bauhinia × blakeana

In anticipation of a post-colonial Hong Kong with the banner being first hoisted and flown during the transfer ceremony that took place 1 July 1997 onwards, on this day in 1990 the National People’s Congress approved the design for a new flag featuring a stylised five-petal flower of an orchid tree on a China red background to replace the defaced Union Jack on display since UK acquisition in 1843 after the Opium Wars. The design was submitted by a member of the selection committee, local architect Tao Ho (*1936 – †2019), whom unsatisfied with the entrants he had reviewed so far was inspired by a bauhinia blossom he found in his garden for its symmetry and dynamism.

elephas anthrpogenus

Via Miss Cellania’s Links, we are treated to a nice reminder of how Western Europeans—absent any frame of reference since the fall of the Roman Empire—depicted reports, sight unseen, of a strange and formidable beast called the elephant (see also) in a classic project from Uli Westphal that collects and contrasts the license that different scholars and illustrators took with their anatomies from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment. Much more to explore at the links above.

seat check

From Present /&/ Correct, we are referred to another resource for vintage Japanese railway ephemera and memorabilia (see previously) in this collection of tickets and fare information. Though much of this fantastic design have become relics due to electronic ticketing, there’s no reason we can’t appreciate the craft and incorporate the same level of artistry into contemporary conductor inspections as well.

house proud

From the always excellent Things Magazine that’s been performing real yeoman’s service over the best week to keep us entertained and engaged comes this interesting study and reflection on the British practise of naming houses—sort of parallel to the American conceit of naming cabins and beach homes which I still think continues apace, how it fell out of fashion and what that says about class and aspiration.
Though the christenings of their original builders are upheld for the most part by later residents, Elsinore, Sans Souci, Rosemont or even whole resort towns to give them place in history, the custom is sneered at as a bit naff (I term I first learned applied to Cats, perhaps not justifiably) and one common appellation (considered the worst offender) Sunnyside turned out to have a surprisingly ancient pedigree. Much more to explore at the links above.

penthouse playset

With some ninety-six hours of unused footage to draw from, a group of editors and archivists under the direction of E. Elias Merhiga are planning to produce a restored version of the critically panned, arguably unfilmable 1980 erotic historical drama Caligula that is truer to the original vision of author Gore Vidal, director Tinto Brass and producer adult magazine mogul Bob Guccione.
Though overlapping in some regards and quite distinct in other, this film—mostly rumours thereof rather, I think—occupies the same sort of place in my mind as another soap opera about Roman society that I’ve been enjoying recently. Among the scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor were these incredulous and wildly inappropriate cross-promotional line of action figures—riding off the marketing success of Star Wars, a film with half the budget of Caligula, pitched to Guccione by a company called Cinco Toys—from Adult Swim fame. More to explore at the links above.

voyage autour de ma chamber

Via Cynical-C, we are invited to indulge the travelogue and memoir by revolutionary army officer Xavier de Maistre (*1763 – †1852) penned whilst he was confined to quarters for six weeks (forty-two days) as punishment for participating in an illegal duel.
Serving his sentence without stint nor quarrel, this is the sort of reflective appreciation that we could all take a cue from—especially when so many are not afforded the same luxury—de Maistre satirises the traditional gap year, grand tour narrative accorded to young men of sufficient rank of the continent and journeys about his suite of rooms as if his furnishings were exotic locations. The work is not only the author’s amblings and impressions but also really engages the imagination of his audience in a sympathetic manner—surprising as de Maistre never expected to have a readership and had no intention to publish it, but his brother was so taken with the account, he had it put in print.

hedgehog in the fog

Our friends over at Calvert Journal have curated a selection of Soviet-era cartoons and stop animation programmes that are certainly deserving of one’s nostalgia and a welcome break from focusing on the ongoing crises of the present. Clips include Crocodile Gena and his Friends along with other children’s classics and the 1975 titular work by esteemed, award-winning animator Yuri Norstein.

end-to-end

Via our ever excellent aficionado of fine hypertext products, Jason Kottke, we are treated to this highly satisfying collaboration by Donato Sansone with audio by Enrico Ascoli that’s artfully arranged stock footage whose actions seamlessly merge into the next for this continuous Rube Goldberg-esque (see previously) chain of events. The title, concatenation, in linguistics and computer programming refers to the syntax of stringing operations together. Much more to explore at the link up top.