day thirty-eight (13. 324)

With both the Vatican and Islamic groups challenging Trump’s blasphemous Eastertide threats and missives, it is looking more like an independent ceasefire may come into effect as nations most reliant on Middle Eastern oil, like Japan and Australia negotiate with Iran directly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as all what to extricate themselves from this crusade. Tehran, accused by human rights activists of using the war as cover for the execution of more political dissidents, is promising swift and severe retaliation if more civilian infrastructure is targeted, having already hinted at their underestimated capabilities with a missile launch on Diego Garcia, twice their known range, Houthi rebels in Yemen readied to close off access to the Suez canal and sleeper cells worldwide who’ve so far been quiet. Now waiting for the deadline for surrender, Israeli forces attack the South Pars petrochemical plant and gas fields and assassinated the Revolutionary Guards’ covert operations and intelligence chiefs.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the wonders of silica gel (with synchronopticæ), strange crafts plus Valencia’s Tribunal of the Waters

twelve years ago: slow television plus a visit to Bad Salzungen

thirteen years ago: a moveable feast 

fourteen years ago: Easter salutations 

fifteen years ago: revolutions in the Middle East plus the Virgin Oceanic

störmthaler see iii (13.223)

Returning to Leipziger Neuseeland for the long Easter weekend and staying at a familiar campsite on the shore of an artificial lake created from the former open-cast lignite mine of Epsenhain. 

 Revisiting a seafood restaurant in the Kahnsdorfer lagoon, we got to see the serving-robot in action (see above)—though mainly a extra tray and probably a more ubiquitous feature in most gastronomical venues, in was pretty good at avoiding obstacles like the diners and other waitstaff—as well as the largest windpark in Germany straddling farmland on the Autobahn from Saxon-Anhalt to Saxony and adjacent the largest photovoltaic array in the shadows of the former cooling towers of Kernkraftwerk Lippendorf. 

We also explored the towns of Borsdorf and Panitzch on the Partheau, historically serving as toll stations along the main route from Leipzig to Dresden and presently part of the city’s Green Ring, a corridor to encourage biking from the suburbs and wetland reclamation project to mitigate flooding.

day thirty-seven (13. 322)

Slovakia joins Hungary demanding that the EU lift sanctions on Russian fuel as Tehran dismisses Trump’s deadline as more empty bluster and buffing. After a two day extraction mission, the US rescues the surviving crew member from a downed jet deep within Iranian territory. Trump issues an abuse and sacrilegious laden missive, promising again to unleash holy hell, first reserved for power plants, then civilian infrastructure on day two, “Praise be to Allah“ if Iran fails to open up the Strait of Hormuz, which the US insists it does not want or need. Israeli-American airstrikes hit petrochemical facilities in Iran, as counterattacks continue to bring refinery operations offline in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. Israeli bombardment in Beirut’s suburbs depopulate the south as residents flee the fighting.

the soiling of old glory (13. 321)

The Pulitzer prize winning image, captured on this day in 1976 by Boston Herald photographer Stanley Forman, who was the only recipient to be awarded the honour consecutively also for his Fire Escape Collapse, depicts a violent assault during the Massachusetts capital’s desegregation crisis of public schools. From a series of protests and counterdemonstrations in front of city hall, the image depicts professor, defence attorney and civil rights activist Ted Landsmark being attacked by a teenager named Joseph Rakes with a swinging flagpole as opposed to a joust from the angle of the photograph. Rakes was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and carries the stigma of being known as “the flag kid,” and Landsmark, narrowly avoiding being seriously injured parlayed the incident, the scene widely publicised, to highlight racial tensions in the region and was later hired by the mayor to improve outreach and workforce development opportunities.

synchronoptica

one year ago: First Contact (with synchronopticæ) plus a font based on the typeface on the almighty dollar

twelve years ago: Emoji Nation, recent additions to the French lexicon, little big world plus an aerial archaeological survey of German landscapes

thirteen years ago: miniature dioramas 

fourteen years ago: cyber security 

sixteen years ago: enhanced pat-downs 

day thirty-six (13. 320)

Permanent members of the UN security council France, Russian and China have rejected the Bahraini proposal for military intervention to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as some ships are granted safe passage, including Japanese and French flagged vessels—unclear what negotiations are taking place. Tehran rejects a US request for a forty-eight hour Easter armistice as a rescue mission is underway for the pilot of a crashed advanced F-35 E fighter jet that originated from RAF Lakenheath brought down in Iranian territory by a missile. Following a massive joint US-Israeli airstrike on the campus of Iran‘s premier university, Trump reminds that time is running out on his extended ultimatum, promising that unless shipping lanes are restored ”all hell will rain down on them—glory be to God!“

synchronoptica

one year ago: music from the Meat Department collective (with synchronopticæ), assorted links worth the revisit plus an appreciation of Bob Fosse

thirteen years ago: camouflage for facial identification 

fourteen years ago: taxation treaties plus a solution for the eurozone currency crisis

fifteen years ago: the toll of unemployment 

day thirty-five (13. 319)

As the United Nations security council debates a Bahraini resolution to safeguard commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf, Iran is working with Oman to draft peacetime protocols for a toll scheme and the supervision of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the passage already open for Russian and Filipino tankers. US army chief of staff Randy George was dismissed and forced into immediate retirement, and Trump fires attorney general Pam Bondi, saying she is transitioning to a “much needed and important new job in the private sector” as his cabinet reshuffle continues. The White House accidentally uploads a speech by Trump given to a private audience of guests during an Easter luncheon, admitting his monarchical aspirations, frustrations and impatience, admitting that there is no money left daycare or healthcare subsidies, which should be made a responsibility of state governments.  The video was taken down but not before it was widely circulated. Targeting civilian infrastructure, the US claims responsibility for destroying the largest bridge in Iran following threats days before to bomb the country “back to the stone ages” if no deal is reached, despite ongoing confusion about negotiating parties.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), Mars attacks, US tariff rates set by AI plus poor pronunciation

twelve years ago: proto-Putin Verstehers plus spy vs spy

thirteen years ago: the Red Army Faction and the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon 

fourteen years ago: UK debates restrictions on freedom of movement plus justice for those subjected to force labour building railways for the Nazis

 

ex’23 (13. 318)

Courtesy of fellow peripatetic Messy Nessy Chic’s latest batch of finds, we are acquainted with pioneering theorist and consultant Faber Birren (whose given name, from his maternal grandmother’s surname is a flourish of nominative determinism, a close anagram of Luxembourgish for colour) whom after an adolescent period of experimenting with dyes and painting murals pursued a a programme of pedagogy at the University of Chicago. Unable to surrender his conviction in the importance of colour, regarding it as an article of faith, and dissatisfied with the lacking curriculum in his field of study, Birren dropped out and began a course of self-study in 1921, publishing several influential articles on putting chromatics and contrast to use, eventually establishing his own firm with clients including Monsanto, General Electric, DuPont and the US military. Birren was later contracted as a consultant colourist for Disney advising animators for the schemes of Bambi, Pinocchio and Fantasia and with the outbreak of World War II, Birren was conscripted to make work environments safer for the influx inexperienced workers coming to factories to replace the workforce diverted to the war effort. The coding conventions Birren prescribed are still in use today with the best preserved examples being the sea-foam green used for control panels (the object of this investigation and conserved in museums and legacy installations and universally adopted, also with fire-extinguishers), the lighter shades being used on walls and consoles to reduce visual fatigue. The title nom de plume is from Birren’s colour scale of reflected light in the most calming spectrum and sourced from his trade range colour.

day thirty-four (13.317)

Though uncharacteristically brief—yet a lot of incoherence and rambling was packed into that short time—Trump made his first prime time public address since the war started, and whilst not announcing the US departure from the NATO alliance as some speculated (though the damage is already done), offered no real direction or resolution. Scheduled late so as not to preempt the launch of Artemis II, Trump repeated talking points from his social media posts and recent interviews, rehashing his mysterious dialogue with Iranian leadership over a ceasefire while they insist there have been no direct talks, again setting out his timeline of two to three weeks and attempting to justify his decision to go to war and the costs in has imposed on the world and again encouraging those who rely on oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz to “just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.” After abandoning the original objectives of regime change, supporting protesters and even reopening the Persian Gulf, Trump also dismissed concerns over the remaining Iranian stockpiles of enriched uranium, voiding another reason for this adventure, ending the country’s potential for “nuclear blackmail.” Meanwhile, Netanyahu asserted that denuclearisation has been achieved, removing the threat to Israel. Markets crashed further in response and countries around the world are beginning to institute more energy rationing and rolling back fuel taxes and the phasing out of coal-fire power plants. The US embassy in Baghdad has suspended consular services and urge all Americans to leave Iraq immediately.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Toronto’s CN Tower (with synchronopticæ) plus Trump enacts sweeping global tariffs

twelve years ago: April holidays and observances plus legacy software

thirteen years ago: the weirdness of Americans plus German reparations

fourteen years ago: gnocchi casserole plus a reflexology footpath 

fifteen years ago: international cooperation to contain Fukushima 

seventeen years ago: the Queen and Prince Philip visit the Obamas