Reading about the last remaining telegraph stations in China closing a few months ago, we were excited for another look at the topic from the angle of the challenges overcome to adapt sinographs to telegraphy and more broadly to mechanical reproduction—ironically having invented the printed word but challenged with technology made for alphabetic encoding and decoding.
Calling to mind this wonderfully laugh out loud and still arguably the only legitimate use of LinkedIn that matches the names of CV-holders to pop songs, Futility Closet directs us to an earlier effort scouring the telephone directory of Toronto’s 1977 white-pages choosing entries to approximate the lyrics to nursery rhymes (as published later in anthology of recreational linguistics and onomastics). 
One example cobbling together of the Roud Folk Song #19626 of disputed historical meaning:
Merrie Merry Quaint Caunt Ririe
Howe Dussiaulme Garden Groh
Witt Silver Belson Cockell Schells
And Pretty Mayes Allin Arro
Whist predating Mary Tudor and Mary Queen of Scots, despite popular associations, scholars believe the English traditional poem is an allegory for Catholicism with pretty maids representing nuns, the sanctus bells and the cockleshells as the pilgrimage badges of the Way of St James. Click through at the link above for more examples plus a 1963 television show that assembled a live studio audience to the tune “Inda Good Old Somerstein.”
synchronoptica
one year ago: the first human-non-human organ transplant (with synchronopticæ) plus polls open for the OED Word of the Year
thirteen years ago: alternate search engines, International Day of Philosophy plus more flea market finds
fourteen years ago: the myth of unlimited growth
sixteen years ago: a visit to Coburg
Among the tranche of twenty-thousand business records, flight itineraries and emails released by the by the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein includes an exchange between Epstein and his brother Mark—allegedly asking on behalf of former Trump advisor Steven Bannon (previously) present in the room—from March of 2018 that he should question Epstein if Putin has photos of Trump performing an oral sex act on “Bubba”—the nickname for former US president Bill Clinton. Whilst unclear if this was made in jest in reference to the supposed dossier that Russia had on Trump and the pee-tapes (it pains to write such things) that were ultimately dismissed as a Democratic hoax back during Trump’s first term or a serious concern that more incriminating footage could emerge. 
In hindsight, like the vindication of the Pizzagate conspiracists, that Russia would have compromising material on Trump seems not only likely but an inevitability in the fullness of time. At the same time, Trump has disowned cheerleader Marjorie Taylor Greene as a raving lunatic for her support to release the files by passing the discharge petition. Though disappointed that his participation, orchestration of a massive pedophile ring, rape, trafficking, felonies, economic betrayals and general incompetence could not deprogram his cult following, maybe this might make MAGA turn on him (but who knows since the also donned ear-bandages and diapers in solidarity) out of the menfolk wanting to keep their own secrets safe. If it is true, Clinton needs to take one for the team.
Courtesy of MetaFilter, we are introduced to the musical stylings of one Ecca Vandal, singer-songwriter hailing from Melbourne of South African snd Tamil extraction, who progressed from gospel music into soul, jazz and 1990s RNB thanks to their siblings’ record collection through their new single “Molly” with the accompanying video. A perfect blending of old and new, there’s alternation between full-on, full-throated punk vocal menace and movements of restraint governed with some glitchy atmospherics that balances out the track.
Via Web Curios, we quite enjoyed this five unit crash course whose simple yet atrophied syllabus is aimed at teaching those who want to escape algorithmic suggestions (we’ve spilt much ink on the subject of rewilding one’s online and by extension real-world experience—see previously here and here—and one has to really want that instead of the echo-chamber and comfortable confirmations) and appreciated the dogmatic approach that’s an actual framework rather than just the aspiration to get out more, with tips for bypassing the directed traffic presented as exercises. 
Inspired by some reactions to a recent post about exploration and widening one’s repertoire that suggested that some that bothered to comment—more than the tinge of guilt suffered over scrolling past a picture of someone’s cute dog and not upvoting—expressed that they had forgotten how to internet, the lessons advise one to take stock, make note of behaviours, intentional or otherwise, and has actually homework in form of following a daisy-chain of external links as far away as they will carry one, researching the commonplace—some artefact from one’s own room—until one finds a fact so unexpected that one is compelled to share, preferably in an essay format, long-read, delving into forums and into specific archived file types and pocket the results. The assignment we found most resonant was the reminder to use inspect element—not just to try to lift some coding ideas which usually nets nothing as there’s so many overlays and dependencies to negotiate (recursively represented)—and just mashing all the keys to see what’s there and break or remix it as a local copy. Before AI slop served fake news, this was how the sausage was made but is moreover a prompt that the web was never meant to be a black-box and one was never meant to scratch under the surface and in general whose interactions were siloed by commercial platforms.
synchronoptica
one year ago: movie title drops (with synchronopticæ), the Onion to purchase Infowars plus the Polish-German border
twelve years ago: Wiesbaden’s Südfriedhof
thirteen years ago: an inexact science
fifteen years ago: advances in 3D printing
breaking rust: Billboard’s top country-genre song is AI generated slop—see previously
crown jewels: Hapsburg family to display to the public a secret, personal stash of treasures hidden in Canada since WWII
grist for the mill: all the commercial, off-kilter blogs were private-equitied out of existence—via Kottke
mecces: visiting a McDonald’s in West Berlin in 1984
s-money: a 1963 patent to replace US paper currency with square plastic wafers—see previously, see also here and here
the call of the first æthyr: occult poetry by Aleister Crowley (see previously) delivered in his only known recording
poice: Sora created videos of fake immigration raids in the US infest Facebook
Though many fall after the period of the Soviet calendar, which was in use along side traditional ones from 1918 to 1940 (see previously), the aesthetic and layout of the alternating five- and six-day weeks and 
schedule of continuous production and colour-coded match this collection of pin-up ephemera featuring industrial prowess match closely with that original reform initiative—the design meant to endure not as perpetual or eternal as some outside sources reported the system to be but rather naturally cyclical and upon consultation regular and predictable and still planned around non-work days and “whose sore task does not divide the Sunday from the week.” The set is also an interesting observation on the artefacts of progress and commemoration and what society embraced as contemporary achievement. Much more from Print magazine at the link above.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus Matt Gaetz nominated for US attorney general
twelve years ago: US corn policy, the Victorian internet plus timing vs on-demand
thirteen years ago: the phobia illustrations of John Vassos plus the Oxford Word of the Year
fourteen years ago: outlawing parody
seventeen years ago: phantom rings
The Philadelphia Mint struck its last batch of pennies today after issuing the one cent coins continually since 1793 after Trump declared them retired earlier in the year, with some four times the face value going into the smallest denomination. Although retailers and speciests had been advocating for its cancellation for decades, the abrupt execution has left cashiers frustrated with many rounding down to avoid short-changing as supplies begin to dwindle for the legal tender for all debts public and private, and some ironically offering a premium for paying with a sweaty palm of coins to hold in reserve.
