The repository of one JF Ptak has demonstrated itself time and time again to be a wealth of forgotten ephemera whose detail informs phenomena of greater weight and circumstance, and this pamphlet issued by Nazi Germany in 1941 that was meant to dissuade France from siding with the United Kingdom is no exception.
The standard salutation for bad news coming out of the British navy was “the Admiralty regrets to announce” and was appropriated for this piece of propaganda to demonstrate to its target audience (all in French except for the title) that the UK was unable to meet its own logistics needs in peace time—told through maps and charts, and much less during times of conflict and privation. Find out more about this particular instrument of psychological warfare at the link up top and explore more antiquarian treasures at the book shop.
Saturday 6 May 2017
the admiralty regrets to announce
we’ve got movie sign
mazal tov cocktail or high crimes and misdemeanours
Though no bombshell secrets were revealed when visiting Rabbi Shmuley Boteach shared selfies taken with Dear Leader’s chief strategist and notable human hรฆmorrhoid posed before a whiteboard in a conference room of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that contained a long list of campaign pledges to make good on, such evidence, we believe, could still be an indictment of sorts by corroborating the regime’s breach of public trust or making the other branches of the US government subaltern to the will of the executive. In any case, do zoom in and scour these images, plus know it always behooves one to be aware of one’s backdrop. Perhaps that bit of workshopping wasn’t meant for public consumption.
Friday 5 May 2017
handbill
Brilliantly promoter Dave Blackhurst, when asked to design a flyer advertising a live music night for a pub in Bridgnorth, realised that the request in text message form spoke for itself and turned the text into the event poster. I just wonder if Mister Blackhurst was too put-upon to return the parting salutation.
coming attractions or it came from the googolplex
Courtesy of Bob Canada and his nephew Kyle, we are treated to a preview of the summer’s block-buster (or lack-lustre) line-up of movies with predictions on how each release will fare in the box-office. What are you most looking forward to seeing? What franchise have you had enough of? Although we don’t think it will be a huge, instant commercial success, we’d wager that Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will enjoy the longevity of the director’s other films, Lรฉon: The Professional, The Fifth Element and others.
uidentifisert flygande objekt
Informed by Geoff Manaugh’s ever excellent BLDGBLOG, we learn that a Norwegian valley due to a collusion of geochemistry is a natural battery.
One of the parallel ranges is rich in copper and the opposite side zinc with a vein of sulphur in between. Even if there is adequate explanation for what’s known as the Hessdalen phenomenon and its ball lightning that were often taken for alien craft or even stranger things, it’s no less remarkable that Nature can prefigure human invention and makes me think of those infernal coal fires around the world or the naturally occurring nuclear fission in the central Africa. I wonder what other genius lies outdoors that we’re unable to recognise yet.
Thursday 4 May 2017
6x6
journeyman: a travelling itinerant gardener rents yards across the US and makes a living off of selling the produce
polly want a cracker: escaped companion parrots in Australia are teaching wild birds to speak English, via Nag on the Lake
paper-towelling: celebrating a decade of Martha Stewart’s resolute bloggingmcmansions: the most grievous architectural transgressions by those who’ve more money than taste
kรฆmpe: hidden, whimsical wooden giants outside of Copenhagen
so much for so little: seven decade old short film by animator Chuck Jones presents a compelling case for singer-payer, universal health-care
