musique d’ameublement (12. 288)

Having previously learned about the introduction of music on demand, an early streaming service for subscribers and the accidental advent of hold music (muzak being a proprietary eponym), the former emerging at a time when exposure to song was a rarer treat and required some effort and received as a performance, whereas the latter shows how we are over-saturated at times, we quite enjoyed this segment on the “furniture music” of composer Erik Satie to complete the timeline with the immersive experience of incidental or mood music—or a pleasant background to ignore. Commiserating with an artist friend over the cacophonic playlist that typically filled restaurants, far from enhancing the dining ambiance rather magnified the general din and clang of cutlery, prompting Satie to design music to blend into the environment. Though under appreciated at the time, his tailored compositions eventually gave rise to the unintrusive and unengaging musak above and ambient, meditative songs from Brian Eno and John Cage. Much more from Open Culture at the link above.

time table (12. 287)

An upcoming conclusion of events, akin to Germany’s own Schicksalstag (Day of Fate) but augmented by the cycle of politics and government housekeeping which by rights ought to be pretty routine and unexciting (see also here and here) seems rather ominous or the United States. Not only is it the Ides of March when the backstop continuing resolution funding the government expires at midnight with congressional Democrats poised to withhold their support for any budget or increased debt-ceiling necessary for Trump’s tax cuts in order to blunt the pace of the unlawful dismantling of the administrative state, alienating allies and threatening the global order that has existed since the end of World War II all carried out by royal prerogative and against the will of the legislature, coincidentally it also marks the fifty-third day of the Trump presidency, which is precisely how long it took Hitler use the Weimar constitution to subvert democratic institutions after his appointment as chancellor, destroying the republic from within using its own laws and norms. The date also marks the fifth anniversary since America went into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suspect this upcoming Saturday might be a little wild.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a watchtower in the woods (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting

eight years ago: more links to enjoy plus an underwater tunnel for ship traffic in Norway

nine years ago: Douglas babies, the right to be sheltered from dissent, repurposing abandoned churches plus shorthand as punctuation

ten years ago: Latin Christendom, unuselessness plus even more links 

eleven years ago: curtailing freedoms in Türkiye plus artist Carl Grossberg

liber novus (12. 286)

The manuscript named after its original leather binding, the folio penned by psychiatrist Carl Jung between 1914 and 1930 documents a series of personal observations and self-experimentation following the dissolution of his partnership with his interlocutor Sigmund Freud moreover reflects a psychotic break with reality and the journey of re-establishing an albeit tenuous connection with his soul and psyche. Although considered Jung’s main contribution, expounding such ideas as dream-interpretation, visions, the collective unconscious, common fate and the notions of introversion and extroversion, the work was meant never to be published in the traditional since and locked away in a vault until 2009. And whilst not intended for public consumption and still not available in a comprehensive volume freely accessible, Open Culture presents a variety of sources to learn more about the Red Book, including a relaxing, hour-long paging through the massive personal account with a definitive autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), a certain frisson and auditory-tactile synaesthesia which we’re sure that the author would have appreciated.

anaññātaññassāmītindriya (12. 285)

Via New Shelton wet/dry, we found this critique from the political and literary forum the Boston Review to be quite resonant as we here at PfRC essentially at our core blog when we learn a new word for a phenomenon or behaviour—way to name something that we didn’t know had a name or could draw a distinction that we weren’t aware of beforehand—or make connections, especially etymologically—be it on the topic of language, history, culture or current events. Pedantry is our mainstay. We’ve devoted a lot of posts to the untranslatable and the hyperspecific ways that language can impart feelings and states of being—see previously here, here and here—but we appreciated the counterpoint presented in the subject book review: the telling comes at the expense of showing, communicating through narrative or poetry rather than a borrowed short-hand explored through a treasury of terms from classical Indian literature. The title refers to the Pali concept for the mental faculty of coming to know, which is undoubtably a premium word but emotion and incident do not map neatly onto a linguistic framework and if not creating new experiences with words, one can bereft with neologisms that destroy them.

sticktok (12. 284)

A cross-platform movement that’s particularly wholesome and encourages taking a walk in the woods really for its own sake and not needing add needless gamification and augmented reality called Stick Nation features participants from all over the globe, sharing remarkable sticks (see previously) they come across—generally showcasing where it was found, its provenance a bit of lore. The community accept both organic finds and ones with light modifications to enhance their inner excellence.

synchronoptica

one year ago: water worlds (with synchronoptica) plus squabbles among AI thought leaders

seven years ago: the fourteenth amendment of the US constitution

eight years ago: US Republicans go after Obama Care, the CIA spies on Germany, germ-repelling materials plus reversing the genders of the US presidential candidates

nine years ago: a conspiracy theory album cover, the actor who played the Alien plus the philosophical implications of faster than light travel

ten years ago: assorted links to revisit

10x10 (12. 283)

subwoof: opening of Star Trek: The Next Generation but with the theme coming from the ship  

sudoku: unsolvable sliding fourteen-fifteen wooden puzzles 

frame-by-frame: experimenting with 3D printing to achieve a stop-motion animation effect  

anglish: English without the influence of Romance languages  

dead letter office: Denmark’s postal service to end delivery of letters, citing a ninety percent decline in volume  

oddly compelling: underground comics and Kitchen Sink Press 

rebel with a clause: the self-styled den mother of grammarians sets up a table for language advice  

edelweißpiraten: a look at the loosely organised youth group that opposed Nazi Germany—via Strange Company 

🏃‍➡️: revisiting an appreciation of how Flash influenced gaming history—via Boing Boing  

cue ro laren drop: a library of audio sweeps, intros, outros and transitions for podcasters—via Web Curios

life’s good (12. 282)

The abstract corporate logo of the South Korea multinational conglomerate LG (formerly known as Lucky-Goldstar) we learn was inspired (see also) by an ancient roof-end tile with a human face and nicknamed for it’s era (roughly spanning the first millennium) as the Silla Smile (신라의 미소). Iconic and considered a national treasure, the artefact was first discovered in an antique shop in 1934. Much more from Amusing Planet at the link up top.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a music video from GMUNK (with synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting plus Sol Invictus

seven years ago: moving day 

eight years ago: invasive pat-downs, a tree with its own postal code plus a self-driving concept car

nine years ago: metro lines mapped as Super Mario levels 

ten years ago: cultural norms, ISIL’s destruction of heritage sites plus overzealous zoning

kayfabe (12. 281)

Recently confirmed by the US senate as Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon (previously), professional wrestling promoter, is expected to receive orders to dismantle the department via executive order. Drafts of the directive attempts to justify its closure, citing that the institution since its establishment in 1979—in itself quite remarkable—has cost over a trillion dollars and netted only nominal improvement in literacy and numeracy and being overtaken by “radicals, zealots and Marxists,” and while federal funds only account for ten percent of the funding for public schools—with most institutions supported by local and state tax though department remittances targeted to aid the most disadvantaged communities and students with disabilities and help level the playing field. The cabinet-level department established by congress, split from the Department of Health and Human Services, under Carter oversees policy on financial aid, educational reform and school accreditation, including diploma mills like Trump University. The title refers to the suspension of disbelief employed in the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) that pugilists maintain in in staged events to maintain rivalries and relationships for the audience and to stay in character. Delays in publishing the order coincided with a pause on levying some tariffs of Mexico after stock market turmoil over the uncertainty.