a-story, b-story (12. 375)

During a recent episode of The Simpsons (S: 36, E: 783), Homer pressures Bart to pursue a career as a celebrity disc-jockey, but the ensuing noise and chaos of the abortive effort lead to an irreconcilable rift with their neighbours the Flanders, Bart incorporating a sample of Ned’s complaint into the mix. The gang from The Hood Internet were behind the DJ’ing and also the end credits mashing up memorable Simpsons musical numbers including Do the Bartman, Dr Zaius, Mr Plow and the Monorail Song.

minotaure (12. 374)

The French Surrealist-oriented magazine in print from 1933 to 1939 was originally intended to be a general review of the plastic arts: poetry, architecture, theatre, ethnography, mythology and psychoanalytic studies but the publisher’s association with André Breton and others in the movement, ensuring a steady supply of contributions, shifted the focus. Illustrators and writers included Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Dalí, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy and Frida Kahlo (see above—the pictured cover is by Diego Rivera for the Mexican supplement) and the publication’s high quality and high standards attracted the patronage of several sustaining sponsors. The title character was very much en vogue at the time with Picasso already having established several studies on the theme with the metaphor of the labyrinth representing the mind and the marauding Minotaur analogous to the irrational impulses with vanquishing Theseus a symbol for the greater self-knowledge of the Surrealist and psychoanalysis movement.

synchronoptica

one year ago: invasive species (with synchronoptica) plus a rare 1995 hybrid eclipse

seven years ago: Swedish house gymnastics, tokusatsu gifs plus giving a banana a passport

eight years ago: a cradle that mimics a car ride plus the first pizza delivery

nine years ago: Julia Child’s home in Provence, an ode to a departed feline friend plus quotes paired with fine art

ten years ago: a Nazi summer camp, assorted links to revisit plus the first petroleum company

orange monday (12. 373)

Dismissing the idea floated a ninety-day pause on imposing blanket tariffs worldwide to allow targeted exporters time for negotiation as “fake news” and digging into his posture of havoc and disruption, threatening China with an additional fifty percent duty on top of those already levied in response to reciprocal imports coming in from the US, investor uncertainty is pushing world stock markets into bear territory—the term derived from traders who engaged in short-selling assets with a commodity to back it up, the “bear-skin jobbers” selling pelts (the stock) before the bear was caught and marks a period of fear and pessimism. Faced with a rate exceeding one hundred percent, China vowed further retaliation and ready for a war of attrition. The above talk of a period of temporary stoppage from a bogus tweet picked up by several outlets out of hope and desperation caused multi-trillion dollar swings before the reprieve proved false. Though Europe and the UK seem to be better placed to weather the shock, repercussions won’t necessarily be contained by the US economy with inflation, job-cuts and slowed growth all around. The spillover effects of a wider, protracted conflict of protectionism will have lasting implications and may signal a change in international trade and economic integration.

berufsbeamtengesetz (12. 372)

The full formal title in English having a familiar ring, The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was enacted on this day in 1933 two months after Hitler’s rise to power is among the earliest examples of racist and anti-Semitic legislation in the regime, the main thrust of decree was to establish and promote a “national” and expert administrative state by dismissing certain groups of tenured employees, compelling those with Jewish or “non-Aryan” origins to retire or resign and terminating members with ties, real or suspected, to the Communist Party and affiliate organisations. Forbidding these individuals from holding teaching positions or judgeships at first before being expanded to a range of jobs including lawyers, tax consultants, doctors and notaries public, the law and harsh conditions spurred many to flee the country before being expelled, due to heritage or political beliefs. While briefly offering functionaries who had been employed since 1918 and had not yet attained the training and skills to faithfully execute their office should be let go, the text in the main concerned itself with presenting a false narrative of races and how to gauge non-Aranan descent and putting the onus of proof on individuals wanting to keep their positions—Arienachweis, Ahnenpass. Civil servants could be made redundant without cause and forced into retirement to advance the “simplification of administration” with vacancies eliminated. Pensions for this dismissed class of employees were also eventually phased out.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Italian cafe culture accoutrements (with synchronoptica), pixelated dioramas,  assorted links worth the revisit plus a banger from Rick James

seven years ago: the Smooth-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930

eight years ago: unmasking Trump critics plus more links to enjoy

nine years ago: a sonnet generating algorithm, more on the Panama Papers and other tax havens plus a German comedian fined for insulting Turkish leadership

ten years ago: criminal mastermind Adam Worth, a double dose of assorted links, grocery shopping without packaging plus Cyprus joins the eurozone

ley de aguas (12. 371)

Arising from necessity over a thousand years ago and held every Thursday up to the present day, the Tribunal of the Waters of Valencia among farmers and public works (nine by tradition called the Comunitat de Regnant) seeking access to the irrigation system of the extensive network of canals diverting water from the Túria sourced from the Iberian Montes Universales watershed to the plain for agricultural and domestic use, it is the oldest customary court in the world also counting as the most venerable democratic institution in Europe. Proceedings are held orally, called by the bailiff to hear out disputes and the council to pass judgment, and no written records are kept, and begun during the age of the Caliphate to manage water resources, the tribunal originally held in the city’s central mosque, the venue replaced by a cathedral during the Reconquista are held out-of-doors and open to the public to ensure all plaintiffs have access to a fair hearing with decisions being final and not up for appeal outside the unique justice system.

etsomnia (12. 370)

Via Marco McClean’s Memo of the Air, we are introduced to the very long-standing tradition (for which we were woefully remiss about perusing beforehand) of My One Beautiful Thing’s weekly curation of a sampling of some of the strange crafts discovered on the e-commerce site (see also here and here) with an emphasis on handmade jewellery, totes and home decor. The above disorder leading to sleep deprivation is a self-diagnosis from obsessive browsing of said upcycling marketplace, whose name itself comes from etsi—Italian for oh yes and French and Latin for what if. Frequent themes include taxidermied plush animals, ceramics, inspired doormats and wall signage and overly-accessorised charm bracelets and bedazzled garments.

desiccant (12. 369)

Via Web Curios, we appreciated learning about the pervasive packets of silica gel we’ve mostly encountered inside bags of doggy treats (not a prize per se and while not necessarily harmful to handle made of the same silicon dioxide that makes up glass for drinkware, wind shields and screens for electronic devices, a less device and porous form of glass but definitely not to be eaten) and sometimes lining the pockets of new clothes and soles of shoes—which although we’ve been rather compliantly socking in linen drawers for sometime now (the pictured sachet of an oxygen scavenger is materially something totally different but also extends the sell-by-date and keeps content fresh) based on something once read about how they can combat dampness and mildew, we realised we knew nothing about the history and growth of the industry that mirrors global trade and just-in-time delivery. The process for the manufacture of the nodules was mature by the 1930s, the beads exhibiting the rather remarkable property of absorbing forty percent of its weight in water vapour but there was not really a market for the pouches of wicking agent until the age of globalisation when everything from garments to crisps to gadgets where subject to a range of environmental factors air and sea and overland before getting to retailers and consumers. Rather than making packaging or shipping containers more robust to withstand these changing conditions, silica gel distributors began offering a less expensive alternative—complete with a protocol of how many packets might be needed depending on a product’s composition and journey—to stave off despoiling moisture. While the material can be recharged, regenerated (see also), stuck in a drawer, they have limited effect. More from Scope of Work at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: 1974’s Eurovision finale (with synchronoptica) plus Annie Lennox’ debut solo album

seven years ago:  assorted links to revisit, a coup in South Korea, the rediscovery of Pompeii plus Florida restricts public beach access

eight years ago: textile artist Dorothy Grebenak, protesting Putin, Sweden’s failure museum, designing Trump’s border wall, animated antiques plus the MAR-A-LAGO act

nine years ago: mapping Mt Fuji plus an exercise in character building

ten years ago: Motor City Mannheim

greed (12. 368)

The unapologetically bold and unyielding typeface by Neil Summerour for foundry Positype—perfect for this twentytwentyfive moment—is based on the typography of US banknotes, originally planned as a series of fonts illustrating the Seven Deadly Sins. Released on inauguration day, that singular vice seemed an all encompassing symbol for capturing the enshitifying gilded age we’ve been thrust into. Among the challenges the designer faced (aside from possible arrest from this administration for defacing legal tender) was crafting a lower case equivalent since dollar bills are all-caps, ANNUIT COEPTIS—God favours our undertaking!—no need to shout, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, and crafting a complete set of numerals outside of 0, 1, 2 and 5. The typeface has the complete set of Latin glyphs and diacritics for every language, including Vietnamese and others often left out of bespoke fonts not as a testament of universality but rather to be inclusive. More from Print Magazine at the link up top.