meta incognita (13. 612)

On this day in 1576, having weighed anchor around a month earlier with Queen Elizabeth’s financial backing, explorer and privateer Martin Frobisher, whilst on the first of three voyages to the New World, in search of the Northwest Passage to Cathay and the East Indies, spotted the coast of Greenland, although assuming it was the non-existent phantom island Frisland (also called Fixland or Portlandia) that appeared appeared on virtually all maps of the North Atlantic for a century, dissuaded from claiming it for the Crown as chartered territory. Landing in the eponymous bay on Baffin Island in the present day Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut (it was that then too), Canada, Frobisher failed to find a new route but was encouraged and petitioned for follow-on excursions, having brought back an interesting rock specimen and influenced during his service in Africa’s Gold Coast, having managed to seize a lode of precious specie that the Portuguese had procured. Although metallurgical experts told Frobisher that his souvenir was hornblende, not classed as a specific composition, like Fools’ Gold, but a category of otherwise worthless rubble that appears like ore-bearing substrate. Dissatisfied with this assessment from the assayers, Frobisher brought the sample to a Venetian alchemist living in London, one Giovannia Battista Agnello, whom had previously convinced Elizabeth to debase small coinage with a teston of lead plated with copper (see previously), whom, arguing that one must know how to flatter nature—“Bisogna sapere adulare la natura”—claimed there was gold in it. For his second voyage, the queen lent Frobisher additional ships with a compliment of Cornish miners, which was more devoted to collecting rather than discovery. The expedition returned to Milford Haven in September of 1577, carrying two-hundred short tonnes of valueless rock. Despite the disappointment, Elizabeth retained a strong faith in the potential of the new colonies and authorised a third trip to this Unknown Shore, which she named herself. The territory of Nunavut’s was also named after Frobisher from devolution in 1942 until 1987 when it was renamed ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ (Iqaluit, place of many fish).

count binface (13. 611)

Regretful that UK politics has been forced to the back of the queue lately what with everything else going on the world, I was a bit grateful to find entree with British scriptwriter, comedian and so called novelty candidate—though in the tradition of Lord Buckethead and Screaming Lord Sutch, dismissed at one’s peril, Jonathan David Harvey—standing against Boris Johnson multiple times for different offices (under his previous persona), Liz Truss, Andy Burham (centre) and now running against Nigel Farage in the by-election of the parliamentary constituency of the Reform UK leader, Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. Self-described as an intergalactic space warrior and commander of the Recyclons (like a Dr Who baddie but with the best intentions, championing true social reform, environmental stewardship and returning broadcast teletext), Binface chiefly campaigns to increase voter engagement and is not a serious contender for party leadership, though managing to unseat a candidate from their home county, he would certainty put the breaks on the career progression of his opponent. Facing controversy over his finances and allegations of taking ￡5 000 000 bribe, Farage “resigned” to contest the results before voting—technically a member of the House of Commons cannot resign, they can only face indignity, death or defeat, though a longstanding legal fiction, Farage was appointed as the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a procedural device to circumvent this restriction, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Appointment to a crown office disqualifies one from membership in Parliament, and this limbo usually is intended only for those tendering their resignations and not a staging area for a comeback.

’til now, i always got by on my own (13. 610)

Written for the band by the collaboration of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, whose credits include “Eternal Flame,” “Like a Virgin,” “True Colors” as performed by Cyndi Lauper and “I Touch Myself” for Divinyls, Heart began a three-week run at the pinnacle of the US singles charts on this day in 1987 with its most successful track since their mid-eighties comeback, “Alone.” Earlier in their career, the Vancouver-based group had come close to this achievement with “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You,” and “Magic Man,” the emotionally raw power ballad went on to international success, holding in the top five in Norway, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, West Germany and Canada. The below music video, debuting in June of the same year, was directed by Marty Callner (a sports producer who was inspired to get into music by the video for “Bette Davis Eyes” and was behind videos for Stevie Nicks, Cher, Chaka Khan, The Cranberries, among others) and portrays a Romeo & Juliet balcony scene, vocalist Ann Wilson serenading guitarist Nancy Wilson, her younger sister.

9x9 (13. 609)

washington state: the incorporated polity was originally to be named Colombia after its chief river but people feared it would be confused with the national capital district, so gave it the name of the city that comprises DC 

hemi-finals: strange alignment of the last eight World Cup national teams  

mr pibb is aspirational—he’s currently in med school: sodas with a doctorate  

zero-sum game: circular deals and a shameless Ponzi scheme sends everyone to the moon  

false equivalence: political tribalism and the whataboutism of the Right for the Left 

a show about nothing: a scrolly-telling of the history of the sitcom Seinfeld—see previously here and here—via Web Curios  

wake up neo: a signet ring with OLED display shows the cascading green code from The Matrix  

après moi, le déluge: a forecasting tool for sea-level rise to drown the world  

separated by a common language: what North Americans call a cookie, the British call a biscuit—and what Americans call a biscuit has no exact counterpart in UK cuisine. Discuss.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Terracotta Army (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit

two years ago: double-click jargon, more on the zombification of the legacy web plus Biden vows to stay in the US presidential race   

three years ago: a secret weather modification programme for Vietnam, a ska special plus more links to enjoy

four years ago: the Hollywood Bowl, Avogadro’s Number plus US vs USSR in chess championship (1972)

five years ago: a stone ship in Sweden 

six years ago: the Ehrenburg of Ehrenbach 

day one-hundred thirty (13. 608)

At least as far as we know publicly, Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence from his father’s six-day funeral may signal shifting dynamics in the leadership of the Islamic Republic and questions of the legitimacy of his succession and authority. The US economic pressure campaign intensifies with more sanctions on Iran’s financial networks. A bill advances through the US senate to expand sanctions on Russia as Ukraine continues to strike Russian energy infrastructure, damaging tankers transiting the Azov Sea. The UK and the EU is reconsidering a scheme to allow voluntary tolls for the Strait of Hormuz as Washington seeks assurance from Tehran to stop firing on ships taking the American sponsored Omani route through the passage. The ceasefire is over, as Trump declared, but talks continue—though ready to destroy Iran in case of an attempt against his life with “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Glove, to assassinate—or attempt to assassinate—the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case ME! ”

notes on notes (13. 607)

With correspondence to our contemporary online landscape of anonymous and atomised enthusiasts and such projects like From the Depths of Wikipedia and a host of niche, speciality sub-Reddits, we discover Notes & Queries—a venerable journal founded in 1849 by House of Lords clerk and researcher William Thorns as a digest for amateur scholars, himself counted among those and a reminder that they do it for love of the subject, and a platform for Victorians to share academic discoveries (notes) and expound on them (queries). The weekly publication’s one time motto was the catch-phrase of Captain Cuttle or Dickens’ Dombey and Son, “When found, make a note of it.”  Still in existence today under the aegis of the Oxford University Press, established as a “medium of inter-communication for literary men [folklorist Eliza Gulch was one of the biggest contributors], artists, antiquaries, genealogists, &c.,” the submitted briefs and replies has held to the original format, with many emulators including a section in The Guardian with the same name. Where do you find the most elaborate pith of his researches? Much more from Public Domain Review at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: subterranean rescues (with synchronoptica) plus a Trump chaos omnibus

two years ago: scanning code from magazines, the artistic side of Samuel Morse plus Surrealistic logos

three years ago: Quintette du Hot Club plus assorted links to revisit 

four years ago: Escape from New York (1981) plus more links to enjoy

five years ago: the equal sign, Afternoon Delight (1976) plus our first stop in Sweden

six years ago: Roman Moselle plus at the foot of the Burgen

day one-hundred twenty-nine (13. 606)

Funeral processions held across Iran and Iraq for the former ayatollah have concluded with Ali Khamenei entombed at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. US strikes destroy railway bridges, other infrastructure and hit near the Bushehr nuclear power plant. American commanders insist Tehran does not control the Strait of Hormuz though the situation looks to be the opposite. Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi increases efforts to garner international support against US adventurism with counterparts in Oman, Türkiye and Pakistan over renewed fighting and tensions trouncing the ceasefire arrangement and further stalling negotiations. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz prepares the military to reengage Iran if needed.

9x9 (13. 605)

spitalfields life: street photographer Kurt Hutton  

djt: rentier-in-chief could potential benefit financially from the rebranding of Palm Beach International airport, just kilometres away from Mar-a-Lago 

turn around bright eyes: RIP Bonnie Tyler—see previously here, here and here 

l’odissea: the 1911 cinematic adaptation of the timeless classic  

freedom fuel: White House announces network of gas stations with prices capped (previously) at $3.47 per gallon, status quo ante bellum 

the night the earth shook, strangers started to draw: in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Syria and Türkiye in February of 2023, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team helped save lives—via Maps Mania 

twenty minutes into the future: a look at when the cola-wars where dominated by dystopian science-fiction—see previously

tax shelter: very much solicited financial advice on Trump Accounts for Kidz 

pixel skylines: urban grounds from vintage video games