neue sachlichkeit (10. 806)

Coined by the director of the Kunsthalle Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, art critic and curator, as a counter-movement to expressionism and introduced to the public on this day in 1925 as an exhibition hosted in his gallery, “New Objectivity”—which can also be translated as the New Resignation, Dispassion or Matter-of-Factness—is seen as rejection of romantic idealism and the promotion of pragmatic cooperation and a return to order, post World War I. Featured artist included Otto Dix, Carl Grossberg, Max Beckmann and Jeanne Mammen. Its influence is also found in the gritty realism of films of those years just prior to the rise of Nazism and in the architecture of Hans Poelzig, Bruno Taut and others. The movement ended in 1933 with the ascent of the Nazi dictatorship and was condemned as degenerate art.

you have the right to remain silent (10. 805)

Emerging from movement for legal aid for defendants supported by LBJ’s Great Society programmes which provided for counsel during the interrogation process after booking as a safeguard for practises that many viewed as brutal and coercive, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in Miranda v Arizona on this day in 1966 that renders inadmissible self-incriminating statements obtained without the informed consent of the apprehended of their rights to legal representation. Whereas the protections of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution was customarily understood as a protection against compelled admittance of guilt under duress and contempt in a courtroom setting (I plead the 5th), the ruling signalled a shift in law enforcement practises—with a protocol issued by the Court, and precincts adopting a standard of “reading rights” or “Mirandizing,” which some regarded as soft on crime and an undue administrative burden. The original case from 1963 involved a suspect linked circumstantially to a particularly heinous kidnapping and rape, Ernesto Miranda signing a typewritten confession that he did “hereby swear that I make this statement voluntarily and of my own free will, without threats, coercion or the promise of immunity and with knowledge of my legal rights—understanding any statement I make may be used against me”—expect that at no time was the suspect told of his right to legal counsel nor to remain refuse to speak with police, making his confession involuntary. The conviction overturned, Miranda was sentenced during a retrial and eventually paroled in 1972 and made a modest living as a celebrity, autographing Miranda cards, the script given to arresting officers.

a gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of travelling (10. 804)

Departing his native Tangiers and embarking on a twenty-four year journey that would ultimately take him from Timbuktu to Beijing, exploring Africa and Eurasia, on this day in 1325 (725 Anno Hegira), scholar and adventurer Ibn Battūta, a Berber from the Maghreb whose travels far surpassed those more famous members of his pre-modern cadre of explorers like Marco Polo (twenty-four thousand kilometres) and Zheng He (with about fifty thousand) with a total of one hundred seventeen thousand kilometres travelled over the course of three decades, embarked on an extended hajj to see the Muslim world. Returning home in 1354, the ruler of Morocco to write down his travelogue for posterity, with the short title of the Rihla (الرحلة, The Travels).

you oughta know (10. 803)

Release on this day in 1995, the third studio album by Alanis Morissette—featuring tracks including “All I Really Want,” “You Learn,” “Hand in My Pocket” and “Ironic,” Jagged Little Pill was a worldwide success and it counted among the best selling records of all time and stylistically and tone-wise was a significant departure from her earlier pop and dance work with themes of frustration and anxiety though with moments hope and self-effacement. The inopportune series of lyrics presented below sparked some debate about the usage and abusage of the term, traditionally defined as a figure of speech whose intended meaning is oppose of the context, settled—to some at least—by drawing a distinction between situational and dramatic ironies.

6x6 (10. 802)

i-95: the dialectometric implications of the highway overpass collapse in Philadelphia—which happened near Four Seasons Total Landscaping 

rolling stock: a home studio and venerable teleworking space travels from backyard to the woods on a rail line—see also   

canopy: a treetop walkway in Fyresdal, Norway

alphabetical order: an appreciation of indexing in the age of miscellany 

tugboat: since the 1970s, prospective tanker captains have been training with tiny ships at this centre in France—via Messy Nessy Chic—see also  

ablaut reduplication: the unwritten, consensus rule of spoken English we all tend to obey—see also

nix v williams (10. 801)

On this day in 1984, the US Supreme Court issued a decision that created a carve-out to the exclusionary rule, a legal remedy and disincentive that bars police and prosecutors from entering evidence obtained from searches and seizures that contravene the right to due process under the law, protection against self-incrimination and the right to counsel (guarantees of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, ruling that there is an exception to this inadmissible corroboration—called metaphorically the “fruit of the poisonous tree” by Justice Felix Frankfurter—in this case a coerced confession, if it could be reasonably determined that the same evidence would be inevitably by authorities in the normal course of investigations. The dissenting opinion argued that while such an exemption was common practice in many jurisdictions, the burden of proof should not be weakened from a “clear and convincing” to a “preponderance.”

6x6 (10. 800)

reagan candy: the Taiwanese term for jelly babies  

treuhand: the privatisation of East Germany and the long reach of its consequences—via Maps Mania

mexico filter: the cinematic colour scheme applied to movie set in the “Global South” evokes corruption and pollution is the tinge of New York City (previously) now—plus lots more from Hyperalleric’s Required Reading—see also  

tag yourself: what your favourite classic rock band says about you—from Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links  

ekd: hundreds of parishioners attend a Lutheran service in Fürth delivered by an AI—see previously—via Slashdot 

lu xun: the memes telegraphing generational disillusionment in China—see also

8x8 (10. 799)

within the wok’s embrace, the dance begins, as secrets blend with savoury sins: Scott D Seligman asked ChatGPT for a pad thai recipe in the style of Emily Dickinson and got an epic 

dockhands: the latest line from Faith O’Hare is inspired by the workwear of the shipyards of the Cylde

hongmeng project: China’s space agency is placing a ring of telescopes in orbit around the Moon to explore the cosmic Dark Age just after the Big Bang  

take care now: inclusive Pride post by Cracker Barrel provokes conservative fury over the loss of this family-friendly bastion—see previously 

reference material: Ars Technica contributor Benj Edwards purchased a copy of the only encyclopaedia still in print  

supergranulation: Parker probe exploring the Sun offers science clues on the origin of solar wind 

blitz kids: a celebration of the fashion of Gary Kemp and Spandau Ballet—previously here and here

 expandart: B3ta community teaching AI how to think beyond the frame—see previously—via Waxy