the school for rare and endangered disciples (13. 961)

Under the auspices of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Studies (UCASS—not be confused with the charity UCAS for providing educational support services and application processing for higher learning in the UK), new college in Beijing recently had its opening ceremony with a mission to promote obscure and declining fields of study and specialised scholarship. Disciplines boosted through the school, with support of libraries and museums and other institutions nationwide, focus chiefly on ancient scripts, including Oracle Bone Writing—see previously. The oldest known glyph system, dating from the Shang dynasty (circa 1250-1046 BCE), are inscriptions based on logographs carved into shoulder blades of oxen or turtle shells, a form of scapulimancy, and involved divination by marking prompts on said osseous tissue and consigning them to a ritual fire and interpreting the token, cracked and foxed, both being recorded on the bones. The field is referred to as oraculology (jiǎgǔxué or 甲骨学) under the aegis of paleography in the Humanities.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Question of Palestine (with synchronoptica), Catch-22 (1961), the Festival of Reason plus US supreme court rejects calls to overturn landmark gay rights case 

two years ago: assorted links to revisit, the Bear of California plus Trump’s grievances 

three years ago: St Martin’s Eve, US presidential debate recaps, Relax (1984) plus more links to enjoy

four year ago: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) plus Radiation Baby

five years ago: sinking nations plus Chaka Khan (1984)

six years ago: Toot, Whistle, Pluck and Boom, the US election, the Friends theme song, expecting more from America, voting irregularities plus an early edition

seven years ago: an Art Nouveau printmaker, more Inktober maps, film composer Carlo Savina, a racing bar chart of the biggest musicians plus the debut of Sesame Street

eight years ago: more unbuilt architecture, AI writes news copy, The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T plus a historical film lot consumed by wildfire

 

day two hundred forty six (13. 960)

After meeting with the Qatari prime minister, Trump declares Iran war effectively over militarily as Tehran calls for Washington to surrender to its terms. More US aircraft are evacuated from a second base in the UK. The American president and secretary of state Rubio defend Hegseth and momentum for impeachment builds. Nvidia shareholders sue CEO Jensen Huang over honeypot ties to Chinese spy as AI stocks continue their sell-off. Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin schedule a meeting in Abu Dhabi.

8x8 (13. 959)

level 42: the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything—see also here and here and here  

aftermath: Return of the Living Dead cast aghast at AI generated sequel that zombified their likenesses 

the only way out is through: Americans cannot simply undo Trumpism  

the ship of gold: a coin from the sunken steamer whose loss set off the first global financial panic and fuelled the American civil war—an artefact from A History of the United States in 100 Objects—see previously  

matriculation: the incoming Democrat class at the US senate 

1up: after four decades of adventures, former opponents help an elderly Mario complete a level 

red planet: the 1951 release Flight to Mars  

peridromophilataly: collecting of train-tickets and/or streetcar transfers, coined by William James Sidis—under the pseudonym Frank Folupa in his 1925 work The Animate and thee Inanimate, speculating on the origin of life through the lens of thermodynamics—whom had the highest IQ ever registered at two hundred fifty four

crockett and tubbs (13. 958)

Peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot One Hundred US singles charts on this day in 1985, “Miami Vice Theme” was an electronic composition by Czech-American musician and record producer Jan Hammer, which would go on to win a Grammy the following year. Along with “You Belong to the City” by Glenn Frey reaching number two, the show’s soundtrack remained on album charts for eleven weeks, the most successful until displaced in 2006 by Disney’s High School Musical. The accompanying music video is a mini-episode of the series featuring Hammer playing a fugitive fleeing from the detectives as he performs on his keyboard.

*     *     *     *     *

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica), WotY: Vibe-Coding plus the fiction of Benito Mussolini 

two years ago: a monument to the Armenian diaspora, the Carrington count, backstage customs plus US presidential numbering 

three years ago: an AI wearable, a rediscovered species of echidna plus a montage of international traffic signs

four year ago: the Lateran Basilica, an archaeological discovery in the muddy ruins of a bath house plus more links to enjoy

five years ago: another MST3K classic plus prioritising driverless technology over pedestrian safety

six years ago: World Freedom Day, unfortunate juxtapositions, a vaccine for COVID under development, a synonym for Schadenfreude plus Poe’s Dream-Land

seven years ago: the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) 

eight years ago: a resort on the Adriatic, single-use as Word of the Year, the veil of ignorance plus Kristallnacht (1938)

 

 

day two hundred forty five (13. 957)

Trump travels to the APEC summit in Shenzhen, expecting to discuss ending the Iran war and denuclearisation with Putin and Xi, as foreign minister Araghchi presents a two-day proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, contingent on Washington honouring the original agreement of the MoU. Europeans are again sidelined as Trump is seen to negotiate a new security order with Moscow for the continent without their involvment for his “big, beautiful” Russia-Ukraine deal. The American president says he sees no reason to escalate the war with renewed attacks. A drone strike on a gas field in Kurdish Iraq causes a massive blackout. Heavy rains collapse sandbanks in Gaza.  Houthis continue to launch ballistics into Saudi territory, hitting Aramco headquarters.   

🤬 (13. 956)

This is a fascinating reveal of not necessarily censorship, for which we guess are not degrees other than to prevent immediate harm, spread panic or defame, but rather a not so subtle nudge away from certain verboten phrases—that in retrospect we’ve experienced in passing we realise, not that we would text words but I think it is across the whole suite of Apple autocomplete and have noticed a disconnect when typing in Notes for a blog post—via Nag on the Lake’s latest batch of Sunday Links. Of course this index of prohibitions that will never be suggested but are rather swipeblocked, either through predictive text that never offers the phrase though its the most natural next pairing, offering an implausible one and sometimes even changing words already entered, which covers slurs, public figures, sex and drugs, political slogans and conspiracy, is not published. These protocols, which also are deployed against vulgarities may dissuade to a certain extent, washing our mouths out with soap and being the scold that we all at times deserve—or just engender exasperation, but are no antidote to the algorithms of search engines that feed one more of the same sanewashing and lead down dangerous rabbitholes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), about town plus artist Lynd Ward

two years ago: Trump’s transition team plus more links to enjoy 

three years ago: Frankenstein’s monster’s book club plus the Enterprise encounters Daran V

four years ago: Take My Breath Away (1986), The Cher Variety Hour, assorted links to revisit plus an orchestra recreates Berlin’s soundscape

five years ago: the Tree of Ténéré, the history of Sanctuary Cities plus even more links to enjoy

six years ago: a false-friend, more minimalist movie posters, hyper-realistic art, the first internet murder plus an audio recording of a sadly extinct, unique dialect

seven years ago: assorted links worth the revisit

eight years ago: Trump’s Attorney General resigns, Leipzig by street car, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, attempts to suppress the Church Committee on intelligence abuses plus the Beer Hall Coup (1938)

 

 

day two hundred forty four (13. 956)

The US announces plans to expand its month long naval blockade of Iranian ports to overland supply routes called Task Force Iron Gate. Qatari mediators reach a compromise with Iran, allowing inspection of nuclear facilities in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The COP31 climate summit begins in Antalya, informed by the prospect of demand destruction for petroleum and America’s retreat from commitments. Israeli president Herzog tasks Gadi Eisenkot with the first round of forming a government, seen to possibly heal rifts with US and the West relations as public opposition mounts in the UK and Germany over sales of arms and demolition equipment—with the American suspension of military aid, which apparently Tel Aviv saying that they didn’t need it and Trump eliminating the talking point, conversely to stopping the vote on comprehensive immigration going through during his interregnum so as not to deprive the GOP of a campaign position. France braces for fresh waves of protests, Mouvement des gilets jaunes joining student demonstrations.

8x8 (13. 955)

highland refusal: an open letter to the NYT crossword editor about Orkney Scots, the canonical home of Groundskeeper Willie, and the problem of other dialectical misappropriation—via Web Curios  

sweet are the uses of adversity: Trump’s downfall through the lens of Shakespeare’s As You Like It 

stay in your lane: a bizarre 1970 animated short about how daily routines strip us of our individuality  

grands magasins dufayel: monumental Parisian department (the Palace of Novelty, the first offering consumer credit) store hidden in premium office space  

taking it in stride: the mechanics of walking are working against shoe-laces with every step—see also  

pivot table: Maria Tomazou made a “pointless” film in MS Excel—see previously here and here—via Waxy 

the ugly car that sucks has died: Elon Musk, following his half a billion wasted interfering with Texas politics, announced the discontinuation of Cybertruck production—see previously, see also  

banderole: audio, video, disco means I here, I see, I learn in Latin—a nice personal motto (from “mutter”) or slogan (from the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm for “battle cry”—which comes at the top of a heraldic achievement whilst a motto goes at the bottom)