synchronoptica
one year ago: an apparent breakthrough in general artificial intelligence (with synchronoptica) plus a counter-culture Thanksgiving tradition
seven years ago: more Thanksgiving greetings
eight years ago: another pause for Turkey Day
nine years ago: recommended gift catalogues
ten years ago: poetry and language
Via Friend of the Blog par excellence Nag on the Lake, we are introduced to the esteemed French-Russian surgeon, Serge Voronoff (see also, though we were hoping they were one in the same personage) who gained international fame for his xenotransplantation experiments (see previously) as a meanings of restoring virility and vitality by grafting simian glands onto human recipients. 
Controversial and subsequently debunked as quackery, Voronoff’s practise and outrageous claims made him very wealthy—initially he moved from research on the thyroid to transplanting testes from executed criminals onto millionaire clients but soon demand surpassed donors and the doctor turned to using chimpanzee (see above) tissue instead. We learn about this work, which has echoes of modern rejuvenation movements and seemingly similarly ill-informed courtesy of a defiant letter to the editor penned by playwright George Bernard Shaw in May 1928 on behalf of the titular London’s Regent’s Park zoo’s most famous resident of the monkey house, not keen on donating—ahead of Voronoff’s much-anticipated visit to the UK in response to detractors maintaining that the implantation would cause humans to take on the baser attributes of their close relative—as read by Andy Serkis (previously—here’s an alternate source as the original link has been sadly zombified by AI slop)—Golem and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.
Beginning on this day in 2004, the series of protests (see also) lasting two months and one day called the Orange Revolution (Pomarancheva revoliutsiia, the colour of the campaign of Western-oriented Viktor 
Yushchenko and adopted by his supporters) caused political upheaval and reform and was sparked by the outcome of a presidential run-off perceived to be marred with fraud, corruption and voter intimidation, which favoured Russia-aligned candidate Victor Yanukovich. The Ukrainian Supreme Court was swayed by the acts of non-violent civil disobedience and general disruption, backed by international observers that questioned the election’s validity and annulled the results of the initial second round and ordered new voting, under close scrutiny, which were judged free and fair and ultimately installed Yushchenko in office with a “public inauguration on 23 January 2005.
On this day in 1974 during the General Assembly, the United Nations adopted a resolution recognising and reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination (after the 1917 and 1948 agreements) “without external interference; the right to national independence and sovereignty and the inalienable right of return to homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted.” Simultaneously, the UN officially regarded the Palestine Liberation Organisation as a representative of the Palestinian people and granted observer status.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Freigeld, money with an expiration date (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: DC’s Bible museum, dismantling net neutrality plus UK water utilities employ dowsing
eight years ago: Xerox and zines, a forthcoming Dune remake, an experimental electromagentic propulsion drive plus Trump’s dictatorial tendencies
nine years ago: the Parable of the Puddle plus assorted links worth revisiting
eleven years ago: the Noun Project
enemy of the people: veteran journalists expect Trump to go after the press by every possible means
net elevation: calculate the differential between the birth place and the death place of the good and the great—via Waxy
panda diplomacy: Russia donates seventy animals to North Korean zoo with a plane sanctioned by the US normally dispatched to Syria—via Super Punch
jellyfish dream theatre: a visit to the Kamo Aquarium in Yamagata prefecture, home to the largest collection of medusazoa
cryptobro: investigating undisclosed financial interest in various schemes, BBC trolled by Paul Logan impersonator
icc: the International Criminal Court has issued warrants for the Israeli president, former defence secretary and Hamas’ military leader on charges of war crimes
ai pimping: the growing industry of machine-generated influences
exclusive gladiator experience: AirBNB’s booking at the Colosseum incites outrage
test-fire: in response to strikes with Western missile systems, Putin orders the firing of experimental hyper-sonic armament deep into Ukraine
allotted to companionship: a look at how a certain demographic spent their time in the 1930s as compared to today—via tmn
grim meat-hook future: resistance to Trump’s authoritarian regime could result in a military coup—read the comments
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus a lost demo tape rediscovered decades later
seven years ago: endangered elements plus more links to enjoy
eight years ago: more fun with shadows plus Eigengrau and colour perception
nine years ago: Alan Moore’s Star Wars
ten years ago: ransomware plus dialect and distinction
The stupidities of American politics and culture wars is grindingly wearisome and beyond the bandwidth of most to follow—although that’s by design and the slights large and small cannot go unnoticed. Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, a former wrestling executive officer, to dismantle the agency at a pivotal 
time when public school districts are underfunded and higher learning is facing an existential crisis with the prospect of artificial intelligence supplanting expertise is shocking enough, though the feeling is a little blunted given the fact the same individual headed the Small Business Administration during his first term. In the same news cycle, however, the Republic-controlled incoming Congress welcomed—on Transgender Day of Remembrance, memorialising victims of transphobia—the first openly member to identify as such by introducing a measure for the House of Representatives that would ban in the Capitol transgender women from using bathrooms designated for cisgendered women. Unclear if it will be brought to the floor to vote on house rules, the sponsor decrying an assault of women’s rights and safety with this ideology, which the target of the vitriol, newly elected member from Delaware, dismissed the proposal as a distraction from the job of governance and will make do, their platform and focus, telling of its poverty, being “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Increasing notably in look-ups after athletes and performers spoke imaging their success and calling it into existence, Cambridge Dictionary (previously) selected manifest as its Word of the Year. 
With roots in the Theosophical movement, the idea—which can be delusional or dangerous if not underpinned with actual effort—has moved from the realm of self-help to the mainstream. While have a healthy level of self-esteem, confidence and goal-setting is essential, magical thinking can create unrealistic expectations and leverage feelings that poor outcomes happened because one did not want them bad enough—or harboured doubts. The six century history of the term illustrates how language evolves, with Geoffrey Chaucer first citing Manyfest in the sense of obvious or easily noticed, demonstrated. Other contenders that Cambridge began monitoring in 2024 included: resenteeism—a portmanteau of resentment and absenteeism being used increasingly by dissatisfied employees, gymfluencer and the cocktail party effect, the difficulty on focusing on one voice in a crowded setting now applied to AI as a selective attention model.
synchronoptica
one year ago: The Day After (1983—with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: the monumental challenge of carbon removal, Jim Henson’s IBM ad campaign, toys and gadgets spying on children plus more on The Day After
eight years ago: Windows 1.0 (1985), German Youth Word of the Year, Star Wars Identities, US Army illustrated Code of Personal Conduct plus Trump’s policy agenda
nine years ago: more on Einstein’s centenary, assorted links to revisit plus the Trump candidacy
ten years ago: Norway’s new passport design, a newspaper assembly line, Anglo-Saxons plus lingual laziness
As our faithful chronicler informs, this day in 1992 saw the original airing of Mr Plow (S04:E09), in which Homer purchases a snowplow and his success clearing driveways inspires a rivalry with his friend Barney, who quickly corners the market. 
Dan Castellaneta, voicing both Simpson and Gumble, garnered his second Emmy for the episode (after “A Streetcar Named Marge”), considered one of the best in the show’s long history. As a late night spot on public access television originally attracted customers, Barney commissions Linda Ronstadt to perform the jingle for his competitor, Plow King—and escalating the advertising campaign, Mr Plow secures the services of an agency to create an avant garde and perplexing commercial that fails to land with the public. Batman’s Adam West makes a cameo too, and there are as well dozens of obscure cultural references. Call Klondike 5-3-2-2-6 right now.
