synchronoptica
one year ago: a revivalist Rosicrucian (with synchronopticรฆ) plus NYC’s Subway Sun
twelve years ago: ocular floaters, chameleon ivy plus outrageous baby names
thirteen years ago: German breads
fourteen years ago: more on Greek sovereign debt
fifteen years ago: know your allergens plus translations needing a second opinion
seventeen years ago: moving house and home
Celebrating the return of his favourite recurring character with his latest panel, frequent cartoon contributor to the New Yorker Paul Noth, as we are informed by Things magazine, shares his fascination with optical illusion, including his signature duck-rabbit, first appearing in the humour publication Fliegende Blรคtter by an anonymous artist in 1892 and soon being ensconced in common parlance by Ludwig Wittgenstein, describing the phenomenon as a bi-stable (or multi-stable) percept, philosophically put “seeing that” versus “seeing as” with an intermediate study in psychology and the original paradigm shift. Much more at the links above.
As former leader Raul Castro faces possible indictment, charged in absentia, the Cuban people brace for imminent invasion by the US as the country runs out of oil. The aircraft carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, leaves the Persian gulf to return to the Americans. Pakistani interior minister Moshin Naqvi travels to Iran to resume indirect talks with America. Taiwan reiterates its de facto independence after Trump warns Taipei not assert itself separate from mainland China. Counter-rallies occur in London as marches to commemorate Nabka Day, the displacement of the Palestinians, are met with far-right, ethnonationists Unite the Kingdom demonstrations, with calls to prepare for the second battle of Britain. Putin and Xi will meet next week. Israeli defence minister Katz criticises Spain and other European nations for boycotting the Eurovision song contest over his country’s participation.
There was a nice community project in the village finished a couple weeks ago, in view from our balcony, that I had meant to post about but forgot about until the previous related entry—maybe we could establish our own fortune-telling fountain—in converting the Trafoturm (electricity substation) into an Insect Motel. A gap between the exterior wall and the wooden faรงade provides a roost for bats with the attic space open for birds and an overwintering spot for other pollinators. It is also decorated with a mural of scenes of the little hamlet. 
We see bats (Fledermรคuse, flying mice) often flitting about in the twilight hours and have a couple of times—not eager to check regularly and avoid the mutual shock—have found them hanging behind our door and window shutters, which are permanently opened. It seems we started a trend with other nearby communities doing the same with their transformer towers.
Presented—perennially it seems—with another rather baffling online oracle courtesy of Web Curios, we are directed to a tarot reading delivered by a bat colony outside of Tulum in Quintana Roo. 
There’s of course the wisdom of the masses but it may not be advisable to stake one’s fortunes betting on a geopolitical outcome, now that one can wager on everything, based on the answers of chiroptera since scientists believe that the major share of their chatter is squabbling about what’s for dinner. This project is sponsored by a local museum in the ancient Mayan city as a mutual beneficial interspecies encounter, the installation providing offerings to the bats in the form of food and water in exchange for the chance to consult them with a yes/no question that isn’t really answered with a binary response with the help of AI especially attuned to the conversation of bats as interpreter. For those unable to visit in person, there’s a virtual experience. Reminiscent of the custom of telling the bees, what would you ask the bats?
An homage to classic LEGO consoles and control panels (previously), we appreciated this workstation from design studio Watt IV for an Apple Mini with the housing palette referencing both the 1979 space line of playsets and the 1984 Macintosh 128K. The sloped brick features a touch-screen display and is meant to be used an extension to one’s desktop for instance as a dedicated interface and monitoring station for the life support systems of one’s smart home. More from DesignBoom at the link above, including instructions on how to make one’s own dashboard.
Returning from Beijing with little apparent progress of AI integration, the question of support for Taiwan or Middle East peace, and still haunted or harnessed with the spectre of not being concerned about the worsening economic welfare of the American people in pursuit of a war only speciously connected with their security, Trump’s threats to recommence military operations has Iranians on edge—the chief outcome of the meeting in China being the reaffirmation that Trump is an agent of chaos and Xi heading the more competent, staid and predictable superpower. Meanwhile, the administration appears to make good on its announcement to withdraw American troops and mid-range missiles stationed in Europe, the redeployments already seemingly underway in Bavaria and the deployment of a brigade level combat unit to Poland halted as the threat of Russia on NATO’s eastern flank remains.
synchronoptica
one year ago: a catalogue of non-synonymous phrases (with synchronopticรฆ) plus a baffling online oracle
fourteen years ago: Iceland’s Kitchenware Revolution
fifteen years ago: a Eurovision watch-party plus America loosing its competitive edge
Courtesy of friend of the blog, Nag on the Lake, we are introduced to the 1957 experimental demonstration, one of the first uses of solar power at the time (see previously) from dynamic design duo Charles and Ray Eames (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), over which the couple expressed some reluctance over the invitation to participate in the project sponsored by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). 
The whimsical initiative, called the Forecast Programme, and included Isamu Noguchi (้ๅฃ·ๅ, furniture designer and landscaper who contributed the Prismatic Table) and Alexander Girard, specifically commissioned the Eames to construct a sampling of aluminium toys, at first considering items powered directly by passive sunlight and then introduced to photovoltaic technology, initially had reservations, saying that “Life is too full of real problems to permit introducing hypothetical ones,” but were persuaded by the observation that the demonstration was ultimately not an uninteresting and engaging assignment and that playthings are not as innocent as they appear.
