in memoriam

In the face of the heart-breaking sadness that’s befallen on the family of Carrie Fisher, one would do well to acquaint oneself (or reconnect as the case may be) with the multitudes of class-act performances from Debbie Reynolds and reflect on her recent and frequent walk-on roles, plus her outreach efforts.
As much as anyone is missing out by not knowing the Golden Age of Hollywood—still good for all its mythos and for its small-screen spawn—admittedly the legendary Reynolds may not enjoy the cultural immediacy that she’s due, but I’ll wager if we dangle Charlotte A Cavatica before you, whom Reynolds voiced in the 1973 production, it’ll all come flooding back to you. If you need a moment, please consider getting to know Pigcasso, the painting rescue pig in Cape Town who reminded me of the story of Charlotte’s Web although his talent emerged later and wasn’t what saved him from the slaughter house. Proceeds from Pigcasso’s artwork help fund charities that raise awareness of the poor living conditions of farm animals and encourage compassionate choices. Back to the family and friends mourning the loss of yet another luminary who have our deepest sympathies: requiescat in pace et in amore.

blue laws or désuétude

Neatorama features an interesting overview of sumptuary laws and practises from around the world that really prompts one to think about the relationship of different societies when it comes to alcohol consumption and how varied those jurisdictions are.
Where and when the sale and imbibing is suffered or permitted has as many or more regulations, regimes and schedules as tax code. From prohibition to the quirky and unenforceable laws, comparing and contrasting the different rules made me think of this mid-century French sobriety campaign that recommends no more than a litre of wine per day, which is debatably désuétudinal—that is, no longer custom and lapsed, obsolete advice. Did you know it is illegal to be found drunk inside a public-house in England? Or that the small-batch absinthe outside of Switzerland is missing rather key ingredients? I can imagine that some of these laws are so codified to encourage domestic consumption and is a matter of pride and patriotism.  What local regulations strike you as odd and byzantine?

minitrue

While the year might have been vituperated with “post-truth,” the rubric and culture that are a reflection of the term is not one of propaganda machines and the memory-holes of Nineteen Eighty-Four’s Ministry of Truth (Minitrue in Newspeak) or even the counter-factual insistence that two plus two equals five.
If anything the rhetoric spurns authority figures and the establishment—insofar as the appeal to our vanities and fears allow—and would not suffer even a benign dictator for long out of fear that he would become an expert, dispensing a bit of knowledge and experience in addition to the justice, which was the only thing bidden or expected. It’s not that we proles are lorded over by the fictions of an eternal struggle and those interested in perpetuating it—rather, it’s us that creates the demand for disinformation and hand back a manufactured crisis for the charismatic to champion. What do you think? We didn’t liberate ourselves from them it seems—if they ever were in control—and have ceded what agency we did have to oppressors of our own making, which is a perfectly paradoxical case against facts and edification.

remember... the force will be with you, always

This cruel year is taking too much and has given precious little back—and I didn’t suspect that we’d all be so steadily churning out obituary columns in sad celebrations of amazing and inspiring careers.
I remember seeing Carrie Fisher in The Blues Brothers very young and couldn’t reconcile why Princess Leia had such a pivotal ‘cameo’ in that film, and I think Fisher wouldn’t want us to be able to reconcile it—as the ambassador not only of the type of Hollywood royalty that’s rare and precious these days but also the delegation from Alderaan, never feeling resentment over being type-cast with a role she was happy to reprise, as the heroine of an otherwise all-male adventure that wasn’t the distressed damsel just waiting to be rescued. Her status as an icon didn’t diminish her other talents and candour about the important stuff and will be profoundly missed, joining that ensemble cast of stars and oddities that live on in their legacies.

butterfly kisses

A place calling itself the Imagineering Institute is marketing a sleeve for one’s mobile gadget that will telegraph one’s kisses to far-off loved ones.
Apparently, the silicone surface will precisely reproduce the tender pressure of the lip muscles for those on both sides of the exchange. The input/output device, called the Kissenger (the kiss-messenger), will also monitor the blood pressure and the galvanic responses of the users for clinical trials and see if they can make the virtual experience indistinguishable from the authentic one—or even offer competition. What do you think? I am afraid more action-at-a-distance peripherals might soon follow.  It can be awkward enough to be within earshot of a conversation that can sound very one sided, and I could just imagine being next to a stranger puckering-up for an air-kiss.