taxia or great chain of being

While it may seem a bit early in the year for annual superlatives, the state university of Syracuse, New York’s International Institute of Species Exploration of the campus’ College of Environmental Science and Forestry releases its list of top ten candidates of the most unexpected, unique finds of the animal and plant kingdoms to roughly coincide with the 23 May (1707) birthday of Carl Linnaeus, the founder of the discipline of taxonomy.
Inscribed to this year’s rolls include a sort of wild spicy tomato that appears to bleed when cut from Australia that’s propagated by bush fires, a spider whose camouflage resembles the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter matriculation ceremonies and a new species of Xenoturbella, a primitive marine worm that either resembles the missing half of an orphaned purple sock or fried churro pastry, depending who you ask. At a time when biodiversity is in grave peril and we have no idea about the natural innovation and wonders that we are losing without even the most superficial acquaintance, the institute wants to showcase the bizarre as a reminder that less than an estimated twenty percent of all species on Earth have yet been discovered and described and fewer still with any detail.

as the crow flies or bird’s eye view

Via the always captivating Everlasting Blört, we are introduced to the video and photo-hosting and –sharing platform that is dedicated to the genre of the rather peerless perspective of aerial drones, Dronestagram. For instance, here is an establishing shot (without the need for zooming in from a great distance) of the German memorial hall of fame Walhalla near Regensburg taken from a heretofore impossible angel.

geomancy or behind the beltway

Ostensibly more clearly delineated than London (though a collection of guardian City Dragons were erected in the 1960s on the edges of the generally agreed upon limits of the city corporation), the diamond-shaped cordon of two-score boundary stones that cleaves out the US capital from neighbouring Maryland and Virginia—though highly visible as the fimbriation on a map, the rectilinear character of it looking out of place with most territories being bounded by natural obstacles—has also a physical manifestation that’s been neglected and is easily overlooked. What could be considered the oldest federal monuments have due zoning changes and land-use now find themselves surrounded by parking lots, on residential lawns, in wooded areas or destroyed altogether. It seems to me there’s maybe some kind of secret magic—either for keeping evil in or out—that ought to be reverenced by at least preserving the old markers.

colour space or stummy beige

Sending dispatches from the cutting edge of science and technology, explorers Lewis and Quark report on a neural network’s attempt at giving bespoke names to particular hues and shades. Via Waxy, the artificial intelligence apprentice seems to prefer harvest colours and with suggestions like snowbank, dorkwood, opaque couché, ghastly pink and hurky white, the exercise makes me think back to another like-minded neural network’s try at concocting recipes.

beltway and backdrop

The artist behind that projection on the façade of one his hotels calling Dear Leader out for flouting the perception (and reality) of conflicts of interest and violations of the emoluments clause, Robin Bell, has now expanded his repertoire with more guerrilla displays on the US Department of Justice and FBI buildings in Washington, DC. Several members of Dear Leader’s cabal were confronted and scolded that their positions (like the War on Drugs) have dire consequences for the rest of the country and beyond.

après nous, le déluge

Though the breach did not result in any loss of the seeds stored within and scientists are working to make the structure more secure, the fact that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault built in 2008 and designed to weather an eternity of assault is already showing signs that it’s not able to withstand catastrophic, run-away climate change is a depressing prospect. The integrity and diversity of seed banks has already been demonstrated as vital to rehabilitating civilisation and there are multiple repositories all over the world, and while it is frightening enough to find this ark prone to flooding due to melting permafrost, it’s an even more arresting thought that there will be no place where these food crops might be grown because of radical changes in temperatures and long-term weather patterns.