lexical innovation (13. 039)

Whilst we had known that the term meme was minted with Richard Dawkins’ couching of evolution accelerated by discrete units of cultural transmission in The Selfish Gene and that in general neologisms cycle through with the years, taking time for each coinage to garner recognition, we hadn’t appreciated that it’s approaching its fiftieth anniversary along with twenty other thoroughly modern sounding words and phrases reaching that half-century milestone in the coming months. Among others first recorded in 1976, we have wuss and wannabe, skeevy (from a Tuscan dialectical word for disgust), the Butterfly Effect describing a chain-reaction of accrued small events and trail-mix, re-christened by marketers from its customary name of gorp—with the completing etymologies of either to scarf down with relish or possibly a backronym for “good old raisins and peanuts,” core ingredients usually eschewed by contemporary purveyors. More from Mental Floss at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Pop Tart Bowl (with sychronopticæ), assorted links worth revisiting plus Peter Pan (1924)

twelve years ago: chef surprise 

thirteen years ago: more year-end superlatives 

fourteen years ago: 2011 in review plus a tribute to those we’ve lost

fifteen years ago: mashups and remixing

seventeen years ago: too much online plus telepresence  

ketchup and mustard (13. 038)

Via Things Magazine, we are directed towards the false lore surrounding a rather infamous and garish colour scheme, referred to a “Hot Dog Stand” for its clashing red and yellow which was not bundled into the 1992 release of Microsoft Windows as a joke or on a dare as some commentators have suggested. It may seem like a petty thing to settle the record thirty-three years later but colour palettes and being able to customise the user experience were very limited back then and any sort of step towards personalisation—no matter how low the stakes—was something radically new, especially when one’s range was limited to just sixteen choices, which despite this relative paucity managed dozens of motifs, including the condiment one that may have been designed for enhanced visibility to those with colour-blindness. More from PC Gamer at the link above.

⅊ (13. 037)

Exclaves and enclaves being a favourite topic and particular obsession of ours, we really enjoyed this introduction to the blog and travelogue of vice president of the International Border Research Group—an organisation of frontier studies enthusiasts (the title is the cartographical symbol demarcating a property line) through the lens of a house in Trieste (Trst) directly on the Italo-Slovene border boxed in by Italian neighbours (see also where BorderPoints treks the bifurcated addresses of the town of Baarle-Hertog tracing every twist and turn of this other historic curiosity). Such boundaries of course no longer carry the burden of animosity and division but it’s a rather brilliant undertaking to trace all the markers and stroll back in time (there are several of these photographic safaris in the spirit of Diamond Geezer’s excursions) and something we’d quite like doing next time we’re landlocked.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus a visit to Frickenhäusersee 

twelve years ago: Switzerland searches for a new national anthem plus cinnamon safety

thirteen years ago: Swedish words of the year plus the GOP hijacks the US government 

fourteen years ago: blooming baobabs 

fifteen years ago: strobe light internet plus the Feast of the Holy Innocents

sixteen years ago: a sensible safety-to-convenience ratio 

living flower (13. 036)

Masterful at marketing and self-promotion across all media, Salvador Dalí never encountered an art form that caused him to shy away from disrupting with his signature surrealism. Though his career in jewellery design spanned for several decades, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a one-off project (see also) as his most radical creations were exhibited as a contemporary collection, with a forward for his 1959 catalogue calling them a protest against emphasis on precious materials. Craftsmanship was not reserved for costume jewellery, however, with diamonds, rubies, platinum and gold and some broaches and pendants were motile, as can be seen on the Pathé newsreels clicking through to the source above. Modelling an ensemble of Dali´’s pieces is Madelle Hegeler including a leaf-veined hand, the Eye of Time Watch and a pair of garnet and pearl lips inspired by Mae West’s come-hither smile. More from Open Culture at the link up top.

viral moments (13. 035)

It’s always going to be a hard slog picking out those highlights and nadirs of trending topics that gained a lasting—or at least defining—purchase on the past twelve months, but we nonetheless appreciated this albeit highly Anglo-centric and non-controversial assortment of virality that we made didn’t have the tolerance or time for when they presented themselves and mostly receded from public purview. A mix of marketing and memes, the Blue Origin flight to the edge of space with Katy Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe (former rocket scientist), civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn and Jeff Bezos’ then-fiancee Lauren Sánchez and the Labubu phenomenon—a reprise of the Beanie Baby craze with a much protracted trajectory—was the hardest to ignore, with the latter though claiming to draw from Nordic folklore, specifically admitting to be a knock-off of the good luck trolls (Gjøltrold), and free from occult practises, more than one polity has banned the collectible over concerns that the familiars could influence children into summoning demons and has been associated with the Mesopotamian malevolent deity Pazuzu (𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪), mainly over the similarly snarled expression and the blind-box nature of the spirit, protective but unpredictable, and whose likeness was a popular amulet of the ancient civilisation. We could well relate to Beyoncé’s incredulous reaction to her long overdue Grammy win, however.

the story so far (13. 034)

A photographic retrospective of the moments that have defined the first quarter of the twenty-first century, we quite enjoyed this feature from The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland taking up the mantle of chronicler of those who have encapsulated, bookended the history of the previously century and those saying we’ve reached the end of it. A challenge no doubt to distill the past-present down to a few dozen watershed events, illustrated by arresting and indelible images, this survey meets the task—from the representative picture captured by Susan Meiselas in Liberty Plaza’s Zuccotti park Manhattan as debris from the Twin Towers was raining down with the life-sized bronze of a business man (sculptor John Seward Johnson’s 1892 commission Double Check of a well-appointed executive taking stock of the contents of his briefcase before going to the office) sitting sedately amid the fear and chaos. Meiselas did not know at first whether this still figure was a person or a statue and since became a makeshift memorial for the office workers lost during 9/11. The anthology, year by year, covers the Iraq war, the rise of social media, natural disasters, the Great Recession, mass-migration, Brexit, COVID, Trump, etc. And so it goes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a starquake (with synchronopticæ), the mathematical properties of the year plus the life and career of Anna Banana

twelve years ago: Russian discontents plus historic maps of the Americas

thirteen years ago: privacy screens for traffic accidents to prevent rubbernecking 

fourteen years ago: Samoa adjusts its timezone 

seventeen years ago: Hey Ya and the Peanuts 

eminent tragedians whom no one ever goes to see (13. 033)

Premiering on this in London in 1871, the debut collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan (previously) called Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old was more of a burlesque—reportedly as neither score nor book was ever published (see above) and most of the original songs lost—and not in keeping with the later sophisticated works of the duo but was considered quite passable for charity entertainments of the time. Drawing from research and many attempts beginning in the 1950s with resurgent interest to recreate the two-act play (the theme was also revisited towards the end of their careers with The Grand Duke, with a petty dictator replaced by a theatre company), the reconstructed plot involves the legendary first actor and father of drama (played by prominent comic J L Toole) ascending Mount Olympus with his troupe of thespians who agree to trade places with the pantheon temporarily, who’ve grown weary of their jobs and feel ignored. Invested with omnipotence by Jupiter with Mercury remaining as consul, the actors prove themselves to be comically inept at divine governance, inverting mythological fate and order within the space of one year—for which the gods, vindicated as indispensable eject the company and curse the profession. Below is a sample of one of thosee unauthorised productions in full as imagined by the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

9x9 (13. 032)

christmas day storm: heavy rains and landslides batter Los Angeles area  

vertex summary: holiday reception by renowned fiddler in Nova Scotia cancelled due to AI search erroneous labelling the performer a sex-offender—via Super Punch  

soft cell: astronaut Tibor Kapu debuts geometries that can only exist in microgravity aboard the ISS  

high holidays: an assortment of newspaper clippings on confiscated marijuana Christmas trees of yesteryear  

autocoup: a viral fake video of an overthrow in Paris is throwing the government in turmoil  

daemon est deus inversus: the occult imagination of W B Yeats  

winterval: seasonal breaks and the signal most observed public holiday—maybe not the one you’re thinking of—from Quantum of Sollazzo  

neighbourhood watch: AI powered app issues false crime alerts across US, terrorising residents  

spirit of the season: US launches strikes against ISIS militants in Nigeria—accused of persecuting Christians 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), Wild Strawberries (1957) plus a classic from Goorge Harrison

thirteen years ago: an antique Bible 

fifteen years ago: Boxing Day and Second Christmas