after glow

The detection of gravitational waves from the impact of the collision of two neutron stars (the event is named a kilonova)—thanks to the addition of a third facility near Pisa—allowed astronomers to triangulate the source of the bloop and trace it back to its origins in the sky and pair the visual the remnants (the previous soundings involving black holes) of the explosion with its sound-profile.
Equipped with this extra dimension of data, scientists were able to study the coronal spectra to confirm the conjecture that such violent events seed the Cosmos with gold and other heavy elements and are the source of gamma ray bursts. Moreover, measurements once refined may show the lag time between the propagation of waves of light versus waves of gravity and if seen to be reliable in their spread, could be a second cosmic distance ladder to compliment the Doppler shift of distant objects moving away or moving towards us.

minority report or criterion theatre

Piccadilly Circus is being transformed into an experimental panopticon, Gizmodo reports, with hundreds of cameras embedded in LED billboards to inform the advertising canvas what it suspects the passer-by what might take an interest in.
Algorithms have a reputation for being either judgy or tone-deaf by turns and of course one can ignore the ploys and constant pelting—up to a certain limit—but to be forever mischaracterised in public and in private and to have false assumptions made about oneself would probably quickly grow intolerable. How would omnipresent network of consumer surveillance see you? Though the zealous marketing-managers behind this digital street experience will probably never have to confront the abject horror of a colossal erectile-dysfunction commercial or an exercise-campaign was meant specifically for them and the rest of us are made to adopt and accept this latest form of oppression, perhaps that discomfort for prejudice will resonate with a broader demographic and will engineer empathy for the marginalised who face racism and discrimination all the time.

toponym

Via fellow internet caretaker Messy Nessy Chic, we discover that lexicographer Lars Petrus has undertaken the task of defining the creative names for IKEA furniture and accessories. Many items are named for geographical features in Småland, but many other are quite abstract and poetical, like NUTID (present tense) and ÖDMJUK (humble). What are some of your favourites?

ручной труд

Calvert Journal, through the lens of two individuals directly impacted by the prohibition, outlines the infamous Article 253 from Russia’s labour code that makes it illegal for Russian women to pursue a whole tranche of trades, nearly five hundred professions that are focused around manual labour.
The vestigial and conflicting ordinance—dating from Soviet times when the state took a preternatural interest in the reproductive powers of its female population and wanted to shield them from back-breaking work and indeed contains provisions to protect women from workplace discrimination—broadly spares women from potentially hazardous work and specifically stipulates that women on the job cannot be made to lift objects heavier that ten kilograms more than twice per hour—among other things—but has translated in modern times as way to exclude women acquiring and making a living through practical skills and becoming a member of a well-paying guild, like plumbing or carpentry or coach-driving. Though many seem contently unaware of the law, it still has wide effects beyond the labour-market with many Russian women growing up without practical repair skills.

mon calimari

Having undergone a profound image transformation thanks to science and exploration—though the ocean depths remain a mystery, giant squid and their smaller cousins have gone from the monsters of mythology (consider the trope of the land octopus) to objects of fascination and even adoration, with some advocates suggesting that they replace the giant panda as the World Wildlife Fund’s spokes-animal. Nautilus treats us to tantalising glimpse (for that’s all the headway we’ve made) into behaviour and culture of a group of cephalopods via the way they communicate through incredible control over their pigmentation, and not just for camouflage. Their intellect is so alien from our own it seems in ways unknowable, but it’s as if they wear their neurons on their sleeves and meaning and intent come through mediated by a visual language.