day two hundred twenty six (13. 905)

Meeting with Putin in Moscow, US special envoy lauds the Russian leader as a great humanitarian as talks to end the conflict in Ukraine take place in the background, the EU hinting that Kyiv might cede the Donbass region in exchange for full integration and NATO membership, unverified that such a deal might be in the offing, it is certainly better than the unconditional surrender that the Trump regime has be pushing for months, Ukraine having originally given up its navy and nuclear warheads at the urging of Washington negotiators. Reports emerge that the Starshield throttling was intentional and at the direction of Elon Musk. Russia signals it is ready to reengage in peace talks—to the exclusion of Europe. Iranian foreign minister Araghchi reiterates that whilst Tehran is committed to finding a dignified diplomatic resolution to the war that the US and Israel started, the Islamic Republic will also defend itself without compromise. The Revolutionary Guard announce a new weapon in the Father of All Bombs meant to counter rumbling that Trump is drawing up plans to destroy energy infrastructure with MOABs. Netanyahu issues new threats against the Supreme Leader at a graduation ceremony for military cadets.

give me three weeks in hyperspace with her—you know, i might make a few points (13. 904)

Empire director Gary Kurtz engaged French filmmaker Michel Parbot to create a documentary for Lucasfilm, following the actors and crews for six months of shooting at Elstree Studios and the Finese soundstage as well as Hoth scenes in Norway. Only a few excerpts were shown for promotional material and the hour long-piece was never shown in its entirety and presumed lost—that is, until now (and possibly for a limited time) we learn courtesy of Miss Cellania. The individual shadowing the Space Opera’s second instalment was a seasoned freelance war reporter and did several reportages on subjects like crash-test dummies, the Cannes Film Festival, high-rise construction, the Warren Commission, life in Cuba, the Vietnam war, segregation in the US and Apartheid in South Africa. In retrospect, it seems the actors are unaware of the story arc and what’s in store for the “love triangle” among principles, today being what would have been Carrie Fisher’s seventieth birthday.

*     *     *     *     *

synchronoptica

one year ago: more on Project West Ford (with synchronoptica)

two years ago: airport geolocation codes and shared abbreviations plus Musk selling votes 

three years ago: the land of a thousand lakes 

four years ago: assorted links to revisit,  Livre de Thot plus a feline opera

five years ago: St Ursula, the first Vikings in North America plus more vocabulary building

six years ago: the origins of Op-Ed, the Dutch art of doing nothing,  NYC’s digital subway map, app, the sentō culture of Japan, the Royal Meteorological Society’s PoTY plus coppicing and pollarding

seven years ago: IKEA tarot 

eight years ago: artist Barbara Kruger plus leaf-peeping in the Rhön

 

day two hundred twenty five (13. 903)

Alberta overwhelmingly rejects separatist agenda in a special referendum. France and Italy plan for a massive police surge to quell protests. Israel conducts airstrikes over Gaza City. Despite continuing indirect peace talks, Iran’s Supreme Leader announces that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed through the end of Trump’s term—Gulf oil exports have surpassed pre-war levels in aggregate in spite of the conflict. US Vice president Vance declines to echo Trump’s endorsement for the re-election of Netanyahu.  UK re-arrests suspects linked to the alleged terror plot on RAK Fairford as fighter jets are deployed to Saudi Arabia to counter Houthi attacks. Yemeni refugees fleeing fighting cross the Red Sea en masse for Djibouti.

8x8 (13. 902)

mba: professor calls for the abolition of business schools for wreaking society  

gravesite: death, online legacy and estate executors  

six°: the true centre of Hollywood plus plotting past and future trajectories—see also—via Waxy  

only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun who’s trying to stop another good guy with a gun who’s jumping out of his vehicle to run and stop a bad guy with a gun who’s blasting his way into an elementary school: a vicious cycle by Kathryn Baecht  

rarebit: once the reserve of the aristocracy in Britain, rabbits became accessible to the lower classes following the Plague raised the living-standard of the working poor—see also—via tmn  

the sound of suddard: a growing collection of vintage vinyl recordings appearing nowhere else on the internet 

rented megaphones: the suspension of the Instagram “No Kings” account just prior to massive global rallies speaks to digital demonstration and trust vested in platforms—see also 

the landlord’s game: millions of iterations of Monopoly (previously) reveal the winningest strategies

synchronoptica

one year ago: Cornish custom cushions (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit 

two years ago: pivotal tech year 2004, a method for guaranteeing equal chance and distribution, a West German crime drama plus a rare Mac Tonight clip emerges 

three years ago: Bigfoot footage (1967) 

four years ago: jungle gyms of East Germany,  more spectacular images from the JWST plus Liz Truss resigns

five years ago: St Artemis of Antioch,  Play Misty for Me (1971) plus the dedication of the Sydney Opera House (1973)

six years ago: more links to enjoy, the execution of Klaus Störtebeker plus a remembrance of artist Enzo Mari

seven years ago: synthwave Star Wars,  documenting car crashes plus the end of grazing season

eight years ago: the Saturday Night Massacre,  artist Giacomo Balla plus even more links worth the revisit 

 

7x7 (13. 901)

catch me if you can: Frank Abagnale in his own words 

ultimata thule: the dark history behind that iconic daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe 

use case scenario: representation in AI and the overly-confident cohort of fabricated industry leaders   

fugs for peace: radical, counter-culture figure Ed Sanders  

rough cut: an hour-long workprint of Space Jam from early 1996  

signor formica: ETA Hoffman’s novella about the Italian Baroque artist Salvator Rosa, painter of witches  

super scam me: turning the tables on confidence trickers

day two hundred twenty five (13. 900)

US strikes Iran’s Konarak naval base on the southeastern coast, in the first attack in nearly two months, possibly breaking Trump’s pledge not to attack until after the midterms. Houthi rebels kill over fifty Yemeni government soldiers shooting ballastics at a training centre. Pakistan suspends trade with Iran as violence escalates on both sides of the border. Egyptian parliament delays a planned vote on military assistance for Saudi Arabia. Israel bombards Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. Funding shortages force UN World Food Programme to end support for a half a million Palestinians in Gaza as deadly drone strikes kill in Khan Younis, a daily occurrence.

no puppet, no puppet—you’re the puppet (13. 899)

On this day a decade ago, during the third and final debate, in response to candidate Donald Trump’s assertion that the Russian leader has no respect for his rival and Democratic nominee, Hilary Clinton shot back: “That’s because [Putin would] rather have a puppet as president of the United States. You encouraged espionage against our people. You are willing to spout the Putin line, sign up for his wish list, break up NATO—do whatever he wants to do. You continue to get help from him because he has a clear favourite in this race.” Clinton sought to blunt the fallout of the hacked cache of emails from the Democratic National committee posted online by Wikileaks—disclosing donors’ financial information and showing the party actively undermining the campaign of Bernie Sanders in favour of the former first lady, senator and Secretary of State, a theft that seventeen intelligence agencies concluded that was likely carried out at the behest of Moscow, though Trump rejected that US spy services knew who was behind it, repeating a line from the first presidential debate that it was probably some “four hundred pound hacker” in a basement somewhere that was responsible. The publications, released in separate tranches, also eventually included the controversial raw version of the Steele dossier, the unfinished political opposition report, of kompromat that the Russian government had on Trump.

synchronoptica 

one year ago: a selection of French horror movies (with synchronoptica), largest gold nugget discovered (1872) plus Stop Making Sense (1984)

two years ago: the Cin script, the British India Ocean Territory and the loss of its top-level domain plus images of passengers going through a car-wash

three years ago: Pomp & Circumstance (1901) 

four years ago:  St Frithuswith, Take on Me plus assorted links worth revisiting

five years ago: more links to enjoy

six years ago: font founder Ed Benguiat plus the Hochrhönstrasse

seven years ago: a coffee substitute,  Europe’s long distance walking trails, lizard people, the maps of Alexander von Humboldt, an unusual session of Parliament plus a corner office

eight years ago: more grammatical non-errors

day two hundred twenty four (13. 898)

Trump maintains that Moscow is “doing very little—if anything” to help Iran militarily. Tehran, ahead of Israeli elections, claims Netanyahu seeks to expand fighting in the region in a campaign message that scolds America and the broader world for complaining about energy prices. Retreating from five month highs marginally, the cost per barrel of diesel falls after Washington pauses sanctions on Russian exports but the stunt fails to make a dent in the price at the pump, unclear if Russia can even deliver and afford to divert from the war effort in Ukraine. Trump accuses Zelenskyy of prolonging the conflict for political gain. Fighting in Yemen rages as Houthis move to capture Taiz and air raid sirens blare across Saudi Arabia and the Egyptian parliament votes on whether to join on the side of Riyadh. Macron urges the press to make a distinction between protesters and vandals as more than twenty four hundred are arrested in France as rallies spread to Spain and Portugal over high living costs.