day fifty-seven (13. 384)

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi left the Pakistani capital to travel to Oman and Russia for separate as talks with the US were abruptly put on hold once again, the envoys told to cancel their trip to Islamabad, with Trump calling direct negotiations a waste of time, despite claims he received a better offer from Iran shortly before suspending the meeting. The American navy continues the blockade of the Persian Gulf and expands operations to detect and disable sea mines and wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz from Iran. Despite the truce, Netanyahu is ordering an intensification on attacks of Hezbollah in the suburbs south of Beirut.  Nearly two months into the war, shipping and supply chains frayed beyond easy repair, national economies of all sizes are formulating contingency plans to brace for long term disruption and scarcity.  Trump adds that the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ will not deter his Middle East policy.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronopticæ), crab allies plus Trump and Zelenskyy hold an impromptu meeting at the Pope’s funeral

 

twelve years ago: net neutrality 

 

thirteen years ago: natural dyes 

 

fourteen years ago: asteroid prospecting 

 

fifteen years ago: passport application process in US made more difficult 

press corps (13. 383)

Attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time since boycotting the annual event over media bias against him, Trump, the first lady, vice president, cabinet members were rushed to safety as the venue, the ballroom of the Washington Hilton—the same place where Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981—was evacuated of international journalists on the politics beat. Shots were fired in a secure screening-area as the dinner was starting, to be hosted by mentalist Oz Pearlman who promised to mesmerise and unite the audience, Trump later sharing on social media images of the alleged gunman (a guest of the hotel travelling from California) being apprehended and expressing a desire that the event continue after the incident, but deferring to his secret service detail. Ultimately it was decided to postpone the dinner and hold it within thirty days, Trump prepared to deliver his most inappropriate speech yet, he claimed, and was afraid afraid with the rescheduling he’d have to be very nice and boring next time. No one was hurt other than the assailant, recovering in a local hospital and poised to face charges on Monday and the one security officer sustained light injuries. This political violence comes after there has been rumblings in the MAGAsphere doubting the authenticity of the assassination attempt on Trump during his 2024 campaign, with some suggesting the grazing of the candidate’s ear was staged. The White House Correspondents’ Association, which sponsors the gala dinner, was formed by members of the press pool in 1914 in response to rumours that the administration of Woodrow Wilson, possibly without basis, was highly selective about choosing which journalists could attend press conferences and only entertained non-critical, soft-ball questions.

9x9 (13. 382)

aegis: a unique monumental statue of Athena uncovered in western Türkiye (ancient Laodicea) whose breastplate is follows the description of Book VIII of Virgil’s Aeneid  

alien abduction: conspiracy theorists connect spate of missing US nuclear scientists to UFOs—see more  

big tree stories: a hunt for the world’s tallest firs and imagining prehistoric forests studded with such giants—via MetaFilter  

₂he: although the second most abundant element in the Cosmos, the noble gas is hard to come by on Earth—via Web Curios  

frozen conflict: like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump’s war of choice likely to be a simmering, unresolved stalemate 

wishful hinking: an 1987 edition of the Collins Dictionary contains a trap word (see also), presumably to counter plagiarism 

paper theatre: home entertainment flourished during the Regency Period for lack of sufficient live venues  

νεῶν κατάλογος: golden tongued (so they can speak in the afterlife) Roman era mummies found in Egypt’s Minya governorate, whose tomb contains a manuscript of Book II of Homer’s Iliad, the Catalogue of Ships—via Kottke

that’s so maven (13. 381)

Reprising a classic post with updates for 2026 when kill-bots have entered the chat with the US military integrating AI into its tactical decisions with Project Maven and the push for algorithmic warfare, Nancy Friedman takes a fascinating look at the once obscure Yiddish term—originally from the Hebrew mēbin (מֵבִין) as an expert, a knowledgeable person and echoing the rabbinical kaon, “he who understands will understand” (ha-mevin yavin)—but also with derogatory connotations of a know-it-all and a soi-disant authority. Like chutzpah and kvetching, the word was confined to certain circles before garnering acceptance in common-parlance, beginning in the 1960s, promoted to a large extent by an advertising campaign for canned herring, voiced by actor Allen Swift, as the self-proclaimed fish maven, and vocal talent behind Mighty Mouse and other cartoon characters. The following decades saw authors including William Safire take up the mantle, former speech writer for Richard Nixon and also a propellant for the term pundit, and cemented into mainstream language with Malcolm Gladwell’s 2000 The Tipping Point as a linguist lacuna that prefigured influencer as a career choice and our social betters. Much more from Fritinancy at the link up top.

day fifty-six (13. 380)

For some time we’ve been dealing with Schrödinger’s Strait, is it open or is it closed, and the on-again, off-again peace talks—which Tehran denies requesting and remains insistent that there will be no direct negotiations under duress, the blockade of the blockade. The Trump administration is sending Kushner and Witkoff without Vance to Pakistan, whilst the latest situation report from the US secretary of war says that limited transit is occurring through the Strait of Hormuz but at risk due to Iran’s threatening of vessels and the uncertainty of the sea mines, reiterating that American force are poised to resume their air campaign at a moment’s notice.  US secretary of state is drafting more sanctions against Iranian economic interest, and meanwhile, though other European leaders are not bought in and call the proposal premature, Chancellor Merz has suggested the easing of the overall embargo as a peace offering (see previous post). 

Switzerland reopens its embassy—which has served to represent American interests since 1979 when relations were broken off—in Tehran in anticipation of supporting renewed diplomatic initiatives. Despite there being no mechanism for giving demerits to members of the transatlantic defensive alliance, a leaked memorandum is exploring ways to kick Spain out of NATO for refusing to allow the US to use its bases to prosecute its war of choice and disparages other members generally. The memo also attacks the UK for its lack of enthusiasm and again brings up its decision on Diego Garcia. Claiming to have killed six terrorist fighters in southern Lebanon, Israel is accusing Hezbollah of sabotaging the fragile truce.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US products get a tariff label in Canadian markets (with synchronopticæ), celebrities in cars plus artificial intelligence literacy

fifteen years ago: post-war Trümmelbergen plus foot mittens

ecstacy (13. 379)

Whilst having visited the topic of the granularity of the words for feelings, nuances that the English language does not have in both real and constructed speech, many of these terms were familiar already—like saudade, mono no aware, sisu, Vorfreude, grok, gigil and hygge—nonetheless the expression is not dulled and we enjoyed exploring this polyglotinous mood grid and sentimental wheel courtesy of Web Curios. The vibe of vibe coding was not lost on us, the puttiness of the page, once pointed out, but if assembled with care and not slapdash with inaccuracies, it is still a heuristic starting point to explore more and get in touch with one’s feelings. We enjoyed being introduced to the Greek term clinomania, “I should have stood in bed,” dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, and Drachenfutter, a peace offering or tribute (dragon food) brought home with hopes of placating an angry partner. The rich vocabulary of intrusive thoughts is particularly engaging. Much more at the links above.

day fifty-six (13. 378)

Unprompted, Trump pledges not to use atomic weapons in Iran to end the war with no resolution in sight, unable to resume negotiations, whilst directing Israel to extend the ceasefire in Lebanon another three weeks to his indefinite but tenuous truce with Tehran, despite constant near breaches with the Revolutionary Guards taking tankers and the administration threatening to attack mobile gunboats “Caribbean style,” referring to the deadly attacks on supposed drug-runners off the Venezuelan coast. Trump clarified that the leadership shakeup in the navy was over the dismissed head of operations reluctance to revive domestic ship-building coinciding with the assessment it would take half a year to conduct mine-sweeping in the Strait of Hormuz to widen narrow safe corridor through the waterway. US secretary of state announced that America has no objections to the Iranian national team participating in the upcoming World Cup this summer. Global stock markets tumbled as hope for relief and stability evaporates. 

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: a classic from Del Shannon (with synchronopticæ) plus Goethe was here

 

thirteen years ago: the Wiesbadener Programme 

 

fourteen years ago: sustaining the hope of the Arab Spring 

 

sixteen years ago: exonyms and endonyms 

6x6 (13. 377)

mail-order magic: cheaper printing techniques and a robust postal system helped occultism to flourish in the United States at the turn of the last century—and still thrives  

no contest: sentences delivered in bear-suit insurance fraud case 

floating currency: the US$ index is a deceptive relic  

garum: the fascinating history of fish sauce—via MetaFilter  

van helsing: the curious case of Old Thiess and the benevolent werewolves of Livonia  

domestics: a peek inside the world’s first servant robot mail order startup