imago mundi (11. 911)

Familiar with the image from our faithful cartographer Keir Clarke, we were pleased to learn about the provenance of the Maps Mania mascot as a series of homages to Abraham Ortelius’ 1570 global atlas, later imposed as an eponymous ovular projection and mapped onto the face of a court jester. The anonymous end result is a bit of an enigma left up to the interpretation of the viewer, the vanity of the belief of having encompassed, understood the world and how much, though charted is still terra incognito—then and now, which the constellation of aphorisms around the Fool’s Cap Map redress.

pseudo event (11. 910)

Planned, planted or incited—and retroactively described as the above or more commonly as a media event by Marshal McLuhan and others, the first in the history of a US presidential campaign occurred on this day in 1924, conceived by master propagandist and public-relations pioneer Edward Bernays, in the form of a breakfast at the White House hosted by incumbent Calvin Coolidge attended by a retinue of Broadway luminaries. Considered rather groundbreaking to stage a “non-event” to improve a politician’s public image (Coolidge was considered dour and retreating, nicknamed “Silent Cal” by association with celebrities), Coolidge was re-elected for a first full-term in his own right eighteen days later, having succeeded to the presidency in August of the previous year due to the sudden death of Warren G Harding.

common rocket propulsion units (11. 909)

Founded on this day in 1974 in the Frankfurt suburb of Neu-Isenburg by entrepreneur and aerospace engineer Lutz Kayser, the West German company Orbital Transport - und Raketen-Aktiengesellschaft became the first commercial developer of satellite launch vehicles, attempting to undercut national space agencies with a cheaper, modular alternative to traditional rocketry, French Ariane rockets and the US space shuttle. With Wernher von Braun and retired NASA director Kurt Debus as scientific advisors, OTRAG carried out their first test launches in Zaire, hoping to secure the market potential of Africa, with mixed results. France and the Soviet Union, concerned by the prospect of German reentry into the field of long-distance rocket, pressured the Zairian government of Mobutu Sese Seko to close down the research and development facility, and eventually convince Bonn to withdraw its support for the private operations. In response Kayser relocated production and testing to Libya by 1981, and for the next six years made some rather significant advances (differing from traditional multi-stage launchers, their rockets were bundled tubes that could be mass produced inexpensively) and even attempted the launch of a private space vehicle, until Gaddafi seized the facility and equipment and nationalised it.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a solar energy firm established in 1905 (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting

seven years ago: the panopticon of Piccadilly Circus plus more findings from gravitational waves

eight years ago: Mister Smith Goes to Washington plus atmospheric wells

nine years ago: the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards plus more on America’s drone wars

twelve years ago: US military bases in Germany plus oversized landmarks

8x8 (11. 908)

jianmen underground neutrino observatory: a tour of JUNO, the massive Chinese lab built to study the elusive particle—Damn Interesting’s Curated Links 

xoxo: Cabel Sasser’s talk on rediscovering a forgotten artist—more here from the presenter, see also

post on own site, syndicate elsewhere: more on the POSSE technique for retaining control of one’s work—see previously  

first draft: the Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009 illustrates the problems of for-profit journalism—see also 

saturday night soirées: the house parties of Charles Babbage (previously) boasted an impressive guest list, including Faraday, the Darwins, Dickens and more  

central casting: recalculating the Kevin Bacon Game with eigenvectors to reveal the most well connected film is Pulp Fiction—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

monsters and madonnas: the eerie, erotic photography of William Mortensen—labelled the “Antichrist of Hollywood” in the 1930s for his horror film inspired compositions  

strong thermal emission velocity enhancement: the rare atmospheric phenomenon called Steve (which science made a backronym) that sometimes accompanies geostorms

frostbite falls (11. 907)

The fictional terra nullius, an island in the middle of the Lake of the Woods (Pikwedina Sagainan) neither claimed by the US or Canada since conditions there were said to be inhospitable to human life, of Moosylvania is governed by presumed namesake Bullwinkle J Moose. In the finale of the first run of the series, an insidious plot to destroy the island by Fearless Leader was foiled by the duo’s ingenuity, and in hopes of getting the show renewed for syndication, Rocky and Bullwinkle producer Jay Ward dispatched an assistant to Minnesota to purchase an uninhabited island on the cross-border lake suitable as a stand-in and then launched a campaign to petition for statehood. A publicity team gathered sufficient signatures across America and Ward and associates arranged for an audience with president John F Kennedy on this day in 1962. Arriving however just as the Cuban Missile Crisis began (see also here and here), they were escorted off the premises of the White House at gun-point.

synchronoptica

one year ago: e-textiles (with synchronoptica) plus Don’t Look Now

 

seven years ago: rehabilitating cephalopods, occupational gender equity in Russia plus translating IKEA accessory names

 

eight years ago: denim televisions, Brexit and Marmite shortages plus clowns try to improve their public image

 

nine years ago: assorted links to revisit plus drone wars

 

twelve years ago: ISPs policing IPs

nightgaunts (11. 906)

Via Fancy Notions, we are directed towards a quirky, creepy featurette that definitely has the look and feel of a silent work from the 1920s, an homage to the great puppet animator Władysław Starewicz and by extension, inspiration Tim Burton, but was only made in 1998. From studio Screen Novelties’ Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero in this stop-motion animation—with fitting accompaniment—a weird little old man is captured by flying demons (the titular creatures based on an HP Lovecraft story) and taken to the goblins’ lair. Watching the cartoon was reminiscent of perennially viewing of Disney’s Halloween Treat and the inclusion of the 1929 Silly Symphony The Skeleton Dance but much better crafted and with a spookier soundtrack best left on repeat.

let’s not do any more questions. let’s just listen to music—let’s make it into a music (11. 905)

During a campaign rally in suburban Philadelphia—hosted by former potential running-mate South Dakota governor Kristi Noem who was withdrawn from consideration for executing a family dog— Donald Trump requested the air-conditioning be turned on after two attendees collapsed apparently due to the heat. On learning that that was not possible, Trump decided to turn the town hall meeting into an impromptu dance party as the crowd slowly departed over the next forty minutes, with Trump swaying and bouncing on his heels, the moderator joining him on stage. The playlist on repeat featured Trump’s standards—many songs whose artists disavow Trump’s use of their music and have threatened legal action to stop him (see previously), including Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Rufus Wainwright, ABBA and Celine Dion. Afterwards, Trump commended the two people who had fainted as patriots, “We love them and because of them, we ended up with some great music, right?”

 synchronoptica

one year ago: hyperinflation in Germany (with synchronoptica), performer Adelaide Hall plus the Battle of the Chinese Farm

seven years ago: elections in Austria

eight years ago: a wine fountain for thirsty pilgrims, Memphis-Milano style, the history of the selfie plus the US retaliates in kind over Russian meddling in the election

nine years ago: refugee politics in Europe plus social distance

twelve years ago: European disunity plus font-branding

the difference engine (11. 904)

Courtesy of ibīdem and following the same steampunk theme, we are directed to a presentation and pitch delivered by Charles Babbage (previously), disgraced and dismissed by his domestic backers to recuperate trust in his project, that addressed the concepts of software and programmable computers back in mid-September of 1840, couched in of course much plainer language as no one had such vocabulary in their quiver beforehand and discovered while researching an alternate history by the co-author of the above speculative work of science fiction. Building off the analogous punch-cards of the Jacquard loom, Babbage seemingly convinced his audience of prestigious and influential figures of the potential of his proposal, but having deposited such a world-changing idea, the outreach proves to be a dud and goes nowhere—with possibly some intrigue and industrial espionage behind this ultimate reception and protectionism over progress. Much more at the links above.