it was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well

The prime minister of France has officially struck the designation Mademoiselle from state documents because of chauvinistic overtones and the connotation that begged a woman's status as either available or otherwise taken. Mademoiselle is the equivalent of Fräulein (also designating an unmarried spinster and eliminated in the 1970s) or Senorita or the arguably more neutral English Miss. The archaic male equivalent of Damoiseau or Gentilhomme, signifying squire or (confirmed) bachelor, went out of style with the overthrow of the monarchy. Although it does sound classier to me than Madame or Ma'am, if the distinction rang as sexist and entirely not honourific to some, then it ought to be phased out of government and commercial usage. I do, however, wonder about the mechanism behind this decision: with institutions like L'Académie française charged with maintaining the purity of the language and keep it living by various tactics, like assigning a gender to landmarks and monuments outside of the francophone sphere or even to geographical features on alien planets and discouraging the use of invasive English terminology. I wonder what their stance was on this government initiative, supported by many advocates for gender-equality, and is a government ever held ransom by its official language.

one potato, two potato

According to reporting by New Scientist (via the resplendent BLDG Blog), electrical engineers in the Netherlands are field testing the potential of various grasses and marshy plants for suitability as a passive electrical grid.

I wonder what might come from this sort of harvest, should the landscape and fallow-fields be conduced to generate electricity. I am not sure how exactly the translation from vital energy resounds as electricity, and I believe that this is something different from the pedigree of harbours and dams and the unexpected consequences of manicuring nature. Modern science has not really managed to harness or capture much of the potential that streams around human enterprises (and given that we are sheltered from some of the violence by those same untamed forced, it does beg the question how much we should be trying to bend our environment to our will on top of making a general mess of things)--after all, nothing is a solar power house like any given vegetation. Maybe conventional ideas about power are too restricted by the greedy threshold of efficiency, what's worthwhile to disinter, and instead of allowing the business of power and movement to develop in grooves and ruts, like other engines of society, and the tendency has kind of been to yank it forward, expecting more from less, precision or at least endurance without craftsmanship or innovation. Though the technical aspect may not yield the most efficient results, it is not as if inventors are inspired by nature's own perpetual motion machines, and care should be taken that this or similar experiments do not go the way of bio-fuels, green-washed and stunted, one should not be afraid to tinker and maybe not dig so deeply, only because that's what worked before.

cult armoury

Browsing through the fantastic archives at Gallery 1988, who not only act as curators and collectors but also sell such brilliant prints, I came across this poster design by Tim Doyle that features the choice weaponry of mostly 1980s cult classic films. I recognized Bobo the mechanical owl from Clash of the Titians, the Information Disc from TRON, the throwing star from Krull, the Thunder Cats' sword, but there's a lot more esoteric details embedded here, like the head of Johnny Number Five from Short-Circuit or the Holy Hand-Grenade of Antioch from Monty Python and the Holy Grail or the Grail notebook of Doctor Jones (Senior) from the Indiana Jones’ saga. How many can you name? The original posting has a legend identifying all these artifacts.

Während ich die fantastische Achive von Gallery 1988, Konservatoren, Sammler und Verkäufer, durchsuchen, entdeckte ich dieses Plakat vom Tim Doyle. Es ist ein Rüstkammer des Kultklassiers von 1980s. Auf den ersten Blick zu erkennen sind Bobo der uhrwerk Eule von Kampf der Titanen, TRONs Profil-Discus, das Shuriken von Krull und das Schwert von ThunderCats. Doch es gibt auch abseitige Waffen, wie der Kopf von Nummer Funf lebt! oder die Handgranate von die Ritter der Kokosnuß oder Doktor Jones (der Ältere) Gral-Heftchen. Wieviel konnen Sie benennen? Eine Zeichenerklärung ist unter dem Link ober erhältlich.

ghoul or she blinded me with science

Though I do enjoy the added backstory and increased context with which vampire and zombie movies are portrayed, one trend that I find unsettling is the effort to demystify that undead with science. No longer is vampirism or zombification regarded as an unholy curse against the natural order of things but there is rather a cinematic discussion that's supported with all sorts of clinical trials, stating or at least suggesting, that it is a genetic aberration or a disease that bears treatment. I don't know if audiences are so opposed to the supernatural and would rather have rational explanations, but I do wonder if there's not a subtle message behind all these pharmaceutical monsters. I suppose that one cannot admit any superstition or anything inexplicable without inviting in God and the Church and everything that goes along with it. Reading about Vatican intrigues and minds that are swung just by the influence peddling of political cadres makes me wonder if there's not some conspiratorial design behind these sophisticated and scientific and Darwinian ghouls, keeping holier powers in check.

hellau

There are a lot of old traditions and customs associated with Fasching (Carnival), like fancy-dress, grand balls, parades and a little reckless abandon to celebrate this fifth season. These past few years, however, might point to a new convention, politicians giving up politics for Lent, marked with ungraceful resignations. Germany's president (DE/EN) just gave up his office over ongoing scandalous revelations of abuse of position, power and prestige unbecoming of the post for gifts and preferential treatment. Just a year prior, Germany's defense minister also resigned in disgrace right before Fastnacht (although not on the same exact date, as the Carnival season is determined by the moveable feast of Easter) over findings he had plagiarized a large portion of his doctorial thesis. These last minute dishonours, I heard, have got the krewe making floats for the grand Faschings parade in Köln scrambling to properly lampoon their political figures, and I wonder if there isn't something in the timing: are party caucuses and election cycles synchronized to some extent with the liturgical calendar, or is this Lenten penance just a good way to save oneself from further embarrassment? Fasching is apolitical but democratic and with no shortage of potential targets for ridicule and fun.

deus ex machina or exit, stage-left

Greece is growing more and more incensed by the harsh disregard that financial-colonialists are offering, serving up quite openly while the country's social institutions and remaining commercial infrastructure collapse into receivership. For all the tea (or opium) in China, these carpet-baggers are no different than the Dutch East-India Company or the pine-apple companies and banana-republicans with their Bayonet Constitution for the Kingdom of Hawaii, with no more sophistication or subtlety than their colonial predecessors. Though there is probably profits to be realized too from the downfall (for opportunists and also ultimately for the good of the people), the only ones to suffer from the revaluation, by hook or by crook, of the present economy would be the colonial powers and their local collaborators, politicians and businesses that facilitated the credit supersaturation. The current climate is not sustainable, and it escapes me why anyone would accept and propagate the ugly characterizations cast towards the Greeks, the Spaniards, the Portuguese of greed, laziness, dishonesty and naivety other than blatant deflection and attempts to detract from the colonial powers' own simplicity and avarice. What is tantalizing and easy is also smug and untenable.