synchronoptica
one year ago: more on the game of Life (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit plus Operation Red Dawn
seven years ago: microphotography plus the founding of Lufthansa
eight years ago: a new spider species discovered, the Rex Factor podcast plus Brexit negotiations
nine years ago: looking forward to the next episode of Star Wars plus Project ECHELON
eleven years ago: Germany’s Word of the Year
Launching his bid for the party nomination for on this day in 1974—barred constitutionally from standing for the governorship of the state of Georgia for a second term—the fifty year old Carter began his 
campaign enunciating his intentions to counter the derision of opponents mocking his relatively unknown status with “Jimmy who?” A severe economic depression in the ensuing years prior to the 1976 election and Gerald Ford’s diminished public reception due to his pardoning of Nixon caused the Democrats to feel confident about returning to power. Ford’s debate gaffe that there was “no Soviet dominion in Eastern Europe and under Ford administration there never will be” did not help either—see also. Enlisting help from popular performers in the meantime, Carter raised his profile significantly and garnered a plurality of his party’s support in the primaries.
primordial soup and son of soup: Dirty Feed’s 2024 wrapped
mobile ui: top neglected App Store add-ons of the year
merriam-webster defines: polarisation has been selected as the Word of the Year for 2024—with runner-ups including pander, resonate, demure and allision for when that container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March
survive ’til 25: Mrs Claus’ strategies for making it through Christmas
fallout: a tour of the Soviet-era nuclear shelters of the Prague subway
the late set: a year of jazz discoveries
starbug: a to scale model of the shuttle from Red Dwarf
synchronoptica
one year ago: The Poseidon Adventure (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting
seven years ago: more links to enjoy, the adoration of words plus a comprehensive and inclusive eye-chart
eight years ago: the centenary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, even more links, Batman’s gadgets plus Iceland to oust the US FBI
nine years ago: delightful small towns around the world
ten years ago: Santa’s sweat shops plus hypervelocity stars
Coming into effect in November 1968, the first theatrical release to be given a G-rating by the Motion Picture Association of America—replacing the Hays Code as a voluntary, self-policing scheme for parental advisement—was the Monkees’ movie Head and the classification has been on a steady decline 
since with only documentaries able to secure it, having gone from general genres to niche, recalling those films that really pushed the envelope of decency and age-appropriateness (some seeking the restricted). Once the most prevalent rating for popular movies with non-objectionable if not exactly family-friendly themes like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Andromeda Strain and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (each retroactively given PG status), it fell to a quarter of releases by the mid-1980s, pivoting to children’s films and with only a smattering of the box-office, posing the question of whether the current criteria are still fit for purpose. Much more from Tedium at the link above.
watermark: a year in illustrations from Cory Doctorow’s Pluralistic
ๅคงๅนดไธๅ: due to a quirk in the lunisolar calendar, Chinese New Year’s Eve will disappear for the next five years
<div>: web designer demonstrates the virtuosity of cascading style sheets—via Boing Boing
you have died of dysentery: a cinematic adaptation of the Oregon Trail computer game—via Kottke
liquidation: a bankruptcy judge voids the Onion’s purchase of Infowars, arguing there was money left on the table
dalgona challenge: McDonald’s Australia introduces a Squid Game Happy Meal
special perils policy: the brilliant, dynamic typography of the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps—see previously
synchronoptica
one year ago: another MST3K classic (with synchronoptica), DJ Riko’s X-Mas mix, Messiah of Evil (1974) plus a cosmetic automat
seven years ago: the French Revolutionary calendar, curvature blindness plus linguistic eggcorns
eight years ago: IKEA retail therapy, emoluments and self-dealing plus the legacy of Bauhaus design
nine years ago: LEGO Inferno plus assorted links to revisit
eleven years ago: It’s A Wonderful Life
Symptomatic of far greater endemic problems with America’s labour and healthcare problems, individuals are submitting scathing reviews of one of the three McDonald’s franchises in Altoona, Pennsylvania that tipped off authorities regarding the whereabouts of the fugitive suspected of killing the CEO of a major insurance provider—see previously. 
Whilst his life is undergoing vivisection by the police and the press for his apparent act of retribution, the public is lamenting the selling out by an informant of folk-hero Luigi Mangione whose Monopoly money and manifesto speaks for everyone who has had a negative interaction with their insurance carrier by addle-brained employees who will never have coverage either (nor likely any other basic benefits, like paid leave or a pension) and won’t see the bounty as the tip went through local authorities and not the FBI hotline, no CEO stepping forward to reward this act of killing one of their own. PfRC does not condone this type of lawless vigilantism no matter how resonant and righteous, nor do we condone the above-the-law framework of for-profit healthcare and corporate welfare that props up businesses that rely on a woefully insufficient government safety net to make money and a parasocial system that is a feedback loop undermining people’s physical and mental well-being.
Pope Francis has issued the bull of indication that the 2025 Jubilee, which will last from Christmas Eve this year to Epiphany of 2026, fulfilling the declaration made by John Paul II at the conclusion of 2000’s 
Great Jubilee, with the above convocation from the verse of the book of Romans “hope does not disappoint” and understanding that the youths attending the millennial celebration would be the leaders a quarter century later. Recognising the need, Francis had an intervening Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy a decade ago and this time all four mercy gates of the basilica of the Holy See, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Saint Mary Major, St John Lateran and St Peter’s, are being unbricked to be opened is succession through Christmastide. A fifth door will be added for the first time in a tradition dating back to the fourteenth century with the entrance of Rebibbia prison, one of the chief incarceration facilities in Italy focused on social reintegration and rehabilitation of its inmates (including John Paul II’s attempted assassin Mehmet Ali Aฤca, Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino and numerous mafiosi) symbolically representing all jails.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Pantone’s colour for 2024 (with synchronoptica), AI illustrated Christmas carols plus unit abbreviations
seven years ago: Dr Who villains, a space-faring micronation, curios British telly plus AI authored Christmas carols
eight years ago: mistaking the bad guys, more on netiquette plus A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
nine years ago: assorted links to revisit, nuance in language plus colonial powers vie for Africa
ten years ago: the commodification of foodstuffs, set designs for Kubrick films, an appreciation of clipart plus avocados and megafauna
Originally founded on this day by lexicographer and text-book publisher Noah Webster under the above name with the extended subtitle Patroness of Peace, Commerce and the Liberal Arts, the daily was NewYork City’s first in circulation. Undergoing a series of rebrandings in its first few years of publication, it finally settled The Commercial Advertiser in 1803. Politically the paper was generally leaning towards support of the nationalist, conservative Federalist Party. A century later in 1904 it was again renamed The New York Globe, defunct with its consolidation in 1923 with the New York Sun, ending its run.
