trump dump

Writing for Vanity Fair, Bess Levin serves up a predictably unpalatable digest of Carnival Barker in Chief’s antics that you might have missed—including his intensifying anger over a domestic automotive manufacturer reality-based (that is moored to economic factors as opposed to being reality television-based) announcing that it will discontinue more operations in North America, reneging on a campaign promise it was not his to make or keep. We believe he is under the impression that if the campaign can be stretched out in perpetuity, supporters won’t expect delivery.  Trump’s boasts of bullying the car company into submission (Trump’s tariff wars and the lack of government support for green technologies are making the brand less competitive and driving this work force reduction) are bound to backfire magnificently.

the art of the title

Coudal Partners’ Fresh Signals directs us to a retrospective appreciation of the recently departed self-taught graphic designer and erstwhile collaborator of Stan Lee, Pablo Ferro (*1935 - †2018).
The brilliantly produced three part multimedia masterclass and interview (part two, part three) on Ferro’s career, influences and contributions reminds that his work goes beyond credit sequences and his visual montages and direction imparts a distinctive for the film, television and advertising campaigns he was part of—creating in a sense a mascot, like he did for NBC in 1957, for each project. His filmography includes the custom typeface for the title sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s Doctor Strangelove, the pioneering use of split-screens in The Thomas Crown Affair and visual consulting for over a hundred more including Woman of Straw, Bullitt, Philadelphia, Beetlejuice, Jesus Christ Superstar and A Clockwork Orange—curated clips from his expansive portfolio to be found at the links up top.

care package

I had used the term and have been the recipient and sometimes (striving to be better) sender of said “care” packages my entire life not realising that it referred to a specific charitable offensive, relief operation, founded on this day in 1945 and in full implementation six months later. Originally the initialism was short for Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, for donation of $10, one could sponsor an individual and help stave off starvation in the war-torn continent. The couriers that delivered the CARE packages had the addressee confirm receipt and often this acknowledgment was the first confirmation that the individual had survived the war, lines of communication ravaged by the fighting.
The first batch of food aid were US army surplus rations used until exhausted that were prepared for the contingent invasion of Japan. By 1948, the board of directors dropped the requirement that donations be directed to a named individual due to an overwhelming number of requests to send the package “to a teacher” or “a hungry person in Europe” and donated items supplemented the Berlin Air Lift during the Soviet Blockade. By the mid-1950s, operations transitioned out of Europe and the relief agency took on a global role, not only fighting hunger but also promoting environmental stewardship, educational opportunities and micro-finance. The acronym presently stands for Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere.

6x6

black mirror: a local Chinese business woman is publicly pilloried when an AI misinterprets an ad on the side of a bus as the jaywalking CEO—via Slashdot

cover art: vintage, non-fiction paperback jackets animated by Henning M Lederer

drainspotting: a memory-match game played with decorative Japanese manhole covers (previously here and here)

wallflower: Cecilia Paredes camouflages her subjects against bold floral patterns

l’anis del mono: artist Omar Aqil models Pablo Picasso’s abstract paintings in three dimensions with everyday objects

christmas evil: White House continues the decorating tradition of transforming the residence into a nightmarish hellscape

christmas is just around the corner

Spotted by Miss Cellania, one town’s art centre (which shall remain anonymous) has been decorated with Christmas festoonery that references Banksy’s famously self-destructing masterstroke (previously here and here) whose performance art and meta-commentary is becoming a meme of its own.  I suppose it follows that a tree would shred into garland after all, sort of like the palm fronds from Palm Sunday burnt for the ashes of Ash Wednesday.

selbuvotter

Often interpreted as a snowflake instead of a flower and universally as shorthand for all things wholesomely wintry and Scandinavian, the knit pattern selburose is an ancient symbol and predates its 1857 appearance on a pair of mittens (vott) that had the whole congregation of the town of Selbu quite smitten with the design.

The popularity of the pattern (selbumønster, which also sparked a whole cottage industry and helped women become more economically independent) coincided with the Norwegian independence movement from Sweden and became somewhat of a bold fashion statement as something distinctly Norsk despite the mixed pedigree. Read more on the origins and spread of this icon at The Atlantic and find similar stories about the familiar and everyday syndicated at Object Lessons.

manderley

Thanks to a tip from the Map Room, we can now explore Postman Pat’s delivery route and visualise where Dibley and Holby City is in relation to Hollyoaks and Little Whinging—though I suspect none of the listed venues take place in the same fictional universe—with this map of locations of the British isles from books, film and television. How many places do you recognise? A surprising number of places have fairly exacting space-time coordinates but there are a few nebulous and untethered ones as well. Click through for larger versions to pour over. We’re wondering which sagas and series do share reality and wonder what sort of cross-overs there are. I bet some aficionado has created that Venn diagram as well.