Delivered on this day in 1959 before an assembly of the members pf the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (see also), Richard Feynman’s (*1918 – †1988) lecture—subtitled “An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics” addressed the virtually limitless possibilities of miniaturisation and is heralded in retrospect as the birth of nanotechnology. A culmination of research, including though-experiments and practical demonstrations, Feynman’s intrigue was contagious as he pondered the ramifications of manipulating matter at atomic scales—creating incredibly dense circuitry, data-storage systems as well as vanishingly small mechanisms and medical interventions that were precision-controlled rather than relying on chemical processes that could be poorly grasped or might not work outside of the laboratory.
Though these motorized enzymes and ingestibles remained theoretical concepts and the bailiwick of science fiction until recently, the seminar ended with Feynman issuing a couple of challenges to his audience, the first of which were solved in very short order: the first thousand dollar payout came with the development of the first nanomotor the following year, the second—fitting the whole of the Encyclopรฆdia Britannica on the head of a pin took a bit more time but its equivalent was finally accomplished in 1985
Sunday 29 December 2019
there’s plenty of room at the bottom
the constitutions of clarendon
Beginning just ahead of the eight hundred-fiftieth anniversary of his murder in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170, the British Museum is hosting a series of events and exhibitions on the life and legacy of Thomas Becket (previously). Acting on what they interpreted as an express order from Henry II, four knights brutally killed the archbishop (see link immediately above) and this palace intrigue which went on to inspire sainthood and pilgrimage, solidified by his earlier exile for crossing the king—whose later inversion and disfavor helped curry the Protestantism and the fledgling Reformation in the bulwark of Henry VIII (see also). Read more about the special collections at the links above and at the museum’s own blog and watch this space for further updates.
Saturday 28 December 2019
fundbรผro
Via Dave Log v.3 (broken link unfortunately) we’re well acquainted with the Unclaimed Baggage Processing Centre in Enterprise Alabama that sells on lost and never claimed luggage from the airlines and more recently were given a tour of Paris’ but we were heretofore unfamiliar with the logoistics behind reuniting when possible, warehousing then auctioning off lost items from Germany’s railways as told in this visual storyboard from the New York Times.
Nearly a quarter of a million items, from the mundane to the esoteric and inexplicable—steeped in more mystery when one considers how one might lose track of certain treasures much less be unable to follow up on their whereabouts, are found every year in stations, on the platforms and left in the trains. A team of a dozen curators headquartered in Wuppertal try to deaccession their collections through research and detective work and find their owners.
Once all efforts have been exhausted, items go under the hammer, auctions held weekly on Platform 1. Though it would be a bit of a railway journey in itself but I’m going to resolve to check the city and the Bahnhof for the clearance event out one Thursday afternoon soon.
visitor count
Courtesy of Gizmodo, we are referred to a register of pages ranked, rated and annotated that Wikipedia users have visited over the past year.
Over a quarter of a trillion inquiries were logged for 2019 and moderators have stretched out that list out to its top five-thousand topics (the very last place still netted one million two-hundred thousand page views). The very top-tier most read articles—for the English language suite of sites at least but one wonders how that hegemony is exported and translated, mostly seem to by playbills, programmes and Cliffs’ Notes to help audiences better understand what entertainment that they just consumed.
Not only is it interesting to see on the expanded list that indelible mark of purple for a link visited as one scrolls through this list, it’s also an engrossing exercise to realise that one has perhaps not researched a particular figure or event further (on Wikipedia at least) which one hopes that they were better informed or should have been more curious about or those that stand out as utter mysteries and make one want to hover over it if not click through and glean more.
ไปค
Our apologies for the late proclamation, as the announcement for the Kanji Character of the Year—under the auspices of the scholastic organization Kanji Aptitude Test Foundation, based in Kyoto—is writ large in bold calligraphy on the portico of a historic temple every 12 December (previously), but it is still an annual superlative worth reflection.
Maybe we will remember to watch for it next time it comes around. Jured from a variety of sources including people’s choice, the character ไปค (pronounced rei) was selected. It’s primary meaning is order but harking back to the abdication and enthronement of a new emperor with a new era, Reiwa, we are also reminded that it can connote beautiful harmony, which one can hope is not just a record of the year that’s passed but also a portend of the year to come.
Friday 27 December 2019
say what?
Though possibly more familiar to audiences as cover-version and originally debuting on their album Honey, the formative funk group Ohio Players’ hit single Love Roller-Coaster first topped the charts in North America on this day in 1975, remaining on the Top 40 list for weeks.
Though in line with the premise of the song that romance is like a thrill-ride, a seemingly errant though audible scream (heard around 01:24 of the single, about a minute later on this album version) has been a persistent source of urban legends since its release, ranging from a deadly recording studio mishap to the confession of guilty conscience. The scream was in reality voiced by keyboardist Billy Beck. The contributions of Beck, Leroy Bonner, James Williams and other members were recognised in 2013 with the group’s induction into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame (matriculating as part of the inaugural class) in Cleveland.
7x7
rebirth of a salesman: revisiting a 1969 documentary that revealed how evangelism and door-to-door sales converged
ะฝะพะฒะพะณะพะดะฝะตะต ะดะตัะตะฒะพ: the evolution of the Yolka New Year’s Tree—from its pagan roots to Soviet anti-religious symbolic staple (see also)
mamurluk: also home to the Museum of Break-Ups, a new gallery space dedicated to hangovers opens in Zagreb
now that’s a name i’ve not heard in a long time: a fan-made Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars story
intern’yet: reportedly, Russia successfully unplugs from the world wide web and replaced global portals with domestic ones
bergkristall: Adalbert Stifter’s timeless, beloved 1845 novella
open conference bridge: a team of volunteers are retrofitting and reviving a network of payless, pay phone booths to bring community cohesion
mmxix
As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2020, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place in 2019. Thanks as always for visiting. We've made it through another wild year together.
january: China lands a probe on the far side of the Moon. In the US, works from 1923 enter into public domain, the first tranche to do so since 1998. After a contested election, the incumbent government of Venezuela is declared illegitimate. We had to say a sad goodbye to Zuzu, a long time companion for my mother and a devilish dog.
february: The Trump administration announces its decision to withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, prompting Russia to follow suit. Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit the Arab peninsula. A second summit between the US and North Korea collapses in failure. We bid farewell to fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, musician Peter Tork, and actor Bruno Ganz.
march: A terrorist’s rampage kills fifty people during services in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, prompting the government to immediately ban the sales and ownership of assault weapons. Special Counsel Robert Mueller concludes his report on Russian interference in the US 2016 presidential election and summits it to the Attorney General. Copyright reforms pass in the EU Parliament. After successive failures to pass a divorce deal, Brexit is delayed. We had to say goodbye to musicians Dick Dale and Keith Flint, actor Luke Perry, as well as filmmaker Agnรจs Varda.
april: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange loses his political sanctuary after seven years residing in the Colombian mission to the UK and is apprehended at the behest of the US, to be extradited to stand trial for releasing classified materials. We sadly had to say goodbye to another canine companion, Chauncy. Astronomers capture the image of a black hole. Brexit is postponed again. During Holy Week, a conflagration engulfed Notre-Dame de Paris. Over three hundred individuals in Sri Lanka were massacred on Easter Sunday.
may: Austria’s far-right coalition government collapses after an incriminating video surfaces of a senior official emerges of him promising infrastructure contracts in exchange for campaign support to the posturing relative of a Russian oligarch during a meeting in Ibiza. Sebastian Kurz resigns as Austrian chancellor and Brigette Bierlein leads a caretaker government until new elections can be held. We bid farewell to master architect I.M. Pei, Tim Conway, Peter Mayhew, Leon Redbone and Doris Day. Grumpy Cat also passed away too soon.
june: The Trump family take a summer vacation, going off to London to see the Queen, fรชted by outgoing Prime Minister, Theresa May, discharging one of her last, onerous official duties before stepping down. The US administration reinstates most sanctions and travel restrictions against Cuba. Trump ordered strikes against Iran for the destruction of a US spy drone, belaying the order once jets were already in the air and instead authorised a cyber-attack against the government. Over the course of two evenings, the large pool of Democratic nominee hopefuls held debates. We had to say farewell to iconic New Orleans singer, song-writer and producer Mac Rebennack, otherwise known as Dr John, as well as epic, old Hollywood filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli and Gloria Vanderbilt.
july: Violent protests continue in Hong Kong.
An arsonist attacked an animation studio in Kyoto, killing dozens. Donald Trump channels his racism to strengthen his bid for re-election, having never stopped campaign, blowing a dog whistle that is clearly audible to all. Boris Johnston succeeds Teresa May as prime minister and head of the UK Tory party. We had to say goodbye to Brazilian musician Joรฃo Gilberto who introduced the world to bossa nova as well as business magnate and philanthropist turned independent politician Ross Perot (*1930), US Supreme Court associate justice John Paul Stevens, Argentine architect Cรฉsar Pelli and actors Rutger Hauer and Russi Taylor.
august: Protests continue in Hong Kong. India revokes the special status accorded to the disputed territory of Kashmir, escalating tensions with neighbouring Pakistan and China. More gun violence visits the US. Puerto Rico goes through three governors in five days. Sex-trafficker and socialite Jeffrey Epstein was found dead of apparent suicide in his jail cell awaiting trial. In the midst of a mass-extinction event, Trump repeals the Endangered Species Act and the Amazon burns. Poet and author Toni Morrison (*1931), Irish singer Danny Doyle and lyricist David Berman died as did actor Peter Fonda and animator Richard Williams.
september: Setting a dangerous precedent, the US national weather agency revises its hurricane forecast to match the antics and bullheadedness of Donald Trump in the wake of the death and destruction brought on the Bahamas.
Prime minister Boris Johnson prorogues Parliament until only two weeks ahead of Brexit departure day. Trump also announces the cancellation of secret talks he was to hold with a delegation of the Taliban that probably otherwise would have been a 9/11 anniversary photo-op. Greta Thunberg leads a Fridays for the Future climate walkout in Washington, DC and addresses Congress and global strikes follow. After thirty years as presenter for BBC Radio 4 flagship Today programme, John Humphrys retires. House Democrats launch impeachment proceedings against Trump after it was revealed he sought to impugn his political opponents with the help of a foreign power, this time Ukraine. Photojournalist Charlie Cole (*1955) who captured the iconic image of Tank Man and artists Eddie Money (*1949) and Cars headman Ric Osasek (*1944) and pioneering journalist Cokie Roberts (*1943) passed away.
october: Trump withdraws US troops from the Kurdish controlled border region of Syrian and Turkey promptly invades.
november: The Trump impeachment hearings go public.
Aide and political consultant Roger Stone found guilty on all counts for obstruction of justice, witness tampering and lying to Congress just as Trump intimidates former Ukrainian ambassador live during her testimony and career diplomat Marie Yovanovitch is afforded the chance to reply in real time. A deadly knife-attack on London Bridge is halted by three by-standers, one with his bare hands and the others armed with a fire-extinguisher and a narwal tusk. The historic Austrian village of Hallstadt is partially burned down. Frank Avruch (also known as Bozo the Clown, *1930) passed away. We also said farewell to William Ruckelshaus (*1932), America’s first Environmental Protection Agency administrator and government official who defied Richard Nixon during the Saturday Night Massacre.december: The venue moved from Chile due to ongoing unrest, the environmental summit COP25 commences in Madrid.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin step down. Greta Thunberg is named TIME’s Person of the Year. In the UK General Election, a sizable Tory upset gives Boris Johnson a mandate for the UK quitting the EU. Global trade wars with the US and the rest of the world as belligerents re-surges, this time over Nord Stream 2 (previously) and opting for an energy source at least marginally cleaner than American oil and natural gas obtained by fracking. Wildfires continue to devastate Australia. We had to bid farewell to pioneering Star Trek screenwriter DC Fontana (*1939), veteran stage and screen actor appearing in M*A*S*H*, Benson and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Renรฉ Murat Auberjonois (*1940), spiritual guru Ram Dass (*1931), accomplished actress Anna Karina (*1940) and Carroll Spinney (*1933), the puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (previously) for nearly fifty years.
