xylotheque

The intrepid explorers of Amusing Planet introduce us to a very special sort of “book” depository curated in locations across Europe and beyond that began with the advent of modern forestry in the eighteenth century.
Botanists began forming libraries whose stacks contained wooden books that were compartments that held the twigs, fruit, root and bark samples of different sorts of trees—ξύλον being Greek for wood and θήκη a library. The word book in English itself is a cognate of the Germanic word for the beech tree, with early writing carved on blocks of wood. The pictured shelf is part of the Schildback Xylotheque located in the city of Kassel and there’s much more to be found at the link up top.

numismatica

In a bid to boost tourism and to celebrate its heritage as mint of the Roman Empire, the volcanic island of Ischia will be issuing its own artisanal coins based on the historic tender cast in the ancient metal-works.
To be used alongside the common currency, in the village of Ponte they will have a face-value of twelve euro but surely many will be taken out of circulation as souvenirs. Often overlooked due to its proximity to glamourous Capri, the island where Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra was filmed hopes to show to the world it has a lot on offer. Visit the link up top for more information about the coins and take a virtual tour of Ischia.

campaign of paper terrorism

Chillingly, Dear Leader has fired Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director James Comey, citing via social media and through his majordomo returned after an extended leave of absence on the grounds of the director’s mishandling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server for work emails whilst Secretary of State. Decried by Republicans and Dear Leader for his initial assessment in the summer of 2016 that the disposition of her communications while not advisable, Clinton’s actions resulted in no breech of national security.  Lordy, then the director infamously choose to reopen the investigation weeks ahead of the November election on the basis of new evidence.
Though the investigation ultimately reaffirmed the initial judgment, that decision along with Russian interference potentially cost Clinton the election. In the first few months of his reign, Dear Leader praised Comey—and unlike other appointments that were hold-overs from the past administration that were dismissed for questioning the legality of his decrees or probing into Dear Leader’s business associations, the director continued to serve at his pleasure and praised for his long record of faithful service. To ensure that the FBI has a degree of independence, the bureau’s directors are appointed to a ten-year tenure and have been mostly considered untouchable—like many of the career bureaucrats that make up the permanent government. Dear Leader is trying to dismantle that support system, denigrating civil servants—especially those with the courage of conviction to stand up and oppose him. This will not be the end of Dear Leader’s purge because no elected officials in the ruling party dare cross their constituency and this cowardice trickles down, making those who would resist reluctant and unwilling to risk their livelihoods. Dear Leader is calling for an end to the investigation over Russia’s meddling and pattern of destabilisation and will surround himself with more supplicants and sycophants to ensure that his tinpot dictatorship is glorious and eternal one.

minyatür

Public Domain Review curates an exquisite collection of sixteenth-century miniaturist Matrakçı Nasuh’s images of Persian landscapes and urban centres. The gifted polymath, historian and strategist’s particular, modern style became its own genre among Ottoman art circles, “the Matrakçı school,” but that moniker was not his name but rather one that the Janissary had earned when he devised a lawn game to demonstrate his skill with a cudgel, matrak.

location scout

Daily I pass this office tower that really dominates the Wiesbaden skyline that I formally found oddly satisfying as representative of a cliché corporate headquarters that one might find in a 1980s movie where corruption is uncovered in ill-explained, cartoonish method. Since the accession of Dear Leader, however, the sight of it has grown a little less welcoming and reminds me of his property empire and personal ensemble of consulates. We’ll gladly accept our finders’ fee in any form of fiat tender.

blue birds over

Artist Banksy has created a new mural in Dover, the Guardian reports, that expresses his views on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, especially timely as France has defied the nationalistic drift with the outcome of its presidential elections—which is located, of course, just across the English Channel from Calais and the Continent. The star being chipped away does not represent membership (there are far more countries in the Union than there are stars on the flag) but rather for “unity, solidarity and harmony.”