surface tension (12. 212)

Coming back to this little zen pool again and again throughout the day—courtesy of Web Curios—a JavaScript simulation (for phone or screen) by a coder called Nico Pr lets one drag one’s fingers over the surface of pristine water and contemplate the fluid dynamics of the ripples as they propagate and echo above a bed of colourful pebbles—I knew I should share. I’ve come to appreciate these single-purpose websites, particularly when they do their one thing to perfection.

*69 (12. 211)

During his recent visit to the White House, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu presented Trump with a crass and tacky (and absolutely appropriate for the giver and recipient) Lebanese cedar-mounted golden pager, in reference to the deadly operation that simultaneously detonated thousands of communication devices purportedly used by agents of Hezbollah, maiming thousands and killing scores. Netanyahu also presented Trump with a functioning beeper. A fugitive from justice, wanted by the International Criminal Court, there was little risk of the US extradition to the Hague. The gift exchange continued with America imposing sanctions (assets frozen and a travel ban) on officers of the ICC (previously) and any one deemed to have aided in the ongoing investigations.

synchronoptica

one year ago: eyes on exoplanets (with synchronoptica) plus laws against mass-mesmerism

seven years ago: a X-Files photo-shoot, animator Jiří Trnka, reusable rockets plus insects fashioned from leaves and sticks

eight years ago: forest management, a map to teach tolerance plus utopian advertising

nine years ago: custom LEGO plus French spelling reform

ten years ago: author Roald Dahl plus the Cambridge Five

wiktok (12.210)

Via Waxy and though not quite a surrogate for the curated From the Depths of Wikipedia, this little GitHub app is a nice way to randomise and rewild one’s palette, as opposed to existential doom-scrolling (a programming note…) by inviting one down rabbit holes of the free encyclopaedia and get lost in a daisy-chain of linkages. Click on the logo or refresh for a new article and share what you’ve learned. It seems like I’ve run across a lot of the chance entries beforehand—or at least have a tangential affinity for them having spent a lot of time exploring on the site, a cause certainly worthy of a donation, if you can afford to show your appreciation.

my father used to take me to watch the crusades (12. 209)

Whilst Musk is in “demon mode” along with his minions (someone said “traitor tots”) frenetically working to dismantle the administrative state—there have been less than convincing assurances that their access to government pay systems at the Treasury are limited to read only, and reporting suggests that at the Office for Personnel Management they have full editing privileges with the possibly to scrub for forgotten recriminations, delete, alter or insert documents into the permanent records (eOPF, electronic personnel files) of federal workers, harassing into quitting en masse, Trump for the National Prayer Breakfast (previously) hosted in the Capitol’s statuary hall reverted to his weird and off-putting “pious mode,” preaching unity to the gathered group. The conciliatory tone is in jarring, urging the shift away from partisan divides to a more collegial congress, returning to a time when members from across the aisle would socialise, and unsettling given the scorching rhetoric spewed just moments prior, rubbishing Democrats and the bureaucratic state as the enemy of the people, and what followed after this brief respite, calling for a task force, under the leadership of his newly appointed attorney general, Pam Bondi, to investigate and root out “anti-Christian bias” across the executive branch and establish a commission promoting religious liberty. This subversion of civil right and the principle of separation of church and state does not end with government policies or postures, but as with private sector businesses who uphold diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, they would be barred from funding or bidding for federal contracts.

aplicó (12. 208)

The amazing mastery of Andean weaving and dyeing that surpassed the craft as known to Europeans at the time of contact is showcased in the vivid patchwork tunics of the Wari (Hurari) tribe, centred in what is now the western province of Ayacucho in Peru, which were well-preserved in desert burials. Surviving textiles also including hats and tapestries as grave goods, featured abstract motifs—possibly coded and too make through geometric distortions to make the wearer appear larger and more imposing befitting of their rank. These garments, whose requisite skills and traditions predate the Conquista by hundreds of years (circa the sixth to the tenth century) and have been transmitted and appropriated to an extent by successor cultures, both pre-Columbian and settlers, imparted as tribute along with treasure, but none can compete with this ancient that involved the multidisciplinary practise that involved exotic pigment-sourcing and precise llama husbandry for the ideal substrate, revealing social stratification and hierarchy. View a whole gallery at Public Domain Review at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus Saint Mél

seven years ago: women’s suffrage in Britain (1918), MLK, Jr on capitalism, more links to enjoy plus a vocabulary lesson

eight years ago: amoeboid robots

nine years ago: the evolution of corporate logos, high-definition rewatches plus threatening dust bunnies

ten years ago: vaccine scepticism plus even more links

slab serif (12. 207)

The always diverting Present /&/ Correct directs our attention to a beautiful volume of collected specimens of chromatic wood type, borders and flourishes from 1874 published by the William H Page & Co, featuring page of page of samples in Gothic Tuscan and Antique, Bulletin Script, Arabesque and many bespoke fonts. Apprenticed to a printshop aged fourteen in Vermont, Page eventually became the foreman and branched out working as a staff writer for the New York Tribune, taking up engraving as a hobby and creating font families for printers JG Cooley. Page acquired his own foundry later, innovating the industry and having employed women during the male labour shortage caused by the US civil war, was singular in retaining his talent after the fight subsided and kept hiring females throughout the life of the company. More at the links above.

de minimis exemption (12. 206)

Amid the US announcing an additional ten percent tariff on all Chinese imports—to which China has responded in kind—the American postal service (see previously) will no longer accept parcels and packages from the mainland or Hong Kong. Whilst no official reason was given for the suspension—confoundingly reversed hours later causing turmoil for freight companies, it is presumably to seal a legal loophole that permitted small shipments to be shipped without being subject to duties and customs fees. Retailers, particularly in the fast-fashion industry, have exploited this exemption to—according to certain viewpoints—flood the market with cheap goods. The EU, which has a lower threshold, is planning similar legislation in order to foster a more competitive e-commerce sector.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: Assyrian canine figurines (with synchronoptica), a short-lived tv show plus airspace maps

seven years ago: music for felines, the roots of February plus Germany united longer than it was divided

eight years ago: more Trump Dumps, archiving US government websites plus faux four-leafed clover

nine years ago: assorted links worth revisiting, micro-aggressions, a boutique bookshop plus ergonomic exoskeletons

ten years ago: new world order, solutions for the German housing shortage, the Mandela Effect, Kulturkampf plus the lithium-ion battery

beach front property (12. 205)

Hinted at a couple weeks ago with the territory characterised as a demolition site and floated the idea of encouraging neighbouring countries to take in more refugees displaced by the war, during a meeting with Israeli president Netanyahu, Trump made clear that those comments were not idle speculation and has made profoundly clear he intends to finish the process of ethnic cleansing for Gaza—resettling all Gazans in Jordan and Egypt and taking “ownership” of the territory and transforming it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” This vision for Gaza Lago aligns with aspirations of ultranationalist Israelis for more territorial expansion as well as Trump’s own manifest destiny and aspirations for Greenland and the Panama Canal, again not ruling out the option of military force. Pressed by reporters on whether Palestinians might return to this real estate development programme after rebuilding (unclear by what authority a long term occupation), Trump answered that the “world’s people” would live there—“an unbelievable, international place,” finally adding “also Palestinians.” Condemnation of this proposed deal was swift and global.

synchronoptica

one year ago: 1980s edutainment screen-grabs (with synchronoptica), Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1978), Goodwin’s Law, cultural genocide in Gaza plus more McMansion Hell

seven years ago: a kiss by wire 

eight years ago: the names of fingers and toes, moral relativism, consciousness as a by-product of entropy, a flat-pack solution plus a Mondrian make-over

nine years ago: the Frinkiac Simpsons image search 

ten years ago: a bit of prose plus the Christian text book publishing industry