twentytwentyfive (12. 169)

Better Living through Beowulf brings us a thoughtful reflection on George Orwell’s prescient 1946 essay called “The Prevention of Literature” that forecasts how authoritarian regimes will turn to AI (not exactly couched in modern parlance but rather as formulaic, mass-produced writing that could outpace any author or newsroom, though his dystopian novel does feature prole porn—we might even be denied that—and other entertainments produced by machine), which envisions journalism being first censored out of existence to be churned out with minimal human input or intervention with prose and poetry to follow—though book bans in the United States (including 1984) seem to rather subvert that sequence, notwithstanding the attacks against what’s labelled as the “legacy media” continuing—already witnessing the change in his own time with modular stories and plots, easily adapted and repackaged for an eager audience and easily made to conform with the worldview that the state seeks to project. Introducing his work with a recollection of attending a meeting of the PEN Club in London that coincided with the three-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Milton’s Areopagitica—in defence of press freedoms—two years prior, Orwell blames the loss of intellectual liberty on the undermining of the increasingly concentrated ownership of the press and monopolies on broadcast media by corporations that refused to support their authors and internecine squabbling amongst academics. Such an atmosphere and compromised readership enables conditions for a totalitarian takeover. Contemporary critics generally agreed with Orwell’s premise, though some though his arguments amounted to “intellectual swashbuckling” and concluded his prophecies doubtful.

happy ending (12. 168)

The US supreme court having rejected petitions from the president-elect to stop or delay the sentencing until after the inauguration (the justices not accepting the argument of broad immunity from prosecution when discharging duties as the executive), Trump was granted an unconditional discharge to respect the jury’s verdict of guilty on thirty four felony counts of misusing campaign funds for hush-money payments to a porn star and to not interfere with his ability to govern. While serving no jail time or liable to fine, this judgement delivered by a New York state judge is not subject to presidential, federal purview and could only be pardoned by the governor (not likely to happen) and the conviction, symbolic as it is, will remain on Trump’s record. And while he would probably prefer it not be on his Wikipedia page, if capable of the needed level of shame, critical thought or interiority, the sentence does have some potential impacts, by dint of his registration in Florida, he will be able to continue to vote in that state due to reciprocity with New York (see above), under federal law, Trump is not allowed to own a gun, must surrender a DNA sample to a New York database of convicts, possibly jeopardise the liquor licenses for his branded properties and similarly is barred from operating casinos under laws regarding moral turpitude, and while heads of state are allowed to travel without a passport, some countries, including Canada, Mexico, Israel, China, Ukraine, Turkey, India, Japan, Taiwan, South Africa and the UK reserve the right to prohibit visits by felons. The travel restrictions are unlikely of course to be enforced in Trump’s case and he could always ignore regulation or pressure states to change their laws. This does not affect his ability to hold federal office, however.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an epic tattoo homage to Abe Simpson (with sychronoptica), enjunkification and aging out of the internet plus the Phantom Time Theory and the fabricated Middle Ages

seven years ago: a look back at 1968, Trump’s new London embassy plus French terms against creeping Anglicisms

eight years ago: heatmaps of the world’s most popular photo spots plus kompromat on Trump

nine years ago: fans remember the life and times of David Bowie,  Borg ideal beauty plus assorted links worth revisiting

ten years ago: the democratic reforms of 1848, your hit-parade, a motion-detector in search of alien life plus separatist and secession movements in Europe

constitiuent political entity (12. 167)

We enjoyed this rather mind-blowing rundown of singular and obscure facts about each of America’s fifty states, trivia that stands out as improbable and due to the absence of citations (helpfully there are timestamps with smooth transitions that index each), though apparently one-hundred percent, unequivocally true, nonetheless compels one down rabbit holes, like for Nebraska’s standout detail (do you know anyone from there? A work colleague introduced herself with “I’ll bet you’ve never met anyone from Nebraska”) in the village of Monowi, supposedly named after an unidentified Native American term of wildflower for their profusion, which is the only incorporated area in the US with one resident, differential privacy enacted for the 2020 census reported that the population had doubled but this was confirmed to be a form of noise, a buffer to protect the privacy of an easily identifiable individual. The sole resident, mayor and chief librarian maintains the five-thousand volume collection of her late husband and it her capacity as the municipal government, has granted herself a liquor license to operate a tavern for passers-through on the premises. What’s your home state’s niche fact? Which one is your favourite? The array of geographical expanses were also interesting and counterintuitive. The video presentation is thirty-minutes and fifty seconds long, referencing the number of the original colonies and the number of states. Let’s hope they give this treatment to the EU next.

hohe schule (12. 166)

Taking advantage of a brief period of sunshine, H and I took the dog on a hike up to the summit of the Hohe Schule—previously, the tallest plateau in the eastern foothills of the Rhön mountain range, to inspect more of the recently restored Wanderweg. 

 Formerly known as the Aalhauck—“eel hill,” now called “high school” for unknown reasons—German toponymy can be deceiving, as with Schweinfurt, not where the pigs can ford the river. 

The flat top hosts the ruins of a fortification from the Hallstatt period, presumably built to monitor trade through the Ellenbach valley and reoccupied in the Middle Ages with a newer rampart and collapsed walls, hardly recognisable and reclaimed by the forest but fenced in as several Bronze Age artefacts were discovered there during an emergency survey conducted in the 1980s, including prehistoric millstones, primitive glass vials and a brooch, but further excavations are still pending and archeologists want to preserve the site, and affords some spectacular views on the valley and village below and mountain peaks beyond.

8x8 (12. 165)

all the things that we’ve amassed sit before us, shattered to ash: interviews from celebrities who lost their homes in the Los Angeles megafire, which is still burning out of control  

facechan: some words of advice for disillusioned social media employees  

bepicolombo: final flyby of the space mission beams back extraordinary photos of Mercury’s polar region

obit.: Bob Canada’s two volume tribute to celebrity deaths of last year we may have overlooked  

erfolgreich abgemeldet: German and Austrian government and academic institutions leave X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, following the summit between Musk and Weidel  

chip off the old block: apparently in some families, it’s customary to nickname a son named after his father the former, a son named after his grandfather Skip and one named after all three Trip  

you’re so woke—diet coke: corporate America abandoning DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) programs ahead of Trump’s return, hoping to curry favour with the new administration 

delta smelt: fact-checking the fallout over water shortage for emergency responders in California

synchronoptica

one year ago: David Lynch’s 1984 unfinished Dune sequel (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links with revisiting

seven years ago: John Wayne as Genghis Khan (1965), time and dark energy plus more links to enjoy

eight years ago: even more links, misinformation about the refugee situation in Germany plus an anti cow bell campaigner denied Swiss citizenship

nine years ago: the elegance of heliocentrism, RIP David Bowie plus the performer as internet pioneer

ten years ago: a slow news day (1922) 

vinegar tom (12. 164)

Having encountered the topic of animals on trial beforehand, we found intriguing this court docket, via ibīdem, on how canine familiars (obviously falsely accused, they were all good boys and girls) were implicated in the Salem Witch Trials. In superstitions predating the tribunal dogs had garnered associations with the sinister and while there are no records of dogs standing trial, those folklore traditions echo in testimony with dogs being bewitched and in league with the devil, evinced by the power of prayer to encourage obedience. Historical sources suggest that their implication was a shaggy dog story read into the record after the fact and sadly led, as with their feline and feminine cohort, to abuse and injustice.

𓆫𓂋𓁐 (12. 163)

A rather spectacular tomb (mastaba) was recently excavated in the necropolis of Saqqara in the Giza campus, a burial grounds for the royalty of the ancient capital of Memphis dating to the Sixth Dynasty (circa mid 2200 BC) of one multi-hyphenate called Teti Neb Fu, via Strange Company. Richly decorated with relief depictions of everyday life as well as a catalog of offerings and grave-goods (the body and the originals were looted ages ago) and tools of the trade, the individual was not only physician to the pharaoh and chief doctor of the court, inscriptions also bestow the titles great dentist, director of pharmabotany and priest and magician of the goddess Selket (the scorpion deity who governed venom and its antidotes), providing insight into the intersectionality of religious ritual and medicine of the Old Kingdom. The Swiss-led archaeological dig has uncovered other sites in the area in recent years including one of the vizier Uni with an extensive autobiographical record of his administrative and political achievements, greatly augmenting the knowledge and chronology of the time. More from The History Blog at the link above.

torchwood (12. 162)

The always interesting Kottke turns our attention to a curated collection of all the Doctor Who intertitle or title cards used over the course of the long-running sci-fi series that addresses the change in typefaces, establishing shots, fades and introductions over the years. In the early years each serial was given its own title whether a stand alone bottle episode or part of a larger story arc. The classic era ones are the most visually engaging and all can be found at the show’s dedicated wiki.

synchronoptica

one year ago: where’s the beef (with synchronoptica) plus more blogging from the South Pole

seven years ago: the dossier on Trump’s Russian ties,  cosmopolitan chocolate bars plus stationers and stationary

eight years ago: a Manchurian candidacy

nine years ago: assorted links to revisit plus packing up Christmas for next year

ten years ago: Goethe plus the mythos of oaks