aphorism (10. 672)

Via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links, we are informed that enhanced and apparently made-to-order chatbots may be usurping human authorship in one tradition and am admittedly a bit torn on whether this is a good or bad development: fortune cookies. While admitting that I didn’t appreciate how large the collective enterprise was and that there are a recognised cohort of veteran fortune writers for this manufactured custom (Chinese diners are generally served fruits as a degistif), part of me is leaning towards saying that AI is optimised for palaver, wallpaper like this as well as horoscopes and greeting cards but another side wants to rally against it for stripping away the intent and sentiment and even benediction and blessing offered as one’s fortune. What do you think?

9x9 (10. 671)

mod squad: celebrating the long life and career of Dame Mary Quant, Swinging Sixties fashion icon  

the cure at troy: a poetic reflection on the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement  

31 at jennie richee: outsider artist Henry Darger 

thug shaker central: self-promoting US Air National Guardsman identified as suspected source of Pentagon leaks 

liberica: the studier coffee bean that could save the industry 

ncc-1701: a meticulous ranging of all the Enterprises 

news at 11: an epic 19 80s bumper

rupublicans: images of GOP politicians in drag—see also  

hyperbole: more on the Googie style with this iconic Southern California motel

the flesh failures (10. 670)

Beginning a six week run at the top of the US singles charts on this day in 1969 with a medley of two musical numbers composed for Hair, the release by the group the 5th Dimension went on to be certified platinum and ranks as according to Billboard as one of the greatest numbers of all time. The genesis of the eventual recording came after producer Dayton Burr “Bones” Howe was reunited with his lost wallet and invited the finder—a cab passenger who was involved in the production of the musical—was invited to a show in gratitude and raved that the introductory song “Aquarius” would complement and complete the titular sequence with its refrain. Purportedly leaving the Age of Pisces (Jesus fish), current or hence according to reckoning, some astrologers have derided the lyrics as premature and uninformed in terms of sun-signs, pointing out that Jupiter aligns with Mars multiple times annually and the Moon is in the seventh house daily.

all things considered (10. 669)

After Elon Musk falsely and rather abruptly National Public Radio state media—then refining his mischaracterisation as government-funded which is an equivocation on corporate welfare and subsidies to the wealthiest at best in an erratic interview with another arguably instrument of agitprop (the BBC and Voice of America—Radio Free Europe were also recipients of this distinction)—the network of affiliates have announced, we learn via Kottke, that they will cease posting to Twitter. Upholding its statutory editorial independence in the face of diminishing support (only 13% of funding is government sourced), NPR’s decision, the first by a major news organisation, is commendable and highlights the platform’s transformation from a safe-haven for journalism, big and small alike, to a personal pulpit for rubbishing media outlets and promoting an impulsive, juvenile agenda.

thrilla in megillah (10. 668)

We enjoyed this introduction to collage caricaturist Hanoch Piven and his found allegory of accidents, elements and sacraments through his latest project assaying the figures of the Old Testament with character profiles and an eclectic iconography, like here with fun-time gal and accomplished rhetorician Esther. Read more about Dream Big, Laugh Often and More Great Advice from the Bible at Print Magazine at the link above. What found objects might you use to create a similar three-dimensional tableau?

9x9 (10. 667)

pass****123: a visualisation of pilfered passwords aggregated from various leaks and breaches

event horizon: a streak of young stars may be the wake of a supermassive black hole ejected from its host galaxy  

pop: speeding locomotives in an animated short by Yoji Kuri—see previously  

you sank my battleship: leaked NATO plans for bolstering Ukraine’s military were first circulating on a Minecraft gaming forum—more here  

what, me worry: a celebration of the long life and career of cartoonist Al Jaffee 

bierpulver: the Neuzeller Klosterbräu, known for other innovative libations, introduces a dehydrated beer that one needs only add water to   

example handshake: a look at the squelch of the dial-up modem  

trapezoidal flux deviation: an alternative proposal for the non-existence of exoplanets—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

a generator and a discriminator: AI can crack most users’ passwords in under two minutes—via Dam Interresting’s Curated Links

a jury of one’s peers (10. 666)

Based on a radio teleplay by Reginald Rose from three years earlier and often upheld as an heuristic tool to illustrate conflict resolution and team dynamics as well as well as the courage of conviction to not be swayed by hysteria and its subtler cadets, Sidney Lumet’s classic courtroom drama, premiering in Los Angeles on this day in 1957, portrays a jury deliberating the case of an impoverished teen accused of murdering his abusive father. With a unanimous verdict required, the jury is instructed to acquit if there is any reasonable doubt and a decision siding on guilty would result in a mandatory death sentence and execution by electric chair. Addressing students after a screening of the film in 2010 at Fordham University's School of Law in Manhattan, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor credited 12 Angry Men as influencing her career decision and was especially moved by immigrant Juror 11 (portrayed by Czech actor George Voskovec—BUtterfield 8, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, all members are identified by numbers only) delivering a monologue in reverence for the justice system, though cautioned not to be totally taken with the cinematic version of proceedings due to inference, speculation and independent research which would have likely been declared a mistrial.

sampo (10. 665)

A rock formation and cave system in Sipoo some thirty kilometres from Helsinki reputed to house the Lemminkäinen Hoard (see previously), a mythical treasure trove of gold, jewels and ancient artefacts of immense value is in the news again after first making headlines three decades ago, with excavators and treasure-hunters claiming to be once more on the brink of a break-through as was asserted back in 1987 when a Finnish-born tantric yogi and mystic related his family saga passed down generation after generation, revealing the location of a ritual site on his family’s property. Though an archeological survey determined the buried chambers to be of a natural origin, the guide and corroborating folklore holds that the area, the birthplace of humanity, was sealed off for protection once Christianity was introduced to the region in the tenth century. More from BBC Reel at the link above.