Via Waxy, we are directed towards the latest project from the MSCHF collective in The FREE Movie, an invitation to create a frame-by-frame, non-infringing (possibly) recreation of Pixar’s 2007 The Bee Movie—as good a candidate as any I suppose and memetic like Shrek—for reasons it’s been posted in full serially online before bringing taken down due to copyright issues and inspired a video (with many variants) the entire bee movie but every time they say bee it gets faster. Check out their manifesto and contribute an animation cell yourself.
Wednesday, 12 July 2023
crowd pirated (10. 876)
international commission on stratigraphy (10. 875)
Putting the hubris and destructive nature of humanity on the same level as the meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs—after a fashion—which began the Cenozoic Era some sixty-six million years ago, a working group of scientists have chosen a representative Gold Spike (see previously) as a marker to symbolise the start of the Anthropocene Epoch in the sinkhole Lake Crawford in Ontario. 
Though overwhelming evidence abounds of humans’ negative impact on the environment from ocean plastics, the supersaturated, warming atmosphere, mass-extinctions, in particular this body of water that ought to be pristine and far removed (see above) shows exponential increases in impurities the early 1950s on, documenting nuclear tests and fertilisers and mining-runoff polluting waterways. Researchers are gauging Plutonium fallout in the silt and sediment (a faithful though frightening annual record) the lakebed as a sign of the start of the epoch and is expected to mark the beginning of a new, dread and disruptive geological time period.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Saint Veronica plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: In the Year 2525
three years ago: the end of a politically independent judiciary in the US plus a double-duty face mask
four years ago: a creative video for Kate Bush’s Running Up that Hill, protests in Hong Kong plus the pitfalls of self-assessments
five years ago: predictive policing, The Americans and Operation Ghost Stories, generative Tarot cards plus Trump’s plan for stacking judges
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
7x7 (10. 874)
fit for a king: a selection of ersatz castles for sale in the US
caliology: corvids using anti-bird spikes for nesting material
100ยบ in the shade: mapping tree shadows
free agent: labour force of the outsourced talk about the effects of the AI revolution—via Waxy
ravensbourne: finding the lost rivers of London—see previously
involuntary memory: the aetiology of earworms
cheese royal: Burger King in Thailand introduces a menu item composed of twenty slices of American cheese
bands won’t play no more (10. 873)
On this day in 1981, the Coventry ska, tone-two group The Specials had their second and final top charting hit with the non-album single “Ghost Town,” addressing urban blight, unemployment and austerity. The song coincided with the England Riots and unrest of that summer over police powers, inner-city deprivation and racial tension and with the band’s own internal strife which saw their split up almost immediately afterwards.
operation sober popeye (10. 872)
Also known under the codenames Motorpool and Intermediary-Compatriot and repudiated as an unacceptable tactic in warfare after leaks in the Pentagon Papers and unwelcome press coverage with a US Senate resolution passed on this day in 1973, the military cloud-seeding program carried out from 1967 to 1972 attempted chemical modification of the weather with the aim of extending monsoon seasons and disrupting the North Vietnamese supply-chain along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by soften road surfaces and causing landslides. Operations in secret extended over Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Despite its highly classified nature, the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the unit chiefly responsible for the tests, publicly and prominently used the slogan “make mud, not war.” The American people deciding that such measures had no place on the battlefield, weather disruption falls presently under the auspices of the Environmental Modification Convention.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the Hollywood Bowl (1922), Avogadro’s Number (1811) plus Fischer v Spassky (1972)
two years ago: Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac (1975) plus a megalithic stone ship in Sweden
three years ago: a visit to the Ehrenburg on the Ehrbach
four years ago: a delayed release of “Space Oddity” (1969), the uncontrolled deorbit of Skylab (1979) plus France approves a digital services tax scheme
five years ago: a collection of samurai clan banners, a disclaimer on social media that comes too late, America’s garbage politicians sit for a family photos plus Trump attends a NATO summit
Monday, 10 July 2023
7x7 (10. 871)
terracotta army: new excavations in Shaanxi reveal the site contains more than the familiar infantry unit—see previously
mizhuvkhamy: a group of Ukrainians documenting the graffiti left by Russian occupiers for future research on the invasion
jazz kissas: the ambient sounds of Japan’s listening cafรฉs—see also
i never thought i’d be cheering for zuckerberg: in response to the runaway success of Instagram’s Twitter mode, Elon Musk threatens to sue, resorts to name-calling
adequacy decision: EU rules that Big Data has sufficient controls in place, with the US to monitor compliance, to allow transfer to US servers
vilnius: developments to watch during this week’s NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital
dromolaxia vizatzia: Bronze Age tombs of unknown rulers discovered in Cyprus
quintette du hot club de france (10. 870)
The influential jazz ensemble, often billed with the abbreviated name QdHCdF, founded by Belgian Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stรฉphane Grappeli in 1934 had already established their promenance through a series of international tours but thanks to their engagement and debut this night in 1937 at the venue of La Grosse Pomme in Montmartre, a nightclub opened by Harlem Renaissance singer Adelaide Nicole Hall and her husband Bert Hicks, as the house-band, we have recordings of many of their titles and the group was afforded the chance to expand their repertoire.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Escape from New York (1981) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: the equal sign (1557), “Afternoon Delight” (1976) plus a visit to Ystad, Sweden
three years ago: more adventures along the Moselle plus a campsite unter dem Burgen
four years ago: EU ombudsman excluded from diplomatic talks
five years ago: highlighting overlooked women in politics and the sciences, EU entertains the idea of getting rid of day light saving time plus assorted links worth the revisit
Sunday, 9 July 2023
6x6 (10. 869)
kherson herbarium: botanists risked their lives in war-torn Ukraine to save a unique plant collection—see also
public access: cute stuffed animals jam to vintage records at Otto’s Shrunken Head Tiki Bar & Lounge
mctrains: a look at the fast food giant’s failed ventures fรถhnkrankheit: alpine downdrafts attributed to outbreaks of madness—via Strange Company
msg sphere: a colossal orb covers an events venue in Las Vegas
weedwork: a tour of the first cannabis coworking space in New York City
synchronoptica
one year ago: Tron (1982), the first animated adaptation of The Hobbit, Chroegraphy for Copy Machine (1991), the Charles Bridge of Prague (1357) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: past life regression for pets, the presidency of Millard Fillmore plus transiting through Denmark
three years ago: more adventures along the Moselle plus independence for the Republic of Palau (1981)
four years ago: electromagnetic pulse experiments (1961) plus the minimal republics of Rubรฉn Martรญn de Lucas
five years ago: spider ballooning, salterns from above, the Brexit Bulldog resigns plus artist Joshua Reynolds
