with so many light years to go and things to be found (to be found) (11. 168)

Hitting number one on the UK singles chart (a feat repeated and sustained in over twenty five other national markets) on this day in 1986, the song by the Swedish rock group Europe was inspired by Space Oddity and with a keyboard riff that lead singer Joey Tempest had had experimented with for six years (and surely carried in his head the whole time though we are glad he does not have to endure that earworm alone any longer), it was originally conceived as a concert-opener before being expanded and limned as a complete tune. 

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Irish Free State (1922), Finnish independence, assorted links to revisit, stock price charting plus seasonally obscure terminology

two years ago: a reconstructed fable

three years ago: passive immunity, the bust of Nefertiti, the Encyclopedia Britannica plus the Villon Song

four years ago: greatest hits by decade—all the way back to prehistory plus the Washington Post waltz

five years ago: more links to enjoy

 

luna luna (11. 167)

Virtually lost and obscure since its 1987 exhibition of modern art presented as a fun-fair featuring the works of Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sonia Delaunay and David Hockney among others, the amusement park originally installed in Hamburg under the direction of curator André Heller has been restored and will be a travelling-circus with its first stop in Los Angeles. Among the some thirty original attractions will return albeit as non-functioning rides include a carousel by Haring and a Ferris wheel by Basquiat and a fun-house maze designed by Lichtenstein. The planned revival is sponsored by performer and entrepreneur Drake and his DreamCrew team.  More from designboom at the link up top.

cloudland (11. 166)

Via Kottke guest-blogger Edith Zimmerman, we are treated a random cool old song with a performance of Pere Ubu 1989 song “Breathe” on Sunday Night, a Michelob Presents Music Hour sadly only running for two season and hosted by Jools Holland and David Sanborn showcasing jazz and eclectic artists, from their seventh studio album—the title record named after (see also) a resort village in northwestern Georgia that became a getaway destination for vacationing Florida residents to escape some of the summer heat. More recommendations worth checking out at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a Vogue issue featuring Darth Vader plus assorted links to revisit 

two years ago: Flash Gordon (1980) plus the art of Matt Semke

three years ago: Krampus Night, World Soil Day, a boatswain pipe plus more Yuletide customs

four years ago: Pantone’s colour for the coming year plus icy atmospheric phenomena

five years ago: the Bermuda Triangle plus some local Christmas Markets

the peace ship (11. 165)

With detectable parallels to modern day technological utopianists and branded altruism, industrialist and automaker Henry Ford launched his chartered vessel Oskar II from Hoboken, New Jersey on this day in 1915 on as trans-Atlantic mission to petition for a cease-fire in Europe and a de-escalation (anti-preparedness) in armaments. Inviting prominent pacifists to join, Ford hoped that the audacity of the act would spur a truce among belligerents, Ford’s plan was at first greeting with respect by the press and public, however opinion began to sour on this attempt at amateur diplomacy with in-fighting amongst the activist and fabricated claims that the European powers were willing to negotiate, at the behest of Ford or anyone else, fears that such antics might make the situation worse—and for embarking during an influenza pandemic, which spread through crew and passengers during the five-day voyage. Violently ill and receiving a cold reception from skeptical delegates in Oslo, Ford retired to his hotel suite, granting one talk with reporters (not mentioning the Peace Ship) before convinced to seek out of the county by way of a steamer departing from Bergen. Despite the organiser’s conspicuous absence and the inability to secure any meetings of consequence with any officials with influence, there were several other ports-of-call around Europe, under the banner of the Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation, still financed by Ford up until 1917 when it became clear that US entry into fighting was inevitable.

sparkle, sparkle (11. 164)

OpenAI and services offering AI powered recommendations and enhancement, like conference transcription and summaries (quite literally turning a meeting into an email) are representing their synthetic-backed features with the emoji ✨ to convey a non-lexicographically sanctioned sense of wonder and magic—which of course is a nice corollary to Arthur C Clark’s “indistinguishable from magic” law whereas any sufficiently opaque process might impel one to conclude the same. This friendly little flourish also begs the question, like with the distinction between online and IRL activities, what it means to label something becoming ingrained and manifest in everything.

a shark-infested rice pudding (11. 163)

The Morning News directs our attention to loving and thoroughgoing curation of neglected, overlooked or otherwise forgotten works of literature, like the title collection of three novellas by Sylvia Wright. Uncategorisable as an experimental reflection on the craft (and inability) to write fiction, despite publishers trying to dress it with a cover that vaguely suggested a romance novel, though Wright’s single work of “fiction” made be highly obscure, we are familiar with Wright’s linguistic contributions in the capacity of a columnist for Harper’s and coining the term mondegreen, which relates back to her stream-of-thought trilogy. More neglected books and forgotten authors at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Council of Trent plus a mysteriously abandoned ship

two years ago: more German words of the year,  Smoke on the Water, fifty-two more lessons plus a fun town-builder

three years ago: assorted links to revisit, the Feast of St Barbara, a duct tape prom plus Washington disbands the Continental Army

four years ago: the 1913 modern art show at the New York Armoury

five years ago: RIP Spongebob creator Stephen Hillenburg, a robot crewmember joins the ISS plus a superlative collection of alternate cartography

you stood and you watched as my baby left town (11. 162)

To the surprise of songwriter and music producer Geoff Stephens, the band formed of sessions players to record his novelty composition “Winchester Cathedral” climbed to number one on the US, Canadian and Australian charts of this day in 1966 for a run of several weeks. The New Vaudeville Band channelled the music hall style and megaphone vocals of Rudy Vallée of the 1920s and the 1930s. The eleventh-century monumental titular building is the mother church of the ancient Diocese of Winchester and is the largest medieval cathedral in the world, only now surpassed by the later St Peter’s, Our Lady of Peace, Liverpool’s and St John the Divine in New York, and is a major tourist draw and pilgrimage destination as the resting place of Jane Austen.  Though only teaming up for this one-off gig, the New Vaudeville Band collaborated on several albums through 1988.

i just don’t see why blance should shove a broken bottle in stanley’s face—couldn’t she just take his abuse with gentle good humour? (11. 161)

Premiering at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway on this day in 1947, Tennessee Williams’ Southern Gothic play (previously) narrates the experiences and trajectory of a former southern belle who loses her teaching job and the family home to creditors and with no other prospects, moves in with her younger married sister and husband in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Deceptive and critical of her new hosts, Blanche Dubois is acting out of self-defence and deflection to not own her series of bad choices, including an early marriage to a gay man and an affair with a student that led to her dismissal from the school. The original cast showcased the talents of Kim Hunter with Jessica Tandy and Marlon Brando and the name comes from a streetcar line (discontinued by the time of the cinematic adaptation in 1951 and replaced by a bus service) that ran not far from the playwright’s own apartment when living on Toulouse Street.