terrain model theory (11. 992)

Though still unclear that RFK, Jr will play a significant role in the Trump administration’s setting of medical care policy and public health practises, a staunch proponent of the anti-vaccine movement accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic but also with antecedent denialism over AIDS and a host of other ailments as well as promoting the idea that the standard, lifesaving regimen of childhood vaccinations cause autism and lately advocates removing fluoride from drinking water, Kennedy’s conspiracy theories have fuelled the embrace of rival Antoine Béchamp’s disproven alternative (see also) to Louis Pasteur’s model of germ theory: pleomorphism—that the state of the internal topology of the body (accumulation of toxins due to poor diet and exercise) is the cause of disease by attracting scavengers and not compromised immunology by invading pathogens.

minority report (11. 991)

With the possibility for insight but far more likely to skew towards red-herrings, misassociation and even dangerous omission, Anthopic’s Claude AI model (see previously) will partner with Palantir and Amazon Web Services to process and analyse classified information for undisclosed US defence and intelligence agencies. 

Accredited to scrape data up to secret, the contract is being criticised for being in opposition to Anthropic’s motto of “show, don’t tell” oriented toward safe and ethical use of AI, and comes after a demonstration project by Peter Theil’s analytics platform (named for the magical, scrying palantíri, the far-seeing stones, of The Lord of the Rings used for communication across space and time—or to spread propaganda) for an insurance underwriter which cut down claims processing time from weeks to hours—the company also not disclosed and with no independent assessment of its success rate—and strikes one as something akin to a credit score and equally non-perspicacious. Another way of saving on man hours it takes to conduct this type of undertaking is to throw one’s workload in the garbage.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a WWII musical documentary (with synchronoptica), an ancient supermassive black hole discovered plus the diplomatic tactic of constructive ambiguity

seven years ago: Carnival season begins plus the outsized influence of Futurama

nine years ago: the retirement crunch

ten years ago: more on the Fifth Season 

eleven years ago: extremophile bacteria that survive in space, a trip to Oppenheim plus more on combatting light pollution

the grudge (11. 990)

Of course the best revenge would be having a successful final term, maintaining the strong economy that he inherited and not starting World War III, but as to forgive and forget does not seem to be in Trump’s quiver, allies and opponents alike are expecting a wave of retribution and recrimination for those who crossed him whilst out of power, making good on his platform’s appeal to the aggrieved. The scope and scale of his quid pro quo may hinge upon his selection to lead the Department of Justice and could be more muted than expected—with no guardrails in the government to stop or discourage him there is still thankfully the self-limiting factor of Trump’s own attention span and bandwidth and penchant to discard loyalists. Advisors are split on how his campaign of vengeance might detract from other policy initiatives (such as they are: immigration, tariffs and tax-cuts, without mentioning cultural and values issues) while other proxies are intent on keeping him on task and moving forward with punishing his adversaries.

living insignia (11. 989)

Tasked by the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, one William Randolph Hearst, with finding, photographing and capturing alive a wild grizzly—believed to be extinct in California—reporter Allen Kelly went on a several months long expedition in the San Gabriel Mountains and eventually detected a large bear, later called Monarch, that they lured into a trap baited with honey and mutton. Becoming the last of his kind in captivity, Monarch was transported by livery to the city and presented to the public for the first time in his grotto at Woodward’s Gardens (later in Golden Gate Park) on this day in 1889. Surviving the devastating 1906 earthquake, the bear became a symbol of strength and reward and prominently displayed as San Francisco recovered and rebuilt, prompting the revision of the state flag (Ursus arctos horribilis—the name garnered a bad reputation for the creatures that were mostly herbivores and posed little threat to people or livestock—had been the California state animal and depicted already on earlier designs of the banner) to immortalise the bear. Euthanised at a very advanced age in 1911, Monarch’s taxidermied body is on display, maintained by the California Academy of Sciences.

10x10 (11. 988)

the moral arc of the universe is buffering: an update on where we stand 

intermission: Cardhouse’s 2024 mixtape  

chimera: archaeologists re-examine ancient Roman burial and realise skeleton is composed of bones from eight different individuals that died thousands of years apart from one another  

inactivity reboot: Apple quietly introduced a security patch in its latest OS update that makes it harder to police to break into confiscated iPhones—via Super Punch  

plutocracy: the Elites have finally been defeated by the Billionaires 

text-to-brainrot: convert any PDF into an engaging TikTok-style audio summarisation overlaid with video-game footage—see previously—via Web Curios  

ye olde cheshire cheese: a gallery of the pubs of Old London  

changing narratives: new genetic evidence of Pompeii victims suggest that they were strangers comforting each other during the world-ending calamity   

the sounds of ramallah: techno Insomnia Fest in Tromsø rallies for Palestine and Lebanon  

venture alchemists: Wall Street and the broader economy brace for Trump tax-cuts, tariffs and retribution

 synchronoptica

one year ago: paper lanterns for St Martin’s Day (with synchronoptica), Republican primary debates, a banger from Frankie Goes to Hollywood plus assorted links to enjoy

seven years ago: illusion of confidence

eight years ago: snail matchmaking, a national nightmare plus Europe’s Alt-Right

nine years ago: carbon foil that mimics muscles

ten years ago: an art exhibition for octopi plus an abandoned nuclear test site just outside of Paris

index saeculum (11. 987)

Unlike regnal and papal enumeration (also a subject of contention), US presidential numbering (see previously) has been a matter of debate since Grover Cleveland served the first non-consecutive terms in 1884 and 1892 becoming the twenty-second and twenty-fourth leader of the United States—Trump being the second. Though not two separate individuals holding high office, the prevailing inclination was to hold then to their oaths and the gap in between, which made for two separate administrations. In 1950, the Congressional Directory (also responsible for minutes and numbering of legislative sessions), renumbered their order, eliciting barely a question since and leaving the matter settled, until now.

curtain call (11. 986)

Whilst familiar with some of these traditions and prohibitions, like the ghost lights that even burned in theatres when everything was shut down during COVID, we didn’t know the possible origins of the taboos, like not mentioning the Scottish play, and enjoyed reading this overview of backstage customs and lore.

Although sounding superstitious, whistling in a theatre was discouraged as sailors were often employed as stage crew for their skill with ropes and knots and brought with them their jargon of command whistles and an actor would not want to countermand or confuse an order, lest a prop be dropped on their head. First performed during a time when most theatrical companies had a set repertoire, rather than courting bad luck, the suggestion of Macbeth was an admission that perhaps a season’s run with flagging audiences could be turned around with the staging of a really popular piece. Wishing one to “break a leg” has a myriad of possible roots, from understudies politely wishing an accident would befall their respective principals so that they could assume the role, to cross a threshold—“the leg line” of a concealing stage curtain and take a bow before the audience to the most likely etymological source, both Wanderwörte and retronym and a bit of mishearing, with the entertainment industry directly borrowing from the idiomatic wish amongst Luftwaffe pilots during the first and second World War Hals- und Beinbruch, “may you break your neck and leg,” as a corruption of the Yiddish phrase: הצלחה און ברכה—that is hatsloke un brokhe, “success and blessings.” Professional dancers, on the other hand, exclaim “Merde!” to one another, harking back to times when horse-drawn carriages would bring spectators and a lot of dung in the streets of a venue would mean a solid box-office.

cr2291 (11. 985)

Entering the above synodic solar rotation period on the thirteenth of this month, the count (necessarily arbitrary as the Sun is not a solid body but rather a gaseous plasma with it spinning at significantly different rates at different latitudes, the equator rotating some eight days faster than polar climes), the Carrington count began on this day in 1853 as a method to track solar topology over short to moderate periods of time by tracking the movement of sunspots and eruptions. For the purposes of calculation, each diurnal cycle is a shade over twenty-seven terrestrial days and since its inception by Robert Christopher Carrington has been assigned a unique number. The meticulously recorded observations by this amateur astronomer from Chelsea further demonstrated the phenomena of solar flares and their influence on the Earth’s aurorae. Likely the result of a coronal mass ejection, the powerful geomagnetic storm of September 1859 which disabled telegraph systems worldwide and would be catastrophic for global connectivity were it to happen today is named the Carrington Event in his honour.