation in 1949, Finland’s accession to NATO, approved by all members in under a year and prompted by Russian aggression in the region more than doubles its the size of the border abutting the Western alliance and Russia. In a process that saw its formal beginning in last May, along with neighbouring Sweden, Finland abandoned decades of military nonalignment for increased security and mutual, multilateral response.

the people v trump (10. 653)

Summoned and surrendering to the judge of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Donald Trump appeared for his arraignment with thirty-four charges of falsifying business records in the first degree for the individual instances and doctored invoices that obscured hush money paid to Stormy Daniels to cover revelations of a tryst just ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. While the crimes he is charged with perpetrating are misdemeanours with the court’s jurisdiction but can be consider felonious if committed to further another crime. Trump pled not guilty to each of the charges as enumerated and was warned not to disparage the court or its offices—citing that personal distress did not warrant personal attacks against the process or those discharging their appointed duties Ostensibly to establish a pattern of behaviour and modus operandi, the indictment also examined two other cases that emerged around the same time period before the 2016 vote that could have influenced the ballot regarding other alleged affairs covered up by the tabloids—another case of hush money by-proxy in what’s referred to as catch-and-kill, being able to show this intentionality will bolster the case the against the former president. Following his appearance in court, Trump returned to Mara-a-Lago, and promptly ignoring the judge’s orders, rallied his followers to denounce the trial—set to resume in December, well after he can stump for his party’s nomination and able to run notwithstanding any wrong-doing—as a withc hunt and a personal, political vendetta.

9x9 (10. 652)

eieren blazen: egg blowing was all the rage in the Netherlands in the 1950s  

autofill: Google search recommendations illustrated  

sim card: a mobile phone museum, with a special exhibit of the ugliest—via Messy Nessy Chic  

horsell common and the heat ray: the 1978 War of the World’s concept album featuring Yes and Richard Burton  

vexing vexillogy: CGP Grey grades US state flags—see previously 

airspace: Alex Murrell on the ‘Age of Average’—via Kottke—see also  

if the engine jumps the track: another in a series of derailments—thankfully this time with no fatalities—yields some amazing photographs but a few beer or two, via Super Punch 

katkhakali: the dance of the ‘speaking hands’ about the myth of Kali and Travancore, a 1981 Soyuzmultfilm short  

peepshi: a complete guide to deconstructing Easter candies for festive onigiri