7x7 (13. 934)

homework: a long-long restoration of a 1997 Daft Punk mix space dad: five masterful performances in the role of Capt Picard—see also

marble madness: remembering playing this game on Nintendo until I dreamed about the classical mechanics, we enjoyed this AI ginned-up tribute—via Web Curios 

la catrina monumental: a roundup of the mega ofrenda and Dapper Skulls of Mexico City for Día de los Muertos 

to boldly go: Buckingham Palace Royal Guard honour the passing of Stewart—but with the wrong Star Trek theme—see also—it’s the thought that counts 

 mousse moose: joke mock menu fare from the 1940s, widely imitated by other restaurants through the next decade reminds of those off-putting AI generated daily specials  

a man for all generations: more accolades for Patrick Stewart  

alive tour: an upcoming LEGO collaboration with the former electronic music duo

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) plus This is Halloween

two years ago: a Halloween tragedy from 1974 that ruined trick-or-treating for everyone plus ghoulish ABBA 

three years ago: the first International Savings Bank Congress (1925) 

four years ago: St Quintinus

five years ago: suffrage in Switzerland, a Brazilian monopod, dancing security dogs, more links to enjoy plus Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses

six years ago: a collection of strange classical music compositions, Frestonia, police propaganda plus even more links

seven years ago: Halloween greetings, a collection of metro logos, a Cornish holiday, the Speaker of the House steps down plus the Trump impeachment

eight years ago: more of the season’s salutations, an October Surprise plus the March of Folly

 

day two hundred thirty five (13. 933)

Pope Leo XIV submits his mail-in ballot ahead of Tuesday’s US midterm elections, registered in Chicago and having voted abroad in most races according to the Illinois state board of elections. Residence begin evacuation through a safe corridor from the war-raved city of Oleshky. More tankers in the Strait of Hormuz came under fire or disabled by limpet mines as Ukrainian drones target Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea. French-style cost of living rallies expected to spread to German cities amidst protests over high energy prices. Houthi drones strike Riyadh as Tehran’s foreign ministry issues a warning of “earth-shattering” consequences if US and Israel resume attacks, implicating Berlin’s above complaints about fuel costs the country in the belligerent camp.

es muß nicht immer kaviar sein (13. 932)

The best-selling novel by Austrian author Johannes Mario Simmel, prolific writer himself navigating post-war and Cold War Europe and must have certainly included some autobiographical elements in one of several works adapted for both film and a television series with something different on the menu for each episode to further the protagonist’s obligation, in exchange for freedom of movement and not returning to occupied Germany, as a double-agent, lauded as the first galloping gourmet spy thriller. Whilst perhaps not the last in the subgenre, it does have some if not perfectly aligned real world antecedents, for all the intelligence organisations we are still not sure how much of his writing was confessional, with this Berlin blockade cookbook or Julia Child’s covert work for the Allies. As the narrative unfolds, the protagonist switches feigned allegiances from one espionage agency to another, trying to save as many lives as possible by diffusing tensions with his seductive culinary skill, recipes included. The final assignment, on the orders of J Edgar Hoover is to neutralise a notorious Soviet spy in exchange for retirement, when the protagonist’s own death is staged and he is allowed to live in peace.

expanded universe (13. 931)

Via Kottke, we learn that beginning with Episode IV in 1981 and concluding in 1996 with the radio play version of Return of the Jedi, US National Public Radio produced and broadcast a dramatisation of the Star Wars saga for the airwaves. Not only did the programme for listeners that stretched out over fourteen hours—filmmaker George Lucas so enamoured by the idea he sold the NPR affiliate station of the University of California’s School (Lucas’ alma mater) of Performing Arts audio rights to the trilogy, including the film’s score and sound-effects for one dollar—reprise the familiar voices of Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Billy Dee Williams plus a cast of notables to pad out the dialogue and give voice to the non-speaking parts for the sake of the medium, like Ed Begley Jr as Boba Fett, Perry King (Harrison Ford’s understudy for the role) as Han Solo, Brock Peters as Darth Vader (Starfleet Admiral Cartwright in the original cast films and Ben Sisko’s father Joseph on DS9) and John Lithgow as Yoda, many scenes were limned with additional narrative and exposition, savvily securing thousands of younger audience members to the station’s content, and included material not used for the cinematic version, like Luke Skywalker’s backstory growing up on Tatooine and friendship with Biggs Darklighter and Leia Organa’s acquisition of the Death Star plans (no Bothians died to bring us that information—that was for Death Star II). The broadcast was presented in hour-long weekly instalments, with chapter titles like “A Wind to Shake the Stars,” “Rogues, Rebels and Robots,” “Force and Counter Force,” “Gambler’s Choice” and “The Jedi Nexus.” NPR received production assistance from BBC, in exchange for airing the series in the UK. Enjoy the entire trilogy at Open Culture at the link above.

юзнет (13. 930)

Having examined before the failure of the Soviet internet, once neck and neck with the inchoate ARPANET with the Politburo developing a comprehensive and ambitious programme to streamline and upgrade the entire planned economy that was ultimately derailed, preempted by problems that wouldn’t plague its Western competition until recently—see previously, see also—we enjoyed this investigation on how telepathy (a pursuit of both sides of the Iron Curtain) informed networking and connectivity in Russia and with the rest of the world. Whilst the belief in or privileging of the paranormal cannot be shown to be the cause of the Soviets’ backsliding in the tech-race—the Space Bridges linking communities in the East and the West live were Russian innovations regarded with skepticism as trickery by the US—the parallel to the current attitudes and factionalism regarding the potential of artificial intelligence are interesting to consider—AI and psychic powers might be equal amounts of woo and hype—with the roles reversed and sceptics and true-believers alternately told they’ll be the ones left behind, depending one one’s perspective and who one asks, magical or mere parlour-tricks. Both sides had their evangelists and zealots then as now—with the web and its linkages a surrogate for the promise of mind-reading and mesmerism. More from JSTOR Daily at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica), Tsar Bomba (1961) plus the Solvay Congress of 1927

two years ago: the Park of Monsters, more links to enjoy, Ford turns his back on NYC, Trump and the stock market, the Rumble in the Jungle plus a poem for the battle-worn 

three years ago: even more assorted links 

four year ago: drawing with Ed Emberley plus more links to revisit

five years ago: another MST3K classic—The Brain that Wouldn’t Die, more links to enjoy plus artist William-Adolphe Bourguereau

six years ago: the first residents board the International Space Station (2000), more on murderous dioramas, a wizarding curriculum from 1925 plus star charts for the yet to be born

seven years ago: East German counter-programming, Brexit postponed plus the lost dative case

eight years ago: stochastic terrorism, folksonomy, corporate fairy tales, birthright citizenship plus “Egyptian” Rocky Horror

 

day two hundred thirty four (13. 929)

The Revolutionary Guard reports that three tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz have hit sea mines and catch fire as Houthi rebels claim six strikes on Saudi airports and oil fields. Iranian lawmakers urge the Supreme Leader to authorise atomic bomb development. Moscow offers to act as mediator between Tehran and Washington, if requested. France braces for potential violence for planned weekend protest rallies.

new zoo revue (13. 928)

The recursively named Louisiana Hospital for the Insane of Louisiana, established in 1906 on the grounds of a formerly segregated facility “to accommodate the insane of both races” and to provide relief for the overburdened state prison system, still in operation today, is exemplary of a shift in in-patient care that informed the craft and occupational therapy associated with mental institutions of the era, spanning from Victorian attitudes of enlightenment and outreach to Mid-Century Modern journaling. Via Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, we are directed toward a weekly newsletter published by inmates, Hospital Banner—containing news, observations and various submissions from patients with light editorial control from staff.

my supper is late—i want my turnips (13. 927)

Courtesy of Fancy Notions, we are introduced to the British children’s educational programme Words and Pictures through this 1975 episode “Pigs and Pumpkins”—which does agreedly give a certain Teletubbies energy and allure in its presentation and repetition that one could just zone out to—to practise the letter p and cut out a jack-o’-lantern face to scare off Halloween witches and goblins. There is a bit of unintended cozy terror in the delivery, hosted and voicing all characters, in jarringly different styles from Clutch Cargo style lazy animation to rather involved stop-motion, by Charles O’Rourke, police dispatcher from Z Cars. The more terrifying, haunting aspect to us was the unbidden automated transcript, enjoyably still bad like misheard lyrics, and how the short programme is divided into chapters, just as a classic arc of narrative with a setup and exposition, conflict with players learning through negative reinforcement, dénouement and resolution—an unnecessary structural analysis putting it and everything else on par with the great tragedians—they’re doing this for podcasts of every category as well. Hop… hop… hop…

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synchronoptica

one year ago: asteroid 951 Gaspar (with synchronoptica) plus the coinage of neurodiversity

two years ago: a mascot for the Vatican plus IKEA acknowledges forced labour in East Germany 

three years ago: Don Giovanni (1787), an undergraduate thesis on ASCII art plus a devilish ball

four years ago: places lived and just past through plus a last day in Crete

five years ago: Constantine’s victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge,  Orinoco Flow (1988), a Mario marathon, celebrating a Renault classic, a collection of horror GIFs plus the end of the Salem Witch Trials

six years ago: assorted links to revisit plus referring to parents by the names of their offspring

seven years ago: the political alignments of Mario Kart characters

eight years ago: Italy battles the EU over its fiscal policy, Merkel to not run again for party chair, synthetic traditional Chinese medicine plus more on Angela Merkel stepping down