Although only privileging our very limited point of view, changes in the skies, even though expected and with rational explanations, like the phases of the Moon, eclipses and occultations, can still inspire strike with awe and reverence and drive us to herald, especially in the waning and vanishing, their return. Clive Thompson directs our attention to one upcoming astronomical event, beginning in March and lasting through November, when the rings of Saturn will disappear.
This temporary loss of the gas giant’s main feature, a constellation of debris, failed moons, captured comets and asteroids, occurs for earthly watchers twice every twenty-nine and a half years as the planet makes its revolution around the sun and its inclination puts our world in the ring plane, too thin to be seen head on. Galileo who began making careful observations of the planet in 1610 one day noticed that the “handles” or “ears” had gone away and was deeply unsettled by this sudden change in the eternal heavens, thinking perhaps the Titan had actually devoured his offspring as in myth. Named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture who sired Jupiter (Zeus)—Saturn’s patronage did not only extend the harvest but also its cyclical nature, identified with Cronos, whom after overthrowing his own father, Uranus, to become king of the gods was prophesied to be unseated himself by his own children and so gobbled them all up to prevent this from coming to pass. His mother Rhea substituted a boulder for her sixth child, Zeus, and hid him away in Crete to stop the madness. The somewhat more benign Father Time is sometimes portrayed with a sickle or scythe, rising from these same mythopoeic origins, but is nonetheless an equally unmoving standard bearer for the unrelenting march of time and witnessing such an exception, especially for the first time and to see them return months later as Galileo did—the title, as was the practise among astronomers at the time, refers to an anagram that he recorded to document a finding before it was ready for publication, Altissimum planetam tergeminum observavi (I have observed the most distant planet and it has a triple form)—is a reflection not only on aging and dissolution but also on recurrence and renewal. Much more at the links above.
Sunday, 5 January 2025
smaismrmilmepoetaleumibunenugttauiras (12. 146)
ease on down the road (12. 145)
The retelling of the L Frank Baum franchise (see below also) in the context of contemporary African-American culture and featured an all-Black cast. Among many luminaries, the role of Scarecrow (left in charge of Emerald City when the charlatan Wizard departs with Dorothy, the city only being green as everyone was made to wear tinted glasses) was played by the recently departed actor and choreographer Hinton Battle—the character portrayed by Michael Jackson for the filmed version, who studied ballet under George Balanchine and had several other staged appearances including Dreamgirls, Miss Saigon and Sophisticated Ladies and numerous television credits, counting among them Quantum Leap, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cat for the pilot of the un-optioned American version of Red Dwarf—a recast re-shoot of the trial episode roundly criticised as ‘White Dwarf’ (Cat would now be female and played by Terry Farrell, known for acting as Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: DS9) for its inclusion, unlike the British sitcom, of all Caucasian actors. 
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), Book Review (1946), more on nominative determinism plus more on the Fermi Paradox
Saturday, 4 January 2025
[citation needed] (12. 144)
Via tmn, we are directed to Molly White’s thoroughgoing examination on the intensifying campaign on the part of a chorus of conservative voices attacking Wikipedia’s right to exist as the pitched-battle against free and open access information. 
In a Christmas Eve directive issued on X—former known as Twitter—its owner, free speech absolutist and Kekius Maximus instructed his followers to stop donating to “Wokepedia.” Self-selecting and cherry-picked, these shallow and repackaged grievances against the volunteer-based authoritative reference source include mistaking and misrepresenting initiatives to counter misinformation and bolstering the site’s reliability as their latest bugbear of DEI, they characterise Wikipedia as liberal propaganda, infected by the “woke mind virus” as evinced by their treatment of patent conspiracy theories and resistance to recognising Fox News as reliable sources. Restricting availability only to their approved syllabus, this latest assault is just another way, like banning books and pornography in the name of child protection and promoting family values, is designed to keep the proles under control and not enjoy the liberties and prerogatives of the rich and powerful. Needless to say, if you have the means, contribute—especially when other outlets have demonstrated their willingness for obeying in advance.
squadrisimo (12. 143)
In a speech given on this day in 1925 in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei deputat, the lower house of the bicameral Italian parliament), which history sources as the start of his fascist dictatorship, Benito Mussolini took full responsibility for the actions of the paramilitary wing of the party, the Blackshirts—Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale—and challenged his political opponents to try to remove him from office, promising to restore order within forty-eight hours. 
Originally a loose organisation of disaffected veterans of World War I who employed violence as an intimidation tactic against reformers, progressives and Socialists, membership had grown to over two-hundred thousand by the March on Rome in late October 1922, swearing their allegiance to Commandant-General il Duce. The murder of a Socialist deputy, Giacomo Matteotti, who criticised the 1924 election due to voting irregularities which solidified Mussolini’s control of government, prompted a cover-up pinning the assassination on Matteotti’s own party. Whilst much of the opposition boycotted sessions, hoping to force King Victor Emmanuel to dissolve parliament, the Blackshirts presented Mussolini with the ultimatum to crush their enemies or they would do so without him. Fearing a revolt by the militia, Mussolini dropped all pretence of democracy, dismantling all constitutional and normative checks on power and declaring himself the only competent authority to set the legislative agenda.
pomega (12. 142)
Via Clive Thompson’s latest Link Fest, we are introduced to another chaotic twin of ฯ called ฯ—from the above script variant of pi, also called varpi—that represents the transcendental mathematical constant ratio of the perimeter to the diameter of Bernoulli’s lemniscate, analogous to the way pi defines a circle. The foci of the elliptical plane are equidistant in this figure which has applications in orbital mechanics (see previously). The curve having a shape similar to a figure 8 or the infinity symbol, ♾️, is from the Latin for something bedecked with hanging ribbons and occur in nature as often as the perfect circle. Much more from John Carlos Baez at Mathsodon at the link above.
a fine man of great ability (12. 141)
To honour the legacy of Jimmy Carter, President Biden ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast for a thirty day period of national mourning, which will include the inauguration ceremony. Holding his tongue for a few days, Trump waited until his endorsed candidate for Speaker of the House was losing his reelection by congressional Republicans to try to stoke public outrage over this perceived slight—remembering that Cheeto Mussolini never got over crowd size for his first inaugural. 
Though by the second round of voting, Mike Johnson had secured enough support, enough to call the House of Representatives to session and begin legislation to enact Trump’s agenda, he only scraped by with two votes to spare, revealing deepening divisions with the GOP. Imagine if they were allowed a secret ballot. Biden’s orders will stand, though Trump could raise flags at noon once he becomes president, “Dictator but only for Day One,” and probably will. It’s a small concession to a statesman and philanthropist of Carter’s stature (the title is rather a quote that Trump had for his sycophant Johnson) and it reminds me of how much of the public never forgave Queen Elizabeth II when the palace refused to lower the flag and personal banner for the death of Princess Diana (as the monarch was in residence at that was the done thing). More over, it echoes the indignity, petty cruelty done to Carter, the greatest ex-president, on his last hours in office, having skipped much campaigning for reelection to focus on freeing the American hostages held in Iran, when the incoming administration pressured the Iranians to delay the flight out until Ronald Reagan took power, so the long affair was not resolved under his predecessor’s watch.
synchronoptica
one year ago: slippery when wet (with synchronoptica) plus an orgiastic organ performance
seven years ago: a trove of letterpress movie promotional blocks, assorted links worth revisiting, hostile punctuation plus a Jurassic park
eight years ago: a McDonald’s at the Vatican plus a gallery of perspective
nine years ago: tonic and toil, tomato pin-cushions, emoji to lull you to sleep plus completing the periodic table
ten years ago: anticipating Epiphany, more on the North Korean cyberattack against a movie studio, Nietzsche’s Gay Science plus internecine battles
Friday, 3 January 2025
embajada (12. 140)
Relations formally severed by the Eisenhower administration on this day in 1961 in the aftermath of the Cuba Revolution, partially restored under Carter for business interests though not under the aegis of anational flag (operated by the Swiss) and partially normalised under Obama in early 2014 with a ceremonious unfurling which was attended by the same detachment of Marines whom had lowered the flag for the last time of the US mission, the ousting of the Batista government by the popular people’s front of Castro was seen as a rejection of the widespread corruption and cronyism encouraged in part by brief American rule and support for maintaining the status quo.
A huge amount of American money was invested in real estate projects and sugar cane plantations, overwhelming and exploiting the domestic Cuban economy, and the revolutionary government nationalised all US assets. In response, Eisenhower imposed a strict embargo and travel restrictions, shutting down the Key West-Havana ferry service and closing the embassy. The partial restoration of relations was reversed three years later under Trump, reimposing travel and trade sanctions.
9x9 (12. 139)
eixample: Barcelona’s nineteenth century urban revival and characteristic octagonal blocks
๐ฆ: adding fourth colour to traffic lights for safer sharing of roads with human drivers and autonomous vehicles
willkommen zu hause: a somewhat older documentary on club culture and techno in former East Germany with a connection to H has made it to Youtube
ha-ha woman, it’s a crying shame but you ain’t got nobody else to blame: equal rights and urban justice in medieval times
2-step authenication: secure passwords should require a performance like Liza Minelli tries to turn off a lamp—will a Fosse neck do it?
the monkey chew tobacco on the street car line: the Meters’ Hand Clapping Song
lycurgus cup: the fuzzy and fluorescent vases of Maxwell Mustardo evoke Roman amphorae—see previously
stairwell of the quarter: twelve months of superlative flights and storeys
beaded curtain: a look at the fragmented nature of the border wall on the US southern frontier—via Super Punch
